Mania Madness Round Of 8 – Mae Young Region

Welcome to the second round of Mania Madness! Round one showcased some great matchups and some unexpected upsets. The Mae Young region has been a mixed bag of eras. Will one era dominate as we move forward? Let’s find out.

 

#1. Ric Flair vs. #8. Arn Anderson

“The Nature Boy” meets “The Enforcer” in the middle of ring, eyes locked in a dead stare. The two men know each other all too well from their days in the Four Horsemen. They finally lock up and Anderson gets the early advantage.

Despite the advantage, each man finds different ways to counter each other. As Anderson prepares to Irish whip Flair into the ropes, Tully Blanchard tries to district Anderson, only to be met ring side by Ole Anderson. Amongst the confusion, Flair recovers, hits a back suplex, and locks in the figure four leg lock for the win. Afterwards, the four men meet in the middle of the ring for an embrace and flash the Four Horsemen hand sign.

Winner: Ric Flair
Time: 9:12

 

#5. Chris Jericho vs. #13. Terry Funk
*No Disqualification Match*

Each man walks down to the ring with a weapon: Jericho with his baseball bat, Floyd, and Terry Funk with a barbed wire wrapped bat. The two dueled in a lightsaber like battle with the bats, before pulling in close and locking eyes. After stepping back, Funk dodges a swing, grabs Floyd, and rips it out of Jericho’s hands, leaving him defenseless.

Jericho starts dancing around the ring, trying to find away to disarm Funk. He hits a chop block, followed by an enziguri. Buying himself a couple of seconds, Jericho scampers for the ring apron and frantically searches for a weapon. As he grabs a kendo stick and a chair, Funk recovers, takes a match that was taped to under his boot, and lights the bat cover with barb wire on fire. Jericho enters the ring again, only to take two shots to stomach with the bat, collapsing to the mat.

The smell of burning flesh permeates throughout the arena, as Funk rolls Jericho back onto his back and hits three more times. He drags Jericho to the center of the ring and goes for a moonsault. Jericho sticks his leg up, stunning Funk. Jericho hits a codebreaker, before draping a chair on Funk and hitting the Lionsault. He goes for the pin, and gets the win.

Winner: Chris Jericho
Time: 21:00

 

#3. Sting vs. #6. Bruno Sammartino

As Sammartino walks down to the ring, Scott Steiner ambushes him from behind. Sting runs down from the ring and fends off Steiner. After helping Sammartino into the ring, the referee rings the bell, starting the match. Despite still being shaken up from the pre-match beat down, Sammartino fights valiantly but he can hardly stand from the ferociousness of Steiner’s attack. After Sting is declared the winner, Steiner stares up at Sting in the ring with evil intentions.

Winner: Sting
Time: 3:45

 

#2 The Rock vs #10 CM Punk
*Falls Count Anywhere Match*

In a rematch from a series in 2013, The Rock and CM Punk meet in the ring. As soon as the bell rings, both roll out of the ring and grab weapons from under the ring. Rock grabs a guitar, Punk grabs a crutch and meet back in the ring, where they circle about three times.

Punk, catching Rock off guard, speeds up behind him and smacks him across the back with the crutch. Once he’s down, Punk starts swinging away, tenderizing The Rock like a piece of meat. He goes for the pin early…two count.

Punk goes to the top rope for an elbow drop, but misses as Rock rolls out of the ring and makes his way to the backstage area. Punk and the referee follow. This leads to multiple shots from various weapons from both sides.

Rock and Punk battle throughout the arena, before eventually making it back to ringside, where Rock stuns Punk with some powerful punches. Rock lines up and hits a Rock Bottom through an announce table, but for some reason, doesn’t get up. As the camera zooms in, Punk has the Anaconda Vice locked around him. Rock tries to break out but quickly fades and passes out. As Punk gets peeled off and has his hand raised, he passes out and falls to the floor.

Winner: CM Punk
Time: 33:24