Pyros light up the HWL Arena in St. Louis as we kick off this week’s edition of Overdrive and we’re kicking off the show tonight with a Cruiserweight championship match as Enzo Amore and Teddy Hart make their way to the ring.

Match #1 – HWL Cruiserweight Championship – Teddy Hart vs. Enzo

The two men trade punches back and forth as the match gets under way and Hart knocks Enzo flat with a big right hand. Enzo stumbles back up with a bloody nose and Hart kicks him in the gut and follows up with a Spanish Fly. Hart then heads up to the top turnbuckle and connects with Open Hart Surgery and makes the cover to pick up the three count.

Teddy Hart retains the title tonight in quick fashion as we roll right along and the rest of the night will consist of the semifinals of the Road to Starrcade Tournament and as Hart makes his way to the back, holding the title up, Billie Kaye and Kelly Klein make their entrances for this next contest.

Match #2 – Road to Starrcade Women’s Tournament – Kelly Klein vs. Billie Kaye

Klein and Kaye square off and Klein knocks Kaye flat with a Sparta Kick to the chest. Klein then bounces off the ropes and connects with a Leaping Elbow Drop. Klein makes the cover, but Kaye kicks out. Klein mounts Kaye and connects with some Forearm blasts to the face. Klein then drags Kaye up by the hair and hurls her into the corner and follows her in with an Avalanche Splash. Klein then follows up with the K Power and covers her for the three count.

Kelly Klein moves on to the finals of the tournament and we’ll find out later tonight who her opponent will be with one more win being the ticket to face Nikki Cross for the Women’s World Championship at Starrcade. Stay with us as we send you now to a quick word from our sponsors.

 
Back from the break, Drake Maverick and Bandido have made their way to the ring for this next match, a semifinal in the cruiserweight tournament.

Match #3 – Road to Starrcade Cruiserweight Tournament – Bandido vs. Drake Maverick

Bandido connects with a Running STO as the match gets under way and then follows up with an Asai Moonsault. Bandido stands back as Maverick struggles to pull himself up using the ropes and then Bandido finishes him off with the 21 Plex and covers him for the three count.

Bandido is assured a place in the finals of the Road to Starrcade cruiserweight tournament and one more win away from facing Teddy Hart for the title at Starrcade. As Bandido and Maverick clear the ring, Peyton Royce and Shayna Baszler make their entrances.

Match #4 – Road to Starrcade Women’s Tournament – Shayna Baszler vs. Peyton Royce

Shayna jumps Royce from behind as the match gets under way and slams her head first into the turnbuckle and then follows up with a German Suplex. Baszler then wraps Royce up in a Rear Naked Choke and a Body Scissors and forces her to tap out.

An updated look at the brackets shows that Shayna Baszler will meet Kelly Klein in the finals of the women’s Road to Starrcade Tournament. In the back, we see a split screen of Elias and Ciampa as they make their final preparations. The first of two heavyweight tournament semifinals is coming up next, right after this commercial break.

 
Back from the break, Tomasso Ciampa and Elias make their way to ringside for this next match.

Match #5 – Road to Starrcade Heavyweight Tournament – Tomasso Ciampa vs. Elias

Ciampa and Elias tie up to begin the match and Ciampa backs Elias into the corner and delivers an Open-hand Chop to the chest. Ciampa then Monkey Flips Elias across the ring, sending him crashing to his back.  Ciampa then bounces off the ropes and goes for a Running Knee Lift as Elias gets back up, but Elias dodges out of the way and pins him in a backslide for a near fall.  Elias then takes Ciampa down with a Discus Clothesline and follows up with an Atomic Leg Drop and makes the cover, but Ciampa again kicks out. Elias then drags Ciampa up by the tights and tries to launch him out over the top rope, but Ciampa ducks his head under the top rope while hooking his arms over the top rope, catching the trop rope across his shoulders and the back of his neck and using it to launch him back at Elias and into a Back Elbow Smash. Ciampa then heads up to the top turnbuckle as Elias staggers back up, hunched over, and Ciampa connects with a Guillotine Leg Drop across the back of the neck. Ciampa then says he’s ready to end it as he drags Elias back up to his feet, but Elias thumbs him in the eye and connects with the Drift Away, but Ciampa is able to roll out to the ring apron to prevent a cover. Elias tries to pull Ciampa back into the ring, but Ciampa hooks his boot on the bottom rope, but prevent himself from behind dragged all the way back in. Elias then drops a knee across Ciampa’s skull twice in quick succession and then drags Ciampa back up and goes for the Drift Away again, but Ciampa spins out of it and connects with a Double-arm DDT and slowly rolls Elias over into the cover, but Elias shoots his shoulder up at the last second for a near fall. Ciampa then pulls himself up over in the corner and starts tuning up the band as Elias staggers back up.  Ciampa then goes for a Superkick, but Elias ducks and rolls him up in a Schoolboy, but Ciampa rolls all the way through back up to his feet and catches Elias with a Double-arm Underhook and hoists him up in to the Fairytale Ending and makes the cover for the three count.

Ciampa moves on to the tournament finals where he will meet the winner of tonight’s Main Event between Adam Cole and Austin Aries. Before that, we will see Cole’s cohorts, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish, in the tag team tournament. They’re taking on War Machine right after we come back from this commercial break.

 
Back from the break, War Machine and Fish & O’Reilly make their entrances. With a bye into the finals, the Authors of Pain await the winner of this match in the finals next week.

Match #6 – Road to Starrcade Tag Team Tournament – Undisputed Era vs. War Machine

Hanson and O’Reilly start things off and O’Reilly lands a flurry of kicks, but then Hanson catches him under the arms and Hip Tosses him across the ring. Hanson then goes for a Discus Clothesline, but O’Reilly ducks out of the way and connects with a Leaping Knee Strike to the side of the head. O’Reilly then tags in Fish and they connect with a Double Suplex on Hanson. Fish floats over into the cover, but Hanson kicks out with authority, launching Fish through the ropes and out to the ring apron. Hanson then makes the tag to Rowe and Fish tries to catapult in over the top rope into a Shoulder Block, but Rowe catches him mid-air with a huge Knee Strike to the chest. O’Reilly then comes back in and Rowe nails him with a Spinning Heel Kick.  Rowe then hits Fish with a Running Senton. Rowe goes for the cover, but Fish kicks out for a near fall. O’Reilly comes back after Rowe, but Hanson intercepts him with a Bicycle Kick and then heads up to the top turnbuckle as Rowe Scoop Slams Fish onto O’Reilly and Hanson comes off the top rope with a Senton Bomb onto both men. O’Reilly rolls out to the floor as War Machine finishes Fish off with the Viking Experience and Rowe covers him for the three count.

That settles the tag team semifinals as an updated look at the bracket reveals War Machine, also known as the Viking Raiders, advance to face the Authors of Pain in the finals next week. War Machine continues their celebration in the ring as we take you to another word from our sponsors.

 
Back from the break, TJ Perkins and Pete Dunne make their way to the ring for our penultimate match of the night.

Match #7 – Road to Starrcade Cruiserweight Tournament – TJ Perkins vs. Pete Dunne

The two men square off as the match gets under way and the two start to engage in a Knuckle Lock when Perkins thinks better of it and instead elbows Dunne in the nose. Perkins then follows up with an Enziguri to the back of the head and then follows up with a Brainbuster. Perkins then tries to hook in a Knee Bar, but Dunne quickly ties himself up in the ropes. Dunne pulls himself back up with the ropes, but Perkins drives his shoulder into the back of Dunne’s knee and Dunne immediately drops down to the mat and might have torn something in that knee. He struggles to get back up, hobbled on one leg as Perkins kicks him in the good knee, knocking him back down. Perkins then hoists Dunne up and connects with the Detonation Kick and covers him for the three count.

Perkins advances to the finals as we take a look at the brackets for the cruiserweight tournament with Perkins squaring off with Bandido in the finals next week. A video package then announces the return of BattleBowl at Starrcade. BattleBowl consists of two phases, a Lethal Lottery where tag teams are created at random and the wrestlers from the winning team in each matchup advance to a Battle Royal where there will be one winner. 16 men will compete in the for the BattleBowl champion’s ring and a $100,000 bonus for the winner. In the back, Adam Cole and Austin Aries are headed for the ring. The Main Event is coming up next after this final word from our sponsors.

 
Back from the break, Austin Aries and Adam Cole make their way to the ring for our Main Event with the winner advancing to take on Tomasso Ciampa with a shot at Suicide and the World Heavyweight Championship on the line for Starrcade.

Match #8 – Road to Starrcade Heavyweight Tournament – Adam Cole vs. Austin Aries

Cole and Aries tie up as the match gets under way and Cole spins Aries around into the corner and delivers a Knife-edge Chop, but Aries quickly turns the table and gets in a Knife-Edge Chop of his own. Cole then turns the tables back and goes for another Chop, but Aries blocks it and trips Cole to the mat and tries to lock in an Armbar. However, Cole blocks it and hoists Aries up as Aries continues to try for the hold and Cole drives the back of Aries’ head into the mat to break it up.  Cole then bounces off the rope and tries to end things early with the Last Shot to the back of the head, but Aries senses it coming and ducks out of the way at the last second. Aries then rolls Cole up for a near fall and then both men rush back up to their feet and Aries connects with an Enziguri. Aries then tries for a Brainbuster, but Cole blocks it and connects with a Facebreaker and then follows up with a Gory Bomb. Cole rolls Aries into the cover, but Aries kicks out for a near fall. Cole heads up to the top turnbuckle as Aries pulls himself back up and Cole goes for the Panama Sunrise, but Aries counters as Cole leaves his feet and turns and drives Cole to the mat in the middle of the ring with an Alabama Slam. Aries then hooks in the Last Chancery and Cole seemingly has nowhere to go in the middle of the ring and will have to tap out, but Cole refuses and slowly army crawls his way to the ropes and manages to force a break. That clearly took a lot out of Cole as Aries calls for the end and drills Cole with a Running Knee Strike to the side of the head. Aries then drags Cole to his feet in the middle of the ring and sets up for a Brainbuster, but Cole twists out of it and kicks Aries in the back of the knee, chopping him down to one knee. Cole then bounces off the ropes and goes for the Last Shot, but Aries again dodges out of the way at the last second he rolls Cole up in a Schoolboy, hooking the tights this time, but Cole still manages to kick out for a near fall. Both men rush back up to their feet and Cole takes a big swing, but Aries ducks and Cole stops just short of nailing the referee. Aries then pins Cole in a Backslide and the referee comes around into position for the count on Cole’s shoulders, taking him out of position to see that Aries puts both feet up on the middle rope for extra leverage as he makes the three count.

Aries is the winner as he quickly scrambles out of the ring to avoid the wrath of Cole, who pleads his case to the referee to no avail. Aries advances to face Ciampa in the finals next week. The #1 Contender’s for Starrcade will be finalized next week. Join us then as we prepare to end 2019 in the HWL with a bang in the final weeks before Starrcade. For now, we are signing off. Good night.