OMEGA Ultimate Pressure Final

Two different locations, as they stick the main event from one show on with the undercard of another. For those unfamiliar with OMEGA videos, the last several that were released employed this idea of covering different matches from two or more cards in the course of one tape also.

To start things off, we have a grudge match between "Wolverine" Jeff Hardy and the Human War Machine, Venom. They start out on the floor where Venom attacks Jeff early. Jeff catches him off guard with a dropkick, Venom attempts the same but Jeff moves. Venom chops Jeff in the corner and then clotheslines him down and eventually to the floor. Jeff baseball slides into him and then comes off the top with a splash to the floor. Jeff hits a Russian legsweep and then a springboard moonsault for two. Jeff hits a rana off the top and then avoids a clothesline attempt, but gets tossed over Venom's head and slips off the top rope. Venom bounces Jeff around a little including a belly-to-back suplex but misses a second-rope elbowdrop. Jeff tries a frankensteiner again but Venom catches him and throws him backwards over his head in a reverse powerbomb. Venom drops a legdrop but only gets two. The big man goes to the work on the leg and hits a kneebreaker. Venom slaps Jeff around and continues to work over the leg and ends a big backdrop for two. Jeff tries to mount a comeback but Venom takes him over with a waistlock suplex. Venom hits a surfboard, further weakening the knee. He picks Jeff up and drops him on the knee before attempting a splash mountain but Jeff slips out and goes for a backside. Venom grapevines the leg and continues working on the knee, before attempting a second V-Bomb, but this one gets countered with a rana. Venom locks on a figure four but Jeff makes it to the ropes. Venom hits a fisherman's suplex and attempts another figure four, but Jeff hooks a small package for the quick pin. The Serial Thrillaz hit the ring and all three use a chair to further injure Jeff's leg. Matt eventually makes the save. **1/2

Up next we have a qualifying match of sorts as Black Skull takes on Ice (Caprice Coleman), with the prevision that the winner gets the third spot in the three-way ladder match coming up later in the night for the Light Heavyweight title against Joey Matthews and Kid Dynamo. Ice with a nice takedown early on but he gets caught with a spinkick. Skull hits some legdrops and then tosses Ice into the corner. He charges but misses and Ice nails a spin kick followed by a legdrop and a springboard moonsault, which barely connects. Ice slides out of a belly-to-back and hits a rana, followed by some kicks to the back of the head. Skull pulls out a Samoan drop for two. Skull retreats to the outside but Ice springs off the top rope with a plancha. He springs back in and hits a 360 plancha for two. Skull attempts an Asai moonsault but misses and Ice hits a piledriver, setting Skull up for a shooting star press but he misses. Skull with a suplex that only gets two. Skull with a rana and he connects on his shooting star press attempt, but Ice kicks out. Skull hits a Samoan drop and gets the three count, but Ice had his foot on the bottom rope so the ref continues the match. Skull walks into a double-leg takedown powerbomb for the three count. *1/2

Otto Schwanz is in the ring, alongside Joey Matthews, Madd Maxx, and the rest of the New Frontier. They are joined by Cham BY GOD Pain who does his trademarked mic work and promises to "whoop dat ass". Schwanz takes Pain down with a hammerlock but Pain catches him low with a mule kick. Pain attempts a cross bodyblock but gets caught with a backbreaker. Otto takes him down with a shoulder tackle and he follows it up with a series of headbutts. Otto drops a side suplex and then clamps on a reverse chinlock. Pain gets out of it and connects with some punches and a bulldog. Pain slingshots into the ring with a cradle for two. Pain hits a facebuster and attempts a somersault senton off the top but misses. Otto hits a powerslam and follows it with a slingshot splash for two. Otto attempts a clothesline but Pain hits an overhead DDT. Pain gets tossed to the floor and Otto drops an elbow to the floor. Schwanz gets ahold of a chair but Pain grabs it and cracks Otto with it. Pain hits the corkscrew plancha onto Schwanz. Pain sends Otto into the railing and rolls him back in the ring where he gets caught by a belly-to-back and a powerslam. Otto climbs the top rope, but Pain knocks him off and to the floor. He comes back in and takes a legdrop from Pain. Pain mounts the top rope and catches Schwanz with a rana and then a series of shots to the back of the neck. He tries another rana but gets caught with a powerbomb. Schwanz connects with a splash out of the second corner for two. Otto goes up top and Pain goes to meet him, but Pain gets tossed off. Schwanz charges the corner but eats a boot, and Pain hits a tornado DDT off the second rope. Cham Pain charges, but gets caught with the Swinging Schwanz, but he takes a moment to jaw with Scott Sullivan and Pain kicks out. He goes up top and attempts a headbutt but misses. Pain hits the House of Pain but the New Frontier interrupts the count causing a DQ. **1/4. Was not bad up until the screw-job finish.

Venom replaces the injured Mike Maverick in tag action alongside Shane Helms against Madd Maxx and the Gemini Kid. Kid and Helms start off, where Helms scores first with a nice suplex followed by the three legdrops. Gemini pulls out a powerbomb and he and Maxx double-team briefly. Venom and Maxx tag in where Venom takes control early and dominates. Maxx gets the upperhand just long enough to tag out and Gemini dropkicks the knee of Venom. Gemini works on the knee just as Venom did previously to Jeff. Maxx tags in and hits a springboard kneedrop and a suplex. Maxx goes up top but does not connect with the elbow. Venom tags in Helms who hits a German suplex on Gemini and backdrops Maxx over the top. Venom picks up Gemini for a fall-away slam and throws him onto his partner outside. Helms mounts the top rope and planchas onto both of them. All four brawl outside the ring for a couple of minutes until Maxx and Venom end up in the ring, where Maxx gets DDT'd and backdropped onto a chair. Venom hits a Michinoku Driver II onto Maxx and then sits on the top rope, where Helms leaps off his shoulders and splashes Maxx for the pin. *1/2

The aforementioned three-way ladder match is next, with Ice, Dynamo, and Matthews competing for the Light Heavyweight title in a ladder match. Dynamo and Ice exchange wristlocks as Matthews just stands around and acts heelish. They trade armbars also as Matthews goes for the ladder. Ice locks on a reverse fujiwara and a crucifix, but there's no pins. Matthews reenters and thumbs Ice in the eyes. Dynamo leapfrogs over Matthews and Ice catches him with a spinkick. Double dropkick on Matthews, who powders, but comes back in and gets caught with the underhook powerbomb by Ice. Dynamo vaults Ice over the top and onto Matthews, but Black Skull cracks Ice with a chair. Dynamo takes Matthews down inside the ring with a couple of headscissor takedowns. Matthews retreats to the outside as Ice is helped from the ring after the effects of the chairshots. Dynamo baseball slides into Matthews and then hits a splash from the top. Dynamo runs the ropes but gets caught with a superkick from Matthews. Matthews retrieves the ladder and tosses Dynamo onto it. Matthews goes for the title but gets pulled off. Matthews sets the ladder up but Dynamo kicks it over. Dynamo slams Matthews and puts the ladder on top of him before hitting an Asai moonsault. Dynamo climbs the ladder but takes a powerbomb off it from Matthews. Matthews sets the ladder up on top by Dynamo pulls him off again. Matthews hits a reverse neckbreaker on Dynamo and then retrieves a table and sets it up outside the ring. Matthews tries a suplex over the top to the floor but Dynamo counters it. Matthews goes up top but gets crotched and Dynamo goes up to meet him. They're outside the ring on the ropes and Dynamo executes an Ace crusher off the second rope through the table and to the floor. Dynamo slides in the ring and goes for the belt but Joey tips the ladder over. Matthews is busted open and Dynamo catches him and powerbombs him on the ladder. Dynamo sets it up and goes for the belt but Matthews goes up to meet him. Dynamo headbutts and punches Matthews, eventually knocking him off. Dynamo comes off the ladder with a legdrop and then sets the ladder up again. Matthews goes up once again but Dynamo punches him off and grabs the belt to win the title. ***

We now switch to a different show, in a different location, from the same time period where Mike Maverick (accompanied by Shane Helms) takes on Matt Hardy. Maverick powers Matt around a little early on with slams and elbows and the like until he telegraphs a backdrop attempt and Matt hits him with a neckbreaker. Matt scores with a series of fistdrops and a legdrop off the top rope. He slams Maverick and then hits an Asai moonsault for two. Snap suplex takes Maverick down as Matt goes for the Megahurtz but misses. They trade punches until Helms interjects, giving Maverick an advantage. Maverick chokes and kicks Hardy before tossing him to the floor where Helms again works him over. Matt is able to run Maverick into the corner once back in the ring but can't follow it up and a moment later, Maverick himself powers Matt into the corner. Maverick goes for a powerbomb, which Matt escapes from but Hardy gets caught in a bearhug. He breaks free and comes off the ropes but takes a press slam for his efforts. Maverick casually dumps Matt at Helms' feet again but this time Matt fights him off and sunset flips his way back into the ring. They trade nearfalls and Matt counters a slam attempt with a reverse DDT. Matt goes up top and hits the Megahurtz, but Helms breaks up the count, causing a DQ. **1/2. Hardy piledrives Maverick as Helms flees onto the stage. Beside the stage is a much higher platform, which is over the entrance. Helms climbs atop and Matt climbs up there with him and is attempting to throw him off it seems when Maverick joins them and chunks Hardy off the higher level and into the ring. Maverick goes back to the ring and sets Hardy up on a table so that Helms can come off the top of the entrance way with a splash onto Hardy.

Final analysis: Frankly, not the best OMEGA tape ever. Many of the guys who would later become stars (Matthews, Moore, and Schwanz specifically) were still green at this point, so as a result, some of the matches are somewhat of a disappointment. The work of Pain, Helms, and the Hardyz is solid on this one but nowhere near the level each of them would attain later in their careers. Check it out if you get the chance, but it's nothing to write home about.

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