chirs3

"And we come to main event time here on Lockdown, as the World Tag Team Championships are put up for grabs on this, the first available opportunity since this match was finalised. With Michael Stephens holding three titles, it's a juggling game for our esteemed head honcho Joseph Peters to get all the contenders all the shots and keep everyone happy. But finally, it's the Tag Titles' time. And it's time for The Predators, Jay Hawke and Nighthawk to receive their title shot." "Wait... Hawke and Hawk. The Predators." muses King, as if coming to a sudden realisation. "Oooohhhh! Hehe. I get jokes!" "Evidently. A big chance for Jay Hawke here, on the run-in to his shot at Michael Stephens' World Title on November 30th, to get a one-up on the Champ and to take one of his belts in the process." "And how I hope he does." King butts in, not impartial in the least. And proud of it. "Not just because of my strong loathing of both of the Champions you understand, oh no. But because it'd be nice to see a belt around someone else's waist, besides that quasi-heterosexual spot monkey for a change. Holding three belts at once, it just seems... greedy." "Maybe he should give his Cruiserweight Title to Landon. Would that placate you?" "Oh God no! I meant around the waist of someone good!" "Of course." The typical pre-match banter is brought to end by the dimming of the lights in the Arco Arena. Apparantly the sale of those SWF programmes has been good tonight as the crowd boo right from the off, even before "Learning To Fly" by Pink Floyd begins to play. Lightning strikes hit the top of the stage before the robed Jay Hawke and his larger partner Nighthawk, with manageress Falcon, step into the spotlight which follows them down to the ring. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your main event of SWF Lockdown, scheduled for one fall and for the SWF World Tag Team Championships!" booms Funyon in a typically overstated way. "Introducing first, coming down the aisle are the challengers. Accompanied to the ring by FALCON. At a total combined weight of five hundred and fifteen pounds... they are the team of NIGHTHAWK and "THE DEAN OF PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING" JAY HAWKE... TTHHHHEEE PPRRRRREEEEDDAAAAATTOOOORRRRSSSS!!!" "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" "Now here's a real team." announces King. "Two contrasting but complimentary styles, vast team experience, veterans of the game. Would you not be proud to call these men Tag Team Champions, Mak?" "Well, sure." Mak replies, wondering why he's being rounded on. "Probably not as proud as you, but still. I'm sure The Predators would make fine Tag Team Champions." Hawke hands off his robe to the ring attendant while Nighthawk stands in centre ring, surveying the crowd. In enters Hawke and he gives his partner an encouraging pat on the back efore going through some pre-match stretches in his team's corner. "Woo - ooaahh woo - ooaahh! Woo - ooaahh woo - ooaahh! Vengabus is back in town" "What the he - " "Boom Boom Boom" by The Vengaboys pumps through the arena and like any human beings alive, the crowd can't help but bop and jive along. Apparantly Michael Stephens is unlike any other human being though as he trudges through the curtains, glaring up at the arena's speakers and shaking his head. Amy Stephens doesn't seem enamoured with the selection of theme music either, but at least one half of the foursome is, as Landon Maddix and Megan Skye follow out with beaming smiles. "And, their opponents. Accompanied by MEGAN SKYE and AMY STEPHENS respectively... at a total combined weight of four hundred, fourty two pounds. The team of LANDON "LA CUCARACHA" MADDIX and the SWF Cruiserweight and World Heavyweight Champion MICHAEL STEPHENS... the reigning and defending SWF WORLD Tag Team Champions... TTHHHEEEE GGAAAAAALLLAAAAACCTTIIIIIICCOOOOOSSSSSSS!!!" "YYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" "When you're alone and you need a friend Someone to make you forget your problems Just come along baby take my hand I'll be your lover tonight" Leading the way, the Stephens clan don't waste time with posing and posturing. Amy takes her station in The Galacticos corner while Mike rolls into the ring, tossing his customised England shirt out in the direction of those darned heavy eyeliner wearing girls who are at every SWF show, who promptly fight over it. Meanwhile Landon trails behind, singing along with the "BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM" of the song before jogging up the steps. Megan follows and holds the ropes open for Landon, who spins into the ring in typically grandious manner. "Well, if there's any hard feelings left over from the Elimination Chamber then it's not showing as Landon Maddix is in high spirits as ever." "I guess a requirement for being a part of this team is a testicular bypass, because Landon's obviously lost what little balls he had when he cared about being World Champion. All because of his newfound friendship for the guy who damn near broke his neck a year and a half ago. At least when he was chasing singles titles, you could maybe understand his motives, no matter how dumb or misguided. Now? I don't know, he's turned into Toxxic's lackey." "I thought that was Spike's job?" "You're a bitter man Mak, you know that?" Entrances out of the way, it's down to business. Jay Hawke has elected to start for the challengers as The Galacticos talk things over in their corner. Eventually, the champions decide the only fair way to pick a starter is the time-tested rock, paper, scissors. On three the hands come down and Landon confidently plumps for rock, giving Megan the thumbs up with his free hand before looking down. Paper. "Typical." Out onto the apron exits Stephens, leaving Landon to start, turning around to be confronted by 'The Dean Of Professional Wrestling'. "How about this for a face-off," Mak enthuses, as a stand-off ensues. "Former stable-mates in Cucaracha Internacional and former World Tag Team Champions together, their reign ending one week short of a year ago. Former training buddies too, Jay Hawke, responsible for re-inventing Landon's wrestling style from the ground up... at least briefly." "Exactly. Jay taught Maddix everything Maddix knew. And nevermind that he didn't teach Maddix everything Jay knows, but everything he DID teach Maddix is now forgotten anyway!" *DING-DING-DING!* The bell sounds and just like that, the Arco Arena turns into training camp for Landon Maddix, facing off with his one-time sparring partner and mentor of sorts. Hawke drops into a crouch as he waits on Landon, The Next Generation stalling for time in his corner as he discusses the outcome of England's friendly international with Holland last night. But, annoyed by his partner (and his national team, miserable 1-1 draw that they managed) Stephens encourages him to "bloody well get on with it". "LAN - DON!" "LAN - DON!" "LAN - DON!" "LAN - DON!" "Well, the fans are clearly right behind Landon here in Sacramento." "Like that ever makes a difference," scoffs King, "especially when you're as hopelessly outclassed as Landon is right now." Finally Landon cautiously makes an approach towards Hawke who remains crouched in the middle of the ring, keeping his centre of gravity low as he anticipates an attack from Landon. Which is exactly what's coming. Sure enough, Hawke is ready and sweeps out the legs of the rushing Maddix, diving across an grabbing a front facelock as Maddix tries to come back up. Getting an up close view of the ring canvas, Landon pushes up onto all fours ready for an escape but Hawke quickly drops the hold, capturing the arms and twisting him over with a modified crucifix pin... ONE! TWO! No. Landon is able to kick out, but he finds himself right back in the front facelock just a second or so later. From the apron Stephens tries to coach his partner into an escape. But his partner's former coach just shoots him a look... before shooting the half on Landon, turning him into another pinning predicament... ONE! TWO! No. Maintaining the front facelock, Hawke comes up to his feet with Maddix in tow and cranks away on the neck a little, knowing how easily flustered his former 'student' can get. For now he's keeping his cool though and looks for an fair escape, twisting out of the facelock and levering Hawke's arm up towards his head, looking for a top wristlock. But power is on Jay's side. And he quickly pulls back down, right into a headlock, taking Landon over with it for another cover... ONE! TWO! Shoulder up! Hawke quickly tightens up on the headlock, as Landon tries to keep his shoulders out of danger, shuffling over onto his front a little more. Which prompts Hawke to bridge up, pulling back on the head with a more obtuse angle of pressure. "This is a wrestling exhibition from The Dean," enthuses King, "and Michael Stephens is getting a firsthand look of what to expect, November 30th." "To be fair, Hawke isn't really doing anything extraordinary here." "He doesn't need to! Not with the likes of Toxxic and Maddix. He can school them with the simplest of holds and because he's so technically sound, even the simplest of holds is a weapon in his arsenal. He's not just throwing on a headlock to catch his breath or buy time." Climbing back to his feet, despite the headlock still tightly applied around his ears, Maddix goes with the tried and tested method of firing the point of his elbow into the ribs of Hawke to try and weaken the grip of his opponent. And after the fourth elbow it seems to have worked, as Landon backs into the ropes and shoots Hawke off for the ride. Maddix ducks his head as Hawke then shoots back. But he ducks too early, allowing Jay time to slow a little before leapfrogging over top! A moment of confusion halts Landon before he realises what's happened and where Hawke must be, not waiting around any longer than he has to as he hits the ropes himself. Hawke is waiting on him though and quickly closes the gap as Landon rebounds, taking the surprised La Cucaracha up and around with the tilt-a-whirl, DOWN into the backbreaker to the despair of his World Champion partner. "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" "Jay Hawke staying one step ahead on that exchange," Mak admits. "That's the crucial thing, Mak. Jay can do everything Toxxic and Maddix can do, but they can't do what he can. That's why they're so outmatched." With Maddix down and hurting, Hawke quickly laces fingers with the grounded Spaniard and pins his arms down to the mat... ONE! TWO! Up comes the right arm! Being pinned down on the canvas doesn't give Landon much leverage to work with though and after some brief resistance, his arm and therefore shoulder is powered right back down... ONE! TWO! No, left arm up this time, Hawke putting a little too much focus on the other side. Hawke angrily pins the arm back down though, demanding the count again... ONE! TWO! Landon BRIDGES up this time! Hawke is tired of playing around now though and keeps the hands pinned down before springing off the canvas, looking to take out Landon's bridge. Landon bridge ain't falling down though. Not by Jay Hawke's doing anyway, as Maddix puts his feet up and plants them on Hawke's thighs, pushing him off and using the knucklelocks to soar to his feet in the lucha catapult! Again Landon's feet land on the thighs of The Dean Of Professional Wrestling and he falls back, executing a monkey flip to send Hawke soaring. The knucklelocks stay locked too, allowing Landon to float back and pin down the shoulders with his knees for the pin... ONE! TWO! No! With Landon posturing, Hawke throws his feet up and hooks under the arms, pulling Landon down into a sunset pin... ONE! TWO! Kickout by Landon, both men scrambling back to their feet... ...where Hawke applies the cravat! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" "Haha!" King laughs as the crowd around him groan. "You know, I really wish Jay hadn't taught Maddix this damn hold at all. But I've no problem with him teaching him how it SHOULD be applied, firsthand, like this!" Amongst the groans, one of the loudest is from Michael Stephens' direction. I'm sure he's not a fan of the cravats, but it's mainly because his teammate's brief window of opportunity to tag out was wasted. And now The Predators are in control, Hawke dragging Landon by the 3/4 headlock as he moves towards his corner. With his hands all tied up, Hawke reaches out a foot, which Nighthawk quickly tags. "Perfectly legal." King is quick to point out. In comes the big man, measuring Maddix... "ONE!" ...still trapped in the cravat... "TWO!" ...which Hawke isn't going to release... "THREE!" ...until he's good and ready. "FOUR!" Finally Nighthawk goes to the ribs with a kick and Hawke scuttles out of the ring before the referee can reach his count of five. Another kick finds the mark from Nighthawk meanwhile, before a clubbing blow across the back knocks Maddix down to the canvas with ease. "Maddix giving up a lot of weight to Nighthawk here." points out Mak. "So too, for that matter, is Michael Stephens, although we've seen in the past that that won't bother our World Champion in the slightest." “It’s nothing to do with weight,” King argues, “it’s the fact that Hawke and Nighthawk are simply a better tag team than Two Skinny White Guys.” Although that assessment may seem doubtful at the moment Nighthawk is intent on proving it correct. He drags Landon up from the mat and grabs La Cucaracha’s right arm by the wrist, then starts to Irish whip Maddix one way before stopping and hauling him back in to deliver a brutal short clothesline! Landon hits the mat again with a good deal of force, but Nighthawk still has a hold of him and uses his grip on the Tag Champion’s arm to bring him upright once more, then twists Landon around and applies a Cobra Clutch! “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” “Nighthawk locked that in with astonishing ease,” Mak Francis notes, “I can tell you that the Cobra Clutch is a devastating hold, one both myself and Tom Flesher have had occasion to use before-” “-and Nighthawk is continuing that proud tradition,” King finishes. “The one of it being used by high-class athletes,” he continues after a momentary pause, “not paraplegics.” Landon Maddix doesn’t need anyone to tell him it’s a devastating hold - if he didn’t know it before, he’s experiencing it firsthand now. The thing about Landon though, is it’s never a good idea to get him in a submission hold where he has one arm free. The damn thing might look like it’s waving about desperately, but what it’s actually doing is heading- ‘YAAARRRGH!’ -right for Nighthawk’s eyes. “King, how much practice do you need to be able to poke someone in the eye with deadly accuracy when they’re behind you and you’re locked in a Cobra Clutch?” Mak asks the Gambling Man in a spirit of pure enquiry. “Took me, oh, a month to get it so I could do it eight times out of ten?” King responds, “and that was with a good hour dedicated to it on every day of training, mind you.” “You spent an hour a day training on eyepokes?” Mak asks, surprised despite himself. “Nah, of course not.” Mak grins, realising he’s been made a fool of, and gets ready to return to calling the action. “It was a good four hours a day. The one hour was for that specific scenario which, let me tell you, is damn tricky,” King continues conversationally, “leading me to believe that Maddix managed it by purest accident.” Regardless of Landon’s proficiency in this area, it didn’t actually have the desired effect. Nighthawk’s eyes are screwed up against further attack and are visibly watering but the big man still has the Cobra Clutch locked in, having managed to tighten his grip again just as Landon was about to escape. Maddix is doing a fair impersonation of a freshly-landed fish what with all the puffing and flailing, and with his usual go-to of dirty tactics having failed him he has to resort to desperate measures. Actually doing a damn counter. “Is Landon going for the eyes again?” Mak asks as Landon reaches back again, “if so he’s missed…” “Told you it was a fluke!” King exclaims triumphantly. However, Landon’s grip tightens on Nighthawk’s hair. The big man grins nastily even as referee Brian Warner moves in to admonish Landon, Nighthawk well aware that it’s going to take more than a painful tug on his hair to make him let go… *CRUNCH!* Sitout jawbreaker though? That’ll do it. “YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Nighthawk’s arms have indeed become disentangled from Landon’s after that move, mainly so the big man can clutch his jaw with an agonised expression on his face. Maddix, on the other hand, is rolling around on the mat clutching the top of his head, and overall doesn’t seem to have come off any better from the exchange than his larger opponent. In the Galacticos’ corner Michael Stephens rubs one black-nailed hand over his eyes in an expression of worry, or possibly frustration. “Maddix needs to get back up and make the tag here,” Francis explains, “otherwise he’s going to be… ah, what the hell. You’re smart enough to work it out.” “You get paid for that?” King snorts. Landon Maddix starts to push himself up, dizzy and in pain and overall not quite with all his wits about him. This may explain why, when confronted with Nighthawk’s large form he doesn’t try to dive, sneak or otherwise get past the big man to his own corner where Michael Stephens is waiting to tag in, but instead attacks with knife-edge chops! *CRACK!* “WHOOOOO!” “Yeah, like that’s gonna work,” Suicide King laughs. *CRACK!* “WHOOOOO!” Well… it is working, to a given degree of ‘working’. As in, Nighthawk is driven slowly back by the chops and winces in pain when they strike home, but they’re far from being a debilitating attack. Landon quickly realises that the moment he stops chopping he’s going to get pasted into the canvas, so all he can do is keep chopping desperately… *CRACK!* “WHOOOOO!” *CRACK!* “WHOOOOO!” *CRACK!* “WHOOOOO!” *CRACK!* “WHOOOOO!” But Maddix isn’t Kenta Kobashi (so, SO not Kenta Kobashi) and he has limits - as his right arm starts to go numb he’s forced to resort to other measures, so he leaps up and plants his feet into Nighthawk’s chest with a Dropsault… and the big man goes over! ‘C’mon!’ Stephens yells from the Galacticos corner, and Landon makes to go and tag… but is cut off as Nighthawk rolls back up to his feet! The larger Predator is a bit winded but in a position to block Maddix’s escape route, so Landon turns and runs for the ropes behind him to rebound with a flying forearm to send the big man down for a longer duration- *WHAM!* -or he would have done, if that pesky spinebuster hadn’t happened. Honestly, some people have no consideration. ONE! TWO!! TH- -but Landon fires a shoulder off the canvas! Nighthawk growls in irritation and clamps one hand around his opponent’s throat to choke the life out of him, prompting Brian Warner to step in and intervene… ‘ONE!’ ‘TWO!’ ‘THREE!’ ‘FOUR!’ ‘FI-’ …and predictably, Nighthawk can count just as well as the referee. He lets go at the last moment and gets back to his feet, then raises his arms to invite applause from the crowd- “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” -well, that went well. Not deterred, the big man turns towards the vaguely forlorn figure of Michael Stephens on the apron and flips him the bird! Stephens snarls in response and starts to climb through the ropes, prompting Brian Warner to rush over and restrain the irate Triple Champion. This of course means he has his back turned to the rest of the ring and allows Nighthawk to advance on Maddix as La Cucaracha gets up to his knees, the Predator able to do whatever dastardly deed he has in mind without fear of retribution… *CHING!* …although granted, it seems unlikely that plan included taking a low blow from Maddix. “YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “CHEAT!” King roars as Nighthawk doubles over in pain. “Uh, Maddix,” Mak points out. “Duh.” “But Toxxic was in on it!” King spits, “he distracted the referee!” “Actually I think that was Nighthawk’s plan, and it just backfired on him…” Mak surmises. Nighthawk is stationary in the middle of the ring as Brian Warner turns back around. It looks suspicious as hell but he never saw Landon do anything and so can’t prove it; Maddix responds by taking a deep breath and rising back to his feet, then wrapping his arms around Nighthawk’s shoulders before dropping backwards with a Complete Shot to drive the bigger man’s face right into the canvas! *BANG!* “LAN-DON!” “LAN-DON!” “LAN-DON!” Disorientated and in pain, Maddix looks around for his tag team partner to tag out to. He sees Jay Hawke leaning over the top rope with hand outstretched and instinctively starts to crawl towards his Cucaracha Internacional team-mate… ‘LANDON YER BLOODY IDIOT, GET YER ARSE OVER ‘ERE!’ …scratch that. Maddix blinks, remembers where and more importantly when he is, and turns around. He comes face-to-face with Nighthawk, also making his way towards the Predators’ corner. …and both men poke each other in the eyes simultaneously. “It’s like a smorgasboard of cheating in there,” Mak Francis says in wonder. Landon and Nighthawk are rolling on the mat in pain; however, both still have a good idea of where their respective partners are and they start crawling again, reaching out blindly ahead of them to try and tag out. Nighthawk has the greater reach but Landon is moving a bit quicker… *smak* *smak* “YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “It’s Hawke vs. Stephens, and it’s breaking down!” Mak Francis shouts as Hawke steps through the ropes and the World Champion vaults clean over them, then both men head for each other at a dead run. Stephens takes off from the mat and spirals through the air to deliver a spinning wheel kick that flattens his soon-to-be challenger, then pops back up to his feet and hits a dropkick to send Nighthawk (who has just got back to his feet) into the corner. Stephens is back up in a moment, but so is Hawke; with both men to deal with the Englishman positions himself between the Predators and lashes out with a RIGHT! (to Hawke) LEFT! (to Nighthawk) RIGHT! (to Hawke) LEFT! (to Nighthawk) With the crowd roaring their support Stephens flips a v-sign to both men… …DISCUS CLOTHESLINE TO HAWKE! “TOXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-IC…” “TOXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-IC…” The World Champion ended up on the mat as well from the momentum of his own move; Nighthawk is slightly dazed but realises that his opponent is in a vulnerable position and starts to lumber forwards… *whump-CRACK!* “Kip-up enzuigiri!” Mak Francis shouts as Stephens explodes off the mat and leaps into the air to kick the larger Predator in the back of the head, “it gets them every time!” Nighthawk topples forward and lands on top of his own partner, crushing Jay Hawke beneath him; Stephens kicks him in the head to knock him off the Dean of Professional Wrestling, then rolls Nighthawk towards the ropes and drops to make a cover on Hawke… ONE! TWO!! TH- -but Jay Hawke kicks out! “Typical Toxxic,” King spits, “he waits until Hawke is worn out by the match before bothering to step into the ring!” “Uh, I think Stephens would have got in earlier if he’d had his way,” Francis points out mildly, “only the Predators seemed to want to keep Maddix in there…” Stephens drags Hawke back to his feet and places him in a front facelock, then holds his right arm out to the side to signal for the Unfinished Business. He swings his arm around and down, looking to drive Hawke’s face into the mat, but the Dean of Professional Wrestling slips out of his opponent’s grasp and as Stephens’s momentum carries him around the man from Cleveland reaches up… “Wing Span!” King shouts, “that’s it! New Tag Champions!” Not yet. Hawke has the World Champion trapped in his signature submission move, but he hasn’t yet dragged Stephens down to the mat where he can scissor the Englishman’s other arm, and before he does so Stephens sees something and ducks… *CRACK!* …it’s difficult to duck while in a Crossface Chickenwing; all Stephens manages to do is lean forward and down a bit. However, this pulls Jay Hawke’s head right into the line of fire of the flying forearm that Landon has just launched! “YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Stephens glares up at Landon as if to ask him what would have happened if he hadn’t managed to get out of the way; Landon returns the look with one that suggests hey, he did get out of the way, what’s the problem? It’s at this point that Nighthawk announces his return to the fray with a roar and a charge and a lariat swung full tilt at Landon’s head, but La Cucaracha manages to duck in his turn and the big man comes lumbering to a halt. He turns back to focus on Maddix but the plucky(?) South Dakotan pops him in the jaw with a right hand. Nighthawk wobbles away slightly and turns around to find Michael Stephens waiting for him. The World Champion delivers a right hand of his own that sends Nighthawk stumbling back in the direction of Landon… and a wide grin splits Maddix’s face. ‘PEPSI!’ The shout accompanies another punch to the jaw. As Nighthawk spins around Stephens’ brow creases in confusion for a moment, then as realisation dawns he evidently figures ‘what the hell’. ‘COKE!’ Nighthawk goes back… ‘PEPSI!’ …and forth… ‘COKE!’ …between the two… ‘PEPSI!’ …Tag Team Champions… ‘COKE!’ …until Landon gets bored and makes a throat-cutting gesture. This time as Nighthawk wobbles back in his direction La Cucaracha adjusts his stance slightly as Stephens does the same… *KER-RACK!* …and Nighthawk gets pasted by superkicks from the front AND behind! ‘SLICE OF LEMON?!’ Landon bawls as Nighthawk topples to the mat. Stephens just looks at him for a long second, then shakes his head in quiet despair. Unfortunately, this means he misses Jay Hawke behind him until the Dean grabs him in a rear waistlock and starts to heave him over for a German suplex… …but Landon dashes forwards and grabs his partner’s hands and hauls him back down to the mat! Stephens ducks again and Landon, with the most delicate of touches, pokes Jay Hawke in the eyes! “This is outrageous!” King splutters. “This is actually pretty funny,” Mak argues, chuckling. Hawke is staggering around blinded; Maddix and Stephens look at each other for a second, nod, then each one charges off for different sets of ropes. They rebound at the same time with Landon heading for the front while Stephens approaches from the rear, and take Hawke out with a Cucaracha Kick/rear soccer tackle combo! “YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “Professional Foul!” Mak hollers, “this could be it!” Stephens covers Jay Hawke as Landon finally succumbs to the orders of Brian Warner and turns to head for the arpon… ONE! TWO!! THRRRRRRRRRRRRR- -broken up by Nighthawk! “NIGHT-HAWK SUCKS!” “NIGHT-HAWK SUCKS!” Landon, who had been ready to celebrate, turns around to find that his team has not only not won the match yet, but his partner has just been kicked in the head. La Cucaracha prepares to re-enter the ring, but as Nighthawk starts to bring Stephens up the World Champion grabs his opponent’s head and sits out with a jawbreaker to send the big man staggering away, then turns and scrambles for his own corner. Landon extends his hand to take the tag and as Stephens rolls under the bottom rope and, indeed, onto the arena floor the Next Generation prepares to return to the match completely legally by climbing to the top rope; once there he leaps off, stomping the doubled-over Nighthawk on the back of the head as he passes over and mashing the big man’s face into the canvas! *BANG!* The crowd rise in applause and Landon spreads his arms to soak in it; this leaves him completely open to Jay Hawke appearing behind him and snaring him in a reverse facelock, then dropping down to one knee and driving the other up into the back of Maddix’s neck! With Landon momentarily incapacitated Hawke starts trying to roll his larger partner out of the ring; the reasoning behind it becomes clear when Nighthawk gets under the ropes and Hawke slaps him a couple of times to bring him round; although dizzy, the big man gets back up to his feet and stretches out a hand to let himself be legally tagged in. *smak* Nighthawk steps back into the ring and helps his partner bring Landon up to his feet, then bends down and squats. Hawke shoves Landon into position, making La Cucaracha straddle Nighthawk’s shoulders, then delivers a stunning palm strike to the head that causes Maddix to wobble crazily. Nighthawk stands and elevates Maddix into the air, while Jay Hawke steps out to the apron and begins to climb to the top rope! “This could be the Crash Landing,” Mak calls, “many a team has fallen to this over the years!” Hawke is indeed setting up for the hurricanrana off the top to Landon… but just as he’s about to leap Michael Stephens comes tearing past the towering form of Maddix-on-Nighthawk and jumps to the second rope, then springboards off and up to deliver a mighty enzuigiri to Hawke! The Dean topples forward off his perch, and as Nighthawk gapes in amazement Landon hammers a double axe-handle down into the big man’s face, then grips with his legs and snaps backwards. It’s not as clean or as crisp as it might be, but the big man comes over into a reverse hurricanrana, and the crowd leaps up in delight! “LAN-DON!” “LAN-DON!” Stephens grabs Maddix and hauls him up, checks his partner is OK (or as well as can be expected), and then turns his attention to Nighthawk. Maddix joins him a second later and the two haul their large opponent up, then turn to face the nearest turnbuckle… and both grab a ¾ headlock. “Oh no, not this,” King moans, “someone stop this!” Too late. Maddix and Stephens charge forwards with Nighthawk in tow, and run up the turnbuckles before flipping backwards at the top. Stephens comes down ribs-first while Landon opts to land on his ass… *BANG!* “YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “LABERINTO’S SUNNY REVENGE IN ENGLAND!” Mak shouts as the back of Nighthawk’s skull gets driven into the canvas, “that’s got to be it!” Maddix makes the cover. Stephens sees Hawke about to re-enter the ring from where he rolled outside to regroup, and elects to grab the top rope and fly over to deliver a plancha to the hapless Dean. ONE! TWO!! THREE!!! *DING-DING-DING!* “Ladies and gentlemen, here are your winners,” Funyon booms, “and STILL~ SWF World Tag Team Champions… the team of Landon ‘La Cucaracha’ Maddix and Michael Stephens… THE GA-LAC-TICOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!” “YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “What a match!” Mak says with appreciation, “the experienced team of the Predators put in a good showing, but Stephens and Maddix were just too good. Jay Hawke will be hoping that this doesn’t herald events to come on November 30th-” “-there’s no reason why it should!” King cuts in quickly, “did you see Hawke and Toxxic in the ring at the same time, Mak? For one thing they hardly got any one-on-one action at all, due to Toxxic’s reluctance to enter the match; for another, Hawke kept getting the upper hand and Toxxic had to rely on Landon Maddix to bail him out!” “Personally King, I saw enough to whet my appetite for the World Title match without enough to give me any clue which way it might go,” Mak replies sagely, “but before we even get to November 30th we’ve got lots more action in the SWF; I’d expect a Cruiserweight Title defence at some point, and don’t forget the Cold Front Classic which Landon Maddix is involved in again!” “Everything will be fine; Tom will win, Tom will win,” King repeats like a calming mantra. “Or hey, JJ might win. As long as it’s not Landon everything will be fine, and I won’t have to go apeshit and start screaming in Old Norse.” “…I’d like to see that.” In the ring Hawke tries to bring Nighthawk around; outside the ring Landon and Stephens exchange a casual high-five, then turn to make their way up the ramp. Everything’s OK… …for now.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” says Funyon, “the following non-title matchup is scheduled for one fall, and is the second match in the 2006 Cold Front Classic!” The crowd pops, and Funyon continues, “The winner of this match will face either Landon Maddix or Michael Cross in the semifinals for a chance to advance to the Cold Front Classic Finals!” The fans continue cheering as the lights dim, and Funyon says, “The first competitor...” The SmarkTron shows the familiar fuse to a stick of dynamite burning down as the crowd cheers, with the stick finally exploding as the “Mission Impossible” theme starts to play over the speakers! Johnny steps through the curtain, his black trench coat flowing behind him. The fans continue cheering as the Barracuda makes his way down the aisle, his sunglasses mirroring the enormous crowd and his International Title belt shining from around his waist. “What you have here is an oddity,” says the Suicide King, as Johnny stops by a particularly attractive female fan. He lifts his sunglasses up just far enough to show his eyes, and with a wink, dazzles her with his smile. “Ordinarily, any champion will be introduced last, as a show of respect for his accomplishments. However, given that we’re within a tournament framework, the entrances are deferring to seed order. Since Johnny Dangerous is the number-six seed, he’s coming out first, and the number-three seed, Tom Flesher, will be introduced second.” Johnny grins at his admirer, then quickly turns back toward the ring. He sprints toward it, sliding under the bottom rope and rolling effortlessly to his feet. The Mission Impossible theme fades out as Johnny shakes his trench coat off. “Currently in the ring,” announces Funyon, “hailing from Las Vegas, Nevada, and weighing in at 225 pounds... the reigning International Champion, and the number-six seed in the Cold Front Classic... ‘The Barracuda,’ JOHNNY DANGEROUS!!!!” The crowd cheers as Johnny acknowledges them, holding his belt high in the air before setting it in the corner. Senior official Eddy Long approaches him, and as they converse, Johnny removes his sunglasses. This, of course, allows us to see him cringe when he hears... “AND... HIS... OPPONENT...” Instinctively, the crowd boos as James Matheson’s grating voice rings out over the speakers. “You know something,” he begins at his standard machine-gun pace, “they call this thing the Cold Front Classic, but have you ever thought about what that means? In Las Vegas, a cold front’s an inconvenient rainstorm. In Sacramento, if it snows, the whole damn town shuts down! But do you know what you’ll see in Buffalo, New York, in the middle of winter? You’ll see guys like this man pushing cars out of seven-foot drifts single-handedly. Why? Because they just breed the boys better in Buffalo, and if you’ve got beef with that, begone, you bastard! Now get up off your seats and give it up for the man who knows cold fronts better than anyone else, the man who’s held more belts than you can count, and the NEXT Cold Front Classic Champion... TOM FLESHER!” With the crowd suitably warmed up, the lights go dark, and the concussive opening of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” rings out through the ARCO Arena, the blue pyro lighting the stadium and the accompanying smoke rolling through the seats. Tom Flesher steps through the curtain and, with a quiet confidence, struts past the fans and to the ring. “You have to admire that,” says King, “that sort of cockiness that pervades everything Tom Flesher does. You remember training with him, back when you could walk, and how he’d just get in there and run through his drills like no one could stop anything he does.” “I’ll tell you who can stop him,” says the Franchise. “Johnny Dangerous. I don’t even know if Tom’s beaten him since the first time they met, when the result was... uh...” “Shoe-phone related,” says King. “Yep. A shoe phone.” With that, Flesher strips off his warm-up suit and steps to the center of the ring. Being just as careful as he was with Johnny, Eddy Long drops to one knee as “Kashmir” fades and begins checking Flesher’s kickpads. Flesher rolls his eyes, but lets Long check each kickpad, his entire singlet, and both bands of wrist tape. Long eyes Flesher’s heavily taped left thumb suspiciously. (“I’ve got a doctor’s note,” Flesher says. “Chris Belcourt’s not a doctor.” “No, no, a real one this time. It’s on file in Peters’ office.”) Finally satisfied that Flesher would have had to hide any foreign objects in a place where carrying them would be punishment enough, Long steps away and calls for the bell. DING DING DING!!!! As the two circle around each other in the center as they have so many times before, the ARCO Arena goes almost silent. What can these two perennial foes do that they haven’t before? How can one gain an advantage that he hasn’t tried to gain before? Tom thinks he has an idea. “AUGH! DAMMIT~!” shouts Johnny Dangerous, reaching up to cover his right eye socket. Oh, right. The thumb to the eye. BOOOOOOO! “Flesher hits an absolutely thrilling move to start the match,” says the Suicide King, as Tom drops down and shoots past Eddy Long, mid-admonition, and snags Johnny’s left leg with a low single-leg takedown. As Johnny spills to the mat, Flesher hooks his head and tries to cradle him for a quick pin. As Long rolls his eyes, Johnny quickly kicks free and rolls to his stomach. Flesher, having predicted just this development, applies a half-nelson and moves to Johnny’s side. The Barracuda gets to his knees, trying to build a base and get out of a mat-wrestling predicament with Tom Freaking Flesher. This is, however, Tom Freaking Flesher we’re talking about, and so he quickly slides a hand around Johnny’s waist and uses the half-nelson to pull his head forward, breaking him down with a variant on the American sprial ride! Flesher keeps his tight-waist grip and uses the half-nelson to grind Johnny’s face into the mat as the fans continue booing him. “Technically brilliant opening to the match,” says King, “and Tom Flesher is demonstrating dominance over an opponent who’s had his number lately.” “Well, sure,” says Francis, “poking someone in the eye is going to distract them long enough to get the jump on them, but what’s Taamo going to do when Johnny gets his bearings again? Tom’s lost almost every time these two have met. The last time he won was almost three years ago!” “Quiet, you!” hisses King. “Flesher said earlier tonight that he’s back and he’s better than ever. Who are you to question him?” As Dangerous tries to free himself from the vise-like half-nelson, Flesher slides back a few inches and tightens the arm he has around Johnny’s waist. The Barracuda reaches up and peels Flesher’s hand off his head, then slaps it down onto the mat as he tries to escape. Flesher, though, slides the arm that had been applying the nelson down Johnny’s side and locks his hands together around his waist. Flesher leans back into a catcher’s crouch, then stands up, and before Johnny Dangerous even knows what hit him, Flesher throws him over his head and slams him to the mat with a German suplex! He releases Johnny as they hit the mat, knowing he won’t get a pin this early in the match, and Johnny rolls over and comes to rest on his stomach as Flesher gets to his feet. “There’s that positional awareness that got Tom Flesher everywhere he wants to be,” says King. “He’ll fight with you and make you wrestle anywhere you are on the mat, whether it’s in the corner, on the mat or in mid-air.” Flesher grabs Johnny by the head as he tries to get up. As he tries to pull the International Champion into a front headlock, Johnny quickly grabs his wrist and twists Flesher’s arm, spinning out to the side and extending the arm. He throws a stiff kick, hammering Flesher’s left biceps, and then pulls Tom toward him to nail him with a short-arm chop to the throat! The crowd cheers as Flesher staggers backwards, disoriented by the throat attack. Johnny steps toward Tom, throwing a stiff palm strike that nails him in the chest and thrusts him back into the corner. As Flesher steps forward out of the corner, Johnny grabs his wrist and pivots, taking his attacker to the mat aikido-style and following up with a boot to the back of the head! Flesher collapses to his back, and Johnny drops down onto him for the cover... but not before Flesher rolls out to the apron, and then to the floor. “Johnny Dangerous changes the momentum of the match,” says Francis, “and he’s taking it where we’re more used to seeing it. He’s got that speed advantage, and if he keeps the match in the neutral position where Tom has a harder time grappling with him, he’s going to come out the winner just like he has over and over again.” On the outside, Flesher confers with James Matheson, apparently about match strategy, as Eddy Long counts. ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! Matheson pats Flesher on the back and sends him back into the ring, with the Superior One looking much more confident as he returns to the squared circle. He reaches around, adjusting his singlet, and then motions for a lock-up with Dangerous. Johnny leans in, and immediately, Flesher ducks to the side and slides by him. The fans boo as Johnny turns around, trying to get his lockup back, and walks straight into a bitchslap to the face! The crowd boos Flesher’s antics as he steps forward, following the smack up with a stepping palm strike of his own. The shotei sends Johnny back on his heels, and Tom takes advantage by stepping in and grabbing the International Champion around the waist, then arching back with a standing railgun suplex! Johnny falls to the mat, and Flesher rolls over onto him for ONE! Johnny kicks out, and as he sits up, Flesher grabs his head and applies a reverse chinlock. “Here’s something we haven’t seen in a while,” says Francis dryly. “Don’t roll your eyes, kid,” says King. “I’d think you of all people would be sick of rolling things.” Before Flesher can get the chinlock sunk in, though, Johnny Dangerous grabs him by the wrist and starts to spin out the same way he escaped from Flesher’s attempt at a front headlock. Instead of letting him escape, Flesher stands up behind him, as Dangerous twists out with his arm extended, and boots Johnny stiffly in the stomach! As Johnny doubles over in pain, Flesher grabs his head and a handful of his tights, then tosses him back with a vertical suplex. He rolls through, letting Johnny go and getting back to his feet as the Dangerous One grabs the ropes to pull himself up. With Dangerous’ back turned, Flesher takes the easy pickings and charges at him, hammering the spy with a Yakuza kick to the back of the head! “That’s like getting hit by a truck,” says the Suicide King, as Johnny collapses to the mat. “Weren’t you listening?” asks Mak facetiously. “He said it’s not a truck, it’s a series of tubes.” “I’ve got a series of tubes for you,” grumbles King as Flesher grabs Johnny by the shirt and lifts him to his feet, with one hand holding the collar of the shirt and the other grabbing Johnny by the waistband of his tights. With his opponent under his control, Flesher walks Johnny toward the corner and throws him head-first into the buckles! The crowd boos Flesher mercilessly, but Tom merely pulls Johnny back out of the corner and throws him right into the turnbuckles again! Johnny tries to stagger backwards out of the corner, but Flesher just sighs heavily, clearly tired of Dangerous putting up any sort of fight whatsoever, and headbutts him at the base of the skull. Johnny, understandably, slumps down and stops fighting. “Well, that was effective,” says Suicide King chipperly. Flesher grabs Johnny by the tights and rolls him over onto his back, then grabs the top rope and slowly, deliberately place his Asics wrestling shoe on Johnny’s trachea. Immediately, Eddy Long orders Flesher to stop chocking the International Champion, but Flesher looks at him as if he had just asked permission to pick his nose. The banter continues for a few moments (“GET OFF HIS NECK!!” “Zuh?” “STOP CHOKING YOUR OPPONENT!” “Silly girl, why would I want to do something like that?”) before Long decides he has to begin his count. ONE! Flesher holds up one finger. TWO! Flesher holds up another finger, nodding. THREE! A third finger, and Flesher looks Long squarely in the eye. FOUR! Flesher holds up four fingers, then raises an eyebrow. Enraged, Long starts to make the fifth count, but Flesher quickly steps off Johnny’s neck. Johnny, though he can’t participate in the discussion, is clearly relieved simply to be a fly on the wall. (“If you do that again, I’m going to disqualify you!” “Do what?”) Exasperated, Long backs away as Flesher grabs Dangerous by the leg and pulls him to the center of the ring. Relieved to be returning to his natural coloration, Johnny allows Flesher to relocate him, but begins fighting as soon as Tom starts trying to pull him into a half-crab. Johnny kicks his legs back and forth, trying to free himself, and finally Flesher decides the hold isn’t worth his trouble and frees Johnny’s leg. The Dangerous One backs away and gets to his feet, making sure to keep an eye on Flesher to avoid having his brains scrambled by another Yakuza kick. Instead, Flesher backs into his corner, still watching Johnny, and James Matheson hops up onto the apron to talk with his charge. “There’s a sign of a good manager,” says King. “After Johnny Dangerous was able to gain some ground on Tom, James Matheson is right up there on the apron to help guide him back into the match. He’s giving him advice, I’m sure, and helping him find a plan of attack.” As King says that, Eddy Long drops down to check on Johnny and make sure he’s still in the match. With Long’s back turned, Matheson reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a chain. Flesher quickly grabs the chain and stuffs it into his kickpad, drawing a round of boos from the crowd before Eddy Long turns back around. “What do you call that?” snaps Mak Francis. “Management.” Once Johnny gets back to his feet, Flesher meets him in the center of the ring, shuffling around in an amateur-style stance. Johnny steps back, and Flesher follows him, trying to keep the pressure on. Johnny, however, sidesteps, allowing the off-balanced Flesher to overshoot and stumble forward. With Tom staggering, Johnny grabs him by the collar and pivots on one foot, slamming him to the mat with a Sambo suplex! Tom hits the mat hard, and Johnny quickly makes the cover for ONE!!! TWO!!!! but no more, as Flesher kicks out and bellies down to avoid being covered again. Dangerous stays on top of him, throwing a stiff palm strike down onto the back of Flesher’s head. Tom covers up, trying to crawl toward the ropes and force a break. Johnny continues pummeling him with strikes, but before he can do any serious damage, Flesher manages to grasp the bottom cable. Eddy Long begins his mandatory count. ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! Obligingly, the spy releases Flesher and backs away to the center of the ring. Flesher takes his time getting back to his feet, and when he manages to get up, a loop of tape on his right wrist is visibly loose. “What’s happening with Tom’s wrist tape?” cajoles Francis. “Nothing,” King snaps. “Eyes on your own paper.” Flesher reaches out, grabbing Johnny in a collar-and-elbow tie. As Johnny backs away, Flesher grips his wrist and steps back, then sends Johnny to the ropes with an Irish whip! As Johnny rebounds, Flesher drops to the mat. Johnny hurtles over Flesher and hits the opposite ropes, only to taste canvas when he mysteriously trips and falls flat on his face! (I say ‘mysteriously,’ of course, because surely James Matheson had nothing to do with it and certainly didn’t trip Johnny. That’s made clear by his immediate and forceful protestations of innocence.) “Oh, come on!” shouts Francis. “James Matheson can’t be allowed to interfere in the match like that!” “Like what?” asks King innocently. “He just tripped Johnny Dangerous, and now Flesher’s moving in for the kill!” “Listen, Mak, James Matheson didn’t trip Johnny Dangerous. Johnny Dangerous tripped Johnny Dangerous.” Mak rolls his eyes. “And don’t you forget it!” Flesher dives in and nails Johnny with a falling elbowdrop, keeping him on the mat for the time being. Tom then mounts Johnny, reaching down and trying to apply a camel clutch. The fans immediately begin booing, but, curiously, Matheson shouts, “His foot’s on the ropes!” Eddy Long walks around, checking to make sure that Johnny’s foot is not actually on the ropes. When he does, Flesher unravels the loose end of his wrist tape and pulls it taut across Johnny’s neck, choking him mercilessly! Matheson hops up on the apron, talking to Long for a few seconds (“Eddy, is this match being conducted under cruiserweight rules?” “Of course not. Why would you even bother asking?” “Well, both guys, they’re under 230, so I just figured it might be cruiser rules.” “It’s a tournament in the heavyweight division, coach. Heavyweight rules.) with Flesher choking Johnny the whole time! Finally, Matheson hops down off the apron and shouts “THANK YOU!” at the top of his lungs. Frantically, Flesher pulls the tape off Johnny’s throat and resumes his camel clutch grip, the end of the tape now suspiciously dangling almost a foot lower than it was. As he walks back to the front, Long sees the dangling tape and says, dryly, “His foot’s on. Break.” “Oh, come on!” shouts Suicide King. “Long just established that Johnny’s foot’s nowhere near the ropes!” “Give him some leeway,” says Mak. “Sounds like a judgment call to me.” “Oh, you’re so full of shit,” says Flesher, as he stands up. He starts to set up another elbowdrop, but Eddy Long stops him. “Loose tape’s gotta come off,” he says, and he reaches out to grab the dangling end of the tape. Flesher pulls away, allowing Long to unravel the rest of the tape around his wrist. Scowling, Flesher turns back toward his opponent... only to take a Johnny Kick straight in the chops! The crowd bursts into cheers as Flesher hits the ropes, then staggers forward. Tom collapses to the mat, and Johnny sprints over to the nearest cornerpost! “And here comes the money!” shouts Francis. Johnny leaps off the top rope, soaring through the air with flashbulbs popping, and finally landing on Flesher with a flying guillotine legdrop! The fans scream their approval as Johnny rolls over onto Flesher, and the referee counts ONE!!! TWO!!!! THREE!!!! NO! Long points toward Flesher’s foot, which is draped over the bottom rope! BOOOOOOOO! “Johnny Dangerous is ROBBED!” Mak says, as Flesher rolls to the outside to collect his thoughts. “Tom Flesher has barely done one thing tonight that’s within the rules of wrestling, and he’s getting away with all of it! I can’t believe Eddy Long’s letting this kind of crap go!” “Letting what go? If you ask him what he saw, he’ll probably tell you the same thing I will... nothing.” Dangerous, frustrated, sprints toward the ropes. Matheson shouts, “WATCH OUT! YOU’RE GONNA HAVE TO CATCH HIM!” as Johnny charges back toward Tom. Flesher extends his arms and yells, “I’VE GOT HIM!” as Johnny launches himself over the top rope. He floats toward Flesher, who shuffles around, trying to position himself to catch his adversary... ... and then sidesteps, letting the International Champion fall impotently to the concrete floor. BOOOOOOOO! “And that, ladies and gentlemen,” says King, “is why you never trust your opponent.” Flesher quickly rolls back into the ring, and Eddy Long obligingly begins to count Johnny out of the ring. ONE! Johnny doesn’t move. TWO! THREE! He raises his head, and comes to the realization that he needs to get back into the ring. FOUR! He reaches up, trying to pull himself to his feet using the apron. FIVE! “I bet Johnny wishes this was a cruiserweight match with its 20-count,” says King spitefully. “And Long wondered why Matheson asked.” SIX! Johnny’s head pokes up over the mat, and Eddy Long uses his body to block Flesher from attacking the Barracuda before he makes it back into the ring. SEVEN! The Dangerous One strains to get into the ring, heaving as he tries to pull his aching body up onto the canvas. EIGHT! He pulls on the bottom rope for leverage, trying to do everything in his power to beat the count back in! NINE! Finally, Johnny Dangerous makes it back into the ring, his chest rising heavily as he only barely avoids being counted out and eliminated from the Cold Front Classic! Small comfort, though, as Tom Flesher dives onto him like a shark in a feeding frenzy, hammering him with a falling elbowdrop before grabbing his head and pulling him into a front headlock on the mat. Still, Johnny is able to avoid being tied up in the potentially deadly hold by rolling onto his stomach and keeping his chest glued to the mat. Flesher tries to pull him up, but to no avail. Getting visibly frustrated, he reaches into his kickpad and pulls out the chain that he stashed in it earlier in the match! Though he tries to hide it in his fist, the chain is clearly visible to the official. The crowd begins booing Flesher, and Eddy Long quickly charges over to him to stop the imminent illegality. “I can’t believe he’s injecting himself into this match!” fumes King. “This is unacceptable!” “I agree,” Mak says. “He should just let Tom get himself disqualified and get it over with.” Pregnant pause. “Come on, Long, do your job!” shouts King. Long grabs at the chain, and Flesher sighs and lets him take it, but continues arguing with him. (“I have done NOTHING WRONG.” “You know this isn’t a hardcore match, right?” “What on earth are you talking about? I’m as clean as a Mike Stephens piss test!”) As Flesher continues his debate, Johnny gets to his feet, and then suddenly slams into him with a dropkick! The fans burst into cheers as Flesher staggers backwards, and Johnny hits him with a shotei, then another, and then another, hammering him backwards into the corner as he goes! Flesher tries to fight back, but the angry International Champion continues hammering him with shoteis, adding in an occasional chop or closed fist for flavor. “That’s a closed fist!” protests King. “Disqualify him! TAKE HIM OUT OF THIS TOURNAMENT!” Faced with no other option, Flesher tries to protect himself by ducking down and covering his head with his hands. This brings another cheer from the crowd, but Johnny doesn’t pause to drink in the adulation. Instead, he grabs Tom’s head and pulls him off the mat, throwing him back with a vertical suplex! The crowd continues cheering as Johnny rolls over, pulling Flesher with him, and hoists the two-time World Champion off the mat once again! He pulls Flesher into the air and throws him backwards, slamming him down with a second vertical suplex! With the crowd going absolutely crazy, Johnny rolls through one more time, and one more time he pulls Tom off the mat! The third suplex is the hardest drop, and Flesher’s back arches noticeably when he hits the mat. Johnny rolls with the momentum and floats over, covering Tom! Eddy Long counts ONE!!! TWO!!!!! THREENO!!!!!!!!!! Flesher gets a shoulder up, narrowly avoiding elimination! “So close,” cringes Francis. “And yet completely not a fall,” gloats King. Flesher rolls through to his stomach, then to his knees. Johnny Dangerous steps back, knowing better than to grapple with Tom Flesher while he’s still conscious. As Tom stands up, however, Johnny sees an opening and dives in, hooking Tom by the head and the thigh, then standing up with a fireman’s carry! The fans cheer wildly as Johnny struggles to get Tom placed on his shoulders and Tom struggles to free himself. Before Tom can slide off, though, Johnny jumps and rolls forward, slamming Tom back-first to the mat with the Spinal Explosion! The crowd, simply put, explodes! “SPINAL EXPLOSION!” shouts Mak, completely devoid of any sense of irony. Flesher writhes in pain on the mat, and Johnny seems to be debating how best to proceed. He decides to reach down, grabbing Flesher by the leg and trying to wrangle him into a half-crab just as Tom tried earlier. “Johnny’s going for the Barracuda crab,” says Mak, “now that he’s got Flesher’s back all blown to hell. He’s been lumbar-jacking, King, and Tom’s back’s about to go Tim-BER!” “Lumbar-jack?” King asks, incredulous. “Are you serious? That’s got to be the worst pun I’ve ever heard.” Flesher wriggles, trying to free himself before Johnny can flip him over into the over-the-shoulder crab that just doesn’t seem very comfortable. He sits up, grabbing at Johnny’s shirt to try to pull him into a small package, but the Secret Agent sees the pinning combination coming and quickly releases his heel hook to let Flesher escape. As Tom gets up to his knees, though, Johnny jumps up and hammers him in him in the chest with a basement dropkick! “Johnny’s not about to let this one go,” beams Francis. “He may be the number-six seed, but he’s been wrestling like it’s in it to win it.” “‘Like he’s in it to win it?’ Christ, Mak, didn’t they ever send you to Commentator School? Everyone’s in it to win it! That’s like saying one of the teams at the Super Bowl wants to score more points than its opponent. This is the Cold Front Classic! Up your game, would you?!” And up his game is what Johnny’s about to do. He grabs the recovering Flesher by the arm and pulls him to his feet, then slips a half-nelson in before sliding behind him. The fans scream their approval as Johnny snakes in the other arm, trying to sink in the full nelson that bodes the arrival of the Dangerous Driver! Immediately, Flesher drops to one knee to sandbag it, bringing a groan from the crowd, but Johnny drives a knee into Flesher’s tender lower back and pulls him back up to his feet! Tom struggles, reaching up to try to peel Johnny’s hands apart, and Johnny fights to keep his grip! Suddenly, Tom reaches up and grabs Johnny’s head with both hands, using Johnny’s slight height advantage to tuck his own head in under the Barracuda’s chin, and again drops to one knee! Dangerous, his bell rung, loosens his grip. Tom senses an opening and clamps down on the full nelson, then executes a picture-perfect go-behind into a waistlock. He struggles, trying to lift Dangerous off the mat for a German suplex, only to have Johnny block by hooking his thigh! Flesher sets Dangerous down again, and then almost immediately tries to lift him again, but the Barracuda is ready and hooks the leg again to avoid being thrown! This time, Flesher sets him down hard enough to jar him, and then drives him forward into the ropes. Tom keeps his waistlock and rolls backwards, gripping Johnny’s shirt hard enough to pull him back into a reverse rollup! “Flesher adapts, and Johnny doesn’t know what to do!” shouts King. Tom comes out on top, pinning Johnny down with a rolling prawn hold and both hands pulling on his tights to keep him in place! Long counts ONE!!! “He’s got a handful of tights!” shouts Mak, as Johnny kicks and convulses to try to push Flesher off. TWO!!!! “TWO handfuls!” corrects King. THREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Johnny finally succeeds in kicking Tom off after the Number 3 Seed releases his grip on his adversary’s tights and finds himself propelled to the ropes. DING DING DING!!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Flesher throws his arms into the air as Johnny, visibly enraged, complains to Long that the pin was illegal. Nevertheless, Funyon makes the announcement: “The winner of this match, and advancing to the Cold Front Classic semi-finals.... TOM FLESHER!!!!!!” James Matheson jumps up onto the apron, applauding his protege’s work, as Johnny looks on with anger. Tom pumps his arms in the air, celebrating his victory even as the crowd showers him with insults and garbage. “Well, Johnny should have known not to try to grapple with him,” says King. “Grappling isn’t a handful of tights,” Francis says, “and it’s not choking a guy with wrist tape or standing on his neck. Tom’s a great wrestler, but when he has to start with the cheap crap, you know he’s up against a guy who’s got his number.” “So what? Right now his number’s 3, and he’s going to have either 2 or 7 come next week, when we’ll find out whether he has to face Landon Maddix or Michael Cross in the semis. I’ll tell you, Mak, this is one classic tournament!” As King makes the obvious pun, the show fades out to commercial.

SWF Lockdown returns live to the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California! The crowd comes alive as the television cameras light up. “Welcome back, live, to SWF Lockdown!” shouts the Franchise. “We have had an eventful night so far, but we are about to pick up the action!” “If you mean that we are starting the Cold Front Classic tournament by saying that we are about to ‘pick up the action’, then yes, the action will be brought up!” “I’m so confused.” “You’re also in a wheel chair!” “The Suicide King, folks,” Francis mockingly applauds. “He’ll be here all week.” “I need a drink of the alcoholic kind.” “Anyway, lets go to the ring!” Funyon stands in the middle of the ring, microphone in hand as he prepares his introductions. “The following contest is a first round match in the Cold Front Classic Tournament! First, making his way to the ring…” “Protect Ya Neck” by the Wu-Tang Clan hits and “The Divine Wind” Akira Kaibatsu strolls through the curtains, onto the stage. “From Sendai, Japan,” bellows Funyon. “Weighing in at one hundred-ninety five pounds; he is ‘THE DIVINE WIND’ AKIRAAAAAAAAA KAAAAAIBATSUUUUUUU!” Akira charges down to the ring and slides in under the bottom rope. Jumping to his feet, he poses for the crowd. “AND HIS OPPONENT!” Every light in the arena goes to full power as the Smarktron whites out. For a moment the only sound is that of a needle scratching over vinyl... And then *BAM* The heavy drumming of Norma Jean’s “Creating Something Out of Nothing, Only to Destroy It” blasts through the arena as the lyrics pierce the ears of everyone listening. “Like bringing a knife to a gun fight… Like Bringing A Knife To A Gun Fight… LIKE BRINGING A KNIFE TO A GUN FIGHT!” Bright white lights begin flashing at the entranceway. As the growls hit the crowd, Spike walks out wearing a black “POSH” hoodie, the hood covering most of his face. Spike drops down to one knee, leaving one arm to hang to the ground, while the other is firmly placed on his knee. After a few moments, Spike raises both arms into an “X”, symbolizing his Straight Edge life style. Spike rises to his feet and begins to make his way down the isle towards the ring. “Making his way to the ring,” begins Funyon. “Weighing in at a total of Two Hundred and Twenty-five pounds…hailing from Hollywood, California and representing the Kingdom of Cambodia…he is “HOLLYWOOD” SPIIIIIIIIIIIKE JEEEEEEEEEEENKINSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!” Spike makes his way completely around the ring and rolls underneath the bottom rope. He continues rolling until he hits dead center in the middle of the ring. Spike rises to one knee and resumes the position he was in at the top of the entranceway. One arm hanging to the ground, the other placed on his knee. Finally, Spike rises to his feet. He quickly peels off the hood, releasing his blonde, dyed hair free. He puts his arms together, forming an “X” across his chest, again promoting his Straight Edge life style. “A rematch from this years Genesis where Spike Jenkins not only defeated Akira Kaibatsu by reversing a top rope hurricanrana into a powerbomb…but humiliating Akira’s father and family name!” “Yeah…that was a funny couple of weeks.” “Jackass.” The referee checks with both men and when satisfied, calls for the bell. *Ding Ding Ding* “The first match of round one of the Cold Front Classic has officially gone underway!” “Yippie?” Jenkins and Akira both enter the center of the ring, ready for combat. Akira immediately charges at his rival…but Jenkins drops down with a go behind and grab a waist lock. Akira tries to shake Spike off, but the bigger cruiserweight is able to pull Kaibatsu into a side headlock and then roll over into a cravate! "Oh God…here come the cravats," moans King. "How are you not use to this yet, King?” “How come you still can’t walk?” “I’m paralyzed.” “So am I…of cravats!” Spike wrenches at the neck, twisting the spine of the Divine Wind. Akira yelps in pain, but is quick to attack. He places his foot on the back of Spike's knee, bringing the Hollywood Superstar down to one knee. Akira glides his body over the back of Jenkins, forcing Spike to break the cravate and allowing Akira to grab a front face lock! Spike rolls through to his side, bringing Akira down to the mat chest first and grabbing his arm for an armbar! Akira climbs up to his feet, not giving Jenkins a moment to use. He drops down, bringing Jenkins over with an arm drag! Pulling himself up to one knee, Akira holds onto Spike's arm for an armbar of his own! Spike grabs at his arm, but isn't able to break free. He rolls backwards onto his feet, reversing the armbar into one of his own and dragging Akira down to the mat with his own arm drag! Both men immediately get to their feet and stare off, getting the approval from the crowd inside the ARCO Arena around them! "And a stare off between the two enemies," remarks Francis. "Akira Kaibatsu has a lot going into this match. Not only a shot at the World Title and advancing in the Cold Front Classic, but also to gain a measure of revenge against the man that defeated him at Genesis and disgraced his family name!" Jenkins backs up into a corner, displeased that he let the youngster get some shots in on him, but keeps his cool. Akira seems more excited then usual, obviously revenge is one of his intentions going into this match. Both men circle the ring and enter the center. Spike shoots low once again with the go behind, and grabbing a waist lock. Akira struggles to break free, but realizes he is at the disadvantage in the strength department and instead opts to drop down, bringing Spike over onto his back with a takedown. Akira puts all his weight down on Spike's arm and locking it in an armbar. Akira climbs up to his feet, pulling Spike up with him. Akira wrenches on the arm, twisting Spike's shoulder into the wrong direction. Spike kneels over, patting at his arm to try and fight it off, but Akira has a firm grip. Spike, a master of chain wrestling and a true veteran inside the ring, knows he can counter this move into another maneuver…but instead just opts for… *SMACK* …Smacks Akira across the face! "YEE-OUCH!" Stunned from the strike, Akira doubles over clutching his face. Spike takes the opportunity to drive his forearm into the back of the neck of the Divine Wind! The force of the blow knocks Akira down to one knee, but Spike pulls him back up for a second forearm to the back of the neck! Akira pushes himself away from his attacker, trying to work through the pain. Jenkins proceeds to follow Akira, not wanting to let the damaged cruiserweight get away, but Akira shoots up to a full stance and… *CHOP* [ "WOOOOOOO!" …Knife-edge chops Spike! Spike stumbles back, but goes to return with a chop of his own, that Akira waits for… …but instead grabs Akira around the neck with a cravate! "Spike seems to enjoy boring us to death with this move!" "It looks to me like Spike's strategy is to upset the youngster to take him off his game," notes Mak. Spike drops down to one knee, adding more pressure to the back of Akira's neck with the cravate. The youth begins to get frustrated, as he drives an elbow into the sternum of Jenkins. Spike rises to his feet, giving Akira the opportunity to go lower with his strikes, driving an elbow into the gut. Once again, using the same strategy as before, Akira drops down to the mat, throwing Spike forward out of the cravate with an arm drag! Spike rolls onto his feet and quickly turns around… *CHOP* …To receive a knife-edge chop by Akira! Jenkins falls to the mat and quickly crawls off into a corner. He gets to his feet, doubled over and still holding his chest, ducking in between the middle and top rope to keep Kaibatsu away from him! "Big chop by Akira!" Akira follows Spike into the corner, pulling him out from in between the ropes and pushing him up against the turnbuckles. Akira leans back and crushes Spikes jaw in with a solid left jab! Akira pulls back; ready to continue his strike…when Spike rakes him across the eyes! Akira stumbles out of the corner, doubled over as Spike charges out, grabbing Akira by the neck and slamming him into the mat with a swinging neckbreaker! Akira clutches the back of his head as Spike covers him with a lateral press and hooks the leg. Referee Harry turns around and drops down to make the count. ONE! TWO! TH---No! Akira kicks out! "Jenkins raking the eyes and almost scoring the win!” Spike stands on his knees, allowing Akira to roll over onto his stomach, still holding onto the back of his head. Spike lifts both of his arms into the air and begins clubbing at the back of the neck of Akira, keeping the smaller cruiserweight on the mat! "Spike with those clubbing forearms to the back of the head, really trying to wear down the neck!" "Well, King. One of Akira's strong points is his speed, so keeping him grounded and using the cravate to frustrate him only gives Spike the advantage." Spike grabs the back of Akira's head and pulls him up to his feet. Locking his arms around the neck for another cravate, Spike pulls him over with a snapmare. With Kaibatsu sitting prone in the middle of the ring, Spike drives his elbow into the neck of his opponent, sending a sting straight down his spinal cord! Spike stands up and quickly drops the elbow back into the neck again, causing Akira to roll over onto his stomach and shout in pain. He climbs up to his feet, reaches down and pulls Akira up, as well. He grabs a front face lock, turns his and Akira's body around and drops to the mat with a neckbreaker! Kaibatsu spasms as Jenkins floats over for the cover! ONE! TWO! THR---No! Akira gets a shoulder up! Spike jumps to his knees and figuratively down the referee's throat as he slaps his hands together fast, saying that it was a three count. "Spike Jenkins desperately trying to put away Akira," says Francis. "He continues to target the neck which has drastically slowed down Akira!" Spike climbs up to his feet, confidentially walks back into the ropes, bounces off, leaps up, and drives his knee into the throat of Kaibatsu! Akira begins coughing as he tries to roll away, but Jenkins pulls him back and gets the lateral press! ONE! TWO! THR---NO! Akira kicks out! "Spike is throwing out everything he has against the youngster!" Spike stands on his knees, catching his breathe from the punishment he has been dealing out. Slowly rising to his feet, he grabs Akira by the back of the head and lifts him off the mat. But as Akira peels off the ground, he grabs his second wind and elbows Jenkins square in the gut! Jenkins stumbles back and receives a second elbow to the gut! Akira, now free from the clutches of Spike, charges into the ropes. He bounces off and comes full speed towards Spike, ready to get some revenge on his opponent… …when he gets caught right in the jaw with a back elbow! Akira fumbles back, doubled over and holding his jaw. Spike stands straight up; staring straight into the camera with his back turned from Akira, and pulls his elbow pad off, throwing it to the side. "Spike Jenkins is going to go for the lariat!" shouts King, "If he hits this on the already injured neck of Akira, it'll be the end of the match!" Spike shoots off into the ropes, bouncing into them as hard as he can to get the most amount of momentum behind him. He blasts off, charging at Akira with full speed… …His arm extended out… …Ready to take Akira's head off… ……… *SMACK* …But Spike doesn't get a chance to hit the lariat, as Akira bursts forward with a quick-as-lightning roundhouse kick to the gut, that echoes throughout the ARCO Arena! "WHAT A KICK!" shouts Mak. Jenkins doubles over, coughing as he tries to get oxygen back into his lungs. Akira now has his back to Jenkins, points into the crowd and up into the air, posing for the California fans! "AKIRA! AKIRA! AKIRA!" Ready to take off into the ropes, Akira gets ready to sprint… …only to be knocked to the ground by a HEY-YOU-DON'T-YOU-GOD-DAMN-TURN-YOUR-BACK-ON-ME-LARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIATTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-TO-THE-BACK-OF-THE-NECK!!!!! "LARIAT! " Akira crumples to the mat, following behind by Jenkins. Both men lie on the mat, exhausted from the battle with the other. The referee checks on both competitors, realizing what he has to do. ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! "The referee is going to count both men out!" cries Francis. "And disqualify both men? And send the crowd home in an uproar? I'm all for it!" laughs King. FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! "AKIRA! AKIRA! AKIRA!" Spike is the first of the two men to show movement, as he pushes himself up and crawls over to Akira, placing his arm over his opponents chest! "It's all over after that lariat!" ONE! TWO! THRE---NO! AKIRA GETS A SHOULDER UP! AND THE CROWD GOES NUTS! "AKIRA! AKIRA! AKIRA!" "Akira kicked out of the lariat to the back of the neck!" says Mak. Spike rolls off of Akira, still having trouble breathing after the massive kick to the gut. Kaibatsu also rolls over, holding the back of his head as he turns onto his stomach and lifts himself up onto his hands and knees. Spike, seeing the perfect opportunity to continue with his strategy, crawls over to Akira once again, this time, locking his hands around the neck for another cravate! "Again with the cravats?" The Suicide King asks. Spike wrenches at the neck, continually twisting it into shambles. Akira fights up to his feet, with Spike following right behind him, refusing to let go of the hold. Akira pulls back and slams his elbow into the gut of Jenkins once again! Spike, still feeling the effects of the kick to the gut before, releases the hold and doubles over. Both men exhausted, Akira is the first to move as he grabs Spike by the wrist and Irish whips him across the ring into the ropes. Spike hits the ropes and bounces back…into a dropkick! Spike crashes to the mat, as does Akira. Spike immediately rolls over to the ropes, holding his jaw. Akira uses his arms to push himself up and both men begin to climb to their feet! "Both men are up to their feet," cries Mak, "It looks like we are about to have a face off!" Both Akira and Spike make it to their feet at the same time. Spike, still dazed off the dropkick, doesn't want to lose his advantage in the match. He charges at Akira, ready to strike… …But Akira grabs him by the arm and brings him back down to the mat with a Fujiwara Armbar! "Fujiwara Armbar!" "Desperation submission move by the young Japanese superstar!” notes Mak. Spike hits the mat with a thud, as Akira attacks the arm like a wounded animal. Tearing back at the shoulder, Jenkins screams in pain as he tries to move himself over towards the ropes. The referee jumps into position, asking Spike if he gives up! Spike just yells out in pain, using his free arm to rotate his body over towards the ropes! "Akira is trying to rip Spike's arm off!" shouts Mak. "Then use it to smack Spike around, ha!" Akira keeps pulling back on it, literally trying to rip it off. Spike rotates his body towards the ropes…reaches back with both of his feet… …and gets a foot on the bottom rope! The referee calls for Akira to break the hold, who immediately does. He smacks the mat in frustration, as Spike rolls towards the ropes and onto the ring apron. "Akira almost got the submission with the fujiwara armbar! Spike Jenkins just barely got to the ropes!" Akira struggles up to his feet, but lets loose a war cry as he catches his third wind of the match. He is the Divine Wind, after all. Akira walks over towards where Spike is laying on the apron, pulls him back into the ring and lifts him up to his feet. Jenkins holds onto his now damaged shoulder as Akira backs him up into the ropes, grabbing him by the wrist of the bad arm and Irish whipping him across the ring…except Spike stops in mid-motion, holding onto the hand of Kaibatsu. Before Akira can do anything, Spike pulls him into a knee to the gut. Using his left arm, (the arm that wasn't locked in the fujiwara armbar) he grabs Akira in a front face lock and drops backwards, driving Akira head first into the mat with a DDT! Akira's body ricochets off the mat and he lands in a heap. Spike quickly turns over, still holding his shoulder, but covers Kaibatsu to the mat! ONE! TWO! THRE---NO! AKIRA GETS A SHOULDER UP! "Akira kicks out of the DDT! The youngster is all heart, let me tell you!" "Yeah, but soon enough, he'll be all heart with no neck." Spike rises to his knees, grimacing as he holds his right shoulder. He grabs Akira by the back of the head and lifts him into a sitting position. Grabbing Akira's right wrist with his left hand and the left wrist with his right hand, Spike forms an X over Akira's throat with his own arms and pulls back, trying to choke out the Divine Wind! "A Japanese stranglehold on the Japanese sensation!” "He has the Japanese kid in a Japanese stranglehold? How ironic?" Spike pulls back on the stranglehold, but Akira isn't just going to sit there and take it. After a few seconds of suffering in the hold, Akira pulls his left arm away from Spike's weaker right arm. To make up for the loss of one arm, Spike uses both of his to choke Akira with his right arm. Having his left arm free gives Kaibatsu the ability to push himself up to his feet, which Spike follows right behind, not letting go of the half Japanese stranglehold. Now on his own two feet and having more balance than a graceful cat, Akira slips under his own arm and breaks away from the hold. Still holding onto the right wrist, Spike tries to not let Akira follow up. He pulls Kaibatsu towards him, looking for a clothesline…but Akira ducks underneath! As he ducks underneath of Jenkins, he is able to free his captured hand and is now in the motion of charging towards the ropes. He leaps up, jumping onto the middle rope and springboarding back… …just as Jenkins turns around… …and connects with a springboard gamenguri!!! "A springboard gamenguri! A kick to the face of Jenkins! Akira might be able to pull the upset off and advance in the tournament!" Jenkins crashed to the mat, dazed from the kick to the head. Akira lands on the mat, grabs at his neck, but doesn't want to miss the opportunity and quickly crawls over and covers Spike! ONE! TWO! THREE---NO! SPIKE GETS A SHOULDER UP! Spike pushes Akira off of him and quickly rolls over onto his stomach. Akira rolls over onto his stomach and pushes himself up to his feet, feeling the energy of the crowd flow through him. "AKIRA! AKIRA! AKIRA!" "The crowd is clearly behind Akira Kaibatsu!" Akira gets to his feet, balling his hands up into fists and waving them around. Spike Jenkins climbs to his feet as well, still clutching his face. Akira moves in on Jenkins… *CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK* …and connects with three forearm shots to the face~! Spike stumbles back as Akira backs up a foot, slapping his elbow as he spins around, looking to connect with Spike's jaw with a roaring elbow! …But as he spins around, Spike steps forward and grabs another cravate! " He stopped Akira dead in his tracks with ANOTHER cravate," laughs King. But Akira has had enough of the cravats. He grabs Spike's right arm and with all his strength, breaks the cravate! "Akira broke the cravate by going after Spike's weak arm! That must be why he went for the arm! He realized Spike's strategy and is trying to stop him from using it!" Akira spins out of Spike's grasp and to his opponent's side. He grabs Spike's left arm and hooks Spike up for a Russian Legsweep…but instead, rolls forward! He pulls Spike forward to the mat, locking both of his legs around Spike's left leg! Spike turns over onto his stomach, not sure of where to go as he frantically reaches for the ropes! "CROSS KNEELOCK! The same move that won him the Cruiserweight title!” Spike knows where he is and what is capable of happening. He digs his fingernails into the mat as he claws his way towards the ropes… …But Akira plans on making him work for it! Akira sandbags himself to the mat, forcing Spike to carry not only himself but also Kaibatsu himself towards the ropes! Spike scrapes towards the ropes, trying to hold on for dear life. Spike holds his hand out, reaching for the bottom rope as Akira tries to pull his leg out. Just inches away, Spike literally dives for the ropes… …AND MISSES! …But his hand ends up underneath the rope, which technically is a rope break! Referee Harry calls for Akira to break the hold, which he does. "Spike Jenkins BARELY making it to the ropes and breaking free!” says Francis. “Akira almost advanced to the second round of the Cold Front Classic right there!” Akira rolls backwards onto his feet and stands up. Spike uses the bottom rope to pull himself towards the outside of the ring, but Akira grabs him by the ankle and pulls him into the center! "Akira looks ready to finish Spike off!" He grabs Spike by his long hair and pulls him up onto his feet, quickly kneeing Jenkins in the gut to double him over. Grabbing a front face lock, Akira uses his thumb to cut across his throat, signaling for the Brainbuster! "How is Akira going to hit the brainbuster with a bad neck?" asks King. "I don't know if this is a smart move, but if he hits it, it may be the end of this match!" Akira hooks Spike up for a suplex and lifts the Hollywood Superstar up into the air for the Brainbuster! …But Akira's neck quickly gives out and Jenkins falls to his feet behind the Divine Wind. Collapsing to one knee, Spike instantly grabs Akira with a rear waistlock, pulls himself up to a full stance and lifts Kaibatsu up into the air… …AND DROPS HIM ONTO THE BACK OF HIS HEAD WITH A BELLY-TO-BACK SUPLEX! "DANGEROUSSSSSAHHHHHHH!" shouts Mak Francis. The crowd groans in unison as Spike holds onto a bridge for dear life, hoping his leg won't give out from under him…like it did when he first won the Cruiserweight Title from Austin Sly. ONE!!!!! TWO!!!! THREE!!!! NO!!! AKIRA KICKS OUT! "Akira kicks out of that HUGE suplex by half a second!" Akira kicks out, rolling backwards and onto his stomach…but Spike is not going to let it end there. He quickly floats over, tying up Akira's arm behind his neck; he locks his fingers around Akira’s face and pulls back with the modified Crossface! "Strong Island Stretch! Spike has been working on Akira's neck the whole match and now has him locked in the Strong Island Stretch!" shouts Francis. "But he is near the ropes! Damn it, Spike! You've been a ring general all night with staying near the ropes when Akira hits his big moves and now you put him in a submission NEAR the ropes?" shouts the King. "Spike is just trying to do anything to put Akira away." Akira shrieks in agony, as he now begins to claw towards the ropes. Shifting his body around, his feet just barely reach the ropes…not quite, but he is able to graze them. Akira uses his free hand to tear at Spike's…and he is able to break the grip Spike has by tearing at the bad arm of Jenkins! But Spike refuses to break the hold and with his good arm that is still gripping the mask, he sticks his fingers through the slit in Akira's mask and fishhooks the Divine Wind! "Fishhooks are illegal, damn it!" cries Francis. Akira, now in even more pain, pushes himself back, getting his foot on the bottom rope and forcing Spike to break the hold! Spike releases the hold and crawls away, grabbing at his arm. "Both men are throwing everything they have at the other! Spike Jenkins is going to limitless bounds to advance in this tournament!" Spike forces himself to his feet, trying to work the kinks out of his shoulder. He limps over towards Akira, who also begins to show weakness as he clutches the back of his neck. Spike grabs him by his mask and pulls him up to his feet… …But Akira has a burst of energy and pushes Spike backwards… …spins around… …AND FINALLY CONNECTS WITH THE ROARING ELBOW! "Roaring Elbow by Akira!" Spike, stunned by the blow, stumbles back. Before he can fall to the mat, Akira grabs him in a ¾ headlock and turn towards the corner. "Akira is going for The Divine Wind! If he hits this, the match will be over for sure!" Akira, with Spike locked behind him, charges towards the ropes…but before they make it a quarter of the way, Spike pushes Akira off of him and into the corner… …But Akira leaps up onto the middle ropes! The crowd awes at the momentum and cat-like reflexes of the Divine Wind as he springboards back towards Jenkins… …Who is waiting for him and catches him underneath the jaw with a European Uppercut!! "European Uppercut, catching Akira coming off the middle rope!" shouts Mak. Akira, stunned by the strike, stumbles back, but is quickly pulled into a front face lock. Spike yells out for the Brainbuster, planning to hit his and finish Akira for good! "Spike is going for his own brainbuster," says King, "Maybe he'll have better luck than Akira!" Spike hooks Akira for a suplex, lifting him straight into the air…but Akira moves his body around and falls behind Jenkins, landing on his feet. Startled, Spike goes to turn around, but Akira cuts him off…but chopping down on Spike's injured right arm! Spike yelps in pain, as Akira steps in front of him, grabs him in a ¾ headlock, charges towards the ropes, springboards off the top rope and flips in mid-air… …DRIVING SPIKE JENKINS INTO THE MAT WITH THE DIVINE WIND! "AKIRA HIT THE DIVINE WIND! IT'S ALL OVER!" shouts Mak in excitement! The crowd buzzes as Akira floats over into a lateral press, hooking the leg for the cover! ONE!!!!!!! TWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THREE!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! SPIKE JENKINS GRABS THE BOTTOM ROPE!!!!!! "Spike grabbed the bottom rope?" questions King whose mouth just hit the ground. "I…WOW!" "I don't know how he did it, but Spike Jenkins is still in this thing!" Akira sits up, looking at the referee and questions the call. Spike crawls towards the ropes. Akira gets to his feet, grabs Spike by the ankle and tries to pull him towards the center of the ring…but Spike refuses to let go of the bottom rope! "He is holding onto it for dear life!" Akira is finally able to pull Spike off of the ropes and drags him into the center of the ring. He grabs Jenkins by the hair and pulls him up to his feet. With Spike nearly out on his feet, Akira grabs the right arm and tries to bring Spike down with another Fujiwara! Spike tries to push Kaibatsu off, but Akira refuses to let go. Both men doubled over, they fight for control of the armbar. "If Akira gets Spike in the fujiwara armbar again, this match will be over!” "Spike has been using his ring awareness to dominate this match…there has to be something he can do!" Instead of falling onto his face, Spike rolls forward onto his back. Still holding onto Akira's arm, he twists his body around underneath his standing opponent. Finally in position, Spike lifts his legs into the air, locking them around Akira's arm and bringing him to the mat with an arm scissors! "What the…" Not sure of what to do, Akira tries to pull away towards the ropes, but he gets caught in the one thing Spike has been catching him with all night… …a cravate! "HANGMAN'S CLUTCH! THE CRAVATE WITH THE ARMBAR!" "ANOTHER cravate?" Akira now realizes he is in trouble as Spike pulls back on the neck. He tries to struggle to get to the ropes, but with his arm trapped underneath both his and Jenkins' body weight, he doesn't have the option of moving around much. His neck is already on the verge of snapping… And he knows his opponent won't stop until it does snap… *TAP TAP TAP* "SPIKE JENKINS ADVANCES IN THE COLD FRONT CLASSIC!" *DING DING DING* Spike releases the hold and rolls over onto his stomach. The referee raises his arm in the air, as SWF Lockdown goes to a commercial break.

JJ vs. Benson forthcoming. Blame LDP.

Jimmy-Drake forthcoming.

“I’m Ben Hardy,” says Ben Hardy, backstage, “and I’m backstage with the number-three seed in the Cold Front Classic and the brains behind the brawn, Tom Flesher and James Matheson!” Sure enough, Flesher and Matheson are standing beside Hardy, leaving the interviewer with a perfect four-for-four record thus far. “James, what’s the plan for tonight?” Never mind. “Cheese and rice, Hardy,” screams Matheson, his blood pressure rising to three or four times its normal level as he begins the interview, “what the heck are you thinking, asking a question like that? Why would you come out here and expect a man as brilliant, as talented as Tom Flesher, a ring general like Tom Flesher, the sort of man who’s come out here night after night and put his body on the line, the kind of guy who goes home every night and makes sure your wife and your daughter are satisfied, a person who’s willing to disjoint his opponents just to make the rubes happy, why would you want him to give away his strategy? That’s just stupid on a bunch of different levels, Ben!” Hardy sputters, “Well, I, uh...” “I mean, first, it’s a security risk. Don’t you remember when Geraldo gave away the position of the unit he was embedded with? Didn’t you learn anything about that? Tom Flesher’s job is to protect himself, and you’re trying to set it up so any legitimate contender, or Johnny Dangerous, he could come out and stop everything Tom’s planned on doing! Don’t you read any of the darn ethics bulletins?!” “But I...” “Now are you gonna try to conduct this interview like you know what you’re doing, or do I have to pretend I got the same Cs at journalism school you did and ask the stupid questions myself?” “Well,” Hardy mumbles, clearly trying to recoup from the verbal whipping Matheson has given him, “I’m only asking because Johnny Dangerous has won all of their recent meetings...” Matheson slaps his forehead in disbelief. “Good lord thundering blue, Ben, have you been listening to a word I said? Who the heck do you think you are, Sacha Barton Cohen, trying to come out here and get me angry like Andy Rooney on the Ali G show? What on earth do you think you’re doing? What numbnut in the SWF head office keeps you on the payroll when there are perfectly qualified people like Emma Dumas or Joe Peters’ third cousin who just flunked out of the GED class who could come in here and take your job and do it better every time?” “I really don’t think...” “Clearly,” says Tom Flesher, stepping to the forefront as Matheson takes a deep breath and begins counting backwards from 10. “You know, Ben,” says Tom, visibly calmer than his manager, “the past couple of months, since I faced Michael Stephens at Genesis, haven’t been the best or most productive time I’ve spent in the SWF. But you know what? The number-three finish in the Cold Front Classic Battle Royal showed something, Benny. I’ve never been a battle royal wrestler, but I lasted to the very end there. I’ve been training since my loss to Jay Hawke, because as good as Hawke is, he’s not the sort of guy who can beat me. My suplexes are quicker, my submissions are tougher, and my Yakuza kick is like being hit by...” Flesher pauses, unable to come up with a good analogy. “A truck?” offers Hardy helpfully. “It’s not a truck,” snaps Matheson. “It’s a series of tubes!” “Exactly,” says Flesher. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a match to prep for.”

SWF Lockdown returns to the ARCO Arena located in sunny Sacramento, California where the fans proceed to jump around, hoping they can be lucky enough to be seen on television. Since most people despise professional wrestling anyway, they would be luckier if they didn’t make it on to their best friend’s tube by mistake…which begs the question. Why are you watching? “I must admit, despite his lack of pleasantry, I am glad to hear JJ Johnson’s voice again in the SWF. His triumphant return last week in the Cold Front Classic Battle Royal was a sight to behold. However, the first contest of the night is between two warrior who were conspicuously left out of the Cold Front Classic.” The Franchise opens this segment of Lockdown with a minor recap. “Conspicuous?” The King of Hearts questions, “Are you shitting me? Insane Luchador should stick to stabbing himself with nails and his opponent, the man that’s on the edge of breaking into the main event, should probably just retire now. If you ask me, Zyon’s more on the brink of getting fired, and he should be. The kid complains about not getting fair treatment and when Joseph Peters gives him another shot at the big time, he fucks it up…again. Face it, both of these attractions are failed experiments.” “King, I disagree with you every account.” Mak responds unsurprisingly, “The Ill One has been a staple of the SWF for years…hell he even cheated death, like two times. And we all saw how Zyon got duped by Michael Stephens. While it was an intelligent maneuver on our World Champ’s part, you can’t help, but feel for the Unique Youth. I personally, can’t wait for this encounter.” The Franchise signs off. And Funyon signs on, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the opening bout of tonight’s episode of SWF Lockdown is a standard singles match!” “Man in the Box” by Alice in Chains thumps the ear drums of every individual in attendance tonight as a surge of red and black…yeah black, pyro goes off causing a blind excitement to rummage through the audience. Emerging through the smoke, energetically tossing his arms into the sky, our favorite psychopath takes part in the second Kodak moment of the night. “First, hailing from Easton, Pennsylvania, and weighing in tonight at 223 lbs!! Your Psychotic Hero, INSANE LUCHADORRRRRRRRRR!!!!” Funyon booms before quickly getting out of the way as the hyper psychopath sprints down to the ring, slapping fans’ hands on his way to the squared circle. Nervously, pacing around the ring with that unstable grin shadowing his face, the Ill One suddenly comes to a halt as the lights in the arena dim…and the smile grows. I’M BORN… I’M ALIVE… I BREATHE… Erupting to the distinct sound of “Vitamin” by Incubus, the Californians that pack the ARCO Arena bum rush the safety barrier, allowing the security to use “reasonable” force to compel the crowd into a retreat. Despite the securities scare tactics, the Sacramento species of wrestling fanatics continue to anticipate the Unique Youth’s arrival, and then the anticipation ends… …And the man appears. “And his opponent, hailing from Elkhart, Indiana, weighing in tonight at an even 200 lbs. He is the Unique Youth, ZYYYYYYON!!!” Funyon shouts before leaving the ring as Zyon sprints down the ramp, smacking the hands of the frenzied audience, that scratches and claws their way back to their original seats. “He came up short in the Main Event of Ashes to Ashes and was then left out of the Cold Front Classic extravaganza, Zyon has got to be a man on a mission tonight.” “For once Mak, I agree with you. His mission is simple…don’t get fired. Of course, a victory tonight along with his recent teaming with equally worthless Akira Kaibatsu may not save him in the long run.” As the announcers continue to treat this match the way it deserves to be treated since it is the opening bout, both Zyon and the Insane Luchador realize that opening bout or not, they can steal the show on any given night. Will tonight be one of those nights? Fuck it, let’s find out. DING DING DING!!!! The opening bell tolls, eliciting a deafening cheer from the packed ACRO Arena as the two competitors circle each other, waiting for the other to make the first move like any good tactician would do. Too bad they both tactically suck. Pivoting off their individual outside foot, both men charge at one another with fists held high. Hooking his right hand at the head of the Ill One, Zyon transitions the strike from a regular boxing punch to a slicing elbow that IL narrowly dodges with a simple lowering of his form! Noticing the opening in the youth’s midsection that just scream “hit me,” IL thrusts himself at his opponent, barrowing his shoulder into Zyon’s sternum. Retreating to a fallen state, gasping for breath, Zyon pushes himself back to his feet, only to be knocked backward with a straight left to the face! Shaking his head around, attempting to regain feeling in his face, Zyon circles away from the ropes giving himself more space to work with… *CRACK!* …However, what Zyon really should have planned was to distance himself away from the Insane Luchador, more specifically, IL’s right elbow that strikes him dead in the jaw. Ignoring the stinging sensation in his jaw, Zyon looks to retaliate with a sharp forearm that IL TAKES LIKE A CHAMP!! *CRACK!* “OHHHH! What a shot! The ultra tough Insane Luchador is forced to rub his face after that strike!” Mak calls the action, proving that IL didn’t really take the strike like a champ, but more like a human that just got hit in the face. Latching on to IL’s right arm, Zyon stomps his foot, using his momentum to send the Ill One sprinting across the ring with an Irish whip. Rebounding off the ropes, IL regains control over his muscular function while in mid stride, tossing his foot toward the youth in the form of a Yakuza Kick! Luckily, the youth is able to react by throwing his hands up, palms facing outward, enabling him to snatch the former Hardcore Champion’s foot out of the sky! Shocking his opponent, IL sweeps his grounded boot off the canvas, punting the former Cruiserweight Champion in the side of the head with a brutal enziguri…complete with front flip back bump!!!! “Now that I like! Not just because I adore any moment Zyon is suffering, but that kick to the side of the head had some mustard behind it…and you know I love me some mustard.” “You know King, I heard Landon Maddix enjoys mustard as well.” “That bastard. First Pepsi and now mustard. Ok, well at least he isn’t a fan of ketchup.” “Ummm, King…” “NOOOOOOOO!” Darth King shouts to the nether. Back in the ring, Zyon has found his way back to his wobbly feet, vision blurring ever so slightly, with the static like sculpture of his opponent standing before him…with his fist pulled back. *CRRBLOCK!* Deflecting the meat of the strike away from his face, Zyon responds with a simple boot to IL’s sternum, doubling him over into a front face lock! Swinging the Ill One into the horizon, Zyon swiftly descends to the canvas, slamming the Insane Luchador with a speedy snap suplex! Floating over on to his opponent with a lateral press, Zyon watches as referee Ken Masters drops down for the count. ONE… Kickout! It’s going to take a lot more than that to take the psychopath out, which Zyon is aware of as he quickly forces the hardcore menace to his feet by his wildly spiked hair. Driving his knee into the sternum of his foe, Zyon tosses his opponent across the ring with another Irish whip. Using the energy behind the Irish whip, IL leaps onto the middle rope, spring backward with a surprising no look springboard elbow that pierces Zyon in the chest…BULLSEYE! “Brilliant counter by a man that I believe is a lot smarter than we give him credit for. He’s a lot more athletic as well.” The Franchise compliments the Insane Luchador on the fundamentals. Using the near ropes to pull himself back to his feet, Zyon charges the hardcore oddity, foolishly falling into another fundamental maneuver brought to us by our Psychopathic Hero. The move in question, a simple yet embarrassing hip toss that grounds the youth once again!! Slapping the canvas furiously on his way back to his feet, Zyon aggressively lunges at his most recent nemesis, who is more than ready to topple the Unique Youth with ANOTHER upsetting hip toss!!! “HA! This is fantastic! Zyon the supposed next great main eventer is getting absolutely schooled by a man who specializes in matches with light tubes.” The Gambling Man belittles the youth who is currently on the defensive. Hurrying to his feet, albeit with a bit more caution that his previous ascension, Zyon grinds the bitterness between his teeth, while the emerald eyes of one Insane Luchador continue to stalk him. Arrogantly, the Unique Youth gathers himself, and much to the astonishment of his opponent, Zyon challenges the hardcore maniac to “bring it on” with a simple flick of his wrist. Something in the youth’s taunting gesture sets the Ill One off as he jets toward the flustered competitor with a decapitating lariat!!! *SWISH!* A decapitating lariat that slices the oxygen, but leaves the flesh intact. Pivoting to face his opponent’s back, Zyon applies a reverse waistlock on the Psychopathic Hero…only to catch a startling elbow to the face! Shaking away the cobwebs, Zyon suddenly loses his grip as the Ill One performs a crisp standing switch, wrapping the youth up in a waist lock of his own!! Hoisting Zyon into the air, IL looks to drive the youngster into the canvas back first with a high angle back drop, but the youth with momentum on his side, easily escapes with a flip, landing sloppily on his feet. Staggering backward away from his opponent, Zyon regains his center of gravity before bouncing off the ropes, and galloping toward his enemy. Turning to face the lightning bolt heading his way, the Insane Luchador reaches out for the young disaster, only to watch in horror as Zyon slides under the narrow split in IL’s current stance. Popping off the ground, Zyon immediately captures the Ill One in an inverted reverse face lock! Struggling with all his might to get free of this awkward choke, IL quickly realizes that his feet is no longer on the canvas… …And that his back hurts…it hurts a lot! “Nice! Lately, Zyon has performed a slew of innovative offense that has nothing to do with jumping off towering heights. The 3.0 back breaker would be one of those moves.” Mak is pleased to see Zyon using maneuvers that could keep him in the wrestling business for a few more years than his usual up-tempo attacks. Clutching his back for a moment, the Insane Luchador is momentarily powerless to fight the youth off as he is forced back to his feet. Stunning the immobile cruiserweight with a series of relatively weak forearm shivers, Zyon leaps on to the nearest ropes, springing backward with an elbow of his own! Looking to embarrass the chump he’s in the ring with by using the mimicking technique, Zyon might just learn a few things. One, and most importantly. Insane Luchador is not a chump. And two… …Applying a reverse waistlock on a competitor that is in mid air would be completely feasible, especially if the one in flight weighs a light 200 lbs. After snatching the bewildered youth from the skies, IL struggles to hold the youth in check, until he simply tosses him into the air with a reckless release German suplex! Everyone in the ARCO arena allows their eyes to follow the youth as he collapses to the mat!!! “YEAAAAAHHHHH!” Feet first that is! Spinning the wide eyed maniac around, Zyon scoops the surprised competitor into the air for what has to be the Aero Driver!!! Stealing a page from his Houdini like opponent, IL shimmers down the youth’s back as the pace of the match has most definitely picked up!!! Trapping the youth in another irritating waist lock, the Psychotic Hero wastes no time in hoisting the youth into the air, and releasing at the very peak of the apex with another attempt at the always deadly release German suplex. *BANG!!!* If you don’t believe those Greco throws are fatal, just ask the youth who landed DISTGUSTINGLY ON HIS NECK!!! Unfolding the crinkled cruiserweight, IL falls on top of the youth for the cover. ONE!!!! TWO!!!! KICKOUT!!! “Damn! I was sure the spot monkey was done for. I should know by now that unless it’s a main event caliber match that Zyon might have some slither of a chance. Otherwise, he’s in over his head.” The King denounces the claims made by some that Zyon could be the next great main event wrestler. Hoisting the youth back to his feet, IL could be making the potentially lethal mistake as he chooses to size the youth up as opposes to sending the youth to hell with a blaze of high impact moves. Pivoting on his foot, IL spins around, tossing his fist out of his twister dance, looking to remove Zyon’s face with a beautiful spinning back fist! However, not only does the youth dodge the apocalyptic strike, but he is able to roll away from his opponent, and under the bottom rope. Returning to a calmer stance than that of his tornado like spinning, the Ill One’s eyes slowly rise into the sky, focusing on what looks to be a mysterious figure. “YEAHHHHHH!” The shadow is only mysterious to one man though and that will only be a mystery for about three more seconds. Three… Two… One… *BANG!* Plunging his feet deep into the chest cavity of his ruthless opponent with an awesome springboard missile dropkick, Zyon hurries over to the fallen luchadore, covering him for the pin attempt. ONE! TWKICKOUT!!! Refusing to remain a carcass (again) for another second, IL pops his shoulder off the canvas much to Zyon’s chagrin. Lifting the disoriented hardcore luchador back to his unsteady base and knocking him even more so off balance with a STIFF forearm strike! Declining his often brutal opponent the chance for redemption, Zyon easily dodges IL’s retaliating wild right hand before sending him on his way with a swift Irish whip. Leaping off the ground in timing with Insane Luchador’s arrival, the Unique Youth spins horizontally through the air, unleashing a wicked spinning wheel kick that downs the former Hardcore Champion!!! *CRACK!!!* Popping off the canvas and back to his feet, sporting a noticeable bruise across his face, IL desperately reaches for the momentous youth, who drives his opponent backward with a harsh knee to the sternum. Positioning the doubled over psycho’s head in the crevice of his knee, Zyon latches on to Insane Luchador’s near arm to set up the rolling neck breaker! *BANG!!!* “It seems the youth has taken full control of this match. At this rate it would seem as IL may not have prepared accordingly for what Zyon has thrown at him tonight.” The Franchise questions the Ill One’s strategy going into this encounter as Zyon goes for the cover. ONE!!!! TWO!!!! KICKOUT!!! “Mak, while I might agree with your assessment that IL has been outclassed so far, I’ll never admit that Zyon has this match won. Hell, I still think he’ll lose this thing. He already showed early on that if IL can somehow regain the advantage that the youth’s spirit will indeed be broken…along with his neck hopefully.” The Gambling Man recalls. Exiting to the ring apron, Zyon impatiently stomps his feet, waiting for the injured Insane Luchador to reach a vertical base once again. The audience behind the youth claps their hands, pounds their laps, and just all around makes a cluster of noise as the dazed IL makes it back to his feet. Grinning…no, smirking from ear to ear, the Unique Youth returns to his nature as he springs off the top rope with the safety off, and his arm loaded…ready for annihilation! Bright white flashes surround the Superman Forearm as the youth swims through the air on his way down to the target known as the Psychotic Hero… …And like any other hero, it’s imperative that even the brightest stars realize should realize that it’s not over until it’s over. *BANGMAFUCKA!!!!* As the dead on arrival Unique Youth falls out off the sky after having the Insane Luchador destroy him with a vicious MMA style flying knee to the chest, the crowd can’t help, but applaud Mr. Rickmen who was once though to not only be a corpse in life, but in this match as well. “CLAP CLAP CLAP!!” “SEE!!! See, I told you Mak! That careless fool would go to the well too many times, and the Insane Luchador is on his way back into this match.” “On his way back. Christ, did you not see that knee to the chest? That folks was the intent to murder!!!” The Franchise freaks out as Zyon’s prone form smacks the canvas. Wheezing, sweating, chewing on his tongue, and searching the earth with wondering eyes as his mind wonders what dimension he is apart of, Zyon tries his damnest to pull himself up, but that knee wasn’t just damaging. It was fucking critical! On a second attempt the youth not so triumphantly rises to the occasion, just in time to meet the emerald eyes of his opponent… …Who just happens to be a psycho. Unsure on the way to take a psycho down, Zyon drags himself into battle, and back down into the canvas via another Insane Luchador hip toss. For some reason that will remain undetermined, the youth isn’t nearly as aggravated by this particular him toss. Along with a lack of aggravation comes a lack of oxygen as the reason that will remain undetermined, floats to the surface due to IL double stomping the youth’s wounded chest! Chaining a sudden splash with the deadly chest stomping, IL lies across his opponent, pinning his shoulders to the canvas. ONE!!!! TWO!!! THRKICKOUT!!! “YEAHHHHHH!!” Lifting the youth up by his sweat soaked hair, the schizophrenic competitor who may not have a psychological disorder and perhaps just not understand common logic. Kicking your opponent in the leg does not affect their chest in any way, shape, or form. But DAMMMNNNN does it hurt. Loving the vibration in the youth’s quivering right leg, IL delivers another swift shot that nearly drops the youth to one knee. Boggling the minds of wrestling purists everywhere, IL deviates from both the chest and the right leg, attempting a knock out high roundhouse kick to the Unique Youth’s head. *SWISHHHHHHH!* Barely avoiding the spinning roundhouse, Zyon proceeds directly into a SPINNING BACK FIST FROM HELL that sends the youth crashing into the nearest rope! *CRRRRRRACKKKKK!* “He never saw that one coming!” Mak points out the obvious, “I bet that hurt…sooooo bad!” Slowly, removing his disgruntled frame from the ropes, Zyon isn’t quite ready to see his life flash before his eyes, then again nobody is. Rather he wants to see the timeline or not, isn’t his decision to make, that title would go to Insane Luchador who lunges at and through the youth’s inadequate defense… …AND HAMMERING HIS KNEE INTO THE UNGUARDED FACE OF THE YOUTH!!! “KNEE YO FACE!!!” The ghetto side of the King of Hearts shines through at the perfect moment. While Zyon could be unconscious, he is most definitely a lucky fellow. A murder, death, kill, KNEE YO FACE is deadly, but it would be much more fatal if the youth’s limp corpse remained in the ring where his fate would be sealed in three seconds as opposed to ten. “Well that’s the end off that. All Insane Luchador has to do now is let Zyon get counted out…oh fuck.” The Gambling Man just realized who he is talking about. ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! Zyon isn’t moving one bit, but the impatient fellow in the ring is…and let’s not forget. He’s a psycho. SIX! “BOOOOOOOO!” SEVEN! The audience continues to jeer the proceedings. “YEAAAHHHHH!” That is until the Insane Luchador’s more cannibalistic desires come to the forefront as he casually wonders past the confused ref, stopping the count. “Ok, they are both dumb fucks!” “And King you can’t be too bright yourself since you probably just earned yourself a beautiful fine.” “…Fuck!” Pulling the youth back to his feet, IL decides that it would be good to hook the Unique Youth up on a date with steel steps. Whispering to the barely conscious former Cruiserweight Champion to “pucker up” the former Hardcore Champion attempts to shove Zyon face first into the steel steps. However, the steps simply aren’t the youth’s type as he switches the roles, and sends the Ill One face first into the steel steps! *CLANG!!!* Rolling into the ring, while IL remains on his feet on the outside, Zyon begins to work through a strategy. Disregarding Zyon’s knack for strategizing, the Ill One hurries into the ring, and gives chase to the crafty youth, who runs up the nearest turnbuckle, preparing to put his body on the line again. Actually, he needs no preparation. It’s not even a problem. He simply has NO REGARD for human life…and that includes his own. Of course, for the spectacular maneuver to take effect, the opponent has to at least stop sprinting, and that is something that IL refuses to do. Blinded by rage, the Ill One shoves the youth’s legs in opposite directions, which shifts his weight in a common direction…down. “That was not a ginger landing.” “Well Mak look on the bright side. That could save us from a possible spawn from that foolish kid.” Clutching the lower regions of his form, before Zyon can regroup, he instead finds himself hanging upside down in the tree of woe. Striding to the opposite corner, IL takes a second to hesitate, letting the youth imagine the pain that is coming his way… …And that makes it IL’s duty to multiply that pain ten fold. Sprinting toward the upside down victim, the Insane Luchador baseball slides into his customizes home plate! *CLING!* Too bad, Zyon doesn’t find amusement in the American pastime. Lifting himself back to the top rope, narrowly dodging the low dropkick to the face, Zyon pulls himself to a standing position on the top rope. Below the sky, IL crawls out from under the ropes, thankful the soles of his feet smacked the unforgiving post. Scanning the horizon for the youth, he notices the same mysterious figure descending on to his with a familiar corkscrew moonsault! *CRASH!* Devastating the mat below him, Zyon clutches his back as the Insane Luchador proves to be different from the norm. Yeah he’s psycho. Yeah he could be a legitimate zombie. But the more important fact is that unlike many others before him, Andrew Rickmen wasn’t even a tad bit impressed by the youth’s suicidal nature. Hell he scoffed at it, right before he moved out of the way of danger! The inhabitants of the ARCO arena continue to sit on the edge of their seat, unsure who will leave this match the victor. Leaping over the youth, IL reaches into his cruiserweight heritage, springing off the middle rope, and changing direction in mid air to crush the youth’s windpipe with a guillotine leg drop followed by the cover! ONE! TWOOOO!!! THRKICKOUT!!! Yanking at his already spiked hair, IL isn’t transferring back to his overly psychotic self. If anything he’s being human. He’s irritated. Hoisting the youth back to his feet, IL pulls the young one into a starling front face lock, and with a quick lift, looks to jam the youth into the perspirated canvas with an Implant DDT! Outstretching his arms, the youth pushes off, breaking free of IL’s relatively weak grip. Noticing the youth’s unbalance position, the Ill One nervously leaves his feet once more for a quick hurricarana! And one power bomb later, you’d realize why he would be nervous. Fatigue weighing the youth’s hopes down, Zyon exits to the outside, and ascends the top rope. “YEEEEAAAHHHH!” With the Earth around him spinning, IL can hear the familiar cheer, and by rolling his eyes upward, he can see the familiar finisher that has racked up quite the kill count… FINNNNNAAAAALLLLLL FLASSSSHHHHHH! … … … All flash, but on this night, it lacks substance. *CRACKKKK!* Literally bouncing off his opponent’s knees, Zyon clutches his back as he somehow manages to stand back up. Leaping on to the youth’s shoulders, hoping to catch the former Cruiserweight Champion off guard with a victory roll. Avoiding the roll by ducking his head, Zyon shoves the Insane Luchador safely to his feet. Twisting to meet the youth face to face, IL Irish whips the tired youth across the ring, looking to add perpetual insult to a pending death; IL tosses the youth to the side with a hip toss!! All substance, lacks impact. Flipping through the air, mimicking the luchador by landing safely on his feet, Zyon immediately reaches backward… …And you can forget about the substance…this shit is going to end in a flash. BIG SHOT! “WHOOO! Zyon just hit his uber dangerous cutter, and the Insane Luchador never saw it coming.” “One damn hip toss too many. It was no longer cute…c’mon kickout damn you!” ONE!!!! TWO!!!! THREEE!!!!! DING DING DING! “The winner by pinfall, the UNIQUE YOUTH, ZYYYYYOOOONNNN!” Funyon hollers through the blasting music of “Vitamin” by Incubus as a wounded Zyon rolls out of the ring, thanking the wrestling gods for that opening. “What an opening bout. Big win for the youth after losing the Elimination Chamber in what claim to be a screw job. And not a bad showing for the hardcore icon, Insane Luchador. Both stars brought it tonight. And it was the will to not longer be embarrassed that overcame the intention to embarrass the individual.” “Mak…the kid got lucky. That’s it. None of that other noise made any sense. My god I miss Pete.” The rival announcers continue to bicker as the youth still hurting from his loss at Ashes 2 Ashes wonders back up the ramp. Slapping the hands of his fans and even through the pain can flash that innocent grin that just tells you, that everything will be alright in the end. FADE

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SWF LOCKDOWN Live, Thursday, November 16th, from the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California! (7pm PST, 10pm EST; check local listings) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THE MAIN EVENT - SWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH Michael Stephens ©©© and Landon Maddix © vs. The Predators (Jay Hawke and Nighthawk) -> Michael Stephens will get a chance to meet his next World Title defense early, and Landon gets a chance to test a potential CFC opponent early as well! The Predators won Tag Title contendership a few weeks ago, but scheduling errors prevented the match from taking place until after A2A! Well, unless my calendar is a liar, it's after A2A! Could the events of this match foreshadow the results of these competitors' future battles? Rules: Standard tag team match. Use the tag ropes, you whores! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- COLD FRONT CLASSIC - FIRST ROUND MATCH "The Superior One" Tom Flesher (3) vs. Johnny Dangerous © (6) -> The second match of the night with more history than you can shake a stick at! Really, I've tried! You cannot possibly shake a stick at all of the history here. After taking a bit of a post-Genesis Tumble, the CFC could be just what Tom Flesher needs to get back on track! But I think we all know there are few things the Barracuda would love more than to get his hands on the gold once again... Rules: Standard singles match. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- COLD FRONT CLASSIC - FIRST ROUND MATCH "Hollywood" Spike Jenkins (5) vs. "The Divine Wind" Akira Kaibatsu (4) -> No history here, folks. Nosiree. Nothing to see. Move it along. Just two ordinary Joes duking it out to see who's the best! Certainly no animosity- oh who am I kidding. This would be brutal even if it wasn't a first round matchup in the CFC - a potential shot at the World Title will just make it worse. Worse for them, that is - better for us. Rules: Standard singles match. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Pure Rules Exhibition JJ Johnson vs. Devin Benson -> JJ Johnson's return at the Cold Front Classic Battle Royale was moderately successful. I mean, he won and all. But still, Battle Royales and real matches are very different things - with his first round opponent tied up, JJ Johnson gets a chance to shake off the ring rust against a man who didn't make it to the top 8 but still managed to impress, Devin Benson! Rules: Each competitor gets 3 ropebreaks. Once you run out, you're screwed. Closed fists to the face will result in the deduction of one rope break, or if you have no more, you will be disqualified. Outside count goes to 20. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- HARDCORE MATCH (non title) "The Beast" Gabriel Drake vs. Jimmy the Doom © -> I imagine if we were to rank people on how they felt the Battle Royale turned out, Gabriel Drake would top the "Mad as hell" list. I'm not sure Jimmy even noticed, since he voluntarily eliminated himself! Such an arrogant display of apathy offends The Beast! At least, we're hoping it does. It would make much better television. Rules: Hardcore. Or, if you'd prefer, Hradcore. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- CLASH OF THE COMEBACKS Insane Luchador vs. Zyon -> Two men missing from the Cold Front Classic, but not forgotten - the winner of this match will get something for their troubles. An NDA prevents me from disclosing what until the show airs. FEEL THE MYSTERY~ Rules: Standard singles match.

Missing significant portions o' the show. I'll wake up early, and whatever I've got by then goes up. Card's mostly done, too, so everything should be set by noon or so.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SWF LOCKDOWN Live, Thursday, November 16th, from the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California! (7pm PST, 10pm EST; check local listings) (Send all promos/marked matches to chirs3) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THE MAIN EVENT - SWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH Michael Stephens ©©© and Landon Maddix © vs. The Predators (Jay Hawke and Nighthawk) -> Michael Stephens will get a chance to meet his next World Title defense early, and Landon gets a chance to test a potential CFC opponent early as well! The Predators won Tag Title contendership a few weeks ago, but scheduling errors prevented the match from taking place until after A2A! Well, unless my calendar is a liar, it's after A2A! Could the events of this match foreshadow the results of these competitors' future battles? Rules: Standard tag team match. Use the tag ropes, you whores! Word Limit: 5500 Send to: Ace309 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- COLD FRONT CLASSIC - FIRST ROUND MATCH "The Superior One" Tom Flesher (3) vs. Johnny Dangerous © (6) -> The second match of the night with more history than you can shake a stick at! Really, I've tried! You cannot possibly shake a stick at all of the history here. After taking a bit of a post-Genesis Tumble, the CFC could be just what Tom Flesher needs to get back on track! But I think we all know there are few things the Barracuda would love more than to get his hands on the gold once again... Rules: Standard singles match. Word Limit: 5000 Send to: Chuck Woolery -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- COLD FRONT CLASSIC - FIRST ROUND MATCH "Hollywood" Spike Jenkins (5) vs. "The Divine Wind" Akira Kaibatsu (4) -> No history here, folks. Nosiree. Nothing to see. Move it along. Just two ordinary Joes duking it out to see who's the best! Certainly no animosity- oh who am I kidding. This would be brutal even if it wasn't a first round matchup in the CFC - a potential shot at the World Title will just make it worse. Worse for them, that is - better for us. Rules: Standard singles match. Word Limit: 5000 Send to: chirs3 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Pure Rules Exhibition JJ Johnson vs. Devin Benson -> JJ Johnson's return at the Cold Front Classic Battle Royale was moderately successful. I mean, he won and all. But still, Battle Royales and real matches are very different things - with his first round opponent tied up, JJ Johnson gets a chance to shake off the ring rust against a man who didn't make it to the top 8 but still managed to impress, Devin Benson! Rules: Each competitor gets 3 ropebreaks. Once you run out, you're screwed. Closed fists to the face will result in the deduction of one rope break, or if you have no more, you will be disqualified. Outside count goes to 20. Word Limit: 5000 Send to: Longdogger_Pete -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- HARDCORE MATCH (non title) "The Beast" Gabriel Drake vs. Jimmy the Doom © -> I imagine if we were to rank people on how they felt the Battle Royale turned out, Gabriel Drake would top the "Mad as hell" list. I'm not sure Jimmy even noticed, since he voluntarily eliminated himself! Such an arrogant display of apathy offends The Beast! At least, we're hoping it does. It would make much better television. Rules: Hardcore. Or, if you'd prefer, Hradcore. Word Limit: 5000 Send to: chirs3 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- CLASH OF THE COMEBACKS Insane Luchador vs. Zyon -> Two men missing from the Cold Front Classic, but not forgotten - the winner of this match will get something for their troubles. An NDA prevents me from disclosing what until the show airs. FEEL THE MYSTERY~ Rules: Standard singles match. Word Limit: 4500 Send to: Mr. S£im Citrus -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Opening Promo: Yay Yay Yohnson. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ALSO: Some minor confusion before. The CFC finals will be at the Christmas Pay Per View, and the winner gets a title shot at the Clusterfuck, like last year. BRACKET 1. JJ Johnson 8. Nighthawk ----------------------- 4. Akira Kaibatsu 5. Spike Jenkins ============= 3. Tom Flesher 6. Johnny Dangerous ----------------------- 2. Landon Maddix 7. Michael Cross

“-you five bucks we can get another one out here before they come back from…ah, shit.” “Are you a Gambling Man?” Mak Francis smirks at his commentary partner, “I think that’s five bucks you owe me, King.” “We didn’t shake on it!” the Heartbreaker protests. “Well, you shake sometimes,” he corrects himself, “but not voluntarily-” *BOOOM!* King is interrupted by a blast of blue pyro and the opening theme of ‘Kashmir’ by Led Zeppelin, and before either commentator can say anything else three figures - yes, three - emerge from the backstage area onto the entrance ramp. One of them, the smallest and skinniest, has a microphone. “Alright alright, everybody shut your lousy, pro-fag East Bay mouths-” James Matheson begins. Needless to say, he doesn’t get much further. “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” “I said be quiet!” the lawyer bellows, enraged. “You’re looking at not one but two of the finest athletes in the SWF today, both victims of ridiculous circumstances at the Pay-Per-View! Because while Jay Hawke may be the Dean of Professional Wrestling it doesn’t take an expensive education - and you’ll have to trust me on this, because it’s clear none of you have one - to realise that his win over Taamo was a downright fluke! And as for Akira Whatsyername, you’d better be grateful that you sneaked a win in ten seconds, because it’s clear that you wouldn’t last half a minute against Mr. Matthews! So without further ado, allow me to introduce at a weight of 231 and 306lbs respectively, holding a total of three World Titles and sundry other belts between them, ‘The Superior One’ Tom Flesher and Charlie ‘Grappler’ Matthews!” “YOU BOTH SUCK!” “YOU BOTH SUCK!” The crowd’s chants don’t seem to be having much effect on the Magnificent Two, as Charlie looks as grumpy as ever while Flesher still has his unshakeable aura of smugness. They stomp and saunter down to the ring where quite a few participants in tonight’s Battle Royale have already assembled. JJ Johnson has stripped off his track jacket and is standing in one corner stroking his beard; Akira Kaibatsu has his eyes shut and seems lost in some Eastern meditation ritual - either that or he’s desperately trying to remember whether he turned the gas off. Spike Jenkins is leaning over the ropes and jawing with some fans at ringside, not realising that Matt Myers is pulling faces behind him. Devin Benson’s hopping up and down slightly, presumably to keep himself limber, while Michael Cross’s jaw is grinding as he works through some poorly-realised neurosis. Gabriel Drake has some very well-realised psychoses, but The Beast seems to be keeping them in check for the moment, while across the ring the mysterious Nighthawk looks imposing while doing very little. In the corner, Nemesis and Bruce Blank loom menacingly. Finally, Jimmy the Doom is clutching a French loaf and looking suspiciously at the approaching Tom Flesher as if suspecting The Superior One of concealing butter about his person. “The rules of this match are very simple,” Mak Francis recaps, “the competitors in the match have to tip each other over the top rope in the manner of Battle Royales everywhere, but once the first seven men have been eliminated we start getting into the good stuff, as it were. The last eight men will be seeded in order depending on when they are eliminated from the ring and will then face off in knockout matches.” ”So, keep the worst guy in the match in the ring until he’s number eight, then win,” says King. “That… makes sense, actually,” says Mak. “Hey, you don’t get to be a World Champion without some smarts,” King smirks. "Tell me exactly, what am I supposed to do Now that I have allowed you, to beat me! Do you think that we could play another game Maybe I could win this ti-ime." “YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “You were saying?” “Oh, shut up,” the Gambling Man sulks as ‘The Game’ by Disturbed announces the arrival of “La Cucaracha”. Megan Skye steps out to an approving reaction from the San Francisco crowd, followed a couple of seconds later by Landon Maddix. "I kinda like the misery you put me through Darling you can trust me, completely! If you even try to look the other way I think that I could kill this ti-ime!" “I hate the misery this guy puts me through,” King mutters. “Next, from Huron, South Dakota,” Funyon announces, “accompanied to the ring by Megan Skye, he is one-half of the SWF Tag Team Champions and weighs in tonight at 220lbs… LANDON… ‘LA CUCARRRRRRRRACHAAAAAA… MAAAAAAAAD-DIIIIIIIXXXXXX!!” “Let’s not forget that Landon Maddix won the first ever Cold Front Classic tournament in the fall of 2004,” Mak Francis reminds viewers, “and went on to defeat Michael Stephens at Slay Ride in December for the World Title! Now he has the chance to do the same thing again, and you can bet that Joe Peters only put Landon in this match to make life a little harder for the World Champion, given that in the Elimination Chamber Landon and Stephens worked as a team instead of going against each other.” “-which was part of Toxxic’s sneaky strategy, just like I said then and like Drake said earlier,” King cuts in. “Personally, I hope that Drake just takes Landon out of this match at the start.” “Well, don’t forget who eliminated who at Ashes 2 Ashes,” Mak reminds his partner, “I think Landon might want a bit of revenge himself!” However, it doesn’t look like La Cucaracha is quite as eager to get to grips with his newest enemy. Drake obviously recognized the music and has crossed the ring to glare over the top rope at the man whose good shot with a cup of PepsiMax caused the distraction that led to him getting pinned on Sunday. A bunch of referees crowd around on the floor, warning Drake not to leave the ring; meanwhile Landon has taken in the situation and instead chooses to play to the fans at ringside, perhaps deciding that he doesn’t need to get into the ring until just before the match starts… all of which only leaves one man to come out. Meanwhile Nick Soapdish has just realised that Jimmy the Doom is still holding his French loaf and sternly instructs the Doomtopian to discard it. Jimmy glares at the referee mistrustfully, but obeys. The Smarktron starts to show a fuse burning down towards a stick of dynamite, before the Mission Impossible theme kicks in (as performed by the James Taylor Quartet)! It cuts away to clips of Johnny in action as the Barracuda kicks, chops, throws and slams his way through various incarnations of the SWF roster. Moments later the man himself appears… “YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “And finally,” Funyon booms, “from Las Vegas, Nevada, he weighs in tonight at 219lbs; he is the SWF International Champion, JOHNNY… ‘THE BARRACUDA’… DAAAAAAAAAAAAN-GEROUSSSSSSSS!!” “LET’S GO JOHN-NY!” “LET’S GO JOHN-NY!” Johnny Dangerous swaggers down the entrance ramp, looking sharp as ever with his sunglasses and trenchcoat. Meanwhile Landon glares at him, sure that his trenchcoat is better, while JJ Johnson sniffs at the inferiority of the Barracuda’s shades. “Well King, I think Johnny Dangerous has a good chance here,” Mak says, “with his martial arts reflexes and balance he should be able to do more than some to prevent himself getting eliminated, and once into the final eight this two-time World Champion should acquit himself well.” “If Nemesis throws him over the top rope in the first minute I’m going to rupture something laughing,” is King’s response. Johnny reaches the bottom of the ramp and strips off his coat, takes his sunglasses off (you need to see as much as possible in this sort of match) and divests himself of his title belt, which he hands to Matthew Kivell. Meanwhile Landon has taken his trenchcoat off and removed his title belt, which he gives to Red Herrington. Finally, with Landon keeping a wary eye on Drake, both Maddix and Dangerous enter the ring. “Alright!” shouts Kivell. “Here are the rules, so listen up. There are no rules, except for one: if you go over the top rope and both of your feet touch the floor, you’re eliminated.” Kivell turns and stares directly at Tom. “Period. Now let’s do this!” Akira Kaibatsu stares across the ring at Michael Cross. Landon Maddix eyes both Gabriel Drake and JJ Johnson warily. Tom Flesher looks bored. Bruce Blank belches. Everyone glances nervously at Nemesis. DING DING DING! And then, chaos. Every body in the ring begins flinging itself about, a massive bundle of humanity colliding in the center. “These idiots!” snorts the Gambling Man. “Don’t they know that the first thirty seconds of a multi-man battle royale is when some poor sap gets eliminated?” As if on cue, Nemesis seizes Akira Kaibatsu by the throat and leg and presses him above his head, elimination imment for the Divine Wind… before Michael Cross, Devin Benson, JJ Johnson and Matt “Phoenix Wright” Myers simultaneously slam basement dropkicks into his legs, wobbling the giant just enough for the man from Sendai to wriggle himself free. The nine foot fall back to the ring is not pretty, but it’s far superior to the fifteen foot flight awaiting him had the four men not interfered. Quickly, Kaibatsu puts as much space between Nemesis and himself as possible… *CRUNCH!* … and ends up putting space between Nemesis and himself right into one of Nighthawk’s meaty fists, dropping Akira like a stone. “Well, that ended well,” snorts King. “But why would Johnson, Cross, Benson, and Myers all save Kaispotsu?” “Well, that’s easy to explain, King,” replies Mak. “Johnson and Akira have never gotten along. We all know Cross and Akira’s backstory, and Benson is Cross’ tag team partner, so he’s going to go along with it.” “Okay,” nods the Heartbreaker. “But why Myers?” “I’m… not sure,” admits Mak. “Maybe he just wanted to get on their good side.” King nods as if to accept it, because it seems to make sense. After all, Johnson, Cross and Benson have all moved away, Johnson slamming a firm elbow into the jaw of Johnny Dangerous, Cross looking for Akira in the mass of humanity, and Benson leaping high and taking a charging Landon Maddix down with a dropkick. Yes, Myers does appear to be on their good sides, at least for now. Unfortunately, Matt “Phoenix Wright” Myers realizes as a meaty hand closes on the back of his suit jacket, he has gotten on Nemesis’ bad side. “Objection!” Myers shouts frantically, but one can assume that it is overruled, as Nemesis hurls the perennial suck-ass over the top rope to the floor! “And we have our first elimination!” shouts Mak. DING! “Eliminated first, Matt Myers,” says Funyon, as if bored, and not putting nearly as much gusto as usual into it. Tom Flesher and Charlie Matthews stand in the corner they haven’t moved from since the match begin and stare at Nemesis, their faces unchanging; Tom, however, noticeably steps behind the Grappler. Across the ring, Gabriel Drake decides to interject himself in the Benson-Maddix affair, brushing the Pennsylvanian aside in order to get at La Cucaracha, snarling; Benson does not take this well, though, and just as Landon begins a picture-perfect imitation of the Eddie Guerrero beg-off routine, Harrisburg’s native son casts himself high in the air and plants his feet into Drake’s back, sending him stumbling forward! Thinking fast, Landon puts his feet up, looking to plant them in The Beast’s stomach and use his momentum to hurl him out of the match – and his hair. Unfortunately for both of them, Landon’s feet don’t get up quite fast enough. Every man in the audience cringes. Drake whimpers, and collapses, and Maddix’ eyes bug out of his head as he realizes what he’s done. His next realization is that it’s time to get the hell out of Dodge, and so he climbs to his feet… and a very drunk Bruce Blank puts him back down on his ass with a lariat! Blank bounces off of the ropes past Landon and charges back towards the center of the ring, and takes Devin Benson down with a lariat! The lumbering Alabaman goes to rebound again, and an opportunistic JJ Johnson pops Johnny Dangerous in the jaw with another elbow before sending him into the wake of destruction the drunken lariat machine has left… only to snarl in disappointment as the secret agent, his reflexes ever quick, leaps and twists his body to catch Blank in the side of the head with a spinning wheel kick, knocking the inebriated giant against the ropes. Johnson doesn’t see the exchange that follows, as Nighthawk distracts him via short-arm lariat to the head, but Blank stands back up to fight the gnat-like Dangerous, launching a punch at him. Were he or his balance in top form, Johnny would have been smeared; unfortunately for Blank, his being overserved slows his punch down considerably, and Johnny seizes it, tucks himself against the body of the man he beat for the International Title, lifts… “EEEEEEM-IIIIIIIIII…” begins Mak… … spins, and drops Blank over the top rope to the floor! “SLAM!” finishes the Franchise as Blank lands on his feet and collapses. However, collapsing serves him no immunity from his elimination. “YEEEAAHHH!!” “ELIMINATED SECOND, BRUUUUCE! BLAAAAAAAANK!!” shouts Funyon, much more enthused than when Myers was eliminated as Wayne escorts Bruce to the back, deciding to break it to him when he sobers up. For what it’s worth, Myers is still laying there on the floor, in a puddle of either hair gel or tears. “Big-time elimination!” shouts the Franchise. “One of the favorites to succeed in this ‘small guys finish last’ environment goes over the top SECOND!” “It wouldn’t have happened sober,” pouts the Gambling Man. “And worse, it was to that damn Johnny Dangerous.” Nemesis swats Akira Kaibatsu, Jimmy the Doom, and Spike Jenkins aside, bodies flying across the ring as JJ Johnson does battle with Nighthawk, making very sure to put the big man between himself and the mythical beast, and Landon Maddix and Johnny Dangerous have it out for the ninth or tenth time, Landon eyeing Drake’s tormented form with caution no matter how many blows to the face from Johnny he has to take for his inattention. Quietly, Matthews and Flesher make their way over to Cross and Benson, making sure to stay out of Nemesis’ way. “Hey,” whispers Flesher to Cross. “Tell your buddy that we charge the big guy on three.” Cross eyes him suspiciously, but decides it’s worth a shot, and passes the word on to Benson. The four men ready themselves, and Flesher roars “ONE!” Nemesis lifts his head up from hitting Jimmy the Doom in the head – ineffectually, I might add – and turns. “TWO!” shouts Flesher, a little less confidently this time. Nemesis begins to stride towards the foursome. “THREE!” squeaks the Superior One, and all four men begin to run at the behemoth! Devin reaches the giant ahead of Cross and Matthews, and throws himself into the air, looking for a cross body on the big man! This works about as well as you’d expect, as Nemesis catches and throws him, quite effortlessly, over the top rope. Cross blanches, but his momentum is too much, and so he mans up and dives for a chop block on the giant! … Bouncing right off, but turning out much better than Benson did as Funyon announces his elimination. Matthews is next… and realizes that something is wrong. Tom is faster than he is. He turns his head around. Flesher, from his corner, waves jauntily. Nemesis seizes the Grappler by the throat before he can utter a swear, and The Hand of the Gods presses the veteran high over his head, impressing everybody in the arena… and then terrifying them as he launches the Grappler over the top rope to the floor. Their fear is unfounded, however, as even Nemesis is not strong enough to throw Grappler into the crowd. *SMAAACK!* The sound of Matthews on padding rings throughout the Cow Palace, and the entire arena grows hushed, knowing the Grappler’s neck problems; fortunately, with a little shaking, he rises back to his feet, and the crowd politely applauds as Matheson helps the slightly-hobbling Grappler up the ramp to the back. DING! “Eliminated fourth, CHARLIE! “GRAPPLER!” “MAAAAA-THEEEWWWSS!” roars Funyon as a quick headcount of the remaining eleven takes place: Drake has hauled himself back to his feet after his blunt force trauma to the testicles, and is standing in the corner, waiting for the pack to thin out a little before he charges back into the fray. Akira and Cross have met up, and Akira rocks the Suicide Machine with a European Uppercut, sending him stumbling back and almost into Spike Jenkins, who is pulling a Drake and a Flesher by standing in the corner instead of fighting. Nighthawk has turned his attentions to Jimmy the Doom after one too many elbows from Johnson, who is getting his breath back for a brief moment. Nemesis begins stalking, much to the Superior One’s chagrin, towards Tom. “And out goes Matthews!” shouts Mak. “Most of the big men are now out of the match!” “Yes, and that’s very bad,” scolds King. “Now who the hell is going to throw Nemesis out? Nighthawk is only one man.” “That’s a fair po-“ *CA-RACK!* It takes a leap, but Tom Flesher, utilizing his survival instinct, manages to nail Nemesis with a palm strike! Nemesis shakes his head, then starts back towards Tom… *CA-RACK!* … who once again rocks him with a leaping palm strike! Nemesis stumbles a little as everybody else in the match realizes what’s going on and, opportunists that they are, begin moving towards Tom’s aid as the monster recovers and starts back towards Flesher, backing the Superior One into the corner. Tom’s back is pressed against the turnbuckle, the Colossus is fast approaching, and all in all, it is a desperate time for the SWF’s most decorated superstar. You know what they say about desperate times. *CA-FUCKING-RAAACKK!!* And Tom takes a desperate measure, hoisting himself up to the second rope before launching himself at the Hand of the Gods and tearing his jaw clean off with a flying palm strike! “YEAAAAHH!!” “JESUS!” shouts Mak, wishing he could rise out of his seat. “Much like a pig, it is very rare that Tom flies, and even when he does, it’s only to huge effect. I think it’s safe to say sending Nemesis staggering” – which he is – “is a fairly huge effect.” To aid in this, Akira jogs and hoists himself over the top rope to the apron before springing up to the top rope and sending himself flying at the Colossus, nailing him in the chest with a nasty front dropkick! Nemesis still does not fall, but instead stumbles back against the ropes, leaning and attempting to regain some of his bearings. Thinking fast, JJ Johnson turns to Jimmy the Doom. “Jimmy!” barks the callous Canadian, “Do you know how to do a Cactus Clothesline?” “Verilies!” responds the Doomtopian. “Then go!” Johnson snaps, and much to everyone’s surprise, The Doom obliges, jogging in an odd, Walter-Payton-like knee-high gait to Nemesis before leaping, wrapping his arm around his throat, and hanging off of the Colossus for just a moment before momentum and imbalance win out, dragging both men to the floor, every person in the Cow Palace leaping to their feet! DING! DING! “Zombie Christ!” shouts King. “And here, I thought Nemesis was going to take it all!” “An impressive, but utterly pointless sacrifice by Jimmy the Doom,” notes Mak. “He’s far too impressionable for the battle royale environment.” “Eliminated fifth and sixth respectively, JIMMY THE DOOM! AND! NEEEMMEEEESSSIIIISS!!” bellows Funyon, struggling to be heard over the San Fransisco crowd. “And now we are down to nine,” says Mak. “This next elimination is quite crucial, as if you are not eliminated next, you have a chance to fight for a shot at the World Title! No doubt everybody’s going to be fighting hard!” And indeed, everyone looks ready for a fight. Nighthawk, the biggest man in the match, turns to look for a victim… and sees every other man staring back at him. The man from Pennsylvania swallows. And then they are upon him, every competitor in the match charging at the big man… and then Landon whips around and plants a kick right into the gut of Gabriel Drake, doubling The Beast over with a whoosh of air! Wasting no time as the other six collapse upon Nighthawk, struggling to tumble him over the top, Landon seizes Drake by the hair and rushes him towards the ropes, using momentum to send The Beast over the top! Too bad for Landon that Drake has excellent upper body strength, and he seizes a hold of the top rope, dangling with his back to the ring, both feet hovering a few inches above the floor, saving himself elimination, as Nighthawk relents to the mass of humanity shoving him and tumbles over the top rope! “YEEEEAAAAAHHH!!!” DING! Drake grins. He’s survived to the tournament, which means that he’ll get another chance to wring that damn cockroach’s neck, and then win the tournament. Winning the tournament means another chance at Mike, and another chance at Mi- DING! Drake’s grin immediately falls. Two dings? “Ladies and gentlemen, eliminated seventh and eighth respectively…” No. He couldn’t have. “’THE BEAST’ GABRIEL DRAKE, AND THE NUMBER EIGHT SEED, NIIIIGHHTTHAAAWWWKK!” “What?!” shouts King. “Drake?!” A replay flashes up on the Smarktron, and Drake’s worst fear is confirmed through the magic of instant replay. As Gabriel dangled mere inches from elimination, Nighthawk went over the top. Nighthawk’s weight was enough to sag the rope to where Drake’s feet touched the floor. “Oh, that’s such bull!” shouts King, but fair is fair, even to the Gambling Man, when you get caught. In the ring, Landon begins laughing as a horde of refs decide it would be prudent to remove Drake from ringside before he re-enters the ring and breaks La Cucaracha’s neck. With The Beast being dragged away, Landon allows himself a moment of relaxation, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. The danger is gone. If a person were to make a poster of one specific frame of this battle royale, amongst their top choices would probably be the image of a maliciously grinning JJ Johnson leaping, knee-first, towards an eyes-closed, smiling Landon Maddix. *CA-RAAACKK!!* Shockingly, La Cucaracha is unable to stay on his feet after taking a flying knee with 228 pounds of weight behind it, and so Maddix drops like a stone; Johnson, on the other hand, rolls through the landing and rises back to his feet, taking a brief moment before stepping back into the fray, firing an elbow into the temple of “Hollywood” Spike Jenkins. Unfortunately for the Canadian, he’s thrown one elbow too many at the Hollywood Superstar over the last several months, and Jenkins ducks low before planting his knee deep into the gut of the Ultimate Fighter. “It looks like Spike smartened up to JJ’s elbow smashes,” says Mak. “Spike doesn’t smarten up to anything,” scoffs King. “He was probably checking to make sure he remembers how to tie his shoes, and happened to have exceptional timing.” “How do you explain the knee to the stomach, then?” the Franchise inquires. “I don’t know, he saw a spider?” replies the Gambling Man with a grunt. “What am I, the answer man?” While Spike’s intelligence quotient may be in question, his intentions are not, as he traps the heaving-for-breath Johnson in a standing headscissors and underhooks both arms, taking a moment to let the realization sink into the crowd. “Aiee!” shrieks King. “He’s going to hit JJ with the… um… Shitty Metalcore Band!” “That’s the Endwell, King,” sighs Mak. And indeed that is the Endwell (and indeed they are a shitty metalcore band), and Spike bends at the knees, begins his leap… *SMACK!!* …and takes a firm superkick to the mouth for his trouble, courtesy of Akira Kaibatsu! Spike understandably abandons all thoughts of… well, anything, at least for the moment, releasing Johnson’s arms and stumbling backwards into the ropes with a dazed look in his eyes. Now free of Spike’s crotch, Johnson snaps to his full height with a fire in his eyes, fully prepared to exact revenge on the New Straight-Edge Sensation. In the work of a moment, the Ultimate Fighter has drawn his arm back, charging forward to lariat Spike over the ropes and eliminate him… throwing his arm forward… *SMACK!!* …and befalling a similar fate, as the Divine Wind decides it prudent to relieve possibly the most dangerous man in the match of higher brain function, and thus slams his boot straight into the Canadian’s heavily-bearded jaw; Johnson’s subsequent collapse is almost comical, the longest-reigning Cruiserweight Champion ever going stiff as a board before falling flat on his back and remaining quite still. Satisfied, Akira turns his attentions to Spike Jenkins, rocking him with a European Uppercut before pulling him forward by the hair, ignoring the ref’s ineffective admonishments, and trapping him in a cravate, pointing skyward! “YEEAAAHHH!!” “Divine Wind, coming up!” shouts Mak with glee as Akira begins his run-up, pushing off of the top turnbuckle and flipping skywards, his body almost completely vertical… when Spike lunges forwards, holding onto the corner with all of his might, determined to not receive head trauma for the third time in about forty-five seconds; this throws Kaibatsu’s balance off almost completely, and the Divine Wind abandons his Divine Wind, landing on his feet behind the Hollywood Superstar… who immediately lashes backwards with an elbow! *CRACK!* Akira’s head snaps rather far back, and Spike grabs Kaibatsu in a cravate before… he begins running up the ropes? “Huh,” says King. “I could have sworn he was too fat for this.” Apparently not, as Spike goes up the ropes, up into the air… and clean over the Divine Wind, landing on his feet with Kaibatsu in a Dragon Sleeper… before wrenching him over AND INTO HIS SILVER LINING DRAGON CLUTCH! “BOOOOOOO!!” Spike grins his Spike grin as he wrenches on the neck of the Divine Wind, moans of pain emerging from the man that is currently being bent in half in entirely the wrong direction. “Well, you can’t win this match by submission,” Mak frowns. “I don’t see the point of applying this Dragon Clutch.” “Must we go over this every time somebody applies a submission in a match that cannot be won by submission?” sighs the Heartbreaker. “Look. Eventually, Akira is going to pass out, and then Spike or somebody else can throw him over the top rope and eliminate him. Of course, Spike is probably trying to make him tap out.” Spike pulls back even harder on the hold, inadvertently giving King more fodder for belittling him, but also encouraging Akira to run out of oxygen more quickly. Realizing he’s vulnerable, Spike does a quick check of where the other men are in the ring. He sees that Landon has returned to hammering on Johnny, although Johnny fires a shotei right into his jaw. He also sees that Michael Cross is prowling around Dangerous and Maddix, apparently hoping to pick off the remains. He sees Tom is standing in the corner, lounging about; the two’s eyes meet, but Flesher shows no interest in wasting energy on Spike. Tom’s eyes do flick to a spot above Jenkins’ head, but he makes no move in the Hollywood Superstar’s direction. Spike sees Johnson… …no. No, Spike doesn’t see Johnson. He looks, maybe to see if he’s somewhere in the Landon-Dangerous (and now Cross, the Suicide Machine having interjected himself with a firm right hook) fray, but no. He glances back at Tom, and Flesher glances upwards again. And Spike gets it. *CRAAACKK!!* “OOOOHH!” Right in the back of the skull, as JJ Johnson takes flight from the middle rope and delivers a thunderous double stomp! Spike’s attentions are diverted rather quickly, as he releases Akira and proceeds to slump forward, presumably unconscious. Akira is not much better, but he’s still conscious, rolling out under the bottom rope to the floor to gasp for air. *CRACK!!* Across the ring, Tom slams a palm strike into an attacking Michael Cross’ jaw, staggering the Michigander! With no time to waste, Tom pounds the flat of his hand into Cross’ face once again, knowing full well that should Cross find a means of recovering, and it turns into a fight, the advantage shifts to the Suicide Machine, a bad thing for the Superior One. Fortunately, Cross is reeling, and so Tom launches one final palm strike to put his opponent down for a count that doesn’t apply to this match’s stipulation. Tom Flesher would do well to read The Art of War. In it, Sun-Tzu implores the reader to “if they are strong, show weakness,” meaning that one should feign incompetence in order to lure the enemy into your side of the battlefield. The thunderous uppercut that tears into Flesher’s jaw implies that Michael Cross has read The Art of War. *CA-RAACK!* All thoughts of palm strikes sail out of Tom’s head, along with what appears to be a tooth, as Flesher stumbles, but does not go down; undeterred, Cross simply punches him quite firmly in the face once more, this time staggering the Superior One but not bringing him down. With a determined snarl, Cross sprints off of the ropes before rebounding back, leaping high, and slamming his knee right into Tom’s face! *CRACK!!* Tom goes down, and a satisfied Cross turns his back on the prone Superior One, watching as Landon and Johnny, their blows less furious now, continue wailing on each other. Michael considers pitching himself into the fray now that they’re less enthusiastic, but decides that his original plan of waiting for them to finish, then picking up the pieces is much better. Then, he feels a firm double-arm grip around his legs, his feet leave the ground, and he realizes, quite horrified, that the mystery force that is currently defying gravity is propelling him towards the ropes. *SMA-AAACKK!!* Make that over the ropes. DING! “YEEEAAAAHHH!!” “Ladies and gentlemen, eliminated ninth, and the number seven seed… MIIII-CHAEL! CROOOOOSSS!!” booms Funyon almost immediately after the Suicide Machine lands flat on his back on the floor. Although dazed from his fall, and although the lights of the Cow Palace are in his face, he can still see the smiling face of Tom Flesher, and he realizes, quite furiously, that he’s been hoisted on his own petard. “Ha!” laughs King. “Apparently, Mike Cross hasn’t read The Art of War!” “What?” asks Mak, confused. “You see,” begins the Gambling Man, “in The Art of War, Sun-Tzu states that if one is strong, they should show weakness. You know, lure the opponent into a false sense of security. Cross was doing it when he was eating those palm strikes and then countered with that uppercut, and Tom turned it back on him, only MUCH more effectively!” *SMAAACKK!!* And then Landon Maddix pastes Johnny Dangerous with an open-handed slap, deciding that regular fisticuffs weren’t working. It doesn’t look like it affects the Secret Agent all that much, merely spins him around… and then Maddix leaps, plants his knees into Johnny’s back, and brings him down with Mount Crushmore! Dangerous bounces off of Landon’s legs in great anguish, clutching his spine while gritting his teeth. Tom notes that Johnny is on his knees, but rather than feed his own ego by pretending that Dangerous is genuflecting before him – well, not in his actions – he seizes the Secret Agent around the chest, hauls him to his feet, and then bridges and sends Johnny sailing with a railgun suplex! The Cow Palace leaps as Dangerous flies, fully aware that the Agent is headed for a Sacred Splash ™... *BANG!* “YEEAAAAAHHH!!” … but much to the glee of everybody in San Francisco, Dangerous falls short! Of course, he’s in no position - or condition - to wrestle right now, but at least he’s not eliminated. “SHIT!” Well, Dangerous not making it over the ropes is to the glee of ALMOST everybody in San Francisco, Flesher swearing quite loudly as he stomps towards Johnny to finish the job… only for Landon Maddix to leap and give HIM a Mount Crushmore! “YEEAAAHH!!” “Ah, how many times have we seen Tom use that inner focus, only to not be fully aware of his surroundings?” asks Mak, rhetorically. King, apparently, does not care that it’s a rhetorical question. “Never?” is the guess the Gambling Man puts forth. “Ah,” groans Mak, “how many times have we seen King fellate Tom in order to feed his and Flesher’s ego?” “Ah,” snaps King, “how many times have we seen you move your legs?” *SMACK!* “Ow!” whines the Gambling Man after Mak paintbrushes him. “That’s it, I’m taking your parking sp-“ *SMACK!* “Ow! What’s the problem, you can’t even dri-” *SMACK!* “Ow!” Landon secures Tom in a front facelock and hauls him to his feet, apparently looking to give him a suplex… but then he notices that Spike Jenkins has hauled himself to his feet, holding the back of his head. Maddix assumes that the Hollywood Superstar is up to no good, but Spike holds his hands up to show that he comes in peace, for lack of a less cliche term, and then points at the Superior One. “The fucker sandbags,” mouths Jenkins, and indeed, Tom’s knees are already going slack in preparation. Landon knows it as well, and so he beckons the New Straight-Edge Sensation over, and they both seize front facelocks and, with stereo grunts, lift Flesher up… and hold him there. “Wait,” says Spike. “What are we doing, a brainbuster?” “A brainbuster?” repeats Landon. “I dunno, I thought we were going for a Falcon Arrow, or maybe just a plain old suplex.” “A plain old suplex works,” nods Spike. “On three?” “On three,” agrees Landon. “One…” Akira Kaibatsu slides his way back into the ring. Johnny Dangerous gets to his feet. JJ Johnson realizes that both of these men are looking his way, and prepares himself for the oncoming storm. “Two…” Johnny glances over at Akira and gestures; as if he understands, Akira nods. Johnson’s eyes narrow. “Three!” *BANG!* While it may have been just a vertical suplex, Tom was up there for quite a while as Landon and Spike discussed strategy, and so the Superior One stays prone. Satisfied, Landon turns to Spike. “A job well do-“ begins Landon, but he never quite finishes his statement before a knee slams into his stomach, doubling him over. Wasting no time, Spike hauls La Cucaracha into a standing headscissors, underhooks both arms, and pauses for just a moment to make sure Akira is not going to kick him in the face before he leaps high and sends Landon’s face slamming into the canvas with an Endwell! *CRUNCH!* “BOOOOOOO!!” Spike really doesn’t care what the fans think of his actions as he rises to his feet, avoiding the Landon Maddix that isn’t going anywhere for a while as he heads towards Tom, looking to eliminate the man who oppressed him so much last year. Across the ring, Johnny Dangerous is the first to charge at JJ Johnson, but stops short and ducks backwards, Johnson’s reactionary roundhouse hissing right where his head would have been were his reflexes not so good. Fortunately for Johnny, while Johnson’s aim is frighteningly true when it comes to roundhouse kicks, the power JJ put behind it means that momentum works against the Canadian, spinning him so that his back is to the Secret Agent… and that typically means only one thing with Johnny. The head tucked under JJ’s arm confirms that. And then Dangerous is lifting, twisting… “EEEEEEEM-IIIIIIII…” begins Mak as Johnson begins to befall the same fate that befell Bruce Blank… but Johnson is made of more sober stuff than Bruce, and whirls, rolling down Johnny’s back before calculating and then shoving Johnny towards the Divine Wind. Akira sees Johnny coming, and knows that something has gone terribly wrong in the plan if Johnson is not eliminated. However, much to Kaibatsu’s horror, reflexes kick in… *SMAACKK!!* … and Akira’s torso twists before he lashes out with his arm and hammers the oncoming Dangerous with a European Uppercut, staggering Johnny backwards… …and then Johnson tucks his head under the arm of the Secret Agent, hoists him up, twists… “EEEEEM-IIIIII…?” says Mak, before he realizes what’s going on… …as the Canadian drops the International Champion over the top rope to the floor! DING! “BOOOOOOOO!” “Ladies and gentlemen, eliminated tenth, and the number six seed… JOHNNY! DAAAAAANGEROUUUUSS!!” roars Funyon as Akira glances across the ring at Spike struggling to lift Tom – who by this point is merely sandbagging – and at the barely-waking Landon Maddix, still recovering from the effects of the devastating Endwell, and realizes that he is alone on this side of the ring with a man who doesn’t like him very much. *CRACK!!* And as we all know, one of the signature ways JJ Johnson shows he doesn’t like you – or does like you, depending on his mood; he’s lost a lot of girlfriends this way – is with elbow smashes. Akira reels, and then fires back with a European Uppercut! *SMAACKK!!* Now it’s Johnson’s turn to reel; those European Uppercuts of Akira’s have power beyond the Divine Wind’s size. However, he’s taken far worse and stayed standing, so a European Uppercut is child’s play in comparison, and he fires another elbow at Kaibatsu… … and Akira ducks out of range, Johnson’s eyes going wide as he lunges aimlessly. It is at this juncture that Akira launches something that JJ has NOT taken and stayed standing, slamming his boot right into Johnson’s chin with a superkick! *SMACK!* This doesn’t look to change; Johnson goes right to the floor. Akira knows that Johnson is going to be belligerent when he recovers – well, Johnson’s probably going to be belligerent anyway – and so heads over to where Spike has almost gotten Tom up to one knee, in the time it has taken Landon to recover from the Endwell and rise to one knee. “And now we’re approaching the endgame!” says Mak with glee as Akira hammers Spike with a forearm, distracting him from Flesher, at least for now. “Look at who’s survived thus far: Akira Kaibatsu, a very strong competitor who’s on the rise; Tom Flesher, the most successful superstar the SWF has ever seen, bar none; Spike Jenkins, the second-longest Cruiserweight Champion ever; Landon Maddix, who is an SJL Grand Slam Champion, a multiple-time World Champion, and the winner of the original Cold Front Classic; and JJ Johnson, the longest reigning Cruiserweight Champion of all time and the winner of last year’s Cold Front Classic. This is where it gets heated, King!” “It is,” agrees King. “I suspect Spike will be eliminated any second now.” “That’s rather blunt, King,” frowns Mak. “Why would you throw Spike to the wolves like that, when Landon is likely still groggy from the Endwell, and JJ is just kind of laying there uselessly?” “Have you been listening to me at all this entire match?” asks the Gambling Man incredulously. Meanwhile, in, you know, the wrestling match, Spike has long since recovered from the European Uppercut and in fact made a comeback, slamming quite a few kicks into Akira’s ribs. The pain being just a little too much for Kaibatsu, he collapses to his knees, and Spike delivers a sharp kick to the sternum! *SMAACK!!* And, with Akira clutching his ribs now, Spike delivers another! *SMAACK!!* Two-thirds of his combo complete, Spike steps back, before charging forward and throwing a kick to the face of Kaibatsu! *SMAACK!!* Unfortunately for Spike, his kick never quite makes it, as Landon nails Jenkins with a superkick! Spike stumbles, and then a hand is placed on his shoulder, the Hollywood Superstar is spun around, and he faintly smells Unibroue before the Superior One has acted, gripping him around the chest and sending Jenkins over the top rope with a railgun suplex! *SAA-MAACK!!* *DING!* Funyon struggles to be heard over the “Holy shit” chants, but eventually manages to boom out an “eliminated eleventh, and the number five seed, Spike Jenkins!” before the crowd’s noise overtakes him again. “Called it,” smirks King. “Well, there’s the Sacred Splash we were looking for!” shouts Mak, not nearly as calm as the Gambling Man. “And now we are down to four!” Tom makes his way back up to his feet, but Landon “La Cucaracha” Maddix has other plans, slamming him with a forearm before seizing him in, much to everybody in the crowd’s dismay, a cravate. Johnson, meanwhile, has recovered, and is approaching Akira with a very, very unhappy look on his face. Kaibatsu rises to his feet after spending a bit of time gasping for breath, turns around… *CRACK!!* … and eats an elbow smash! Akira leans back against the ropes, but realizes that that’s a very bad place to be considering that we are now in the endgame, and so he decides to go for his trump card. “Here comes a superkick!” shouts Mak as Kaibatsu steps forward and launches his foot right into the jaw of the Canadian for a third time! *WHUMP!* “Not again,” snarls JJ, and Akira’s eyes widen as he hops on one foot, the other quite securely in Johnson’s hands. It soon leaves Johnson’s hands, though, as the Canadian throws it away, spinning Akira on the spot. Once Kaibatsu’s back is to the Ultimate Fighter, Johnson reacts, charging forward, seizing Akira around the waist, and lifting all in one smooth motion. Tom would applaud Johnson on his Greco-Roman technique if he were not busy pounding on Landon Maddix, and Akira is almost absolutely helpless as he’s dumped over the top! DING! “BOOOOOO!” “Eliminated twelfth, Akira Kaibatsu!” booms Funyon. Behind Johnson, who stares triumphantly down at Akira, Landon nails Tom with an elbow smash! *CRACK!* Tom reels, Landon reacts, launching another elbow smash… that Tom blocks, The Art of War coming into play again before he slams a brutal palm strike into the jaw of La Cucaracha! Maddix almost collapses, but manages to stay on a knee… a knee that Johnson has no trouble stepping up on as he runs, plants a foot on it, and drives HIS knee into the face of Maddix with a Shining Wizard! *CRACK!* Maddix goes down, and Johnson whirls to face the Superior One, who immediately shoots in for a double-leg takedown; no stranger to amateur wrestling from his time in UFC, Johnson immediately sprawls, his reflexes like lightning with pressure and adrenaline building. The two men spend a moment at a stalemate; Flesher struggles to maintain his leverage, Johnson struggles to gain some. Then, Johnson spins out of Tom’s grip, looking more like a football player than a mixed martial artist , and Flesher goes to the ground for just a moment before he hops back up to his feet. It’s too late now, though; Johnson is behind him. Before Flesher even has time to sandbag, Johnson has seized him in a waistlock, flexed his knees and does something that he hasn’t done in a very long time. He drops somebody on their goddamn skull. *CRUNCH!!* Tom’s lands right on his shoulders and neck as Johnson climbs to his feet to face Maddix… only to find that Tom is doing what he does best: not selling. Flesher rolls with the German’s momentum and stumbles forward, lashing his arm out for a lariat to press Johnson over the ropes. Johnson’s eyes widen… and then he notices that Flesher’s eyes are dull. He’s pure instinct at this point. The Canadian grins, seizes Tom’s arm, and lifts the Superior One into a fireman’s carry, hesitating for just a moment before turning and shoving Tom off of his shoulders and to the outside! Unfortunately for Johnson, in the moment he hesitated, Tom snapped out of his funk, and the Superior One lands on the apron and nails Johnson with a palm strike! *CRACK!* Johnson collapses, and Tom’s eyes go wide. Landon Maddix is in mid-dropkick, but his target has collapsed. Momentum is about to conspire against the Superior One. *CRACK!* DING! “Eliminated thirteenth! THE SUPERIOR ONE! TOOOOOM FLEEESHHEEERR!!” roars Funyon, and the crowd in the Cow Palace gets exponentially louder. “AND NOW…” shouts Mak, “WE ARE DOWN TO TWO! AND NOW WE ARE DOWN TO LANDON MADDIX, AND JJ JOHNSON!” “Oh, this is bad news for Landon,” smirks King. “JJ’s probably still pissed about losing to Landon for the World Title at Battleground.” JJ’s probably still groggy from the palm strike, and he staggers to his feet; his jaw has taken a whole lot of damage already in this match. Landon, meanwhile, hesitates. He knows Johnson very well: Johnson reacts violently under pressure; Johnson hates his guts; Johnson taught him most of what he knows. Landon has to stop him, and he has to stop him now. Johnson whirls on La Cucaracha, a hollow look in his eyes; whatever he does from this point until he snaps out of it, he does with no real thought for what might happen to himself. Whatever he does from this point, he does with no remorse. “Why is Landon just standing there?!” asks Mak. “Move, Madddix! Do SOMETHING!” “He’s scared, Mak,” smirks the Heartbreaker. “He’s going to wait until Johnson snaps out of it, and then it’s going to be too late.” But Landon shakes his head. There’s no possible way he heard the Suicide King; the Cow Palace is entirely too loud for that. Johnson staggers towards Maddix, staring unblinkingly at La Cucaracha, but no longer does he intimidate the tag team champion. In fact, Landon smiles. No more fear. Immediately, Maddix lunges, wedging one arm between the legs of the Canadian and securing his shoulder with the other, before lifting and throwing Johnson onto his shoulder. “He’s… he’s going for the Tombstone!” shouts Mak. “That’ll just make JJ dead weight!” says King, rolling his eyes. “What is Maddix thinking?” There’s something that Maddix isn’t thinking. “If you are strong, show weakness.” -Chapter 3, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War Immediately, Johnson springs into action, sliding backwards off of Landon’s shoulder. Maddix swears and tries to turn, but he feels two strong arms grip him around the waist. In the brief instant he has, he looks to find the nearest ropes, and realizes that they’re behind him. “Oh, fu-“ And then Johnson snaps backwards, releases, and Landon Maddix becomes the victim of a German Suplex to the outside, turning a complete flip and, fortunately, landing on his feet on the outside, preventing any serious injury. Except ego. DING DING DING!! “JJ did it!” screams Mak as the Cow Palace ERUPTS! “Three months on the shelf after a month of wrestling, which was after another three months for a serious neck injury, but to hell with that! JJ Johnson has entered the Cold Front Classic battle royal, and he has won it for the second year in a row!” “Ladies and gentlemen, eliminated fourteenth and the number two seed, Landon Maddix!” bellows Funyon. “And here is your winner, and the number one seed… J! J! JOOOOHNNSOOON!!” Johnson leaps up to the middle rope, throwing his arms wide and looking out over the crowd, a huge grin on his face, gleeful at his victory. “JJ Johnson is the number one seed! That’s all the time we have for tonight, folks,” says an out of breath Mak, “but JJ Johnson is number one! Good night everybody!” Number one is a very important status, but right now, there’s a number more important to JJ, one he’s holding on both hands in the air. Two. FADE OUT

FIVE… FOUR… THREE… TWO… ONE… *BANG! BANG! BANG! BOOOM! BUH-BUH-BUH-BOOOM!!* “YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “Welcome to SWF AftershoxXx!” Mak Francis yells over the roar of the crowd, “we’re coming to you LIVE~ from the Cow Palace in San Francisco, hard on the heels of Ashes 2 Ashes-” “Mak, it was nearly a week ago,” the Suicide King interrupts. “-and we’re still dealing with the aftermath!” the Franchise finishes, glaring at his commentary partner. “What aftermath?” King snorts, “Doom retained, Wild & Dangerous won as expected, Toxxic sneaked his way to another successful title defence in the Elimination Chamber… the only interesting thing that happened was Jay Hawke stepping up his game to defeat Tom - a result that I must admit surprised me, but I’ve always known Hawke had talent.” “Way to ruin the rest of the show,” Mak grumbles, “so much for the recaps, huh?” “Ruin it?” the Gambling Man asks incredulously, “we’ve got a seventeen-man Battle Royal as the show’s only match! You can’t make that any worse than it already is!” “A seventeen-man Battle Royal that’s the start of the now-legendary Cold Front Classic,” Mak Francis argues, “the most important event of the fall in the SWF!” “Eh,” King sniffs, “Landon Maddix won the inaugural one, that tells you all you need to know about it.” “Well King, as you accurately if scornfully pointed out, Michael Stephens did indeed win the first-ever Elimination Chamber in the SWF,” Francis says, “and as a result retained not only the World Heavyweight Title, but also the Cruiserweight Title-” “COME AND HAVE A GO IF YOU THINK YER ‘ARD ENOUGH!” “COME AND HAVE A GO IF YOU THINK YER ‘ARD ENOUGH!” “-can I finish a damn sentence around here?” Mak asks, slightly peeved, as the crashing opening chord of ‘Rookie’ by Boy Sets Fire rings out around the Cow Palace to replace the rolling soccer chant that signifies arrival of one very well-known person. “YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” The Smarktron, which went pure white the moment every light in the building hit full, is now rapidly darkening down to black. As it does so jagged white letters flash up a familiar slogan, one word at a time: ‘PREPARE TO BE PROVED WRONG…’ The Smartron changes as the bass drum kicks in, showing highlights and clips; the infamous Glass Jawbreaker to Aecas, the All-Show Brawl with the Insane Luchador, the Caffeine Bomb to Nathaniel Kibagami and the Sunny In England on Tom Flesher at Genesis VII, finishing with footage of Mike Van Siclen being taken off a balcony and through a table with the Stephens Shock Syndrome, the devastating landing timed to coincide with the- *BOOOM!!* -stagewide explosion of red pyro that announces the arrival of the SWF’s most decorated Englishman! And through the flame and smoke… “TOXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-IC…” …a title belt in each hand with a third buckled around his waist underneath the spiked, chained and zipped trenchcoat… “TOXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-IC…” …black hair hanging down in curtains in front of his eyes, face hidden… “TOXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-IC…” …comes the man once known as Toxxic. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the ring at this time,” Funyon booms, “one-half of the SWF Tag Team Champions, and STILL~ the SWF Cruiserweight and World Heavyweight Champion… MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-CHAEL… STEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-PHENS!!” “YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Stephens reaches the bottom of the entrance ramp, then pauses for a moment and crosses his arms in the straight-edge ‘X’ pose for a moment before flinging them wide… *bap-bap* *BOOOM!* …and igniting another blast of red pyro from the top of each ringpost as the verse comes in! ‘I never thought this could be me I guess you never do until it’s happening to you Like all the fun turns into shame And all the “could-have-beens” rearrange…’ Stephens rolls in under the bottom rope and gets to his feet, then beckons Funyon over to get the microphone from the veteran ring announcer. This time the Triple Champion is prepared and takes both Cruiserweight and Tag belts into one hand before trying to take the mic, then turns around to look out at the crowd all around him as Funyon exits the ring. The crowd are still on their feet cheering, and a faint smile can be seen flickering over Stephens’ lips. Then he sweeps the hair back from his face and raises the mic to his mouth. “Hey up.” “YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “Bloody hell,” Stephens says, apparently shocked by the positive reaction a simple Nottingham greeting gets, “what’s got into you lot? Anyone would think I was Jerry Rice or something!” “YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “Did Toxxic just get a cheap pop by naming a football player!?” King asks, gobsmacked. “Hey, don’t get too excited,” Stephens tells the crowd, “I used to watch when I was little but the only players I can remember are him and Dan Marino… luck of the draw, I guess. But anyway,” he continues, “I’m out here for a couple of reasons. First of all, to let any of you that didn’t know that the date for the next defence of my World Title has been set - it’s November 30th, and I’m going up against the man who continued the trend I started,” a faint smile here, “by beating Tom Flesher on a Pay-Per-View, Jay Hawke.” “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” “Yes, I’m going up against ‘The Dean of Professional Wrestling’, Stephens says, “which means I have to figure out a way to beat a loud-mouthed, brash and obnoxious mat-based cruiserweight with some decent wrestling skills and a complete lack of anything approaching a sense of humour.” A brief pause. “So I figured I’d just use the same gameplan I had against Scott Pretzler, and save myself some effort.” The crowd laughs at that sally, but Stephens raises a black-nailed hand (the one containing the title belts, but he only has a choice of two) to quiet them down. “No, listen, I’ve got to admit that beating Tom Flesher on a Pay-Per-View when he was pumped up for a win was one of the greatest achievements of my career,” he says, slightly more soberly, “and I have a great deal of respect for someone who can match that feat. So Jay Hawke, while I’m a little bewildered by your tendency to come down to the ring in a dressing gown, and you have quite frankly the worst catchphrase in the history of this business, I’m not going to underestimate you in the ring. But you need to remember something,” the Triple Champion continues, “which is that no matter how confident you feel coming into this match, that’s just as confident as Flesher was when he went up against me. You reckon you’ll teach me a wrestling lesson I’ll never forget, and there’s nothing I can do about it? Well sunshine…” Stephens pauses for a moment for a grin, and to let the crowd take a breath to join him in what comes next. “…PREPARE TO BE PROVED WRONG!” “I’ve got another candidate for ‘worst catchphrase’,” King mutters. “Yeah, that one about ‘a King beats a Jackass’ was lame,” Mak agrees cheerfully. “But see, that’s only half the reason I’m out here,” Stephens says as the crowd starts to quieten down again, “because I can look forward all I want… but what’s behind is still going to pop up, whether I like it or not. I’ve just come through a steel hell,” the Englishman says with a wince, “and in spite of everything I managed to retain both my title belts-” “YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “-but I know the job’s only half done,” Stephens finishes forcefully over the cheering, “because winning a match just isn’t good enough sometimes! Y’see, no matter what happens between me and Spike there will still always be bad blood there, I think I can say that without fear of contradiction. The fact that I pinned him again, one-two-three, means nothing. That bastard will just keep coming back for more.” “That’s called ‘tenacity’,” King says. “Or ‘stupidity’,” Mak counters. “Then you’ve got Bruce Blank, who was probably so drunk he doesn’t even remember he got another World Title shot,” Stephens continues, “and Zyon… well, I think it’s safe to say he might feel hard done by.” [“YOU SCREWED ZY-ON!”] [“YOU SCREWED ZY-ON!”] The chant is faint but audible. Stephens turns around, eyebrows raised in surprise. “I screwed Zyon?” he asks. “Naah… fairly sure I’d have remembered that. I mean c’mon,” he continues, “give me some credit for taste, please!” Another ripple of amusement travels around the majority of the crowd as Stephens flashes them a grin and a wink, but then the World Champion raises the microphone again. “Thing is though, there were two more people in that Chamber,” the Englishman says, his face and voice losing their levity, “one was my tag team partner, and to dismay he got eliminated first. I never wanted to come face-to-face with Landon in there as an opponent, but I didn’t want him to get eliminated first either.” “Maybe you should have actually broken up the pin then!” King snorts. “He was only half-conscious at the time King,” Mak chides. “Yeah, that’s his story!” “The second man was the one who actually pinned Landon,” Stephens continues, “a man who I’ve known for longer than pretty much anyone else in this country, certainly longer than anyone else in this company except my sister… Gabriel Drake.” “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” “Gabe, I know you,” Stephens says simply, “just like you know me. I think we both showed that on Sunday, when despite the fact that we haven’t been on speaking terms for four years we pulled off that old drop toehold and running knee smash combo on Bruce like we were still training in Atlanta. And so right now,” he continues, turning and addressing the backstage area, “I know that you’re back there waiting for your moment. You’ve probably snatched a mic off some member of the tech crew, not because he wouldn’t give it to you but because it would never occur to you to ask, and you’re waiting for your moment to come out here and interrupt me in mid-flow. Well old friend,” he says, sweeping one black-nailed hand backwards to encompass the ring behind him, “now’s your chance. Let’s be having you.” There is a buzz of crowd anticipation, tinged with a few boos in anticipation of the arrival of The Beast. However, after a few long seconds no-one has emerged from the backstage area. “Come on Gabe, I know you’re back there,” Stephens repeats. “Don’t make me walk up this ramp and drag you out.” There’s a small cheer from the crowd at that prospect, which quickly fades away as Stephens shows no sign of suiting actions to words just yet. “Well, Gabriel Drake is booked to appear in the Cold Front Classic Battle Royale later,” Mak Francis confirms, looking at his notes, “but there’s not necessarily any reason why he should be waiting back-” “Alright Toxx, you win.” “Goddamnit!” Even as the Franchise swears in frustration at being interrupted again a familiar, heavy-shouldered figure is already making his way out. Drake is already in his ring gear, presumably in preparation for the Battle Royale, and does indeed have a microphone in his right hand. He saunters down the ramp, an ugly smirk on his face. “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” “So here we are,” The Beast sneers, “I was backstage after all, just like you said. What do you want, a medal for being psychic?” “Ladies and gentlemen, Gabriel Drake,” Stephens says in neutral tones, waving a hand towards his former friend, “no longer yet to be pinned in the SWF.” “YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “Oh, cheap,” Drake snorts, now approaching the ring, “is that why you called me out here? So I can listen to you try and insult me? Is that meant to make me angry?” “Gabe, from what I remember getting ice in your Sprite when you didn’t want any is enough to make you flip your lid,” Stephens retorts, “as far as I can tell your first professional loss should have you chewing the walls. How many sedatives have you taken?” “Toxx, when you can’t wrestle anymore I advise against a career in stand-up,” Drake growls, stepping through the ring ropes, “I’m not here to be your straight man.” There is a moment’s silence. “I’m saying nothing,” Stephens says, deadpan. “So what were you expecting?” Drake demands, ignoring his old friend’s joke, “that I was going to come out here ranting and raving, smashing the place up and threatening your life?” “Well, that’s pretty much been par for the course so far,” Stephens shrugs, “why change a winning formula?” “Because much as I’d love to beat the shit out of you Toxx, there’s something more important at stake,” Drake spits. “There’s the little matter of a gross miscarriage of justice that took place on Sunday-” “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” “-a miscarriage of justice,” The Beast continues, raising his voice, “that cheated one man in the Elimination Chamber of a shot at the World Title that you guard so jealously!” he finishes, pointing an accusing finger at the belt strapped around Stephens’ waist. “DRAKE SUCKS COCK!” “DRAKE SUCKS COCK!” “Do you mind?” Stephens asks, looking slightly hurt at the crowd’s chant, then returns his attention to Drake. “Look sunshine,” the Englishman says, “what are you here to say? That Landon came back and interfered after you eliminated him? Shock, horror, Landon cheated? I hate to break it to you,” he says, “but Landon’s been cheating for the last three years solid! If you haven’t figured that out yet then I think you’d better hire Jay Hawke to get you a wrestling lesson!” “YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “Who the hell says I’m talking about me?” Drake demands over the cheers, which stop suddenly. Stephens cocks his head to one side, grey eyes watching, analysing, waiting to see where this one’s going. “…I’m talking about Zyon,” Gabriel Drake finishes, looking his old friend in the eyes. [“YOU SCREWED ZY-ON!”] [“YOU SCREWED ZY-ON!”] Stephens’ eyes narrow slightly, and his lips move faintly. A trained lip-reader might be able to discern the word ‘interesting’. “You see Toxx,” Drake says when the World Champion makes no immediate statement, “for once, you’re right - I should have expected Landon to shove his nose back into the match after I took him out of it, and with me distracted I can hardly blame Zyon for taking advantage and pinning me. After all,” The Beast says with a faint sadistic grin, “I was trying to break his leg a couple of seconds earlier. That sort of thing can really influence your opinion of someone in the short term. But you, on the other hand,” he continues, “you made an alliance with Zyon. You teamed up on Spike Jenkins to increase your own chances of winning the match… and then just when you’d got all the use you could out of him, you turned on him. You stabbed him in the back, and fed him to the lions.” Drake looks like he might be about to say more, but stops short as if restraining himself. However, from the twitch in his jaw it looks like he’s not succeeding by much of a margin. “Hey, Gabe,” Stephens says, “ever hear of a concept called ‘every man for himself’? I mean,” the World Champion continues, “it’s not like Zyon couldn’t have turned on me at any point in there. He was taking the same risk I was, that what he was doing was going to be for his own benefit. In the end, he miscalculated.” “‘Every man for himself’?” Drake sneers, “tell me Toxx, is that the sort of phrase that gets brought out by people who say things like ‘all’s fair in love and war’? Because I know you don’t play fair!” “Well now, this is starting to get interesting…” King murmurs. “What’s ‘fair’ about sleeping with your best friend’s girlfriend behind his back Toxx?” Drake demands, scarcely keeping a rein on his temper, “what’s ‘fair’ about then testifying against your best friend and sending him to jail!? For four damn years! Four-and-a-half years ago, you slimy English bastard, you stabbed me in the back and fed me to the lions!” A stunned silence drops over the Cow Palace. Everyone knows that there is bad blood between Michael Stephens and Gabriel Drake, and some few have a vague idea why. However, now they’ve had the situation laid out in front of them. “Toxx, you always were a bastard,” Drake says, controlling himself slightly, “but at least when you first came into this company you were honest about it. But when I come here to settle up old scores, I find you parading around with titles and having each and every one of these people,” here The Beast points around the arena, drawing a few boos, “taken in by that stupid grin, some flashy moves and a few bad jokes. They can cheer who they want, I really don’t give a shit what they think,” he continues, getting some more boos, “but if they’re going to cheer you I want them to know that they’re cheering for a backstabbing traitor who sells his friends out.” Drake pauses, then tosses one more comment out. “Oh, and I think you’ll find Spike Jenkins agrees with me.” “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” “Well, he possibly has a point there,” Mak Francis concurs, “it’s well-known how Stephens kicked Jenkins out of Revolution Zero to replace him with Scott Pretzler.” Meanwhile Michael Stephens has been watching his former friend closely, but now the World Champion raises the mic to his lips again. “Gabe, first of all believe me when I say that having Spike Jenkins agreeing with you lends no weight to your argument whatsoever. Trust me,” he continues over rising laughter in the Cow Palace, “I tried it for about six months, it just ends up getting embarrassing.” “TOXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-IC..” “TOXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-IC…” “…but that aside,” Stephens continues, casting a glance around at the crowd as they chant his old ring name, “if you want to bring up our personal history into the open, then don’t think I won’t throw it right back at you. Cos sunshine,” he carries on, voice rising and a much harsher edge creeping in, “don’t forget why you went to prison. You’re a bloody psycho, a fucking killer who smashed the shit out of some kid because you couldn’t deal with what was going on in your life!” “I was protecting you!” Drake snarls back, “you and the others! They jumped us Toxx, for Christ’s sake you were there! I protect you, and then you turn around and blame me for it and get me sent down!” “Protecting us!?” Stephens snaps, “protecting us from what, Gabe? From some drunken wannabe-tough-guy who picked a fight with a pro-wrestler and then got his skull smashed in? You’re right, I was there,” he continues, pointing a finger at Drake, “and that kid was damn near dead before we could pull you off him! Now you want to come out here and talk on Zyon’s behalf, but I don’t see him hanging around saying that you’re right! I don’t hear Zyon backing you up like Spike’s meant to be. So Gabe,” he says, slinging both title belts in his hand over his shoulder, “until you do, I suggest you stop trying to use other people’s names to fight your own battles. If you want another chance to get into the ring with me, all you’ve gotta do is make it to the last eight in the Battle Royale later - you haven’t even got to win. Win the Cold Front Classic, and I’ll be waiting for you.” Stephens turns and heads for the ropes nearest the entrance ramp; Gabriel Drake glares daggers at him, but seems to be restraining himself from physical violence for once. However, as Stephens steps through the ropes he stops on the apron and turns back to face his former friend. “Oh, Gabe… be careful in the Battle Royale. You see, it’s every man for himself.” And with that parting shot Stephens drops down to the arena floor and starts to walk towards the back, leaving Gabriel Drake standing alone in the middle of the ring and glaring up the entrance ramp after him. FADE OUT

Ben Hardy turns the corner in the rather empty corridors of the Cow Palace with a heavy sigh. Why a sigh? Well, it could be for numerous reasons. Maybe it’s because the Cow Palace’s backstage smells vaguely of body odor, vomit, and a hint of urine, though that may be Bruce Blank passed out again, could be because how exhausting it is to deal with so many wrestlers that are caught up in their own world, or it could be a sigh of relief that he’s the hell out of North Korea. Or, perhaps, it’s a sigh because he sees the man standing in front of him with a small smirk to greet him. “Hey Rickmen,” Hardy says with a small gulp. The gulp could be explained by that damn dry steak he had earlier, a backup of saliva, or because the man in front of him has… some interesting tendencies. “What’s up Hardy? Got a minute?” Luchador asks with a happy tone, a rather friendly demeanor. “Not much, uh, sure, what’s up?” Now Ben Hardy is used, immune even, to a lot of Rickmen’s tendencies. Whether it is unexplained absences and returns, playing with blood (sometimes his own, other times it’s not), psychotic laughter, suicidal leaps, willingly sadistic, or masochistic, actions, and just subjecting himself and others to painful situations. But. Insane Luchador being amicable is not one of those tendencies, especially being confronted with a sincere grin instead of, well, a sadistic one. He awkwardly stands there as Luchador stares at him in confusion. “I was hoping for an interview, you know?” “Oh, oh. Okay, okay, I can do that,” Hardy says as he fumbles with his microphone. “I know you can,” IL replies. “So I’m standing here with…” Ben begins but gets cut off. “I’m sure they are aware of that,” IL says. “Right. Uh, what has brought you back once again?” Hardy asks. “Well, Hardy, there is something that I’ve discovered about myself,” Rickmen begins with a smirk, “I am a wrestler, plain and simple. Well, more of a fighter, but that is splitting hairs. I am back because this is what I do, it’s all I know, and it’s all that I have left.” Hardy slowly nods and asks, “Well, what are your intentions?” “Honestly? My intentions are to wrestle, see, there’s another thing I’ve realized. I’m not much of Crusader, Hardy, and it’s time that I just go back to how it should be. Simply stepping into that ring and inflict destruction, whether it’s my own or others,” he answers with a laugh. Hardy can’t help but to ask, “You seem very…” “Calm?” “It’s almost…” “More unnerving when I’m ‘normal?’” “Yeah. It’s even more…” “Unnerving when I finish your sentences?” “Yeah.” “That’s just because you’re very predictable.” “Oh.” “Don’t worry, I don’t hold it against you. But don’t get the wrong impression, Ben, I’m not suddenly tamed by any means. See, there’s something sincere that I am feeling right now, but underneath, underneath there’s a storm a-brewin’. I am not sure why, what, or when. This is simply…” “The calm before the storm?” IL cocks his head to the side with a smirk. “Now I’m the predictable one?” Hardy vigorously shakes his head. “IL, trust me, you’re far from a predictable person.” Insane Luchador gives a short, psychotic laugh before saying, “Good.” He pauses and then shakes his head with another laugh before turning around to walk away. Ben Hardy watches Insane Luchador turn down the corridor in mild confusion and he can’t help but to sigh.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SWF AFTERSHOXXXxxxXXxXXx Live, Saturday, November 11th, from The Cow Palace in San Francisco, California! (7pm PST, 10pm EST; check local listings) (Send all promos/marked matches to chirs3) Because I just love this place. The Cow Palace... hee hee! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THE MAIN EVENT - BATTLE ROYALE Cold Front Classic Seeding Battle Royale Akira "The Divine Wind" Kaibatsu vs. Jimmy the Doom vs. Devin Benson vs. Johnny Dangerous vs. "Hollywood" Spike Jenkins vs. "The Superior One" Tom Flesher vs. Charlie "Grappler" Matthews vs. Landon "La Cucaracha" Maddix vs. Bruce Blank vs. Nighthawk vs. "The Beast" Gabriel Drake vs. Nemesis vs. Michael Cross vs. JJ Johnson vs. Matt "Cosplay Master" Myers -> Another year, another winter season, and another chance for a young star to break out from the pack and earn a World title shot come this year's SWF Christmas PPV, which is coming from a very special location... that I am not a liberty to reveal! Forget that for a moment, however, and take a look at the diversity in this match: Four former World champions, three young gunnas, two old hands, a Doomtopian in a pear tree, and they're all currently in the running for #1 contendership to the World championship. Tonight, we eliminate seven of them from the tournament. Will YOUR number be called? Rules: Standard over-the-top battle royale. All fifteen men start in the ring. The first seven men eliminated are eliminated from the tournament altogether. The remaining eight men will be seeded in order of their eliminations; the last man standing will face the eighth person eliminated, the fourteenth man eliminated will face the ninth person eliminated, the thirteenth man eliminated will face the tenth man eliminated, and the twelfth man eliminated will face the eleventh man eliminated. ALSO ON AFTERSHOX: There is one man conspicuously missing from the Cold Front Classic battle royale who has a title shot lined up for November 30th. Will this superstar have words for Michael Stephens? And what exactly does Stephens have to say after besting five men in the Elimination Chamber? All of the aftershocks, all on Aftershox!

That still leaves two others, plus myself. One of them hasn't checked in yet. Hint: It's not me.

Still waiting for one more marker to check in, so this may be going up tomorrow afternoon. I'll be up a little while longer, though, so we'll see.

Exactly.

You mean like, "Hey, who the fuck are you and where did you come from?" Honestly, to me that would be like showing Jack Bauer taking a piss or making a sandwich. There's no need to show it, because it won't add anything. If everyone started asking Desmond questions, and he said "Ok, listen up, here's the story of Desmond", he would be telling them stuff that we the viewers already know. How long has he been in the hatch, how did he get here, who was Kelvin - Heckle and Jeckle, or whoever those two random new people are, might not know this yet but the people watching the show do. So unless some new information, some new character development, or some new plot twist could be shoehorned in to Desmond's RIVETING DESCRIPTION OF HIMSELF~!~!, there's really no point in putting it on the air. It's not unreasonable to assume that it happened.

Just got in - I thought Evo was available, but this week's been a little crazy, so it's possible (probable) that I funked that up. If the goes up tomorrow and that match isn't in, send it to me and I'll take over. Sorry about that.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SWF ASHES TO ASHES Live, Sunday, November 5th, from the Pyongyang Arena in North Korea! (7pm PST, 10pm EST; check local listings) (Send all promos/marked matches to Chuck Woolery) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THE MAIN EVENT - ELIMINATION CHAMBER Michael Stephens vs. "The Beast" Gabriel Drake vs. Landon "La Cucaracha" Maddix vs. "Hollywood" Spike Jenkins vs. Zyon vs. Bruce Blank -> If there's one quality Joseph Peters really should look into acquiring, I think I'd pick subtlety. As it stands, if the man doesn't like you, he will make it very well known. There is no better example than tonight's main event - The Elimination Chamber. Triple Champion Michael Stephens has had his hands full recently with The Beast, Gabriel Drake, a man tied to Stephen's own past. One might think, with the history these two have, that a Pay Per View Main Event between the two would be an epic match... but that would be too easy. Let's throw in a few more people who have history with Mike - Bruce Blank, whose World Title ambitions have been thwarted before... Spike Jenkins, whose history with Stephens is well-known... Landon Maddix, Mike's former nemesis and current partner... and Zyon, perpetually on the edge of breaking into the main event. A situation that would normally be every man for himself seems more likely to become a 5 on 1 against our World Champion. Is there any hope for Michael Stephens to walk out of this one ALIVE, let alone still holding his singles belts? Or will we be crowning a new Champion (or two) tonight? Rules: The setup looks a little something like this: Ignore those losers there. We're way better. Two men begin the match, while the other four are stuck inside those little booths in the various corners of the cage (booths made of BULLET PROOF GLASS, BAH GAWD). Every five minutes (I think), one of the booths opens, and that man enters the match. Eliminations are scored by pinfall or submission - last man standing wins. And as an added bonus, should a Cruiserweight eliminate Michael Stephens, he will win the Cruiser title! Mike, Landon, Zyon: Send to Ace309 Gabe, Spike, Bruce: Send to Longdogger_Pete Tom and Pete, send your winners to Chuck Woolery. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TAG TEAM MATCH Johnny Dangerous and Wildchild vs. Ultimo Phantasmo and Devin Benson -> Iiiinteresting... Wild and Dangerous might want to stop letting cameras into their lockerroom during shows, because that little exchange that opened Smarkdown has Joseph Peters thinking. Which is never a good thing. Wild and Dangerous seem to have some trust issues - what better way to exploit this powder-keg of a situation than by forcing Johnny to defend his title against his tag team partner... while tagging with him? Rules: Standard tag team match, BUT~! Whoever scores the pinfall or submission that ends the match will become (or retain) the SWF International Championship! Send to: Evolution -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SINGLES MATCH OF INFINITE AWESOMEITUDE "The Superior One" Tom Flesher vs. "The Dean of Professional Wrestling" Jay Hawke -> Jay Hawke, already considered by many to be a World Class talent, will soon be taking on two other World Class talents, Two Skinny White Guys, for the Tag Team Championships! Hawke will need to be prepared against those two, so tonight we give him the best tune-up match EVER. Two of the top wrestlers in the SWF face off! Rules: Standard singles match. Send to: Muzz -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SWF HARDCORE CHAMPIONSHIP - ASHES TO ASHES MATCH Jimmy the Doom vs. Insane Luchador vs. Nemesis vs. Jacob Helmsley -> I don't know if Joseph Peters actively despises Jimmy the Doom, but surely he is wierded out by him. I mean, we all are. Besides, how do you market T-shirts with Doomtopian slogans? It just doesn't work, and that means it's time to get the belt away from him. Unfortunately, Doomtopians have proven to be resourceful and resilient fighters - so tonight, we take not one but THREE Hardcore Contenders, and hurl them all at the Hardcore Champion! The returning Insane Luchadore! The only man to creep us out more than Jimmy, Nemesis! And no stranger to the hardcore scene, Jacob Helmsley! Rules: Hanging above the ring, ladder match style, will be four straw dummies modeled after each of our competitors. The object of this match is to scale a ladder, grab your opponents' dummies, and toss them into any one of the many decorative funeral pyres that make up the A2A set. Once your dummy has been incinerated, you are eliminated (rhyme intended). Whoever's effigy is left in-tact is the winner, and the new (or still) Hardcore Champion! Of course, no disqualifications, anything goes! Send to: chirs3 (please note: I have a very limited window for marking this Sunday. Matches must be in by due-time, no exceptions.) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- OPENING BOUT - SWF INTERNATIONAL TITLE CONTENDERSHIP MATCH "The Divine Wind" Akira Kaibatsu vs. Charlie "Grappler" Matthews -> During the Bruce Blank International Title Reign, both Akira and Matthews took their shots at the champ, and both failed to bring him down. But now the International Championship has a new holder, and these two are chomping at the bit for another shot - tonight, we'll see which one gets it! Rules: Standard singles match. Send to: Divefire -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- You read that right - Chuckorama will take show posting duties. I'll be out o' town on family business. Hooray for Chuckles! I'll try and get markers in reasonably early for a change. Tomorrow night, hopefully. EDIT: Most markers are in. Apologies for the delay - I've been entirely too busy the past few days.

1. Someone do a border run. We're long overdue. 2. Nominate theme songs here. And "War Pigs" is no longer eligible, since it's in Guitar Hero 2, which means they've sold out. And we don't like sellouts... at least, I think we don't... ... do we? 3. Anyone with specific plans, please PM me. Anyone without specific plans, post here.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SWF SMARKDOWN (oween) Live, Tuesday, October 31st, from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Californiaaaaa! (7pm PST, 10pm EST; check local listings) (Send all promos/marked matches to chirs3) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THE MAIN EVENT Landon "La Cucaracha" Maddix vs. Zyon -> Part two in the Joseph Peters Is An Asshole Series of booking moves - while Spike and Drake are learning to work as a cohesive unit, the two men most likely to watch Stephen's back at A2A are pitted against each other in a HARDCORE match! Neither one of these men is going to go down without a fight, but every chairshot, lowblow, and indian burn will hurt them that much more in the long run, making them potentially easy pickings at Ashes 2 Ashes! Rules: HARDCORE. Word Limit: 5000 Send to: chirs3 Writing as Landon: Devin Benson Writing as Zyon: Tom Flesher -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Special Teamwork Exercise "The Beast" Gabriel Drake and "Hollywood" Spike Jenkins vs. Corpus Calossum (Ultimo Phantasmo and Devin Benson) -> So I guess Peters really isn't trying to hide his contempt for Michael Stephens anymore. In the first of two efforts designed to stack the deck against Michael, Peters is pairing up Gabriel Drake and Spike Jenkins, in the hopes that they will become a more cohesive ass-kicking unit in the Elimination Chamber! In order to do so, though, they will first need to get through Ultimo Phantasmo and Devin Benson! Rules: Standard tag team match. Word Limit: 5000 Send to: Ace309 Writing for Drake: Landon Maddix Writing for Spike: Alan Clark Writing for Ultimo: Johnny Dangerous Writing for Devin: Akira Kaibatsu -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "The Superior One" Tom Flesher vs. The Scion of Light -> Looking to take out his frustrations on someone who can't beat him like W&D did on Lockdown, Tom turns to his one-time coat-rack, the Scion of Light! SOL has been out of the spotlight as of late - now's her big chance to take it right back! Rules: Cruiserweight rules. Word Limit: 5000 Send to: Longdogger_Pete Writing as Tom Flesher: Spike Jenkins Writing as SOL: Nemesis -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Wild and Dangerous vs. The Blank Brothers (Bruce and Wayne Blank) -> WILD AND DANGEROUS ARE BACK, BAAAAAYBEH! While this technically does meet Peters' requirement that Johnny find a tag partner, Ole' Joe was still plenty sore about being made a fool of, so he's not going to let up on them now! Tonight, they face a newly... eh... "re-energized"... Bruce Blank, with his rat-fink brother Wayne by his side! Rules: Standard tag team match. Word Limit: 5000 Send to: Chuck Woolery Writing as Johnny: Michael Stephens Writing as WC: Zyon Writing as Bruce: Ultimo Phantasmo Writing as Wayne: Gabriel Drake -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- OPENING BOUT - SOMEONE WILL WIN Ced Ordonez vs. "Big Country" Martin Hunt -> We all knew this day would come. A day when one of our little Jobbers to the Stars would go through the Rites of Passage, and become a man... the day when one of them would actually win a match. This... is that day... Rules: Standard singles match. Word Limit: 5000 Send to: chirs3 Writing as Ced Ordonez: Bruce Blank Writing as Martin Hunt: Jimmy the Doom -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Anyone unhappy with their assignment is free to trade with someone else. But know this: Trades must be finalized 24 hours before the due-time, and you MUST notify me and your markers (if I've actually edited them in by then) so we know what's going on. As usual, if I missed anyone, let me know and I'll see what I can do, but I think I've got all the available writers taken care of. Yes, I know I just jinxed myself by saying that. For anyone curious, the process was this: I tore up little pieces of paper with the matches on them, then little pieces of paper with the wrasslers names on 'em. I drew one match from the bag, then drew names to fill it in, and so on. And unlike the Lethal Lottery and the IN Title Tournament, where certain accomodations had to be made, these are 100% Grade A Randumb. Gotta love it. Please be respectful of your respective characters and storylines, and most importantly, have fun! ALSO NOTE: Landon Maddix slipped his name into the pot twice, hence the extra 5 minute delay. Sneaky little bugger.

The EC will probably be split among 3 markers - one marks 3, the other marks 3, and they send the winners to a final, like the Clusterfuck. You won't be all by your lonesome, Chucky. That said, volunteers may be required. Stay tuned...

Someone mentioned it above - Eko's last encounter with his brother saw Yemi (however you spell it) telling Eko that the work being done in the hatch was important. Now that the hatch has imploded, Eko has failed, and Yemi demands that he confess his sins. Eko declines, and gets his ass kicked. Curry - Eko's brother IS his brother. But the Yemi that Eko has been seeing on the island is, obviously, not. And I guess I'm one of the few who's still really enjoying the show. Wiping so much of Season 2 out is odd (more the characters than the hatch), but it's not a dealbreaker. Not yet, anyway.