The Second Annual "TimSight" - Collision III Recap! (Patreon)

The Insight: Schmoedown Collision III Recap

By Tim Sim

Hello again and welcome to the next edition of The Insight. It has been almost a month since the Schmoedown Collision has taken place, but it is worth recapping what went down in currently the biggest major pay-per-view event of “The Magic Season,” particularly with what consequences lies ahead. This is an amazing phenomenon where in this season, the events both large and small have been one-upping themselves with more moments and more excitement than before. The third running of “The Midsummer Showcase” has given us these amazing moments where feats are reached, and emotions ran high. In the end, we have two unique challengers for the Singles and Innergeekdom Championships, a superteam reclaiming their team belts, and a very loud personality running the divisions of the league for one month. Let’s recap all that took place in Schmoedown Collision III!

Manager Bowl 2: Rocha vs. McWeeny vs. Jeannine vs. Howard vs. Zipper

In this edition of the Manager Bowl, it was a great decision by the Chairman Kristian Harloff to have the managers pick their representatives to compete in this type of matchup. What it has given us is a much more competitive and thrilling bout that is tenfold greater than both the first Manager Bowl and Commissioner Bowl. And in this version of the bowl game, it was just that from the first round where everyone came to play as they hit their strides. Round One saw a tight scoring differential with Rocha leading only by one point due to missing the “articles” in his bonus question, where it is clear that there were two separate films “The Changeling” and “Changeling.” Going into Round Two, it was bonkers with what went down (and it was more than Harloff being shook at Stacy spinning the wheel by the pegs). Particularly, the wheel slice of “Spinner’s Choice” blessed the spins of Stacy Howard, Drew McWeeny, and Jeannine “The Machine.” For those who cry afoul of the virtual wheel being rigged at Houston, look at this round and try telling me that it is the same bull regardless of wheel type. By the end of this round, both Jeannine and McWeeny were able to use “Spinner’s Choice” to its full advantage with Jeannine leading by one and McWeeny tying with Rocha for second place. In the final round, everyone gave it their all, but the last two standing were clearly Jeannine and McWeeny. Both Time Machine and The Family were inching closer than ever to controlling the divisions in July. With McWeeny correctly answering his 5-point question, Jeannine had hers to answer and give her manager Jay Washington control over Commissioners Emma Fyffe and Samm Levine. But, in absolute déjà vu to her match at last year’s Collision, she could not deliver on her final question, giving McWeeny the win and a boisterously exuberant Robert Meyer Burnett full control over Fyffe and Levine for one month starting July 15.

To say that this is a redemptive win for The Family since their harsh defeat in Houston is not enough. For manager Robert Meyer Burnett, this is vindication of his comeback after spending the last two years in what he calls “agony” since losing the Innergeekdom Championship belt to Hector Navarro. After struggling to find his place in The Horseman and The Lion’s Den, Burnett has his own “family” to call home. With this newfound power for one month, he can do whatever he wants for him and his competitors. For Samm Levine and Emma Fyffe (the producer of this series), I wish them the best of luck when trying to converse with him. They will need a lot of hope in getting hearing protection and finding something about “treating hearing problems” in their health insurance plans. 

So, what could be his plans for this month? Other than arranging the Ultimate Schmoedown brackets to The Family’s favor and making Samm Levine face Drew McWeeny for “betraying” his former partner, the obvious plan is to exact revenge on the Gucci-led Horsemen. You can feel the heat of betrayal coming from the pores of Burnett, and he wants nothing more than to make that faction miserable. How it will be done is something we will need to see later this month. If there is one competitor in The Family that benefits the most from this, it’s Andrew Ghai. Other than being in position to obtain the belts, he can use Burnett’s new powers to right a “travesty” that took place in “The Lone Star State.” In what was supposed to be an intense Civil War bout, Ghai was smacked with Opponent’s Choice while Bateman got Spinner’s Choice twice to both knockout Ghai and ruin his back with a steel chair shot. Both Ghai and Burnett saw this as conspiracy, and will make a rematch of Action Civil War happen between Bateman and Ghai. This time, with no Spinner’s Choice and Opponent’s Choice. This is a huge reward for The Family, and what they will do this July will truly alter the storylines of “The Magic Season” onwards.

Kalinowski vs. Smets (#1 Innergeekdom Contender Match)

This is what I call the “Match of the Night” given how intense the storylines were and how thrilling the match went. It was two of the elites in the Innergeekdom Division, one coming out with a focused mindset on San Diego and the other ready to grab another title shot coming out with his manager scarfing down junk food right in front of the audience. Both got to a slow start in Round One with several missed opportunities where the score was 6-7 with Smets leading. For one of them that wins this match, he cannot afford a Round One performance like that against Rachel’s near-flawless Round One skills. Round Two saw both of them finally hitting their strides with Smets getting DCEU Movies and Kalinowski getting DC Movies courtesy of Spinner’s Choice. Both did excellently with the score all tied up at 16-16. That round fulfilled what we expect from this match, a shootout between two heavyweight sluggers. For Kalinowski, he has forced Smets to finally face his first ever final round questions. And it was in that round, Round Three, where the rubber met the road. Both answered their first two questions with ease, but the 5-point questions is what made the difference. 

For Smets’s 5-point question, he knew the answer “Don’t tell Harry.” However, he made his first ever blunder by rushing with “Don’t tell Peter.” A critical mistake that Kalinowski took advantage of and countered easily with his Star Trek question, punching his main event ticket to San Diego.

For Mike Kalinowski, this is an emotional win because of how all the cards were stacked against him. He was disappointed at how nearly everyone has pegged him as the underdog to this “relentless force” in Kevin Smets. What his victory signals is a message to those who think the new arrivals will take over the division. He, as an incumbent Innergeekdom elite, is still here. The outcome has led to finally his next chance to defeat his rival Rachel Cushing and reclaim the title belt; and where else than to stage the trilogy match in the middle of the most popular geek convention in the world, San Diego Comic Con? This upcoming title match is truly worthy of headlining the live event at that convention.

As for Kevin Smets, what happened in the final round has devastated him. After dominating for so long and knocking out opponents left and right, to prematurely answer wrong to a question that he knew very well had to hurt. It’s a lesson that he will take moving forward, and his manager Kaiser is more than proud of what he did and is very happy that he took him under his wing. So, what’s next for Smets? Well, he will still go to San Diego but in the stacked undercard match against another top Innergeekdom contender Adam Hlavac. This matchup is a great one for Smets to have and show that he is still one of the very best of this division.

So, what this #1 Contender match has done is set up the live event at San Diego in what is a night that highlights the very best of the Innergeekdom Division. All of this during the weekend of San Diego Comic Con on July 20!

Oyama vs. Miller (#1 Singles Contender Match)

After such an epic #1 Contender match in the Innergeekdom Division, this next #1 Contender match in the Singles Division had a lot on its shoulders to deliver. It was the battle between two of this year’s top rookies to see who remains undefeated and face the champion Dan Murrell for his title belt. One is a know-it-all with the backing of one of the top contenders in this league, the other is the no-filler top prospect from the fan leagues who just flexed his superiority over the other fan league competitor. In both rounds one and two, Paul Oyama was on cruise control as he took control of the match easily over Liz Shannon Miller. This should be a clear-cut victory at that point, but against another top rookie you can never guess what could happen next. In the final round, Liz gave everything she had to correctly answer her 2-point and 5-point questions and take a one-point lead over Paul. She just needs him to miss all his questions to face Murrell. Unfortunately, Paul easily took the win with his 2-point question and now has a date with the GOAT for the Movie Trivia Schmoedown Championship.

While unimpressive on paper, what it did show was Liz’s resilience from giving up as she kept powering forward for a chance at victory, and also Paul’s reputation as the most consistent competitor to grace the league since Ethan Erwin. A reputation that has been built over time in the fan leagues. We will see more from Liz later on this season, particularly in the Ultimate Schmoedown Singles Tournament. As for Paul, while there are several who do not like his cocky attitude, his strong performances has given him a worthy shot at Murrell’s title. Also, since Oyama’s part of The Dungeon, Kaiser is more than ecstatic to have one of his competitors be in a title match. It may not be Smets for the Innergeekdom title, but this match is a much bigger deal for Kaiser since Oyama’s the top prospect and he can bring the Singles Championship to The Dungeon as their first title belt which is a huge deal. Will Oyama deliver on his reputation and give a huge boon to the fan leagues and The Dungeon by winning the title on July 19? We will see since Dan Murrell will probably not be fond with being called “Danny Boy” and the “old farmer.”

The Odd Couple vs. The Shirewolves 2 (Movie Trivia Schmoedown Team Championship)

Finally, we get to our main event. This was the rematch to their epic clash not so long ago between two powerful teams. Now, The Odd Couple will play defense against The Shirewolves who are determined to win back their belts or end their team campaign right here.

Round One saw an interesting start for both teams. The Odd Couple got off to a strong start with twelve points, but Shirewolves only got nine points due to Clarke Wolfe struggling to get going. It even included not showing her answer to the final question due to her thinking it’s inappropriate to younger audiences. Round Two saw the wheel have it’s Spinner’s and Opponent’s Choice slices removed by The Odd Couple’s request. In that round, the champions went with Leo DiCaprio movies and did well despite having a point stolen by Shirewolves. Then, Shirewolves went with Directors and aced that category through their signature teamwork to make it a one-point game with the score 22 to 21. Round Three came with the toughest category to have in that round with Mixed Bag, with both betting two points and keeping it still a one-point game with the correct answer “Judge Reinhold.” The Speed Round was next up, and this is where improvements from The Shirewolves must be seen in this round given how they were outmatched by The Odd Couple on those buzzers in their last match. One notable moment was Jeff buzzing way too early to get a particular question wrong, only to then waste his team’s challenge because the question was not fully asked. Regardless, he and Andreyko didn’t let that deter them and got the last two question to tie this game up at twenty-five going into the final round.

This was pure déjà vu, where they were tied up in their first match going into the final round; and once again, everyone was on the edge of their seats or standing to see who will edge it out. In that final round, Clarke didn’t get the two-point question then Andreyko got his two-point question to go up by two points. Rachel responded back with her three-point question with sheer focus to retake the lead by a point. Then Sneider got his three-point question to retake the lead. The score was 30-28 at that point with the defending champions leading before the 5-point questions were asked. This was just how it went last time, but who will prevail? Shirewolves got the Deadpool question correct, throwing the game to The Odd Couple. They had to answer their final question correctly to defend their titles in another thrilling chapter to their battle with The Shirewolves. They had to know what Frank Cross sent to his workers’ Christmas List in the comedic film “Scrooged.” The correct answer was towels, but The Odd Couple couldn’t pull it out. Thus, The Shirewolves reclaimed the Team Championship and Rachel Cushing became once again a double-belt champion.

This main event is definitely another nominee to be considered for “Match of the Year.” Both went at it scraping for points and not losing their cool just like in their first match. It’s no doubt the best two team matches we have seen in “The Magic Season.” They are certainly due real soon for their trilogy match when the time is right.

For The Odd Couple, it was very disappointing to lose those titles quickly but satisfying that they went down fighting against two mighty opponents in Rachel Cushing and Clarke Wolfe. Both Marc and Jeff are proud with what they have accomplished this season, and they have showed that the talent in the Schmoedown Teams Division is very deep. Make no mistake, this will not be the last time we see them this season. After that performance, Jeff, Marc, and manager Roxy are all now looking forward to competing in the upcoming Ultimate Schmoedown Teams Tournament.

For The Shirewolves, our Two-Time Team Champions, this was a challenge they have seen looming over them and accomplishing it with everything they got. It’s safe to say that they, the fans, and pretty much everyone are ecstatic that The Shirewolves will still be here competing as a team in this season. For Clarke and Rachel, they look forward to what’s next. Rachel, in particular, is looking forward to defeating Mike Kalinowski for the fourth time in San Diego this Saturday. For the team altogether, they are not going to be resting on their laurels yet. They will be defending their reclaimed titles against either KOrruption or Founding Fathers. That next title match could also be a doozy to see as well.

In the end, it was a fun and exciting “Midsummer Showcase” with plenty of blockbuster spectacle befitting of some of the best summer movies like Avengers Endgame. With that out of the way, we have a night of Innergeekdom action coming our way with the San Diego live event this weekend and then the Ultimate Schmoedown Tournaments this Fall. So answer this, who is looking forward to some classic tourney action?