Monday Night Rage Live Broadcast
“We’re off to a great start here in Phoenix, Arizona!
Wolf Bennett and Knox Sterling face off to see who will become the number one contender for the EWE Championship.
Whoever wins this match will go on to face the current champion, Colin Ryker, in a few weeks at Paradise City,” says EWE commentator, Jude Paul.
In the center of the ring, Knox Sterling and Wolf Bennett are locked in a tie-up—a stalemate—neither man seeming to have the upper hand.
Slowly, Wolf creates a space between them and slips his forearm around Sterling's neck, taking control of the situation. His hands lock together beneath his opponent’s chin, securing a headlock.
Knox attempts to free himself, but Wolf only tightens his grip.
“We’ve seen these men compete in a series of rigorous matchups to get here, Scott. Who do you think is more likely to come out on top?” Jude asks his fellow commentator, Scott Harrington.
Shifting to his right, Wolf hauls Sterling down to the mat, but maintains the headlock, even as they lie in the center of the ring.
“I think Knox Sterling is going to pull this one out of the bag, Jude,” Scott says. “He’s really been a force to be reckoned with over the last few weeks. First, he put away Aaron Zimmerman, then Garbage Man, and then both of the Sanchez Brothers.”
In a quick reversal, Sterling hooks one of Wolf’s legs and bridges upward. The sudden change catches Wolf off guard as he’s rolled onto his shoulders.
“Shoulders down, and a kick out in one!” Jude interrupts when Wolf kicks out of the pin. “Sterling going for the early pin, but it’s going to take a lot more than that to beat Wolf Bennett.”
Jumping to his feet, Knox Sterling delivers a swift kick to Wolf’s ribs, then another and another. Again and again, attempting to wear down “The Gladiator.” The crowd boos when he stands in the center of the ring, his arms stretched out wide. He turns in a circle and laughs in their faces.
Wolf clutches his side and rolls to the edge of the ring, but he can’t escape before Sterling is back on offense. He uses the ropes to stand on top of Wolf, grinding the sole of his boot into the side of Wolf’s face and neck.
“Get off the rope, Sterling,” the referee says.
Sterling stomps down one more time before he jumps back with his hands lifted after the count of two.
The referee’s interference gives the other man a chance to escape and catch his breath. Wolf rolls under the ropes, outside the ring, and shakes out his shoulders, trying to walk off the attack.
His recovery is cut short as Sterling slides beneath the bottom rope and stalks him from the other side of the ring.
He grabs Wolf by the nape and shoves him head first into the thick steel corner post. Turning to the crowd at the barricade, Sterling lifts his right fist into the air, mocking the sword salute pose his opponent is known for doing when things are going his way.
“Is this your champion?” Knox Sterling yells. The front row boos in his face, but he laughs and waves them off. When he turns around, he walks straight into a big strike from the boot of Wolf Bennett.
“This crowd seems to be all behind ‘The Gladiator’ tonight in this qualifying match here in Phoenix,” Scott says. The arena rumbles when Wolf makes it back on his feet.
“He needs to get Sterling back in the ring because the only way to win this match is by pinfall or submission,” Jude adds.
“Looks like Wolf is thinking the same thing, Jude,” Scott says as Wolf pushes a lifeless Sterling beneath the bottom rope.
Back in the ring, Wolf forces his opponent back to his feet and headbutts him, sending Sterling stumbling backwards.
He chops Sterling's bare chest, a heavy strike with his open palm that echoes through the arena, and the audience visibly cringes.
Sterling clutches his chest, but Wolf forces his hand away and strikes him five more times. The crowd counts each one.
“Sterling is trying to gain some momentum here,” Jude says as Knox Sterling attempts to use the ropes at his back to propel himself forward. His momentum is cut short when he runs straight into a clothesline that sends him back to the mat.
“You never learn, Sterling!” Wolf scoffs.
He rolls his eyes and forces his opponent to stand again.
This time, shooting Sterling across the ring into the corner.
Colliding with the top turn buckle, Sterling cries out as he stumbles out and straight into a three-punch combo.
Each hit stuns him and is followed by a sharp kick to the midsection.
He doubles over, falling to one knee, dazed.
“And Wolf Bennett, wasting no time. Oh! Dropkick to Knox Sterling. ‘The Gladiator’ is showing off some of that veteran skill tonight, Scott,” Jude says, as Wolf jumps up from the mat, kicking Sterling in the face.
Back on his feet, he attempts a running knee to the face, but Knox quickly rolls out of the way.
This time, Knox makes it back to his feet first. He digs his fingers into Wolf’s hair and forces him to stand, sending him face-first into the top turnbuckle.
Wolf reels from the impact, clutching his jaw, but his opponent doesn’t back off.
Instead, Knox scoops Wolf onto his shoulders—Fireman’s Carry—but loses the hold when Wolf elbows him in the temple.
Kicking the back of Sterling's knee, Wolf puts him into a side headlock. He lifts Sterling into the air, leaving him suspended there for a brief moment. When he finally lets him go, Sterling falls back-first onto the mat—suplex. Hooking the leg, Wolf pins his shoulders down beneath his arm.
Sterling kicks out at two.
“Come on, ref!” Wolf shouts, pushing his hands through his hair. The referee holds up two fingers. “Bullshit.”
Slamming his hands down on the mat, Wolf jumps to his feet and takes a deep breath, re-centering himself.
He looks between his opponent, still lying on his side, and the corner.
Mumbling to himself, Wolf climbs the turnbuckles to the top rope.
With his right fist held in the air, he glances around the crowd, then down at the front row and winks.
Knox Sterling wobbles in the center of the ring, and Wolf leaps from the top rope. Midair, he encircles Sterling’s head with his right arm and drives his face into the mat.
“Wolf Bennett performs The Executioner from the top rope! But is it enough?” Jude asks as Wolf shoves the other man onto his back and hooks the leg again.
One…Two…Three!
“Here is your winner, ‘The Gladiator’ Wolf Bennett!” the ring announcer shouts into the microphone, but the roar of the crowd is too loud as the referee lifts the winner’s hand in the air.
“What the hell?” Jude Paul yells when a figure dressed from head to toe in black, including a black face mask, jumps the barricade and ambushes the victor with a steel chair. “Who is that?”
“Well, Jude, it’s hard to tell,” Scott says. “His face is covered.”
The mysterious figure slams the chair into Wolf’s back, arms, legs, anything he can reach, until Wolf is left unmoving. Satisfied, he rips the mask from his face, sneering at the man beneath him.
“Holy shit, that’s Grady Chandler! We haven’t seen him in over two years. What’s he doing here?”
“Clearly, he has a bone to pick with our number one contender,” Scott says.
‘The Lunatic’ Grady Chandler shoves Wolf’s left leg through the opening of the steel chair before closing it around the joint. Against the wishes of the multiple referees now surrounding the ring, with a sadistic smile, he stomps down on the ankle, and Wolf screams out in pain.
“Chandler going after the previously injured ankle and leg of Wolf Bennett here.” Jude scoffs. “Someone needs to get in there and do something about this!”
Wolf clutches to his leg, finally freeing it from the entrapment, but Chandler isn’t done. He waits from the opposite corner, waits until the right moment, then hurtles himself forward and stomps down on the back of Wolf’s neck.
“Curb stomp!” Scott yells as the impact renders the number one contender lifeless.
“This is too much. The officials need to get Grady out of the ring,” Jude says.
Wolf Bennett lies in the center of the ring, unmoving, and the crowd boos the man responsible as he walks up the ramp.