Hello Schmoedown fans, Tim here previewing what could be the most epic championship matchup in the history of the Movie Trivia Schmoedown. As we take a break from what was an exhilarating 2nd Round in the Anarchy Tournament, we focus on the matchup that everyone anticipated to happen since the infamous breakup or betrayal at the 2017 Collider Collision depending on how you see it. The juggernaut of movie trivia knowledge, just a month after finally claiming the Movie Trivia Schmoedown Championship, begins his title defense against the biggest superstar of the Movie Trivia Schmoedown who gets his third chance at winning the title belt. Storylines, grudges, and sheer intensity are what defines this championship match. It is the champion William “The Beast” Bibbiani versus “The Outlaw” John Rocha.
For those who just joined this season, here’s a rewind of the events that led to this moment. It all started two years ago: after claiming superstardom in the league, John Rocha set out his plan to create the most dominant faction in the Schmoedown. It was something that was never done at this scale before, and he was willing to do so to exert his influence on the league. He had to find competitors that have the same drive as he does, and he looked to a match that was known to be “The Shootout of 2016” aka Bibbiani vs. Andreyko. In his debut match, William Bibbiani became the first to both set the points record then and the first to complete a perfect game. Those accomplishments and his vast knowledge got Rocha’s attention and he immediately offers him a spot in his Horsemen, to which Bibbiani accepts.
At the start of the 2017 season, Bibbiani played his first match as part of The Four Horsemen against JTE. What was supposed to be his coming-out party against a struggling competitor, it was a flop as Bibbiani struggled with questions he should’ve known in the match overall leading to his first loss to JTE who would go on to have a successful year. Despite the setback, he continued to practice under the advice of Rocha and cheered him on when Rocha won the singles title for the first time from Murrell. His next match against Eliot Dewberry was no slouch as he won that match and then turned his attention to making the #1 Contender match when he played against Kristian Harloff. Despite putting his best efforts, he choked in Round Three and gave the opportunity away to Harloff. It was at this point where William Bibbiani questioned his place in the Horsemen and how Rocha’s been on him to get better, something that Bibbiani got annoyed about. That was after Rocha lost the singles title to Mark Reilly, so tensions were beginning to brew between these two men.
It all came to a head at the 2017 Collider Collision when John Rocha failed in his second attempt to claim the Movie Trivia Schmoedown Championship at the triple threat main event. Seeing what was supposed to be his figure to look up to fail, William Bibbiani had enough proclaiming that Rocha “should never have been champion in the first place.” Believing that he deserves better, Bibbiani ditched The Horsemen for his own path to glory with these famous words, “I betray you!” With his Growling Commandos, Bibbiani set out for the remainder of 2017 to forge a path to the singles title. While his next singles match proved that he is amazing in his win over Scott Mantz, his season ended on a low note when he lost to the current GOAT Samm Levine in the 1st Round of the Ultimate Schmoedown Singles Tournament.
Fast-forward to this season, these two competitors began their journey towards the singles title on two different paths to where we are now. Here’s how it all went down:
After losing on a frustrating technicality of the “respin” to The Patriots in the team title match, “The Outlaw” John Rocha set out on his third singles campaign for one objective and one objective only: to reclaim the Movie Trivia Schmoedown Championship and have it around his waist. It started at the first live event’s main event where he TKOed JTE with little drama. Then, he continued with his singles match against Jeff Sneider with revenge on his mind for the respin. Despite his best efforts, the mystics of Black Philip escaped Rocha’s sights and jinxed him with his loss. At that point, Rocha thought that now he must play the waiting game for his next singles matchup, believing that his next opportunity would be in the upcoming Ultimate Schmoedown Singles Tournament. His next opportunity would come mysteriously from the corruptor Mike Kalinowski. In his effort to rid of the “corruption,” Kalinowski blackmailed Commissioner Thadd Williams in giving Rocha another path to the singles title by going through both members of Team Action, the duo who he had a conflictive history with. Regardless of what Kalinowski’s agenda is, John Rocha prepped for these two matches with the fire and determination at levels we have not seen before. Blindfolded, he fought tooth and nail to win against Ben Bateman. In his next matchup, Rocha was determined to end Andrew Ghai’s blight on his Five Horseman who defeated both Dan Murrell and Mark Reilly. In that tense but controlled match, “The Outlaw” John Rocha TKOed Andrew Ghai to finally earn that title shot he wanted badly since last year. It was also the time to finally confront William Bibbiani, the man who betrayed The Horsemen.
As for Bibbiani, his journey to the singles title this season was a very painful odyssey. For this season, he was coming off of being eliminated by Levine. His singles campaign needed to start with a victory over Drew McWeeny in a titanic matchup. Bibbiani started strong, but unfortunately, he choked again in Round Three giving the win to McWeeny. At that point, he was in a dangerous situation where one more singles loss will end his contention for the singles title and push him out of the top 10 rankings. It was probably the lowest point in his Schmoedown career as he was distant in that post-match interview after losing to McWeeny, not being able to answer any of Jenn Sterger’s questions. Something miraculous has to happen, and Bibbiani decided to push his luck by entering the Free 4 All and earn the title shot. While he may not have won, he lasted through the greatest number of rounds and showcased the side of Bibbiani we have not seen in a while and the side that we expected of him to show since his debut. He became the MVP of the Free 4 All and was awarded the #1 Contender match for any championship title, and he soon used it on Jeff Sneider who defeated Rocha at that time. In that match, it was a dangerous one where it could come close but Bibbiani won by sheer luck when Sneider surrendered after he got 70s Movies for his Round Two category. With the KO win, “The Beast” finally earned the title shot he wanted since coming here with the rematch against Marc Andreyko for the vacant Movie Trivia Schmoedown Championship. It all came down to the wire in all five rounds where Bibbiani was able to clutch down and not choke on his final round questions, giving him the slight victory and the championship title. With his odyssey complete, he now turns toward a new challenge: defending the belt. Now, he begins his title defense against “The Outlaw” John Rocha who is looking forward to taking the title away from him.
After almost a year of dormancy, this conflict finally ignites between the two former stablemates. Each one has a score to settle with the other. For Rocha, he wants Bibbiani to pay for turning his back on the stable that brought him here, for turning away what knowledge he could have given to him, and for making a mockery of the championship status by being arrogant for the past month. For Bibbiani, he wants to put Rocha in his place, prove that he is the true champion between the two, and to show that he is the box office draw just like how Khabib Nurmagomedov did to Conor McGregor. There is bad blood brewing between these two, and this could be the biggest rivalry none of us expected to see. It could be bigger than Rocha’s rivalry with Action or even with Murrell.
Both have shown that their superior movie trivia knowledge is there, and we should expect this to go all the way but the biggest factor in this championship match is emotion. You have “The Outlaw” who always wear emotion on his arm and “The Beast” who likes to stir the emotions up with his entrances and presentation. The reason I bring this up as the one factor instead of other factors like competitiveness or readiness is because of what happened earlier this week. After the devastating loss Founding Fathers had against Korruption in the Anarchy Tournament by a technicality in Sudden Death, John Rocha was seen despondent and emotionally compromised in the post-match interview. It felt like he let his partner Dan Murrell down and his fandom down, saying that it is not fair to lose again to a technicality like in Patriots vs. Top 10 3. He did almost become depressed to where we could’ve questioned if he can face Bibbiani for the title on Friday, but he was able to quickly recover and passionately trash-talked Bibbiani that he is coming angry and blazing to rip the title away to become the second two-time champion of the Movie Trivia Schmoedown. He has become the biggest superstar of the Movie Trivia Schmoedown already and winning the title again will help him to also be closer to becoming one of the elite champions alongside Mark Reilly, Samm Levine, and Dan Murrell.
For this championship match, John Rocha must maintain his emotions at all times. It has come to a point where any outburst will derail his chances of regaining the title. If he can maintain focus on the question at hand, he can make it very competitive. In my humble opinion, he might as well wear that blindfold to gather all his might to focusing on getting the questions right. As for the champ Bibbiani, all he needs to do is maintain a focused awareness and not get too emotional. If he can maintain that same momentous drive and concentration he as shown from the Free 4 All to that championship match against Andreyko all while standing up, then he has a good shot to keep his title and play for it at this year’s Schmoedown Spectacular. One more thing, this will be their last match in their respective singles campaigns of this season. Whoever loses, their singles campaign and their season will be over for the year. It is high-stakes throughout this matchup and these two must give it their all.
So, who is favored in this singles championship match? Both are coming in with the same level of championship drive. However, stat-wise Bibbiani is superior and also better at maintaining his emotions. “The Beast” will be the slight favorite to maintain his championship title. However, it will not be easy as Rocha is coming in with a two-game winning streak and an edge we have not seen from him in a long time. This will go down as one of the most memorable matches in Schmoedown history. It has been building up for over the last year and a half, and it finally all comes to a head this Friday. Whether it is the start of something big or the end of all, get ready as “The Beast” faces “The Outlaw” for the coveted Movie Trivia Schmoedown Championship of the World.
(Art by Bryan Ward)
Submitted October 25, 2018 at 10:45PM by TSim777 https://ift.tt/2q7Eb5c
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