SGW RIVALS Chapter Three: Steve Austin versus Lance Storm
Sept 13, 2022 15:11:34 GMT -6
josh, jared, and 1 more like this
Post by Scott on Sept 13, 2022 15:11:34 GMT -6
CHAPTER THREE: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin (Dustin Leisner) versus Lance Storm (Corey Rich)
Timeframe: April 16, 2006 - July 1, 2006
Feud Facts:
-Lance Storm won the title from then champion, Austin, in a 3-on-2 handicap match of Steve Austin and Ken Kennedy versus Jeff Jarrett, Chris Masters, and Lance Storm (Total Destruction PPV - June 25, 2006). The World and Television titles were on the line.
-One of two rivalries to have three Top Matches.
-Each man won a singles title before feuding over the World Title.
Three SGW Top Matches
-April 16, 2006 (Steve Austin defeated Lance Storm)
-May 21, 2006 (Draw - Double Disqualification)
-July 1, 2006 (Draw - Double Pin)
When running an e-fed, you need a good foundation of people you can rely on. There will always be the fly-by-nighters who come and go, but if you can get a handful of guys to show and show early, write with consistency, and not cause problems, your job as an Admin is a lot easier. Corey Rich and Dustin Leisner fit that role like a glove.
2006 SGW was something. That goes without saying. Austin was right up there as one of the top faces in SGW with Val Venis and Chris Benoit (whoops!), and Lance Storm was working his way up the card with an impressive winning streak. It was destiny these two would get tangled up, and sure enough, at Heartbreaker, Austin made the mistake of tossing a beer can and hitting Mike Awesome, Storm's bodyguard at the time. Immediately after Heartbreaker, the World Warrior Tournament was starting up, and these two found themselves on a collision course.. but in a non-tournament Submission Match. Austin won, but the referee was out and he dropped Storm's limp arm to the mat three times as time expired and declared himself the winner in their first Top Match. Storm was injured, forcing Mike Awesome to be his surrogate during his recovery. Later that night, Austin won the United States Championship and the World Warrior Tournament, making it an absolutely perfect night for Stone Cold. After World Warrior, Randy Orton became the World Champion and handed his Television title to Storm, giving him his first title reign as well.
Austin was the #1 contender to the World title and immediately found himself in a feud with Jeff Jarrett and The Golden Rule. He even kidnapped Jillian Hall while Lance Storm was trying to earn his way into the group. With a pistol to Jillian Hall's head, he forced Jarrett to give him what he wanted - his shot at Randy Orton's SGW World Championship, which he won that night.
Austin/Storm II: This gets us to Body Count. The odds are stacked in Lance Storm's favor. He has Bill Alfonso as the referee, Jimmy Cordaris as the outside referee, Mike Awesome as the ring announcer, and Elix Skipper as the timekeeper. Austin had no chance with the deck stacked against him, but the match ends in a Double DQ. Draws and double disqualifications are rare in today's fedding, but it was way more frequent back then - especially in a one-admin fed. Dustin and Corey were at the absolute top of their games at this point and carrying SGW on their shoulders while people like myself, Brett, and Matt G. were along for the ride.
With Jarrett furious at Austin, the deck continued getting stacked against him in Jarrett's quest to get the title off of him. At Total Destruction in June, a three-on-one handicap match was set up of Steve Austin and Ken Kennedy against Jeff Jarrett, Chris Masters, and Lance Storm. If Austin is pinned, he loses his World Title. If Kennedy is pinned, he loses his Television Title. If Kennedy pins anyone, he wins Austin's World Title. Corey won out, capturing his first SGW World Championship and continuing the hot streak with Lance Storm.
Austin/Storm III: Josh wasted no time continuing the feud, this time, the title is on the line in a steel cage. That goes back to the unpredictable booking back then - your titles were literally on the line ALL of the time, so if you made it to the next PPV, you were really doing something. I remember being really anxious to see who'd win the belt here because Edge was gaining some momentum and I was next in line for a shot at WrestleBrawl 2. Also during this time, the promotional wars began. We were stealing other companies' World titles and Champions like crazy. That included APW, which was Corey's primary fed before joining SGW. The match ended in a double pin, leaving Storm retaining the championship in the third Top Match in this epic rivalry.
After this, Lance Storm would go on to unify the APW title with the SGW title, starting a flurry of eight unifications of historic companies that made the SGW World title the most prestigious World Championship out there. Something that is still done to this day. Hands down, the SGW World title ranks above any other championship out there just by the quality of handlers who have held it and the winner-take-all method in which it was unified. I had the honor of facing Corey at WrestleBrawl 2, winning my first World title as Edge from Lance Storm, but one of my biggest SGW '06 regrets is never getting to do the dance with Dustin, hands down one of the best ever.
Corey and Dustin did everything there was to do with their respective characters from the bottom to the top of the card and were key impact players of the 2006 run. I wish Corey was still around, but it's awesome to have Dustin in the fold, still rocking it with Austin as the Intercontinental Champion. Both men won countless championships with their primary characters, but they also took the title during a time when there were easily close to ten quality writers who could believably be World Champion and separated themselves from the pack with their consistency and quality. This feud ruled because Josh had Austin doing some classic stuff in a time where he wasn't that far removed from doing it on television. It was also an odd time in fedding where Lance Storm was a HOT character to join e-feds as. This feud is the second one that spawned three top matches in a short period of time, forever staking its claim as one of the top blood feuds in SGW history.
Comments From Josh: "When Chalmers left unexpectedly, Dustin was there to pick up the pieces and carry SGW forward. Corey's Lance Storm had been a consistent presence since the beginning of SGW '06 and I had been protecting him since the beginning by never allowing him to be pinned, even in defeat. With Orton out of the picture and my plan for the Golden Rule faction out the window, Lance Storm was ready to step up and replace Orton as the top heel, just as Austin stepped up to replace Orton as the world champion. Corey and Dustin then went on to have a feud that harkened back to the old school SGW days in a big way. Multiple matches, multiple draws, all culminating with a big title change at Total Destruction '06. It was just nearly impossible to choose a winner between these two. Amidst all the stuff SGW '06 gets remembered for, Dustin and Corey don't get nearly enough credit for carrying us through a time that might have killed a lesser e-fed."
Comments From Dustin: "This was hands down the biggest rivalry I've ever had in an e-fed. We faced each other four times in less than three months. Sharing a tied record of 1-1-2 is just proof of how close the matches really were. I remember writing what I still feel is my best and longest RP ever for our Submission match at World Warrior. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin had a dream/nightmare that he went on a hunting trip with his then managers (Vince and Shane McMahon) and Vince ends up accidently shooting him. Keep in mind this was right around the time Dick Cheney had his little hunting accident. I think I can speak for Corey when I say we both pushed each other to levels we had never been before. Showed the entire SGW roster (new and old) what was possible with Josh at the helm. If you were willing to put in the work, you would be rewarded. And that's exactly what we did, every single time we faced each other. Haymaker after haymaker, we traded blows until finally he came out victorious in our final battle. I'd love to have a FIFTH and final battle someday. We need to finally break the tie."
Feud Facts:
-Lance Storm won the title from then champion, Austin, in a 3-on-2 handicap match of Steve Austin and Ken Kennedy versus Jeff Jarrett, Chris Masters, and Lance Storm (Total Destruction PPV - June 25, 2006). The World and Television titles were on the line.
-One of two rivalries to have three Top Matches.
-Each man won a singles title before feuding over the World Title.
Three SGW Top Matches
-April 16, 2006 (Steve Austin defeated Lance Storm)
-May 21, 2006 (Draw - Double Disqualification)
-July 1, 2006 (Draw - Double Pin)
When running an e-fed, you need a good foundation of people you can rely on. There will always be the fly-by-nighters who come and go, but if you can get a handful of guys to show and show early, write with consistency, and not cause problems, your job as an Admin is a lot easier. Corey Rich and Dustin Leisner fit that role like a glove.
2006 SGW was something. That goes without saying. Austin was right up there as one of the top faces in SGW with Val Venis and Chris Benoit (whoops!), and Lance Storm was working his way up the card with an impressive winning streak. It was destiny these two would get tangled up, and sure enough, at Heartbreaker, Austin made the mistake of tossing a beer can and hitting Mike Awesome, Storm's bodyguard at the time. Immediately after Heartbreaker, the World Warrior Tournament was starting up, and these two found themselves on a collision course.. but in a non-tournament Submission Match. Austin won, but the referee was out and he dropped Storm's limp arm to the mat three times as time expired and declared himself the winner in their first Top Match. Storm was injured, forcing Mike Awesome to be his surrogate during his recovery. Later that night, Austin won the United States Championship and the World Warrior Tournament, making it an absolutely perfect night for Stone Cold. After World Warrior, Randy Orton became the World Champion and handed his Television title to Storm, giving him his first title reign as well.
Austin was the #1 contender to the World title and immediately found himself in a feud with Jeff Jarrett and The Golden Rule. He even kidnapped Jillian Hall while Lance Storm was trying to earn his way into the group. With a pistol to Jillian Hall's head, he forced Jarrett to give him what he wanted - his shot at Randy Orton's SGW World Championship, which he won that night.
Austin/Storm II: This gets us to Body Count. The odds are stacked in Lance Storm's favor. He has Bill Alfonso as the referee, Jimmy Cordaris as the outside referee, Mike Awesome as the ring announcer, and Elix Skipper as the timekeeper. Austin had no chance with the deck stacked against him, but the match ends in a Double DQ. Draws and double disqualifications are rare in today's fedding, but it was way more frequent back then - especially in a one-admin fed. Dustin and Corey were at the absolute top of their games at this point and carrying SGW on their shoulders while people like myself, Brett, and Matt G. were along for the ride.
With Jarrett furious at Austin, the deck continued getting stacked against him in Jarrett's quest to get the title off of him. At Total Destruction in June, a three-on-one handicap match was set up of Steve Austin and Ken Kennedy against Jeff Jarrett, Chris Masters, and Lance Storm. If Austin is pinned, he loses his World Title. If Kennedy is pinned, he loses his Television Title. If Kennedy pins anyone, he wins Austin's World Title. Corey won out, capturing his first SGW World Championship and continuing the hot streak with Lance Storm.
Austin/Storm III: Josh wasted no time continuing the feud, this time, the title is on the line in a steel cage. That goes back to the unpredictable booking back then - your titles were literally on the line ALL of the time, so if you made it to the next PPV, you were really doing something. I remember being really anxious to see who'd win the belt here because Edge was gaining some momentum and I was next in line for a shot at WrestleBrawl 2. Also during this time, the promotional wars began. We were stealing other companies' World titles and Champions like crazy. That included APW, which was Corey's primary fed before joining SGW. The match ended in a double pin, leaving Storm retaining the championship in the third Top Match in this epic rivalry.
After this, Lance Storm would go on to unify the APW title with the SGW title, starting a flurry of eight unifications of historic companies that made the SGW World title the most prestigious World Championship out there. Something that is still done to this day. Hands down, the SGW World title ranks above any other championship out there just by the quality of handlers who have held it and the winner-take-all method in which it was unified. I had the honor of facing Corey at WrestleBrawl 2, winning my first World title as Edge from Lance Storm, but one of my biggest SGW '06 regrets is never getting to do the dance with Dustin, hands down one of the best ever.
Corey and Dustin did everything there was to do with their respective characters from the bottom to the top of the card and were key impact players of the 2006 run. I wish Corey was still around, but it's awesome to have Dustin in the fold, still rocking it with Austin as the Intercontinental Champion. Both men won countless championships with their primary characters, but they also took the title during a time when there were easily close to ten quality writers who could believably be World Champion and separated themselves from the pack with their consistency and quality. This feud ruled because Josh had Austin doing some classic stuff in a time where he wasn't that far removed from doing it on television. It was also an odd time in fedding where Lance Storm was a HOT character to join e-feds as. This feud is the second one that spawned three top matches in a short period of time, forever staking its claim as one of the top blood feuds in SGW history.
Comments From Josh: "When Chalmers left unexpectedly, Dustin was there to pick up the pieces and carry SGW forward. Corey's Lance Storm had been a consistent presence since the beginning of SGW '06 and I had been protecting him since the beginning by never allowing him to be pinned, even in defeat. With Orton out of the picture and my plan for the Golden Rule faction out the window, Lance Storm was ready to step up and replace Orton as the top heel, just as Austin stepped up to replace Orton as the world champion. Corey and Dustin then went on to have a feud that harkened back to the old school SGW days in a big way. Multiple matches, multiple draws, all culminating with a big title change at Total Destruction '06. It was just nearly impossible to choose a winner between these two. Amidst all the stuff SGW '06 gets remembered for, Dustin and Corey don't get nearly enough credit for carrying us through a time that might have killed a lesser e-fed."
Comments From Dustin: "This was hands down the biggest rivalry I've ever had in an e-fed. We faced each other four times in less than three months. Sharing a tied record of 1-1-2 is just proof of how close the matches really were. I remember writing what I still feel is my best and longest RP ever for our Submission match at World Warrior. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin had a dream/nightmare that he went on a hunting trip with his then managers (Vince and Shane McMahon) and Vince ends up accidently shooting him. Keep in mind this was right around the time Dick Cheney had his little hunting accident. I think I can speak for Corey when I say we both pushed each other to levels we had never been before. Showed the entire SGW roster (new and old) what was possible with Josh at the helm. If you were willing to put in the work, you would be rewarded. And that's exactly what we did, every single time we faced each other. Haymaker after haymaker, we traded blows until finally he came out victorious in our final battle. I'd love to have a FIFTH and final battle someday. We need to finally break the tie."