The UNION Wrestling Classic 2017 (RLS Universe PPV)

The UNION Wrestling Classic 2017 was a UNION Wrestling Live Event held on the 8th July 2017 at The Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, West Midlands.
It was preceded by European Invasion 2017 and will be followed by Open Challenge 2017.
== Background: ==
Pre-Show:
# Amy J had been given a bye in the 1st Round of the Tourney, and Brittany Guile had defeated Anna Roth at the final Union Unleashed before the event.
# Sitara was also a bye in the 1st Round, with opponent Taki winning the Main Event 1st Round Match against Violet on the last Union Unleashed.
# Ambition and The United Kingdom would fight at this event to determine who would be facing Tag Team Champions The Coalition next.
Main Show:
# Grayson Gage and British Samurai had feuded shortly before the event, with the Brawl Champion and his rival both putting each other through tables to set up the Tables Match here.
# Lara Grey was a bye in the 1st Round, Elsa defeated Abby Morgan in the Main Event of the final Live From The Union before the event.
# Miss Deeds was the final bye in the 1st Round, with Nancy Warren narrowly besting Blush in the last Union Unleashed before the event.
# Mayhem and Ace would feud all through the past two sets of shows, with this their second Live Event meeting for the Inter Championship.
# The first Semi-Final of the Women's Division Tourney would see the winner of Match 2 vs the winner of Pre-Show Match 2.
# The second Semi-Final would see the winner of Match 3 vs. the winner of Pre-Show Match 1.
# This would mark the final meeting between Broderick and Ryan Burton for the World Championship.
# The Final of the Women's Division Tourney.
== Card: ==
Pre-Show:
#	Results 	Stipulation(s) 	Finish
1	Amy J def. Brittany Guile 	WC 2nd Round Singles Match	450 Splash followed by pin-fall
2	Sitara def. Taki 	WC 2nd Round Singles Match	DQ due to "over-aggressive" behaviour
3	Ambition (Joey Walton & DJ Laine) def. The United Kingdom (Rafe Daniels & Davey Mac) 2-1	To The Finish Tag Match 	Mac counted out, Walton submitted to Daniels, Daniels pinned by Laine
Main Show:
#	Result 	Stipulation(s) 	Finish
1	Grayson Gage (c) def. British Samurai	Tables Match for the Brawl Championship 	Pressure Gage through table
2	Lara Grey def. Elsa 	WC 2nd Round Singles Match 	Greyhug submission
3	Miss Deeds def. Nancy Warren 	WC 2nd Round Singles Match 	MISSile Kick followed by pin-fall
4	Mayhem (c) def. Ace 	Singles Match for the Inter Championship	Chaos Drop followed by pin-fall
5	Lara Grey def. Sitara 	WC Semi-Final Singles Match 	Greybuster followed by pin-fall
6	Amy J def. Miss Deeds 	WC Semi-Final Singles Match 	450 Splash followed by pin-fall
7	Broderick (c) def. Ryan Burton 	Singles Match for the World Championship	Stopped due to injury
8	Lara Grey def. Amy J 	WC Final Singles Match 	Greyhug Submission
== Aftermath: ==
Pre-Show:
* Ambition would go on to face The Coalition for the Tag Team Championships on Live From The Union in a losing effort, but would continue to feud going into Open Challenge 2017.
Main Show:
* Grayson Gage's, now heel, would offer British Samurai the chance to win the title again at the next Union Unleashed, before beginning a feud with Matsuda for the belt.
* Taki and Miss Deeds would join forces essentially over the next shows to combat Sitara and Amy J.
* Ace would continue feuding with Mayhem, seemingly forgetting about the title and focussing on "his light". The trilogy of matches is set to be ended at Open Challenge 2017.
* With Ryan Burton believed to be taking a short LOA, Broderick would begin a feud with The Cowpoke going forward.
* Lara Grey would use her guaranteed title shot from winning the WCWD Tourney to set up a title match at Open Challenge 2017, with Birdy. 
== Trivia: ==
* Technical issues plagued the show, cutting streams following matches, freezing streams, deleting the recording and eventually wiping even images of the footage. This was attributed to the Pre-Show's extra work and the overall ambition for the show. Initially, the Pre-Show concept was abandoned following this, but Eddie Hamer later stated they would be "open to using (it) again".
* The Women's Tourney was apparently met with opposition from "old-school wrestling heads", according to Hamer, who was seen as trying to push his female-centric agenda on the promotion. This was disputed by Ace, who stated that Hamer initially had Broderick vs. Burton as the main event, until it was changed following group discussions.
* Ace was, according to leaked info, pegged to win back the Inter Champion (becoming the first two-time champion in UNION Wrestling in the process), but this was later confirmed to be a case of him Acing, or "Sweeping", the Squared Circle Insider.
== Behind-The-Scenes: ==
This section is not "in-universe" and is based on actual, real-world information.
* The "technical issues" experienced actually stemmed from the 80s style replay screens in Create-A-Show being bugged. This caused the game to ostensibly freeze (though, in fact, animations would continue, but in a loop) at the end of matches. I'd played too far into the Event to start again, and so completed it in Exhibition and Universe without taking any pictures or footage.
* The Wrestling Classic, despite it's proximity to the Mae Young Classic, was actually inspired by a desire to have women possess something analogous to the Money In The Bank Briefcase. It evolved into much more of a celebration of my Women's Division entirely independently.
* This event doesn't use the numbered "Aftermath" format of other live events due to the tournament nature of several matches meaning there was no aftermath for them. Open Challenge 2017 will revert to numbered listings.
Category:PPVs