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THE REVIEW COLD FURY 3 featured one of the most highly-regarded matches in COLD FURY and Chaotic Wrestling history - "Hurricane" John Walters vs. "Latin Fury" Luis Ortiz in a "Shoots and Ladders" match. For nearly a year, Ortiz and Walters were involved in one of the most brutal feuds in Chaotic Wrestling - a rivalry which culminated on January 10th, 2004 at Chaotic's biggest event. In the Spring of 2003, Walters and Ortiz faced off for the very first time - and it was Luis Ortiz who came out on top, defeating Walters for the CW Heavyweight Title. A few weeks later, many thought the feud would be settled when "Latin Fury" forced Walters to say "I Quit" in a match that would only end when a participant exclaimed those two words. That night, "Hurricane" quit not only the match, but Chaotic Wrestling entirely. With John Walters gone from Chaotic, Ortiz moved on - eventually defending his title against "Lifesaver" Billy Kryptonite at that year's SUMMER CHAOS event. Luis had victory in his hands until the lights went out and Walters reappeared, smashing Ortiz with a steel chair and costing him the CW Heavyweight Title. The feud between John and Luis had now escalated into all-out war! Despite his reappearance at SUMMER CHAOS, John Walters was not signed to a contract with Chaotic Wrestling to officially return to the promotion. On an event in Methuen in September, Walters bought a ticket to the show - taunting Ortiz with his appearance at the building. After John was ejected from the building by security, Ortiz made a demand of Chaotic Wrestling Management - reinstate John Walters, or he would quit the company. When CW Management agreed, John returned to the building and a wild brawl ensued. In the fracas, Ortiz hit Walters with a Death Valley Driver on a steel ringside barrier - fracturing Walters' neck and sending him to the hospital in an ambulance. Eventually, Walters made an emotional return to the company and with the fans behind him, he and Ortiz ended a brutal match with a time-limit draw. Chaotic Wrestling decided that the two would face off one more time in the first-ever "Shoots and Ladders" match. This match could only be won by submission - however, ladders were deemed to be legal. In front of a sold-out crowd in Lowell, in CW's debut at the Polish American Veterans Club, Ortiz and Walters battled back and forth for over 30 minutes. Walters and Ortiz both displayed an assortment of brutal submission holds over the course of the match. Ortiz took the offensive early - targeting Walters' upper body, hoping to minimize his ability to lock on his own holds. Nearly 10 minutes into the match - Ortiz targeted Walters' knee with a chair, clearly hoping to render Walters unable to lock on his trademark Sharpshooter. As the battle continued, the ladder was brought into the ring. Unlike a ladder match, however, there was no intention of either man to use the ladder as anything other than a weapon. Each man was battered with the steel ladder inside and outside of the ring. As Ortiz lay prone, Walters retrieved a second ladder, only to find himself the victim of a brutal backdrop onto the steel frame. Submissions and reversals continued as both men refused to submit. Not until a third ladder and a table were brought in the ring did the crowd finally feel that the end was near. Walters and Ortiz battled atop the final ladder, each attempting to suplex the other nearly 15 feet to the mat. It was Walters that won out, sending Ortiz down through the table. Walters put the lifeless body of Ortiz in the folds of a broken ladder, picked up a piece of the broken table and used them both to apply a vicious choke hold on "Latin Fury" for the victory. As you look back on what COLD FURY has become, COLD FURY 3: Shoots and Ladders is the event that set the tone for the show in the coming years. |