Part two of ArdlerMania Aftermath has hit the YouTube screens, with last weeks episode featuring one match and an extended segment, this one promised a bit more meat with a slappin’ singles match and an over the top rope gauntlet to move forward to the Fair City Rumble.

Marcus “The Glory” Hunter resumed ring announcing duties to get the continuation of the return to the Empire Zone post-ArdlerMania going.

Jay Robin defeated Big Ross Hauser by pinfall.

Big Ross brushed off Jay Robin early doors, becoming a brick wall against a charging Robin. A confident Hauser scaled the second rope for some mounted punches only for Jay to slip through the legs of his opponent to turn the tide and throw some punches of his own.

A clothesline sent Ross out to the floor as Robin tried to build momentum, a Senton off the apron seemed to do the trick, however, upon returning to the ring it was Hauser that stun-gunned Jay into the corner to regain control.

Hauser slowed down the action to wear down The Rainbow Renegade, picking apart the former DAPW Champion, and taking aim at the back of Jay Robin. Ross went to the well one too many times for an Abdominal Stretch, the third was countered with a hip toss, but a Shining Stevie couldn’t keep Big Ross down for three.

Robin threw everything at Hauser, breaking out a tight neckbreaker that seemed to reboot Big Ross. A follow up Stunner was enough to scrape a pin for Jay Robin to take the win.

It had some stop-start moments that halted some flow to the match which was rough and ready. The crowd took a minute to get into the groove but they kept their support for Jay Robin going into back half.

Hot Shot Gauntlet – Ian Ambrose wins the Hot Shot Gauntlet

Rich Money made his way out as number one for the Hot Shot Gauntlet, the winner getting to pick their entry number for the Fair City Rumble, holding the King of the Class crown that he stole from Johnny Pressley at ArdlerMania. Sam McMillan was the second man in, who wasn’t up for paying paid off by Dick Pesos and struck hard and fast. His time was short, being sent over the top rope and chokeslammed onto the ring apron then swept to the floor.

Matthew Sweet rushed out with bubble guns and confidence, a flurry of offense had Sweet in control but Rich Money grabbed one of the bubble guns and shot it off into the eyes of Matthew Sweet to blind the lad, leaving him easy pickings for elimination.

William McLeod accepted a bribe to made a rapid exit to add another elimination to his tally. As Money waited another entrant, music plays and referee Lex Loomis removed his stripes to slip in from behind to put Rich in trouble. An enziguri had Money laid out but he couldn’t be budged from the canvas.

Loomis kept the pressure on until a thumb to the eye had him stumbling, which would ultimately have him rushing towards Rich and sent over the ropes. Lex tried to step through the ropes but a swift kick to the middle rope had him easily pushed off the apron for elimination number four.

As we reached past the midway point of entries, Johnny Pressley strutted out to get himself a piece of Rich Money, but Rich didn’t even wait for Pressley to make it fully into the ring before hauling himself over the top and making a hasty exit through the crowd.

From the reset it was the first DAPW King of the Class against the current King, with Peterski and Pressley going back and forth. A cavalcade of counters ended with a Pole-ympic Slam from Big Paddy Cool to have Johnny all shook up and sent out to the floor.

Former FCW Heavyweight Champion Euan G Mackie was next, diving into the ring via the top turnbuckle to take down Peterski. Mackie was like a spider-monkey, catching Patryk quickly and doing the best to avoid being bludgeoned the a forearm, with mixed results. A spinebuster from Peterski landed hard but he couldn’t get Euan out of the match.

Another crossbody from Mackie was caught, Patryk moved Mackie onto his shoulders with the intention to launch him from the Hot Shot Gauntlet, but a quick shift saw Peterski tumbling out of the ring and Mackie held on to survive to the final two.

The last man to make their way out was another former FCW Heavyweight Champion, The Infamous Ian Ambrose accompanied by Eddie Devine and Skully. After some Skully-based shenanigans distracted Euan enough to be throw backwards for a back suplex or two. Mackie came back with a tornado DDT, but was driven to the mat via a Tombstone.

Just as it looked to be all she wrote, Euan stopped an elimination attempt by stepping up the ropes for a Sliced Bread no.2. Mackie looked to build his momentum meter with a corner charge only to be lifted over the turnbuckles and crashing to the outside to give Ian Ambrose the pick of destiny.

I enjoyed the transition from the opening section of Rich Money dominance over into the second where the serious contenders arrived which was well done. There was a scattering of character arcs being played into from the outset. The call back to the Pretty Jumpin’ break up was brought in, then to Rich hightailing it once Johnny entered was good stuff, then it changed gears when the current King of the Class went against the OG King was a lovely bit.

It was a bold move to have Patryk eliminate Pressley which did gather boos, however, the little extras like the handshake post-elimination, that also followed when Mackie eliminated Peterski, were received as intended to subdue any further negative reactions. The match conclusion was out of nowhere, but it showcased the unpredictable nature of the upcoming Fair City Rumble. The Hot Shot Gauntlet concept has proven a successful format for Fair City Wrestling, and I had a good time.

Ian didn’t waste any time to deliberate, opting to go in at number one because he just proved that he could beat 7 other men, so 29 should be just as easy eh? A beautiful line to lay the foundations for the eventual downfall of delusion that was dug after losing the FCW Heavyweight Championship. Ambrose brought up that the Game Changer briefcase has haunted him which was another great line for those that have been there for the long term with enough context for casuals.

It was a solid edition of FCW Empire to bridge the gap between ArdlerMania and Fair City Rumble.

The show is available on YouTube: