PWS: APEX CRUSADE: ARMAGEDDON 2022 RESULTS (FINALLY)

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PWS: APEX Crusade: Armageddon
Tuesday, July 22, 2022
Camp Nou - Barcelona, Spain


(The PWS: APEX logo flashes across the screen, before the screen cuts to black, as we are greeted by the voice of Josiah Cena.)

Josiah Cena: Life is tough. That’s a given.

(The screen illuminates with footage from the last couple of months of PWS: APEX.)

Josiah Cena: When you stand up, you’re gonna be shoved back down. When you’re down, you’re gonna be stepped on. My advice doesn’t come to you with a lot of bells and whistles. It’s no secret. It’s no secret. You’ll fall down, you’ll stumble, you’ll get pushed, you’ll land square on your face. But everytime that happens, you get back on your feet.)

(The music starts to pick up, growing in intensity.)

Josiah Cena: You get up just as fast as you can. No matter how many times you need to do it. Remember this. Success is and has been defined as getting back up one more time than you’ve been knocked down. If experience has taught me anything, it’s that nothing is free, and living ain’t easy. Life is hard. Real hard. Incredibly hard. You fail more often than you win. Nobody’s handing you anything. It’s up to you to puff up your chest, stretch your neck, and overcome all the difficult, the nasty, the mean, the unfair. You want more than you have now? Prove it. You wanna be the very best there is? Get out there and earn it. Once you decide that, you’ll know where it is you wanna be, and you won’t stop pushing forward until you get there. That’s how winners are made. At the end of the day, success is what we all want. We all wanna win. And the battle will be won. There’s no question about that.

(We cut to a shot of Josiah Cena, standing in front of Camp Nou.)

Josiah Cdena: So, come on! Get out on top! Lace up the boots! Tape up the wrists! Train harder! Live better than you ever have before! This is in you! You can do this! Do it for yourself! Piece it to yourself! Because when ashes fall, legends rise!

(The image of Cena dissipates, as “When Legends Rise” by Godsmack plays and the opening video to PWS: APEX Crusade, airs.)

---

(The opening video package for Crusade ends, and we cut to a live shot inside Camp Nou, as the pyro is exploding, and the crowd is going absolutely nuts. “When Legends Rise” is blaring over the sound system, as we cut to Alf and JR.)

JR Freeman: Hello! And welcome to PWS: APEX Crusade! My God what a show we have for you tonight, as so much is riding on this one night. Battles will be won, wars will be waged. Fantasies will become realized, and dreams will be shattered. Tonight is a night where stars are born, where legends are made. As the song says, when ashes fall, legends rise. I’m JR Freeman, along with my broadcast colleague, Alfonso Banks, and we would like to welcome you to the final PWS: APEX show of 2022. We are sure to go out with one hell of a big bang.

Alfonso Banks: Very well said, my friend. I really can’t wait to get into the action, and lucky for us, we don’t have to! We’re starting things off with one of four title matches, as this is going to be our first PURE Title Match, with Devon Ryder defending against Morgan Baker in a PURE rules match. Let’s take things o Meg Reynolds at ringside.

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PWS: APEX PURE Championship
PURE Rules Match
Devon Ryder © vs. Morgan Baker

The cameras return to ringside and we see Morgan already in the ring, the last bit of Krewella’s ‘“Killin’ It” is playing as she stretches in the middle of the ring. She pulls on the top rope, stretching her shoulders and arms, before rolling her shoulders and preparing to face off against the champion.

JR Freeman: And we are back, here at Ringside as the title is defended by this man..

Alfonso Banks: HELL YES!!! DEVON RYDER!!! LETS GO CHAMP!!!!

The lights dim and then begin to slowly, calmly strobe red and white as the gentle introductory chords of "American Woman" begin to lilt over the speakers. The Big Screen cycles through a medley of images depicting some of the worst facets of American society, each one accompanied by a block of white text bearing information about what we're seeing: "Each year, America spends more of their GDP per capita than anywhere else in the world on healthcare, yet 40 million citizens have no insurance and 66% of all bankruptcies in the United States are due to medical bills." "They call themselves a bastion of freedom and democracy, yet America boasts some of the highest rates of incarceration and most-restrictive and discriminatory voting laws in the Western world." "Since 2014, the US has been consistently falling on worldwide rankings of both happiness and quality of life, as well as lagging behind on safety, environmental protections and - most recently - public health." During this montage, Ryder slowly rises onto the centre of the stage from below, shrouded in shadow. Following this there's a brief pause, when the text reads "Don't you think you can do better? Don't you need...a Hero?"

JR Freeman: You have got to be kidding me…

Alfonso Banks: What.. this man is a god damned legend.

Then the song kicks into gear, with the opening riff blasting over the speakers as the lights come back up and Devon Ryder is standing on the entrance ramp, with his back to the audience and his arms spread out, revealing the back of his jacket which reads "CANADIAN" across the shoulder blades and "HERO" across the lower back, with a white maple leaf emblazoned between them. Ryder holds the Canadian flag outstretched in both hands, so his body is silhouetted against it as a backdrop, and he holds that position until the opening riff changes and the vocals kick in, at which point he spins around on his heel and begins to strut arrogantly down to the ring, carrying the flag proudly over one shoulder as he does. When he reaches the base of the ramp, he grins, looking around at the audience before climbing the steps and popping in through the middle rope. Ryder spins around in the centre of the ring, arms outstretched with his flag again and then holds that pose as red and white pyrotechnics explode from the turnbuckles. He then folds the Canadian flag and places it gently in the corner of the ring before taking off his jacket and handing it to a ring attendant, who he makes a point to audibly thank, then turns to the ramp and bounces from foot to foot while awaiting the start of the match.

JR Freeman: And here we go with that is thought to be the possible change of title.

Alfonso Banks: Are you blind? Do you see who her opponent is?

JR Freeman: Yes, it’s Devon Ryder..

Alfonso Banks: Yes, a man who is a HERO.. OUR CANADIAN HERO!

JR Freeman: Oh god grow up.. If you think…

Alfonso Banks: Shut up.. The match is starting..

The bell rings and the two opponents step into the middle of the ring. Once there, the two circle each other for a few moments, Devon rolling his shoulders and neck, preparing for the fight. Morgan rolls her wrists and then focuses her gaze on Devon. The two lock up and the match is underway, Morgan tries to break the hold, with Devon shoving her into the turnbuckle and then throwing her across the ring.

JR Freeman: Morgan Baker tried to get an upper hand from the start and it didn’t bode too well with our Champion.

Alfonso Banks: It’s not going to be that easy, Devon Ryder seems like he’s on fire tonight. That title is going to remain on our Canadian Hero.

Morgan fires out of the corner with a spear on Devon, sending them both to the mat, she quickly gets up, trying to climb up the turnbuckle, setting herself up, she notices Devon starting to stir, having caught his breath she jumps off, hitting a huricanrana on him, before, kip-upping back onto her feet and turning around just in time to catch a ZSJ-style Feint Roundhouse Legsweep from Devon for her efforts. Devon looks down at her tilting his head for a moment before picking her up and throwing her into the turnbuckle again, before she powers out, hitting him with an uppercut and moving quickly out of the way. The referee informed her that another uppercut would cost her a rope break. She got frustrated for a moment at herself, then turned around to find herself face to face with Devon, reaching up she slapped him, causing him to spin around for a moment, before he turned around and chopped her chest. She recoiled back and then did the same to him. The two battled back and forth for a few moments and we returned to the announce table.

JR Freeman: Another close call there.. It seems that neither is willing to relent.

Alfonso Banks: Devon Ryder has a lot riding on this match.

Returning to the match, Morgan attempts an Evenflow DDT, which connects and Devon goes down, Morgan notices this and she goes for the pin. It’s close to the ropes, but she still attempts it anyway, knowing it was worth the risk. She punches him, getting lost in the moment, closed fist, costing her one ROPE BREAK. The referee notes that and she goes for the pin.

1..


Just before the referee can get the 2 count, Devon’s foot is on the rope. ROPE BREAK.

JR Freeman: Rope Break 1 on Devon, 1 on Morgan..

Alfonso Banks: Give it time, there’s still time in this match.. Still time.

Morgan moves across the ring, waiting to see if Devon will start to move. Once he does, she runs across the ring and Devon catches her, with a discus clothesline, sending her to the mat, he goes for an ankle lock, grapevining it. She pulls herself closer to the ropes, knowing this will cost her a rope break, but needing the moment to relieve the pressure on her ankle. She just barely gets there.

JR Freeman: ROPE BREAK 2 on Morgan.

Devon notices what’s just happened and takes the chance to hit her with a vertical suplex, before going for a cover.

1..

2..

Kick out.

Morgan scrambles to the corner and gets herself up, trying to make sure she can still stay in this. She fires out of the corner, trying to connect a running bulldog, it happens, she goes for another pin, he kicks out before she can lock it in. Morgan low blows Devon sending him to his knees, and the referee counts it ROPE BREAK removed on Morgan, the ropes can now be used to the advantage of her opponent Devon. Devon ignores the chance that he could use the ropes and opts to do this with HONOR.

JR Freeman: This could be it.. This could be IT!

Alfonso Banks: COME ON DEVON.. COME ON!

Devon starts a vicious and brutal series of Snapdragon suplexs and a pendulum backbreaker on Morgan. Morgan is on dream streak, having just been hit with both Devon’s “Snap Freeze” and a pendulum backbreaker. She’s laying flat on her back when Devon picks her up and hits her with Strong and free as the referee slips into the ring and starts the count,

1……..

2……

3!

JR Freeman: And that’s it ladies and gentleman, Devon Ryder retains his title, leaving Morgan laying in the middle of the ring.

Alfonso Banks: HELL YES!!!

WINNER - Devon Ryder

---

PWS: APEX Collateral Damage Championship
Hardcore Match
Dylan Howell © vs. Carmen Rodriguez

("Object Tango (Remix)" Shakira begins to play and the ring announcer steps into the ring. For a moment the music just plays, then it sounds like the record is stuck, before the beat drops and Carmen makes her way out onto the top of the ramp.)

Meg Reynolds: From Tijuana, Mexico... CARMEN RODRIGUEZ!!!!

(Carmen makes her way down the ramp, slapping hands occasionally. She slips under the bottom rope and then up onto the turnbuckle, posing for a few moments, one foot on the top rope, the other on the middle. She puts both on the top and flips off, landing on her feet. She walks over to the camera side of the ring and makes a symbol before pointing at her brother. He smiles back and repeats the same symbol, before cheering for her.)

Alfonso Banks: Carmen Rodriguez has a really big chance here tonight. With her brother in attendance, it’s clear that Carmen definitely has to show up tonight, like she has been every week. She could walk out at the end of the night as the Collateral Damage Champion.

JR Freeman: The question here is.. Can she do it? Can she manage to defeat the man who currently holds the title? Hardcore rules.. Means this match could get violent.

(The arena is engulfed in the first few chords of a song and then the lights go out.)

You don't feel the pain
Too much is not enough
Nobody said this stuff makes any sense
We're hooked again
Point of no return
See how the buildings burn
Light up the night
Such pretty sight

(At the top of the stage there is now a spotlight. In the spotlight walks out Dylan flanked by his consultants Will S. Reston, Esquire and Fred Fredrick Hogan and bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet as the song continues while some of the fans start to cheer.)

Adrenaline
Keeps me in the game
Adrenaline
You don't even feel the pain
Wilder than your wildest dreams
When you're going to extremes
It takes adrenaline

(The fans start to cheer louder until the jumbotron in large electric blue writing DYLAN HOWELL IS HERE NOW. The crowd now starts to cheer wildly and chant at the top of their lungs the name "Dylan Howell" as the lights come on and Dylan sprints to the ring dressed like a biker in leather. He slides under the bottom rope and gets up looking crazy and waiting impatiently, pacing along the ropes for his match to begin while Will and Fred are in his corner on the outside shouting encouragement.)

Alfonso Banks: Tonight, someone’s life will change.. Will Carmen become the Collateral Damage Champion..

JR Freeman: Or will Dylan Howell take a well needed vacation and still remain the Collateral Damage Champion.. Stay tuned, because that match starts now.

(The bell rings and the two circle each other before going directly into a lock up, for a moment it looks like Carmen might actually have it but Dylan overpowers her and tosses her into the corner, showboating to the crowd for a moment before turning around and coming face to face with Carmen who delivers an uppercut, staggering Dylan, who stumbles for a moment before dropping to a knee. Carmen tries for a superkick, but Dylan rolls out of the way and catches her with Northern Lights Suplex, before going for a quick pin.)

1…

KICKOUT..

(Carmen gets her shoulder up quickly, much to Dylan’s displeasure, he looks up at the ref as if questioning him, before he turns to focus on Carmen once more. Lifting her to her feet slowly. The two look at each other before Carmen uses a judo throw on him, before sliding out of the ring and grabbing something from under it.)

Alfonso Banks: That was a close one.

JR Freeman: Carmen got her shoulder up just before the hand came down for two.. That’s not close.. That’s smart.

Alfonso Banks: Carmen’s outside the ring now, looking for something.

(Carmen reaches under the ring once more, pulling out a baseball bat and she slips under the bottom rope, smirking as she looks at Dylan. She points it at him, before going to swing on him with it. He ducks out of the way and she misses, when she spins back around, he grabs it and tosses it away. Shaking a finger at her. This causes a bit of frustration out of her and she waits until he goes to throw it away, before dropping to trip him, grabbing him and putting him in a cattle mutilation, the same move used by her fiance Max Delgado. Dylan tries to get out of it, before struggling towards the rope, the referee asking if he needs to tap, Dylan shakes his head, looking like he’s about to tap. Carmen tries to gain leverage, lifting up to one knee and pulling Dylans arms in more.)

Alfonso Banks: The champion is in a bad situation here. If he doesn’t get to the ropes it could be game over for him.

JR Freeman: Oh god I hope not.

(Finally as if it was foretold by the heavens, Dylan manages to get his foot onto the bottom rope, causing the referee to start counting. Carmen holds the move in. 1, 2, 3, 4,... then she lets it go right before five. At this point she’s had enough. She grabs the discarded bat and slams him across the gut as he is getting up. She goes for quick cover.)

1..

2..

TH- NO..He gets his shoulder up.

Alfonso Banks: That was a close one.

JR Freeman: Too close.

(Dylan rolls out of the ring and digs underneath the ring and pulls out a kendo stick, throwing it into the ring, then a trash can, which almost hits Carmen, who slips out of the ring on the other side, pulling out a table. She sets it up, before digging back under the ring and pulling out some light tubes, placing them on the table. Carmen slides back in the ring, just as Dylan does.. The two battle back and forth a few times, before Carmen hits Dylan with a Kendo stick and then hits her signature “Beatdown”, a beautifully delivered Utsuri Goshi into a swinging sidewalk slam. Dylan goes down again, but Carmen pulls him up and puts him on the top rope, near the table with the light tubes on them. Before she can do anything Dylan pulls her over the top rope, and the two of them crash through the table with a sickening thud!)

Alfonso Banks: OH my god! That looked HORRIBLY painful!

JR Freeman: Agreed completely, Alf, that couldn’t have been fun!

(The referee starts to count a double-down, with both competitors laying in the broken shards of the table, the glass all around them.)

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

FOUR!

FIVE!

SIX!

(Dylan stirs, pulling himself up, making the double count stop. Dylan Howell grabs the lid of the trash can, starting to smash Carmen in the head with it repeatedly! On the fourth hit, however, she kicks it directly into his face! Dylan looks at the lid sadly.

Dylan Howell: Why have you betrayed me!?

(He bends the trash can lid in half, discarding it and focusing on the rest of the can, which he goes to attack Carmen with, but is met with a dropkick which sends the can into his own head! Dylan stumbles backwards, his face bloody, and his body… also bloody, before being Superkicked by Carmen! Dylan goes down, and Carmen goes back under the ring, pulling out a chair, but also grabbing some barbed wire. Putting two and two together, Carmen wraps the chair in the barbed wire, before returning to Dylan, who is just now starting to stir, and smacking him over the head with it! Dylan falls back onto the broken glass and table shards, before Carmen hits him again, and again, and again, before finally going for the pin!)

ONE!

TWO!

TH- NO! DYLAN GETS A SHOULDER UP!

Alfonso Banks: Christ on a bike, this match is fucking brutal!

JR Freeman: I’m sorry, did you just say “Christ on a bike”?

Alfonso Banks: It’s a phrase!

(Carmen shakes her head, deciding she needs to use more force. Or at least the same amount of force over a longer period of time. With this decided, Carmen picks Dylan up, sliding him back into the ring, as she goes underneath it, with an intention in mind!)

JR Freeman: Uh-oh, what is she planning?

Alfonso Banks: She’s got that look in her eyes… that one that only comes from an intense need to cause violence!

(Carmen grabs another table, setting it up inside the ring this time. But before she can do anything else to it, Howell hits her with a dropkick that sends her to the mat! Thinking quickly, he grabs the chair that Carmen had used to batter him, and starts using it on her! The barbed wire digs into Carmen’s flesh, making her wince with every shot from the weapon. Dylan smirks, setting the chair up and hitting a D.O.A. onto it! He grins at the audience, looking around at them, and pins Carmen!)

ONE!

TWO!

THRE-NO! CARMEN JUST BARELY KICKS OUT!

JR Freeman: Wow! I would never have expected Carmen to kick out after that! This punishment is too much for anyone to handle!

Alfonso Banks: I know… but one of them is going to HAVE to handle it, otherwise we won’t have a Collateral Damage champion!

(After the kick-out, Dylan lifts Carmen up for a Belly-to-Belly, but Carmen is having none of it, managing to barely slip out of his grasp, and out of the ring! She looks under the ring and finds exactly what she was looking for. Heading back inside, she spreads thumbtacks all over the table, then douses the table in lighter fluid, strikes a match and lights it on fire! What follows is Dylan trying desperately to put her through the table. He put her in a DDT/suplex position, hoping to go for, assumedly, a vertical suplex, but she wiggles her way out of it. Howell is dazed, so Carmen runs the ropes, hitting a Springboard Crossbody to the Collateral Damage champion! Both competitors having blood running down their faces, Carmen wants to deliver the final blow. Grabbing Dylan in suplex position, she looks for Oda A Mi Hermano! She hits one suplex, then the second… then she stops, deliberately aiming herself, and… yes! She hits the third and final suplex of the bunch through the flaming, thumbtack-covered table! Howell writhes in pain, as Carmen goes for the pin!)

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

(The bell rings as Carmen looks on in shock. She actually just did it… she beat Dylan Howell!)

Meg Reynolds: Here is your winner… and NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Collateral Damage Champion… CARMEEEEEEENNNN… ROOOOODRIIIIIIGUEEEEEEEEEZZZZ!!!

Alfonso Banks: That’s it ladies and gentleman, you have a new Collateral Damage Champion..

JR Freeman: Look at Carmen, she looks so happy.. Wait..what.. What’s this.. Dylan Howell has the championship.

(Dylan Howell grabs the Collateral Damage Championship and makes his way over to Carmen, both of them dripping in blood, her face a crimson mask at this point. He opens the snaps and places the belt around Carmen’s waist. She turns and looks at him confused for a moment as her music starts to play. She notices what he’s done.. He passed the torch and after the match they just had, he earned it.. No.. he deserves her respect. Once the title is around her waist, she hugs him tightly. The two pull apart and he raises her hand in victory, before leaning against the turnbuckle as she celebrates. She slips out of the ring and goes over to the side where her brother is sitting, she leans over the barricade and hugs him tightly, he congratulates her and she can’t stop smiling, as the show fades out to a promo package.)

WINNER - Carmen Rodriguez

---

First Blood Match
Alexis Makarios vs. Corey Bull

Meg Reynolds: The following match is a FIRST BLOOD match! Introducing first…

(“MZ Hyde” by Halestorm starts to play, the fans begin to cheer. After a few seconds, the record scratches and the music goes silent.)

Alfonso Banks: Um… what’s going on?

JR Freeman: I have no idea…

(A new beat begins and the lyrics echo through the arena)

Some like beautiful, perfect and pretty
I see the good in the bad and the ugly
I need the volume one louder than ten
Put the pedal to the metal needle into the red
If the windows ain't shaking making my heart race
If I can't feel it in my chest
I'm in the wrong damn place

(The lights dim a little bit as a blue smoke starts to roll out over the ramp)

Got a demon in my soul, and a voice in my head
Saying go, go, go, I can sleep when I'm dead
There's a sonic revelation bringing me to my knees
And there's a man down below that needs my sympathy
I got a ringin' in my ears gettin' ready to burst

(As the beat drops, pyro starts going off on the ramp)

HALLELUJAH MOTHER FUCKER, TAKE ME TO CHURCH

(At this point, Alexis Makarios comes out from the back with a serious look on her face. She makes her way down to the ring and gets in)

Meg Reynolds: From Sydney Australia… ALEXISSSSSSSS MAKAAAAAAAAAAAARIOSSSSSS

(After sliding in the ring, she takes her place in the middle and stares up at the entrance ramp, waiting)

Alfonso Banks: I guess Alexis has a new entrance theme/

JR Freeman: I believe this is what the kids would call “a banger”?

Alfonso Banks: Never say that again…

(The lighting throughout the arena slowly fades into darkness evoking a sense of fearsome and suspenseful apprehension over the viewing audience as the opening riff of “New Disease” by Spineshankbegins to play throughout the arena. Eerie grayish black strobe lighting starts cascading throughout the arena as a series of grainy black and white video images shows Corey Bull laying out Spencer Adams, Casey Holliday, Oblivion, Scott Slayer and two other no named jabronies on the screen of the Tron.)

JR Freeman: I don’t like the look of this

Alfonso Banks: This can only mean one thing…

{“The Hatebringer” Corey Bull appears to rise up in slow motion from the depths of hell in front of the Tronscreen, live and in living color, on stage wearing a faded white acrylic painted smooth cast bloodstained Cheshire Cat grinning butcher’s mask, an oily bloodstained gray fleece hoodie with a bandolier bullet belt wrapped around his waist under a zipped up full grain heavy-duty black leather motorcycle jacket,oil-stained, grimy jean pants, and heavy-duty tan steel-toe work boots. The eerie grayish black strobe lighting catches Corey Bull looking a little off-kilter and more and more unsettling like a monster-lurking-in-the-shadows while holding in his bloodstained taped-wrapped hands the most realistic-looking mannequin with dirty reddish hair, dressed in a black cutoff tank-top, black leather boy shorts, black fishnet stockings, black knee-high boots, and showing off the facial features of Alexis Makarios.)

Alfonso Banks: That is creepy as fuck.

JR Freeman: Language?

Alfonso Banks: NO! Look at Alexis, she is completely freaked out!

JR Freeman: Can you blame her?

(Alexis stands in the ring, frozen in anger and disgust as she watches as Corey appears to be preying upon the exploitive weaknesses of this realistic-looking mannequin of Alexis by discovering the unspeakable truths about her not-so-sweet innocence with horrifyingly cheerful and jovially celebratory excitement. They start making their way down the aisle and towards the squared circle with Bull dragging the realistic-looking mannequin of Alexis by a fistful of her dirty red hair.)

Meg Reynolds: And making his way to the ring, her opponent, from the Great Northwoods, here is, “The Hatebringer” Corey BBBBUUUUULLLLLL!

(He very crudely drapes the realistic-looking mannequin over the corner ring post like a rag doll in an obscene gesture of victimization and takes a moment of appreciative fascination for his prize possession before climbing over the top rope like a small fence and pacing back and forth like a predatory animal trapped in the confines of a cage in a zoo.)

Alfonso Banks: That’s … creepy

JR Freeman: He is just messing with Alexis’s head! This won’t end well!

(The referee looks between the two of them before signaling for the bell to ring.)

DING DING DING

(As soon as the bell sounds, Alexis launches herself straight at Corey, delivering strikes to his torso. He seems caught off guard by her onslaught, but pleased with it as well. After a few strikes he shoves her back and she bounces off the ropes. She rebounds and comes charging at him with a dropkick to the knee, bringing him down to eye level with her. She starts delivering more strikes to him, nothing short of a barrage of fury. He takes a few of the strikes before he stands up and grabs Alexis around the waist, dropping her to the mat with a belly to belly suplex.)

JR Freeman: Alexis trying to start off quick. But this isn’t just a matter of wearing out her opponent. She has to make that monster of a man bleed. Before he makes her bleed

Alfonso Banks: I think we know how a First Blood match works.

(Corey slowly stands up and just stares down at Alexis, as he watches her slowly get to her feet. She stands toe to toe with him and yells something but the mic isn’t able to pick up what it is. He swiftly grabs her by her throat with his giant hand and starts to squeeze her throat for a few seconds before forcing her to lean against the ropes. She struggles a bit, as his grip is rather tight on her throat. She swiftly brings up her knee and gets him right in the uh… family jewels. The big man releases and drops to a knee, giving her the chance to escape to the outside of the ring.)

Alfonso Banks: It’s clear that Corey over powers her…

JR Freeman: But that’s not gonna stop Alexis. She just has to get creative!

(Alexis, on the outside of the ring, starts searching under the ring for a weapon. She throws a few things to the side before emerging with a steel chair and a smirk on her face. In that time, Corey had exited the ring and was standing mere inches from her when she emerged. Her smirk melted as she swings the chair, missing wildly. Corey glares at her as she throws the chair at him, but he catches it! Without missing a chance, She jumps and delivers a standing drop kick to the chair, sending it straight into his skull!)

Alfonso Banks: Surely that cracked open Corey’s skull!

(The referee rushes in and checks, shakes his head. No blood.)

JR Freeman: Good god what are these two made out of?

(Corey slowly gets to his feet and looks at Alexis with a bit of a sadistic smirk. He reaches down and grabs the chair, using it to come down on Alexis’s head! She crumbles to the floor, unable to protect her head. The ref checks her, and shakes his head. No blood. Corey drops the chair to the ground and goes to the steel steps. He grabs the top one off and throws it aside. He turns around and grabs Alexis, slamming her onto the steps. He then grabs the other set of stairs and goes to slam them on Alexis, but she gets her arms up and catches it. She fights back but he overpowers her and slams her repeatedly with the stairs! The referee tries to check for blood but Corey pushes him away.)

Alfonso Banks: This is just… hard to watch.

(Corey tosses the stairs aside again, and seems to be enjoying watching Alexis writhe in pain. He gets up onto the apron and jumps, delivering a leg drop to her on the stairs. She rolls out of the way at the last second and he lands ass first on the steel steps.)

JR Freeman: NOT GOOD FOR COREY!

(Alexis struggles to her feet before delivering a few punches to the downed giant in front of her. After a few connected, she grabs a kendo stick and tries to crack it over his chest, but he grabs it with both hands. They fight over the stick as Corey gets vertical again and pushes her backwards. Her back hits the barricade, sending her spilling over it. Corey follows, stepping over the barricade with no problem. The two of them fight up the aisle as security are keeping the fans safely separated from the action. Alexis reaches over and grabs a cup from a fan, throwing the contents in Corey’s face. The soda impacting his face only angered him more as they continued to fight towards the back.)

JR Freeman: They are taking this backstage!

Alfonso Banks: It’s a First Blood match… they can fight wherever they want.

JR Freeman: Thank you, captain obvious.

(As they fight through the back, they go past several stagehands who jump out of the way. Corey whips Alexis into a door, and the door legit cracks as she falls through it right into a janitors closet! Alexis reels back and looks around, grabbing the nearest thing she can! She grabs a metal mop bucket and swings it defensively at Corey. He dodges it, which only angers Alexis.)

Alfonso Banks: Who even has a METAL mop bucket anymore?

JR Freeman: Walken is old school. Shut up.

(Alexis kicks Corey in the gut. As he doubles over she slams the bucket over his head, like a helmet. She then grabs the nearest stick… was it a mop or a broom? Who knows. She raises it over her head and CRACKS it down on top of the bucket! The sound ECHOED as Corey was stunned. Alexis pushes him back and yells at the referee to check him. The ref takes the bucket off Corey, checks, and shakes his head. No blood.)

JR Freeman: Corey is going to have a hell of a headache after that.

Alfonso Banks: I don’t know if he can even HEAR anything right now!

(The two of them fight into the parking lot. There are a few cars scattered in the parking garage. The two end up in front of a silver car. Alexis lands several kicks to Corey’s ribs. She goes for another but he is able to catch her leg with one arm, and with the one he lifts her up and hits a single arm spinebuster onto the hood of the silver car! As soon as she impacts, the hood is clearly dented and the windshield cracked, you can see sitting inside the car in the driver seat was Richard Rider with his jaw dropped. He gets out of the car and starts yelling at Corey.)

Richard Rider: WHAT THE HELL!?!?! I JUST BOUGHT THIS CAR!

(Corey slowly turns his head towards Rider, who suddenly realizes he made a mistake. Alexis slides off the hood and struggles to stand upright, but has the energy to glare at Rider.)

Alexis Makarios: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD … SHUT … THE FUCK … UP!!!

(Corey grabs Rider by the throat and lifts him up. He puts him over his shoulder and goes to the trunk of the car, opens it, throws Rider in. Corey then slams the trunk on Rider. Alexis then runs over and slams Corey’s head on the trunk… for good measure.)

JR Freeman: Wow talk about wrong place wrong time for Rider…

Alfonso Banks: He kinda had that one coming!

(Alexis smashes his head into the trunk again, but he gets his hands in place to stop it from happening. He elbows her in the face, which sends her reeling back into the wall. Rider can be heard banging and yelling from inside the trunk.)

Alexis Makarios: SHUT UP!!!

Richard Rider: IT'S DARK IN HERE!

(Corey grabs Alexis and sits her up on the trunk of the car. He climbs up onto the fender and starts punching her in the face. He grabs her by the hair and slams the back of her head into the back window.)

Richard Rider: WHATS GOING ON OUT THERE? I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!

(Alexis fights Corey off enough to where she can get off the back of the car. She looks at him.)

Alexis Makarios: Bring it on, bitch!

(With that, Corey gets upright and starts walking towards Alexis, where they just begin baraging each other with everything they got left.)

JR Freeman: These two have taken quite the beating…

Alfonso Banks: And yet neither has bled yet… damn!

(Both Alexis and Corey are showing intense signs of pain and exhaustion by this point. They stand on the ledge of the back stairs to the arena, looking down into the dumpster. The cameras focus in to show the inside of the dumpster isn’t bags of garbage like you’d expect… but it appears to be filled with nothing but thumb tacks!)

JR Freeman: How the???

Alfonso Banks: That’s disturbing as hell…

JR Freeman: Some one must have planted that… going in there would be an instant loss.

(Alexis summons all her strength to try and push Corey in, but he is able to resist. He laughs a bit as he motions for her to try again. She takes a few steps back and lets out an almost primal scream before charging at him! He attempts to sidestep but she manages to spear him and they BOTH fall straight into the dumpster! The referee scrambles over and looks in. He stands up and waves his arms, calling for the bell.)

Alfonso Banks: What just happened???

Meg Reynolds: The match has been called a no contest as both competitors are bleeding, and there is no way to determine who bled first.

JR Freeman: That’s… not how I expected this to end…

Alfonso Banks: I think these two need medical attention! The referee is signaling for help!

(The referee was calling for reinforcements as stagehands and medical crew showed up to help a bloody Corey and Alexis out of the dumpster and seek medical attention as they both had several tacks stuck in their bodies)

WINNER - No Contest

---

Blood Box Match
Mack McKane vs. Slaps McKills

(We open to an extravagant looking masquerade ball with the attendees all being of the Russow, Madison, Phoenix, or Lopez variety with some various mixers and minglers as everyone stops in awe of a sun-kissed Goddess beginning to flow down the staircase in a low cut but just covering everything dress arrives Mattie Cormier who is suddenly beset upon by a familiar cloaked figure wearing a snazzy ensemble of red and black to match his beloved as he bows and she curtsies and he asks for her hand. They’re swinging and swaying and the world becomes a blur around them…

…a blur around them…

…their world is a blur around them.

We are in a cold, just white from the daybreak trying to reach through the blinds in a tiny little room where a giant man sits next to a tiny little bed. He holds the little pillow tight in his arms as tears fall from his eyes.

…tears fall from Mattie’s eyes as they share a beautiful kiss in the middle of the dance floor. Mack freezes time to memorize every inch of her face.

In a split screen we see Mack melting over Mattie but see Slaps McKills holding a broken picture of him and his recently separated wife, Jami. Slaps closes his eyes and remembers vividly every ounce of pain he delivered to Jack Russow as Mack closes his eyes and remembers looking at Jack unconscious in the hospital as the screen splits to both of them…)

Mack McKane: …you deserve this beating.
Slaps McKane: I deserve this beating.
Mack McKane: May whatever God you believe in take you in.
Slaps McKane: Give Valhalla my regards.

(The video package has finished playing as we see two rusted cattle trailers being backed into what we can only describe as…the mat is one slab, no give, it’s the size of a Hell in a Cell but it’s clearly pieced together by just rusted and random pieces of other cages and corrals they could find as the sides of it look like the stockroom of a hardware store with varying modified weapons and everyday objects you could imagine…and some you just plain can’t believe exist but…this is Mack McKane after all. Back in the arena the live feed runs and commentary remains constant.)

JR Freeman: Folks if you have a weak constitution, I am actually being encouraged BY PWS:Apex management to tell you DO NOT WATCH THIS MATCH.

Alfonso Banks: This isn’t a “match” JR…this is dogfighting. It’s pure, straight, dog fighting. They locked these two psychos up with only bread and water to sustain them…and now they’re going to unleash them, ESSENTIALLY, in the Thunderdo-

JR Freeman; -n’t say that name, it’s trademarked and we’re gonna have enough red tape to deal with about the building permit for this eyesore.

Alfonso Banks: Nevertheless we are going to go silent on commentary for benefit of the folks at home as we understand, there are microphones attached to secret areas of the Box.

(We also see old timey air raid siren speakers barely hanging by a thread to signal the keepers when it’s time to unlock and the music of whomever they set free. The rusted cattle trailers are parked right near the entrance when suddenly crackling over the busted speakers…)

...AS WE ALL FORM ONE DARK FLAME!!!!
...INCINERAAAAATE!!!

(The two large men standing by the left trailer pop it open and out steps a shackled, straightjacketed, and muzzled sweaty monstrous beast who’s eyes bleed murder and revenge for making him face his biggest nightmare…his own thoughts. As “Miseria Cantare” by AFI plays, the two orderlies begin to unlock him as he stretches and roars, he doesn’t even look at the box…he stomps over to the other trailer and pounds on the door.)

Slaps McKills: YOU REMEMBER. YOU. ASKED. FOR THIS.

(Slaps finally relents to the referees and stage hands leading him towards the Box. Slaps stops and finally takes in exactly what he’s dealing with and for the faintest moment we see fear flash across his face before he walks in and starts walking the workbenches and tool boxes to see what’s available before he stomps up onto the plywood mat that has MAYBE 2 inches of padding before…)

“ALL OUR GODS HAVE AB-”
*Record Scratch*

(It’s completely quiet in the arena until a familiar little aunt starts to play instead of his traditional “Nihilist” by Architects…it seems Mack McKane is favoring a more sophisticated approach by bringing back a fan favorite proven by the fact that the entire crowd sings the trigger chorus.)

“On a gathering storm…
Comes a tall, handsome man.
In a dusty black coat…
…with a Red Right Hand.”

(As if on cue, the rest of “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds starts playing as the small circular window on the right trailer suddenly has the glass broken out of it by a bloodstained hand that reaches down and pops the lever to his own trailer door. Recoiling back to the iridescent black and red features of the ever masked madman, Mack McKane steps through the door and we see the reason his hand was bloody…it’s because Mack McKane has spent his entire time in lockup pissing himself off and headbutting the wall until he got some relief. He sheds his mask and his cloak where he stands revealing that unlike all of his previous matches…Mack isn’t wearing a shirt. Choosing instead to bare the world-written scars strewn across the tapestry of his slender figure. And in his hand he’s flicking what appears to be just an everyday silver dining fork. As he sways through the door, giving a twirl to look at his magnificence at work he flows back to Slaps mocking him with an overdramatic curtsied bow.)

Mack McKane: Blood traitor…tell me, what’cha think of my playground!?

Slaps McKills: I ain’t blood. And I ain’t a traitor. And I think this is all an act to divert attention away from the fact you suck at wrestling.

Mack McKane: Awww Slappers, your words HURT me, bruv! So that’s me…plus what done ya to Jack…plus the fact you take orders from an underperforming TWAT. So there’s what, three reasons right there you had this comin’?

Slaps McKills: It’s fine. I don’t wrestle much either. I just take weak boys and break them. Because it’s time to grow up…I didn’t have any other choice.

Mack McKane: BOLLOCKS! You had excuses and you chose to use ‘em! That’s YOU, mate!

(Mack walks straight up to Slaps and ironically rears back and smacks the dog shit out of Slaps face hard enough the big man stumbles for a moment before righting himself to look down upon the defiant features of the once grand hero of PWS; Apex…and he laughs. Not one to take that lightly, Mack channels his best Super Mario jump and straight headbutts the bigger McKills square on the nose that staggers the big man all the way back til he crashes into one of the tables, we hear him scream in a sharp yelp of agony before he reaches behind him and pulls out an everyday kitchen rolling pin…covered in razors! Slaps looks bewildered at Mack.)

Slaps McKills: …you really have lost your fuckin’ mind, haven’t you.

Mack McKane: OI!...language.

(Mack winks at Slaps as Slaps starts swinging wildly with the rolling pin, narrowly dodging until he’s just a step too slow and Slaps shaves a bit of hide off Mack’s shoulder as Mack roars before grabbing the closest thing to him that he could rip free and a three foot section of caked-on rusted rebar out of a piece of wall that looks like it could have been a prison yard. But with one swift motion we HEAR the crack happen before we see it as Slaps McKills’ took the brunt of that rebar swing square on his forearm just around the wrist area and we see the hand…go limp.)

Slaps McKills: FUUUUUUUUUCK!

Mack McKane: Yeh? Suck one, bruv!

(Mack rears back and goes to swing again! But before he can start the forward motion he collapses to the ground. In his pained staggering, and because the words”basically a hardware store” were used, Slaps looks around for something that can give him instant gratification and he finds it hard when he grabs an automated nail gun as he drops to his knees and tries to nail Mack’s foot to the mat. Mack drops in complete agony as the medical officials start swarming in looking at both men. The cuts on Slaps back from the razor roller and his obviously broken wrist. The chunk missing from Mack’s upper arm and the nail stuck in his foot and before the referee can stand up to call it off both men scream “I’LL KILL YOU!” at the referee who gulps hard and instantly backs down.)

Slaps McKills: Had…had enough yet?

Mack McKane: Who…th’fuck…ya talkin’ to?

(Suddenly we hear a roar and Mack grabs hold of the instrument from the doctor and violently yanks the nail out of his own foot as they put a temporary hard brace on Slappy’s wrist. There’s not as much blood coming out of Mack as you would expect, the nail luckily and unluckily hit straight bone. No break, but still medically advisable to stop. But he won’t. As he rolls over and uses the rusty cage to hoist himself up he looks up just in time to see Slappy try to clobber him WITH the brace ON the broken wrist. Mack manages to grab Slaps hammerfist and yank it into a nearby vice grip which he spins furiously to get Slaps injured arm trapped in. Slaps starts screaming at the top of his lungs as Mack cranks.)

Mack McKane: JUST GIVE UP…IT’S WHAT YOU’RE BEST AT!!!

(And this was the wrong thing to SAY to an adrenaline fueled monster with a penchant for darkened sensory violence as he reaches over with his good hand and the length difference means that Slaps easily captures one of Mack’s hands crushing the vice with and he’s just reaching…for anything he can latch onto. And then he gets his moment…he catches Mack by the pinky finger. It takes…somewhere around 8 pounds of pressure to break a human finger. But this was a man known for crushing apples in his hand for fun to delight little children. So with a sickening SNAP! We hear Mack scream in pain and let go stumbling back. He’s doubled over holding his hand as Slaps frees himself and looks around for the most punishing instrument he can find.)

Slaps McKills: Time to squash you, little bug.

(Slaps’ adrenaline is running so high he sees a toolbox tower. And since we’re in a paved area it moves pretty easily. So Slaps screams at the top of his lungs driving this toolbox square at an unexpecting Mack who actually does JUST manage to hear the rush of the wind and he steps out of the way, but as it crashes. Mack reaches in gingerly and produces a Phillips head 3/4ths screwdriver.)

Mack McKane: Well met…MY turn!

(And with no flash or finesse, no pizazz or culture…Mack McKane just straight up stabs a fairly sizeable DULL into Slaps McKills leg. Slaps stumbles trying to back up and falls to his good knee looking at his leg and roaring like a lion trying to pull it out of his leg…he sees the fork Mack brought in to use as a weapon and gritting his teeth because he KNOWS this is gonna suck he pries the fork in to try and pry the screwdriver out and with a gross squish, he does. But he’s bleeding badly and he can hardly put any weight on it.)

JR Freeman: I don’t care, I’ve gotta break radio silence here, this is…ACTUALLY disgusting.

Alfonso Banks: This isn’t even a FIGHT! It’s a contest to see who the better attempted murderer is!

(Back in the Blood Box, Mack has staggered his way to the corner wincing and breathing heavily, trying to get a read on his wounds as a limping, snarling Slaps McKills inches his way ever closer. Mack may be out of breath but he’s still sneering at the behemoth.)

Mack McKane: When’s the last time you had a good an’ proper scrap, bruv?

Slaps McKills: Been a minute. Look I…I THINK considering everything we’ve done up to this point…we should just call this a draw, eh?

Mack McKane: Oh I forget, I have a message I was supposed to relay in the inevitable event you pussy out and ask for a draw. It reads…hold on a moment.

(Mack slinks over to his coat and actually pulls out a pair of reading glasses and a folded piece of paper as the spectacles sit on the tip of his nose we hear Mack mumbling the sentence to himself.)

Mack McKane: Right! Here we are! *Ahem* “Dear FORMER Mentor and Best Friend…you can draw Deez NUTZ. All my loathe as always, Jack Russow.”

Slaps McKills: Heh…little shit still can’t fight his own battles.

Mack McKane: Oh no no Slaps, you’re mistaken…THIS…ISN’T Jack’s payback. It’s mine. Cause ya see…I was told to stick to you like glue when I got here. I rode up and down every highway, here to there each flight with you, and you became Family. WE…was a family. An’ you all gone and FOOKED it up, innit? So no, you still got your day in the depths with Jackie boy…this one is 100% Grass Fed Organic Mack McKane Betrayal Hatred.

Slaps McKills: …fuck it.

(Slaps immediately reaches down and grabs the end of a HEFTY line of heavy biker chain as it coils around Mack’s neck until the final end of it catches up and comes around blasting Mack in the face sending blood IMMEDIATELY pouring from his nose as he falls backwards against the wall of the Box and collapses. Slaps grabs one of the few refs assigned to try and not let this exact thing happen, happen.)

Slaps McKills: …call it.

Referee: O-..I-...I-

Mack McKane: *weakly* I’ll be dead before I hear that bell ring, motherfucker.

(Slaps looks bewildered at Mack who’s defiantly unwrapping the chain from around his neck as he grabs the end of the now freed chain and swings for Slaps’ ankles. They wrap around two or three times before Mack just gives it a HUGE yank and we hear a sick CRACK, thud. Slaps McKills has just had the rug pulled out from under him and he smacks his head directly into the fallen toolbox. As he squirms around, borderline completely unconscious we see Mack make his way up as he sees a glimmer just behind Slaps’ head. Mack kicks Slaps over onto his stomach as he reaches under the bench and pulls out…a spool of pretty haggard looking barbed wire.)

Mack McKane: I miss my mate…who used to smile at me all the time. Now ya don’t smile at all…and ya don’t give up…

(Mack reaches down and picks up Slaps’ head by the hair as he absolutely snarls into his semi-conscious face.)

Mack McKane: No worries mate…Chelsea makes a grin that will DAZZLE.

(Mack starts wrapping the barbed wire around Slaps…first loop around his throat…second loop through his mouth…third loop raking across his eyes, Mack sits on his back in a disgusting variation of a weapon-assisted Camel Clutch as Slaps screams so loud we actually see the pain flash across Mack’s face…when he audibly hears a squeaking whimper out of Slaps who WILL not tap out. The barbs of wire digging into his throat, the corners of his mouth, his tongue, across his eye sockets. Mack starts to get tears in his eyes as he wrenches back.)

Mack McKane: PLEASE, SLAP…PLEASE DON’T MAKE ME DO THIS!!!

(...and then the referee finally steps in and calls the match. Mack instantly releases and scoots his way to the corner of the Blood Box, holding his wounds and rocking back and forth, obviously shaken by the depths he just had to delve to. It was a place he never thought he’d be again. As SOON as the bell rings, the door swings open and medical personnel, on-hand EMT’s, a trauma surgeon on stand-by just in case as they flock to the shallowly breathing husk of Slaps McKills…Mack McKane is still rocking in the corner, wide-eyed and tear-stained. We cut back to the arena as we hear the announcement made.)

Meg Reynolds: And the winner of the match by referee stoppage…MACK MCKANE!!!

(We cut to JR Freeman and Alonso Banks sitting dutifully at the desk with their best “low, dramatic, concerned” voices.)

JR Freeman: Folks we apologize again, we KNEW that it was going to be bloody, we KNEW it was going to be a battle.

Alfonso Banks: That wasn’t battle, JR…pretty sure everything they just did to each other violates the Geneva Convention.

JR Freeman: Either way, PWS management felt it would be best to cut away from that area but we ARE being told that Slaps McKills is breathing easier, they’ve had to cut clothing to get to his wounds but for the moment he IS stable…Mack McKane, we’re being told, is trying to refuse treatment.

Alfonso Banks: Don’t be a hero, son. Get in the damn ambulance.

JR Freeman: What…just…what kind of TOLL just got taken out of both of these men!? What was WORTH it? What was to GAIN here!?

Alfonso Banks: Slaps McKills had “red in his ledger” as the Black Widow would say…and Red came to collect.

JR Freeman: Nevermind just…let’s move on! I don’t wanna think about what I just witnessed anymore!

WINNER - Mack McKane

---

PWS: APEX United Championship
Ladder Match
Jennifer Makarios- Lopez © vs. Max Delgado

(The scene cuts to ringside, where Meg Reynolds is standing by.)

Meg Reynolds: Ladies and gentlemen, the following is a ladder match, and is for the PWS: APEX United Championship!)

(The fans cheer, as we get a close up view of the championship belt hanging above the ring.)

Meg Reynolds: The first competitor to climb a ladder and retrieve the championship will be declared the winner. Now, introducing the participants…

(The lights in the stadium dim, as “Ruthless” by Nonpoint begins to blare over the sound system., There is a mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd, as Max Delgado makes his way out onto the stage. He has forgone his typical ring gear, and instead is wearing blue jeans and a black tank-top with the words “I just win” spray painted on it.)

Meg Reynolds: Introducing first, the challenger, from Houston, Texas….Max Delgado!

(Again, a mixed reaction from the crowd as Max makes his way down the ramp and slides into the ring. He goes to each of the four corners to pose for the crowd, before his music fades, and the lights return to normal.)

Meg Reynolds: And introducing his opponent…

(The lights cut out, as “Hey You” by Disturbed begins to open. Once the drums come in, the lights in the stadium come alive, as get a close up of Jennifer Makarios-Lopez, standing on the stage. The crowd cheers, as she starts making her way to the ring.)

Meg Reynolds: From Sydney, Australia, she is the reigning and defending PWS: APEX United Champion…Jennifer Makarios-Lopez!

(The fans cheer once more, as Jenn makes her way to ringside, walking around the ring, checking with a couple ladders at ringside. Afterwards, she uses the steel steps to climb up into the ring, and goes over to the corners to pose for the crowd, still keeping an eye on Max in the ring. After a few moments, her music fades, and she gets back to the center of the ring. Boh Jenn and Max look up at the championship as the ref goes over the rules with them. The camera gets a close up of the title belt as well.)

JR Freeman: And that is what this is all about. The PWS: APEX United Championship. Who will be able to climb the ladder of success and walk away tonight with the championship? Only time will tell, but this one is bout to be one hell of a fight.

Alfonso Banks: Both of these competitors really want this, it’ll just come down to who wants it more.

(Reynolds gets out of the ring, and after the ref checks with both competitors, he calls for the bell to start the match.)

JR Freeman: And here we go!

(The action starts fast, as the two waste no time going at it, trading right hand shots. But, almost as if on cue, they both stop. They go to opposite sides of the ring, and get out, dropping down to the floor, as they both go for ladders. Max slides into the ring with his ladder, but Jenn pulls her close to the ring apron, and quickly climbs to the top of it. Max charges at her, but she leaps off the ladder, over the ropes, and delivers a flying clothesline to Max, as the crowd cheers.)

JR Freeman: Oh man! Jenn got him there.

Alfonso Banks: This one is gonna be full with moments like that.

(Jenn gets up to her feet, and grabs Max’s ladder, setting it up in the corner. She walks over to Max, going to get him to his feet, but he delivers a back body drop to her as he gets up. He looks over at the ladder in the corner, and looks back to her. He gets her to her feet, and Irish whips her into the corner, as she crashes into the ladder. He follows it up with a turnbuckle spear against the ladder. Jenn staggers out, before falling to the mat. The ladder nearly falls on top of her, but barely misses her. He gets her to her feet, and goes to Irish whip her to the ropes, but she counters it with a strong Irish whip of her own. Max’s momentum sends him over the top rope, and he has to perform an acrobatic dive through the ladder to avoid crashing through it, as he rolls once he lands on the floor.)

JR Freeman: Whew, that was close.

Alfonso Banks: Yeah, close call for Delgado.

(Max gets back to his feet, looking back at the ring at Jenn. He walks back up the ladder, closes it and picks it up. Without much warning, he just lifts it up and chucks it into the ring, as it damn near takes Jenn’s head off her shoulders. He slides into the ring, and the two go at it once more, trading right hand shots. Max starts getting the upper hand, before he sends Jenn to the ropes with an Irish whip, but when she comes back, he delivers a pop-up powerbomb! Jenn instinctively rolls out of the ring to recover on the outside, as Max looks at the two ladders in the ring, and goes to work.)

JR Freeman: Wonder what he’s thinking of here?

Alfonso Banks: If he’s smart, trying to win the match here.

(Max sets up one ladder, but it’s a bit off center, but his intentions become clear when he wedges the second ladder between the standing ladder and the second turnbuckle.)

JR Freeman: What the hell?

Alfonso Banks: I have no idea…

(Jenn gets back into the ring, and the two go back at it. They start fighting over towards the ladders, when Jenn manages to sidestep Max, and drive him face first into the ladder wedged between the second turnbuckle and other ladder. Max’s head bounces off the ladder with a smack, as he crumbles to the mat. Jenn gets Max to his feet, and lays him on the ladder, as she looks up at the othr ladder set up.)

JR Freeman:: Oh God, now what is SHE thinking?

Alfonso Banks: Whatever it is, it can’t be good for Delgado!

(Jenn starts climbing the other side of the ladder, then maneuvers herself to where she’s on the side facing Max. She looks up to the heaves momentarily, before jumping off the ladder, twisting in mid-air, and crashing down with a Frog Splash. The impact causes Jenn to literally bounce up in the air, as the ladder breaks under the weight of the two, causing Max to slump down broken in half.)

JR Freeman: Oh my God!

Alfonso Banks: My God, he’s broken in half!

(The referee works to get the wreckage out of the ring, as Max lays lifeless in the corner. Jenn gets back to her feet, and slowly starts pulling the other ladder into the center of the ring. The fans cheer, as she begins to climb the ladder. She gets about close to three-quarters of the way up, when her leg is grabbed by Max Delgado. He pulls her down a couple rungs, getting her on his shoulders, and peeling her off the ladder and bringing her down with an earth shattering powerbomb! The impact of which causes her body to bounce about two feet in the air before landing back down on the mat. Max turns around to look at the ladder, but instead of climbing, he closes it up, and takes it over to the corner turnbuckle and sets it up against it. He goes back to where Jenn is and slides out of the ring beside her, before pulling her out after him.)

JR Freeman: I guess he’s not looking to win right now. Figuring he needs to do more damage.

Alfonso Banks: This hesitation could come back to bite him.

(Max is almost frantic looking around the ringside area for something. He finally grabs one of the monitors off the announcer’s table, getting ready to nail Jenn with it. She gets to he4r feet, and he charges at her, but she side steps it, kicks him in the gut, and plants him with a ddt! She takes a moment for herself, as Max is halfway under the ring apron. Jenn gets to her feet, and goes to grab Max, but she has to struggle a bit to get him from out under the ring. When she finally gets him out, she gets blasted in the face with the dry chemical foam of a fire extinguisher, as Max reveals he has found one under the ring.)

JR Freeman: Who the hell put that there!?

Alfonso Banks: I mean, you never know when you might need one. Better safe than sorry.

(Jenn wallows around, blinded by the foam, as Max gets back to his feet. He lines her up, and when she’s facing him, he damn near takes her head off with a superkick. Jenn falls back onto the floor, as Max looks under the ring once more. This time, he starts pulling out a massive ladder, and by the time he gets it out fully and we see the full scope of it, we see itt’s much larger than the others.)

JR Freeman: Jesus, that’s gotta be at least twenty feet.

Alfonso Banks: Wonder if he’s overcompensating.

JR Freeman: That’s something you’d know about.

Alfonso Banks: What!?

JR Freeman: I’ve seen that tank you drive!

(Max sets up the huge ladder next to the announce table, as he instructs the announcers to “get outta the way”. He walks over and gets Jenn up, placing her on the table, before looking up at the ladder.)

JR Freeman: Oh God…no Max, don’t do this!

Alfonso Banks: You could seriously hurt yourself!

(Max starts climbing the huge ladder, as the crowd buzzes with anticipation. Each rung Max steps on, the intensity builds, until he is at the top run, and turns around to face the announce table.)

JR FreenabL Nax! Please! Don’t do this!

(Max looks up and out at the crowd, motioning with his hands that he’s crazy, as he leaps off from the top of the ladder.)

Alfonso Banks: SHIIIIIIIIIT!!!

(Max rotates in the air, and comes crashing down onto Jenn with a beautiful Swanton Bomb, crashing through the table!)

Alfonso Banks: That’s it, man! They’re done! No way they’re getting up from that! It’s finished. All over, man. Lights out.

(Max coughs up, as he starts turning over on his side.)

Alfonso Banks: No…no no….not possible!

(We get a close up look at the utter disdain in the eyes of Max Delgado, as he struggles to get to his feet. He looks down at the fallen champion, and goes to look under the ring, pulling out another ladder. He throws it on top of Jenn, before looking undere the ring again, and pulling out two more ladders. He throws them on top of Jenn as well.)

JR Freeman: What is he doing here? Trying to bury her under ladders?

Alfonso Banks: That kinda looks exactly what he’s doing.

(Max goes back under the ring, and ffinds two more ladders to pull out and throw on top of Jenn, leaving her buried under all five ladders. Satisfied with his work, Max rolls into the ring, and walks over to the ladder leaning against the corner. He pulls it to the center of the ring and opens it slowly. He takes another look over at Jenn, who is only just now starting to move, before he starts to make his trek to the top of the ladder.)

JR Freeman: I mean…this has to be it, doesn’t it? There’s no way Jenn can get up there to stop him, right?

Alfonso Banks: I think we’re about to crown a new champion, JR.

(After all the damage he’s taken, it takes Max a while to climb the ladder, as he’s basically stumbling up each rung. The camera focuses in as Max gets to the top rung, and reaches up for the championship. Rgw xeoqs popa with cheers, and Max looks in front of him with a look of disbelief, as the camera pans out to show on the other side of the ladder, seething with hatred, is Jennifer Makarios-Lopez.)

JR Freeman: I give up! I….I just give up! How the hell did she do that!? That’s unreal!

Alfonso Banks: I said before the match it’s gonna come down to who wants it more….I damn sure think it might be Jenn!

(The two stare at each other for a moment, before they start trading punches. Max slightly loses his balance, and Jenn takes advantage to give him a big right hand that causes to have to jump down to avoid falling off the ladder. Jenn reaches up and grabs hold of the title, but Max quickly climbs back up the ladder, and gives Jenn a huge right hand that causes her to reel. Max quickly looks up at the championship, but then looks at Jenn, and down at the ring below.)

Alfonso Banks: Just grab the championship!

JR Freeman: I think he has other ideas!

(He grabs Jenn, and pulls her over the top of the ladder carefully, getting her into position in his arms, before dropping down with a modified El Dorado from the top of the ladder!)

JR Freeman: DIOS MIO!

Alfonso Banks: OH MY GOD!

(The two crash onto the mat, and the impact causes the ladder to bounce and nearly tip over. But it stays, as max rolls the lifeless body of Jenn to the side, and gets back to his feet to begin his ascent. The crowd is still stunned at what they just saw, as those cheering for Max begin to come alive, as he reaches the top of the ladder. He looks out at the crowd, before reaching up, and unlocking the championship. He pulls it down and places it on his shoulder, as the bell sounds.)

Meg Reynolds: Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this match, and the NEW PWS: APEX United Champion, Max Delgado!

(There is an overall cheer from the crowd for the match that they just witnessed, as Max leans against the top of the ladder, looking out at his surroundings.. After a moment, he starts climbing down the ladder, as he gets down to the ring. He looks over at Jenn, who is now sitting, leaned up against the corner. He walks over to her, and squats down in font of hre. He starts talking to her, but we can’t make it out what he’s saying, before he extends his hand towards here.)

JR Freeman: What?

Alfonso Banks: Uhhh…..

(Jenn looks shocked, but she takes his hand, and he helps her up to her feet. He nods to her, and she returns the nod, before she gets out of the ring to allow him to celebrate.)

JR Freeman: Did….did we just see a sign of respect from these two?

Alfonso Banks: I…think so? I mean it makes sense with the war they just went through.

WINNER - Max Delgado

---

(As Max is celebrating in the ring, suddenly the lights go out.)

JR Freeman: What the…

(Just then, “I Wanna Be Bad” by Willa Ford starts playing, and out comes Heather Haze onto the stage. She has a smirk on her face, as the camera cuts back to Max who lions confused as all hell.)

JR Freeman: Heather Haze? What is she doing here!? We haven’t seen her in months! And what does she want with Max Delgado?

Alfonso Banks: Well, he was one of the most vocal about when she got suspended. Maybe she thinks he owes her something? Or she’s just here to congratulate him on the big win?

JR Freeman: I guess either way, only time will tell.

(We cut away with Haze and Delgado staring at each other.)

---

Armageddon Match
Team Star (Gracie Lopez, Levi Russow, Nick Madison, Laura Phoenix, Trisha Lee Moore) vs. Team David (David Shane, Jonathan Sanders, Alexandra Calaway, Alexander Lyons, Dionysus)

(The camera pans to show a double ring, with a gigantic cage centered around them. The stage has 2 smaller, shark-cage-like cages on it, where the teams will be staying throughout the match.)

Meg Reynolds: The following contest is the ARMAGEDDON match!

(The crowd cheers loudly at the announcement.)

Alfonso Banks: Oh boy, JR, I’ve been excited about this all night!

JR Freeman: I know, Alf. You were telling me nonstop before the show started.

Alfonso Banks: And you can see why, right!?

Meg Reynolds: Introducing first… Levi Russow, Laura Phoenix, Trisha Lee Moore, Gracie Lopez, and Nick Madison… TEEEEAAAAMMM STAAAAARRRRR!

(Suddenly, as it frequently does, as the Armageddon structure takes place and we see a brilliant laser light show of blue and white lasers start swirling amidst a small vapor of billowing dry ice. All of a sudden, spotlights hit the ramp, two places side by side, to reveal two men standing at the bottom of the ramp in EARLY Levi Russow gear as "Sirius" by The Alan Parsons Project starts to beat. With every dramatic drum hit, another two men wearing more of Levi's old gear appear in spotlights a bit further up the ramp...this repeats until the last note of Sirius is held.)

JR Freeman: And you wanna talk about blasts from the past, we called every match those costumes have been in!

Alfonso Banks: And that can mean only one thing left...

(And as if on cue, we hear a record scratch...and the familiar sound of a quarter entering an arcade machine, and a 1Up chime plays as we hear a 16-Bit Stan Lee proudly exclaim in a pixelated voice...)

EXCELSIOR!!!

"WE ARE THE TRUE BELIEVERS!!!"

(Pyro bursts trigger all around the roof of the arena and the ring posts as The Iceman Levi Russow comes bouncing out onto the ramp, wearing the first gear he ever won PWSi gold in, as "True Believers" by The Bouncing Souls blares and Levi bops down the ramp as every man lining the way bops their heads and sing along with the song...of course Levi would dress a men’s chorus as himself.)

JR Freeman: The heart and soul of PWS, Levi Russow, was dead set on being the first one from Team Star to enter… and WHAT an entrance!

Alfonso Banks: Stupid, typical Russow. Does he not KNOW who he's entering with?

JR Freeman: I think that's the point, Alf. If anybody is gonna bleed for PWS, you know Russow...ANY of them...are gonna be on the front lines.

Entrance Description:
(Smoke shoots from the stage, as “Critical Acclaim” by Avenged Sevenfold begins to blare over the sound system, as the loud scream of M. Shadows echoes throughout the arena. Bright lights shine from the stage, before they turn back to the stage, where Nick Madison comes out from behind the curtain, as the fans cheer.)

JR Freeman: Nick Madison, what a legend in his own right!

Alfonso Banks: Absolutely, JR, this guy’s got a long and storied history with PWS!

(Madison makes his way to the cage awaiting him on the entrance stage, looking at Levi, hoping he knows what he’s doing.)

(The lights in the arena go out, as Def Leppard's “kick” starts to play as the crowd cheers as Gracie walks on stage. Pyro sprays across the stage and around the videoboard as she walks down the ramp. While walking down the ramp, she high fives some fans in the front row before rolling into the ring. She leaps up on the ring ropes and pyro sprays around the lighting rig above her as the crowd cheers for her again.)

JR Freeman: Gracie’s probably the youngest person in this match - certainly she’s the youngest one on Team Star!

Alfonso Banks: That’s because it’s full of old people, JR! That’s why David’s team is gonna take it, it’s full of hip young wrestlers!

JR Freeman: And David Shane.

Alfonso Banks: Hey, David’s only in his 30’s!

JR Freeman: When’s the last time he wrestled?

Alfonso Banks: Shut up, that’s when!

(Gracie shakes Levi’s hand, telling him good luck, before stepping out of the ring through the cage door and walking to her team’s cage, which is closed behind her by an attendant.)

(Static fills the speakers as the A-Flat cord streams through and Rev Theory’s “Hell Yeah” begins to blare as the hypnotic laugh of Rich Luzzi echoes throughout the arena and Laura Phoenix’s video entrance illuminates the Smarkstron.)

JR Freeman: Oh, here we go! A true legend of PWS! Without Laura Phoenix this place wouldn’t even exist!

(When the chorus plays the lights raise and Phoenix runs out on stage to the delight of the fans. She runs to the opposite side of the stage before stopping at the center and raising her fist high in the air and a large amount of pyro goes off around her. She takes off down the ramp and slides into the ring and running to the closest corner and once again raises her fist high in the air. She repeats this at the other three corners as her music dies out and she stands in the middle of one of the rings, giving Levi a hug before sliding back out, walking down the ramp to the cage.)

("Sexy naughty bitchy me" by Tata young hits the speakers and the fans explode! The stage fills with a rolling smog as a spotlight hits the top of the ramp. From the back walks Trisha Lee Moore wearing a golden version of her ring gear, her hair down and flowing in waves over her shoulder. She steps into the spotlight and poses in her signature pose.)

Alfonso Banks: Now that brings back some memories!

JR Freeman: It sure does! Trisha is an absolute LEGEND, one I never thought I'd see grace a PWS ring again.

Alfonso Banks: Look at that grin... she has missed this, yoj can tell.

(Trisha finishes her pose and stops for a moment, grinning from ear to ear, taking in the energy of the crowd. She walks over to the cage and gets in, patting her teammates on the back before the cage is closed and locked behind them.)
Meg Reynolds: And their opponents… Jonathan Sanders, Alexandra Calaway, Dionysus, Alexander Lyons and David Shane… TEEEEEAAAAAM DAAAAVIIIIDDDD!!

(The lights dim. “O Come All Ye Faithful” begins playing over the speakers. As the song plays, something descends from the rafters. It’s a large brown wooden cross, upon which in “The Lost Cause” Jonathan Sanders, with a crown of thorns on his head. He’s also adorned in ripped, faded jeans, a black spiked bracelet, and a shirt that has a logo on it for the band “Five Finger Death Punch”. The other ANTITHESIS members make their way onto the stage to join him. Alexander is carrying a bag full of weapons. Dionysus looks over to Team Star’s cage and grins evilly.)

JR Freeman: You know what the worst part of this is, Alf?

Alfonso Banks: Those pants?

JR Freeman: This isn’t the first time that Sanders has come out on a cross and been a religious allegory for Jesus Christ, even in this promotion!

Alfonso Banks: …But also, god DAMN, those pants!

(After a moment of the team kneeling around the cross, the familiar ring of “TRAITORS!” can be heard, as Sanders jumps off the cross. “Blood Pigs” by Otep plays to accompany the group. Dionysus walks over to Team Star’s cage, rattling it with both hands before walking slowly over to his. Lyons soon follows, patting Alexandra on the back before making his way over. Sanders walks with her halfway down the ramp, hand in hand, and stops at the bottom of the ramp to give his dark love a passionate kiss, before heading down to his team’s cage. Alexandra goes in the cage door and slides into the ring, staring Levi down face to face.)

(“Adrenaline” by Shinedown starts playing. David Shane starts making his way out to the ring, looking at the crowd and giving a passionate “Yeah!”, motioning to the cage where most of his team currently resides. He walks over to it, heading in, the others looking at him as the audience rains down boos.)

(Star Stormz suddenly walks out onto the ramp, and the crowd cheers! She smiles, looking over at her team and giving them a nod and a thumbs-up, before walking over to the announce table and sitting beside JR and Alf. She’s not at the table, but closely beside it.)

JR Freeman: It’s a pleasure to see you, Star!

(Star looks at JR and waves, a pleasant smile on her face.)

(The bell rings and the match begins!)

JR Freeman: Levi’s crazy to put himself in there first, especially with ANTITHESIS gaining the advantage last Riot!

Alfonso Banks: This is going to be an absolute massacre… I can’t wait!

(The match starts properly with Alexandra going all-out with punches, making the crowd boo that they don’t yet get to see one of their old favourites perform. Calaway laughs, getting behind Levi and hitting him with a teardrop suplex! Levi writhes a little as The Queen of ANTITHESIS continues her assault. She kicks Levi in the head while he’s down, then goes to the top rope, looking for a split-legged moonsault, but Levi moves out of the way! The crowd pops as Levi gets to his feet, hitting Alexandra with a superkick! The crowd gets louder as he jumps up, hitting a double stomp to the downed Texan. He stands her up, whipping her into the ropes and intercepting her with a running knee as they go! He then picks her up, looking for Syn With a Gryn, as the crowd cheers him on, but Alexandra reaches out, biting his arm and making him drop her.)

JR Freeman: Damn, quite a display of offense from both people so far, but I think team David is learning not to underestimate the legends of this company!

Alfonso Banks: They’re called legends for a reason, JR! They’re experienced! Sure, some of ‘em are old as shit, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still go!

(Ally squares up her opponent before grabbing his arm and Irish whipping him into the ropes, grabbing him when he makes his way back, using Levi’s own momentum against him to toss him into the cage wall! Levi falls, making the Dark Queen smile ear to ear. Calaway grabs his legs, pulling him into a Boston crab position! Levi groans in pain, reaching for the ropes, but since there are no rope breaks, nothing happens when he does eventually reach them. Alexandra, realizing there can be no pinfalls or submissions until everyone has entered, keeps wrenching on the hold anyway, since it’ll wear Levi down for later. She is, however, met with a few stiff kicks from Levi which end up breaking the hold, getting Levi back on the offensive! He’s visibly limping for a moment, before getting immediately over it and running at her with a lariat.)

JR Freeman: What a clothesline!

Alfonso Banks: It’s a lariat!

JR Freeman: Aren’t they the same thing?

Alfonso Banks: …Shut up.

(Calaway tries to retaliate with a bulldog, but Levi shoves her towards the turnbuckle instead, hitting a rolling elbow to force her into it! Levi, riding a wave of momentum, then runs and hits a knee into the corner! As Alexandra falls to the mat, Levi quickly gets up on the top rope, hitting a Senton Bomb and covering her! …Before realizing pinfalls don’t count until everybody’s in anyway, shrugging, and getting back into the match. He rests on the ropes for a moment, which gives The Dark Queen of ANTITHESIS enough time to stand and fight. Levi turns around, and Calaway’s able to lift him and hit Bow to the Queen! A sick grin on her face, Alexandra mounts the fallen Russow and starts hitting vicious lefts and rights! Cackling into the night, she gets off of Levi, but immediately takes advantage of her position over him by locking in a sharpshooter!)

Alfonso Banks: That’s the scary thing about ANTITHESIS… if you’re not careful, they’ll hit you with move after move after move, leaving you absolutely no time to counterattack!

JR Freeman: Well, that’s not THE scary thing about the group, Alf. It’s one of many.

Alfonso Banks: True enough, JR, but if I sat here listing ALL the scary things about ANTITHESIS, we’d be here for six and a half days!

(Levi struggles, gripping at his hair in pain, as he reaches for the ropes. As he does, Ally simply pulls the hold tighter! Levi struggles more, not giving up, as the crowd cheers him on and on! “Ice-Man! Ice-Man! Ice-Man!” they cheer. Levi gets up on his hands, managing to power out of the sharpshooter, uncrossing his legs, and using them instead to kick Alexandra in the back, sending her directly into a cage wall! Levi lays on the mat for a bit. Alexandra falls behind him, and Levi’s up first. He’s favouring his left leg, but doesn’t waste the opportunity, walking over and grabbing Alexandra by the hair, pulling her over to the turnbuckle and loading her onto it.)

JR Freeman: Is he thinking what I think he’s thinking!?

Alfonso Banks: Well I don’t think he’s thinking about getting a puppy!

(Levi, very much focused not on puppies, but instead on the match, ascends the turnbuckles, grabbing Alexandra and jumping off, hitting The 187! The crowd erupts as he lands the move, both competitors lying there writhing as the countdown timer ticks down dangerously close. The crowd starts counting down with it from 30 seconds! Levi stands up, limping over to Alexandra and hitting a standing double-stomp! That seems to end up hurting him just as much as her, as he grips his hurt leg after the move. He hits a few punches on his downed opponent as the timer ticks down. The crowd counts with it. 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!)

(Right on cue, team David’s cage opens, and Jonathan Sanders SPRINTS down to the ring to save his love. Running through the door of the cage, and leaping over the top rope, he adorns a set of spiked brass knuckles, acquired from Alexander’s bag of weapons. Levi turns to face him, and is immediately struck directly in the head for his troubles! Sanders LEAPS on The Iceman, punching him again and again with the spikes on his fist, grabbing Russow’s head and slamming it violently into the ground several times. Levi writhes for a few moments, now bleeding from the head, as the wrath of The Horseman of Plague finally ceases long enough for him to go and check on his fallen Queen.)

JR Freeman: Where did he get those!?

Alfonso Banks: I don’t know, JR, I assume he brought them from home. But this match has no DQs, so they’re technically allowed, the best KIND of allowed!

(Sanders helps up Calaway, the two dark lovers sharing a kiss before walking over to Levi, hitting a double-team move as Alexandra locks in a Boston Crab while Sanders hits a standing 450 legdrop to the back of Levi! The patriarchal Russow screams as he’s worn down further, the crowd crying out for him. Sanders gets a wicked grin on his face, hitting a double stomp on the injured leg of Levi, making him tap out. The submission’s not counted, due to the rules of the match, so both teammates continue working the legs of Russow. Alexandra breaks up the submission, choosing instead to grab a leg and stomp. Sanders does the same to the other leg.)

Alfonso Banks: Y’know, you have to wonder, in this match, if Sanders is working the legs because he knows it’s a good strategy, or because he knows Levi’s hurt and wants to cause more suffering!

JR Freeman: Knowing him? It’s probably both.

(As Levi reaches the ropes, using them to help him stand, he manages to just barely avoid a dropkick from Sanders by dodging out of the way, causing The Lost Cause to crash and burn into the cell wall! Sanders grimaces, but Calaway’s on top of the situation, grabbing Levi by the arm and hitting a ripcord rolling elbow. She kicks him a few times while he’s down for good measure, before helping Sanders to his feet. Levi’s started getting up again, but Alexandra’s on top of the situation, grabbing him by the legs, which makes Russow fall to the mat! She looks at John, who ascends the turnbuckle. Once he’s at the top, she lifts Levi up in powerbomb position, and soon even higher, looking for Apocalypse. Once she does, Sanders jumps from the turnbuckle, hitting a Shot of Serotonin on the elevated Russow, who then gets tossed forward with a startling amount of momentum, and for a few moments, everyone is down!)

(The crowd cheers after that sweet move, while all the competitors lay flat on the mat, the crowd’s reaction building more and more as they realize everything that just happened all at once. Once the crowd’s died down a bit, Alexandra’s the first one up. She lays into Levi with some stomps, and soon Sanders is up and joining her. The crowd counts down with the timer from 30 once again. In the last 30 seconds before the next entrant, Sanders and Calaway stomp and kick at Levi, particularly the legs. As the crowd counts down “5! 4! 3! 2! 1!” they stop and look to the entrance ramp, where team Star’s cage door is opened and Nick Madison runs down to the ring. Getting in the newly-opened door, Nick stares down Sanders, and the crowd erupts. The legend stares down the Snake of Eden, and they circle each other like lions. Alexandra picks Levi up and throws him over the ropes and into the second ring, leaving Sanders and Madison together. John snarls and runs at Nick, who counters with a Lung Blower! The crowd goes wild for the move, and Nick basks in it.)

JR Freeman: The crowd loves Nick Madison!

Alfonso Banks: And/or hates ANTITHESIS!

JR Freeman: I’d say there’s a strong chance it’s “and”, Alf.

Alfonso Banks: Yeah, I’m with you on that one.

(Levi starts getting up, but Alexandra stomps him down, hitting his head on the bottom turnbuckle. Meanwhile, Nick hits Sanders with a dropkick, then goes to the top for a Diving Lariat! He grabs Sanders’ legs in a sharpshooter, looking Alexandra in the eyes as he does. Ally steps away from Levi, staring down Madison, as Levi starts slowly but surely getting up. Alexandra goes across to Nick’s ring, getting in his face, with Nick releasing the hold and returning the favour, getting nose to nose with Calaway. Before he can do anything, however, Sanders is up to his knees, and hits a low blow on Nick! Madison falls, and Calaway heads back over to the other ring. Levi’s up, and using the ropes for support. When Alexandra heads over, she grabs him by the neck, looking for a chokeslam, but Levi punches her in the stomach repeatedly, making her back off a bit.)

(The camera cuts to Star watching on, cheering on Levi as he gets out of his vicious attack!)

(Seizing the opportunity, Levi finds a second wind long enough to run the ropes, running at Alexandra and hitting her with a Night Nightmare! The crowd pops hard for this, as Levi immediately collapses. Meanwhile, Sanders is manhandling Madison. He chains his previous low blow by heading to the ropes and jumping off, hitting a springboard dropkick, knocking Madison to the mat. He then goes to the top rope, but decides that’s not enough.)

JR Freeman: Oh no, what is he planning!?

Alfonso Banks: Is he about to kill himself again?

JR Freeman: Again?

Alfonso Banks: Is… is he not supposed to be a zombie?

JR Freeman: No, he’s fully alive.

Alfonso Banks: Oh god…

(As Alf gets over that startling realization, just staring into the distance in paralyzed, horrified silence for 180 uninterrupted seconds, the match continues with Sanders, as predicted, climbing higher, using the holes in the cage as hand grips as he ascends. Once he nears the top, he stares down at Nick Madison with a terrible grin on his face, as Nick stands. Sanders jumps off, hitting a diving crossbody from the cage! He stands, then notices the spiked knuckles on the mat. Grinning another devious grin, Sanders picks them up and then helps up Nick, hoping to break him open the same way he did to Levi. Rearing back, Sanders’ efforts are thwarted by a kick to the gut, followed by Violent Tendencies! The crowd cheers for the signature move, as Levi and Alexandra both start getting up.)

(Alexandra is immediately on Levi with some stiff punches, but Levi hits back with a punch of his own. Then Alexandra hits him, then Levi hits back. They go back and forth like this for a bit, Levi holding the ropes for support, before Alexandra hits him with a roundhouse kick to knock him to the ground! Soon she rears back, looking for a curb stomp, but as she tries for it, Levi pulls the top rope down, causing her to tumble into the other ring, briefly saving himself from a further assault. Nick Madison has taken the advantage over Sanders at this point, but now with Calaway on his side as well, he’s starting to play double duty. He walks over to her, lifting her up and looking for Three Amigos! He hits one suplex, two suplexes, and… no, Sanders runs over and dropkicks him before he can hit the third! As the crowd starts counting down from 30 again, Levi makes his way over to the second ring, saving Nick Madison from a worse fate by hitting a Springboard Spinning Wheel Kick on the Dark Queen once he’s in, followed by a running knee strike to Sanders, before his legs collapse underneath him! The crowd chants 5… 4… 3… Sanders looks to the stage and yells a single word.)

Jonathan Sanders: DIONYSUUUUUUUSSS!

(The cage is opened and Dionysus steps out. Levi and Nick immediately go on the defensive, preparing for The Mad God’s arrival. Dionysus sprints to the ring, pulling the cage door open himself and getting into the ring over the top rope. Nick and Levi both immediately try attacking him, but he uses his immense strength to push them both away, with Madison going over the ropes and into the second ring. Dionysus stays in the first one to take on Levi, while Sanders and Calaway head over the ropes to fight Nick. Sanders runs at him, hitting a dropkick, and Alexandra picks him up, running him into the cage wall. Alexandra, having exerted a lot of effort lifting and running with Madison, stops to catch her breath, which gives Sanders the opportunity to punish Nick instead. He goes to the top turnbuckle, looking for a Total Eclipse, but once he jumps off he lands on Nick’s outstretched knees! Nick stands up, heading into the corner.)

(The camera cuts to Star again, who starts chanting “Spear! Spear! Spear!” and the crowd joins her in that chant, and soon everyone is telling Nick what move they’d like to see!)

(Alexandra is about to move towards Madison, but he moves towards her instead, running and hitting her with the move the crowd’s been asking for, a Spear! He looks up at the crowd, who pop for the move, before turning his attention to the fallen Calaway. He walks over, getting down to her level and locking in the Fade Away! He wrenches on the hold, with Calaway reaching for the ropes, but he’s soon stopped by Sanders stomping on him repeatedly. He kicks at the former United champion until he lets his love go, which he soon does. Nick stands up and gets in Sanders’ face, which leads to him getting his eyes raked by The Snake of Eden, making Nick shout and fall to the mat, clutching his eyes.)

JR Freeman: A despicable display by Jonathan Sanders!

Alfonso Banks: Are there any other kinds of displays from him?

JR Freeman: Sadomasochistic?

Alfonso Banks: …Fuck, you’re right.

(Dionysus lifts Levi Russow up in a Gorilla Press, throwing him from there directly into one of the cage walls, making Levi bounce off of it and onto the mat. He lifts the comparatively small man up on his shoulders, hitting the Rusty Cleaver, only not pinning him afterwards because it won’t count. But that doesn’t stop the Horseman of Death from mounting the patriarchal Russow and delivering many hard lefts and rights, laughing like a madman the entire time. He even grabs him a few times and violently slams Russow’s head into the canvas. After a lot of punches, Dionysus stands, flipping Levi over and locking in a single-leg Boston Crab, making Levi reach for the ropes. He manages to grab them, turning himself around and kicking the big man in the face! He does this several times, then uses the time in between to retreat to the opposite ring.)

JR Freeman: Smart move by Levi!

Alfonso Banks: How so?

JR Freeman: Well, he’s using Dionysus’ bloodlust against him! If he lures him to the ring that Nick Madison’s in, the fresher man on Star’s team can help! Two against one, and the big man’s likely to go down!

Alfonso Banks: That would be true, JR, if it wasn’t two against THREE!

JR Freeman: Fair point as well, Alf, Team David does currently have the upper hand in terms of number of wrestlers currently in the ring, so we’ll see how this strategy works out!

(Dionysus follows Levi into the second ring, stepping over both sets of ropes as he stares down at him. Nick, meanwhile, is dealing with both Sanders and Callaway, doing an alright job of it, but it is 2 against 1, so he’s still losing. He’s going back and forth between punching Sanders and punching Callaway, but soon one of his punches is ducked, and he’s grabbed in a hurricanrana by The Lost Cause, being taken down to the mat! Alexandra, seeing Dionysus enter the match, gets an idea. A big grin on her face, not unlike those of her fiancee, she turns to Sanders and whispers something to him, He grins and nods at her, audibly saying “Do it!”, so she does. She walks over to Dionysus, motioning to the turnbuckle. They both walk over to it and she climbs on top, then using it to elevate herself onto Dionysus’ shoulders. From there, she manages to stand to full height, diving off of Dionysus into a split-legged moonsault onto Nick Madison! While she’s done this, however, Levi’s recovered, and stands on his shaky legs, hitting Sanders with a jumping knee, and following that up with a Superkick to Calaway. He ends up collapsing a little bit, but by this point the timer’s counting down again from 30. The crowd delights, as always, in counting down with it. The other wrestlers keep fighting, Dionysus now turning his attention to Levi, but Nick Madison now takes the opportunity, kicking Dionysus’ legs out from under him, causing the big man to fall to one knee! Levi follows up with this, hitting a Superkick, bringing Dionysus to stumble. He hits another one and the Mad God falls! He doesn’t have much time to celebrate, however, as Sanders is up now, and decides he’s sick of not causing anyone physical pain, so he grabs Levi and, tripping him to the mat, locks in the Great Depression! Levi struggles and kicks at him, but nothing seems to be making John let go. The crowd counts down “5! 4! 3! 2! 1!” and once again on the buzzer, the cage for Team Star opens, and Gracie Lopez makes her way down to the ring!)

JR Freeman: Oh, here comes Gracie!

Alfonso Banks: Jenn would be proud to see her in this match! As would Alexis, I assume!

JR Freeman: Why are you talking about them like they’re not in the back supporting her?

Alfonso Banks: Well, I just sort of assumed they’d have fucked off by now.

JR Freeman: What, you think Jenn fought Max and then just left?

Alfonso Banks: Wouldn’t you?

JR Freeman: Not if someone close to me was about to go into one of the biggest matches of her career!

Alfonso Banks: Shows what you know. Beat the traffic, Jenny!

(Gracie steps into the cage and runs across the rings, hopping onto the set of ropes between the two rings and jumping off, hitting Jonathan Sanders with a dropkick! She runs to the opposite ropes, jumping off of them and landing on the back of Dionysus, who has stood up at this point. She starts punching Dio in the head, but he grabs her by the ankles and flips her off of him. Soon she’s up again and running at Alexandra, but she’s uninterrupted when she’s physically lifted off the ground by Dionysus! He lifts her into powerbomb position, carrying her over to the cage, where he’s about to slam her into the cage wall, but she grabs it and uses it as leverage to hit the big man with a hurricanrana, slamming his face into the cage! Dionysus stumbles, but doesn’t fall. Gracie springboards off the ropes into a crossbody, but Dio catches her and lifts her up into position for a Rusty Cleaver, which he hits! Sanders, seeing a downed Gracie, starts ascending the cage again. He gets to the top, climbing along the cage ceiling, which has to be 12 feet high, and jumps off, looking for a 450 splash on Gracie, but she moves out of the way, causing Sanders to crash and burn!)

JR Freeman: Oh, Dios Mio! A fall from that height’s GOTTA hurt!

Alfonso Banks: True, JR, but Sanders fell from an arena roof into a production truck and managed to pin Cleo Phillips for a 3-count, so I THINK he’ll be alright!

JR Freeman: True, but against Cleo he wasn’t also fighting 4 other people!

Alfonso Banks: Or WAS he?

JR Freeman: …I don’t know how it’s possible, Alf, but you make LESS sense with every passing day!

Alfonso Banks: Thank you, I’m actively trying!

JR Freeman: I KNEW IT!

(The crowd starts dueling chants of “You’re a Mad-man!” followed by 5 claps, and “You fucked up!” at the fallen Sanders. Gracie, having now gotten up, is run at by Calaway, who hits an STO on her to knock her to the mat! Gracie immediately gets up and goes down to a Ripcord Rolling Elbow! Ally picks her up immediately and goes to the turnbuckle, looking to smack her face on it, but Gracie catches herself before she can. She fights back, hitting a few back elbows on Alexandra. Gracie hops on the top turnbuckle, hitting a headscissors takedown, and rolling into an armbar. She wrenches on the hold a bit, and Calaway reaches an arm out for whatever is there. Dionysus has his hands full, with Sanders temporarily out of the match due to his own crash and burn moment just a moment ago, and so both Nick Madison and Levi Russow are attacking him, laying into the big man with punches and kicks, respectively. Finally, they send him into the ropes, but he runs into them with a double clothesline. Nick’s the first to get up, and he starts kicking Dio in the knees, which hinders the giant, making him stagger. He hits a dropkick on the big man, making him stumble backwards into the ropes and fall to his knees. Madison, getting a pop from the crowd, takes the opportunity, grabbing Dionysus and hitting the Neuro-Mutilation! The crowd erupts for Nick’s finisher!)

JR Freeman: Neuro-Mutilation! That would certainly have ended the match if pinfalls counted right now!

Alfonso Banks: I’d agree if it was done on anyone other than 10,000 pounds of emo steak!

(The crowd starts counting down from 30 again, as the timer starts to tick. Alexandra manages to break out of the hold, running to check on Sanders, who she manages to get back into the match. Meanwhile, in the other ring, Dionysus is recovering from Nick’s big move, and Madison is taking full advantage of it, with Levi slowly recovering in the middle of the ring. Alexandra runs at Gracie, the ANTITHESIS members sharing a ring with the young Lopez now outnumbering her 2 to 1. Alexandra grabs Gracie, hitting her with a Teardrop Suplex, as Sanders ascends the turnbuckle. He jumps off once Gracie is down, hitting a double stomp to the midsection, making Gracie wince and grab her stomach in pain! In the other ring, Dionysus grabs both of the other Team Star members in separate chokeholds, and hits a mean-looking double chokeslam to both guys! He then keeps his hand on Nick’s throat, moving the other one there as well, choking the life out of Madison with a vicious intensity that we often see from both him and Sanders. However, Levi soon breaks this up, kicking the big man and causing him to let go of Nick’s throat, but also making him turn to face Levi. Soon, the crowd counts along with the final few seconds of the timer, which ticks from 5, to 4, to 3, to 2, and finally, after the 1, the cage opens, and Alexander Lyons steps out.)

(Lyons, his bag of weapons with him, slides into the ring, setting the bag down in one corner of one ring. He grabs something from the bag, looking for something in particular - a smaller bag full to the brim with thumbtacks - and not only finds it, but also immediately empties it, pouring the tacks all over the floor of one of the rings. But that’s not all, as Lyons’ first instinct afterwards is to grab a second thumbtack bag and go to the second ring, emptying that bag as well. He pours a few in between them as well, just to be safe, and pulls out a barbed-wire bat from the same bag, with the crowd chanting “You Sick Fuck!” at him as he grins! With the added pain from the addition to the ring of hundreds of thumbtacks, Nick Madison being driven into the canvas with a Flapjack from Dionysus makes Nick (and the audience) wince in pain. Levi, however, gets a smart idea. Hopping between the rings, he limps over to Lyons’ bag, checking to see what’s there. Finding a plethora of objects, he decides on a chain. Jonathan Sanders runs up to him and, perhaps as a modicum of revenge for hitting him with the spiked knuckles earlier in the match, Levi smacks Sanders in the head with the chain, making The Lost Cause fall to the mat! Russow makes his way back to the other ring, where Lyons and Dionysus are now double-team attacking Nick Madison, and he starts by hitting Dionysus with the chain, wrapping it around the giant man’s legs like Luke did to the AT-ATs in Empire Strikes Back, causing Dio to fall to his knees, then soon to the mat. One thing Levi didn’t count on, however, was the fact that Lyons still has a weapon of his own. And he isn’t afraid to use it! Lyons swings the barbed wire bat, knocking Levi down, and he grabs the chain for himself, throwing it away between the rings.)

(Gracie starts attacking Sanders, who in turns attacks her back harder. Neither relents, both throwing some heavy punches at each other. Sanders kicks at Gracie, going for a roundhouse kick, but she ducks out of the way. Sanders tries again immediately, this time connecting and sending Gracie to the mat. He goes to grab her, but she grabs his arm instead, putting it into an armbar. Once he’s down on the mat, Gracie transitions the armbar into a crossface, wrenching on the hold! Sanders seems to revel in the pain, cackling away as the pressure is applied! In the second ring, Lyons is fighting off Nick Madison, and Calaway is taking on Levi. Lyons goes to swing the barbed wire bat at Nick, but Nick moves out of the way, making Lyons hit the side of the cage, getting the bat stuck on it! He tries to remove it, but in doing so leaves himself open for attack! That’s when Nick decides to hit the Hat Trick! He grabs Alexander and hits one… two… THREE German Suplexes, making sure the last one is directly onto the thumbtacks! Nick himself winces, since he has to land on them too in order to make Lyons land on them, but at least he eliminated that threat, for now. Meanwhile, Levi and Ally are brawling with one another, Levi being grabbed by Calaway and driven to the mat with a bulldog! Levi tries getting up with the ropes, but is stomped on before he can reach them. Calaway walks backwards, getting revved up, before running forward while Levi’s on his hands and knees, and hitting a curb stomp on the fallen Russow.)

JR Freeman: Alexandra’s on a tear!

Alfonso Banks: As the newest member of ANTITHESIS, I think she’ll fit right in, like a finger to a glove!

JR Freeman: Yeah, you know, that phrase that nobody uses?

Alfonso Banks: Maybe someone does, somewhere! You don’t know!

JR Freeman: Name one country that uses the phrase “Like a finger to a glove”.

Alfonso Banks: Uhhh… Kyrgyzstan?

JR Freeman: …You’re an idiot.

(Dionysus sees that Gracie is getting the upper hand on Sanders and steps in, lifting her straight up in the air, before grabbing her in a choke hold and slamming her against the cage wall! His ferocity knows no bounds, as he throws her viciously onto the mat and then hits her with a big boot once she gets up. Dio looks to continue his assault, but Gracie darts between his legs, coming out behind him and kicking him in the back of the legs, wearing him down. As she does, however, Sanders gets back up, and starts on the offensive again. He notices the chain in between the rings and goes to grab it, coming back to Gracie with it and smacking her in the head with it! Once she falls, he gets down and locks in the Great Depression, wrapping the chain around and using it to help make the hold more intense! Gracie struggles, but there’s little she can do. Dionysus, meanwhile, wanders off to ring 2, joining Lyons in the assault on Nick Madison. Nick is getting a second wind, hitting a Snap Powerslam on Alex, before locking in a Sharpshooter. Before he can really wrench in the hold, Dionysus kicks him in the face. Madison stands, punching Dionysus repeatedly, but it doesn’t seem to be doing much.)

(The crowd starts counting down again, another 30 seconds elapsed before the 8th entrant into the match. The crowd gets more and more excited by the second. In the ring, Sanders still has the hold on Gracie, who’s struggling to get out of it, but John, laughing the night away in his maniacal way, wrenches harder on the hold, pulling the chain tight. At the same time, Lyons has gotten up and is fighting Levi now, The Feral Prince whipping Levi into the corner. He runs at him, hoping to do a dropkick, but is kicked by Levi for his troubles! Levi ascends the turnbuckle, hitting a knee strike on Lyons! The crowd cheers for Russow as he seems to get another second wind, looking to take on anyone who comes his way! He picks up Lyons, getting him in position, and hits Out Cold, directly into the thumbtacks! Lyons immediately writhes from the hit, and soon the Feral Prince is bloodied. Levi wipes some of the blood from his own head, kneeling as he does. The crowd counts down from 5 to 1, and Team Star’s cage opens, with Laura Phoenix entering the match! The crowd cheers her on, as she hops up onto the apron through the cage door, entering the match and looking around.)

(With Laura in the match, the teams are evened up. She stomps on Sanders, making him finally release Gracie from the hold. Gracie lays still on the mat, as Laura attacks Sanders, delivering some classic chops. The crowd “Woo”s every time she hits one, and soon Sanders is up against the ropes. Laura runs off the opposite ropes, hitting a Shining Wizard on the Snake of Eden. She grabs Sanders’ hair, pulling him into a DDT position, hitting a DDT in the center of the ring! Picking Sanders up again, Laura regrets her decision, and Sanders grabs her hand and bites! She recoils, giving John enough time to recover. He runs to the ropes, looking for a springboard Crossbody, but Laura counters with a mid-air Kick To Damnation! The crowd chants “That was Awesome!” and “This Match Rules!” in tandem, as Lyons starts attacking Gracie. He first lifts her for a suplex, holding the position for a long time. A full 23 seconds later, he drops her with the suplex, before locking in the Gordian Knot! He keeps the hold locked in for a while, before being hit in the back by Nick Madison and letting go. He turns to face Nick, which gives Gracie enough time to run up and grab him from behind, hitting a reverse Lung Blower, which sends Alex to the mat! In another part of the same ring, Alexandra is now brawling with Laura. The two are exchanging lefts and rights, with a “Yay” and “Boo” chant going on as they do, depending on who hits it. Soon Calaway gets tired of the exchange and instead hits a spin kick on Laura, knocking Phoenix to the mat, before walking over to Lyons’ bag of weapons and pulling out a length of barbed wire!)

JR Freeman: Oh no, what does she have in mind!?

Alfonso Banks: Nothing good, I can be sure of that!

(Calaway walks back over to Phoenix, who’s about to stand up, but keeps her on the mat with some furious stomps, before getting down on the mat, wrapping some barbed wire around each hand, and locking in On Death’s Door! Laura screams, trying to fight back, but the barbed wire is too much for her to handle, so she can’t quite seem to do it. Meanwhile, Levi and Nick are taking on Dionysus! They start kicking the big man’s legs out from under him, and once he’s on his knees, Levi runs to the ropes, jumping off the second rope to hit the 187! Dionysus falls, and soon the two are dealing with Sanders instead. He comes out swinging, dropkicking Nick Madison and hitting a crossbody on Levi, but soon the numbers advantage is too much for him, as the two Irish Whip him into the ropes, hitting a Spear/Night Nightmare combo! The two pat each other on the back, but Dionysus is up, and he’s mad. Grabbing both men, he throws them towards the wall at the front of the cage, the one facing the ramp. He grabs them by the throat and chokes them out against it for a moment, before setting them down, using the ropes to tie both men up, standing but bound by the ropes. Dionysus then rears back, before running forwards and full tilt, leaping through the ropes and tackling both men with a vicious gore, which not only untangles them from the ropes, but also BREAKS the cage, sending the massive wall tumbling to the floor below! The crowd chants “Ho-ly shit!”, as the other competitors stop in their tracks to see what just happened.)

JR Freeman: The cage is broken!

Alfonso Banks: What does this mean for the rules of the match?

JR Freeman: Well, this Is an “anything goes” stipulation, so I feel like this is allowed!

Alfonso Banks: At the risk of sounding unprofessional… God DAMN that was cool!

JR Freeman: No offense, Alf, but when has “the risk of sounding unprofessional” ever stopped you from saying ANYTHING?

Alfonso Banks: …No, you’re right.

(After a few brief moments of silence, the first move post-cage-break is made, and it’s by Lyons, who doesn’t seem to care that the cage is broken, instead just going to town kicking the shit out of Gracie Lopez, quite literally, before grabbing her in a Full Nelson, clearly looking for The Siege, but Gracie fights her way out of it, slamming her arms violently down to break the hold before Alex can turn it into a slam. Sanders immediately sprints for the open wall, leaping out of the ring onto Nick Madison, hitting a Suicide Dive, before heading for the side of the cage and starting to climb. He climbs up the side, to the top, where he awaits an opponent. Luckily for him, Laura has the same idea, and soon she ascends the cage as well. Dionysus, meanwhile, grabs Levi and throws him into the audience barricade, hitting a Frying Pan Chop, then another, then another, before lifting him up for a Gorilla Press, transitioning it into a backbreaker! Nick, who has had time to recover, runs at Dionysus, slamming The Horseman of Death into the barricade. He walks back, running at Dionysus and hitting a lariat, sending both men over the barricade and into the audience! They soon both stand up, with Dionysus hitting a bunch of stiff punches on Nick, but Nick doesn’t flinch, instead hitting punches of his own. It’s an all-out brawl, that goes up and then back down the stairs, ending with Nick being tossed back over the barricade by Dionysus, Keith Lee style. He steps back over it himself, picking Madison up and walking back over to the cage wall, looking to run him into it.)

(On top of the cage, Sanders and Phoenix are going back and forth with their offense, but soon Sanders has the upper hand, after a well-timed hurricanrana. He then tries to execute his plan, grabbing Laura and walking to the very edge of the cage. He tries to throw her off, but Laura stops herself from going off the cage, instead elbowing Sanders in the head a few times, giving him pause. He tries grabbing her and throwing her off again, but Laura keeps stopping him from throwing her off. Getting annoyed by this, Sanders decides “Fuck it”, and grabs Laura by the shoulders, looking down at the announce table below, and jumps off, taking her with him, both competitors going through the table! The audience pops for this moment, chanting “That was cra-zy!” with 5 claps, followed soon by “Hard-core wrest-ling!” With 5 more claps. The camera cuts briefly to show Star’s reaction. She has a hand over her mouth, like she’s absolutely stunned, especially considering it just happened right next to where she’s sitting! She runs over to check on Laura, nudging her in the hopes that she’ll recover and get up. Meanwhile, the 30-second timer starts again.)

JR Freeman: Well, our table’s broken. I knew it was only a matter of time.

Alfonso Banks: Not a matter of IF, but WHEN. With Jonathan Sanders, that’s always a good mindset to have. WHEN will he bring a knife to the ring? WHEN will he throw someone off the roof of an arena? WHEN will he actually, legitimately kill himself in the ring? We know it’s coming!

JR Freeman: Maybe, but I think he’s more likely to kill an opponent first!

Alfonso Banks: “First”? I think “As well”!

(The crowd counts down, 30 giving way to 20, to 10, to 5, meanwhile the fight continues, both in and outside the ring. Gracie hits a Swinging Neckbreaker on Lyons, with a Flying Forearm coming soon after. She lifts him up, whipping him into the corner, then following, hitting a Pele Kick into the corner! She grabs Lyons by the leg, locking in an ankle lock! He fights his way to the ropes, though that doesn’t stop the youngster from wrenching on the hold tighter. Soon the crowd counts down “5! 4! 3! 2! 1!” And the cage for Team David opens one last time. David Shane struts down the ramp, looking at what his team is doing without actually getting involved at first. He stands in the middle of the ramp, admiring the destruction he has indirectly caused, nodding smugly as he looks directly at Star, who’s gone back to her seat. As Levi notices David in the match, he makes a beeline for him, running quickly towards David with a swift ferocity we haven’t seen from him. His legs give out halfway through, making him fall, but that doesn’t stop the Patriarch of the Russow family from getting back up and running over to David Shane, hitting a running knee strike! He lifts David up, getting him in position for Syn with a Grin, and manages to hit it! He knees Shane a number of times, before standing him up again, looking for a Superkick, but David dodges and nails Levi directly in the penis, making Levi clutch his sack as he falls to the mat. David gets up, hitting Levi with a vertical Suplex, then stomps on his already-weakened legs, saying “How do you like that!?”, while Star watches on from the sidelines.)

(Gracie rebounds off the ropes, hitting a springboard dropkick on Alexander, before transitioning from there into a DDT to get him off his feet, but he reverses it, dropping her with a Brightroar DDT! Meanwhile, Alexandra is fighting with Nick Madison in the other ring. She hits an STO, then grabs his legs in a Boston Crab. She pulls harder on the hold, while outside the ring, Sanders and Laura have started to come to. They both stand, though Sanders does have a leg give out on him before standing back up. He runs at her, but she hits an arm drag. Laura then follows this up with a leg lock, looking to get a chinlock as well, but Sanders reaches up while she bridges, wrapping an arm around her throat. He violently pulls down, bringing her down on top of him, before he rolls out from under Laura and heads to the ring. He goes underneath it, pulling out a steel chair, smiling his evil smile and walking over to Star, lifting the chair to smack her in the head with it! Star tries to run, but falls out of her chair. Before Sanders can land the hit, however, Laura comes from behind with a reverse Hurricanrana! The chair drops to the floor, and Laura disposes of it, running off and throwing it into the stage. Levi and David keep fighting down the ramp, getting closer to the ring, but David’s got the upper hand because he doesn’t mind cheating to win. Levi goes for a Rolling Elbow, and manages to hit it, but before he can pick David up to do more, he’s met with an eye poke! He clutches his face and falls to the floor. However, what David doesn’t expect is for Laura to come back with a vengeance! Making her way back from disposing of the chair, she runs and hits a Shining Wizard on David, making him fall to the ground. She helps up Levi, and they both lift David up, hitting him with a Double Superkick! They high five, looking around at the crowd, who are white hot at this point! Elsewhere, Dionysus has Nick Madison on his shoulders, and Jonathan Sanders and Alexandra Calaway are on the audience barricade. Dio falls back, while the Dark Lovers hit a double dropkick on Madison! A quick kiss later and the two smaller members of ANTITHESIS are on the floor, with Calaway whipping Madison into the corner of the cage, while Sanders makes his way towards the open hole in it, but stops. Looking over at David, he runs over, hitting a Shot of Serotonin on Levi, sending him down to the floor. Noticing the fallen cage wall, Sanders grins again, pointing it out to David.)

JR Freeman: Oh, this can’t end any way but badly.

Alfonso Banks: Badly for Team Star, maybe, but for David’s team it’s gonna be great!

(David lifts Laura up for a German Suplex, with Sanders hitting a dropkick on the way, with Laura landing on the fallen cage wall! Sanders smirks and gets in the ring, with David staying out of it, instead using this to his advantage, taking Laura’s head and slamming it repeatedly into the cage wall-floor. He stomps on her head a few times, showing that he can be just as brutal as some of the people on his team, before picking her up and sending her to the floor again with a Scoop Powerslam. He picks her up again, looking for Napalm, but Laura pushes him away, hitting a Headscissors Takedown, following up with a Bow And Arrow lock! David struggles, trying to get out of the move. Alexandra Calaway is attacking Gracie Lopez inside the ring now, hitting multiple high-leg kicks, sending her to the mat before going to the top rope, jumping off and hitting a Senton Bomb! Lifting Gracie up, Calaway hits her with a Fallen Angel! Stepping back a few steps, she looks once again for a curb stomp, but this time Gracie knows what to expect, and grabs Calaway’s leg, sending her tumbling to the mat. Sanders, in the meantime, has made his way into the ring, Nick joining him inside. Sanders runs at him, looking for a flying DDT, but Nick lifts him in the air instead, hitting Violent Tendencies! Nick goes for a Sharpshooter, but his attempt is thwarted by a leg sweep. He falls, and Sanders slowly stands, going up to the top rope and hitting a double knee strike from the top, directly into Nick’s chest. The timer starts at 30 again, as the final entrant is counted down.)

JR Freeman: After this, pinfalls and submissions will all finally be able to be counted!

Alfonso Banks: True, JR, we might see some close near-falls… or it could end immediately, either way!

(The crowd counts down from 30 with the timer. As they do, Dionysus is still outside the cage, and is helping David Shane to attack Laura Phoenix. He lifts her up into Rusty Cleaver position, but she elbows him in the head several times, fighting her way out of it. Once she does, however, she’s caught off-guard by an out-of-nowhere Superkick by David Shane! David stops to bask in the glory of the crowd, who are of course all booing him, but he either doesn’t notice or, more likely, doesn’t care, as he continues to stop and revel in it. The timer counts down to 1, and finally the final entrant, Trisha Lee Moore, heads out of her cage and towards the ring. The crowd cheers. She goes over to David and immediately starts attacking him! She hits him with a clothesline, then immediately hops onto the apron to dive off into a moonsault! Trisha’s energized and ready to fight, and it shows! Now that pinfalls and submissions count, Alexander Lyons is ready to make the final move, and make it COUNT. He grabs Levi Russow, hitting him with a Brightroar DDT, onto the thumbtacks! He goes for the pin!)

1!

2!

No, Levi kicks out!?

(The crowd goes insane after the highly improbable, near-impossible kickout. Lyons looks at him, then at the crowd, his eyes bulging from his head as he does. He’s absolutely stunned at the incredible feat that’s just happened.)

JR Freeman: My god! After everything he’s been through in this match… two hurt legs, a ton of thumbtacks, and many, many opponents hitting move after move, Levi still managed to kick out!

Alfonso Banks: Truly an incredible sight to behold… but also, stay the hell down!

(Trisha runs at David, but is caught by a surprise Spinebuster. David then grabs her by the hair, lifting her up and whipping her into the barricade. Walking over to it, he slams her head into it several times! She catches herself with both hands, kicking behind her to hit him. It works, and he’s dazed, leaving Trisha to hit a Scissor Kick! She goes for the pin!)

1!

2- no!

(Kickout from David! Trisha scoffs, but shrugs and keeps on the attack! Alexandra is over at the bag of weapons, and pulls the last one out of it. It’s a crowbar! She runs at Nick with it, but Nick dodges out of the way, hitting her with a Belly-to-Back Suplex in return, then grabbing the crowbar for himself! He throws the crowbar out of the ring, and continues to attack Alexandra, lining her up on the ring ropes and rebounding, hitting her out of the ring with a big lariat, then heading back and looking for a suicide dive, but Ally moves out of the way, leaving him to crash and burn! Elsewhere, Dionysus is back on the offensive against Laura Phoenix, lifting her up with a one-leg Boston Crab, doing it on a high angle, Lion-Tamer style. He pulls on the hold hard, and Laura looks like she might tap, but Levi comes to the rescue, picking up the previously-discarded crowbar and, deciding that he left all of his scruples at home, beaning Dionysus on the head with it. Dio immediately breaks the hold, falling to the ground. Trisha now has David just about beaten, but upon missing an elbow drop from the turnbuckle to the outside, David takes control, grabbing her and tossing her with a German Suplex, bridging it to make it into a pin, but before even a 1-count can happen, Levi’s found David again and is attacking. He stomps on his to break the pin, then goes to town with the crowbar, hitting David in the stomach with the bar several times. He wipes some of the blood from his head, hitting David in the head multiple times as well, busting him open!)

JR Freeman: My god! Levi Russow is a madman on a mission!

Alfonso Banks: That’s true! And you know something? David’s not having a great time, but Sanders is probably pleased as punch that he brought this side of Levi out of hiding!

JR Freeman: True, that is one of Sanders’ big “things”. To bring out someone’s inner darkness. Also, on an unrelated note, did you just unironically use the phrase “pleased as punch”?

Alfonso Banks: When have I ever done anything unironically, JR?

JR Freeman: I’m struggling to think of a time.

Alfonso Banks: Exactly!

(Sanders and Gracie are the only 2 left in the rings at this point, and they’re really going at it, bouncing off things with high flying move after high flying move. Gracie hits a flying Headscissors takedown, going for a pin, but it only gets a 1-count. Sanders hits a springboard flying double-kneestrike, then follows up by whipping Gracie into the cage wall. Once she’s fallen, he hits a standing legdrop, targeting the throat of Gracie Lopez! He looks around for any weapons that have been left in the ring, and sees the barbed wire bat that’s still lodged into one of the cage walls! He grabs it, bringing it down from its spot on the wall, and uses it to help him make his move more powerful as he locks in the Dopamine Deficiency! The crowd gasps at such a visceral display, as Gracie cries out in pain! Star stands up from her seat, a hand over her mouth as she sees what’s happening! Gracie can’t move, she’s being choked, AND she’s got a dangerous amount of barbed wire on her throat. It’s safe to say she’s in a bad situation! She’s about to tap out, but she instead is able to reach the ropes and pull herself free by force! Sanders is giddy, going to hit her with the bat but Gracie ducks. She hits him with an uppercut, then grabs the bat from him and tosses it away. Knocking Sanders off his feet with a dropkick, she then bounces off the ropes and runs at the ropes, hoping for a Style and Grace. She crashes and burns when Sanders moves, and he grabs her, grabbing also the long string of barbed wire from earlier, and, using the wire, ties her to the ropes by her arms, with her arms outstretched in a T-pose. Sanders cackles, cracking his knuckles, a terrible grin on his face as he walks slowly towards her. Gracie yells at him “Come at me! Come on!”. As he approaches, she struggles. “Do your worst!” Gracie yells defiantly.)

JR Freeman: He’s gonna kill her!

Alfonso Banks: There’s no telling what sort of horrible violence Sanders could cause here! He’s an absolute freak of nature, and he’s not right in the head!

JR Freeman: You’ve got that right, Alf!

(Just as Sanders is about to inflict what looks like the final blow, “Tom Sawyer” by Leo comes on the speakers! The crowd boos loudly for Tyson Sykes’ theme, as The Ripper himself shows up, walking out onto the stage, all business. He cracks his knuckles, ready for a fight! Sanders grins, waiting for Tyson to come to the ring. And to the ring he does, in fact, come, brandishing the same steel chair that Laura had previously discarded on the ramp. Sykes sprints to the ring after grabbing it, and walks right over to where Sanders and Gracie are! The crowd’s boos get louder as they realize what’s about to happen!)

JR Freeman: Oh, come on, Tyson, she’s defenseless!

(John looks at Tyson, nodding softly. He points to Gracie, mouthing things like “Do it!” and “End Her!”, as the crowd continues their boos for Sykes and for Sanders. Finally, Sykes nods, and does what he thinks is right, SMACKING the chair directly into the head of Jonathan Sanders. The crowd is stunned for a brief second, then erupts into applause at the heroic betrayal! Sykes then walks over, quickly untying Gracie, who pins The Horseman of Plague!)

1!

2!

…

3!

(The bell rings, and Sykes gets out of dodge, running out of the ring and hopping the barricade, sticking around only long enough to see the reactions from everyone. Star looks… stunned. Like she can’t believe that just happened. Alexandra is FURIOUS. She goes in to check on Sanders, glaring holes through Sykes the entire time. Lyons is still attacking people, which is very much his style. Dionysus is in active pursuit of Sykes, which causes him to move further into the crowd and out the door. Dionysus hops the barricade soon after and runs up the stairs where Sykes had previously gone. David is slack-jawed, in absolute disbelief of the situation. The whole of Team Star is pleasantly surprised!)

Meg Reynolds: Here are your winners… Team Star!

(Sanders can’t get up after the attack, and in fact isn’t moving. EMTs are rushed to the ring, as the cage is raised. The EMTs get into the ring, putting Jonathan onto a stretcher, before carrying him to the back, Calaway following beside the stretcher the entire way. The camera cuts back to the announcers as setup is done for the next match.)

JR Freeman: Well, ladies and gentlemen, what a hell of a match that was.

Alfonso Banks: You’re goddamn right! Now stay tuned, we have more Crusade: Armageddon on the way!

WINNERS - TEAM STAR

---

Main Event
PWS : APEX World Championship
60-Minute Ironman Match
Cleo Phillips © vs. Mike Hawk

(The atmosphere is positively ELECTRIC as we cut back to the ring following the previous segment, with the ring area having been fully cleared and reset as we prepare for the much-anticipated Main Event.)

JR Freeman: Folks, the time is finally upon us; THIS is the moment you have ALL been waiting for!

Alfonso Banks: Not ME, JR; I basically checked out after Armageddon.

JR Freeman: Really? Even knowing there was a Cleo Phillips match coming up?

Alfonso Banks: …Damn you, JR. DAMN YOU!

JR Freeman: Consider me damned.

(As the announcers continue to bicker, we cut back to ringside for the entrances to begin. The audience is puzzled, as a marching band comes out, brass instruments in hand. Trumpet players, tuba players, drummers, the works. Once they’re all out, and have tested and tuned their instruments, they start playing a tune that’s unfamiliar to the Spanish crowd. However, once they get into the chorus, they understand what it is. It’s the presidential tune, “Hail to the Chief”. As this song is playing, a red carpet is rolled out, with rose petals being spread across it. Some words come on the titantron. “This Is Your Next Apex World Champion”.)

(After the presidential song is finished, there’s a brief moment of silence, before the Superman theme starts, but it sounds different than usual. It’s in fact a heavy metal version! As the opening notes play, Meg Reynolds makes her announcement.)

Meg Reynolds: The following contest is your MAIN EVENT… and it is a 60-minute Iron Man match for the PWS: Apex WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!

(The crowd cheers loudly, before Hawk himself is carried out onto the stage by 4 stagehands, on a real, actual throne. It’s got what looks to be a real 24K gold frame, and decorations to match, with red cushions to accompany it. Hawk’s got a golden crown atop his head, a royal cape draped over the back of the gold-coloured chair, and a similarly-golden scepter in his left hand. Otherwise, he’s in green tights and black boots. The stagehands put Hawk down at the top of the stage, as the song builds to a crescendo.)

JR Freeman: Of course Hawk is carried out like a king, it’s not like him to put in the actual effort it would take to WALK through the curtain!

Alfonso Banks: YOU SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH, JR!

JR Freeman: Uh…

Alfonso Banks: …I’m sorry, that was a complete overreaction, wasn’t it?

JR Freeman: Little bit.

Alfonso Banks: Sorry, I’m just feeling very stressed right now. First David Shane’s team lost, now my two favourite wrestlers are fighting each other and I have to pick aside; I’m really just not having a great day.

(Hawk looks around as his loyal subjects, the band has now packed their instruments away and are now all on either side of the massive ramp.)

Meg Reynolds: Introducing the challenger first… from Toronto, Ontario, Canada… weighing in at 245 pounds, he is the “President of Pro Wrestling”... MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWK!

(As the “main” part of the song starts, Hawk mouths “Let’s do this!” and jumps off the throne, an explosion of pyro going off behind him. He bounces in place, spinning as he does, pointing at the crowd with both hands, before walking slowly down the ramp, each of the people on either side bowing down as though he were royalty as he passes them. Gold dust falls from the sky, the spotlight on Hawk a brilliant golden yellow as well, as he stops in place in the middle of the ramp, as six pyro canisters shoot sparks up at him, Goldberg-style. Hawk walks through, and is bathed in, the glorious sparks, as he bounces to the music, jumping on the ropes with a fist pump, shouting “Oh yeah!” before going through the ropes and into the ring.)

(Hawk points to each section of the crowd in turn, pyro going off each time, each one alternating red and white, the final one being sparks shaped like a maple leaf, Syd-style. Hawk goes to each turnbuckle, in turn, and raises his fists in the air. He takes the crown off, handing it to someone outside the ring, followed by the scepter. He then unties the cape, grabbing either side of it and pulling it off side to side, while taking the time to pose with his cape splayed like Batman. He pulls it over his head and throws it out of the ring. He stands in the center of the ring, crouching down, hands on his knees as he awaits the champion.)

JR Freeman: Well Alf, you’ve gotta wonder what’s going through Hawk’s mind right now!

Alfonso Banks: Probably “I wonder if that entrance looked as cool as it felt”!

JR Freeman: …Can’t say I disagree with that hypothesis.

(Back in the ring, Hawk continues to stare up the ramp as the lights go out, a look of pure determination written on his face. The crowd’s solidly mixed reaction for the President of Pro-Wrestling gives way to definitive and deafening cheers, as a loud pyro explosion leads into the beat to "Gangsta's Paradise." The popular and well-known rap song echoes throughout the arena, and as the lyrics begin Cleo swaggers out onto the stage, PWS: Apex World Title belt proudly around her waist. She folds her arms and looks around at the crowd from behind her shades, wearing a cocky and self-confident grin.)

#As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I take a look at my life, and realize there's nothin' left
'Cause I've been blastin' and laughin' so long
That even my momma thinks that my mind is gone#

(Cleo pounds her chest twice and points around the arena, the crowd popping for her again, before making her way down the ramp as the song continues.)

#But I ain't never crossed a man that didn't deserve it
Me be treated like a punk, you know that's unheard of
You better watch how you talkin' and where you walkin'
Or you and your homies might be lined in chalk#


(Once at ringside, her expression shifts, becoming a serious and dour glare as she locks eyes with Hawk. The referee makes the challenger take a few steps back as Cleo jumps onto the apron and rolls into the ring, where she postures and poses for the crowd as some more pyros go off.)

Meg Reynolds: And his opponent; from the Bronx in New York City; weighing in tonight at 145 lbs.; she is the REIGNING, DEFENDING, PWS: APEX WOOOOOOORLD CHAMPION; “The Body Snatcher” CLEEEEEEEEEEEEO PHIIIIIIIIIIIILLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPS!


#I really hate to trip, but I gotta loc
As they croak, I see myself in the pistol smoke
Fool, I'm the kinda G the little homies wanna be like
On my knees in the night, sayin' prayers in the streetlight#

(Finally, she poses, arms crossed on the turnbuckle, then unlatches the belt and hoists it high above her head with one arm, pounding the faceplate a couple of times with a primal yell as the chorus comes in.)

#Been spendin' most their lives livin' in the gangsta's paradise
Been spendin' most their lives livin' in the gangsta's paradise
Keep spendin' most our lives livin' in the gangsta's paradise
Keep spendin' most our lives livin' in the gangsta's paradise#

(As "Gangsta's Paradise" fades out, Cleo leaps down from the turnbuckle and whirls around to face Hawk, her determined glare fixed on him as the two get in each other’s faces.)

JR Freeman: We are seeing some SERIOUS fury written on the face of Cleo Phillips tonight, Alf. I don’t know if I’ve seen the champion in this mindset before.

Alfonso Banks: Neither have I, JR. To be honest, it’s kind of…

JR Freeman: *sigh* Hot?

Alfonso Banks: Actually, I was GONNA say “terrifying”. The Champ looks like a woman POSSESSED tonight, partner.

JR Freeman: Fair point, I’m sorry I have such low assumptions of you.

Alfonso Banks: No, no, it’s fine. BELIEVE me, I get it.

(Back in the ring, the competitors are nose-to-nose now, jaw-jacking as the raw intensity practically CRACKLES between them. Cleo holds the belt up high, serving as a backdrop to the two as they face off to a surprisingly-mixed reaction. This doesn’t last long, however, as the referee interposes herself between the pair and forces them into their respective corners, patting them down for weapons before taking the belt and holding it up for all to see. The bell rings, and Hawk and Cleo EXPLODE out of their corners towards each other, immediately locking up like a pair of ferocious animals, jockeying for position. They begin to trade blows WHILE in the lockup, each one nailing the other with vicious right hands and elbows as they battle in a circle around the ring.)

JR Freeman: Dios mio! These two are NOT wasting any time tonight!

Alfonso Banks: Well, after how heated things have been getting over the past few weeks, can you really BLAME them, JR? This is a blood feud if ever I've seen one!

(The commentators' words ring true, as Hawk and Cleo continue to just absolutely TEAR into each other! The pair continue trading blows, jockeying for dominant position in the lockup. It’s Mike who seems to make some progress first, manoeuvring Cleo into a side headlock and firing a fist into her forehead from this position. He then moves to follow up, but the champ recovers quickly and responds by just WHALING him across the chest with a stiff Knife-Edge Chop! This begets a “WOO!” from the crowd even though Ric Flair has never existed in this universe, so that reaction doesn’t make sense, and sends Mike reeling, but he soon steels his nerves, inhales sharply and blasts CLEO with a chop of his own in response! Cleo reels back then chops Mike again, then Mike returns in kind, then Cleo once again, each competitor receiving a “Boo!” or a “Yay!” when their respective chops connect. This exchange continues for a while, with neither taking the upper hand for a LONG moment, but when the tides finally DO turn it’s Mike who comes out on top, sending Cleo rocking with a Rolling Elbow. He follows it up immediately with ANOTHER one, then hits the ropes and comes running back for a Shoulder Tackle! Hawk looks actually, genuinely surprised when Phillips hits the mat, and in his surprise kind of freezes when attempting to think of a follow-up and just goes for a pinfall.)

ONE!

T-NO! Cleo kicks out, because of COURSE she does!

JR Freeman: Not even a two! I think that pinfall attempt might’ve been a little ambitious, Alf.

Alfonso Banks: Hey, I don’t know about YOU, JR, but personally? Ambition is something I WANT from my politicians!

JR Freeman: Oh, for the love of- he’s not even a REAL POLITICIAN!

Alfonso Banks: Which is EXACTLY what I love about him! GIVE HER HELL, MR. PRESIDENT!

(Hawk seems as unsurprised as everybody that his first fall attempt failed, just kind of shrugging at the camera and pulling a face.)

Mike Hawk: Eh, worth a try!

(He then grabs Cleo Phillips by the hair and starts to pull her to her feet, but the Champ nails Hawk in the gut with a couple of stiff punches, before following up with a Rolling Elbow of her own. This manages to double the challenger over, which allows Cleo to plant HIM to the mat with a Vertical Suplex! Cleo doesn’t seem content with just the one, however, as she holds onto Hawk’s shoulders, flipping herself around and standing back up to pull him into a SECOND Vertical Suplex! She repeats the same action one more time, completing the trifecta for a set of Three Amigos! She taps her chest and points up at the ceiling as she returns to her feet, netting a pop from the audience, then goes for a cover herself…)

ONE!

TWO!

TH-NO! Hawk powers out!

JR Freeman: Oh-hoh! Turnabout is fair play, it seems; a nice near-fall for the champion there!

Alfonso Banks: Well, you know what they say, JR; "all's fair in War and Peace".

JR Freeman: I’m pretty sure it’s “love and war”, Alf.

Alfonso Banks: YOU’RE love and war!

JR Freeman: I… what?

Alfonso Banks: Have I mentioned that I’m VERY stressed right now, JR?!

JR Freeman: Are you okay? Do you need a Tylenol?

(Alf audibly sighs.)

Alfonso Banks: I’m okay…

(Cleo reacts to the kickout with simply a shrug, then goes right back on the offensive as she and Hawk begin to return to their feet, hitting the ropes and getting a running start to nail Hawk in the chest with a Basement Dropkick as he’s sitting up, causing him to sprawl onto his back again. Cleo rolls with the momentum from the Dropkick as she hits the mat as well, managing to move fluidly through it into a Way We Go cartwheel knee-drop, eliciting a HUGE pop from the fans! She tries a quick cover again…)

ONE!

TWO!

NO! Hawk grabs the bottom rope!

(Mike Hawk pulls himself out of the ring, panting heavily as Cleo shakes her head, the fans voicing their loud and extremely-vocal appreciation for the champion and her display of raw athleticism.)

JR Freeman: WOW! What a sequence from Cleo Phillips - I don’t think I’ve EVER seen ANYONE chain moves together so fluidly!

Alfonso Banks: She moves with the grace of a well-muscled Gazelle who could crush my windpipe with its thighs, JR, and I am SO unbelievably here for it!

JR Freeman: And I SO unbelievably wish you hadn’t said those words in that order just now, partner, but here we are I guess!

(As Hawk recovers on the outside, Cleo Phillips just smirks, taking a moment to pose for the adoring crowd before she heads for the top rope. She waits for just a moment as Mike gets back to his feet, then LAUNCHES herself off the top towards him with a massive Diving Crossbody! The Champ kips up immediately as Hawk goes down again, pounding her chest and letting out a primal yell as she does for a HUGE pop from the crowd! Hawk’s insistence on falls-count-anywhere, no-disqualification rules come back to bite him now, as no count-out begins to save him from the champion. Cleo makes her way back over to the challenger, stamping roughly on his left arm and causing him to roll over to that side of his body, clutching the joint in pain. She then grabs the wrist and drags it through the audience barricade, climbing over the steel into the first row of the crowd.)

JR Freeman: Uh-oh… I don’t know where this is going, but it can’t be good!

Alfonso Banks: Do you think Hawk is regretting his request to make this match no-DQ right about now, JR?

JR Freeman: Absolutely, Alf, no question.

(Once on the other side of the barricade, Cleo grabs Mike’s arm again and SLAMS it against the steel of the barricade, causing the challenger to wince and yelp in pain. Cleo repeats the act again, before holding on this time and locking Hawk in the Lockup armbar through the steel ring barricade! Hawk writhes and thrashes, struggling against the submission attempt as some of the fans actually begin to boo Cleo for what could be perceived as an underhanded tactic.)

Alfonso Banks: Wow! The PWS faithful are NOT being shy about telling Cleo how they’re feeling tonight, are they? Could the crowd be turning on their faithful champion, JR?

JR Freeman: I don’t think they are, Alf, I think they’re just surprised to see this level of ferocity from her! I understand why, but you MUST have expected this after all that’s transpired between these two over these past weeks. Cleo’s ready to absolutely KILL Mike Hawk tonight, and vice-versa - this will be a grudge match for the ages!

Alfonso Banks: …I wish Cleo Phillips would kill MY c-

JR Freeman: ALF!

(As Hawk struggles valiantly against the hold, Cleo growls and wrenches on it further. The referee gets in Hawk’s face and asks audibly if he wants to submit.)

Mike Hawk: Abso-the fuck-lutely not!

(The ref shakes her head, indicating “no tap”. The crowd actually pops for Hawk a bit as he continues to struggle in the armbar, with Cleo grapevining the limb to increase pressure.)

Referee: Do you quit?

Mike Hawk: No! LITERALLY never!

(The ref just shakes her head again, an act which only seems to anger Cleo, who starts throwing a few stiff elbows into Hawk’s arm as well as she keeps the pressure. Hawk cries out again and grabs for any kind of a handhold, his free hand tangling in the hem of the referee’s pant leg.)

Referee: Mike, do you submit?

Mike Hawk: FUCK… OFF!

(To punctuate that huge explosion of vulgarity, Hawk ALSO whips himself around to fire a knee into Cleo Phillips’ back, now exposed thanks to her earlier grapevining. She answers with another elbow to his elbow, then Hawk responds in kind with another, EVEN STIFFER knee to the back, which causes Cleo to break the hold and grasp her lower back in pain! Hawk IMMEDIATELY rolls to safety, clutching his elbow and panting heavily, as the crowd provides a solidly split reaction for the pair.)

Meg Reynolds: TEN MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED!

(The two stay down for just a moment, and it’s - probably unsurprisingly - Cleo who manages to get to her feet first. She turns to size up Mike Hawk, stepping back over the barricade and dropping to a crouch as he gets back to his feet. Cleo begins to pound the barricade rhythmically, starting slow and gradually increasing in speed, and the fans begin to clap alongside her, egging the champion on.)

JR Freeman: Oh, Cleo's getting fired up here, I think we know what's coming now!

Alfonso Banks: We've seen this before, JR; look out, Mr. President!

(As the clapping reaches its crescendo, Cleo takes off and leaps into the air, looking to hit Mike Hawk with the Milly Rock - but Hawk catches her in mid-air and swings around with the momentum, Powerbombing the Body Snatcher into the ring step and causing them to detach from the turnbuckle! The fans pelt the President of Pro Wrestling with a mixture of hate and adulation, but Hawk simply smirks, shaking out his injured elbow as he makes his way towards the fallen champ. He lifts Cleo into a seated position against the detached ring steps, the World Champion clearly in no position to fight back, then slowly takes a few steps back… and runs forward for a Clean Up on Aisle YOUR FACE! The kick NAILS Cleo Phillips in the face and sends her sprawling to the floor, as well as sending the ring steps sliding to a stop in front of the announce table. Hawk covers Cleo, grinning his shit-eating grin…)

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

(The bell rings and Hawk leaps up to his feet, making a lap around the ring fist-pumping like a wildman as Meg Reynolds grabs the microphone.)

Meg Reynolds: Mike Hawk has scored one fall!

(The referee makes a motion to the Smarkstron, whereupon a graphic appears as she speaks.)

——————————————
FALLS:

MIKE HAWK - 1

CLEO PHILLIPS - 0
——————————————

JR Freeman: Dios Mio! The first fall goes to Hawk! Now, be honest, partner - did you actually expect that?

Alfonso Banks: YES! YEEEEEEESSSS! YOU CAN DO IT, MR. PRESIDENT! NOW YOU’VE JUST GOTTA RUN OUT THE CLOCK!

JR Freeman: You’re aware we still have like 50 minutes left in this one, right pal?

Alfonso Banks: …Killjoy.

(Meanwhile, Hawk has finished his incredibly-obnoxious victory lap and rolls Cleo Phillips back into the ring, apparently looking to score a SECOND fall in the early-going…)

ONE!

TWO!

TH-NO! This time Cleo gets a shoulder up!

(Hawk pounds the mat as if he truly believes he should’ve won that second fall, then gets in the referee’s face with a look of fury in his eyes. He raises a hand towards the official… then immediately cracks up, doubling over in a fit of laughter and clapping the referee gently on the shoulder.)

Mike Hawk: Oh man, you should’ve seen your FACE!

(As Hawk guffaws at his own antics, this gives Cleo Phillips time to recover, pulling herself to a vertical base using the ropes for support. She immediately moves to go on the offensive, stepping forward and whirling Hawk around to hit him with the New York Minute, but Mike manages to duck it and whip Cleo into the ropes instead, taking her down with a Snap Powerslam! He then fires a few stomps into her midsection, before grabbing Cleo’s arm and shouting “Let’s see how YOU like it!” and locking in an Armbar of his own! Cleo Phillips struggles to make her way towards the ropes, gritting her teeth and refusing to cry out within the hold, but Hawk has it locked in tightly, and he uses his weight advantage to pull her back towards the middle of the ring.)

JR Freeman: Cleo almost lost it there, she needs to get her head back in the game, before Hawk takes that title from her.

Alfonso Banks: … shut up… You don’t know that! I mean, no, that’s good! That’s what I… want? ARGH, this match is so confusing!

JR Freeman: Y’know, the offer for a Tylenol still stands.

Alfonso Banks: And I’ll still pass, thank you very much.

(Cleo continues to struggle in the hold, gritting her teeth and pulling herself slowly, labouriously, towards the ropes once more. She cries out in anger as much as in pain, throwing a few back elbows in Hawk’s direction as she continues to move, and the sustained assault eventually proves too much for the challenger, and Cleo Phillips reaches the ropes to force a break. The President of Pro Wrestling doesn’t let go immediately, keeping the hold locked in as the referee begins to count…)

1!

2!

3!

4!

(Just as the count reaches its end and it seems as if Hawk will lose one fall to disqualification, a buzzer sounds which startles the challenger and causes him to break the hold. He looks towards the source of the sound as Meg Reynolds grabs a microphone.)

Meg Reynolds: 20 MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED!

(The crowd pops at this announcement, while Hawk frowns and tilts his head, a puzzled expression crossing his face. Cleo simply nods, slowly getting back to her feet. The pair square off again and tie up in the centre of the ring, with Hawk attempting to use his size advantage to get his way, but Cleo manages to duck out of his grasp and roll behind him. Mike whirls around to face the Champion… and gets CLOCKED with an Enzuigiri! Hawk drops to one knee, shaking his head, clearly stunned by the attack, and Cleo takes a few steps back, sizing him up with her hands outstretched. She then runs forward and fires ANOTHER stiff kick into the side of Hawk’s head, sending him to the floor with a Mad Dash! Cleo goes for a cover…)

ONE!

TWO!

T-NO! HAWK POWERS OUT!

JR Freeman: Oh, what a move! I thought for SURE she had that!

Alfonso Banks: Absolutely not, JR! Hawk has this one on LOCK now; it’s basically a foregone conclusion, as long as he doesn’t get cocky!

JR Freeman: Oh, right, because Mike Hawk has NEEEEEEVER been known for being COCKY!

Alfonso Banks: …I mean, that’s FAIR, but ALSO have you considered shutting the hell up?

JR Freeman: I absolutely have not, partner, and I think you KNOW I never will.

Alfonso Banks: Well… a man can dream, can’t he?

(As these two bicker, back in the ring things are heating up, with Cleo smacking the mat in frustration as Hawk tries to shake off the two consecutive head kicks and regain his bearings. The champion shakes her head, getting back to her feet and pulling Hawk up with her. She whips Hawk into the corner, rearing back to hit a splash, getting all of it! She then pulls Hawk up and ties his legs onto the top of the turnbuckle, having him face downwards, in the Tree of Woe! Hawk screams, trying to get out of it, but before he can Cleo gets out of the ring and onto the apron, climbing up to the second rope and using her athleticism to HANG BACKWARDS, locking Hawk in a figure 4 leglock IN THE TREE OF WOE! Hawk desperately reaches for the ropes, and manages to get it, since of course he’s right fucking there, but Cleo holds on, holding the lock for as long as she can! The referee counts “1! 2! 3! 4!” but Cleo releases before 5.)

JR Freeman: Cleo’s willing to do anything it takes to win this match, even breaking the rules!

Alfonso Banks: She didn’t break the rules! It was perfectly acceptable to hold that for a count of 4! Just like she could hold ME for a-

JR Freeman: Don’t you dare finish that.

Alfonso Banks: …Count of 4.

JR Freeman: God dammit, Alf!

(Cleo shakes her head at Hawk, who falls into the ring while Cleo is out of it. She slides back in, getting on top of Hawk and delivering some punches, left and right. She ignores his pleas of “Ow; fuckin’ stop punching me!” and continues punching him as the crowd counts them down.)

“ONE!
TWO!
THREE!
FOUR!
FIVE!
SIX!
SEVEN!
EIGHT!
NINE!
TEN!”

(After the tenth punch, she gets off of him, grabbing Hawk by the shoulders and lifting him up, which turns out to be a problem for her, as he hits her in the gut WITH one shoulder, pulling her in for a ripcord lariat. Hawk takes a moment to catch his breath, smirking, sitting in the corner of the ring and crossing his legs, completely ignoring Cleo in favour of being a flippant dickhead.)

JR Freeman: That attitude’s gonna come back to bite him in a major way! He NEEDS to capitalize on this!

Alfonso Banks: It hasn’t so far! Besides, he’s one fall up already; Hawk’s got this in the BAG!

JR Freeman: “It hasn’t so far”? That’s like saying “I haven’t broken this stick by bending it yet!”

Alfonso Banks: Look, to be fair, I’ve bent a LOT of sticks in my time.

JR Freeman: …What does that even mean?

(Cleo slowly gets back up, Hawk mocking her by ACTIVELY YAWNING and pretending to check his non-existent watch as she does. The Champion just shakes her head at his antics, disappointed, before grabbing Hawk by the arms and pulling him up to face her. The pair lock up, vying for position, with Hawk attempting to use his weight advantage to bully Cleo into the corner, but she’s able to use her SPEED advantage to slip out of his grasp and slide through his legs, whirling him around in the confusion and NAILING him with a stiff kick to the midsection! Hawk doubles over and she grabs him, twisting sharply to hit the Set It Off! To make sure Hawk doesn’t get back up, she grabs BOTH legs while pinning his shoulders to the mat.)

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

JR Freeman: SET IT OFF! SET IT OFF! It’s an early one, but damn! Cleo Phillips gets a WELL-earned first fall!

Alfonso Banks: Hawk’s came first!

JR Freeman: True, if this were a one-fall match he would be the new world champion, but if his cocky attitude continues, this might be an easy win for Cleo!

Alfonso Banks: MIGHT, JR. MIGHT.

(The scores on the Smarkstron are updated, with the competitors now being even.)

——————————————
FALLS:

MIKE HAWK - 1

CLEO PHILLIPS - 1
——————————————

Meg Reynolds: 30 MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED!

(As the counter ticks over, Mike stands up and yells “Doesn’t Count!” but - of course- nobody listens. Instead, Cleo grabs him by the already-injured arm and tries to whip him into the ropes, but he reverses it halfway through, whipping HER into the ropes instead. He then hits her with a Clothesline in the corner to send her spilling out of the ring, and follows her outside right after. He grabs Cleo by the head and drags her over to the detached ring steps from earlier, and begins making worlds collide… if by “worlds” you mean “Cleo’s face and the rings steps”. He slams Cleo’s face against the steps once - twice - THREE times, then absolutely REEFS back on the last one to drive her VIOLENTLY into the exposed steel…but Cleo puts her hands on the steps to halt the momentum, elbowing Hawk in the gut repeatedly to get him to stop, which he does. Cleo then takes a moment to shake off the cobwebs, clearly woozy from taking a few hits to the head, during which time Hawk moves in to capitalize, since it does not take him nearly as long to recover. He grabs for Cleo again, climbing up the steps with her head clutched in his hands, looking to hit a DDT or Brainbuster onto the steel - but Cleo manages to reverse it, breaking Hawk’s grasp and jumping up to hit a Hurricanrana on the big man, sending him SAILING off the steel steps and back-first onto the ring apron!)

JR Freeman: Damn, that HAD to hurt! That’s the hardest part of the ring!

Alfonso Banks: The ring’s not the only thing that has a “hardest part” right now.

JR Freeman: Alf! Gross!

Alfonso Banks: …Too much?

JR Freeman: WAAAAAAAY too much.

Alfonso Banks: …I’m not gonna stop, JR.

(From here, the fans ERUPT with cheers once again as Cleo Phillips takes control of the match. She takes just a moment to regain her bearings, shaking off the cranial assault, then grabs Hawk by the scruff and lifts him onto the Spanish Announce table.)

JR Freeman: Oh no, I think Cleo Phillips might have something sinister in mind for Hawk here!

Alfonso Banks: My girl’s got a mean streak in her, and she said it herself; Hawk made things personal when he mocked her “I Stand with Star” speech. As far as I’M concerned, the bastard has it comin’!

(With Hawk laid out on the table, writhing in pain and clutching at his lower back, Cleo Phillips climbs up onto the ring apron and begins to ascend the FAR Turnbuckle from his position.)

JR Freeman: What the-?! What is she doing over THERE?

Alfonso Banks: Whatever it is, it CAN’T be good for HAWK! Come on, Mr. President, get up! I believe in you!

(Once Cleo reaches the top, the method to her madness is revealed, as she takes a moment to size up the distance between herself and Mike, then begins to SPRINT ALONG THE TOP ROPE towards him before leaping off for a DIVING SEATED SENTON THROUGH THE SPANISH ANNOUNCE TABLE!)

JR Freeman: OH DIOS MIO!

Alfonso Banks: HOLY SHITNUGGETS!

Giancarlo Fabrizio: SANTA MARIA!

(Cleo literally just falls backwards on top of Hawk’s body in the rubble of the announce table as the referee counts the pin.)

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!


(The ‘tron ticks one more Fall in Cleo’s favour, momentarily flashing on the screen as the number changes.)

——————————————
FALLS:

MIKE HAWK - 1

CLEO PHILLIPS - 2
——————————————

JR Freeman: My god, I don’t think I’ve EVER seen a move quite like that from Cleo Phillips!

Alfonso Banks: Me neither, JR! What the Hell even WAS that?!

JR Freeman: I’m getting word she’s calling it “From the Jump”, but I don’t know if or how often we’ll be seeing it again!

Alfonso Banks: Well I HOPE we see more of it, JR!

JR Freeman: Because it involves Cleo spreading her legs apart in mid-air?

Alfonso Banks: What? Ew, no! Because it looked COOL AS FUCK, JR, come on! I’m not a COMPLETELY one-note character. Yet…

(Recovering from Cleo’s second fall in a row, Hawk bangs on the mat a few times, amping himself up, even saying “Come on!” to himself as he slowly but surely stands to his feet, Cleo letting him do this as she clearly needs a breather as well. Once he’s up, Hawk is immediately on the offense again, running at Cleo and hitting a Lariat. He’s slightly unsteady on his feet, but he recovers from that fairly quickly. He shakes his head very quickly, slapping himself on both cheeks to pump himself up, before running at Cleo again, though she pulls the top rope down, sending Hawk tumbling to the outside. The champ takes a moment to recover, before stepping back a few steps and then LEAPING over the top rope, onto Hawk! She stands up, heading into the apron quickly, leaping off with a leg drop, before rolling the challenger into the ring. Once he’s stood back up, Cleo lines Hawk up, like a picky photographer, using both hands to “frame” him, before running full-force at him, looking for the Milly Rock, but Hawk counters with an outta-nowhere FYIA! He smirks, going for the pin!)

ONE!

TWO!

THR- No! Cleo grabs the bottom rope!

(Hawk looks understandably annoyed at this, and tells the referee exactly what he thinks. While he’s getting in the ref’s face, Cleo comes to, slowly starting to get up, with heavy assistance from the ropes at first. She shakes her head at Mike, mouthing “Nice Try!” before heading up to the top rope for a Springboard Crossbody, but he catches her and turns it into a powerslam! With the champion downed, Hawk finally starts to get some good momentum going again! He walks over to Cleo, looking for a crossface, and manages to get it locked in! Cleo struggles, the ropes so utterly close and yet JUST out of reach! But Cleo, being the tenacious wrestler she is, doesn’t give up. She reaches out with all her might, crawling across the ground, even dragging the much heavier Hawk with her as she does, and she just barely manages to grab the ropes, thus initiating a rope break! The referee counts, “One! Two! Three!” and Hawk breaks the hold, with a “Fair enough”.)

JR Freeman: Y’know, Hawk’s surprisingly been impressing me in this match! I notice he’s been less cartoony than in previous bouts we’ve seen him in, even title bouts!

Alfonso Banks: I think the difference is obvious!

JR Freeman: He just wants it more?

Alfonso Banks: …I was going to say “You’re horribly unobservant”, but sure, let’s go with that instead.

(Hawk comedically yawns, waiting for Cleo to get up, even nudging her at one point.)

Mike Hawk: Hey! Are you awake?

(He mimes checking his watch again, and this time she responds by slapping him across the face. Mike shrugs.)

Mike Hawk: I’ll take that as a yes!

(He grins, then, before picking her up and whipping her into the turnbuckle. He charges towards her, but she leaps over his back and lands behind him! Hawk, confused by what just happened, looks around for Cleo, then turns around to be met with a dropkick into said turnbuckle! Hawk slumps over, before pulling himself up on the second rope and standing up again. He runs at Cleo, and Cleo runs at him. As the two collide, Cleo gets a knee up, finally hitting the kick she had countered before.)

Alfonso Banks: MILLY ROCK! NO, DAMMIT!

JR Freeman: Cleo has this one in the bag!

(She pins Mike, as the referee counts again.)

ONE!

TWO!

…

THREE!

Meg Reynolds: 40 MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED!

(The ‘Tron ticks up one more in favour of the champion.)

——————————————
FALLS:

MIKE HAWK - 1

CLEO PHILLIPS - 3
——————————————

(Now very annoyed, Hawk decides audibly “Fuck this!” and rolls out of the ring, looking underneath it for weapons. He finds a Kendo stick and decides that’ll do, sliding back into the ring and swinging it full-force at Cleo Phillips several times! Cleo falls to the mat and Hawk continues the assault, before throwing the stick out of the ring.)

Mike Hawk: Thanks for your help, inanimate piece of wood!

(Once it’s out of the ring, Hawk grabs one of Cleo’s legs, looking for Reckless Leg Syndrome! After a moment of uncertainty, with Cleo fighting valiantly against it and struggling to reach the ropes before he can lock it in but failing because of Hawk’s size and weight advantage, he manages to lock it in!)

JR Freeman: This is HUGE! If Hawk can get Cleo to tap out, he’ll only need one more fall to tie them up!

Alfonso Banks: Thanks, JR! I, too, can do BASIC MATH.

JR Freeman: Well, forgive me for making things more entertaining for the fans!

Alfonso Banks: Y’know they can count too, right?

JR Freeman: I don’t know why I even bother talking some days.

Alfonso Banks: That’s a very good question. You shouldn’t! It’d make these shows a lot more tolerable.

(Cleo squirms around on the mat, but Hawk is in the center of the ring. He wrenches HARD on the hold, shouting loud enough for the cameras to pick it up…)

Mike Hawk: Tap, damn you!

(...but Cleo’s filled with determination. She grits her teeth, shakes her head and reaches out, hoping to grab the ropes, but nothing comes of it; Hawk EASILY walks her back to the centre of the ring, his own cockiness being put on-hold for the time being in favour of pure fighting spiritl. She tries again, the fans starting to clap and chant to try to inspire her, but she just can’t reach - her fingertips BARELY brush the bottom rope before Hawk pulls her back again! Eventually, after a LOT of effort has been expended through struggling, Cleo manages to contort her body just enough to get one leg out of the hold, kicking Mike in the face with it! He holds on for dear life, refusing to let go of what is now basically a Single-Leg Crab, but Cleo just kicks him again and AGAIN, and after three or four he finally relents. Cleo clutches her other leg in pain, while Hawk, whose demeanour has noticeably changed, doesn’t give her a moment’s rest. Lifting her up, Hawk puts Cleo onto the turnbuckle, then lifts her into a reverse torture rack position, clearly looking once again for the F-Bomb, but Cleo realizes what’s happening and starts elbowing Hawk in the side of the head! She does this enough times that Hawk is forced to put her down, but Cleo is absolutely still not quite ready to get back into the fight. When she tries to stand, one of her legs collapses from underneath her, bringing her to one knee. Mike takes this advantage and makes full use of it, lifting Cleo for a powerbomb, but taking it one step further, walking over to the nearest turnbuckle and hitting the move into it! He goes for the cover.)

ONE!

TWO!

…NO, a kick-out from the champion!

Mike Hawk: Oh, for fuck’s sake!

(The President of Pro Wrestling scoffs, staying down near the mat and grabbing Cleo’s arm, wrenching on it, even making it a grapevine armbar! Cleo manages to just wave her hand below the bottom rope, which is enough for a rope break, but Hawk does give one final, HARD wrench before letting go this time. He lifts Cleo up by the hair, hitting a European Uppercut, which he’s allowed to do even though he’s not European because the show’s in Europe. However, once that’s finished, before he can do another one, Cleo hits Hawk with her elbow a few times in a row. After that, she runs to the ropes, doing a springboard into a Lou Thesz Press, knocking Hawk to the mat, whereupon she lays in with some hits. She smirks, picking Hawk up and throwing him haphazardly into the corner. Running to the other side of the ring, she runs at Hawk looking for another Milly Rock, but Hawk moves, sending Cleo slamming her knee into the turnbuckle!)

JR Freeman: Ooh, that’s gotta hurt!

Alfonso Banks: Ow! Ow ow ow, I hope she’s okay!

(Hawk capitalizes IMMEDIATELY on this error, running over to her and lifting her onto the turnbuckle as he ascends it himself, before leaping off and hitting the CTEmergency! Hawk moves to cover Cleo once again, but before he does that, a wicked, Grinch-like grin flits across the challenger’s face. He glances to the outside of the ring, particularly at the steel ring steps still lying on the floor in front of the wreckage of poor Giancarlo Fabrizio and Esteban Cortez’s Spanish Announce Table. Hawk’s grin only widens as he lifts Cleo up AGAIN and begins to ascend the turnbuckle, refusing to take his eyes off of the steps the entire time.)

JR Freeman: Oh no, oh GOD no, I have an inkling where this is headed and I do NOT like it one bit!

Alfonso Banks: Oh fuck… oh shit… oh Goddamnasaurus Rex, no! Not my precious Cleo!

(Having reached the top rope, Hawk lifts Cleo into Vertical Suplex position and just holds her there for a moment, long enough to shout…)

Mike Hawk: I fucking SAID…!

(And then LEAPS off the top rope, nailing Cleo with a SECOND CTEmergency onto the steel ring steps!)

JR Freeman: DIOS MIO!

Alfonso Banks: HOLY SHITNUGGETS!

Giancarlo Fabrizio: SANTA MARIA!

(Both competitors collapse to the floor, Hawk nailing his own lower back on the steps in the course of the move, but he still manages to pin the champion again, After dropping The Body Snatcher on her head for a second time!)

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

Meg Reynolds: 50 MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED!

(The timer on the ‘tron ticks up once more in favour of the challenger!)

——————————————
FALLS:

MIKE HAWK - 2

CLEO PHILLIPS - 3
——————————————

Alfonso Banks: So, that was awful and I’m terrified for Cleo Phillips, but I’d also like to say YES! One more fall for Hawk! He’s making up the difference, slowly but surely - just like I KNEW he would!

JR Freeman: …Alf, you know you can’t just claim you knew something would happen AFTER it’s already happened, don’t you?

Alfonso Banks: I KNEW you’d say that!

(Hawk himself seems positively over the moon, his expression breaking into a grin as he laughs wildly to himself, still writhing on the ground and grasping at his lower back. He glances up at the clock, then, and nods, furrowing his brows in determination.)

Mike Hawk: Okay. Okay, I can do this. I’ve still got a shot!

(Hawk smacks himself in the face a few times - swiftly, like a professional fighter, not in an effusive or exaggerated way. He makes his way back up to a kneeling position, panting heavily, clearly feeling a little gassed after such a long and gruelling match thus far. He inhales sharply, though, and murmurs something inaudible to himself before standing up with a cry of great pain, which becomes a primal yell of “LET’S FUCKING GOOOOO!” and causes the audience to give him an unexpectedly large pop.)

JR Freeman: Hawk appears to be psyching himself up, Alf.

Alfonso Banks: Absolutely! He’s getting ready to turn this one around, JR!

JR Freeman: Not to burst your bubble OR his, Alf, but in order to DO that he’ll have to score two falls in ten minutes. Do you think he can manage that?

Alfonso Banks: If ANYONE could…

(Hawk continues to play to the crowd now, actually trying to win them over for the first time in his career, and once they’re sufficiently aflame he returns to the fallen form of Cleo Phillips, who is just now starting to stir after the two consecutive Brainbusters she took earlier. He grabs Cleo by her hair and extricates her from the dented, crumpled ring steps, rolling her limp frame back into the ring and following suit himself. Once they’re in the ring, he takes another moment to breathe, leaning against the ropes, which gives Cleo a bit of time to recover as well. Hawk grins and moves forward as soon as she starts to stir to nip it in the bud, lifting Cleo by one arm and whipping her into the far corner. He then follows her again and nails her with a HUGE Stinger Splash, after which he lifts Cleo’s body and sets her on top of the turnbuckle, allowing her to kind of drape down onto his shoulders in Inverted Torture-Rack Position.)

JR Freeman: Oh, oh, here it comes! Hawk’s setting up for the F-Bomb again!

Alfonso Banks: YES! This could be it, JR; exactly what he needs for two falls in ten minutes!

JR Freeman: You’re absolutely right, Alf; the F-Bomb is an OBSCENELY effective manoeuvre; not a single person has kicked out of it yet!

(Things look seriously dire for Cleo Phillips, and the crowd may respect Hawk now, but they still LOVE their champion, so there’s still a SPLIT reaction for the ominous spot! Hawk grins a wicked grin and moves to walk Cleo to the middle of the ring, looking to nail her with the F-Bomb… but the barley-conscious World Champ EARNS her status at the top by having the wherewithal to grab the top rope with both hands, halting Hawk’s momentum entirely. He frowns deeply, brow creasing, and tries to tug the Champ’s hand free, but her grip only tightens in response, and she categorically REFUSES to move! Hawk sighs an audible, frustrated sigh.)

Mike Hawk: Alright, FINE then.

(With a powerful shrug, he heaves Cleo up and over the top rope with a modified Gorilla Press, sending her sprawling once again to the concrete below… but the Champion manages to hang onto the top rope, skinning the cat and drawing on every ounce of strength she has remaining to flip herself BACK into the ring, kicking Hawk in the head on the downswing as she does! This sends the challenger reeling backwards, and allows Cleo a moment to breathe, whereupon she gets a cocky, playful smirk across her face. As Mike comes back towards her, Cleo leaps into the air and nails Hawk with his OWN finisher, the Fuck You, I’m Awesome!)

JR Freeman: FYIA! Fuck You, I’m Awesome! Cleo’s just turned Mike Hawk’s favourite move around on him!

Alfonso Banks: Oh, sure, NOW you say the full move name!

JR Freeman: What can I say, Alf? We’re on Pay-Per-View!

(Back in the ring, Cleo goes for a cover…)

ONE!

TWO!

T-NO! HAWK POWERS OUT!

(Hawk practically THROWS Cleo Phillips’ body off of his own as he escapes from the pinning predicament, the look on his face betraying EVERYTHING a viewer would need to know to adequately estimate PRECISELY how livid having his own finishing move used against him as made the man! He pounds the mat with two fists, sits BOLT upright like the Undertaker if he existed in this universe, and glares DAGGERS through Cleo who simply smirks right back at him, pulling herself to a seated position in the corner, proffering a little shrug and a wink in Hawk’s direction for his troubles.)

Cleo Phillips: Eh, worth a try!

(With this cheeky little declaration, mirroring Hawk’s words from the beginning of the match, the two competitors both rise from their seated positions simultaneously and LUNGE for one another, beginning to trade STIFF knife-edge chops that each seem to take just as much out of the deliverer as the recipient. It’s Mike who ends up taking the advantage in this exchange, as he just tenses his muscles, puffs out his chest and tanks as many rapid chops as Cleo can give him, not unlike a Japanese Old Lion. The crowd pops for this display of endurance as well, then their cheers become laughter as Hawk waits until the precise SECOND Cleo turns around to clutch his chest in pain, doubling over with a cartoonish pained expression. As Cleo Phillips turns back to face him, however, Hawk just grins and ducks underneath her attempted Roaring Elbow, instead nailing her with a VICIOUS Snap Powerslam that takes the champion to the mat! He doesn’t seem content to stop there, however, as he lifts Cleo up for ANOTHER Powerslam, and then ANOTHER, and one more for good measure, the final one ending with that same primal yell he’d let out after gaining his second fall. The Champion writhes around on the mat as Mike Hawk slides out of the ring to grab a steel chair! He slides BACK into the ring almost immediately, laying the chair gently on the mat just above where Cleo’s head is currently laying, and then he drops once again to all fours and waits, glaring holes through Cleo Phillips as he does. She slowly, but surely, begins to stir, using the ropes to bring her to a vertical base and wobbling a bit on her feet even after the fact. This is when Hawk pounces, leaping up and NAILING her with ANOTHER FYIA, this time planting Cleo’s already-bloodied face DIRECTLY onto the folded steel chair!)

Mike Hawk: THIS is how you do that, sweetie!

JR Freeman: FYIA! Now MIKE hits the “Fuck You, I’m Awesome!” of his own! But CAN he capitalize?

Alfonso Banks: He’d damn well BETTER! I’ve got so much riding on this now, I need ONE of them to win it, for fuck’s sake! It feels like this show’s been going on for 11 goddamn days already!

(Hawk hooks BOTH legs…)


ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

Meg Reynolds: SIXTY MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED!

(The crowd goes BALLISTIC as the timer draws to a close, the timekeeper’s bell ringing one final time as the now-familiar Falls graphic displays once again on the Smarkstron.)


——————————————
FALLS:

MIKE HAWK - 3

CLEO PHILLIPS - 3
——————————————


Alfonso Banks: It’s a TIE?! LAME! What the Hell does this even MEAN, JR? Are we gonna have co-champions?

JR Freeman: I don’t know, Alf! I’ve never seen anything LIKE this before - this match was INCREDIBLE!

(Hawk and Cleo slowly crawl back to their corners, separated once again by the referee, who looks towards the timekeeper’s table for guidance. Josiah Cena has made his way down to ringside at this point without any theme music or fanfare, and he’s whispering something to Meg Reynolds who just nods, standing up and grabbing a microphone to make her proclamation.)

Meg Reynolds: Ladies and gentlemen, PWS: Apex Management have ruled that this match will now extend to SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME - the competitors will be allotted five more minutes, and the first wrestler to score a pinfall in that time WILL be victorious!

(The fans ERUPT with thunderous applause at this announcement, commencing the ever-popular “FIVE MORE MIN-UTES!” and “FIGHT FOR-E-VER!” chants, as the competitors’ eyes widen. Hawk lets out a breathless, kind of desperate laugh as Cleo just shakes her head in disbelief that she’s going to be asked to wrestle LONGER after the gruelling match they’ve already undertaken, but she eventually exhales and just nods, her expression shifting to one of sheer determination.)

Cleo Phillips: Okay… okay, let’s do this!

(Cleo pulls herself up using the ropes, letting out a cry of effort as she does, and Hawk manages to do the same, the duo moving slowly out of their respective corners to lock up once more in the middle of the ring. Both individuals look absolutely GASSED by this point, breathing heavily and covered in their own sweat and blood, but neither is about to back down, trading stiff punches as they try to gain their bearings. Cleo throws a punch at Hawk first, collapsing against her challenger’s chest after it connects, and Hawk responds in kind with an elbow strike against her jaw, which seems to take the wind out of HIM as well. The blows do not get faster but they DO grow more intense as each competitor looks up at the ticking timer, counting down the seconds until they could be the champion. Hawk throws a punch.)

Crowd: BOO!

(Cleo throws a punch.)

Crowd:YAY!

(Hawk throws a punch.)

Crowd: BOO!

(Cleo throws a punch.)

Crowd: YAY!

(Things continue in this manner for some time, with the punches becoming elbows and the elbows becoming headbutts. Finally, after three or four headbutts back-and-forth, the two competitors have left themselves completely exhausted, and Hawk manages to rear back and hit a sort of weird combination haymaker/Clothesline that connects with Cleo’s collarbone and drops her and Mike BOTH to their knees, fully leaning against each other to remain upright. The battle continues from this position, with the pair trading blows, but it’s Cleo Phillips who manages to get her second wind first, grabbing Hawk by the hair and rearing back for a HUGE headbutt to the challenger! Hawk reels backwards, then goes to answer with a headbutt of his own, but only eats ANOTHER headbutt for his troubles, as Cleo begins to fight her way back to a vertical base. She follows this up with a stiff knee to the gut, still keeping a tight grip on Mike’s hair as he doubles over, and she then pulls his head into position for the Set it Off.)

JR Freeman: Oh, Cleo’s looking for the Set it Off! This could be it!

Alfonso Banks: NO! YES! M-maybe?! FUCK, JR, I just don’t know what to do! I HATE this!

(Cleo holds onto her opponent tightly and tries to spin out to start her finisher, but Hawk is able to twist out of it and shove Cleo against the ropes, catching her and hoisting her up onto his shoulders on the rebound, looking for the F-Bomb.)

JR Freeman: Oh no, I don’t like this! The Champ is in trouble here!

Alfonso Banks: YES! FINISH HER, MIKE! But, like, also, NO! NOT CLEO! Oh GOD, JR, I think I’m gonna need SO many edibles to deal with this when we go off the air tonight!

(The crowd pelts Hawk with all varieties of passion as he carries Cleo on his shoulders into the middle of the ring, gritting his teeth in a sheer display of will to FINALLY hit his uber-finisher… but the Champion seems to realize what kind of trouble she’s in, and starts immediately pelting Hawk in the back of the head with elbows, thrashing her body wildly to break free of the hold. She manages to do it, landing back on her feet and immediately spinning around to clock the challenger with the New York Minute! Hawk stumbles backwards into the ropes as a result of this, and as he does Cleo rushes forward, nailing him with the MILLY ROCK!)

JR Freeman: MILLY ROCK! MILLY ROCK! THIS HAS GOT TO BE IT!

(Cleo covers.)

ONE!

TWO!

THRE-NO! HAWK SOMEHOW GETS A SHOULDER UP AT 2.9!

JR Freeman: WHAT?! Dios Mio, I thought for SURE this one was over!

Alfonso Banks: Haha, hot DAMN! You’re still in this, Mr. President! Give her Hell for me!

JR Freeman: Finally chosen a side, Alf?

Alfonso Banks: Absolutely not, I’m just trying SUPER hard not to think about it!

(As Alf’s head threatens to implode, we cut back to the ring to an exhausted Cleo Phillips, shaking her head in utter disbelief as she pants heavily, sweat dripping onto the mat. She glances up at the clock, which now displays that only 4:00 remain in this Sudden Death Overtime, and the literal ticking timer seems to galvanize the Champ, who punches the mat to the tune of the “Terminator” theme as she slowly rises to her feet. The fans begin to clap following the same rhythm, as Cleo Phillips finally reaches her feet and scoops up the panting, exhausted Mike Hawk, looking for the Set it Off again! Hawk tries valiantly to throw a few fists into her midsection to fight it off, but he just doesn’t have the energy, and Cleo throws one leg out from under her and somersaults, PLANTING Hawk’s head into the mat!)

JR Freeman: SET IT OFF! SET IT OFF! This one is OVER!

Alfonso Banks: Don’t count Hawk out just YET, JR!

(Indeed, after pulling off her second finisher, it seems Cleo’s energy reserves are just about exhausted, and she collapses NEXT to Mike but can’t manage to drape an arm across his chest. She summons all of her immense willpower to throw her body sideways, causing one arm to drape loosely across her challenger’s chest, and the referee counts again…)

ONE!

TWO!

THREENO! Hawk SOMEHOW, just BARELY manages to get one shoulder up!

JR Freeman: My god, I can’t BELIEVE he just kicked out of that!

Alfonso Banks: It almost seemed more like INSTINCT at this point, JR! Hawk’s BODY ITSELF won’t allow him to lose this match!

(Slowly, sluggishly, the two both return to their feet. Cleo is technically up first, although there’s such a minimal difference between the two that it scarcely matters, and they lock up once again, looking perhaps for a moment of respite in this arduous ordeal. It does not last long, however, as Hawk begins to take an advantage, pulling Cleo Phillips into a side headlock that he transitions into a running Bulldog! As soon as she hits the mat, he drops to all fours, just STARING at Cleo with a WILD, intense glint in his eyes, not unlike a predator sizing up their prey! He balances on practically just his fingertips and toes as he watches the Body Snatcher rise slowly to her feet.)

JR Freeman: Uh-oh, I don’t like this… we’ve seen this look from Hawk before! Could it be he’s looking for the FYIA?

Alfonso Banks: Say its full name, you coward!

JR Freeman: No. Absolutely not.

Alfonso Banks: Oh, COME ON, JR! We’re on PAY-PER-VIEW!

JR Freeman: …Alright, MAYBE if he hits it. Maybe.

(Fortunately, we needn’t wait long to find out if he will, as the INSTANT Cleo’s vertical again, Hawk POUNCES like a leopard looking for his elevated cutter… but the Champ manages to push HIM forward into the ropes now, catching Hawk on the rebound for an ASTOUNDING snap German Suplex! The crowd applauds this action with a chant of “THIS IS AWE-SOME!” *clap clap clapclapclap* and Cleo Phillips simply nods, taking a moment to catch her breath, then returns to her feet and grabs Mike Hawk by the hair again, clearly looking for another Set it Off… but Cleo doesn’t seem content with just the STANDARD move this time, as she casts a sidelong glance towards the corner. The crowd seems to understand her intentions and their cheering only grows more raucous, as Cleo slowly drags Hawk into the corner and ascends the bottom rope… then the middle… and finally all the way to the top, keeping hold of her opponent’s hair all the while. She thrusts Hawk’s head under her arm, looking for the Set it Off FROM THE TOP! The fans’ reaction becomes THUNDEROUS, threatening literal physical damage to the building as Cleo twists… but Mike suddenly snaps up, spinning himself around in mid-air to catch Cleo for a TOP-ROPE FYIA!)

JR Freeman: DIOS MIO!

Alfonso Banks: HOLY SHITNUGGETS!

Giancarlo Fabrizio: SANTA MARIA!

(This incredible display leaves BOTH parties equally devastated, and the two competitors remain downed for quite a long time, breathing heavily as the Sudden Death timer inches ever closer to the one-minute mark. The referee takes time to check on each one individually, ensuring they’re both still responsive, and then begins to count them both out.)

1…

(Nothing. The crowd begins a slow clap as the pair lie on the mat.)

2…

(They both begin to stir, with Hawk managing to roll over and DRAG himself towards Cleo Phillips.)

3…

(The slow clap grows in intensity, becoming both faster AND louder as Hawk makes his way ever-closer to the Champion.)

4…

(Cleo’s starting to awaken now as well, but she hasn’t regained NEARLY enough wherewithal to mount any kind of counterattack, as Hawk lays across her chest…)

ONE!

TWO!

THRENO! Cleo SOMEHOW manages a kickout!

JR Freeman: Dios Mio! I cannot BELIEVE the tenacity on display here, Alf! Neither the challenger NOR the Champion seem willing to give up! They’ve already survived SO MUCH punishment!

Alfonso Banks: Look, JR, we’ve seen Cleo Phillips get THROWN OFF A ROOF to lose a PWS: Apex title match; I think we should KNOW by now that nothing short of ragnarok will stop her!

(Mike Hawk’s face is a mask of incredulity, rage and abject disappointment, his mouth hanging agape at witnessing Cleo Phillips’ kickout. He shakes his head as the gamut of emotions runs across his face, from disbelief to desperation before settling on sheer, unbridled determination. He punches the mat furiously, standing back up and GLARING towards the Smarkstron to check the Sudden Death Timer.)

01:30

(This short time-limit simply enrages Hawk further as he grabs Cleo Phillips and lifts her back to a vertical base. The Champion begins to mount a counterattack, though, firing stiff rights and lefts into his vulnerable midsection. This DOES manage to double Hawk over again, and Cleo goes for another Set it Off, but Mike manages to swing through and use the momentum to lift her onto his shoulders in position for the F-Bomb. Cleo thrashes and chops at his neck and chest, though, causing him to drop her, and grabs Hawk’s head for the Set it Off AGAIN! The Challenger battles back, though, grabbing Cleo’s arm and twisting, hoisting her up onto his shoulders AGAIN!)

JR Freeman: Such a back-and-forth! If these two keep jockeying for position, we may REALLY end Crusade in a tie!

Alfonso Banks: Honestly, fam? That would be SUCH a load off my shoulders, I’m actually kinda HOPING for it.

JR Freeman: …Did you just call me “fam”?

(This odd sort of balletic exchange continues, with Cleo managing to slip out of Hawk’s F-Bomb attempt once MORE and actually Dropkick him into the turnbuckle this time! Cleo grabs the President of Pro-Wrestling and bends him over BACKWARDS, making her way towards the top rope and looking for an INVERTED version of the Set it Off!)

JR Freeman: Uh-oh, Hawk’s in trouble here…

(It certainly seems that way, as Cleo ascends the ropes preparing for the uber-move… but Hawk manages to fight back, slipping out of the Champion’s grasp and PLANTING her with a Backdrop Suplex, freeing himself from being stuck between her and the corner! Hawk then approaches Cleo’s fallen body and fully DEADLIFTS her onto his shoulders, finally looking to end this. He carries her on his shoulders into the centre of the ring, preparing for the F-Bomb, but a combination of fatigue and the damage he sustained previously to his arm and from that Tree of Woe Figure Four causes his knee to give way, sending the challenger buckling under the champion’s weight and almost causing him to drop her.)

JR Freeman: Hawk’s trying SO HARD for the F-Bomb, but I just don’t know if he can do it! It looks like he’s taken just too much punishment tonight, Alf!

Alfonso Banks: You may be right, JR! I hate to say it, but I think Cleo Phillips is going home with the gold! DAMN IT! And to think I VOTED for this asshole…

JR Freeman: H-how did you…? Y’know what? Never mind.

(For all the speculation, however, Hawk manages to KEEP the Body Snatcher on his shoulders, and holds her there in that position, on one knee, as the crowd begins a rising clap and a chant of “HAWK! HAWK! HAWK! HAWK! HAWK!”, which seems to visibly inspire him. The hard-cam closes in on Mike Hawk’s face, as his despair becomes determination, his brow furrowing and lips pursing. He inhales sharply and speaks, audibly, for the camera.)

Mike Hawk: No. NO! I need this. I NEED this!

(With a cry of effort and a Herculean push, Hawk LIFTS himself back up to his feet, taking a few steps towards the middle of the ring before he leaps into the air, finally managing to plant Cleo Phillips with the F-BOMB!)

JR Freeman: F-BOMB! MIKE HAWKS DROPS THE F-BOMB!

Alfonso Banks: HOLY SHIT! Has he actually, finally done it?!

(Hawk collapses to the mat, his breath ragged, physically exhausted from this LONG and GRUELLING contest, but with the last IOTA of his strength he’s able to drape himself over Cleo’s body…)

ONE!

TWO!

THREE! HE’S DONE IT!

(The timekeeper’s bell rings one final time as the Sudden Death buzzer sounds, and the Falls graphic appears on the screen once more.)

——————————————
FALLS:

MIKE HAWK - 4

CLEO PHILLIPS - 3
——————————————

(Meg Reynolds stands up again, grabbing a microphone...)

Meg Reynolds: Here is your winner AAAAAAAAAAAAND NEW PWS: APEX WOOOOOORLD CHAMPION; “THE PRESIDENT OF PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING”, MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE HAWK!

(The pro-Hawk portion of the crowd EXPLODES as the Superman Theme starts up again, whilst Hawk himself just looks kind of incredulous. The referee moves in to hand Michael his title belt and he looks up at the screen, then down at the belt, then up at the screen, then down at the belt again, his mouth hanging AGAPE as he takes it from the referee. Hawk slowly - gingerly, favouring one leg - stands himself back up, his eyes GLUED to the title in his hands as if he still can’t quite believe he’s holding it. There are still a not-inconsiderable number of fans pelting the ring with boos, even now as the confetti cannons go off and bathe the new champion in festive colours, but everyone in the audience has absolutely learned respect for their new champion.)

JR Freeman: Well I’ll be damned, Alf; he actually pulled it off! For better or worse, through Hell and High Water, Mike Hawk is the PWS: Apex World Champion!

Alfonso Banks: …JR?

JR Freeman: Yes, pal?

(Alf is visibly and audibly tearing up, now, and we cut to the announce table just long enough to see him standing tall, chest puffed out and proudly saluting the man stood in the ring.)

Alfonso Banks: I fuckin’ love you, man. Merry Christmas. God bless America!

JR Freeman: …He’s Canadian, bud.

Alfonso Banks: You’re goddamn right he is! Amen!


WINNER - Mike Hawk


(Cutting back to the ring, it seems the shock of his victory has begun wearing off, as Hawk hoists the title proudly in the air, the referee raising his hand and motioning to indicate him as the winner of the match. Cleo Phillips, currently being seen to by on-site support staff with ice packs and a frenzied, ranting Z-Money holding far too many bottles of water, waves all of them away and pulls herself to a standing position. The music cuts for a single tense moment as she limps over to Hawk, her eyes locked on his, and the two stand nose-to-nose for one more minute.)

JR Freeman: Ope, could be trouble here…

Alfonso Banks: Don’t tell me the former champ is a sore loser!

(Hawk puffs out his chest and doesn’t back down from Cleo Phillips, holding the belt up between them as the pair stand face-to-face, sparks crackling between them once again… before Cleo breaks into a grin, takes a step back and offers him her hand. Hawk’s lips curl into a smirk as he accepts the offered handshake, flipping his brand new title belt over his left shoulder, and then Cleo pulls him close to mouth “Make me proud” before raising the new Champ’s hand to a solid pop from the capacity crowd!)

JR Freeman: Well, folks, you may call it a Christmas miracle, but I just call it further proof that anything and EVERYTHING can happen in PWS: Apex! We’ve had one HELL of a night with you all here; on behalf of everyone behind the scenes I’d like to thank you for once again inviting us into your homes and, from myself, my partner Alf, and ALL of us here at PWS: Apex, wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a PHENOMENAL New Year! Goodnight everybody!

Alfonso Banks: *Still crying* God bless us, everyone!