Post by Steven Brody, CEO on Mar 18, 2019 10:59:33 GMT -8
*The scene shifts to one of the locker rooms in the arena, as the camera pans to the right, we see Matt Klazzic sitting quietly by himself in his street clothes with his gym bag at his feet and his head tilted down, staring at his bag. A moment later, there's a knock outside his door.*
"Door's open...come on in," Klazzic says sadly, still with his head down staring at his bag.
*Rick Dickulous steps through the door, a smile on his face as always. He looks over to Matt Klazzic and shakes his head*
"Matt-guy? Why the long face, bud? I brought you some brownies! They always cheer you up...."
"Oh, hi Rick. Thanks for the brownies. Put them over there on the side," Klazzic says flatly, still with his head down.
"Bud, you're really not yourself...what gives, eh?"
*Rick sits beside Matt*
"I mean, something ain't right here. I can't let my bud sit here like this, guy! Spill it! What's eating Matt Klazzic....guy?"
*Matt lets out a sigh.* "I came here tonight and they told me I'm not booked. I'm going to be at the joining the guys at the announce table the next couple of weeks or so," Matt says, again not lifting his head or acknowledging Rick.
"Just because you're not booked, doesn't mean you're not an important part of the team, guy! I mean, I'm not booked either, but I'm still here!"
*Rick pats Matt on the back*
"You're Matt Fucking Klazzic, guy! The best damned King's Road wrestler NFW's ever seen! You know as well as I do that Mr. Brody's got something in mind..."
"Oh, I don't know, Rick. It's no secret I've been in something of a slump lately. I requested a match with Belphegor to try and even things up for you after Doomsday interfered and I lose. I use my title match clause at March Misery and come up short against Chris Wolfe last week," Klazzic says.
"And now I'm on the announce team for the next couple of weeks, and don't get me wrong, they're great guys. Even Jim, when he's not being so overly biased. But I can't stop thinking that Mr. Brody's keeping me on the sidelines while I'm in this slump," Klazzic continues, still looking down sadly at his gym bag on the floor.
"Know what I was always told by my coaches in hockey all the time, bud? It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game."
*Rick stands up, seemingly taking the role of a kids' hockey coach, attempting to motivate Matt*
"Matt-guy? Just because you've been losing, it's not a reason for Mr. Brody to keep you off the card. Every match has a winner...and a loser."
"Matt Klazzic isn't a loser, guy! Matt Klazzic is a WINNER! Nevermind about Chris Wolfe, bud! I know you wanted that TV Championship...but what if I told you I have an idea?"
*Matt lifts his head up staring straight ahead.*
"An idea? What kind of idea?" Matt asks.
"Matt-guy...I just lost the Silver Mountain Championship at March Misery, and to tell you the truth, I couldn't be happier!"
"Losing that match opened another door...one that's been staring me in the face the whole time..."
*Rick puts a hand on either one of Matt's shoulders, getting in his face the way coaches do to fire their players up*
"Matt Klazzic-guy? I think it's time the NFW gets something they need and deserve....I think it's time for...."
"A new line of baked goods similar to those wrestling ice cream bars?"
*Rick slumps his head forward and his hands drop from Matt's shoulders*
"No, guy! Although that does sound like a good plan, eh?"
*Rick straightens up, still looking at Matt*
"Look, those two clowns Zack Sabre Jr and Old Man Suzuki decided they're the number one contenders for the Tag Team Championships....and last I checked, guy, not only are you and I one hell of a good tag team....but you and I ALSO have a bone to pick with Ultra Violence, eh?"
"Well, I don't know about picking bones, but we need to even up the tab with those two," Klazzic says.
"So then, are you in, Matt-guy? Matt Klazzic and Rick Dickulous...I mean, we need to work on a name - every great tag team has a name..."
*Matt suddenly jumps to his feet.*
"Yes....YES!!! LET'S DO IT!!! LET'S COME UP WITH A TAG TEAM NAME THAT WILL STRIKE FEAR IN THE HEARTS OF EVERYONE IN THE TAG TEAM DIVISION OF NFW!!!" Matt says triumphantly.
*Rick's smile damn near jumps off his face*
"THAT'S THE MATT KLAZZIC I KNOW, GUY!! NOW GET OUT THERE AND CALL THOSE MATCHES LIKE A FUCKING CHAMP!!"
*Rick slaps Matt's ass encouragingly*
*Matt suddenly stops.*
"Whoa, hey, now. I know I'm not 'down with it' like the kids are these days, but when it comes to tag teams, we're all about wrestling. Klazzic's straight as an arrow," Klazzic says as he puts his hand on Rick's shoulder.
"Not that there's anything wrong with being, you know...Canadian..."
*As Matt walks off camera, Rick stands there looking confused in the direction he went*
"Guy! What the fuck!"
The camera suddenly cuts to the show's opening vignette.
Ozzy Osbourne's "Let Me Hear You Scream" plays over the introduction reel of NFW superstars posing before the camera. Wrapping the vignette up, are the current champions.
- Chris Wolfe slaps the TV Championship in front of the camera, motioning for any and everyone who wants a piece to come get them some.
- Among the Renegades, Tyler Grey holds the Jr. Heavyweight Championship proudly on his shoulder with a scowl at the camera. Serena Frost seductively smooches the front plate of the Women's Television Championship. Julian Morrison sits to the side of Serena while Tyson Law stands beside Tyler in the back, flipping the middle finger but pointing it down as he sneers arrogantly at the camera.
- A noticeable change to the vignette reel is that of Shelley Silver, standing with Sloane Cameron slightly behind her. Shelley Silver holds the Silver Mountain Championship up beside her face. Shelley looks from the title, into the camera lens and gives a seductive wink and a smile.
- Alex Brody, holds the Women's Championship up by her head with an adorable but confident smile. This is a slightly different reel shown, as rather than the old clip of Erin standing with her arm over Alex's shoulders, the redhead stands beside Alex, goofily biting her bottom lip as she plays air guitar on one half of the Mixed Tag Team Championship. Beside her, Vincent Stone cracks a confident smirk and raises his taped fists up in front of him. The other half of the Mixed Tag Team titles is fastened across his chest like a bandolier.
- Judas Lasher wears the Heavyweight Championship around his waist while posing on his knees with his arms out. A satisfied snarl on his face as Alessandra Augustino stands behind him. Around him stand Doomsday and Belphegor - Ultra-Violence - displaying their Tag Team Championship belts as they scowl through their masks. Newly added to the group, in place of the now absent LeeAnn Viskan and Crimson Sabre, Sex & Violence members Lara Blackheart, Penelope Cassidy and Nostalgia Ultra (the tag team of TyAnna Jupiter and Futura Soli) stand among the Dominion. Sitting on the floor in the front, Darius Crowley sits calmly with his fingertips together, calmly scowling. On either side of this gathering, Buzzsaw calmly flexes a fist and grips the wrist of that hand, scowling from under his mask. On the opposite side, looking ever so dark and enigmatic, Ethan Skinner smirks evilly at the camera with a hand out to the camera, beckoning viewers as....
The camera does a quick cut to the outside of the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, AL before jumping over to the inside shot as the pyro goes off around the entrance stage. The camera sweeps across the crowd as we are greeted by the commentary team of Nick Hanson, Matt Klazzic and James Reynolds.
HANSON
"WELCOME, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TO NEW FRONTIER WRESTLING!! WE ARE LIVE AT THE LEGACY ARENA IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA!!"
REYNOLDS
"YEE YEE!!!"
HANSON
"Jim, what the hell?"
KLAZZIC
"Do you really need to ask, Nick?"
HANSON
"At this point, no."
REYNOLDS
"It's what they say in these parts, guys. We're in the South of North America! BBQ and Country Music!"
HANSON
"You like country music, Jim?"
REYNOLDS
"Hell no! I'll eat the shit outta some spare ribs, though!"
KLAZZIC
"Or pulled pork sandwiches!"
REYNOLDS
"Haha, I knew you liked pulled pork."
KLAZZIC
"Of course! Pulled pork is delicious!"
James Reynolds starts to chuckle, looking directly at the camera and thumbs to Matt Klazzic.
HANSON
"Jim, knock it off. For Christ's sake."
KLAZZIC
"Am I missing something, Nick?"
HANSON
"Just ignore Jim, Matt. He's being an idiot, as usual."
REYNOLDS
"Pull my pork, Nicky."
James Reynolds snickers as Matt just looks at hm in confusion and Nick rolls his eyes, turning to the camera.
HANSON
"So, tonight folks, we're one week removed from March Misery and what a show it was, everyone! Lara Blackheart is your Ms. Money In The Bank. She left March Misery as the winner of the six woman ladder match. She now has a contract for a NFW Women's Championship match at any time of her choosing. Speaking of Championships, we saw not one, not two, but three retains! The Television Championship remains in the hands of Chris Wolfe - which, by the way Matt, that was a fantastic match. You may not have come out with the strap but you did great and I wanna shake your hand."
KLAZZIC
"Why, thank you, Nick! I appreciate it!"
Nick Hanson and Matt Klazzic exchange a handshake before Nick Hanson continues.
HANSON
"As always, my friend! However! There was one major change at March Misery."
REYNOLDS
"Ohhhh man! Was there ever!!"
KLAZZIC
"So bummed I didn't get to call that match with you gentlemen!"
HANSON
"Well, how about you go ahead and say what we're talking about, Matt?"
KLAZZIC
"Ladies and gentlemen! Miss Shelley Silver! The Mother of the Raindrops! Your BRAND NEW Silver Mountain Champion!"
REYNOLDS
"Hey, it aint' my boy Clarence Fletcher Townsend! Should have been him, BUT, at least that idiot Rick Dickulous ain't the champ anymore!"
KLAZZIC
"Hey! That's my pal you're talking about!"
HANSON
"Rick Dickulous was a great Silver Mountain Champion. He held the title for an impressive two hundred and eighty two days! He took on some of the toughest challengers! But last week, at March Misery, Shelley Silver outdid both him AND Clarence Townsend--"
REYNOLDS
"Clarence FLETCHER Townsend, Nicky!"
HANSON
"Whatever, Jim. Anyway folks, we'll be seeing the Silver Mountain Champion in tag team action this evening. She'll be joining Adrianna Salvatore in the main event as they take on the debuting Nostalgia Ultra! The cohesive unit of Futura Soli and TyAnna Jupiter!"
REYNOLDS
"FIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!"
Nick Hanson and Matt Klazzic both stop and look at James Reynolds.
HANSON
"Fine, what?"
REYNOLDS
"They are FIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!! Hey, Futura! Como estas, mamacita?"
James Reynolds says into the camera with a flirty raise of his eyebrows. Nick Hanson face palms and shakes his head.
HANSON
"I can't wait until I retire...."
REYNOLDS
"Good, maybe I'll get a better broadcast partner."
KLAZZIC
"If not, it'll be just you and me, Jim!"
REYNOLDS
"Ah, fuck no!"
HANSON
"Well, folks, while I've still got the will to work along side this guy---"
(He says, thumbing over to James Reynolds)
"--let's take it to the camera crew for a look at the competitors in our first match up!"
REYNOLDS
"Wait, a minute, what?! The fuck you mean 'while you still have the will to work along side me'?"
KLAZZIC
"Take it away, folks!"
REYNOLDS
"Hey, wait!! You gotta stop cutting away when I ask these guys a godda---"
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The caption on the bottom of the screen says:
[FILMED YESTERDAY AFTERNOON]
We start with a open pan like view of sunny California, with the hustle and bustle of people and cars trying to get from point A to point B. As we see people shuffle around, the camera pans around to a nice, expensive looking house and we see Victoria Emmerson getting into her limo, going to her flight to the show. As she gets in, Clarence Fletcher Townsend is coming towards the limousine. "Honey, you know I lost last week right?" Says Clarence.
"Yes honey, it's ok. You did your best; thats all you can do. I've gotta go take care of this Japanese cunt twit that apparently been talking smack on a social media site. She's gonna have to realize that the "Stock Market Crash" is on her now." Says Victoria.
"Yea I know. Hopefully, Mr. Brody will let me get a shot again at the PPV next month. And I'm wanting a one on one shot that way that Rick Dickulous clown will not be involved at all." Says Clarence.
"Ok, honey. I've gotta go. My plane will be at the airport at any minute now." Says Victoria. "Okay." Says Clarence .
Clerance and Victoria are seen hugging and kissing before Victoria puts her back window on the limousine up as the limo drives away.
As Clarence is walking back up the driveway to the mansion he begins to address his current situation with his match at March Misery. "Shelley. Rick. You both are below me. I know that. Both of you do not know that yourselves. My lifestyle exceeds what you two would even imagine. I have my personal limo with my own driver. My mansion costs more than your salaries in one year combined. So I'm hereby challenging Shelley to a one on one at the next PPV. You don't think I'm made to do this. I'll prove it to you and that ridiculous clown you call a friend. What say you?" The scene closes as Clarence walks into the house and closes the front door as the scene goes black....
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The camera shifted from the previous segment and brought viewers to what looked like the inside of a public gym. It was, in fact, the gym to the hotel by the arena where the roster members were staying for the Birmingham show. The caption on the top of the screen reads:
[YESTERDAY EVENING]
For the most part, the gym is empty, but the sound of AKLO's "RGTO" featuring SALU could be heard coming from a portable speaker.
The camera panned slowly across the mostly desolate workout area for hotel guests. Sounds can be heard, however. Slow, methodical breathing as if someone was lifting weights. Mixed in were quicker, sharper breathes with the sound of a bag being hit.
Before too long, the camera fell across the trio known as SBS - short for Super Bitch Squad - each in the middle of their own, separate workout session but all within vicinity of one another. Kayako Kazama sat on the floor in a gymnast stretch as she laid her upper body forward, resting her forehead against an outstretched leg. She was dressed in cute little Hello Kitty sneakers and a long legged, black leotard that most gymnasts wore. Her hair, even now, was up in two pigtails.
Masami Nishikiyama was off by a weight bench with her bottle of water sitting on the bench itself while she stood there, curling a pair of 60lb dumbbells in each hand. Sweat ran down her soft face and toned arms as she exhaled on each curl, inhaling when an arm went down. The muscle of SBS wore white yoga pants and a baby blue sports top with her hair up in a simple ponytail. Lifting gloves protected her hands as she exercised.
The source of the bag being struck came from Yuka Hirata, who was just far enough from the other two to have room for her workout - brutally punching, kicking and driving knees into a heavy bag. Dressed in red kickboxing shorts and a black sports bra, Yuka hadn't even bothered with her hair. It flew around her head wildly, damp from the sweat she was producing as she slammed her bare fists into the bag.
When they finally began to actually speak, it was done in Japanese, but thanks to this being pre-recorded, subtitles had been added into the footage.
"Ahh! Yuka-chan! Doesn't that hurt with no gloves?!" Kayako asked with concern as she sat up to switch yoga positions and paused to watch her friend go absolutely beast mode on the bag. As per usual, her demeanor and concern was absolutely adorable. "You're going to bruise your knuckles!"
"They're already bruised." Yuka said, visibly clenching her teeth and hissing with each punch she threw into the bag.
"Gloves are for wimps, Kaya-chan. You know that." Masami chimed in, casually, setting down the 60lb weights and picking up her water bottle as she turned to sip from it and watch her friends.
"But you're wearing gloves, too, Masami-chan!" Kayako pointed out, to which Masami smiled, even laughing a little. "Different context, Kaya-chan! I'm lifting; and I don't use my fists as often as Yuka-chan does." She brought up her other hand and wiggled her fingers, daintily by her face. "I need to keep my palms baby soft."
"Ahhhhh, right! That makes sense! If Yuka-chan trains on the bag with no gloves...." Kayako began, nodding in understanding as Masami picked up her words right after, "She builds calouses on her knuckles." They both smiled and nodded at one another before turning to watch Yuka throw a vicious storm of punches into the bag before throwing her arms around it, simulating the act of grabbing an opponent around the back of their neck and driving several hard knees up into it before stepping back from it and finishing the words, out of breath. "...and getting punched with caloused knuckles...hurts like hell...." She reached out her hand towards Masami, silently asking with her eyes.
Masami tossed Yuka a bottle of water from a pair that were under the weight bench she had her own stuff set on. Yuka caught it and twisted the top open. She drank sipped eagerly from it before pouring some into her palm and rubbing it over her face and the back of her neck. "We need to show everyone else on this roster that we mean business." She sipped again, from the water and tossed it back to Masami before walking over to Kayako as the girl did a gymnast style handstand and brought her feet down, coming to stand in front of the sweaty girl. Yuka clapped a hand on Kayako's shoulder. "We both have singles matches. You ready, Kaya-chan?"
"I'm ready!" Kayako threw up a fist into the air and pumped it down beside her with a confident nod. "Victoria Emmerson will see what I can do!"
Yuka nodded, grinning at the girl. "Remember. She thinks she's better than you because that pig headed gaijin of a man she has lives in a big mansion. You show that plastic bitch that you are better!"
"Got it!" Kayako turned towards the camera, smiling big and innocent like as she brought up two fingers in a peace sign beside her head. "Victoria-san! I cannot wait for our match!" She said before switching to her heavily accented English. "Rrrrret's go!"
Here, Masami stepped up to join her two friends that were competing in tonight's show. She came to stand behind them in the center, hanging her arms around their shoulders, also switching to English. "Please unda-stand...." She said with a calm, sweet smile. "We do not dis-rike...any of you. It is...nothing...personal, yes?" As had become a recognizable trait of hers, Masami smiled, nodding reassuringly to the camera.
"We...." Yuka, also switching to English, motioned with a finger between the three of them, "...are Essu...Bee...Essu! We are best women's team in puro resuring. Iron Maidens were victorious...last week. "Arera ha u, genshii desuka?" There were no subtitles this time, but Yuka spoke, looking to Masami and Kayako. The two nodded as if in agreement. "Aaaaaaahh!! Sugoi!" Kayako said happily, nodding with a smile at the camera. Yuka nodded with an impressed look on her face and gave a slow clap...even if it did seem mocking. Masami lifted her hands into two thumbs up next to her friends heads. Kayako clapped excitedly.
Yuka lowered her hands. "Shika shi...Marissa...Payne. You...and me...this time...one on one.... I hope...you are ready." She winced just slightly as she lifted up one of her fists with bruised knuckles. The skin on one had already split and was bleeding a little. Yuka smiled at her knuckles, coldly, and looked back into the lens. "I cannot wait...to make you scream...."
The camera faded out to black, as all three members of SBS stood there as a unit. A single machine made up of three parts that operated flawlessly, side by side one another....
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[VICTORIA EMMERSON V. KAYAKO KAZAMA]
As the camera returns to ringside, the sound of Maria Callas' "Habanera" (Chuy Ayala remix) fills the arena. The crowd immediately goes into a wave of boos as Victoria Emmerson struts her way out onto the stage. Her nose turned up in disgust at those she views as peons beneath her. Roger Arden, standing in the ring, introduces her.
ARDEN
"Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is your opening match, scheduled for one fall! Introducing first! From Beverly Hills, California! VICTORIAAAAAAA EMMERSOOOOOOOON!!!"
Victoria lowers her sunglasses, peering at the crowd before finishing her strut to the ring, gracefully stepping into the ring, underneath the middle rope.
REYNOLDS
"Goddamn, I love this woman's sense of class, guys!"
HANSON
"Class? She's rude and she's spoiled, Jim!"
REYNOLDS
"Look at her! She deserves the best!"
KLAZZIC
"Why, because she has money?"
REYNOLDS
"Money makes the world go around, Matt!"
As the camera returns to ringside, the sound of Maria Callas' "Habanera" (Chuy Ayala remix) fills the arena. The crowd immediately goes into a wave of boos as Victoria Emmerson struts her way out onto the stage. Her nose turned up in disgust at those she views as peons beneath her. Roger Arden, standing in the ring, introduces her.
ARDEN
"Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is your opening match, scheduled for one fall! Introducing first! From Beverly Hills, California! VICTORIAAAAAAA EMMERSOOOOOOOON!!!"
Victoria lowers her sunglasses, peering at the crowd before finishing her strut to the ring, gracefully stepping into the ring, underneath the middle rope.
REYNOLDS
"Goddamn, I love this woman's sense of class, guys!"
HANSON
"Class? She's rude and she's spoiled, Jim!"
REYNOLDS
"Look at her! She deserves the best!"
KLAZZIC
"Why, because she has money?"
REYNOLDS
"Money makes the world go around, Matt!"
Commentary goes quiet as Victoria's music fades out and is replaced by the eerie opening if BABYMETAL's "Catch Me If You Can."
Upon the first gong of the song, the lights dim in the arena. The audience is shrouded in darkness for the duration of the intro. However, once the guitar riff kicks in (about 0:15), multicolored lights quickly begin flashing throughout. It's still dark, but it looks more like a rave metal show than a wrestling arena. As soon as the lyrics begin ("1! 2! 1-2-3-4!"), Kayako Kazama comes running out onto the stage, pumping her fist and counting along.
Despite the leaning boos of the crowd, Kayako is all smiles and waves excitedly to everyone before folding her hands down in front of her and tilting her head. She bats her eyelashes innocently and bends one foot back, doing an innocent little sway from side to side. As she does this playing to the crowd, she's joined by Yuka Hirata and Masami Nishikiyama as the two make their way out onto the stage to join their friend. Kayako turns back to acknowledge them, 'bouncing' over as the three stick their hands into the center over one another. They perform their team chant and Kayako starts her way down the ramp. The way she does this is with her hands folded behind her as she happily skips along towards the ring.
ARDEN
"On her way to the ring! Accompanied by Yuka Hirata and Masami Nishikiyama! She represents the Super Bitch Squad! From Kyoto, Japan! KAYAKOOOOOO KAAAZAAAAAAMAAAAAA!!!!"
Kayako skips along to the right side of the ring and warily, (yet adorably) climbs up onto the apron. One foot slips but she's holding onto the ropes by then. She turns to the camera with a hand over her lips and an embarrassed smile on her face - 'Oops!'- and daintily enters the ring underneath the second rope.
Kayako then proceeds to jump around the ring, waving overhead to the crowd as Yuka and Masami both enter the ring and come to stand with her, offering any last minute words of advice and encouragement. Kayako, still giggly, hugs both girls around the neck and throws a fist in the air like she's got this as Yuka and Masami retreat to ringside. Kayako moves into her corner, giving an adorable wave to Victoria Emmerson as she waits for the bell to ring.
~DING DING DING~
Both women (well, woman in Victoria's case and young lady in Kayako's case) wrestled to the best of their ability. Victoria demonstrated her well rounded style of wrestling as she was easily the stronger of the two. Everytime Victoria seemed to really start getting an edge, however, Kayako pulled a dirty trick out of her bag. Evading a lariat at one point, she hit Victoria with a chop block before going into that sudden vicious mode and stomping away at her.
Another instance saw Kayako literally try the old 'look over there, what's that' trick. One that Victoria didn't fall for. As she began to shake her head and ask Kayako how stupid the kid really was, Kayako's hand popped up and poked Victoria in the eye. The camera was close enough to pick up an audible 'Boop!' from Kayako before she yanked Victoria down to the mat and pounced on her, delivering heavy knee drops and forearm shots. Going absolutely wild on her.
HANSON
"This girl is INSANE, guys!!"
REYNOLDS
"She's adorable, Nicky! Don't you be a jerk!"
KLAZZIC
"No, no. Nick's right. She's off her rocker."
Finally, Victoria Emmerson managed to mount a real burst of offense, beginning to wear down Kayako Kazama as she backed her into the corner and began laying her boots to her. At this point, Yuka Hirata, from ringside, climbed up onto the apron and yelled out at Victoria. Victoria stepped away from Kayako and started to approach Yuka to get in her face. The referee stopped her, however and ordered Yuka down. The girl complied as she saw Kayako recovering out of the corner. With a shriek, Kayako ran up on Victoria and up came her leg.
"SUPAKICK!!!" Kayako yelled but stopped her leg short as Victoria brought her hands up, ready to catch it. Kayako giggled adorably, putting her fingers to her lips. "Dama sareta!" She winked at Victoria...before suddenly superkicking her right in the knee!! Victoria buckled and Kayako immediately grabbed her, planting her with a swinging leg, double underhook DDT that she had dubbed the "Whoopsy Daisy!" After delivery of the move, Kayako sat up with her fingers to her lips again, her eyes shifting around in mock embarrassment as if she had slipped. She hooked Victoria's leg for the cover at 9:12.
ONE!!
TWO!!
THREE!!
HANSON
"And there's the first win for Kayako Kazama, here in NFW!"
KLAZZIC
"Can't say it was exactly clean. I'd even say she has some learning to do in that ring."
REYNOLDS
"I'm kinda torn. I wish they both could have won."
HANSON
"That would have been a draw, Jim."
REYNOLDS
"They deserve it!"
Inside the ring, Kayako Kazama leaned over Victoria Emmerson and waved 'bai baaaaaaaaaiiii' before exiting the ring and running excitedly up to Yuka and Masami. "Yatta! Yatta!" She jumped into both of them for an excited group hug as SBS all made their way up the ramp, leaving Victoria Emmerson to recover inside the ring as the camera changed over to....
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"YO, MARI!!! COME' STAI, STRONZA?!" The obnoxiously loud voice of Morgan Payne reverberated throughout the backstage area of the Legacy Arena. This was heard over the audio before the camera feed, itself, even jumped to the scene to find the young woman walking into the Iron Maiden's locker room. An Ill Nino t-shirt modified into a gym cutoff was visible under her usually seen, leather jacket. Her other favorite piece of clothing - her black and yellow flannel shirt was tied, by the sleeves, around her waist. Aside from that, she was rocking black, baggy cargo pants, her Chucks (since she wasn't wrestling tonight) and a black do-rag on her head because....Morgan was being Morgan. It also wouldn't have been Morgan if she didn't have a burning cigarette in one hand and an open can of...no, she was holding a box of wine chiller. Jesus Christ.
Morgan barged right into the locker room, as usual and took a pull from the wine chiller before calling out to her bestie and tag team partner. "What's crackin', doll? You ready to kick one third of SCS' ass tonight?" Yes, she said SCS instead of SBS.
"Hell yes I am." Marissa smirked, finally looking up from the small game system she was holding. She'd been curled up in a bean-bag chair near the lockers, relaxing in blue bicycle shorts and a sleeveless Lamb of God tee. "Those girls are good. I'm not gonna say they aren't. But we're worked too long and too hard around here to just let them come in acting like they're the shit. Might take getting a knee in the teeth to bring them down a notch."
Morgan plopped down right beside Marissa, chugging from her wine chiller in a box. "Fuckin A we have. And these twats wanna come up in here like this they fuckin' house. Fuck that shit." She dragged on her cigarette. "Whatchu playin'?" She said, leaning over to get a look at the screen.
"Oh... little retro system I grabbed on ebay. Holds all these emulators in it... playing Final Fantasy 8 right now." She said, handing Morgan the small, 3DS-sized game. "I know people think I'm underestimating these ladies. I'm not. At all, actually. I'm just confident. Getting to team with Ma last week... it totally reinvigorated me, you know?"
Morgan took the device to get a closer look, grinning. "Aw, that's wicked!" She said, handing it back to Marissa and resting her chin on her arms, folded over the back of the beanbag as she watched her friend play. Hearing Marissa's last comment about her mother made Morgan grin and she patted her on the shoulder. "I think that's what we needed, is all, girl! Somethin' t'kick our asses into gear! Women's tag titles are vacant. I dunno what Hayes got planned but you know we gotta be in the picture for it! Be a fuckin' crime otherwise." She paused and took notice, finally, to what Marissa was wearing and that humorous grin of hers formed on her face. "Yo, you wrestling in those? Cause you know homeboy gonna lose his mind back here, he see you in that shit" She teased, playfully. "Flashin' them legs all over." Morgan reached out suddenly and gave Marissa a playful tickle grab on her thigh.
Marissa groaned, rolling her eyes. "Mor. C'mon. You gotta knock that off. Vince is a nice guy. I hope he can get past his crush on me, because I really think we could be good friends. But stuff like that isn't gonna help." Jesus... how could two best friends be so utterly and completely different??? "Oh, hey... you feel like hanging out later? I told Sammi to come play some games or something, figured you might wanna join."
Morgan plopped her face down into the bean bag, laughing before looking up to Marissa again. "Even if he does, he still gonna think you're hot!" She gave her friend a nudge. Marissa's inquiry, after that, made Morgan look at her as if the answer was obvious. "Nah, I'd rather sit an' fingerbang myself than hang out with my best friend." She threw an arm around Marissa's neck, pulling her in for a side hug and smooched her on the side of the head. "Why you even gotta ask? You know I'm down. Shit, tell Sammi to bring her friend Kat. She fine as fuck." Morgan was sure Katrina Cage didn't even swing that way, but at least she could enjoy the view.
"JESUS, MOR!" Marissa burst out laughing shaking her head. "Is everything about sex with you?" Rolling her eyes, the blonde crossed her arms and grinned. "I swear, it's like God gave you double the sex drive to make up for my utter lack of one."
Morgan took a final pull from her wine box and shrugged, stifling a belch. "Maybe. I 'unno. 'Sides, you know I got some Latina in me from the other side and we tend t'be drawn to our own. You seen Mary that I been hollerin' at, right?" Morgan paused, bringing up her phone and held it in front of Marissa to see. "She fine as hell, look at that. Preeeeetty sure I'm smitten!" Morgan put her phone away once Marissa was finished looking. "Anyway! Shit, I need to stop distractin' you, girl. You got some ass to whup, tonight. You know I'mma be out there witchu. F'sho, that bitch ain't gonna be by herself."
Marissa paused, wondering silently if maybe there was something wrong with her. She'd never felt smitten with anyone. Hell, she'd never even felt overly attracted to anyone before. Was she somehow broken? She shook it off, nodding to Morgan. "I'm not worried. They try anything, I got you and Ma there to kick the shit outta them. I know she gets a kick outta hearing the little one scream for mercy."
Morgan threw her head back, cackling hysterically. "HAH!! Yo, real talk, you ever watch La Blue Girl? That lil bitch sounded like one of the chicks off of that when a demon with a three foot dick gets a'hold of they ass. "Eeeeeeeyaaaaaaggghh!!!" Morgan, to the hilarious joy of the crowd watching on the video wall, from ringside, did her best impersonation of an anime girl getting violated. She even made herself snicker as she brought her cigarette up to her lips and snickered through the deep drag she took. Something dawned on her then and she looked at Marissa with a straight, curious face. "Yo, speakin' of which, are you sure ol'girl tonight ain't trynna just get some offa you? She said some cray shit when she called you out. I'm just sayin, Mari. I got 911 on speed dial if she try and violate yo ass wit 'er fist in the ring."
"Ugh. I hope not." Marissa snorted, shaking her head. "I mean, no matter what she won't get the chance. My knee is gonna get reeeeeal acquainted with her jaw tonight, Bitch Killa style. Win or lose... that bitch isn't leaving the ring tonight under her own power."
"That's my bad bitch! Get that shit!" Morgan stepped back, waiting for Mari to stand up before giving her a triple slap to the hand, a fist bump, and then a forearm bump. Their own personal 'handshake.' "And if that jacked bitch or lil pigtail ho wanna try and step, like you said, ya Ma and me got they ass covered! Now!" Morgan dragged from her cigarette, finishing it. She stomped it out. She finished off her wine box, crushed it in her hand and tossed it over her shoulder, immediately looking back to see if it landed in the trash can. It could be heard landing on the floor. Morgan looked back, rolling her eyes. "Fuck." She shook her head. "Go get ready, hermana. You got this shit."
As Marissa walks off to finish getting ready, the camera starts to dip down towards her lower half before Morgan's hand reaches out and lifts it back up. "Ey ey ey ey ey! Whassamatta witchu, huh? Ya got no fuckin' manners?! The fuck outta here, suino!" Morgan pie faces the camera lens, shoving the camera man out of the locker room. As the camera man stumbles back, Morgan throws the camera the finger and shuts the Iron Maiden's locker room door.
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[MARISSA PAYNE V. YUKA HIRATA]
HANSON
"Well, Jim, I guess you're ready for some more SBS, huh?"
REYNOLDS
"Ohhhhh yes, Nicky! And it's my main girl, this time!"
KLAZZIC
"She's not your girl, James Reynolds."
REYNOLDS
"She will be! You mark my words!"
As YURIKA's "Stuck On You" plays, the lights to the arena dim down, shrouding the audience in darkness. The darkness remains during the buildup of the song. Then, at the 0:06 mark, when the music fully kicks in, the dark arena comes to life with flashing lights of various colors, giving the arena a more rave club or concert look to it.
At the 0:15 mark, when the lyrics start, Yuka Hirata steps out through the curtain. She shakes her fists at her sides, bobbing her lowered head to the music as she comes to stand in the center of the stage. Right behind her are Masami Nishikiyama and Kayako Kazama. Masami throws up her hands, pointing with both index fingers down towards Yuka as she nods to the crowd. Kayako bounces around, waving to the audience and pointing excitedly at Yuka.
HANSON
"Kayako Kazama was just out here for a match. Why does she need to be out here, again?"
REYNOLDS
"She's supporting her friend, Nicky! Don't you have friends? Wait, I'm sure you don't."
KLAZZIC
"Well, I'll give the young lady points for support."
Yuka goes to her knees, performing a very brief Wai Kru. Then, at the 0:37 mark of the song, she slams her fists down on the stage and pops up onto her feet with a yell. Pyro goes off, causing Kayako to jump in alarm and Yuka starts storming towards the ring, ready for a fight.
ARDEN
"Making her way to the ring! Being accompanied by Masami Nishikiyama and Kayako Kazama! From Tokyo, Japan!! She represents the Super Bitch Squad! YUUUUKA HIIIIIIIIRATAAAAAAA!!"
On the way down the ramp, she chastises the audience, pointing to herself and dismissively waving them off. Upon reaching the ring, Yuka picks up into a jog and hops up, sliding sideways under the bottom rope and rolling to her feet. She paces the ring as Masami and Kayako enter the ring with her before the three of them come to the center. They stick their hands in, overlapping one another and perform their team chant. Afterwards, Masami gives Yuka a slap on the back and a fist bump. Kayako gives her an excited hug. Yuka then removes her entrance haori, folds it and hands it to Kayako who takes it with a deep bow. Yuka then removes her towel from over her neck and wipes any perspiration from her face before Masami takes it and the two leave her to her corner. Yuka watches the stage with a focused scowl.
KLAZZIC
"She is just not a pleasant person."
REYNOLDS
"She's a warrior, Matt!!"
HANSON
"I'd use a different word, but alright."
REYNOLDS
"Hey! You be nice to my future side piece, Nicky!"
Lamb Of God's "Desolation" suddenly rips through the arena as the lights start flashing a dark yellow. Now in her full gear, Marissa Payne comes walking out onto the stage to the cheers of the crowd. She's all business, though. Joining her, her mother LeeAnn Viskan and tag team partner Morgan Payne appear on stage. Both of them give Marissa a fist bump before she starts towards the ring.
ARDEN
"Her opponent! Being accompanied to the ring by LeeAnn Viskan and Morgan Payne! From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!! Representing the Iron Maidens!! MARISSAAAAAAAAAAA PAAAAAAAAAYNE!!!"
Marissa Payne climbs the steps and hops over the top rope, immediately scowling at Yuka Hirata as she starts removing her shades, beanie and jacket, ready for the match. No. Ready for a fight!
~DING DING DING~
It was, indeed, a fight. The clash of both women's styles made it look more like a Joshi style wrestling match. Each kick they threw at each other 'POPPED' loudly as kick pads smacked into the other's body. Yuka was still, clearly, the less experienced one but she knew how to dish out the pain to Marissa just as well as she could take it. Whenever she wasn't throwing kicks at the red head, she was going for MMA style rollups and takedowns. Some of which Marissa easily got out of, thanks to her training from her mother who acted as a sort of coach from ringside. Morgan, meanwhile, kept an eye on Yuka's own team mates, just knowing they were ready to interfere.
Eventually, they did try to interfere, as Marissa Payne drew a pop from the crowd and managed to lock in the Chemical Wedding on Yuka Hirata. Masami Nishikiyama hurried over to the side of the ropes her friend was reaching for and reached into the ring, beginning to try and pull her towards the ropes so she could grab them. This distracted the referee who began to berate Masami - even as Morgan Payne ran right up on her and started throwing fists and forearms at her.
As the referee yelled for the two to break it up, Kayako Kazama crawled into the ring and ran up behind Marissa, throwing a boot to the back of her head. This made Marissa release Yuka out of the Chemical Wedding but as Kayako looked ready to throw another cheap shot, LeeAnn Viskan slid into the ring like a sultry serpent. Kayako let out a terrified, adorable little yelp and quickly got out of the ring. LeeAnn smirked with satisfaction and slid back out of the ring as her daughter nodded in thanks before turning her focus back on Yuka Hirata. Outside the ring, Morgan and Masami spilled over into the crowd, and security tried to break them up as the two just proceeded to throw wild blows at each other.
As Yuka rolled over and started to get back up, Marissa was already positioned for the kill, running up and hitting her right in the face with the Bitch Killa before rolling her up for the cover at 11:52.
ONE!!
TWO!!
THREE!!
REYNOLDS
"Now that wasn't fair! Morgan and LeeAnn shouldn't have gotten involved!"
HANSON
"Gotten involved?! They only did so after SBS got involved!"
REYNOLDS
"Yuka couldn't reach the ropes! Masami was just trying to help her!"
KLAZZIC
"Yeah, you can't do that James Reynolds!"
HANSON
"I suppose you have an explanation for Kayako, as well?"
REYNOLDS
"Isn't she just the cutest thing ever?"
HANSON
"Oh give me a break. Well, there's your winner folks. Marissa Payne! And well deserved!"
LeeAnn Viskan got into the ring to congratulate her daughter. Meanwhile, security had managed to pry Masami Nishikiyama and Morgan Payne apart and the two rejoined their respective teams. Masami put an arm around Yuka, patting her stomach in reassurance as the loser of the match held her jaw, sneering up at her opponent in the ring.
HANSON
"Well, Jim, I guess you're ready for some more SBS, huh?"
REYNOLDS
"Ohhhhh yes, Nicky! And it's my main girl, this time!"
KLAZZIC
"She's not your girl, James Reynolds."
REYNOLDS
"She will be! You mark my words!"
As YURIKA's "Stuck On You" plays, the lights to the arena dim down, shrouding the audience in darkness. The darkness remains during the buildup of the song. Then, at the 0:06 mark, when the music fully kicks in, the dark arena comes to life with flashing lights of various colors, giving the arena a more rave club or concert look to it.
At the 0:15 mark, when the lyrics start, Yuka Hirata steps out through the curtain. She shakes her fists at her sides, bobbing her lowered head to the music as she comes to stand in the center of the stage. Right behind her are Masami Nishikiyama and Kayako Kazama. Masami throws up her hands, pointing with both index fingers down towards Yuka as she nods to the crowd. Kayako bounces around, waving to the audience and pointing excitedly at Yuka.
HANSON
"Kayako Kazama was just out here for a match. Why does she need to be out here, again?"
REYNOLDS
"She's supporting her friend, Nicky! Don't you have friends? Wait, I'm sure you don't."
KLAZZIC
"Well, I'll give the young lady points for support."
Yuka goes to her knees, performing a very brief Wai Kru. Then, at the 0:37 mark of the song, she slams her fists down on the stage and pops up onto her feet with a yell. Pyro goes off, causing Kayako to jump in alarm and Yuka starts storming towards the ring, ready for a fight.
ARDEN
"Making her way to the ring! Being accompanied by Masami Nishikiyama and Kayako Kazama! From Tokyo, Japan!! She represents the Super Bitch Squad! YUUUUKA HIIIIIIIIRATAAAAAAA!!"
On the way down the ramp, she chastises the audience, pointing to herself and dismissively waving them off. Upon reaching the ring, Yuka picks up into a jog and hops up, sliding sideways under the bottom rope and rolling to her feet. She paces the ring as Masami and Kayako enter the ring with her before the three of them come to the center. They stick their hands in, overlapping one another and perform their team chant. Afterwards, Masami gives Yuka a slap on the back and a fist bump. Kayako gives her an excited hug. Yuka then removes her entrance haori, folds it and hands it to Kayako who takes it with a deep bow. Yuka then removes her towel from over her neck and wipes any perspiration from her face before Masami takes it and the two leave her to her corner. Yuka watches the stage with a focused scowl.
KLAZZIC
"She is just not a pleasant person."
REYNOLDS
"She's a warrior, Matt!!"
HANSON
"I'd use a different word, but alright."
REYNOLDS
"Hey! You be nice to my future side piece, Nicky!"
Lamb Of God's "Desolation" suddenly rips through the arena as the lights start flashing a dark yellow. Now in her full gear, Marissa Payne comes walking out onto the stage to the cheers of the crowd. She's all business, though. Joining her, her mother LeeAnn Viskan and tag team partner Morgan Payne appear on stage. Both of them give Marissa a fist bump before she starts towards the ring.
ARDEN
"Her opponent! Being accompanied to the ring by LeeAnn Viskan and Morgan Payne! From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!! Representing the Iron Maidens!! MARISSAAAAAAAAAAA PAAAAAAAAAYNE!!!"
Marissa Payne climbs the steps and hops over the top rope, immediately scowling at Yuka Hirata as she starts removing her shades, beanie and jacket, ready for the match. No. Ready for a fight!
~DING DING DING~
It was, indeed, a fight. The clash of both women's styles made it look more like a Joshi style wrestling match. Each kick they threw at each other 'POPPED' loudly as kick pads smacked into the other's body. Yuka was still, clearly, the less experienced one but she knew how to dish out the pain to Marissa just as well as she could take it. Whenever she wasn't throwing kicks at the red head, she was going for MMA style rollups and takedowns. Some of which Marissa easily got out of, thanks to her training from her mother who acted as a sort of coach from ringside. Morgan, meanwhile, kept an eye on Yuka's own team mates, just knowing they were ready to interfere.
Eventually, they did try to interfere, as Marissa Payne drew a pop from the crowd and managed to lock in the Chemical Wedding on Yuka Hirata. Masami Nishikiyama hurried over to the side of the ropes her friend was reaching for and reached into the ring, beginning to try and pull her towards the ropes so she could grab them. This distracted the referee who began to berate Masami - even as Morgan Payne ran right up on her and started throwing fists and forearms at her.
As the referee yelled for the two to break it up, Kayako Kazama crawled into the ring and ran up behind Marissa, throwing a boot to the back of her head. This made Marissa release Yuka out of the Chemical Wedding but as Kayako looked ready to throw another cheap shot, LeeAnn Viskan slid into the ring like a sultry serpent. Kayako let out a terrified, adorable little yelp and quickly got out of the ring. LeeAnn smirked with satisfaction and slid back out of the ring as her daughter nodded in thanks before turning her focus back on Yuka Hirata. Outside the ring, Morgan and Masami spilled over into the crowd, and security tried to break them up as the two just proceeded to throw wild blows at each other.
As Yuka rolled over and started to get back up, Marissa was already positioned for the kill, running up and hitting her right in the face with the Bitch Killa before rolling her up for the cover at 11:52.
ONE!!
TWO!!
THREE!!
REYNOLDS
"Now that wasn't fair! Morgan and LeeAnn shouldn't have gotten involved!"
HANSON
"Gotten involved?! They only did so after SBS got involved!"
REYNOLDS
"Yuka couldn't reach the ropes! Masami was just trying to help her!"
KLAZZIC
"Yeah, you can't do that James Reynolds!"
HANSON
"I suppose you have an explanation for Kayako, as well?"
REYNOLDS
"Isn't she just the cutest thing ever?"
HANSON
"Oh give me a break. Well, there's your winner folks. Marissa Payne! And well deserved!"
LeeAnn Viskan got into the ring to congratulate her daughter. Meanwhile, security had managed to pry Masami Nishikiyama and Morgan Payne apart and the two rejoined their respective teams. Masami put an arm around Yuka, patting her stomach in reassurance as the loser of the match held her jaw, sneering up at her opponent in the ring.
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[FILMED EARLIER THIS WEEK]
The camera starts rolling and Lady Elizavetta Von Dutch smiles and starts talking immediately, walking stick in hand. The background is a beautiful rolling hill, and the wooded expanse is breathtaking in its beauty. Jag’hatai is doing push ups off to her right and she stops to let him catch up when done.
“Here we are in Oak Mountain State Park, getting ready for our match on Monday Night, and taking in a few local sites, and most importantly being with the people. You see, in this business, it is the people who make us superstars. It is the people who show us respect, that we in turn give our all for, in return. So, I hope we have made it clear by now that respect is the cornerstone, the keystone of this business. We are 3-0 with wins over so called warriors in this business.”
Continuing on their hike uphill with occasional nods from Jag’hatai, she continues “ Those warriors, weren’t real warriors though. Real warriors, real fighters, men and women who live by a code of honour, respect themselves enough to understand a handshake is a way to do business. Win or lose, success or fail. It measures a man. Warriors do not lower themselves to the standards of other people; they live independently according to their own standards and code of honour. That is how we live, by a code of honour. We experience the world differently. We see the world differently. “
Stopping at the top of the mountain and overlooking Birmingham and enjoying the view, Elizavetta and Jag’hatai stand there, as the camera rotates around them, in a 360 degree panorama. She takes a deep breath in and looks back at the camera.
“YOH, much like all of the so called warriors we have faced since getting here so far, you are likely going to ignore the code of honour. That saddens us. Becoming the new normal though. Grown to expect it. So, when you decline, as you likely will, you will have set yourself up to be on the losing end of the how to be a man test. Just once, we hope to face a true competitor, a true warrior, but knowing who you run with, you’re not one. We are the king of the this mountain. We have conquered it, like we will conquer you. See you soon."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Standing backstage in Birmingham Alabama, Ethan Skinner is standing in front of his cameraman Six with a book in hand. Smirking at the camera he begins, abruptly. “Here we are. Here we find ourselves. I guess my words on Twitter got to you old man. Speaking of words, I want to share a passage from a book I have recently read.” Flipping open the book and beginning reading "If the bible be true, God commanded his chosen people to destroy men simply for the crime of defending their native land. They were not allowed to spare trembling and white-haired age, nor dimpled babes clasped in the mothers' arms. They were ordered to kill women, and to pierce, with the sword of war, the unborn child. 'Our heavenly Father' commanded the Hebrews to kill the men and women, the fathers, sons and brothers, but to preserve the girls alive. Why were not the maidens also killed? Why were they spared? Read the thirty-first chapter of Numbers, and you will find that the maidens were given to the soldiers and the priests. Is there, in all the history of war, a more infamous thing than this? Is it possible that God permitted the violets of modesty, that grow and shed their perfume in the maiden's heart, to be trampled beneath the brutal feet of lust? If this was the order of God, what, under the same circumstances, would have been the command of a devil? When, in this age of the world, a woman, a wife, a mother, reads this record, she should, with scorn and loathing, throw the book away. A general, who now should make such an order, giving over to massacre and rapine a conquered people, would be held in execration by the whole civilized world. Yet, if the bible be true, the supreme and infinite God was once a savage. This quote brought to you by Robert Ingersoll’s book, Some Mistakes of Moses.
Ethan closes the book and places on a light box to his left and takes a sip of a water. Smirking at the camera again. "This is your god Payne. This is how people who live for righteous retribution act. You’re not even thick skinned enough to let go words on social media. Let me be as clear as I can old man. I have a surprise coming for you, one you won’t be ready for, and no matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to stop the planned outcome."
He opens the book and starts to tear pages out of it, throwing them at the camera, over and over again, while the cameraman backs up, you can tell because the scenery in the background changes.
"Mr Skinner” says Six. ”You’re starting to scare me. “
"It is not you who should be scared Six. It is Morgan who should be scared. She should be scared for her father, for what I plan to do to him, will cement my legacy as a career killer. When the smoke clears, when the dust settles, I will be your Savage God, and you will bow to me. See you soon relic."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[JAG'HATAI D'HABI V. YOH]
In his fourth straight victory in NFW's Junior Heavyweight Division, Jag'hatai D'habi managed to defeat Roppongi 3K's YOH in 14:06, by pinfall, when he evaded a crossbody attempt from YOH in the corner. YOH smashed chest first into the corner, stumbling back and D'habi came right off the ropes, hitting him with Clotho's Whip for the cover.
ONE!!
TWO!!
THREE!!
KLAZZIC
"Still undefeated! Very nice!"
HANSON
"This guy is impressive!"
REYNOLDS
"Absolutely. I can't disagree there."
ONE!!
TWO!!
THREE!!
KLAZZIC
"Still undefeated! Very nice!"
HANSON
"This guy is impressive!"
REYNOLDS
"Absolutely. I can't disagree there."
All of a sudden, in the middle of Evilwave's "Wakanda" playing for Jag'hatai D'habi, the music suddenly switched over to Behemoth's "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel", cutting the celebration for D'habi and Elizavetta Von Dutch short. The crowd boo'ed as they all turned their attention towards the stage, expectantly.
REYNOLDS
"Aaaaaaghhhhh!!! No! What's going on, now?!"
As an answer to James Reynolds' question, Darius Crowley came walking out onto the stage...calmly. Unlike his crisp suit he had been seen in during his initial debut promo, this time the man was dressed more casual, wearing a black Filius Damnati - Dominion of Pain t-shirt that fit snugly around his ripped upper body, complete with black jeans and simple black and white running shoes.
HANSON
"Guys, what the hell is Darius Crowley doing out here?"
KLAZZIC
"It can't be good."
Darius didn't have a microphone, however. All he had were his two hands which he used to clap slowly as he watched Jag'hatai D'habi in the ring, nodding slowly in approval.
REYNOLDS
"Is he...? Is this motherfucker CLAPPING?!"
KLAZZIC
"I think he likes The Ragman's work, fellas!"
HANSON
"Huh...I'm kinda impressed! He seems like a good sport!"
Jag'hatai D'habi and Elizavetta Von Dutch watched Darius Crowley silently as he ceased his clapping but nodded again, before simply turning around...and disappearing back through the curtain, and "Wakanda" resumed over the speakers again.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[TAKASHI SUGIURA V. COLT SHIELDS]
Takashi Sugiura of Suzuki-gun defeated Colt Shields, in an absolute, one sided squash match that lasted 6:22 before delivering a Wrist Clutch Olympic Slam to the big Australian for the pinfall victory.
Takashi Sugiura of Suzuki-gun defeated Colt Shields, in an absolute, one sided squash match that lasted 6:22 before delivering a Wrist Clutch Olympic Slam to the big Australian for the pinfall victory.
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The crowd in the arena gave an audible pop as the camera opened up, backstage, on a close up of a Punisher skull emblem on a black t-shirt. In faded gold text that looked like old English, the words "No Words Only Action" were scribbled on the bottom while the words "HOUSE PAYNE" were layered over the top of the skull to look like they were carved out of cracked stone. They knew who this was, even before a pair of broad, muscular arms came into frame, adjusting the black handwraps. Panning back, the camera brought "The Punisher" Andrew Payne completely into the frame, inside the McKeesport Mafia's locker room. He was already in his gear: a black, long legged singlet, elbow pads, boots and black and yellow kneepads.
Andrew Payne completely ignored the camera as he reached into an open locker and grabbed a roll of yellow tape, beginning to wrap it around just his wrists, on top of the black handwraps he wore. He was silent. Focused. Irritated.
"Jesus, bro..." Big Daddy Payne walked into the picture, smirking as he patted his partner's back, before sitting down on a bench to start tying his bootlaces. "When you bring 'The Punisher' back, you really bring it back. Remind me to never get on your bad side..." He looked up at Andrew, trying not to grin. "Admit it though.... shit like this? Makes us feel young again."
Andrew nodded deep, looking over to BDP as he wrapped yellow tape around his wrists. "Sometimes I think getting involved in the whole social media bullshit is gonna make me start going grey. Then there's times like this where it lights a fire under my ass and I have to teach some snot nosed little shit that you don't run your mouth and call someone out, then start cryin' when you get what you wished for." Andrew finished with the yellow tape and set it back in the locker. He shut the door, rolling his shoulders to warm up. "What really gets me? I warned Judas to keep his boy in check. He even told him, basically, "Kid, don't fuck with that guy." What did the little shit do? He pins one guy clean in a gauntlet match, gets help with the deciding pin and he thinks he's hot shit around here."
"Just be careful, man." BDP told him, unable to hide the look of concern on his face. "Remember... LeeAnn knows this kid. Knows him well. She's been there watching Lasher teach him. And she said Skinner is even more dangerous than HE realizes."
"Skinner talks too goddamn much, D." Andrew sat down beside BDP, fixing his kneepads and the brace on his left knee. It was his left leg that he paid extra attention to, making sure the brace was fastened correctly and extended it out, then bent it back in a few times before seeming satisfied. "You know I value LeeAnn's advice. You and her have been doing this longer than I have. But I'm not gonna sit around here and let someone think just because Judas Lasher taught him how to do a snapmare and a dropkick that he's the new king shit around here. Besides." Andrew checked his elbow pads. "He pinned me with a rollup and he thinks he 'beat me.' He has a win over me on his record." Andrew said, raising an index finger to make his point. "...But that kid ain't beat me."
"Andy." BDP sighed, holding his hands up. "Nobody's doubting you. We're just saying not to take him lightly. Me and you... we can still go, but let's be honest. Between age and injuries, time hasn't been as kind to us as it has to guys like Lasher and Willy."
Surprisingly, Andrew's hardened eyes softened as he saw the concern in BDP's face. Heard it in his voice. He sighed, finally. "I know it ain't. Funny how that works, huh? We've wrestled mostly normal matches. Couple of street fights, here and there. Willy and Judas are death match experts and they get around like they're still twenty. This is just a matter I gotta settle, bro. You know me. I never back down from a fight if someone calls me out." He remembered something and pointed to his tag partner. His brother. "Remember when we were teenagers? That rat shit, Tommy fuckin' Frazetti, was running his mouth about me over by the train tracks where we all used to sneak off and drink cheap ass booze? I was two blocks over at Morgan's mom's house. What'd I do?" In a rare display of 'wow this guy isn't a walking robot' he cracked a very faint grin and nudged BDP with his elbow. "You called Tessa's house from a payphone, because you knew where I was. You said 'Bro, Tommy's got your name in his mouth. Says you're all talk.' What'd I do?"
"If I remember correctly, that tree is STILL traumatized by how many times you slammed Tommy's face into it..." BDP laughed, giving a shrug of defeat. "I know, man. I do. Honor... it may have gotten us into trouble over the years, but at the end of the day it's the one thing that keeps us going."
"Abso-fucking-lutely." Andrew lifted a fist up to bump with his bro. "Honor's all we got left in this world. That and family. And we gotta keep the honor strong so that the girls can carry our banner with their heads held high. Shit." He said, sighing. "If I let that little punk's words slide without doing anything? After everything I taught Morganna?" Andrew shook his head. "I don't think I'd be able to look my kid in the eyes ever again. But I will after tonight. You watch." Andrew stood up from the bench, looking into the camera then. "You watching this, Ethan? You smug ass little shit. You grinnin' to yourself, right now? Trust me, kid." Andrew shook his head. "You ain't gonna be fuckin' grinnin' after tonight." He looked back at BDP and raised up one hand. "Back in five." He said, and walked passed the camera where he could be heard going out the door.
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[ANDREW PAYNE V. ETHAN SKINNER]
It was difficult to even call this one an actual match. As soon as the bell rang, Ethan Skinner shocked the audience...by simply laying down on the mat, face up.
HANSON
"Wait, what?"
REYNOLDS
"The fuck is this crackpot doing?!"
The referee looked down at Ethan, confused, then to Andrew Payne and shrugged. Looking less than amused, Andrew motioned for Ethan to get to his feet, visibly telling him so. Ethan just laid there in refusal.
KLAZZIC
"What is Ethan Skinner up to?"
REYNOLDS
"Is he trying to get another rollup?"
HANSON
"I don't even....huh...."
Finally, Andrew Payne walked right over and reached down, grabbing Ethan Skinner by the throat with both hands and pulled him up to his feet. He got into Ethan's face, barely audible as he asked him what the hell his problem was. Ethan's response? He laid back down on the mat again. Andrew Payne looked around at the crowd, growing visibly frustrated.
REYNOLDS
"Does this idiot really wanna piss off The Punisher of professional wrestling?"
Andrew Payne pulled Ethan Skinner to his feet again and shoved him, yelling "LET'S GO, KID!! YOU WANTED THIS?! HERE I AM!!" Ethan Skinner bowed up to Andrew Payne, garnering a pop from the crowd. They were about to see a fight!
But instead, Skinner dropped back down to the mat, laying on his back and motioned for Payne to just pin him.
Andrew Payne tightened his lips, visibly angry now as he looked to the crowd and then the ref. He mouthed 'fuck it' and STOMPED right down onto Ethan Skinner's crotch. The crowd popped as Skinner curled up in pain and the referee called for the disqualification.
KLAZZIC
"Ohhh c'mon, Andy!! You're better than this!"
Andrew Payne pulled Ethan Skinner to the ring, kicked him below the belt AGAIN before hitting him with the Art of Ruin and popped up to his feet. "FUCK YOU!" He yelled as he slid out of the ring and stormed up the ramp.
ARDEN
"Ladies and gentlemen, here is your winner, as a result of a disqualification! "The Maori Warrior"...ETHAN SKINNER!!!!"
REYNOLDS
"Huh, he beat The Punisher again!"
HANSON
"He got the win but I wouldn't say he beat him!"
Andrew Payne threw the curtain aside, storming into the back as Ethan Skinner rolled up onto his knees in the ring, watching him go with a twisted look on his face.
It was difficult to even call this one an actual match. As soon as the bell rang, Ethan Skinner shocked the audience...by simply laying down on the mat, face up.
HANSON
"Wait, what?"
REYNOLDS
"The fuck is this crackpot doing?!"
The referee looked down at Ethan, confused, then to Andrew Payne and shrugged. Looking less than amused, Andrew motioned for Ethan to get to his feet, visibly telling him so. Ethan just laid there in refusal.
KLAZZIC
"What is Ethan Skinner up to?"
REYNOLDS
"Is he trying to get another rollup?"
HANSON
"I don't even....huh...."
Finally, Andrew Payne walked right over and reached down, grabbing Ethan Skinner by the throat with both hands and pulled him up to his feet. He got into Ethan's face, barely audible as he asked him what the hell his problem was. Ethan's response? He laid back down on the mat again. Andrew Payne looked around at the crowd, growing visibly frustrated.
REYNOLDS
"Does this idiot really wanna piss off The Punisher of professional wrestling?"
Andrew Payne pulled Ethan Skinner to his feet again and shoved him, yelling "LET'S GO, KID!! YOU WANTED THIS?! HERE I AM!!" Ethan Skinner bowed up to Andrew Payne, garnering a pop from the crowd. They were about to see a fight!
But instead, Skinner dropped back down to the mat, laying on his back and motioned for Payne to just pin him.
Andrew Payne tightened his lips, visibly angry now as he looked to the crowd and then the ref. He mouthed 'fuck it' and STOMPED right down onto Ethan Skinner's crotch. The crowd popped as Skinner curled up in pain and the referee called for the disqualification.
KLAZZIC
"Ohhh c'mon, Andy!! You're better than this!"
Andrew Payne pulled Ethan Skinner to the ring, kicked him below the belt AGAIN before hitting him with the Art of Ruin and popped up to his feet. "FUCK YOU!" He yelled as he slid out of the ring and stormed up the ramp.
ARDEN
"Ladies and gentlemen, here is your winner, as a result of a disqualification! "The Maori Warrior"...ETHAN SKINNER!!!!"
REYNOLDS
"Huh, he beat The Punisher again!"
HANSON
"He got the win but I wouldn't say he beat him!"
Andrew Payne threw the curtain aside, storming into the back as Ethan Skinner rolled up onto his knees in the ring, watching him go with a twisted look on his face.
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TyAnna Jupiter and Futura Soli stand in their ring gear in the middle of a wrestling ring. The room is dark with a spotlight on TyAnna and Futura that illuminates the wall behind them. The wall has a mural that reads “H.O.M Wrestling Academy.” TyAnna steps forward while Futura holds a serious expression on her face.
TyAnna: "For my entire career I have fought for love. I have fought for positivity and beauty. I stood up for what I knew in my heart was right trying to look out for the girls I came up with. I have built divisions on my back and I have elevated accolades. My name drips with prestige because I earned that for everyone I step in the ring with. For everyone I came up with! I wasn’t determined to be the best for me! I wanted to inspire and prove that the rings that I step foot in are the stages of legends!"
Futura: "Tell them exactly who you are!"
TyAnna: "I am TyAnna -fucking- Jupiter… I’ve had girls come up to me and pat me on the back in NFW saying they can’t wait to see my potential… Well my potential has been realized. When you look at me I expect you to understand that you are looking at a former World Champion who was never beaten for her belt. I was never beaten by anyone- I have never been beaten by anyone! I am unpinned! I am unsubmitted! Nobody has ever been able to overcome me and I don’t see that changing now! But what will change is my demeanor. Because here I thought that showing my strength week in and week out would make people know that my kindness was not to be mistaken for weakness. But now I know that was a mistake! I worked for a company that I gave my blood, my sweat, my tears, my EVERYTHING to!"
Futura: "But what did they give you?"
TyAnna: "They gave me everything in return… just to take it away from me! Why!? Because being the Protector of Beauty was only a position they supported so long as I never confronted the ugliness that they were guilty of. Being the Guardian of Love stopped being a catchy tagline for their promotion once it challenged their own sins!
So now TyAnna Jupiter doesn’t just smile and tell young girls that they can take on the world. I still fight for love and beauty, but my eyes are open to the extent of disgusting people polluting our earth! Now more than ever the world needs me. It needs my strength and it needs me to do away with all of the creeps and fakes who take it upon themselves to write themselves into history as the heros!
So far in my career I’ve proven that I am capable of being a legend. A name echoed across the land. A champion of the world. But I’ve never been an accomplished tag team competitor. To show that I’m not only a force to be reckoned with, but a communicator. To be apart of something greater than the sum of its parts. To elevate people who actually deserve my value. People like my partner who hasn’t had her moment… until now."
Futura steps forward as TyAnna circles back to stare past her partner and to the viewer during Futura’s time to speak.
Futura: Hello world. My name is Futura “Pink Matter” Soli. There’s not much you need to know about me. Other than if you piss me off I’m going to break your face. Things that piss me off include coming at me with an attitude. Talking shit behind my back. Disrespecting my girlfriend. Or I could simplify that by saying all the things that I’ve seen Adrianna Salvatore do. I get it though. In every yard there are the girls who have gotten so used to pushing people around and getting their way that they get confident. So confident that once a real threat comes to their doorstep they can’t recognize that.
Maybe your quirky, scary misfit persona scares people around here, but it’s not fooling me. You act tough to hide the fact that you’re just a fragile little girl who doesn’t know how to handle her problems. I’m running with the group I’m in because I smell opportunity to improve and offer something great. You however seem to be clawing for anybody to attach to because you know you’re not strong enough on your own. You probably don’t even care that me and my girlfriend could end your career if we wanted to. The fact that anybody might care enough to come after us in your name would probably be the highlight of your life. Even if they fail the same as you.
You and Shelley both are self destructive. Neither of you are cut out to succeed in the ring. But you’re not here to succeed, you’re here because you get some satisfaction out of receiving and inflicting pain. To some that might make you out to be dangerous monsters, but in the eyes of actual skill and talent we can’t help but feel sorry for you. Not that we’ll hold back when we beat you. I get the feeling neither of you care though. Some part of you thinks you deserve the punishment you’re going to receive at our hands and it’s honestly quite sad. But, I guess we can take comfort in knowing you’ll rejoice in your own suffering."
TyAnna: Maybe even put you out of your misery.
Futura: But one thing is already certain. You’re not good enough to beat us. You’re just hoping to beat us down as much as possible before we get the final blow.
TyAnna steps forward.
TyAnna: Which is perfectly fine by us. We can take a hit.
Futura: So all that matters is the fact that despite all of your efforts this war will only end one way. With us knocking your lights out.
Glass shatters and the abruptly screen cuts to black.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[PENELOPE CASSIDY V. KENNEDY CAMPBELL]
In her debut match for NFW, Penelope Cassidy defeated Kennedy Campbell in 12:51 after bringing it to the member of the Great White North with her wild personality but a surprisingly calculated display of in-ring technique. Campbell certainly fought back and put up an impressive offense but Penelope finished her off, first with a bronco buster in the corner, where she then drew a boo from the crowd as she began grinding and gyrating in Kennedy's face until the referee managed to get her to break out of the corner.
As Kennedy Campbell got to her feet, however, Penelope Cassidy was on her again, setting her up with Campbell's feet on the turnbuckle.
HANSON
"What the hell is she---?"
Before Nick Hanson could finish his words, Penelope hit Kennedy with an elevated rope-hanging DDT, driving her head into the mat.
REYNOLDS
"OH!!!! DAMN!!!!"
KLAZZIC
"OUCH!!!!"
Grinning maliciously, Penelope stared into the camera as she crawled over Kennedy for the cover.
ONE!!
TWO!!
THREE!!
REYNOLDS
"WHOO!! Lara's new bae got fangs!!"
HANSON
"I think Lara's 'new bae' has some issues, but to each his own."
REYNOLDS
"You just don't appreciate beauty in it's natural form, do you?"
KLAZZIC
"I hope she didn't hurt Kennedy Campbell with that DDT! That looked painful!"
Kennedy Campbell rolled out of the ring as the referee raised Penelope Cassidy's arm in victory.
In her debut match for NFW, Penelope Cassidy defeated Kennedy Campbell in 12:51 after bringing it to the member of the Great White North with her wild personality but a surprisingly calculated display of in-ring technique. Campbell certainly fought back and put up an impressive offense but Penelope finished her off, first with a bronco buster in the corner, where she then drew a boo from the crowd as she began grinding and gyrating in Kennedy's face until the referee managed to get her to break out of the corner.
As Kennedy Campbell got to her feet, however, Penelope Cassidy was on her again, setting her up with Campbell's feet on the turnbuckle.
HANSON
"What the hell is she---?"
Before Nick Hanson could finish his words, Penelope hit Kennedy with an elevated rope-hanging DDT, driving her head into the mat.
REYNOLDS
"OH!!!! DAMN!!!!"
KLAZZIC
"OUCH!!!!"
Grinning maliciously, Penelope stared into the camera as she crawled over Kennedy for the cover.
ONE!!
TWO!!
THREE!!
REYNOLDS
"WHOO!! Lara's new bae got fangs!!"
HANSON
"I think Lara's 'new bae' has some issues, but to each his own."
REYNOLDS
"You just don't appreciate beauty in it's natural form, do you?"
KLAZZIC
"I hope she didn't hurt Kennedy Campbell with that DDT! That looked painful!"
Kennedy Campbell rolled out of the ring as the referee raised Penelope Cassidy's arm in victory.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*In the backstage area, we see Josh Davidson getting ready in the interview area when he sees someone off-camera.*
"Oh, look. It's AKI, c'mon let's go...," Davidson says to the cameraman as he sprints off to the side with the cameraman running behind him in tow.
"AKI...? AKI...," Davidson yells as he chases after AKI, who's walking ahead oblivious to him.
"AKI!!!" Davidson finally yells as he catches up to AKI, who stops and tilts his head quizzically at the now tired Davidson. Davidson holds up a finger as he catches his breath.
"Thanks...needed a moment there. But I wanted to get your thought on Connor K's condition. The official word this past week was that Connor K. suffered a torn rotator cuff as a result of a dislocated shoulder at the hands of Havok, resulting in Connor being out indefinitely. How are you taking his injury and how will this affect your mentality going into your tag match with Nico Salvatore against Zack Sabre, Jr. and Minoru Suzuki, two men associated with Havok in Suzuki-gun. And in the case of Suzuki, the man who caused Connor's initial shoulder injury," Davidson asks AKI.
*AKI pauses for a moment as his eyes narrow while staring at Davidson before shaking his head and walking off abruptly, leaving Davidson alone to ponder what that was all about.*
"Does he ever talk?" Davidson turns and asks the cameraman. "Come on, let's get back to the interview area. I'm scheduled to have...," Davidson stops as the camera pans to his right and we see Prince Devitt standing in front of him, in street clothes, complete with a black leather jacket with the collar flipped up.
"You were scheduled to have an interview with who...?" Devitt asks.
"Well, it was supposed to be with...," Davidson responds before Devitt takes the mic.
“It doesn't matter now, does it? But I tell you what. Kenny Omega? I know you're out there with the rest of your Elite mates wondering what the hell was that about last week. I tell you what, you have questions, I have answers. Come to the ring, next week, and we will hash this all out...," Devitt says to the camera coldly, "like good brothers should.”
*Devitt turns back to Davidson and offers the mic. Before Davidson could grab it, Devitt drops it and walks off, with the camera zooming in slowly on the puzzled look on Davidson's face before cutting away....
"Oh, look. It's AKI, c'mon let's go...," Davidson says to the cameraman as he sprints off to the side with the cameraman running behind him in tow.
"AKI...? AKI...," Davidson yells as he chases after AKI, who's walking ahead oblivious to him.
"AKI!!!" Davidson finally yells as he catches up to AKI, who stops and tilts his head quizzically at the now tired Davidson. Davidson holds up a finger as he catches his breath.
"Thanks...needed a moment there. But I wanted to get your thought on Connor K's condition. The official word this past week was that Connor K. suffered a torn rotator cuff as a result of a dislocated shoulder at the hands of Havok, resulting in Connor being out indefinitely. How are you taking his injury and how will this affect your mentality going into your tag match with Nico Salvatore against Zack Sabre, Jr. and Minoru Suzuki, two men associated with Havok in Suzuki-gun. And in the case of Suzuki, the man who caused Connor's initial shoulder injury," Davidson asks AKI.
*AKI pauses for a moment as his eyes narrow while staring at Davidson before shaking his head and walking off abruptly, leaving Davidson alone to ponder what that was all about.*
"Does he ever talk?" Davidson turns and asks the cameraman. "Come on, let's get back to the interview area. I'm scheduled to have...," Davidson stops as the camera pans to his right and we see Prince Devitt standing in front of him, in street clothes, complete with a black leather jacket with the collar flipped up.
"You were scheduled to have an interview with who...?" Devitt asks.
"Well, it was supposed to be with...," Davidson responds before Devitt takes the mic.
“It doesn't matter now, does it? But I tell you what. Kenny Omega? I know you're out there with the rest of your Elite mates wondering what the hell was that about last week. I tell you what, you have questions, I have answers. Come to the ring, next week, and we will hash this all out...," Devitt says to the camera coldly, "like good brothers should.”
*Devitt turns back to Davidson and offers the mic. Before Davidson could grab it, Devitt drops it and walks off, with the camera zooming in slowly on the puzzled look on Davidson's face before cutting away....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The camera briefly catches "The Mangler" William Mannheim from the Great White North as he is seen walking through the backstage area. We have no idea where he's even headed or what he's up to. Everything seems fine and calm until....
HANSON
"Well, here's William Mannheim folks and--OH MY GOD!!!!"
A clutter of junk comes raining down on top of the man!! Old chunks of metal, glass and garbage come crashing down onto his head. William Mannheim collapses as a metal trash can - presumably what the stuff came out of - comes dropping down on top of him.
KLAZZIC
"WHAT THE BLAZES?!"
HANSON
"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"
The camera hurries closer to Mannheim as he lays on the concrete floor, writhing in pain, holding his head. The camera angle then pans up to the top of the equipment shelf Mannheim was passing by to reveal...Tyson Law. The young Asian man stares down at his work, scowling angrily. A bandage is still covering his forehead from where William Mannheim busted him open at March Misery.
HANSON
"TYSON LAW!! WHAT THE HELL?!"
REYNOLDS
"HAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA!!! PAYBACK'S A BITCH, NICKY!!!"
The camera stays on Tyson Law as he climbs down and stands over William Mannheim, giving the man a rude nudge with his foot before walking off down the corridor, away from the camera while we fade to a commercial....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HANSON
"Well, here's William Mannheim folks and--OH MY GOD!!!!"
A clutter of junk comes raining down on top of the man!! Old chunks of metal, glass and garbage come crashing down onto his head. William Mannheim collapses as a metal trash can - presumably what the stuff came out of - comes dropping down on top of him.
KLAZZIC
"WHAT THE BLAZES?!"
HANSON
"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"
The camera hurries closer to Mannheim as he lays on the concrete floor, writhing in pain, holding his head. The camera angle then pans up to the top of the equipment shelf Mannheim was passing by to reveal...Tyson Law. The young Asian man stares down at his work, scowling angrily. A bandage is still covering his forehead from where William Mannheim busted him open at March Misery.
HANSON
"TYSON LAW!! WHAT THE HELL?!"
REYNOLDS
"HAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA!!! PAYBACK'S A BITCH, NICKY!!!"
The camera stays on Tyson Law as he climbs down and stands over William Mannheim, giving the man a rude nudge with his foot before walking off down the corridor, away from the camera while we fade to a commercial....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The camera opens up on a building out in a countryside setting that looks like some kind of old brewery. Immediately, the familiar sound of Ryan Upchurch's "Cheatham County" starts to play. Seconds later, Teddy Morse of the Rebel Rousers comes hopping into the frame in jeans, a Rebel Rousers t-shirt and a woodland camo cap with the Rebel flag on the front.
"Well, hey there! How y'all this morning?! Afternoon, evening, whenever the hell y'all are watching this!" He shrugs his shoulders up with his goofy smile. "Y'all know what I love the most about being from the South?"
"What's that, Teddy?" From the other side, Teddy's tag team partner, Chase Evans, comes walking into frame from the other side, wearing a matching t-shirt and a Rebel Rousers beanie over his head.
"Drinking!" Teddy says confidently, bobbing his head over enthusiastically as he does so.
Frowning in confusion, Chase looks at the man. "That's not all we do in the South, Teddy. What the hell, man?"
"Nope, but we sure as shit know how to!" Teddy says, swinging his head back to look at the camera.
"That's true!" Says Chase, looking back to the camera. "And you know what we love just as much? Home brewed spirits! That's why we made this!" Chase holds up a large bottle full of a clear liquid. On the label is the Rebel flag with a skull and crossbones over it. The skull has a worn and tattered cowboy hat on it. Beneath it are the words "Rebel Spirits. Tennessee Shine."
Teddy Morse's eyes go wide at the sight of the bottle. "Whoowee!! Lookit that!! Tennessee Moonshine! Nothin' better!"
"Not just any Tennessee brew, though." Says Chase as he brings the bottle back to him but keeps it up for the camera to see. "This is our own personal recipe. Developed and trademarked by Teddy and myself. Don't worry, it's perfectly legal!"
"Yeah, us rednecks got licenses and shit!" Teddy adds.
"If you're looking for a moonshine that goes down smoother than the rest but still carries with it everything there is to love about it, try a bottle of Rebel Spirits! It comes in all the best flavors! Key Lime, Sweet Tea, Peach Cobbler, Peppermint."
"And you know we got that Apple Pie, y'all. Yessir, yes ma'am!" Teddy leans in, winking at the camera.
"We've got Raspberry, Watermelon Lime, Lemon Drop." Chase lists off more flavors, keeping a smile as he does so.
"Hell, we've even got Pumpkin Spice for all you basic white bitches that wanna get white girl wasted!" Teddy chimes in, throwing his hand up like a phone next to his ear. "Call me!"
"Whoa!" Chase turns to his partner. "Teddy, you can't go and call potential customers bitches like that!"
"The hell I can't!" Teddy says, adjusting his hat. "This is goddamn 'Murica, y'all! Freedom of speech and freedom to get fucked up on some good ol'shit like Rebel Spirits Moonshine!! GET YOU SOME, Y'ALL!!! HEEEEEELLLLLL YEEEEAAAAH!!!"
The shot cuts to a wooden table out in front of a cornfield as a hand slams a bottle of product onto it as the final shot of the commercial.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The show returned from the commercial break, fading quickly onto Adrianna Salvatore sitting inside the locker room for The Unwanted. She looked...well...she looked a mess. An Absolute. Fucking. Mess. She was already in her wrestling gear. She just needed to slide her knee covers up over her knees as they were currently resting around her boots. Over her sports bra, she wore a black cut off t-shirt with the sleeves and neckline sliced away. The design was made to look like Disturbed's old "The Sickness" album cover, except it said "The Unwanted" with scribbled drawings of each member's faces just like the band members of Disturbed were on the original album cover. It had faces easy identifiable as all members. Angel Kusanagi (with messy hair drawn down in her face), Mia Hayashi (identified by pigtails in the hair), herself (drawn with her multiple piercings that she wore in her face when not working a match), Adam Cole (it was easy to pick him out of the faces with that smugly scribbled smile of it) and Jay White (drawn with his long hair slicked back and his own arrogant grin).
Sitting there on the bench, Adrianna fumbled impatiently with her elbow pad that she wore on her right arm as she tried to get it up and set as quickly as possible. Her hair was already wet down as she lifted her face for the camera to see. The woman looked exhausted. Absolutely exhausted! Like she hadn't slept in at least a day or two. She reached beside her off camera and picked up a can of Monster Energy, chugging from it before setting it down.
"Hey, chick." The voice of Adam Cole said, seconds before the man came into frame and sat down on the other side of her, giving her a friendly slap on the knee. He offered her a smile - one of his rarely seen non-arrogant ones, at that - as he looked at her. Adam wore his long hair up in the usual Samurai knot behind his head as he sat there in blue jeans and one of his specific "Unwanted" themed shirts. It had a stencil outline of him throwing up his pose with the words Who Wouldn't Want May, Bay-Bay?! "You're looking a little rough, huh?"
"I'm fine." Adrianna said, sniffling just a little. She'd been crying again, recently, but at the moment she looked more pissed off than anything. "Just waiting on Shelley so we can go over how we're gonna end a couple of careers, tonight." She said with thick venom in her voice, pulling up her kneepads with authority.
"Who-ho-ho-hooooaaaaa, A." Adam said with an amused smirk. "You remember what Jay said last week, right? You gotta be focused when you go out there---"
"I AM focused, Adam!" Adrianna nearly snapped on her own team mate as she turned sharply towards him, causing him to straighten some and be not so close to her. "I may not have slept the past forty-eight hours but I am Completely. Fucking. Focused!" She paused, seeing what her response was doing to her own team member and relaxed. Adrianna sighed, shaking her head. "Look, I'm sorry. I just want this whole thing fucking over with. I don't wanna look at any of those four longer than I have to. Tonight, TyAnna Jupiter and her little girlfriend Futura Soli get an early retirement from this company. Welcome to NFW. Have a nice debut match. It's also your farewell match. So long, bitches." Adrianna ran a hand through her black and blue hair, pushing it out of her face and behind her shoulders. She turned to Adam again. "Look, I'm a little on edge right now, okay? I thought I had things covered, even with Angel out of commission this week and probably next week. Right now? It's you, me and Jay. That's it. I can ask for more help but I can't expect everyone else to drop their own shit just because I want four pieces of shit out of the company that, frankly, I helped put back on the map when I held the Women's Championship for eleven goddamn months."
Adam raised his eyebrows. "You're starting to sound like Lara, now."
"Fuck Lara!" Adrianna responded. "She thinks she runs this company because her father carried it on his back. He deserves that respect. Not her. I carried the goddamn women's division on my back for almost a year. I kept the championship under our banner when a woman, who frankly, despite what I said about her back at When Worlds Collide, is the baddest bitch of this generation to ever step out of Japan. I beat Mayu Iwatani in less than five minutes, true. But you know what, Adam? Under that face paint? Under all of that scary bravado? I was fucking terrified! Terrified that a girl who's been doing this since she was still in Middle School, would kick the shit out of my problematic ass, take that title and go back to Stardom and say 'look what I did, girls. NFW's Women Division ain't shit.' And Lara Blackheart has the goddamn audacity to crack jokes and act like everyone should kiss her boots? Bitch!" Adrianna turned directly towards the camera. "Kiss my ass!" She looked into the lens with bloodshot, tired eyes that only her eyeliner an eyeshadow served to cover up the natural dark circles under them from no sleep. "You don't deserve shit until you win that same title I did and you win it fairly! But let's be honest, you're probably gonna wait until Alex Brody defends it in a match and can barely stand before you come out and issue a direct challenge right there. You are a goddamn Mother. Fucking. Coward, Lara Blackheart!! Do you hear me? A fucking COWARD!!"
Adrianna snorted and drank from her Monster Energy again, sighing as she leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees, running her fingers through her hair again and rested her hands on the back of her neck. Adam Cole just sat there beside her, for a minute before giving her a tentative rub and pat on the back. "Hey, look. Chill out, A. You're not alone in this. It's gonna be fine."
"Please just...give me a minute...." Adrianna said, prompting Adam to give her back another pat before getting up and leaving the frame to give her some space. The camera focused there on Adrianna then for a moment longer.
It had been a long week for the new Silver Mountain Champion. It had been a while since she had held a championship, but the pressures that came with it were all too familiar. There were already a number of people saying that they were coming after the championship. Not her, the championship itself. Which was exactly why she wanted to stay out of all championship conversations for all those months. At the same time, she missed the power that she felt while holding a championship belt. That was exactly what she was feeling at that moment. Power. She knew that she couldn't let her emotions get in the way of anything, but that was going to prove to be a tad difficult when she was looking to face two of the new friends of exactly what made her so emotional lately.
After everything that went down during March Misery, Shelley had finally snapped. Sure, she had already been upset over Lara's behavior, but actually getting to face her was a little too much for Shelley. She knew that somehow, despite her interference in the fight, Lara had done exactly what she had set out to do. Win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Not that Shelley understood how that happened, It was four-on-four. Logically, one of the other girls could and should have taken the briefcase during the brawl. But this wasn't logical life, this was professional wrestling. It didn't have to make sense.
After getting ready for her match and making sure that Kimi and Kyle weren't going to be getting into any trouble, she left their locker room and made her way to the door that read The Unwanted and knocked once before letting herself in. It wasn't like she cared if any of them were dressed or not. After walking in, she looked around the room, taking in the situation. Once her eyes landed on Adrianna, she sighed inwardly. Of course, the bipolar one had to be the one who had remained somewhat calm. At least, she was calm on the outside. Thank the Gods for medication. She walked over to Adrianna with a smile, her head tilted. "Are you ready to sweep the leg?"
Adrianna didn't look up until she heard the voice of her tag team partner for the night speaking right in front of her. The fan proclaimed "leader" of the Unwanted - a position she never asked for - brought her hands down and lifted her tired eyes to Shelley. She was the easiest thing on the eyes, right now because social media sure hadn't been a friendly sight. "I'm ready to break the leg." She said coldly, rubbing her eyes with both hands on either side of the bridge of her nose. That shit people did when they were trying to stay awake. Maybe she'd be able to sleep tonight after she and Shelley managed to beat Nostalgia Ultra to two bloody pulps. She wanted Lara to see. She wanted her to see just what she had awakened inside of her before she fell victim to it herself.
Adrianna shook her head to help keep her blood flowing before looking at Shelley again. "And you?"
Shelley grinned, pounding her fist into her opposite, open hand. "I should probably explain my metaphor. You see, Lara has managed to sweet talk her way into being on top of a new little pyramid. TyAnna Jupiter and Futura Soli are the bottom of this pyramid. Last week we failed because we went straight for the jugular. And that is exactly what is going to happen every time we go straight for Lara. We can't make that mistake again."
Shelley licked her lips as she patted the Silver Mountain Championship belt on her shoulder. "I didn't get this by going into my match hot-headed and full of ignorance. I cleared my mind and went into things with a smart plan. I strategized every move in that match and it went my way. I think that if we go about this the right way, we should end up with a very similar result."
Adrianna managed a smile as she looked at Shelley and the title on her shoulder. Goddamn did the woman ever deserve it, more than anybody. Rick Dickulous deserved it, yes. But out of all of the people who had challenged him for it, Adrianna thought Shelley earned every bit of that match and she deserved to be the one to take the title off of the man who'd wiped the mat with everyone before her who tried. Adrianna nodded, though. The other woman had a point in her strategy. If the two of them took out the cohesive tag unit of Sex & Violence, then honestly - in Adrianna's mind - Lara and Penelope would be easy pickings. "I may be second gen and all that glorified shit." Adrianna ran her fingers through her hair again. "But you've been in this business longer than I have. I'm gonna follow your lead, Shell."
Shelley nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "They may be at the bottom of this little group, but we can't take them for granted. Our main objective may be Lara Blackheart, but the way to go is to take out her new little squad and pin her into a corner. That, and only that, is the only way we are going to end this. It's not going to be easy, either. Unfortunately, it won't be ending here tonight. We're going to have to be in this for the long haul."
She paused, reaching for Adrianna's hand. "That being said, we're going to have to figure out how exactly we're going to perform the first step in taking these two out. We haven't known each other as long as they have. We're not as close as they are. So taking them out is not going to be an easy task for us. We need a game plan."
Adrianna took Shelley's hand, intertwining their fingers together, bringing their hands up with a relaxed sigh. Knowing she had Shelley on her side gave her a sense of strength that she needed, right now. Never, before, had Adrianna felt so lost. So weak against someone she knew she could physically overpower. Lara had definitely planned this, thoroughly. Handpicked her people. Nostalgia Ultra had to be Lara's chosen pair to deal with the very opponents TyAnna and Futura had tonight: her and Shelley. Lara knew where the power and tenacity in her opposition were. Right here. Smart little bitch. "Game plan." Adrianna repeated, nodding. "Right...right...." She said, looking like she was trying to think. "We've never teamed before...but we've gone head to head in the ring. We know each other's strength's and weaknesses." Adrianna...poor Adrianna. She closed her eyes to try and gather her bearings. "We've both got power...but you've got an edge over mine. You're also quicker off of the ropes. You focus on TyAnna. Futura likes to shoot and throw down. She wants to kick?" Adrianna shuddered with rage threatening to burst out of her. "I'll show her how to fucking kick...."
Shelley nodded slowly, "I'm fully agreeing with this. At the same time, we need to think about the bigger picture." She hated that this whole thing was happening the way that it was. She had never denied her feelings for Lara, but she was also given a new perspective lately. Just because she had only known Lara prior to coming to N*FW, that didn't mean that she would be taking Lara's side of what went down between her and Mia the previous year had she been able to obtain a little more information. All Lara had told Shelley was that Mia had turned her back on Lara, and made new friends. Shelley looked at Lara as a friend in need, and now she wondered if she had been getting played all along. "Just because this is supposed to be two-on-two, that doesn't mean that it's going to be. I think that we both know better by now. Lara and her new little skank are going to do everything in their power to interfere with our match. We need backup. I may sometimes train blindfolded, armed only with a bow staff, in the middle of a few large men, but I don't think that my hyperfocus is going to be enough for the both of us."
Adrianna shook her head. This time, though, it wasn't to shake off exhaustion. It was to reassure Shelley that they would be alright. "We'll be fine. If they try to hit us, we're covered." Oh, she knew damn well it wasn't going to be two on two. Lara and Penelope had to have planned to be ready and waiting to get involved, somehow. Adrianna felt like she had that covered, though. "Jay's around here, somewhere. He knows what's going down."
"Aaaand then there's me!" The voice from off screen said before Adam Cole reappeared, giving both ladies a friendly pat on the back before he looked at Shelley. Then he looked at the Silver Mountain Championship she was holding. "Hey, Shelley." He greeted, looking up at her. "Nice belt." He nodded towards the title. "Used to be mine, y'know. Til Rick Dickulous' big ass stole it from me."
"Jesus, fuck, Adam. Go away, for now!" Adrianna gave the man a light but determined shove. "Go find Jay! Make sure you two are ready in case Lara and her skank show up during our match."
"I'm just making conversation!" Adam said, throwing his hands up and gave a flirty wink to Shelley. "You two babes don't have to worry about a thing! Those two show up, I'll superkick a bitch!" He said, backing out of the locker room.
Adrianna sighed, rubbing her eyes and turned back to Shelley. "Ignore him. Like I said, we've got this. Adam's...he's Adam. We can rely on him and Jay, though."
Shelley couldn't help but roll her eyes, smirking. "You can't really use my own tactics against me, Adam," she laughed, turning back to Adrianna. "I trust them. But really... when SunDown was my main finisher, I used to throw in the fact that my opponent would be between my legs by the time the night was over. No one ever admitted to it, but I know that it worked because I would win over and over again." She took a deep breath, "so we just have to get into their heads. Which... doesn't seem to be very hard if they were so willing to become Lara's bitches, there can't be much going on up there."
"You want my opinion?" Adrianna finished her Monster drink - what was left of it, anyway - she chucked the can offscreen. It could be heard landing in a trash bin. "Penelope probably jumped on Lara the second she showed her tits. The other two? N.U probably bought the promise of tag team gold and the ability to do whatever they want because eeeeverybody's afraid of the Dominion! Well, not everybody. I said, before, when they showed up last year, I wasn't terrified of what they could do. I was worried about my dad's health. So I don't care what they think they can do." Adrianna thumbed to herself. "Little Lara knows I'm the big, mean bitch but she obviously forgets what I'm willing to do to get my point across. In fact? She doesn't have a complete idea of what I'm willing to do. Her and the Maidens wrestled completely different promotions on the indies than I did. But if she wants to go, I'm happy to give her a lesson. But that, obviously, has to wait. For now, we get to show Jupiter and Soli what we can do." Adrianna was feeling a second win coming to her as she opened a hand in offering to Shelley to clasp.
"Exactly," Shelley took a deep breath. "I just signed a full-time contract to this place. I'm not about to let them do to it what you just did to that can. And that is what's going to happen if Lara keeps getting her way, just because she's having this hissy fit. I just can't believe that the Dominion is still standing behind her at this point. They're treating things like she's asserting her dominance, but all she's really doing is throwing a temper-tantrum." She shook her head, "let's nip this in the bud. I'm done with this shit."
Adrianna didn't feel she needed to say anything, further. She simply clasped hands with Shelley and clapped her other hand over both of their hands, nodding to the older woman, as the shot cut away to....
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Sitting there on the bench, Adrianna fumbled impatiently with her elbow pad that she wore on her right arm as she tried to get it up and set as quickly as possible. Her hair was already wet down as she lifted her face for the camera to see. The woman looked exhausted. Absolutely exhausted! Like she hadn't slept in at least a day or two. She reached beside her off camera and picked up a can of Monster Energy, chugging from it before setting it down.
"Hey, chick." The voice of Adam Cole said, seconds before the man came into frame and sat down on the other side of her, giving her a friendly slap on the knee. He offered her a smile - one of his rarely seen non-arrogant ones, at that - as he looked at her. Adam wore his long hair up in the usual Samurai knot behind his head as he sat there in blue jeans and one of his specific "Unwanted" themed shirts. It had a stencil outline of him throwing up his pose with the words Who Wouldn't Want May, Bay-Bay?! "You're looking a little rough, huh?"
"I'm fine." Adrianna said, sniffling just a little. She'd been crying again, recently, but at the moment she looked more pissed off than anything. "Just waiting on Shelley so we can go over how we're gonna end a couple of careers, tonight." She said with thick venom in her voice, pulling up her kneepads with authority.
"Who-ho-ho-hooooaaaaa, A." Adam said with an amused smirk. "You remember what Jay said last week, right? You gotta be focused when you go out there---"
"I AM focused, Adam!" Adrianna nearly snapped on her own team mate as she turned sharply towards him, causing him to straighten some and be not so close to her. "I may not have slept the past forty-eight hours but I am Completely. Fucking. Focused!" She paused, seeing what her response was doing to her own team member and relaxed. Adrianna sighed, shaking her head. "Look, I'm sorry. I just want this whole thing fucking over with. I don't wanna look at any of those four longer than I have to. Tonight, TyAnna Jupiter and her little girlfriend Futura Soli get an early retirement from this company. Welcome to NFW. Have a nice debut match. It's also your farewell match. So long, bitches." Adrianna ran a hand through her black and blue hair, pushing it out of her face and behind her shoulders. She turned to Adam again. "Look, I'm a little on edge right now, okay? I thought I had things covered, even with Angel out of commission this week and probably next week. Right now? It's you, me and Jay. That's it. I can ask for more help but I can't expect everyone else to drop their own shit just because I want four pieces of shit out of the company that, frankly, I helped put back on the map when I held the Women's Championship for eleven goddamn months."
Adam raised his eyebrows. "You're starting to sound like Lara, now."
"Fuck Lara!" Adrianna responded. "She thinks she runs this company because her father carried it on his back. He deserves that respect. Not her. I carried the goddamn women's division on my back for almost a year. I kept the championship under our banner when a woman, who frankly, despite what I said about her back at When Worlds Collide, is the baddest bitch of this generation to ever step out of Japan. I beat Mayu Iwatani in less than five minutes, true. But you know what, Adam? Under that face paint? Under all of that scary bravado? I was fucking terrified! Terrified that a girl who's been doing this since she was still in Middle School, would kick the shit out of my problematic ass, take that title and go back to Stardom and say 'look what I did, girls. NFW's Women Division ain't shit.' And Lara Blackheart has the goddamn audacity to crack jokes and act like everyone should kiss her boots? Bitch!" Adrianna turned directly towards the camera. "Kiss my ass!" She looked into the lens with bloodshot, tired eyes that only her eyeliner an eyeshadow served to cover up the natural dark circles under them from no sleep. "You don't deserve shit until you win that same title I did and you win it fairly! But let's be honest, you're probably gonna wait until Alex Brody defends it in a match and can barely stand before you come out and issue a direct challenge right there. You are a goddamn Mother. Fucking. Coward, Lara Blackheart!! Do you hear me? A fucking COWARD!!"
Adrianna snorted and drank from her Monster Energy again, sighing as she leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees, running her fingers through her hair again and rested her hands on the back of her neck. Adam Cole just sat there beside her, for a minute before giving her a tentative rub and pat on the back. "Hey, look. Chill out, A. You're not alone in this. It's gonna be fine."
"Please just...give me a minute...." Adrianna said, prompting Adam to give her back another pat before getting up and leaving the frame to give her some space. The camera focused there on Adrianna then for a moment longer.
It had been a long week for the new Silver Mountain Champion. It had been a while since she had held a championship, but the pressures that came with it were all too familiar. There were already a number of people saying that they were coming after the championship. Not her, the championship itself. Which was exactly why she wanted to stay out of all championship conversations for all those months. At the same time, she missed the power that she felt while holding a championship belt. That was exactly what she was feeling at that moment. Power. She knew that she couldn't let her emotions get in the way of anything, but that was going to prove to be a tad difficult when she was looking to face two of the new friends of exactly what made her so emotional lately.
After everything that went down during March Misery, Shelley had finally snapped. Sure, she had already been upset over Lara's behavior, but actually getting to face her was a little too much for Shelley. She knew that somehow, despite her interference in the fight, Lara had done exactly what she had set out to do. Win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Not that Shelley understood how that happened, It was four-on-four. Logically, one of the other girls could and should have taken the briefcase during the brawl. But this wasn't logical life, this was professional wrestling. It didn't have to make sense.
After getting ready for her match and making sure that Kimi and Kyle weren't going to be getting into any trouble, she left their locker room and made her way to the door that read The Unwanted and knocked once before letting herself in. It wasn't like she cared if any of them were dressed or not. After walking in, she looked around the room, taking in the situation. Once her eyes landed on Adrianna, she sighed inwardly. Of course, the bipolar one had to be the one who had remained somewhat calm. At least, she was calm on the outside. Thank the Gods for medication. She walked over to Adrianna with a smile, her head tilted. "Are you ready to sweep the leg?"
Adrianna didn't look up until she heard the voice of her tag team partner for the night speaking right in front of her. The fan proclaimed "leader" of the Unwanted - a position she never asked for - brought her hands down and lifted her tired eyes to Shelley. She was the easiest thing on the eyes, right now because social media sure hadn't been a friendly sight. "I'm ready to break the leg." She said coldly, rubbing her eyes with both hands on either side of the bridge of her nose. That shit people did when they were trying to stay awake. Maybe she'd be able to sleep tonight after she and Shelley managed to beat Nostalgia Ultra to two bloody pulps. She wanted Lara to see. She wanted her to see just what she had awakened inside of her before she fell victim to it herself.
Adrianna shook her head to help keep her blood flowing before looking at Shelley again. "And you?"
Shelley grinned, pounding her fist into her opposite, open hand. "I should probably explain my metaphor. You see, Lara has managed to sweet talk her way into being on top of a new little pyramid. TyAnna Jupiter and Futura Soli are the bottom of this pyramid. Last week we failed because we went straight for the jugular. And that is exactly what is going to happen every time we go straight for Lara. We can't make that mistake again."
Shelley licked her lips as she patted the Silver Mountain Championship belt on her shoulder. "I didn't get this by going into my match hot-headed and full of ignorance. I cleared my mind and went into things with a smart plan. I strategized every move in that match and it went my way. I think that if we go about this the right way, we should end up with a very similar result."
Adrianna managed a smile as she looked at Shelley and the title on her shoulder. Goddamn did the woman ever deserve it, more than anybody. Rick Dickulous deserved it, yes. But out of all of the people who had challenged him for it, Adrianna thought Shelley earned every bit of that match and she deserved to be the one to take the title off of the man who'd wiped the mat with everyone before her who tried. Adrianna nodded, though. The other woman had a point in her strategy. If the two of them took out the cohesive tag unit of Sex & Violence, then honestly - in Adrianna's mind - Lara and Penelope would be easy pickings. "I may be second gen and all that glorified shit." Adrianna ran her fingers through her hair again. "But you've been in this business longer than I have. I'm gonna follow your lead, Shell."
Shelley nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "They may be at the bottom of this little group, but we can't take them for granted. Our main objective may be Lara Blackheart, but the way to go is to take out her new little squad and pin her into a corner. That, and only that, is the only way we are going to end this. It's not going to be easy, either. Unfortunately, it won't be ending here tonight. We're going to have to be in this for the long haul."
She paused, reaching for Adrianna's hand. "That being said, we're going to have to figure out how exactly we're going to perform the first step in taking these two out. We haven't known each other as long as they have. We're not as close as they are. So taking them out is not going to be an easy task for us. We need a game plan."
Adrianna took Shelley's hand, intertwining their fingers together, bringing their hands up with a relaxed sigh. Knowing she had Shelley on her side gave her a sense of strength that she needed, right now. Never, before, had Adrianna felt so lost. So weak against someone she knew she could physically overpower. Lara had definitely planned this, thoroughly. Handpicked her people. Nostalgia Ultra had to be Lara's chosen pair to deal with the very opponents TyAnna and Futura had tonight: her and Shelley. Lara knew where the power and tenacity in her opposition were. Right here. Smart little bitch. "Game plan." Adrianna repeated, nodding. "Right...right...." She said, looking like she was trying to think. "We've never teamed before...but we've gone head to head in the ring. We know each other's strength's and weaknesses." Adrianna...poor Adrianna. She closed her eyes to try and gather her bearings. "We've both got power...but you've got an edge over mine. You're also quicker off of the ropes. You focus on TyAnna. Futura likes to shoot and throw down. She wants to kick?" Adrianna shuddered with rage threatening to burst out of her. "I'll show her how to fucking kick...."
Shelley nodded slowly, "I'm fully agreeing with this. At the same time, we need to think about the bigger picture." She hated that this whole thing was happening the way that it was. She had never denied her feelings for Lara, but she was also given a new perspective lately. Just because she had only known Lara prior to coming to N*FW, that didn't mean that she would be taking Lara's side of what went down between her and Mia the previous year had she been able to obtain a little more information. All Lara had told Shelley was that Mia had turned her back on Lara, and made new friends. Shelley looked at Lara as a friend in need, and now she wondered if she had been getting played all along. "Just because this is supposed to be two-on-two, that doesn't mean that it's going to be. I think that we both know better by now. Lara and her new little skank are going to do everything in their power to interfere with our match. We need backup. I may sometimes train blindfolded, armed only with a bow staff, in the middle of a few large men, but I don't think that my hyperfocus is going to be enough for the both of us."
Adrianna shook her head. This time, though, it wasn't to shake off exhaustion. It was to reassure Shelley that they would be alright. "We'll be fine. If they try to hit us, we're covered." Oh, she knew damn well it wasn't going to be two on two. Lara and Penelope had to have planned to be ready and waiting to get involved, somehow. Adrianna felt like she had that covered, though. "Jay's around here, somewhere. He knows what's going down."
"Aaaand then there's me!" The voice from off screen said before Adam Cole reappeared, giving both ladies a friendly pat on the back before he looked at Shelley. Then he looked at the Silver Mountain Championship she was holding. "Hey, Shelley." He greeted, looking up at her. "Nice belt." He nodded towards the title. "Used to be mine, y'know. Til Rick Dickulous' big ass stole it from me."
"Jesus, fuck, Adam. Go away, for now!" Adrianna gave the man a light but determined shove. "Go find Jay! Make sure you two are ready in case Lara and her skank show up during our match."
"I'm just making conversation!" Adam said, throwing his hands up and gave a flirty wink to Shelley. "You two babes don't have to worry about a thing! Those two show up, I'll superkick a bitch!" He said, backing out of the locker room.
Adrianna sighed, rubbing her eyes and turned back to Shelley. "Ignore him. Like I said, we've got this. Adam's...he's Adam. We can rely on him and Jay, though."
Shelley couldn't help but roll her eyes, smirking. "You can't really use my own tactics against me, Adam," she laughed, turning back to Adrianna. "I trust them. But really... when SunDown was my main finisher, I used to throw in the fact that my opponent would be between my legs by the time the night was over. No one ever admitted to it, but I know that it worked because I would win over and over again." She took a deep breath, "so we just have to get into their heads. Which... doesn't seem to be very hard if they were so willing to become Lara's bitches, there can't be much going on up there."
"You want my opinion?" Adrianna finished her Monster drink - what was left of it, anyway - she chucked the can offscreen. It could be heard landing in a trash bin. "Penelope probably jumped on Lara the second she showed her tits. The other two? N.U probably bought the promise of tag team gold and the ability to do whatever they want because eeeeverybody's afraid of the Dominion! Well, not everybody. I said, before, when they showed up last year, I wasn't terrified of what they could do. I was worried about my dad's health. So I don't care what they think they can do." Adrianna thumbed to herself. "Little Lara knows I'm the big, mean bitch but she obviously forgets what I'm willing to do to get my point across. In fact? She doesn't have a complete idea of what I'm willing to do. Her and the Maidens wrestled completely different promotions on the indies than I did. But if she wants to go, I'm happy to give her a lesson. But that, obviously, has to wait. For now, we get to show Jupiter and Soli what we can do." Adrianna was feeling a second win coming to her as she opened a hand in offering to Shelley to clasp.
"Exactly," Shelley took a deep breath. "I just signed a full-time contract to this place. I'm not about to let them do to it what you just did to that can. And that is what's going to happen if Lara keeps getting her way, just because she's having this hissy fit. I just can't believe that the Dominion is still standing behind her at this point. They're treating things like she's asserting her dominance, but all she's really doing is throwing a temper-tantrum." She shook her head, "let's nip this in the bud. I'm done with this shit."
Adrianna didn't feel she needed to say anything, further. She simply clasped hands with Shelley and clapped her other hand over both of their hands, nodding to the older woman, as the shot cut away to....
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[CHRIS WOLFE (C) V. KYLE SMALLS - NFW TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP]
"Yeah!" by Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris starts to play as Kyle Smalls runs out onto the stage. His twin sister Kimi walks out, rolling her eyes and shaking her head as Kyle starts dancing. After only a few seconds, Kimi smirks and starts to dance with her brother. Right off the bat, it shows that they are both experienced hip-hop dancers. They make their way down the ramp together, high-fiving the fans and yelling out "Yeah!" every time that the song does, pumping their fists in the air as they do so, some of the fans start following suit.
ARDEN
"Being accompanied to the ring by his twin sister, Kimi. Coming to us from Sleepy Hollow, New York and weighing in at 185 lbs... Kyle Smalls!"
Kyle dances his way to the ring and climbs up the steps. He holds open the bottom rope for Kimi to step in before he follows her. The twin siblings dance in the ring together for a bit before the music fades out. Kyle then takes off his sunglasses and leather vest, giving them to Kimi before holding the bottom ropes open for her once more then starts bouncing off of the ropes, preparing himself for the match.
KLAZZIC
"I love these two."
REYNOLDS
"They need to chill with the dancing shit. You, too Matt! Stop dancing with them! You dance white as fuck!"
HANSON
"Jim, you're white."
REYNOLDS
"And do you ever see me dance?"
HANSON
"You try to after about six beers."
REYNOLDS
"Shut up, Nicky!"
Fort Minor's "Remember The Name" plays as the Television Champion, "Big Bad" Chris Wolfe comes out onto the stage, absolutely pumped with energy for the match. The crowd cheers for him as he is announced.
ARDEN
"His opponent! Weighing in at 220lbs! From Brooklyn, New York! He is the NFW Television Champion! BIG...BAD...CHRIIIIIIS...WOOOOOOOOLFE!!!"
Chris Wolfe slaps the front plate of his belt as he looks right into the lens of the camera, yelling over his music, "Let's go! All day, baby!" Before getting into the ring and posing on the turnbuckle. After he hands the belt over to the referee, Chris Wolfe waits in the corner for the bell to ring.
~DING DING DING~
Once it does, he meets Kyle Smalls in the center of the ring, offering the man a quick fist bump before they begin circling the ring and lock up.
KLAZZIC
"Sportsmanship at it's finest!"
HANSON
"I love it!"
Kyle Smalls showed a visible improvement in his in-ring technique since his initial debut with the company, but Chris Wolfe's longer experience and determination to make a name for himself gave him the edge in the match.
As Kyle Smalls inexperience lead to him doing a brief dance, following a Pop-up Enziguri until Kimi managed to get his attention and urged him to capitalize on Chris Wolfe. As Kyle picked Chris up to his feet and setup for the Smalls Drop, Chris Wolfe twisted out of the setup hold and kicked Kyle in the midsection, immediately planting him with the Direwolfe for the pinfall at 13:08.
Following the bell, as "Remember The Name" played, Chris Wolfe let the referee raise his arm before shaking Kyle Small's hand and seemed to be giving him kudos for a good match.
ARDEN
"Being accompanied to the ring by his twin sister, Kimi. Coming to us from Sleepy Hollow, New York and weighing in at 185 lbs... Kyle Smalls!"
Kyle dances his way to the ring and climbs up the steps. He holds open the bottom rope for Kimi to step in before he follows her. The twin siblings dance in the ring together for a bit before the music fades out. Kyle then takes off his sunglasses and leather vest, giving them to Kimi before holding the bottom ropes open for her once more then starts bouncing off of the ropes, preparing himself for the match.
KLAZZIC
"I love these two."
REYNOLDS
"They need to chill with the dancing shit. You, too Matt! Stop dancing with them! You dance white as fuck!"
HANSON
"Jim, you're white."
REYNOLDS
"And do you ever see me dance?"
HANSON
"You try to after about six beers."
REYNOLDS
"Shut up, Nicky!"
Fort Minor's "Remember The Name" plays as the Television Champion, "Big Bad" Chris Wolfe comes out onto the stage, absolutely pumped with energy for the match. The crowd cheers for him as he is announced.
ARDEN
"His opponent! Weighing in at 220lbs! From Brooklyn, New York! He is the NFW Television Champion! BIG...BAD...CHRIIIIIIS...WOOOOOOOOLFE!!!"
Chris Wolfe slaps the front plate of his belt as he looks right into the lens of the camera, yelling over his music, "Let's go! All day, baby!" Before getting into the ring and posing on the turnbuckle. After he hands the belt over to the referee, Chris Wolfe waits in the corner for the bell to ring.
~DING DING DING~
Once it does, he meets Kyle Smalls in the center of the ring, offering the man a quick fist bump before they begin circling the ring and lock up.
KLAZZIC
"Sportsmanship at it's finest!"
HANSON
"I love it!"
Kyle Smalls showed a visible improvement in his in-ring technique since his initial debut with the company, but Chris Wolfe's longer experience and determination to make a name for himself gave him the edge in the match.
As Kyle Smalls inexperience lead to him doing a brief dance, following a Pop-up Enziguri until Kimi managed to get his attention and urged him to capitalize on Chris Wolfe. As Kyle picked Chris up to his feet and setup for the Smalls Drop, Chris Wolfe twisted out of the setup hold and kicked Kyle in the midsection, immediately planting him with the Direwolfe for the pinfall at 13:08.
Following the bell, as "Remember The Name" played, Chris Wolfe let the referee raise his arm before shaking Kyle Small's hand and seemed to be giving him kudos for a good match.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*The camera shifts to the backstage interview area where we see Josh Davidson standing alone.*
"Hello ladies and gentlemen, I'm joined at this time by Paul Heyman, Minoru Suzuki, and Zack Sabre Jr.," Davidson starts.
“Now, gentlemen, last week you made your formal declaration to be number 1 contenders to the tag team titles currently held by Ultra-Violence. Tonight, you face...”
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's hold on for one second here," Heyman says as he takes the mic from Davidson's hands and Suzuki gives him a shove out of the interview area. "Before we go any further with this, allow me to address certain outstanding statements from this past week. Nico Salvatore, you just can't seem to make up your mind, can you? First you want Havok, and now you want Takashi Sugiura. Oh sure, you like to do this because you're looking to avenge the honor of a tag partner. But let's bring reality into this scenario. You call out Sugiura because you know you're not ready for Havok and you think that Sugiura somehow respresents a step down. I have news for you, and let me talk to you in a matter that a REAL father talks to his son, Sugiura is no step down. Oh no, Takashi Sugiura is one of the most gifted men to set foot in that ring. He took a devastating hold in itself, the Olympic Slam, and somehow made it worse by simply adding a wrist-clutch modifier, preventing your head and neck from getting the protection it needs to absorb that impact. If he doesn't break you neck, he will break your leg if you give him the opportunity. So if you want Takashi Sugiura, you got it. He's not a hard man to find. Don't go looking for him, look over your shoulder, because he will come for you.
Now, as for tonight, you and AKI foolishly want to step BACK into that ring with Suzukigun, this time taking on the number one contenders to your daddy's tag team titles, Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr. What, are you going to call your daddy again because they beat you and the only other friend willing to partner with you these past few weeks?" Heyman says mockingly, illiciting a chuckle from Sabre and a rare smirk from Minoru Suzuki.
"You know? That's fine, because they have been in the ring with some of the best teams NFW has to offer. But they've never been in the ring with two submission masters with a meanstreak to match. I have never seen two men who derive such...pleasure...in tweaking any sort of limb and trying to twist it in any direction that is unnatural for a limb to move to. You think all that praise this man, Zack Sabre Jr.," Heyman says as he points to ZSJ as the camera pans to him as he looks off in the distance, ignoring the camera as Suzuki pats him on the back, "receives from TAKA Michinoku is just talk? No, this man is a submission master who, thanks to his partnership with Minoru Suzuki, learned that the screams of pain from anyone caught in one of his holds is better than any screams of love and adulation from those fans out there," Heyman says sternly.
"And as far as Minoru Suzuki is concerned? This man is one of the founders of PANCRASE, one of the precursors to modern MMA as we know it. This man is a student of the great Karl Gotch. He is one of the all-time greats when it comes to catch-as-catch-can wrestling. And he's still angrily carries a chip on his shoulder now as when he did 20+years ago. And he, much like Zack Sabre Jr., doesn't care who he's in the ring with. He can be in the ring with a monster like Doomsday, or in the ring with his snot-nosed kid, and he will look to main and cripple you in the best way he sees fit."
"And when they're done tonight, you can go home and tell your daddy what it was like to step in the ring with these two. You can tell him what it will be like when they set foot in that ring and put those tag titles on the line. Nico, AKI, tonight we close the chapter with you two once and for all. And tonight, THESE men...," Heyman says as the camera pans out to a shot of Sabre and Suzuki, "take the inevitable next step to winning those NFW tag team titles," Heyman says confidently as the three leave the interview area.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hello ladies and gentlemen, I'm joined at this time by Paul Heyman, Minoru Suzuki, and Zack Sabre Jr.," Davidson starts.
“Now, gentlemen, last week you made your formal declaration to be number 1 contenders to the tag team titles currently held by Ultra-Violence. Tonight, you face...”
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's hold on for one second here," Heyman says as he takes the mic from Davidson's hands and Suzuki gives him a shove out of the interview area. "Before we go any further with this, allow me to address certain outstanding statements from this past week. Nico Salvatore, you just can't seem to make up your mind, can you? First you want Havok, and now you want Takashi Sugiura. Oh sure, you like to do this because you're looking to avenge the honor of a tag partner. But let's bring reality into this scenario. You call out Sugiura because you know you're not ready for Havok and you think that Sugiura somehow respresents a step down. I have news for you, and let me talk to you in a matter that a REAL father talks to his son, Sugiura is no step down. Oh no, Takashi Sugiura is one of the most gifted men to set foot in that ring. He took a devastating hold in itself, the Olympic Slam, and somehow made it worse by simply adding a wrist-clutch modifier, preventing your head and neck from getting the protection it needs to absorb that impact. If he doesn't break you neck, he will break your leg if you give him the opportunity. So if you want Takashi Sugiura, you got it. He's not a hard man to find. Don't go looking for him, look over your shoulder, because he will come for you.
Now, as for tonight, you and AKI foolishly want to step BACK into that ring with Suzukigun, this time taking on the number one contenders to your daddy's tag team titles, Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr. What, are you going to call your daddy again because they beat you and the only other friend willing to partner with you these past few weeks?" Heyman says mockingly, illiciting a chuckle from Sabre and a rare smirk from Minoru Suzuki.
"You know? That's fine, because they have been in the ring with some of the best teams NFW has to offer. But they've never been in the ring with two submission masters with a meanstreak to match. I have never seen two men who derive such...pleasure...in tweaking any sort of limb and trying to twist it in any direction that is unnatural for a limb to move to. You think all that praise this man, Zack Sabre Jr.," Heyman says as he points to ZSJ as the camera pans to him as he looks off in the distance, ignoring the camera as Suzuki pats him on the back, "receives from TAKA Michinoku is just talk? No, this man is a submission master who, thanks to his partnership with Minoru Suzuki, learned that the screams of pain from anyone caught in one of his holds is better than any screams of love and adulation from those fans out there," Heyman says sternly.
"And as far as Minoru Suzuki is concerned? This man is one of the founders of PANCRASE, one of the precursors to modern MMA as we know it. This man is a student of the great Karl Gotch. He is one of the all-time greats when it comes to catch-as-catch-can wrestling. And he's still angrily carries a chip on his shoulder now as when he did 20+years ago. And he, much like Zack Sabre Jr., doesn't care who he's in the ring with. He can be in the ring with a monster like Doomsday, or in the ring with his snot-nosed kid, and he will look to main and cripple you in the best way he sees fit."
"And when they're done tonight, you can go home and tell your daddy what it was like to step in the ring with these two. You can tell him what it will be like when they set foot in that ring and put those tag titles on the line. Nico, AKI, tonight we close the chapter with you two once and for all. And tonight, THESE men...," Heyman says as the camera pans out to a shot of Sabre and Suzuki, "take the inevitable next step to winning those NFW tag team titles," Heyman says confidently as the three leave the interview area.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[SUZUKI-GUN (MINORU SUZUKI/ZACK SABRE JR) V. NICO SALVATORE/AKI]
Suzuki-gun defeated the tag team of Nico Salvatore and AKI, by submission in 17:14 when Zack Sabre Jr locked in the Orienteering With Napalm Death on AKI until he tapped out. Nico Salvatore was unable to attempt a breakup of the hold as he and Minoru Suzuki had began brawling on the outside of the ring.
After Minoru Suzuki and ZSJ left the ring, both grinning and mocking Nico and AKI, Ghost's "Faith" suddenly came on over the speakers.
HANSON
"Uh-oh!"
REYNOLDS
"Crap! Hide me!"
A mixed reaction came from the audience as The Dominion Of Pain's Doomsday, threw the curtain open and came storming out onto the stage. He didn't even pause to intimidate the crowd as he just marched down the ramp, dressed in his ring gear, sans handwraps, elbow pads and coat. In it's place, he wore his own brand of Dominion shirt with an inverted pentagram with a cracked skull in the place of the goat head. The word's "AVE SATANAS - GOD IS DEAD" filled the circle around the star. Whatever Doomsday was doing out here, one thing was clear: he was pissed.
Doomsday stormed right over to Roger Arden and SNATCHED the microphone out of his hand before entering the ring over the top rope and came to stand right in front of Nico Salvatore.
KLAZZIC
"He's here to talk to Nico, it seems like...."
"Boy." Doomsday's intensely deep voice rang through the arena as he spoke into the mic. That bone chilling, guttural growl he spoke in. "You were taught better than that. And you goddamn well know it."
Nico rolled his eyes and reached for the microphone to say his piece. Doomsday SLAPPED him across the face, drawing a gasp from the crowd. Nico went wide eyed with rage and stepped up to the man. His father. Doomsday loomed over him, raising the microphone. "You want me? We can do this right now. Otherwise...you listen." He turned to AKI who had come to stand beside Nico in support. Doomsday looked the little Japanese man over. "You. Get out of my sight. You're part of the problem, here."
AKI and Nico looked at one another before looking back up at Doomsday as the big man continued talking to his son. "You've been wrapped up in your little grudge against Suzuki-gun ever since Wrestle War. You wanna prove yourself against tough competitors? I understand, boy, but--"
Nico grabbed Doomsday's hand, pulling the microphone to his mouth. "Don't call me boy or else we are gonna fucking go!" He shoved his father's hand back to him with the mic.
Doomsday paused, looking at Nico with a slow, approving nod. "Good. You see...son...that's the fire I expect out of you. Your sister has it. And I know you have it. But you need to harness it, Nico. You need to take control of it." He turned to AKI again. "I thought I told you to get lost?" He pushed AKI back with his hand, looking to Nico again.
AKI looked around at the crowd. Did this giant asshole just blow him off?
"You wanna go to war with Suzuki-gun, Nico?" Doomsday continued. "I won't stop you. But you need to find better help if you wanna win. One of your 'friends' is gone for who knows how long because your main target made an example out of him for you. Shelton Benjamin hasn't been here to help lately. Frankly, I couldn't care less. Then you have him!" Doomsday pointed a finger at AKI who was still in the ring. "A sniveling little worm who doesn't know how to listen to what he's told!" He turned to AKI. "Leave!" He shoved AKI backwards, causing him to stumble some. Doomsday turned back towards Nico. "You know you're not alone in this, Nico. I didn't come running to your aid immediately, last week. I wanted to see how you could handle the situation. Because you're right. You're not a boy. You are a man, and you are a warrior! You are a goddamn killer! The son of the beast! You are MY son!" He pointed to himself. "And as the force that brought you into this world, I. Refuse. To see you waste your talent, associating with vermin!"
AKI stepped up, bowing up to the 6'10" powerhouse. Doomsday huffed and reached over, grabbing AKI over his FACE and SHOVING him down to the mat as hard as he could. "I SAID, FUCKING--GET--LOST!!!!"
HANSON
"Oh come on, now!"
KLAZZIC
"Easy, Doomsday!!!"
Doomsday loomed over AKI, snarling under his mask. "OR I WILL TEAR...YOUR GODDAMNED SOUL...FROM YOUR ROTTING CORPSE!!" The crowd BOO'ed as loud as they could at Doomsday's moreorless bullying of AKI. Doomsday turned back to Nico. His cold, hardened eyes seemed to soften under the mask and black eye paint. "...Give it some thought, Nico. I am shamelessly loyal to the Dominion of Pain...because they aided me when I needed it. When you and your sister needed it."
Nico stood there, unsure of what to even do after watching his father shove AKI down like a child. Something in his words seemed to resonate with him, though, as he watched Doomsday, thoughtfully. Doomsday dropped the microphone to the mat and turned to leave.
At this point, AKI had gotten back to his feet and struck Doomsday in the back of his knee with a stiff kick!! Doomsday's leg buckled.
REYNOLDS
"WHOA!!! WHAT'S AKI DOING?!"
As soon as James Reynolds posed that question, AKI hit Doomsday with the AKI Spiral, whipping him to the mat in the middle of the ring.
KLAZZIC
"AKI SPIRAL!!!!"
HANSON
"Whoa!!!! Did you see that?!"
KLAZZIC
"Way to take care of a bully, AKI!"
REYNOLDS
"Ohhhhh AKI, you IDIOT!!!"
Nico Salvatore, stunned at the display, stood back with his eyes wide with surprise as AKI got to his feet and glared down at Doomsday before getting out of the ring and storming towards the back. Holding the back of his head, Doomsday sat up, watching AKI go with a look of unbridled RAGE in his eyes!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suzuki-gun defeated the tag team of Nico Salvatore and AKI, by submission in 17:14 when Zack Sabre Jr locked in the Orienteering With Napalm Death on AKI until he tapped out. Nico Salvatore was unable to attempt a breakup of the hold as he and Minoru Suzuki had began brawling on the outside of the ring.
After Minoru Suzuki and ZSJ left the ring, both grinning and mocking Nico and AKI, Ghost's "Faith" suddenly came on over the speakers.
HANSON
"Uh-oh!"
REYNOLDS
"Crap! Hide me!"
A mixed reaction came from the audience as The Dominion Of Pain's Doomsday, threw the curtain open and came storming out onto the stage. He didn't even pause to intimidate the crowd as he just marched down the ramp, dressed in his ring gear, sans handwraps, elbow pads and coat. In it's place, he wore his own brand of Dominion shirt with an inverted pentagram with a cracked skull in the place of the goat head. The word's "AVE SATANAS - GOD IS DEAD" filled the circle around the star. Whatever Doomsday was doing out here, one thing was clear: he was pissed.
Doomsday stormed right over to Roger Arden and SNATCHED the microphone out of his hand before entering the ring over the top rope and came to stand right in front of Nico Salvatore.
KLAZZIC
"He's here to talk to Nico, it seems like...."
"Boy." Doomsday's intensely deep voice rang through the arena as he spoke into the mic. That bone chilling, guttural growl he spoke in. "You were taught better than that. And you goddamn well know it."
Nico rolled his eyes and reached for the microphone to say his piece. Doomsday SLAPPED him across the face, drawing a gasp from the crowd. Nico went wide eyed with rage and stepped up to the man. His father. Doomsday loomed over him, raising the microphone. "You want me? We can do this right now. Otherwise...you listen." He turned to AKI who had come to stand beside Nico in support. Doomsday looked the little Japanese man over. "You. Get out of my sight. You're part of the problem, here."
AKI and Nico looked at one another before looking back up at Doomsday as the big man continued talking to his son. "You've been wrapped up in your little grudge against Suzuki-gun ever since Wrestle War. You wanna prove yourself against tough competitors? I understand, boy, but--"
Nico grabbed Doomsday's hand, pulling the microphone to his mouth. "Don't call me boy or else we are gonna fucking go!" He shoved his father's hand back to him with the mic.
Doomsday paused, looking at Nico with a slow, approving nod. "Good. You see...son...that's the fire I expect out of you. Your sister has it. And I know you have it. But you need to harness it, Nico. You need to take control of it." He turned to AKI again. "I thought I told you to get lost?" He pushed AKI back with his hand, looking to Nico again.
AKI looked around at the crowd. Did this giant asshole just blow him off?
"You wanna go to war with Suzuki-gun, Nico?" Doomsday continued. "I won't stop you. But you need to find better help if you wanna win. One of your 'friends' is gone for who knows how long because your main target made an example out of him for you. Shelton Benjamin hasn't been here to help lately. Frankly, I couldn't care less. Then you have him!" Doomsday pointed a finger at AKI who was still in the ring. "A sniveling little worm who doesn't know how to listen to what he's told!" He turned to AKI. "Leave!" He shoved AKI backwards, causing him to stumble some. Doomsday turned back towards Nico. "You know you're not alone in this, Nico. I didn't come running to your aid immediately, last week. I wanted to see how you could handle the situation. Because you're right. You're not a boy. You are a man, and you are a warrior! You are a goddamn killer! The son of the beast! You are MY son!" He pointed to himself. "And as the force that brought you into this world, I. Refuse. To see you waste your talent, associating with vermin!"
AKI stepped up, bowing up to the 6'10" powerhouse. Doomsday huffed and reached over, grabbing AKI over his FACE and SHOVING him down to the mat as hard as he could. "I SAID, FUCKING--GET--LOST!!!!"
HANSON
"Oh come on, now!"
KLAZZIC
"Easy, Doomsday!!!"
Doomsday loomed over AKI, snarling under his mask. "OR I WILL TEAR...YOUR GODDAMNED SOUL...FROM YOUR ROTTING CORPSE!!" The crowd BOO'ed as loud as they could at Doomsday's moreorless bullying of AKI. Doomsday turned back to Nico. His cold, hardened eyes seemed to soften under the mask and black eye paint. "...Give it some thought, Nico. I am shamelessly loyal to the Dominion of Pain...because they aided me when I needed it. When you and your sister needed it."
Nico stood there, unsure of what to even do after watching his father shove AKI down like a child. Something in his words seemed to resonate with him, though, as he watched Doomsday, thoughtfully. Doomsday dropped the microphone to the mat and turned to leave.
At this point, AKI had gotten back to his feet and struck Doomsday in the back of his knee with a stiff kick!! Doomsday's leg buckled.
REYNOLDS
"WHOA!!! WHAT'S AKI DOING?!"
As soon as James Reynolds posed that question, AKI hit Doomsday with the AKI Spiral, whipping him to the mat in the middle of the ring.
KLAZZIC
"AKI SPIRAL!!!!"
HANSON
"Whoa!!!! Did you see that?!"
KLAZZIC
"Way to take care of a bully, AKI!"
REYNOLDS
"Ohhhhh AKI, you IDIOT!!!"
Nico Salvatore, stunned at the display, stood back with his eyes wide with surprise as AKI got to his feet and glared down at Doomsday before getting out of the ring and storming towards the back. Holding the back of his head, Doomsday sat up, watching AKI go with a look of unbridled RAGE in his eyes!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[SHELLEY SILVER/ADRRIANNA SALVATORE V. NOSTALGIA ULTRA]
As the camera returned to ringside for the final match, Disturbed's "The Vengeful One" came on over the speakers, signaling the arrival of one half of one of the tag teams in the match.
As the camera returned to ringside for the final match, Disturbed's "The Vengeful One" came on over the speakers, signaling the arrival of one half of one of the tag teams in the match.
The curtain parted and out came Adrianna Salvatore with her hood up and her head down. Rather than her usual entrance, however, she paused on the stage, flexing her fists in and out, seething with rage still.
KLAZZIC
"You've gotta believe she's still emotional from everything that happened, two weeks ago.
HANSON
"And we know she's definitely not happy with last week's results at March Misery!"
REYNOLDS
"I am!"
HANSON
"Of course, you would be. You have no moral compass, sometimes, Jim."
REYNOLDS
"Hey, I'll take that one. It's gotten me this far in life!"
HANSON
"Unfortunately."
Adrianna Salvatore rolled her shoulders, hopping on the balls of her feet upon the stage as the lighting changed and the music transitioned smoothly into Halestorm's "I Am The Fire."
HANSON
"And now here comes the Silver Mountain Champion, Shelley Silver, ladies and gentlemen!"
At 0:45 into the song, Shelley Silver and Sloane Cameron made their way out onto the stage. Shelley managed a gorgeous smile to the fans despite the mood of things; the Silver Mountain title resting on her shoulder as she met up with Adrianna on the stage. She patted the woman on the back and the two exchanged a fist bump before, to Shelley's music, they made their way towards the ring.
ARDEN
"Ladies and gentlemen! The following contest is your main event and is a TAG TEAM MATCH!! Introducing first...representing The Unwanted, ADRIANNAAAAA SALVAAAAATOREEEEEE!! And her tag team partner, accompanied by Sloane Cameron!! From Seattle, Washington!! SHE - IS - THE SILVER MOUNTAIN CHAMPION!!!!! SHELLEEEEEEEEY SIIIIIIILVEEEEEEEEEER!!!!"
Both women carried out their usual entrances, sans Adrianna's signature headbanging. Instead, she simply threw her head back and did her yell to the crowd before pulling off her vest and handing it, carefullyl to the timekeeper - as usual, mouthing to him not to let anything happen to it. Meanwhile, Shelley Silver ran off the ropes, getting warmed up.
The fans immediately began to boo as "Get Away" by The Internet was heard over the speakers as the words -
~NOSTALGIA ULTRA~
- appeared on the video wall. Together, TyAnna Jupiter and Futura Soli stepped out onto the stage. TyAnna stopped with her back to the ring, whipping her hair over her shoulder and winking at the camera. As she did, Futura stood protectively, almost possessively beside her, scowling down the ramp at their opponents before the two new women of NFW strutted down to the ring with authority.
ARDEN
"Introducing their opponents!! From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! The Protector of Beauty...the Guardian of Love...TYANNAAAAAAAAA JUPITEEEEEERR!! And her tag team partner! From Miami, Florida! Pink Matter...FUTURAAAAAAA SOOOOOLIIIIIIII!! THEY - ARE - NOSTALGIAAAAAAAAAA UUUUULLLLLTRAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Nostalgia Ultra reached the ring, entering with a sense of purpose. As soon as they were inside the ropes, however, here came Adrianna Salvatore!! The Queen of Anarchy rushed the two, running right into Futura Soli and beginning to unload on her. TyAnna Jupiter moved on Adrianna from behind, fighting to get her off of Futura. This brought Shelley Silver into the fray, unloading her own offense on TyAnna Jupiter.
HANSON
"WHOA AND HERE WE GO!!!"
KLAZZIC
"I GUESS THEY'RE NOT GONNA WAIT FOR THE BELL!!"
REYNOLDS
"TALK ABOUT BAD FORM FROM ADRIANNA AND SHELLEY!!"
HANSON
"WELL LIKE IT OR NOT, WE'VE GOT A FIGHT ON OUR HANDS!! REFEREE YUMI AKIYAMA HAS TO GET THIS CONTROLLED BEFORE SHE CAN START THE MATCH!!"
Things finally cooled down once Shelley Silver clotheslined TyAnna Jupiter out of the ring while Adrianna did the same to Futura. The two tattooed women each played to the crowd, garnering a pop. Shelley Silver, stood on the turnbuckle, smiling confidently at the fans before wagging her finger at Nostalgia Ultra. Adrianna threw her hands up with an enraged scream, leaning against the ropes as she yelled to the her and Shelley's opponents, clear as day. "WELCOME TO MY HOUSE, BITCHES!!"
CROWD
"OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
TyAnna and Futura looked more annoyed than intimidated. They exchanged a look and a brief discussion before it was decided that Futura would start things off for their side. She slid into the ring as the referee called for one of the other team to get out of the ring. Adrianna and Shelley fist bumped before Shelley stepped out onto the apron.
Adrianna Salvatore and Futura Soli stood in their corners, waiting to get at one another before the bell rang.
~DING DING DING~
The two immediately met in the center and locked up, garnering for dominance. Adrianna Salvatore, using her patented strength, SHOVED Futura off of her feet, sending her back onto the mat. Futura looked up at her, visibly getting angry already as she got to her feet. Adrianna curled her hands in at the woman, mouthing. "Let's go, bitch! Fucking bring it!"
Everyone knew that the main event tag match was going to be intense. Nostalgia Ultra definitely had the upper hand in terms of tag team chemistry over Shelley Silver and Adrianna Salvatore. Shelley and Adrianna put their talked about strategy to work, however, and managed to dish out as much punishment that they took in. Where they fell short on tag chemistry, they made up for in individual skill and technique. Shelley met TyAnna Jupiter in a show of strength and power while, Adrianna - no stranger to power moves, herself - displayed more of her striking ability as she constantly squared off with Futura Soli.
Nearing the climax of the match, all four women ended up in the ring when Adrianna Salvatore delivered a brutal MOAB Launch after coming off of the ropes and SLAMMING right into Futura Soli. She hooked the leg for the pinfall but TyAnna Jupiter ran into the ring to break it up, delivering a stomp to Adrianna's head. This brought Shelley Silver into the ring and the Silver Mountain Champion ran right at TyAnna, tackling her to the mat. The two ended up in a trading of blows on the mat as they rolled out under the bottom rope and continued their brawl on the outside.
Futura and Adrianna were back up on their feet with Futura dishing out painful sounding kicks to Adrianna's thighs and hips, trying to wear the woman down. After several, Adrianna caught Futura by the leg and wrapped her arms around it and Futura's waist. The crowd popped as NFW's Queen of Anarchy delivered a leg trapped Belly to Belly suplex, driving Futura into the mat. Adrianna got to her feet, sneering angrily as she drew a thumb across her throat, calling for the end.
HANSON
"SHE'S CALLING FOR IT!!! BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES!! GET IN YOUR BUNKERS, FOLKS!! THERE'S A NUCLEAR WARHEAD INBOUND AND YOU KNOW RIGHT WHERE FUTURA SOLI IS LOCATED, RIGHT NOW!!"
KLAZZIC
"OHHHHH YES, NICK HANSON!!! SHE'S CALLING FOR THE 'GROUND ZERO!'"
REYNOLDS
"FUTURA NEEDS TO GET HER BEARINGS, GUYS!!"
Suddenly, the crowd went ABSOLUTELY INSANE as New Year's Day's "Defame Me" kicked on over the speakers and the video wall came to life with a very familiar titan tron reel. Adrianna Salvatore stopped in her taunt and immediately turned towards the stage with her eyes going wide. Outside of the ring, Shelley Silver continued to exchange blows with TyAnna Jupiter, while Adrianna, completely distracted, slowly walked towards the ropes on the ramp's side, watching the stage.
HANSON
"WAIT A MINUTE!!!!"
KLAZZIC
"Am I...am I...AM I HEARING THINGS RIGHT, NICK?!"
REYNOLDS
"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!"
HANSON
"MIA HAYASHI'S MUSIC!!!! SHE'S BACK!!!! AND YOU GOTTA BELIEVE SHE'S COMING TO MAKE SURE ADRIANNA AND SHELLEY DO WHAT THEY CAME HERE TO DO!!"
The music and titan tron continued as the camera focused intently on the stage but no sign of Mia Hayashi was seen. Cutting back to the ring, the camera caught the look of confusion...and worry...on Adrianna Salvatore's face. Why wasn't Mia coming out if her music was playing?
KLAZZIC
"Well, where is she?"
HANSON
"I don't know. Why isn't she---HEY WAIT!!!"
The music suddenly stopped as, behind Adrianna, Futura Soli was back up on her feet, delivering a Pele Kick to the back of her head.
HANSON
"PELE KICK FROM SOLI TO SALVATORE!!!"
KLAZZIC
"WAIT, WHERE'S MIA?!"
Back outside the ring, TyAnna Jupiter paused in her brawl with Shelley Silver, seemingly expecting her opponent to fall for the ruse, as well. Instead, Shelley managed to finally get the upper hand, whipping her into the barricade and running at her for a Silver Bullet, sending them both into the crowd!!
Inside the ring, Adrianna staggered into the ropes, bounding back off of them as she stumbled around to face Futura. Futura Soli quickly capitalized, setting her up in a straight jacket hold and delivered the FADE TO PINK!!
REYNOLDS
"THERE IT IS!!!! FADE TO PINK, BABY!!!"
Futura Soli laid over Adrianna Salvatore, hooking the leg, as Shelley Silver was seen hurrying into the ring, trying to stop the count.
ONE!!
TWO!!
THREE!!
REYNOLDS
"THERE IT IS!!!! FADE TO PINK, BABY!!!"
Futura Soli laid over Adrianna Salvatore, hooking the leg, as Shelley Silver was seen hurrying into the ring, trying to stop the count.
ONE!!
TWO!!
THREE!!
The referee finished the count JUST before Shelley Silver managed to grab Futura by the foot and yank her off of Adrianna.
~DING DING DING~
HANSON
"AND THAT'S IT FOR OUR MAIN EVENT, FOLKS!!! NOSTALGIA ULTRA WINS THEIR DEBUT!!"
REYNOLDS
"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!"
KLAZZIC
"Wait guys, what was that with Mia Hayashi's music?! You don't think she got attacked by Lara Blackheart and Penelope Cassidy again, do you?!"
HANSON
"Ohhhhh no, but speaking of those two...."
The camera cut to the stage as Lara Blackheart and Penelope Cassidy came out onto the stage...LAUGHING!!
HANSON
"OH, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
REYNOLDS
"Wait, did they just--?!"
KLAZZIC
"IT WAS A TRICK?!"
HANSON
"OH, MIA WAS NEVER EVEN HERE, WAS SHE?!"
REYNOLDS
"THAT IS FUCKING BRILLIANT!!!! BEST PRANK EVER!!!"
HANSON
"THAT'S DISGUSTING!! These women make me sick!!!"
Nostalgia Ultra met up outside of the ring, embracing and celebrating their victory as Lara and Penelope met them on the ramp. The latter two still laughing and mocking at the ruse they played. Inside the ring, Shelley came to help Adrianna to her feet; the latter of the two woman holding the back of her head and seething with rage at Sex & Violence. Shelley Silver looked more disappointed that Adrianna Salvatore fell for the ruse, and appeared to begin talking to her. Adrianna nodded, closing her eyes before looking up at Sex & Violence again, shaking her head as the credits appeared at the bottom of the screen.
REYNOLDS
"Talk about a way to end the show, guys!! I love it!!"
HANSON
"Speak for yourself! I've never seen something so low in my entire career! You talk about getting into someone's head! I wish we could stay on the air to see where this goes but we need to say goodbye for now, folks! We'll see you next week for more New Frontier Wrestling! Don't miss it!"
The show fades out, focusing on the victorious Nostalgia Ultra and the rest of Sex & Violence on the ramp.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TONIGHT'S MATCH WINNERS
Kayako Kazama def. Victoria Emmerson
Marissa Payne def. Yuka Hirata
Jag'hatai D'habi def. YOH
Takashi Sugiura def. Colt Shields
Ethan Skinner def. Andrew Payne (DQ)
Penelope Cassidy def. Kennedy Campbell
Minoru Suzuki/ZSJ def. Nico Salvatore/AKI
Nostalgia Ultra def. Adrianna Salvatore/Shelley Silver
"AND THAT'S IT FOR OUR MAIN EVENT, FOLKS!!! NOSTALGIA ULTRA WINS THEIR DEBUT!!"
REYNOLDS
"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!"
KLAZZIC
"Wait guys, what was that with Mia Hayashi's music?! You don't think she got attacked by Lara Blackheart and Penelope Cassidy again, do you?!"
HANSON
"Ohhhhh no, but speaking of those two...."
The camera cut to the stage as Lara Blackheart and Penelope Cassidy came out onto the stage...LAUGHING!!
HANSON
"OH, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
REYNOLDS
"Wait, did they just--?!"
KLAZZIC
"IT WAS A TRICK?!"
HANSON
"OH, MIA WAS NEVER EVEN HERE, WAS SHE?!"
REYNOLDS
"THAT IS FUCKING BRILLIANT!!!! BEST PRANK EVER!!!"
HANSON
"THAT'S DISGUSTING!! These women make me sick!!!"
Nostalgia Ultra met up outside of the ring, embracing and celebrating their victory as Lara and Penelope met them on the ramp. The latter two still laughing and mocking at the ruse they played. Inside the ring, Shelley came to help Adrianna to her feet; the latter of the two woman holding the back of her head and seething with rage at Sex & Violence. Shelley Silver looked more disappointed that Adrianna Salvatore fell for the ruse, and appeared to begin talking to her. Adrianna nodded, closing her eyes before looking up at Sex & Violence again, shaking her head as the credits appeared at the bottom of the screen.
REYNOLDS
"Talk about a way to end the show, guys!! I love it!!"
HANSON
"Speak for yourself! I've never seen something so low in my entire career! You talk about getting into someone's head! I wish we could stay on the air to see where this goes but we need to say goodbye for now, folks! We'll see you next week for more New Frontier Wrestling! Don't miss it!"
The show fades out, focusing on the victorious Nostalgia Ultra and the rest of Sex & Violence on the ramp.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TONIGHT'S MATCH WINNERS
Kayako Kazama def. Victoria Emmerson
Marissa Payne def. Yuka Hirata
Jag'hatai D'habi def. YOH
Takashi Sugiura def. Colt Shields
Ethan Skinner def. Andrew Payne (DQ)
Penelope Cassidy def. Kennedy Campbell
Minoru Suzuki/ZSJ def. Nico Salvatore/AKI
Nostalgia Ultra def. Adrianna Salvatore/Shelley Silver
