Toxxic

If it involves JJ giving people man love, I may actually love you.

You missed a hyphen: MAN-FUCKING JJ. Kinda like Dace "Fucking" Night, but different.

I just wonder how many girls experiencing their first period Bruce has hung out with in order to make this comparison. I mean, empirical evidence and all. Although I guess maybe he just has a good memory from his school days. Come back, Bruce. And bring Nemesis with you

JJ's fucking you for not paying attention to him? No, sorry: a man is fucking JJ, AND fucking you for not paying attention to JJ? Damn.

This seems to be coming along nicely.

For God's sake, don't tempt them. We went on a Fictional Worlds Tour last year and trust me, you don't want to see that shit repeated.

I want a tour of the Carribbean where everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, is as laid back as the people in the Malibu Rum commercials (because as we all know, everyone in the Carribbean is like that). So no-one actually bothers to cheer or boo or anything, and the entire tour dies in cataclysmic apathy. Book it.

Oh go on. You know you want to. ...stroke your chin, that is.

This looks interesting.

I call pre-show promo.

Damn Galatea...

UPDATE 14/7/07 - Changed a few moves, added stable details (and about time too) and tag stats with Sly. UPDATE 5/11/07 - Added YouTube link to entrance music, updated the bio a little Smarks Board Name: MikeofEvil Wrestler’s Name: Toxxic Wrestler’s Real Name: Michael Stephens Nicknames: The Straight-Edge Sensation Height: 6’0 Weight: 218lbs Hometown: Nottingham, England Age: 24 Face/Heel: Confident, cocky, generally fairly cheerful heel Stable: Revolution Zero (leader) Ring Escort: His sister Amy, but usually only when the opponent has a manager who might get involved, in which case Amy will neutralise them. She’s 5’10, 175lbs and chunky. She’s a former Hardcore Champion, not eye candy. Weapons: Favours brass knuckles in no-DQ. Also has been known to use the ‘Aerosol Equaliser’, a pepper spray he inherited from Chris Card. Quotes: ‘Prepare To Be Proved Wrong!’ Looks: Old-school, baby; Toxxic’s cut his hair and it’s spiked upwards again, about one inch long and still dyed blue-black. The pretty boy good looks are still there, accentuated once again by eyeliner and black nail polish; also still present are the faint scars on face and chest from the trip through plate glass courtesy of Kibagami. Physique-wise Toxxic is well-defined but not bulky, somewhere between Orton and Brad Pitt in Fight Club. In the ring he wears the baggy Tripp NYC pants and black boots that may or may not contain lifts; outside he usually adds a customised England soccer shirt, but instead of ‘Stephens’ the player name over the number ‘9’ now reads ‘sXensation’. He also usually wears a black canvas trenchcoat with red lining, covered with zips and chains and with four small spikes on each shoulder. Ring Entrance: (full gratuitous description there for PPV only, cut it down as needed) Every single light in the arena hits full, and the Smarktron whites out. For a few long moments there is silence, until a looped track of a crowd chant suddenly blasts over the PA System: “COME AND HAVE A GO IF YOU THINK YER ‘ARD ENOUGH!” “COME AND HAVE A GO IF YOU THINK YER ‘ARD ENOUGH!” The soccer chant fades into the oozing bassline of ‘The Gush’ by Raging Speedhorn which reverberates around the arena as the Smarktron first whites out, then fades quickly down to black while jagged white letters flash up a familiar slogan, one word at a time as the drums and guitar feedback come in: ‘PREPARE TO BE PROVED WRONG…’ Three chords ring out; on the first we see Michael Stephens knocked off the top buckle to the floor by a Nathaniel Kibagami springboard enzuigiri; on the second we see him taken off the top rope with the Mark of the Beast by Gabriel Drake; on the third we see him chokeslammed out of the Clusterfuck by Janus onto the floor below. Then, as the bass solo hits the shot changes to show him taking Mike Van Siclen off a balcony and through a table, the shot starting to strobe and intercut with an image of Toxxic’s grinning face, the devastating landing timed to coincide with- *BOOOM!!* -the moment the song kicks in, and the stagewide eruption of red pyro that signals the arrival of the SWF’s most decorated Englishman! Toxxic strides through the smoke and remaining sparks, head up and looking around grinning at the booing crowd, then starts to walk down to the ring. -FUNYON STUFF- ‘Dysfunction is my game These thoughts drive me insane Tell me the price Of which I have to pay… Toxxic stops at the bottom of the ramp, then crosses his arms in the straight-edge ‘X’ for a moment before throwing them wide, palms flat to ignite another blast of red pyro from each ring post as the chorus comes in! *BOOOM!* Toxxic rolls into the ring and gets up to his feet, then strips his trenchcoat off and hands any title belt he may have to the referee. He’ll take his England shirt off and, depending on his mood, will either pass it to the outside or throw it into the crowd. is a link to the monstrosity that is 'The Gush' by Raging Speedhorn. I chose NOT to link you to the version with naked bouncing breasts. Stats: Strength: 3 - can’t get anyone over 260lbs up unless it’s in a Fireman’s Carry. Can hit hard enough to rattle your jaw. Speed: 7 - Agile, high-flying, great balance and exceptionally good at wriggling out of moves. Vitality: 4 - His straight-edge conditioning means he can run around the ring all night, but he’s physically fragile. Impact moves will knock the stuffing out of him, if you can hit them. He CAN kick out of a finisher, but this should be a serious ‘OMGWTF!?’ moment. Charisma: 6 - Apparently blunt and straight-forward, he’s actually highly intelligent and articulate behind his idiosyncratic vocabulary. Don’t be fooled; he’s a master manipulator when he wants to be, and can twist logic and reason around his little finger. Style: Jack-of-all-trades. He’s best at high-flying, but is a reasonably competent if not expert mat wrestler now, innovative in hardcore environments, and can generally hold his own in a stand-up fight unless his opponent is much stronger or striking is a speciality. However, despite his relatively small size and lack of physical strength, he’s good. As for his in-ring attitude, imagine heel AJ Styles without the cowardly aspect. He’s confident, and for good reason. There are some wrestlers he has respect for (their abilities, at least), but generally he’ll be amused that you think you can beat him. Not above being a bit dickish, but not stupidly so. If you start to test him though, he’ll lose the smile and try to take you apart with everything he has. SIGNATURE MOVES (as a rough guide, most powerful first, least powerful last): ‘Stephens Shock Syndrome’ (also known as the Triple S): swinging sit-out Pedigree, or Chris Daniels’ Angel’s Wings. A former finisher when he debuted under the name of the Toxxic Shock Syndrome, and should be treated with a certain amount of respect still. Regal Stretch: ¾ nelson facelock with leglace. Often set up from a drop toe-hold. ‘Radford Calling’ - Triple-jump moonsault performed from the apron. He jumps to the top rope (facing in-ring), then to the top buckle (facing out), then backflips off for the moonsault. Radford, for those of you who were wondering, is the area of Nottingham where he grew up. ‘Unfinished Business’: Elbow-drive bulldog, i.e. Eye of the Hurricane from a front facelock instead of a reverse facelock. Hangover - somersault legdrop from the top. ‘Final Shine’ - Tornado Reverse DDT from the corner. Sambo Slam - Matt Hardy’s ‘Side Effect’. His usual set-up for a high-flying move on opponents he can lift. ‘Role Reversal’: When whipped towards the corner Toxxic will leap to the top rope, then come back with a flying clothesline. Big opponents will warrant a corkscrew dropkick. If he’s feeling it, he’ll kip up after. If he’s already done it once this match he might pull a Brian Pillman feint. ‘Sobering Thought’ - Triple H-style face buster chained instantly into a DDT. European uppercut - his strike of choice, it’ll rattle your jaw. He’s also experimenting with coming off the second buckle with this, ala American Dragon. COMMON MOVES Street Brawling - Headbutts, knees, elbows and good ol’ vanilla punches. A note about the elbows - he uses them if you’re too close to land a punch, not for the Misawa-style strike exchanges. He’ll just bull forward and keep hitting you until you go down because he’s not tough enough to let you hit him back, and he knows it. Kip-up Enzuigiri - pure showmanship, but it hurts. Double Leg Nelson - the opponent is seated: Toxx sits behind them and grabs their arms, then uses his own legs to apply a full nelson-type hold. Like a normal full nelson it works the neck, and he can use his own arms to stretch the other guy’s. A nice, easy to apply wear-down hold that won’t win any matches. Mat wrestling. Abdominal stretches, cravates, things he makes up, facelocks etc. Plus lots of armbars, hammerlocks etc, maybe even a Kimura if he can remember how to do one. Simple takedowns - drop toeholds, fireman’s carries, leg trips etc. Stephenskick - superkick (usually a desperation momentum-changer, but it still targets the head so he’ll sometimes work it in anyway) Soccer tackle: Whips his opponent off the ropes, then slides in and launches his feet and shins at theirs. Takes them off their feet, and when they get back up again they’re stumbling round. Usually used to set up another move. Punch/discus clothesline combo: Left, right, left, right, flips the classic British v-sign (fingernails towards the opponent; it means ‘fuck you’, not ‘victory!’) - Discus Clothesline. Sadly most of the fed have learned to duck the clothesline by now, but he’s a stubborn bastard and will still try it. Sitout jawbreaker Dropkicks - a favourite is the basement dropkick to the head of a kneeling/crouching/sitting opponent Running somersault senton to the outside. If the opponent moves before he gets there then Toxx will balance on the top rope for a second and then backflip back into the ring before flipping off his opponent/the crowd. Inverted Muta Lock: Traps the opponents legs and bridges back for an inverted rear chinlock, then rolls over onto his stomach leaving the opponent flailing in the air. Flippy-Floppy Stuff: Moonsaults, standing moonsaults, springboard stuff. HARDCORE MOVES: Toxxic has two signature spots in hardcore matches, both involving two chairs: ‘You Know When You’ve Been Tango’d’ - one chair in each hand, shouts that out, hits the opponent in the head with both chairs at the same time. Named after a Tango advert in about ‘91 that saw a man running out and clapping someone on both ears, before they banned it due to the children impersonating it and damaging each other’s hearing. Toxxic’s just put his own spin on it. ‘In-Flight Meal’ - Toxxic jumps off one set-up chair carrying another one (flat), and dropkicks that into his opponent’s face. Normally done with the opponent tied up in the ropes ala Andre, but not always. RARE MOVES: ‘sXensational’: Toxxic’s not above delving into his history and using or adapting the moves of previous notable opponents, or stablemates. He won’t do this for a regular run-of-the-mill match; if you think the occasion might warrant something special and you don’t know his past well enough, hit me up and I’ll let you know the sort of thing he might use, and its significance. ‘Dangerlust’: Electric Chair Cradle Driver. It’s broken necks and ended careers and overall is NOT to be fucked with. If he wants to beat you he’ll use the Caffeine Bomb; if he wants to fuck you up, he’ll use this. ‘Repeat To Fade’: The old finisher, a hammerlock/Dragon Sleeper combo with bodyscissors. It’s too tricky to set up to be reliable (plus [bREAKING KAYFABE ALERT] once it’s locked in it’s virtually impossible to escape from and that’s just no fun). ‘Inglorious’ - Shooting Star Legdrop. Inverted Goku-Raku Gatame: with the opponent face-down, cross their arms underneath their throat and then roll forward over them into a bridge, pulling up on the arms as you do so. Adapted from former Revolutionary Scott Pretzler’s Snowflake Clutch, but it a) looks cooler and b) can’t be held for as long. FINISHERS ‘Caffeine Bomb’ - LSD II. Hook as if for vertical suplex, hook opponent’s LEFT leg with left arm, lift up, twist around, drop on head. Like a Ki Krusher but neater. If he wants to use this on someone over 260lbs he’ll almost certainly need to initiate it from a Fireman’s Carry and use the Mk II, which is very similar to Chris Sabin’s Cradle Shock. ‘Sunny In England’ - Shiranui/Sliced Bread #2. Nowhere near as sure a knockout blow as the Caffeine Bomb, but far more versatile. Can get the boost off the buckles, the ropes, the ref, a chair, the apron, a tag partner, another opponent, or in some cases simply from a backflip off the ropes (although he might overshoot this). ‘RTF II’ - Double Underhook with Bodyscissors aka Matt Hardy’s ‘Scar’. Particularly strong opponents or one with great mat skills can cause him problems with this, so he’ll try and be especially sure to wear these people down before he goes for it. NOTES: -The main difference between ‘Toxxic’ and ‘Michael Stephens’, beyond the fans’ attitudes? Mike’s losing his sense of perspective. He reacts to situations in a completely disproportionate way, and when the consequences arise he’ll react to them just as disproportionately. He’ll beat you down to beat you because he views that by getting into the ring you’re prepared for the risk, then be honestly perplexed at why you might get pissed off. So when you come back for revenge, he’ll beat you down again. Wash, rinse, repeat. -STILL DOESN’T CHEAT. Won’t even THINK about cheating. It’s the only remnant of his inferiority complex, he HAS to beat you clean. If he’s stuck in a submission and there’s no escape he MIGHT go to the eyes, that’s about it. -He’s straight-edge, but he doesn’t make a big deal out of it beyond the ‘X’ in his ring entrance. Throw beer in his face and that might change. -If you’re writing him speaking, think of Spike from Buffy and Angel. Doesn’t have a posh accent, uses words like ‘wanker’, ‘bloody hell’ and ‘bollocks’ and has a tendency to call people ‘sunshine’ or, in certain situations, ‘Jackmonkey’. Plus the usual British stuff - pants are trousers, cars have bonnets and boots not hoods and trunks, and ass is pronounced arse. -Please don’t write him doing knife-edge chops. Pretty much any other strike but that. -Oh, and he’s gay, but that’s not a big deal either. He won’t be hitting on you, or poncing around like Rico. A female valet flashing him will still take him off-guard just through the surprise factor. It’s just a character trait, not a defining feature. BIO: It couldn’t last. Michael Stephens was being rather good for him, trying to stay out of the spotlight and not break anyone’s neck. Unfortunately the appearance of former rivals Janus and then Danny Williams, along with Tom Flesher’s infuriating decision to de-push him and him and Landon Maddix finally losing the Tag Team Titles, while Landon went on to win the World Title again and refused to give Mike a shot… well, let’s just say he reacted badly. He cut his hair, re-applied the eyeliner and came out announced as ‘Toxxic’ again for his From The Fire match with Williams, then dropped the Louisville Elbower on his head three times to win. The fans were already souring to him, and that just put the cherry on it. Toxxic’s gone and formed Revolution Zero again, not with any aim of conquering the fed but just to have some fun and piss as many people off as possible. He’s a four-time World Champion with the longest reign in history, a two-time Tag Champion with the longest reign in history, he doesn’t feel the need to prove himself. He’s not the intense and determined heel anymore, in fact he’s infuriatingly cheerful and wisecracking, but his nasty streak is not dead and buried by any means. Updated... Toxxic's now a FIVE-time World Champion, the only one in the federation's history, after beating Johnny Dangerous at Genesis. How he'll cope with old enemy/tag partner Landon Maddix as Commissioner is anyone's guess, but it's safe to say that his attitude won't have improved any. He's now (in his eyes) justified in claiming he's better than anyone else ever. STABLE/TAG STATS Revolution Zero currently comprises Toxxic, Austin Sly and The Fabulous Jakey, with Toxxic’s sister Amy Stephens hanging around as a combination of drinking buddy and (im)moral support (don’t call her a valet if you value your teeth, and the only managing she does is of her own blood alcohol levels). Toxxic and Sly have teamed up, leaving Jakey to exercise his considerable talents in singles competition. TEAM NAME: Revolution Zero TEAM MEMBERS: Toxxic and Austin Sly (usually, but the entrance remains the same no matter if it’s a tag match or just the whole stable coming down to the ring for some mic time) RING ESCORT: Amy Stephens. Sometimes. If she can be bothered. COMBINED WEIGHT: 458lbs ENTRANCE: Every light in the arena hits full, while the Smarktron whites out. For a few moments nothing is heard apart from a faint *skritch-skritch* of a needle on vinyl. Then: “WEL-WEL-W-W-WELCOME TO THE REVOLUTION!” A deep voice booms out of the PA system and the epileptic opening guitar of ‘Know Your Enemy’ by Rage Against The Machine starts to ring round the arena, while on the Smarktron the word ‘REV-0’ appears and rotates (think like those screensavers). It is interspersed with momentary clips of the Revolution Zero members while the arena lights slowly dim down. Then suddenly the pace changes as the main riff rings out, and three pyros explode from the soundstage- *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* “KNOW YOUR ENEMY!” -just before Zack de la Rocha’s voice roars out and the song kicks into full gear. At this point Revolution Zero come out, however many of them are going to - Toxxic tends to take the lead and unless he has good reason not to he’ll be grinning cockily. Austin Sly tends to be a little more brooding, as befits the muscle of the group, while Jakey will be flirting with the girls in the front row and Amy will be lagging behind, drinking lager from a can. TEAM STYLE: Austin brings the power side and a more technical base while Toxxic provides the high-flying flash and panache. On the other hand, it’s worth remembering that Toxxic CAN wrestle technically, while Sly is more agile than his size would lead you believe. SIGNATURE DOUBLE-TEAMS: -Austin’s choke backbreaker, then Toxxic comes off with a Hangover as Sly pulls his hand away from the luckless opponent. -Austin shinbreaker, then Toxxic comes off the second buckle with a flying European uppercut -Spiked shinbreaker. Austin lifts, Toxx comes off the top rope to lend a hand. -Shinbreaker from Sly onto Toxxic’s knee, then Sly transitions into a single-leg crab while Toxxic runs the ropes and comes back with a basement dropkick to the trapped leg. -Assisted double-arm DDT. Sly hooks them, Toxxic picks both legs up, Sly drops back. TAG FINISHER: ‘Welcome To The Revolution’ - Sly hooks them for a suplex, brings them up and then places their feet onto Toxxic shoulders before snapping sideways into an assisted rolling neckbreaker.

So we lose Battleground and Ashes 2 Ashes? I can live with that, I guess. Hopefully this schedule will work better for people. But our PPVs are on a Wednesday now? I guess it makes sense, but... weird.

A very different match to mine, and a very different way of showing the end. I wanted to basically show Drake as just being too strong, too vicious to be contained even by someone of Toxxic's Houdini-like abilities in title matches, and Toxx certainly wasn't shown as being friendly or sorry or anything else afterwards. You had Drake's resilience force Toxx into a choice where he chose poorly and got pinned as a result - I suppose you could say that in the end you had Toxx lose the title, whereas I had Drake win it. I'm certainly going to be intrigued to see where you go with Drake from here now he's World Champion!

I beg your pardon? I didn't know that Tom was writing himself to lose until after I saw his losing match. Are you suggesting that I didn't win legit? No. I'm saying that, as far as I knew when I typed that sentence, you might have been aware of the fact that Tom was going to write himself to lose. Or, then again, you might not have been aware of this. Your angry reaction implies that no, you were not previously aware of the fact that Tom was intending to write himself to lose. I was just wondering whether you counted Tom as jobbing in a title match there, given that he wrote himself to lose but it wasn't his match that actually won. I'd also suggest that even if you had known he was going to write to lose, you still would have won 'legit'.

Tom jobbed to you in the inaugural ladder match for the Cruiserweight Title - he just didn't win, so lost via you beating him instead. But then again, you might have known that he was going to do that - do you define 'jobbing' in this case as writing to lose without your opponent knowing you're going to do that? Congrats to everyone who won, but especially to JJ I think. An excellent comeback to his loss to Landon for the World Title earlier this year.

You know it's true.

I'm trying to make WC happy by showing that even though Toxx is a cruiserweight there's no more reason for him to be the underdog in any given situation than Flesher would be. I fail because Flesher's far more awesome than me, but hey.

PROMO: 'Special' SWF.COM EXCLUSIVE!! "Gabe." The voice instantly makes it clear who's talking, the level British accent marking the speaker. Moments later Michael Stephens himself comes into shot, blue-black hair hanging down across his face. Stephens brushes it back however, giving the camera a clear view directly into his steel-grey eyes. "A lot of people have been asking me whether I'm ready for this," Mike says, adjusting the World Title belt over his shoulder. "A lot of people have been asking me whether I've been training hard for this match, whether I've got a plan. And yes, I have been training hard and yes, I do have a plan. But there seems to be a misconception going around, one that I want to clear up. Namely the idea that you, Gabe, are something special. You see, while I've been training hard I haven't been training any harder than I did for Landon, for Johnson, for Flesher, for Hawke, for Wild & Dangerous... I train hard for all my big matches. I'm not going to dignify you with anything more than what I did for them. You're not a technical God, you're not some master of cheating and dirty tactics, you're not a Strong Style legend-in-the-making... you're just a bully, a violent bully who's managed to translate a love of hurting people into a successful six months in the SWF." Stephens takes a swig of Coke, black-nailed hand gripping the bright red can, then looks into the camera again. There is dislike clearly visible in his expression... but possibly also a grudging respect. "That don't mean I'm not taking you seriously Gabe. You have been successful, and I better than most other people know how dangerous you can be, but where you and everyone else is going wrong is thinking that you have some insight into me that others don't have. You don't. You knew me what, four, five years ago? You knew the kid I was Gabe, not the man I've become. You have no idea what I can do now, what I'm capable of, the levels of performance I can kick up to. Sunshine, if you knew what I can do when I'm backed into a corner you never would have come here with your aggro and your bitterness and your desire for revenge. You'd have had more bloody sense. See, come Friday everything that got you here won't matter anymore." A bitter smile crosses Stephens' face as he continues. "That manslaughter in Atlanta? Won't matter. Me testifying against you? Won't matter. You can get as mad as you like Gabe, you're still an overgrown green rookie who's been booked into a straight singles match with the World Champion. No weapons, no fancy rules, no cages and staggered entrances, just you and me. The arguments may be raging over whether I am the best, but no-one's arguing about the fact that I've been beating the best. You're going to have to pull out the performance of your life to have a hope of beating me one-on-one. So come and have a go, if you think you're hard enough..." Stephens pauses for a moment before a familiar lopsided grin creeps over his face. "...but prepare to be proved wrong."

I'm with Mak. Good solid work, more focused than before, and the Disney slogan works well in contrast to the seriousness of the rest of the promo. This feels more like Alan Clark is a person with a couple of quirks (albeit one contract-enforced) rather than mentally ill in some way, and therefore feels more realistic to me than the stuff with the Bloodshed alter-ego.

For all my ranting in his promo thread, the notion of Peters getting around Clark's "can't participate in no-DQ matches" clause by having him able to be disqualified when his opponents can't be is amusing.

Make that sometwo. Is there any guidance as to where our ring will be set up (and obviously, I've never been to Santa's Village).

That now makes sense. I still prefer Crimson Yuletide, but at least I'm more educated now.

Not exactly what I meant. We're all going to have different tastes, and I'm now expressing mine - namely that this extreme version of Clark/Bloodshed doesn't interest me. The Alan Clark from Martial Law made a lot more sense. What I'm getting at is feedback - if EVERYONE doesn't like something you do, odds are no-one's going to be that interested in working with you or doing angles and such, so you'll always be writing for yourself rather than doing interesting things with others, and your participation might well dry up, but if no-one tells you what they don't like you won't know what to change, assuming that you want to. We've now established that Hawke DOES like what Rando does, even if he finds the Disney aspect hard to put into a match. We now also know that Muzz likes what Rando does, even if he's not big into specifics, although that's potentially less relevant in terms of fed activity at the moment because Muzz isn't active (unfortunately). Again, I'll throw something out here to everyone rather than just Muzz this time - what am I doing wrong with Toxxic? Cos people seem to assume that if you're winning all the time then you're doing everything right but that's simply not (always) the case. While ELM's last title run was awe-inspiring in its dominance, I know at least one person who felt he HHH'd challengers a bit too much. Do I do the same? Cos no-one tells me bugger all except 'congratulations'.

Smarkurnalia? Gotta admit I don't get that one.