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“You!” SWF Road agent Michael Anderson turns to see Mike Van Siclen storming towards him. “Good evening, Mister Van Siclen. Is there something that I can do for you this...” Anderson finds himself interrupted as MVS grabs him by his sport coat. “Now, you listen to me, you little bastard,” he growls. “You’re going to tell me what I want to know, and you’re going to tell me right now!” “Mister Van Siclen,” Anderson says calmly, “I’m going to have to ask you to take your hands off me.” “BIRDMAN!” screams Van Siclen. “Tell me who he is!” “Mister Van Siclen,” repeats Anderson, “I’m going to ask you for the last time to take your hands off me.” “Or what?” bellows MVS, shaking Anderson viciously. “You’re a damned cripple; you can barely walk. What the hell do you think you’re going to do to… URK!” Van Siclen is abruptly cut off in mid-sentence as the massive hand of Big Tracey Bruner, Anderson’s personal bodyguard, suddenly wraps around his throat and lifts him off the ground! “Why, Mister Van Siclen,” Anderson says with a smile, “when did I ever say anything about me?” “Is this guy troubling you, boss?” rumbles Bruner. “No, Mister Bruner,” replies Anderson, as he straightens out his sport coat. “No trouble at all. Mister Van Siclen was just going to ask me a few questions in a calm and rational manner… weren’t you, Mister Van Siclen?” “URK!” Still dangling like an apple from Bruner’s tree trunk of an arm, Van Siclen can only nod feebly. On seeing this, Anderson signals for Bruner to set him down. “Now, Mister Van Siclen… I believe you wished to ask me some questions about the Birdman?” “That’s right,” replies Van Siclen in a hoarse whisper. “I know that you’ve done business with him in the past.” “That’s correct.” “And I’m sure that you know who he really is,” continues MVS. “Also correct.” “Well, I’ve been getting sabotaged by Wildchild here in the last few weeks,” declares Van Siclen. “He’s been trying to embarrass me on live television… And then, last week, Birdman gave me THIS!” Van Siclen pauses and points to the stitches above his right eye. “I have reason to believe that Wildchild is the Birdman, and you’re the only person around here that knows for sure… so talk!” Anderson gives Van Siclen a wide grin. “Mister Van Siclen, I’d love to help, but unfortunately, revealing that information would be a conflict of interest for me at the present moment. Besides, as you can see,” he pauses to point at the workers behind him, “I’m very busy with getting everything ready for the debut of my interview segment.” “Interview segment?” “Yes,” drawls Anderson. “I’ve recently negotiated a deal to host a weekly interview segment on the next few episodes of Storm and Lockdown, with an option to continue on after Genesis if the ratings are high enough.” Van Siclen narrows his eyes. “And just how did a slimy little weasel like you get your own interview segment?” Anderson’s smile grows even wider. “Let’s just say that a business associate of mine owed me a favor… a BIG favor!” “Uh-huh.” Van Siclen grimaces as he tries to process this information. “So, this interview segment… you have a guest yet?” “As a matter of fact,” says Anderson, “I was thinking about asking you.” “Me?” “Yes, Mister Van Siclen, you,” repeats the still-smiling Anderson. “You see, I have to protect my interests until my show goes on the air. However… once we’re in production, you may, perhaps find me a little more… forthcoming with information?” “Is that right?” Van Siclen rubs his chin thoughtfully. “So, what you’re saying is that, if I were to come onto your show… and ask you certain questions… that you might answer them for me?” “Let’s not give away what we can sell, Mister Van Siclen,” replies Anderson. “So, can I expect your company on Friday?” MVS nods affirmatively. “I’ll be there. And then, I’m going to get rid of Wildchild once and for all!” Anderson watches as Van Siclen turns and walks away. Once he’s sure that MVS is out of earshot, he reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out his cell phone; he scrolls through the speed dial and calls a familiar number: “It’s me…” “…” “Yeah, he’s in; fell for it hook, line and sinker.” “…” “Did you get him to agree to it?” “…” “Interesting… I guess I’m not the only one who’s owed favors around here.” “…” “Hey, don’t take it personal; it’s just business… By the way, did you get those tickets yet?” “…” “Excellent. Alright, until then.” Anderson closes his phone and looks over to Bruner. “Everything is going according to plan. I told you that this would be my ticket, Mister Bruner.” Anderson then turns his attention back to the construction of his interview set as Bruner looks on…

Moments after Matt “Spotty” Myers gets done shilling Frost-Brand © Spot Remover (removes 99% of all “Indy Spots”) we return to the Bell Centre where the Lumberjacks have entered the arena and are waiting, ready to get in a few cheap shots on anyone that falls out of the ring. Spike’s Lumberjacks are all wearing red flannel shirts and Bruce’s are wearing blue to make them easier to tell apart. Spike has chosen JJ Johnson, Manson, Crimson Skull, Jay Hawke and in a bit of a surprise Akira Kaibatsu as his lumberjacks. “Why did Spike pick Akira?” Mak asks, considering the two were no longer on speaking terms. “Maybe because Akira hates Bruce and would rather seen ANYONE but Bruce hold the title?” King says. “Could be, otherwise good choices, loads of people with grudges against Bruce” Mak says reluctantly complimenting Jenkins. Bruce’s lumberjacks include Wayne naturally, Nemesis (Wearing the world’s largest flannel shirt) Zyon and in a surprise move Bruce’s fellow Wildcarders from the OAOAST, certainly no strangers to the SWF – Bloodshed & Todd Cortez. “Oh so they come here for Bruce” Mak mutters as he sees the two Wildcarders. “Ix-nay on the OAST-OAey” King says trying his best to cover up the fact that neither Bloodshed nor Cortez really should be here legally as they work for the OAOAST. “Well either way Bruce picked a team of guys he knows will have his back. . . and Zyon. Not that Spike hate is uncommon in the SWF but you probably couldn’t have picked someone with a bigger grudge against Spike in the SWF right now” “Sean Davis!” King says “They couldn’t find him.” In what is the polar opposite of almost every other entrance in the SWF the house lights, ring lights, entrance lights and cell phone lights all get ramped up to full power as the Smarktron goes to white. *SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE* *BAM!* “Like bringing a knife to a gun fight… Like Bringing A Knife To A Gun Fight… LIKE BRINGING A KNIFE TO A GUN FIGHT!” The lights around the entrance way begin to flash signalling the eminent arrival of the challenger and as expected Spike Jenkins walks out only moments later, his traditional black hoodie on with the hood pulled way forward making him look not unlike Emperor Palpatine. As expected Spike drops to one knee, then throws up the “X” arm symbol, he’s Straight Edge after all and not afraid to show everyone. “Here comes the #1 contender for the title” Mak says as Spike gets back to his feet. “AND King of Cambodia” King interjects. Spike looks both determined and focused, or rather his mouth and jaw looks determined and focused as it’s all we can see of his face as he heads to the ring. Hollywood doesn’t even spare his lumberjack a glance as he walks up the ringsteps, pausing only to make a “Belt” motion before entering the ring. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! It’s hard to say if the crowd is booing Spike as he throws them yet another “X” symbol or because “Don’t ask me no questions” starts up – or maybe a bit of both, neither man would win a SWF popularity contest after all. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAND Here comes the champion” King says with excitement. Bruce steps into the arena and then pauses for a moment to take in the hostile reaction he’s drawing from the Canadian crowd. He taps his belt confidently and adjusts his wrist tape as he heads for the ring, confidently grinning and high fiving his brother as Wayne comes up the aisle to greet him. Unlike Spike Bruce doesn’t ignore his lumberjacks as he nods to both Cortez and Bloodshed and then slaps Nemesis on the shoulder with a grin. “Zyon doesn’t look like he really wants to be out there King” “Can you blame him? He’s surrounded by people he either doesn’t like or can’t really trust” Once inside the ring the big man unstraps his belt, climbs up on the second rope and then raises the belt in the air without paying any attention to what Spike is doing in the ring. “Blank is the epitome of confidence tonight” Mak says as Bruce seems to be busier talking to the lumberjacks than actually paying attention to Jenkins. “He really can’t afford to be so distracted Mak, but that’s always been his downfall. He thinks he has it in the bag and then he gets overconfident” “That almost cost him the match against Akira and Spike is a much sneaker, more devious wrestler who’ll eat Bruce alive if he’s not prepared” Bruce hands the belt off to the referee so that Soapdish can raise it into the air, then he looks at Spike for the first time and flashes him a big shit eating, condescending smile before crossing his arms to make the “X”. With his arms crossed Bruce then extends both his middle fingers right in Spike’s face “BRUCE IS JAGGED EDGE!!” King yells out with a grin. Spike doesn’t react to the insult even though he quite clearly would like nothing better than to take those two fingers and shove them up Bruce’s ass. Spike has a gameplan tonight and he’s not going to let Bruce throw him off so he just stands there and waits for the right moment. *DING!*DING!*DING!* Instead of the traditional collar and elbow lock up Bruce turns to Wayne and the other lumberjacks on his side and loudly exclaims that they need to watch him take the little rat apart. “Focus Bruce!!” King warns Bruce as “Hollywood” Spike Jenkins finally leaps into action the second Bruce’s attention is diverted. Spike leaps up in the air preparing to strike Bruce either square in the chest of maybe on the jaw with his Jumping Yakuza Kick. “WHOA!” Mak blurts out as Bruce suddenly takes a step backwards and grabs hold of Spike’s leg as he quite obviously saw his opponent coming. *WHAM!* “He took his head clean off!” King says as Bruce swiftly goes from holding Spike’s foot to spinning Spike 360 degrees in the air with a Lariat! “He suckered Spike in!” Mak says as Bruce lands a series of kicks to Spike’s shoulder and back. “What are you talking about Mak?” “He looked like he wasn’t paying attention but the second Spike tried to use it Bruce caught him, he’s not fast enough to react like that unless he prepared for it” Mak points out and rightly so. Bruce drags Spike back to his feet, twists his opponents arm with an arm wringer and then pulls Spike forward sending him bouncing off Bruce’s shoulder not once but twice. Moments later Spike finds himself straddling Bruce’s shoulder while the big man takes a momentary break to point at Jay Hawke on the floor before dropping down to one knee driving Spike’s shoulder into the knee. “Bruce is taking the opportunity to send a little message to Jay Hawk” King says as Hawke gives the shoulderbreaker a dismissive sneer, not high points for style although he Bruce gets an “A” for impact. “He needs to focus on THIS match and not the next opponent, after all he can’t defend against Hawke if he loses tonight” Mak says “Figured that one out all by yourself?” The shoulderbreaker obviously hurt Spike but even then he still tries to fight Bruce off the best he can, throwing a couple of taped fists at Bruce’s mid section. Bruce easily shakes the blows off, clenches his mighty ham of a hand and then blasts Spike across the back with that clobbering forearm smash he’s hurt so many opponents with. “I love it when Bruce just lets rip like that” King says as the forearm smash drives Spike back down to the canvas. With Spike down Bruce uses the opportunity to land a couple of fists drops to Spike’s neck and shoulder area ensuring that the New Straight Edge Sensation remains totally under his control. If Bruce thought that controlling Spike would be easy he has another thing coming tonight, Spike is shooting for the gold and he’s not about to let it stop him. Although a poke in the eyes does thwart Spike’s plans of a comeback at least for now BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! When you’re as powerful as Bruce it’s easy enough to whip Spike into the ropes and then catch him with both hands. Bruce manages to lift the 220 pounder up in the air pressing him over his head with the Gorilla Press like it was nothing. As he pumps his arms Spike starts to wiggle and squirm enough to escape Bruce’s grasp. Hollywood slides down behind Bruce’s back landing in a Sun-set flip position with both hands on Bruce’s tights as he tries to drag him to the ground for a pin. “That’s quick thinking from Spike, now if he can only get him down” King says. Bruce goes down, but not in the way Spike had hoped though as Bruce sits down on Spike’s chest with all of his 295 pounds behind it. When Nick Soapdish gets to his knees to count the pinfall on Spike Bruce puts his hands on the top rope for added leverage ONE!! “It can’t end like this” Mak says, he may not like Spike but he hates to see anyone cheated out of a title. TWO!! But there is no three, Soapdish has seen Bruce’s hands on the ropes and immediately broken the count. Instead of giving Bruce the customary 5 count he uses his own discretion and kicks at Bruce’s hands instead, making the champ release his hold AND roll backwards straight into a roll up from Spike Jenkins ONE!! “He could pull off a quick upset!!” TWO!! But not three, Bruce has managed to flip his body forward again so that he’s sitting on Spike’s chest once more but this time with Spike’s legs hooked as well. ONE!! “COME ON BRUCE!!” King yells TWO!! THR-NO!! Spike kicks out by flipping Bruce back down onto the canvas with his legs, but the Champ uses his momentum to roll through it so that he sits up on his knees as well. The moment Jenkins sits up straight Bruce leaps off from his crouched position and lands a shoulder tackle that knocks the smaller Jenkins back down WHITEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE TRASH!! WHITEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE TRASH!! In the past the crowd has been able to distract Bruce with their chanting but nothing he’s as focused as he’s ever been, determined to not make a mistake, to not let Spike get a moment to breathe. After getting back to a vertical base Bruce pulls Spike up by the tights and pushes him back into the corner where he peppers him with a series of elbow smashes that threaten to knock Spike’s head off. “Bruce is off to a very impressive start tonight, he’s usually a slow started but not against Spike” Mak notes “Yeah well Spike has a tendency to bring out a desire to kick his ass in just about anyone” Bruce whips Spike across the ring to the other corner, then he runs at Spike ready to crush Hollywood under his gigantic frame. Bruce doesn’t make contact with Spike through, quite the opposite as Spike lets loose with a Soccer tackle kick that knocks the legs out from under Bruce. When Bruce gets to his knees Spike moves in and tries to place Bruce’s head between his legs but the moment the International champion feels the set up to the Endwell he quickly pushes Spike off and moves backwards until he’s got his back against the turnbuckles. “Bruce was not about to get caught napping!” “You don’t become the International champion by napping Mak!” You also don’t dethrone the champion by holding back and letting him get a chance to breathe, something that Spike knows damn well. He capitalizes by Bruce’s position in the corner by rushing in, placing a foot on Bruce’s knee as he steps up and then *BLAM!* Plants a foot to the back of Bruce’s skull knocking the Redneck Superman down with the Dangerous Wizard. “Spike is going to take to the air! This could be that one big move Spike needs to turn everything around tonight!!” Mak says as Spike Jenkins quickly climbs up the turnbuckles and then gets his balance right. This could be just the ticket for Spike, unfortunately he doesn’t quite get to punch the ticket as Nemesis casually reaches out and swats one of Spike’s feet out from under him as Bruce has the referee’s attention diverted. Spike drops and lands on the metal bracket that holds the top rope tight, Spike drops with one leg on each side of the bracket taking the full impact on his groin area OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!! “Right on the mommy/daddy button!” King moans in sympathy. “Oh come on they’re only supposed to get involved when they’re outside the ring” Mak laments “Don’t blame Nemesis, it looked like he was just yawning and stretching and accidentally hit Spike, it’s a problem when you’re as big as the Colossus” King states offering up a bald face lie without a hint of remorse. It’s rare that Bruce ever goes to the ropes but the opportunity is just too good to pass up since Spike looks totally incapacitated. The Redneck Superman climbs up on the middle ropes, hooks Spike around the head and then lifts him up in the air for a Super-plex on the already battered Spike *WHAM!!* As with all Super-plexes the guy performing the move takes some of the impact as well which is why Bruce doesn’t immediately cover Spike but takes a moment to see straight again before crawling up on top of Spike. ONE!! TWOO!!! “That’s it!” King states THR-SHOULDERUP!! “See I knew Spike wasn’t out of it just yet” King claims, in an instant forgetting his previous prediction of doom for Spike Jenkins. “Bruce’s size is working to his advantage in these situations, it’s 295 pounds laying on you that you have to shift to kick out” Says Mak. Not wasting time with a second pinfall attempt that’s bound to fail Bruce gets back up on his feet, pulls Spike up by the hair and the arm and then he whips the King of Cambodia hard into the corner. Bruce gets up on the second rope, grabbing the top rope with his left hand to balance himself before Spike has a chance to regain the air that just got knocked out of him. Bruce raises his huge right fist in the air and then… ONE!! Right fist upside the head! TWO!! Another shot strikes Spike upside the head but somehow, somewhere Spike is able to foster an idea and then let that idea take life as he reaches up with both hands, unsteady as he might be, and then pushes Bruce to the right. The desperation push is enough to throw Bruce off balance and send him tumbling over the top rope, landing with a thud on the floor right in front of Spike’s lumberjacks. “Uh-oh” King says quietly as Johnson, Manson and Hawk quickly swarm in on Bruce followed shortly by the Crimson Skull looking to revenge the beating he took in Cell Block D a while ago. “Turn around is fair play! His guys took it to Spike after all” Mak says ignoring the fact that the lumberjacks are supposed to just throw Bruce back inside the ring and not kick him or hit him or drop a knee to the back of his head. Only Akira seems to be interested in getting Bruce back in the ring while the others are more set on getting a few shots in on Bruce, especially Hawke who takes great pleasure in attacking Bruce. After a couple of more punches and elbow shots the red lumberjacks finally roll Bruce up on the apron, although they don’t roll him under the ropes. From the looks of it this move was more about setting Bruce up for more punishment than getting him back in the ring because Spike takes full advantage of the position by kicking the International champion in the mid-section with a baseball slide drop kick! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH! “They’re cheering Spike?” Mak asks as the Canadian crowd cheers as Bruce is knocked to the floor once again. “I dunno Mak, maybe it’s more like they cheer for Bruce getting his ass kicked, he hasn’t exactly endeared himself to the Canadians” the Suicide King figures. This time Spike’s Lumberjacks aren’t just allowed to attack Bruce as Bruce’s blue clad lumberjacks rush around the ring and jump on Johnson, Hawke and the others as they’re laying the kicks in on Bruce. Only Zyon holds back from the blue team just as Akira keeps his distance during the melee on the floor. Normally the combined forces of Hawke, Johnson, Manson & Skull would keep anyone back, but Nemesis isn’t just ANYONE, the 2006 Rookie Sensation bowls Manson over with a big foot and then warts off the Crimson Skull so that Bruce is able to crawl back inside the ring. “Correct me if I’m wrong but weren’t the lumberjacks supposed to keep the order in this match?” Mak asks. “You’re wrong” “Why am I not surprised you’d say that King? So why are they here?” “It’s simple, they’re here to keep Bruce or Spike from running away – if that involves them getting a bit physical then that’s alright” King explains. With Bruce back in the ring the reds and the blues separate once more and return to their designated sides while the action resumes inside the ring. Spike stalks Bruce like a predator on the prowl waiting for the opportune moment to strike, taking his time. Bruce is only up on one knee before Spike launches his attack *WHAM!!* With Bruce on his knee Spike’s trademark lariat strikes the big man right across the face knocking him back down HARD! “Spike is ON FIYAH” King yells out as Spike throws a quick “X” and a grin before putting his boots to Bruce. SPIKE SUCKS!! SPIKE SUCKS!! SPIKE SUCKS!! “This is his opportunity King, this is his chance to rise up and show that he doesn’t always choke, that he DOES belong at the top of the SWF” Spike backs off and leans back against the ropes ready to attack Bruce once more, probably with either a boot scrape or maybe a double stomp but unfortunately it’s one of those things we will never know as a huge glove clad hand reaches trough the ropes and takes a swipe at Spike. Spike easily avoids Nemesis’ fist but the fact that the Colossus even tried to interfere in the match pisses Spike off to the point where he’s demanding that Nemesis gets in the ring and fights him. “That kid is crazy! That’s Nemesis!!” Mak says as Spike keeps yelling at the big monster. “He is crazy, but consider this – do you want to fight someone who’s crazy?” King asks. “Well…” Mak says and then has his train of though derailed as Bruce gets back to his feet. With Spike’s attention diverted by Nemesis he quickly falls prey to Bruce as the big man grabs the Straight Edge Sensation by the back of the head and the trunks and throws him over the top rope. Fortunately for Spike he’s got enough presence of mind to shift his weight around and land on his feet instead of his ass. Wayne Blank rushes around the corner from “Bruce’s side” and runs straight at Spike hoping to get a few shots in at the challenger *WHACK!!* The only shot anyone gets in is Spike hitting Wayne Blank over the top of the head with a steel chair he picked up a split second earlier. “Disqualify him!” King yells out as Wayne crumbles in a heap after the chairshot. “Why? He didn’t use the chair on Bruce it’s perfectly legal” “Oh is that right Mak? So I guess it’d be okay for Spike to SHOOT Wayne as long as he didn’t do it to Bruce?” King snaps. Spike just grins, then he drops the chair and slides in under the bottom rope before any of Bruce’s other lumberjacks has a chance to get their hands on him. After seeing his brother knocked out with a chair Bruce lunges at Spike like a wild bull without forethought or planning. Spike however keeps his cool and sidesteps Bruce’s charge like he was an experienced bullfighter dancing with a horned beast. Even though he missed the first charge Bruce charges Spike again, only this time in addition to side stepping Bruce he also drills a knee into Bruce’s midsection. HUUUUUURGH! With Bruce doubled over Spike steps up and locks Bruce’s head between his knees, but before he can even attempt the double underhook Bruce stands up straight backdropping Spike over his head. “Spike almost had the Endwell!” “Spike has been putting opponents away with that move left and right, if he can hit Bruce with hit he’ll be just another notch on Spike’s belt” says King “Spike wears a belt??” Bruce quickly grabs Spike’s legs, steps through them with his left leg as he crosses Spike’s legs setting the New Straight Edge Sensation up for a Sharpshooter, but before Bruce can turn Spike over the challenger reaches out and grabs the ropes for the easy out. “What was THAT about? Has Bruce been studying some tapes or was that not the Sharpshooter?” Mak wonders. “It sure looked like it”. Since Spike grabbed the rope Bruce has no choice but to release his hold, but that doesn’t mean he can’t kick Spike which is exactly what he does even while Spike is holding on to the bottom rope. It only takes 3 or 4 kicks before JJ Johnson gets involved in the match and sweeps Bruce’s leg out from under him. “HEY NOW!” Mak yells out Mak isn’t the only one unhappy with the untimely interference from the lumberjacks, Akira shakes his head and then tears off his red flannel shirt as he leaves “Spike’s” side of the ring and heads for a neutral side between the two teams of lumberjacks. Moments later Zyon removes his blue flannel shirt, tosses it at Bloodshed and then heads over to join Akira making their own personal 3rd lumberjack team. YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!! “I knew it was a mistake to try and include those two goody-two-shoes” King bitches. “You said it made sense!!” “I NEVER!” King says mortified that Mak would ever try to use his own words against him. Neither Spike nor Bruce seem to really care that Zyon & Akira have broken away from their side, instead the champion and the challenger are circling the ring, each trying to find an opening, trying to gain the advantage in the match. Spike fakes an attack and then when Bruce tries to counter he drives the tip of his boot into Bruce’s midsection. The stiff toe kick doubles Bruce over as well as driving him back a step or two, giving Spike enough room to run across the ring, bounce off the ropes and then launch himself at Bruce. And “launch” is the right word to use in this case as Bruce straightens up at the last moment and boosts Spike up even higher in the air throwing Spike over the top rope “HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLY!!” Mak yells out as the Flying Jenkins is caught by Nemesis *CRASH!!* BACKDROP INTO THE CROWD!! After Nemesis managed to catch Spike as he flew through the air he back drops him over the guardrail and into the crowd where the first 4-5 rows of fans all scarper to get out of harms way. HOLY SHIT!! HOLY SHIT!! HOLY SHIT!! HOLY SHIT!! “I… I… holy shit” Mak says as he’s at a loss for anything else to say. Nemesis kicks the guardrails apart so that he can get his hands on the most likely very hurt Spike Jenkins but before the Colossus can make another move he’s inundated by all of Spike’s lumberjacks who’ve come to ensure that the boys in blue don’t take any liberties with “Hollywood” Spike Jenkins. The two sides quickly become embroiled in what can best be described as a pier 6 brawl focusing more on fighting each other than making sure Spike Jenkins returns to the ring. “This is INSANE! We’ve got fists and elbows and boots flying everywhere but none of them from the guys legally in the match” Mak says as he tries to take in all the action at once. “How ironic would it be if Spike got counted out?” King asks as Spike Jenkins still hasn’t moved from where he was tossed to only moments ago. “Oh I’m sure Bruce would LOVE that” As the two sides fight Bruce steps through the ropes and hops to the floor. Then, either to prove Mak Francis wrong or because Bruce wants to punish Spike some more, he goes over and picks up his opponent and drags him back towards the ring. “You were saying?” King gloats. The Crimson Skull breaks away from his attack on Nemesis and attacks Bruce from behind only moments after the Redneck Superman has pushes Spike back inside the ring. A double Axe handle to the back from the mighty Skull shakes Bruce’s attention enough for the masked man to grab Bruce by the hair and then slam him face first against the ringpost *CRACK!!* “This is out of control! Soapdish is going to throw this match out any minute now” Mak laments as the lumberjacks still fight with each other. “Nah I don’t think so, Skull just helped Bruce back in the ring. Yes he had a little… erm … accident but he was just trying to help” King explains as they watch the Crimson Skull roll a very dazed Bruce back inside the ring. Even with both wrestlers back in the ring the lumberjacks still fight amongst themselves distracting Nick Soapdish from the action, well IN-action in the ring. Akira and Zyon are the first to back off and return to the neutral side that they’ve created for themselves letting the others sort out their differences any way they feel like. It’s not until several road agents and officials head to the ring that Bruce’s lumberjacks and Spike’s lumberjacks are finally separated restoring some semblance of order. “About time we got them separated” Mak complains “Why? It’s not like there’s been that much action going on in the ring” King says pointing out that Bruce only just got back on his feet while Spike is still down. When Bruce bends down to pick up Spike he gets a boot planted right between his eyes for his troubles, then Spike kicks Bruce in the side of the knee to back the big man off as he gets back to his feet. Bruce tries to get back in control of the match by Irish whipping Spike into the corner and then rushes in looking for a Lariat *WHAM!!* Bruce finds nothing but turnbuckle though as his speedier opponent ducks out of the way, then as Bruce staggers back a step or two he gets another demonstration of Spike’s devious mind with a CHOP BLOCK OF DOOM!! Bruce crashes to the mat and Spike is quick to cover his opponent feeling the gold in his grasp. ONE!!! “Will we see a new champion??” TWOOO!!!!! “Bruce’s reign ends right now!” Mak states THR- And that’s where the count stops, not because Bruce kicks out or because Bruce managed to get a foot on the rope under his own power but because JAY HAWKE!! Reaches in and pulls Bruce’s leg up on the rope “WHAT??” Mak yells out as he almost spontaneously heals from the surprise. “Hawke saved Bruce’s title??” Everyone in the arena including Spike Jenkins are wondering just what the hell Jay Hawke is up to and the hot head from Hollywood isn’t slow to question why Jay Hawke screwed over “his” guy. Hawke says something to Spike that can’t be made out over the noise of the crowd but when he makes a belt motion around his waist and then points to Bruce it becomes quite obvious. “Bruce said that if he walked out of here with the title he’d defend against Hawke at Genesis right?” King asks “Yeah that’s what he said earlier” Mak says, then it dawns on him “Of course!” “Don’t trust anybody Spike!” King says in an admonishing tone. The distraction has given Bruce a chance to recover and has gotten back to his feet although he’s still breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath after the flurry of high speed offence he’s had to deal with from Spike. Spike turns his attention back towards Bruce, putting his anger towards Hawke aside for a moment to ensure that he’s still in charge of the match. Toe kick doubles Bruce over once more “ENDWELL!!” King yells out “I think he can get it on this time, Bruce is hurting, he’s away from the ropes!” Not deterred by his earlier failures in locking Bruce’s arms Spike tries once again to double underhook Bruce’s massive arms and this time he manages to do so!! With Bruce’s arms locked in and everything in the perfect position for the Endwell Spike grins and then… IS RAISED UP IN THE AIR!! Somehow Bruce manages to stand up straight, lifting Spike up off the ground holding him upside down as Spike holds on to the double underhooked arms trying desperately to bring Bruce back down for the Endwell. “Oh my” Mak mutters as Bruce stumbles But not forward like Spike had wanted, not forward into what would be a high elevation Endwell that would most assuredly break Bruce’s neck but instead he stumbles backwards and sits down hard on his ass *CRACK!!* DROPPING SPIKE ON THE TOP OF HIS HEAD!! HOLY SHIT!! HOLY SHIT!! HOLY SHIT!! HOLY SHIT!! HOLY SHIT!! Spike’s head is spiked into the ground without Jenkins being able to block it in any way, it’s a sick visual as the challenger slumps down to the ground motionless. It takes Bruce a moment or two to even register what’s happened but the moment he sees Spike down on the ground it’s like he gets a kick of adrenaline to get him back on his feet. “Oh this has GOT to be it, that was sick” Mak says, although not with too much sympathy after all Spike put Mak in the wheelchair in the first place. “Desperate men do desperate things, Bruce did what he had to do to keep the title” Bruce grabs Spike by the feet and once again goes for a Sharpshooter attempt. But the to everyone’s surprise turns completely around once Spike is on his stomach so that he ends up standing with Jenkin’s legs trapped by his left leg. Bruce reaches down, grabs Spike by the wrists to lift Spike’s upper body up in the air. Bruce places his size 16 in the back of Spike’s head and then… *BLAM!!* “OH MY GOD!!” Mak says as Bruce stomps down hard driving Spike face first into the canvas. “That’s called the Cruiserweight Killer! That’s what Bruce has been trying to put on before, it wasn’t the sharpshooter at all!” After being dropped on his head and then having his face stomped into the canvas Spike doesn’t put up any fight as Bruce flips him over onto his back and then covers him. ONE!!! “Spike is OUT!!” King states TWOOOOO!!!! “No one could survive that King, no one!” THREEEEEEEEEE!!!!! “Don’t ask me no questions” starts up before Funyon can even make the announcement that Bruce has retained the International title. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! “He did it! Bruce defends again!” King says and then cheers Bruce on. “He squeaked by Spike is what he did, he had to have a lot of help” “A win is a win is a win Mak” It takes Bruce a moment to get back on his feet after going on pure adrenaline for the last moments of this hard fought match, but once he’s up referee Nick Soapdish thrusts the International Title in his hands before leaving the ring. With Wayne still groggy from the chairshot and Nemesis being so slow Jay Hawke manages to enter the ring before either of Bruce’s allies can react. Hawke’s presences goes unnoticed by Bruce who’s too busy to celebrate a hard fought win, unnoticed until Hawke lands a Roundhouse Kick that knocks the International belt into Bruce’s face and knocks the Champion down. “That’s coming back home!” Hawke yells as he points to the International title. With Nemesis stepping over the top rope Hawke decides that he’s better off on the floor, sliding out of the ring before the big man can get his hands on the Dean of Professional Wrestling. Bruce may not look like the winner right now, but he managed to defend the title in his toughest defence to date.

Hardy: "Ben Hardy here, and I am standing here with Jay Hawke. Jay, your comments on Bruce Blank's comments earlier in the show." Hawke: "Well, Hardy, I suppose Bruce Blank wants me to talk about how lucky I am that he's so graciously giving me a shot at the International Title at Genesis should he beat Spike Jenkins tonight...which should be a pretty easy job, I must say. But you see, it's not about luck. Bruce Blank understands that the only way he can truly be seen as the best International Champion ever is to beat me in a title match. But you know, since he seems so confident that he's got what it takes...maybe, just maybe, we should raise the stakes." Hardy: "Raise the stakes? How so?" Hawke: "Well, you remember a few weeks ago where Blank thought he could beat me in a hardcore match in ten minutes or less?" Hardy: "I do, and as a matter of fact, I seem to recall you lasting the full ten minutes." Hawke: "Exactly. But to be fair, I'm offering him the same opportunity. See, his specialty is hardcore, but let's see if he can wrestle. I'm proposing a ten minute challenge under pure wrestling rules for Storm. If he lasts ten minutes, he picks the stipulation of our match at Genesis. If he doesn't ... then I pick the stipulation." Hardy: "That's a bold challenge. And what if Nemesis should get involved?" Hawke: "If Nemesis gets involved ... I might just have a counter for him, don't you worry about that." Hardy: "OK, he's issued the challenge for Storm, and I for one can't wait to see it."

“Our next match will feature high-flying cruiserweight action,” says Mak Francis, “as the Unique Youth, Zyon, makes his first in-ring appearance since he lost an attempt to become the first three-time World Cruiserweight Champion, as he takes on the Birdman! King, this match could go a long way towards establishing a number-one contender to Tom Flesher’s World Cruiserweight Title!” “You say that like it’s a good thing,” replies the Suicide King. “I don’t like this kid Zyon; he reminds me too much of Wildchild, with his ridiculous flipping and flopping. And Birdman? The very thought of a guy dressed in a bird costume competing against Tom Flesher for the Cruiserweight Title makes me a little ill!” “King, don’t you think that you’re being a little hard on him?” asks Mak. “I’m sure that Birdman is a nice kid.” “You think so, huh?” retorts King. “Well, if he’s such a nice kid, then why is he hiding behind a mask?” “Well, maybe he just wants to keep his identity a secret so that he can go out in public without being recognized.” “Don’t be an idiot,” replies King. “Nobody comes to the SWF that doesn’t want to get recognized!” Mak looks confused. “What do you mean by that, King?” “The SWF is the premier wrestling promotion in the entire world,” explains King. “The very best wrestlers in the entire world come here to prove themselves and, in the process of proving themselves, many of our stars have become household names: Tom Flesher, Robert Jackson Frost, Taylor Nicholas Thompson, Danny Williams, El Luchadore Magnifico, Chris Wilson, Jay Hawke, Edwin MacPhisto, Nathaniel Kibagami, Michael Stephens, Erek Taylor, The Boston Strangler, Mark Stevens, Andrew Blackwell… these are names known the world over…” “Geez,” mutters Mak, “maybe you’d like to drop a few more names?” “Don’t interrupt me, Francis!” snaps King. “One more word out of you, and I’ll have you back on the corner hawking t-shirts like you were when I found you! Anyway… the point is that nobody comes here that doesn’t want to make a name for himself. Wrestlers come to the SWF for three reasons: the competition, the fame, and the money. If he wanted to wrestle in obscurity in a second-rate promotion for no money, he’d be in the OAOAST right now!” “Yikes!” says Mak, cringing. “That was kind of a low blow, King!” “Don’t act like you weren’t thinking the same thing,” replies King. Mak shrugs his response, and King continues, “As I was saying, wrestlers come to the SWF to become recognized, so when someone is wearing a mask here, it has to mean that people already know who he is, and he’s trying to keep people from recognizing him!” “That’s quite an interesting leap in logic,” says Mak. “Speculation notwithstanding, this should really be a great, fast-paced match, by two of the top cruisers in the game. So, without further ado, let’s send it up to the ring! DING! DING! DING! “The following Cruiserweight Rules match is scheduled for one fall!” booms Funyon. Suddenly, “Let’s Get Retarded” by the Black Eyed Peas begins to play, and Birdman dances his way onto the stage, to the cheers of nearly fifteen thousand fans. Birdman: CAW-CAW! Crowd: CAW-CAW! “Making his way to the ring at this time,” continues Funyon, “from Parts unknown, and weighing in at two hundred nineteen pounds… the Bird-man!” Birdy slaps hands with the fans at ringside as he dances his way down the ramp. He hops onto the ring apron and runs to the nearby corner, climbing up to the top turnbuckle and saluting the fans with his signature birdcall: Birdman: CAW-CAW! Crowd: CAW-CAW! “Birdman definitely has a connection with this crowd,” notes Francis. “I’ve never actually heard him speak, but he has such a magnetic personality that the fans are drawn to him. Uh… no pun intended.” Birdman removes his cloth “wings” and hands them over the top rope down to the ring attendant. He then waits patiently for his opponent as his music fades out. Within seconds, the entire Bell Centre grows completely dark, save for a string of short sentences alternating across the SmarkTron: I’m Born… I’m Alive… I Breathe… Suddenly, “Vitamin” by Incubus begins playing, and the fans’ cheering begins anew as they wait for the Unique Youth to grace them with his presence. “His opponent,” continues Funyon, as Zyon finally emerges from behind the curtain, “hails from Elkhart, Indiana! Weighing two hundred pounds… the Unique Youth… ZYYYYY-ON!” Zyon sprints down the ramp and leaps onto the apron before grabbing onto the top rope and flipping into the ring. “I know I said it before, King,” says Mak, as Zyon runs over to the corner, “but this could be one hell of a match! You’ve got Zyon, who’s proven to everyone here in the SWF that he can do it all inside that ring, and you can’t sleep on the Birdman, either: he’s one of the top high-fliers in this business, and he’s gotten some big wins over some big names here in the SWF, most recently against the former Cruiserweight Champion, ‘Iron’ Mike Cross!” Zyon climbs up to the second ropes and poses for the crowd, devouring their adulation, until his music finally fades out. Referee Red Herrington signals to the timekeeper to start the match: DING! DING! DING! “There’s the bell!” shouts Mak. “And this match is underway!” Zyon and Birdman meet in the center of the ring for a collar-and-elbow tie-up, and Birdy quickly hooks his arm underneath Zyon’s, popping his hips as he snaps backwards and taking the Unique Youth over with a Japanese-style armdrag! Zyon nods his head in acknowledgement as he gets back to his feet, and the two meet once again in the center of the ring. This time, Zyon takes control with a side-headlock; Birdman backs him against the ropes and pushes him across the ring. Birdy leaps into the air to evade Zyon with a leapfrog as he bounces off the ropes, and then hooks him underneath the arm as he rebounds a second time to take him over with a hiptoss, but the Unique Youth rolls through and counters with a hiptoss of his own! Zyon taunts Birdman by holding his arms skyward, his elbows slightly bent, as the Bird gets back to his feet. “A little back and forth action by both men to let them know who they’re dealing with,” says Mak. “And this could be a tough matchup up for Zyon, King: he’s not really used to competing against guys that can match his speed!” “And Birdman is?” “Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say used to it,” replies Mak, “but we do know that he’s faced opponents that can match his speed before, like Andrea Montgomery. We also know that Birdman has a reputation for studying his opponents thoroughly before each match!” Birdman and Zyon lock up in the ring once again, and Zyon muscles Birdy back into a neutral corner, where referee Herrington calls for the break. Zyon takes a couple of steps back before surprising Birdy with a slap in the face! OOOOOOOOOOH! “What a slap!” exclaims King. “Zyon got his attention with that one!” “Well, Zyon is known to be a little cocky at times,” adds Mak. “Maybe he thinks that the Birdman isn’t on his level!” Zyon backs Birdman into the corner a second time; he draws back his arm to deliver another slap… SMACK! … And Birdman blocks him and fires back with a slap of his own! Zyon steps towards him, but Birdy takes him over with a drop toehold that nearly sends the Unique Youth face-first into the bottom turnbuckle! Zyon pops back up to his feet, only to be greeted by another slap from the Birdman! “Another shot across the kisser!” shouts Mak. “Well, Zyon wanted Birdman’s attention, and it looks like he has it!” “And Zyon is a guy that’s really into himself,” adds King. “He a little bit cocky, and he’s definitely concerned with his image, so you know that he’s not going to take too many more of those!” Birdy and Zyon lock up again in the center of the ring. “King, I heard you backstage saying that you may actually have some insight into who the Birdman really is under that mask.” Zyon backs Birdman into the ropes and stuns him with a few kneelifts into the midsection. “Yeah, that’s right,” replies King, as Zyon snaps Birdman’s head back with a well-placed forearm to the chin. “I’m not going to go on the record just yet, because I don’t like to state facts until I know for sure.” Zyon grabs Birdman by the wrist and whips him across the ring.” “Well, one thing that we definitely know as a fact is that Birdman laid Mike Van Siclen out with a steel chair last week on Lockdown!” Zyon hooks his arm underneath Birdman’s as he bounces off the ropes and sends him over in a hiptoss… but the Bird lands on his feet and scoops the surprised Zyon into a slam! “Whoa!” shouts Mak, as Zyon scrambles to his feet. “Beautiful counter for the hiptoss!” Birdy catches Zyon as he gets up and drops him down with another scoop slam!” “Does that counter even have a name?” wonders King, as Birdman pulls Zyon to his feet and delivers a standing dropkick that sends Zyon through the ropes and out of the ring! Birdman runs across the ring as Zyon is getting back to his feet, picking up speed as he bounces off the ropes, and dives feet-first towards the opposite edge of the ring, blasting Zyon in the face with a baseball slide that knocks him backwards into the ring barricade! “Birdman has really picked up the pace here!” shouts Mak, as Birdman quickly gets to his feet and runs over to the nearby corner; he leaps onto the top turnbuckle and waits for Zyon to start to get back up before leaping out to the arena floor… WHAM! … And blasting the Unique Youth between the eyes with a flying double-axe handle! Birdman pulls Zyon back to his feet and stuns him with a pair of European-style uppercuts before rolling him back into the ring. “This could be a major upset we’re looking at here,” says King, as Birdman climbs back onto the apron. “What do you mean?” asks Mak. “Well, I said before that I think I know who the Birdman is…” “Uh-huh…” “But let’s suppose, for the sake of argument, that I’m wrong,” continues King, as Birdman returns to the ring and traps Zyon in an arm-wringer. “If you look at it that way, it’s definitely an upset if Birdman wins here tonight; I mean, Zyon is a two-time World Cruiserweight Champion!” Birdy delivers a stiff reverse knife-edge chop to Zyon and then shifts the arm-wringer into an armbar, but the Unique Youth backs him into a neutral corner. “Zyon’s trying to get his thoughts together here, King; he was a little taken aback, I think!” “He’s got him in that corner now, though,” replies King. “He can make the most of that strength advantage when he has Birdman trapped with no place to go!” Zyon grabs Birdman by the wrist and whips him across the ring, but the Bird out-leverages him and sends him into the corner instead; Zyon nimbly leaps onto the top turnbuckle and springs back into the ring with a sensational corkscrew body attack… WHAM! … But, the second he leaves the top turnbuckle, the equally-quick Birdman dives towards the edge of the ring, sliding underneath the bottom rope to the apron as the Unique Youth crashes and burns in the center of the ring! Birdman quickly pulls himself back to his feet and races to the nearby corner, leaping onto the top turnbuckle and waiting for Zyon to start to stand up before leaping back into the ring and drilling Zyon with another flying double-axe handle! “Birdman’s been very effective with that double-axe handle in this match!” says Mak, as Birdy goes for a cover: ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! “I like the fact that he keeps it simple,” says King. “I mean, if you have to go to the top rope, at least have the self-control to concentrate on doing the most damage, instead of just being flashy for the sake of being flashy, which guys like Zyon and Wildchild tend to do!” Birdman pulls Zyon to his feet and traps him in a front facelock, before reaching down to grab the near leg and immediately taking him over with a snap suplex! Birdman gets to his feet and returns to the apron, climbing up to the top rope and quickly leaping back into the ring… WHAM! … Smashing into Zyon’s forehead with a suicide headbutt! Birdman covers him again: ONE! TWO! THR— NO! “I’m starting to think that Zyon wasn’t quite ready for this!” says King, as Birdy pulls him back up and scoops him up into a slam. “I don’t think he did his homework on this guy!” The Bird quickly backs into the nearby corner and pulls himself up to the middle turnbuckles before leaping back towards the Unique Youth, blasting him with a flying fistdrop! Birdman tries to cover him again: ONE! KICKOUT! “Nice to see that Zyon still had presence of mind to kick out of that,” says Mak. “That was also some good ring awareness to kick out at one!” “Definitely,” agrees King. “You never want to take a chance with that three-count if you’re capable of kicking out at one, especially with as incompetent as Herrington has been here lately!” Birdman pulls Zyon to his feet and grabs him by the back of the head, leading him over towards the edge of the ring, and then leaping over the top rope as he slams the Unique Youth’s neck into it with a Macho Man neck snap! “Devastating neck snap by the Birdman,” praises Mak, as Birdman climbs back onto the apron. “And he’s been known to follow that up with the double-axe handle!” Birdman gives Zyon some time to recover as he settles upon his favorite perch. He calls out to the crowd with his signature birdcall before leaping into the ring: Birdman: CAW-CAW! Crowd: CAW-CAW! WHAM! But the Unique Youth springs into the air, trapping Birdman’s head and arm before falling backwards, driving Birdy’s face into the canvas with a Flatliner out of mid-air! ZY-ON! ZY-ON! ZY-ON! ZY-ON! “My God,” shrieks Mak, “what an amazing maneuver by the Unique Youth! He just caught Birdman out of the middle of the air and nailed him with the Decline; I don’t think I’ve seen that move executed in that manner before!” “A phenomenal counter,” agrees King, as Zyon rolls around on the floor. “If he could just put himself in position for a cover, he could probably end this match right now!” Zyon finally rolls over to apply a lateral press: ONE! TWO! THR— NO! Zyon rolls to his feet and takes a step back as Birdman gets to his knees, and then suddenly charges forward, blasting the Bird in the side of the head with a stiff knee! He then runs to the ropes, springing into the air as he bounces off and drills Birdman in between the eyes with a running knee! “Shining Duo!” shouts Mak, as Zyon goes for another pinfall: ONE! TWO! BUT ONLY GETS TWO! “Another near fall for Zyon,” says Mak, “as it appears that Zyon has found his stride in this match!” Zyon pulls Birdman to his feet and delivers several crisp forearms to the chest, before running back towards the edge of the ring and leaping onto the second rope; the Unique Youth springs back into the ring to deliver a flying forearm smash, but Birdy still has presence of mind to duck out of the way! Birdman meets Zyon as he gets to his feet with quick right hands! BAP! BAP! BAP! BAP! Birdman backs Zyon into a corner and then whips him across the ring towards the other corner, but Zyon reverses, sending Birdman rocketing into the corner… WHAM! … Where he crashes chest-first into the turnbuckles at an unbelievably high velocity! Birdman bounces off the turnbuckles like a jet ball and collapses onto his back! Zyon staggers over to his opponent and falls atop him with a pinfall attempt: ONE! TWO! THREE— NO! “Two count only,” says Mak, “but Zyon seems to be getting stronger with each passing move, and those kickouts are becoming less and less forceful on the part of the Birdman!” “That tends to happen when you get your man worn down,” explains King. “Now, we’ll need to see whether or not Zyon has the killer instinct to extend this advantage.” Zyon pulls Birdman back to his feet and whips him towards a nearby corner, racing to the ropes as Birdman staggers backwards towards the center of the ring, and leaps into the air as he rebounds, reaching for Birdman’s neck to hit him with a running neckbreaker, but the Birdy sidesteps him! Birdman whips his leg through the air as Zyon turns around to deliver a roundhouse kick, but the Unique Youth catches his leg in mid-move… CRACK! … Only for the Bird to whip his other leg through the air and blast Zyon in the face with a Gamengiri! Birdman stands with his back to Zyon and springs off the canvas, crashing down onto his chest with a backflip splash! ONE! TWO! BUT ONLY GETS TWO! “Boy, I thought that Birdman had him after that Gamengiri!” says Mak. “These two continue to go back and forth, and you have to wonder who will be able to come away with the win!” Birdman pulls Zyon back to his feet and whips him across the ring into a corner. He charges in after him, but Zyon lowers his shoulder and lifts him out of the ring, only for the Birdy to land on his feet on the apron. Birdman turns Zyon around and grabs him by the back of the head, slamming him face-first into the top turnbuckle! He then leaps onto the top rope as Zyon staggers away, before springing back into the ring, body extended to crash into Zyon with a cross-body block! WHAM! … But Zyon snatches him out of the air and spin towards the center of the ring as he sits out, driving Birdman into the canvas head-first with an Aero Driver! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! “Oh my word!” shouts Mak. “Zyon with a terrific counter into the Aero Driver! This ought to do it!!” ONE! TWO! THREEE— NO! “That was extremely close!” cries Mak. “Birdman was about four inches away from getting beat there!” Zyon lifts Birdman up off the canvas and plants him with a scoop slam. He then runs to the ropes, measuring Birdman as he rebounds, before planting a kneedrop between his eyes. “Zyon scoring with another big move here,” says Mak, “but he could be making a big mistake in not going for the cover here!” Zyon pulls Birdman to his feet and places him in a Uranage position before spinning him around and slamming him to the canvas with a Sambo Suplex! He quickly scrambles to his feet and runs to the ropes, lifting his leg as he rebounds to nail Birdman with a lunging Yakuza kick, but Birdy shows great resiliency of his own, as he ducks underneath… SNAP! … And cups his hands under Zyon’s neck from behind, leaping up and bringing the Unique Youth’s spine down across the knees with a Lungblower! RAAAAAAAAAAH! “Lungblower out of nowhere!” shouts Mak. “Birdman still has some fight left in him!” Red Herrington begins to count both men down: ONE! TWO! THREE! “This match looks like a pick-em at this stage, King,” notes Mak. FOUR! “Definitely,” agrees King. “The next person to score a big move will probably be the winner!” FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! Around the seven count, both men begin to stir. Birdman crawls over to Zyon and applies a weak lateral press: ONE! TWO! That only gets two! Birdman and Zyon then each roll to their knees, and begin to exchange blows as they fight to their feet, with the Birdy trading hard right fists with Zyon: BAP! BAM! BAP! BAM! BAP! BAM! Zyon eventually takes control, backing Birdman up against the ropes and whipping him across the ring. The Bird ducks underneath a rolling elbow attempt as he bounces off the ropes, and then leaps into the air as he rebound a second time, crashing into Zyon with a cross-body block, only for the Unique Youth to roll through it and roll him into a cradle, as Herrington falls into position to count: ONE! TWO! THREE! NO! “Man, was that close!” sighs Mak. Zyon beats Birdman to his feet and stuns him with a kneelift to the midsection. He whips Birdman into the ropes once more and lowers his shoulder to deliver a back-body drop, only for Birdman to catch him in an inside cradle as he comes off the ropes! ONE! TWO! THR— NO! “And that was another close near-fall,” mentions King. “Zyon thought that he had firmly established control, but Birdman’s lightning-fast reflexes were almost able to get him the victory!” Birdman sidesteps a charging Zyon and leaps into the air as he bounces off the ropes, blasting him in the face with a flying back elbow! “Another nice counter by the Birdman,” says Mak. “And it looks like he’s going up… that’s high-risk territory, King, but not for this guy!” “And the thing about it is that you never know what he’s going to do up there!” adds King. Birdman leaps from the top turnbuckle and dives into the ring to deliver a flying elbow smash… CRACK! … Only to get caught flush on the chin by Zyon’s patented Snap front dropkick! “Snap!” shouts Mak. “He caught Birdman out of the air with the Snap! What a brilliant, heads-up counter!” “I gotta give Zyon credit on that one,” concedes King. “Now, we’ll have to see if he can put him away for good this time!” “Well,” says Mak, “he just gave the sign for the Final Flash; if he can hit it, Birdman will definitely be put away!” Zyon exits to the apron and climbs up to the top turnbuckle. He leaps down into the ring and flips forward, showing great form as he aims his body to crash into Birdman with a senton swan dive… CRASH! … But Birdy rolls out of the way and the Unique Youth crashes into the canvas! Birdman doesn’t hesitate as he gets to his feet and traps Zyon in a standing headscissors. He reaches down to grab the Unique Youth around the waist and quickly whips him up off the canvas… WHAM! Before driving him down with a snap powerbomb! “Powerbomb!” shouts Mak, as Birdman exits to the ring apron. “You don’t see Birdman break that out very often, but when he does, it’s not hard to figure out what’s coming next!” Birdman: CAW-CAW! Crowd: CAW-CAW! Birdman gives the crowd one final salute before leaping from the top rope and caving Zyon’s chest in with the Bird Dropping! “Bomb’s away!” cries Mak, as Birdman rolls over to apply a cover “Bird Dropping off the top rope… he won’t get up from that!” ONE! TWO! THREE! DING! DING! DING! The Bell Centre comes alive as “Let’s Get Retarded” begins to play once more. Birdman rolls to his knees as Herrington raises his right arm in victory. “Here is your winner,” booms Funyon, “the Bird-man!” Birdman gets up to his feet and staggers over to the edge of the ring, leaning heavily over the top rope. “Big, big win for the Birdman,” says Mak. “He comes away from this match victorious, and now has won two straight against former Cruiserweight Champions; that’s got to shoot him up the rankings!” “Birdman had better be careful what he wishes for,” says King. “The last time he had a shot at the Cruiserweight Title was two years ago against Ryan Dustin, and Dustin wasn’t half the wrestler that Tom Flesher is!” “That’s a matchup that we can definitely look forward to down the line,” says Mak, as Birdman leaves the ring to start heading back up the ramp. “And we’ve got a lot more great action left here on Smarkdown… stay with us!”

Grappler vs. MVS... le` sigh.

"Peters!” SWF Commissioner Joseph Peters looks up from his paperwork. “Excuse me?” “LOOK WHAT HE DID TO ME!” bellows Mike Van Siclen, pointing to the stitches above his right eye. “And then, today, he iced the floor of my locker room; I nearly busted my (bleep)-ing skull open!” Peters stares at Van Siclen incredulously. “Birdman iced the floor of your locker room?” “No! I mean… yes! I mean… I think so!” Peters rolls his eyes. “Well, which is it?” “Look,” Van Siclen rifles through his pocket and fishes out a small note, which he tosses at Peters. “This was in my locker room.” Peters looks at the note, which reads: Peters fights down a chuckle. “I thought you just said that Birdman did it?” “He did!” blurts Van Siclen. “I mean, I think he did… I mean, Wildchild’s the Birdman!” “Come again?” “I said that Wildchild’s the Birdman,” repeats Van Siclen. “He’s violating his suspension by wrestling in that bird suit, and you need to fire him!” “Now, wait just a minute, Van Siclen,” warns Peters. “That’s a pretty strong accusation; do you have any proof?” “What do you mean, proof?” roars MVS. “The Birdman hit me with a chair last week! How much proof do you need?” “That’s a little circumstantial, if you ask me,” says Peters. “Circumstantial? When have I ever crossed paths with Birdman? Never, that’s when!” insists Van Siclen. “I’m telling you that it’s him; it HAS to be!” “Well, your ‘irrefutable’ logic notwithstanding, I’m going to need more proof than that before taking any action.” “So, just look at his contract,” snaps Van Siclen. “It has to say who it is, right?” “I’m afraid not,” replies Peters. “You see, Birdman’s contract was negotiated by a previous administration; he’s just operating under an extension.” “So what?” “So,” explains Peters, “his contract does not specify who he is underneath that mask, and the terms of the contract forbid me from asking him.” “Are you (bleep)-ing kidding me?” asks MVS incredulously. “Are you telling me that there’s nobody in this company who knows who he really is?” “Well, I didn’t say that,” replies Peters. “Alex Zenon was the interim commissioner when Birdman was initially signed and, of course, he’s since stepped down from this office and returned to his previous position as a road agent.” “Fine,” Van Siclen says wearily. “Let me talk to Zenon, then.” “I’m afraid that I can’t do that.” “What? Why the (bleep) not?” “Because he’s not here.” “Well, where the hell is he?” demands Van Siclen. “Asia.” “(BLEEP!)” “I got word of a few prospects while we were on the World Tour,” explains Peters, “and I asked Zenon and a couple of other agents to stick around and scout them further for me… he won’t be back until some time next month.” “And there isn’t anybody else in this (bleep)-ing company that knows who the Birdman really is?” “Well,” replies Peters, “you can try his agent.” “And who is that?”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The Smartmarks Wrestling Federation presents... SWF LOCKDOWN! Live, Monday, August 28th, from the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC! (7pm PST, 10pm EST; check local listings) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THE MAIN EVENT - SWF WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH Michael Stephens © vs. Jimmy the Doom © -> Talk about a rollercoaster ride for Jimmy the Doom! In a #1 Contenders Match, he takes down the terribly impressive Jay Hawke to become the next challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship! But just a week later, in a warm-up match against Michael's sister Amy, Jimmy seemed poised to take the win when The Crimson Skull appeared and beat the crap out of him, resulting in a no contest! And his luck ends up going from bad to worse as, on Lockdown, Jimmy was defeated by another #1 Contender, Spike Jenkins! With his momentum essentially ground to a halt, does Jimmy stand a chance against the likes of Michael Stephens?! Rules: Standard singles match. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SWF INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH - LUMBERJACK MATCH Bruce Blank © vs. "Hollywood" Spike Jenkins -> A little over a month ago, Bruce Blank entered himself into the SWF's International Championship Open Invitational. He bested the likes of Zyon, Akira Kaibatsu, Michael Cross, and Spike Jenkins himself to capture the vacant title, and since then he's pretty much had a deathgrip on it. Now, Spike Jenkins gets a second chance at the one who got away - will Bruce prove once and for all that he's out of Spike's league? Or can Spike capture the gold, and knock Bruce off his pedestal? And seeing as how we're in Canada, you had to know a Lumberjack match was coming sooner or later. Rules: Considering the heel-to-face ratio in the SWF is a little out of wack right now, a lumberjack limit must be imposed. Spike and Bruce will be allowed to pick any FIVE (5) competitors from the SWF to be their lumberjacks. Each group stands on opposite sides of the ring, and gets to pound whoever gets tossed out, as always. Otherwise, standard singles match, first pin/submission to win, DQ's are in effect for illegal objects in such. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SINGLES MATCH - CRUISERWEIGHT MATCH Birdman vs. Zyon -> Mad cruiserweight action. 'nuff said. Rules: Standard, with Cruiser addenda. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- OPENING BOUT Charlie "Grappler" Matthews vs. Mike Van Siclen -> Grappler, none too pleased with the loss of his Tag Team Championship, looks to take his anger out on an equally angerful Mike Van Siclen, who's had it up to here* with his nemesis Wildchild! Two hot heads collide in the opening bout! Rules: Standard singles match. * about neck-level -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Opening Promo: Bruce Blank and Nemesis! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The Smartmarks Wrestling Federation presents... SWF LOCKDOWN! Live, Monday, August 28th, from the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC! (7pm PST, 10pm EST; check local listings) (Send all promos/marked matches to chirs3) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THE MAIN EVENT - SWF WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH Michael Stephens © vs. Jimmy the Doom © -> Talk about a rollercoaster ride for Jimmy the Doom! In a #1 Contenders Match, he takes down the terribly impressive Jay Hawke to become the next challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship! But just a week later, in a warm-up match against Michael's sister Amy, Jimmy seemed poised to take the win when The Crimson Skull appeared and beat the crap out of him, resulting in a no contest! And his luck ends up going from bad to worse as, on Lockdown, Jimmy was defeated by another #1 Contender, Spike Jenkins! With his momentum essentially ground to a halt, does Jimmy stand a chance against the likes of Michael Stephens?! Rules: Standard singles match. Word Limit: 5500 Send to: chirs3 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SWF INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH - LUMBERJACK MATCH Bruce Blank © vs. "Hollywood" Spike Jenkins -> A little over a month ago, Bruce Blank entered himself into the SWF's International Championship Open Invitational. He bested the likes of Zyon, Akira Kaibatsu, Michael Cross, and Spike Jenkins himself to capture the vacant title, and since then he's pretty much had a deathgrip on it. Now, Spike Jenkins gets a second chance at the one who got away - will Bruce prove once and for all that he's out of Spike's league? Or can Spike capture the gold, and knock Bruce off his pedestal? And seeing as how we're in Canada, you had to know a Lumberjack match was coming sooner or later. Rules: Considering the heel-to-face ratio in the SWF is a little out of wack right now, a lumberjack limit must be imposed. Spike and Bruce will be allowed to pick any FIVE (5) competitors from the SWF to be their lumberjacks. Each group stands on opposite sides of the ring, and gets to pound whoever gets tossed out, as always. Otherwise, standard singles match, first pin/submission to win, DQ's are in effect for illegal objects in such. Word Limit: 5500 Send to: Ace309 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SINGLES MATCH Landon "La Cucaracha" Maddix © vs. "The Divine Wind" Akira Kaibatsu ---> Akira made very... very short work of Scott Rageheart on Lockdown. He impressed the boys in the office so much, that they decided to give him a little bit bigger fish to fry - a fish named Landon Maddix. Rules: Standard singles match. Word Limit: 4500 Send to: Longdogger_Pete -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SINGLES MATCH - CRUISERWEIGHT MATCH Birdman vs. Zyon -> Mad cruiserweight action. 'nuff said. Rules: Standard, with Cruiser addenda. Word Limit: 4500 Send to: hhh6294 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- OPENING BOUT Charlie "Grappler" Matthews vs. Mike Van Siclen -> Grappler, none too pleased with the loss of his Tag Team Championship, looks to take his anger out on an equally angerful Mike Van Siclen, who's had it up to here* with his nemesis Wildchild! Two hot heads collide in the opening bout! Rules: Standard singles match. Word Limit: 4500 Send to: Evolution * about neck-level -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Opening Promo: Bruce Blank and Nemesis! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- NOTES: As always, if you want a match, request it in this thread and see if you have a taker.

I likes it. I likes it a lot. Not entirely certain we can drum up 5 contenders for each title, though, without some overlap. If someone does appear on two lists, though, we could just ask which title they'd prefer to fight for.

Bombastic and Technic Beat both come to mind.

If you write a full match for Smarkdown, I will buy you a puppy.

"Welcome back fans to what may or may not be a great main event, I guess it depends on what sort of partner Bruce is able to come up with" Mak starts off the moment Lockdown returns from the final commercial break. "I’m confident Bruce has found someone" the Suicide King confidently states. "Yeah but can he counter the size and sheer power of Nemesis?" Almost on cue we once again hear the long deep rumbling impact that precedes Nemesis’ appearance. ¤BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm¤ ¤FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSHH!!¤ The masked monster of a man steps through the fireworks, then breathes out a mouthful of smoke before heading to the ring with Professor Attenborough right behind him. Tonight the tenured Professor has decided to not do his usual introductions as everyone is quite familiar with Bruce’s acts of Hubris. Nemesis stops for a moment and looks at a sign held up by a fan at ringside, the big man tilts his head to the right almost like a door when it’s trying to understand you. The signs says "the 2006 Rookie Sensation: Nemesis" but for all we know Nemesis might read it totally different. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! The Canadian crowd let’s the boos ring throughout the arena as Pink Floyd tells us all that they’re "Learning to Fly", everyone in the Credit Union Center except maybe a small smarkish section boo the Dean of Professional Wrestling as he walks down the aisle with a bit of a strut in his walk, a spring in his step if you will. "There he is, the odds on favourite to take the title from Bruce Blank" King says and who would know odds better than the Gambling Man? "So you’re not giving Spike much of a chance next week?" Mak asks. "Nah he’ll choke like always" King says dismissing the notion that Spike even has a decent chance. Hawke pulls a brown envelope out from under his belt and hands it to Professor Attenborough as he passes him at ringside, after peeking inside the professor smiles and nods to Jay Hawke sealing the deal. "He bought Nemesis??" Mak says "It’s amazing what a little cash can do isn’t it?" JAY HAWKE SUCK! JAY HAWKE SUCK! JAY HAWKE SUCK! JAY HAWKE SUCK! Soon the "Jay Hawke Sucks" chants compete with the "White Trash" chants as the International Champion is about to make his entrance, but the big question is - will he be alone or will he have found a tag-team partner?? JAY HAWKE SUCK! WHITEEEEEEEEEEEEEE TRASH!! JAY HAWKE SUCK! WHITEEEEEEEEEEEEEE TRASH!! When Bruce walks out he doesn’t look like a happy camper at all, in fact he looks like the un-happiest camper of all time, something that’s not aided by the fact that there is no one besides him, not even Wayne who usually accompanies him to the ring no matter what. BRUCE COULDN’T FIND A PARTNER!! *Clap*Clap*ClapClap* BRUCE COULDN’T FIND A PARTNER!! *Clap*Clap*ClapClap* BRUCE COULDN’T FIND A PARTNER!! *Clap*Clap*ClapClap* "He does look a little lonely out there doesn’t he King?" "Oh don’t worry he’ll have a partner" King says but not with a great deal of conviction. Bruce enters the ring and then quickly hands off the International title to a ringside attendant before turning and looking at his opponents for the night. When "Don’t ask me no questions" stops everyone is on the edge of their seat to find out who Bruce got to team with him - is it a guy from the OAOAST? Maybe Bloodshed is back? Or the Nightmare Express rides again? Who’s it going to be?? ... After a moment of nothing Bruce goes over and takes the microphone from Funyon. "Alright here is the thing" Bruce starts out YOU SUCK!! YOU SUCK!! YOU SUCK!! "I feel a bad excuse coming on" Mak says as Bruce waits for the crowd to quiet down. "I DO have a partner lined up" Bruce says trying to sound sincere "I really do! But before we get to that I have one question to ask Hawke" Bruce looks straight at Jay Hawke who’s passing the time by adjusting the tape on his wrist "Do you really think I didn’t have a plan? That I didn’t see this coming" Bruce says and points to Nemesis "Isn’t it a bit arrogant of you?" "Arrogant? What’s he talking about" Mak asks, but the Suicide King has no answer. "I’ve heard you talk about I’m supposedly afraid of you or giving you a title shot - me? Afraid of you? Such arrogance Hawke" Bruce spits out changing his tone from apologetic and avoiding to harsh and confrontational. Hawke looks at Bruce, trying to figure out where the hell the Redneck Superman is going with this. "Such arrogance... such... HUBRIS!!" Bruce yells, throws the microphone down and then rushes straight at Jay Hawke "WHAT?" Mak yells out When Hawke tries to duck out of the way of Bruce’s attack he finds himself trapped by two huge arms clad in black and neon green. With Nemesis’ arms wrapped around him Hawke is unable to move, unable to get out of the way as Bruce DRILLS him with a lariat *THUD!!* "What is Nemesis doing? He’s Hawke’s partner!!" Mak yells out as Nemesis spins the surprised and now dazed Jay Hawke around, knees him in the gut and then lifts the Dean of Professional Wrestling up on his shoulders in a power bomb position BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! FUCK YOU BRUCE!! FUCK YOU BRUCE!! FUCK YOU BRUCE!! FUCK YOU BRUCE!! "IT WAS A DAMN SET UP KING!!" Mak yells out as Bruce grabs Hawke by the hair and assists Nemesis in power bombing the former International champion *WHAM!!* "Oh my god I just figured out who Bruce’s partner is - it’s NEMESIS!!" King yells out acting like he just figured it out. "Well no shit" Bruce lays in a series of kicks to Hawke’s forehead only moments after the spiked power bomb but backs off to give Nemesis room to step up on Hawke’s chest and pause there for a moment. When Nemesis steps off again Bruce grabs Hawke by the hair and drags him to his feet FUCK YOU BRUCE!! FUCK YOU BRUCE!! FUCK YOU BRUCE!! FUCK YOU BRUCE!! The chants don’t even seem to register with Bruce, nor does the fact that both men are being pelted with garbage as the crowd show their displeasure over how events have turned out. While the crowd is busy throwing garbage Bruce is talking trash to Hawke as Nemesis holds Hawke up. "You’re nothing little boy" Bruce says and punches Hawke in the face "I’m the champion and you’re yesterday’s news" Bruce yells and then adds yet another blow to the face of his opponent. "Hey that means that the Professor took Hawke’s money under false pretences!" King says. "King I’m surprised that you of all people disapprove of that" "Who said I disapproved?" "I’m the International champ" *slap* "You need to show me some damn respect!" After the tirade and the slaps and punches Bruce backs off and lets Nemesis do his thing by lifting the Dean of Professional Wrestling up on his shoulders in a fireman’s carry position and then throw, nay hurl the almost unconscious Hawke up in the air, spinning him around into a DDT *BOOM!!* "THE FALL FROM MOUNT OLYMPUS!!! OH MY GOD HE COULD HAVE SNAPPED HAWKE’S NECK!!" Mak yells out in that delightfully over the top way that he’s adopted since becoming an announcer. Nemesis rolls Hawke over on his back and then lays on top of the Dean as Bruce drops to his knees and counts ONE!!! TWOO!!!! THREEE!!!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! "That’s not a legal count" Mak says just in case anyone thought differently. "What does it matter? Look at Hawke he was ambushed by two of the biggest and most powerful men in wrestling!" King says sounding both pleased and saddened at the same time, such is the problem when you can’t pick one favourite over another. The Professor enters the ring and orders Nemesis to rise back to his feet, then he pulls out the brown envelope Hawke gave him earlier and drops in on Hawke’s chest, not that Jay notices it since he’s out cold at this point. The last thing we see before Lockdown goes off the air is Bruce shaking Professor William Attenborough’s hand as the crowd boos them and throws garbage in the ring.

The crowd is still buzzing after Flesher’s spirited opening promo and are eagerly awaiting what promises to be a hard hitting, high impact match between Gabriel Drake and Manson. But before we can go to that there is some business that needs to be attended to. Business that Ben Hardy has been chosen to clear up it seems. The rotund interviewer tries to look as serious and as intimidating as he possibly can as he waits for his cue from the back. “Ladies and Gentlemen Joseph Peters has ordered that both Jay Hawke and Bruce Blank must reveal their choice of partners for the tag-team main event” Hardy says with a smile, happy to be out in front of a live crowd instead of chasing around the locker rooms. WHITEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE TRASH!! WHITEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE TRASH!! In an untraditional move the Champion comes out first, but then again this is the SWF we thrive on breaking traditions. Bruce is joined by Wayne Blank, both of whom look like they know a secret that no one else does and they’re more than happy to smirk about it. “Oh lord I’ll bet you anything that Bruce picks Wayne” Mak says with a sigh. “Come on Mak that’d be TOO obvious. . . even for Bruce” King says dismissing the notion. As soon as Bruce and Wayne enter the ring the music shifts from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Pink Floyd and while the “White Trash” chant dies down the crowd still boos their Canadian hearts out. Not that it bothers Hawke at all, in fact it seems to amuse him as he makes his way to the ring. “Clear the way, greatness is coming down the aisle” King gushes as Jay Hawke avoids the outstretched hands of a few fans that mistakenly thinks that the Dean of Professional Wrestling actually wants to touch them. “Bruce’s choice is obvious but who will Hawke pick?” Mak wonders out loud “Maybe JJ Johnson or Maddix? Cucaracha International represent!” King says calling attention to the long forgotten faction. “Or how bout we just be quiet and hear from the man himself?” Mak suggests “Hawke, Blank have you both found a tag-team partner?” Hardy asks like he was the moderator of a Presidential debate. Both Bruce and Jay nod confidently, each of them waiting for the other to go first. After a moment of stalling Hawke finally decides that he may as well go first and steps up next to Ben Hardy. “It hasn’t been easy finding someone worthy of teaming with me and being in Canada didn’t help anything” Hawke says BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! “What does being in Canada have to do with it?” Hardy asks confused. “Nothing but it’s never helped on ANYTHING” Jay says with a grin before continuing “So I’ll make it short and sweet to give Bruce a chance to go backstage and change his underwear” Blank doesn’t looks very amused by that comment and impatiently tells Hawke to just get on with it. “Alright fair enough I’m sure you’ve got a white board and markers ready to lay out your game plan Bruce” Hawke says it a tone that’s not lost on Bruce Blank “When I looked for a partner I didn’t search for someone who could hang with me technically… since no one really can” BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! “Not the truest of statements but I doubt Hawke got Flesher to do double duty tonight” King mutters. “No my criteria was quite simple Bruce, I went out and looked for someone who could flat out kick your ass!! Someone who’d whip you from pillar to post by brute strength” Hawke elaborates JA-NUS!! JA-NUS!! JA-NUS!! JA-NUS!! JA-NUS!! ”He doesn’t work here anymore you idiots!” Hawke hisses at the Canadian crowd. “Look at Bruce he doesn’t look worried at all” Mak points out and he’s right Bruce is leaning back against the ropes, chit-chatting with Wayne while looking decidedly UN-worried “Well maybe he thinks that there aren’t really anyone in the federation who can actually do that” King replies. “So Bruce say hello to my partner” Hawke says and then points to the entrance. Where nothing happens at first, in fact nothing happens for a good 5 seconds except the lights going out and then ¤BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm¤ ¤FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSHH!!¤ “HOLY CRAP IT’S NEMESIS!!” Mak yells out as the 7’5’’ Colossus steps through the sea of green flames and walks towards the ring. Hawke’s smile widens like the Cheshire cat while both Bruce and Wayne stand there like they’ve been hit by lightning just staring at the monster walking down the aisle towards the ring. Hawke gives Professor Attenborough a quick nod hinting at just how Jay Hawke managed to land Nemesis as his partner “That’s why Hawke is a thinking man’s wrestler! He just outplayed Bruce big time, I mean who’s he going to pull out of the bag to counter THAT monster?” “Don’t get too excited King, it’s not THAT hard to outwit Bruce” Bruce gulps hard as Nemesis steps over the top rope and then stands behind Jay Hawke looking like he’s ready to crush a small Canadian village to warm up for tonight’s match. It takes a while before Bruce can even take his eyes off the big man as he looks more than a little worried. “Bruce?? Bruce?? Helloooooooooo?” Hardy says and waves his hand in Bruce’s face to get the International Champion’s attention. “Who’s your partner?” Wayne is about to grab the microphone and say something when Bruce intercedes and snatches the microphone out of Wayne’s hand. The two Blank brothers argue over something off microphone with Bruce vehemently shaking his head as Wayne demonstratively points to himself. “Trouble in paradise” King quips “I think Bruce had planned for Wayne to be his partner but he didn’t expect to be facing Nemesis” Mak points out. After a few more moments of back and forth Bruce finally turns his attention back to the matter at hand, raises the microphone and then tries to put on a brave face. “So that’s the best you can do?” He says not very convincingly “Well I WAS going to tell you who my partner was” Bruce says and then gives Wayne a dirty look as he sulks in the corner. “But I think I’ll let you wait and worry a bit before you find out… yeah that’s it… you’ll just have to wait and see until it’s match time” “WHAT? Oh come on Blank!” Mak complains. “Don’t you worry about a thing, I got a partner lined up and everything, one that’ll make your knees shake Hawke, one that’ll make your blood run cold” Bruce says and then hands the microphone off. Hawke doesn’t seem to be terribly bothered or surprised by Bruce’s sudden lack of partner, in fact he looks rather amused by the whole thing. But then again he’s the 7’5’’ Colossus backing him up. Hawke even graciously offers to hold the ropes for Bruce, an offer that the champion doesn’t take though as he exits the ring on the opposite side – AWAY from Nemesis. “Things just turned REALLY interesting, Hawke has dug into his back of tricks and come up with Nemesis” King says as Bruce and Wayne exit the arena. “Nemesis gets his first main event AND he gets his hands on the International champion, things are really going his way it seems. But who will Bruce get to team up with him?” Mak asks. “You’ll just have to be a patient man Mak, besides we’ve got a good card for tonight so just sit back and relax and I’m sure Bruce will find a suitable partner” King says ignoring the fact that Bruce had a partner picked already but balked on teaming with Wayne when he saw the big man come down the aisle. * Fade *

We’re once again backstage and this time Ben Hardy has caught up with Bruce Blank who looks more confident and happy than he has all night, something is obviously up. “Bruce your match is next, have you found a partner?” Ben asks like the curious little man that he is. “Found a partner? I’ve had one all along” Bruce says with a straight face. “Ah, right yes, how silly of me. So who is it?” Hardy asks. Bruce is about to say something when his cell phone rings, Bruce puts up a hand to stop Hardy from talking and then answers the phone “M’ello?” Bruce says as he answers the phone. Then his smile freezes on his face “Excuse me?” The voice on the other end starts to explain something and with each passing moment Bruce’s smile falters more and more until he wears a decidedly unpleasant look on his face “Now you look here pal, we had a deal!” Bruce says while pointing at the phone (like the other guy can see that) “No, no I told you who his partner was and you agreed” “Yes you did!” … “Oh don’t give me that shit now” … Bruce keeps arguing with whomever is on the other end of the phone while Ben just stands there and tries his best to look inconspicuous as Bruce’s newfound partner is in the process of bailing out on him. “You son of a bitch!” is Bruce’s last words on the phone before he viciously slams the flap shut and then looks around the locker room area with a desperate look in his eyes. “Bad news?” Hardy asks with a straight face. “What?” Bruce realizes that he’s still on camera and tries to put on a brave face “Oh erm… my ex-wife” Bruce says as if that explains anything. Then he spots someone in the distance and heads out of the shot as he hollars “Hey man we need to talk” “Well there you have it, Bruce’s mystery partner is still a mystery. . . even to Bruce” Ben Hardy says as we head to the final commercial break before the main event. * Fade *

SWF Lockdown fades back into frame from the previous Cruiserweight match. The Canadian crowd inside the Credit Union Centre lights up as the cameras cut down to the commentating team. “SWF Lockdown is back on the air!” shouts Mak Francis, “Fresh off a Cruiserweight match between Tom Flesher and JJ Johnson, we are back bringing you some hard-hitting, fast-paced action! “In the main event, Bruce Blank and a mystery partner will take on Jay Hawke and a mystery partner!” “But up next, a battle of the number one contenders! The number one contender to the SWF International Title, ‘Hollywood’ Spike Jenkins meets for the first time ever in a one-on-one match, the number one contender to the SWF World Heavyweight Title, Jimmy the Doom!” “Both of these men will get their respected title shots next week, but tonight, they will go at it in a NON-title match!” King says. “Jimmy the Doom, the current reigning Hardcore Gamers Champion,” Mak states, “The title will not be on the line but much respect and momentum leading into their respective title matches is!” The camera cuts to the middle of the ring, where Funyon stands all snazzed up as usual. Holding a microphone in one hand, he makes the announcement. “The following contest is scheduled for one fall, with a thirty minute time limit! First, making his way to the ring!” 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 “Still Remains” 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. “Coming to the ring at this time…weighing in a total of two hundred and twenty pounds…hailing from Hollywood, California…representing the country of Cambodia…he is ‘Hollywoooooooood’ Spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenkinnnnnnnnsssssssssssssssss!!!” 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. “AND HIS OPPONENT!” booms Funyon. The arena lights go out suddenly and two columns of hooded Jedi’s march down the ramp and to the ring, chanting “Doom” the entire time. They place themselves against the crowd barriers, facing the ring, but leaving a gap from the entrance ramp open. The lights come back on, the chanting stops immediately, and Boots Randolph’s “Yakety Sax” plays over the speakers. “Coming to the ring at this time…weighing in a total of two hundred and thirty pounds…hailing from Doomopolis, Doomtopiahe is JIMMMMMYYYYY THE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!” Jimmy the Doom and Lois the Unethical walk down the ramp, and like, do stuff. Or get in the ring. Jimmy steps up the steel steps and enters the ring. Standing in his corner, he poses and stuff with the SWF Hardcore Gamers Title. “Battle of the number one contenders is on!” shouts Mak Francis. *Ding Ding Ding* “Jimmy the Doom, a striker and brawler from Doomtopia. How will he be able to fend off the wrestling skills and martial arts ability of Spike Jenkins?” Spike Jenkins and Jimmy the Doom both walk out of their corner, circling around the ring before meeting in the center. Jimmy holds his hand out, trying to get a test of strength going with Spike. Jenkins playfully smacks the hand away from him, before shooting down to the ground on one knee and sliding behind Doom. Grabbing him around the waist, Jenkins locks on a rear waist lock. Jimmy tries to think of a way to break out of the hold. Not being a wrestling genius hurts as Spike bullies him around with the waist lock. Prying at the fingers of Jenkins, Doom breaks the hold and spins around Spike, grabbing his own rear waist lock! “A wrestling move from Jimmy the Doom! Jimmy has been training lately with Edgar VI Kranskalovski, a Russian frog catcher!” “What has he been training with him for?” “Professional wrestling.” Spike tears at the fingers, breaking the rear waist lock. Holding onto Jimmy’s left wrist, Spike ducks underneath the arm, getting into a standing position behind Doom. Pulling the arm back, Jimmy yelps as he is placed in a hammerlock! Jenkins rips at the arm, sending a jolt of pain through Jimmy’s arm. Instead of trying to outwrestle Spike, which he knows he can’t do, Jimmy does the second best thing…and drags Spike over towards the ropes. Placing one foot between the bottom and middle rope, the referee of the match comes over and tells Jenkins to release the hold! “The smartest thing Jimmy the Doom could have done here, Mak.” Spike releases the hold and backs away from Doom and the referee, turning red with anger as he shouts at the official. “Spike Jenkins obviously not liking the momentum of his chain-wrestling skills to be put to a stop by a rope break.” Doom backs away from the ropes and both men circle around the ring. They meet in the center, Jimmy going for another collar-and-elbow tie up…but Spike shoots down, grabbing him by the leg and tripping him backwards. Still holding the leg, he steps forward, placing his foot on the shoulder of the downed Jimmy. He twists at the arm, sending a jolt of pain through the shoulder of Jimmy. Doom yelps in pain, but kicks away at the arm of Jenkins, breaking the hold. Wrapping his legs around the right knee of Spike, Jimmy forces him face first to the mat with a drop toehold! Floating over onto his back, he grabs Jenkins around the neck with a sleeper hold! Spike struggles to get away, but Jimmy grabs him by the hair. Lifting his face off the mat, Doom uses his free arm to smash the face of Jenkins with stiff forearm shots! “Stiff shots to the face against Jenkins!” Doom stands up, grabbing Spike by the hair and pulling him up to his feet as well. Spike pushes Jimmy away, breaking away from his grip. Scraping forward, he slashes his fingernails across the face of the Doomtopian! “Oh, come on,” Mak cries foul, “He just raked Jimmy across the face!” “Whatever it takes to win, Mak.” Jimmy scurries away, but Spike is quickly behind. Turning Doom towards him, Jenkins strikes him hard in the gut with a boot. Following the kick with a forearm to the face, Spike pushes the Hardcore Gamers Champion into the corner. Wrapping his hands around the throat, Spike begins to squeeze with all he can as the referee comes over trying to break it up. ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FI---Spike releases the choke. “A plain as day choke! Spike Jenkins must be really desperate against the number one contender to the World title, King!” Spike goes back and wraps his hands around the throat of the resident Doomtopian, trying to choke the life out of him. Once again, the referee comes over, shouting about a disqualification and starting to count the Hollywood Superstar out! ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FI---Spike releases the choke. “He has until five, referee!” “Let’s not go through THIS again!” Spike grabs Doom by his hair and pulls him out of the corner. Wrapping his hands around the neck with a cravat, Jenkins flips his opponent over with a snap mare! Doom lands in a sitting position, woozy from the previous chokes. Spike takes time to show off, as he tucks his head in and rolls forward onto the mat next to Doom, popping up on his feet in front of his opponent. Spike claps his hands as he shoots down backwards into the Hardcore Gamers champion, driving his elbow into the jaw of the Doomanite! “Impressive snap mare/back elbow combo by the number one contender to the SWF International Championship!” Spike grabs one of Doom’s legs, covering him for the pin fall! ONE! TWO! TH---NO! Doom kicks out! “Doom kicks out!” Spike climbs to his feet, grabbing Jimmy by his hair and pulling him up. Kicking him in the gut, Spike pulls Jimmy into a standing head scissors. Underhooking both arms, Spike leaps into the air, picking Doom up with him and driving him face first into the mat with a pedigree! “ENDWELL!” Spike rolls Jimmy over and covers him. ONE!!! TWO!!! THREE!!! *Ding Ding Ding* “Another victory for Spike Jenkins!” As a result of an Endwell, Jimmy the Doom IMPLODES~! “Is that possible?” “No.” “Did Spike Jenkins, who is number one contender to the SWF International Title…just defeat the number one contender to the SWF World Heavyweight Championship?” “Yes, he did.” “Does that mean he might be getting a World title shot anytime soon?” “Probably not.” “God damn politics.” “SPIKE JENKINS VS. BRUCE BLANK! SWF INTERNATIONAL TITLE! JIMMY THE DOOM VS. MICHAEL STEPHENS! SWF WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE!” “Ratings.”

We go backstage once again as Bruce STILL hasn’t found anyone who wants to team up with him tonight to take on the duo of Jay Hawke and Nemesis, he probably couldn’t even find the Crimson Skull. The big man is looking left and right, high and low trying to find someone instead of his original partner Wayne. “HMMMM” Bruce utters as he sees a door with “Hollywood” Spike Jenkins on it, complete with “Walk of Fame” star and everything. Bruce raises his hand to knock on the door, then he pauses for a moment in mid motion. He stands there for quite a while, his eyes darting back and forth as Bruce goes over something in his head, almost as if he’s debating if he should knock on the door or not. “Are you serious?” Mak asks as they watch Bruce try to make up his mind. Then Bruce lowers his hand and turns his back on the locker room door, having decided to not knock on it. “When you’re desperate like Bruce seems to be you have to consider all options” King explains. “Yeah but Spike?” Mak asks once more. Bruce turns around once more ready to knock on the door but once again he pauses with his hand raised in the air debating with himself if he should actually go through with this or not. Then finally he makes up his mind and the hand goes back down “Nah he’d be more useless than a paper hat in a thunderstorm” Bruce mutters and then walks off still searching for that elusive partner that’s been eluding him so elusively up until now. * Fade *

===================== “Mister Peters?” SWF Commissioner Joseph Peters looks up from the papers on his desk. “Yes, Anne, what is it?” “Mister Van Siclen is here to see you.” Peters rolls his eyes and sighs heavily as he leans back in his chair. “Thank you, Anne. Send him in, please.” Seconds later, a highly agitated Mike Van Siclen storms into the office, a tinge of aquamarine still streaking his hair. In his hands are items that Peters can not immediately distinguish. “Good evening, Michael; how can I help you?” “You know damn well how you can help me!” growls Van Siclen. “I gave you until tonight to do something about Wildchild… Now, what’s it going to be?” “I’m afraid that I don’t know what I can do about him,” replies Peters. “As I told you last week, Wildchild has not been in or around the arenas since his suspension, to the best of my knowledge. He hasn’t been seen by any of the other wrestlers, nor by security or any of the support staff. I’m afraid that there’s nothing that I can do to him until you can at least prove to me that he’s even been here.” “Are you kidding?” roars MVS incredulously. “He’s GOT to be here! This was delivered to me earlier today!” Van Siclen raises his right arm to show the envelope clenched tightly in his fist, and flings the envelope at the commissioner. Intrigued, Peters opens up the envelope to read the message inside: “He’s trying to make a fool out of me,” whines Van Siclen, as Peters finishes reading the note. “You’ve got to put a stop to it!” “Mister Van Siclen,” asks Peters, “are you hard of hearing? Didn’t I just tell you that I haven’t seen him? How am I supposed to stop Wildchild from doing anything if he’s not here? As far as I know, he’s in the Bahamas right now.” “He’s here,” insists MVS. “He has to be here… somebody must be sneaking him in… or else he’s in disguise!” “Mister Van Siclen, you are definitely a piece of work,” replies Joseph. “I mean really, I don’t know whether you’re being extremely paranoid, or extremely vain. Of course, knowing you,” Peters pauses with a wry smile, “you probably think this whole show is about you!” “Quit trying to change the subject!” demands Van Siclen. “Are you going to do something about him, or not?” Peters closes his eyes and shakes his head with another loud sigh. “I tell you what, Mister Van Siclen,” he says finally, “If you can somehow prove that Wildchild has been violating his suspension by sneaking in here, then I’ll take action… Until then, get the hell out of my office!” “You don’t talk to me that way, Peters!” grumbles Van Siclen. “Don’t ever forget that I own you! I’m going to get you that proof, and then I’m going to stuff it right down your throat, you little (bleep)!” With that, Van Siclen storms out of the office, slamming the door behind him. “Alright now,” MVS says to himself as he steps out into the hallway. “I’ve got to figure this out…” He ambles down the hallway, lost in his own little world: “If I was a little (bleep) like Wildchild and I was trying to disguise myself to sneak into the building, how would I do it?” Van Siclen wanders on until he reaches the point where the two main hallways intersect… BANG! … When he gets drilled in the side of the head just above his right eye with a steel chair! The camera pulls back and we see that the wielder of the chair is none other than… the Birdman! CAW-CAW! Van Siclen lies motionless on the floor, blood beginning to seep from the gash above his eye and into his hair, but that doesn’t deter the Birdman, who stands over MVS… BANG! … And slams the chair onto his face with a one-man con-chair-to! The Bird leaves the chair leaning against Van Siclen’s face as he leaps into the air… BANG! … And drives the chair into Mike’s face with a double stomp! Birdman leans over Van Siclen’s motionless body and taunts him with his signature bird call: CAW-CAW! … Before running off in the opposite direction just as security starts to head towards him!

In another attempt at finding a suitable tag-team partner to fight Jay Hawke and Nemesis Bruce has taken to roaming the catering area in the back where various SWF wrestlers hang out, eat and shoot the breeze. Bruce spots Pierre Donette eating a donut (called a “Fat American roll” in French) and approaches him. “Erm Buenos Dias” Bruce says with a horrible American accent. Being French Pierre is immediately insulted by the fact that Bruce doesn’t know his French from his Spanish (nor his a-hole from his elbow but that’s another story) “Lucha Libre… ehhh dos tonight?” Bruce asks hoping it makes sense. Pierre just keeps eating not even bothering to look at Bruce “Ah forget it you French guys are useless in a fight anyways” Bruce says and turns around. He spots JJ Johnson making his way through the room, at first he thinks about approaching him but Johnson has a look on his face that clearly says “don’t bother me” – he’s about to face Tom Flesher he better be in the zone. So Johnson isn’t an option at the moment sadly, which means that Bruce has to keep looking. “Ordonez? Nah he already lost to Nemesis” Bruce mutters to himself as the referee/wrestler passes by Bruce. When Gabriel Drake enters the room everyone stop for a moment and those closest to “the Beast” back up just a bit. Bruce watches the Beast as he passes by him, pondering just how crazy this guy supposedly is. “Hey erm…” Bruce says as Gabriel Drake passes by him. And keeps on walking totally ignoring anything Bruce said or may say. He looks around to see if there is anyone else in the catering area that he might have better luck with but he doesn’t really fancy teaming up with Martin Hunt and well Mike Van Siclen already lost to Nemesis so that would be pointless. Then a name crosses his mind, it’s a possibility, not a good one granted but it’s a possibility none the less. “Hey the Crimson Skull doesn’t hate my guts… well not totally” Bruce says to himself as he sets off to try and find the elusive Crimson Skull. * Fade *

Lockdown fades in, and 'The Divine Wind' Akira Kaibatsu and Scott Rageheart are standing in the center of the ring, just barely catching a few notes of 'Protect Ya Neck' as Funyon finishes off the last "u" in "Kaibatsu" "Well," Mak starts, "This should be pretty badass, eh King?" "totally" DING DING DING "Oh man...I can't wait..." Francis says, giddy as a child. Kaibatsu and Rageheart stare down for a few seconds, and Akira strikes first - literally. The Divine Wind hurls his forearm up at Rageheart's chin, with his tradmeark European Uppercut! He then grabs his head in a cravate, runs up the ropes, back flips, and nails The Divine Wind! ONEEE! TWOOO! THREEE! DING DING DING "Er...here is your winner...Akira Kaibatsu!" "Uh...eh...ah...I....ehh...buh....buh....eh...." Lockdown fades out as Mak struggles to come up with words.

We cut backstage where Landon “La Cucaracha” Maddix just got done watching Gabriel Drake Vs Manson on TV, if the guy has a problem with his tag-team partner Maddix figured he should check out this guys skills. With Landon off in his own thoughts as he absentmindedly runs his hands over his tag-team title he doesn’t even notice Bruce Blank until the big man clears his throat. “What?” “Hey Landon, good to see ya” Bruce says with a big grin that makes Landon a little weary “Congratulations on winning the OAOAST 24/7 title” Maddix instinctively grins at the mention but otherwise doesn’t say anything “You know I’ve got your back and all right?” “…” “Right?” Bruce repeats but to no avail. “Cut to the chase Bruce, what do you want?” Landon says impatiently there are 8 million things he’d rather do than talk to Bruce. “Well you know Jay Hawke right?” Bruce asks to which Landon nods “And well tonight I’m facing him and his tag-team partner, but the thing is that … erm … my original partner has the flu and couldn’t make it so I was thinking…” “Yes?” Landon isn’t giving Bruce an inch. “Damn it I need a tag-team partner” Bruce finally says. “You mean in the main event against Hawke and the angry green giant?” “Yeah, yeah man – you and me together we can’t lose” Bruce says trying to get Landon excited. “You mean me and Stephens can’t lose” Landon says with a grin. “Anyways about the main event tonight” he says and pauses “Yes?” “Good luck with that” Landon says and then walks off. “You know I never liked you!!” Bruce yells as Maddix just walks off without paying any attention to Bruce at all. Bruce shakes his head and walks off muttering something about stepping on cockroaches or something like that. * Fade *

“THE DEVIL’S REJECTS… Rejects…” “The Devil’s Rejects… rejects…” We join this contest with the competitors already in the ring! The last remnants of Rob Zombie’s “The Devil’s Rejects” fades into the background, the eerie blue light and strobes coming to an end, while both Gabriel Drake and Manson stand at the ready… tonight’s ref, Eddy Long stands at the ready also and… DING! DING! DING! “There’s the bell!” Mak notes, as Drake and Manson turn the circle and then come together in a grapple! Being the veteran, Manson tries to control the tempo and slides into a side headlock, wringing his arms around the ears of his opponent. Gabe, trying to gain some separation, pushes his forearm into Manson’s face backing him into the ropes and shooting him away. The Stampede comes running forward with a shoulder block—no; Drake just shrugs off the contact telling Manson try harder! So the Raging Bull turns and sprints into the ropes again, raging back with another shoulder block—nope, he still gets nowhere as ‘the Beast’ continues to stand tall! Manson points at Drake telling him to give it a try and the rookie does just that, rebounding directly into Manson and sending him flat on his back! “We should be capitalizing Gabe’s name instead of Manson’s after the way he just got embarrassed, Francis!” King’s comment only gets a roll of the eyes from Mak, as Drake stares down at his opponent, as if to gloat before taking off for the far ropes! Manson flips over onto his belly forcing Gabe to hop him, but the Savage Messiah has a plan and it involves getting up, bouncing off the far ropes and both slicing and dicing ‘the Beast’ by way of an Iron cutting sword!! Manson raises his left arm and rushes forward… …But Drake spots the charging Manson and grabs the ropes slingshotting himself below the bottom cable! “Gabriel Drake avoided some serious contact there, King!” The Franchise notes, as Drake skids under the ropes and scowls. “Manson’s move is the Zantetsuken—a nasty Lariat, normally off the left side but he’s been know to change it up.” “Zantetsuken? I’m sure the Lupin reference gets the entire internet of MANSONITES to cream their pants…” “Lupin?” “Lupin the third… the anime, and how I know about this is the stuff of mysteries.” “Lupe steals like Lupin the third—oh I get it now!” Err… “That just went over everybody’s head and that’s a shoot brotha!” Mak adds, as Manson climbs through the ropes avoiding the referee’s requests to do otherwise, while Gabe is none the wiser. “You do know George Bush doesn’t like you?” Mak immediately double takes, both at the above Kayne West reference and the fact that Manson is running the apron, preparing himself to leap from the tarp to the floor in a elbow suicida!! Landing on his feet like a cat, Manson plays to the crowd, who has easily taken his side over the newcomer. The Stampede doesn’t let up though, grabbing Drake as he starts to stand and peppering him with a left to the mush! “The south paw, Manson, is really bringing the fight to Drake now!” Mak states, as Gabe eats another left from his opponent. “He would benefit from this match being more of a strike battle than technical display where he can use his lefty status to his advantage.” SMACK! WHOOOOOOOOOOO! “Much like it is right now… god what a nasty chop!” King says, as Manson lights Gabe’s chest up! Another left hand finds its mark, stunning Drake long enough for- SMACK! WHOOOOOOOOOOO! SMACK! WHOOOOOOOOOOO! -Two more chops of death from the hands of the God of War!! “At least it wasn’t the eye beams…” Mak says smirking, as Drake gets tossed back into the ring, still holding his chest from the combination of blows. “But truthfully, Drake hasn’t fought anyone like MANSON yet in his time here—all two matches of it I might add; he isn’t going to back off or back down from anything the Beast brings!” “Don’t ‘hate’, Francis!” King chuckles out. “Just because the guy is undefeated since doesn’t mean you need to get out of your chair and make another return take him on… just to lose…” Back inside, Manson grabs the bigger Drake and hefts him to his feet and back down to the canvas in a body slam! Thinking the rookie has been getting a little too big for his britches, with his undefeated streak; Manson pushes Gabe’s head back down to the mat and then steps, turning quickly on his toes in a spinning boot-scrape! Drake sits up holding his face from the disrespectful attack, when Manson lines up behind him and- CRACK… …CRACK! -Blasts him with a Cowboy kick and then backs up, throws up the devil horns in Drake’s direction and rushes ahead for a second kick to the spine!! Manson pushes Gabe back down to the canvas and covers, Long counts… ONE! TWO… …No! Only a one count as Drake shoves Manson off him! Gabe gets up, incensed at the disrespect and barrels forward in a blind rage, looking to clothesline Manson out of his shoes, but the Stampede easily ducks the Lariat reaching back behind him and snagging a pulling neckbreaker! “Nice falling neckbreaker by the veteran, who has completely dominated thus far! Could the power of MANSONOSITY really be giving him the edge, King?” Manson continues to press his advantage, picking Gabe up and catching him with three punches to the face, before backing him into the ropes and whipping him, but Drake reverse the Irish whip and lifts Manson onto his shoulder before giving him a case of whiplash with a snap spinebuster!! “No dice, Francis!” The Gambling Man responds as Manson holds his neck on the canvas. “All it got him is a bad neck and a pissed off opponent!” Gabe stands over the curled up form of the God of War and then pushes him into the corner as he tries to stand. Pulling back, Drake slams him shoulder forward landing a corner shoulder thrust to the belly of his opponent – but as Gabe goes for a second shoulder, Manson drops an elbow onto the back of his head! This stuns the big man, but he presses on getting his shoulder thrust. Drake preps for another tackle but Manson lands a knee to the Beast and follows up with two elbows to the top of the head, fighting his way out with a combination of elbows and knees! Pushing Drake back to the center of the ring, Manson rears back and- THWACK! -LANDS a European uppercut that finally knocks him down!! Manson attempts to fall into a full mount, firing away with his devastating lefts, but Gabe swats away a few of his strikes and tries to cover up, struggling to keep him in a half-guard while Manson continues to press the attack! Manson gets in a little too snug and Drake wraps his right arm about the head of his opponent in a front headlock, trying to reverse with a guillotine choke! “Manson has gone from in full control to a world of trouble!” Mak notes, as both competitors move on the mat, trying to gain some form of leverage. “Drake’s got a guillotine choke… well pretty much anyway cause he’s got the front headlock and he’s working his way to getting the hooks in.” Flinging one leg around Manson’s torso, Drake tries to lock in the stretch while the Stampede does his best to sprawl, trying to keep himself from having to deal with the mixed martial arts hold. “Gabe’s using this front facelock with body-scissors to wear Ordonez down! He might not have it locked in tight enough for a submission, but Manson having to fight so hard just to defend may be just as effective.” While King’s comment is somewhat valid, in the end, Manson wins out driving one, two, three elbows into the ribcage of his opponent. Working them up to there feet, Manson flings Drake back into the ropes, but this time Drake explodes forward blasting Manson with a Shotgun Lariat! Picking Manson up by the scruff of his neck, Gabe executes a corner whip and follows it in, leaping into the air with his knee extended for a Harley Race high knee! The contact squashes Manson between the buckles and all the near two hundred and sixty pounds of ‘the Beast’ almost caving in his jaw!! Then, Gabriel follows up with a vengeance, dragging Manson from the turnbuckles by his hair and flinging him down to the canvas face first! “After that Lariat its been all Drake, King! He nailed that Harley Race high knee in the corner and then just face planted Manson like he was a rag doll!” Toeing his opponent over, Drake stands on Manson’s neck and then drags his boot down across the side of the Stampede’s face in a boot-scrape in revenge for the earlier attack from Manson! “He’s inventive! I’ve never seen that boot scrape before!” King calls, as Gabe lifts Manson to his knee and rears back- THWACK… …THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! -And he hits fifteen back mounted forearm to the chest of MANSON turning his upper body beet red- CRRRRRAAAACCCCKKKK! -And then getting one last FIERCE cowboy kick for good measure! “Not to be shown up, Drake steps on the throat of his opponent and drags his other boot down Manson’s face in an ugly boot-scrape variation!! Then basically kicks the crap out of him, both literally and figuratively…” “Paybacks a bitch, isn’t it manson! You don’t even get the first letter capitalized anymore after getting beaten around like that! All lowercases for you!” The Beast grabs the stampeded Stampede by the hair once again and tries to hoist him up for a vertical suplex, but the weary Manson blocks! Trying to counter, Manson lifts Gabe up slightly, but Drake fights back down to his feet and with a primal roar, he gets him up and walks Manson over to the top rope crotching him!! “Ouch!” “I Agree… but more about what’s coming and not what’s happened.” King adds. “Besides, Manson has no balls anyway.” THWWWWAAACCCKKKK! After Gabe plasters his opponent with the Hand of Gabe, he climbs up high and picks Manson up to his feet… with them both now stand on the top rope, before Drake leverages them both up and over so that they collide with the canvas in a certified train wreck!!!!! BANG! “A TOP ROPE Superplex, Francis!” King crows, as both men lay in the ring a mass of humanity. “I’ll never get tired of seeing him drop people on their necks from that high up!” As Long checks on them, Drake slowly moves to his hands and knees, crawling over to Manson. He hooks the leg, Long counts… ONE! TWO! THREE! NO! Manson raises a shoulder up! Drake slowly pulls Manson up and pounds on him, landing forearm after forearm to the back and neck of the God of War, but Manson finally blocks a strike and twirls on his feet getting a spinning back elbow that stuns Drake!! Gabe fires off a wobbly punch which Manson deftly evades by ducking and he hoists Drake up into an Uranage Suplex spiking the Beast onto his neck!! Long counts as Manson covers… ONE! TWO! THREE! NO! Both men are spent as they push themselves up to their knees. Looking each other in the eyes, from their knees Drake and Manson battle it out with punches and forearms! Drake lands a particularly nasty side arm punch to the Raging Bulls face, and then gets to his feet grabbing the now rising Manson in a Muy Thai clinch and then kneeing the everloving crap out of him!! Manson, unable to give up breaks free of the clinch and spins around with a roaring elbow knocking Gabe wobbly and then with both in a stand up trading rights brawl, Manson attempts to spin into the Zantetsuken, but Drake ducks and lifts him into a fireman’s carry then slides Manson from the carry onto his back, cradling his left leg in his arm!! “This is it! Match Over!” King states as Drake drops down in a stunner, compacting Ced’s chin like a sledge-hammer crushing a can!!!! Ordonez’s head snaps back and Gabe releases him to fall to the mat, spread eagle. “The Mark of the Beast!” Mak calls, as Long counts the pin… ONE! TWWWOOOOOO! THHHHRRRRRRRREEEEEEEE!! DING! DING! DING! “The winner of this match, by pin-fall… ‘THE BEAST’ GAAAAAAABRRRIIIIEEEELLLLLL DRRRRRRAAAAAAKKKKKKKEEEE!” “Well Gabriel Drake is officially three and zero… and he seems to be finding his groove.” Mak notes, as the Beast finishes getting his hand raised and rolls out of the ring to “The Devil’s Rejects”. “If he can just string together the stuff he does when he’s at his best, my comments at Ground Zero won’t be too far off. Everyone will indeed, fear the beast.” FADE…

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The Smartmarks Wrestling Federation presents... SWF LOCKDOWN! Live, Wednesday, August 23rd, from the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Sas... Ses... Sesk... from Saskatoon. Saskatoon. (7pm PST, 10pm EST; check local listings) (Send all promos/marked matches to chirs3) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THE MAIN EVENT - TAG TEAM TURMOIL, MINUS THE TURMOIL Bruce Blank and An Ultraviolent Droogie of His Choice vs. "the Dean of Professional Wrestling" Jay Hawke and A Tenured Professor of His Choice -> There's still plenty of bad blood to be spilled between these two, but since we just saw them go one on one so recently, Joseph Peters has decided to spice it up a bit, so he's allowing Bruce and Jay to pick any wrestler in the SWF to be their partners for this tag team match! Rules: Standard. Mind the tag ropes. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SINGLES MATCH "Hollywood" Spike Jenkins vs. Jimmy the Doom -> Scheduling conflicts and show delays ended up cancelling certain title matches planned for Lockdown. They have been rescheduled, but in the mean time, how can these two number one contenders for seperate titles kill time? BY FIGHTING EACH OTHER TO THE DEATH! Rules: Standard singles match. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- CRUISERWEIGHT MATCH (non-title) Tom Flesher vs. JJ Johnson -> We still don't know if Tom retained his Cruiserweight Championship, so we can't very well make him defend it, now can we? JJ Johnson, in a teensy bit of a slump recently, looks to turn it around against the Superior One in a Cruiserweight, albeit non-title, match! Rules: Standard, with Cruiser addenda. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SINGLES MATCH Scott Rageheart vs. "The Divine Wind" Akira Kaibatsu -> One of the rare times we book a match not because two guys hate each other, and not because they are competing for a lucrative endorsement contract, but simply because they're both awesome, and awesome wrestlers = awesome matches. Hooray! Rules: Standard singles match. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- OPENING BOUT "The Beast" Gabriel Drake vs. MANSON -> Gabriel Drake has made two strong impressions since his debut in the SWF - the first on Michael Stephens, and the second on the fans, as he's handily taken down most of his opponents! (didn't quite make it against ELK, but come on, who could?) Tonight is his biggest challenge yet - he's defeated Ordonezosity, and Rageheartosity, but can he beat... MANSONOSITY?!~~! Rules: Standard singles match. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The Smartmarks Wrestling Federation presents... SWF LOCKDOWN! Live, Wednesday, August 23rd, from the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Sas... Ses... Sesk... from Saskatoon. Saskatoon. (7pm PST, 10pm EST; check local listings) (Send all promos/marked matches to chirs3) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THE MAIN EVENT - TAG TEAM TURMOIL, MINUS THE TURMOIL Bruce Blank and An Ultraviolent Droogie of His Choice vs. "the Dean of Professional Wrestling" Jay Hawke and A Tenured Professor of His Choice -> There's still plenty of bad blood to be spilled between these two, but since we just saw them go one on one so recently, Joseph Peters has decided to spice it up a bit, so he's allowing Bruce and Jay to pick any wrestler in the SWF to be their partners for this tag team match! Rules: Standard. Mind the tag ropes. Word Limit: 5500 Send to: Ace309 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SINGLES MATCH "Hollywood" Spike Jenkins vs. Jimmy the Doom -> Scheduling conflicts and show delays ended up cancelling certain title matches planned for Lockdown. They have been rescheduled, but in the mean time, how can these two number one contenders for seperate titles kill time? BY FIGHTING EACH OTHER TO THE DEATH! Rules: Standard singles match. Word Limit: 5000 Send to: chirs3 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- CRUISERWEIGHT MATCH (non-title) Tom Flesher vs. JJ Johnson -> We still don't know if Tom retained his Cruiserweight Championship, so we can't very well make him defend it, now can we? JJ Johnson, in a teensy bit of a slump recently, looks to turn it around against the Superior One in a Cruiserweight, albeit non-title, match! Rules: Standard, with Cruiser addenda. Word Limit: 5000 Send to: Longdogger_Pete -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SINGLES MATCH Scott Rageheart vs. "The Divine Wind" Akira Kaibatsu -> One of the rare times we book a match not because two guys hate each other, and not because they are competing for a lucrative endorsement contract, but simply because they're both awesome, and awesome wrestlers = awesome matches. Hooray! Rules: Standard singles match. Word Limit: 4500 Send to: Evolution -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- OPENING BOUT "The Beast" Gabriel Drake vs. MANSON -> Gabriel Drake has made two strong impressions since his debut in the SWF - the first on Michael Stephens, and the second on the fans, as he's handily taken down most of his opponents! (didn't quite make it against ELK, but come on, who could?) Tonight is his biggest challenge yet - he's defeated Ordonezosity, and Rageheartosity, but can he beat... MANSONOSITY?!~~! Rules: Standard singles match. Word Limit: 4500 Send to: hhh6294 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- OPENING PROMO: SWF Cruiserweight Champion Tom Flesher! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- NEXT WEEK: Michael Stephens vs. Jimmy the Doom, for the SWF World Heavyweight Championship! And Spike Jenkins vs. Bruce Blank for the SWF International Championship! NOTES: As always, if you want a match, request it in this thread and see if you have a taker.

4 Tag 1 US 1 ICTV 1 Stable 7, you jerk.

Ah, what the hell. Here you go, Sly.