Red Ring of Death (2023)

## Red Ring of Death

Poster for the event

The 2023 **Red Ring of Death** was the inaugural Red Ring of Death professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Super Smash Bros. Wrestling (SSBW). It took place on May 28, 2023. The event aired live on twitch.

Eight matches were contested at the event, no titles changed hands but the inaugural Retro Champion was crowned in Julius Caesar when he defeated Mario and Guile in a three way match. The event also hosted a Women's championship bout between D.va and Wii Fit Trainer, and a Steel cage match for the World Title between Maul and Link.

## Storylines

On the first edition of Battlefield on May 11th, D.va competed in a non title match against then champion Wii Fit Trainer. Although unsuccessful, the two shook hands as a sign of mutual respect after the bout. 2 weeks later on the 25th of May edition of Battlefield, a 6 woman battle royal took place to determine the number one contender at the upcoming PPV. D.va won that match, last eliminating Buttercup by reversing her elimination attempt and became the new number 1 contender for the title.

The Street Fighters, the current Tag-Team champions at the time, were defeated in a non title match against Wario & Waluigi just 1 week before the PPV, granting Wario & Waluigi an automatic title shot at the event. The match, along with its' street fight stipulation, was announced 2 days later, with Wario stating on social media *"YOU THINK YOU'RE GONNA WIN BECAUSE ITS A STREET FIGHT, BUT WE ARE NUMBER 1 IN VIOLENCE. WE WILL WIN DA GOLD! WAHAHAHA!"*

Then World Champion Link was defeated in a non-title match by unlikely opponent Weird Al, however it was revealed that Yankovic had been unknowingly assisted in this victory by former Sith lord Maul. Maul would make his debut 1 week later, attacking Link before his scheduled rematch with Al. Link got the upper hand in their first confrontation, a humiliated Maul claiming on social media that his apparent 'loss' in the brawl was deliberate in order to test Link's strength and declaring his intention to gain the title. The two would end up brawling the following week, with Maul gaining the upper hand.

Johnny Cage made his SSBW Debut on May 18th in a Fatal four way elimination match to determine the second competitor for the Retro Championship Triple threat at the PPV. Cage lost this match, eliminated second by Julius Caesar, and demanded a match for the following week on social media. The next week on May 25th, Cage would face Luigi in a 1 sided losing effort. Embarrassed and angry, Cage would demand Luigi and Toad *(who was at ringside for the match)* face him and an unknown partner in a tag-team match at the PPV. Luigi and Toad accepted, but Cage had yet to find a partner, something that would prove very difficult over the following days as Cage tried to court potential tag partners on social media for days leading to the event with everyone he asked rejecting or ignoring his offers, pleas, and offers.

On May 28th at 1:30PM, just 30 minutes before Red Ring of Death was set to go live, Johnny Cage Tweeted out to Pepsiman in last ditch act of desperation. Surprisingly, Pepsiman was on board with the idea, providing that Cage wore a Pepsi branded T-shirt during the match. Cage agreed and the match was set.

The SSBW Retro Championship was announced on the first episode of Battlefield with an 8-man over the top rope battle royal to determine who would be the first participant in a Triple Threat match for the title at the next PPV. This Battle royal featured Agent 47, Guile, Captain Falcon, CJ, AVGN, Wii-fit trainer, Luigi, and Pepsiman. The match was won by Guile, who last eliminated Captain Falcon.

The following week's Battlefield was main evented by an elimination Four Way featuring Mario, Julius Caesar, Johnny Cage, and Snake. The winner of that match would be the second participant added to the triple threat for the title. It was won by Mario who last eliminated Julius Caesar by pinfall.

On the go-home show, May 25th, The two runners up from the previous qualifying matches would face one another to determine the last competitor in the triple threat match. Julius Caesar defeated Captain Falcon via Submission to secure his place in the Championship match at Red Ring of Death.

## Event

The event opened with D.Va vs Wii Fit Trainer for the SSBW Women's Championship. The two fought back and forth with D.Va almost picking up the win with the belly to belly. However, Wii Fit Trainer won the match after D.Va missed a flying elbow drop, allowing the champion to gain the advantage and retain.

Mortal Kombat would then take on Devil May Cry in a tag-team match, with the fight spilling onto the outside many times. Mortal Kombat would stay on top for much of the match, with Nero being busted open half way through, and would eventually win after Sub-Zero dumped Dante out of the ring, preventing him from breaking up a pin attempt by Sub-Zero on Nero shortly after.

The SSBW Retro Championship was decided in the next match with Julius Caesar, Mario, and Guile fighting in a three way to determine the inaugural champion. Mario was a heavy favourite heading into the match, with Guile being generally considered unlikely to win, and Caesar as the dark horse of the match. Much of the early match saw Mario and Guile fighting back and forth while Caesar tactically stayed out of the fight, only attacking when he had to. Mario was eventually knocked out of the ring which allowed Caesar to lock in his finishing submission on Guile for the win, becoming the first Retro Champion.

In the next match, Johnny Cage honoured his deal with Pepsiman and wore the previously agreed upon Pepsi branded shirt during their Tag bout with Luigi and Toad. The crowd audibly boo'd Toad, despite being the babyface, and cheered for Pepsiman, despite being the heel. Pepsiman and Johnny Cage won the match in a surprising upset.

The Street Fighters defended their SSBW Tag Team Championships in a tornado street fight against Wario and Waluigi. The match was set to be a spectacular display of violence and hardcore wrestling. However, a little over 3 minutes into the match, a botched Straight-jacket German suplex delivered to Waluigi by Ken Masters lead to a concussion scare and an audible had to be called to end the match early. Fans and commentators were left confused by the sudden end, with some boos from the crowd being heard following the decision. When the cameras were not on the ring, Waluigi was seen walking out with minimal assistance from Wario.

Due to the previous match being cut short, Princess Daisy and Lara Croft's Falls Count Anywhere match was given more time than originally allotted, with the two wrestling back and forth for over 10 minutes, mostly on the outside of the ring. Lara would put in a resilient performance before being Daisy hit the H.I.D for the pinfall win on the outside.

Ganondorf then took on Captain Falcon in a Tables match, with Captain falcon repeatedly attempting to lift Ganondorf into a powerbomb to slam him through the table in the corner but repeatedly failing to and getting slingshot face-first instead. During the Match, Ganondorf displayed supernatural abilities when he turned the arena lights off and teleported himself behind Falcon. The two fought back and forth before Falcon was finally able to lift Ganondorf into a powerbomb and slammed him through a table, winning the match.

In the Main event, Link would defend his SSBW World Heavyweight Championship against Maul, who had been attacking him for weeks prior, inside a solid Steel cage. This match would be Maul's first in-ring debut and the first time he would make an official scheduled appearance. Maul would begin the match with a vicious offensive of strikes and kicks, before Link would fight back from underneath to even the playing field. Link would take advantage of the cage to leap from higher points into Maul, and would eventually bust him open with a knee to the face. Maul would make a comeback, and almost look poised to win the title, before Link used Magic similar to that which Ganondorf used in his match just previous, which helped Link secure the win and retain his title.

## Results

(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
 **3** | Julius Caesar defeated Guile and Mario via submission
 **5** | The Street Fighters (Ryu & Ken) (c) defeated Waluigi & Wario via pinfall
 **6** | Princess Daisy defeated Lara Croft via pinfall
 **7** | Captain Falcon defeated Ganondorf via yeeting him into a table
 **8** | Link (c) defeated Maul via pinfall