NFW Collision #95 - 04/06/2021!

Nick Hanson: Good evening and welcome, ladies and gentlemen to NFW Collision! We’re just two weeks away from our first red brand exclusive supershow of the year, Ascension 2! We’re in the home stretch and we’re gonna find out, tonight, just how explosive the show will be.

Jim Reynolds: Of course it’s gonna be explosive, Nicky. We’re the fucking A show. It’s the one thing I’ll agree with Cass Baumer on.

Nick Hanson: You agree with someone other than yourself, holy hell, I may faint. Folks, for those who are new to our broadcast, my name is Nick Hanson and my ever salty partner in crime here is Jim Reynolds.

Jim Reynolds: Salty?!

Nick Hanson: Yeah, you’re like the saltiest person I know.

Jim Reynolds: It ain’t my fault I’m the only broadcaster here with a lick of sense on who the top talent are. Why do you think they brought me back?

Nick Hanson: They brought you back because Matt Salvatore took a leave of absence after Invasion: Civil War.

Jim Reynolds: You mean after he let the brand down and lost it for Collision against Trauma? Oh, but who won the big one for the red brand? Oh yeah! My pick! What do you say to that?

Nick Hanson: ….I miss working with Matt.

Jim Reynolds: What?! Nicky! I’m wounded!

Nick Hanson: Maybe you’ll bleed out. Enjoy the show folks! We’re about to kick things off with a double debut here in tag team action!

Jim Reynolds: What do you mean you miss working with Matt?! Didn’t he try to peel your face off?

Nick Hanson: Hey, I understand now there’s layers to that story.

Jim Reynolds: So you’re just a glutton for punishment, huh? How about I slap the taste out of your mouth? Will that make you happy to work with me?

Nick Hanson: Do it hard enough to put me out of my misery. We’ll be right back for action after this quick word from our network, folks!
Inside of the ring, we see the Drama Club rehearsing, as they speak aloud for the audience.

Frederick: Ladies and gentlemen of Chicago, we, the Drama Club, are tonight's entertainment.

Reginald: And there's one thing we both agree that Chicago needs...

He said, as both members would say simultaneously.

Both: Culture!

They say with resounding boos coming from the crowd, as Reginald would speak whilst Frederick would take a seat on the second turnbuckle.

Reginald: And for your viewing pleasure... Waiting for Godot, Act 1. Places, people!

He said with the crowd groaning and jeering them as Frederick is acting as if he was taking his boot off.

Frederick: Nothing to be done...

Reginald: Did you ever read the Bible?

He asked, while the crowd were booing loudly, as their scene was being interrupted by "Kill Everyone" by Skrillex, as we see the Headshotz Clan arriving on the scene as the two of them began to speak.

Duke: Whoa, whoa, whoa... nobody cares about this Kojima level bullshit.

He said, with some obvious boos from the Metal Gear and Silent Hill marks in the crowd.

Masters: Yeah, man! All we care about is the competitive scene!

Duke: And you two look like some virgin dweebs begging to get beaten down by us Chad like bros!

Duke said, as the two of them enter the ring, squaring up.

Masters: So maybe you two better brush up on that Bible talk, because you don't have a prayer against us!

Masters said, as the two of them pose briefly, before preparing to fight.

Match #1/Tag Team Match

The Drama Club v. HeadshotzClan

As soon as the bell rings, Masters and Toobum rush the drama club. Masters catches RJ3 with a bicycle knee that sends him out of the ring as Toobum levels Esquire with a yakuza kick. Toobum makes the cover, but the thespian kicks out at two. Toobum tags in Masters and they hit a big slingshot suplex on Esquire. Masters now covers and he gets a 2 count. Toobum is tagged back in and this time they absolutely crush Frederick Williams Esquire with The Double Kill. Toobum covers

TWO…

THRE- BROKEN UP!

RJ3 is back in to break up the count. He goes to the middle of the ring and takes a bow, the crowd not caring one damn bit. His opponents do care, however. Duke Toobum hits RJ3 with a running bulldog, then tags Blake Masters in. RJ3 is brought to his feet, slung into the ropes, and then blasted with Shoryuken! From Masters off the pop-up by Duke. RJ3 rolls to the outside as Masters pulls Esquire to his feet only to catch a thumb to the eye and a Russian leg sweep. Esquire goes to his corner, but no RJ3. Esquire pulls himself up and looks down at RJ3. “Get up you imbecile. This is why you will always be nothing but an understudy.” As Esquire berates his protege, Masters tags in Toobum, then Toobum tags Masters back in. Masters catches Esquire with a poison-rana, spiking him down. Esquire is out of it as he sort of springs to his feet only to get caught with the Wombo Combo. Masters has the bridge

TWO...

THREE!

~DING DING DING~

Roger Arden:!Your winners as a result of a pin fall, Dooke Toobum and Blake Masters… HEADSHOTZ CLAN!

Nick Hanson: Well, their entrance music is annoying, they clearly drink way too much monster, and I can’t believe neither of them is named Kyle, but these gamers turned wrestlers showed some excellent teamwork and made quick work of The Drama Club

Jim Reynolds: Yea. RJ3 taking that bow after breaking up a pin was the nail in the coffin for The Drama Club. Every good actor knows you don’t take your bow until the show is over. Headshotz take advantage of that rookie move and get the quick decisive victory

Result: Pinfall

Backstage at Collision, cameras come upon Damon Cross holding court with the other members of the Crusade, Ronnie Lester & Sylvia Lopez, as well as fiancee, Danielle Anderson and her daughter, Leina. Sylvia sits atop a production crate, wearing a wicked grin as she leafs through her well-worn copy of Dante’s Inferno. Ronnie leans against the box at her side, Sylvia subtly leaning against him a little. Danni stands off to Damon’s other side, smiling and gazing at him while Leina sits cross-legged on a folding chair, her pencil-bearing hand moving swiftly across the page of an open notebook. Damon appears to be telling some kind of tale to the group, which is keeping the attention of at least half of them.

Nick Hanson: For a man who’s about to take on, conceivably, five opponents tonight, Damon Cross looks rather relaxed, wouldn’t you say, Jim?

Jim Reynolds: Must be zen.

Nick Hanson: How so?

Jim Reynolds: He knows he has no damn chance, so he isn’t worrying about it? Why waste the energy? Stick to running your mouth. He’s passable at that, at least.

Nick Hanson: Some of us have faith in the Redeemer, Jim.

Jim Reynolds: And some of us have brains and taste.

Whatever he’s speaking of causes Lopez’s grin to widen and Ronnie laughs openly. Demurely, Danni hides her giggles behind her hand and, despite her attention on her writing, Leina smiles a little, too. Damon keeps right on with it, but happens to look forward for a moment and the tale comes to a stop. When he next speaks, it is clean and clear instead of subdued… and directed at someone approaching.

Damon Cross: A storm is coming...

Confused faces abound; Ronnie realizes what Damon means first, followed by Danni and Sylvia. Leina is back into her writing. That is, until a massive shadow gets in the way of her light, though unintentionally. Soon all of them are looking up at a figure well over six-and-a-half-feet tall, broad and powerful, but in their golden years to be sure. Damon steps forward, walking right up to the Japanese man as a faint smile emerges.

Damon Cross: Sensei.

Hiashi Shinsuma: The Redeemer?

The group exchange looks, save for Damon. Even Sylvia looks impressed by the big fellow, who Ronnie nods his head to respectfully. Leina leans in after rising from the chair to ask her mother who this man is, to which Danni responds quietly with a little awe in her own eyes. To the mention of his nickname, Damon smiles saucily and shrugs his shoulders.

Damon Cross: Perhaps one day it will be “The Redeemed”.

Hiashi Shinsuma: I would like to see that.

There’s silence for several moments, some tension still existing between master and student here. That none of the Crusade or Damon’s adopted family have anything to say at this moment alludes to how serious the aforementioned situation is; it did, after all, happen at a time when Damon was at his darkest.

Jim Reynolds: So who’s the geezer?

Nick Hanson: Seriously? That’s Hiashi Shinsuma. The Thunder Demon. One of the men who trained Damon for his wrestling career. The man’s a legend, admittedly more so in Japan for his in-ring exploits while in American for the championship-caliber wrestlers he’s trained at his school.

Jim Reynolds: Then how come I don’t recognize him?

Nick Hanson: Maybe the rock you live under these days is getting a little heavy?

Jim Reynolds: You’re just a fuckin’ non-stop laugh-a-thon, Nicky.

Still, despite the tension, Hiashi offers his hand to Damon who, despite his minor surprise at this, accepts the gesture willingly.

Hiashi Shinsuma: I came to see your match tonight. It will be worth the trip, I’m sure.

Damon Cross: Thank you for the additional pressure, sensei. I think I might have the shakes now.

He holds up his hand, staring at it. Despite his comment, though, the fingers are as still as can be. Damon smirks again, lowering that hand. Hiashi, not one for cute jokes or snark, cracks a small smile.

Hiashi Shinsuma: Pressure is what you need right now. It will let you know if you have a chance at getting to where you want to be.

Damon Cross: You’re right, of course. Still surprised to see you. How are your daughters?

Hiashi Shinsuma: Intense. They are still determined to follow people like yourself and Eric, despite my feelings. I grudgingly admit that they have the knowledge and aptitude, but...

Damon nods slowly, choosing his words carefully.

Damon Cross: Are you afraid that they will succeed, or that they won’t meet your personal standards?

An informed question, but one delivered with no small amount of courage. Hiashi lifts a brow, almost glowering at Damon, before his expression and body language calms.

Hiashi Shinsuma: Both. I know I cannot stop them, but what I know of the life of a wrestler makes a father’s worry compounded. Yet if they do enter the ring and do not live up to the name, which would hurt them as much as it would me, it would be worse than if they had not tried at all. It is complicated.

Another nod from Damon, who sets a hand on his teacher’s shoulder… a surprisingly familiar gesture.

Damon Cross: With someone like you teaching them, though, and people like Eric, Lyra and even myself to call upon when they want or need advice? I think they will be just fine.

Hiashi seems unsure of how to take this, grateful yet fearful at the same time. The misgivings do not last, however. He simply accepts the gesture and nods solemnly.

Hiashi Shinsuma: Perhaps you are right. I had best get back to my wandering, however. I will be watching your fight with interest.

He nods to the rest of the assemblage.

Hiashi Shinsuma: Ladies. Gentleman.

The big man then turns and takes his leave, Damon looking after him before turning to the rest of the group. He nods himself, then moves off toward the locker rooms. Jovial before, Damon has a new intensity burning in him as he moves off. Ronnie and Sylvia remain, chatting quietly, while Danni and Leina hurry after Cross.

Nick Hanson: If I were Damon Cross, I’d be feeling like a loss would hurt even more now. Who wants to look bad in front of their teacher?

Jim Reynolds: He already looks like crap. This won’t change anything.

Match #2/Singles Match

Cayla Phoenix v. Keiji Sugiwara

The two competitors lock-up in a collar and elbow tie-up. Keiji easily overpowers Cayla and shoves her back, smirking playfully. He pauses for a second to dance momentarily before looking for the lock-up again, the crowd kind of laughing along with him as he does so. Cayla shrugs it off and locks up with him again. Keiji starts to overpower her again and then slips through for a deep armdrag. Cayla goes flying across the ring and Keiji bows, dapping himself as if he knows this is stupid but he’s doing it anyway. Cayla stares at him from across the ring and shakes her head like she’s just seen the single most disgust-worthy thing ever. They move to lock-up a third time but Cayla thumbs him in the eyes and then jumps into a victory roll.

TWO!

KEIJI KICKS OUT!

Cayla immediately goes for a la magistral cradle.

TWO!

KEIJI KICKS OUT!

As they rise to their feet, Keiji catches Cayla with a kick and rolls her up.

TWO!

CAYLA KICKS OUT!

Keiji jumps up and poses again causing yet more laughter to come from the crowd. Cayla’s entire countenance changes in response, going from dead calm yet disgusted to angry and malevolent. Cayla hits a nasty roaring elbow to the back of Keiji’s head and then grabs him for a release German suplex. Keiji staggers up and Cayla hits him with another roaring elbow to the back of the head that puts him down on all fours. Cayla looks to hook him up for the Phoenix Down but keiji executes a standing switch and hits a bridging german suplex.

TWO!

CAYLA ANGRILY KICKS OUT!

Cayla gets up and hits another elbow strike that dares blood on him. She snaps off a ddt and then slaps on the Thirst Trap. Keiji tries to hold on but fades quickly causing the referee to call for the bell as Keiji passes out in the hold.


Cayla holds for an extra second and then stands up, her demeanor changing yet again, this time from vicious and violent to arrogant and incredulous that anyone thought she had a chance to lose. She bows to the audience and drinks in their boos as Keiji is attended to.

Result: Submission

We cut backstage to the locker room belonging to Becca “Bruiser” Maguire as we see her hitting the palms of her wife, “Psycho” Saoirse Maguire’s hands as the Irish woman yells out instructions, getting Bruiser warmed up and ready for her match later tonight.

“Psycho” Saoirse Maguire: Right jab!

Bruiser strikes Psycho’s left hand with a right jab.

“Psycho” Saoirse Maguire: Left jab!

The New Yorker now strikes her wife’s right hand with a left jab.

“Psycho” Saoirse Maguire: Backfist!

Bruiser spins with a backfist that Psycho ducks before raising her hands up signalling for them to stop.

“Psycho” Saoirse Maguire: Ye tink ye bae ready fer Lilith tonight, lass?

Bruiser nods her head as she shakes out her arms to help loosen them up.

Becca “Bruiser” Maguire: Aye, ya damn fuckin’ right I’m ready!

Bruiser folds her arms across her chest.

Becca “Bruiser” Maguire: Our first fuckin’ match as a tag team here, we beat one o’ the best tag teams to get this opportunity. Tonight may be just a one on one match between me and Lilith, but tonight I’m gonna give her and the fans a taste o’ what to expect when Gallus Mag fight for the Tag Team Championships!

Psycho nods as Bruiser turns to face the camera.

Becca “Bruiser” Maguire: Ya hear that, lass?! Don’t get me wron’, I gotta lotta respect for ya… ya’ll alon’ with Christina are one o’ the best tag teams in the business! And aye, I may be older than both o’ ya… but this is my time to fuckin’ shine! Ya’ll have been the team to fuckin’ beat here in NFW… and Gallus Mag are gonna be the ones to do just that!

Bruiser puts her hood up over her head and Psycho squeezes her shoulders, almost giving her a brief massage as the New Yorker snarls.

Becca “Bruiser” Maguire: As for tonight? Well tonight, lass… I’m gonna fuckin’ show ya why I’m called The Bruiser!

She then lifts her face mask up over her nose and mouth before she along with Psycho disappear off camera as we cut elsewhere.
As the commercial breaks we find in a makeshift office a pair of blondes that are milling over some paperwork. The first is someone that’s never been seen on NFW television and the other is the leader of the Team TRIOCS brand Ryleigh Ruin. Ryleigh seems to be a bit impatient as her girlfriend Isidora Jansen's match is up next and promised her she’d accompany her for her match.

Ryleigh: What the fuck, Violet? We set this up thirty minutes ago. I’m starting to think the Arsenal girls are going to blow us off!

Violet: As your Personal Assistant, bit more importantly your sister-in-law I need you to chill out. I’m sure they’ll be here as they’re contacted to defend the Trios Championship belts on both brands. Please, just relax!

Ry gives her a scrunched face as she’s always the voice of reason in her impatience. Just then, a knock on the door breaks the momentary tension. The door is opened to find Nikki Peltier and Bethany Kenyon standing there, both looking slightly sheepish.

Nikki: Sorry about the wait, it took us a second to get Jezzy and Ash to chill about things.

Bethany nods her agreement.

Bethany: Recent events have made both of them a bit… paranoid… about others’ intentions.

Violet looks at Miss Peltier and smiles widely.

Violet: Your tardiness is very much excused and will not change a thing in this meeting. See Ry it seems we all just need to be a bit more trusting and all works out in the end.

Ryleigh: Yeah… It’s fine.

Ry immediately becomes more professional as it’s time for business dealings to commence.

Violet: Did you receive the preliminary agreement for our teams to meet at the next Pay-Per-View?

Nikki nods.

Nikki: We did and we reviewed it as a group.

Bethany smirks playfully.

Bethany: Which is to say, Nik reviewed it and then basically dumbed it down enough for the rest of us to get the idea.

Violet nervously giggles at the unintended comedy.

Ryleigh: Beth, may I call you that shortened name? I kinda feel a bit of a sisterhood in the combat we share.

Bethany nods.

Bethany: Sure.

Ryleigh: I think you’re selling you and yours a bit short. Cause when we had that training session together you Arsenal girls were rather knowledgeable and gave us a few tips that we’re now implementing at TRIOCS. There’s a reason we leave this boring shit to these two. Paperwork SUCKS!!

Both Violet and Nikki start to laugh.

Nikki: She’s got you there, Bethy!

Bethany nods, laughing along with the others.

Bethany: She does at that.

Violet: Well if the terms are agreeable to you team all I’ll need is your signature here and Beth’s here. There is a no physical contact between one another clause in here as both of our sides seems to mostly get along.

Nikki and Bethany nod and sign in the indicated areas.

Ryleigh: Hey… Just out of curiosity, what’s the reasoning for the paranoia, Beth? Is it those Kingdom fucks that never play fair! As we said they’re a royal pain in the ass that needs to be dealt with much sooner than later. Did you see the shit they tried to pull a few weeks ago?

Bethany nods.

Bethany: None of it is shocking. In Hybrid, I lost the tag team championships to them under less than wonderful circumstances and then I had to march through them one by one to get a title match against Sativa. Ash has an even longer history with Jasmine…

She pauses and then nods acknowledgement.

Bethany: Ok, so Ash and the Matthews Family have effectively spent the last six years or so trying to basically commit legalized homicide on each other in a ring in one combination or another. Ash and Jezzy haven’t trusted a lot of people on rosters with them in years so with them, it’s nothing personal. Ash has just learned to look over her shoulder and Jezzy, she took a few years off to help care for her family’s baby so in some ways, she’s still getting used to everything again.

Violet: That’s dreadful…

Ryleigh shakes her head in disgust as she steps around the desk to approach Bethany.

Ryleigh: These common thugs don’t know where I’m capable of going and seeing that our two squads are here with them on Collision I propose that regardless of how this match turns out we promise to have each other’s back against them. Again, we in Team TRIOCS have the utmost respect for y’all and will stand by you in taking down The Kingdom!

Ryleigh puts out a hand to Bethany. Bethany accepts the hand and shakes it.

Bethany: Knowing them, even with the relations getting better outside of the ring, on Collision, we might just need each other sometimes.

Ryleigh: Agreed. They need to be taken down a few pegs and I think we’re just the ones to do so. I gotta run and catch up with my girlie for her match. See you around, Beth, and certainly in a few weeks. I look forward to seeing which of our teams wins this rubber match!

Bethany: Likewise.

Violet: Fantastic, I’ll get this agreement over to Mr. Calloway’s office and we should have ourselves a match.

Ryleigh looks back at her best friend and gives her a wink as she goes to find Isidora.

Match #3/Singles Match

Bianca Page (W/Vanessa & Danielle Page) v. Isidora Jansen (W/Ryleigh Ruin & Angel)

Seconded by their teammates, the two women lock up immediately before the arrogant Page breaks loose just to put on a pose meant to rile up Jansen. Jansen, however, makes a derisive gesture and mocks the pose, leading to Bianca slapping her full in the face! Isidora retorts with a stiff right and tackles Page to the mat, the two women scrapping and clawing at one another to the point that they roll right out of the ring to the floor! The impact separates them but Page is up first, attempting to curb stomp her opponent, who rolls away just in the nick of time! Jansen elbows Page in the jaw, then uses a rolling Judo throw to send Page careening into the steps! Bianca’s cohorts start to step in but are backed off by Isidora’s crew, leading to a stalemate and a stern warning from the official. Smirking at the Pages, Jansen shoves Bianca back into the ring and follows, but in her moment of taunting, Bianca is able to regain a vertical base… and she rams a running knee into the side of Jansen’s face, sending her back to the floor where both sides again approach one another, this time causing the official to threaten to eject them from ringside!

Isidora gets back up and in of her own accord, but Bianca is right there to lay in the boots, slowing Isidora down. Jansen’s determination lets her fight through the onslaught and she ducks a clothesline from Bianca, hitting a jumping knee to stun her. Bianca falls into the ropes and rebounds, right into a Jansen spinning back fist, leading to a two-count. Bianca fights her way up, raking at the eyes to stun Jansen, then booting her dangerously low… maybe an inch above the Mason-Dixon line. It is more than enough to rock Jansen, though, taking some of the air out of her… enough for Bianca to nail a spike DDT and get a two-count of her own. Unlike Jansen, however, Bianca is quite frustrated about that move not finishing things. She ignores the referee’s warning while pulling Isidora up by the hair, following with an Irish whip to the buckles. She charges in after Jansen, who moves aside. Bianca catches herself and lands a back kick to the midsection again, but her scissor kick hits nothing but air. Jansen whips her around, hits ANOTHER jumping knee, then nails a Frankensteiner for another near-fall! This is enough to get Page’s group on the apron, but Jansen’s crew yanks them down, leading to a skirmish on the outside. Jansen prepares to go aerial to lay out Page’s side, but Bianca waylays her with a discus clothesline, taking Isidora down hard!

Discombobulated by the impact, Jansen has a hard time getting her senses back in order. Bianca is no help here, hitting a few knees to the gut, then a brainbuster, though it still fails to keep Jansen down for three. Frustration makes Bianca too rash, leading to a taunt after she ascends to the top rope, seeing a missile dropkick! Seeing Isidora about to evade, Bianca does manage to land in a roll, coming up to her feet, but she cannot react fast enough to get away from a Jansen roundhouse, which she follows with a double-knee facebreaker! Bianca, faking a serious injury, tries to get the referee in between her and Jansen, but the constant attempts at approach have the official continually needing to back Isidora off! She finally gets past the ref, but Bianca rams a thumb into her eye! Backed off painfully, Jansen swings at air, leading to laughter from Bianca, who swings a closed fist at the jaw of her opponent! It hurts, no doubt, but it also gives Jansen something to lock on to, and she tackles Bianca to the mat again, grabbing her by the hair and bouncing her head off the canvas! Page reverses positions, returning the favor, and when neither adhere to the referee’s orders of keeping it clean, coupled with another brawl from the outside spilling into the ring, the official decides to throw the match out! But neither side seems to have heard, nor would they have cared! The fight continues between all six women as more officials pour out of the backstage area to try and restore order!

Result: No Contest

We go backstage where Josh Davidson and the cameraman find themselves standing in front of The Kingdom’s private locker room. The interviewer steels himself, fixing his tie as he takes a deep breath before knocking on the door. A few seconds later, the door opens up and Christina Olson stands in the doorway. Just a week after March Mayhem III, her arm that took a bit of damage has a large, over the counter icy hot pad over it. It doesn’t change her usual demeanor as she looks the sniveling little interviewer over with annoyance on her face.

Josh Davidson: H-hello, Christina.

Christina Olson: What do you want, limp dick?

Josh Davidson: Well, I….

Christina Olson: Trying to sneak a peek? S.O.L, we’re all dressed.

Josh Davidson: Perhaps an inte--

Christina Olson: Interview. Right, yeah. Whatever.

Christina rolls her eyes and opens the door, stepping aside. Josh leads the cameraman inside where we see members of the Kingdom scattered around the locker room in different stages of being ready for their match. Lilith Meadows looks just about ready to go as she’s up next. Tren also looks ready for his match later on. He sits with Sativa Nevaeh, in the middle of a chat with the World Champion. Jasmine Matthews and Jamie Austin are pulling their gear out of their bags. Isabella Luna’s finishing up with her boots, also dressed for the main event ahead of time. Morgan Payne sits against the wall on a bench with a tablet in her hands, staring intently at the screen. She’s still in her street clothes. Christina closes the door behind him, already dressed in her gear for the main event tonight, grabbing a Kingdom t-shirt and putting it on as well before walking up to Josh as Lilith joins her with a playful little smile before she holds out her hand.

Josh looks at Lilith for a moment, a little weary, but he extends his hand and jumps back, shaking his hand as Lilith laughs, revealing the shocker on the palm of her hand.

Josh Davidson: What was that for?

Lilith Meadows: Faeries gotta prank, Joshy!

Christina Olson: Don’t act so shocked, Davidson, just get on with the damn questions.

Josh gives a hesitant nod.

Josh Davidson: Right. Well, let’s start from the top and I guess work our way down. Lilith Meadows, here in a few moments, you’ll be stepping into the ring with Becca Maguire. This is, of course, just two weeks before The Last of the Valkyries defends the World Tag Team Championships against Gallus Mag. My question for you is, what do you hope to achieve here tonight in one on one competition against someone who’s had more experience in the singles realm?

Lilith looks at Christina, smiling as she steps back a little bit and she gives the stage to her friend and tag partner.

Christina Olson: Josh, it's really freaking simple here. Becca is someone we ain't ever faced before. Gallus Mag is a team outside of their reputation and what they've accomplished are a little bit of an unknown to us. Tonight is simply a scouting mission, one filled with combat, but a scouting mission nonetheless. How many times have we had singles matches with a member of a team trying to take our titles from us, Josh? There was the Skillz Vendorz. We each faced one of them, lost our singles matches, but we won when these were on the line.

Lilith reaches down into her bag and pulls out her half of the tag team championships and raises it up as Christina points at it.

Christina Olson: The SBS, we faced them one on one, lost to them, but once again, when it mattered most and those titles were on the line, we won. We take these singles matches as scouting chances and we bring the information back to the camp and we start to formulate our plan. Because at the end of the day, Josh, when the gold is on the line, there ain't another damn team on either roster that's able to touch us.

Josh nods again, tugging on the collar to his shirt, like a nervous rat in the snake’s den.

Josh Davidson: All very good points. I have to ask, on that note however, how’s the arm doing? You look like you’re still feeling the effects from March Mayhem. Do you feel the arm will be an issue going into your defense. More currently, you’ve got a match yourself, later tonight. How are you feeling, going up against Damon Cross?

As Josh is talking, Morgan Payne looks up the moment she hears the first mention of the main event. She taps her screen, sets the tablet aside and gets up, storming over where she puts herself between Lilith and Christina and right up in Josh’s shit.

Morgan Payne: Fuck ahff, Josh. Ya come up in ‘ere, askin’ stupid questions like none of us ain’t ready t’go t’work tonight. Lemme show you summin’. Lookit dat.

She points to Lilith’s Tag Team Title belt, then points over to where Sativa and Tren are sitting and points at the World Heavyweight Title in Sativa’s lap.

Morgan Payne: Lookit dat. C’mere. Wanna see summin’ else? Peep dis shit. Y’gon like dis one.

Morgan gestures with a finger for Josh to follow her but she just walks over to her bag, reaches in and comes back over with the Silver Mountain Title in her hand. She holds it up to the camera.

Morgan Payne: Lookit dis shit. I said it so many times, I’m stahtin’ t’feel like a broken record. Pass judgement. Burn bridges. Nobody in dis locker room gives a fuck. We. Run. Dis goddamn show. Shit, we run dis goddamn company. We’re da only group rahnd ‘ere holdin’ da majority o’da titles.

She turns back and points over at Tren Descarrilado, talking loud enough that everyone around the locker room can hear her going off.

Morgan Payne: Dis guy right ‘ere? He’s da one scored Collision da win in War Games at Invasion. Not “Captain Collision”, who bee tee dubs, if she’s watchin’ dis, I should remind you dat da ice you walkin’ on gettin’ kinda thin. Watch ya step. Dis guy did it. Now, I could go ahn about dat s’more but frankly, da ones over on Trauma dat been doin dis about dat night….?

She brings up her other hand and starts flapping it to insinuate a lot of talk.

Morgan Payne: Dey ain’t worth it.

Morgan shoots a look at the camera. Damn is it a cold look in those mismatched eyes.

Morgan Payne: Remember who came out ahn top, bitches. As for tonight? Lessee. Whatchu wanna hear?

She rubs her chin, mocking deep thought and starts counting on her fingers.

Morgan Payne: Damon Cross has backup tonight? See my point earlier: nobody in dis locker room gives a fuck. He’s got his psycho ex playin’ guard dog for his fiance. Dat’s a damn shame he feels he needs t’even go dat far. Shows how little he really knows us.

She points to the camera, looking stern.

Morgan Payne: Danni, you should know us better. As for Cross? I’d be remiss t’say it’s gonna be easy but yanno what? It ain’t gonna be easy fer you either, “mon ami.” Dem’s just da fuckin’ facts. Anyone else here wants t’speak, cause I’m done. Wanna watch my goddamn movie.

She bites her thumb at Josh Davidson and settles down, waiting to see what happens next. Christina looks at Josh, moving her shoulder, which is obviously taped up and she laughs.

Christina Olson: Yeah, my shoulder's a bit fucked up, but I been through worse. Besides, tonight is a marathon, not a sprint for us. It's not a matter of if we keep Damon out of the title picture, but how many people it takes.

Tren stands, walking over to Josh, towering over the interviewer.

Tren Descarrilado: Look, motherfucker. Tonight, the Kingdom shows why it's the most dominant faction in professional wrestling today.

The Man Who Feels No Pain leans on Josh's shoulder with a sadistic grin.

Tren Descarrilado: I'm gonna put Ryan Terror's little bitch ass in his place. Ain't nobody trying to step to me, so I guess I just gotta fuck up anyone Callaway puts on the tracks.

The Enforcer of the Kingdom looks around the room before looking back to Davidson.

Tren Descarrilado: Then, after tonight? I'm getting back on my own fucking path. There's a title literally made for ME in this fucking company, and I plan on taking that bitch.

Tren ruffles Josh's hair, giving Morgan a head nod and a smirk before giving the interviewer a light shove and returning to his seat. Morgan turns her head, watching Tren return to his seat. She stares at the big man behind his back for a moment. Jamie and Isabella look at each other, giving a nod before the elder of the two women looked towards Josh while the youngest stepped into the bathroom/shower area to get into her gear.

Isabella Luna: My attention, at least on Twitter, may seem as if it’s all for Tahti Kuu, over on Trauma, who’s being terrorized and stalked….no, hunted almost every time she’s booked on their shows, but I can assure you and everyone else of one thing. I’ve never been more focused for a show. Tonight is about showing that The Kingdom is rightfully on top like we should be. The main event is where these women and young man belong.

Jamie Austin: I’ve been training with Lluvia day after day since losing to Xander on Aftershock, and you can be your last damn cent that there won’t be a repeat against Damon. Tonight will be nothing but devastation for Damon in this gauntlet match.

Jamie walked over to her bag, having finished getting changed, and pulled her matching boots out of it before tossing her regular clothes into it. It didn’t take her long to pull them on and get them laced up, officially making her ready for the match minus fixing her hair which she’d do later in the evening.

Jamie Austin: I’m the major rookie going into all of this, I get that, but these women and Tren allowing me to officially/unofficially join The Kingdom, become a part of The Queen’s Guard...well that’s been amazing for someone in my situation. I won’t let them down again, not like I did in the Trios Tournament and Aftershock.

Morgan looks back at the camera after watching Tren and Sativa. When she looks into the camera again, she sneers, stepping forward.

Morgan Payne: Behold the Kingdom…. Fuck the world….

Her hand comes up over the camera but before the feed can cut a shrill whistle echoed from somewhere in the room and collectively the eyes of the group slowly turn to find Jasmine now sitting in the center of the group with her legs apart in her jeans and her head down bouncing her boots in one hand.

Jasmine Matthews: This…

Jasmine looks up slowly and motions around the room to the huge group sitting all around her.

Jasmine Matthews: ...Is the future. This…

Again she motions around the room at all those who were standing at full attention with their eyes on the red, well now blue, haired woman.

Jasmine Matthews: Is the Alpha and the Omega. For NFW. For Damon Cross. Fuck, for the wrestling world as a whole. WE are the beginning and WE are the end. Win or lose this match, no matter what happens WE will do something none of you will.

Jasmine’s eyes came up and locked on the camera where a sudden sadistic little smirk touched the corner of her full lips.

Jasmine Matthews: We’ll make you BEHOLD. One way….or another.

The group chuckled and nodded while Jasmine rose and left the room to get dressed and Morgan palmed the camera and it went to static.
The show returns from a commercial break and we’re back in the Kingdom’s locker room.After Josh Davidson left, Isabella looked around before grabbing her phone from the vanity table that it had been resting on. After checking the time, she noticed that she had some unread texts, one from Matt wishing her luck in the match again then one from Tahti asking her to give her a call when Bella was able to. The Cherokee Princess sent Matt a quick thank you text with a red heart emoji added into the mix then opened the text from Tahti before realizing that Jamie was standing next to her.

Jamie Austin: You were lost in your own little world for a minute there, Bells. Normally you’re pretty quick to reply to texts or a call request, especially from Tahti right now...everything alright?

Isabella Luna: Yeah...I just did quite a bit of digging over the last week, and I know she’s going to know if I found anything.

Jamie Austin: And did you?

Isabella didn’t verbally answer but gave a quick, light nod. She just wasn’t sure if Tahti would be prepared for what had been discovered. The older of the two women sighed and glanced around the room again, deciding that the call needed to happen sooner rather than later.

Isabella Luna: Jamie and I will be back in a minute...going to see what’s keeping Alexa, and I have a phone call to make.

Bella looked around at Tren and her daughter-in-laws...no, they were just her daughters, to hell with the in-law stuff, and held a slight smile as she got a couple of scattered nods from them. The two women stepped out of the locker room and began heading towards the catering area, Bella hitting the call button on Tahti’s name as she walked.

Isabella Luna: Hey Tahti...how’re you feeling?

Jamie glanced at Bella from the corner of her eyes, a smile gracing her features when she saw the older woman smiling a bit and nodding her head.

Isabella Luna: Good, I’m glad! Oh...did I find anything out? Well…

Isabella trailed off, looking at Jamie who only gave her a nod to tell her to let the Finnish woman know what had been discovered.

Isabella Luna: Well...did you know Demoni had a younger brother? No...not one that lived with him. No, not full-blooded, they had different moms, but it seems like he took the news of what happened pretty hard.

Jamie could hear Tahti’s voice on the other end of the call though she couldn’t quite make out what the Finnish woman was saying...partially because the woman was going between English and Finnish. The Texas native began looking around at her co-workers, giving smiles to some here and there in order to brighten their day/evening. Bella worked on calming down the woman on the other side of the phone conversation in order to finish the conversation.

Isabella Luna: Tahti, sweetie...I know it’s upsetting. Hell, Demoni probably didn’t even know about him. You know he always told you everything, especially something big like that.

The two women continued walking towards catering only for Jamie to spot Alexa Marcus walking back towards the locker room of The Kingdom.

Jamie Austin: Hey Alexa! We were just coming to look for you. You missed Josh bugging us, or rather attempting to interview us...lucky bitch.

Alexa Marcus: Hey, I can’t help it if I’ve got good timing! What’s Bells up to?

Jamie Austin: Oh...Tahti asked her to give her a call, so she’s handling that. See you back at the locker room in a bit?

Alexa Marcus: Yeah, as long as it’s before Tren’s match with Ryan.

Jamie nodded at Alexa before the blonde turned her attention back to Isabella who had given Alexa a little nod before the other woman continued on her way.

Isabella Luna: His name? Hang on, I’ve got it on my phone somewhere.

Bella pulled the phone away from her ear, silencing her end of the call while she looked for the name. Jamie glanced over at the other woman’s phone as she pulled up a screenshot that had a picture of the man as well as his name.

Jamie Austin: Hey...he’s kinda cute. I wouldn’t mind having to deal with him, personally.

Isabella gave Jamie a weird look and shook her head, not saying anything to the younger woman as she unsilenced the call and brought her phone back to her ear.

Isabella Luna: Artturi Peura is his name...and I knew I butchered that as soon as I said it. Yeah...A-R-T-T-U-R-I-P-E-U-R-A....yep, that’s it. Alright honey, if you need any more help or anything, just give one of us a call. You know Lluv and I will do whatever we can to help...yeah, don’t call Jamie; she and I need to have a little talk about her taste in men first. Yeah...bye, sweetie.

Jamie gave Bella a mean look as she hung up with Tahti, but the blonde woman didn’t give the other a chance to speak before she began heading back to The Kingdom’s locker room. Of course, it didn’t take long for Bella to catch up with the shorter woman.

Jamie Austin: My taste in men is just fine, thank you very much. Now then, since you’re done and Alexa is already heading back, I think it’s time for us to head back as well. We do have a match to finish getting ready for, after all.

Isabella Luna: The guy is basically hunting one of my best friends. Your taste is awful, but I agree that we need to finish getting ready for the match. We can have this argument later.

The scene faded out as the two women continued on their way back to the locker room.

Match #4/Singles Match

Becca Maguire (W/Saoirse Maguire) v. Lilith Meadows (W/Christina Olson)

Becca and Lil circle the ring and lock up, but almost immediately, Lil goes behind Becca and puts her into a waistlock. Becca though is able to counter out into a waistlock of her own. She lifts Lil up and slams her face first into the mat. She then picks Lil up and sends her into the ropes. Lil comes off the ropes and runs right into a clothesline that staggers Lil and Becca grabs Lil and delivers a German suplex. Christina reaches in and grabs Lil by the arm and pulls her out of the ring. The two of them start to talk over strategy again as Becca rolls out of the ring and clubs both of them, sending them into the barricade. Becca grabs Lil and rolls her back into the ring, but as she’s going to get back in, Christina is there to grab the ankle of Becca and Lil gets to her feet and delivers a baseball slide dropkick that drops Becca off the apron again. The ref looks down at Christina who backs away, hands up, like she’s innocent. She then walks around and talks a little bit of trash to Psycho who starts making her way towards Christina before the ref steps in.

As the ref is distracted, Lil grabs Becca and drives her face first into the ring post before rolling her back into the ring and starts to choke her. As the ref brings their attention back to the match, Lil relinquishes the choke and pulls Becca to her feet. Lil then takes Becca and delivers a Death Valley Driver. She goes for the cover, but only manages a two count. Lil picks Becca up and she goes for The Dreaming, but Becca counters out of it and she delivers a European uppercut before hitting Lil with the Freedom punch. Lil staggers as Becca grabs her and delivers Kickstarter and hooks the leg and picks up the win.

Result: Pinfall

Match #5/Singles Match

Angel v. Milisandre Crowthorne

Milisandre and Angel start off with a lock up, but Angel transitions it into a side headlock. Milisandre backs into the ropes and pushes Angel off of her. Angel hits the ropes and takes Milisandre down with a shoulder tackle before she goes for a senton, but Milisandre rolls out of the way. Milisandre gets to her feet and she immediately takes Angel and puts her into a kneebar. Millisandre cranks on the submission, but Angel refuses to give up. She fights and finds her way to the ropes and Milisandre breaks the submission at the count of four. Milisandre grabs Angel by the leg and brings her up to her feet. She then gets out of the ring and onto the apron before delivering a dragon screw onto Angel through the ropes. Milisandre gets a grin on her face as she rolls back into the ring and continues to work on the injured leg.

Milisandre once again grabs Angel by the legs and this time, she goes for a figure four, but Angle is able to push her off. Angel gets up to her feet, limping a little bit as Melisandre charges in and delivers a dropkick to the injured leg of Angel. She then grabs the leg and delivers a DDT to it, causing Angel to grab at her knee and roll in pain. Milisandre reaches down to pick Angel up, but she delivers a right hand. That staggers Milisandre back, but Angel manages to pull herself back up and she delivers another right and another. This staggers Milisandre and she then delivers a hangman neckbreaker. Angel crawls into the cover, but only gets a two count. Milisandre is the first to her feet though as she grabs Angel and lock in Grasp of Cthulhu. Angel refuses to tap though, but Milisandre transitions it into Grip of Cthulhu. Angel fights for as long as she can before she has no choice but to tap.

Result: Submission

After the match, Milisandre stands tall. Her weird music slowly fades out as she looks out over the crowd. Somehow she has a mic in her hands. She brings it up to her grinning lips.

Milisandre Crowthorne: Silence speaks volumes when you know what to look for. The lost child has been oh so silent recently. I issued the challenge. Put the proverbial ball in their court. The power of their fallen angel against that of an elder being from beyond time and space.

The arena lights flicker for a moment. The grin turns to a smirk for a moment. Then Milisandre’s face drops all expression

Milisandre Crowthorne: Parlor tricks is all you have. Do you think the threat of darkness scares me? I have seen the eternal nothingness that is true oblivion. The dark does not frighten me.

The arena lights go out this time. Darkness fills the area for a few moments before the lights come back on. When they do, Maiko is standing in the ring grinning at Milisandre. The brunette tilts her head to the side as she looks at the woman before her. Like a curious dog.

Milisandre Crowthorne: There you are. So do you accept, Lost one? You and me, Fallen Angel versus Elder God. A brawl out in the elements, let the power of our leaders show forth. Show who is the stronger, the better. Do you accept?

Maiko just smiles at Milisandre. She holds a finger up to her lips and the lights go out again. When they come back Milisandre is alone in the ring. On the mat, is what can be assumed to be blood, is written two words.



Milisandre sees the acceptance and grins again.
There is chaos backstage as the show returns from a commercial break. A lot of people are herded around a hallway backstage, murmuring in low tones. It is hard to see what is going on until the arrival of trainers and security cut through the burgeoning sea of humanity waving around. Someone is laid out on the concrete and it is hard to make out who until someone else comes breaking through the human wall:

Damon Cross.

He is at the side of the man before the others are, including the trainers, and now it is clear that Hiashi is the unfortunate recipient of some serious violence. North of sixty despite still being considerably vital, the big man is not looking well and Damon, along with the trainers, are doing their utmost to help… even if all Cross can do is try to figure out the perpetrators.

Nick Hanson: What the hell?! I don’t think we need to ask who did this!

Jim Reynolds: Really? Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty, Nicky? Seriously… just push the old dude’s Medic Alert button and let’s get back to the action.

Nick Hanson: ...you really went there? You realize he could snap you like a twig, right?

Jim Reynolds: Not unconscious he can’t.

Nick Hanson: You well and truly suck.

Thankfully, a couple of EMTs show up and, upon getting Hiashi on a stretcher, they start to wheel him away, Damon assisting as much as he is allowed. The crowd parts as Danni and Leina come rushing up, Ronnie and Sylvia hot on their heels; no surprise here since Damon charged them with protecting his family while he had his fight with the Kingdom… a battle soon to commence. Danni puts what is supposed to be a reassuring hand on Damon’s shoulder, but it is as if the Redeemer does not feel it.

Damon Cross: Sylvia. Ronnie.

The two step forward, Ronnie looking rather angry at this point while Sylvia, though quiet and calm outwardly, seems fit to burst at the slightest nudge.

Damon Cross: Take them back and lock the door. No one gets in or out. I don’t care who it is. Luthor… Brody… I don’t care if it’s Jesus himself. NO ONE gets near them. Do this for me, my friends. Please.

Desperation mixed with fury makes a dangerous cocktail, one whose volatility could give nitroglycerin a run for its money. Ronnie simply nods while Sylvia, hesitatingly, pats Damon’s arm. Danni, however, is not relenting in her own grip.

Danni Anderson: No! I’m coming with you!

Leina, at her side, nods enthusiastically. Damon turns to look at her over his shoulder, fighting to keep his calm. And not entirely succeeding.

Damon Cross: No. Accept this, Danielle. I do not want to have to be... cross… about it.

It was not meant to be a joke or a pun, and it truly was not any such thing. In his state of mind in that moment, Damon simply could not think of a better word. Luckily, no one laughed.

Danni Anderson: But-!

Damon Cross: Maybe I’m wrong and you would be all right. Maybe they would not sink that low. That’s what I thought two minutes ago. And before anyone says anything foolish, you will NOT convince me that the Kingdom’s hands are NOT wearing my sensei’s metaphorical blood!

He snarls, then tries to compose himself and speak properly again.

Damon Cross: Now, though? Not a chance. They’ll attack a sixty-plus man who never even spoke their name, just to rile me. If they’ll go that far? Hurting you, Danni, is not beyond them. You are staying here. So is Leina. That is final.

Jim Reynolds: Oh, sure, blame the Kingdom for all your woes. Old bastard probably had a-

Nick Hanson: Just stop, Jim! We don’t need the trouble it would bring!

Jim Reynolds: Just trying to say what we’re all thinking.

Danni still looks defiant, but Damon puts a hand to her cheek as he turns, and his next words shut her down.

Damon Cross: Take it from someone who knows you, reine fee. If you come with me, if they use you against me and it costs me this opportunity… I would forgive you for convincing me to let you come to ringside, yes, but would you be able to forgive yourself?

She is about to reply, but realizes that Damon is right. Even Leina, sharper than her years would indicate, has no retort. Sad but trying to understand, Danni nods and turns to leave with Leina, Sylvia and Ronnie. Damon, left alone, turns to stare down the hallway in the direction they took his sensei. And only one word leaves him.

Damon Cross: ...regicide.

He moves off with purpose.

Match #6/Singles Match

Tren Descarrilado v. Ryan Terror

Both Tren and Ryan start off hot, crashing into each other with force in the center of the ring. The pair were eager to get this match up started and wasted little time exchanging lefts and rights. Both men were brawlers through and through and Tren’s inability to feel pain was leading him to take a decided upper hand in the contest. Tren grabbed Terror in a lock-up, the two of them attempting to shove each other off balance. Terror turns the tables when he suddenly presses into the lock up and jumps up, smashing both of his knees into Descarrilado’s face. This threw Tren off balance, the big man crashing to his back on the mat. Terror rode him down and started immediately laying in with mounted punches. It just wasn’t enough to keep the Train Wreck down though and Terror went flying to the side in one great sweep of Descarrilado’s arms. Ryan lets Tren come to him and plays it smart, targeting joints that can fail instead of attempting to cause pain maximum by kicking in Descarrilado’s knee as he gets close. Terror is super quick to start stomping a hole into Tren, but once again it doesn’t last long as Tren shows his strength and tenacity, taking minor control of the match. He returns the favor and batters Ryan around a bit, but every time Descarrilado builds a head of steam he’s cut off by Terror who uses clever joint strikes and sleeper holds to control the match.

Terror gets Tren down on the mat again and goes for a Crash and Burn (diving splash) but that’s when Descarrilado gets his knee up and completely takes the wind out of Terror’s sails! That momentum shift was Tren’s moment and the train wreck could sense it. He kept on top of Ryan Terror with a vicious head butt as both men had gotten to their feet. Tren pulled Terror in and nailed him down with a northern lights suplex! From there, Tren starts hammering his points into Ryan with no mercy for the other man. Ryan manages to make the match a solid back and forth with more high-risk tricks, but the Train Wreck continues to prove why he’s considering unstoppable, taking control of the match again with a huge boot to the gut. Tren goes about tossing Terror around like the man’s a cheap sack, whipping him across the ring and felling him with a lariat from hell. Ryan then gets whipped into the corner and Tren lays on the hellacious chops! Each one giving an ear-splitting smack! Terror’s doing his best to stone face the pain all he can but it finally starts to show when Tren backs up and smacks him right in the gob with another big boot! Descarrilado weaponizes the advantage and finally picks up Terror for the "Bullet Train to Hell" - Last of the Dragon! Ryan comes crashing down to the mat and Tren covers, pulling up both legs! Ryan gives it a valiant effort but just can’t kick out!

Result: Pinfall

We go to the back with Matt Shields, well actually know still in the arena as Shields has his back turned towards the ring standing up in one of the suites inside the Collision Center. He sits on the edge section sipping a beer through a straw as he continued to recover from burns he suffered in previous months. He sets the beer down and behind the mask, we can see a slight hint of a smirk.

Matt Shields: Well, I have every damn thing I wanted. No count outs, no disqualifications, nowhere for Maki to run off to. So why the hell am I here? Why did I track down the asshole that has this specific suite rented out and pay him a grand to have it for the night? Because I know that Mai will be watching this and I wanted to be damn certain she gets my message.

He reaches under his chin and slowly pulls the mask up. His skin is still peeling a bit, and there’s a bit of redness in some areas, but he tosses it down, grabs his beer, tosses the straw, and chugs it down.

Matt Shields: Fuck did I miss chugging a beer. The matter at hand though. Maki, I wanted to make sure you heard me perfectly. I wanted to be sure that even if you were struck deaf, you could read my god damn lips. Maki, right now you seem to be treating things like a fucking joke. Maki, you have roughly three hundred and thirty-six hours until you step inside a steel cage with a man who is known for taking joy in breaking the bones of his enemies. You have roughly twenty thousand, one hundred and sixty minutes until you step inside a steel cage with a man who is known for taking pleasure in delivering neckbreaker after neckbreaker after neckbreaker, all in the sweet sick sadistic hope that the move will finally live up to its name. Maki, you have roughly, one million, two hundred and nine thousand, six hundred seconds until you step inside a steel cage with a man that gets fucking aroused by making people bleed and suffer. So I want you to take all of that time, take every single waking second, that should be somewhere around eight hundred thousand, give or take ten or twenty thousand in either direction. Take all of those seconds and think if you want to step into the ring with that man after you have shown at least enough damn respect to by taking this match seriously, or if you want to step into the ring with that man after you have made a few more terrible jokes and left him even more pissed off than he is.

Shields turns away from the camera, grabs another beer, sits down on one of the large chairs in the suite, and kicks his feet up. He flips off the camera, then tosses the empty beer bottle in their direction before they bail out and we cut to black.
Faith No More’s “Epic” hits the speakers, and Luthor starts to make his way to the ring. He's got a very intense stare, and his posture pace is even more intense. He grabs a mic and climbs into the ring.

Nick Hanson: And the General Manager of Collision is coming out to the ring. I wonder what he's got to say.

Jim Reynolds: Look alive, partner. Callaway looks ready to fire someone right now.

Nick Hanson: Hard to disagree there. And with the main event that's coming up next...

Jim Reynolds: You're not wrong. That and a few other things happening, it's a wonder he hasn't come completely undone.

The music continues a bit longer until Luthor is in the ring. The fans applaud respectfully for him, and he gives them a courteous but very sharp nod. His music finally fades, and the mic comes up to his mouth.

Luthor Callaway: You know, it's safe to say I've been in this business for a while now. I've seen every type there is to see, no matter how different anybody back there thinks they are. But one thing is always constant between them: the absolute fucking stench of arrogance from all of them.

Luthor lowers the mic as the crowd buzzes as to what he could even be talking about. He starts pacing once he brings the mic back up.

Luthor Callaway: And the arrogance, that actually isn't the worst part. Every time I have to get involved, suddenly, they all start spitting empty threats at me! That pisses me off a lot more than any level of arrogance because if you never actually intend to back up your threats, I can't even look at you as a person anymore.

Luthor lets out a drawn-out sigh, looks around a moment, and scoffs.

Luthor Callaway: And then, there's the couple of people I can actually almost forgive. Almost. Because I like what they bring, and I can deal with a few shots being thrown my way. But then… they really fuck up, and I have to deal with the shit they leave behind. Like attacking other superstars and thinking they weren't seen.

He points to the large tron embedded into the stage set, which shows a grainy black-and-white backstage security camera shot. The timestamp in the bottom left-hand corner reads March 9th, 2021, while the label underneath says Collision Center. In the middle of the screen, fan-favorite Cass Baumer walks backstage, scrolling her smartphone with a smile on her face. She stops reading a tweet to herself until she’s clubbed from behind by an unseen figure! A second assailant rushes into view, and the two begin to waylay into Cass pretty viciously. Their faces are partially obscured by other pieces of backstage equipment.

Luthor Callaway: Hold on, hold on! Can we rewind that a bit and play it with sound, please? Get the production folks on that as soon as possible!

After a few seconds of silent tampering, the video whirls back to the beginning with a VCR rewind effect to just before the attack. When Cass is struck with a metallic thud, she audibly grunts and groans as she slams face-first into the tiled floor. Once she’s down, the distinct sound of two women giggling pipe in through the stadium speakers, followed by the sounds of aluminum meeting flesh over and over again as the two attackers hunch over Baumer’s prone body. The entire attack lasts less than a minute, but the video pauses to get a good capture of Abigail Lindsay and Sela-Rica Lark armed with barbwire baseball bats when both of them stand. Both of them look pleased with what they’ve done while Luthor glares at the video with scorn. There’s a long pause while he paces the ring to consider his words when “Smooth Sailing” by Queens Of The Stone Age blasts through the speakers!

Nick Hanson: It looks like The Headliner has something to say!

Jim Reynolds: Of course she does, Nick. If there’s anyone who should be commenting on that attack, it’s her.

With a vintage gold Shure 55SH Series II microphone gripped in hand, the Kiwi walks onto the stage in disbelief at the video she saw along with everybody else. She adjusts her yellow leather jacket’s collar as the camera cuts behind her to show a prominent black graffiti-like target dripping with paint at her back. The audience cheers down appreciation for the former captain of Team Collision at Invasion: Civil War as she walks the aisle and finally speaks with her eyes traveling across the audience.

Cass Baumer: So this is what happens the ONE TIME I finally managed to get on good terms with my boss? Now I’m made to be an example, hm? A pawn in some childish scheme? Sela and Abi were so absent-minded that they couldn’t think of any other way to get— What, exactly? Notoriety? A higher spot on the card? Or was it all about the thrill?!

Cass is animated with her words in the ring, twisting her head at the end of sentences to emphasize her point as she talks with her free hand.

Cass Baumer: Too bad this time they’re gonna regret knocking on my door, eh? Y’all can’t hide no more.

The typically jovial former journalist speaks without a hint of joy, speaking seriously with a fire in her chest.

Cass Baumer: So how ‘bout it then, Luthor? We oughta give them the precious TV time they’ve been craving to explain, nah? Why stretch this out further?

There's no chance for Luthor to call them out when Skylar Grey's "Wreak Havoc" hits the speakers. Sela and Abigail both walk out with mics. They smile, and the music fades as they walk down the ramp when Sela brings the mic to her mouth.

Sela-Rica Lark: Notoriety? Me? Or her? Heheh, from you, Cass? Haven't we made ourselves clear yet? I mean, sure, thrill at least kind of is correct. Kind of, deep down, way down, in the smallest recesses, but it's for a reason so much more than that.

The two get to ringside and climb in, Abi holding the ropes for Sela first and Sela doing the same for Abi.

Sela-Rica Lark: As we've tried to explain to Luthor many times, we are a Force of Nature. We aren't going to be controlled or tamed. And despite your own self-importance Cass, you were just a casualty of that storm.

Abigail Lindsay: Cass, the simple truth of the matter, it could have been the janitor, someone from the concession stand, a popcorn vendor; or the valet. The beating we gave you could have happened to anyone else. You are the daft one who decided to get involved. Simple. Easy peasy.

Abigail winks at Cass, who visibly seethes in response.

Abigail Lindsay: You got involved in a matter that didn’t concern you. That’s the tragedy of the ignorant who decide to play the hero, unwilling to accept the consequences of their actions. How long have you been in this business? You had to know when you offered your assistance to Luthor this was the likely scenario. Everyone else was smart enough to mind their own business. Hey. With Lu Lu’s attitude, he doesn’t have many friends.

Abi waves at Luthor. She then tilts her head as she stares directly at Cass.

Abigail Lindsay: Where are your friends by the way, Cass? Is Lu Lu going to touch us? For what? Leaving him gifts the past couple weeks? Of course not. He loves his job too much to assault us without a proper justification. The way I see it, IF you want your revenge, silly goose, make a move.

Abigail gets down on one knee. She draws an imaginary line on the mat.

Abigail Lindsay: Cross the line. Come on. Pretty please!

Abigail giggles. She stands up straight to prepare herself for what happens next. Cass doesn’t waste time stepping over the line with her fist clenching her vintage gold microphone when Luthor physically stops her by grabbing the weapon out of her raised hand! Baumer and Calloway glare at each other for a moment, wordlessly communicating for all of five seconds until the general manager speaks.

Luthor Callaway: Are you sure about this?
Cass nods anxiously, bouncing in her stance as she looks over his shoulder to see the two women mocking them with gestures.

Jim Reynolds: What’s happening right now?

Nick Hanson: It looks like our general manager is about to make a major match announcement to me!

Luthor Callaway: Alright. It’s official. At ASCENSION II, it will be Cass Baumer… versus the team of Sela-Rica Lark & Abigail Lindsay in a handicap tornado tag team match!! And if I were you two, I’d be praying you learn some kind of lesson this time around. Otherwise, you’ll see the kind of “Force of Nature” I can be.

The Collision Center crowd cheers with ferocity, excited to see this highly anticipated match at the Pay-Per-View! Sela and Abigail face off side by side against Cass Baumer, with Luthor Callaway behind her in a moment that hangs until the show cuts elsewhere.

Main Event/Gauntlet Match

Damon Cross v. Jasmine Matthews/Christina Olson/Isabella Luna/Morgan Payne/Jamie Austin
(If Damon Cross wins 3 out of 5 rounds, he earns a World Title shot against Sativa Nevaeh AND gets to choose the match type.)

The first round starts off before Jasmine Matthews even makes it to ringside because Damon Cross slides out of the ring and goes right for her. This behavior actually catches the Fanged Rose off guard as the Black Ronin comes right in and starts throwing bombs from his right hand on her. He starts bouncing her off of the barricade with Irish whips, while the referee tries to gain control of the situation, but Damon’s not having any of it. Jasmine’s on the padded floor, trying to gather her senses when Damon’s anger gets the better of him and he goes to his corner, grabbing his entrance cane. As he approaches, Jasmine makes it to her feet and Damon takes her in the midsection with the end of the stick, then a second time in the forehead. He cocks it back to swing for the fences but Referee James Greer rips it out of his hands and the 6’4 referee bows up on the wrestler, telling him it’s not gonna go down like this. Damon reaches for the cane, but Greer yanks it out of reach and shakes his head. The Black Ronin just glares at the official and starts backing away, turning back towards Jasmine who wallops him over the head with a steel chair! The crowd boos Matthews as she brings the chair down over Damon’s back for another shot. Before she can get a third one in, the Senior Official drops the cane and gets in her way, putting his foot down for her, as well. Jasmine laughs and tosses the chair to him before stepping around, picking Damon up, and throws him into the ring. Referee Greer slides the chair under the ring, gets in, and finally calls for the bell. Jasmine goes right for a cover, but Damon throws up the shoulder at the count of 2!

Jasmine straddles Damon over his chest very...suggestively...with an evil laugh. It could be counted as another cover, but she started hammering him across the forehead with stiff punches. It gets to the point where Jasmine has to be called off by the referee; Damon finally gets a moment to catch his breath and get to his feet. The referee orders Jasmine back into her corner and comes to check on Damon, but once he gets to his feet by the ropes, Jasmine starts crossing over to come at him. Damon sees her, shoves the ref aside, and rushes to meet her halfway. They start throwing bombs at each other again, but Damon wins the exchange due to his size and mass. He whips Jasmine into the corner and capitalizes by coming right in behind her with a European Uppercut. He runs along the ropes to the parallel corner and comes running back in for a corner big boot but Jasmine makes it out of the way and Damon’s leg gets caught up on the top rope. Jasmine comes in right behind him with a chop block to the back of his knee, knocking him to the mat. Damon goes down, grabbing at his knee as Jasmine throws him into sitting against the corner and starts raining forearms onto him until the ref calls her off with a count to 4. Jasmine backs off but only to put some distance between them so she can run in and hit a dropkick to her cornered opponent. Jasmine drags Damon out of the corner for another cover but he kicks out again. She’s getting frustrated now and starts throwing her grounded knee shots into his ribs before sliding around on the mat to change positions and throws more knees into his shoulders. Finally, Matthews backs off and starts waiting for Damon to start getting up. The closer he makes it to his feet, as does she on her own, motioning with her fingers and starts readying the leg. Fans try to warn Damon to be careful in turning around. It looks damn near hopeless until he does and Jasmine comes running in for the Ice Cold, but Damon evades the leg and pops the Queen of the Kingdom high into the air! Catches her on his shoulders! White Thunder Bomb!!

Damon fails to capitalize as he just falls back onto the mat and the referee starts counting for the 10 unless one of them makes it up. Damon starts to stir first, rolling over onto one side, then his stomach, pushing himself up. Jasmine crawls over to the ropes and starts using them for leverage. The fans start a rhythmic clap with a chant of Damon’s name to motivate him and he makes it up to his feet first. Jasmine makes it up a second later but stumbles one step and drops to a knee. Damon sees his chance and comes running in for a Yakuza Kick, but wait! It’s only a feign from Matthews as she drops under the leg and Damon ends up going into the ropes. He gets his leg off of the middle rope and turns around quickly, but Jasmine’s waiting with The Strike! Damon takes the hit in the mouth and stumbles into the ropes again just before Jasmine swoops in and rolls him up for the cover. As the ref starts counting, Jasmine stacks Damon up and uses her boots on the ropes for unfair leverage. 1...2...3! This ends the first round and Jasmine slides out of the ring, laughing. As Damon sits up and realizes what happened, Jasmine holds her hand up to him to signify a bit fat ZERO.

The Kingdom: 1

As Jasmine backs up the ramp, Gene Simmons’ “Firestarter” hits the speakers and Christina Olson comes out next. Her arm’s still wrapped up, but she’s got a sadistic smile on her face as she throws Jasmine a fist bump and hits the ring with a sense of purpose. Damon’s up on his feet by the time she makes it there and the two start to circle up. Christina’s grinning ear to ear like a Cheshire cat, while Damon looks like he’s realizing his error and starting to find his calm again. Finally, this match sees its first official lockup as Cross and Olson step in. This proves to be a mistake on Christina’s part as Cross goes right for that wrapped arm and administers an arm wrench. He keeps the torque on that arm, running his shoulder into Christina’s to wear her down. He finally Irish whips her across the mat, but Christina goes baseball sliding to the outside. She slaps the mat due to the pain in her arm as the referee warns Damon to not pursue her. Fortunately, Damon hangs back and decides to let the referee start counting. The whole time, he motions for Christina to come on in and get some. Growing agitated, Christina slides back into the ring, shaking her arm out. Damon offers a test of strength and Christina moves to accept it but goads Damon into a kick to the same leg Jasmine chop blocked earlier. This drops him to a knee and Christina starts throwing stiff kicks to the chest, wearing him down until she follows up with an enziguri and a cover that Damon kicks out of.

Christina keeps Damon grounded with some forearms to the face and follows up with a Standing Moonsault, but it costs her some impact on her arm so she sits back and holds her shoulder. She gets to her feet and waits for Damon to sit up before she comes off the ropes for a Meteora, but Damon bursts up and catches her with a Greco-Roman Throw. Christina goes up and over and crashes onto the mat. The momentum throws her up into the ropes and Damon’s right there, catching her with a Dragon Suplex for the bridge. She kicks out of the pinfall but Damon transitions right into a Fujiwara Armbar on that damaged arm and torques it all the way back. Screaming, Christina quickly taps the mat, vying to save her arm and well-being. Damon immediately lets go and Christina goes rolling out of the ring, kicking the commentary table and cursing up a storm as she holds her arm. Damon takes a moment to stand and catch his breath as Christina Olson heads up the walkway again.

The Kingdom: 1

Next, Pistol Annie’s “Hell On High Heels” gets a more positive reaction from the crowd. Isabella Luna comes strolling, leisurely out of the tunnel, stopping to check on Christina Olson. She’s obviously asking if Olson is okay, to which the redhead nods through the pain and motions for her to just go kick Damon’s ass. Luna nods and continues on towards the ring. Once The Cherokee Princess reaches the ring, she slides on in and circles up with Damon. Cross goes in for a lockup but Bella shoots low and hits a Single Leg Takedown on that tender leg of his, immediately starting to go for a Figure 4 Leglock, but he pushes off on her rear with his other foot to get her loose. It works, but she runs in with a Penalty Kick that lays him flat on the mat. Bella goes for a Senton Bomb next, but Damon rolls out of the way and she lands on the mat. Bella rolls up onto a knee as Damon comes in for a Yakuza Kick, but he uses the leg she was going for earlier so, when she catches it, she hits a Dragonscrew Legwhip, taking Damon down to the mat again, clutching his knee. Bella goes right for his leg again and this time gets the Figure 4 Locked on tight. Damon screams in pain as Bella torques the knee before she adds insult to injury and arches her hips up to add more pressure. The referee’s right there, asking if he wants to give up, but Damon shakes his head, grabbing at the official’s shirt telling him he better not dare end the round. The referee gets Damon’s hands off his shirt and keeps on asking him, but Damon refuses to give up. Instead, he wills himself over towards the ropes, but Bella arches the already elevated Figure 4 into a Figure 8 and makes things even worse for the Redeemer. He can’t reach the ropes so, instead, he manages to turn over onto his stomach, bringing Bella into a rough landing on her front and also reverses the pressure on her legs. Now she’s the one who’s being asked if she wants to tap out, but instead, she just unhooks her leg from over Damon’s and breaks the hold. Both competitors lay there on the mat, nursing their legs as the referee starts counting towards 10 for one of them, at least, to make it up.

Damon rolls out of the ring to get to land on his feet. That stops the double count to 10, but now the referee’s counting towards 20 for him to get back in the ring as Damon bends his knee in and out. The referee makes it to 12 when Isabella Luna comes dashing across the ring, runs up onto the corner, and hits a big moonsault, crashing down onto Damon. The referee starts his count over as Bella gets up to her feet and pulls Damon up. The ring veteran takes to bouncing Cross’s head off of the commentary table and ring apron. The referee makes it to about 15 before Bella stops throwing the beating to Damon and rolls him back into the ring. She hops up onto the apron, waiting for him to get back to his feet, hopping back and forth on the balls of her feet in preparation. Once Damon was vertical, Bella hopped up, springboarding back into the ring and landing on his shoulders, and spiking him with a big hurricanrana into a double leg hook, but Damon kicked out nearly at 3. Just as he does, however, Bella grabs his head and flips around, locking him right into Forever Gone! Damon struggles and struggles but he can’t pry himself loose. The best he can do is get his feet grounded and eventually, he showcases some of his power as he grabs Bella and liiiiiifts her up until he’s standing vertical. Bella realizes she’s in a bad way and the crowd is going nuts as Damon turns and just buckle bombs her into the nearest corner. Bella grabs at her back as she staggers out of the corner, rebounding into Damon who sets her right up and plants her with a Dragonfire DDT!! Damon rolls her up tight, hooking the far leg as tight as he can for the cover! 1...2...3 and Damon gets this one! He sits up, yelling and pumping his fist. He falls back on the mat, needing a breath after wrestling essentially three fresh opponents back to back. Bella sits up, shooing off the referee from helping her, and stares down at Damon as she holds her head. Through the pain on her face and the frustration, she still nods to the man before shaking her head in disbelief. She steps out of the ring and takes her leave, while Damon starts to slowly sit up.

The Kingdom: 1

“Bury Me With My Guns On” signals the next arrival and Damon’s face twists into an angry sneer as he turns towards the stage. Damon starts seething as he pushes himself up to his feet and goes to the ropes, yelling and motioning for Morgan Payne to bring her ass on. Bella makes it up to the stage but there’s no sign of Morgan from the tunnel. The music’s blasting, the lights are even going. Even Bella looks a little baffled. Damon drops his aggressive guard and backs away from the ropes, shrugging his hands up to his hips in an exhausted “what the hell?” Up on stage, Bella looks over her shoulder finally and winks at the man before strutting through the tunnel. Something dawns on Damon as his confusion turns into a horrid realization. He spins around just a second too late and catches a KHAO LOI FROM MORGAN PAYNE FROM BEHIND!!!! Morgan snuck in from the crowd and got the drop on him! Damon staggers and hits the mat like a net full of crawdads. Morgan stacks him up for the cover! 1...2...but she’s stacked him up so tight that one of his boots is touching the ropes and the referee spots it before it’s too late! Morgan lets up on the cover and gives Damon some space as the man sits up, shaking away the stars. He almost looks afraid that this round’s over already but the referee lets him know it’s still going and that his boot hit the ropes. This wakes Damon up a little and he turns to Morgan who’s down on one knee, keeping herself at his level. With a little grin, she motions with her thumb and index finger how close she had him. Her taunting snaps Damon out of his dizzy spell and he pulls himself back up to his feet. Morgan rises with him and her mouth keeps moving as she talks more shit, trying to provoke Damon into losing his cool.

Morgan feigns several attempts at a lockup and a couple of strength tests as she and Damon dance around the mat. She even jukes out of the way a couple of times when Damon lunges for her. They circle up more and finally, Morgan shoots in for a Low Single. She goes right for that tender leg of Damon’s that everyone’s loved working on tonight. Damon goes down and Morgan goes for a front Ankle Lock but Damon reaches the ropes before she gets full torque on. The referee calls her off and Morgan goes right over, stomping at Damon’s forearm as he holds onto the rope for a moment. Damon grabs at his arm, cursing and Morgan starts putting the boots to him, throwing insults at him with a mix of English and Italian. Just berating the man. It does more than just annoy him, however, as he starts pushing to his feet while Morgan repeatedly slaps him in the face. On the last slap, Damon catches her hand but she’s been scouting for this and her other hand pops him in the eye. Morgan whips Damon towards the ropes but the blinded man reverses it, pinging her off instead. He misses a double axe handle as Morgan jukes underneath and hits the ropes again. She leaps at him but Damon catches her and drives her back with a Fallaway Slam. Morgan hits the mat and rolls through the landing, coming up into a crouch and rises. Damon kips up after delivering the slam, turns and Morgan blasts him in the jaw with a Superkick that sounds with a loud SMACK and an emphatic groan from the crowd. Damon staggers backwards, into the ropes; looks like he’s gonna fall through the top and middle but he catches himself and slings himself back in, right into Morgan with a Running STO that snaps her violently into the mat. Damon goes for a cover with the leg hook. He gets a 1...2...and Morgan throws her hips up, breaking the pin, and reverses the cover, using her hooked leg to trap his arm and flip the Black Ronin over into a Cross Armbar.

Morgan wrenches back on the arm, screaming at Damon to tap. Tap or she’s gonna break it. She’ll tear it right off. Damon refuses and instead manages to rotate his body around and get the toe of his boot on the ropes, forcing the break, but she holds it still until the referee counts to 4. Morgan stands, starting to seethe as Damon - ever the persevering one - starts working to get up on his feet. In doing so, he reaches up to use her as leverage but Morgan takes the hand of his and isolates two of his fingers, performing her often seen “Finger Snap” move and this throws Damon into another fit of pain as he clutches his hand against himself. Morgan backs away to put some distance in between them and comes running in for a modified Still Tastes Like Timberland Boot, Bitch but Damon explodes up and flips her over with a Fireman’s Carry Takedown and into a Rear Naked Choke. He’s got a vice grip around Morgan’s neck and she knows it as the submission sadist pulls and claws at his arm with a look of desperation in her eyes. She reaches for the ropes, but Damon lays himself back, pulling her with him to put the ropes nowhere in reach. She kicks her legs but not even that lets her find safety. The referee’s down there with them, asking if she wants to give up when suddenly Morgan plants her feet and pushes off into an awkward, modified bridge. It does the job, however, and plants Damon’s shoulders down. 1...2...Damon lets her out of the chokehold and she rolls up to her feet, holding her throat. Damon sits up and starts getting to his feet when suddenly Morgan rushes in and lands a crushing knee to the back of his head! She then drops to a knee to catch her breath again after having the life choked out of her. Damon still makes it up before her and goes right for his opponent. He pulls her to her feet by the hair and spins her around, but Morgan shoves his arm away. Damon grabs for her. She drops to a knee with a fist cocked! Death Punch Therapy! Her signature thrust punch to the liver of Damon staggers the man. He looks like he just got impaled with a knife as his knees shake. He refuses to drop, however, as the crowd boos Morgan. It’s not exactly an illegal move, but it’s certainly frowned upon by some. Morgan grabs Damon by the hair and throws up her knee for F.Y.F. It’s a wince-inducing impact as her knee hits Damon in the face and he snaps up again, eyes looking glazed over. Grinning like the sadist she is, Morgan kicks him in the midsection again and turns her back to him, catching his chin on her shoulder. Art Of Ruin!!! Cover!!! 1...2...3!! Round 4 ends, tying the score at 2-2 between Damon and The Kingdom!

Morgan gets down in Damon’s face, shoving her hand with two fingers up in front of his eyes, telling him he’s got one round left and he’s easy pickings for Jamie Austin. He’ll never make it to Sativa in two weeks. She hammers this point in by screaming it right at him until the referee makes her leave the ring.

The Kingdom: 2

“October & April” by The Rasmus hits as Morgan approaches the stage and Jamie Austin comes out of the tunnel, ready to go. She exchanges a high five-fist bump combo with Morgan as they pass each other. Jamie slides into the ring and goes right for Damon, putting boots to him. He’s still so rocked from that last onslaught of offense he doesn’t seem to know where he is. Meanwhile, Morgan Payne watches from the foot of the steps by the stage before she turns to start leaving when something grabs her attention. A fan in the crowd, right in the front row. All black clothing except for the creepy, colorful clown mask hiding their face. The fan lifts a hand and waves their fingers at her, tilting their head. Suddenly fuming, Morgan storms over and grabs the fan by the shirt, ripping the mask off. Beneath it is the menacing, painted face of the same clown that terrorized her a few episodes ago. The clown cackles in her face and Morgan retracts backwards just before BOOM! She’s blindsided by The Ringmaster from the other side of the crowd. The Ringmistress comes running out of the tunnel, laughing and clapping as her client throws some fists down at the Silver Mountain Champion. The face painted clown in the crowd climbs over the barricade and the Ringmaster motions to him then Morgan. The big man pulls Payne up and lifts her up for a powerbomb. He runs and just throws her, essentially bucklebombing her into - no - through the side of the stage’s wood panel wall!! The Ringmaster tips his hat and assures Morgan he’ll see her in two weeks before the trio of the Chaos Circus leave.

Back in the ring, Jamie Austin’s still putting boots and hammerfists to Damon Cross despite the referee trying to back her off since Cross is holding onto the ropes. She breaks long enough for the referee to stop counting before grabbing Damon by the head and kicks off of the ropes, delivering a Tornado DDT for a cover but Damon gets the shoulder up right at 2. Jamie argues with the ref it should have been three. Meanwhile, the camera focuses on Damon’s face. He’s starting to get really pissed off but he closes his eyes and takes a breath. Finding his calm. Jamie comes over again and pulls him to his feet. She takes his arm and Irish whips him into a corner. Jamie comes running in but Damon goes up and over, rolling to the center of the mat as he turns. Jamie goes for Hell On Heels but Damon ducks and she spins her back to him. Damon snatches her up off her feet and hits a Side Slam Backbreaker! Damon goes for a cover but Jamie kicks out. He picks her up again and lifts her up into a powerbomb hold but drops down, driving his knees up into her back for a Lungblower! This gets an emphatic groan from the fans as Jamie’s tiny frame practically bounces off of Damon’s knees and he stacks her for another pin, but Jamie kicks out again! Damon falls back to the mat, covering his eyes in frustration but exhales to stay calm. He’s sweating bullets now with the stakes at their highest now. That, and he’s already wrestled essentially 4 matches before this one.

Jamie holds a hand to her back as she gets to her feet and pulls herself up on the ropes, turning just as Damon sits up. She hits him with a stiff kick to the back, causing him to cringe in pain. Jamie gives him another. And another. She switched position and delivered another kick to Damon’s chest, laying him out flat. Jamie turned and called for the setup, going for a moonsault kneedrop! Hate And Lov--NO! Damon rolled inward and Jamie’s knees hit the canvas as he pulled himself up on the ropes. He saw Jamie in prime position and rushed in for a Yakuza Kick but Jamie caught him by the foot, holding on as she fought her way up to her knees. With all the might she had, she threw his foot aside, sending him off balance. As Damon spun back around, Jamie shot for Hell On Heels but Damon’s lack of balance caused him to fall to a knee and Jamie’s leg soared over his head, causing her to twist around. Damon pushed off one knee and planted his feet, grabbing Jamie around the waist. The crowd roared as he snatched her up, spinning her around upside down and spiked her on her head with Weight Of The World!!!!!! Jamie laid in a heap on her back as Damon fell beside her but he threw his weight over onto her, rolling into a cover and hooked the leg!! Was this it?! 1….2….aaaaaaaaaand….3!!!!

The Kingdom: 2

Roger Arden: Ladies and gentlemen!! Here is your winner...DAMON...CROSS!!!!

Nick Hanson: By god, he’s done it!!! He has done it!!!!! Damon Cross has earned his right to face the World Heavyweight Champion at Ascension 2 on April 20th!!!!

Jim Reynolds: I can’t believe it!! Did you see what he did to poor Jamie?! That should be an illegal maneuver! Restart that round!

Nick Hanson: Oh will you shut up?! It was no worse than a piledriver! And what a beautiful maneuver it was! Stand tall, Black Ronin!! You earned this one!! Look at this, these people are on their feet, Jim!

Jim Reynolds: These people are fucking idiots!! How can they root for this bastard?! He dropped poor Jamie on her head, he attacked poor Christina’s hurt arm, and did you see what he did to Bella?! She’s a mother, by god!

Nick Hanson: Oh, you wanna just skip over the fact Morgan Payne rushed him from behind?

Jim Reynolds: He attacked Jasmine before she made it to the ring!!

Nick Hanson: Well, whine all you want, Jim, but I firmly believe that the champion has her hands full in two weeks. It’s gonna be NFW Ascension, folks! You won’t wanna miss it! That man, Damon Cross, will challenge Sativa Nevaeh for the World Heavyweight Championship AND...might I add...AND...he gets to choose the match type! We’ll also see the Tag Team Titles defended, as well as the Silver Mountain Championship. We just saw an altercation between the champion, Morgan Payne and her opponent in two weeks, The Ringmaster. That one’s sure to be messy. We’ll see the Genesis Cup finals to crown the first Genesis Champion. Folks, this is gonna be big. We hope you’re as excited as we are.

Jim Reynolds: I’m excited to see Damon Cross get his dreams crushed at Ascen--

Nick Hanson: HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!!! LOOK OUT!!!

As Damon Cross is celebrating in the ring, he gets BLASTED from behind by a figure in jeans, a hoodie and...a title belt? Wait. That’s the World Heavyweight Title! SATIVA NEVAEH yanks the hood back and unzips the hoodie as she stands over the stunned Damon Cross as the crowd boos.

Nick Hanson: Sativa Nevaeh!! Where did she come from?!

Jim Reynolds: A gift from the heavens above, Nick! She’s the champion we need and deserve!!!

Nick Hanson: Oh for the love of god, hush! This was uncalled for! Someone get her outta here!

Inside the ring, Sativa Nevaeh sits, mounted on Damon Cross as she rains punches across his forehead. She only pauses to hold his head by the hair and scream in his face.

Sativa Nevaeh: You want this title?! You want this fucking title?!

She lets go of Damon and stands up, pushing him over onto his stomach before sliding the title underneath his face. She grapevines his legs around her foot and pulls him up by his wrists.

Nick Hanson: Oh god, no! C’mon!!

Jim Reynolds: Drive the point home, champ!

Sativa Nevaeh: This is as close to the title as you’ll Ever! Fucking! Get!

And she delivers SUNDERING OF NARSIL to Damon Cross, driving his face into the championship belt!!!! Damon lies there completely motionless with the crowd screaming boos and jeers at Sativa as she leans down and calmly picks the title up. We can tell Damon’s bleeding because blood had smeared across the center plate of the belt. Sativa just looks at it with a smile slowly crossing her face and raises the title up above her head before leaving the ring with a satisfied smirk.

Bleeding and damaged, Damon pulls himself inch by agonizing inch toward the ropes, staring at the timekeeper through half-hooded eyes and demanding a microphone of all things! Sativa is near the top of the ramp when Damon’s ragged-but-clear voice stops her.

Damon Cross: Un moment, champion!

The pause, the stop, the slow turn. Sativa is staring over her shoulder at her challenger now, half-curious, half-angry that he is daring to speak up in his state.

Damon Cross: Do you really… want to go… without… hearing the stipulation?

He is leaning on the bottom rope now, not fit to stand. Blood still drips down his face, but that is not as grisly or off-putting as the smile he is wearing.

Damon Cross: Trois étapes de l'enfer… THREE STAGES OF HELL!

Nick Hanson: OHHHHHH MYYYYYY!!!!! THREE STAGES OF HELL AT ASCENSION FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!

Jim Reynolds: No no no no NO!! He can’t do that!!

Nick Hanson: Uhhh, yeah he can! So says the rules of this match if he won...which he did. With that said, we’ll see you all in two weeks at Ascension but be sure to tune into Trauma next Tuesday as well and see the aftermath of March Mayhem! So long, everyone!

Sativa turns, staring at Damon. For a moment she feigns an expression of concern, looking toward her title. Then she grins sadistically and brushes three fingers over Damon’s blood still staining that gold medallion. Standing tall and proud, she holds up the belt again, “Voodoo Child” by Rogue Traders starting to play. Damon, using the ropes, gets very unsteadily to his feet, throwing down the microphone and creating a loud burst of static. “Voodoo Child” gives way to “Rise” by State of Mine as champion and challenger stare one another down to end Collision.