Ballparrk Brawl III: Canadian Carnage
August 14, 2004
Buffalo, N.Y.
Report by Mike Rickard II of Williamsville, N.Y., Torch VIP subscriber

The Ballpark Brawl III was held at Dunn Tire Field in Buffalo, NY on 8-14-04. The show featured a combination of various independent workers along with some former superstars from the WWF including Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Like the previous Ballpark Brawl, this show was accompanied by a well-done video presentation on the ballpark's videotron which included backstage segments to set up the storylines and titles for the wrestlers including their hometown, weight, and finishing moves. Ballpark Brawl II was held in July and featured the first round of a tournament to crown "The Natural" Champion.

A video featuring Jimmy Hart's career in the WWF was shown and then Jimmy Hart came to the ring. He told the fans that he was going to give Johnny Puma (a local wrestler from the Empire State Wrestling promotion) a chance to work for him. That is, until JIm "The Anvil" Neidhart came out and Hart told Puma he had no deal. Puma sneak attacked Neidhart but Neidhart quickly came back and dominated the match, finishing off Puma with a clothesline and getting the pinfall win.

A backstage segment set up a title match between challenger "Dangerboy" Derek Wylde and Neo Spirit Independent Champion "Completely" Cody Steele. This was the first time the title would be defended outside of Canada. The match was a spotfest that ended after Jennifer Blake came to ringside and slapped Steele, giving Wylde a chance to pin Steele and win the title. After the match, Wylde thanked the fans and proposed marriage to Blake (who accepted).

The next match featured Jimmy Hart (accompanied by Abyss) wrestling a disc jockey from Toronto, Ontario named Dave Blizard. Blizard went after Hart and quickly dominated him until Abyss distracted Hart who then gave Blizard a low blow. Hart began to whip Blizard with his belt until Johnny Puma came out and attacked Hart. However before Blizard could capitalize on the distraction, Abyss laid out Blizard and Hart got the pinfall. Puma made the save after the match ended.

Next came the semi-finals and final match for "The Natural" Championship (the quarter-finals were held during the Ballpark Brawl II). Ron "The Truth" Killings cut a backstage rap predicting that he would win the title. He wrestled Abyss in an average match which ended in a double countout.

During the last Ballpark Brawl, wrestler Petey Williams was pinned. However Williams challenged the referee's decision, arguing that he had raised his shoulder before the three count. As a result, Williams was allowed to wrestle in the tournament, but he had to wrestle another quarterfinal match. Williams faced Harry Smith, son of Davey Boy Smith. This was touted as Smith's U.S. debut. Smith is 6'6" and looked pretty good in the ring. Smith pinned Williams to advance to the finals. After the match, Williams clipped Smith from behind but Teddy Hart made the save. Hart grabbed the microphone and then told the fans that he would die for them.

Backstage, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart's daughter Nattie was challenged by Traci from TNA. The two women battled and in an interesting spot, Neidhart chased Traci into the ring at which point Traci jumped into the referee's arms. This was one of the best matches of the night and ended when Neidhart scored the pin with a fisherman's suplex.

Next up was a special appearance by Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Bret made a brief speech and told the fans how much he appreciates them and how much it means to him that they remember him. He said that he could be at Summerslam but this appearance was just as good. He then welcomed Jimmy Hart into the ring. Jimmy told the fans that he managed many top teams but that he had the most fun with the Hart Foundation. Jim Neidhart then came out and said that Sports Illustrated, eh Wrestling Illustrated voted the Hart Foundation as the best tag team in the last forty years.

"The Natural" Title final was held with Harry Smith facing Teddy Hart. This match degenerated into a brawl after Smith threw Hart out of the ring twice and then clotheslined Hart after he did a backflip off of the top rope into the ring. Hart rallied back for the win and Bret Hart brought "The Natural" trophy into the ring and presented it to his nephew. Smith congratulated Teddy Hart on his win. Teddy Hart told the fans that he would defend the championship anytime, anywhere. Teddy Hart then proceeded to kiss up to the fans telling them that he wouldn't be sh-- without them. He then grabbed a sign from a fan that read "Bret is God". He then took a sign that read "Flair Sucks" and told the fans that they knew how he felt about Flair. At first a few people cheered him but then the fans began booing him and several "Whooooooos" were heard.

Christopher "Fallen Angel" Daniels next cut a promo running down Buffalo. He faced the Amazing Red in a solid match that ended with Daniels executing what looked like a reverse powerbomb on Red and getting the pin. This match featured a lot of highspots but the match was very fluid and realistic looking.

The Main Event was originally scheduled to be a bout between A.J. Styles and Sabu. However Styles called out Teddy Hart and challenged him to a TLC match for "The Natural" championship. Hart accepted and all three engaged in a brutal match that ended with Styles winning the belt after applying the Styles Clash to Hart.

I estimated that there were around 2,000-2,300 people at the event. The last Ballpark Brawl had around 1,500 people. The last four matches were solid but the first few matches were nothing special. A ticket cost $12.00 and included a Triple A baseball game (Floor seats were $24.00).

***

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