Toxxic

You'll have to get by Pretzler first WC, and that's gonna be a tricky, tricky job...

Excellent, and just in time for us to put FTF up. Two things though - one, 'writing' is spelled... well, like that, not with two 't's. And second, why not put in how long we've been going? Make us look all established and shit Nice one Johnny!

Not bad Landon, not bad. I don't think I ever actually said that I don't care about the ICTV Championship, but still - the war of words escalates

For Landon's benefit - this promo is deliberately ambiguous. Sell the neck however you want.

Jet wanders downstairs, hair as tousled as it’s ever possible for dreadlocks to be, only a very large Ramones T-shirt providing any real shield against potential fly-on-the-wall documentaries. The Philly Madgirl rubs her eyes wearily; they hadn’t stopped after From The Fire. For some reason Toxxic had demanded that they blow town immediately after he got his broken nose fixed up, picking their things up from the hotel and signing out that night, all the time with a cold blankness in his grey eyes that made her think uncomfortably of the previous summer. They’d made California a couple of hours before dawn, and Jet had gone straight to bed. Wobbling down the hallway, it takes a moment for her to register what she sees out of the corner of her eye. Toxxic is sitting on his sofa in the living room, apparently staring at the far wall. This in itself is not an uncommon occurrence. The Straight-Edge Sensation has his widescreen TV on that wall and he regularly watches hour after hour of videos and DVDs, searching for his next opponent’s weakness or studying old matches to eliminate his own. However, this morning there is a difference; no sound. Poking her head fully around the door, Jet looks over at the wall and sees that there is another difference. No picture. Toxxic really is staring at the wall. “Toxx?” No reply. “Mike?” Still nothing. A faint flicker of the eyelids, nothing more. He still even has the smudged remnants of his eyeliner streaked down his cheeks. “Jesus Mike, have you slept?” Jet asks, sitting down next to him. This elicits a response of a sort, at least; Toxxic blinks a few times and murmurs something indecipherable that she takes to mean ‘no’. Pursing her lips, she sits back for a moment. She hasn’t seen Toxxic like this since… well, ever. The night after he lost the ICTV Title for the second time he had been bad, but she’s never known him to go a night without sleep before. Taking a deep breath she forces her face into a smile and leans forward, tapping two fingers against the side of the Straight-Edge Sensation’s head. “Listen to me, sunshine,” she says, deliberately using his own word. “I’m gonna get some coffee, and then you’re going up to bed and you are going to sleep, you got me?” * * * * * * * * * * * Toxxic lies in bed and stares at the ceiling, instead of the wall. His eyes are so, so heavy and his thoughts are going around in circles but he can’t sleep - not yet. There are things he must decide first. I wonder how Landon is. Most of the straight-edger’s night has been spent reliving those last few moments. He’d found the energy to take Landon’s legs out with a soccer tackle and had double-underhooked him, ready for the Toxxic Shock Syndrome. The Caffeine Bomb had been countered before and he wasn’t prepared to risk it; ditto the Dangerlust. He certainly didn’t have the strength or balance left to run up the turnbuckles for the Intoxxication. But then he hadn’t delivered the move that he had been planning - instead he had changed his mind at the last moment and hoisted Landon vertical before dropping him straight down with the Demonstar Driver. Every time I start to forget, something about Kibagami pops up to remind me of him. I should have known it would, seeing as how we were Arizona. Toxxic’s brain isn’t working properly; the lack of sleep is making him easily distracted. He can still remember the burning hatred he held for the man known as Silent, however. He remembers rewinding the video, again and again, watching that man drive him headfirst into the mat. And now, he’s done the same thing to Landon Maddix. It wouldn’t have happened if he’d just stayed down… Really, there was no way Landon should have been able to beat the count after taking the Caffeine Bomb. The fact that he did had thrown Toxxic to the point where he nearly lost the match, and had resorted to the Demonstar out of… what? Desperation? A desire to keep the World Title? Or a simple, burning desire to remove Landon Maddix from his life as effectively as he had removed Nathaniel Kibagami - in person, at least? Is keeping the title worth maybe breaking Landon’s neck? Yes, probably. Is keeping the title worth becoming like Nathaniel? …no. People get it wrong, still. They assume that Toxxic’s hatred of Kibagami stemmed from the fact that the River Dragon had been the first man in a long, long time to pin Toxxic. They were partially correct, but the truth ran deeper. Toxxic simply couldn’t stand the man. His arrogance, his bearing, his history of substance abuse, his assumption that anything he touched automatically became better simply because he was involved. His sheer lack of respect for anyone else - although Toxxic taught him the error of that belief at 13th Hour. The Straight-Edge Sensation knows the stories about why Kibagami was so desperate to get his hands on Edwin MacPhisto, and can understand that. The fact that Silent practically ended the career of one of the most talented and charismatic individuals ever to set foot in the SWF means virtually nothing to him. In his days of watching the SWF on his TV in Nottingham, Toxxic used to admire Edwin as a foreigner that the largely-xenophobic US fans would support, not the man himself. It was the others that bugged him; the fact that Nathaniel Kibagami, or Silent, would drop anyone in his way on their head without a care. Toxxic, despite the hatred that has been rained down on him by the fans ever since he - as he saw it - stood up to Mark Stevens a year ago, has always known that he is different to Kibagami. Until now. Now he has a choice to make. It wasn’t Landon’s fault. I can’t blame him for this. He got up because he was trying to win the match, just like me. I didn’t have to do that - I could have hit him with anything else. It might not have won me the match, but that’s not the point. It was my choice. So what do I do now? Another image flashes unbidden through the straight-edger’s brain; over a year ago this one, him losing his temper completely in a hardcore match with Jacob Helmsley and giving the Canadian a Caffeine Bomb through a chair seat. He doesn’t remember the end of that infamous Last Man Standing match with Kibagami, but he has seen it on tape often enough to know what it looked like from an outsider’s standpoint. And lurking treacherously at the back of his mind, the day that he broke the neck of a promising young rookie called Justin Bowers. Granted, Bowers had been gunning for Toxxic as revenge for Revolution Zero taking out his trainer, William Heartford III. And granted, Bowers had placed himself on Toxxic’s shoulders in the perfect position for the Dangerlust as he tried to hit a reverse hurricanrana. Nevertheless, the look of impotent rage and loss in Heartford’s eyes as they loaded his protégé onto a stretcher haunts the Brit to this day, despite his impassive façade at the time. This needs to end. Now. Even the Caffeine Bomb will go wrong sooner or later. I will not let twenty pounds of gold turn me into… him. There are more ways to beat someone than dropping them on their head. A faint, weary grin passes over Toxxic’s face as he starts to fall asleep. He remembers first meeting up with Chris Card, the day after the Clusterfuck, and Technical Perfection’s horrified disbelief at his lack of mat wrestling skills. It seems that Card’s expertise is going to be in even higher demand than before. I bet people are going to think this’ll make me easy to beat. Guess I’ll just have to prove them wrong…

How can Koran write against Dagda when the stats don't even exist now IL is... well, IL again? Never mind. This is a truly awesome card. Calvinball is JUST what i needed after my PPV match. Phoenix, Arizona really ISN'T, but you'll see why when the show goes up. EDITED TO ADD: If any member of CC has a problem with me writing this match to win, and therefore becoming HGC Champion, please speak now or forever hold your time fracture wickets.

I apologise for ripping you a new hole for writing me as Tom. But it was about as out-of-character as me writing you as me. Hey, I got over it.

Are you thinking of leaving? It's like the World Wildlife Fund - a project to save an endangered species. At the moment we have... well, me, Landon for however long, and Mak I guess. Sacred's gone. You've obviously been a tag wrestler recently but the heel turn should probably send you back up there. Look, you get a badge!

I remember watching it in the late 80s where there was the totally massive 'Dump Truck', little Tarao 'The Typhoon' and the only Yokuzuna I remember, Chionofuji 'The Wolf'. He was old, left-handed and incredibly hard.

He's feeling unmotivated and, last I heard, wants to take Landon to the OAOAST and come into the SWF with Leon Rodez. Maybe he's scrapped the Rodez part now though, I don't know. i don't think that was on the boards though, although there was the whole "let's become the OAOAST" topic in General. *starts up S.O.M.E - 'Save Our Main Eventers'*

I'd like to point out at this juncture that you suck big donkey dick. Why the fuck create that bloody stupid stip if you were just going to no-show? Then I could have enjoyed my week of holiday to the full rather than write 13.5k of crap that doesn't even have a purpose now. I mean, a singles match would have worked just as well for this purpose. Bah, whatever. At least my character development will go unchallenged now.

I thought WWE owned 'Billy Gunn' anyway, and he'd have to be appearing as Monty Sopp or something else? I can't imagine that they wouldn't own 'New Age Outlaws', anyway.

I'm backing David Attenborough for the Brits. Commissioned shows like Monty Python's Flying Circus, and has also spent the last 50 years educating anyone who will watch about the beauty of the natural world and the importance of it to us.

My favourite Lita story was when she was on Saturday morning TV in the UK a few years back, when she was with Matt storyline-wise but not in reality. She was answering questions phoned in from kids and being reasonably honest about it all - as in, acknowledging that some stuff they do is fake etc. One kid asked if her and Matt Hardy were really a couple, to which Lita responded immediately, "I wish, then I might be getting some." At which point she remembered she was on a show for kids. Funny stuff. This may have been the same show that she said she liked people making websites about her, but would like it better if some of them rang her and invited her out for dinner.

Hey, the only reason I want Johnny to go heel is that he can come into Rev-0 and clean our boots. No, seriously. No, actually seriously, isn't it time you and WC fell out again? I mean, it seems you're the SWF's Brothers of Destruction. Normally in this fed, tag teams falling out means UH-OH, someone's about to get their neck broken, but you guys kiss and make up. Beautiful. And then fall out again. But even more seriously, if you stayed face after all this teasing, you might as well go work for the WWE as a writer.

I'm guessing you missed the Masked Man obsession from last autumn then. My personal favourite was the periscope promo.

13,342 and sent. Landon, I hope you're happy, you pushed me over 10k for a PPV again. Tom, I doubt you're happy, but my apologies.

This gimmick is a waste on Hassan. It's a cheap heat gimmick for a man who is capable of cutting a decent promo. As for his in-ring ability, like I've said before, green he may be but his psychology is nearly there - all he needs to do is actually USE the Camel Clutch that all his back work builds to.

Hey, works for me. And if Johnny is going heel off this (which dammit, he should do after the last few weeks) then at least he has a reason for it; a desire to get back what he briefly had as a face, but couldn't hold onto. Sort of like why Spike turned heel, only Spike's reasoning was that he hadn't achieved anything as a face in the SWF. What really pisses me off is when people turn heel for no apparent reason, especially after they've just been successful - if you just won the World Title with the fans behind you, why turn on them? But anyway, nice one Johnny.

Monday 28th February, 10.30am EST Somewhere on the road to Tempe, Arizona “So what d’you reckon?” Toxxic addresses the question to his fellow countryman and recently-hired trainer, Chris Card. Technical Perfection purses his lips and leans back in his seat; he and Toxxic are in the back while Natasha shares the front with Jet, who’s currently driving. “I don’t know; could be good, could be bad,” Card muses. “I mean, it’s an odd stip to pick. I’d have thought he’d have just gone for a plain old singles match seeing that’s how he beat you last time.” “Yeah, but this is Landon,” Toxxic grunts sourly. “It doesn’t count unless it’s showy and over-the-top.” “True,” Card acknowledges. “It’s the knock-out stip that could be crucial I think. Landon’s as tough as hell - I mean, he had that hour-long Ironman match against Clark-” “Please, I’m trying to forget,” Toxxic says, but Card continues. “-and he can take a beating,” the older man finishes. “But on the other hand, you hit harder, and you’ve got more than one move that could put him down. Landon hasn’t really got anything that could provide him with a clean KO unless he’s really taken you to the cleaners first; he’s probably figuring to lock you in the Land of Nod and get a submission and the KO in one go.” “Did you hear what Tom said?” Toxxic asks. “Landon’s booked to defend the USJL against Sly at the start of the night; that’s got to be good.” “Well, maybe,” Card says doubtfully. “If Maddix decides he wants all the belts and all the glory, he might give it his best shot. But remember Martial Law’s motto? ‘By any means necessary’, or something. They’re focused on taking you out. I wouldn’t put it past Landon to lie down for Sly straight away to save himself for the main event. The USJL doesn’t matter compared to taking the World Title away from you.” Technical Perfection sighs ruefully and shakes his head. “No, we gotta plan for Landon coming into your match absolutely fresh. Then anything else is a bonus.” “OK, so - what’s the plan?” Toxxic asks. “Way I see it, it could go either way; how do we make sure it don’t?” “Tactics,” Card grins. “You’re stronger than Landon, that’s an advantage straight off. But he’s probably got the stamina for the long haul, especially given how fast you move around the ring. In a one-fall stip I reckon you could hit him hard enough, quick enough to get the win, but you’re gonna have to pace yourself in this one. That means no crazy flying - you only go up top when you’re sure you can hit something.” “You take the fun out of everything,” Toxxic grins lopsidedly back, but nods. “We’ve been working on your mat wrestling anyway, but it’s time to step it up a gear,” Card continues seriously. “When we get to Arizona I want you to get in the ring with Pretzler, and go for it. That way you’ll get some practice against an opponent about the same size and weight as Landon. Learn from the man; he’s new, but he knows what he’s doing. At the same time he can practice avoiding the flippy-floppy shit that Wildchild’s gonna throw at him.” “OK… anything else?” Toxxic asks. Card thinks for a minute, idly tapping his forefinger against his teeth. “You’re gonna have to frustrate him,” he says finally. “Landon’s a good wrestler, but his head’s not quite in it sometimes. If you can wind him up to make a mistake or take his mind off the game, you could have him.” “Right,” Toxxic acknowledges. “So, do you know somewhere in Tempe we can train?” “Chief, I know somewhere everywhere…” Card grins, pulling his mobile from his pocket.

A2A 2003 would have been only a couple of months before I joined, and I'm sure ELM left longer ago than that. In fact I'm sure he was only present via video at G4 due to immigration laws. Or something.

I have yet to see a decent Yakuza kick. Trent Acid's especially looks AWFUL.

What makes me laugh about Hassan is that a lot of what he says rings true, but he gets booed because it's critical of the US. And green he may be, but he ALMOST has a grasp on psychology. By which I mean every move he uses works on the back to build to the Camel Clutch, but then he uses the Complete Shot to win the match. So close, every time...

Well I'd be interested in that Muzz, but most of your stuff was before my time so I don't really know where to look.

SWF News and Notes for 3/2/05 from Wrestling Panda Newsletter The viewing figures for Storm on 2/18/05 were some of the highest in recent memory with the final segment - Sacred vs. Toxxic for the World Heavyweight Title - overtopping the rest of the show by a full point. This segment featured the conclusion of a major angle involving Revolution Zero and saw Toxxic finally catch up with the veteran who had abandoned the stable after winning the World Title. However, it seems that the SWF have had yet more bad luck with choosing their world champions, as despite Sacred retaining the belt via DQ against Mak Francis he dropped it to Toxxic that night and has since apparently retired from professional wrestling. Whether Andrew Blackwell can and will remain retired or not is another matter entirely, but after a disastrous 2004 the SWF are feeling the effects of having world champion after world champion leave the company after a short period with the belt. The decision to put the title back on Toxxic would seem to be a sensible one on paper as he had the only run lasting more than one PPV cycle during 2004, but the crucial point might be how they treat the belt from here on in. If Toxxic was to embark on another monster run as champion it could potentially kill the business; or, conversely, could pave the way for a new, hot challenger to take the title if properly built. Some think that the SWF might be looking to give Landon Maddix the ‘rub’ for a second time by having him end Toxxic’s reign at From The Fire this Sunday, but they already tried this once and bailed on Maddix after three weeks; the question has to be asked whether they have already killed Maddix’s potential as the company’s top star, at least for the moment. Jet has been warned about her actions at the Panarchy show on 2/18 where she displayed herself to the frat fans who were chanting at her. Inside sources say that the official company line is that Jet has been reprimanded, but that she was actually told to do it and that cameras were kept away from that part of the ring in order to make sure nothing unacceptable made TV. Landon Maddix, Todd Cortez, Alan Clark and Megan Skye attended a SWF signing at Disneyland at the end of February which proceeded to have one of the highest turnouts of autograph seekers the company has ever recorded. The signing was apparently done in semi-kayfabe - the wrestlers turned up in the Alan Clark Tour Bus and in their usual out-of-ring attire but the tension that has existed between Martial Law recently was notably absent, with Alan Clark apparently conceding to one young fan that ‘some of what we do is an act’, although he refused to be drawn on whether he was referring to wrestlers’ attitudes to each other or the in-ring action. ‘The Icon’ Max King has been reported on SWF programming to have been severely injured in a car accident, and we regret to inform our readers that this is not kayfabe - the details of the incident have not been made public but it is believed that King and Kelly Connelly were stationary at traffic lights when hit by a drunk driver. Miss Connelly escaped with only minor injuries but it is unclear whether or when Max King will be able to wrestle again. The SWF have reassured concerned fans that they will be continuing to honor Mr. King’s contract until it expires (believed to be mid-2006) even though he is unable to compete. The Wild & Dangerous break-up is now in full swing, with Johnny Dangerous evidently going heel. The identity of Wildchild’s ‘mystery partner’ for From The Fire is still a closely-guarded secret in SWF headquarters, but barring a (completely unexpected) return for Ejiro Fasaki or some other notable character from the Bahaman Bomber’s past it would seem that the only big name left off the card is ‘The Franchise’ Mak Francis. ‘The Critic’ Scott Pretzler has been receiving good reviews since joining the SWF despite his early push to the Cruiserweight Title. Backstage sources say that his in-character attitude is nothing like his real persona and that his early success does not seem to have gone to his head at all. Tom Flesher, who as noted in earlier Wrestling Pandas has been taking a very active interest in the SWF since his in-ring retirement, is reputedly very hot on Pretzler’s abilities and has been doing his best to make sure that The Critic is at the forefront of his attempt to get a more ‘pure’ wrestling style back to the forefront of SWF programming. The SWF has generally been a steroid-free area - with the obvious exceptions of the Boston Strangler and Danny Williams - but this looks like it might not be the case anymore with the return of Austin Sly. The official SWF sources are unsurprisingly reluctant to comment when challenged on the newly-bulked up Sly, but the word backstage is that Sly has been allowed to draw attention to his new physique if he wishes as long as, if challenged on it, he makes it absolutely clear that he has not been encouraged by the SWF in any way. Given that the last four World Champions have been cruiserweights and that the ‘big men’ such as Sean Davis, Korgath and Carnage are well and truly entrenched in the midcard, any detractors would certainly find it hard to argue that Sly has been compelled to use steroids by the nature of his workplace. The Martial Law/Revolution Zero angle is continuing to develop with Rev-0 kicking out Spike Jenkins to replace him with Scott Pretzler while tension has been building between Martial Law members, particularly during the Maddix/Cortez ICTV match last week on Lockdown. The tension could be heightened by the ‘mind games’ being played by Toxxic on Cortez and Clark in a manner very reminiscent of Silent’s work on Chris Raynor during the infamous Midnight Carnival break-up, although an acknowledgement of this between these two and Landon Maddix has yet to be shown onscreen. Meanwhile it seems that Spike Jenkins is being booked into a one-man crusade against his former stable, the short DQ loss on Smarkdown against Toxxic having led to a match with Sean Davis at From The Fire where the expectation is that Spike will be put over strong. The sales of Tom Flesher’s autobiography ‘Superior’ have been nothing short of remarkable, and it is still present on the New York Times Top Ten Bestsellers list. SWF sources refuse to confirm that this is because Flesher regularly does lunch with the editor or, as some have reported, that he has threatened to Yakuza kick the entire stats office. The SWF has apparently decided to launch into DVD sales in a big way. They have been producing DVDs of their PPVs more or less since the company started, but now they are looking at branching out into compilations and ‘Best ofs’. The first one scheduled for release is ‘World Title Matches 2004’ which features all 12 matches where the belt changed hands as well as some of the more notable successful defences and highlights from associated matches. For a review of the DVD, click here. This DVD is available from 3/7/05 and is understood to have world-wide distribution. Future titles being considered include compilation DVDs for Hall-of-Famers such as Edwin MacPhisto, ‘Grand Slam’ Mark Stevens, the Suicide King, Sacred, Chris Raynor and Thoth, as well as a ‘Best of the Tag Division’ which would feature Justice and Rule’s and Hollywood Boulevard’s record-breaking runs (not to mention more Chris Raynor), and two-disc sets for the Midnight Carnival (yet more Raynor) and The Clan. There are rumours of a hardcore compilation being done that will be hosted by the Insane Luchador, but SWF directors seem uncertain if they want to take the risk.