026: “CAPITOL HILL.”
Live from the Washington Mall in Washington D.C., USA.
Saturday 4th Match, 2023.
The cameras open up on the Washington Mall, with an aerial tracking shot as a helicopter loops around the Washington Monument, which looms over the traditional Fallout set that has been set up in its shadow. A long ramp runs down the Mall in the direction of the Capitol building. Behind the stage, we can see the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial, and the whitehouse is positioned so that Biden could get a decent view of the ring from the upstairs windows.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Welcome, wrestling fans, to the twenty sixth edition of FWA Fallout, live from the Washington Mall here in the District of Columbia! We’ve got four matches coming up tonight, including a championship bout in the tag team division, where Michelle von Horrowitz and Gerald Grayson of the Connection will defend their championships against Jackson Fenix and Nate Savage of the Undisputed Alliance.”
Allen Price: “We’ve seen the rest of Cthulhu’s Nephews helping MvH to her recent wins, and that has sometimes spilled over into her tag team matches alongside Grayson… but such shenanigans would be all legal here, with that main event match being a Washington Street Fight! I’m not sure that’s as good news for the challengers as it usually would be, against a team with a significant amount of back-up.”
The camera settles on the announcers, sat behind their desk and addressing the camera with welcoming smiles.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I don’t even want to think about that, Price. I’d rather think about the other matches we’ve got ahead of us here on Fallout…”
Allen Price: “... like Ratin and Steve?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “...”
Allen Price: “... maybe not. There’s also our King of the Deathmatch warm-up match, as Logan Darwin, Madison Gray, and Darius Wright prepare for trios action against XYZ, Trixie Bordeaux, and Sawyer Xavier. That bloody and brutal deathmatch tournament is now just a little more than a month away, and we’ll get to see six of the sixteen competitors lining up in the starter’s blocks right here in D.C.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “And in singles action, Cyrus Truth will look to bounce back from the heartache of Back in Town, where he was duped out of the F1 Climaxxx final by Michelle von Horrowitz. He goes up against Tommy Bedlam, who also seeks to recover following a loss in Denver, in his case to Kleio De Santos.”
Allen Price: “Have the Exile and the Cowboy ever met before? I can’t quite remember…”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Only in tag team competition as part of Meltdown’s Tag Warz tournament. Tonight will be a first time ever one-on-one match-up, Price! I think it’s about time we got down to the action!”
We cut to the stage, in time for…
Immediately the crowd is on their feet and booing loudly as “Your New Best Friend” Jeremy Best kicks off the show, walking out with a big smile on his face, waving to the Washington D.C. fans. The camera pans around the crowd, zooming in on some signs such as “Jeremy Worst,” “Jeremy Least,” “We Want Krash,” and “More Like Jeremy Jerk, Am I Right?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well I guess we are kicking things off on a sour note tonight because here comes Jeremy Best, who really showed his true colors at Back in Town, just when we thought we were witnessing the return of Krash to FWA.”
Allen Price: “Disgusting. Disgusting is the only word that came to mind then and it still comes to mind now seeing him walk out here now.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “It’s sickening to see Jeremy all smiles after what happened at Back in Town, and he’s probably also all smiles because on Meltdown, The Buddy System survived a grueling Scramble match to win a tag team title shot.”
Allen Price: “Why do good things keep happening to bad people?”
Jeremy remains oblivious to the ire of the crowd as he makes his way down the aisle, grabs a microphone, and rolls into the ring.
Jeremy Best: “Hiya Besties!”
BOOOOOOOOO! Despite Jeremy’s own delusions, the crowd does not appreciate Jeremy’s welcome.
Allen Price: “I may be wrong…”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “...More often than not…”
Allen Price: “...but I don’t think any of these people here in the Washington Mall are Besties.”
Jeremy Best: “Oh, cut it out. You guys are just too much. I love each and every one of you so very much… and it feels so good to be back out here on Fallout. I feel like I haven’t been around much. I feel like the last few months have been rough ones for ol’ Jeremy… but at Back in Town… things finally started to turn around!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “That’s certainly one way to paint that picture…”
Jeremy Best: “And so… here’s the thing… I know there’s something on EVERYONE’S MINDS… and I know this because ever since Back in Town, it is literally the only thing people have asked me. Everywhere I go, it’s the same question…”
Allen Price: “We do! We want to know! Why Jeremy, why?!”
Jeremy Best: “....And you know me Besties, I don’t like to keep you guys out of the loop. So I’ll finally answer that question…how is Krash doing?”
Jeremy smiles to the camera and the crowd, which respond with loud boos.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I mean… I guess that’s kind of the question… but also not the full question.”
Jeremy Best: “And I get it… really, I do! You all want to know about the whereabouts of Krash. You want to know how he’s doing. You want to know how to send him some well wishes or maybe some get well cards. Because as we learned at Back in Town… Krash is sick. He was missing for so very long… and God knows what kind of things he dealt with over those three months. Sure, on the outside it looked like Krash… but on the inside… he’s not well. He was in dire need of someone who can take care of him. And thankfully Bryan brought him to me just in time. Because during the Krash Crusades, I thought Krash needed me then. He was out there and I wanted to find him. But little did I know that “finding him” wasn’t the end of the Crusades. Because Krash is still lost. And it’s up to me to really FIND him. Right now… Krash needs ME more than ever.”
Allen Price: “What the Hell is he talking about?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “These are the words of a man who has lost all grips on reality, I’m afraid.”
Jeremy Best: “And it’s for that reason… I’m afraid I can’t disclose the location of Krash at this moment. It’s for his own good. It’s for his safety. There are people out there who might want to stop me from doing this. Stop me from bringing the real Krash back. People that don’t have his best interest in mind. SELFISH people. People who did NOTHING TO HELP KRASH WHEN HE NEEDED HIM. PEOPLE WHO WERE NEVER REALLY KRASH’S FRIEND TO BEGIN WITH….”
Not typically one to raise his voice, the tone of Jeremy’s voice is unsettling and causes the crowd to become disturbingly quiet. Jeremy pauses… his breathing heavier but starting to calm down.
Jeremy Best: “...And those are people I can assure you that Krash would not want anything to do with anymore. But I assure you, Besties, Krash is going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay. He has me now. He has his… BEST… FRIEND.”
The music brings about a huge pop from the Washington D.C. crowd as they are back on their feet, while Jeremy’s eyes grow wide, knowing what it meant.
Allen Price: “Heeerreee we go!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I think those words may have not sit well with a certain someone, Price. And I’d hate to be in Jeremy Best’s shoes right now…”
Alyster Black races out from the back, wasting no time as he rushes down the aisle and darts towards the ring. The sight of Alyster Black is intimidating enough on any normal occasion inside the wrestling ring, but knowing that Black wants to kick your ass more than anything in the world… that’s a different level of scary. So one might not blame Jeremy Best from dropping the microphone and high tailing it out of the ring just as Black is sliding in. Black shakes the ropes in frustration as Jeremy runs back up the aisle, much to the dismay of both Black and the fans.
But Alyster reaches down and picks up the microphone.
Alyster Black: “Keep running… keep trying to hide… but it’s only a matter of time before I get my hands on you, Jeremy! You haven’t been around long enough to see everything I’m capable of… but for the sake of your personal wellbeing, for the sake of your buddy Bryan… I suggest you stop playing these games… tell me where to find my best friend Krash, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll let you and that bastard mate of yours off the hook.”
Jeremy watches on from the aisle as the fans begin an “ALY’S GONNA KILL YOU” chant.
Alyster Black: “And since I know you live in your own little fantasy world and think you’re some type of friendship savior… I’ll offer up a second option. And honestly, I’m kinda hoping you choose this option… because in a few weeks… there’s this thing called the King of the Death Match. I've already entered. And that’s REAL bad news for everyone else involved because I’m in a REAL bad mood… and if you think you’re trying to ‘save Krash’ from me or whatever that bullshit your spewing out of your mouth is… then how about you put the BS where your mouth is… I think I heard there’s a couple spots still left in the tournament… throw your name in the hat… get your hands a little dirty for once! And let me fucking kill you like a man!”
Big pop from the crowd at the thought of Jeremy having to step into the ring with Alyser Black under deathmatch rules.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I think the crowd approves, but I’m not sure Jeremy Best agrees..”
Alyster holds his arms out, hoping for a response from Jeremy, but instead he remains silent, and without an answer he turns around, disappearing to the back. Alyster Black tosses the microphone down in frustration, before shaking his head and climbing out of the ring as Sonne plays once again.
There’s an advert for a new FWA-manufactured blender, titled The Undisputed Appliance.
There’s a hush on the mall, with some audible jeers, as the masked man walks out onto the stage…
Natalie Rosenberg: "Ladies and gentlemen, the following ‘King of the Deathmatch’ preview contest is a trios match, scheduled for one-fall with a twenty minute time limit! Introducing first, from the depths of Hell… weighing in at two hundred and forty three pounds… this… is… DEATH WALKER!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Death Walker, who we previously knew as Darius Wright, may have come up short in his quest to claim the FWA Television Championship at Back in Business, but he’s certainly impressed here since his debut."
Allen Price: "That’s right, J-L: back-to-back wins, first over Jason Randall and then teaming with the Wildcard against Shawn Summers and Vampyra, marked Wright - now Death Walker, as you mentioned - as one to watch. He’ll be hoping to get some of that momentum back in this trios match tonight…"
Wright has climbed into the ring, when the lights finally come up and his music fades out. It’s replaced by an AFI intro before settling into…
The jeers are louder as the Reaper appears on the stage, but Logan Darwin pays the crowd reaction no mind. He begins marching down to the ring.
Natalie Rosenberg: "And his partners, first… from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and weighing in at two hundred and thirty pounds… ‘The Reaper’... LOGAN DARWIN!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Logan Darwin made his big return to the FWA at Back in Town, where he came up short in attempting to win that four-way ladder match… a match that also featured one of his opponents and one of his teammates."
Allen Price: "Darwin proved in that match and in his previous run with the company that he’s a dangerous competitor. Imagine that amplified at King of the Deathmatch, where everything is legal…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "That’s not the case tonight, though. Traditional rules in this trios match, though one questions how the official is going to keep control with six combustible elements…"
Darwin climbs into the ring and gives Death Walker a sideways look. DW is smiling in return, though the meaning behind this is inscrutable. Logan’s music fades out, and next we hear…
There’s a mixed reaction for Madison Gray, who walks out onto the stage with a blank expression on her face. She ignores the audience completely, eyes only for her teammates as she strides down the ramp.
Natalie Rosenberg: "And, from Portsmouth, England… weighing in at one hundred and twenty five pounds… ‘The Young Lioness’... MADISON GRAY!"
Allen Price: "Here is one of those opponents that you mentioned. Gray was also involved in that ladder match at Back in Town, which was eventually won by Princess Nova of Eternal. Given the violent nature of that match, and the barbaric spectacle of King of the Deathmatch to come, can we expect Gray and Darwin to be able to coexist here?"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "I guess we’ll find out together, Price!"
Madison slides into the ring and then loosens up using the ropes. She keeps a watchful eye on her teammates in the corner, though no words are expressed between the three of them. Gray’s music fades out, and next we hear…
A good cheer is heard for Trixie as she appears on the stage. There’s a nervous smile on her face as she offers the audience a wave before beginning down the ramp.
Natalie Rosenberg: "Introducing their opponents… first, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana… she weighs in at one hundred and twenty pounds… BELLATRIX… BORDEAUX!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Here comes a competitor who has had better look in tag team contests than in singles match so far in her young FWA career… Bordeaux’s only win thus far, came in the ten-person contest at ‘Fight Night: The Final Four’. Singles defeats to Shawn Summers and Reagan Cole bookend that victory, and she’ll be hoping that good fortune in tag team competition continues here in New York."
Trixie, perhaps wisely, decides to wait outside of the ring. She looks up at her opponents, her hands on her hips, as her music fades out. Then…
There’s a decent pop for Sawyer Xavier as he emerges onto the stage. He looks around at the crowd with an appreciative nod, and then begins his walk down to the ring.
Natalie Rosenberg: "And her partners, first… from Savannah, Georgia and weighing in at one hundred and seventy six pounds… SAWYER XAVIER!"
Allen Price: "Another returning star, and another of Madison Gray and Logan Darwin’s opponents in Back in Town’s ladder match…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Yes, Sawyer Xavier hadn’t been seen in the FWA since the culmination of Fallout and Meltdown’s temporary split, and will be hoping to make an impact at the King of the Deathmatch. He’s alluded to the spotlight that came his way following his starring role in Meltdown’s win in Jailhouse Blues, and will hope April’s tournament will put him back in it."
Xavier waits with Bordeaux at the bottom of the ramp as the sixth and final entrance theme is played…
XYZ appears to a huge pop from the Hammerstein crowd. He has a peculiar, focussed look on his face as he struts down the ramp.
Natalie Rosenberg: "And finally… from Sitka, Alaska… he weighs in tonight at one hundred and eighty pounds… this is… X… Y… Z!!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Here comes a man who didn’t compete at The Grand March, but… oh, here we go!"
XYZ strides past his teammates and slides into the ring. Trixie and Sawyer follow him in… and straight into battle with their opponents! The six throw hands in the ring as the crowd gets behind the high-energy start and the official calls for the bell…
It is indeed a chaotic start to the match, with action soon spilling onto the outside and the referee struggling to organise things. To begin with, Sawyer Xavier and Logan Darwin trade hands in the ring, with Darwin getting the upper hand with a rake to the eyes, before attempting a short-arm clothesline. Xavier ducks beneath it… hammerlock… and a hammerlock DDT! Jean-Luc comments on the smoothness of Sawyer’s transition as we cut to the outside, just in time to see XYZ thrown hard into the barricade by Death Walker with an Irish whip! And then we cut to Madison Gray, who is attempting a piledriver on the outside to Trixie, only for Bordeaux to reverse with a back body drop!
During these fast-paced opening skirmishes, we cut to an area of backstage, where a man wearing a black mask watches the match on a television screen. He is alone, and upon his shoulder is the FWA X Championship. He watches the screen straight on, his back to the camera as he observes six of his fifteen challengers (or forty per cent) duking it out in or around the ring.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "There we see the FWA X Champion, Alyster Black, watching proceedings in the back. A scouting mission for Black Jesus, it seems…"
Allen Price: "No doubt. Alyster Black, after suffering defeat in the Tag Team Scramble match on Meltdown XXVI, will now centre his focus on keeping that X Championship beyond the King of the Deathmatch tournament."
The chaos continues around the ring, with positions swapping a little soon after so that Darwin and XYZ are trading hands on the outside. Darwin seems to be betting the better of it, until XYZ distracts him by pointing up the ramp and then kicking his shins! XYZ hops up onto the apron and attempts a jumping hurricanrana, but Darwin catches him! Logan first throws him onto the barricade and then onto the floor with a pair of vicious powerbombs! Meanwhile, on the other side of the ring, Death Walker is wearing Trixie down with a sleeper hold… and then, when Bordeaux is almost out, DW takes her up and overhead with a sleeper suplex!! Sawyer Xavier is inside the ring with Madison Gray, and has the Young Lioness backed up to the corner with a series of chops and kicks, before he connects with a roundhouse and an enziguri! And then a fisherman’s suplex! Sawyer bridges for the cover…
ONE… TWO… NO!
Kickout from Gray!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "I don’t think we ever really established legal competitors at the start of this one, with nobody on the apron when the bell was rung… apparently, we’re going for Madison and Sawyer…"
Allen Price: "Just go with it, J-L! Expect more carnage at the King of the Deathmatch…"
Soon afterwards, outside the ring, we have Death Walker and XYZ involved in an exchange of strikes. DW connects with uppercuts, jabs, and hooks… whilst X returns with unconventional kicks to the legs and the side of Death Walker. It even seems like XYZ is succeeding in backing Death Walker up a little with his unconventional offense… until DW fires into him with a left hook, right jab, uppercut combo, staggering X back. And then Death Walker follows up with a huge headbutt!! XYZ seems almost out on his feet, as DW collects him and plants him on the outside with a spike DDT!
Meanwhile, nearby, Logan Darwin is taking some punches, slaps, and even the occasional eye rake from Trixie, and when Bordeaux sees Death Walker hit his headbutt on XYZ she decides to go for one of her own… only for Darwin to stop her with a hand on her forehead! Darwin keeps her at bay as Trixie windmills, trying to strike him, but he’s out of reach! Logan then pulls her in close and connects with a cobra clutch slam! Darwin and DW have succeeded in grounding X and Trixie on the outside, and share a nod before facing the ring…
Also meanwhile, as DW and X traded strikes on the outside, Madison Gray has Sawyer Xavier in an Octopus hold in the middle of the ring. The official, still counting these two as the official competitors, is asking Xavier if he wants to give in. Sawyer refuses, and inches closer and closer to the ropes, eventually hooking his arm onto them. The referee enforces the break and Madison releases the hold to back away from Sawyer… and then charges back at him, looking for a clothesline over the ropes. Sawyer ducks it, though, and then hoists Gray up and over the top herself! She’s caught by her teammates, Darwin and Death Walker, on the outside, who set her down carefully and then turn to face the ring…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "… TOPE CON HILO FROM SAWYER XAVIER!!"
Allen Price: "He takes ALL THREE of his opponents out on the outside!!"
The crowd pops for the aerial display from Sawyer, who throws Gray under the bottom rope. He waits for her to get up to her knees before charging in from behind…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Sawyer Xavier connects with a vicious knee strike to the back of the head! I think he calls that the Brain Squasher..."
Allen Price: "This could be it, J-L! His brain’s been squashed!"
Xavier hooks the far leg…
ONE… TWO… TH – NO!
It’s broken up by Death Walker!
Once more we cut to the back, where Alyster watches on, nodding approvingly at the brutality of Sawyer’s signature move. In the arena, DW hoists Sawyer up and connects with a vicious uppercut, rocking him back towards the ropes. Xavier attempts to propel himself back at DW with a discus lariat, but Death Walker ducks beneath it, and then connects with a backdrop suplex! By now, Logan Darwin is back in the ring, too, and it’s his turn to pick up Xavier. He throws him towards Death Walker, who connects with another headbutt, and then a capture suplex! And Logan follows up with a jumping knee drop onto the back of Sawyer’s head!
Allen Price: "Come on, now! It’s meant to be one person in the ring at a time!"
The referee is having a torrid time trying to remind Logan and Death Walker of this, but they do eventually acquiesce and head for the apron, but not before dragging Gray into their corner. Darwin tags himself in, and what follows is a lengthy period of dominance for his trio, who cut the ring in half (with XYZ and Trixie, eventually, climbing onto the apron on their side of it) and keep Sawyer Xavier isolated on their side of it for the bulk of the ensuing contest. They even display some moments of collaboration: mostly moves delivered in combination, like knee strike from Darwin followed by a discus elbow smash from Gray, or later on a a roundhouse kick from Madison followed up by a German from Death Walker, both combinations leading to two-counts. Their most fluid bit of teamwork comes when Saywer is sundered in the corner. Death Walker first Irish whips Gray at him, with Madison connecting with a cornered European uppercut. Then, Death Walker Irish whips Darwin at him, who hits his trademark cornered spinning elbow. Finally, DW himself charges at Xavier, hitting a flying forearm smash that drops Xavier, allowing him - the legal competitor - to get a two following the flurry of charging corner strikes.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "It’s difficult to believe that these three have never teamed before. Quite surprisingly, we’re seeing Logan Darwin, Madison Gray, and Death Walker working well together as a team."
Allen Price: "Momentum is important, J-L. Darwin, Gray, and Death Walker know what a win could do for them, and a loss for their opponents, as we speed towards the King of the Deathmatch tournament."
The three also work through a lot of their singles offense during this stretch, too. Logan Darwin earns a pair of two-counts for a snap powerslam and a hotshot suplex, whilst Madison Gray wears Xavier down for lengthy periods in an elevated wristlock and later on a guillotine clutch. On both occasions, Xavier is finally able to get to the ropes, but considerable damage is done to him by the submissions. Death Walker is perhaps most impactful and impressive, earning near-falls with a northern lights suplex and, late in the match, with a bucklebomb followed by a sit-out powerbomb combination, XYZ having to enter the match to break the count following that one. Death Walker also punctuates his power moves with an impressive array of strikes: both punches and kicks are used, working away at Sawyer’s body and later his head as the match wears on.
Late in the match, Madison Gray has Sawyer Xavier sundered in the middle of the ring with a kimura lock, and once more it looks like the young man might have to tap out. The official is in close, asking Xavier if he wants to continue, which Sawyer resolutely does. The fans are on his side as he creeps towards the ropes, reaching out for the bottom one with an outstretched boot… but Madison rolls him back into the middle of the ring!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Madison Gray is wrenching on her well-applied kimura lock, here! Sawyer Xavier has to think about the long-term! The King of the Deathmatch is in just over a month’s time!"
Allen Price: "He looks as defiant as ever!"
Indeed, with a grunt of exertion, Sawyer is able to roll Gray onto her shoulders…
ONE… TWO… NO!
Gray kicks out, but is forced to relinquish the hold. Xavier gets up gingerly, clutching his arm from the lengthy spell in the kimura, but he’s able to duck beneath an attempted discuss elbow from Gray! And then he connects with a roundhouse kick! Gray is staggered…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "LAY IN WASTE!! Pumphandle spinebuster from Sawyer Xavier!!"
Allen Price: "But he can’t make a cover…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "He needs to at least make a tag…"
Both competitors crawl towards their corner, with Madison Gray managing to tag in Death Walker… just as Sawyer Xavier tags out to XYZ!! X comes into a huge pop and ducks beneath DW’s clothesline attempt, before taking him down with a thrust kick!! X spots Logan Darwin charging at him… a leg lariat takes the Reaper down! In comes Gray, still shrugging off the spinebuster, but XYZ meets her with a headscissors takedown, spinning 360 degrees with his legs around her neck! X focuses on the legal man, hoisting Death Walker up and hits some vicious kicks to the thighs and shins, the crowd cheering along with each strike… and then he takes Death Walker up and over with a gut-wrench suplex!
We cut to the back briefly, Alyster Black watching on with great interest as XYZ heads to the corner to begin an ascent of the turnbuckles…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "XYZ is climbing up to the top rope… but watch out for Gray!"
Madison is on the apron, and he prepares to charge at X on the top rope… but Trixie is in the ring! She charges across it…
Allen Price: "SPEAR!! Trixie goes through the ropes, taking Darwin off the apron!!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "But the distraction is enough for Death Walker, he’s back to his feet… and he knocks XYZ off balance with a right hook!"
Death Walker stops X from falling off the top, and then drags him away from the corner, in position for a sitout inverted front powerslam…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Death Walker is going for Dark Cloud… but here comes Xavier!! He drags XYZ from Walker’s clutches… he hits the ropes, springboards… cutter to Death Walker!!"
The official finally tries to get some semblance of control, insisting Sawyer get out of the ring. Both legal competitors are off their feet and turn towards their corners, and both are able to get the tag! Logan Darwin charges in at Trixie Bordeaux, who ducks beneath Darwin’s attempted clothesline… and then hits a back rake! Darwin turns around, and Trixie pokes him in the eye!! Logan is stumbling around, and Trixie sees from the corner of her eye that Death Walker is back in the ring. He charges at her, but Bordeaux back-pedals to the ropes, dropping down to pull the top one with her, sending Death Walker tumbling onto the outside! Darwin has shrugged off the eyepoke, and goes for a right hand on Trixie, but she ducks it and then hits a sitout jawbreaker!! Darwin stumbles into the corner… where Sawyer is waiting for him with an enziguri to the back of the head from the apron! Darwin falls into a seated position as Xavier spies Madison Gray getting to her feet on the outside…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Springboard moonsault from Sawyer Xavier!! Gray is taken out again on the outside!"
Allen Price: "And Trixie sizes Logan Darwin up in the corner…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "That’s the ‘Bundle of Joy’!! Trixie connects with the cannonball!!"
Darwin rolls into the middle of the ring as Trixie ascends to the top rope, her back to him. She takes a leap of faith, throwing herself from the top turnbuckle….
Jean-Luc Watkins: "WHISTLING TRIXIE! Trixie Bordeaux gets ALL of it!!"
Allen Price: "And now the cover…"
ONE… TWO… THREE!
Natalie Rosenberg: "Here are your winners… Trixie Bordeaux, Sawyer Xavier, and XYZ!!"
Inside the ring, we see the official lifting the hand of Trixie. She is soon joined in the ring by her fellow vectors. XYZ stands on the other side of the referee to get his hand raised, whilst Sawyer Xavier is a little removed from the other two. He leans against the ropes, clutching his ribs after the landing of his springboard moonsault at the end of the match…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "XYZ and Trixie Bordeaux seem happy to share in this victory together, but Sawyer Xavier remains aloof. He knows that the King of the Deathmatch is coming up soon, where all allegiances will be put on hold."
Outside the ring, we see a defeated Logan Darwin, who has rolled out of the ring to lick his wounds. Madison Gray is on the other side of the ring, seated against the barricade with a look of frustration on her face. Death Walker stands at the base of the ramp, shaking his head at his defeated teammates and at the winners.
Allen Price: "The same is true of the losing side here, J-L. No comradery on display between Logan Darwin, Madison Gray, and Death Walker…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Gray and Darwin leave the arena in frustration, whilst Death Walker spends a moment taking stock of the loss.”
As Death stares up at the winners in the ring with an inscrutable look on his face, we cut to the back, where Alyster Black still pays close attention to the screen…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "And it would be interesting to know what Alyster Black makes of that match, the result, and the six challengers who will all be vying for that FWA X Championship in April…"
Before JLW can continue, though, focus is suddenly drawn from their musings… as Alyster is nailed with a clubbing blow to the back of the head! The elbow strike sends him forward into the television screen, and he turns to face his waiting assailant, who puts Black in a front facelock…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "This is why you never watch the screens in the back straight on! They tell you that on your first day!"
Allen Price: "Hold up … that’s …"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "… wait a second …"
Allen Price: "… am I seeing double?!"
The camera has pulled back a little, to show our current FWA X Champion being held in position by… Alyster Black! This body double, wearing the same ring gear as the champion, as well as the same black mask but for blue detailing around the eyes, hoists Black Jesus off the ground and drops him down onto the concrete with a Satan’s Spike!!
Allen Price: "What the hell is going on?!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "I think our champion has just been attacked by an imposter… an imposter in the guise of Alyster Black himself!"
This ‘imposter’ stands above the felled champion and looks down at the belt at his side. We can’t read his expression behind the mask, but he eventually averts his gaze from the gold in order to turn Alyster over. He wraps his own legs around Black’s, and then collects his arms by the wrists… before delivering a devastating curbstomp!!
Allen Price: "Can we get some help back there?! This is sick!"
Some paramedics do eventually arrive on the scene, but not until after the ‘imposter’ Alyster Black has removed himself from the situation. He saunters away from the downed champion, the ‘real’ Alyster Black, who is then surrounded by medical staff. He sits up and pushes them off, massaging the back of his head and looking past the camera.
We return back to ringside, where most of the competitors from the trios match have left the arena, except for Death Walker and XYZ, who are still at ringside.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “A shocking situation in the back, there, but we’ve still got plenty of action to come here in Washington D.C…. but before we can get to that, it seems Death Walker isn’t quite ready to leave the arena…”
As things wrap up after a wild trios match, Death Walker makes his way over to XYZ and takes a random swing at him. But he misses as XYZ is able to dodge with his cunning reflexes…
Allen Price “Woah there! We’ve just had one assault backstage, and now Death Walker is trying to throw hands at one of his partners!”
Jean-Luc Watkins “There’ll be no partners in the King of the Deathmatch tournament, Price! But it looks like Death has thought better of it, anyway…”
Looking to maintain some peace, XYZ holds his hands out at arms length as he shakes his head. This also provides some distance between himself and Death. So the monster walks away from the ring, kicking the steps hard enough that both pieces shift from the post. He then turns his attention back to XYZ, who has climbed into the ring for the higher ground. Death stares him down for a minute as he strolls on over to the right side of the ring. And the enigmatic sensation that is XYZ, prepares to use his feet and fists to strike. As the referee, ring announcer, and everyone else in attendance watch this display, all of the arena lights turn off for a while…
Allen Price: “Is this a blackout?!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I don’t think it’s a blackout, Price…”
The crowd screams and makes noise under such odd conditions and after 10 seconds of darkness, the lights are brought back on. XYZ gets ready to strike with some type of kick but stops himself as he notices that it's The Dark Guardian standing before him and smirking. Which can only leave one other conclusion… and that happens to be, that his problem is now behind him… and not in the sense of his troubles being over. But instead they are just beginning, for XYZ gives this look of regret to find out what or who is now behind him as he slowly turns his body. And with that bit of hesitation, Death Walker takes this moment to lock in his patented Standing Arm Triangle Choke. Now squeezing and squeezing and squeezing… he begins to separate XYZ’s oxygen from his brain while applying both impenetrable pressure against his neck and arm…
Allen Price: “We need to get some help out here! Death Walker is putting XYZ out!!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I think they’re all busy in the back!”
That's when the referee has seen enough and signals for backstage officials and more to get involved. As for XYZ’s recent teammate, Trixie Bordeaux has charged back down the ramp, slides back into the ring to help free him. However, Death Walker simply backs up with his hostage as he tries to squeeze the life out of XYZ. With the crowd hollering and booking, there's some struggling from XYZ for a few more seconds before - at last - he fades away.
Finally, all of the officials and refs enter the ring to get this madman to stop but Death quickly pulls out a long steel chain, wraps it around his fist and holds a weakened XYZ into position. So everybody rushes The Dark Traveler and tugs on his tightening bicep as he shakes them off vigorously while raising the fist with the weapon. The crowd and staff plead with him once more…
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Jesus Christ! Is Death Walker looking to end XYZ’s career?! I’ve seen a few messages sent in my time but this… think it through!!”
… and he lowers the fist at his side but then raises it again and delivers a powerful punch to XYZ’s ribs. The screams from XYZ and the crowd could shake the arena while the emotionless monster releases a suffering his agonizing victim. Leaving him laying on the mat, the lights cut off again for less than 5 seconds and then cut back on… with only smoke around the ring left behind.
Evening falls on the countryside as a boat floats on the water’s edge, leading to a small and secluded beach. Along the coast, we see a collection of thick and towering red cedar trees. The greenery captures the view of most of the horizon. Below the trees is a collection of smaller flowering trees with a mix of red and white. Hanging from posts are a collection of paper lanterns, lit up to provide visibility as the sun begins to set. Small waves crash onto the beach, covering some footsteps of a woman. The camera only shows her from the elbow down as she wears a stunning kimono dress with a white and purple design, the actual skirt of which only going up to her thighs. Breaking the sight line of the trees is a red torii gate. Its red beams and its iconic shape creates a separation between the mundane and what is sacred. There are wooden stairs which lead up to it and the woman’s wooden sandals clang onto the wood as she steps up. She looks through the gate before taking her first steps, going on a path lined with red lanterns on posts with the path being made of stone and moss.
She speaks in English, having an accent, but we recognise her voice instantly as Vampyra.
Vampyra: “I did not expect to have to make this journey so soon.”
Her voice has a hint of tension under it. She continues on her path.
Vampyra: “Days have turned into weeks, which have become months. Those months have felt like years. Then comes a hard decision. Do you stay and fight? Or give up?”
A shadowy voice whispers in her ear. It is of a woman. It speaks to her in Japanese.
“あきらめる。あなたは選択肢がありません。”
Vampyra: “Is it more honourable to take a stand against a rain of arrows, or let them take you? But in this case, the right thing to do is not to give up… but to escape.”
Along the path, several bushes begin to line the path, showing a mix of vibrant flowers. The sun is continuing to set, so the light from the lanterns become noticeable.
Vampyra: “Escape one battle so you can learn and reflect. So you fight your personal ones.”
“腰抜け”
The voice whispers again. Vampyra stops in her tracks, stung by its words, but she moves onward through the path.
Vampyra: “I entered a new land and experienced everything at once. I survived where countless others who may be older than me or more experienced would fail. I have been praised. But I also have a sinking feeling in my heart. A seed of doubt that others grow and it becomes impossible to ignore.”
She approaches a small bridge over a creek. It has red railings, matching the design of the torri.
Vampyra: “I have to ask myself important questions. What do I want in FWA? How will I go about it…?”
Stepping onto the bridge, she looks down at the water.
Vampyra: “And I need to ask myself again… Who am I? Who is Vampyra?”
“あなたは何もない”
The voice whispers again. A petal from the plant life floats into the wind and onto the water, causing ripples over Vampyra’s reflection. She stands in the middle of the bridge.
Vampyra: "I've been asking these question for years. Before FWA, before wrestling."
She moves off the bridge.
Vampyra: “And now I have more time to think about it. The first decision I have made relates to my recent past. The FWA Television Championship is gone from my possession, and as much as it pains me, it is better for myself to move past it. Past from it and those who harm me-”
“うそつき”
The whisper of the voice cuts through the air like the cold wind. She shudders.
Vampyra: “And towards other opportunities when the time comes. But I have to make some hard choices…”
Towards the end of the path, we see a split. Two conflicting paths. The path on the right has plum trees lining the path. The lanterns on that side are few and far between. The stone path is more cracked. To the left, the path has several cherry blossom trees. Its pink leaves iconic in their imagery. Lanterns hang above, providing a warm comfort.
In front of Vampyra, two signs point in the direction of each path. Its text is written in kanji. To her left…
名誉
To the right.
罪
Vampyra: “And… I will not take them lightly…”
The voice whispers again as the wind picks up.
“がある . . .”
The wind builds and builds, flowers from both paths begin to blow in Vampyra’s direction.
“選択の余地ない”
The wind blows out the lights of the lanterns from both paths as the scene also cuts away.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Vampyra off to do some soul searching it appears, and we must move on from an already chaotic night where we saw an imposter Alyster Black attack the real Alyster and not only that but we also witnessed a heinous assault on XYZ at the hands of Death Walker following their match. We’ll provide medical updates on both Alyster and XYZ as soon as they’re available but again we must move on…”
Allen Price: “Right you are, Jean-Luc, and up next we’ll see Cyrus Truth face off with Tommy Bedlam. Both men came off losses in their respective matches at Back in Town so undoubtedly they’ll be itching for a win here tonight.”
The familiar theme blares out from the sound system as the Washington Monument overlooks the stage and Cyrus Truth emerges from the back. Truth glances at the monument and then at the crowd before walking down to the ring.
Natalie Rosenberg: “The following contest is scheduled for one fall with a twenty-minute-time-limit! Introducing first…from The Long & Winding Road…and weighing in at 227 lb…he is The Exile…Cyrus Truth!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Truth has been a busy man despite coming off a loss at Back in Town. We found out on Meltdown he’ll be joining Michelle von Horrowitz and champion Chris Peacock in the upcoming world title match at The Grand March.”
Allen Price: “Yeah, that’s all well and good for Truth, but tonight he needs to shift his focus to Tommy Bedlam.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Surely our new world champion, Chris Peacock, will be keeping a keen eye on this match.”
Allen Price: “As well he should but I’m certain he’s more concerned with the condition of Alyster Black after what we saw earlier…”
Tommy Bedlam steps out on stage and takes a look at the Washington Monument as well before he averts his focus on Cyrus, and he marches down to the ring while some of the crowd sing along to his theme song.
Natalie Rosenberg: “His opponent…hailing from Sweetwater, Texas…and weighing in at 244 lb…Tommy Bedlam!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Bedlam is coming off a loss to Kleio de Santos at Back in Town, and tonight he hopes to bounce back in what would be a huge win over Cyrus Truth.”
Bedlam enters the ring and removes his black leather vest and hands it off to the ringside attendant. He enters his corner and eagerly waits for the signal of the bell…
During these fast-paced opening skirmishes, we cut to an area of backstage, where a man wearing a black mask watches the match on a television screen. He is alone, and upon his shoulder is the FWA X Championship. He watches the screen straight on, his back to the camera as he observes six of his fifteen challengers (or forty per cent) duking it out in or around the ring.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "There we see the FWA X Champion, Alyster Black, watching proceedings in the back. A scouting mission for Black Jesus, it seems…"
Allen Price: "No doubt. Alyster Black, after suffering defeat in the Tag Team Scramble match on Meltdown XXVI, will now centre his focus on keeping that X Championship beyond the King of the Deathmatch tournament."
The chaos continues around the ring, with positions swapping a little soon after so that Darwin and XYZ are trading hands on the outside. Darwin seems to be betting the better of it, until XYZ distracts him by pointing up the ramp and then kicking his shins! XYZ hops up onto the apron and attempts a jumping hurricanrana, but Darwin catches him! Logan first throws him onto the barricade and then onto the floor with a pair of vicious powerbombs! Meanwhile, on the other side of the ring, Death Walker is wearing Trixie down with a sleeper hold… and then, when Bordeaux is almost out, DW takes her up and overhead with a sleeper suplex!! Sawyer Xavier is inside the ring with Madison Gray, and has the Young Lioness backed up to the corner with a series of chops and kicks, before he connects with a roundhouse and an enziguri! And then a fisherman’s suplex! Sawyer bridges for the cover…
ONE… TWO… NO!
Kickout from Gray!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "I don’t think we ever really established legal competitors at the start of this one, with nobody on the apron when the bell was rung… apparently, we’re going for Madison and Sawyer…"
Allen Price: "Just go with it, J-L! Expect more carnage at the King of the Deathmatch…"
Soon afterwards, outside the ring, we have Death Walker and XYZ involved in an exchange of strikes. DW connects with uppercuts, jabs, and hooks… whilst X returns with unconventional kicks to the legs and the side of Death Walker. It even seems like XYZ is succeeding in backing Death Walker up a little with his unconventional offense… until DW fires into him with a left hook, right jab, uppercut combo, staggering X back. And then Death Walker follows up with a huge headbutt!! XYZ seems almost out on his feet, as DW collects him and plants him on the outside with a spike DDT!
Meanwhile, nearby, Logan Darwin is taking some punches, slaps, and even the occasional eye rake from Trixie, and when Bordeaux sees Death Walker hit his headbutt on XYZ she decides to go for one of her own… only for Darwin to stop her with a hand on her forehead! Darwin keeps her at bay as Trixie windmills, trying to strike him, but he’s out of reach! Logan then pulls her in close and connects with a cobra clutch slam! Darwin and DW have succeeded in grounding X and Trixie on the outside, and share a nod before facing the ring…
Also meanwhile, as DW and X traded strikes on the outside, Madison Gray has Sawyer Xavier in an Octopus hold in the middle of the ring. The official, still counting these two as the official competitors, is asking Xavier if he wants to give in. Sawyer refuses, and inches closer and closer to the ropes, eventually hooking his arm onto them. The referee enforces the break and Madison releases the hold to back away from Sawyer… and then charges back at him, looking for a clothesline over the ropes. Sawyer ducks it, though, and then hoists Gray up and over the top herself! She’s caught by her teammates, Darwin and Death Walker, on the outside, who set her down carefully and then turn to face the ring…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "… TOPE CON HILO FROM SAWYER XAVIER!!"
Allen Price: "He takes ALL THREE of his opponents out on the outside!!"
The crowd pops for the aerial display from Sawyer, who throws Gray under the bottom rope. He waits for her to get up to her knees before charging in from behind…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Sawyer Xavier connects with a vicious knee strike to the back of the head! I think he calls that the Brain Squasher..."
Allen Price: "This could be it, J-L! His brain’s been squashed!"
Xavier hooks the far leg…
ONE… TWO… TH – NO!
It’s broken up by Death Walker!
Once more we cut to the back, where Alyster watches on, nodding approvingly at the brutality of Sawyer’s signature move. In the arena, DW hoists Sawyer up and connects with a vicious uppercut, rocking him back towards the ropes. Xavier attempts to propel himself back at DW with a discus lariat, but Death Walker ducks beneath it, and then connects with a backdrop suplex! By now, Logan Darwin is back in the ring, too, and it’s his turn to pick up Xavier. He throws him towards Death Walker, who connects with another headbutt, and then a capture suplex! And Logan follows up with a jumping knee drop onto the back of Sawyer’s head!
Allen Price: "Come on, now! It’s meant to be one person in the ring at a time!"
The referee is having a torrid time trying to remind Logan and Death Walker of this, but they do eventually acquiesce and head for the apron, but not before dragging Gray into their corner. Darwin tags himself in, and what follows is a lengthy period of dominance for his trio, who cut the ring in half (with XYZ and Trixie, eventually, climbing onto the apron on their side of it) and keep Sawyer Xavier isolated on their side of it for the bulk of the ensuing contest. They even display some moments of collaboration: mostly moves delivered in combination, like knee strike from Darwin followed by a discus elbow smash from Gray, or later on a a roundhouse kick from Madison followed up by a German from Death Walker, both combinations leading to two-counts. Their most fluid bit of teamwork comes when Saywer is sundered in the corner. Death Walker first Irish whips Gray at him, with Madison connecting with a cornered European uppercut. Then, Death Walker Irish whips Darwin at him, who hits his trademark cornered spinning elbow. Finally, DW himself charges at Xavier, hitting a flying forearm smash that drops Xavier, allowing him - the legal competitor - to get a two following the flurry of charging corner strikes.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "It’s difficult to believe that these three have never teamed before. Quite surprisingly, we’re seeing Logan Darwin, Madison Gray, and Death Walker working well together as a team."
Allen Price: "Momentum is important, J-L. Darwin, Gray, and Death Walker know what a win could do for them, and a loss for their opponents, as we speed towards the King of the Deathmatch tournament."
The three also work through a lot of their singles offense during this stretch, too. Logan Darwin earns a pair of two-counts for a snap powerslam and a hotshot suplex, whilst Madison Gray wears Xavier down for lengthy periods in an elevated wristlock and later on a guillotine clutch. On both occasions, Xavier is finally able to get to the ropes, but considerable damage is done to him by the submissions. Death Walker is perhaps most impactful and impressive, earning near-falls with a northern lights suplex and, late in the match, with a bucklebomb followed by a sit-out powerbomb combination, XYZ having to enter the match to break the count following that one. Death Walker also punctuates his power moves with an impressive array of strikes: both punches and kicks are used, working away at Sawyer’s body and later his head as the match wears on.
Late in the match, Madison Gray has Sawyer Xavier sundered in the middle of the ring with a kimura lock, and once more it looks like the young man might have to tap out. The official is in close, asking Xavier if he wants to continue, which Sawyer resolutely does. The fans are on his side as he creeps towards the ropes, reaching out for the bottom one with an outstretched boot… but Madison rolls him back into the middle of the ring!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Madison Gray is wrenching on her well-applied kimura lock, here! Sawyer Xavier has to think about the long-term! The King of the Deathmatch is in just over a month’s time!"
Allen Price: "He looks as defiant as ever!"
Indeed, with a grunt of exertion, Sawyer is able to roll Gray onto her shoulders…
ONE… TWO… NO!
Gray kicks out, but is forced to relinquish the hold. Xavier gets up gingerly, clutching his arm from the lengthy spell in the kimura, but he’s able to duck beneath an attempted discuss elbow from Gray! And then he connects with a roundhouse kick! Gray is staggered…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "LAY IN WASTE!! Pumphandle spinebuster from Sawyer Xavier!!"
Allen Price: "But he can’t make a cover…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "He needs to at least make a tag…"
Both competitors crawl towards their corner, with Madison Gray managing to tag in Death Walker… just as Sawyer Xavier tags out to XYZ!! X comes into a huge pop and ducks beneath DW’s clothesline attempt, before taking him down with a thrust kick!! X spots Logan Darwin charging at him… a leg lariat takes the Reaper down! In comes Gray, still shrugging off the spinebuster, but XYZ meets her with a headscissors takedown, spinning 360 degrees with his legs around her neck! X focuses on the legal man, hoisting Death Walker up and hits some vicious kicks to the thighs and shins, the crowd cheering along with each strike… and then he takes Death Walker up and over with a gut-wrench suplex!
We cut to the back briefly, Alyster Black watching on with great interest as XYZ heads to the corner to begin an ascent of the turnbuckles…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "XYZ is climbing up to the top rope… but watch out for Gray!"
Madison is on the apron, and he prepares to charge at X on the top rope… but Trixie is in the ring! She charges across it…
Allen Price: "SPEAR!! Trixie goes through the ropes, taking Darwin off the apron!!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "But the distraction is enough for Death Walker, he’s back to his feet… and he knocks XYZ off balance with a right hook!"
Death Walker stops X from falling off the top, and then drags him away from the corner, in position for a sitout inverted front powerslam…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Death Walker is going for Dark Cloud… but here comes Xavier!! He drags XYZ from Walker’s clutches… he hits the ropes, springboards… cutter to Death Walker!!"
The official finally tries to get some semblance of control, insisting Sawyer get out of the ring. Both legal competitors are off their feet and turn towards their corners, and both are able to get the tag! Logan Darwin charges in at Trixie Bordeaux, who ducks beneath Darwin’s attempted clothesline… and then hits a back rake! Darwin turns around, and Trixie pokes him in the eye!! Logan is stumbling around, and Trixie sees from the corner of her eye that Death Walker is back in the ring. He charges at her, but Bordeaux back-pedals to the ropes, dropping down to pull the top one with her, sending Death Walker tumbling onto the outside! Darwin has shrugged off the eyepoke, and goes for a right hand on Trixie, but she ducks it and then hits a sitout jawbreaker!! Darwin stumbles into the corner… where Sawyer is waiting for him with an enziguri to the back of the head from the apron! Darwin falls into a seated position as Xavier spies Madison Gray getting to her feet on the outside…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Springboard moonsault from Sawyer Xavier!! Gray is taken out again on the outside!"
Allen Price: "And Trixie sizes Logan Darwin up in the corner…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "That’s the ‘Bundle of Joy’!! Trixie connects with the cannonball!!"
Darwin rolls into the middle of the ring as Trixie ascends to the top rope, her back to him. She takes a leap of faith, throwing herself from the top turnbuckle….
Jean-Luc Watkins: "WHISTLING TRIXIE! Trixie Bordeaux gets ALL of it!!"
Allen Price: "And now the cover…"
ONE… TWO… THREE!
Winner: Trixie Bordeaux, Sawyer Xavier, and XYZ by pinfall at 12:31
Natalie Rosenberg: "Here are your winners… Trixie Bordeaux, Sawyer Xavier, and XYZ!!"
Inside the ring, we see the official lifting the hand of Trixie. She is soon joined in the ring by her fellow vectors. XYZ stands on the other side of the referee to get his hand raised, whilst Sawyer Xavier is a little removed from the other two. He leans against the ropes, clutching his ribs after the landing of his springboard moonsault at the end of the match…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "XYZ and Trixie Bordeaux seem happy to share in this victory together, but Sawyer Xavier remains aloof. He knows that the King of the Deathmatch is coming up soon, where all allegiances will be put on hold."
Outside the ring, we see a defeated Logan Darwin, who has rolled out of the ring to lick his wounds. Madison Gray is on the other side of the ring, seated against the barricade with a look of frustration on her face. Death Walker stands at the base of the ramp, shaking his head at his defeated teammates and at the winners.
Allen Price: "The same is true of the losing side here, J-L. No comradery on display between Logan Darwin, Madison Gray, and Death Walker…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Gray and Darwin leave the arena in frustration, whilst Death Walker spends a moment taking stock of the loss.”
As Death stares up at the winners in the ring with an inscrutable look on his face, we cut to the back, where Alyster Black still pays close attention to the screen…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "And it would be interesting to know what Alyster Black makes of that match, the result, and the six challengers who will all be vying for that FWA X Championship in April…"
Before JLW can continue, though, focus is suddenly drawn from their musings… as Alyster is nailed with a clubbing blow to the back of the head! The elbow strike sends him forward into the television screen, and he turns to face his waiting assailant, who puts Black in a front facelock…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "This is why you never watch the screens in the back straight on! They tell you that on your first day!"
Allen Price: "Hold up … that’s …"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "… wait a second …"
Allen Price: "… am I seeing double?!"
The camera has pulled back a little, to show our current FWA X Champion being held in position by… Alyster Black! This body double, wearing the same ring gear as the champion, as well as the same black mask but for blue detailing around the eyes, hoists Black Jesus off the ground and drops him down onto the concrete with a Satan’s Spike!!
Allen Price: "What the hell is going on?!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "I think our champion has just been attacked by an imposter… an imposter in the guise of Alyster Black himself!"
This ‘imposter’ stands above the felled champion and looks down at the belt at his side. We can’t read his expression behind the mask, but he eventually averts his gaze from the gold in order to turn Alyster over. He wraps his own legs around Black’s, and then collects his arms by the wrists… before delivering a devastating curbstomp!!
Allen Price: "Can we get some help back there?! This is sick!"
Some paramedics do eventually arrive on the scene, but not until after the ‘imposter’ Alyster Black has removed himself from the situation. He saunters away from the downed champion, the ‘real’ Alyster Black, who is then surrounded by medical staff. He sits up and pushes them off, massaging the back of his head and looking past the camera.
We return back to ringside, where most of the competitors from the trios match have left the arena, except for Death Walker and XYZ, who are still at ringside.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “A shocking situation in the back, there, but we’ve still got plenty of action to come here in Washington D.C…. but before we can get to that, it seems Death Walker isn’t quite ready to leave the arena…”
As things wrap up after a wild trios match, Death Walker makes his way over to XYZ and takes a random swing at him. But he misses as XYZ is able to dodge with his cunning reflexes…
Allen Price “Woah there! We’ve just had one assault backstage, and now Death Walker is trying to throw hands at one of his partners!”
Jean-Luc Watkins “There’ll be no partners in the King of the Deathmatch tournament, Price! But it looks like Death has thought better of it, anyway…”
Looking to maintain some peace, XYZ holds his hands out at arms length as he shakes his head. This also provides some distance between himself and Death. So the monster walks away from the ring, kicking the steps hard enough that both pieces shift from the post. He then turns his attention back to XYZ, who has climbed into the ring for the higher ground. Death stares him down for a minute as he strolls on over to the right side of the ring. And the enigmatic sensation that is XYZ, prepares to use his feet and fists to strike. As the referee, ring announcer, and everyone else in attendance watch this display, all of the arena lights turn off for a while…
Allen Price: “Is this a blackout?!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I don’t think it’s a blackout, Price…”
The crowd screams and makes noise under such odd conditions and after 10 seconds of darkness, the lights are brought back on. XYZ gets ready to strike with some type of kick but stops himself as he notices that it's The Dark Guardian standing before him and smirking. Which can only leave one other conclusion… and that happens to be, that his problem is now behind him… and not in the sense of his troubles being over. But instead they are just beginning, for XYZ gives this look of regret to find out what or who is now behind him as he slowly turns his body. And with that bit of hesitation, Death Walker takes this moment to lock in his patented Standing Arm Triangle Choke. Now squeezing and squeezing and squeezing… he begins to separate XYZ’s oxygen from his brain while applying both impenetrable pressure against his neck and arm…
Allen Price: “We need to get some help out here! Death Walker is putting XYZ out!!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I think they’re all busy in the back!”
That's when the referee has seen enough and signals for backstage officials and more to get involved. As for XYZ’s recent teammate, Trixie Bordeaux has charged back down the ramp, slides back into the ring to help free him. However, Death Walker simply backs up with his hostage as he tries to squeeze the life out of XYZ. With the crowd hollering and booking, there's some struggling from XYZ for a few more seconds before - at last - he fades away.
Finally, all of the officials and refs enter the ring to get this madman to stop but Death quickly pulls out a long steel chain, wraps it around his fist and holds a weakened XYZ into position. So everybody rushes The Dark Traveler and tugs on his tightening bicep as he shakes them off vigorously while raising the fist with the weapon. The crowd and staff plead with him once more…
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Jesus Christ! Is Death Walker looking to end XYZ’s career?! I’ve seen a few messages sent in my time but this… think it through!!”
… and he lowers the fist at his side but then raises it again and delivers a powerful punch to XYZ’s ribs. The screams from XYZ and the crowd could shake the arena while the emotionless monster releases a suffering his agonizing victim. Leaving him laying on the mat, the lights cut off again for less than 5 seconds and then cut back on… with only smoke around the ring left behind.
Evening falls on the countryside as a boat floats on the water’s edge, leading to a small and secluded beach. Along the coast, we see a collection of thick and towering red cedar trees. The greenery captures the view of most of the horizon. Below the trees is a collection of smaller flowering trees with a mix of red and white. Hanging from posts are a collection of paper lanterns, lit up to provide visibility as the sun begins to set. Small waves crash onto the beach, covering some footsteps of a woman. The camera only shows her from the elbow down as she wears a stunning kimono dress with a white and purple design, the actual skirt of which only going up to her thighs. Breaking the sight line of the trees is a red torii gate. Its red beams and its iconic shape creates a separation between the mundane and what is sacred. There are wooden stairs which lead up to it and the woman’s wooden sandals clang onto the wood as she steps up. She looks through the gate before taking her first steps, going on a path lined with red lanterns on posts with the path being made of stone and moss.
She speaks in English, having an accent, but we recognise her voice instantly as Vampyra.
Vampyra: “I did not expect to have to make this journey so soon.”
Her voice has a hint of tension under it. She continues on her path.
Vampyra: “Days have turned into weeks, which have become months. Those months have felt like years. Then comes a hard decision. Do you stay and fight? Or give up?”
A shadowy voice whispers in her ear. It is of a woman. It speaks to her in Japanese.
“あきらめる。あなたは選択肢がありません。”
Vampyra: “Is it more honourable to take a stand against a rain of arrows, or let them take you? But in this case, the right thing to do is not to give up… but to escape.”
Along the path, several bushes begin to line the path, showing a mix of vibrant flowers. The sun is continuing to set, so the light from the lanterns become noticeable.
Vampyra: “Escape one battle so you can learn and reflect. So you fight your personal ones.”
“腰抜け”
The voice whispers again. Vampyra stops in her tracks, stung by its words, but she moves onward through the path.
Vampyra: “I entered a new land and experienced everything at once. I survived where countless others who may be older than me or more experienced would fail. I have been praised. But I also have a sinking feeling in my heart. A seed of doubt that others grow and it becomes impossible to ignore.”
She approaches a small bridge over a creek. It has red railings, matching the design of the torri.
Vampyra: “I have to ask myself important questions. What do I want in FWA? How will I go about it…?”
Stepping onto the bridge, she looks down at the water.
Vampyra: “And I need to ask myself again… Who am I? Who is Vampyra?”
“あなたは何もない”
The voice whispers again. A petal from the plant life floats into the wind and onto the water, causing ripples over Vampyra’s reflection. She stands in the middle of the bridge.
Vampyra: "I've been asking these question for years. Before FWA, before wrestling."
She moves off the bridge.
Vampyra: “And now I have more time to think about it. The first decision I have made relates to my recent past. The FWA Television Championship is gone from my possession, and as much as it pains me, it is better for myself to move past it. Past from it and those who harm me-”
“うそつき”
The whisper of the voice cuts through the air like the cold wind. She shudders.
Vampyra: “And towards other opportunities when the time comes. But I have to make some hard choices…”
Towards the end of the path, we see a split. Two conflicting paths. The path on the right has plum trees lining the path. The lanterns on that side are few and far between. The stone path is more cracked. To the left, the path has several cherry blossom trees. Its pink leaves iconic in their imagery. Lanterns hang above, providing a warm comfort.
In front of Vampyra, two signs point in the direction of each path. Its text is written in kanji. To her left…
名誉
To the right.
罪
Vampyra: “And… I will not take them lightly…”
The voice whispers again as the wind picks up.
“がある . . .”
The wind builds and builds, flowers from both paths begin to blow in Vampyra’s direction.
“選択の余地ない”
The wind blows out the lights of the lanterns from both paths as the scene also cuts away.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Vampyra off to do some soul searching it appears, and we must move on from an already chaotic night where we saw an imposter Alyster Black attack the real Alyster and not only that but we also witnessed a heinous assault on XYZ at the hands of Death Walker following their match. We’ll provide medical updates on both Alyster and XYZ as soon as they’re available but again we must move on…”
Allen Price: “Right you are, Jean-Luc, and up next we’ll see Cyrus Truth face off with Tommy Bedlam. Both men came off losses in their respective matches at Back in Town so undoubtedly they’ll be itching for a win here tonight.”
The familiar theme blares out from the sound system as the Washington Monument overlooks the stage and Cyrus Truth emerges from the back. Truth glances at the monument and then at the crowd before walking down to the ring.
Natalie Rosenberg: “The following contest is scheduled for one fall with a twenty-minute-time-limit! Introducing first…from The Long & Winding Road…and weighing in at 227 lb…he is The Exile…Cyrus Truth!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Truth has been a busy man despite coming off a loss at Back in Town. We found out on Meltdown he’ll be joining Michelle von Horrowitz and champion Chris Peacock in the upcoming world title match at The Grand March.”
Allen Price: “Yeah, that’s all well and good for Truth, but tonight he needs to shift his focus to Tommy Bedlam.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Surely our new world champion, Chris Peacock, will be keeping a keen eye on this match.”
Allen Price: “As well he should but I’m certain he’s more concerned with the condition of Alyster Black after what we saw earlier…”
Tommy Bedlam steps out on stage and takes a look at the Washington Monument as well before he averts his focus on Cyrus, and he marches down to the ring while some of the crowd sing along to his theme song.
Natalie Rosenberg: “His opponent…hailing from Sweetwater, Texas…and weighing in at 244 lb…Tommy Bedlam!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Bedlam is coming off a loss to Kleio de Santos at Back in Town, and tonight he hopes to bounce back in what would be a huge win over Cyrus Truth.”
Bedlam enters the ring and removes his black leather vest and hands it off to the ringside attendant. He enters his corner and eagerly waits for the signal of the bell…
DING! DING! DING!
Bedlam and Truth circle each other, trying to find an opening and Bedlam traps Truth in a side headlock but Truth shoves Tommy off into the ropes. Tommy bounces off the ropes and takes down Cyrus with a stiff shoulder tackle! Cyrus shakes that off as he gets back on his feet and the two men lock up again and Cyrus attempts a suplex but it’s blocked by Tommy and Tommy attempts his own suplex on Cyrus. Bedlam gets Truth up but Truth quickly flips over behind Tommy and he catches Tommy with a belly-to-back suplex! Tommy is in the midst of getting back to his feet when he’s brought down to a knee after a stomp to the back of his other knee by Truth…and Cyrus finishes him off with running big boot!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Cyrus took Tommy for a walk on the Broken Path! Cyrus isn’t going for the pin just yet though as he knows he’ll have to inflict more damage than that to keep Bedlam down for the three count.”
Truth has Tommy in a front facelock and he has him near the ropes where he unloads on Tommy with a flurry of knife-edge chops across the chest! Tommy’s chest is beet red after the barrage of chops and Cyrus looks to send Tommy off to the opposite set of ropes, but Tommy counters with his own irish whip to Cyrus and hits the ropes but he hangs on and catches an incoming Tommy with a sharp back elbow! Truth moves Tommy against these ropes now and he waffles Tommy across the chest with an open palm strike! Truth drives a few knees into Bedlam’s gut for good measure. Truth has Tommy up now with a suplex but this time Tommy drops down behind Truth and he hoists Cyrus up and he pushes forward into the ropes and rolls through with an O’connor roll into a german suplex! There’s a brief lull between the two men as Tommy catches his breath while Cyrus recuperates from the german suplex. Cyrus is slow to his feet and he clutches at his head, but he’s taken right back down by a discus lariat by Tommy! Bedlam takes his time, catching his breath again before he makes the lateral press…
One…two…NO!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Bedlam took too much time to make that pin, which gave Cyrus ample time to find the energy to kick out.”
Allen Price: “Cyrus looks like he had the wind knocked out of him after Tommy leveled him with that discus lariat!”
Tommy curses under his breath but he shakes that off and returns his focus on Cyrus. Truth is trying to regain his composure, but Bedlam isn’t having any of it and Tommy stomps him back down on the mat and drives a few more home for good measure. Tommy then applies a Boston crab submission in the center of the ring…
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Bedlam focused on Truth’s back with those well placed stomps, and now the Boston crab adding even more pressure to Truth.”
Cyrus begins to inch his way toward the ropes, but Tommy does his best to pull Cyrus forward and away from the ropes. Referee Gracelynn Guerrero checks on Truth and Cyrus refuses to quit as she shakes off Guerrero. Cyrus grits his teeth while Tommy is wrenching back and with all the power that he can muster, Cyrus manages to slip out of Tommy’s grasp and Tommy is sent forward and he catches himself before he falls flat on his face. Tommy is sizing up Cyrus now and Cyrus has risen to his feet, and Tommy goes for the Buckshot super kick, but Cyrus instinctively side steps him and spins around behind Tommy and he drops Tommy with a dragon suplex! Cyrus breathes in lungfuls of air as he rises up once more and Tommy is up too and Tommy swings for the fences with another discus lariat but this time Cyrus has an answer for that and he counters with an arm drag takedown into an arm bar submission!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Cyrus now has turned the tide back in his favor, which is unfortunate for Tommy Bedlam, who seemed to be in the driver’s seat prior to his current predicament but Bedlam got a bit overzealous there and paid the price.”
Truth wrenches back on the hold and he drives his knee on the back of Tommy’s neck for good measure. Tommy, to his credit, is able to fight through adversity and he barely clings to the bottom rope to break the hold. Cyrus brings up Tommy by the wrist and Cyrus goes for an irish whip, but Tommy counters and sends Truth into the ropes but Truth comes roaring back with a discus punch that nearly knocks Bedlam off of his feet! This does fire up the Texan and the two of them start trading lefts and rights until Tommy regains the advantage after he drives a knee into the pit of Cyrus’ stomach and he sends Cyrus off the ropes and he catches him with a falling powerslam! Tommy is feeling it now and he begins to feed off the energy from the fans as he brings Cyrus in close and lifts him up…sitout powerbomb into a jackknife pin!
One…two…THREE-NO!
TRUTH KICKS OUT!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Oh, so close, but Truth stays alive! What a match we are witnessing here, wrestling fans!”
Allen Price: “Boy, I thought for sure he had him there!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “You and everyone else here in this sold crowd thought so as well, Price.”
The cameras catch a glimpse of the Washington Monument in the background while Tommy thought he had that one. He confirms with the referee that it was a three count, and this momentary lapse in judgment from Tommy has allowed Cyrus time to recover. Tommy goes to bring Cyrus up and he looks to be going for The Rough Ride, but Truth flips out of it and he catches Tommy in a clawhold before transitioning into a leg sweep STO!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Memento Mori from Truth! Truth has Bedlam where he wants him now!”
Truth is in the corner, stalking Tommy as he climbs up to his feet…
Allen Price: ”The Exile is closing in on victory here… but, no! We’ve got some company here at ringside!”
The camera cuts to Uncle J.J. JAY! And Quiet, who have hopped the barricade from the audience in their matching pink tracksuits. They converge at the bottom of the ramp, Truth oblivious to their presence. Suddenly, with Tommy almost on his feet and the crowd booing the interlopers, the two Nephews slide into the ring…
Jean-Luc Watkins: ”Here come Uncle and Quiet… but they’re not going for Truth! You’d have thought Cthulhu’s Nephews would be targeting one of MvH’s upcoming opponents at Back in Town, but Uncle charges at Tommy instead… only for Bedlam to duck the attempted clothesline and lift JAY! up and over the top rope!!”
Allen Price: ”Are they trying to get Truth disqualified, here?!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: ”Wouldn’t surprise me…”
Quiet seems ready to charge at the Cowboy, also, but for he can his legs are swiped out from underneath him! Quiet is dragged out of the ring… by none other than Chris Peacock!!
Allen Price: ”IT’S THE WORLD CHAMPION!! Looks like it’s not going to be the Nephews’ day!!”
Peacock takes out Quiet with his cane, whilst inside the ring Bedlam shakes loose the cobwebs and stumbles back towards his opponent. Truth, slightly dumbfounded by the interlude but still alert, manages to telegraph Tommy’s attempt at his superkick. The Exile ducks beneath it… and then hoists Bedlam up onto his shoulders in a fireman’s carry!! The fans know what’s coming next as Truth takes Bedlam in position…JOURNEY’S END! Truth makes the cover…
One…two…THREE!
Natalie Rosenberg: “The winner of the match…The Exile…Cyrus Truth!”
Truth has his hand raised and waits in the ring while Bedlam looks on in frustration after another devastating loss.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “This truly could’ve been anyone’s match, Price. Tommy hung in there with one of the best in the game today in Cyrus Truth… until, of course, the Nephews showed their face and derailed what was a classic contest. I guess the important thing, though, is that the veteran Truth secured the victory.”
Whilst Uncle and Quiet reconvene at the foot of the ramp, retreating up it whilst Tommy eventually follows, cradling his neck, Chris Peacock rolls into the ring. He has his world championship belt over his shoulder, which he adjusts as the Exile’s music blares around the arena.
Jean-Luc Watkins: ”A stand-off here between two of the three competitors in the Grand March’s main event.”
Allen Price: “But maybe even a subtle sign of respect from the champion to one of his challengers?”
Indeed, Peacock offers Cyrus a small nod, perhaps a symbol of his respect for the veteran, as well as an indication of who the champion considers the true enemy. The Exile, though, after releasing a deep breath, shakes his head at Peacock, before climbing out of the ring.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Doesn’t look like Cyrus Truth is having any of it…”
Allen Price: “Rude...”
Truth marches up the ramp as Peacock watches him leave, a slightly indignant look about him after the challenger’s disrespect. We fade out from the scene.
Fallout is continuing on and the camera crew is following Todd Salum backstage as he enters the medical room. In there sitting on the table is a very tired-looking Logan Darwin. The company doctor is shining a light into the eyes of Logan, assumingly checking him for a concussion.
Todd Salum: "Logan, can I just get a few words of what’s on your mind? We haven’t heard a word from you since announcing your return a few weeks ago. You have now been handed two losses since your return."
Logan looks up at Todd, a little bit annoyed.
Logan Darwin: "Todd, if you think this is the first time I’ve lost two matches in a row. You couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve been in this game more years than some of the performers in this company. Losing is just a part of it all. Did I come back to lose over and over again? Not by a long shot, to say that I’m worried about these last two appearances would be a lie."
Todd Salum: "What about the King of the Deathmatch Tournament that you’re going to be a part of? Tonight you faced off against a few of the people you will face in that tournament. Some would say momentum is something a person needs in order to make it all the way through a dangerous event like that tournament will be."
Realizing that Todd isn’t going to just let him get checked out by the doctor, Logan pats the doctor on the shoulder to tell him that he’s done. Logan then stands up from the examining table and looks at Todd with a bit of a snarl before he peers into the camera.
Logan Darwin: "Todd, do you want to hear that I’m too old for this? Do you want to hear that my body is running way past its expiration date and that any of these young talents in this tournament will wipe the floor with this old meat suit? Is that what you want to hear, Todd?"
Todd begins to bumble his words a little bit.
Todd Salum: "Well no..that isn’t what I’m saying…"
Logan laughs a bit under his breath before continuing on talking to the camera.
Logan Darwin: "You see Todd I might be walking into King of the Deathmatch looking like I’ve been beaten like a dirty rug but let me say this. I’m going into that tournament knowing it is the quickest way for me to correct the direction that I am finding myself in since my return these past few weeks."
"Above that, there isn’t a single soul in this company, let alone in this tournament that can tell me they’ve been beaten down as much as I have in my life. This body, my mind, has been run into the ground more times than I care to count. But guess what Todd, I’m still here. The heart in my chest still beats as strongly as it did 30 years ago when I first started to get into this business."
"When it comes down to this tournament, momentum be damned Todd. What it takes is heart. And I don’t mean in some philosophical manner either. I mean this line of people in this tournament better be ready to tear the heart from my chest in order to advance past me. Every single one of them needs to know that I might be old, my body might be worn but I know that I don’t have much left. I know every time I step in that ring it is that much closer to my last time. They need to know that with that, I know at the King of the Deathmatch tournament it is the one way to cement Logan Darwin with some of the greats in the FWA. I might have fallen short these past few weeks in these matches but believe me when I say this Todd. The Reaper comes for everyone!"
Logan stares straight into the camera in a demeaning manner as he breathes in and out a little heavier than usual. With that, the camera fades into the next part of Fallout.
The bi-weely groan of all present is heard as once again, Ratin Mikichin struts out into view and despite the outdoor setting, he has chosen not to adorn himself with anything other than the mankini in which he is always found; the trusty lime green one being brought out tonight. For some reason, his hair is soaking wet.
Natalie Rosenberg: “Let’s strap in, folks… because the following contest is a Thirty Minute Iron Man Match! Whichever competitor has the most decisions obtained through pin fall, submission, count out or disqualification after thirty minutes will be declared the winner. Introducing first… Ratin Mikichin!”
Allen Price: “J-L, I’ll square it with you on this one. Even I think that we’re going a bit too far with this one.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “As much as I appreciate your showing of solidarity, Price, I fear that we may never escape this horror in which we continually find ourselves. The one solace I can take from this is that surely, after thirty bloody minutes, this thing will be over. It has to be, right?”
Ratin raises the imaginary roof as he bops along the apron before he gets into the ring through the ropes and the cameraman inexplicably gets a back shot as he does so.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Can we fire this sick freak of a cameraman, please? What would possess a human to want to do that?”
Whilst Ratin was met with complete disdain to everyone witnessing him, the same cannot be said for his opponent, Steve the Techno Vampire. The Washington crowd seems at least somewhat receptive to Steve, who scurries down the ramp with his cape wrapped tightly around his body.
Natalie Rosenberg: “His opponent… Steve the Techno Vampire!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “It really speaks volumes when this guy is the more favourable of the two, doesn’t it?”
Allen Price: “At least Steve the Techno Vampire has the support of the fans. You never know, that might be enough to carry him through the next thirty minutes.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “What about US, Price?! How will we get through the next half an hour?!”
Steve enters the ring and stands in the centre of it and he waits for another drop in his music before opening his cloak and a large amount of (hopefully) fake bats drop to the mat around his feet. The referee for this one, Richard Davis, sweeps the bats away with his foot and out under the bottom rope, before calling for the bell to get this one under way.
Bedlam and Truth circle each other, trying to find an opening and Bedlam traps Truth in a side headlock but Truth shoves Tommy off into the ropes. Tommy bounces off the ropes and takes down Cyrus with a stiff shoulder tackle! Cyrus shakes that off as he gets back on his feet and the two men lock up again and Cyrus attempts a suplex but it’s blocked by Tommy and Tommy attempts his own suplex on Cyrus. Bedlam gets Truth up but Truth quickly flips over behind Tommy and he catches Tommy with a belly-to-back suplex! Tommy is in the midst of getting back to his feet when he’s brought down to a knee after a stomp to the back of his other knee by Truth…and Cyrus finishes him off with running big boot!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Cyrus took Tommy for a walk on the Broken Path! Cyrus isn’t going for the pin just yet though as he knows he’ll have to inflict more damage than that to keep Bedlam down for the three count.”
Truth has Tommy in a front facelock and he has him near the ropes where he unloads on Tommy with a flurry of knife-edge chops across the chest! Tommy’s chest is beet red after the barrage of chops and Cyrus looks to send Tommy off to the opposite set of ropes, but Tommy counters with his own irish whip to Cyrus and hits the ropes but he hangs on and catches an incoming Tommy with a sharp back elbow! Truth moves Tommy against these ropes now and he waffles Tommy across the chest with an open palm strike! Truth drives a few knees into Bedlam’s gut for good measure. Truth has Tommy up now with a suplex but this time Tommy drops down behind Truth and he hoists Cyrus up and he pushes forward into the ropes and rolls through with an O’connor roll into a german suplex! There’s a brief lull between the two men as Tommy catches his breath while Cyrus recuperates from the german suplex. Cyrus is slow to his feet and he clutches at his head, but he’s taken right back down by a discus lariat by Tommy! Bedlam takes his time, catching his breath again before he makes the lateral press…
One…two…NO!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Bedlam took too much time to make that pin, which gave Cyrus ample time to find the energy to kick out.”
Allen Price: “Cyrus looks like he had the wind knocked out of him after Tommy leveled him with that discus lariat!”
Tommy curses under his breath but he shakes that off and returns his focus on Cyrus. Truth is trying to regain his composure, but Bedlam isn’t having any of it and Tommy stomps him back down on the mat and drives a few more home for good measure. Tommy then applies a Boston crab submission in the center of the ring…
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Bedlam focused on Truth’s back with those well placed stomps, and now the Boston crab adding even more pressure to Truth.”
Cyrus begins to inch his way toward the ropes, but Tommy does his best to pull Cyrus forward and away from the ropes. Referee Gracelynn Guerrero checks on Truth and Cyrus refuses to quit as she shakes off Guerrero. Cyrus grits his teeth while Tommy is wrenching back and with all the power that he can muster, Cyrus manages to slip out of Tommy’s grasp and Tommy is sent forward and he catches himself before he falls flat on his face. Tommy is sizing up Cyrus now and Cyrus has risen to his feet, and Tommy goes for the Buckshot super kick, but Cyrus instinctively side steps him and spins around behind Tommy and he drops Tommy with a dragon suplex! Cyrus breathes in lungfuls of air as he rises up once more and Tommy is up too and Tommy swings for the fences with another discus lariat but this time Cyrus has an answer for that and he counters with an arm drag takedown into an arm bar submission!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Cyrus now has turned the tide back in his favor, which is unfortunate for Tommy Bedlam, who seemed to be in the driver’s seat prior to his current predicament but Bedlam got a bit overzealous there and paid the price.”
Truth wrenches back on the hold and he drives his knee on the back of Tommy’s neck for good measure. Tommy, to his credit, is able to fight through adversity and he barely clings to the bottom rope to break the hold. Cyrus brings up Tommy by the wrist and Cyrus goes for an irish whip, but Tommy counters and sends Truth into the ropes but Truth comes roaring back with a discus punch that nearly knocks Bedlam off of his feet! This does fire up the Texan and the two of them start trading lefts and rights until Tommy regains the advantage after he drives a knee into the pit of Cyrus’ stomach and he sends Cyrus off the ropes and he catches him with a falling powerslam! Tommy is feeling it now and he begins to feed off the energy from the fans as he brings Cyrus in close and lifts him up…sitout powerbomb into a jackknife pin!
One…two…THREE-NO!
TRUTH KICKS OUT!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Oh, so close, but Truth stays alive! What a match we are witnessing here, wrestling fans!”
Allen Price: “Boy, I thought for sure he had him there!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “You and everyone else here in this sold crowd thought so as well, Price.”
The cameras catch a glimpse of the Washington Monument in the background while Tommy thought he had that one. He confirms with the referee that it was a three count, and this momentary lapse in judgment from Tommy has allowed Cyrus time to recover. Tommy goes to bring Cyrus up and he looks to be going for The Rough Ride, but Truth flips out of it and he catches Tommy in a clawhold before transitioning into a leg sweep STO!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Memento Mori from Truth! Truth has Bedlam where he wants him now!”
Truth is in the corner, stalking Tommy as he climbs up to his feet…
Allen Price: ”The Exile is closing in on victory here… but, no! We’ve got some company here at ringside!”
The camera cuts to Uncle J.J. JAY! And Quiet, who have hopped the barricade from the audience in their matching pink tracksuits. They converge at the bottom of the ramp, Truth oblivious to their presence. Suddenly, with Tommy almost on his feet and the crowd booing the interlopers, the two Nephews slide into the ring…
Jean-Luc Watkins: ”Here come Uncle and Quiet… but they’re not going for Truth! You’d have thought Cthulhu’s Nephews would be targeting one of MvH’s upcoming opponents at Back in Town, but Uncle charges at Tommy instead… only for Bedlam to duck the attempted clothesline and lift JAY! up and over the top rope!!”
Allen Price: ”Are they trying to get Truth disqualified, here?!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: ”Wouldn’t surprise me…”
Quiet seems ready to charge at the Cowboy, also, but for he can his legs are swiped out from underneath him! Quiet is dragged out of the ring… by none other than Chris Peacock!!
Allen Price: ”IT’S THE WORLD CHAMPION!! Looks like it’s not going to be the Nephews’ day!!”
Peacock takes out Quiet with his cane, whilst inside the ring Bedlam shakes loose the cobwebs and stumbles back towards his opponent. Truth, slightly dumbfounded by the interlude but still alert, manages to telegraph Tommy’s attempt at his superkick. The Exile ducks beneath it… and then hoists Bedlam up onto his shoulders in a fireman’s carry!! The fans know what’s coming next as Truth takes Bedlam in position…JOURNEY’S END! Truth makes the cover…
One…two…THREE!
Winner: Cyrus Truth by pin fall at 16:32.
Natalie Rosenberg: “The winner of the match…The Exile…Cyrus Truth!”
Truth has his hand raised and waits in the ring while Bedlam looks on in frustration after another devastating loss.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “This truly could’ve been anyone’s match, Price. Tommy hung in there with one of the best in the game today in Cyrus Truth… until, of course, the Nephews showed their face and derailed what was a classic contest. I guess the important thing, though, is that the veteran Truth secured the victory.”
Whilst Uncle and Quiet reconvene at the foot of the ramp, retreating up it whilst Tommy eventually follows, cradling his neck, Chris Peacock rolls into the ring. He has his world championship belt over his shoulder, which he adjusts as the Exile’s music blares around the arena.
Jean-Luc Watkins: ”A stand-off here between two of the three competitors in the Grand March’s main event.”
Allen Price: “But maybe even a subtle sign of respect from the champion to one of his challengers?”
Indeed, Peacock offers Cyrus a small nod, perhaps a symbol of his respect for the veteran, as well as an indication of who the champion considers the true enemy. The Exile, though, after releasing a deep breath, shakes his head at Peacock, before climbing out of the ring.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Doesn’t look like Cyrus Truth is having any of it…”
Allen Price: “Rude...”
Truth marches up the ramp as Peacock watches him leave, a slightly indignant look about him after the challenger’s disrespect. We fade out from the scene.
Fallout is continuing on and the camera crew is following Todd Salum backstage as he enters the medical room. In there sitting on the table is a very tired-looking Logan Darwin. The company doctor is shining a light into the eyes of Logan, assumingly checking him for a concussion.
Todd Salum: "Logan, can I just get a few words of what’s on your mind? We haven’t heard a word from you since announcing your return a few weeks ago. You have now been handed two losses since your return."
Logan looks up at Todd, a little bit annoyed.
Logan Darwin: "Todd, if you think this is the first time I’ve lost two matches in a row. You couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve been in this game more years than some of the performers in this company. Losing is just a part of it all. Did I come back to lose over and over again? Not by a long shot, to say that I’m worried about these last two appearances would be a lie."
Todd Salum: "What about the King of the Deathmatch Tournament that you’re going to be a part of? Tonight you faced off against a few of the people you will face in that tournament. Some would say momentum is something a person needs in order to make it all the way through a dangerous event like that tournament will be."
Realizing that Todd isn’t going to just let him get checked out by the doctor, Logan pats the doctor on the shoulder to tell him that he’s done. Logan then stands up from the examining table and looks at Todd with a bit of a snarl before he peers into the camera.
Logan Darwin: "Todd, do you want to hear that I’m too old for this? Do you want to hear that my body is running way past its expiration date and that any of these young talents in this tournament will wipe the floor with this old meat suit? Is that what you want to hear, Todd?"
Todd begins to bumble his words a little bit.
Todd Salum: "Well no..that isn’t what I’m saying…"
Logan laughs a bit under his breath before continuing on talking to the camera.
Logan Darwin: "You see Todd I might be walking into King of the Deathmatch looking like I’ve been beaten like a dirty rug but let me say this. I’m going into that tournament knowing it is the quickest way for me to correct the direction that I am finding myself in since my return these past few weeks."
"Above that, there isn’t a single soul in this company, let alone in this tournament that can tell me they’ve been beaten down as much as I have in my life. This body, my mind, has been run into the ground more times than I care to count. But guess what Todd, I’m still here. The heart in my chest still beats as strongly as it did 30 years ago when I first started to get into this business."
"When it comes down to this tournament, momentum be damned Todd. What it takes is heart. And I don’t mean in some philosophical manner either. I mean this line of people in this tournament better be ready to tear the heart from my chest in order to advance past me. Every single one of them needs to know that I might be old, my body might be worn but I know that I don’t have much left. I know every time I step in that ring it is that much closer to my last time. They need to know that with that, I know at the King of the Deathmatch tournament it is the one way to cement Logan Darwin with some of the greats in the FWA. I might have fallen short these past few weeks in these matches but believe me when I say this Todd. The Reaper comes for everyone!"
Logan stares straight into the camera in a demeaning manner as he breathes in and out a little heavier than usual. With that, the camera fades into the next part of Fallout.
The bi-weely groan of all present is heard as once again, Ratin Mikichin struts out into view and despite the outdoor setting, he has chosen not to adorn himself with anything other than the mankini in which he is always found; the trusty lime green one being brought out tonight. For some reason, his hair is soaking wet.
Natalie Rosenberg: “Let’s strap in, folks… because the following contest is a Thirty Minute Iron Man Match! Whichever competitor has the most decisions obtained through pin fall, submission, count out or disqualification after thirty minutes will be declared the winner. Introducing first… Ratin Mikichin!”
Allen Price: “J-L, I’ll square it with you on this one. Even I think that we’re going a bit too far with this one.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “As much as I appreciate your showing of solidarity, Price, I fear that we may never escape this horror in which we continually find ourselves. The one solace I can take from this is that surely, after thirty bloody minutes, this thing will be over. It has to be, right?”
Ratin raises the imaginary roof as he bops along the apron before he gets into the ring through the ropes and the cameraman inexplicably gets a back shot as he does so.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Can we fire this sick freak of a cameraman, please? What would possess a human to want to do that?”
Whilst Ratin was met with complete disdain to everyone witnessing him, the same cannot be said for his opponent, Steve the Techno Vampire. The Washington crowd seems at least somewhat receptive to Steve, who scurries down the ramp with his cape wrapped tightly around his body.
Natalie Rosenberg: “His opponent… Steve the Techno Vampire!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “It really speaks volumes when this guy is the more favourable of the two, doesn’t it?”
Allen Price: “At least Steve the Techno Vampire has the support of the fans. You never know, that might be enough to carry him through the next thirty minutes.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “What about US, Price?! How will we get through the next half an hour?!”
Steve enters the ring and stands in the centre of it and he waits for another drop in his music before opening his cloak and a large amount of (hopefully) fake bats drop to the mat around his feet. The referee for this one, Richard Davis, sweeps the bats away with his foot and out under the bottom rope, before calling for the bell to get this one under way.
There is minimal response as the match gets underway, and a small graphic appears in the top left corner of the screen which counts down the time remaining in the match. Ratin and Steve approach each other in the centre of the ring and they lock up, and Steve does get the better of it, before putting Ratin in a Side Headlock. They struggle for a moment together, until Steve lets go of Ratin and looks down at his wrist with a look of disgust on his face.
Allen Price: “Oh no, I think he licked him. Yeah, yeah… he did. Well, it is an unorthodox way of escaping a headlock, I suppose.”
Steve wipes the saliva from his arm and Ratin steadies himself again and they prepare to lock up once more, and when they do, Ratin is able to get a go-behind on Steve and applies a waistlock. He tries to lift Steve up, but the Techno Vampire manages to block it by planting his feet on the mat. He grabs Ratin’s wrist and then is able to maneuver out of the waistlock and he wrings Ratin’s arm coming out of it.
Ratin, however, moves back into the waistlock and Steve this time prevents him from taking him over by backing them both into the corner, where once again the cameraman is in prime position to get a view of Ratin from behind.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Can we pay for this cameraman to get some help, please? Also, where has this been this entire time, they’re actually putting on an almost passable wrestling contest.”
Ratin releases his grip on Steve in the corner and Steve turns around and delivers a stomp to the foot of his opponent, which causes Ratin to wail in pain and hold his boot. Steve then picks Ratin up and attempts to place him on the top turnbuckle, but Ratin uses a boot to kick him away.
Ratin then stands up on the second rope and waits for the recoiling Steve to turn around as he adjusts his mankini back into place and then he jumps from the second rope and lands on top of Steve with a Seated Senton! Once again, the cameraman is at the worst-possible angle for the viewing audience, but Ratin this time stays on top of Steve and we have the first cover of the match, almost three minutes in!
ONE… TWO-NO!!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “This guy really puts the ‘ball’ in Glitterball Drop, huh? Did he ask Chris Peacock if he could use that move?”
Allen Price: “Unsurprisingly, he did not. Although, you have to admit that by using a move of the current FWA World Champion, he could be doing a lot worse.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “He executed that move a lot worse than Chris Peacock does.”
Both competitors get up from the mat and tussle once more, and the feed then cuts to backstage momentarily, where Jon Russnow is shown watching the match on a monitor in his office from his desk. Also with him in the office is FWA referee, Joey Ortiz.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “There you see the man responsible for this abomination, Jon Russnow. With him is Joey Ortiz, an FWA official who has really trod the line in recent times; accused of screwing Shawn Summers back at Lights Out and well, a few weeks ago, he attacked both Ratin Mikichin and Steve the Techno Vampire during a match of theirs, whilst refereeing it!”
Allen Price: “We saw how these two in the ring reacted to that, they saw that Shawn Summers got a match with him to take out his frustrations and they wanted the same! They wanted to make Joey Ortiz pay, but Russnow said no.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Yeah, because that would have been taking things too far, right?”
This time it is Mikichin who gets the better of Steve and he manages to take his opponent over with a Headlock Takeover! The hold remains applied on the mat and there is a loud groan heard through one of the headsets.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “We’re just over six minutes into this and this is just pure, unadulterated - and I’d normally shy away from saying things like this - shit. There’s got to be something else we can just show to pass the time, as I can almost hear television sets around the world changing channels. Whilst us here may not be able to escape this, there’s got to be something else we can show instead?”
As Steve manages to fight off Ratin and they both revert back into a lock up in the middle of the ring, neither of them being able to obtain any sort of advantage, and an excited gasp is heard from the same headset as before.
Allen Price: “What is it, J-L? Something happened?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, we’ve got something! Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to come back to this match shortly, but for now let’s hear from one of the individuals who will be vying to become the X Champion when the King of Deathmatch tournament returns next month; Jason Randall, wrestling fans.”
Fallout cameras transition to the backstage area where “The Wildcard” Jason Randall is standing in front of a backdrop with the Fallout logo plastered on it front and center. Randall is not dressed to compete however, instead he’s dressed in his usual casual wear of his own FWA branded t-shirt that simply says “The Wildcard” and underneath there’s a skull and crossbones, and with that t-shirt is his usual black cargo pants that he wears to compete in. Randall still looks a little worse for wear, sporting some wounds from his match at Back in Town.
Jason Randall: “Is the camera rolling? Are we good? Alright, good. Listen, first things first, let’s just get it out of the way right now. Yeah, I lost at Back in Town. Things didn’t go down like I had anticipated. Am I pissed off about that? Yeah, I am. I’m also pissed off that I wasn’t scheduled to compete tonight and instead they have me talking to a camera to talk about the upcoming King of the Deathmatch.”
“Last year they had this King of the Deathmatch tournament but I wasn’t invited to partake due to it being brand exclusive to Fallout, which was bullshit but whatever. I brought back some prestige and honor to that title when it had been lost after being in possession of a piece of shit like Vincent Blackbird, but don’t include me in the tournament because of some brand bullshit.”
“Again, whatever. I digress. The point is that this year there is no brand inclusiveness that’s stopping me from taking part. I get to partake in this year’s festivities, and if you know me you know how happy that makes me. There’s nothing that I love more in this sport than making someone bleed after driving them face first into a pile of thumbtacks, or to send them crashing through a flaming table. I don’t care who I have to go through in this tournament, it doesn’t matter if it’s Darius Wright, Death Walker, or whatever the hell it is that he’s calling himself this week. Hell, it can be the current champion, Alyster Black. I wouldn’t mind tussling with Alyster again, but only this time I’ll be the one coming out on top.”
“Whoever it is that steps in there with me just know that I’m not afraid to bleed.”
Randall shoves the camera away and walks off the scene.
Returning to the ‘action’, we see that the clock has just crept over the ten minute mark and it seems like nothing much has changed and the stalemate is still going on between the two men competing in this match.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Since Jason Randall returned to the Fantasy Wrestling Alliance in the last eighteen months, it is probably fair to say that he’s not been able to achieve everything he was hoping to, and his most recent opportunity at Back in Town for the Television Championship being just another missed chance. It seems like he’s ready and focused going into King of the Deathmatch, though.”
Allen Price: “Hey, Jason Randall is one of the toughest S.O.B.s we have here in this company, and what it says in the win/loss column doesn’t change that. If there was ever a place for him to thrive and do what he does best, it is going to be in that tournament.”
Ratin and Steve break things up again, and even they appear to be getting frustrated about the position that they are finding themselves in on a repeated basis, until Ratin has an idea of sorts. He holds one hand up and encourages Steve to take it, which he does and they interlock their fingers.
Slowly, they both connect their other hand and find themselves in a test of strength! Steve attempts to force Ratin onto the back foot, but their chests collide whilst they struggle and Ratin is then able to turn the tables on Steve using his height advantage and he turns Steve’s wrists back, causing the Techno Vampire some sort of discomfort.
Steve grits his fangs as he is forced down onto his knees by Ratin and the Kazakh nods his head with a crazed look in his eye, but this look begins to shift into one of worry as Steve rallies with the crowd going mild, and Steve fights back up to one knee, and then up to his feet, and he transitions out of the test of strength into a Hip Toss! Ratin bounces around on his backside after the impact, crying out in some pain, and a stomp to the chest by Steve knocks him flat on his back. The camera cuts to Jean-Luc Watkins sitting at the commentary desk with his phone out, messaging someone.
Allen Price: “What have you got going on there, Jean-Luc?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “That Jason Randall thing seemed to work out pretty well, so I’ve got some people backstage trying to find some other stuff going on. Got to be better than this, surely?”
Allen Price: “Hey, come on, that’s not really fair-”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “We’ve got a camera on Chris Peacock.”
Allen Price: “What the hell are we waiting for?!”
The feed shows Chris Peacock walking backstage, with the FWA World Championship around his waist and with his cane slung back over his shoulder. In his other hand, he talks on his cell phone and has a concerned look on his face.
Chris Peacock: “Just keep me updated on how he’s doing, okay? … No, I don’t know who it could have been. Nephews, Buddy System, someone in the tournament… there are plenty of people who would want to hurt Alyster right now… Okay, thanks, doc. Look after him.”
Chris shakes his head as he hangs up the phone and he bristles when a picture on the wall he is walking past depicts Cyrus Truth in a moment of victory. He mutters something under his breath.
Chris Peacock: “Ungrateful piece of shit…”
As Peacock continues down the corridor, he passes a door and he hears what appears to be the sound of someone in distress.
???: “Stop it! Leave me alone!”
???: “Hey, we’re just happy for you! You did great out there tonight.”
Doubling back towards the door, Peacock kicks it open emphatically and arms himself with his cane and notes he is in a locker room and there is a huddle of people in the corner of the room. Having heard a female voice in distress, he seems immediately concerned.
Chris Peacock: “What’s going on in here?”
Two men back out of the corner and turn to face the FWA World Champion; Chris and the viewers recognise them as Jeffry Mason and TYLER. Behind them, Bellatrix Bordeaux is shown backed into the corner, tearful. Mason grins when he sees Peacock, but Chris ignores him.
Chris Peacock: “Trixie? Are you okay?”
Bellatrix Bordeaux: “They’re being mean! All because I lost to him at the Pay-Per-View!”
Trixie points away from Mason and TYLER towards the other corner at the back of the room, where Reagan Cole sits on a steel chair, facing the wall with his head bowed down. Peacock walks over to Cole and grabs him by the shoulder, picking him up and spinning him around.
Chris Peacock: “You’re okay with them doing this?”
There is no answer from Cole, but Mason does step closer to Peacock, although Peacock does not break his disappointed and angry scowl towards Cole, who continues to look into space.
Jeffry Mason: “What he’s comfortable with doesn’t really matter, champ, and to be honest, none of this concerns you. Perhaps you should be more careful, especially as all manner of things are happening to champions tonight.”
Peacock, immediately reminded of Alyster Black, now puts his attention on Mason, who wears a smug grin on his face.
Chris Peacock: “The fuck you just say?”
Jeffry Mason: “I think you heard me. It is a real shame what happened to your buddy - excuse the pun - but if you’re insistent on sticking your nose into my business when you’ve already got enough on your plate, be my guest.”
Peacock moves closer to Mason, who does not show any sign of being intimidated.
Chris Peacock: “Yeah? Well, step, asshole.”
Jeffry Mason: “Oh no, I think you’ve got the wrong impression here, Chris. I think you know who the fighter in this group is and maybe you’ll feel comfortable stepping into the ring with him?”
This statement draws the attention of Reagan Cole, who all of a sudden has a much more vested interest in the conversation and he listens intently as he awaits a response from Peacock. Peacock nods his head slowly and has a smug look on his own face, now.
Chris Peacock: “Let’s get it done.”
Jeffry Mason: “Very good. Well, I think we’ve got everything we needed here. Shall we, boys?”
Mason motions with his hand and leads the way out of the locker room, and Reagan dutifully follows him whilst TYLER hangs back for a moment and gets in Peacock’s face, but Chris looks at him in confusion before TYLER also departs. The camera focuses on the determined look on Peacock’s face until he is taken by surprise by Bordeaux hugging him from the side.
Bellatrix Bordeaux: “Thank you, funny moustache man.”
Chris Peacock: “At least someone around here knows how to say ‘thank you’. Don’t worry about it, Trixie. Good win out there tonight.”
Peacock breaks off the hug and takes a deep breath before leaving the locker room as well and the camera lingers on Trixie for a moment, looking pleased with herself about being on the winning side of things earlier on tonight.
The countdown clock shows that there is now less than thirteen minutes left in the match, meaning that the halfway point was passed whilst the feed was elsewhere. Ratin Mikichin is currently outside of the ring, performing some squats in front of the commentary table and the disgusted faces of Watkins and Price are shown in the background. The camera appears to be mobile and making its way behind Ratin, and Watkins stands up from his seat and points directly to the camera operator.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “DON’T YOU DARE, SON!”
Allen Price: “Things are still tied up here between Ratin Mikichin and Steve the Techno Vampire and whilst we were watching that confrontation between Chris Peacock, Jeffry Mason and Reagan Cole over the treatment of Bellatrix Bordeaux, I think things took a slightly strange turn.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “What is that guy’s problem? Anyway, yeah, stuff out here is pretty messed up, but going back to what we just witnessed; Chris Peacock clearly unhappy about the lack of gratitude being thrown his way by Cyrus Truth and he seemed to talk himself into a match with Reagan Cole after coming to the defence of Bellatrix Bordeaux… and we have received confirmation from Jon Russnow that Reagan Cole will be going one-on-one with the FWA World Champion in the main event of Fallout 027, the final stop for Peacock ahead of his title defence at The Grand March against Cyrus Truth and Michelle von Horrowitz!”
Allen Price: “Reagan Cole will definitely provide a stiff challenge for Peacock, but he is the FWA World Champion for a reason and perhaps he can use that match to give Cyrus and Michelle a reminder of why.”
Steve the Techno Vampire has clearly had enough of the antics of his opponent and he drops down and rolls under the bottom rope to follow up on Ratin himself, and Mikichin abandons the impromptu workout session in order to escape. Ratin runs towards the backstage area and Steve is in hot pursuit! The referee even abandons the count out he had started, realising that if he counted them both out, they’d still be equal. Both Ratin and Steve disappear from view.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Price, we have two options here. We can follow the action backstage, bearing in mind that it was only ten days ago that we saw these two fight through the backstage area of the arena, or… I’ve been told we have another video lined up. I’ll actually let you decide.”
Allen Price: “Does this mean I get a producer credit for the show?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Sure.”
Allen Price: “Roll the tape!”
The screen looks like a wintery mix of white snow mixed with bits of black as we return from the commercial. The signal begins to gain clarity, and the logo of a production company owned and operated by the FWA Television Champion, Shawn Summers, greets viewers.
The logo fades, and our scene comes into focus - the interior of an office furnished as if it were straight out of an episode of Mad Men.
Shawn Summers leans back with his feet propped up on top of his office desk. Under his feet rests the FWA Television Championship title - a few smudges and noticeable scratches on the face plate from the abuse it's suffered since returning to Summers. Shawn wears a white button-down shirt with a silk, black tie carefully tied around his neck. He has rolled the sleeves on the shirt and holds a drink in his right hand that he swirls around as he lets out a deep sigh.
Shawn Summers: "I was generous. Maybe I was too generous when I offered the roster the opportunity of a lifetime. The opportunity to step in the ring with Shawn Summers. The opportunity for the Television Championship."
He pauses and closes his eyes, resting his left hand on his head as he shakes his head in disbelief. Shawn raises the glass to his lips and takes a long sip before continuing.
Shawn Summers: "I had my reservations about making the open challenge because I'm a man that believes one should work for opportunities. But I had hope. My God. I live on it."
He takes another sip from the glass as he again rests his hand on his head in disappointment.
Shawn Summers: "I live on hope but expecting anything of substance from this roster is futile. I regret to inform all of you that the Shawn Summers Television Championship Open Challenge has gone unanswered. Trust me, I am as disappointed as the rest of you. I thought that maybe someone, anyone, would take the opportunity to make a name for themselves against me. Many men have made a name off of me. Alyster Black, Krash, Trevor Ocean, Noah Stocke, and most famously Mike Parr. Look at them - all former champions. That could have been one of you (pointing at the camera), but you all were too much of a(censored by FWA management) to answer the challenge.
“If it were me and I had been graciously given this opportunity I would be walking through that door (points at the door of his office) and delivering a signed contract straight to the (censored by FWA management). "
There is a knock at the door and Shawn looks around in confusion. A voice off-camera is heard saying "that wasn't supposed to happen. Shawn looks visibly shaken but attempts to fix his composure as the door opens. Rocco Sullivan appears in the doorway dressed in an expensive suit. In his hands, there is a large yellow envelope. He doesn’t say a word to Der Basterd, simply putting the envelope on Summers’ desk and walking away.
Shawn looks at someone off-screen with a slightly confused look on his face. The camera zooms in on the envelope as he unseals it. Summers slides a piece of paper out of the envelope and lays it on the desk, now with a smirk of his own.
He lays the paper on the desk in front of himself and reads over it. The camera pulls in closer revealing that it’s an official FWA contract for the TV Title match. At the bottom of the sheet, Tommy Bedlam’s name is signed on the dotted line.
Just below that, the words “Cowboy Up, Bitch” are written in bright red.
Shawn Summers: "It looks like we have our next victim."
He gives the camera a smile and a wink as the screen slowly fades to black.
Allen Price: “Hey! That’s pretty huge stuff, right?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Absolutely, Price. Well, I’ve received a couple more confirmations from Jon Russnow and both concern the man we just saw in that video, the FWA Television Champion, Shawn Summers. As we just saw, Tommy Bedlam has answered the open challenge issued by ‘Der Basterd’ on Meltdown and that match will be taking place at The Grand March! Not only that, but in the main event of Meltdown XVII, Shawn Summers will be taking on someone else who Jon Russnow views as a perennial thorn in his side… For the first time ever, it is going to be Shawn Summers versus Michelle von Horrowitz.”
Allen Price: “Wow, another tune up match for one of the competitors competing for the FWA World Championship at The Grand March and both ‘The Bastard’ and ‘The Dreamer’ have their work cut out for them! Oh, I think something is happening here, Jean-Luc!”
One could be forgiven for forgetting that there is currently a match happening, but they would be reminded when Steve and Ratin come running from the back once again, Steve still in hot pursuit of his opponent. Ratin rolls into the ring, and Steve follows him in. Both men stand up and face each other and then have the same idea to go for a Clothesline… and they take each other down! The timer left on the match shows that there is under five minutes left in this one and due to both men being down and no one having any idea which way this one could go, the crowd actually seem to be getting excited for the finish of the match.
Allen Price: “Jean-Luc, I have a question. This whole match was set up so that there could be some sort of resolution to everything that has been going on with these two, right? So what happens if this match ends in a draw, too?”
There is a pause as Jean-Luc is shown going to speak, but then he catches himself and appears to momentarily drift into deep thought.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I… don’t actually know, Price.”
Allen Price: “Because they can’t just end it, right? You think these two would be happy with that and they’d just take that lying down?”
No answer from Watkins as another unfortunate camera angle is shown with Ratin laid down on his back in the ring and the Washington Monument behind him mirroring something else which is taking place. He adjusts his mankini whilst he brings himself up to his feet, exhausted and Steve does the same. In their defence, they have been playing a prolonged game of cat and mouse for over twenty-six minutes and that would wear most people out.
A scream comes out of Ratin’s mouth as he clubs Steve on the chest with a punch-like attack and Steve is knocked back for a moment and then replies with one of his own. The two begin to exchange slow and laboured strikes, with the crowd favouring Steve over Ratin, and this causes Ratin to take the low road and he breaks the chain with a poke to the eyes, and Steve screams out in pain, holding his hands over both eyes, and Ratin ploughs into him with a shoulder tackle, and the Techno Vampire stumbles back and lands in a seated position against the bottom turnbuckle.
A grin forms on Ratin’s face as he points to Steve in the corner before he turns his back to him and then starts doing his ‘raise the roof’ motion again before he hoicks up his mankini, giving himself a wedgie in the process.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Oh no… Someone stop that cameraman!”
It is too late for Watkins to avoid the inevitable as the cameraman is already in prime position, looking over Steve’s shoulder to see Ratin getting ready to back it up in anticipation for the STINKFACE…
Allen Price: “OH NO! NO! PLEASE. NO!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “CUT TO SOMETHING ELSE! ANYTHING!”
Just as Ratin is about to make contact with Steve’s face…
The feed returns to Fallout and a shot of both Watkins and Price with dumbfounded looks on their faces, and the match timer having less than ninety seconds left on it.
Allen Price: “What the f…”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Nope. Not doing it. Nope. This I can just about handle, but no. I can’t do this anymore, Price.”
Watkins is then shown removing his headphones and standing up, and he tosses the headphones down on the table.
Allen Price: “Where are you going?”
A response is just about heard from Watkins, about “ending this once and for all”, and the crowd’s attention piques as the commentator slides under the bottom rope, where Ratin is rejoicing in his successful implementation of the Stinkface on Steve… AND JEAN-LUC WATKINS DROPS RATIN WITH A RIGHT HAND!
The crowd cheers loudly and Richard Davis looks incredulously towards JLW, who swiftly leaves the ring to return to his position, and Davis calls for a fall!
Fall #1 - Ratin Mikichin (1-0) via disqualification at 29:02
Ratin holds his face on the mat, due to not being hit that hard by Steve during the match at any point, and JLW is shown replacing his headphones on his head.
Allen Price: “What was that about?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I needed to take matters into my own hands, Price. This does not represent the image that I want for this company and I’m not going to take it any longer, especially with whatever the hell we just saw coming as well. This is going to end now, and we can all just move on and forget about it.”
Whilst JLW seems to be very happy with his actions, a slight look of relief even forming on his face, someone who is not happy about how events have unfolded is Steve the Techno Vampire, especially when he realises what this means. Steve wipes his face then goes out of the ring, and he walks towards the commentary desk as Watkins has his feet up on the desktop and his eyes closed.
Allen Price: “I don’t think-”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Doesn’t matter, Price… this is all going to be over soon.”
Steve advances towards the unsuspecting Watkins and he bears his fangs, looking like he is going to sink them into the commentator…
Allen Price: “NO YOU DON’T, YOU MONSTER!”
Just as Steve is about to bite Watkins, ALLEN PRICE SHOVES HIM BACK AWAY FROM HIS PARTNER! From in the ring, Richard Davis notes the additional outside interference… and then calls for another fall to be ended… this one going to Steve!
Fall #2 - Steve the Techno Vampire (1-1) via disqualification at 29:48
Immediately, Allen Price realises his mistake. So does Watkins.
Allen Price: “Oh, no.”
As the seconds tick down to zero, the referee calls for the bell! Thirty minutes is up!
There is a stunned and slightly unenthused silence as everyone realises what this means. Both Steve and Ratin are smarting from their brushes with the commentators but their eyes eventually meet and then roll as they realise too that they’re still at the same deadlock.
Natalie Rosenberg: “Ladies and gentlemen, this match has ended in a draw!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I can’t believe you did that.”
Allen Price: “I was just trying to help you. I really was.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Look, I don’t have it in me to unpack this right now, if I’m being brutally honest. Can we just cut to a break and then come back for the main event… tag titles on the line.”
A video package recapping the events of the Ground Zero Season Four premiere is shown.
We cut back from the commercial break where we see the inside of a locker room, and judging by the cheap disco ball machine on the counter and the poster on the wall of Whigfield...who? Exactly, a singer from the 90s no one has ever heard of; it can only be the e hideout of one Lizzie Rose. She strolls back and forward in her locker room, looking somewhat anxious...at least more so than usual; maybe she should be more upset, given she has lost her shot at the North American Championship under circumstances that can be best described as weird. She's clearly nervous and keeps looking over her shoulder as if expecting to find some danger, like a gazelle looking up sharply from the watering hole.
Lizzie Rose: "It's just then the door opened."
Joe Burr: "Hey Liz I-"
and that's as far as Joe got before he got a face full of pepper spray from Lizzie Rose
Joe Burr: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-!"
Joe flops down to the floor, clawing at his eyes as Lizzie looked down, her mouth open in abject horror at what she had just done
Lizzie Rose: "OH MY GOD! SORRY! SORRY! SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE DON'T BE MAD!"
She shouts in one exhale of breath.
I'll save you the ten minutes of horrible screaming and Lizzie freaking out and skip to the part where Joe is sat up, blinking rapidly with red eyes as Lizzie passes him a cold drink looking somewhat embarrassed by what she's done.
Lizzie Rose: "....sorry...."
Joe Burr: "Yeah, no, that's like the tenth time you've said that..."
Lizzie Rose: "oh...."
Joe Burr: "So, um. Yeah, what the hell?!"
Lizzie Rose: "Sorry, sorry. It's just....things have been super weird lately....have you ever had that feeling that someone is watching you?"
Joe Burr: "Did you seriously pepper spray me because of a vague sense of unease?"
Lizzie Rose: "....Kinda, yeah? Is that crazy? "
Joe Burr: "Absolutely"
Lizzie Rose: "Yeah, no, that's fair."
Lizzie rubbed her eyes, looking somewhat tired after the events of the week.
Lizzie Rose: "It's just; It's been a rough few days for me with what happened at the PPV and then what happened in Brooklyn, That Princess girl and her weird sister. it's...weird, man. It's just been super weird, I have no idea what they want from me...and I don't trust them. I've thought about calling the police, but what I'm I meant to say? Help me; these guys are being uncomfortably friendly?"
Joe Burr: "It's hard to feel bad for you when you just pepper sprayed me."
Lizzie sighs to herself and runs her hands through her flaming red hair.
Lizzie Rose: "I'll try and find some eyes; maybe that'll cool you down."
Somewhat awkwardly, Lizzie shuffles out into the hallway, if nothing else, to get away from her clearly pissed-off friend. and goes down the hallway; it took only a few steps for her to realize something.
The floor was absolutely coated with red rose petals.
Lizzie blinked down at the pedals as if she was expecting the roses to vanish if she just blinked enough time; giving up on that plan fairly quickly, the green eyes of Lizzie Rose scanned the scene seeing the clear trail the petals were leading off into the darkness.
Lizzie Rose: "Oh, cool… So THIS is how I die."
Lizzie bit her lip and looked behind her as if expecting the friendly neighborhood janitor to scream at Lizzie for leaving a mess. After all, who else would leave rose petals scattered everyone, if not Lizzie Rose?
Lizzie Rose: "Ok, Lizzie. You've seen a horror movie. You know how this stuff ends. You know full well this is some kind of trap set by someone with WAY too much time on their hands and a grudge against the cleaning staff. You're NOT going to take the bait. You're too smart for that. You're just going to nope on out of here and live to fight another day..."
There is a moment of silence as Lizzie looks at the roses on the ground. She takes a few breaths before saying, self-aware.
Lizzie Rose: "...And maybe talk to a shrink about how much you talk to yourself. That CAN'T be healthy."
Despite her words to the contrary, she didn't move. She just kept staring at the path in front of her. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds...Time passed until eventually-
Lizzie Rose: ".....This is why you keep getting in trouble Lizzie."
Unable to resist her curiosity and resigned to her fate, she slowly followed the path laid out for her carefully as if instead of rose petals, she was walking through a sea of land mines, and as she walked, the hallway got slowly but surely darker.
Lizzie Rose: "Hello? Anyone here?” Just a word to the wise if this is your way of saying hello. You could have picked a way that seemed less...murdery...Because if there's a murderer here, I'm going to be annoyed!”
Lizzie continues creeping down the hallway, cautiously following the trail of rose petals before her. Her breath becomes increasingly shaky as she surveys her surroundings and peeks around a corner.
Lizzie Rose: “AH HA!- Oh, it’s a door.”
In front of her is a door labeled with a flickering light that reads EXIT.
Lizzie Rose: “Oh come on, this is like how every dummy dies in a B-level horror movie… Ugh, why am I doing this?”
Lizzie pushes against the door hard and powers through, hoping to hit whatever killer might be behind the door, but it just slams into the wall instead.
A plethora of parking spaces, both empty and taken, are spread out before her. Plenty of places for a serial killer to wait for the right moment to strike… However, against that cliche, she sees someone standing at the very end of the parking lot underneath… a lone black sconce that shines a thick yellow.
Lizzie Rose: “Is… is that the weird girl with the tiara? Oh god, not her again.”
Lizzie goes to turn back the way she came only to find that the door is completely locked shut. Against her deepest wishes, she is forced to head towards Princess Nova under the light.
Princess Nova: “Elizabeth! I’m so glad you could visit! How did you like the flowers, dear?”
Lizzie Rose: “OH YOU MEAN THE ONES YOU LEFT AT MY MOM’S APARTMENT?!... Yeah I totally liked them.”
Princess Nova has a soft giggle.
Princess Nova: “I meant the rose petals, silly! I thought about rolling the red carpet for you, but this is more you.”
Lizzie is taken aback by the friendly nature of Princess Nova, considering the situation, and moves in closer to her face, letting her Brooklyn bravado shine a little bit.
Lizzie Rose: “What do you even want from me?! Huh? What is all of this about?”
Going entirely unnoticed by Lizzie, Keres rises from in-between her and Nova, seemingly from thin air. Lizzie yelps and takes a hop back, frightened by Keres’ appearing act.
Keres: “It is not about what we want from you, Elizabeth. It is about what you want from yourself.”
Keres raises her ha-
Lizzie Rose: “NO! Stop it! Don’t you snap, I’ve seen it before, you will NOT snap!”
Keres stares at Lizzie and then slowly lowers her hand back down to her side.
Keres: “As you wish, Elizabeth.”
Keres looks straight up at the black sconce above her and Nova.
Princess Nova: “Bye Elizabeth! We can't wait to see you again soon!”
Nova waves happily.
The lightbulb in the sconce explodes, sending a dust cloud of glass around them all. Lizzie covers her face and shields her eyes to protect herself. When she looks back towards Keres and Nova… they’re gone.
Lizzie Rose: “What… the… fu-”
Beep-beep.
A notification from Lizzie’s phone. She reaches into her pants pocket to pull out her phone. It’s an email notification. The sender is “Clique of Wrestling Forums.” Lizzie Rose raises an eyebrow before opening the email, reading it through. She is seemingly ecstatic.
Lizzie Rose: “NO WAY! THEY’RE OPENING BACK UP! THEY CLOSED IN 2017! I USED TO TALK WRESTLING THERE EVERY DAY!”
Lizzie can hardly contain her excitement as she hops in place, her nostalgia is being fed happily here.
Lizzie Rose: “I seriously hope I’ll see some of the old crew there! Like ScottyBOI, Wiz, TheRipper, and DaMan! I bet they’d be SO shocked I’m actually wrestling now!-”
Taking a glance at her phone. She reads more of the email. Her eyes squint.
Lizzie Rose: “AND THEY HAVE A NEW E-FED!? I haven’t done that in YEARS, well not since I ACTUALLY started wrestling. Maybe I can get back into that? Never know if it can inspire me here-”
She reads the end of the email out loud.
Lizzie Rose: “This e-fed, named FYOG Wrestling, needs an interest check to see if we have enough potential members for it to start. If interested, reply to this email ‘I’m in.’ and we will write you down. Sincerely, Clique of Wrestling Team.”
Peaking over her shoulder, Lizzie Rose types in her phone the sentence “I’m in!!!” before hitting…
Send.
The joy of indulging in her old hobby has made her feel like nothing short of a kid again. The fan she was, and always has been, is extremely excited… until the screen of her phone glitches and all she sees are a jagged mess of multicolored pixels before it briefly flashes purple and shuts off, becoming as black as the fading of the scene.
We return to the Mall to the sound of I Prevail and general booing, although some cheers can be heard for the challengers as they make their way onto the stage. Jackson Fenix and Nate Savage survey the audience, loosening up slightly before making their way down the ramp. Even Jackson, for once, looks focussed.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Our main event this evening is the third time that the Undisputed Alliance have challenged the Connection for the FWA World Tag Team Championships, with this rematch signed following the events of their first two-on-two match with Dreamer and the Daredevil at Back in Town."
Allen Price: "Many say that Savage and Fenix went close enough to dethroning the Connection to warrant this rematch outright, but it was decided conclusively by the ill-tempered brawl between Nate Savage and Michelle von Horrowitz following that match in Denver. Both Nate and MvH demanded this match be made, upping the ante and making it a Washington Street Fight."
Jean-Luc Watkins: "But as I mentioned, this is the third time that the Undisputed Alliance have challenged Michelle and Gerald for these titles, and you’d have to guess it would be the last for a while. The stakes are high for Nate Savage and Jackson Fenix."
The Undisputed Alliance seem to realise the gravitas of the situation. They wait in their corner as their music fades out, replaced by…
There are more boos as Michelle von Horrowitz and Gerald Grayson walk out onto the stage with their championships on their shoulders. They are accompanied by Uncle J.J. JAY! and Thomas West, who allow the pair the spotlight but follow them down to the ring.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Here come the champions, ready to make their fourth defence here in Washington D.C.. The Connection have been in good form recently, particularly von Horrowitz, who will of course challenge Chris Peacock for the FWA World Championship following her F1 victory…"
Allen Price: "But she won’t be doing that alone, Jean-Luc. We now know that match will be a triple threat, with ‘the Exile’ Cyrus Truth involved, too. The shenanigans of Cthulhu’s Nephews have backfired a little, finally…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "And yet here they are again, at ringside…"
Allen Price: "Only two of them, at least."
Uncle and West remain on the outside whilst the Connection climb into the ring. They stand across the ring from their challengers, readying themselves for the battle to come. Natalie Rosenberg and the official stand between them.
Natalie Rosenberg: "Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is your main event, scheduled for one fall…"
ONE-FALL!
Natalie Rosenberg: "… with a sixty minute time limit, and is a Washington Street Fight for the FWA World Tag Team Championships!"
The belts are handed to the official, who holds them up for the crowd and the cameras to see.
Natalie Rosenberg: "Introducing first, the challengers… at a combined weight of four hundred and seventy six pounds… from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Nate Savage… and from Las Vegas, Nevada: Jackson Fenix… they are… THE UNDISPUTED ALLIANCE!"
A mixed reaction for the Undisputed Alliance. It’s mostly boos, but cheers can be heard, mostly due to who they are scheduled to face.
Natalie Rosenberg: "And introducing the current, reigning, defending FWA Tag Team Champions of the World… accompanied to the ring tonight by Uncle J.J. JAY! and Thomas West… representing Cthulhu’s Nephews, at a combined weight of one hundred and fifty two kilograms, or three hundred and thirty five pounds… from Raleigh, North Carolina: ‘the Daredevil’ Gerald Grayson… from Rotterdam in the Netherlands: ‘Dreamer’ Michelle von Horrowitz… THE CONNECTION!"
The Connection don’t react to the reaction, which is almost entirely derisive but for a smattering of cheers for Gerald. They have eyes only for the Undisputed Alliance. Natalie Rosenberg removes herself from the ring as the official issues his final instructions and conducts his last checks. Then, finally, he calls for the bell…
Allen Price: “Oh no, I think he licked him. Yeah, yeah… he did. Well, it is an unorthodox way of escaping a headlock, I suppose.”
Steve wipes the saliva from his arm and Ratin steadies himself again and they prepare to lock up once more, and when they do, Ratin is able to get a go-behind on Steve and applies a waistlock. He tries to lift Steve up, but the Techno Vampire manages to block it by planting his feet on the mat. He grabs Ratin’s wrist and then is able to maneuver out of the waistlock and he wrings Ratin’s arm coming out of it.
Ratin, however, moves back into the waistlock and Steve this time prevents him from taking him over by backing them both into the corner, where once again the cameraman is in prime position to get a view of Ratin from behind.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Can we pay for this cameraman to get some help, please? Also, where has this been this entire time, they’re actually putting on an almost passable wrestling contest.”
Ratin releases his grip on Steve in the corner and Steve turns around and delivers a stomp to the foot of his opponent, which causes Ratin to wail in pain and hold his boot. Steve then picks Ratin up and attempts to place him on the top turnbuckle, but Ratin uses a boot to kick him away.
Ratin then stands up on the second rope and waits for the recoiling Steve to turn around as he adjusts his mankini back into place and then he jumps from the second rope and lands on top of Steve with a Seated Senton! Once again, the cameraman is at the worst-possible angle for the viewing audience, but Ratin this time stays on top of Steve and we have the first cover of the match, almost three minutes in!
ONE… TWO-NO!!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “This guy really puts the ‘ball’ in Glitterball Drop, huh? Did he ask Chris Peacock if he could use that move?”
Allen Price: “Unsurprisingly, he did not. Although, you have to admit that by using a move of the current FWA World Champion, he could be doing a lot worse.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “He executed that move a lot worse than Chris Peacock does.”
Both competitors get up from the mat and tussle once more, and the feed then cuts to backstage momentarily, where Jon Russnow is shown watching the match on a monitor in his office from his desk. Also with him in the office is FWA referee, Joey Ortiz.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “There you see the man responsible for this abomination, Jon Russnow. With him is Joey Ortiz, an FWA official who has really trod the line in recent times; accused of screwing Shawn Summers back at Lights Out and well, a few weeks ago, he attacked both Ratin Mikichin and Steve the Techno Vampire during a match of theirs, whilst refereeing it!”
Allen Price: “We saw how these two in the ring reacted to that, they saw that Shawn Summers got a match with him to take out his frustrations and they wanted the same! They wanted to make Joey Ortiz pay, but Russnow said no.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Yeah, because that would have been taking things too far, right?”
This time it is Mikichin who gets the better of Steve and he manages to take his opponent over with a Headlock Takeover! The hold remains applied on the mat and there is a loud groan heard through one of the headsets.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “We’re just over six minutes into this and this is just pure, unadulterated - and I’d normally shy away from saying things like this - shit. There’s got to be something else we can just show to pass the time, as I can almost hear television sets around the world changing channels. Whilst us here may not be able to escape this, there’s got to be something else we can show instead?”
As Steve manages to fight off Ratin and they both revert back into a lock up in the middle of the ring, neither of them being able to obtain any sort of advantage, and an excited gasp is heard from the same headset as before.
Allen Price: “What is it, J-L? Something happened?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, we’ve got something! Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to come back to this match shortly, but for now let’s hear from one of the individuals who will be vying to become the X Champion when the King of Deathmatch tournament returns next month; Jason Randall, wrestling fans.”
Fallout cameras transition to the backstage area where “The Wildcard” Jason Randall is standing in front of a backdrop with the Fallout logo plastered on it front and center. Randall is not dressed to compete however, instead he’s dressed in his usual casual wear of his own FWA branded t-shirt that simply says “The Wildcard” and underneath there’s a skull and crossbones, and with that t-shirt is his usual black cargo pants that he wears to compete in. Randall still looks a little worse for wear, sporting some wounds from his match at Back in Town.
Jason Randall: “Is the camera rolling? Are we good? Alright, good. Listen, first things first, let’s just get it out of the way right now. Yeah, I lost at Back in Town. Things didn’t go down like I had anticipated. Am I pissed off about that? Yeah, I am. I’m also pissed off that I wasn’t scheduled to compete tonight and instead they have me talking to a camera to talk about the upcoming King of the Deathmatch.”
“Last year they had this King of the Deathmatch tournament but I wasn’t invited to partake due to it being brand exclusive to Fallout, which was bullshit but whatever. I brought back some prestige and honor to that title when it had been lost after being in possession of a piece of shit like Vincent Blackbird, but don’t include me in the tournament because of some brand bullshit.”
“Again, whatever. I digress. The point is that this year there is no brand inclusiveness that’s stopping me from taking part. I get to partake in this year’s festivities, and if you know me you know how happy that makes me. There’s nothing that I love more in this sport than making someone bleed after driving them face first into a pile of thumbtacks, or to send them crashing through a flaming table. I don’t care who I have to go through in this tournament, it doesn’t matter if it’s Darius Wright, Death Walker, or whatever the hell it is that he’s calling himself this week. Hell, it can be the current champion, Alyster Black. I wouldn’t mind tussling with Alyster again, but only this time I’ll be the one coming out on top.”
“Whoever it is that steps in there with me just know that I’m not afraid to bleed.”
Randall shoves the camera away and walks off the scene.
Returning to the ‘action’, we see that the clock has just crept over the ten minute mark and it seems like nothing much has changed and the stalemate is still going on between the two men competing in this match.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Since Jason Randall returned to the Fantasy Wrestling Alliance in the last eighteen months, it is probably fair to say that he’s not been able to achieve everything he was hoping to, and his most recent opportunity at Back in Town for the Television Championship being just another missed chance. It seems like he’s ready and focused going into King of the Deathmatch, though.”
Allen Price: “Hey, Jason Randall is one of the toughest S.O.B.s we have here in this company, and what it says in the win/loss column doesn’t change that. If there was ever a place for him to thrive and do what he does best, it is going to be in that tournament.”
Ratin and Steve break things up again, and even they appear to be getting frustrated about the position that they are finding themselves in on a repeated basis, until Ratin has an idea of sorts. He holds one hand up and encourages Steve to take it, which he does and they interlock their fingers.
Slowly, they both connect their other hand and find themselves in a test of strength! Steve attempts to force Ratin onto the back foot, but their chests collide whilst they struggle and Ratin is then able to turn the tables on Steve using his height advantage and he turns Steve’s wrists back, causing the Techno Vampire some sort of discomfort.
Steve grits his fangs as he is forced down onto his knees by Ratin and the Kazakh nods his head with a crazed look in his eye, but this look begins to shift into one of worry as Steve rallies with the crowd going mild, and Steve fights back up to one knee, and then up to his feet, and he transitions out of the test of strength into a Hip Toss! Ratin bounces around on his backside after the impact, crying out in some pain, and a stomp to the chest by Steve knocks him flat on his back. The camera cuts to Jean-Luc Watkins sitting at the commentary desk with his phone out, messaging someone.
Allen Price: “What have you got going on there, Jean-Luc?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “That Jason Randall thing seemed to work out pretty well, so I’ve got some people backstage trying to find some other stuff going on. Got to be better than this, surely?”
Allen Price: “Hey, come on, that’s not really fair-”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “We’ve got a camera on Chris Peacock.”
Allen Price: “What the hell are we waiting for?!”
The feed shows Chris Peacock walking backstage, with the FWA World Championship around his waist and with his cane slung back over his shoulder. In his other hand, he talks on his cell phone and has a concerned look on his face.
Chris Peacock: “Just keep me updated on how he’s doing, okay? … No, I don’t know who it could have been. Nephews, Buddy System, someone in the tournament… there are plenty of people who would want to hurt Alyster right now… Okay, thanks, doc. Look after him.”
Chris shakes his head as he hangs up the phone and he bristles when a picture on the wall he is walking past depicts Cyrus Truth in a moment of victory. He mutters something under his breath.
Chris Peacock: “Ungrateful piece of shit…”
As Peacock continues down the corridor, he passes a door and he hears what appears to be the sound of someone in distress.
???: “Stop it! Leave me alone!”
???: “Hey, we’re just happy for you! You did great out there tonight.”
Doubling back towards the door, Peacock kicks it open emphatically and arms himself with his cane and notes he is in a locker room and there is a huddle of people in the corner of the room. Having heard a female voice in distress, he seems immediately concerned.
Chris Peacock: “What’s going on in here?”
Two men back out of the corner and turn to face the FWA World Champion; Chris and the viewers recognise them as Jeffry Mason and TYLER. Behind them, Bellatrix Bordeaux is shown backed into the corner, tearful. Mason grins when he sees Peacock, but Chris ignores him.
Chris Peacock: “Trixie? Are you okay?”
Bellatrix Bordeaux: “They’re being mean! All because I lost to him at the Pay-Per-View!”
Trixie points away from Mason and TYLER towards the other corner at the back of the room, where Reagan Cole sits on a steel chair, facing the wall with his head bowed down. Peacock walks over to Cole and grabs him by the shoulder, picking him up and spinning him around.
Chris Peacock: “You’re okay with them doing this?”
There is no answer from Cole, but Mason does step closer to Peacock, although Peacock does not break his disappointed and angry scowl towards Cole, who continues to look into space.
Jeffry Mason: “What he’s comfortable with doesn’t really matter, champ, and to be honest, none of this concerns you. Perhaps you should be more careful, especially as all manner of things are happening to champions tonight.”
Peacock, immediately reminded of Alyster Black, now puts his attention on Mason, who wears a smug grin on his face.
Chris Peacock: “The fuck you just say?”
Jeffry Mason: “I think you heard me. It is a real shame what happened to your buddy - excuse the pun - but if you’re insistent on sticking your nose into my business when you’ve already got enough on your plate, be my guest.”
Peacock moves closer to Mason, who does not show any sign of being intimidated.
Chris Peacock: “Yeah? Well, step, asshole.”
Jeffry Mason: “Oh no, I think you’ve got the wrong impression here, Chris. I think you know who the fighter in this group is and maybe you’ll feel comfortable stepping into the ring with him?”
This statement draws the attention of Reagan Cole, who all of a sudden has a much more vested interest in the conversation and he listens intently as he awaits a response from Peacock. Peacock nods his head slowly and has a smug look on his own face, now.
Chris Peacock: “Let’s get it done.”
Jeffry Mason: “Very good. Well, I think we’ve got everything we needed here. Shall we, boys?”
Mason motions with his hand and leads the way out of the locker room, and Reagan dutifully follows him whilst TYLER hangs back for a moment and gets in Peacock’s face, but Chris looks at him in confusion before TYLER also departs. The camera focuses on the determined look on Peacock’s face until he is taken by surprise by Bordeaux hugging him from the side.
Bellatrix Bordeaux: “Thank you, funny moustache man.”
Chris Peacock: “At least someone around here knows how to say ‘thank you’. Don’t worry about it, Trixie. Good win out there tonight.”
Peacock breaks off the hug and takes a deep breath before leaving the locker room as well and the camera lingers on Trixie for a moment, looking pleased with herself about being on the winning side of things earlier on tonight.
The countdown clock shows that there is now less than thirteen minutes left in the match, meaning that the halfway point was passed whilst the feed was elsewhere. Ratin Mikichin is currently outside of the ring, performing some squats in front of the commentary table and the disgusted faces of Watkins and Price are shown in the background. The camera appears to be mobile and making its way behind Ratin, and Watkins stands up from his seat and points directly to the camera operator.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “DON’T YOU DARE, SON!”
Allen Price: “Things are still tied up here between Ratin Mikichin and Steve the Techno Vampire and whilst we were watching that confrontation between Chris Peacock, Jeffry Mason and Reagan Cole over the treatment of Bellatrix Bordeaux, I think things took a slightly strange turn.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “What is that guy’s problem? Anyway, yeah, stuff out here is pretty messed up, but going back to what we just witnessed; Chris Peacock clearly unhappy about the lack of gratitude being thrown his way by Cyrus Truth and he seemed to talk himself into a match with Reagan Cole after coming to the defence of Bellatrix Bordeaux… and we have received confirmation from Jon Russnow that Reagan Cole will be going one-on-one with the FWA World Champion in the main event of Fallout 027, the final stop for Peacock ahead of his title defence at The Grand March against Cyrus Truth and Michelle von Horrowitz!”
Allen Price: “Reagan Cole will definitely provide a stiff challenge for Peacock, but he is the FWA World Champion for a reason and perhaps he can use that match to give Cyrus and Michelle a reminder of why.”
Steve the Techno Vampire has clearly had enough of the antics of his opponent and he drops down and rolls under the bottom rope to follow up on Ratin himself, and Mikichin abandons the impromptu workout session in order to escape. Ratin runs towards the backstage area and Steve is in hot pursuit! The referee even abandons the count out he had started, realising that if he counted them both out, they’d still be equal. Both Ratin and Steve disappear from view.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Price, we have two options here. We can follow the action backstage, bearing in mind that it was only ten days ago that we saw these two fight through the backstage area of the arena, or… I’ve been told we have another video lined up. I’ll actually let you decide.”
Allen Price: “Does this mean I get a producer credit for the show?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Sure.”
Allen Price: “Roll the tape!”
The screen looks like a wintery mix of white snow mixed with bits of black as we return from the commercial. The signal begins to gain clarity, and the logo of a production company owned and operated by the FWA Television Champion, Shawn Summers, greets viewers.
The logo fades, and our scene comes into focus - the interior of an office furnished as if it were straight out of an episode of Mad Men.
Shawn Summers leans back with his feet propped up on top of his office desk. Under his feet rests the FWA Television Championship title - a few smudges and noticeable scratches on the face plate from the abuse it's suffered since returning to Summers. Shawn wears a white button-down shirt with a silk, black tie carefully tied around his neck. He has rolled the sleeves on the shirt and holds a drink in his right hand that he swirls around as he lets out a deep sigh.
Shawn Summers: "I was generous. Maybe I was too generous when I offered the roster the opportunity of a lifetime. The opportunity to step in the ring with Shawn Summers. The opportunity for the Television Championship."
He pauses and closes his eyes, resting his left hand on his head as he shakes his head in disbelief. Shawn raises the glass to his lips and takes a long sip before continuing.
Shawn Summers: "I had my reservations about making the open challenge because I'm a man that believes one should work for opportunities. But I had hope. My God. I live on it."
He takes another sip from the glass as he again rests his hand on his head in disappointment.
Shawn Summers: "I live on hope but expecting anything of substance from this roster is futile. I regret to inform all of you that the Shawn Summers Television Championship Open Challenge has gone unanswered. Trust me, I am as disappointed as the rest of you. I thought that maybe someone, anyone, would take the opportunity to make a name for themselves against me. Many men have made a name off of me. Alyster Black, Krash, Trevor Ocean, Noah Stocke, and most famously Mike Parr. Look at them - all former champions. That could have been one of you (pointing at the camera), but you all were too much of a(censored by FWA management) to answer the challenge.
“If it were me and I had been graciously given this opportunity I would be walking through that door (points at the door of his office) and delivering a signed contract straight to the (censored by FWA management). "
There is a knock at the door and Shawn looks around in confusion. A voice off-camera is heard saying "that wasn't supposed to happen. Shawn looks visibly shaken but attempts to fix his composure as the door opens. Rocco Sullivan appears in the doorway dressed in an expensive suit. In his hands, there is a large yellow envelope. He doesn’t say a word to Der Basterd, simply putting the envelope on Summers’ desk and walking away.
Shawn looks at someone off-screen with a slightly confused look on his face. The camera zooms in on the envelope as he unseals it. Summers slides a piece of paper out of the envelope and lays it on the desk, now with a smirk of his own.
He lays the paper on the desk in front of himself and reads over it. The camera pulls in closer revealing that it’s an official FWA contract for the TV Title match. At the bottom of the sheet, Tommy Bedlam’s name is signed on the dotted line.
Just below that, the words “Cowboy Up, Bitch” are written in bright red.
Shawn Summers: "It looks like we have our next victim."
He gives the camera a smile and a wink as the screen slowly fades to black.
Allen Price: “Hey! That’s pretty huge stuff, right?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Absolutely, Price. Well, I’ve received a couple more confirmations from Jon Russnow and both concern the man we just saw in that video, the FWA Television Champion, Shawn Summers. As we just saw, Tommy Bedlam has answered the open challenge issued by ‘Der Basterd’ on Meltdown and that match will be taking place at The Grand March! Not only that, but in the main event of Meltdown XVII, Shawn Summers will be taking on someone else who Jon Russnow views as a perennial thorn in his side… For the first time ever, it is going to be Shawn Summers versus Michelle von Horrowitz.”
Allen Price: “Wow, another tune up match for one of the competitors competing for the FWA World Championship at The Grand March and both ‘The Bastard’ and ‘The Dreamer’ have their work cut out for them! Oh, I think something is happening here, Jean-Luc!”
One could be forgiven for forgetting that there is currently a match happening, but they would be reminded when Steve and Ratin come running from the back once again, Steve still in hot pursuit of his opponent. Ratin rolls into the ring, and Steve follows him in. Both men stand up and face each other and then have the same idea to go for a Clothesline… and they take each other down! The timer left on the match shows that there is under five minutes left in this one and due to both men being down and no one having any idea which way this one could go, the crowd actually seem to be getting excited for the finish of the match.
Allen Price: “Jean-Luc, I have a question. This whole match was set up so that there could be some sort of resolution to everything that has been going on with these two, right? So what happens if this match ends in a draw, too?”
There is a pause as Jean-Luc is shown going to speak, but then he catches himself and appears to momentarily drift into deep thought.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I… don’t actually know, Price.”
Allen Price: “Because they can’t just end it, right? You think these two would be happy with that and they’d just take that lying down?”
No answer from Watkins as another unfortunate camera angle is shown with Ratin laid down on his back in the ring and the Washington Monument behind him mirroring something else which is taking place. He adjusts his mankini whilst he brings himself up to his feet, exhausted and Steve does the same. In their defence, they have been playing a prolonged game of cat and mouse for over twenty-six minutes and that would wear most people out.
A scream comes out of Ratin’s mouth as he clubs Steve on the chest with a punch-like attack and Steve is knocked back for a moment and then replies with one of his own. The two begin to exchange slow and laboured strikes, with the crowd favouring Steve over Ratin, and this causes Ratin to take the low road and he breaks the chain with a poke to the eyes, and Steve screams out in pain, holding his hands over both eyes, and Ratin ploughs into him with a shoulder tackle, and the Techno Vampire stumbles back and lands in a seated position against the bottom turnbuckle.
A grin forms on Ratin’s face as he points to Steve in the corner before he turns his back to him and then starts doing his ‘raise the roof’ motion again before he hoicks up his mankini, giving himself a wedgie in the process.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Oh no… Someone stop that cameraman!”
It is too late for Watkins to avoid the inevitable as the cameraman is already in prime position, looking over Steve’s shoulder to see Ratin getting ready to back it up in anticipation for the STINKFACE…
Allen Price: “OH NO! NO! PLEASE. NO!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “CUT TO SOMETHING ELSE! ANYTHING!”
Just as Ratin is about to make contact with Steve’s face…
The feed returns to Fallout and a shot of both Watkins and Price with dumbfounded looks on their faces, and the match timer having less than ninety seconds left on it.
Allen Price: “What the f…”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Nope. Not doing it. Nope. This I can just about handle, but no. I can’t do this anymore, Price.”
Watkins is then shown removing his headphones and standing up, and he tosses the headphones down on the table.
Allen Price: “Where are you going?”
A response is just about heard from Watkins, about “ending this once and for all”, and the crowd’s attention piques as the commentator slides under the bottom rope, where Ratin is rejoicing in his successful implementation of the Stinkface on Steve… AND JEAN-LUC WATKINS DROPS RATIN WITH A RIGHT HAND!
The crowd cheers loudly and Richard Davis looks incredulously towards JLW, who swiftly leaves the ring to return to his position, and Davis calls for a fall!
Fall #1 - Ratin Mikichin (1-0) via disqualification at 29:02
Ratin holds his face on the mat, due to not being hit that hard by Steve during the match at any point, and JLW is shown replacing his headphones on his head.
Allen Price: “What was that about?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I needed to take matters into my own hands, Price. This does not represent the image that I want for this company and I’m not going to take it any longer, especially with whatever the hell we just saw coming as well. This is going to end now, and we can all just move on and forget about it.”
Whilst JLW seems to be very happy with his actions, a slight look of relief even forming on his face, someone who is not happy about how events have unfolded is Steve the Techno Vampire, especially when he realises what this means. Steve wipes his face then goes out of the ring, and he walks towards the commentary desk as Watkins has his feet up on the desktop and his eyes closed.
Allen Price: “I don’t think-”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Doesn’t matter, Price… this is all going to be over soon.”
Steve advances towards the unsuspecting Watkins and he bears his fangs, looking like he is going to sink them into the commentator…
Allen Price: “NO YOU DON’T, YOU MONSTER!”
Just as Steve is about to bite Watkins, ALLEN PRICE SHOVES HIM BACK AWAY FROM HIS PARTNER! From in the ring, Richard Davis notes the additional outside interference… and then calls for another fall to be ended… this one going to Steve!
Fall #2 - Steve the Techno Vampire (1-1) via disqualification at 29:48
Immediately, Allen Price realises his mistake. So does Watkins.
Allen Price: “Oh, no.”
As the seconds tick down to zero, the referee calls for the bell! Thirty minutes is up!
Winner: Draw (1-1) at 30:00.
There is a stunned and slightly unenthused silence as everyone realises what this means. Both Steve and Ratin are smarting from their brushes with the commentators but their eyes eventually meet and then roll as they realise too that they’re still at the same deadlock.
Natalie Rosenberg: “Ladies and gentlemen, this match has ended in a draw!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I can’t believe you did that.”
Allen Price: “I was just trying to help you. I really was.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Look, I don’t have it in me to unpack this right now, if I’m being brutally honest. Can we just cut to a break and then come back for the main event… tag titles on the line.”
A video package recapping the events of the Ground Zero Season Four premiere is shown.
We cut back from the commercial break where we see the inside of a locker room, and judging by the cheap disco ball machine on the counter and the poster on the wall of Whigfield...who? Exactly, a singer from the 90s no one has ever heard of; it can only be the e hideout of one Lizzie Rose. She strolls back and forward in her locker room, looking somewhat anxious...at least more so than usual; maybe she should be more upset, given she has lost her shot at the North American Championship under circumstances that can be best described as weird. She's clearly nervous and keeps looking over her shoulder as if expecting to find some danger, like a gazelle looking up sharply from the watering hole.
Lizzie Rose: "It's just then the door opened."
Joe Burr: "Hey Liz I-"
and that's as far as Joe got before he got a face full of pepper spray from Lizzie Rose
Joe Burr: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-!"
Joe flops down to the floor, clawing at his eyes as Lizzie looked down, her mouth open in abject horror at what she had just done
Lizzie Rose: "OH MY GOD! SORRY! SORRY! SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE DON'T BE MAD!"
She shouts in one exhale of breath.
I'll save you the ten minutes of horrible screaming and Lizzie freaking out and skip to the part where Joe is sat up, blinking rapidly with red eyes as Lizzie passes him a cold drink looking somewhat embarrassed by what she's done.
Lizzie Rose: "....sorry...."
Joe Burr: "Yeah, no, that's like the tenth time you've said that..."
Lizzie Rose: "oh...."
Joe Burr: "So, um. Yeah, what the hell?!"
Lizzie Rose: "Sorry, sorry. It's just....things have been super weird lately....have you ever had that feeling that someone is watching you?"
Joe Burr: "Did you seriously pepper spray me because of a vague sense of unease?"
Lizzie Rose: "....Kinda, yeah? Is that crazy? "
Joe Burr: "Absolutely"
Lizzie Rose: "Yeah, no, that's fair."
Lizzie rubbed her eyes, looking somewhat tired after the events of the week.
Lizzie Rose: "It's just; It's been a rough few days for me with what happened at the PPV and then what happened in Brooklyn, That Princess girl and her weird sister. it's...weird, man. It's just been super weird, I have no idea what they want from me...and I don't trust them. I've thought about calling the police, but what I'm I meant to say? Help me; these guys are being uncomfortably friendly?"
Joe Burr: "It's hard to feel bad for you when you just pepper sprayed me."
Lizzie sighs to herself and runs her hands through her flaming red hair.
Lizzie Rose: "I'll try and find some eyes; maybe that'll cool you down."
Somewhat awkwardly, Lizzie shuffles out into the hallway, if nothing else, to get away from her clearly pissed-off friend. and goes down the hallway; it took only a few steps for her to realize something.
The floor was absolutely coated with red rose petals.
Lizzie blinked down at the pedals as if she was expecting the roses to vanish if she just blinked enough time; giving up on that plan fairly quickly, the green eyes of Lizzie Rose scanned the scene seeing the clear trail the petals were leading off into the darkness.
Lizzie Rose: "Oh, cool… So THIS is how I die."
Lizzie bit her lip and looked behind her as if expecting the friendly neighborhood janitor to scream at Lizzie for leaving a mess. After all, who else would leave rose petals scattered everyone, if not Lizzie Rose?
Lizzie Rose: "Ok, Lizzie. You've seen a horror movie. You know how this stuff ends. You know full well this is some kind of trap set by someone with WAY too much time on their hands and a grudge against the cleaning staff. You're NOT going to take the bait. You're too smart for that. You're just going to nope on out of here and live to fight another day..."
There is a moment of silence as Lizzie looks at the roses on the ground. She takes a few breaths before saying, self-aware.
Lizzie Rose: "...And maybe talk to a shrink about how much you talk to yourself. That CAN'T be healthy."
Despite her words to the contrary, she didn't move. She just kept staring at the path in front of her. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds...Time passed until eventually-
Lizzie Rose: ".....This is why you keep getting in trouble Lizzie."
Unable to resist her curiosity and resigned to her fate, she slowly followed the path laid out for her carefully as if instead of rose petals, she was walking through a sea of land mines, and as she walked, the hallway got slowly but surely darker.
Lizzie Rose: "Hello? Anyone here?” Just a word to the wise if this is your way of saying hello. You could have picked a way that seemed less...murdery...Because if there's a murderer here, I'm going to be annoyed!”
Lizzie continues creeping down the hallway, cautiously following the trail of rose petals before her. Her breath becomes increasingly shaky as she surveys her surroundings and peeks around a corner.
Lizzie Rose: “AH HA!- Oh, it’s a door.”
In front of her is a door labeled with a flickering light that reads EXIT.
Lizzie Rose: “Oh come on, this is like how every dummy dies in a B-level horror movie… Ugh, why am I doing this?”
Lizzie pushes against the door hard and powers through, hoping to hit whatever killer might be behind the door, but it just slams into the wall instead.
A plethora of parking spaces, both empty and taken, are spread out before her. Plenty of places for a serial killer to wait for the right moment to strike… However, against that cliche, she sees someone standing at the very end of the parking lot underneath… a lone black sconce that shines a thick yellow.
Lizzie Rose: “Is… is that the weird girl with the tiara? Oh god, not her again.”
Lizzie goes to turn back the way she came only to find that the door is completely locked shut. Against her deepest wishes, she is forced to head towards Princess Nova under the light.
Princess Nova: “Elizabeth! I’m so glad you could visit! How did you like the flowers, dear?”
Lizzie Rose: “OH YOU MEAN THE ONES YOU LEFT AT MY MOM’S APARTMENT?!... Yeah I totally liked them.”
Princess Nova has a soft giggle.
Princess Nova: “I meant the rose petals, silly! I thought about rolling the red carpet for you, but this is more you.”
Lizzie is taken aback by the friendly nature of Princess Nova, considering the situation, and moves in closer to her face, letting her Brooklyn bravado shine a little bit.
Lizzie Rose: “What do you even want from me?! Huh? What is all of this about?”
Going entirely unnoticed by Lizzie, Keres rises from in-between her and Nova, seemingly from thin air. Lizzie yelps and takes a hop back, frightened by Keres’ appearing act.
Keres: “It is not about what we want from you, Elizabeth. It is about what you want from yourself.”
Keres raises her ha-
Lizzie Rose: “NO! Stop it! Don’t you snap, I’ve seen it before, you will NOT snap!”
Keres stares at Lizzie and then slowly lowers her hand back down to her side.
Keres: “As you wish, Elizabeth.”
Keres looks straight up at the black sconce above her and Nova.
Princess Nova: “Bye Elizabeth! We can't wait to see you again soon!”
Nova waves happily.
The lightbulb in the sconce explodes, sending a dust cloud of glass around them all. Lizzie covers her face and shields her eyes to protect herself. When she looks back towards Keres and Nova… they’re gone.
Lizzie Rose: “What… the… fu-”
Beep-beep.
A notification from Lizzie’s phone. She reaches into her pants pocket to pull out her phone. It’s an email notification. The sender is “Clique of Wrestling Forums.” Lizzie Rose raises an eyebrow before opening the email, reading it through. She is seemingly ecstatic.
Lizzie Rose: “NO WAY! THEY’RE OPENING BACK UP! THEY CLOSED IN 2017! I USED TO TALK WRESTLING THERE EVERY DAY!”
Lizzie can hardly contain her excitement as she hops in place, her nostalgia is being fed happily here.
Lizzie Rose: “I seriously hope I’ll see some of the old crew there! Like ScottyBOI, Wiz, TheRipper, and DaMan! I bet they’d be SO shocked I’m actually wrestling now!-”
Taking a glance at her phone. She reads more of the email. Her eyes squint.
Lizzie Rose: “AND THEY HAVE A NEW E-FED!? I haven’t done that in YEARS, well not since I ACTUALLY started wrestling. Maybe I can get back into that? Never know if it can inspire me here-”
She reads the end of the email out loud.
Lizzie Rose: “This e-fed, named FYOG Wrestling, needs an interest check to see if we have enough potential members for it to start. If interested, reply to this email ‘I’m in.’ and we will write you down. Sincerely, Clique of Wrestling Team.”
Peaking over her shoulder, Lizzie Rose types in her phone the sentence “I’m in!!!” before hitting…
Send.
The joy of indulging in her old hobby has made her feel like nothing short of a kid again. The fan she was, and always has been, is extremely excited… until the screen of her phone glitches and all she sees are a jagged mess of multicolored pixels before it briefly flashes purple and shuts off, becoming as black as the fading of the scene.
We return to the Mall to the sound of I Prevail and general booing, although some cheers can be heard for the challengers as they make their way onto the stage. Jackson Fenix and Nate Savage survey the audience, loosening up slightly before making their way down the ramp. Even Jackson, for once, looks focussed.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Our main event this evening is the third time that the Undisputed Alliance have challenged the Connection for the FWA World Tag Team Championships, with this rematch signed following the events of their first two-on-two match with Dreamer and the Daredevil at Back in Town."
Allen Price: "Many say that Savage and Fenix went close enough to dethroning the Connection to warrant this rematch outright, but it was decided conclusively by the ill-tempered brawl between Nate Savage and Michelle von Horrowitz following that match in Denver. Both Nate and MvH demanded this match be made, upping the ante and making it a Washington Street Fight."
Jean-Luc Watkins: "But as I mentioned, this is the third time that the Undisputed Alliance have challenged Michelle and Gerald for these titles, and you’d have to guess it would be the last for a while. The stakes are high for Nate Savage and Jackson Fenix."
The Undisputed Alliance seem to realise the gravitas of the situation. They wait in their corner as their music fades out, replaced by…
There are more boos as Michelle von Horrowitz and Gerald Grayson walk out onto the stage with their championships on their shoulders. They are accompanied by Uncle J.J. JAY! and Thomas West, who allow the pair the spotlight but follow them down to the ring.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Here come the champions, ready to make their fourth defence here in Washington D.C.. The Connection have been in good form recently, particularly von Horrowitz, who will of course challenge Chris Peacock for the FWA World Championship following her F1 victory…"
Allen Price: "But she won’t be doing that alone, Jean-Luc. We now know that match will be a triple threat, with ‘the Exile’ Cyrus Truth involved, too. The shenanigans of Cthulhu’s Nephews have backfired a little, finally…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "And yet here they are again, at ringside…"
Allen Price: "Only two of them, at least."
Uncle and West remain on the outside whilst the Connection climb into the ring. They stand across the ring from their challengers, readying themselves for the battle to come. Natalie Rosenberg and the official stand between them.
Natalie Rosenberg: "Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is your main event, scheduled for one fall…"
ONE-FALL!
Natalie Rosenberg: "… with a sixty minute time limit, and is a Washington Street Fight for the FWA World Tag Team Championships!"
The belts are handed to the official, who holds them up for the crowd and the cameras to see.
Natalie Rosenberg: "Introducing first, the challengers… at a combined weight of four hundred and seventy six pounds… from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Nate Savage… and from Las Vegas, Nevada: Jackson Fenix… they are… THE UNDISPUTED ALLIANCE!"
A mixed reaction for the Undisputed Alliance. It’s mostly boos, but cheers can be heard, mostly due to who they are scheduled to face.
Natalie Rosenberg: "And introducing the current, reigning, defending FWA Tag Team Champions of the World… accompanied to the ring tonight by Uncle J.J. JAY! and Thomas West… representing Cthulhu’s Nephews, at a combined weight of one hundred and fifty two kilograms, or three hundred and thirty five pounds… from Raleigh, North Carolina: ‘the Daredevil’ Gerald Grayson… from Rotterdam in the Netherlands: ‘Dreamer’ Michelle von Horrowitz… THE CONNECTION!"
The Connection don’t react to the reaction, which is almost entirely derisive but for a smattering of cheers for Gerald. They have eyes only for the Undisputed Alliance. Natalie Rosenberg removes herself from the ring as the official issues his final instructions and conducts his last checks. Then, finally, he calls for the bell…
As soon as the match begins, Nate Savage charges across the ring at the Daredevil, looking to send him over the top rope with a clothesline. Gerald, however, ducks beneath it and sends him up and over the top rope with a back body drop! Jackson and Michelle, meanwhile, duke it out in the middle of the ring with alternating with rights (from Fenix) and forearm strikes (from MvH). Gerald looks at Nate on the outside, who is surrounded by Uncle and Thomas, causing enough of a distraction for Gerald to springboard onto the top rope and take Nate down with cross-body on the outside!! Savage sprawls to the outside, with Gerald and the Nephews proceeding to bring a couple of tables into play from the outside. In the ring. Jackson has succeeded in backing Michelle into the corner and attempts to Irish whip her into the opposite set of turnbuckles. Dreamer reverses, though, halting herself and then sending Fenix back towards the corner he started in. She hits Jackson with a drop toe hold, sending him down face first into the second turnbuckle! When Fenix slumps to the mat, Michelle begins to tear at the second turnbuckle cover, exposing the steel ring underneath.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "All legal in this one!"
From the outside, Uncle slides a chair into the ring, which Michelle picks up with a smile on her face.
Allen Price: "Even help from the Nephews assembled on the outside. Legal, but not exactly ethical!"
Meanwhile, on the outside, Thomas West holds Nate Savage up and wills Grayson to hit him. GG shakes his head, though, and after a few words West lets go of the challenger. Gerald knocks him off his feet with a short arm clothesline, and then throws him shoulder first into the steel ring steps! Inside the ring, Michelle waits for Jackson to get to his feet, but when he does Fenix hits a surprise dropkick! The chair is knocked back into Michelle's face, and she falls to the mat! Gerald hops up onto the apron, looking to enter the ring and rescue his partner, but Jackson knocks him off it and onto Uncle with a single-leg dropkick! Fenix turns towards Michelle with the intention of lifting her up… but West is waiting for her! He's slid into the ring and knocks Jackson off his feet with a shoulder block!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Was only a matter of time, I guess…"
The crowd begin to jeer as Thomas West taunts, before hoisting Fenix up and throwing him into the corner. West begins to work the body… but soon the boos begin to break! The reaction is decidedly more mixed, and the camera picks up why… the Buddy System are marching to the ring!!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Bryan Baxter and Jeremy Best have business with the Nephews at Carnal Contendership, but they weren't expected here tonight in D.C.!"
Allen Price: "They won that Tag Team Scramble match on Meltdown, and will face the winner of this match for the tag team belts… maybe they're interested in seeing a fair fight to crown that winner!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Maybe… given Jeremy Best's recent actions, who knows what they want…"
The Buddy System slides into the ring and West turns to face them. The podcast host succeeds in knocking Jeremy off his feet with a clothesline… but then he's FLATTENED by a shoulder block from Big Bryan Baxter!! West rolls under the bottom rope, and the Buddy System follow him out. Michelle has recovered enough to put Jackson in a grounded side headlock, but we watch Baxter following West with stomps. Jeremy slides out of the ring, too… but his leg is grabbed from beneath the apron! He can't follow! He turns to see a pair of arms clutching his leg, and then pulls a certain young wizard out from under the ring!
And Harry unleashes a cloud of pink mist into Jeremy's face!! Best is blinded and recoils, allowing the nearby Uncle to knock him over the barricade and into the crowd with a clothesline! Uncle and Harry are in pursuit of Baxter, who succeeds in putting JAY! on the mat with an uranage slam. But, when he rises to his feet, Harry clocks him with a vicious right hand!!
Allen Price: "Wait a minute… didn't he lose his hand?"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Don't mention that side hustle on the main product, Price."
Either way, we are shown Harry's hand in close-up, and see that a sleek, translucent, black plasma shell covers a new animatronic appendage. The right hand from it is enough to send Big Bryan Baxter down to his knees. Harry, focussed, puts BBB in a single handed chokehold, before planting him down on the outside with a devastating chokeslam!!
Allen Price: "… Jesus Christ!"
Harry heads off to find Jeremy, leaving Thomas with Baxter on the outside. He hoists Bryan up and throws him into the crowd too, before following him in and planting him with a snap suplex! Meanwhile, in the ring (there's a match going on), MvH is forced to relinquish her side headlock - Jackson having already climbed to his feet - to hit Nate with a mule kick, but then she turns around into a big superkick from Jackson Fenix!! The crowd pops for the move as Michelle falls down to a knee. Jackson picks the chair up from earlier and brings it down with a thud over her head!! Jackson intends to celebrate, but doesn't see Grayson up in the apron. GG springboards in, and takes Jackson down with a knee strike!!
GG looks to follow up on Jackson, but before he can he's met with a barrage of right hands from Nate Savage, which barrels him back into the corner. Savage climbs up to the second turnbuckle and reels off ten right hands (a move that Grayson likes to do), before hopping off and hitting a sidewinder suplex. Jackson is up to his feet now, too, and he and Savage apply a front facelock on either side of Grayson. Before they can hit the double suplex, though, Uncle once more hops up onto the apron. Jackson charges at him, but Uncle drops down, pulling the bottom rope down with him, and Fenix tumbles to the outside! Nate is distracted by this and let's go of Grayson, allowing MvH to hit him with a busaiku knee kick!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Seems like every time the Undisputed Alliance gets something going, one of the Nephews is there to turn the tide. I suppose that's exactly the point, but it doesn't make it any easier to watch…"
As Michelle and Gerald shift Nate into position for a double suplex of their own, Uncle lays into Jackson on the outside with stomps. He then collects one of the tables the Nephews brought from beneath the ring earlier and begins to set it up. The crowd are conflicted, some booing the Nephews but others cheering the table. As JAY! folds out the second leg, though, the audience erupts, and the camera turns to the stage to pick up the cause of the disturbance…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "CYRUS TRUTH!! What’s Cyrus Truth doing here?!"
Allen Price: "I think he’s going Nephew hunting, J-L!"
Indeed, Cyrus makes a beeline for Uncle J.J. JAY! on the outside, grabbing him in a single-handed chokehold, and then taking him down with an STO!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Memento Mori! Truth nails Memento Mori on Uncle! The Exile has vowed to work his way through the Nephews, and notable is that Truth isn’t going after Michelle inside the ring… perhaps not wanting to stoop to Dreamer’s level and ruin the ending of a championship match…"
The crowd are on Truth’s side as he picks Uncle up and throws him face-first into the steel ring post. He looks out over the audience approvingly… but doesn’t see a masked man standing behind him. This man appeared from the timekeeper’s area, where he had been the whole match (and, judging by Natalie Rosenberg’s facial expression, unbeknownst to those with a reason to be there), and now waits for Truth to turn around….
Allen Price: "Quiet is here! How many more of them are hidden at ringside?!"
Truth turns to face Quiet, who charges at him for a jumping knee strike. Cyrus sidesteps it, though, and puts Quiet in a full nelson before taking him over with a dragon suplex! All of this commotion is enough to distract the Connection on the outside, who are rolled up by the Undisputed Alliance with simultaneous school-boys…
ONE… TWO… TH – NO!!
Allen Price: "Both of the Connection kick out! I’ve never seen anything so beautiful! Double school-boy roll-up!!"
Michelle and Grayson both scramble up to their feet, but Nate and Jackson are waiting for them with a pair of double clotheslines! On the outside, it looks as though Cyrus has the advantage, as he lifts Uncle up onto his shoulders in an Argentinian rack, looking for the Exile’s Edge… but Quiet grabs Uncle’s flailing legs and pulls him out of the rack, and then the pair hit a double clothesline on Truth! They quickly hoist him up and rock him with alternating right hands, Truth staggering down the side of the ramp and the Nephews in hot pursuit…
In the ring, the Undisputed Alliance have used the distraction to their advantage. Jackson Fenix has Michelle von Horrowitz in his patented reverse chinlock whilst Nate Savage works over Gerald Grayson with power moves. First, we see him nail GG with a powerbomb, before he hoists him up and nails him with a pumphandle neckbreaker! Nate goes for the cover…
ONE… TWO… T – NO!
MvH kicks out, Nate placing her in a sleeper hold immediately afterwards whilst Jackson drags GG up. Fenix relinquishes his reverse chin lock, pulls Grayson in, and hits him with a falcon arrow!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Jackson Fenix does the deal, and now he hooks the far leg…"
ONE… TWO… TH – NO!
Grayson with the kickout this time! We cut away from the action in the ring, the cameras picking up the Buddy System along with Thomas West and Harry the Sane Wizard. They’ve fought a long way away from the ring up the mall towards the Lincoln monument, and are followed by a small group of fans as well as tourists that have been added along the way. Baxter and West are engaged in a hoss battle on the very edge of the Reflecting Pool, exchanging straight right hands, both of them teetering after each one but just about managing to stop themselves from falling in. Harry, meanwhile, has incapacitated Jeremy with knife edge chops using his new hand, and then mounts a nearby bench. He leaps off, attempting a cross-body on Best, but Jeremy catches him! Best shifts Harry into a bearhug position before throwing him onto the grass with a belly-to-belly suplex!
Back in the ring, Gerald is stirring again, Jackson having vacated the ring to find weapons. He throws in the second table (the first already set up outside the ring), a garbage can, a road sign (ironically a ‘GO’ sign) and a second steel chair. Nate, who has been wearing Michelle down with a sleeper, takes her down with a sleeper suplex, and then collects the recovering Grayson. He pulls his head into position between his legs and spikes him down onto a steel chair with a piledriver! Savage with the cover…
ONE… TWO… TH – NO!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Gerald Grayson again able to kick out, but this one is not going the way the Connection would’ve hoped."
Allen Price: "The focus of their help has been diverted too much, it seems…"
We cut back to the outside, where Uncle and Quiet are still having their way with Cyrus. They’ve taken him to the table they set up earlier, and both take their time in applying a single-handed chokehold on the Exile. The crowd boo at their intention, as they get Cyrus into perfect position… but then we hear a huge pop! The crowd goes wild as once more the camera cuts to the stage…
Allen Price: "TOMMY BEDLAM IS HERE!! A man with issues of his own with the Nephews!!"
Uncle and Quiet have let go of Cyrus, and the masked man charges up the ramp… only to be taken out by a Buckshot Superkick from Tommy Bedlam!!!
Allen Price: "The Nephews are responsible for Tommy’s exit from the F1 tournament, remember, alongside their connivance in his match with Cyrus earlier tonight."
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Uncle J.J. JAY! even counted the three in that match between Bedlam and von Horrowitz in the F1 pool stages, remember… I doubt Tommy has forgotten!"
Indeed, Bedlam locks eyes with Uncle, and marches towards him. JAY!, though, has collected a steel chair to guard himself. He lifts it, ready to strike the charging Bedlam… but Truth yanks it out of his hands! Cyrus stands down hard with a stomp on the back of JAY!’s knee, and then Bedlam wipes him out with a big boot!
The two men share a nod, but have no time to really thinking about their next mouth, because suddenly they’re swamped… three hooded figures - in pink tracksuits, no less - have hopped over the barricade! Maid of Death, the Avatar, and Kha’rina descend upon Truth and Black, bowling him over with attacks with kendo sticks that they brought with them!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "They just keep on coming!!"
Allen Price: "Fortunately, they’ve got a lot of enemies, too…."
In the ring, Jackson Fenix has set up his table in the corner whilst Savage works over Grayson in another one. Jackson positions MvH for an exploder suplex through the table, but she fights out with elbows to the side of the head. She connects with a discus forearm strike, rocking Fenix back, but before she can follow up Savage is on her with a vicious headbutt! Michelle is staggered, and Nate and Jackson put her in front facelocks, before sending her through the table in the corner with a double suplex!! Nate drags Michelle out of the wreckage and hooks the leg…
ONE… TWO… THR – NO!
Michelle kicks out!
On the outside of the ring, having succeeded in taking Truth and Bedlam down with their kendo sticks, Maid of Death, NOE-I, and Kha’rina focus on regrouping the Nephews. They help Quiet and Uncle back up to their feet, and then Kha’rina and NOE-I approach the ring whilst the other three continue the attack on Bedlam and the Exile. Inside the ring, Nate has Michelle up for a powerbomb, but he notices the two women hop up onto the apron. Fenix charges over and successfully knocks Kha’rina off with a body check, but NOE-I drops back down to the outside and grabs his feet, pulling Jackson to the outside and then hurling him into the barricade. Inside the ring, Michelle shifts position on Nate’s shoulders, and then rolls him up with a victory roll!
ONE… TWO… TH – NO!!
Nate is quick to his feet to take Michelle down with a shoulder block, but he doesn’t see that the Avatar has slid in. She picks up the garbage can introduced by Fenix and brings it down over his head!! Kha’rina is in the ring now, too. She has the ‘GO’ sign in her hands, which she repeatedly brings crashing down over the grounded Savage…
Allen Price: "Just too many…"
Kha’rina continues the attack inside the ring as Michelle celebrates the handiwork. The Avatar is checking on Gerald in the corner. The crowd are booing freely, letting their feelings be known as the tag team match is persistently derailed in a determined fashion…
…
Once again, the boos give way to cheers, pandemonium breaking loose as Chris Peacock appears on the stage!!
Allen Price: "Business is about to pick up!!"
The Avatar and Kha’rina instantly leave the ring and charge up the ramp, but they are met half way down it by Peacock, who succeeds in first taking NOE-I out with his cane. Kha’rina gets one in the gut with it, doubling her over, and Disco’s Last Warrior puts her in a front facelock… he spikes her onto the ramp with a DDT!
A little further down the ramp, Tommy Bedlam capitalises on the distraction with a second wind, hitting both the Maid and Uncle with a pair of buckshots! Quiet manages to duck beneath his, but Cyrus Truth is waiting with a steel chair! He folds it around the side of Quiet’s head!!
Meanwhile, in the ring, Nate Savage and Michelle von Horrowitz have fought out onto the apron, where they exchange right hands. Fenix, meanwhile, is working over the cornered GG with stomps…
Elsewhere, by the Reflecting Pool, Baxter manages to hoist Thomas West up and throws him down onto a bench… which gives way under the weight!! The bench implodes underneath the podcast host… and then Baxter hits a senton onto the rubble!!
Back on the ramp, Cyrus Truth and Tommy Bedlam come face to face with Chris Peacock. Bedlam and Black hangs back, but Truth and Peacock step closer to one another. They don’t say a word…
A quick cut to the Reflecting Pool, where Best has Harry up in a fireman’s carry on the edge… only for the young wizard to use his left, human hand to rake his eyes!
Allen Price: "Good job he didn’t use the new one! He’d have had his eye out!"
Jeremy, nonetheless, is forced to drop Harry, who lands behind Best. Jeremy turns around and eats a mule kick to the gut. Harry drags him into position between his legs…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "FLIP PILEDRIVER!!! INTO THE REFLECTING POOL!"
And we’re back to ringside… just in time for Chris Peacock to start swinging at Cyrus Truth!! The Exile doesn’t give an inch, immediately returning fire!! Bedlam doesn’t quite know what to make of it, as Truth and Peacock begin to fight back up the ramp…
On the apron, Savage pulls Michelle’s head into position for perhaps a powerbomb, and looks at the adjacent table on the outside… but Dreamer drops to her knees, and delivers a low blow!! Savage is doubled over, and Michelle drags his head into a front facelock. She hoists him up…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "BRAAAAAAAINBUUUUSTAAAAH!!!"
Allen Price: "Off the apron… through the table!!"
We cut to Truth and Peacock, still exchanging hands, now upon the stage, in the shadow of the Washington monument…
And then back to the ring, where Grayson is still cornered and seated. Jackson backs away from him and, after letting out a primal roar, charges across the ring at GG for a double knee strike… but Grayson is pulled out under the bottom rope!! Two more figures hold Grayson up on the outside, and the eagle-eyed amongst us can see the McClain brothers in their pink Nephew tracksuits, helping to support Grayson’s weight.
Jackson, therefore, has collided with the turnbuckles knees first, and in his pain he doesn’t sense MvH in the ring behind him. Eventually he turns around… and Dreamer runs through him with a busaiku knee kick!!
Back up on the stage, Truth and Peacock exchange right hands… until a sea of security team members floods out of the curtain, doing their best to separate the pair…
Back in the ring, Michelle drags Jackson Fenix over to the corner where she exposed the middle turnbuckle ring earlier in the match. She drops Fenix onto it face-first with a drop toe hold, eliciting a small trickle of blood from his forehead. Jackson falls into position on his back, allowing Dreamer to ascend to the top turnbuckle…
She spares one look towards the stage, where Peacock and Truth are being torn apart by security. She allows herself a smirk, before re-focusing on Jackson…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "450 SPLASH!!"
Allen Price: "And she hooks the leg…"
ONE… TWO… THREE!!
The camera struggles to keep up with the commotion that follows the ringing of the bell. First, we see Harry and Baxter, who have continued their brawl to the feet of the Lincoln memorial. Harry is on Bryan’s back, raking at his eyes, whilst the big man attempts to drag him off. Truth, meanwhile, breaks free from the half-dozen or so security guards and charges at Peacock. The Exile gets a right hand in before security again swamps him, dragging them apart. Bedlam is already leaving through the curtain, shaking his head at the situation.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Utter carnage…"
Allen Price: "That whole match was madness, J-L! Impossible to keep up with!"
In the ring, Michelle watches the events on the stage unfold with a wry smile. Gerald has rolled back into the ring, the brotherly duo returning to their seats on the front row. He approaches Michelle, sharing terse but inaudible words with her. She shrugs her shoulders, and then they collect their belts from the official.
Natalie Rosenberg: "Here are your winners… and STILL the FWA World Tag Team Champions… the CONNECTION!!!"
The referee lifts the winning team’s hands into the air, but both snatch them back almost immediately. Michelle’s action is out of impatience and impatience. Gerald, on the other hand, perhaps feels a little undeserving of the victory. On the stage, Cyrus has finally decided to leave, disappearing through the curtain and leaving Peacock to decompress the situation.
Allen Price: "That’s it for Fallout 026, but I think there are quite a few strands in this story still in need of wrapping up…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "There are a lot of wronged parties, Price. Sooner or later, the Nephews will have to pay."
Jean-Luc Watkins: "All legal in this one!"
From the outside, Uncle slides a chair into the ring, which Michelle picks up with a smile on her face.
Allen Price: "Even help from the Nephews assembled on the outside. Legal, but not exactly ethical!"
Meanwhile, on the outside, Thomas West holds Nate Savage up and wills Grayson to hit him. GG shakes his head, though, and after a few words West lets go of the challenger. Gerald knocks him off his feet with a short arm clothesline, and then throws him shoulder first into the steel ring steps! Inside the ring, Michelle waits for Jackson to get to his feet, but when he does Fenix hits a surprise dropkick! The chair is knocked back into Michelle's face, and she falls to the mat! Gerald hops up onto the apron, looking to enter the ring and rescue his partner, but Jackson knocks him off it and onto Uncle with a single-leg dropkick! Fenix turns towards Michelle with the intention of lifting her up… but West is waiting for her! He's slid into the ring and knocks Jackson off his feet with a shoulder block!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Was only a matter of time, I guess…"
The crowd begin to jeer as Thomas West taunts, before hoisting Fenix up and throwing him into the corner. West begins to work the body… but soon the boos begin to break! The reaction is decidedly more mixed, and the camera picks up why… the Buddy System are marching to the ring!!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Bryan Baxter and Jeremy Best have business with the Nephews at Carnal Contendership, but they weren't expected here tonight in D.C.!"
Allen Price: "They won that Tag Team Scramble match on Meltdown, and will face the winner of this match for the tag team belts… maybe they're interested in seeing a fair fight to crown that winner!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Maybe… given Jeremy Best's recent actions, who knows what they want…"
The Buddy System slides into the ring and West turns to face them. The podcast host succeeds in knocking Jeremy off his feet with a clothesline… but then he's FLATTENED by a shoulder block from Big Bryan Baxter!! West rolls under the bottom rope, and the Buddy System follow him out. Michelle has recovered enough to put Jackson in a grounded side headlock, but we watch Baxter following West with stomps. Jeremy slides out of the ring, too… but his leg is grabbed from beneath the apron! He can't follow! He turns to see a pair of arms clutching his leg, and then pulls a certain young wizard out from under the ring!
And Harry unleashes a cloud of pink mist into Jeremy's face!! Best is blinded and recoils, allowing the nearby Uncle to knock him over the barricade and into the crowd with a clothesline! Uncle and Harry are in pursuit of Baxter, who succeeds in putting JAY! on the mat with an uranage slam. But, when he rises to his feet, Harry clocks him with a vicious right hand!!
Allen Price: "Wait a minute… didn't he lose his hand?"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Don't mention that side hustle on the main product, Price."
Either way, we are shown Harry's hand in close-up, and see that a sleek, translucent, black plasma shell covers a new animatronic appendage. The right hand from it is enough to send Big Bryan Baxter down to his knees. Harry, focussed, puts BBB in a single handed chokehold, before planting him down on the outside with a devastating chokeslam!!
Allen Price: "… Jesus Christ!"
Harry heads off to find Jeremy, leaving Thomas with Baxter on the outside. He hoists Bryan up and throws him into the crowd too, before following him in and planting him with a snap suplex! Meanwhile, in the ring (there's a match going on), MvH is forced to relinquish her side headlock - Jackson having already climbed to his feet - to hit Nate with a mule kick, but then she turns around into a big superkick from Jackson Fenix!! The crowd pops for the move as Michelle falls down to a knee. Jackson picks the chair up from earlier and brings it down with a thud over her head!! Jackson intends to celebrate, but doesn't see Grayson up in the apron. GG springboards in, and takes Jackson down with a knee strike!!
GG looks to follow up on Jackson, but before he can he's met with a barrage of right hands from Nate Savage, which barrels him back into the corner. Savage climbs up to the second turnbuckle and reels off ten right hands (a move that Grayson likes to do), before hopping off and hitting a sidewinder suplex. Jackson is up to his feet now, too, and he and Savage apply a front facelock on either side of Grayson. Before they can hit the double suplex, though, Uncle once more hops up onto the apron. Jackson charges at him, but Uncle drops down, pulling the bottom rope down with him, and Fenix tumbles to the outside! Nate is distracted by this and let's go of Grayson, allowing MvH to hit him with a busaiku knee kick!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Seems like every time the Undisputed Alliance gets something going, one of the Nephews is there to turn the tide. I suppose that's exactly the point, but it doesn't make it any easier to watch…"
As Michelle and Gerald shift Nate into position for a double suplex of their own, Uncle lays into Jackson on the outside with stomps. He then collects one of the tables the Nephews brought from beneath the ring earlier and begins to set it up. The crowd are conflicted, some booing the Nephews but others cheering the table. As JAY! folds out the second leg, though, the audience erupts, and the camera turns to the stage to pick up the cause of the disturbance…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "CYRUS TRUTH!! What’s Cyrus Truth doing here?!"
Allen Price: "I think he’s going Nephew hunting, J-L!"
Indeed, Cyrus makes a beeline for Uncle J.J. JAY! on the outside, grabbing him in a single-handed chokehold, and then taking him down with an STO!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Memento Mori! Truth nails Memento Mori on Uncle! The Exile has vowed to work his way through the Nephews, and notable is that Truth isn’t going after Michelle inside the ring… perhaps not wanting to stoop to Dreamer’s level and ruin the ending of a championship match…"
The crowd are on Truth’s side as he picks Uncle up and throws him face-first into the steel ring post. He looks out over the audience approvingly… but doesn’t see a masked man standing behind him. This man appeared from the timekeeper’s area, where he had been the whole match (and, judging by Natalie Rosenberg’s facial expression, unbeknownst to those with a reason to be there), and now waits for Truth to turn around….
Allen Price: "Quiet is here! How many more of them are hidden at ringside?!"
Truth turns to face Quiet, who charges at him for a jumping knee strike. Cyrus sidesteps it, though, and puts Quiet in a full nelson before taking him over with a dragon suplex! All of this commotion is enough to distract the Connection on the outside, who are rolled up by the Undisputed Alliance with simultaneous school-boys…
ONE… TWO… TH – NO!!
Allen Price: "Both of the Connection kick out! I’ve never seen anything so beautiful! Double school-boy roll-up!!"
Michelle and Grayson both scramble up to their feet, but Nate and Jackson are waiting for them with a pair of double clotheslines! On the outside, it looks as though Cyrus has the advantage, as he lifts Uncle up onto his shoulders in an Argentinian rack, looking for the Exile’s Edge… but Quiet grabs Uncle’s flailing legs and pulls him out of the rack, and then the pair hit a double clothesline on Truth! They quickly hoist him up and rock him with alternating right hands, Truth staggering down the side of the ramp and the Nephews in hot pursuit…
In the ring, the Undisputed Alliance have used the distraction to their advantage. Jackson Fenix has Michelle von Horrowitz in his patented reverse chinlock whilst Nate Savage works over Gerald Grayson with power moves. First, we see him nail GG with a powerbomb, before he hoists him up and nails him with a pumphandle neckbreaker! Nate goes for the cover…
ONE… TWO… T – NO!
MvH kicks out, Nate placing her in a sleeper hold immediately afterwards whilst Jackson drags GG up. Fenix relinquishes his reverse chin lock, pulls Grayson in, and hits him with a falcon arrow!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Jackson Fenix does the deal, and now he hooks the far leg…"
ONE… TWO… TH – NO!
Grayson with the kickout this time! We cut away from the action in the ring, the cameras picking up the Buddy System along with Thomas West and Harry the Sane Wizard. They’ve fought a long way away from the ring up the mall towards the Lincoln monument, and are followed by a small group of fans as well as tourists that have been added along the way. Baxter and West are engaged in a hoss battle on the very edge of the Reflecting Pool, exchanging straight right hands, both of them teetering after each one but just about managing to stop themselves from falling in. Harry, meanwhile, has incapacitated Jeremy with knife edge chops using his new hand, and then mounts a nearby bench. He leaps off, attempting a cross-body on Best, but Jeremy catches him! Best shifts Harry into a bearhug position before throwing him onto the grass with a belly-to-belly suplex!
Back in the ring, Gerald is stirring again, Jackson having vacated the ring to find weapons. He throws in the second table (the first already set up outside the ring), a garbage can, a road sign (ironically a ‘GO’ sign) and a second steel chair. Nate, who has been wearing Michelle down with a sleeper, takes her down with a sleeper suplex, and then collects the recovering Grayson. He pulls his head into position between his legs and spikes him down onto a steel chair with a piledriver! Savage with the cover…
ONE… TWO… TH – NO!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Gerald Grayson again able to kick out, but this one is not going the way the Connection would’ve hoped."
Allen Price: "The focus of their help has been diverted too much, it seems…"
We cut back to the outside, where Uncle and Quiet are still having their way with Cyrus. They’ve taken him to the table they set up earlier, and both take their time in applying a single-handed chokehold on the Exile. The crowd boo at their intention, as they get Cyrus into perfect position… but then we hear a huge pop! The crowd goes wild as once more the camera cuts to the stage…
Allen Price: "TOMMY BEDLAM IS HERE!! A man with issues of his own with the Nephews!!"
Uncle and Quiet have let go of Cyrus, and the masked man charges up the ramp… only to be taken out by a Buckshot Superkick from Tommy Bedlam!!!
Allen Price: "The Nephews are responsible for Tommy’s exit from the F1 tournament, remember, alongside their connivance in his match with Cyrus earlier tonight."
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Uncle J.J. JAY! even counted the three in that match between Bedlam and von Horrowitz in the F1 pool stages, remember… I doubt Tommy has forgotten!"
Indeed, Bedlam locks eyes with Uncle, and marches towards him. JAY!, though, has collected a steel chair to guard himself. He lifts it, ready to strike the charging Bedlam… but Truth yanks it out of his hands! Cyrus stands down hard with a stomp on the back of JAY!’s knee, and then Bedlam wipes him out with a big boot!
The two men share a nod, but have no time to really thinking about their next mouth, because suddenly they’re swamped… three hooded figures - in pink tracksuits, no less - have hopped over the barricade! Maid of Death, the Avatar, and Kha’rina descend upon Truth and Black, bowling him over with attacks with kendo sticks that they brought with them!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "They just keep on coming!!"
Allen Price: "Fortunately, they’ve got a lot of enemies, too…."
In the ring, Jackson Fenix has set up his table in the corner whilst Savage works over Grayson in another one. Jackson positions MvH for an exploder suplex through the table, but she fights out with elbows to the side of the head. She connects with a discus forearm strike, rocking Fenix back, but before she can follow up Savage is on her with a vicious headbutt! Michelle is staggered, and Nate and Jackson put her in front facelocks, before sending her through the table in the corner with a double suplex!! Nate drags Michelle out of the wreckage and hooks the leg…
ONE… TWO… THR – NO!
Michelle kicks out!
On the outside of the ring, having succeeded in taking Truth and Bedlam down with their kendo sticks, Maid of Death, NOE-I, and Kha’rina focus on regrouping the Nephews. They help Quiet and Uncle back up to their feet, and then Kha’rina and NOE-I approach the ring whilst the other three continue the attack on Bedlam and the Exile. Inside the ring, Nate has Michelle up for a powerbomb, but he notices the two women hop up onto the apron. Fenix charges over and successfully knocks Kha’rina off with a body check, but NOE-I drops back down to the outside and grabs his feet, pulling Jackson to the outside and then hurling him into the barricade. Inside the ring, Michelle shifts position on Nate’s shoulders, and then rolls him up with a victory roll!
ONE… TWO… TH – NO!!
Nate is quick to his feet to take Michelle down with a shoulder block, but he doesn’t see that the Avatar has slid in. She picks up the garbage can introduced by Fenix and brings it down over his head!! Kha’rina is in the ring now, too. She has the ‘GO’ sign in her hands, which she repeatedly brings crashing down over the grounded Savage…
Allen Price: "Just too many…"
Kha’rina continues the attack inside the ring as Michelle celebrates the handiwork. The Avatar is checking on Gerald in the corner. The crowd are booing freely, letting their feelings be known as the tag team match is persistently derailed in a determined fashion…
…
Once again, the boos give way to cheers, pandemonium breaking loose as Chris Peacock appears on the stage!!
Allen Price: "Business is about to pick up!!"
The Avatar and Kha’rina instantly leave the ring and charge up the ramp, but they are met half way down it by Peacock, who succeeds in first taking NOE-I out with his cane. Kha’rina gets one in the gut with it, doubling her over, and Disco’s Last Warrior puts her in a front facelock… he spikes her onto the ramp with a DDT!
A little further down the ramp, Tommy Bedlam capitalises on the distraction with a second wind, hitting both the Maid and Uncle with a pair of buckshots! Quiet manages to duck beneath his, but Cyrus Truth is waiting with a steel chair! He folds it around the side of Quiet’s head!!
Meanwhile, in the ring, Nate Savage and Michelle von Horrowitz have fought out onto the apron, where they exchange right hands. Fenix, meanwhile, is working over the cornered GG with stomps…
Elsewhere, by the Reflecting Pool, Baxter manages to hoist Thomas West up and throws him down onto a bench… which gives way under the weight!! The bench implodes underneath the podcast host… and then Baxter hits a senton onto the rubble!!
Back on the ramp, Cyrus Truth and Tommy Bedlam come face to face with Chris Peacock. Bedlam and Black hangs back, but Truth and Peacock step closer to one another. They don’t say a word…
A quick cut to the Reflecting Pool, where Best has Harry up in a fireman’s carry on the edge… only for the young wizard to use his left, human hand to rake his eyes!
Allen Price: "Good job he didn’t use the new one! He’d have had his eye out!"
Jeremy, nonetheless, is forced to drop Harry, who lands behind Best. Jeremy turns around and eats a mule kick to the gut. Harry drags him into position between his legs…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "FLIP PILEDRIVER!!! INTO THE REFLECTING POOL!"
And we’re back to ringside… just in time for Chris Peacock to start swinging at Cyrus Truth!! The Exile doesn’t give an inch, immediately returning fire!! Bedlam doesn’t quite know what to make of it, as Truth and Peacock begin to fight back up the ramp…
On the apron, Savage pulls Michelle’s head into position for perhaps a powerbomb, and looks at the adjacent table on the outside… but Dreamer drops to her knees, and delivers a low blow!! Savage is doubled over, and Michelle drags his head into a front facelock. She hoists him up…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "BRAAAAAAAINBUUUUSTAAAAH!!!"
Allen Price: "Off the apron… through the table!!"
We cut to Truth and Peacock, still exchanging hands, now upon the stage, in the shadow of the Washington monument…
And then back to the ring, where Grayson is still cornered and seated. Jackson backs away from him and, after letting out a primal roar, charges across the ring at GG for a double knee strike… but Grayson is pulled out under the bottom rope!! Two more figures hold Grayson up on the outside, and the eagle-eyed amongst us can see the McClain brothers in their pink Nephew tracksuits, helping to support Grayson’s weight.
Jackson, therefore, has collided with the turnbuckles knees first, and in his pain he doesn’t sense MvH in the ring behind him. Eventually he turns around… and Dreamer runs through him with a busaiku knee kick!!
Back up on the stage, Truth and Peacock exchange right hands… until a sea of security team members floods out of the curtain, doing their best to separate the pair…
Back in the ring, Michelle drags Jackson Fenix over to the corner where she exposed the middle turnbuckle ring earlier in the match. She drops Fenix onto it face-first with a drop toe hold, eliciting a small trickle of blood from his forehead. Jackson falls into position on his back, allowing Dreamer to ascend to the top turnbuckle…
She spares one look towards the stage, where Peacock and Truth are being torn apart by security. She allows herself a smirk, before re-focusing on Jackson…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "450 SPLASH!!"
Allen Price: "And she hooks the leg…"
ONE… TWO… THREE!!
Winner: The Connection by pinfall at 17:37.
The camera struggles to keep up with the commotion that follows the ringing of the bell. First, we see Harry and Baxter, who have continued their brawl to the feet of the Lincoln memorial. Harry is on Bryan’s back, raking at his eyes, whilst the big man attempts to drag him off. Truth, meanwhile, breaks free from the half-dozen or so security guards and charges at Peacock. The Exile gets a right hand in before security again swamps him, dragging them apart. Bedlam is already leaving through the curtain, shaking his head at the situation.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Utter carnage…"
Allen Price: "That whole match was madness, J-L! Impossible to keep up with!"
In the ring, Michelle watches the events on the stage unfold with a wry smile. Gerald has rolled back into the ring, the brotherly duo returning to their seats on the front row. He approaches Michelle, sharing terse but inaudible words with her. She shrugs her shoulders, and then they collect their belts from the official.
Natalie Rosenberg: "Here are your winners… and STILL the FWA World Tag Team Champions… the CONNECTION!!!"
The referee lifts the winning team’s hands into the air, but both snatch them back almost immediately. Michelle’s action is out of impatience and impatience. Gerald, on the other hand, perhaps feels a little undeserving of the victory. On the stage, Cyrus has finally decided to leave, disappearing through the curtain and leaving Peacock to decompress the situation.
Allen Price: "That’s it for Fallout 026, but I think there are quite a few strands in this story still in need of wrapping up…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "There are a lot of wronged parties, Price. Sooner or later, the Nephews will have to pay."
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