King Cucaracha

A true superhero never reveals his secret identity. Why didn't Super Eric take the mask off? Because he's a superhero!! If he takes his mask off, the world will know his true identity and his life will never be the same. Why am I the only one who gets this!? (I've no explanation for Kaz though.)

(FADE UP FROM BLACK) The lights in the arena are orange, as Sly Sommers comes to the ring to "Orange Crush" by R.E.M., getting a warm reception from the crowd. He slaps some hands and hugs anyone he can in the front row, with tears coming down his eyes... BUFFER The following contest on HeldDOWN~! is set for ONNNNNNNEE FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLL...Introducing first, from Scranton, Pennsylvania, at a weight of 211 pounds...SLYYYYYYYYYYYYYY SOOOOOOOOMEEEERS! COLE Sommers has worked so hard to overcome adversity and addiction just to come back as an active competitor in the OAOAST...but his welcoming party is a 6'7 monster with malicious intentions! Sommers climbs into the ring, then climbs to the second rope in a corner and yells "I LOVE YOU!" to the audience, who cheer him. The music suddenly cuts to "Liberate" by Disturbed...the monster known as Bohemoth walks out in front of the crowd. He flexes his guns, as a noticeable amount of boos come in from the audience. BUFFER His opponent...from Greenville, South Carolina at a weight of 284 pounds... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHEMOTH! Bohemoth slides under the bottom rope, then stares at Sly with a cold killer's eye from his corner. COLE Bohemoth, resentful of the fact that Sly felt the need to comment on his issue with Zack Malibu last week. Speaking to Bo earlier, he says he's 'sick of having his integrity called into question'. COACH Well, he brought it on himself. But don't tell him I said that. *BELL RINGS* Sly charges at Bohemoth and sends him back to the corner with a running dropkick! Sommers climbs onto the middle rope and goes back and forth with big punches, but Bohemoth shoves him down. Sly rolls backwards onto his feet and leaps back up...Bohemoth shoves him back down! Sly pops up...and takes a Murderline! Bohemoth slowly pulls Sly up to a chorus of boos, then gives him an Irish whip. Sly comes off the ropes, Bohemoth lifts him in a gorilla press, then drops him with a front powerslam with IMPACT! COACH Bohemoth is insane! This man's almost like a cyborg! Bohemoth throws Sly by the throat into the corner. Bohemoth charges forward...but Sly rolls away and Bo eats turnbuckle! He stumbles back, dazed but not really hurt. Sly gives him a flying knee to the back and sends him back into the corner. Sly then hops on Bo's back and locks in a sleeperhold! Bo stumbles to mid-ring...then charges backwards and sandwiches Sly in the opposite corner! Bohemoth makes sure Sly is standing, then chokes Sly with the sole of his boot. The referee orders a break... ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! ...Bohemoth breaks it up. Bohemoth then puts Sly between his legs and backs up to mid-ring...he signals like Sly's going to take a bad fall over the top...he lifts Sly for the powerbomb, charges towards the ropes...but Sly's able to hold onto Bohemoth and gives him a hurricanrana over the top and to the floor! Sly held onto the top rope, allowing him to pull himself back into the ring, then climbs up top...big plancha onto Bohemoth...GETS CAUGHT! Bohemoth switches his grip and gorilla presses Sly between the top and middle ropes, right back into the ring. Bohemoth comes back in, pulls Sly up, then gives him a chop so hard that it echoes throughout the building and knocks Sly back down! Sommers, clutching his chest from the pain, gets yanked up by his hair, then sent off with an Irish whip. Bohemoth throws his big boot, but Sly slides under it, Bohemoth turns around, and Sly connects with three rapid-fire straight kicks to the stomach! He follows with a series of forearms to the back of Bohemoth's neck to keep him bent over. Sly goes up to the second rope behind Bohemoth, then launches off for a bulldog...but Bohemoth catches Sly in mid-air in a side suplex position, swings around, and slams him hard onto his back! COACH Bohemoth's strength is insane! He bounced a 210-plus pound man off of the canvas like a basketball! Bohemoth pulls Sly up, then lifts him for a vertical suplex...he holds him up there....still up there...and he drops him down hard! Sly rolls onto the apron, but Bohemoth reaches over the top rope and pulls Sly up to his feet, then locks in a cobra clutch. Bohemoth leaves Sly's ankles drapped over the top rope, then swings him around...Style Injection! Bohemoth refuses to go for the cover, choosing to look into the camera and yell... BOHEMOTH Malibu...blood's on your hands! Bohemoth pulls Sly up and sends him to the ropes with an Irish whip...Sly slides between Bohemoth's legs, Bohemoth turns around, Sly dropkicks him! Bohemoth is dazed...Sly comes off of the ropes...another dropkick! Bohemoth's still up! Sly comes off of the ropes again...a third dropkick and Bohemoth goes through the ropes, landing on his feet! Sly climbs to the top rope immediately, then dives off...plancha knocks down Bohemoth! Sly uses all of his might to get the monster back into the ring. Sly climbs back up top and dives off...Bohemoth catches him! Bohemoth repositions Sly...running powerslam! COVER! ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Bohemoth pulls Sly up immediately, shoves him backwards so he bounces off of the ropes, then as Sly bounces back forwards...Bohemoth throws him straight up HIGH in the air...and Sly lands right on his face, the impact flipping him over onto his back! Bohemoth immediately comes off of the ropes...big splash! Bo brute-forces Sly up and shoves him back into a corner. Bohemoth Irish whips Sly into the opposite corner, with Bohemoth charging right behind him...but Sly walks up the ropes and backflips over Bohemoth! Bohemoth turns around, Sly feeds him a leg and blasts him with an enziguri! Bohemoth's stunned on his feet, as Sly goes to the top rope....missile dropkick knocks the monster down! Sly looks around at the crowd, who are reacting huge! COACH Go for it! He's only down once! Hit something big! Sly goes to the apron, then climbs up top...SUPERSLY SPLASH.... ...MISSES! Sommers comes down HARD on his chest and stomach! Bohemoth's up on his feet, grabs Sly, pulls him up, lifts him up...EROTIC AWAKENING OF B! COVER! ONE! TWO! THREE! *DING DING* BUFFER Your winneeeeeeeeeeeer...BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHEMOOOOOTH! COLE Sly Sommers' dreams of a successful OAOAST return match were crushed with one huge, unbeatable manuever! Bohemoth just dominated one of the best wrestlers to ever wrestle in this company! COACH Sly had him rocking a few times, but Bohemoth is SO dominant, such a machine...he's unstoppable! Bohemoth looks into the camera while walking to the locker room... BOHEMOTH Zack...THAT is why I don't owe you anything!

Good for you mate.

Zack, if you need or want to edit anything then go ahead. I probably should have asked in advance but hey, you're only a bit-part anyway! --------------------------------- We sweep backstage to find ourselves privy to a conversation between Zack Malibu and a dressed to compete Leon Rodez. With a bandage over his right eye, Leon gestures away in the second delay of sound being transferred with Zack listening in, Leon sat on a table wearing a Journey t-shirt with his wrestling gear while Zack leans up against the wall standing next to him. LEON ...it's just a huge hassle at the moment. I mean, one minute she's hyper-possessive of me, the next she doesn't want anything to do with me. The girl's got more mood swings than... well, my mother not so many years ago, but let's not get into that. I tell ya. Take last week for example. I got busted open Thursday, so we couldn't really do anything much after the show. So we both agreed, Friday night we'd go see the Eiffel Tower and all the other old buildings there are in Paris. You know, 'waste some time before our flight' level stuff. But what with everything that happened last week, I suggested we call it off so I could go and keep Melody company and try and cheer her up. Man, you wouldn't believe how bad she took it. She flipped! I don't get it, it's her own sister for crying out loud. She didn't appreciate me calling her incompassionate, but it was in the heat of the moment... anyway, point is, she's been giving me the cold shoulder ever since. ZACK Melody has? LEON No, Maggie has. ZACK ...which means you actually did end up ditching her? LEON Well, yeah, but like I say Melody was in a pretty bad way after what Jock did. We all were. Zack shrugs acceptingly, like any good friend should. Although, deep down, I'm sure he's thinking what we all are. LEON So, what with all that on top of this whole... 'situation' with Jade still, worrying about how she and Krista are getting on, I dunno. I get the feeling she's having trouble adapting to life with Celebrity Mom. So there's that to concern myself with. All I want to concentrate on tonight is Todd Cortez and this number one contender's tournament. I've finally got a good shot at going for the World Title, for the first time in forever. I just want to relax and enjoy it. And it's just distraction after distraction, everywhere I look, just like always, which brings me back to my first shot at the World Title in forever. It just... it just bums me out a little sometimes, you know? Zack chuckles under his breath, giving Leon a disbelieving look. ZACK That's it? 'A little bummed out', that's all you're feeling? You really are too mellow for your own good Leon. If even half of that stuff had happened to me, I'd have probably lost my mind by now. LEON Well that's true. ZACK ...yeah... you, uh, weren't supposed to agr... look, nevermind. Listen, I could tell you to try and channel all that towards Cortez tonight and I know that's not how you work, but you can't keep bottling this sort of stuff up inside. It's not healthy man. So why not go ahead and channel all your frustrations into getting the win tonight. Don't just put it all in the back of your mind. Use it. Besides that, this is the guy that almost broke your neck, remember? Put you out of action for months? Sure, he's changed a little recently and definately for the better. But he's still [i]that[/i] guy. Now it's Leon's turn to chuckle. LEON Zack, no offense, but... the 'controlled anger' route? Last time I checked, you had a six foot seven ass-kicking machine who you've been trying to shrug off since November wanting to kick your ass. Zack shrugs. ZACK Fair point. LEON I appreciate the advice. But, you've always done things your way and I've always done things mine. That's what made us such a great team. ZACK Yeah and I respect you for that. Like I said, you seem to have some talent for putting up with the crap that goes on around here sometimes. If anybody deserves to be World Champ, it's you. I'll be pulling for you, that's for damn sure. Zack offers his hand. Pushing himself up off the table, Leon holds his hands on hips for a second before turning to Zack. LEON Again... I appreciate what you're saying. But, like I said, you do things your way... Pushing aside the offer of a handshake, Leon prefers instead to give his former tag team partner a big ol' HUG! Zack looks noticeably uncomfortable at the show of close friendship as we hear a hand slap across his back. (Hopefully his back.) LEON ...and I do things mine. Breaking the hug, Leon strides off to go prepare for his match, leaving Zack wondering again what the hell's wrong with a simple, man to man handshake in this day and age.

Permission granted!

BUFFER Señoras y caballeros... LANDON "LA CUCARACHA"... ¡¡¡¡MMMMMAAAAAAAAAADDIIIIIIXXXXXXXXX!!!! "YYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" A thunderous reception goes up as the conquering hero has returned to his homeland, or at least his country of origin... I think. He's half and half. But half of those two halves is Spanish. That's why he's being cheered, that's what I'm getting at here. Beaming smile on his face, Landon soaks in the adulation of the fans, dusting off his Spanish football tracksuit top. Megan joins in the applause from around the arena and it looks like Landon might take up the rest of the show taking in the cheers, before finally he starts to head for the ring, arm in arm with Megan. COLE What a reaction! COACH Landon's finally come home and don't these people just love it? As Landon approaches the ring, we see a young wrestler already in the ring in some non-descript wrestling tights. The youngster is applauding too as Landon walks up the ring steps, blowing elaborate kisses out into the audience. Maddix feels so froggy that he vaults into the ring over the top before spinning into the centre with arms outstretched. "LAN - DON!" "LAN - DON!" "LAN - DON!" "LAN - DON!" Landon takes the microphone and calls for some quiet, not too convincingly. His ego gets another few seconds before finally the Barcelona crowd quietens down a little, allowing Landon to speak. MADDIX [i]Olá, olá![/i] "YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!" COACH OLÉ! MADDIX Ah, it's good to be home... well, second home home... but, nonetheless, outside of South Dakota and Madrid, there are few places in the world I'd rather be than Barcelona. So, thank you. Thank you for the wonderful reception. [i]Bueno![/i] COLE You'd think Landon'd be speaking in Spanish, since we're in Spain and all. COACH He said bueno. Give him a break. MADDIX Now, I could stand here all day and let you all applaud me. And, let's face it, that would be completely justified. But, tonight I'm not out here to meet and greet. It's been a lifetime of waiting to compete here in the country of my mother's birth and that's what's gonna happen, because I'm out here to continue the Cucaracha Internacional European scouting tour. We're going to let one of your natives take the first step towards trying to follow in my illustrious footsteps. Viva Espagna, and all that. So, if we can get somebody ou... Megan taps Landon on the shoulder, pointing to the youngster across the ring. MADDIX Oh. Yes. Sorry, I assumed you were one of the ring crew. Ouch. MADDIX Not important. Okay, let's get the formalities out of the way and... look at you, huh? You're shaking in your boots aren't ya! C'mon, don't be nervous. We're all friends here. We're all [i]compadrés[/i]. (wraps an arm round the youngster's shoulders) You're a pretty big fan of La Cucaracha, aren't you? Go ahead, you can admit. The youngster nods and Landon shrugs his shoulders, mouthing the words "thought as much" to Megan. MADDIX Well this is obviously going to be an honour for you, that goes without saying. I'm sure you're itching to get that bell rung, but first, go ahead and tell the world your name and all that jazz. GARCÍA Uh... Me llamo Alfonso García... y yo soy de BARCELONA!! "YYYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!" MADDIX Gee, what a surprise. Okay then kid, as a fellow Spaniard I wish you the best of luck. Let's have a good clean match and to that end, a nice clean handshake to start us off. Landon shakes the nervous García's hand and heads to his corner to another round of applause. Megan has a few last words with Landon while he psyches himself up, the fans buzzing in the background as they wait to see their half-countryman in action. As soon as Landon removes his track jacket however, we see he's wearing his personalised REAL MADRID jersey and the national support suddenly turns into NUCLEAR heat! COACH Haha! COLE Only Landon Maddix could return to his country of birth for the first time and almost cause a riot. Looking surprised at the turn of opinion, Landon shrugs his shoulders, reminding everybody that his team are top of La Liga and their's aren't. Which, 'surprisingly', doesn't win them over. Landon just shrugs again and removes the Real shirt, passing it carefully to the outside and going through some last minute stretches. Firing himself up, Maddix is finally ready and moves out of his corner, ready to go... ...but just as the referee goes to call for the bell, Landon suddenly has second thoughts. He hurriedly stops the match from starting and calls for a microphone, shaking his head. MADDIX Woah woah woah. I'm sorry, stop... oh, man, am I an idiot sometimes or what? This can't happen! COLE What's he talking about. Slapping his own forehead, Landon laughs to himself. MADDIX What am I doing? Here I am embarking on this European scouting tour, looking for new bases for Cucaracha Internacional and I don't know, I guess I just got caught up in the excitement of everything going on this week and lost my concentration momentarily. But... Cucaracha Internacional... we're already got a Spanish wrestler! The greatest Spanish wrestler in the world as a matter of fact! Ever! I mean, granted, I am only half-Spanish. It just wouldn't be fair on you to live in that shadow for your entire tenure under me. No. I'm sorry, but, we're gonna have to call this thing off. García looks a little disappointed. Shrugging, Landon looks apologetic as he walks over and places a hand on his fellow Spaniard's shoulder. MADDIX Look, I don't want to have you come out here and not have a match. That wouldn't be fair on you, knowing how much you were looking forward to facing Spain's most successful athlete. How about we find you someone else to face instead, huh? It won't be for a place in Cucaracha Internacional, but you'll get to compete in your hometown on worldwide TV at least. Would that be okay? GARCÍA [i]Sí.[/i] MADDIX [i]Sí? Sí. Espléndido.[/i] Landon pats the youngster on the shoulder again and turns to the entrance way. MADDIX Okay, uhm... anyone back there watching and listening, if somebody could come down and give this fine young [i]caballero[/i] a match, please, that'd be great. Anybody at all. Landon says that last part a little too insistently, which seems to unnerve the youngster... ...and rightfully so, as "King Kong" by L A Symphony begins to play! García's eyes widen, as Landon's mouth curves into a sick smile at the appearance of FAQU on the entrance way!! COLE Oh no. The Samoan Wrecking Ball rambles crazily in his native Samoan tongue as he makes his way to the ring, the fans lining the aisle too scared to even reach out and slap him on the back. Up the steps he pounds, his footsteps echoing off the steel like something out of a horror movie. Especially if you're in García's shoes, the young Spaniard looking petrified as Landon holds the ropes open for Faqu and whispers something in his ear before leaving the ring. COLE Now you're telling me this is all a coincidence? That Landon just happened to duck out of this match and Faqu just happened to be the guy waiting to replace him? COACH You heard what he said. He can't in all good conscience add another Spaniard to Cucaracha Internacional, so he'd be giving this kid false hope by wrestling him. COLE But it's okay to feed him to Faqu? COACH Eh, he's from Barcelona not Madrid, so who really cares? Obviously not Landon, as he takes up a position next to Megan on the outside to watch. *DINGDINGDING!* The bell rings and right out of the traps charges Faqu, turning García INSIDE OUT with a clothesline!! "OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!" Landon winces at his fellow countryman's pain, remarking casually to Megan that that "had to hurt a little". Beating his chest, Faqu stalks around the local talent's body, waiting for him to show some signs of life. The moment García begins to push himself up, he's then grabbed by Faqu and hauled back to his feet. An open handed slap to the chest knocks García on his [i]nalgas[/i], but he's picked right back up. Knifedge chop and down goes García again. COLE Faqu just having his way with this unsuspecting youngster. And look at Maddix out there, grinning his damn head off! Pulled up once again, García is spun around by Faqu, caught in a waistlock... and dropped on his head with a High Angle Backdrop Suplex!! The Spaniard ends up in a heap next to the other Spaniard, La Cucaracha, stepping back with his hands up innocently showing everyone that he's not getting involved. Instead, he gives Faqu a thumbs up, which Faqu very primatively nods at. COACH Yes! Good job, good job! COLE You know, we really need to get to the bottom of what's happened to Faqu. The de-humanising of Faqu almost. COACH One of life's great mysteries. Let's leave it at that. Faqu drags García away from the ropes by his ankle and stomps him in the shoulder. Another stomp, before dragging García around again and this time depositing him in the corner with his head propped on the bottom turnbuckle. Faqu backs across the ring and with the young Spaniard motionless, he charges... FAQU SAMOAAAAAAAAaaaaaa... ...and DRIVES his backside face-first at full speed into García's face!! "OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Cutting a thumb across his throat, Faqu bundles García right back to his feet again. Barely able to stand upright anyway García is doubled over and double underhooked, Faqu lifting him off the mat and with Landon peeking through a gap between his fingers, the Samoan sits out and SPIKES the youngster on his head!! COLE That's Death By Samoan, and that's mercifully it. 1... 2... 3!! *DINGDINGDING!* Landon quickly slides into the ring and coaxes Faqu into getting up off of García before he does anymore damage. The Samoan beats his chest dominantly and Landon keeps a safe distance, before carefully raising the arm of his stablemate. COLE Not only does Landon snub these people by wearing the shirt of their bitter soccer rivals, not only does he refuse to compete in his home country as he claimed he was dying to, but he feeds this poor local kid to this Samoan savage! That's some man right there. COACH Some man indeed! As Megan guides Faqu to the back, Landon walks over to the fallen García, picking one of his arms limply off the canvas and has the audacity to shake it, congratulating him on a good attempt. A final kiss goodbye to the booing Barcelona crowd and Landon heads off as well, after a very unique homecoming.

Tournament Matches! Cortez v. Rodez Black v. Cappa (PROBABLY LATE! PLZ LEAVE SPOT!) A Zack/Leon promo! Landon Maddix's European scouting thingy! Plus PFL's gonna be doing Sly v. Bo!

My first thought was Santino too, but they'd be best served giving it to someone who doesn't actually have a gimmick and is treading water, so they can reinvent him. Like King Bookah~! That pretty much describes Kennedy perfectly.

Yeah, THAT part of the bump was a new twist for this match, but he's done that jumping in to the turnbuckle thing forever. I'm pretty sure Perfect used the spot at Summerslam '91 against Bret and everybody seems to love that match. Perfect used to use it all the time too. I can't remember anyone saying 'just not good' about Perfect though.

How about fuck that idea? The Knockouts are one of the best things about that company right now. There's no need to "watch it" when it comes to showcasing them. I say that with much love, of course. There is the danger of having too much of a good thing though. If the women are getting over, great, but that shouldn't neccessarily be the signal to sign 10 more of them and stick them all on the show. You don't want to risk going overkill to the point people get too much of it too soon. Not that I think they're at that stage now. But I see cabbageboy's point.

If Cole and Coach had said "Festus doesn't know the meaning of the word quit~!", would be arguing back and forth over whether Festus had ever read a dictionary in his life or at what grade he graduated school? Bloody hell.

Let me start by apologising to myself for doing such a terrible job of building my feud between O'Hara and Black, meaning that they've had 0 singles matches in 12 months. There's slow build and then there's "oh, hey, Leon used to be a pornstar?" build and that was the latter. I'm just bloody glad to get it out of the way. Intrigue between Alf, TK and Reject. I smell a rat. Well, we are in France. [/lowblow] Alf is officially smarter than I. I had to look up the spelling of Je m'apelle for crying out loud! And I couldn't even remember how to say "I come from", let alone translate an entire intro. Charlie Mousse = LOL. Anyway, nice to have a title defence like this on the show. Quick but competitive, nice showcase for Heyross, gets two guys like Strutter and Lamont on the show again. I know I've seen the new finisher somewhere, but I can't remember where. The curses of watching so much wrestling. Ah, Landon, you cad! MARV and MEL are old enough and masculine enough to drink beer? News on me. In less breaking news, Melody is a nerd and Leon is one of those cool nerds that non nerds like. I'm sure there's a proper term for it, like uber nerd or something. I really should know, since I'm the very epitomy of that. I've never seen Curb Your Enthusiasm though. Man, Leon's a real cut-up in this one. With all the fancy camera-work, I half expected Molly to be responsible for filming all this. Why have we never seen Krista's younger brother before? Doesn't she have a sister too? Anyway, developments, yay! I like the look of Dick Danger. You can never have enough rednecks. Serious. Man, that CI shirt took forever. Like I said, uber nerd. Abdullah is guaranteed entertainment, because he's foreign. How else do you think he went from throw-away in a Patty promo to one-time jobber in a match by me to manager and talkshow host of Tony? V.Good job of the LSGS break-up by Tony. We really don't do them that often, which made it a little more important too. Oh Landon, you caddish cad! France sucks. For real. Poor Popick. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Nice way of writing Popick out I must say. And now the LC/Corporation broken up, interesting to see who benefits and who doesn't. Ah, more intrigue. Zack and Bo are still on a colission course. But suddenly everything's a little less linear, because now Sly's involved in it all, plus Pheonix has his issues with him. Intrigue I say. Two attempts at spelling 'confidential' and I screwed them both up. Yay me. Luckily PFL saves it by writing a fantastic CW/Leon match. Top notch. Really made CW look strong, for once in his rollercoaster existance. So the French for Biatch is... Biatch? That'll come in handy next time I shimmy on over to Paris. Nice subtle heel stuff from Reject and TK during the match, setting up the surprising turn of events at the end. Really didn't see that one coming. I guess Alf from the earlier promo you could have guessed, maybe. But certainly not Sandman as well. Very well done.

Fair point.

Cena nailed a bunch of guys with chairshots during that ridiculous 2 vs. RAW roster match, IIRC. 1. Would things had gone differently for the brand -- i.e. would the brand look different altogether today -- had RVD and Sabu not been pulled over for drugs, with Van Dam having to give up both Heavyweight Championships only a few days later? I'd imagine RVD might have gotten a longer reign at least. It's possible ECW might have retained a closer link to it's roots, for a while, although I think it was a matter of sooner or later before the show became a true WWE product. Big Show's reign definately changed the way ECW was looked at. The inclusion of WWE 'superstars' brought in to challenge Show to tide things over changed the show itself. And of course, the match with Batista was the death-knell as far as marketing towards the old ECW fanbase after they shat on it. Whether that match would have ever happened if RVD didn't need to be covered for in the main-event, who knows? 2. Do you feel making an established WWE star in The Big Show the unstoppable heel ECW Champion helped or hindered the brand in its developing months? I guess I just answered that already. I think it definately changed it. It probably hindered it in terms of the ECW marks, but it helped it evolve into what WWE top brass were more comfortable with marketing. So, take your pick really. Putting it on Show as opposed to any other established star was probably a hinderance considering his physical condition at the time. 3. Would adding a secondary singles title and tag titles make the brand more legitimate in your eyes? Would it help you place ECW on the same level as Raw or Smackdown? Not since the talent merger. The WWE Tag Titles are defended as much on ECW as they are Smackdown, if not more-so. There's more than enough singles titles as it is, adding another just dilutes it further, especially if it's made just to give guys something to do. If they were desperate for a secondary title for ECW guys to go after, well, they've got the US Title. Who is there really to go after a title on that level? Maybe Burke. Maybe Kofi. That's about it. A title any less important than the US Title would be a waste. 4. Do you think young wrestlers like John Morrison, CM Punk, and Elijah Burke would be more prevalent or less prevalent in the WWE if only Raw and Smackdown existed? Would they even still be in the federation at all? Definately less, in terms of Punk and Morrison. Morrison might have been on the verge of being ditched had he not been thrown over to ECW in desperation and been given the character overhaul. Burke's struggling for airtime as it is, let alone without ECW. A guy like Kofi is much better off in ECW than he would have been debuting on SD or Raw. Miz was going nowhere fast too. 5. Has this reincarnation of ECW ultimately sullied the legacy of the ECW of the 1990s in your mind? ECW was what it was. The people who have a problem with ECW's 'good name' being 'sullied' are the same people who distance themselves from the current product being ECW anyway, so why should it matter? I'm not sure why the product still needs to be called ECW, to be honest. It's not as if Vince is using the show to bury ECW or re-invent ECW. He never really did (people will argue him winning the title, but the point was people were supposed to hate the idea and route for Lashley, so that's argueable). It's a total seperate entity now. So I don't know as it's done anything to ECW's legacy really. Unless you're a diehard ECW fan who loved everything Heyman ever did with blind devotion I suppose.

"THE C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-CORP-CORPORA-CORPORATION" "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" The opening to “No Chance In Hell” plays as smoke fills the entrance stage. Spanish Fly is shown on the AngleTron posing in front of a Mexican flag with the words “SPANISH FLY” shown next to him in big white blocky letters. The crescendo hits, and a HUGE burst of pyro explodes over the entrance stage. “No Chance In Hell” by Bradley Royds starts playing. *No chance (No chance) That’s what ya got! (Ha! Ha! Yeah.) We’re up against no machine too strong (Too strong) Pussy politicians buying souls for us are…PUPPETS! (Puppets!)* The entrance doors slide open, and Spanish Fly comes jogging out to boos. He throws up the old Wolfpack hand signal with both hands. Fly sticks his tongue out and throws out a few CROTCH CHOPS~! to the French fans before walking down the aisle with his head held high as one standing 4'11" possibly can. Only the fans can get Fly down, some having gone to the trouble of having "CRYBABY" signs made up in English to torment him. Cuz you’ve got…NO CHANCE! (You’ve got no chance!) NO CHANCE IN HELL! You’ve got…NO CHANCE! (Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!) NO CHANCE IN HELL! You’ve got…NO CHANCE! (Got no chance!) NO CHANCE IN HELL! You’ve got…NO CHANCE! (Chance!) NO CHANCE IN HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!* BUFFER The following contest is a number one contender's tournament first round match. Introducing first, coming to the ring at this time. From Tijuana, Mexico. Standing 4-foot-11 and weighing in at 175 lbs. Representing the Stephen Joseph Popick Corporation... he is the SSPPAAAAAAANNIIIISSSSHHHHHHHH... FFFFFLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Sliding into the ring, Fly's initial good mood has disappeared as the crowd get on his back. Fly climbs the ropes and yells at them to quit booing, which of course only makes them want to boo louder. Covering his ears, Fly leans back in the corner pouting trying to shut it all out. COLE I hope he's not gonna start crying. COACH Don't even start that! This is Spanish Fly's renaissance tonight, he's got more reason than anyone in this tournament to want to progress to School's Out and get that shot at Tha Puerto Rican. He's more determined than ever. Which means tonight, you and everyone else who looks down on him and makes fun of him are going to be choking on your words and your taunts and your poorly made banners! COLE Well, Spanish Fly is up against another man with a lot of AngleMania aggression to exercise here tonight. Fly shakes off the abuse of the crowd just as "Oh No" hits and the fans attention turns away. Out marches Todd Cortez to a majority of cheers from the Paris crowd, of which he acknowledges none as he looks on into the ring. Cortez's face is stony, even more so than usual, which likely isn't a good sign. BUFFER And introducing his opponent. Hailing from Hollywood Boulevard... he weighs in at two hundred, twenty six pounds. Representing Cucaracha Internacional! He is "THE URBAN LEGEND"... TTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODD... CCOOOOOOOOORRRRRRTTEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZ!!!! "YYYYEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Cortez's eyes narrow at the mention of the words Cucaracha Internacional and he suddenly seems to walk with a little more determination. Entering the ring he quickly removes his jacket and gold chain, getting ready to go in record time. COACH Let's see if Landon's motivational speech finally got through that thick skull. COLE 'Motivational speech'!? Give me a break. *DINGDINGDING!* Both men leave their corners, hands out in a guard position and looking ready to test their educated feet. The faster Spanish Fly strikes first, kicking Cortez in the thigh. Again. And a third time. Which is good, until Cortez responds with one hard kick to the chest and Fly goes flying back against the ropes, picking himself up with an embarrassed look on his face. COLE Man, what a kick! COACH Maybe Fly might want to rethink his strategy. Like, real quick. In an attempt to save face, Fly dusts himself off as if the kick didn't hurt before offering a test of strength. Cortez looks at Fly like he's crazy for a second. But Fly insists he lock-up, so Cortez shrugs and does so. As soon as they lock knuckles, Fly twists underneath and wrings the arm... but Cortez kicks him in the backs of the legs and Fly ends up flipped right through the air and flat on his face!! COACH Maybe another rethink? Fly scrambles to the ropes and looks shocked at what just happened. Encouraging him back to his feet, Cortez moves in with the intention of throwing some more kicks. Fly wisely backs away and keeps on backing until finally, just as Todd looks like catching him, he ducks through the ropes to force the referee to step in between them. The Urban Legend is moved back against his will, allowing Spanish Fly to quickly sneak out to the apron and springboard to the top rope. Cortez moves the referee out of the way, just in time to get caught with a crossbody block... 1... 2... Quick kickout! Jumping back to his feet, Fly hits the ropes. Cortez misses with an elbow and Fly builds up some more speed off the far ropes, launching himself at Cortez. Todd catches him in a wheelbarrow and Fly pushes off the canvas for the Rube Goldberg Bulldog, only for Cortez to block and spin him around into an inverted atomic drop! "OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!" Hooking Fly up, Cortez follows up with a quick snap suplex. Cortez then positions himself to Fly's side and hits him with a Standing Moonsault! COLE Cortez showing a little agility in his own right! Again Spanish Fly tries to buy himself some time and rolls out of the ring, but with Cortez in hot pursuit. Catching a hold of Fly's singlet, Cortez spins him around... *SLAP!* "WHOOOOOOOO!" ...and delivers a hard knifedge chop! *SLAP!* "WHOOOOOOOO!" And another! Fly rounds the corner of the ring, but Cortez catches up to him and shoves him against the ring apron, delivering a high kick that catches Fly right in the shoulder and drops him to the ringside mats! COACH What a leader Landon Maddix is. I dunno everything he's said to Cortez, but man, it's worked! COLE I'm not so sure it's so much what Landon said as what he [i]did[/i], after that cheapshot with the chain at AngleMania! Cortez rolls Fly back into the ring and follows after him. By Fly's stringy hair he pulls him up, hitting him with a forearm shot. A second forearm rocks Fly against the ropes. And a third leaves him on rubbery legs. Wringing out the arm, Cortez then whips Fly across the ring, coming off the ropes at the side and LAUNCHING Spanish Fly into the air with the HOLLOW POOOOOOIIIIIIINT~! (Period.) COACH Spanish Fly just went AIRBORNE! Crawling over to where Fly ended up, some way across the ring, Cortez makes a pretty casual cover... 1... 2... NO! Fly weakly climbs back to his feet, measured by Cortez. Another hard kick lands to the gut, lifting Fly off his feet for a second such is the force. Fly slumps over the middle rope gasping for breath. By the seat of his pants he's pulled back up by Cortez, before being whipped into a corner. In follows Cortez with a forearm, before setting Fly up on the top turnbuckle. Rather than follow Fly up though, Todd instead uses the position to lift Fly up and over his head into a gorilla press. Walking into the centre of the ring, with ease Cortez carries the 175 pound Fly before letting him go AND CROTCHING HIM ACROSS THE KNEE ON THE WAY DOWN!! "OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" COLE Gorilla Press into a Crotch Droppah!? Curled up in the foetal position, Fly clutches his groin as Cortez stands over him waiting for him to get back up. COLE Things are just going from bad to worse for Spanish Fly. He needed a big performance after AngleMania, but he's run into one of the few men coming out of Los Angeles with more to prove than him and so far he's just been devestated! COACH Isn't this where you usually blab on about Spanish Fly's heart!? Start blabbing! Please! Growing tired of waiting, Cortez pulls Fly back up off the canvas. Back suplex connects and a cover... 1... 2... Kickout! COLE Well Fly is tough. But he's also in a bad way. COACH Don't worry. That heart starts pumping and he'll be cooking again, you watch. Cortez picks Fly back up again... and drops him with a hard kick to the chest, again. COACH Oh no, I think he hit him in the heart! With Fly sucking wind, Cortez signals for the end which gets a big cheer from the French fans, hoping to see the most devestating move in the OAOAST. However, as Cortez goes to pull him into a standing headscissors, Fly suddenly pulls a surprise on him. Pushing off the thighs with his hands, Fly manages to flip up onto Todd's shoulders, landing a couple of right hands before pulling him over with a Hurricanrana... COACH YES! 1... 2... No! Beating Fly up, Cortez looks for a big roundhouse kick. Fly manages to duck however, connecting with two quick martial arts kicks to the body. Cortez shrugs them off though, before throwing another big roundhouse. Again Fly ducks though, then unloads with two more martial arts kicks to the body. Shaking them off as well, Cortez manages to duck a spinkick attempt though. Cortez takes a quick step back, then runs at Fly... but the Corporate Turncoat trips him up, drop toeholding Todd across the middle rope throat first. COACH Yes, dial it up! COLE Spanish Fly with a sudden opportunity. Running the ropes, Fly grabs the top and middle rope, swinging himself around and connecting with the 619!! COACH [i]Six un neuf![/i] COLE From out of nowhere, Spanish Fly could yet steal this one from under The Urban Legend's nose! Fly pulls himself up on the apron and waits for Cortez to get back up. Grabbing the top rope, he springboards himself back into the ring and flies through the air with the FLY SWATTER... ...NO! Cortez catches Fly in mid-air and stuffs him with a Powerbomb!! COLE Oh, he got caught! COACH Crap! Keeping his hands locked around the waist, Cortez elevates Fly back up off the canvas. He doesn't go for another Powerbomb though, instead turning away from the ropes before letting Fly fall back to his feet. Cortez then takes off, tumbling overhead and bringing the 175 pound Spanish Fly flipping helplessly over with him, SPIKING HIM ON HIS HEAD WITH THE RIOT ACT PLUS~!!!!1!!~~!! "YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" COACH :O COLE OH MY GOD! Spanish Fly just got OWNED~! With the fans leaping out of their seats, Spanish Fly finally comes to rest next to the ring ropes, motionless. Cortez grabs a hold of his ankle and pulls him away from the ropes, before making the cover... 1... 2... 3!!! *DINGDINGDING!* BUFFER Your winner of the match, advancing in the Contender's Tournament... "THE URBAN LEGEND"... TTOOOOOOOOODD... CCOOOOORRRRRRTTEEEEEEEZZZZZZZ!!!! "YYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!" Cortez's arm is raised and he climbs back to his feet, showing little signs of over-celebration. On the big screen, replays of the match-ending Riot Act Plus are shown, each to a collective cheer and gasp from the Parisian crowd. COLE That was the damndest thing I've seen. That was a Riot Act Plus PLUS! COACH I... I... COLE (narrating the replay) Fly got caught with the Powerbomb and then, Cortez set him up. He takes off... and Fly is two, three feet off the ground in mid-air!! He comes down right on his head... bounces another foot off the ground on impact! Absolutely incredible! COACH That move should be banned already! Shit like that oughta be saved for that Russian dude on Street Fighter, not OAOAST! Is Fly okay? As Cortez leaves the ring, another couple of referees head to the ring to check on Fly. Cortez doesn't give another look back to the Corporate Turncoat as he heads off, patted on the back by the fans for a good job.

They're actually doing something with Cheerleader Melissa finally? Who'd have thought it! The fact they've got 14 women competing on the card has to be some sort of record for a North American PPV too, surely?

COLE Okay, we've seen three of our first round matches in the number one contender's tournament and we're about set for our fourth in a few moments. A lot of history between Leon Rodez and Christian Wright, since the very first moment we saw Wright arrive in the OAOAST three years ago. Their paths cross again tonight, but for once it's not because of that history but with the goal of moving one step closer to the World Heavyweight Championship. COACH Well, I know Theodore Moneymaker's a confident man. He feels like finally Christian's in a position to break out and make a big name for himself, thanks to the guidance and backing of The Enterprise. Leon on the other hand? I mean, he's been around for almost four years now and he's done pretty much everything, except be World Champion. So he's got something to prove tonight as well. COLE That's right. For all Leon's ability and popularity, it's amazing to think he's had only two, maybe three shots at the World Heavyweight Championship total. And I think the majority of the OAOAST fans feel it's about time that changed. After being caught up in personal situations for so long, is now the time for Leon Rodez to put his career back on track and chase that elusive run at the OAOAST World Title? We're going to find out soon enough. Todd Cortez of course awaiting the winner next week, let's got to the ring to this final first round match... The Parisian crowd rise to their feet one more time as "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top hits and out heads the OAOAST's top Financial Analyst. And, for that matter, the only Financial Analyst. Stepping onto the stage, Christian Wright adjusts the lapels of his red polyester jacket and smiles in self-satisfaction as Mackenzie DeCenzo shows him off to the Paris crowd. Patting his briefcase, Wright gentlemanly allows Mackenzie to head to the ring ahead of him as he makes his way down to the ring. BUFFER The following contest is a first round match in the European Vacation #1 Contender's Tournament, scheduled for one fall! On the way to the ring, becoming accompanied by the Chief Financial Officer of The Enterprise, MACKENZIE DECENZO! Now residing in Washington D.C... he weighs in at approximately 8 1/3 [i]bars of gold[/i]! Representing The Enterprise, he is "THE NATURAL"... CCHHHRRRIIIIIIISSSSSTTIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAANN... WWWWRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGHHHHTT!!!! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Stepping into the ring, Wright loosens up his tie and gets rid of the business attire, as he steps out of the boardroom and into a big one on one encounter. Mackenzie takes possession of the briefcase and keeps it safely in said possession, even when the referee tries to confiscate it as a foreign object. COACH Dude better watch himself. Those are some confident papers in there, suckers have been killed for touching less. COLE Are there also some 'confidental' bricks in there by any chance? COACH Please, the thing's made of metal, it's heavy enough and solid enough as it is. COLE ... COACH I mean... uh... no. As Wright continues to process of getting himself ready, making you wonder why he really needs the shirt and tie for his entrance anyway, the fans erupt for the cueing of "Rock The Casbah". Wright turns his nose at the reaction for his bitter rival. And the reaction only gets louder and more prolonged, as Leon Rodez's black and purple robe sweeps out through the entrance. Smile on his face as you'd expect, Leon does a quick twirl before heading down the aisle, tagging away at the hands of the fans. BUFFER And his opponent! Hailing from Grand Rapids, Michigan and weighing in tonight at two hundred, eighteen pounds... "THE NEW-AGE LOVE MACHINE"... "THE GRAND RAPIDS GOLDEN CHILD"... ladies and gentlemen, this is "SILKY SMOOTH"... LLLLLLEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOONN... RRRRRRRROOOOOOODDEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZ!!!! "YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Leon jogs up the ring steps, stopping at the top as he gets a first look at CW. Shaking the head, he climbs to the middle turnbuckle and salutes the crowd before vaulting on in over the top. COACH You'd have thought with Mackenzie out here, maybe Leon would have brought out 'Miss Women's Champion' with him, huh? Which leaves me with two conclusions. One, Maggie's scared of Mackenzie. Or two, there's a little trouble in paradise, shall we say? COLE Well Maggie doesn't have an active manager's license. COACH You mean to tell me she had a wrestler's license when she won the Women's Title? COLE You'd have to ask OAOAST Head Office about that. COACH Exactly. No matter. I'm sure Mackenzie and Maggie will be getting better acquainted at some point in the future. *taps nose* Away goes Leon's robe in the hands of a ringside attendant, Wright's jacket far too expensive to be handled by French peasants apparantly as it stays under the bottom turnbuckle with his briefcase under Mackenzie's watchful eye. COLE I talked to Leon earlier and he's feeling good tonight. He got a good luck message from California earlier tonight from Jade Rodez. I can guarantee you, that meant a lot to him considering the stress of recent weeks... caused, of course, by Christian Wright's boss, Theodore Moneymaker. *BELL RINGS* These two, having quite the past, immediately lock up, with Christian quickly shoving Rodez down to the mat. Rodez rolls backwards and up to his feet, then they immediately lock up again. Christian shoves him down again. Rodez rolls back to his feet, teases going in for a lock-up, but fakes out Wright and gets a single-leg takedown. Rodez grabs a leg, but is shoved down when Wright places his foot into Rodez's chest and pushes. Both men come up and Leon scores with a quick armdrag. Both back up and Wright gets a quick armdrag. Both men get up and throw dropkicks at the same time, blocking each other's moves. Both get up and start exchanging chops at such a rapid speed that it would be pointless to archive each individual chop. Wright finally stops it with a knee to the mid-section. Wright comes off of the ropes, but runs into a back body drop by Rodez. Leon comes off of the ropes and goes for a jumping back senton...Christian rolls away and Leon hits nothing but mat. Wright's up immediately and throws a low kick to the seated Leon, but Rodez ducks back to avoid it. Leon kips up, then goes for a bodyslam. But, Christian slips out the back side and then hits an atomic drop. With Rodez bent over in mid-ring, Christian runs. He bounces off of the ropes behind Leon to gain speed, then runs and bounces off on the other side. He charges ahead...and runs right into a dropkick to the face! PIN! ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Both men are up, Leon first. Rodez gives Wright an Irish whip into a corner, then charges in after him. Wright gets his boot up and Rodez eats it. Christian runs out of the corner and leaps over Rodez, going for a sunset flip. Leon rolls out of it, then dropkicks the seated Wright in the face. Leon pulls Wright up, forgoing a cover. Rodez sends Wright off with an Irish whip. Wright comes off of the ropes, ready to throw a clothesline. But, Leon leaps and goes behind with a schoolboy... ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Rodez gets up before Wright and pulls him into a small package... ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Rodez grabs Wright by the arm and gives him an Irish whip as they're coming up to their feet. Christian ducks the clothesline, so Leon runs the opposite direction. They bounce off of the ropes on opposite directions; Leon nails Christian with a flying bodypress into a cover... ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Wright quickly pops up to his feet, dazed...then stumbles through the ropes and goes to the outside. COLE These two have had their battles, but Leon Rodez is full force ahead, which has been too much for The Natural. Wright is collecting himself at ringside. The referee isn't counting since he's distracted trying to get Leon not to do a dive onto Wright. Wright collects his thoughts, as MacKenzie tries to comfort him. Christian finally points her away and slowly crawls onto the apron. Leon backs off as Wright comes back through the ropes. Wright's strategy seems to be slowing down Rodez's high-speed offensive attack, which is working, as he slowly manuevers his way into a collar-and-elbow lock-up. Wright grabs onto a headlock. Rodez lifts him in the air, but Wright reverses the momentum and brings Rodez down with a grounded headlock. Rodez works his legs upward, and escapes the headlock by bringing Wright into a side headscissors. Wright performs a bridge, then quickly drops down and kips up to throw Rodez off-guard and escape the headscissors. Christian grabs Rodez's heel before he can get up and rolls him backwards onto his feet. Christian goes back to the headlock while standing. Leon locks his arms around Wright's wrist, then rolls to his side, rolling Wright with him. However, Christian keeps ahold of the headlock and applies it on the mat in a seated position, yanking back almost like a crossface. COACH You can tell that these two came into the match with completely differing strategies to counter-act what they knew the other was going to do. Currently, Christian Wright is slowing the speedster down and wearing him out with headlocks. Wright cranks on the hold, trying to squeeze the life out of Rodez's head. Leon grabs Wright by the waist and rolls him to his side, onto his shoulders... ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Both men come up to their feet and Rodez scores with a snapmare into a lateral press... ONE! KICKOUT! Both men up, Wright goes back for a headlock takeover, but misses Rodez and falls to his stomach. Rodez hooks the near arm around his shin, then rolls over Wright and hooks his arm, bringing him into an inverted crucifix cradle... ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Both men back up to their feet, Rodez immediately drops down and brings Wright down to his stomach with a drop toe hold. He grabs Wright's near arm and starts wrapping it for La Magistral, but Wright turns around mid-twist and brings Rodez over with a schoolboy... ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Wright grabs a front facelock as both men rise to their feet, but Rodez quickly twists out and grabs a side wristlock. Wright rolls himself to untwist his arm, then tippy-toes around Rodez's back, wrapping his arm around Leon's neck so he can come around the front and lock in a headlock to escape and reverse. Rodez pushes his palm up underneath Christian's jaw, then gets under him to shove Wright into the ropes. The referee orders a clean break and Rodez gets away quick enough to not necesitate a count. Rodez says something to the referee about the count...and gets a boot to the stomach for his troubles. Wright then leaps over Leon, going for a sunset flip...but Leon sits down and hooks Wright's legs under his arms... ONE! TWO! ...Wright uses his leg strength to bring Rodez over into a sunset cradle... ONE! TWO! Rodez rolls out! He's on his feet and charges at Wright...but Wright puts his feet up and monkey flips Leon over the top rope! Rodez lands hip-first on the edge of the apron, which sends him flying face-first into the guardrail! COACH That's not good... COLE Not at all...he could've blown out his hip, knocked himself out, gotten a concussion, cut himself open bad, broken an orbital bone...nothing good can come of this. Wright comes to his feet and looks down at Rodez, whose blood starts slowly trickling out of his forehead out of a small cut. The referee leaps out of the ring, concerned, as Rodez looks to not be moving... COACH Our official is calling out more referees...never a good sign. COLE Of course, right as something serious and important happens, we have to take a time-out....more HeldDOWN~! in a few! *COMMERCIAL BREAK* COACH We're back, and things are not looking great... Christian Wright is still standing in the ring, now bowing sarcastically over what he's done. Leon Rodez is being helped to his feet by a bevy of referees and agents, as his face is both red from blood and bruised from the header he took into the guardrail. A replay is shown of his bad bump. As the referees are helping Rodez to his feet, Wright comes through the ropes and stands over him on the apron. The referees start assisting Rodez in walking to the locker room...but two steps in, Christian comes off of the apron and hits a diving knee strike to the back of Leon's head, knocking down the referees helping him and sending Leon back into the guardrail! COLE Christian Wright, you piece of garbage! Wright pulls Rodez up and throws him back into the ring, then slides himself in and goes for a cover. He has to yell for the referee to come back in, and seconds later the ref does... ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Wright yells at the referee to count faster. Christian pulls the groggy Leon up with a front facelock, then lifts him for a vertical suplex, holding him upside-down in the air and letting the blood rush to and out of his head. The crowd starts counting under their boos as the seconds pile up... ...NINE! TEN! ELEVEN! TWELVE! THIRTEEN! FOURTEEN! FIFTEEN!... ...and Wright brings him crashing down with the suplex. Wright looks down at himself and sees Leon's blood on his skin. He grabs a hankerchef out of the referee's pocket and wipes the blood off of himself, then tosses it on the ground, much to the referee's chagrin. He then goes for a lateral press with no leg hooked... ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Wright immediately gets up and stomps Leon right on the wound. Wright looks out to the crowd, who do not like what he is doing, and takes another bow. He pulls Rodez, who is starting to become dead weight, up to his feet slowly, then sends him off to the ropes with an Irish whip. Rodez bounces off the ropes and Wright catches him with an attempted sleeperhold, but Leon somehow finds the adrenaline to go to the side and shove Wright off to the ropes. However, he cannot do much more to defend himself, as Wright easily bounces off of the ropes and BLASTS Leon with a spear! Wright floats right into a cover... ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Wright, looking angry, immediately pulls Rodez up and throws him into a corner. Wright blasts Rodez, whose blood is now covering his face, with a chop, followed by another. Christian pumps up really big for the third chop...but Leon pushes up his feet and kicks Wright in the arm! Wright stumbles backwards, but composes himself and charges in, nailing Rodez in the jaw with a deadly European uppercut! Wright sends Rodez into the opposite corner with an Irish whip, then charges at him and crushes him with a double-kneed leaping strike, one of the knees catching Leon right under the jaw. COLE Wright using a signature move of the Silky Smooth One to punish him further in what has quickly turned into a brutal match! Wright backs out of the corner, motioning for Rodez to come at him. Leon stumbles out of the corner, then runs right into a European uppercut that sends him flying back into a seated position into the corner. Wright steps in and chokes Rodez with the sole of his boot. The referee counts him off... ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! ...Wright breaks cleanly. He then grabs Rodez by the feet and tries pulling him up out of the corner to drop him on his back...but Rodez backflips onto his knees and sends Wright off with a punch to the jaw! Rodez is still doozy from the damage he's received, which gives Wright time once again to shake off the blow and send him back into the corner with a shoulder charge to the mid-section. Wright grabs Rodez by the wrist, pulls him out of the corner, and right into a short-arm clothesline! Wright pulls Rodez up by the wrist, then performs another short arm clothesline. Wright pulls him up a third time, pulls him in short-arm style...then goes for a sleeperhold again! This time, Rodez quickly drops down and performs a jawbreaker to escape! Wright stumbles back into the ropes from the impact, then dazily strolls forward. Rodez sticks his legs up, looking to go for a bodyscissors victory roll of sorts...but Wright snaps out of it and drops down, nailing Rodex with a fistdrop right onto the wound! COACH Rodez is taking a wicked beating here! These two are by far not the best of friends, but this is something else! COLE If Rodez continues to bleed like this and his defense mechanisms continue to dwindle, the referee really should stop this match! COACH If Wright finally gets that sleeperhold he keeps going for, it's for sure lights out for the Grand Rapids Golden Child! Wright pulls Rodez up slowly, using a front facelock. Wright shakes his head, with sweat flying out of his hair, then drops Rodez with a DDT. Wright leans backwards on Rodez, basically sitting down using him as a backrest, for the pin... ONE! TWO! TH-KICKOUT! Wright immediately comes to his feet and starts arguing with the referee. While this is going on, behind his back, Leon Rodez is crawling to the ropes, attempting to use them to pull himself to his feet. He's up to one knee, then Wright turns around and immediately blasts him with a running kick to the face. Wright rolls Rodez under the bottom rope and onto the apron. Wright climbs out to the apron next, then pulls Leon up to his knees with a front facelock. Wright pulls Leon fully to his feet, hooking Leon's right arm around his head. He yanks up on the tights, attempting a VERTICAL SUPLEX ON THE APRON! COLE You don't have to do this! He's injured plenty, Christian! Christian is having a hard time lifting the dead-weight Rodez. He gets Leon lifted half-way up and Rodez starts wiggling his legs. Wright sets him back down and delivers a forearm to the back to settle him down. Christian re-hooks him and lifts him again. Rodez tries wiggling out again, so Christian sets him down and delivers another forearm. Christian brings him up for the third lift....but Leon's wiggling works, as he swings back down and drops Wright face-first on the edge of the apron with a DDT! COLE WOW! CROWD OOOOOOOH!! COACH Both men are down! The referee's starting his count on Rodez! ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! ..Wright rolls back into the ring, but he's still down! FIVE! SIX! ...Rodez has pulled himself up using the apron... SEVEN! Wright is up on one knee... EIGHT!...Rodez is half-way in.... NINE! T....RODEZ IS IN! Wright's up and walks over to Leon...but gets a headbutt to the mid-section! Rodez is up and comes off of the ropes...but runs right into another sleeperhold attempt! He tries going to the side, but Wright keeps ahold of the sleeper! Rodez gets under Wright and tries pulling himself down for a jawbreaker, but the hold is locked in tightly. Rodez can't wiggle out of it, and finally Wright brings Rodez down, falling on top of him. The crowd is cheering... "LEEEEEOOOOOON!" "LEEEEEOOOOOON! "LEEEEEEOOOOON!" Clapping and stomping in rhythm, trying to get Leon back up to his feet, can be heard! The referee's checking the hold, showing it's not a choke. He then lifts Leon's arm up... ...and it falls down! The referee lifts the arm up again... ...and it FALLS DOWN! The referee lifts it up again, knowing that one more drop and the match is over!... THE CROWD IS YELLING NOOOOOO! ....and it stays up! The crowd pops huge! Wright tries putting more weight on Leon's head, but Rodez is rolling onto his stomach! He's able to move to his feet much easier. He gets to one knee, as the crowd's cheering him on! Rodez slowly moves up to a standing position. Wright is trying to maneuver him back down, but it isn't working. Rodez is walking over towards the ropes, as Christian keeps ahold of the sleeper. Rodez places his foot on the 2nd rope, then steps up the other foot onto the top rope. The referee seems to be eerie of breaking the hold, even though Rodez is in the ropes. Leon puts his other foot on the top rope, then punches Christian Wright repeatedly, square in the temple. After the fourth punch, Wright loosens up his grip, allowing Rodez to grab onto Wright's head over his shoulder. Rodez pushes off of the ropes...and Feedback THIS! COLE Leon's come back from the almost-dead to hit one of his signature moves! Leon crawls over and lays on Wright... ONE! TWO! TH..... KICKOUT! CROWD OOOOOOOOOH! Rodez has a determined look on his blood-red face, as the plasma drips from his skin. He pulls himself up using the ropes, as Wright is up to one knee in a daze. Both men come to their feet and stagger to mid-ring. Christian throws a punch, it gets blocked, and Leon hits a jab. Wright throws another punch, blocked, Rodez hits a jab. Rodez doesn't wait for the next block and gets in his next jab, followed by a fourth! The crowd is HOT, as he blows a bloody kiss at MacKenzie before stepping back, leaping up, and BLASTING Christian upside the head with an enziguri! COACH MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT! Wright goes down, but is up a few seconds later, holding the back of his head. The crowd is behind Leon 100% as he comes off of the ropes and goes for the Shack Attack...but after the roll, he gets caught and driven DOWN INTO THE MAT with the Wright Off! ONE! TWO! THR..... KICKOUT! CROWD OOOOOOOH! Wright pulls Leon up immediately and Irish whips him into a corner. Christian charges into the corner, but Rodez rolls out and dodges his opponent. Rodez is in mid-ring as Wright turns around...and Rodez nails the Superman Spear in the corner! Wright stumbles out of the corner, right into a sit-out hiptoss. Leon rolls Christian backwards by the ankle, back onto his feet, and Irish whips him in the opposite direction. Rodez bends down, telegraphing his move, and Wright kicks him in the chest, then immediately knocks him down with a superkick! Christian immediately flies up to the top rope, then nails a frog splash! COVER! ONE! TWO! THREEEEEEEEE......KICKOUT! Christian can't believe it, as the crowd cheers! Wright pulls Rodez up in a double-underhook position, signalling he's attempting the Nightmare on Wall Street! Rodez drops down to a knee, blocking the lift. Wright forearms Rodez in the back, then goes for the double-underhook again. This time, Rodez incredibly powers Wright up on his back! Wright is hanging upside down off of Rodez, holding onto Leon's arms. Rodez is visibly struggling to keep Christian up in the air, as the crowd applauds him. Rodez then backs up into a corner! Wright's ankles get tangled up behind the top turnbuckle and he's hung in the tree of woe. Leon walks to center-ring, rubs his wound, then looks at the blood on his fingertips, points at Wright, charges forward, and dropkicks him in the face! The impact causes Christian's ankles to unravel, as he crumbles down to the mat. Rodez pulls Wright up and shoves him into the corner stomach-first. Rodez backs up, then hits the double knees to the back! Wright stumbles backwards, as Rodez hooks Wright's head and hits another Feedback This! COVER! ONE! TWO! THRE-KICKOOOOOOOOUT! The crowd unravels as Leon pounds the mat, pumping himself up. Rodez grabs Wright's head over his shoulder and pulls him up like that. He lifts Christian up across his back, going for the Banana Hammock. Wright grabs onto Rodez's head and applies a sleeper, but Leon backs up into the corner and the impact breaks the hold. Leon turns around and immediately hits a rolling Koppo kick. Leon gets up and grabs Christian by the back of the head, then shoves him throat-first across the middle rope. Leon does his little dance...then Calls That Bitch Bojangles! The crowd approves, as he calls for one more. He does his dance again and throws in a "giving head" motion to MacKenzie, then comes off of the ropes...he dives in...and Christian moves! Leon sits on the middle rope, feeling the negative effects of crotching himself. Wright, holding his back, latches onto Rodez with a waistlock. He pulls Leon out of the ropes, then hits a bridging German Suplex! ONE! TWO! THR....KICKOUT! Christian is visibly fatigued, but is trying to move Rodez over towards the ropes to set up for the Conversion Rate. However, Leon knows what he's going for and plants himself down to get a low center of gravity and block the movement. Wright changes his gameplan and butterflies the arms again for the Nightmare on Wallstreet. This time, he gets Rodez up on his shoulder...but Leon slides out of the hold and brings Wright over with a backslide! ONE! TWO! THREEEEEEE....... KICKOUT! Rodez is up first and hits a standing dropkick to the jaw of Wright, knocking him down. Rodez looks up at the top rope, then looks to the crowd. The crowd's noise level rises, knowing what he's alluding to, as he goes to the apron and starts climbing... COACH This could be the 450! If Leon hits this, match OVER! Leon is on the top rope, Wright laying below. Rodez's face is covered in crusted blood. The crowd is chanting... "LEEEEEOOOON!" "LEEEEEOOOON!" Rodez takes off....one rotation...WRIGHT MOVES! LEON LANDS RIGHT ON HIS SURGICALLY RECONSTRUCTED KNEE! COLE Leon went down for months with that knee injury and everything the surgery corrected could be un-done with that one high-risk! Wright, who sat up, looks around and sees Rodez clutching his knee. Christian pulls himself up to his feet, then grabs Leon's feet and drags him to mid-ring...he grapevines the legs...WALL STREET CLOVERLEAF! He hooks the legs and tries to turn the hold, as the crowd screams for Leon...but Christian turns it over...and sits down on it! The crowd screams for Rodez, as Wright cranks on the knee. Rodez has trinkles of blood dripping down his face, as he tries crawling to the ropes with his and his opponent's body weight on him. Rodez is performing the strength to pull himself across the mat. The crowd screams for him...he's close to the ropes...and Wright drags him back to the center of the ring! COACH This doesn't look good for Leon Rodez! Rodez is firmly planted in mid-ring, his injured knee constantly cranked in the Wall Street Cloverleaf. He can't push up to flip Wright out of position to crank the hold, so he turns sideways and grabs Christian's ankle. He then starts twisting it, almost going eye-for-an-eye. Both men are cranking at each other's limbs, as Leon tries to fight off the instinct of tapping out. COLE This isn't just about their own personal hatred or any gang war; this win will get these men one step closer to the biggest crown in the sport, something they want more than words can express! Both men are almost horizontal, as Wright's starting to crumble under the pain of the anklehold. They see that both of their holds have been basically rendered ineffective and almost at the same time, they let go. The crowd applauds the heart shown by these men, as they come up to their feet gingerly and slowly. Once they're up, both are standing mid-ring. Rodez BLASTS Wright in the face with a forearm strike, and Wright responds with a European uppercut. Rodez responds with a forearm and gets another European uppercut for his troubles. Wright has Rodez dazed now, so Christian decides to run and bounce off of the ropes. He comes charging...and runs right into a forearm to the face! Wright's down on one knee, so Rodez snap-judges and hooks him in a butterfly position, then nails a Tiger Driver! ONE! TWO! THREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! HE KICKS OUT! COLE I can't believe it! Rodez lays back out of pure exhaustion. Rodez pulls himself up out of the sheer drive to win. He grabs Wright and pulls him to his feet, but Wright has the energy to kick him in the stomach. In one big rush of adrenaline, Wright hooks the arms, lifts Rodez, and nails the NIGHTMARE ON WALL STREET! But, he doesn't go for the cover! Christian pulls Leon up by the hair and points to the top rope. He muscles Leon up onto the top turnbuckle, then climbs up top himself. Christian hooks Rodez and looks to be going for his finisher, the Stock Market Crash, OFF THE TOP ROPE! He pulls on Rodez, but Leon has snatched onto the top rope and won't let go. Wright delivers two stiff elbows to the back of Rodez's head. He pulls on Rodez again, and no movement. He goes to strike Leon again...and gets a forearm to the face! Rodez blasts him with another, then another! Finally, he grabs the back of Wright's head for added impact and HEADBUTTS him so hard a thud can be heard through the arena! He lets go of Christian...and he tumbles to the mat! COLE He might be out! Rodez looks around at the crowd again, who are cheering him so loudly! Rodez looks down at his knee, which is killing him, but then looks up at the sky and knows World Title chances are rare. So, he loosens the knee brace, then stands on the top rope, takes off.... ...AND HE HITS THE 450 SPLASH! COVER! ONE! TWO! THREEEEEEEEEE! *DING DING* BUFFER YOUR WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINEEEEEER AND ADVANCING TO FACE TODD CORTEZ IN THE CONTENDERSHIP TOURNAMENT....LEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON ROOOOOOOOOOOOODEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! COLE WHAT A PERFORMANCE! These two warriors unquestionably left it all in the ring tonight! This years-old rivalry came to a head once again tonight with insanely high stakes, and on this night, Leon Rodez was the better man. But even then, these men showed insane skills and heart en route to having what has to be considered an incredible match-up! Referees and officials swarm the ring, as both men lie in the ring, lifeless. Water is poured on both men, as MacKenzie yells for her man to answer her. Leon sits up after assistance from officials, as the pain from his knee is starting to set in again. COACH Ultimate risks were taken in this bout, but for Leon Rodez, it might lead to the ultimate reward in the long-run.

COLE But tonight we're kicking things off with the search for the new number one contender to the OAOAST World Heavyweight Championship! Eight men, vying for a shot at Tha Puerto Rican, in 45 days at School's Out. It's a traditional single elimination tournament and here's how the bracket looks going into tonight's first round... Here's a neat bracket, with a not-so neat tournament name! [IMG=http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii59/KingCucaracha/contendertournament.jpg] COLE Eight men who've never held the World Title before and a huge opportunity for one of them to follow in the footsteps of PRL back at AngleMania. With that in mind, our first first-round match is on the way, the first ever one on one meeting between Jamie O'Hara and Nathaniel Black. This one's been brewing for some time. Here's how it all got started, back in WDW in the month of May... [QUOTE=WORLD DOMINATION WRESTLING, May 28th] HEYROSS Mr. Black, you don't sound too impressed so far. BLACK Well, it's impressive. It just ain't wrestling. It's all 'razmatazz', as you Yanks like to call it. Waiting on Freeman to get back up, in the corner O'Hara crouches down. As soon as Freeman reaches his feet O'Hara goes to the middle rope again. This time though, as he goes for the Blockbuster, Freeman is able to sidestep, causing J-OH to frontflip to the canvas! BLACK See, you'll never catch me doing something that bloody moronic in a wrestling match. Cover by Freeman... 1... 2... No! Freeman looks to take control now. Front facelock, into a nice vertical suplex, with a floatover... 1... 2... No! Back up again, Freeman whips O'Hara into the corner. The Kansas native tries to follow in with a clothesline. But O'Hara suddenly slinks through the top and middle ropes, narrowly avoiding the charge! Freeman hits the turnbuckles chest first, stumbling into O'Hara who hangs him up on the top rope. As Freeman falls, Jamie then scales the turnbuckles. Up top, O'Hara sets, the crowd buzzing as he soars through the air, CONNECTING WITH A SHOOTING STAR LEGDROP!!! "YYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" JR Stick that in the highlight reel! BLACK Ugh! Rolling on top, O'Hara hooks the leg... 1... 2... 3!!! *DINGDINGDING!* PENZER Your winner of the match... JJAAAAAAAMMMIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE... O'HHHHAAAAAAARRRRRRRRAAAAAAA!!! As O'Hara's hand is raised in victory, Black's headset can be heard hitting the table. Black walks over and takes the microphone from Penzer, entering the ring as O'Hara begins to play up his victory. JR Now, what's this about? O'Hara turns around and looks surprised for a moment as Black holds up a hand, telling him to calm down. BLACK Now... I'm new around these parts. But, WDW invited me to come along, all the way over from Japan to watch the show tonight. Seeing as I'm gonna be debuting, Saturday night an' all. I come out 'ere to commentate on a wrestling match... an', what do I get? I get you. Some scrawny little chav flipping around like a bloody jack-monkey! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" BLACK You know, I was pretty 'appy when they said there was a British wrestler on the card tonight. Because let's face it, we British, we made wrestling what it is today. Just like we made all the other sports the world's claimed as their own. We made wrestling. I'm proud to be British. And let me tell you something sunshine, you may be 'British' but you sure as heck ain't a British wrestler, okay! I came back to America for one reason. To show all of you ungrateful Yanks that the British are the best in the world! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" BLACK An' I came to show these people some real wrestling. Some British wrestling. Not this bollocks you just served up. Look at yeh, eh? I bet you ain't even old enough to remember World Of Sport. You're barely old enough to be out of short trousers... Black looks at the increasingly angry O'Hara. BLACK ...infact, it looks like you're still wearin' your short trousers. Well, let me fill you in on something, 'mate'. I am Nathaniel Black and I am the flag-bearer of British wrestling. I'm not some glorified circus act like you. So, if you wanna know what real British wrestling is like, you can watch me at Triumph and I'll teach you a lesson or two, how's that? Black 'passes' the microphone to O'Hara. It falls at The Birmingham Bad Boy's feet though, O'Hara looking thoroughly POed as Black strides off. [/QUOTE] COACH And 10 months on, they've had zero one on one matches. Disappointing. COLE Well, yes. But that changes tonight. Unfortunately WDW folded before they could settle their score there and it would be a few months before Nathaniel Black returned to the OAOAST, after the acquisition of HI-YAH. And the first thing he did after returning in London, England was attack Jamie O'Hara backstage. The two ended up trying to settle their differences in, of all things, a Penalty Shootout at November Reign. That ended with a 3 on 1 attack on O'Hara and a serious concussion delivered via a soccer ball to the face from Black. When O'Hara returned from injury in January, OAOAST President AngleSault tried to put a halt to the rivalry by teaming the two Englishmen up in the Anderson Cup, hoping that by teaming with one another Black would learn to respect the different style of wrestling that O'Hara impliments. That, unfortunately, didn't work out as Black laid O'Hara out after their elimination in the Conference Semi Finals. So now, finally, the two are paired up to settle their differences the old fashioned way. A battle of the Brits to kick off the #1 Contender's Tournament, let's take it to Michael Buffer. *DINGDING!* BUFFER Ladies and gentlemen, our opening contest is a First Round Match in the European Vacation #1 Contender's Tournament, scheduled for one fall! "Chelsea Dagger" by The Fratellis begins to pump through the arena, accompanied by the flashing of red, white and blue strobe lights around the entrance way. As the intro ends, Nathaniel Black punches his way through the curtain, permanent scowl on his face as he unbuckles his 6-Man Tag Team Championship and raises it above his head with a shout. Black then walks on with nose turned up (well, we are in France) and the title over his shoulder. BUFFER Introducing first, from London, England. Weighing two hundred and thirty eight pounds... he represents Cucaracha Internacional and is one third of the OAOAST World 6-Man Tag Team Champions... NNAAATTHHHAAAAAANNIIIIEEEEEELLLLL... BBLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCKK!!!! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Black marches up the ring steps and into the ring, climbing the turnbuckles to punch his fists into the air again. The aggressive Englishman gets on referee Charles Robinson's back before the match has even begun, telling him exactly what he expects of him. COACH Finally, Nathaniel Black gets an opportunity around here. He has to be the most hard-done by wrestler in OAOAST history, thanks to bias American flag-wavers like AngleSault. COLE And like Landon Maddix, who pulled him from the 6-Man Tag Team Title match at Leap Year Spectacular and at Cibernetico? COACH Hey listen, Landon made an executive decision and it paid off. Until Cortez piledrove him... but, that's not the point. Landon ain't the problem. He sees something big in Nat Black and so do I, this is gonna be his chance to shine I'm calling it. "OOOOOOOOIIIIIIII!" "Fix Up, Look Sharp" pounds out next and Black's scowl becomes even scowlier, as Jamie O'Hara makes his way out. All business tonight, O'Hara heads straight down the aisle with none of his usual flash or excitement. BUFFER And his opponent. From Birmingham, England... he weighs one hundred, seventy six pounds. "THE BIRMINGHAM BAD BOY"... JJJAAAAAAAAMMMMIIIIIIEEEEEEE... OOOOOOO'HHAAAAAAAARRRRRRRAAAAAAA!!!! "YYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" O'Hara slides into the ring and immediately Black marches over to give him the intimidation treatment. Going nose-to-nose, O'Hara doesn't back down and the two mouthy Brits exchange words and threats before the referee gets in between to seperate them. It's clear he's not going to be able to do that for long though, so he very quickly checks O'Hara out for weapons before calling for the bell. *DINGDINGDING!* COLE Here we go... Straight on the bell, O'Hara runs at Black who throws a clothesline. O'Hara manages to duck underneath, but Black turns on his heels and WALLOPS O'Hara with the Black Lariat, dumping him right on the back of his head!! COLE Wham! It could be over already! 1... 2... NO! COLE Man, only two but O'Hara couldn't have wished for a worse start. He walked right into that Lariat, no more than ten seconds in. COACH Nathaniel Black is officially not playin'. Pulling O'Hara to all fours, Black delivers a couple of hard kneestrikes to the face of The Birmingham Bad Boy, before pulling him to his feet. Holding him by the head, he rears back and delivers another Lariat, quickly cradling O'Hara up again... 1... 2... KICKOUT! With a frustrated glare over at the referee, Black climbs back to his feet and waits for O'Hara to drag himself back up, loading up a third Lariat. COLE There is no feeling out process here, Black has gone directly for the kill tonight! O'Hara is already wobbly and unsteady on his feet, as he turns towards Black. Eyeing his bitter rival up, a loud roar escapes Black's mouth as he puts every ounce of himself into a third Lariat... NO, DUCKED! O'Hara avoids it and pulls Black down with a prawn hold... 1... 2... NO! Both men are back to their feet and O'Hara strikes first with a kick. Quickly he unloads with a series of quick kicks to the legs before leaping up and delivering a spinning back kick to the chest. Black takes only a couple of steps backwards though, before charging right back forwards and knocking O'Hara flying with a strong European uppercut! Falling into the ropes, J-OH isn't about to back down and comes right back at Black with some more rapid kicks. He gets caught behind the head and clubbed with another European uppercut though, this one keeping him down and knocking the wind out of him. COLE Man, these two are certainly making up for lost time here tonight! A breathless opening to this presentation of HeldDOWN~!, live from Paris, France, we thank you once again for joining us if you're tuning in a little late. After the frenetic opening, Black is happy to slow things down a little now. He stomps down on the chest of Jamie, twice, before pinning him against the bottom rope and choking him with his boot. "ONE!" "TWO!" "THREE!" "FOU..." 'Clean' break by Black, only to grab the feet of O'Hara. As O'Hara grabs the middle rope Black then pulls up and launches his opponent into the air. O'Hara shocks Black by pulling out a BACKFLIP and landing on his feet, then evading his charge and sending him tumbling through the ropes and to the floor! Before Black can get his bearings, O'Hara then hits the ropes and cartwheels through the air, TAKING BLACK OUT WITH A SPACE FLYING TIGER DROP ON THE OUTSIDE!!!! "YYYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!" COLE INCREDIBLE MOVE! COACH They haven't seen anything like that in France since... ah fuck, I don't know nothin' about France. O'Hara tags the hands of some of the French fans, who don't seem to mind the fact he's an Englishman and are just having a good time. COLE Already the two contrasting styles are clashing here. Black determined to dominate with brute force while O'Hara is trying to use his speed and agility to out-fox his opponent. Dumping Black back inside, O'Hara heads for the top rope. In one leap he reaches the top, waiting for a second for Black to turn before taking off with a Flying Spinning Wheel Kick... but Black [i]just about[/i] catches O'Hara, enough to drop him into a quick backbreaker. Flipping him over, Black then sits down and applies a camel clutch on The Birmingham Bad Boy. COACH But that's exactly where that style is going to get you. You keep taking those high-risk, low reward moves and sooner or later it's gonna cost you. Especially against someone like Nathaniel Black. COLE Who won't be taking any high-risks, that's for sure. Black sits back and asks the referee to check for a submission. Not coming yet though, so Black decides to try and force the issue by FISHHOOKING the mouth of Jamie O'Hara. Referee Robinson quickly breaks that up but Black isn't done yet. Reaching back, he grabs one of O'Hara's training shoes and pulls his leg back, tucking it under his arm while keeping the camel clutch applied! That simple twist puts J-OH in a world of hurt. But still he refuses to give up. Impatient, Black again fishhooks the mouth and after a count of five the referee forces him to break the hold. COACH See, we keep saying how hard O'Hara is to catch. But once you catch him, he ain't much of a wrestler. COLE I don't know about that... COACH He's not in the same league as Nathaniel Black, that's for sure. COLE On the mat? That may be true. But Jamie's tough, you can't deny that. With O'Hara on all fours, Black clinches up on the head and again delivers a hard knee strike to the face! And another one! O'Hara's body flails about as the knees rain in, a third and a fourth connecting before Black lets him go. O'Hara looks up dazed at the lights, until a knee drop comes down across his chest and he's covered... 1... 2... No! Black catches O'Hara before he can get up, trying to apply a Crossface (sharp exhale!). Before he can lock it in, O'Hara tumbles forward and escapes the hold, quickly to his feet. COLE That was a nice escape. COACH Eh. Black tries to attack again with another European uppercut. O'Hara turns away from it though, hooking Black up for a backslide. Setting himself and refusing to go down, Black blocks the pin attempt until he can get his footing, then leans forward to bring O'Hara up and over his back in front of him. A knee to the gut doubles O'Hara up, leaving him open for Black to grab his wrists and cross his arms in an 'x', covering his nose and mouth. O'Hara reaches his foot out in search of the ropes but is pulled back into the centre of the ring each time he gets close. With the arms still crossed over Black then pulls O'Hara backwards, driving a headbutt in between the shoulder blades! O'Hara falls to his knees and Black digs a knee in the back looking for the submission. COLE Very unique submission hold right here. COACH Very unique if you don't watch a lot of European wrestling. COLE And I suppose you do Coach? COACH Oh yeah. Big Daddy, the other big guy with the beard, all the greats. I'm a student of the game, come test me. Struggling to find away out, J-OH manages to get his feet back underneath him and throws his legs back looking to roll Black up. But Black sits down on it and pins Jamie down instead... 1... 2... NO! Black hangs onto O'Hara's baggy vest top as he gets back up, preventing him from getting away and allowing Nathaniel to pull him backwards, clubbing the kidneys with a forearm. COLE And Nathaniel Black, continues the weardown process. Scoop and a slam plants O'Hara. Black isn't satisfied with that though, picking O'Hara back up and sending him into a corner. From the opposite side Black charges in and sandwiches The Birmingham Bad Boy in the corner with a flying knee attack! Off the ropes, Black then catches O'Hara on his way out of the corner with another high knee and covers... 1... 2... Kickout! Gutwrench, and a suplex, Black hooking both legs this time... 1... 2... Another Kickout! Well and truly pissed off now, getting right in the face of the referee risks a DQ for Black. He eyeballs Robinson, trying to intimidate him, before going back after O'Hara. COACH So, we're in France with two English wrestlers... why do we have to have an American referee? COLE What difference does that make? COACH Plenty. As O'Hara reaches his feet, he shocks Black with a forearm to the face! Black shakes it off and responds with an elbow strike. O'Hara comes right back with another forearm though and the French fans begin to get behind him. Looking to put an end to the exchange, Black delivers a hard European uppercut. He manages to knock O'Hara off his feet, but The Birmingham Bad Boy rolls right back up and connects with a desperation Busaiku Knee Kick to put Black down!! "YYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Both men remain down, with referee Charles Robinson starting a standing ten count. COLE What an effort from these two, all in pursuit of the shot at the World Championship at School's Out. And this is just the first match in the tournament! COACH Only one these guys are gonna still be in the tournament in Spain next week. And I know everybody there loves Cucaracha Internacional, they're all pulling for Nat' Black right now. After taking advantage of the count to recharge their batteries, it's Black up first at the count of '6'. O'Hara is close behind him though. Looking to keep the pace at a minimum, Black grabs a headlock. O'Hara is quick to shoot him off, dropping down as Black rebounds off the ropes. A leapfrog follows... but Black catches O'Hara! Backing into a corner, Black aims O'Hara towards the opposite set of turnbuckles and charges... only for J-OH to slide down back, looking for a sunset flip... 1... Black rolls through, attempting a boston crab. However O'Hara manages to bridge up and pulls Black forward in a body-scissors. The Brit manages to avoid faceplanting into the mat. But as he pulls himself back up, his face gets mashed regardless, by a spinning wheel kick from O'Hara! Cover... 1... 2... No! COLE O'Hara starting to quicken the pace, which is bad news for Nathaniel Black! With forearm brandished, Black charges, right into a hurricanrana and a cradle of the legs... 1... 2... NO! Finding himself near the ropes, O'Hara ducks to the outside while Black pulls himself to his feet. The sudden change of pace has left him off his guard and he takes a second to realise where O'Hara is, that being behind him. And that second proves costly, as O'Hara springboards and connects with a missile dropkick! COACH O'Hara sees his opportunity and follows up with a STANDING SHOOTING STAR PRESS, hooking a leg... 1... 2... KICKOUT! COLE Oh, that was a close one! But The SuperJay is most certainly building some momentum here! Favouring his ribs a little as he climbs to his feet, up to the middle rope heads O'Hara. After flashing a sign towards the Paris crowd he then stands, waiting for Black to take a step closer before tumbling forwards with the Blockbuste... NO! Black sidesteps and O'Hara... LANDS ON HIS FEET! O'HARA Hells yeah! Off the ropes runs O'Hara, as Black realises his sidestep didn't work as perfectly as he thought. Seeing Black come towards him, O'Hara tries to go through the legs with a baseball slide. But he gets caught and muscled back up by Black, right into a HALF NELSON BACKBREAKER!! "OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" COACH Well, he caught him. Cover by Black... 1... 2... NO!! Flipping O'Hara over, Black goes right for the Crossface Chickenwing though! O'Hara manages to get to his feet in a flash with Black clinging onto his arm, trying to apply the chickenwing and reel him back in. A reach for the ropes fails for O'Hara who barely has the strength to pull the 238 pounds Black around and ends up getting pulled back into the centre of the ring. But he still has one arm free and throws back an elbow! Another! And a third, managing to fend Black off! COACH This is desperation at this point, nothing more. Shaking off the elbows, Black goes for the arm again. O'Hara pulls off a surprise switch however, ending up behind Black and pushing him forward into the turnbuckles! Hitting shoulder-on, away from the corner staggers Black. O'Hara quickly knocks him down with a kick and ducks out of the ring, signalling he's going up top again. COLE This is no desperation move though! This could be the 630. COACH He's not moving too fast up those ropes now though, is he? Coach is right as O'Hara struggles from the effects of the backbreaker on his way up top. He still reaches the third floor unscathed though and points imaginary guns down at Black beneath him, letting out a "BOOM" before taking off, tumbling through the air with the 630... ...BUT NOBODY HOME!!! "OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!" Black rolls out of the way and O'Hara bounces HARD off the canvas. As he gets back to his feet, O'Hara is then measured... and scythed down with a Lariat!! COLE Devestating clothesline... but Black isn't done! Signalling for the end, Black hauls O'Hara roughly back to his feet the moment his body hits the mat. Half nelson, elevated up into the Half Nelson Backbreaker again! This time though he holds on, not letting O'Hara fall to the canvas. Crossing the arms underneath the body, Black roars and quickly elevates O'Hara up again... before this time sitting out with the BRITTANIA BOMB!!!! COLE That's gonna do that! 1... 2... 3!!!! *DINGDINGDING!* COLE Nathaniel Black wins the first one on one meeting with Jamie O'Hara and he is going to the semi-finals! BUFFER Ladies and gentlemen, your winner of the match, advancing in the #1 Contender's Tournament... NATHANIEL... BBLLLLLLLAAAAAAACCKK!!!! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Throwing the limp legs of O'Hara away from him, Black climbs back to his feet looking pretty pissed off for a guy who's now just two matches away from a World Title shot. Pushing referee Robinson aside he kneels down next to O'Hara and puts the badmouth on him, before SLAPPING the defenceless Brit across the face! Only then is Black willing to have his hand raised in victory, throwing his other hand up with a "V" for victory. COLE On this occassion O'Hara may have taken one risk too many. And it backfired, as he misses the 630 and was swiftly put away by Nathaniel Black, who now awaits the winner between The Cuban Wall and The Mad Cappa in the semi-finals! Black steps over O'Hara and retrieves his 6-Man Tag Team Title, exchanging a few heated words with some of the French fans as he does so. Security is quick to step in as the arguementative Black tries to go nose to nose with one fan who's giving him a hard time, Black daring the "frog" to meet him outside later if he "wants a kicking". Black then marches off, while in the ring O'Hara holds his head in his hands as he lays hurt on the mat. COLE One semi-finalist determined, we've still got three to go. A packed night of action here in Paris, don't go anywhere as we will be right back!

As discussed somewhere else, Gonzalez is honestly a better wrestler than Khali is. So he's not the worst ever, at least.

When we return to HeldDOWN~!, we find Landon "La Cucaracha" Maddix already in the ring with Megan Skye in the background. As usual. MADDIX Ah, thank you, thank you. Mercy! Mercy! (Megan whispers in Landon's ear) ...sorry, [i]merci[/i]. Although I'm sure being French, you're more used to saying 'mercy' nowadays. But, I kid. Tonight I'm not out here to make jokes at France's expense. That task is more than well in hand I'm sure you'll all agree. No, tonight, I'm here to offer one lucky Frenchman the chance to escape all of that. To escape the stereotyping, the mocking, the general shunning of by the rest of the world. Because, tonight, the Cucaracha Internacional European Scouting Tour begins. And tonight, I'm going to offer one local the prize of a spot in Cucaracha Internacional. All they have to do is beat me to earn it. So, with that in mind, let's bring out the man looking to restore national pride here in France! Come on out! Generic French sounding music begins to play as a young kid in blue amateur wrestling gear jogs to the ring, waving cheerily to the French crowd. He slides into the ring, keeping a nervous distance from Landon Maddix as he climbs to his feet. Landon eyes the youngster up a little, sizing up his possible newest recruit. MADDIX Is it wrong that I expected you to cycle to the ring with onions around your neck? COACH :D The kid looks confused, but Landon wasn't really expecting an answer. MADDIX Okay. So, let's get the formalities out of the way first of all. I am, of course, Landon Maddix your prospective boss of Cucaracha Internacional, should you manage to beat me here tonight. And, you are... Landon tilts the microphone towards the kid, who nervously looks out at the fans before speaking. MOREAU Je m'appelle Patrice Moreau... et j'habite á Paris, en France! "YYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!" MADDIX (pretending to understand) Yeah, uh... that's great. Truly poignant words. For which, I wish you good luck [i]monsteur[/i]. In a show of cultural sportsmanship, Landon offers his hand and the nervous Frenchman finally starts to relax a little as he shakes his opponent's hand... *DINGDINGDING!* ...only to get booted in the gut the moment the bell rings! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" COLE Cheapshot from Landon Maddix, sacre bleu! COACH Now come on, he waited for the bell to ring. He was probably just trying to get in before this kid started waving the white flag. The French crowd whistle derisively, as Landon pops Moreau in the cheekbone with a forearm. A second. And then a third. An irish whip then sends the young Frenchman for the ride, Landon leaping up to meet him with a Dropsault on the way back! On one knee, Landon twirls his fingers around a big, fake French moustache with a grin while Moreau holds his chest in pain. COLE There's a man with his finger on the cultural button, right there. Picking Moreau back up, another forearm connects before Landon loads the youngster into the corner. Maddix follows in with a big leaping forearm smash, then makes for the ropes. Out staggers Moreau, right into the path of Landon who snares him 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 Oh! We saw that move at AngleMania, tremendous speed and athleticism whether you like it or not. With Moreau grabbing the back of his head, Maddix makes a nonchalant cover... 1... 2... ...sits up. "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Maddix wags a finger and says that's not it. COLE Come on. COACH Say what you want Michael, but Landon Maddix... he's all about second chances. He's giving Todd Cortez a second chance after all of his misdemeanours in recent weeks and now, giving this poor kid another chance to make something of himself. You have to admire that in a boss. By the hair, Landon drags Moreau up. The Frenchman looks dis-orientated and has no answer for a straight kick to the sternum, knocking him down and against the ring ropes. The referee admonishes Landon for this and threatens to end the match for him. But Landon just tells him to ease up as he helps Moreau back up again. Wringing the arm, he lifts Moreau up into a fireman's carry and picks his spot, before tossing him up and CRACKING him on the way down with the big knee!! COLE Well, it's [i]bonsoir[/i] for this youngster. Landon leans back against the unconscious Frenchman, hands behind head... 1... 2... 3! *DINGDINGDING!* There Landon stays, kicked back and relaxing as Megan climbs into the ring to 'congratulate' him on his 'hard-fought' victory. Helped up by her, Landon shrugs as the crowd show their disapproval. BUFFER Your winner of the match... LANDON "LA CUCARACHA" MADDIX!! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" COLE And there will be no French representative of Cucaracha Internacional in the near future. COACH Thank God. Take ya frog-leg eating ass back where ya came from, punk bitch! COLE Coach... he comes from Paris. Which we're in. COACH Oh, yeah. Sorry, force of habit. The gracious La Cucaracha again shakes the hand of Moreau, albeit this time with him laying unconscious on the canvas at his feet. Landon then takes one last moment to mug for the fans before he and Megan head off with whatever point they were looking to prove tonight proven.

This should go after Black/O'Hara. Ta! ----------------------------- COLE Right now, our broadcast colleague Josh Matthews is standing by with another competitor in the #1 Contender's Tournament, Todd Cortez. Josh? Backstage we go, to J.Math and The Urban Legend. MATTHEWS Todd Cortez, later on tonight you'll be taking on Spanish Fly in the numbe... Before even one sentence can be finished however, Landon Maddix rears his interfering head, to a roll of the eyes from Todd Cortez. MADDIX Don't worry, I'll take it from here. Back in his role as Cucaracha Internacional member, Cortez doesn't have much option but to step aside for the man that beat him so underhandedly at AngleMania VII. MADDIX See, what you saw just now was what Cucaracha Internacional is all about. The finest talent from all over the globe proving victorious. Look at the laundry list. We've got the 6-Man Tag Team Champions, we've got two representatives in this number one contender's tournament, we've got... well, we've got me. But the key in this business is not to be complacent. We're always moving with the times, looking to expand, as any international company should. Which is why, tonight, I'm embarking on my very first European scouting tour. Tonight, and every night on this European tour, I'm going to be giving one lucky local talent the chance... nay, the HONOUR, to earn a spot in Cucaracha Internacional. Only catch is... well, they've got to beat me to prove they're deserving first. CORTEZ Worked for me. Landon glares at Cortez out of the corner of his eye for a second before continuing on. MADDIX We're looking to add a new sister country, a new foreign connection to Cucaracha Internacional. And ya know, it's a shame we just recently had these natty little t-shirts made up with four flags on the back. But, what's the worst that's gonna happen? We redesign it with five and people buy more of them? I mean, really. After a self-indulgent smile Landon turns back to Cortez, upon which the smile disappears. MADDIX As for you, I suggest you stop worrying about the rare opportunity to flap your gums on live TV and get your head in the game. You're officially on probation right now, remember that. Luckily the rest of us have managed to cover for your mistakes and screw-ups so far, but tonight you're on your own. So, you'd best get the win tonight and begin redeeming yourself to me, because if we get another member in Cucaracha Internacional you could find yourself going even further down the pecking order if you're not careful! Now go! Resisting the urge to punch his 'boss' right in his giant mouth, Cortez marches off realising he can't do much else. Landon shakes his head in disappointment anyway as we fade out.

Because every other team on the roster that just wrestles gets virtually zero reaction?

Don't put up too much money. I think it'd be pretty close to be honest. Besides, how many times has Austin appeared on Family Guy, huh?

Sometimes. The other week, it was something like the 500th episode and they had Jillian Hall sing a special song name-dropping various Heat level guys like The Mean Street Posse and Scotty 2 Hotty. They've got Grisham and Josh Matthews on commentary now. That's about all I can really add. Except the obvious statement, even with Grisham Josh is 10 times better at the job than Coachman is with Michael Cole on Smackdown.

I like how the general consensus so far is "OMG, Shawn Michaels is such a dick for over-selling but lolz he was so funny I wish he was a dick again!" The guy can't win. Man, it seemed like Hogan was doing that to everyone back then. The tag match where Shawn turned, I think it was Carlito who took the boot and I'm sure he took longer posing then than even his posing at Summerslam. I haven't watched the match in a while now. What else did Shawn oversell, besides the big boot? I remember him doing a big bump off a rammed into the turnbuckle spot, but no worse than Curt Hennig always used to do. Was it just the boot?