King Cucaracha

I'll try and add some thoughts soon, but I'll just re-iterate how damn close of a call it was for now. Both matches had plenty going for them. Certainly lived up to the hype you created between you two.

I'm gonna have to post the Women's Title match tommorrow, but I'd like to reserve opener for it anyway please!

[b]*THE CHAMP IS HERE!*[/b] "YYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!" A lightning bolt hits the stage, sending a plume of smoke up into the air as "Know Your Role 2000" begins to play through the arena. The Milan crowd rise to their feet as Tha Puerto Rican emerges through the smoke, lowering his expensive sunglasses to take a look out through the people. His people. Flicking the sunglasses back up, PRL then swaggers to the ring with an air of cool despite the cheering all around him. The OAOAST World Championship sits over the shoulder of his custom made silk shirt, as PRL has clearly come not to fight but to talk. COACH Wai... wait a minute. He's not coming over here... is he? COLE Oh, yeah, I meant to tell you about that earlier. Sorry. Better get those apologies thought up quickly, hadn't we? COACH :O As Coach panics and prepares to grovel, Tha Puerto Rican enters the ring and scales the turnbuckles, raising the World Championship in one arm over his head and smelling the electricity in the arena. "P - R - L!" "P - R - L!" "P - R - L!" "P - R - L!" COACH These people love PRL and who can blame them!? COLE He can't hear you yet. COACH Oh, sorry. PRL climbs a second set of turnbuckles and shows off his gold again, leaving the other two sides be. After all, he's got the night off, might as well take it easier on himself, hey? PRL instead leaves the ring and heads for the commentary table, where sure enough Coach is right up on his feet ready to greet him. COACH These people love PRL and who can bla-*ARGH!* PRL Get the hell out of here you turncoating bastard! Go on, get! HYAH! HYAH! Coach wisely scurries off to the back as fast as his legs can carry him. PRL Oh, I almost forgot... have a nice day, Coach! Now, Michael Cole, before you even think of opening your mouth, think carefully, because that could be you in one second flat! COLE ...great to have you out here, Champ! *DINGDING!* BUFFER The following contest is scheduled for one fall, to determine the main-event of School's Out 2008! [b]"PREPARE...FOR...LANDON!"[/b] [i]...WAAAAAHHHHH... *DUM DUM*[/i] "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" "Megalomaniac" by Incubus pierces the crowd's excited cheers and brings the Italians to their feet. They know all too well what this music means and are ready and prepared to boo the oncoming challenger out of the building. Eventually, out through the curtain bursts Maddix with Megan Skye at hand. Landon extends his arms to the side and soaks in the reaction from the crowd, negative or otherwise, before heading down the aisle with a flamboyant sweep of his trenchcoat. BUFFER Introducing first. Accompanied to the ring by MEGAN SKYE! He is the leader of Cucaracha Internacional. From Huron, South Dakota by way of Madrid, Spain... weighing two hundred, eight pounds... the former OAOAST World Heavyweight Champion... LLLAAAAAAAAANNDDOOOOONN... "LA CUCARACHA"... MMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAADDIIIIIIIIXXXXXXXXXXX!!!! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" COLE Here comes the would-be number one contender. Over the past three weeks, Todd Cortez has gone through Spanish Fly, Leon Rodez and Nathaniel Black to become the number one contender. Landon has spent the European tour facing local unknowns, one of which he didn't even fight and instead fed to Faqu! And yet, here tonight, Landon could find his way into the School's Out main-event. Landon climbs the steps and after a scanning of the crowd he enters and spins himself into the centre of the ring. Coming to a stop, his attention rests on PRL at the commentary table. Pointing a finger down at the World Champion, Landon tells PRL to "relax" and that he's "got this", which seems to confuse him a little. COLE PR, if you don't mind me asking, who are you pulling for tonight? What's your preference for your first Pay Per View World Title defence, at School's Out? PRL You know it really doesn't matter to me, if it's Todd Cortez, Todd Cortez and Landon, Todd Cortez, Landon and Megan, add in a dash of Samoan, a pinch of Canadian, a light sprinkling of Englishman, it really makes no difference to me. I couldn't really care less. COLE Well some people are speculating Champ that you'd rather this match wasn't happening, because you had it all set up. Todd Cortez one on one, without the Riot Act Plus to worry about. And people are wondering which would be more dangerous. Would you take a third man in Landon Maddix, if it meant you didn't have to worry about that deadly Riot Act Plus? PRL I'd be lying if I said I wanted to be dropped on my head like that, but either way, that's not gonna happen at School's Out. Fact! .:CUE: "Oh No", Mos Def, Nate Dogg, and Pharoah Monche:. BUFFER And, introducing the opponent... fighting out of 'Hollywood Boulevard'! He weighs two hundred, twenty six pounds... the number one contender to the OAOAST World Heavyweight Championship... "THE URBAN LEGEND"... TTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODD... CCOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRTTEEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!! "YYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Wasting no time, Cortez marches down the aisle with a purpose and slides right into the ring... and is promptly moved back by referee Mike Chioda, away from Landon who has ducked between the ropes calling for a timeout. Sure, the match hasn't started yet, but whatever. COLE Cortez wants at Landon Maddix in the worst way. If he wins tonight, he's officially free of Landon's control! PRL Stables are for losers. Always have been. Once Todd is a safe distance away, Landon creeps out of his hiding place and reminds Todd that until the bell rings he can't really do anything to him. "Not yet" is Todd's response. Landon takes his time about getting ready, giving Todd time to remove his bulletproof vest, his cross and chain and also chance to calm down a little. *DINGDINGDING!* With a big shit-eating grin on his face, Landon walks out of the corner running his mouth at a mile a minute, taunting Cortez about this and about that. Maybe the AngleMania victory. Maybe the chance he'll be co-number one contender. Or, more likely, the fact Cortez can't use the Riot Act Plus, as he kindly reminds him before ducking his head. Cortez looks on with a scowl as Landon stands bent over, almost daring Cortez to go ahead and hit the Riot Act, knowing full-well that he can't. *SLAP!* [i]"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"[/i] But he CAN slap him on the back, and hard. The jolt of pain snaps Maddix bolt upright... *SLAP!* [i]"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"[/i] ...and Cortez strikes him with a knifedge to the chest! *SLAP!* [i]"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"[/i] And another! Irish whips sends Landon into the corner... not just into, but upside down and over the top! Landing on his feet on the apron, Landon gets his bearings and quickly runs the apron towards the far corner. But Cortez intercepts him with a HOLLOW POOOOOOIIIIIIIINNTT, SENDING LANDON FLYING INTO THE BARRICADE AT RINGSIDE!!! COLE OH MY!! "YYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!" Megan rushes to Landon's side as he lays writhing at ringside, but quickly gets out of dodge as Cortez leaves the ring. Grabbing Landon, he pulls him to his feet and nails a straight right hand. Holding his side Landon staggers away, Cortez following in low with a tackle that drives La Cucaracha back-first into the guardrail again!! PRL See, this is a prime example of what happens when you piss off the wrong guy Michael Cole. And Maddix makes pissing people off so damn easy, it's only a matter of time before one of them is the wrong guy. COLE Well right now, Landon is being dominated! After a succession of right hands against the guardrail Cortez drags Maddix back towards the ring with a handful of hair. Face-first into the ring apron he goes before being dumped back inside, where-in he quickly tries to beg off and hold his ribs at the same time. Cortez doesn't fall for that one and stomps Landon before hauling him back up, whipping him into the corner again. This time Landon bounces right back out, send airborne with a BAAAAACK bodydrop! Maddix tries to beg off and even Megan gets in on the act, both drowned out by the Milan crowd encouraging Todd to kick his BUTT. COLE Look at Megan, trying to 'reason' with Todd. No shame at all. PRL I tell ya, if some woman dumped Tha Puerto Rican for La Cucaracha, I'd call that a lucky escape, because clearly there's something not right upstairs. COLE And Popick? PRL Yeah, same deal. Cortez pulls Landon back up and nails him with a right hand. A second. And a third. Backed up against the ropes, Landon is then sent for the ride by Todd, who ducks his head for another backdrop. Landon puts on the brakes and connects with a kick, tapping his head to show how smart he is. The kick barely phases Cortez though, causing Landon to panic and execute a whip of his own. Drop down sends Todd up and over, Landon back up and looking for a leapfrog... CAUGHT WITH A SITOUT SPINEBUSTER!! "OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" 1... 2... NO! Barely having kicked out, Landon quickly pulls himself back up... and walks right into a right hand! COLE Things are NOT going Landon's way so far here in Milan! Stumbling into a corner, Landon is grabbed again by Cortez, looking for a whip. Landon manages to reverse this time though. Into the buckles, Cortez suddenly feels a hand on his ankle and turns around to see Megan Skye holding him in place. Cortez manages to pull his foot away just in time, as in flies Landon looking for a big leaping forearm smash. Instead he leaps straight into the turnbuckles, leaving him open for a German Suplex, with a bridge... 1... 2... No! Landon staggers to his feet and tries to stagger away as best possible from The Urban Legend. Cortez follows in after him and dives at Maddix looking for a clothesline... ...but Maddix ducks and CORTEZ GETS HIS ARM HUNG UP IN THE ROPES GOING OVER THE TOP!!! "OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!" PRL That ain't good. Referee Chioda quickly rushes over to try and get Cortez free, but Maddix beats him in the footrace in his determination to capitalise. Maddix remorselessly kicks away at Cortez like a pináta as he hangs by the arm over ringside in serious pain. And when Chioda forceably moves La Cucaracha back, Megan adds to his misery with a shot to the gut from the outside. Eventually the referee manages to get Landon back long enough to untie Todd's arm, the number one contender falling to the outside where he grabs at his shoulder while Landon stands back with a smile on his face. COLE What a bad slice of luck for the Urban Legend. PRL No doubt. Those ropes are tighter than you'd think unless you've actually wrestled in your life... Michael... getting caught up in them is no fun. Reaching out of the ring, Landon pulls Cortez back up onto the apron. He then takes the right arm and guillotines it down across the top rope! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The former World Champion looks much more confident now and takes his sweet time with Cortez. Setting him up, he brings Cortez back in with a suplex, floating with a little difficulty into a lateral press... 1... 2... No! Landon wrings out the arm bringing Todd back to his feet. A couple of sharp tugs on the shoulder leave Cortez on one knee and grimacing in pain, at the mercy of the smiling La Cucaracha. He wrings out the arm again, bringing Cortez over to the canvas where he applies a short-arm scissors. PRL Maddix in control, just asking to have the piss slapped out of him with that smug smile on his face. With a nod to the outside to Megan, Landon leans back pulling up on the hold. No submission yet from Cortez though. COLE Just what kind of damage does this hold do PR? PRL It's an armbar. You tell me, genius. Looking for an escape, Cortez kicks his feet up looking to roll himself backwards. A clamping on the hold prevents that from happening and Todd winds up right back on his back. Cortez isn't one to just lie around and take a beating though and pretty soon he's rocking back again, this time managing to roll backwards and stack Landon up on his shoulders... 1... 2... Kickout by Landon, losing the arm in the process. He beats Cortez to his feet and lands a forearm though, allowing him to wring out the arm once more. Placing the right arm in a hammerlock, Maddix then runs Cortez shoulder first into a corner! Down goes Cortez, lorded over by La Cucaracha to the annoyance of the Italians in attendance. Landon hangs Todd up over the turnbuckles and wraps the arm around the top rope... "ONE!" "TWO!" "THREE!" "FO..." ...which, of course, isn't legal... "ONE!" "TWO!" "THREE!" "FO..." ...so Landon only does it for three seconds at a time, which in his mind consitutes following the rules. Referee Chioda doesn't seem to agree and warns the innocence pleading Landon. COLE He hasn't changed, has he? PRL Nope, he's still the same sorry cheating sumbitch he used to be. Same stupid haircut too. As Cortez tries to rub some feeling back into his shoulder, Maddix lines him up. A forearm under the jaw catches Cortez napping. As does a second. He soon wakes up after the third strike though, lashing out with a hard kick which catches Landon right in his ribs and sends him sprawling to the ground! "YYEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH!" Landon dusts himself off and gets right back up, pounding away on the injured shoulder with right hands to fend Cortez off. A hard slap to the face proves a mistake. But when Cortez storms towards him Landon peppers the shoulder with fists again until Cortez is subdued again. Down to one knee goes Cortez and Landon quickly steps forward... *SMACK!* *SMACK!* *SMACK!* *SMACK!* ...and strikes Cortez in the face with four quick Kawada kicks! PRL Cortez better suck it up and quick and I don't mean in that way Cole so settle down and think about baseball or something. I'm talking gutcheck. Cortez hasn't got his fancy piledriver, boo-hoo. Find something else and kick this arrogant jabroni's ass already! If he needs any more motivation than what he's got, he ain't gonna be a threat to Tha Puerto Rican's title reign, trust me. COLE (sighs) ...manly forearms... PRL WHAT!? COLE What? I... I didn't say anything, I... PRL (points to eyes) Tell it right to the camera, buddy. With Cortez dis-orientated for a second, Landon sets him up and hits a vertical suplex. Hitting the ropes, Landon then leaps up to bring all his two hundred, eight pounds down across Cortez's chest with a double stomp... and bottoms right out into a back senton for good measure. A moment of checking the ribs and Landon then reaches back to hook a leg... 1... 2... No! Armbar applied by Maddix and he brings Cortez back up by it. COLE Landon not usually known for his submission wrestling, per-se. Staying on the arm though. PRL An armbar like that ain't gonna cut it though and he knows that. He's just buying time. Landon keeps Cortez under control for a few seconds, then sends him off with an irish whip. Up goes Landon, on point with a spinning back elbow on the rebound. So pleased with it is Landon that he walks over to a corner and leans in the turnbuckles, taking in a mental picture of the moment for safe keeping. Cortez begins to get to his feet as Landon makes a move, so he stays in the corner, going up to the middle rope. The Urban Legend climbs to his feet and walks right into a Front Missile Dropkick from the 2nd floor, connecting on the right shoulder, making a cover... 1... 2... Kickout! Pulling Cortez up again, La Cucaracha backs him up against the ropes and strikes with another forearm. *SLAP!* "WHOOOOOOOO!" He then lays in with a knifedge, with not quite the decible level that you get when chopping Landon in response. No matter. Landon wrings out the arm and sends Cortez off with another whip. Maddix then takes a quick glance to PRL, telling him to "watch this" as he goes up with a Dropsau... CAUGHT! Cortez catches hold of Maddix and gets him in a standing headscissors, to the consternation of Megan! COLE He can't do what he's thinking of doing! So, he doesn't. After realising a Riot Act is out of the question, Cortez instead picks Landon up for a powerbomb. The arm tweaks though and he loses Landon in mid-air, Landon floating over the back and into a sunset flip... 1... ...no, Cortez rolls through... *SMACK!* ...AND JUST SLAMS THE FLAT OF HIS BOOT INTO LANDON'S FACE!!!! "YYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" PRL Now that's what I wanna see! About damn time! With Maddix splayed out on the canvas, Cortez drops down and hooks a leg... 1... 2... NO!! COLE Only a two count, Cortez less than a count away from his freedom! PRL What a touching story, blahblah... Michael Cole, all that matters and should matter is the OAOAST Championship. Plain and simple. Anyone who spends their life stuck following somebody else doesn't deserve my attention, and will never gonna be World Champion, for the very fact that he got there in the first place and he's not got the balls to get out and stand on his own two feet. COLE What about The Lightning Crew? PRL Yeah. How many of my title shots did I hand down to Mr. Boricua again? COLE Touché. PRL Damn right touché. Now call the match and stop bringing up things that aren't important anymore. That being The Former Lightning Crew. Still clutching his right arm, Cortez measures Maddix to his feet and delivers a hard kick to the stomach that lifts Landon off his feet. Another kick connects. And a third. And a fourth, finally knocking Landon off his feet. Right back up he tries to go back to begging off, but Cortez is on him with an irish whip. Underneath a clothesline goes Landon, coming back off the ropes and flying in with a flying forearm... but gets 'caught' and quickly dropped across a knee as Todd can't hold onto him with one bad arm. With Landon doubled over, Todd quickly follows up with a Russian Legsweep. He rolls right through the landing and jumps up, looking for a legdrop... MISSED! Out of the way rolls Landon, catching Cortez on his way back up. He throws the arm up over his for the Complete Shot... but a twist of the hips and a judo throw counters that! A little shocked by the takedown, Landon walks right back up and into a Roundhouse Kick... NO, DUCKED! PRL That's what happens when you know an opponent like these two do. You get to this point and you can't do shit to 'em because they know what's coming. COLE ...well put. Running Cortez into the ropes, Landon pulls him down in an O'Connor Roll... 1... 2... Kickout by Cortez, sending Landon forward into the ropes. He goes up and over Cortez, building up some speed. Off the far ropes, Landon then catches Todd around the head with his left arm, swinging himself around the back and bringing him down from the right side with an inverted bulldog! COLE There's that move again! PRL Cover him already you jackass! PRL doesn't seem to appreciate the moment's pause to celebrate from Landon, before he finally hooks a leg... 1... 2... Kickout! PRL Ah, what a jackass! You hit some crazy move like that and the first thing in your mind is 'what does my hair look like?', 'are the people looking at me?'. Take that crap to the Women's Division! Flicking the hair from his eyes, 'the signal' is given by Landon. It's time to go to sleep. Cortez picks himself back up to find his 'boss' waiting on him, delivering a boot to the gut and taking him up into the fireman's carry... ...but Cortez slips down the back, uses a handful of hair to pull Landon's head back AND KICKS HIM IN THE TEETH WITH A HIGH ROUNDHOUSE!!! "YYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" COLE That could be the knockout!! Megan holds her head in her hands, while Cortez cradles his right arm in his left. PRL Get on him! Forget about your arm, cover! Eventually Cortez is able to and grabs the near leg... 1... 2... NO, SHOULDER UP!! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" COLE At the last seco... PRL Gimme a break over here! Are these two even trying to win this, because from where I'm sitting it's pretty debatable. COLE Well PR... PRL Hell, whoever wins or whatever I end up having to go through at School's Out, these two better take the rods outta their asses because so far they haven't shown me they've got what it takes to dethrone Tha Puerto Rican, that's for damn sure! COLE Settle down there Champ. PRL I'm just amped up, Michael! I'm sick of sitting here, I wanna be in there right now, because you and I both know if I was I'd lay the smackdown on these two in a fatman's heartbeat and beat 'em both! Both men slowly get back to their feet and Cortez looks to be the more alert, but without his go-to move he seems to be thinking about what to do next. Oh the other hand Maddix barely seems to be thinking after that kick to the face. Stumbling around, he walks right towards Cortez. Thinking quick, he goozles Maddix around the throat, gripping the tights and looking for the Urban Assau... NO! The arm won't grip and he can't get Maddix up! Todd changes arms and goozles with the left. But by then the element of surprise is gone and Landon is able to stun Todd with a back elbow, then hook the head and deliver the LANDON EYE! COLE Is that going to be enough to send Landon to School's Out? Landon on top... 1... 2... Kickout! "YYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!" Landon sits up and notices the taste of blood on his tongue, realising that his bottom lip has been split open from the roundhouse kick. He looks almost offended and stomps back to his feet, pouting a little as he waves Cortez back up. PRL Oh, now you've done it. Don't tug on Superman's cape and don't mess up Landon's pretty face. Climbing to his feet, Cortez has his back turned to Landon who is stalking behind him, just waiting for the opening. Slowly Todd turns and he walks into a boot, Landon going up and looking for the CUCARACHA CUTTE... NO! Cortez shoves him off! Keeping his feet on landing Landon comes off the ropes... *SMACK!* ...AND GETS LAUNCHED BACK THROUGH WITH A SUPERKICK!! COLE How's your lips!? Right PR? PRL I don't use that one. COLE Oh, sorry. I just thought, 'cause... PRL Shut the hell up. COLE yessir. With Landon shaken up at ringside, Cortez runs the ring and WIPES HIM OUT WITH A SURPRISE TOPÉ!!! "YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" PRL WOAH! Take it easy round the Champ guys. Both Cortez and Maddix end up helping each other up, in a way, if you can call grabbing each other by the hair and/or ears and climbing to your feet 'helping'. The two reach their feet and Cortez quickly turns Landon around, SLAMMING him face-first into the announce table! PRL Damnit I said take it easy! Almost spilled my Fresca... Still holding onto Landon by the hair, Cortez gets ready to slam him in again only for referee Chioda to leave the ring and try to convince the two to get back inside. The momentary distraction allows Landon to pick up a jug of water off the table though, taking a quick swig... ...and *SPEWING* it all over [i]THA PUERTO RICAN[/i] thanks to a knee to the gut from Cortez!! PRL Son of a bit-*THUD* PRL is left covered in 'recycled' water and off headset, stood up with a look of fury towards Landon who gets thrown back into the ring. In follows Cortez and The Urban Legend spins Landon around as he gets back up, dropping him with a quick Crotch-Droppah! Off the ropes, Cortez builds up some steam... ...and gets tripped by Megan! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Cortez angrily turns to his former girlfriend... ...JUST AS PRL JUMPS INTO THE RING AND STARTS UNLOADING RIGHT HANDS ON LANDON!!!! "YYYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" *DINGDINGDING!* COLE The World Champion has lost it! PRL lays into Landon, stopping only to spit the hand before laying Landon out with the final punch! Out of the ring bails Landon with PRL hot, tearing off his custom made shirt and waving Maddix back inside. But it's Todd Cortez the World Champion might have to contend with... BUFFER Ladies and gentlemen, the referee has stopped this match... and, his official decision, your winner, as a result of a disqualification... LANDON... COLE NO! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" BUFFER ..."LA CUCARACHA"... MMMAAAAAAAAAAADDIIIIIIIXXXXXXXXXXX!!!! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Landon breaks into the biggest grin you'll ever see sat on the floor, wiping the blood from his mouth as he looks up into the ring. Realising what he's just done, PRL curses to himself... before getting spun around by Todd Cortez, who is understandably furious! COLE Cortez has been disqualified, thanks to PRL! And that means that Landon Maddix is going to School's Out... it means Cortez is still in Cucaracha Internacional... and it means that the Riot Act Plus is still banned! What a sickener! Eye to eye go Cortez and PRL with the World Champion trying to explain himself but Cortez not wanting to hear it. Cortez obviously has his own theories and gets in PR's face... ...but before anything can happen, Landon Maddix sneaks back in and pulls PRL away, hoisting him up AND NAILING HIM WITH THE GO 2 SLEEP!!!! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" COLE Oh come on now! Maddix puts the boots to the World Champ, while Cortez goes to make a move towards him but is quickly intercepted by Megan who is quick to remind him that the match is over and touching Landon wouldn't be best advised. Cursing under his breath, Cortez storms off and heads up the aisle, leaving Landon stomping away in the ring! COLE By hook and most certainly by crook, Landon Maddix has weaseled his way into the main-event of School's Out. And now, he's beaten down the World Champion! Somehow, someway, Landon Maddix is back in the World Title hunt! After a final kick to the back of the head, Landon stops to "smell the electricity" over the fallen frame of Tha Puerto Rican. With the same grin plastered on his face, he then looks up at Cortez heading through the curtain, before standing over PRL with arms raised as we FADE OUT from Milan!

Brand new at [b]OAOAST.com[/b] [SIZE=4][COLOR=blue][b]ANGLEMANIA VII~![/b][/COLOR][/SIZE] on 2-disc DVD! [IMG=http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii59/KingCucaracha/AMdvd.jpg] [b]Featuring:[/b] The Entire Show, in full, absolutely uncut! [b]Plus:[/b] [list] [*][b]Bonus Audio Commentary Track[/b]- [i]Featuring Melody Nerdly, Leon Rodez and Josh Matthews plus special guests[/i] [*][b]Alternate Commentary Track[/b]- [i]Tha Puerto Rican joins Josh Matthews to call the main-event[/i] [*][b]The Mania Of AngleMania Vignette[/b] [*][b]AngleMania Memories of the OAOAST Superstars[/b] [*][b]Pre Show Interviews[/b] [i]w/The Enterprise, Internationally Known, Love Generation, Team Heyross, The Heavenly Rockers, Alfdogg, Landon Maddix, Jade Rodez, Mackenzie DeCenzo, Vinny Valentine, Stephen Joseph Popick and Kanye West![/i] [*][b]Post Match Interviews[/b] [i]w/ALL the winners and a lot of the losers too![/i] [*][b]The AngleMania VII press conference[/b] [*][b]Hype Videos for Landon/Cortez, Bo/Zack, Krista/Alix, PRL/Popick[/b] [*][b]AngleMania Music Video[/b] [*][b]Alix Maria Spezia, Californication Music Video[/b] [*][b]Celebrity Roll Call: The Stars' Thoughts On Krista vs. Alix[/b] [*][b]Krista Isadora Duncan On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame[/b] [*][b]Special OAOAST.com Webchat With Zack Malibu[/b] [*][b]The Beverly Hills Blonds Show Us Their L.A.[/b] [*][b]The AngleMania Afterparty with Maggie Nerdly and Josh Matthews from OAOAST.com[/b] [*][b]Tha Puerto Rican's Road To The Gold Retrospective[/b] [*][b]Torneo Cibernetico III[/b]- [i](HeldDOWN~!, 3/13)[/i] [*][b]PRL Runs The Gauntlet[/b]- [i](HeldDOWN~!, 3/27)[/i] [*][b]The Fallout From Bohemoth vs. Zack[/b]- [i](HeldDOWN~!, 4/4)[/i] [/list] [b]ORDER NOW AND GET A FREE VINNY VALENTINE SHIRT! VINNY SAYS: DISCO~![/b] [color=blue]OAOAST Productions, Proudly Presents...[/color] [color=purple][size=6]#~~THE LOVE SHACK~~#[/size][/color] And after that commercial, we head back to the ring where the set of The Love Shack has been hastily set up. Adorning the usual desk and seats are some decorations to give the show a little more of an Italian feel. Italian flags. A 'marble' statuette pillar. An Italian soccer jersey. And a pizza? Why, yes, that would be a pizza box open on the desk and a slice in the hand of Leon Rodez as he waves to the crowd. Luckily, he's a likeable kinda guy, so what could be misconstrued as a cultural cliché is instead construed as 'some guy eating pizza'. LEON Bonjorno! "YYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" LEON Having misplaced my Italian phrase book, I'll leave it at that. But I have to say, it's a honour to be here in Milan for quite possibly the first televised OAOAST event here ever and most certainly the first televised Love Shack here ever! So while I finish up eating this delicious Hawaiian... not the first time I've said that in my life... allow me to give you all a little reminder of what happened when my 'rival' show, The House Of Worship, played host to the Lone Star Gunslingers. Roll V.T! [QUOTE=HOUSE OF WORSHIP, APRIL 10TH] BARON Jock’s like my little brother, man. JOCK Little brother? I’m a grown man. BARON I know you are, bro. I’m just saying how you, me and Melody view each other as family. JOCK Yeah, but your little brother?! It certainly explains a lot though. The last few weeks you’ve been “protecting” me… it was keep me in your shadow because little brother Jock was beginning to outshine big brother. Is that it? BARON That’s the farthest thing from the truth, man. You were hurt. Everyone in this company knows you’ve got a bright future. I couldn’t let you risk that by competing in meaningless match. JOCK Jesus, Baron, your problems are my problems but my problems aren’t yours? I mean, you got us into war with the Heavenly Rockers -- a war YOU lost -- and I was there fighting with you to the bitter end. Yet when I get into a firefight with the Enterprise it’s meaningless? MELODY Jock, please. JOCK Here we go again. Melody Nerdly sticking her nose in other people’s business. You want meaningless. Look no further than Miss Melody for meaningless. MELODY :O Abdullah nods approvingly and quite ecstatically. JOCK You know what? Hindsight being 20/20, I regret apologizing for spitting at you at AngleMania. I’m sorry, but your half brother is right… you are a nuisance. COLE I can’t believe what I’m hearing. BARON Jock, listen to yourself, man. You're being a dick. JOCK You got it wrong, big man. I’m doing something I should’ve done a long time ago. BANDIT KICK levels Baron Windels. Restrained by Abdullah, Melody watches as Jock taunts her and Baron, and then HURLS BARON THROUGH THE STAINED GLASS WINDOW~!! "OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Melody rushes to Baron’s side after being released, the lone Gunslinger bleed profusely. As EMTs and OAOAST officials arrive on the scene Jock grabs the HOW mic. JOCK Now that’s being a dick.[/QUOTE] Back to live footage we go. LEON (still chewing the pizza) It's... hard for me to watch... man, this is good. Mmm. Uh, anyway. It's hard for me to watch that footage, being so close to the situation and I know it's also been hard for Melody Nerdly. She's been having a harder time than most now that her Gunslingers are no more. But luckily, I've managed to convince her that sharing is caring and she's kindly agreed to share her thought with me tonight. So, please make her feel especially welcome, my guest, the top manager in the OAOAST as voted by the good people of the world... MELODY NERDLY! "YYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!" "Thriller" by Fallout Boy hits, formerly the music of the Lone Star Gunslingers but now just the music of a sole, lone Miss Melody. Looking a little depressed even now Melody sadly makes her way out and forces a smile to greet the cheers of the fans. Leon applauds from the ring in a further effort to cheer her up, without much luck. COLE I tell you Coach, it's so sad to see Melody like this. A young lady who is always so full of life and exuberance whenever we see her backstage, she didn't deserve any of this. COACH Hey, you get in bed with someone and they enter your world. COLE But she didn't 'get in bed' with the Gunslingers. COACH Maybe she should have done. COLE Oh come on now Coach! Climbing the ring steps, Melody enters the ring with Leon holding the ropes for her. Even his smile doesn't seem to cheer her up too much as he shows her to her seat. LEON Melody, thanks for joining us. And I think I speak for everybody watching when I say it's great to see you back on OAOAST television again. *APPLAUSE* LEON Now, I know this is all still very raw emotionally and if I overstep the mark or we start delving too deep, just say so. But, I think all your fans would like to know how you're doing. MELODY Well I'm... I'm doing better. LEON That's good to hear. You know, I've spent a lot of time in recent months with yourself, Jock and Baron amongst others and I guess I'm been privy to a lot that the fans haven't seen backstage. Your personal lives. But, this has come as a total bolt out of the blue. There were never any signs, to me at least, that things were so bad between Jock and Baron. But, you were obviously closest to them both. Did you see this coming, at all? MELODY No. I mean, things were kinda tense the past few weeks. But... not this. I just figured they were going through some differences. Nothing major. We actually sat down before AngleMania and we talked things out. Jock had some issues. Baron had some issues. We talked, we cleared the air, we played some Madden '08 for a while. And I figured everything was vegan kosher again. But... I guess not. Melody hangs her head a little and Leon quickly jumps in. LEON Well, it's safe to say you're the John Madden of the OAOAST. MELODY You're not flaming me, are you? LEON No no. I meant... well, you know the right plays... tactically. I don't know. The point is, you're a great manager and you helped the Lone Star Gunslingers to rise the ranks and make it to the top of the tag team division. Do you think maybe they became a victim of their own success? Melody sits and thinks about it for a second... ...which is when JOCK MULLIGAN'S theme music hits!! COLE Oh no. Poor Melody's eyes bulge and Leon is quickly out from behind his desk, ready and waiting as Mr. Dick strides out. Wearing a pair of jeans that ride dangerously low down his waist and looking like he's just stepped straight out of the shower otherwise, Jock walks out with a scowl on his face and enters the ring. Melody cowers a little until Leon steps between her and her former charge. LEON I don't know what in the hell you thi... JOCK Clam up, okay? LEON Incase you hadn't noticed, this is MY show. Jock sneers, turning his back on Leon. JOCK You know, it's so easy to paint a picture of somebody when you're only hearing one side of the story. You wanna know the real deal? You come to the real deal. And that'd be me. See, I had to come out here before I vomited. This little love-in, sharing your feelings? Save it for MSN, okay? That crap didn't cut it with me during that little 'meeting' you've been crying about and it ain't cutting it with Mr. Dick now neither. Now... LEON Far be it from me to repeat myself, but this is MY show, okay? And seeing as you're out here, I've got a few questions. So maybe you'd like to take a seat? JOCK I'd rather stand. LEON Good, because you're so lathered up in baby oil you'd probably slide flat on your ass anyway. Sneering again, Jock wipes his chest down and admires his muscularity. LEON Now, questions, questions. The obvious question, I suppose, would be "why?" But we've heard your warped version of events already, haven't we? You say that you're the 'superstar'. How Baron was holding you back, how Melody was holding you back, this, that. I think the better question is... did The Enterprise really do THAT much damage to you? You've obviously gotten hit too hard in that big Texan head of yours and you've become a totally different person to the Jock Mulligan I know. See, the Jock Mulligan I know was a gentleman. The Jock Mulligan I know was a good person. Not some self obssessed, narccissictic high-school jock, if you'll pardon the pun, who insists on being the self-proclaimed 'Dick' of the OAOAST... JOCK [i]Mr.[/i] Dick, actually. LEON And, that's something you're proud of? JOCK You're damn right I am. Listen Leon, I'm gonna say this to you real nice since as you said we go back a little way. I used to be that guy. But the Jock Mulligan you knew is GONE. That Jock Mulligan is gone. That Jock Mulligan was a pussy... (looks at Melody) ...and everybody knows, if you want success in this world, dicks can get places that pussies don't. That where I come in. I'm not just a dick, I'm Mr. Dick now. And I'm heading for success in this world, the success that I deserve to have! Jock stops and raises his arms in the air, to predictable boos and a look of utter disgust from Melody. LEON Is that so? JOCK That's so. And deep down you know I'm right, Rodez. But I'm out here to set the story straight, so let's set it already. Okay? See, I said some things that I really didn't mean... Jock turns to Melody. JOCK ...and one of them was to you. Apparantly, I said that you weren't good for anything. Must have been in the heat of the moment. Because, now that I think about it, you are good for something... and that's opening your legs! Isn't that right, Leon!? MELODY :O COLE Give me a break! What a reprehensible thing to say! JOCK Yeah, your management technique is great, huh. You've got two great management techniqu... LEON And NOW we get to the problem! Forget all this talk of success and realisations people, because it strikes me now that maybe, just maybe, Jock Mulligan's frustrations are a little... 'closer to home'. The fact you'd criticise Melody is disgusting to me. But, if she DID open her legs up, it sure as hell wasn't for you, was it Jock? That hits a nerve with Mr. Dick. LEON You know, I think I speak for everybody when I say I've heard enough out of you Jock. So, I suggest you do us all a favour, turn tail, go dry yourself off for crying out loud and do whatever it is 'Mr. Dick' does of a night. Because, if you want to turn this into a dick-waving contest with Silky Smooth, I promise you it will not end well for you! COLE You tell him, Leon! Not appreciating being stood up to, Mr. Dick points a finger in Leon's face before turning and leavi... NO, Jock fakes Leon out and runs at him... BUT LEON CUTS HIM OFF WITH A SPEAR!!! "YYYEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" COLE HERE WE GO!! Leon and Jock go at it on the mat, exchanging lefts and rights with Leon on top. Still clearly torn Melody looks on for a few seconds, before deciding she should step in and trying to pull Leon off of Jock. But before she can do so, suddenly somebody slides into the ring and pulls her off of Leon. Melody is shocked and pretty soon she's fighting for breath, as the muscular woman who's slid in holds her in a rear choke, keeping her subdued. Leon finally notices Melody is trouble and tries to get over and help her... ...BUT JOCK LAYS HIM OUT WITH A CLOTHESLINE TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD!!! COLE Who the hell is that woman!? Where did she even come from!? COACH If you don't know that by now, you're in more trouble than I thought Michael. The hysterical Melody is held back and forced to watch as Jock stomps him down until he's no longer moving. Jock turns over the seats onto his fallen body, then lays another boot to the back of the head. Jock then walks over to the desk, picking up what's left of Leon's pizza. He takes a slice, thinking about taking a bite... but doesn't want to ruin his physique with junk food, so instead SMUSHES THE PIZZA INTO THE FACE OF MELODY!!! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" COLE You dirty motherfu... COACH HEYHEY! Seeing this gives Leon a small burst of adrenaline, but too small to do anything. Jock kicks him back into grogginess before pulling him to his feet. The big Texan hoists Leon up onto his shoulders and sets him up, throwing him up in the air and bringing him down across both knees, as he did to Moracca earlier! COLE This is reprehensible! With Leon down and hurting, Jock calls the powerful woman off of Melody and she throws her to the canvas. Jock and the mysterious woman then leave, with Jock taking a look back in pride at what he's done. "LE - ON!" "LE - ON!" "LE - ON!" "LE - ON!" Tears streaming down her cheeks, Melody crawls over to Leon with cheese and tomato puree still on stuck on her face and tries to check he's okay, taking a look back at Jock who just laughs at her. COLE Somehow, Jock Mulligan gets worse by the week. I really don't know what to say. He just makes me sick!

Okay, we're looking at the 14th and the 28th for the next couple of shows, there or there abouts. Let us know if you're available and if you're not, either in here or by PM or whatever other means you might feel like. Any booking requests too. Help me to help you.

Did you ever see Kevin Thorn and Ariel's ECW take on the vampire gimmick and if so, what did you think of it? Was there ever any talk or suggestion of you being involved with it? What were your thoughts on your short time in TNA?

We're just getting Season 2 over here... OH SHIT I MISSED IT! Ah! Anyway, main-event was ridiculously close. I've just about come to a decision, which may or may not be the right one and is probably the closest I'm going to get without obsessing over it. Either way, great effort from both, especially with the promo-battle taken into account. So big kudos to both. [/finishes covering tracks]

It's all leading to Vince coming back to restore some control. It has to be, surely?

"Here's something for you bloody tossers to say 'What' about!" would have been the perfect ending. Also, everyone who voted for Punk over Jericho in that poll thingy needs to go back and watch Backlash and watch how Jericho sold the seeds of doubt over Michaels so subtely and so well. I'll admit I wasn't sure why they stuck him in with the HBK/Batista feud in the first place, but this new shit-stirrer role of his is perfect. The SaveUs disappointment is all but forgotten.

Okay, extensions are ongoing for this show, so we hope to have the first card up Wednesday (shit, that's today isn't it, man how time flies)/Thursday-ish. No guarantees on that score. Thanks for letting us know so far to those that have, plenty of time for others to do so...

As I said in the Backlash thread, I'm hoping Jericho calls Michaels out on a possible Flair esque injury-fakery from last night. And I'm all for HHH/Regal.

Agreed. I thought Coach got a raw deal all around, but Foley was a real plus point on the show. Considering it was his first go around... well, second, I suppose... I thought he did a damn good job. The only slight problem was his timing at points, where he'd start a long analysis just as a big move was about to happen and had to cut himself off. But that should improve with time. He definately impressed me overall and I hope it works out long term. I also really liked the ending to HBK/Batista, if it's going where I think it's going. That being, Michaels pulling a page out of Flair's book with a fake knee injury, Jericho calls him out on it (his facial expressions seemed to say he wasn't sure if he was buying that Michaels was really injured... and, really, why else would Jericho have been ref if not for that?), Batista is pissed, build to rematch.

*ahem* #1 Contendership Issue Match Landon Maddix vs. Todd Cortez Women's Title Maggie Nerdly vs. Mackenzie DeCenzo and a Love Shack

BUFFER Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall... and it is the Final of the School's Out, European Vacation #1 Contendership Tournament! .:CUE: "Chelsea Dagger", The Fratellis:. The lights alternate between red, white and blue through the intro, before the doors part and out marches the growling figure of Nathaniel Black. Black raises his arms in the air, shouting his mouth off to the fans on his way to the ring. Of course, being in Scotland, Black is even more unpopular than usual which means he's shouting his mouth off even more than usual. BUFFER Introducing first, from London, England! Weighing in at two hundred and thirty eight pounds... he represents Cucaracha Internacional and is one third of the OAOAST 6-Man Tag Team Champions of the World... NNAAAATTHHAAANNIIIIEEEEELLLLLL... BBLLLLLLAAAAAAAAACCKK!!! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Black rounds the ring, barracked unmercilessly by the Scottish fans. Giving as good as he gets, Black flashes v-signs and up yours gestures in unprecedented numbers on his way around the ring before he marches up the ring steps. Taking off his jacket, Black decides to get on referee Mike Chioda's case as well, for reasons only known to him I suppose. COACH What's with the boos? I thought Black was European? COLE Black's English. You don't know much about international history, do you? COACH I know what I know. With the crowd still giving him a rowdy reception, Black climbs the turnbuckles and raises his arms in the air defiantly. COLE Black defeated Jamie O'Hara and The Mad Cappa to make it to this final, in two tough, hard-fought contests. And he'll be in for a smashmouth fight again tonight no doubt. COACH It's almost as if Nat's a one-man street trash cleaning machine. And Todd Cortez is next on the collection route. The voice of Nate Dogg is heard shouting "Oh No" over the PA system and suddenly Black leaves the fans and turns to the aisle. "Oh No" by Mos Def, Nate Dogg and Pharoah Monche accompanies a burst pyro in the aisle and the cheers of the crowd, as Todd Cortez steps through the curtains and into the shower of sparkles left behind. BUFFER And introducing his opponent! Hailing from Hollywood Boulevard! He weighs two hundred and twenty six pounds... also representing Cucaracha Internacional... "THE URBAN LEGEND"... TTOOOOOOOOOOOOODD... CCOOOOORRRRRRRTTEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZ!!! "YYYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" Cortez climbs into the ring and already Black is in his face, but The Urban Legend shrugs him off and scales the turnbuckles. COLE Cortez defeated Spanish Fly in the first round and Leon Rodez last week in the semi-finals, both with the Riot Act Plus. You have to think Black will have worked long and hard on how to counter that tonight, but will it be enough? The two stable-'mates' come face to face in the centre of the ring, staring each other down as referee Chioda goes over the rules for this important match. Neither competitor takes his eye off the other for a second. Cortez, stoic. Black with a confident look on his face. Chioda finishes his instructions and Black says a few last words to Cortez as the bell sounds. *DINGDINGDING!* Still the two stay locked in a staredown with Black still doing all the talking. After a few seconds of it he then shoves Cortez in the chest! Cortez shoves Black right back though and now, it's on. "GO BACK TO EN - GLAND!" *clap-clap clap-clap-clap* "GO BACK TO EN - GLAND!" *clap-clap clap-clap-clap* Black is momentarily distracted by the crowd and Cortez makes him pay for it by rapping him in the back of the knee with a kick. Refocused, Black lays into Cortez with an elbow strike to the chest. And another, before Cortez fires off another kick to the knee... and another one. A third kick takes Black's feet out from underneath him, but Black surprises Cortez with a drop toehold from his prone position and mounts the back of The Urban Legend. Cortez covers his head with his forearms to fend off some crossfaces. So Black hooks on a sleeper hold instead. Getting out from underneath Black, Todd climbs to his feet and backs Black up into a corner for a break. Or, at least, what should be a break, but the Englishman refuses to let go of the hold. So Cortez takes matters into his own hands, elbowing Black in the gut until he's freed and then firing him into the opposite corner with an irish whip. Getting his foot up on the middle turnbuckle, Black blocks the collision in the corner, catching Cortez charging in with a back elbow to the jaw and taking him down with a schoolboy... 1... 2... No! Catching Cortez on one knee Black locks in a front facelock to maintain control. COLE Both of these men are hard hitters and they're both very capable on the mat. Bound to be a very competitive match from the get-go. Cortez gets to his feet but is still trapped in the facelock, getting a knee up into the face from Black. And another one. Hooking the arm over, Black then takes a quick glance behind him and goes to suplex Cortez into the turnbuckles! Cortez goes deadweight and blocks though. And blocks again. After a couple of jabs to the ribs, Cortez then reverses and suplexes Black, floating over... 1... 2... Quick kickout. As soon as he's out of the pin, Black grabs hold of the wrist and manages to get a hammerlock on as the two Cucaracha Internacional members get to their feet. Cortez reaches back for the head, pushing up and taking the Englishman over with a snapmare. Rolling through to his feet, Black charges. A sidestep from Cortez sees Black go into the turnbuckles though, staggering out into a schoolboy... 1... 2... No! Both men back up... and a double thrust to the throat leaves Cortez hurting. "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" COACH Ease up ref, it was an open hand. COLE Yeah, two of them, right to the throat! Black blows off the warnings from referee Chioda as he goes back after Cortez. Pulling him up, he lays in with a forearm that sends Cortez staggering backwards into the turnbuckles behind him. Black pulls him right back out and into a short Lariat, hooking up a leg... 1... 2... No! Rear chinlock applied by Black. COLE We've seen Black showing much more aggression and being more physical during the course of this tournament, but here we see, slowing down the pace, applying a hold. Basic wrestling, which is where Black is a step ahead of most with that European background. With Cortez bent over, Black pulls back the left arm and applies a seated abnominal stretch. Just for added discomfort he balls up his fist and grinds it against the ribs while Chioda asks Cortez if he wants to give up. Cortez is far from done yet though and works his other arm free, finding it easier to turn and fight to his feet this way. A shoulder to the gut stops him though. Black then jabs Cortez in the chest with a headbutt before applying another front facelock. "COR - TEZ!" "COR - TEZ!" "COR - TEZ!" "COR - TEZ!" COLE And this Glasgow crowd, getting behind The Urban Legend and firmly against the 'Southerner' from below the border. COACH Scotland must be one of the few places in the world where the south and below the border are more welcoming places. Wearing down Cortez with the facelock, Black drags him into the centre of the ring. Butterflying the arms, he then takes him over with a suplex and looks for the pin... 1... 2... Kickout. Black applies a keylock on the arm, but Cortez quickly rolls out of it and to his feet... *SLAP!* "WHOOOOOOOO!" ...where he greets Black with a knifedge chop! *SLAP!* "WHOOOOOOOO!" ...and another! Black cuts off the offence with a quick knee to the gut, sending Cortez off into the ropes. An attempted headbutt to the chest doesn't pay though, as Cortez floats over top, pulling Black down with a sunset flip... 1... 2... No! Black charges as he gets to his feet... but he runs into the path of a rolling back kick to the stomach! COLE There's the martial arts background of Cortez. With a sweep of the legs, Cortez takes Black down and quickly lands with a Standing Moonsault... 1... 2... Kickout. Coming off the ropes, Cortez swings... and misses with a clothesline. Going behind on The Urban Legend, Black shoves Cortez sternum first into the turnbuckles. Cortez staggers backwards into a forearm to the kidney area, then gets taken up and over with a back suplex. COACH They don't teach you that in the class of whatever generic martial art Cortez is trained in though! Off the ropes, Black gets some nice height on a kneedrop and presses a forearm against Cortez's jawbone as he makes the lateral press... 1... 2... No! Black shoots a glare to the referee, then clubs Cortez in the chest to let out his frustration. COACH I hope you were paying attention just then Chioda. That could be you, real quick. Think on. "BLACK SUCKS!" "BLACK SUCKS!" "BLACK SUCKS!" "BLACK SUCKS!" Frustration is now aimed at the crowd as Black leans over the ropes, exchanging some heated words with people in the third and fourth rows who are on their feet giving him the most abuse. COLE I'm sure somewhere Landon Maddix is watching on. And no prizes for guessing which one of his 'followers' he's cheering on. COACH The good one? COLE Well, the obedient one. Sitting Cortez up, Black dis-orientates him with a double ear-clap from behind. Black then comes off the ropes in front and throws out his boot just looking to take his head off with a kick. Cortez drops backwards and clear of it however, quickly getting back to his feet and charging... into a forearm to the chest, then a European uppercut, pulling Cortez in and into another back suple... NO, Cortez floats over in mid-air and lands on top... 1... 2... Kickout. Cortez reads a sidestep and jumps to the middle rope, soaring back... and into a JUMPING European uppercut that plucks him right out of the air! Cover... 1... 2... NO! COLE Only two, Cortez got caught right there. Great presence of mind from Black to improvise with the uppercut. Looking to regain control of the pace, Black goes back to the seated abdominal stretch on The Urban Legend. Cortez is close enough to the ropes and reaches out a foot looking to place it on the bottom rope. He can't quite reach though, not in time anyway as Black swats the foot away and drags Cortez out an inch or two. Cortez goes for the ropes with a foot again though, so the Englishman changes tact and leans back, stacking him up on his shoulders... 1... 2... NO! Black keeps control of an arm and drags Cortez up, wringing the arm and whipping him across the ring. Backing off the opposite set of ropes, up goes Black with a high knee to catch Cortez on the rebound, making a quick cover... 1... 2... Two again! BLACK You gotta be bloody kiddin' me! "COR - TEZ!" "COR - TEZ!" "COR - TEZ!" "COR - TEZ!" With the crowd really starting to get to him now Black marches back to his feet and stalks after the referee, complaining about the count. Chioda doesn't back down and threatens to DQ Black, which is about the only thing saving him from the Brit's attentions. Black points a finger in his face before he turns to the crowd to throw some more threats around. COLE Hostile territory or not, Black really ought to be paying more attention to his opponent than he is to the crowd. All of this is just serving to give Todd time to recover. Once Black eventually gets done shouting his mouth off, he goes back after Cortez who has gotten back to his feet by this point. A forearm shot dazes Cortez, allowing Black to reel him in by the arm and take him to the canvas with a fireman's carry. Black looks to bar the arm from there. But Todd leans back and fires back with a kick... *SMACK!* ...that catches Black right in the side of the head!! "OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" COLE And that's what Black gets for his nonchalance towards his opponent! Both men are down now, Black seeing stars and hearing bells after that kick. Cortez takes the chance to get his own bearings back before at the count of '5', the two start to climb back to their feet. Shaking off the grogginess, Black grabs onto Cortez by the scruff of the neck and delivers a hard European uppercut. Cortez responds with a European uppercut of his own though. Right back comes Black, European uppercut. But Cortez comes back with another European uppercut. Neither man shows any signs of backing down, Black with a European, Cortez firing back a split second later. Trying to summon some extra strength, a loud shout growls out from Black's mouth as he fires off one, two, three European uppercuts... but Cortez climbs right back to his feet the moment he hits the mat! Cortez grabs the shocked Black, firing a European from the right, then one from the left. A kick to the back of the knee shakes Black's foundations and a round kick to the gut leaves him doubled over, allowing Cortez to pull him into a standing headsci... NO! Black picks the leg and takes Todd down, crossing over the legs and applying the Regal Stretch!! COACH Beautiful, beautiful! That is wrestling! COLE Black pulling a page from a fellow Englishman's book, looking to tap Cortez right here! Fighting to keep the arm out of the hold doesn't work and Cortez is trapped in the stretch to the despair of the fans. Referee Chioda asks Todd if he wants to give it up, a wag of the finger saying no just for now. But Black pulls back on the head and puts even more pressure on the shoulder! "COR - TEZ!" "COR - TEZ!" "COR - TEZ!" "COR - TEZ!" Still Cortez won't give in yet though and he tries to claw himself forward with the one free limb he has. Black pulls up on the hold a couple more times, yelling at Cortez to "bloody well tap already". Cortez grits his teeth and hangs in through the pain though, summoning up some extra energy before making another crawl. Despairingly Black pulls back again. But Cortez is determined and he reaches out with his right hand, unable to see where he's reaching... ...but FINDING THE BOTTOM ROPE!! "YYYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAA..." Black immediately breaks the hold and pulls Cortez back to his feet before he's barely had chance to relax from escaping the hold. Crossing the arms across the chest, he elevates The Urban Legend up... and sits out with the BRITTANIA BOMB!! COLE And the reprieve did not last long... 1... 2... NO!!! COLE ...BUT CORTEZ KICKS OUT! "YYYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!" Not believing it, Black stomps back up to his feet again. In a fit of rage he kicks the bottom rope and starts to go after referee Chioda, before thinking better of it. Instead, he turns back to Cortez and shouts at him to get back to his feet. Black loads up the line, as Todd uses the ropes to pull himself back up. COLE Could be a Lariat coming. Up to his feet, Cortez holds his left shoulder as he turns around. Coming in roaring, Black does a 360 and throws his BLACK LARIA... ...DUCKED! Black misses with the Lariat and walks right into Cortez, who picks the legs and drives Black down with a Crotch Droppah! Away hobbles Black nursing his nether regions, as Cortez comes out of the corner with a big SUPERKICK!! COACH AH! COLE A superkick! What better way to head to School's Out than that? Dragging himself over, Cortez drops on top of Black with the cover... 1... 2... KICKOUT! Cortez drags himself right back up and gives the dreaded signal! COLE He's going for it! Riot Act Plus, can he get the 238 pound Black up and over with it? Bending down to pick Black up, Cortez takes a headbutt to the breadbasket and we won't find out. Black then pulls himself up and lunges with a Lariat... *WHAM!* AND CONNECTS! COACH Oh, took his head off! Hook of the leg by Black... 1... 2... KICKOUT! "COR - TEZ!" "COR - TEZ!" "COR - TEZ!" "COR - TEZ!" Black leads Cor - tez back to his feet, growling under his breath as he does so. And after yelling something in the ear of his supposed 'team-mate', he rears back with another Laria... NO! Cortez ducks again, this time driving Black backwards on the back of his head with an STO! Rolling head over heels, Black ends up on his knees. Cortez pulls him up to his feet though, delivering a hard kick to the chest. Black rocks back off the ropes... ...and gets NAILED with a Roundhouse Kick to the side of the head! He's still up though... ...so Cortez NAILS him with a second Roundhouse Kick, catching him in the back of the head this time! Black wobbles but still stays up. He's too dazed to defend against being pulled into a standing headscissors however, Cortez taking a step away from the ropes... COLE LOOK OUT... *WHAM!* "YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!" BLACK GETS SPIKED ON HIS SPIKEY HEAD WITH THE RIOT ACT PLUS~!~1~!~1!!~!!! COLE HE GOT IT! Cover by Cortez... 1... 2... 3!!!! "YYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!" COLE Todd Cortez is going to School's Out!!! *DINGDINGDING!* Cortez rolls off of Black and punches a fist above himself, hand raised in victory by referee Chioda. Holding his neck, Black rolls groggily from the ring and to the floor, flat out on the outside and taunted unmercilessly by the Scottish crowd as Cortez's hand is raised again. BUFFER Your winner of the match... and, the winner of the number one contendership tournament, to face Tha Puerto Rican at School's Out 2008... "THE URBAN LEGEND"... TTOOOOOOODD... CCOOOOORRRRRRRTTEEEEEEEZZZZZ!!! "YYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!" COLE Another week, another Riot Act, another victory for Todd Cortez! And now he has the chance of a lifetime, to challenge for the OAOAST World Heavyweight Championship at School's Out! What an effort! The usually stoic and reserved Cortez works the crowd celebrating his victory, while Nathaniel Black now tries to get back into the ring on his wobbly legs. Referees head out from the back, having come out to help Nathaniel to the back but now forced to restrain him from getting into the ring instead as he tries to get retribution for the defeat. Cortez takes a glance out at him and raises a smile as Black points a finger threateningly his way. COACH This wasn't supposed to happen. The wrong man won, it was supposed to be Cucaracha Internacional's night... but not Todd Cortez's!! COLE But it is Todd Cortez's night and it's got nothing to do with Cucaracha Internacional, with Landon Maddix, with whoever. It's all about Todd Cortez! COACH No it's not, it'll never be about him! COLE Well, get use... COACH What the heck is this now!? Black continues to be restrained by the referees, as right past him down the aisle heads the World Champion himself, THA PUERTO RICAN!! "YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!" Dressed in his finest championship apparrel, PRL slides into the ring and motions for the referees to get rid of Black, which is easier said than done. PRL then turns and comes face to face with Cortez. A wry smile forms on the Champion's lips as he looks at Cortez, ready for whatever fight may come... and totally misjudging PR, as he gives Cortez a round of applause. COLE It looks like the Champ has his own congratulations, for his new number one contender. PR continues the applause until Cortez seems to ease up, then takes a step closer. A few words not caught by the microphones are laid out by the Champ, seemingly pretty amicable as he then extends a hand in respect. Cortez eyes it up for a second or two, maybe a little wary of the new PRL. But, after thinking about it, he shakes... ...which is when "Megalomaniac" hits! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" COLE Oh, come on! Stepping out from the entrance with a face like thunder, Maddix scowls into the ring. His first action is to calm down Nathaniel Black and stop him from laying out any referees and picking up any costly fines. After that's taken care of and Black has stomped off to the back, Landon then turns his attentions to the ring where PRL and Cortez look on. MADDIX Well well. Congratulations, Todd. You've finally made it. But... you see, we all know what that really is. Everybody watching knows it. Everybody here in Glasgow knows it. And PRL, you know it too. It's because of ME! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" MADDIX Without me Cortez, you'd be nothing and you continue to throw all that in my face, time after time and I am officially sick of it. I'm sick and I'm tired of trying to mould you into a star, only to have you take all the credit. Without me you would be nothing but a one-move wonder living on borrowed time. Well, guess what Todd? Tick tock, tick tock, time is finally wearing thin on La Cucaracha pal! You don't DESERVE this. Not after the way you conned your way into forcing me into a match at AngleMania. Not after getting the 6-Man Titles temporarily taken away from Cucaracha Internacional. And certainly not for screwing over Nathaniel Black here tonight and costing us what we worked so hard for! You don't deserve any of this. And my patience has finally worn out. Reaching into his back pocket, Landon pulls out a couple of sheets of paper. MADDIX Whether you like it or not, you are an official member of Cucaracha Internacional still. Not the proud, loyal member I wish you were, but a member nonetheless. And as leader of Cucaracha Internacional, what I say goes. So, I've been looking into some things with my lawyers recently and I've had this drawn up, just incase you stepped over the line one more time. And you just have tonight. So, Todd... as of right now, the Riot Act Plus is officially BANNED from the OAOAST! COLE WHAT!? COACH About damn time. Cortez has the same reaction, as does PRL. MADDIX As long as you're a member of Cucaracha Internacional... which you are... then you can't use your fancy-pants little piledriver. If you do? Then you'll be immediately hit with a thirty-day suspension. And by my reckoning, that means if you use the Riot Act Plus between now and School's Out, it's bye-bye number one contendership. Or, if you wait it out and use it at School's Out... well, even if you win the World Title, you'll have to be stripped of the title anyway. How's that sound Todd? Cortez just glares a hole through Landon's chest from the ring. Putting away the contract, Landon holds up a hand. MADDIX Of course, there is fineprint, like any good contract. Like I said, the move is now banned so long as you're a member of Cucaracha Internacional. But I've also got another contract, the finishing touches being put to it as we speak by Megan and my team. See, you can have your little piledriver back, on one condition. I'll give you a match, one on one, next week in Milan, Italy. And if you beat me... you're out of Cucaracha Internacional. You can go back to standing on your own two feet again, which is what you want so desperately, free to find your own way in the world. All you have to do is beat me... without the Riot Act Plus, of course. Looking a little dubious, Cortez asks "What's the catch?" MADDIX Of course, there's another side of the coin. See, if I beat you, whether that be by pinning you like I did at AngleMania or by you getting yourself disqualified and suspended, then like all good followers you have to share the wealth. And by that, I mean your newly found number one contendership. PRL's eyebrow perks up. MADDIX If I beat you, then the clause stands AND it'll be a triple-threat match at School's Out, featuring yours truly! It's really your choice though. If you don't mind staying where you belong under my wing, then you really don't have to listen to a word I'm saying. Away marches Cortez to grab a microphone, ready to answer only for PRL to get in his face. PRL tries to give Cortez his own advice on what to do, but it doesn't seem to be what Todd wants to hear as he brushes the World Champion aside and points a finger at Maddix. CORTEZ I'll see you in Milan. COLE Wow! Landon grins to himself, especially when he sees the look on PRL's face all of a sudden. PRL stares over at Cortez, who continues to stare at Landon, the cocky La Cucaracha dusting his hands with satisfaction as he turns to leave. COLE I don't know what to make of all this. Next week, The Milan Spectacular, it'll be Maddix versus Cortez... either Cortez wins his freedom or Landon shares the School's Out spoils! You don't want to miss that, join us here on TSM for the Milan Spectacular. From The Coach, I'm Michael Cole, we will see you then! With Landon gone, PRL and Cortez are left looking at one another in the ring as HeldDOWN~! fades to black.

The roundhouses on Regal on Raw were fine. But as someone who uses kicks as much as Punk does and is put over as having such 'educated feet', some of his kicks do tend to look pretty weak. I agree with Truthiness, it's just sloppiness. Overall too. Punk is just a little too inconsistent. Plus, the Japanese move thing? I understand the kicks, but on Raw he used Kobashi's bend backwards chop to the chest move on Matt Hardy. Punk's KENTA impression is better than his Kenta Kobashi impression. And this is coming from someone who's followed Punk for about 7 years before anyone jumps to shout me down for not liking him. Because I do. Jericho's my choice though.

Cortez/Black is going to be late, but seeing as no-one else seems to have big plans then hopefully that's okay. Should be safely done by tommorrow night. No promises though!

I always thought Lethal should have been the guy to break Joe's original winning streak and win the X-Division Title. Not least because, at the time, it looked like the best shot Lethal had of getting over as bland young babyface. World Champion? I don't know. Lethal's much more valuable to the X-Division as Black Machismo. There's too many ifs and buts as to whether Black Machismo as World Champion would work or whether people would crap on it. And plain Jay Lethal as World Champion? Not seeing it. Joe and Lethal had some great matches in ROH and the feud was good, but Lethal didn't come off as a huge star cutting his heel promos, so even if they go that route then you've got questions over whether he can hold his own against the established main-eventers on the mic. If Lethal hadn't done the feud with Joe in ROH, I doubt anyone'd be rushing to tip him as the next World Champion, put it that way.

I second/third Lil' Buck, although Jimmy's probably one of my favourite SWF characters, period.

As someone writing a second character at the moment, I know what you mean. I never really tried writing someone other than Landon in the SWF and never really wanted to, for various reasons. The thing is, unlike WC, Landon's a pretty generic character at the base of it so it was easy enough to change the character on a whim. Even when it didn't make sense or work. I doubt I'd be writing as another character if A) I weren't still writing as Landon elsewhere anyway and B) I hadn't already started writing as about 20 different characters at that same elsewhere and found one I liked enough to try out here. But a different character isn't neccessarily a bad idea. If you do it, try and figure out, if anything, what you'd enjoy writing that goes completely against WC's character. Whether that's a fast talker or a brawler or a submission guy or wacky comedy character or whatever. If it doesn't work, write it off as a failed experiment. The worst that happens, you get sick of the new character and start to miss writing as WC, so maybe you feel more like writing him again?

Brought to you by American Express Taped: April 5th, 2007 First air date: April 6th, 2007 (check local listings for airings in your area) Announce team: Tony Schiavone and Jesse "The Body" Ventura Lead correspondent: Tony Brannigan Hey, it's Syndicated again, where lots of stuff that we can't fit onto HeldDOWN~! happens. This week, a bonanza of stuff that's left me so stunned I just don't think I'm going to be able to describe it all in full. It's THAT magnificent! Amongst the glory, an eight-man tag team confrontation, plus in the main-event none other than Zack Malibu in action, taking on Rico de Janeiro in one on one action. ***Jessica Jobbs -VS- Widow*** The second match in the best of five series between the two females and Widow was looking to even the scores after last week's defeat. The two picked up where they left off in Paris with very little feeling out process this time, going right at each other. Widow seemed to be the aggressor. And she almost put Jobbs away with a big swinging DDT. Jobbs fought back and scored with the roll-up which won her the match last week, only for Widow to react in time and kickout at 2 this week. That didn't worry Jobbs for too long though, as Widow quickly went for a backslide seconds later, only for Jobbs to roll through and score with an inside cradle to pick up a second straight victory in the series, much to Widow's shock! Winner: Jessica Jobbs, via pinfall. Series Score: Jobbs-2 Widow-0 Next up we were taken to footage shot earlier in the day outside the arena. Getting into election mood, we caught up with Los Diablos De Fuego on the campaign trail! Quite clearly the most ridiculous thing ever, 'Barracca' and 'Hillariachi' were canvasing for votes amongst the general public. And just generally being amorous with each other. Somebody in the world probably found this dryly hilarious, mainly because they were wearing wigs and wigs = comedy. Perhaps you'll appreciate the irony that Los Diablos De Presidential Candidates were looking for votes IN AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT COUNTRY! Either way, it happened and it served to show that Los Diablos are fun. Or that two gay Mexican luchadors dressed up as heterosexual politicians with no romantic involvement (that we know of!) is fun. I don't know anymore. ***The Heavenly Rockers, Vinny Valentine and Biff Atlas w/Abdullah Abir Nerdly and Holly-Wood -VS- Los Diablos De Fuego and The Love Doctors*** Luckily Los Diablos ditched the outfits for their in-ring action, eight man tag action. Logan seemed pretty dismayed with what he was stuck teaming with, but Synth's newfound inner peace allowed him to work in harmony with the much ridiculed Valentine and Atlas. The Love Docs were out for revenge meanwhile after their defeat last week and wanted Biff from the very start. Logan didn't let that happen though and the opening going saw The Heavenly Rockers trying to fight 2 on 4. That didn't go so well and eventually Synth relented to let Valentine come in... which also didn't work too well. Los Diablos and The Love Docs showed better tag team cohesion and were in control, until a sneaky trip by Abdullah Abir Nerdly allowed Valentine to hit a big kneelift on Moracca. The flaming luchador was then worked over by the foursome of opponent across the ring from him. All looked well, until Biff decided it was time to go up. Nervously he climbed to the top... then came down to the middle... which was still too unsafe, ending up risking it all with a BOTTOM ROPE splash, by which time Moracca had lifted his knees up. In came Dr. Anderson to clean house, Dr. Pigley joining in as things started to break down into a melee. The numbers eventually caught up against the fan favourites however. Moracca was clotheslined down on the outside by Holly, before Abdullah lured Mariachi away and into a cheapshot LEFT JAB~! from Logan! That left The Docs alone with Biff and they set up the Gurney To The Centre Of The Earth. But with the referee keeping Valentine from entering, Synth came from the heavens with a prayer book to the back of the head on Max! Biff fell on top and with Logan holding Pigley back, the referee counted the 3 for a second consecutive Biff Atlas victory!!! Winner: The Heavenly Rockers, Vinny Valentine and Biff Atlas, via pinfall THE MILAN SPECTACULAR May 1st 2008, from beautiful Milan, Italy Presented live on TSM! (check local listings) ***Christian Wright w/Mackenzie DeCenzo -VS- Raul Pablo*** Long story made short. Squash. With that out of the way, we ignore Christian's dominant performance because that's exactly what Mackenzie DeCenzo decided to do. Infact, the match really serves as a chance for Mackenzie to talk in length on commentary about her Women's Title match with Maggie Nerdly at the aforementioned Milan Spectacular. Mackenzie attacked Maggie for her lack of class and mocked her for being so much lower in the social mechanics of the OAOAST that people barely knew which Nerdly she is or what her terms of employment are. Mackie promised to make short work of Maggie in Milan, just as CW proceeded to do with the local opposition as he finally finished Pablo off with the Stockmarket Crash (Gordbuster). Winner: Christian Wright, via pinfall NEXT WEEK ON HELDDOWN~! Live from Glasgow, Scotland The #1 Contendership Tournament comes to a close Todd Cortez versus Nathaniel Black ***Zack Malibu -VS- Rico de Janeiro w/Lucius Soul*** A rare Syndicated appearance (although two out of however many we've done isn't a bad ratio compared to some), but a common great reaction for Zack here. Despite Lucius's encouragement before the match to try and get his man pumped up, reminding him of what a great opportunity this was, it was all Zack for the most-part. Rico managed to use his brawling style to slow Zack down a couple of times. But Zack proved he's no slouch in the striking game any time Rico tried to pound him for too long. After a few brief glimmers of hope for the Brazilian, Malibu stepped into another gear and ran through his big moves for the Barcelona crowd. The Rolling Germans left Rico weakened long enough for Zack to score with the Zack Attack (Shining Wizard, you should know this by now!). At this point Lucius jumped to the apron to complain, but was sent crashed to the guardrail with the Zack Attack II (Running Double Knee, again you should know this, pay attention!). Rico then staggered up and staggered into some School's Out (...you know what, if you don't know this then you better just get the fuck out of here now. Seriously.) which earned Zack the pinfall victory. Winner: Zack Malibu, via pinfall And that's how it ended!

And with that, Sally the intern becomes a recurring character. Hooray!

#1 Contender Tournament Final Nathaniel Black vs. Todd Cortez Plus Landon might actually compete this week.

Black/Cappa is finally in, for what it's worth. Which isn't much.

Yeah, but Eric's always been portrayed as a goof, even during the Team Canada days. As far as Super Eric is concerned, nobody knows he's Eric Young. Look at it this way. Everybody knew The Hurricane was Shane/Gregory Helms. From what I can remember of that period JR used to refer to the fact in the early days of the feud because the point was Helms was an idiot for thinking he's a superhero. But he still protected his identity back then. It's basically the same thing. Just, stupider, in a deliberate sense, because it's Eric Young, loveable oaf.

COLE In two weeks time we'll be in Milan Italy, for the latest of our 'Spectacular' events broadcast live on TSM. And just added to the card for that event, a match for the OAOAST Women's Championship, Coach. COACH That's right. It's about time The Enterprise got back in the gold rush and you know, The Coach is straight down the line a man's man through and through, but sometimes you've gotta look to a woman to lead by example. A strong woman. And Mackenzie DeCenzo, she's gonna lead by example by taking the women's title away from the teenage girl Maggie Nerdly. COLE It'll be Maggie versus Mackenzie in Milan, Women's Title on the line. Mackenzie has been on the warpath ever since she was humiliated at AngleMania by COD and she's looking to take it out on the Champ. That should be a fiery battle, no doubt. (Ed Note: Shit, I hope my 'M' key doesn't break between now and then) "Oh No" by Mos Def, Nate Dogg and Pharoah Monche hits and it's go time again in the number one contendership tournament. Head down, Todd Cortez marches out and right towards the ring in a state of complete focus. His pyro goes off far behind him, already way past his cue. BUFFER Ladies and gentlemen, this is a semi-final match in the number one contenders tournament, scheduled for one fall! Introducing first. Hailing from Hollywood Boulevard... he weighs in at two hundred, twenty six pounds. Representing Cucaracha Internacional! He is "THE URBAN LEGEND"... TTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODD... CCOOOOOOOOORRRRRRTTEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZ!!!! "YYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" Cortez slides into the ring and removes his bulletproof vest and gold chain, kissing the cross before handing it to the outside. COLE Nathaniel Black awaiting the winner, next week in Glasgow, Scotland. Will we be seeing an all Cucaracha Internacional final? COACH Well that man right there better be hoping so. He's still got a lot of ground to make up and a lot of wrongs to be righted as far as Landon Maddix goes, so what better way to redeem himself than to guarantee somebody from CI is going to the School's Out main event? COLE Cortez isn't doing this for Landon, I can guarantee you. The question is, where do Landon's allegiances lie if we end up with Cortez and Black in the final? COACH I would have thought that'd be obvious. As Cortez watches on, the camera cuts back to the entrance way just as the drums kick in on "Rock The Casbah". The Barcelona crowd erupt as Leon Rodez spins through the entrance way with a beaming smile. Shooting a finger to the sky, Rodez then begins to jig his way on down the aisle, tagging hands with his left. BUFFER And his opponent! From Grand Rapids, Michigan... weighing two hundred, eighteen pounds. "THE NEW-AGE LOVE MACHINE"... "THE GRAND RAPIDS GOLDEN CHILD"... ladies and gentlemen, this is "SILKY SMOOTH"... LLLLLLEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOONN... RRRRRRRROOOOOOODDEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZ!!!! "YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" COACH How many nicknames does one guy need? Leon jumps to the apron and holds his hands out to the crowd, bowing as another cheer goes up. Not impressed with the showmanship, Cortez watches his opponent from across the ring with a scowl as he makes his way in and works the turnbuckles. COLE What a showing this man put in one week ago, coming out on top in a true battle with Christian Wright. And after that performance, many people are tipping Leon to finally reach the promised land, after years of missed opportunities as far as challenging for the World Title goes. With the robe off and the music cut, Leon finds himself face to face one more time with the man who almost put him out of wrestling a year and a half-ish ago. Despite that personal business being taken care of in the past, there's still a tense look between the two. "LE - ON!" "LE - ON!" "LE - ON!" "LE - ON!" COACH Hmm... I don't see this 'leon' in this Spanish dictionary. What are they saying? COLE We really need to look into the way your IQ goes up and down during these shows. That and your urbanness. *DINGDINGDING!* The bell sounds and Cortez wastes no time what-so-ever as he runs at Rodez with a boot. Rodez falls into the corner and Cortez stomps him in the gut a couple more times, before hauling him out and pulling him into a standing headscissors, wrapping the ar... ...NO! Sensing the Riot Act coming, Leon bottoms out and scrambles backwards under the bottom rope. COLE Woah! No more than 10 seconds in and Cortez goes for the kill! COACH Leon knows all about what that Riot Act Plus can do too. Halfway in and halfway out of the ring, Leon takes a moment to get his head straight after that close-call. Cortez crouches down and shows little emotion as he waits for Rodez to come back at him. Pulling himself up, it's clear Cortez is under Leon's skin a little, the Silky Smooth One walking around the ring composing himself before the two lock-up. Leon grabs a side headlock, but is pushed off into the ropes. Shoulder block and down goes Cortez. Off the ropes goes Leon again, forced up and over by a dropdown. Cortez tries to scoop Leon up for a slam on the way back but Leon floats behind, spinning Cortez around and tripping him up for the Liontamer... but Cortez quickly lands a kick to the side of the head from his prone position and away staggers Rodez holding his neck. Cortez is quickly back up, catching up to Leon and pulling him over with a German Suplex, with a bridge... 1... 2... No! Cortez is right back to the neck with a front facelock. Pulling Leon up, he sets the Grand Rapids Golden Child up looking for a suplex. Up and over the back goes Leon again however, spinning Cortez around. This time Todd is ready for that and goes with the momentum on a roundhouse kick... BLOCKED! Getting his forearms up to block his head, Leon blocks the kick and goes to the knee with a low dropkick! COLE Smart move, going after the legs which are Cortez's most dangerous weapons. Sportingly, Leon allows the time towards his opponent to work out the knee and pull himself back up. Cortez has a noticable limp now and perhaps just as importantly is a little more cautious all of a sudden. COLE We saw Leon's knee put to the test by Christian Wright last week. But the tables have turned tonight. COACH For now. If Cortez is smart, he's gonna go for that leg at some point. And by 'smart', I mean 'listening to Landon and Megan's advice', of course. The two combatants find themselves slowed right down now, each wary to make the first move. After a few seconds of circling and thinking, it's Cortez who makes the first move as he goes behind into a waistlock. Leon drops and rolls to throw Cortez off and they both pace again. Moving cautiously, Cortez tries to pick his spot, before eventually throwing one of his kicks... but he gets blocked and caught with a Dragon Screw takedown! Again Leon backs off with his opponent on the mat, giving Cortez chance to think about the pain in his knee right about now. He pulls himself back up, moving over to the ropes to give himself a second. COLE Very tentative stuff right about now. Neither of these two wants to make a mistake, with the stakes so high! Cortez and Rodez lock up again and a single leg trip manages to take Cortez down. Avoiding the grab of the leg, Cortez rolls back to his feet, going to the midsection with an elbow. Cortez then snapmares Leon over and lines up the back for a HARD kick! Hard enough to leave both men in pain, Leon holding his back while Cortez regrets using his right leg. Shaking out the pain, Todd follows Leon into a corner... *SLAP!* "WHOOOOOOOO!" ...and connect with a hard knifedge. *SLAP!* "WHOOOOOOOO!" And a second. Irish whip is reversed though and it's Cortez who goes turnbuckle to turnbuckle, Leon following in behind and taking off with the Superman Spear! Out staggers Cortez, into a legsweep and a lateral press... 1... Kickout! Side headlock applied by Leon. Just as The Silky Smooth One begins to get comfortable however, he suddenly finds himself in trouble. Cortez tucks in the right leg and executes a Kneebreaker on the surgically repaired knee! COACH Well, what do you know. Maybe Cortez does have some sense after all! Cortez hobbles a little but it's Leon who's really feeling the pain as he lays on the canvas clutching at his knee. Showing none of his opponent's compassion, Todd swats his hands away to get a free stomp at the knee! And another! Away crawls Leon in search of the ropes, but Cortez drags him back and drops an elbow to the inside of the knee, pulling up on a leglock. COLE Wright worked extensively on that knee last week and whatever healing process took place over the last 7 days, it's all for nought now. COACH And Cortez isn't standing back like our resident nice guy, Leon, is he? Still close enough to the ropes, Rodez is able to reach out and grab the bottom rope to force a break. Cortez breaks clean, but stays right on Rodez as he pulls him from the ropes again and drops another elbow. Looking to avoid the leglock Leon pulls in his free leg and traps Todd in a bodyscissors, clubbing him in the back with some forearms. But Cortez fires back with some right hands to the kneecap until he's fought Leon off, standing back up and crushing the leg with a Double Stomp! Cortez follows up with a cover... 1... Quick kickout though, as Leon again tries to roll away. Cortez follows Rodez into the ropes, firing off a kick to the ribs as he gets to one knee. Picking the leg, Cortez then drags Leon away from the ropes back into the centre of the ring. Soon wishing he hadn't though, as Leon catches him by surprise with a prawn hold... 1... 2... Kickout. In moves Cortez... *SLAP!* "WHOOOOOOOO!" ...but right into a chop! As Cortez rocks back on his heels, Rodez takes his chance and throws a jab! A jab! A jab! A jab! Rodez turns, blowing the kiss, before turning back on his heels... ...but he MISSES the Enziguri! Leon's knee bounces off the canvas and Cortez spots it, catching Leon as he rolls over in pain, squashing with a Standing Moonsault... 1... 2... No! Pulling Rodez to his feet, Cortez lays into the back of the knee with a quick kick. Leon barely stays on his feet. He's aided by Todd however, The Urban Legend positioning his opponent and sending him into the ropes before hitting the side, setting up the Hollow Point! The bad knee helps Leon this time though as he barely makes the ropes upright and falls into them instead of rebounding back. Cortez ends up slowing to a stop and turns to run at Rodez again. A backdrop sends him up and over to the apron. Landing safely, Cortez waits for Leon to turn and throws a roundhouse from the apron. Leon manages to block it though! Leon then bends Cortez backwards over the ropes, preparing to lower the boom. Reaching back, Cortez manages to grab a hold of the head though and falls forward, snapmaring Leon all the way up over the top and out to the floor with a thud! "OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!!" COLE Ooh, right down on the knee! COACH And all the bodyweight came crumbling down on top. It could be over just like that. Ending up in a heap against the barricade, Leon howls in pain and grabs his knee which draws the referee out of the ring to check he's okay. Cortez sits on the apron and watches on stoicly. COLE For the second time in two weeks, Leon is in a bad way on the floor with his number one contender dreams in serious jeopardy! Can he recover as he did last week? We'll find out, when we come back! [b]*COMMERCIAL*[/b] When we return to HeldDOWN~!, we find the action back in the ring and all going Todd Cortez's way, as The Urban Legend pulls back on a halfcrab. Leon's hands are clasped over his face in pain, with the Barcelona crowd making serious noise to try and will him on. COLE We are back and we might be seconds away from seeing Todd Cortez get a submission! Cortez twists at the knee to add some pressure as Leon slumps down, unable to keep up on his hands any longer. Referee Mike Chioda asks if he wants to give it up, but the signal to the timekeeper is a 'no' for now. The support continues on in the arena. And suddenly it seems to work again, as Leon pushes back up! Teeth gritted, Rodez sees the ropes in front of him and claws himself across the canvas with Cortez struggling to hold him in place. Leon inches closer and closer to the rope and with Cortez losing his leverage, he reaches out... AND MAKES IT!! "YYYEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Releasing the hold almost straight away, Cortez stomps the back of the knee a couple of times before picking Rodez back up. A European uppercut hangs him up over the ropes. Cortez then takes a step back and cracks him in the chest with a hard kick! Leon stumbles forward and Cortez quickly exits the ring, springboarding to the top and catching Rodez in the back of the head with a Springboard Dropkick before he can turn around!! COLE Didn't see it coming! Lurching forward, Leon is pulled from the ropes and covered with a hook of the leg... 1... 2... NO!! Cortez pulls himself back up and limps to a corner before encouraging Leon back to his feet. "LE - ON!" "LE - ON!" "LE - ON!" "LE - ON!" A little unhelpfully the crowd do the same and Leon reaches out, using the ropes to help him up. Spinning away from them, he then walks right into Cortez's path... CRESCENT KIC... NO, CAUGHT! Catching the foot, Leon quickly pulls Cortez in, looking for an Exploder... but his knee gives in and it allows Cortez to elbow his way free. With a shove in the back, Cortez sends Rodez chest first into the ropes. And when they bounce him back, Todd is on the move and drilling through Rodez's side with the HOLLOW POOOOOOOOIIIIIIINNTT!!~!!1! Period. And cover... 1... 2... KICKOUT! COACH Go back after the knee already, genius! See, this is why he needs Landon with him, he's got some raw ability but he ain't too bright. COLE Oh please. I'm guessing Landon's now getting all of Popick's leftover mindless devotion now? COACH Maybe. Cortez hooks up a front facelock and sets Leon up, hitting a DDT. He hooks the leg again... 1... 2... No! Leon crawls towards the ropes, but is caught by the back of the singlet and dragged back in by The Urban Legend. Cortez goes to the kidney area with a quick knee and seeing his chance, he looks to pull Leon in for the Riot Act... but a quick backdrop takes him over! Hanging on, Cortez manages to pull Leon down for a sunset flip, only for Leon to roll through, stacking Cortez up on his shoulders for a pin. Cortez rolls backwards through that though and crawls out through the legs, bringing the right leg with him in the form of an Anklelock! That doesn't last long however, before Leon pushes up on his hands and tumbles forward, the momentum sending Cortez falling throat-first across the middle rope! No jig neccessary, as Leon hobbles off the ropes as quickly as his one good leg will carry him and drives all of his bodyweight into the lower spine of Cortez! COLE Call That Bitch a one-legged Bojangles! Not getting a lot of impact, Leon makes doubley sure as he jumps onto Cortez's back a second time from close range. As he pulls himself off the ropes, Cortez then staggers backwards and is lifted up for the Blue Thunder... but Leon's knee gives out again and Cortez winds up landing on top of the crumbling Rodez... 1... 2... NO!! Cortez measures Rodez as both men get back up. Quickly getting his feet underneath him, Cortez picks Rodez up in a side waistlock, pancaking him to the canvas before going after the leg again. Leon has enough wits about him to turn over though, pushing Cortez away with both feet. COLE This is turning into another gruelling match here, with that never-say-die spirit of Leon Rodez! Rolling through to his feet, Cortez charges. Rodez manages to shuffle out of the way with a sidestep and Cortez attempts to go up and over in the corner. But he gets caught coming down! Keeping hold of the ropes, Leon catches Cortez on his back and makes sure his knee is under him properly before hobbling out and hitting the Backpack Stunner! BANANA HAMMOCK! Leaning back, Leon forces Cortez's shoulders down with the back of his head... 1... 2... KICKOUT! COLE Almost had him! Leon's knee just about held out on that move, but not enough to put Todd Cortez away. Assisted by the ropes, Leon gets back to his feet first. Cortez isn't too far behind him though and has enough in him to make another charge in the corner. Leon manages to get a knee up to block, that being the right knee which leaves both men hurting again. Shunning the pain, Rodez leads Todd quickly back up however, placing him in the corner... *SLAP!* "WHOOOOOOOO!" ...for a chop! *SLAP!* "WHOOOOOOOO!" Another one! *SLAP!* "WHOOOOOOOO!" And a third! With Cortez penned in, Leon then grabs Cortez's right leg and hangs his knee over the middle rope, looking to work on the knee himself some more from earlier. A quick shift from Cortez allows him to push up off the top rope though, catching Leon with a thrust kick with his left leg! On the middle rope, Cortez then hooks up the head, looking for a Tornado DDT... NO! Leon throws him off! Landing on his feet, Todd charges in... and gets jarred with an Inverted Atomic Drop! COLE That may not have been the best move. Leon ends up jarring his own knee delivering the move though, giving Cortez time to shake it off. When he does, he's quick to return the favour, as he scoops up Leon and delivers the Crotch Droppah! Leon digs down deep though and blocks out the pain, picking Cortez up and hitting him with an Inverted Atomic Drop in re-return! Still up is Cortez though and he scoops Leon up again... Crotch Droppah... a second Crotch Droppah... and a THIRD CROTCH DROPPAH, before peeling Leon off the knee again and lifting him up for a Sitout Spinebuste... NO! Leon floats over the back, pulling Cortez over with him and coming out of the sunset roll-up with the legs hooked for the LIONTAMER!! "YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!" COLE Submission hold applied! And the tables have been turned on Todd Cortez!! Sitting back, Rodez pulls back on the crab and Cortez is the one showing the pain on his face now. Leon struggles to get his knee in the back though and can't get the hold fully applied as usual. It's still painful enough as is for Cortez's liking though as he tries to crawl for the ropes straight away. COLE I don't know where Leon's getting this from! COACH Me neither. Taking that many atomic drops and coming out still standing? The legends must be true! COLE I'm not quite sure what you're implying but I don't think now is the time to discuss it either. Leon pins the knee down just as Cortez starts to get moving and a cheer goes up from the Barcelona crowd as it looks like The Urban Legend may now be 'Tamed. Cortez has his supporters in the crowd himself though and he gets some encouragement of his own. Grimacing in pain, Cortez makes another effort to reach the ropes as he starts to drag Leon's 218 pounds along towards the ropes. Rodez tries to sit back again, but still Cortez crawls, with determination and sheer grit as he begins to gradually get nearer and nearer to the ropes. Realising this may be his best chance, Leon pulls back on the legs further still and lets out a shout as his own knee is tested. The shout turns into a dissapointed groan though, as Cortez GRABS THE ROPES!! "YYYEEEEAAAAAHHHH - BOOOO!" Letting Cortez go, Leon falls exhaustedly into the ropes himself and Chioda steps in to get them seperated. COLE This is what this number one contender's tournament means. This is what the OAOAST World Title means. Two men right on the cusp of being a true main-event player, giving it their all here tonight! Limping into the centre of the ring, Leon waits for Cortez to pull himself up and charges at him. Well, 'charges' as best possible on one good leg. Which isn't great, giving Todd time to block with a back elbow. Leon staggers backwards and Cortez follows, grabbing him by the throat! Leon manages to swat the goozle away though, before connecting with his own back elbow. Again Cortez moves in, but he walks right into a scoop and a slam, planting him right by the turnbuckles! COLE Leon could be thinking 450 here! COACH No way he should go for this in his condition COLE Well we thought that last week and it worked out then. The Silky Smooth One clearly has his doubts, but slaps his leg a couple of times as if trying to get it to comply, then ducks out of the ri... NO! Cortez reaches out and grabs the ankle with Leon halfway out! Ducking back inside, Leon fights Cortez off and picks him up, connecting with a jab! A jab! A jab! A jab! Rodez turns, blowing the kiss... *SMACK!* ...and this time connecting with the enziguri on The Urban Legend! COLE MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT! After a moment to nurse the leg, Leon turns Cortez over and hooks the far leg... 1... 2... KICKOUT! Leon doesn't hang about to argue the 2 count and ducks back out to the apron, heading up to the top. With Cortez in a good enough position he drags himself, bad leg and all, to the top and gives the signal for the '450'. A careful job of standing with the bad leg later and Leon is up, hovering over Cortez and tumbling with the 450 SPLASH... ...NOBODY HOME!!! "OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" COACH See! Big mistake right there! Rodez comes down on a combination of chest and knees and stays the heck down as well. Pulling himself up in the corner, Cortez waits for Rodez to stand, positioning himself in front of the Silky Smooth One... and timing his Roundhouse Kick to perfection at the third time of asking!! COACH There's the knockout! Hook of the leg by Cortez... 1... 2... 3- SHOULDER UP!!! "YYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" COACH Whu-!? COLE Only a two count! That was nothing but instinct in that kickout though! Cortez climbs right back up and if looks could kill, then Rodez would be in some serious trouble. As it is, he still might be, as Cortez extends a hand over his head. Slowly to his feet, Leon hobbles right into the goozle, ready for the Urban Assault. Leon still has some fight left though and connects with a back elbow! And a second! Leon then goes for an elbow from the left side, but Cortez ducks it, setting up a back suplex. Up and over floats Leon... but as he lands on his feet, his right leg buckles underneath him! COLE Another bad landing. As soon as Leon feels the knee go and he doubles over to nurse it, Cortez quickly pounces. He pulls him into a standing headscissors and takes off, pulling Rodez up and over with him WITH THE RIOT ACT PLUS~!!1!~1!!!1!!! "YYEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!" COLE That sudden! Riot Act Plus! Cortez crawls over and turns Leon onto his back, hooking the leg... 1... 2... 3!!!! *DINGDINGDING!* COLE And [i]nobody[/i] kicks out after the Riot Act! What a match! "Oh No" kicks in as Cortez rolls off of Leon with a sense of relief. Cortez's arm is quickly raised in victory, barely acknowledged by The Urban Legend who looks down at Leon. Impressed, perhaps. BUFFER Your winner of the match, advancing to the finals of the number one contendership tournament... "THE URBAN LEGEND"... TODD CCOOOOORRRRRRTTEEEEZZZZZZZ!!! "YYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" The Barcelona crowd cheer as much both men for their efforts as the result, Cortez feeling the effects. Wearily he climbs the turnbuckles and raises his arms victoriously, while referee Chioda checks on Leon. COLE A great effort from both of these two men. No shame in defeat for Leon here. But it's Todd Cortez who next week will compete against his fellow Cucaracha Internacional member, Nathaniel Black, for the right to face Tha Puerto Rican at School's Out for the OAOAST World Heavyweight Championship! And what a showdown that promises to be as well. Cortez climbs down from the turnbuckles and walks over to Leon... ...as we cut away, backstage, to where the other members of Cucaracha Internacional are watching this in their locker room. With a big grin on his face, Landon Maddix places a hand on Nathaniel Black's shoulder, the Brit with arms folded but a wry smile on his face as well. MADDIX Congratulations, 'mate'.