… the FWA proudly presents …
”CARNAL CONTENDERSHIP 2024.”
only on the WCNetwork.
live from Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Saturday 4th May, 2024.
After the sponsor videos play, we go straight inside the venue and as there is a lot to happen tonight, no time is being wasted. The steel cage slowly begins to make its way down from the top of The Sphere, the crowd cheering in anxious anticipation.
Kurt Harrington: "Our opening contest tonight is a CCCAAAAAGE MATCH and it is for… for the Fantasy Wrestling Alliance WWWWWOOOOORRRRRRLLLLLLDDDD CHAMPIONSHIP!"
The roof nearly explodes as “The Exile” jogs out from the back, his hood flipped up over his head as he makes it onto the stage. He stops as a burst of pyro shoots off from behind him and he flips his hood back, revealing Cyrus Truth’s determined face to the fans, only bringing about even more cheers for the fan favorite.
Kurt Harrington: “Introducing first… the challenger…. from The Long and Winding Road… weighing in at two hundred twenty seven pounds… he is “THE EXILE”.. CCCCCCYYYYYRRRRUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSS TTTTTRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUTH!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I think there’s little reason to doubt who the fans are going to be behind in this one.”
Rod Sterling: “You can see the determination on his face. You can see how bad Cyrus Truth wants this. This is not an unfamiliar position for The Exile - challenging for a title he held in the past… he’s hungry… he wants this more than anything. And he especially would love to be the one to take the title off our current champion.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “I think a lot of people would like to do that, Rod. But Cyrus has the benefit of a 20 foot steel cage tonight.”
Rod Sterling: “By his own doing, as well. Cyrus knows that where Jeremy goes - so goes the rest of the Friendship Wrestling Alliance - and he’s hoping tonight the cage will be the great equalizer to keep them from getting involved.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “He better hope that the plan works out because this was supposed to be a four-person booth and there’s only three of us here.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Konchu Hao - certainly conspicuous by his absence, apparently running late tonight.”
Rod Sterling: “The one man in the FWA locker room who would certainly have Cyrus Truth’s back tonight if things got out of hand… and conveniently is having some transportation issues…”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Convenient my ass. We’ve seen the Friendship Wrestling Alliance do this before with Chris Peacock… I think we all know why Konchu Hao isn’t here right now.”
Focused and determined, Cyrus Truth makes his way down to the ring where FWA Official Richard Davis opens up the cage door to let him climb up the steps and enter the stage of tonight’s FWA Title match.
Boos no fill the Sphere in Vegas as Jeremy Best emerges from the entrance, holding his arms high in the air with the FWA World Friendship Championship wrapped around his waist. Joining him are his two masked compadres, Sir Stache and Mejor Amigo as well as his resident friendly magician, Tonya Scott, who tips her top hat to the less than adoring crowd. Rounding out the Friendship Wrestling Alliance group is the former FWA North American Champion, Big Bryan Baxter, whose face looks much more sour than usual.
Kurt Harrington: “And his opponent, representing the Friendship Wrestling Alliance… he is the reigning and defending FWA World Champion… from Friendship, North Carolina… this is “Your New Best Friend” ….. JJJJEEERRRREEEEMMMMYYYY BBBBBBBBBBBBBBEEEEEESSSST!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Your eyes do not deceive you ladies and gentlemen, this is our champion - the man who holds the most respected belt in all of wrestling… and the entire circus he brings with him… including a literal clown.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “She’s a magician, not a clown!”
Rod Sterling: “Either way, we can see the fact that there’s a cage designed to keep them away, Jeremy is still bringing the entire Friendship Wrestling Alliance out with him for this one.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Of course he is. They have something up their sleeves. Just ask Konchu Hao, wherever he is.”
Jeremy and the entire group make their way down to cageside. Jeremy stops to shake hands with each of his friends, lastly with Bryan Baxter who overall seems a lot less interested in being in Jeremy’s corner than he has in the past, but he still gives Jeremy a shake of the hand and heads to one of the corners of the ringside.
Rod Sterling: “Not usually known for his pleasant moods, Bryan Baxter’s scowl tonight seems even stronger than normal.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Perhaps the big man can’t take losing. He’s lost how many matches in a row now? Plus a draw. I can’t even remember the last time he won a match! No wonder he’s in a bad mood.”
Sir Stache: “Ahem, I’d be careful with what you say.”
Sir Stache had picked up the headset that should’ve belonged to Konchu, and now joins the announce team.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Oh joy, looks like we got quite the downgrade for our four person booth.”
Sir Stache: “Nice to see you too, Jean-Luc. Who is ready for Jeremy’s first exciting title defense?”
Rod Sterling: “Well, if you’re going to be joining us Sir Stache, how about shedding some light on if you guys had anything to do with Konchu Hao being late tonight?”
Sir Stache: “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Mmmhmm… suuuureeee….”
While Sir Stache pleads their innocence at the booth, Richard Davis opens up the cage allowing Jeremy Best to slowly make his way up the steps and into the cage. His smile begins to fade into a much more anxious look as he joins Cyrus Truth in the cage, the door being locked by Davis behind him.
FIRST MATCH | 1/60.
Jeremy Best [c] vs. Cyrus Truth.
Cage Match. FWA World Championship.
Match Writer: Dubb.
The bell rings to start the match. Jeremy and Cyrus approach each other in the center of the ring, and as customary, Jeremy extends out his hand to Cyrus for a handshake. With his hands on hips, Cyrus is clearly not looking for a handshake and instead takes a swing at Jeremy..
But Jeremy ducks and runs to the ropes! Jeremy leaps over the top rope onto the side of the cage and begins trying to climb out!
Sir Stache: “Look at the strategy here from our hero!”
Rod Sterling: “What strategy? This isn’t escape the cage rules!”
Sir Stache: “Look it’s strategy, okay Rod.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “It’s not strategy. It’s fear!”
Unfortunately, Jeremy’s attempts to escape are foiled as Cyrus catches up, grabbing him by the boot and pulling him down off the cage back into the ring. Jeremy tries to beg Cyrus off, looking for a truce but Truth isn’t interested as he lights up Jeremy’s chest with a big open handed chop. Jeremy leans back against the ropes as Truth hits him with a pair of knife-edge chops before he grabs Jeremy by the hair… and runs with him across the ring to the opposite side, tossing Jeremy head first into the side of the cage!
After his head collides with the steel of the cage, Jeremy stumbles backward back to Truth who grabs him by the head and runs once again with him, back across the ring again and once again sends Jeremy head first into the wall of the cage! Best stumbles back away from the ropes, trying to shake off the attacks to open the match, taking a wild swing at Truth which The Exile easily avoids and then drives his elbow into the side of Jeremy’s head…
And then grabs him and tosses him into the side of the cage a third time!
Anzu Kurosawa: “Jeremy Best is in a lot of trouble to start this match. The savvy veteran that is Cyrus Truth is making good use of the cage early.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I imagine you’re starting to feel a little worried now, Stache?”
Sir Stache: “Worried? No, no… not all. This is all part of Jeremy’s plan, I assure.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “He plans to get his ass kicked?”
Best falls to a knee, but Truth is there to pull him back and whips him into the ropes. As Jeremy rebounds, he slides through Truth’s legs, getting back up and turning around… right into a Discus Punch from Truth, once again catching Best off guard and Best drops to the mat. The champion begins to get back up as Cyrus hits a series of rapid fire strikes before attempting to send Jeremy into the corner with an Irish Whip..
.
But Jeremy reverses it! Cyrus is instead sent crashing into the turnbuckles. Jeremy shakes off the cobwebs and then charges in toward The Exile, but Truth gets his boot up, connecting right with the jaw of Jeremy! Truth darts out of the corner with a big running clothesline to take Best back down to the mat.
The Truth stalks over Jeremy, who begins to pull himself up to his knees, once again trying to plead with Truth… begging the challenger off to stop the onslaught that the Exile has brought since the opening bell… but Truth is showing no mercy as he instead knees Jeremy right in the face!
Sir Stache: “What a disgusting, cowardly act!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Cyrus Truth isn’t the one begging for his life in that cage!”
<< 04:37. >>
Rod Sterling: “Cyrus Truth continues to dominate the action inside the cage while I think we can see a lot of anxiety on the faces of the Friendship Wrestling Alliance here at ringside watching their leader get picked apart in the ring by The Exile!”
Sir Stache: “Don’t speak for us, Rod. Jeremy is fine! He absorbs the pain and will use the power of Friendship to rally. Just you wait.”
It’s a RUNNING DDT from Cyrus, taking Jeremy back down to the mat and the Exile goes for the first pinfall of the match!
One! Two!
KICKOUT by Jeremy!
Truth gets right back up on the attack, stomping on the back of Jeremy’s neck and upper back as Your New Best Friend attempts to get back up to his feet. Truth hooks him for a Dragon Suplex attempt, but Jeremy is able to block him from locking up his arms securely and scores with a series of back elbows to rock The Exile briefly.
Best recovers to his feet, getting in some of the first offense in the match for him as he charges in with a running shotgun dropkick that has a high impact, sending Truth through the ropes and into the side of the cage! Jeremy backs up… and charges in with another running shotgun dropkick, this time with Truth up against the side of the steel!
Anzu Kurosawa: “Well, maybe Stache was onto something here because Jeremy Best is storming back now! Truth’s back bounced off that steel cage after the big impact from that dropkick!”
Climbing out through the ropes, standing on the apron between the ropes and the cage alongside Truth, Jeremy takes Truth by the head and walks the apron, slamming his head into the steel ring post! Truth is left staggering as Jeremy jumps onto the side of the cage before leaping off it with BULLDOG onto the apron!
He’s slow to recover himself, but Jeremy is able to roll Truth through the bottom ropes, climbing through them himself to go for the pin! Larry Stevens slides into place…
One! Two!
KICKOUT!
Jeremy climbs on top of Truth’s back with a rear naked choke, but Cyrus battles his way back up to his feet and charges backward, sandwiching Jeremy into the turnbuckles, causing Jeremy to release his grip. Truth staggers out of the corner, trying to catch his breath..
As Jeremy climbs the turnbuckles..
Cyrus turns around - FLYING CROSSBODY FROM JEREMY!
He connects and down he goes on top of Truth to the mat for another pinning attempt.
One! Two! NO!
<< 07:52. >>
Sir Stache: “Let’s go Jermey! You got this buddy!”
Jeremy connects with a trio of rolling vertical suplexes - the Three Amigos… but was unable to get a pinfall on The Exile as Truth immediately rolls out under the rooms and onto the apron next to the side of the steel cage. Jeremy seems frustrated, but begins to measure up The Exile as he uses the ropes to begin to pull himself up.
Jeremy rushes to the opposite side of the ring, bouncing off the ropes and building up a head of steam as he DIVES THROUGH THE ROPES TOWARD TRUTH..
But CYRUS MOVES!
JEREMY CRASHES INTO THE SIDE OF THE CAGE!
The collision sends Jeremy bouncing off the steel and then down to the apron. He rolls over, his head resting against the side of the cage as Truth staggers over..
Truth leans in toward Jeremy, holding onto the side of the cage as he lifts his boot up…
FIRST.
FIVE.
STEPS!
It’s FIVE consecutive stomps to Jeremy’s head as its up against the side of the cage! The fans are loving every minute of it as they count along with Truth’s stomps.
“ONE!”
“TWO!’
“THREE!”
“FOUR!”
“FIVE!”
Jeremy’s head bounces precariously up against the side of the cage with every stomp
Sir Stache: “Okay, I’ve seen enough! Amigo! Come here! Take my spot!”
Sir Stache tosses the headset down as his associate, Mejor Amigo comes over, taking the seat.
Mejor Amigo: “Hola!”
Rod Sterling: “What exactly is going on now?”
Mejor Amigo: “I believe my friend Senor Stache is going to try and help out Senor Best.”
Rod Sterling: “But it’s a cage match for a reason!”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Don’t be so naive, Rod. You know that these guys are not going to be stopped at trying to help Jeremy win even if there’s a cage in the way.”
Sir Stache stomps with a purpose around the ring while Cyrus continues to stomp on Jeremy in the ring. Jeremy’s face now with blood trickling down from the corner of his forehead. Sir Stache approaches Richard Davis, the FWA official outside the ring with access to the key to the door of the cage.
Sir Stache, looking to help out his friend, approaches Davis - DEMANDING the key to the cage door! Ever the honorable official, Davis refuses which is certainly not what Stache was hoping. He then reaches for Richard’s arm and begins trying to pull the key away from him…
But Richard Davis is no pushover!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Stache may have pulled off more than he can chew here. Richard Davis is a former running back from TCU and is not going to take any shenanigans here!”
Richard Davis stands his ground, and SHOVES STACHE away, sending the mask man falling over to the floor!
Back in the ring, Cyrus sends Jeremy back through the ropes and hits the WANDER’S WRATH to Best!
Truth with the pin..
ONE!
TWO!
THRE… NO! Jeremy just barely gets his shoulder up!
<< 11:12. >>
Anzu Kurosawa: “So tell us, Mr. Amigo - did you guys have anything to do with Konchu’s absence right now?”
Mejor Amigo: “I… uh… err.. I have no knowledge of this matter.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Mmmhmm… very convincing, good job.”
Back in the ring, Cyrus Truth has Jeremy up on his shoulders, looking for the Exile’s Edge, but Jeremy is able to rake the eyes of Truth to escape the hold. He slides down Truth’s back and scores with a back cracker!
Best has Truth down but is slow to recover from the beating he has received throughout the match. Both are slow to their feet, just as Jeremy is getting up, Truth is already recovering as well. But the FWA Champion is able to strike first with a stiff kick to the ribs of Truth. Jeremy added another pair of stiff kicks to rock Truth before running to the ropes…
Coming off the ropes, Truth looks for a clothesline to Jeremy, but Jeremy floats over into a DDT to Truth!
Jeremy makes the cover!
One!
Two!
KICKOUT!
Jeremy slaps the mat in frustration but gets back up as Exile is right behind him in pulling himself up. Best looks to lift Truth up into a Fireman’s Carry, perhaps for the BFF, but Truth this time escapes with an elbow to the top of Jeremy’s head!
Truth goes down the back of Jeremy and scores with a stomp to the back of Jeremy’s knee before leveling him with a RUNNING BIG BOOT!
Rod Sterling: “It’s the BROKEN PATH to Jeremy his time as the momentum once again swings back to the challenger!”
Sir Stache stumbles back to the booth, grabbing the headset off Mejor Amigo.
Sir Stache: “Don’t just sit here you fool! Do something!”
Mejor Amigo: “..Uhh si! Si!”
While Amigo and Stache begin to conspire at ringside, Truth is going for another pinfall attempt on the champion.
One!
Two!
THREEEEE… NO!
Jeremy best manages to roll his shoulder up to keep himself still alive in the match.
<< 14:44. >>
While Truth remains in control, at ringside, Amigo assures Stache that he could get the key to the door and help out Jeremy… and he does so by approaching Richard Davis and seems to be… just talking to him?
Anzu Kurosawa: “This is getting a bit ridiculous.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Maybe Amigo has a way with words? Maybe he can talk Richard Davis into just handing over the key.”
Rod Sterling: “Based on the look on Rich’s face… I don’t think it’s working…”
Cyrus Truth, noticing the antics of the Friendship Wrestling Alliance at ringside, walks away form Jeremy long enough to yell at Stache and Amigo, which causes both to back away from Richard Davis, holding their arms up and acting as if they were innocent in the matter.
Annoyed, Truth shakes his head at the duo before turning back to Jeremy..
HE”S CAUGHT IN A SMALL PACKAGE FROM JEREMY!
ONE!
TWO!
THRE.. NO!
Truth escapes the flash pin!
Both Jeremy and Truth are back up their feet at the same time..
AND EACH go for a boot to their opponent’s head..
AND BOTH CONNECT!
Both Jeremy and Truth drop to the mat! Larry Stevens checks on both in the ring… and the crowd is on their feet as both slowly begin to pull themselves up…
Back at ringside, Amigo and Stache seem to realize they are getting nowhere with Richard Davis and the key… and Amigo points out there’s no ceiling to the cage, so they can just climb over! Stache smacks himself in the forehead for not thinking of it first..
ANd both masked men begin to climb the side of the cage..
BUT RICHARD DAVIS GRABS BOTH BY THE FEET!
Anzu Kurosawa: “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the outside the ring official have to be so active in a cage match… Richard Davis deserves a raise for his efforts tonight!”
Stache pulls his boot free from Davis and kicks at the official, creating some distance that seems like it might open the door for them to ascend the cage..
BUT TRUTH IS UP AND HE SUPERKICKS THE SIDE OF THE CAGE!
Both Amigo and Stache lose their grip and crash back down to ringside!
<< 19:30. >>
Cyrus Truth comes off the ropes, heading straight into an ARM DRAG from Jeremy who transitions it into the FRIENDSHIP BRACELET submission!
With the cross armbar on tight, Larry Stevens comes in to check on Cyrus, his face showing the pain but the Exile fights through it and is adamant in the fact that he is not giving up. Jeremy wrenches back on the arm as the crowd’s cheers grow in support of Truth to attempt to give him the energy he needs to battle out of this hold.
Truth begins to rotate his legs allowing hims to slowly begin to get himself more vertical, while Jeremy continues to hold onto the submission… but Truth lifts him up off the mat…
AND SLAMS JEREMY DOWN TO THE MAT TO BREAK THE HOLD!
Truth is slow to his feet while Jeremy grabs the ropes, pulling himself up as well. Both worn competitors stumble toward each other… and Jeremy… extends his arms… and wraps his arms around Truth with a very exhausted hug..
But he tightens his grap and goes for the belly to belly suplex..
BUT TRUTH reverses it into a belly to belly OVERHEAD SUPLEX THAT SENDS JEREMY INTO THE SIDE OF THE CAGE!
Truth pulls Jeremy back under the ropes and goes for the pin!
ONE!
TWO!
THREE!
NO!
Jeremy somehow manages to kick out!
Rod Sterling: “SO close! I thought that was going to be it but somehow Jeremy Best managed to keep this match going!’
Jean-Luc Watkins: “And don’t look now but his stooges seem to be once again up to something..”
Stache and Amigo have once again regrouped, but now its Tonya Scott who approaches them, seemingly annoyed by their combined ineptness. She seems to be telling them she’s going to handle it now.
Anzu Kurosawa: “Looks like Tonya Scott is telling he boys to step aside… but in the ring, Cyrus looks ready to finish Jeremy off, so they might want to hurry…”
Sure enough, in the ring, Cyrus Truth pulls Jeremy Best up and hoists him up onto his shoulders into a Fireman’s Carry… he’s looking for the Long Road to Nowhere!
BUT somehow Jeremy finds something left in his tank to drive a pair of punches to Truth’s forehead and he escapes down the back this time. Cyrus turns around and Jeremy catches him in the jaw with an elbow that rocks Cyrus..
And instead of following up with it, Jeremy decides to begin trying to climb the cage!
Anzu Kurosawa: “Here we ago again!”
Rod Sterling: “Once again Jeremy is trying to elect to escape the cage than deal with Cyrus Truth in the ring!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I’m not sure I can blame him after some of the punishment he’s been taking in this match.”
Truth gives chase, climbing the turnbuckles as Jeremy is near the top of the cage… Jeremy begins trying to pull himself over the top of the cage as Cyrus stands on the top turnbuckle, grabbing the back of his khaki pants, halting Jeremy’s progress!
Best tries to kick Truth off, but Cyrus clobbers Jeremy in the lower back with some hard forearm shots, and begins to pull him back over the cage… back toward him…
Turning Jeremy back toward the ring, his body still positioned across the top part of the cage, Cyrus ROCKS Jeremy with a huge elbow shiver to the side of the head… a blow so hard it almost sends Jeremy falling, but Cyrus actually holds onto him by the waistband of his khaki’s… and pulls Jeremy back to safety.
Well, safety may be a relativey term because now he was in the grasp of Cyrus…
Cyrus comes off the top rope, pulling Jeremy down off the side of the cage with an AVALANCHE POWERBOMB!
Rod Sterling: “OH MY GOD!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Jeremy Best may be dead.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “He may be… but Cyrus is also down!”
The impact had, in fact, left both Jeremy, crumpled up lifeless on the mat, and Cyrus down on his stomach, slow to recover from the impact of his own move.
Meanwhile, at ringside, things became more desperate as Tonya Scott now approached Richard Davis… and with some slide of hand magic, suddenly produced the key to the cage from.. HIS EAR! This seemed to really delight Mejor Amigo especially while Davis was not amused. Stache and Amigo blocked his way as Scott went to unlock the cage…
But Davis managed to get past his roadblock, and GRABBED SCOTT BY THE ARM as she was about to unlock the door!
However, the moment Davis laid hands on Tonya, Amigo suddenly seems to get a new sense of courage and strength as he shoves Davis away from Tonya! “UNHAND HER!” he shouts out..
CRACK!
Big Bryan Baxter, having remained standing stoically in the corner the entire match, finally makes his presence felt as he cracks Richard Davis across the back with a chair.
Rod Sterling: “Jesus! That’s one way to take care of things…”
Anzu Kurosawa: “I guess Bryan Baxter showing how you really take care of business.”
Tonya Scott finishes unlocking the cage door as Bryan stands over Davis, showing little emotion as Amigo and Stache rush into the ring, boos raining down. They attempt to attend to Jeremy, but instead, they quickly find themselves across from a recovered Cyrus Truth…
MOMENTO MORI TO AMIGO!
Stache decides to try and run away, but Cyrus grabs him by the back of his shirt… and pulls him in..
JOURNEY’S END TO SIR STACHE!
Truth pulls himself up after laying out both stooges…
And found himself now staring down Big Bryan Baxter, joining them in the cage with the steel chair in his hand and ready to strike. Truth eyes his opponent’s partner… staring Baxter down with no fear.
“You don’t want to do this.”
Baxter remains silent, positioning the chair, ready to strike but actually seems hesitant.
“Why are you helping him? Where was he when you needed him?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Is Cyrus Truth trying to talk some sense into Bryan Baxter here? Seems like an uphill battle.”
Rod Sterling: “I don’t know, Jean-Luc… Baxter could’ve laid him out already if he wanted too,,, there’s something about Truth’s words that are resonating with the Bastard.”
“Where was he win you lost your title?”
Bryan lowers his head… and begins to lower the chair…
LOW BLOW!
Jeremy Best had crawled up from behind and strikes Cyrus Truth with an uppercut to the groin.
Cyrus doubles over , drops down to his knees as Jeremy weakly sits up to his own knees.
“Finish him… Bryan… go ahead…”
Baxter looks to his partner and then to The Exile…
“I… can always… count… on you….”
Bryan sighs… as he lifts the chair high over his head…
AND CRACKS IT ACROSS TRUTH’S SKULL!
Boos flood the Sphere as Baxter tosses the chair to the mat, revealing the huge dent left in it from Truth’s head. Baxter walks out of the cage, slamming the door behind him… as he walks up the aisle, not sticking around to see the match conclude.
Anzu Kurosawa: “What… was that? It almost looked like we saw something we haven’t seen before from Bryan Baxter… but instead he lays out Truth!”
A smile has returned to Jeremy’s face as he pulls himself up… he grabs Truth’s no motionless body, lifting him up with what little strength he has left..
BFF! Just to make sure…
Jeremy makes the cover…
The crowd boos grow louder and louder..
One…
Two…
Three…
A recovered Amigo and Stache along with Tonya Scott all rush to Jeremy’s aid, helping him to his feet. Through the pain and the blood on his face, a smile is still shining bright on Jeremy’s face as they hoist him up.
Kurt Harrington: “Here is your winner… and STILL FWA WORLD CHAMPION…. JEREMY BEST!!"
Rod Sterling: “Cyrus Truth had this match won! Cyrus Truth should be the FWA Champion once again! But not even a damn cage could keep the Friendship Wrestling Alliance from intervening.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Perhaps the power of Friendship really is just too strong!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Ugh. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.”
Sir Stache is more than happy to grab the FWA World Title from Larry Stevens, handing it to Jeremy Best. Best holds his “World Champion of Friendship” belt high into the air, waving to the fans as the cage begins to lift back up.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Jeremy may be celebrating with his friends now… but Bryan Baxter’s absence is quite telling after the big assist he offered up.”
Rod Sterling: “Perhaps a lot of questions about what’s going on inside the mind of the former North American Champion. We certainly haven’t seen the same side of him lately, with him on a losing streak - something he’s never experienced in his FWA career. But in any event, whether we like the outcome or not… Jeremy Best is still the champion and later tonight, we will find out who will be challenging him at Back in Business!”
We cut backstage where we see...HOLY FUCKING SHIT-! IT'S A SPOOKY SKELETON-!!! AND-oh, right, that's just one-third of Trick Or Trash, Lucha Wrestling Legend and the man who probably spends way too much time hanging around the haunted mansion ride, Halloween Knight. Who else, I wonder.
Halloween Knight: “When hinges creak in doorless chambers, and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls. Whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still… that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight! And at Carnal Contendership-”
???: "Um, excuse me?"
Halloween Knight is cut off as an unassuming backstage worker walks into his shot, and absolutely ruins the scary vibe he was going for.
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "Excuse me, I'm looking for a guy named Halloween Knight? He's meant to be a really spooky, scary guy, so I doubt I'd miss him."
Knight stares down at the man, blinking somewhat.
Halloween Knight: "...I'm Halloween Knight."
The backstage worker blanches.
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "Really?"
Halloween Knight: "Si."
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "You're the ultra scary, spooky guy?"
Halloween Knight: "Yeah."
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "You're spooky?!"
Halloween Knight: "Yeah!"
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "... Are you sure?"
Halloween Knight: "I'm the scariest wrestler in the history of wrestling."
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "Oh… Huh. Well, we all have dreams."
Knight’s impossibly hurt and emotionally scarred expression is hidden behind his mask.
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "Anyway, there's an issue with the numbers for Carnal Contendership."
Halloween Knight: "Well, that's a shame, but we got like… An hour before the match, so why are you telling me-"
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "Well, your friend Juan just started counting out the numbers and-"
That was as far as the man got, before Halloween Knight grasped him tight with the kind of strength only true fear could bring.
Halloween Knight: "JUAN'S COUNTING THE NUMBERS?! YOU LET JUAN COUNT NUMBERS?! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"
Before the man could reply, Knight suddenly took off running like his life depended on it, towards where everyone was getting their numbers, it was easy to find. It was the room with a big line of disgruntled-looking wrestlers out the door… And a rather loud, expressive voice echoing from within the room.
???: “-could be… Number SEVEN. Or… You could be… Number EIGHT…”
Carefully easing his way past the line of disgruntled and impatient wrestlers, Halloween Knight ducked into the room, letting out a sigh as he witnessed the sight - His loyal tag partner and fellow Champion of High Quality & Status, one third of the FWA Trios Champions… Juan Tothrefor, standing behind a golden tumbler, with a rather distressed assistant by his side. There’s also a random FWA wrestler in the room but this segment isn’t really about them so I’m not going to bother explicitly saying who it was. Fuck you.
Random FWA Wrestler, Of Whom Little Importance To This Segment Is Had, And Is Unlikely To Have More Than Two Lines: “Look, can we hurry this up?”
Juan Tothrefor: “Don’t interrupt me. You could be…”
Juan dramatically fishes around in the tumbler, producing the little white ball with the number six painted on it. He pauses, before flipping it upside down, brandishing it towards the random FWA wrestler.
Juan Tothrefor: “Number NINE.”
Before the random FWA wrestler can speak, Halloween Knight steps forward with a sigh. He plucks the number from Juan’s grasp, and tosses it back into the tumbler.
Halloween Knight: “What’s going on, here?”
Juan Tothrefor: “Hola, Knight. I’m just showcasing all of the numbers this entrant could have, all the possibilities. Observe.”
Juan rummages around in the tumbler once again, before fishing out a number.
Juan Tothrefor: “You could be… Number TEN.”
His hand goes back into the tumbler, repeating the process.
Juan Tothrefor: “You could be… Number ELEVEN.”
Halloween Knight: “... Why?”
Juan Tothrefor: “I’m the numbers guy. One of the brass mentioned it would be fitting for me to explain all the numbers for the Carnal Contendorship, so… Here I am. I’ll list out every possibility for this guy-”
Halloween Knight: “Sounds tedious but that should take, what… Three minutes, tops?”
Juan Tothrefor: “-Then I’ll list out every possibility for the next guy, then every possibility for the guy after that, then every possibility for the guy after that, then… So on, so forth.”
Halloween Knight: “Fuck, we’re going to be here all night.”
Juan Tothrefor: “Potentially! Anyway. You could be… Number TWELVE.”
A sigh echoes through the room. The distressed assistant looks particularly distressed. Halloween Knight looks mildly concerned. Juan Tothrefor looks like he’s having a wonderful time. The random FWA wrestler has a random facial expression.
Suddenly, another enters the room, leisurely. It’s the remaining third of the Trios Champions, Trash Mammal, casually sipping a starbucks coffee as he observes the room.
Trash Mammal: “Sup. I gots here as quickly as I could.”
Halloween Knight eyes the starbucks coffee quietly.
Halloween Knight: “… Sure.”
Juan Tothrefor: “You could be… Number THIRTEEN.”
Trash Mammal: “Oh. ‘E’s doing the numbers thing?”
Halloween Knight: “He’s doing the numbers thing.”
Juan Tothrefor: “I’m doing the numbers thing.”
Trash Mammal: “Roight, roight.”
Trash Mammal sips from his coffee again nonchalantly.
Trash Mammal: “‘S a lotta numbers to go through.”
Juan Tothrefor: “Si. You could be… Number FOURTEEN.”
Trash Mammal: “‘E doing this for every entrant?”
Halloween Knight: “Yup.”
Trash Mammal: “Might take a while.”
Halloween Knight: “Yup.”
Trash Mammal sighs, crumbling the starbucks cup and tossing it at the bin. Or the random FWA wrestler. Y’know. Whatever.
Trash Mammal: “Roight. You get his legs, I’ll get his arms.”
Juan Tothrefor: “You could be… Number FIFTEEN.”
Scooping their partner into their arms, Halloween Knight & Trash Mammal start to carry Juan away from the tumbler, out of the room and past the line of waiting impatient wrestlers.
Trash Mammal: “C’mon, Mathematical. Let’s get dis outta your system an’ quit holdin’ up traffic.”
Halloween Knight: “We’ll come back after he’s finished doing his thing, then we’ll draw our numbers.”
Trash Mammal: “Sure. Shouldn’t be too long.”
Juan Tothrefor: “You could be… Number SIXTEEN.”
Trash Mammal: “That’s tha spirit.”
The reaction is mostly negative as the next entrance theme plays in the arena, although there are a few noticeable and vocal pockets of cheers. The lights are down but for a spotlight on the stage, into which ‘Dreamer’ saunters. There is no smile on her face, as there would have been this time last year, nor is there a countenance expressing focus or determination. Instead, Michelle wears her anxieties plainly for all to see, a bundle of apprehension and even nerves as she begins her descent of the ring ramp.
Kurt Harrington: "Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one-fall, with a sixty minute time limit… is the final of the F1 Climaxxx 2024 tournament… and is for the vacant FWA North American Championship!"
The camera shows the currently unheld championship belt, which sits on a podium at the base of the ramp.
Kurt Harrington: "Introducing first, from Rotterdam in the Netherlands… she weighs in tonight at fifty four kilograms… ‘Dreamer’... Michelle von HORROWITZ!!"
MvH passes the championship belt at the foot of the ramp, pausing to contemplate it before rolling into the ring.
Rod Sterling: "There we see Michelle von Horrowitz contemplating the FWA North American Championship, which incidentally is the one belt that she needs to complete her grand slam."
Anzu Kurosawa: "We’ve heard Michelle say that illustrious accolade is far from her mind going into this one, with the idea of becoming a two-time F1 winner and getting one over old rival Chris Peacock more prevalent within her thoughts."
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Dreamer takes her seat in the corner, her eyes locked on the stage area as her music fades out. A familiar pose, but something about Michelle’s body language tonight suggests that she isn’t the ocean of calm that she usually is…"
Konchu Hao: "Ocean of calm? You and I must know very different Michelles, Jean-Luc. I know a thing or two about chaos when I see it."
As Michelle waits in the ring for her opponent to make his entrance, she paces, unsure what the hold up is. The Sphere gets plunged into darkness for a few moments before a piano is shown on the stage, illuminated by a single spotlight. On the stool in front of the piano sits Chris Peacock. He grins and waves in the direction of the ring towards MvH, who looks extremely annoyed by the unnecessary pageantry. Peacock is dressed in a full pink suit with matching waistcoat. He cracks his knuckles and begins to play;
“Doesn’t seem to matter what I do,
I can’t get respect from you.
No one knows how hard I tried, oh-oh I…
I have feelings that I can’t explain…
Causin’ me so much pain..
You hate me for being me,
Well I guess I’ll just make you see..”
Chris kicks the stool away and rips the microphone from the stand attached to the piano, starting to walk away from the stage. The lights brighten slightly to reveal around two dozen men on the stage with him, all dressed the same and wearing latex masks resembling his face.
“‘Cause I’m just Chris, shoot at me you better not miss.
There’s hilarity in your unrecognised hypocrisy.
I’m just Chris!
Everyone says you smell like piss,
Would it be mean for me to say Europeans don’t have personal hy-giene?”
There’s a grin from Chris as he knows that he is getting underneath Michelle’s skin as the music kicks into a higher gear and the backing dancers begin to perform a synchronised routine. He nods his head and dances along a bit himself to the more upbeat section before bringing the mic up to his mouth once again.
“I wanna know what it's like to win the Grand Slam!
Sorry to say, but you’re gonna lose like only a Nephew can!
You might not like me, but I don’t give a damn!
Fuck you, Dreamerrrrrrr…”
The backing dancers form into more organised routines, with most of the gestures and moves that they are making involving thrusting or other simulated acts of debauchery. Peacock himself runs into the back, allowing the dancers to take centre stage.
As they dance, a horn is heard and to the shock of almost no one, Chris Peacock is standing atop a truck which comes out onto the stage. It mows through the piano and shatters it into pieces. Whilst Chris is in the middle, he is flanked by both of the Diamond Dogs, as well as Alyster Black and Violet Dreyer. Allen Price is shown in the driver’s seat of the truck. They are all wearing pink tracksuits in another middle finger to the Nephews, but these are branded ‘FTN’.
“Can you feel that energy?
That sexy F-T-Nenergy!
Can you feel that energy?
That sexy F-T-Nenergy!”
As Chris begins to croon once more, he slides down the windscreen and starts walking down the ramp. As he does so, the dancers get a dosing from the hoses all of the other FTN Family members are in possession of, covering them in thick, frothy white liquid.
“I'm just Chris; this stuff’s not actually jizz,
I have to say legally that it’s a synthesised pro-per-ty!
I'm just Chris; you can all just suck on this!
Will it take me beating her again to take me ser-ious-ly?”
The other FTN members leave the truck as well, a white mess in their wake as they follow Chris down the ramp and sing along to the harmony section.
“I'm just Chris!”
“JUST WATCH HIM DANCE!”
“Shove my size ten up your ass!
So, hey, go fuck yourselves, yeah, I'm just Chris!”
Peacock slaps a baseball hat from a fan’s head and shoves a middle finger in his face, before looking back at Michelle in the ring who is seething.
“My name's Chris!”
“THAT’S CHRIS PEACOCK!”
“FUCK RAMON AND GOLDEN ROCK!
Fuck the Ne-phews too, yeah, I'm just Chris!”
This time the whole group - all of whom Michelle has had run-ins with in the past, give her a one finger salute before Chris steps forward for the crescendo.
“Baby, I'm just CHRIS!”
The song ends and Chris embraces his friends and they all offer him well wishes ahead of the match. He tosses the microphone over his head and then climbs into the ring, pleased with his performance.
Anzu Kurosawa: "Well that was certainly an entrance. Jean-Luc, any thoughts?"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Let’s just get this match underway."
SECOND MATCH | 1/60.
Chris Peacock vs. Michelle von Horrowitz..
Singles Match. F1 Climaxxx 2024 Final. FWA North American Championship.
Match Writer: SupineSnake.
<< 00:00. >>
The bell has sounded, but both competitors remain in their respective corners, staring across the squared circle at one another with contrasting expressions. Peacock has an air of confidence, whilst Michelle still wears a vague, uncharacteristic nervousness plainly. Eventually, with the crowd’s anticipation for the match properly built, the pair circle the ring, becoming ever closer to one another as the radius of their concentric circles decrease. Michelle seems to be offering a collar and elbow tie up, which Peacock initially reciprocates, before he shifts his weight and lashes out with an attempted boot to the midsection. Dreamer telegraphs it, though, catching his boot and then pushing it away to turn him around. She proceeds to grasp Peacock in a rear waistlock…
Rod Sterling: "von Horrowitz attempts to wrench Peacock up and over with a German suplex, but Peacock anchors his weight down, before aiming a side elbow at Michelle…"
Anzu Kurosawa: "Dreamer ducks it, Peacock turning to face her…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "… and Michelle throws him over her shoulder, with not so much a Northern Lights suplex as a judo-ish throw."
Anzu Kurosawa: "A judo-ish throw? Don’t get too technical, Jean-Luc."
Peacock scrambles straight up to his feet, lunging back towards Michelle. Dreamer doubles him over with a spinning kick to the gut, though, and then hits the ropes to connect with a dropkick to the side of the head! Peacock immediately rolls under the bottom rope, perhaps looking to recuperate after the flourish of offence from Dreamer. He props himself up against the barricade, but Michelle is perpetual motion in the ring, having already hit the opposite set of ropes…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Tope con hilo!! Michelle crashes onto Peacock on the outside!"
Rod Sterling: "This audience understandably doesn’t know who to cheer for in this one, but there’s no denying the athleticism on the display. Everyone’s on their feet here in the Sphere!"
Everyone, that is, except Chris Peacock, who needs some help from MvH to get back up to a vertical base. Dreamer throws him back into the ring, beneath the bottom rope, before hopping up onto the apron, feeding off the momentum as she climbs up towards the top rope. Peacock uneasily clambers to his feet in the middle of the ring, turning to face Michelle as she steadies herself atop the top turnbuckle…
Anzu Kurosawa: "Michelle goes for a picture perfect cross-body…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "… but Chris Peacock catches her with a SPEAR!! He wipes her out!!"
Rod Sterling: "Incredible anti-air from Disco’s Last Warrior, who now hooks the far leg. This might be it already!"
ONE… TWO… T – NO!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Michelle thrusts a shoulder up, but Peacock follows up by slapping on a reverse chin lock."
Anzu Kurosawa: "Attempting to slow this match down to a more manageable pace, it seems."
Konchu Hao: "Time for a nap, then."
***
<< 06:24. >>
Peacock has dominated the early stretches of the match, and has most recently earned himself another two count following a delayed vertical suplex and then a standing leg drop. With Michelle suitably worn down, he Irish whips her into a corner and follows her in with a clothesline. He nails a quartet of hard, loud knife edge chops, before proceeding to mount the second rope, grabbing a fistful of Dreamer’s hair in the process.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Chris Peacock begins to rain down with right hands onto the top of Michelle's head, continuing to take it to her in the early stretches of this match."
Rod Sterling: "He's showing the world why they call him Dreamer's Nightmare!"
The crowd counts along with him as he completes ten punches, pauses, and then delivers another ten, more rapid fire than the first set! The crowd reaches twenty in their count and Peacock finally hops down from the ropes, allowing Michelle to fall down face-first in the middle of the ring! Peacock smirks as he drags her back to her feet by the scruff of the neck, then hoists her onto his shoulders.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Chris Peacock spins round and round and round and round with the airplane spin, and we know what usually comes next… Samoan drop!"
Anzu Kurosawa: "He calls that Dance Dance Revolution…"
Konchu Hao: "The softest of all revolutions."
Rod Sterling: "Chris Peacock with the cover…"
ONE… TWO… T – NO!
Again, Michelle gets the shoulder up, but Peacock is undeterred. He helps Dreamer regain a vertical base, holding her up with a fist full of hair… and then connects with a pimp slap!! The crowd audibly gasps at the disrespectful move, prompting another snide smirk from Disco’s Last Warrior, who follows up with a boot to the midsection. Michelle is doubled over, and Peacock hits the ropes…
Rod Sterling: "Chris Peacock maybe looking for his patented scissor kick famouser… but Michelle cuts him off with a discus forearm!!"
Anzu Kurosawa: "I think that pimp slap might’ve shaken Michelle back to life, and now she doubles Peacock over with a kick to the gut."
Dreamer applies a front facelock, attempting to wrench Peacock up and over with a brainbuster, but again Peacock anchors his weight down, proceeding to fight back with repeated digs at her midriff.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Once again, Dreamer is unable to lift Peacock up off the mat… and he reverses with a snap suplex!"
Peacock shakes the cobwebs loose from the discus forearm before dragging himself to his feet. Michelle is still down, allowing Peacock to reassume full control with a grounded side headlock as the match rolls on…
***
<< 12:01. >>
Peacock once again has Michelle backed into a corner, where he proceeds to drive a shoulder into her gut a half dozen times, before hoisting her up into a seated position atop the uppermost turnbuckle. He reaches up to connect with another slap, rocking Michelle, before climbing up onto the second turnbuckle.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Chris Peacock assumes a precarious position, with Michelle von Horrowitz already in one on that top turnbuckle… and now he applies a front facelock."
Rod Sterling: "Surely thinking superplex here, which is bad news for an already weakened Dreamer. She recognises that fact, too, and attempts to fight back with forearms aimed at Peacock’s gut."
Chris is forced to relinquish his front facelock, and then he attempts to incapacitate Dreamer with a straight right. Michelle blocks it, though, before firing back with a forearm… and then a headbutt!! Peacock is staggered, and Michelle thinks she has a moment or two to shake herself back to life. Chris has other ideas, though, immediately returning with a headbutt of his own!! Michelle is rocked, allowing Peacock to recollect her in a front facelock. He drags MvH onto the very top, before stepping up onto the uppermost turnbuckle alongside her…
Rod Sterling: "SUPERPLEX!!!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "All the way from the very top!"
Rod Sterling: "Peacock drapes an arm over Michelle…"
ONE… TWO… T – NO!!
Anzu Kurosawa: "Dreamer kicks out! This one's not over!!"
***
<< 16:38. >>
Peacock has Michelle on Dream Street (pun intended) in the middle of the ring, where he connects with a right hand. Then a second. And a third. Disco's Last Warrior wows the crowd with some theatrics, and then looks for the fourth… but Michelle ducks underneath it! She grasps Peacock from behind in a rear waist lock.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Once more, Michelle looks for a suplex - this time a German - and, once more, Peacock proves too heavy for her…"
Rod Sterling: "Peacock attempts a spinning back fist to counter the rear waist lock, but Dreamer sees it coming. She evades the strike…"
Anzu Kurosawa: "Russian leg sweep! Peacock is taken off his feet, but only for a matter of moments. Both competitors stagger to their feet and charge at one another… Michelle connects with a Busaiku knee!!!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "You got the sense that Chris Peacock was looking for his Strut there, but Michelle von Horrowitz beats him to the punch!"
Dreamer is up to her feet first, this torn crowd unsure whether to cheer or boo as she clutches Peacock by the scruff of the neck. She drags him up and into position in a front face lock…
Rod Sterling: "Michelle is going for it again…"
Konchu Hao: "Madness! She can't do it…"
Michelle pauses, takes a deep breath, then heaves…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "BRAINBUSTAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! She gets it!!"
Anzu Kurosawa: "And now she hooks the leg…"
ONE… TWO… TH – NO!!
Peacock kicks out, but Michelle feels the momentum has shifted. She drags him up, doubling him over with a spin kick to the gut. Dreamer hooks both arms, and connects with a DDT! It's not a pinfall attempt that follows, though, with Michelle instead eyeing up a top turnbuckle that looks above Peacock's supine body.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "MvH is doubtlessly thinking 450 splash here, looking to end this one with a killer blow…"
Dreamer drags herself up to her feet and begins to move over to the corner…
… but then, unexpectedly for both her and the crowd, the lights dim low. She can still see, but not with the same clarity as a moment before. She is confused and on edge, the crowd's excitement for the interruption palpable.
Then, the big screen spurs into action. A timer more suited to a 1940s cinema counts down from five to two.
To those that watched the previous episode of Meltdown, the footage is familiar, having been played after the culmination of Michelle's semi-final match with Bryan Baxter.
We find ourselves in the corridor of a hotel, as viewed from a CCTV camera positioned in a high corner. Text in the corner acts as ID for the security camera and a timestamp:
4S-MCC F7-002
07/23/2023 03:26
After a few moments of flickering footage and buzzing audio, we see the sullen and dejected figure of a female dressed all in black. She walks away from the camera, her rucksack low on her shoulders. The figure is immediately recognisable as Michelle von Horrowitz, and this is confirmed by the woman's reaction within the ring. We see her scowling and seething as the footage plays on.
Just like we saw on Meltdown, Michelle turns a corner in the corridor and we see her walking towards a different camera. She arrives at a specific door, full of shame and regret to go alongside the physical pain that she wears plainly. She knocks on the door with only a moment's hesitation.
As on Meltdown, we can’t hear the audio of the brief exchange that follows between Michelle and the unseen man who opens the door. We can tell they are talking only by the muffled snippets of speech on the audiotrack.
???: ". …. …’. ….."
An awkward shuffle. Dreamer grips the top rope in the ring in present day, her rage tangible.
MvH: ". …, …."
On the screen, Michelle enters the room, and a title card announces INTERMISSION. The lights come back up inside the arena, Michelle's anger and terror now obvious for all to see. She continues to watch the screen, until the image shifts into one of herself, standing in the ring, looking as lost as she did that night in July.
Finally, she remembers herself. Where she is. She turns around…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Peacock connects with a pimp slap!! The third of this match-up, catching Michelle unawares!"
Rod Sterling: "DISCO THRILLER!!! Peacock hits his split-legged stunner!"
Dreamer does her best to fight up to her feet, but manages only a seated position. She doesn't even see Peacock charging towards her…
Rod Sterling: "STRUT!! STRUT!! Chris Peacock hits The Strut!"
Anzu Kurosawa: "But he isn't going for the cover! Peacock wants to make absolutely sure!"
He grasps Dreamer by both wrists and pulls her up into a kneeling position. He continues to maintain wrist control…
Rod Sterling: "Chris Peacock hits a second Strut! Dreamer has nowhere to go, and slumps down to the mat…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Peacock with the cover! Michelle might be out!!"
Konchu Hao: "A dark day."
ONE… TWO… THREE!
Kurt Harrington: "Here is your winner of the 2024 F1 Climaxxx… and the NEW FWA North American Champion… Chris… PEACOCK!!"
In the middle of the ring, the official helps Chris Peacock to his feet and lifts his hand in victory. Disco's Last Warrior, a wide grin on his face, promptly snatches his hand away from the referee so that he can celebrate alone. He raises both of his hands in the air and then moves to the side of the ring to demand his championship belt from the timekeeper.
Rod Sterling: "He's done it! Chris Peacock has won the F1 Climaxxx 2024, and claimed the FWA North American Championship in the process! That makes him only the fifth Grand Slam champion in company history!"
Peacock is handed the belt, finally, which he clutches to his chest, a look of relief and happiness plastered on his face.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "The FWA X Championship, the FWA World Championship, the FWA World Tag Team Championships, and now the FWA North American Championship. Chris Peacock completes the set, entering his name onto a historic list that - until tonight - included only Ryan Rondo, Chris Kennedy, WOLF, and Phillip A. Jackson. A remarkable achievement for a man whose FWA career is still so young."
Peacock mounts the second turnbuckle, the championship belt raised high above his head. The crowd is unsure whether to cheer or boo, both reactions raining down on the ring in equal measure. Sonny and Ricardo have joined Peacock in the ring, applauding him from the centre of it as the new champion celebrates in the corner. He eventually hops down from the turnbuckles and engages in an embrace of the tag team.
Anzu Kurosawa: "What a moment for Peacock, who made it very clear what this match and this accomplishment meant to him. You can chalk up an assist to the guys in the production truck, maybe, but tonight belongs to Chris Peacock!"
The Diamond Dogs each lift a hand of the new champion into the air after fastening the belt around his waist. Then, with his music blaring around the chaotic arena, Peacock and his accompaniments climb out of the ring.
Rod Sterling: "The new North American champion and his FTN associates head up the ramp, doubtlessly to begin their debauched celebrations, leaving the defeated Michelle von Horrowitz in the ring. She looks like she's finally coming around after that pair of devastating Struts from Peacock, and now she must contemplate the ramifications of this defeat…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "As well as whatever that footage was we saw playing towards the end of the contest."
Peacock lingers on the stage as Michelle gathers herself in the ring. She uses a set of ring ropes to help hoist herself to a vertical base and watches on as Peacock lifts his belt into the air, a shit-eating grin on his face, before disappearing through the curtain.
In the ring, with Sister Sledge still blaring out of the arena's PA system, Dreamer silently seethes with her hands on her hips. Her eyes are fixed upon the stage, and remain so as - once more - the lights go off in the arena. Just like it did during the match, the big screen on the stage shifts from images of the action within the Sphere to a black, blank canvas. Upon this background, in white text, we see an introductory title card:
R.W.P. presents.
"[/color]ONE NIGHT IN MEXICO CITY."[/b][/color]
Part Two: the Director's Cut.[/b]
The screen flickers into motion, with the now-familiar grainy image of Michelle von Horrowitz walking down a hotel corridor. The timestamp and ID number in the corner is the same as it ever was.
4S-MCC F7-002
07/23/2023 03:26
When she arrives at the same particular door, though, we notice a startling difference. She knocks three times and we hear it. Not clearly, but more so than in earlier iterations of the footage. A moment later, the door clicks and opens. The person on the other side of it remains hidden behind it.
???: "I knew you'd come."
The voice is peculiar: both goading and sincere, and somewhat recognisable although clouded by its strange candour. Michelle shuffles awkwardly on the threshold, uncomfortable in the crosshairs of her expectant counterpart’s gaze.
MvH: "I did, too."
The door opens wider still, and Michelle disappears inside the hotel room.
It is the third time that we have seen these images, but - unlike the previous two occasions - the footage continues to play. Our feed remains fixed on the screen, but if it was to flit to the woman currently inside the wrestling ring it would find Michelle von Horrowitz silenced and paralyzed by her rage and her fear.
From within the room, a man wearing a white bathrobe and gold, silk boxer shorts walks into the corridor. He stretches, yawns, and turns to face the camera. He regards the lens thoughtfully.
We know him. He pushes his blonde hair back from his eyes. Smiles. Winks at the camera. A Basterdly wink.
He returns to the hotel room and the footage ends. The lights come up in the arena, revealing Michelle within the ring, even paler than she usually is. Her fists are clenched tightly, her shoulders convulsing slightly with anger.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "That was… Jesus Christ, that was Shawn Summers!"
Rod Sterling: "We haven't seen Der Basterd in the FWA for almost a year, since Back in Business 2023. Does this mean… is he coming back?!"
We don't get an answer. Instead, with excited chatter swirling around her in the audience, Michelle von Horrowitz climbs out of the ring. Her back is hunched and her eyes fixed firmly upon the ground in front of her as she paces abruptly up the ramp. We fade from the scene.
Elizabeth Rose walks into her locker-room before the Carnal Contendership match. Her intention is to get out any last-minute pre-match jitters, however… the lights in the room are off and all she can see is a television set with static filling the screen. There’s a figure obscured by the static on the screen, male in shape, but specific features are impossible to be seen. The television illuminates a large black throne facing it in the center of the room. There is a chill in the air that she hasn’t felt for months. It feels… familiar, yet it has a new sting to it.
Elizabeth crosses her arms and taps her foot before exclaiming, “Well, where the hell have you been? Abandoning me like that, who the fuck are you to do that?!”
From the side of the chair comes an outstretched arm and a limp-wristed hand. Hanging off the index finger of this hand… is a very familiar tiara.
“Bite your tongue, sister. I have been… collecting myself, dealing punishments, and allowing fate to run its course.”
The static on the television goes crazy as the female voice speaks. The woman stands from the throne and comes around to face Elizabeth Rose.
“My heart bleeds… For you, for the Princess… and for other reasons…”
The woman is the returning Daughter of Demise, Keres. She clutches the tiara in her hand as she walks up within inches of Elizabeth Rose’s face.
“The words you spoke, the truth you told, and the fire in your voice as you declared your intentions for the Carnal Contendership… while they were blasphemous in nature… showed me what I wanted to see. Instead of ending you where you stand… I will instead say that you passed your test, my darling Elizabeth. Perhaps you will be a good influence for… her.”
Keres holds up the tiara between them before bringing it back down to her side.
“Win or lose… make your statement in that match. And then… well, let’s just say I feel as if television is about to become more interesting.”
Keres snaps her fingers and the television shuts off, leaving the entire room in darkness.
Cut to backstage, at the familiar room with the tumbler and the numbers and the FWA assistant. The FWA assistant is cleaning up, a blanket over the tumbler, whilst whistling casually.
Unfortunately, that isn’t to last, as the FWA Trios Champions, Tr1ck or Tr4sh, burst through the doorway.
Juan Tothrefor: “LET’S GET OUR NUMBERS, AMIGOS.”
Halloween Knight: “SI, SI, SI!”
Etc.
Trash Mammal: “Took ya toime. Didn’t think you’d ever stop counting.”
Juan Tothrefor: “There’s a lot of numbers and I won’t apologize for exploring all avenues.”
Trash Mammal: “Regardless. Let’s grab our numbers for the CC and get out of here, pretty sure the match starts in, like… Ten minutes, ish.”
Nodding, Halloween Knight reached for the tumbler, gleefully ripping the blanket off of it, before pausing in dismay, as the tumbler lay empty, devoid of numbers. A long pause ensued, as TxT glanced at each other, then at the FWA assistant.
Halloween Knight: “... There’s no more numbers left, aren’t there?”
The FWA assistant nodded.
Halloween Knight: “So we could’ve been in the CC if Juan didn’t insist on counting every number possible.”
The FWA assistant nodded again.
Halloween Knight sighed, as Trash Mammal turned to Juan Tothrefor, glowering silently.
Halloween Knight: “There’s always next year, lads.”
Juan Tothrefor: “Look, when I was counting the numbers-
Trash Mammal: “The next numbers you’re going to be counting are going to be the number of teeth you got left, you motherf-”
As Trash Mammal lunges at Juan Tothrefor, we mercifully cut to black.
We see stages of past Carnal Contendership shows go past as we see fans getting hyped.
“First appearing in 2008, it has become a mainstay of FWA as it resembles the first step on the path to Back In Business.”
We see a quick glimpse of a Back In Business before being transported once more.
“The rules are simple, 2 entrants start the match. After a starting bout of 3 minutes. another competitor will enter the match every ninety seconds until all thirty competitors have entered the match.”
The video shows as such.
“You get eliminated when not one but both of your feet touch the floor.”
We see classic eliminations over the years like Maximillion getting eliminated by Adam Rock, WOLF eliminating Ashley O’Ryan, Thomas Princeton throwing out Christian Quinn and who could forget Kayden Knox getting himself eliminated so he could help his mentor Michael Ga-
“The last 6 runner ups of the match go onto the Golden Opportunity Match but for the one who wins the Carnal Contendership..they have a chance to immortalise themself with a shot at the world championship in the main event of Back In Business. But with chances of winning being so slim, success is all about the numbers.”
263
“The number of wrestlers who have all tried their shot in this glorious bout, consisting of 26 Former world champions & 22 Hall Of Famers.”
Various competitors from the CC over the years making their entrance flash upon the screen. Names include Eyesnsane, Katsu, Uncle J.J.JAY!, Steve The Techno Vampire, Dave Sullivan, and Reagan Cole.
12
“The number of wrestlers of that 263 who have managed to win the Carnal Contendership. A whopping 4.63%. 12 is also special to the Carnal Contendership in another way. the entrant number of 12 holds 2 separate winners, Nate Richardson and Shannon O’Neal.”
We see the first-ever winner of the Carnal Contendership, Nate Richardson along with 2017’s winner Shannon O'Neal both coming out at 12.
1
"As showcased, the best entry numbers haven’t come from the later numbers but instead, it is actually the early ones and nothing proves that quite like the number one entrant that despite it’s tough challenge, has possessed more winning entrants than any other number with 3 different winners. A third of the last 9 winners have all come from number one."
This is showcased via showing Nova Diamond from 2019, Ryan Rondo from 2015, Danny Toner from 2022 all celebrating their Carnal Contendership Victory.
“The Carnal Contendership is no stranger to surprises, whether that’s Jeffry Mason in 2022 who does hold the record of most times an entrant has eliminated themselves with 2 separate occurrences or Jean-Luc Watkins returning to the ring for one night only last year. But no surprise was more iconic than the one that happened in..”
2016
The video goes dark for a moment, we hears the murmurs start to spread around as an now very familiar song begins to play we see Chris Kennedy standing in the ring – he may have been focused before but he seems to have lost a step as he stares at the screen... he was not expecting this.
“In 2016 professional wrestling legend, Cyrus Truth finally made his way to FWA and since then his name has been synonymous with The Carnal Contendership.”
15
“The amount of eliminations Cryus has made over his three appearances, the most career Contendership eliminations of all time, eliminating stars of past, present and future alike, all of them falling to the Exile.”
We see every single one of Cyrus’ famous eliminations in quick succession. Danny Toner. Chris Kennedy. Thomas Jordan. Ryan Rondo. KAIZEN. WOLF. Gabrielle. Chris Crowe. Xyz. Phillip A. Jackson. Kleio De Santos. The aforementioned Jean-Luc Watkins. Alyster Black. Chubby Carlos and finally…Weaselperson.
“And most recently last year he put another record in there by becoming the second person alongside WOLF…”
We get flashbacks to Wolf’s previous wins of the 2011 Carnal Contendership and also the 2014 Carnal Contendership where he kicks Gabrielle off the apron as we once again hear Langdon Trafford yell at the top of his lungs as WOLF is seen falling to his back and laying in the center of the ring.
“To win the Carnal Contendership not once but twice.”
We get a few more flashbacks this time to the 2016 & 2023 Carnal Contendership of Cyrus Truth last eliminating Gabrielle and Weaselperson respectively.
“Cyrus Truth is also one of 6 people to win their first Carnal Contendership”
More flashbacks to each winner that won the Carnal Contendership the first try. Nova Diamond. Michelle Von Horrowitz. Shannon O’Neal. Nate Richardson. Ryan Hall. And Chris Kennedy himself but we go back to..
“And someone that came so close to doing the same thing his first time is the man who knows Cyrus Truth very well.”
We cut back to last year’s Carnal Contendership where Cyrus stands tall and he shares a momentary eye contact with CHRIS PEACOCK who watches on knowingly.
1 Hour 3 Minutes
1 Hour 9 Minutes
“Chris Peacock in his, only to this date, outings in the Carnal Contendership have went the mile being the very few who have lasted over a hour not once but twice. In his secondary legendary run, he even managed to eliminate the most individuals in a single CC with 9 mostly nephews in his hunt yet he was outshone by a former rival of his Danny Toner who just lasted 16 minutes longer in the same match to gain the record of longest time in a Carnal Contendership with"
1 hour 25 Minutes
“Leaving Peacock still without a win in the biggest stipulation of the year but he isn’t the only one.”
We cut to 2016 where a younger version of the man who very recently lost his North American Championship, Mike Parr comes out at number 13.
“For the last 6 Carnal Contenderships in a row, they have all shared one common person and that is “The Prodigy” Mike Parr.”
Now we get cuts between this and every entrance Parr has made into this stipulation even his performance from number 2 in 2019, we see him fighting and yet even we see him coming up short sometimes because of his own fault for example 2022 when him and Shawn Summers eliminated themselves and each other as a just another highlight of their feud or 2023 when he was once again eliminated by Shawn Summers this time just more out of spite.
“Always the bridesmaid, never the bride but will this be the year Mike Parr finally makes it all the way? Or will he grasp short once again as someone else takes the prize?”
Eternal. Trixie Bordeaux. Sawyer Xavier. Jackson Fenix. Johnny Johnson. Konchu Hao. The Coven.
“Anyone on the FWA roster is eligible to enter which is one of the things that make this one of the unpredictable matches of the year.”
Nate Savage. XYZ. Jason Randall. Jack The Clipper. Jay Kenny. Trick Or Trash. Vengador, Gabrielle.
“Because there’s only
1
path to Back In Business.”
Shots of Back In Business from past years. Bryan Baxter. Colby Sol. Ryan Rondo eliminating Devin Golden. Sierra. Danny Toner on a truck from the 2017 Carnal Contendership. Xperienx Xtacee. PONI BOI. Lord Vincent Takaab Blackbird being eliminated by Yuna Funanori.
“And It starts right here at the
For what should be the final time on tonight’s show, we return to the ringside area. The jam packed crowd inside the Sphere are on the edge of their seats as the time has come for tonight’s titular match.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Tonight has already been a historic night for the Fantasy Wrestling Alliance with the crowning of a new North American - and Grand Slam - Champion in Chris Peacock and our FWA World Champion Jeremy Best securing his spot in the main event of Back in Business XVIII. It is now time to find out who will be challenging Best in New York on August 11.”
Rod Sterling: “Thirty competitors will walk out from the back and vie to earn that spot, ladies and gentlemen. Alliances may be formed or broken, career trajectories altered permanently or perhaps even ended entirely… what we do know is that there can only be one.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “I’m pretty pumped for this one, I won’t lie. The field is STACKED and that’s just the people we know about… this match is prone to throwing up a surprise or two every year.”
Konchu Hao: “Most definitely, Anzu. The winner of this match will be the individual that can control the chaos and become its master. Being true to oneself and not allowing your spirit to be broken by the immense pressure - that is the key!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Precisely. I’m positive everyone watching will be fully abreast of the rules of this match, but just in case… here is Kurt Harrington.”
The camera zooms in on Kurt in the middle of the ring, beaming with pride as he prepares to introduce another Carnal Contendership Match. Once the crowd noise has died down slightly, he raises his microphone and expertly projects his voice.
Kurt Harrington: “For the thousands in attendance and the millions watching at home, the following contest is your MAIN EVENT of the evening and it is the 2024 CARRRRNAAAALLLL COOOOONTENDERRRSSHIP MAAAAATCH!!”
The vibrant announcement sends the fans into another frenzy. Kurt grins and waits for them to calm slightly once again.
Kurt Harrington: “The rules of the match are as follows… Two competitors will enter the match and after a period of three minutes, another competitor will enter the match every ninety seconds until all thirty competitors have entered the match.
Competitors are eliminated from the match when they are put over the top rope and both feet touch the floor below. The match will continue until twenty-nine competitors have been eliminated and the winner will go on to challenge Jeremy Best for the FWA World Championship in the main event of Night Two of Back in Business XVIII!
Now introducing the individual who has drawn, number one!”
A very big cheer goes up from the fans as the first entrant is one of their favourites. XYZ jogs out onto the stage, dressed in his usual attire. He is joined on the stage by his Menagé; Frank, Christian Howard, Sierra and the young (but looking older than she did recently) Lizzy Golden. XYZ gets into a huddle/hug with his peers and then bids them adieu, resolving to go it alone from an unenviable position in his third Carnal Contendership match.
Kurt Harrington: “Introducing first, representing The Menagé… from Sitka Alaska and weighing in at one-hundred and eighty pounds… he is XYZ!!!”
Rod Sterling: “The fans here in Vegas seem to love themselves a bit of XYZ if that ovation is anything to go by. We’ve seen XYZ and his Menagé entangled with The Coven as of late with both groups suffering both actual and rumoured defections…”
Anzu Kurosawa: “XYZ held The Menagé back when he came out here and well, it is going to be a long night for him if he wants to book that spot alongside Jeremy Best at Back in Business.”
Konchu Hao: “But if anyone is going to possess the unwavering faith required to undertake such a task… it would be XYZ. The dream never dies! HA!”
XYZ vaults over the top rope into the ring and affixes his cape around his neck to ensure that it will stay in place for the very long journey he will have ahead of him from the starting blocks. Once ‘One Headlight’ fades out, he stands in the corner of the ring, waiting for his first of prospectively twenty-nine dancing partners.
A unified sound of awe emerges from the crowd as they understand the intrigue arising from this situation. XYZ looks on intently as the second entrant in the 2024 Carnal Contendership is the leader of The Coven and new FWA Television Champion, Kleio De Santos. Kleio’s newly-won championship is around her waist and she has her head mostly bowed as she walks towards the ring, with her eyes focused forward on her rival waiting inside.
Kurt Harrington: “Introducing the individual who drew number two… representing The Coven, she is the FWA Television Champion… KLEIOOOOOOO DE SAAAAANTOOOOOS!!!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, it is always funny how the Carnal Contendership can throw some interesting pairings together at the beginning of these matches. We saw it with Bryan Baxter and Chris Crowe last year; Uncle and Danny Toner the year before. The leaders of two warring factions will be the ones to start things off in 2024 here in Vegas, and neither look particularly pleased with this outcome.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “That may have something to do with their low entry numbers in all fairness, J-L. Unlike XYZ with the Menagé, the rest of The Coven aren’t out here to show their support for Kleio. But that Television Championship being around her waist once again is probably a suitable recompense.”
Konchu Hao: “It is to my understanding that The Coven have misplaced Grandma Ethel, which would be the reason for her absence. A most peculiar thing to happen in the world of professional wrestling; the disappearance of an elderly woman.”
Kleio gets into the ring and rests her hand on her championship to keep it in place as she does, ensuring at all times to keep her eye on XYZ. XYZ seems to have some words for KDS, but she ignores him to make it clear that her focus is on the match at hand. Harrington evacuates from the ring, leaving just the two competitors and referee Larry Stevens on the outside motions for the bell to be rung so the match can commence!
Konchu Hao: “The scene is SET. The time is NIGH. LET BATTLE COMMENCE! KEHAHAHAHAHAAA!”
THIRD MATCH | MAIN EVENT | 1/∞.
The 2024 Carnal Contendership Match.
30-Person Battle Royale. FWA World Championship #1 Contendership.
Match Writer: Man.
The first section of the match gets underway, with there being three minutes until the as-yet-unknown third entrant will make their appearance. Kleio and XYZ circle the ring almost as if to get a feel for one another. The Television Champion is the first to make a serious move, lunging in and catching XYZ by the foot. He hops on his other for a few seconds but gets his balance and pushes Kleio away. Kleio immediately retaliates with a Spinning Back Fist attempt, which XYZ swiftly ducks. He lifts her up for a Belly-to-Back Suplex, but she is able to land on her feet behind him.
Seeing an opening, Kleio jumps on XYZ’s back and tries to cinch in a Rear Naked Choke, but he is alert to it and starts walking closer to the ropes… and Snapmares KDS over the top rope!! Desperately clinging onto the top and middle ropes, KDS lands on her backside on the apron and a panicked look on her face.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “An early scare here for De Santos - she’s held on but here comes XYZ, hitting the ropes and looking for a Basement Dropkick…”
A quick barrel roll back into the ring from the apron through the ropes enables Kleio to dodge the Dropkick attempt from XYZ, who then gets caught up in the ropes himself. This leaves him wide open for KDS, who stomps straight down onto his chest. The fans jeer as De Santos stalks XYZ away from the ropes and towards the corner. He uses the turnbuckles to pick himself back up, but this is to his detriment as KDS adopts a wide base and tries to force him up and over the top rope in the corner.
XYZ grits his teeth as he does what he can to resist the elimination attempt; he catches KDS with an elbow to the head but his only means of escape is to sit himself on the top turnbuckle. His adversary is quick to catch up with him though and together they stand on the middle rope in the corner. They jostle for position for a moment but then a loud scream comes out of XYZ’s mouth as KLEIO IS BITING HIS NECK!!
Anzu Kurosawa: “It has been said before that someone might need to be prepared to do all sorts of depraved acts in order to win the Carnal Contendership but I don’t think anyone has eliminated someone by impersonating a vampire before!”
Konchu Hao: “I think a vampire would not enjoy all of the bright lights and the loud noises. Vampires operate primarily in the shadows, you see. Plus, as a supposed witch - pure drivel if you ask me, though - Kleio should be practising magic as opposed to vampirism!”
Despite Konchu’s objections to her choice of craft, the move proves effective as Kleio has XYZ in a tremendously precarious position on the turnbuckle and she places her arm over his head and turns around, looking for LETTERS TO KLEIO OUT OF THE CORNER - BUT XYZ SHOVES HER FORWARD - AND KDS CATCHES HER FACE ON THE TOP ROPE AND FALLS DOWN TO THE MAT!! It is a very bad landing for the Television Champion, and she rises up from the mat whilst holding her chin and neck. By which time XYZ has stepped up onto the top rope and he takes flight, crushing Kleio with knees to the chest!!
Rod Sterling: “These two have treated us to a thrilling opening to this match, but I think it is about time that they got some company in there!”
XYZ stands up and accepts the applause from the fans in a gracious manner, but his attention is then drawn to the countdown clock which appears on the screen;
10!
9!
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6!
5!
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #3: TRIXIE BORDEAUX AT 3:00
The third entrant into the match means that two thirds of the active participants are champions as well as members of The Coven. Trixie walks out from the back sans her X Championship and picks up the pace the closer she gets to the ring.
Anzu Kurosawa: “Well I hope everyone who plans to compete in this match tonight has brought their crotch guards, because our unhinged X Champion has staked her claim as well it seems. The first ever Queen of the Deathmatch will want to add another accolade of winning the Carnal Contendership to her impressive list of accomplishments here in the FWA and in 2024 especially.”
Konchu Hao: “I harbour a natural respect for anyone who dares carry the mantle of X here in the FWA and this daring young woman seems to have embraced the required lifestyle rather quickly. Most importantly though, Kleio De Santos has one of her sisters of the Coven with her, which should make competing in this match significantly easier. One can only hope we do not have a repeat of that farcical display of the Nephews two years ago!”
Trixie slides into the ring and is immediately met by XYZ, but she ducks under his attempted Clothesline and hits the ropes… and comes back with a Thesz Press. She topples XYZ and from on top of him lands several slaps, a headbutt and then she bites XYZ’s neck as well! An audible groan from Konchu Hao can be heard on the televised broadcast, but XYZ is able to kick Trixie off, flipping her over his head with a Monkey Flip. The hero kips up, holding his neck and adopts a headstand as Trixie approaches him, and he catches her around the neck with a Headscissors. XYZ rotates from Trixie’s neck several times and then he snaps her off towards the ropes.
Quickly trying to follow up, XYZ lifts Trixie up as she is caught in the ropes in an attempt to eliminate her. It seems that she is having some trouble, but Kleio is back in the mix - she cranks her foot back and connects with a Roundhouse Kick to the side of XYZ’s head, causing him to drop Trixie who falls onto the apron.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “That is where the benefit of having a friend or teammate in the match at the same time as you can come in. But as we know, things have not been particularly rosy in The Coven as of late… and I think Kleio has noticed that.”
Kleio and Trixie stare at one another for a moment as it dawns on Kleio that Trixie is on the apron and in prime position for elimination. After seemingly considering it for a moment, she helps her fellow champion through the ropes and back into the ring to safety. Together, they then start to lift XYZ up and attempt to force him over the top rope.
10!
9!
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2!
1!
**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #4: SAWYER XAVIER AT 4:30
A mixed reaction, but mainly composed of cheers, goes up for the Savannah, Georgia native in Sawyer Xavier. The high flyer jogs out from the back in seemingly decent spirits despite his unfortunate entry number.
Rod Sterling: “Here comes Sawyer Xavier at number four - coincidentally the exact same number he drew in 2023. Something he would hope to avoid is having the unfortunate and dubious honour of being the first person eliminated from the match for the second consecutive year.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Absolutely, Rod. Sawyer has been knocking on the door of something big for quite some time now and could a Herculean effort to win the Carnal Contendership from number four be just that? Not to mention he has a Television Championship opportunity lined up in the near future. Against somebody already in the match - Kleio De Santos.”
Almost sliding the entire length of the ring upon entering it, Sawyer is quick to get across to the far side where the two Coven members are attempting to remove XYZ from the ring. Instead of aiding his elimination, Sawyer pulls Bordeaux away and feeds her a leg before bringing his other up to connect with an Enziguiri to the back of her head. With Trixie dropped and out of the way momentarily, Sawyer pulls KDS away from XYZ and the two of them have a staredown for a moment, both fully away of Xavier’s upcoming challenge for Kleio’s Television Championship.
De Santos seems rather dismissive of Xavier and unwisely turns her back on him and tries to pick XYZ up from the mat. This backfires for a different reason as XYZ bursts into life and Dropkicks Kleio in the chest, which leads her straight back into Sawyer’s path… BRAIN SQUASHER!!! The knee to the back of Kleio’s head causes her to drop to the mat in an instant and she rolls herself towards the ropes. This leaves Sawyer and XYZ to stare at each other. Despite their temporary teamwork a moment earlier, they lock up in the middle of the ring.
Anzu Kurosawa: “Whilst alliances can be formed, it is fundamentally every person for themselves and Xavier and XYZ seem to have no reason to maintain a truce despite common enemies also being present in the ring.”
After a brief collar-and-elbow, Sawyer transitions into an Arm Drag which takes XYZ over. The pace picks up though as XYZ quickly rises and delivers one of his own to Xavier. They both rise from the mat at the same time and have the same idea to go for a Dropkick, but only meet each other’s feet. They rise one more time and XYZ ducks a high kick from Sawyer but misses a Leg Sweep as Xavier is able to jump over it. Both then run towards each other and Sawyer leapfrogs over a rushing XYZ. They then continue towards the ropes and leap onto the middle one and both Springboard Moonsault… and land opposite each other!
A big cheer goes up and XYZ in particular seems impressed with the outcome… but he can only watch as TRIXIE FLATTENS SAWYER WITH A TORPEDO TRIXIE!!! Xavier flies back into the turnbuckle as if he was shot in the chest by a shotgun.
Konchu Hao: “Unpredictability! A fascinating spectacle offered in the ring but a wholesome moment brought to a sudden end by the X Champion!”
10!
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #5: CELESTIA RAVENWOOD AT 6:00
After taking Trixie down with a Body Slam, XYZ looks on to see yet another member of The Coven rush out from the back. Celestia Ravenwood wastes no time with theatrics and she rushes towards the ring to assist her stablemates already entered into the match.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Here comes one of the former Trios Champions and another Coven member, Celestia Ravenwood. They lost the titles to TR1CK or TR4SH at Fight Night but Celestia bounced back in a big way with a victory over Sierra of The Menagé on Fallout.”
Rod Sterling: “These young ladies in the ring together will be very dangerous for anyone who dares to cross them; despite the rumoured issues in the group right now. XYZ has been able to fend them off well enough so far, but Sawyer Xavier is temporarily out of commission thanks to that Torpedo Trixie a few moments ago.”
As Celestia gets into the ring, she is immediately confronted by XYZ, who kicks her in the shin. Before he can begin to reel off more kicks, Trixie gets back up and jumps on his back. XYZ turns around, and Trixie’s feet strike Celestia, but she catches them. Celestia forces XYZ to spin the other way and Trixie manufactures the rotation into a Tornado DDT! XYZ is left in a seated position on the mat and Celestia follows up with a Penalty Kick straight down his back!
With gritted teeth and a primal scream, Bordeaux drops to her knees and then slams XYZ’s head into the mat numerous times as a follow up. Celestia runs over and stomps on Xavier in one of the far corners to keep him at bay and then offers a hand to Kleio, helping her up.
Anzu Kurosawa: “This is where that potential for teamwork can come in handy, though. It might be everyone for themselves, but if you can work together to control the ring you can pick your opponent’s off one by one. The Coven have XYZ where they want him now and you can see that Kleio De Santos in particular is enjoying this situation.”
Kleio slowly and methodically walks towards XYZ as both Trixie and Celestia hold him up in place. She can be heard telling him that despite everything that he has told her, her Coven is as strong as ever. He has no chance to answer as Kleio boots him in the midsection, causing him to double over… and she plants him with LETTERS TO KLEIO!!! The trio of witches then peel XYZ up from the canvas and Kleio does the honours, sending him out of the ring over the top rope!
ELIMINATION #1: XYZ BY KLEIO DE SANTOS AT 7:19
(TIME IN MATCH: 7:19)
Konchu Hao: “Devious and conniving, these creatures. One can hardly fathom what kind of trouble they can cause as a united front!”
As soon as XYZ hits the floor, the countdown starts again;
10!
9!
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #6: BLAIR RAVENWOOD AT 7:30
There are more boos as the same song plays once again, meaning that the sixth entrant is Celestia’s sister, Blair. Unlike Celestia, Blair is in no rush to get to the ring and slowly walks down the ramp. Inside the ring, the three other Coven members are all pleased to see their complete contingent - Grandma Ethel notwithstanding.
Konchu Hao: “This is most suspicious. Perhaps I was wrong to doubt The Coven’s prowess in all fields magical and of the occult. This seems to be almost too coincidental for one to comprehend. Are there any more sisters we can expect will be joining us soon, also?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Not as far as we are aware, Konchu, but the Carnal Contendership is the most unpredictable night of the FWA calendar. A third Ravenwood is not outside of the realms of possibility. What I do know for certain is that this is an extremely precarious situation for Sawyer Xavier; he is outnumbered four to one in there. His only hope for an alliance - XYZ - has been eliminated.”
Blair smirks at the departing XYZ as she walks past him at the bottom of the ramp. He looks back towards Kleio in the ring, dejected, and then walks away holding the back of his head. Blair enters the ring and the four Coven members convene in the middle of the ring for a moment before in unison they turn to Sawyer Xavier who is kneeling against the turnbuckle. He slowly pulls himself up to his feet knowing that he is almost hopelessly outnumbered.
The Coven form a line, almost cutting the ring in half diagonally. They all look across and KDS as the leader motions for them to go on the attack. The other three share a nod and take two steps forward each, within a couple of feet of Xavier. He puts his fists up and is ready to go… but Blair in the middle places a hand on each of Trixie and Celestia’s shoulders. They both nod at her, and the three of them… turn around.
Rod Sterling: “They’re not attacking Sawyer Xavier… what is going on here, guys?!”
A confused expression forms on Kleio’s face as she realises that her order has been disobeyed. The Ravenwoods and Trixie stand still for a moment, staring plainly at De Santos as the crowd grows slightly restless. Kleio shouts at them, telling them to attack her #1 contender, but they do not move. Kleio steps forwards towards Blair, screaming at her to remind her that she is the leader of The Coven… BUT KLEIO GETS BLINDSIDED BY TRIXIE!!! KDS drops to the mat and Blair and Celestia join Trixie in stomping Kleio out!
Anzu Kurosawa: “WHAT?! The Coven… THEY’VE TURNED THEIR BACKS ON THEIR LEADER!!!”
After delivering stomps all over Kleio, in front of a shocked and confused Sawyer Xavier, Trixie and Celestia hold Kleio in place on her knees, just as they had done to XYZ just minutes earlier. Kleio has a vengeful look on her face, but it is rearranged by BLAIR’S SHINING WITCH!! The knee to the face flattens De Santos, and the three Coven members lift up her limp body from the mat and unceremoniously dump her out of the ring to the floor.
ELIMINATION #2: KLEIO DE SANTOS BY BLAIR RAVENWOOD, CELESTIA RAVENWOOD AND TRIXIE BORDEAUX AT 8:44
(TIME IN MATCH: 8:44)
The three remaining members of The Coven look down at their (former?) leader lifeless on the floor for a few seconds, before turning their attention back to Xavier as the countdown clock appears once more…
10!
9!
8!
7!
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #7: JOHNNY JOHNSON AT 9:00
Trixie Bordeaux becomes distracted from the imminent offensive against Sawyer Xavier to look out to the stage as Johnny ‘The Legend’ Johnson slowly saunters out from the back. The #1 Contender for Trixie’s X Championship wears a cocky grin on his face, seemingly unbothered by the odds he is walking into waiting for him in the ring.
Konchu Hao: “Ah, a prospective possessor of the mantle of X! It will surely be pleasing to Trixie Bordeaux to share this opportunity in the ring with her future foe!”
As Sawyer Xavier begins to fight off the Ravenwood sisters by avoiding their attacks, Bordeaux’s attention is on Johnson as he walks closer to her and veers towards the steps. ‘The Legend’ assesses the state of the ring for a moment… and steps away from the steps! Instead, with a smug smirk, he starts to pace around the ringside area.
Rod Sterling: “I can’t say that I am surprised by this at all, folks. Johnny ‘The Legend’ Johnson has never been one to help his fellow man and well, he’s allowing Sawyer Xavier to be thrown to the wolves here.”
Xavier is able to duck under a Double Clothesline attempt from the Ravenwoods, but he only ends up in Trixie’s path and a Sit-Out Jawbreaker for his troubles. Bordeaux gets back to her feet and sneers at Johnson, who is talking with a female fan in the front row. Some commotion occurs in the crowd behind Johnson, though…
Anzu Kurosawa: “What’s going on over there with Johnson? He’s speaking to someone in the front row but there’s someone else making their way through the crowd?!”
The camera operator does their best to try and pinpoint exactly where from and who is responsible for this disturbance. A ripple in the fans forms and gets closer to Johnson, and someone eventually nudges him…
Rod Sterling: “THAT’S AARON HARROWS!”
A cheer goes up in the crowd when Aaron Harrows appears on the screen, taking up an empty seat and waving a ticket in his hand. Johnson screws his face up and then walks away, not wanting to have any part of whatever Harrows is involved in. This just leaves Trixie to shout out to Aaron on the outside, demanding that he leaves. Harrows repeats that he has a ticket and Bordeaux simply just waves him off, uninterested.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Aaron Harrows was Trixie Bordeaux’s partner in the inaugural Buddy Bowl turned opponent in the King of the Deathmatch tournament and it seems there is little love lost between them. Harrows has a desire to earn his keep here in the FWA and well, one supposes that this is probably as close as he can get to the Carnal Contendership match - as a paying fan!”
Attention turns away from Harrows as The Coven are dominating Sawyer in the ring now, crushing his windpipe on the middle rope. Johnson is uninterested and starts flirting with another fan. It seems that the combined force of Trixie, Blair and Celestia are about to get the elimination of Xavier…
10!
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #8: JACKSON FENIX AT 10:30
The fans are initially confused by the mash up being played over the speakers but some grow loud from their seats as they connect the dots in their heads. Viva Las Vegas and Britney Spears... when entrant #8 struts out from the back in grey, gold, red and black gear, they all instantly recognise one of their own. The round roof almost blows off The Sphere as Jackson Fenix removes his jacket and sprints down the ramp.
Rod Sterling: “IT’S THE HOMETOWN ‘SIN CITY BAD BOY’! This is someone who I know will have no qualms about getting into the ring and facing the might of The Coven without any hesitation! Fenix enters earlier than he did last year, but in 2023 he lasted for over forty-two minutes!”
Konchu Hao: “A most impressive showing that he must exceed if he is to be victorious in his proverbial back yard, but with sentimentality on his side I believe that this reformed degenerate could have something of an outside chance. That’s unless he and that neanderthal of a partner of his decide to target my companion Epsilon again and then I will be forced to intervene myself!”
Fenix ignores Johnson on the outside and gets into the ring to a massive ovation from the crowd. Immediately he is accosted by Blair Ravenwood, but a Clothesline knocks her down to the mat and Celestia gets the same treatment. This leaves Sawyer Xavier free to get back into the ring and he takes a breather for a moment as Fenix finds himself confronted by the X Champion. Trixie goes to a familiar well and attempts to punch Fenix in between his legs, but he kicks her foot away. She tries another punch, but Fenix blocks once more and a Bicycle Knee finds the mark right on Bordeaux’s jaw. Fenix steadies himself and hits the ropes, coming back towards Trixie… BRITNEY SPEAR!
He rises to his feet and pumps both of his fists to the crowd, but is knocked down from behind by both of the Ravenwoods. This draws loud boos from the crowd and the two sisters get on top of Fenix and lay into him with punches and kicks. The hometown boy does what he can to get a block up to repel them.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, The Coven are under new leadership it would seem given the treatment of Kleio De Santos. But it is an old rival in Jackson Fenix that they have zoned in on here; Fenix unsuccessfully challenged them for the Trios Championships as part of the Undisputed Xperienx back at Winter Wasteland.”
Celestia assists Trixie back to her feet and the three witches stand dominantly in the ring, soaking in the negative reaction being put their way. One person in the crowd is extremely vocal… being Aaron Harrows. ‘The Top Star’ has his thumbs down, and his interaction draws both the attention and ire of Trixie. She leans on the ropes and starts to shriek towards her former Buddy Bowl partner. Behind her, she fails to notice that Sawyer Xavier is back up… and he takes down both Blair and Celestia with a Springboard Cross Body!! Bordeaux is still screaming at Harrows in the crowd… AND AS A RESULT IS UNAWARE WHEN JOHNSON DASHES INTO THE RING AND DUMPS HER OVER THE TOP ROPE!!!
ELIMINATION #3: TRIXIE BORDEAUX BY JOHNNY JOHNSON AT 11:48
(TIME IN MATCH: 8:48)
Anzu Kurosawa: “The X Champion is OUT! That’s a HUGE elimination for Johnny Johnson, getting one over Trixie ahead of their encounter. I suppose an assist has to go to Aaron Harrows from the outside?”
‘The Legend’ laughs heartily at Trixie as she shrieks and slams her fists on the floor at ringside. Meanwhile, Johnson turns his attention to Xavier, and the two of them begin to exchange blows.
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ENTRANT #9: SPOODER-MAN AT 12:00
There is… not much of a reaction as Spooder-Man runs out from the back, dressed in his full costume. Jackson Fenix finds himself battling both of the Ravenwoods to stay in the match, and Johnny Johnson has Sawyer Xavier hanging upside down from the turnbuckle as he tries to force his elimination. On the outside, Trixie Bordeaux is refusing to leave it would seem, causing the referees at ringside to swarm her and usher her towards the ramp. Aaron Harrows mocking her and waving her off only seems to make the situation worse.
Rod Sterling: “Well, I can’t say that I was expecting Spooder-Man to throw his name into the hat but stranger things have happened… but I’m not sure that Trixie Bordeaux is prepared to go quietly!”
The referees manage to escort Trixie to the bottom of the ramp and stand in a line to prevent her from accessing the ring once more. This coincides with Spooder-Man reaching the huddle. Trixie takes one look at him… and clobbers him from behind! Without any regard, Trixie picks up Spooder-Man’s head and slams it into the steel ramp several times. In an uncontrolled rage, she the lifts him up and spikes him head-first onto the ramp with a DDT!! Spooder-Man lays unconscious on the ramp, and Trixie finally - and mercifully - departs.
Konchu Hao: “An unfortunate situation for Spooder-Man… an initial prognosis from my current position is that he will not be able to participate in this match in the manner that he had planned.”
It would seem that the ringside officials agree with Konchu’s assessment and they beckon for a doctor. One runs out and begins to check on Spooder-Man. In the ring, Sawyer Xavier is elevated up into the air by Johnny Johnson, and attempts to Cross Body onto The Coven once more… but this time Blair and Celestia catch him! With a nod, the scheming sisters attempt to tip him out of the match, but the high flyer lands on his feet. From inside of the ring, they try to force him out, but once again he does his utmost to hold on.
Across the ring, Jackson Fenix now has to contend with Johnny Johnson. ‘The Legend’ blocks a punch from Fenix and tries to then hook him up for the Legend’s End, but Fenix rolls through and Snapmares Johnson over his shoulder. Fenix then runs up behind the Ravenwoods, and spotting an opportunity, tips Celestia over the top rope and she lands on the apron next to Sawyer! Blair instantly responds by shoving Fenix back. He then lines Blair up… SUPERKICK ME BABY ONE MORE TIME… BLAIR DUCKS… AND FENIX CRACKS CELESTIA IN THE JAW, KNOCKING HER DOWN TO THE FLOOR!!!
ELIMINATION #4: CELESTIA RAVENWOOD BY JACKSON FENIX AT 13:01
(TIME IN MATCH: 7:01)
A big pop goes up for the hometown Fenix scoring an elimination with a signature move, but he now has to deal with an irate Blair. Fenix has little chance to celebrate his elimination as he eats an elbow to the jaw from Blair, full of vitriol after eliminating her sister. This strike causes Fenix to stumble back towards Johnson… WHO GETS HIM WITH THE LEGEND’S END THIS TIME! Johnson revels in putting down Vegas’s own. Meanwhile, Blair sees Xavier still on the apron and charges in, looking to knock him off… BUT SAWYER LOW BRIDGES THE ROPES AND BLAIR FALLS TO THE FLOOR!!!
ELIMINATION #5: BLAIR RAVENWOOD BY SAWYER XAVIER AT 13:16
(TIME IN MATCH: 5:46)
Anzu Kurosawa: “A one-two punch for the Coven there courtesy of Jackson Fenix and Sawyer Xavier, but given the coup against Kleio De Santos is complete, I’m sure that Blair and Celestia will leave here in the belief that it was a productive evening.”
Xavier dives back into the ring through the ropes, where Johnson is waiting for him, and ‘The Legend’ takes him down with a Clothesline.
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #10: JACK THE CLIPPER AT 13:30
Jack the Clipper stomps out from the back with a scowl on his face, clearly displeased about failing to become the Television Champion on Meltdown. His first action in the match comes before he has even reached the ring as he sees Spooder-Man starting to rise back up to his feet after being taken out by Trixie. Clipper builds up a head of steam… and TAKES A LITTLE OFF THE TOP!!! The Lariat almost decapitates the masked vigilante and upon seeing this the doctor shakes his head, making it clear that Spooder-Man can no longer participate in the match.
Rod Sterling: “I think that’s going to be curtains for poor Spooder-Man. Jack the Clipper is PISSED about not becoming the Television Champion a few weeks ago and that anger could translate into a Back in Business spot.”
Jack slides into the ring and Johnson bug eyes when he sees the intimidating man advancing towards him. Johnson backs into the corner, and Jack follows him in with some hard body shots to the ribs and abdomen. He grabs Johnson by the wrist and pulls him out of the corner and uses Johnson’s own arm to Clothesline himself. With Johnson down, Sawyer Xavier catches Clipper’s eye and Jack instantly makes a beeline for him, looking for the Upper-CUTTER - but Sawyer ducks the Polish Hammer. A couple of chops from Xavier seem to do paltry damage to the much larger man.
Sawyer tries his luck by running the ropes and trying to come back with a Bicycle Kick, but Jack catches his foot and tips him upwards. Xavier impressively backflips and lands on his feet… but Clipper is quick to hit Sawyer also with A LITTLE OFF THE TOP!! The barber roars out to the fans, enjoying the dominance he has shown since entering the ring.
Word reaches the officials on the outside of the ring that Spooder-Man is not going to be able to continue in the match. There is some discourse over what that means for his spot… but all of a sudden they are towered over by someone standing on the ring barricade, looking like a superhero themselves.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “What does this guy think he’s doing? Aaron Harrows - a man desperate for a contract here… is trying to snipe a spot in this match!”
Konchu Hao: “It confounds me that everyone does not just do this. It seems that all one needs to do is incapacitate a participant prior to their entry and then purloin their position! There are some true heathens in this company…”
With some decent support from the fans in the arena, Harrows motions that he can take the now-vacant spot. There are some shrugs and a few eye rolls, but no one seems to have any harsh objections! This seems to be enough for Harrows, and he jumps down from the barricade and removes his suit in one swift motion, revealing his wrestling gear underneath! ‘The Top Star’ slides into the ring, becoming part of the 2024 Carnal Contendership match!
ENTRANT #9: SPOODER-MAN AT 12:00
ENTRANT #9: AARON HARROWS AT 14:12
Unfortunately for Harrows, the first thing he has to deal with in the ring is a rampaging Jack the Clipper, who is trying to navigate Jackson Fenix’s removal from the match. A sledge to Clipper’s back does not seem like the wisest move as Aaron finds himself in Jack’s sights. Realising his mistake, Harrows retreats to a corner and Jack follows him in, but Harrows floats over impressively. What he does not account for his Jack catching him in mid-air and then trying to force his elimination. The clock appears once more as Harrows uses both hands to do his best to keep himself alive.
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #11: LINUS BADGER AT 15:00
A chainsaw revs before the song begins to play. There is a pause as the Sphere dims slightly, and a masked, hulking figure emerges onto the stage, illuminated by a lone light coming from behind him. 6’5 and 300lbs, the FWA audience are treated to the sight of Linus ‘The Chainsaw’ Badger for the first time. In his hand is his trusty chainsaw which he swings around under the watchful and caring eye of another man, known simply as The Gentleman.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I think a little education is required here, friends. I use that word intentionally as that is what this man, Linus ‘The Chainsaw’ Badger will view this capacity crowd as. With him is The Gentleman, who seems to be one of few that can coherently communicate with this giant.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Fans of Longhorn Championship Wrestling will recognise this big man who, due to his size, definitely has the potential to change the course of this match.”
It takes a little convincing from The Gentleman for Linus to part with his chainsaw, but he does so eventually. The first person Badger sees is Johnny Johnson, who is battling with Jackson Fenix by the ropes. Badger grabs Johnson’s head with two hands and pulls him away, clubbing him on the back and knocking him down to the mat. Next up for Badger is Fenix himself, who manages to get away a couple of strikes which seem to actually cause Badger to back away a few paces.
Fenix follows up with a couple of forearm smashes to the head, but gets shoved away by Linus into the nearby corner. Badger slowly trundles in towards Fenix, but Jackson gets his feet up and this knocks Badger back further. Fenix then quickly backs up onto the second rope and jumps out towards Badger, but Linus catches him with a Chop to the head which he calls the BEDTIME STORY! It does seem to put Fenix to sleep, but Badger has to remain aware as he turns around and has Sawyer Xavier flying at him… but Badger catches him! With both hands around Xavier’s neck, he lifts Sawyer up and plants him with a Two-Handed Chokeslam!!
Rod Sterling: “Linus Badger is certainly proving to be an X factor here as someone that I do not think anyone here would have expected to see as part of the Carnal Contendership and this Gentleman fellow seems to be rather pleased. Oh, but HERE is something worth watching!”
After watching Sawyer roll away, Badger is confronted by the only other person in the ring who can match him physically - Jack the Clipper. The two large men stare each other down for a few seconds and then start exchanging heavy forearm strikes. Badger’s mask means that Clipper’s shaved forearms do not have their additional effect. Jack does get the better of the exchange though and he hits the ropes, looking for another one of those devastating Lariats - but Badger cuts him off with a Big Boot!! Jack is down too, and this leaves just Aaron Harrows, who considers his options as the clock starts once more…
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #12: GABRIELLE MONTGOMERY AT 16:30
A huge cheer goes up from the Vegas crowd as one of the ever-favourites to win a Carnal Contendership match is number 12. Gabrielle takes a moment to look out at the appreciative crowd with a smile before posing for a few moments and then breaking into a jog on her way down to the ring.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “With this, Gabrielle has tied Mike Parr for the most appearances in Carnal Contendership matches with six! How long she can stay at the top will depend on whether we are still to see ‘The Prodigy’ later on in this match.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “There are not many competitors that we can say have done almost everything there is to do here in the FWA. Gabrielle is already in the Hall of Fame, she’s a two-time FWA World Champion and the definitive trailblazer for women in this company but there is one thing that she is yet to conquer and that is the Carnal Contendership match. Number 12 has yielded more winners than any other…”
Gabrielle pauses when entering the ring and she sees the unusual Badger in front of her. He makes a move in her direction, but she nimbly evades him and hits the ropes, coming back with a Shotgun Dropkick! This causes Badger to lose balance and he stumbles back into the corner. Gabrielle hears a shout to crawl out of the way, and it comes from Harrows, who sprints in and Dropkicks Badger himself. Once Harrows has moved, an already-tired looking Sawyer Xavier makes three Dropkicks in a row to the face and chest of the big man.
The veteran Gabrielle seems to be directing traffic and making an instant impact, knowing that the best chance to eliminate someone like Badger is to work together. She urges Johnny Johnson to join in, and surprisingly it appears as if ‘The Legend’ is willing to lend a hand, but he diverts course and attempts to attack Gabrielle instead! However, she sees it coming from a mile off and blocks his onrushing with a knee to the face! This causes Johnson to go groggy for a moment, and he is the driven into the mat with the 34 DOUBLE D-DT!! The popular move gets a big cheer from the crowd, and they garner even more enjoyment when Montgomery decides not to fuck around… and she tosses Johnson out of the ring!!!
ELIMINATION #6: JOHNNY JOHNSON BY GABRIELLE MONTGOMERY AT 17:37
(TIME IN MATCH: 8:37)
Rod Sterling: “A statement elimination for Gabrielle, who now also ties up with Parr along with WOLF for the most in history with seven.”
As Gabrielle nods her head in achievement, Jack the Clipper is back up and he barrels into Linus Badger in the corner with a Running Splash. This finally causes the large man to drop to his feet. He sees both Sawyer and Harrows teetering as they attempt to eliminate one another and seems to consider an attempt to remove them both… but JACKSON FENIX CATCHES HIM WITH A SUPERKICK ME BABY ONE MORE TIME!! Clipper gets dropped, and Fenix then turns into Gabrielle, and the two look each other up and down.
Konchu Hao: “The rumour mill states some history in and out of the ring between these two, but on Fallout Jackson Fenix came out on top… pun not intended. I’d hate to be compared to those delinquents in FTN.”
Fenix’s recent victory over her seems to play heavily on Gabrielle’s immediate thoughts and she puts her all into a European Uppercut! Fenix absorbs it and fires back with a forearm. They exchange these strikes as the next competitor is on the way.
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #13: BOBBY BENNETT AT 18:00
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Another one for the Longhorn Championship Wrestling purists because one of their greatest exports is right here in the Carnal Contendership! Bobby Bennett is the COUSIN of former X Champion Tommy Bedlam. Tommy is sidelined with an injury right now, so it is time to see whether the talent runs in the family.”
Bobby Bennett comes out and raises an arm up into the air before jogging down the ramp and sliding into the ring. His first port of call is to stomp on Linus Badger, a familiar face, to keep him down on the mat. Bennett sees both Sawyer and Harrows in the same position as they were a moment ago, with both standing on the bottom rope in an attempt to force the other out. Bobby smartly tips both over the ropes and they both land on the ring apron but are not eliminated.
Before Bennett can do anything else, he turns to see Jackson Fenix stumbling into his path, and slams him down onto the mat with a Scoop Slam. Gabrielle does not allow herself to get caught so easily and she cracks Tommy Bedlam’s cousin with a European Uppercut and then stomps on his knee. This causes Bobby to drop down to one knee and Montgomery uses this to step up and then crack him on the back of the head with an Enziguiri! On the ring apron, Harrows knocks Sawyer down onto his back with a forearm. He then lines up Gabrielle in the middle of the ring as she has her back to him and he slingshots himself into the ring, adjusting his body in mid-air to be able to spike her with a Backstabber!!
Harrows sees the onrushing Fenix but catches him with an elbow to the side of the head. This causes Fenix to spin around, and Harrows attempts a German Suplex, but Fenix lands on his feet. This does not deter Harrows, who spryly pops up and then fires his leg back, catching Fenix with a Pele Kick! This causes Fenix to drop to a knee, and Sawyer Xavier then springboards in… Springboard Dropkick! Fenix is knocked back but Harrows is swift to try to throw Xavier out after the high risk move, but once again Sawyer clings onto the ropes for dear life.
Rod Sterling: “We’ve got Sawyer Xavier in trouble once more over here and he is homing in on the fifteen minute mark in this match up. Well, Jackson Fenix looks like he could be in a bit of trouble too!”
Jackson Fenix is indeed in trouble as he gets collared by Jack the Clipper and sent over the top rope onto the apron. Clipper kicks him in the knee to take out part of his base and looks likely to do what he needs to in order to eject the hometown star from the match…
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #14: XPERIENX XTACEE AT 19:30
A very loud cheer goes up for the next entrant, given his connection to their favourite, who is in deep trouble. Xtacee removes his robe and sprints down the ramp towards the ring, sliding in. His first order of priority is assisting Jackson Fenix. A Dropkick to the back of Clipper’s head is enough to divert attention away and this knocks Jack down into the corner in a seated position. Xtacee rises and charges in… Bronco Buster!!
Anzu Kurosawa: “Hey, that was pretty convenient timing for Jackson Fenix - Xperienx Xtacee helps out his Undisputed Xperienx teammate and we could see a little alliance form between these two in this match, despite both wanting to emerge victorious.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “It was in last year’s Carnal Contendership that we were first introduced to Xtacee and he’s definitely made a big impression in that time. His immense popularity has not yet yielded much in the way of championship gold, but that could be about to change!”
Once he has helped Fenix back into the ring, the next order of business for XX is to clobber Aaron Harrows from behind and execute another save for Sawyer Xavier despite falling to Sawyer recently on Fallout. Harrows holds the back of his head, but he is subjected to a chop across his chest for his troubles. Harrows fires back with a forearm, but Xtacee ducks it and then returns fire with his EDUCATED FEET!! The Spinning Wheel Kick knocks Harrows down flat on his back. Sawyer then springboards into the ring but Xtacee ducks his Clothesline attempt. Xavier rolls through and turns around to see Xtacee rolling in his direction, and he springs up into a Flatliner!!
Gabrielle does what she can to keep Xtacee grounded after he hits the move, striking him across the chest with a stiff kick. She is then in turn elevated up into the air by Bobby Bennett from behind, but she manages to Victory Roll her away out of the predicament and pops up with her head up… STRAIGHT INTO A SUPERKICK FROM JACKSON FENIX!! She falls back, tumbling over Bennett, who charges in at Fenix, who ducks the Clothesline attempt, but Bennett barrels straight into Harrows who had picked himself up into the corner.
Konchu Hao: “The ring is certainly beginning to fill up now! We’re going to see bodies collide with each other in situations intentional or otherwise!”
Xtacee lifts himself up from the mat and gets an immediate call from Fenix to duck, which he does, and Fenix catches the onrushing Jack the Clipper with a SUPERKICK ME BABY ONE MORE TIME!!! Each Superkick from Fenix gets a huge cheer from the crowd, with this one rendering the devious barber groggy against the ropes… and XTACEE CHARGES IN… AND TIPS THE CLIPPER OUT OF THE MATCH!!!
ELIMINATION #7: JACK THE CLIPPER BY XPERIENX XTACEE AT 20:43
(TIME IN MATCH: 7:13)
Rod Sterling: “The teamwork paid off! Great communication there from Fenix to protect his friend and a big threat is now out of the match!”
The two-thirds of the Undisputed Xperienx in the ring seem pleased with themselves, but then both Fenix and Xtacee are taken down by a HUGE Double Clothesline courtesy of Linus Badger! ‘The Chainsaw’ then drops to his knees in the ring, making it so everyone in the ring is down when the next entrant is about to emerge…
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**BRRRRRRRR**
The buzzer goes off, but instead of music, it's total silence, and suddenly we're plunged into darkness, and the sound of deep, haunting chants fills the air, echoing off the walls of the stadium. A dim blue light illuminates the entrance ramp, revealing a procession of the same mysterious cloaked figures that had invaded FWA TV for the last few weeks, slowly making their way onto the stage.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Konchu, would this have anything to do with you by any chance?”
Konchu Hao: “This definitely suits my aesthetic, but I can assure you that this is not my doing. If I am not mistaken, a ritual of sorts is about to take place…”
Each figure moves with a deliberate, almost ceremonial rhythm, their faces obscured by the shadows of their hoods; in their hands, they carry ancient tomes and arcane artefacts, symbols of the dark powers they serve. The atmosphere crackles with an eerie energy as a few of the figures carry on a figure covered in a black sheet that they gently place on the ground, forming a circle around of ominous intent.
"Matrem tecto scinde! Matrem tecto scinde!"
Around the figure, the acolytes begin to chant in unison, their voices growing louder and louder with each passing moment. They raise their hands to the sky, invoking the powers of the netherworld to bring forth some kind of dark power; in the mists of the chanting, the arena is suddenly bathed in a sickly green light, casting grotesque shadows around the stage. The air grows thick with the scent of sulphur, a tangible sign of supernatural forces at work. Sparks of dark energy crackle and dance around the stage as if responding to the figure's invocation.
Suddenly, a surge of energy ripples through the stage, illuminating the downed figure on the stage, AND CRACK-! A LIGHTING STRIKES THE FIGURE. After a beat, the figure begins to move. It slowly stands up reborn with dark power! It extends a hand as if silently asking for something from its followers, and one of them indeed passes him, something...
Something...round...
Something colourful....
Something loud and brash....
Something you might wear on your head....
A FEDORA-!
Rod Sterling: “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
ENTRANT #15: FUNKY FEDORA AT 21:00
THE FIGURE REMOVES THE ROBES! OH HAPPY DAY. IT'S FUNKY FEDORA. HE LIVES. HE'S ALIVE!
The cloaked figures remove their dark robes and wear shimmering funky attire, complete with sequins, bell bottoms, and neon colours. Funky Fedora leads them all in a funky dance before he STRUTS DOWN THE RAMP AND INTO THE RING.
Anzu Kurosawa: “Well, Funky Fedora is somehow back from the dead. We thought we’d seen the last of him but… ugh. Let’s just hope that none of the remaining fifteen entrants have fangs or a mankini.”
There are only a handful of occasions in the history of the Fantasy Wrestling Alliance that a crowd has reacted in such a loudly negative way. Funky Fedora has lucked into an amazing position with everyone else in the ring down. Does he use this time to pick them off one at a time? Of course he doesn’t. The idiot simply dances in the middle of the ring, wasting precious time and an entry number, until the countdown clock appears once again. Once this starts, Funky’s music and lighting goes away and the arena returns to normal.
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #16: BROOKLYN STEINER AT 22:30
After a couple of seconds of confusion due to the unfamiliar music, the fans suddenly burst to life when they see the next entrant’s face appear on the big screen as part of their entrance video. There is an incredible amount of noise on display for Brooklyn Steiner, who slowly walks out from the back and takes in the overwhelmingly positive reaction from the fans. In the ring, Funky Fedora’s face drops as he sees the man who initially put him on the shelf.
Rod Sterling: “WOAH! This is a big moment, guys! Brooklyn Steiner, the former Television Champion is BACK and it looks like that injury which caused him to vacate that championship isn’t bothering him anymore!”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Steiner was on a tear before that injury so it will be important for him to hit the ground running once more. What better person than to start it against? Part of me thinks that Funky Fedora only entered this match because he thought that it would not be possible that he’d see Brooklyn Steiner!”
Steiner examines Funky as he walks up the steps and then into the ring, stepping over Bobby Bennett as he does so. Fedora tries to play it cool, almost greeting Steiner as an old friend given their history. This proves to be just a ruse though, as Fedora attempts a Low Blow right down in Funky Town, but Steiner blocks it and grabs Fedora by the wrist. A stern and serious Steiner stares Funky down for a couple of seconds, and then pulls him in for the REDEMPTION SLAM!!! With Funky down and rolling on the mat in pain, Steiner appears to call out to everyone else in the ring.
One after the other, everyone else in the ring trundles over to where Fedora is and under Steiner’s instruction, they all lift him high above their heads. After the crowd gets a bit of enjoyment in trying to guess where they’ll put him, they settle for the side closest to the ramp. They drop him from a great height and he lands straight on his face.
ELIMINATION #8: FUNKY FEDORA BY EVERYONE AT 23:04
(TIME IN MATCH: 2:04)
Jean-Luc Watkins: “A symbolic gesture to tell Funky Fedora to go back where he came from and hopefully, he’ll never come back.”
The group then breaks into a series of scuffles between themselves, with most notably Gabrielle trying to fight Linus Badger all on her own. Bobby Bennett targets Brooklyn Steiner viciously with a kick to the side of the head that knocks Brooklyn towards the ropes. Bennett follows up with a couple of heavy body blows and then he tries to lift Steiner up and out of the ring, but Brooklyn kicks out at him to prevent it. Bennett takes a couple of steps back and then runs in, but Steiner drops down and drops the rope. Bennett goes over, but lands on his knees on the apron!
Bennett seems relieved to have survived, but it is only a temporary reprieve as Steiner charges up on him whilst on the apron - TURN THAT TV OFF!! The Hidden Blade-like manoeuvre seems to turn Bennett’s lights out and he limply falls to the floor.
ELIMINATION #9: BOBBY BENNETT BY BROOKLYN STEINER AT 23:24
(TIME IN MATCH: 5:24)
Konchu Hao: “A very impactful showing thus far for the ‘Workhorse’ of the FWA!”
Steiner steadies himself and then the countdown appears once again…
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #17: AL BLIZZARD AT 24:00
There is a slightly awestruck reaction from the crowd as The Path walks out together from the back. The trio of Al Blizzard, Jason Quinn and Robert Steel have not been seen in the FWA for some time and from how each of them are attired, it is clear that Blizzard is the one that will be entering the match.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “This match will always throw up some surprises and I am sure that we are in for some more, but we have the return of Al Blizzard. One can only wonder what the twisted mind of Jason Quinn has done to him since the last time we saw him and what kind of monster the rest of the field may have to deal with.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Well, ignoring any sort of psychology, we can look at the physiology of this man and see that he is six-six and almost two-fifty. Combine that with a decent entry number here? Well, you’re looking at a dark horse if you ask me!”
Quinn and Steel wait on the outside as Blizzard gets into the ring and the two of them seem taken with The Gentleman who is also on the outside. Despite Badger’s associate being in possession of a literal chainsaw, they seem to have little problem imposing their will on and intimidating him. In the ring, Blizzard first comes face to face with Brooklyn Steiner, who seems unsure of how to deal with the Londoner, but Steiner is grabbed around the neck by Linus Badger and tossed aside with ease. It is clear that Badger is not pleased with what Blizzard’s associates are doing to his friend on the outside.
Blizzard does not hesitate and throws a big punch at Badger, who returns with one of his own. The two big men slug it out in the middle of the ring, but both are quickly beset upon by everyone else and bundled down.
Rod Sterling: “Well, this is quite clever strategising. Gang up on the two biggest physical threats in the match and eliminate them and continue, free from fear that one of these literal giants could pluck you up and eliminate you at any moment!”
The two large men struggle under the barrage from their opponents, but eventually they are both able to break free, sending bodies flying in all directions. Blizzard and Badger go face to face once more. Blizzard ducks down and attempts to scoop Linus up onto his shoulders with relative ease to an awestruck reaction from the fans. Before the Al Cutter can be hit though, Gabrielle kicks Blizzard across the stomach, causing him to drop the large man, but Badger impressively lands on his feet and cuts Blizzard off with a knee to the midsection. Things begin to break down once more as it becomes time for the next entrant…
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ENTRANT #18: VENGADOR AT 25:30
There are some looks of grave concern on the faces of the occupants in the ring as yet another massive bruiser makes his way out from the back. Vengador, the winner of Ground Zero Season Four, has ‘The Dubb’ Bobby Joel at his side and he does a good job of hyping the monstrous masked figure up. Vengador slowly walks towards the ring, adjusting his elbow pad, seemingly taking in the words that Joel is shouting at him above the noises of the crowd. Joel seems comfortable with both The Gentleman and The Path at ringside, motioning for Vengador to get into the ring and do what he does best.
Konchu Hao: “From one Ground Zero victor to another, I can say that Vengador has that grit and determination to succeed in a match as chaotic as this. We saw what happened when he stepped foot into the ring with ‘The Exile’, and his hasty exit from that match could have been with a view of saving himself for tonight’s big show. A sage strategy, KEHAHAHA!”
Rod Sterling: “I’m not sure whether that retreat was with tonight in mind or whether Bobby Joel didn’t want Vengador to be associated with the loss that his team was going to suffer. What I am suspectful of is that he is going to take out his frustrations on everyone in the ring right now.”
Vengador stands on the apron and witnesses Blizzard and Badger laying into each other with heavy strikes in the centre of the ring once more. Instead of going through the ropes, Vengador enters the match in a much more unorthodox way by knocking both of the other big men down with a DOUBLE SPRINGBOARD DROPKICK!!! Badger and Blizzard fall to the mat and Vengador kips up to applause from Bobby Joel. Brooklyn Steiner approaches him but eats a Superkick to the face from Vengador, who follows up by Clotheslining Gabrielle when she gets nearer to him. Vengador then follows up with a Standing Moonsault to ‘The Goddess’.
Once Vengador rises to his feet after hitting the move on Gabrielle, he immediately gets whacked with Xtacee’s EDUCATED FEET!! The strike does not put Vengador down immediately… so Jackson Fenix follows up with a SUPERKICK!!! Again though, the move only seems to cause a wobble from Vengador, who roars and then tears through the Undisputed Xperienx with a Double Clothesline!!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Vengador is proving a handful to everyone in the ring, leaving a path of destruction in his wake.”
Sawyer Xavier ventures into Vengador’s path and is grabbed, but Xavier counters into an Arm Drag Stunner! Vengador springs up holding his jaw and then Aaron Harrows boots him in the midsection, and plants him with OSCAR NUMBER THREE!! Vengador finally goes down, and Sawyer Xavier is quick to dart through the ropes and scale the turnbuckle… GENESIS OF TRUTH!!! Everyone is down once again, whether it be due to exhaustion or damage, as the clock appears once more.
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ENTRANT #19: ALEJANDRO GIUNTI AT 27:00
A good cheer bursts out for ‘The Maltese Falcon’, making his second appearance in the FWA following his impressive showing in December’s Buddy Bowl competition. He runs out from the back with a full head of steam and does not even bother to remove his sunglasses or driver’s jacket before he hops up onto the ring apron and pulls himself up to the top rope. He looks out at the crowd with a grin and then steadies himself, looming over Vengador… and hits the MEDITERRANEAN LANDING!!! After he hits the Shooting Star Press, Giunti throws his sunglasses out to the rabid crowd and removes his jacket, posing for the crowd.
Rod Sterling: “THE MALTESE FALCON SOARS AGAIN! What an entrance from Alejandro Giunti, who we last saw teaming with Gerald Grayson in the Buddy Bowl last year. Those two were a force to be reckoned with and well, looks like Giunti could be something special on his own, too.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “This is a man who was born into greatness as the ninth son of a Maltese aristocrat with resources beyond compare. Nothing short of victory here tonight will be enough for him to live up to his mantle, but that was certainly an impressive start!”
Aaron Harrows tries to immediately take advantage of Giunti’s showmanship, but his attempt to throw ‘The Maltese Falcon’ out of the ring is turned back around on him. Harrows goes over the top rope but hangs on. Giunti does not follow up on him, though, instead seeing that Fenix and Xtacee are back up and working together to eliminate Steiner whilst Gabrielle rams her knee into Al Blizzard’s face. Sawyer Xavier cuts Giunti off with a Savate Kick to the midsection which doubles him over. Another kick to the face from Xavier sends Giunti stumbling back and Sawyer goes in for a Clothesline, but Giunti moves. Sawyer hits the ropes and Giunti goes for a German Suplex out of the rebound, but Sawyer lands on his feet behind him.
Giunti turns around and Sawyer gets another kick to the midsection and then tries to hook him up for an Underhook DDT. Giunti spins out of it and hits a Rolling Wheel Kick, which catches Sawyer on the side of the head. It puts Xavier by the ropes and Giunti Clotheslines him over the top rope, but Xavier lands on his feet on the apron. Giunti does go for a follow up here, but Sawyer cuts him off with a shoulder to the gut. Xavier slingshots over the top rope and Sunset Flips over Giunti, who turns back around. Sawyer charges in, but Giunti leans back on the ropes and gets his boots up.
Sawyer holds his jaw and then runs in again and Giunti gets his legs up once more, but this time around his head. A moment of worry flashes across Giunti’s face as Xavier looks to Powerbomb him out… but he leans back and grabs the top rope… and snaps Xavier out with a Hurricanrana!! Sawyer lands on the floor, bringing an end to a very impressive performance!
ELIMINATION #10: SAWYER XAVIER BY ALEJANDRO GIUNTI AT 28:16
(TIME IN MATCH: 23:46)
Anzu Kurosawa: “A great battle there between those two high flyers, and it just goes to show how important your entry number is in this match. Sawyer Xavier could have won that duel had he not entered way back at number four.”
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ENTRANT #20: GINO GALUCCI AT 28:30
The very Italian music brings about some confusion from the crowd but it becomes clear why when a young man with a moustache runs out from the back. Gino Galucci has a big smile on his face and mimics tossing a pizza for a second before he jogs down to the ring, making his FWA debut in the Carnal Contendership.
Rod Sterling: “Well, here is another debutant in the Carnal Contendership match and ladies and gentleman, this is Gino Galucci from Little Italy! He’s taking a break from working in the family restaurant to be here in Vegas to try his luck in the biggest gamble in the world of professional wrestling. Whilst rumours say he is connected in some ways, one thing we do know about him is that he is good friends with Gerald Grayson!”
Konchu Hao: “What a positive young man! It is a shame that he would associate himself with that Nephew filth, but otherwise I endorse this very wholesome young man. The music is fantastic, too!”
Gino gets into the ring and his outlook shifts definitely to a more serious one, as his first act is to go straight after the biggest name in the match, Gabrielle. He attempts to tip her over the top rope but she forces him back with her boot. Gabrielle then attempts to go for a Savate Kick, but Gino catches her leg and forces her up into the air, bringing her down with a Flapjack! Gino then turns his attention to Al Blizzard, stomping him in the corner a couple of times. Brooklyn Steiner manages to fight off Xtacee and Fenix, turning the tables on the latter and trying to force him out, but Xtacee is on hand to help his partner out.
Aaron Harrows tentatively goes after Vengador, who is just about picking himself up after being hit with the barrage of moves. A clubbing blow to the back gets Vengador’s attention, and Harrows instantly realises his mistake. Harrows tries to escape from Vengador, but the big man grabs him from behind… JUSTICIA!!! Harrows gets spiked onto his head and instantly falls limp, making it very easy for Vengador to lift him up from the mat and unceremoniously throw ‘The Top Star’ out of the ring!
ELIMINATION #11: AARON HARROWS BY VENGADOR AT 29:19
(TIME IN MATCH: 16:57)
Anzu Kurosawa: “The spirit of Spooder-Man was not enough to see Harrows go all the way tonight! A decent showing from ‘The Top Star’ for sure, though.”
Vengador then goes after Gabrielle, trying to force ‘The Goddess’ out of the ring. On the other side, Linus Badger has Alejandro Giunti up on his shoulder and ‘The Maltese Falcon’ holds on to the top rope for dear life. Gino Galucci arrives on the scene and delivers a couple of body shots to Badger, which allows Giunti to drop down and land on his feet next to Galucci.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “One acquaintance of Gerald Grayson comes to the aid of the other and it seems that a bit of an understanding may have formed between Giunti and Galucci because of that. Badger is definitely a two man job, at least.”
They each grab a tree trunk-like leg of the big masked man but they can barely get him off the mat despite their best attempts. Badger strikes both in the head with punches and he walks them across the ring, trying to throw both out at the same time. They halt his progress with stereo kicks to the back of the legs, and use Badger’s reduced balance to send him towards the ropes. Again though, Badger resists them and tries lurching forward, but together Giunti and Galucci drop the top rope, and Badger stumbles over onto the apron. Badger gets up to his feet at the same time as the two smaller men, and they share a nod… DOUBLE DROPKICKS - BADGER LANDS ON HIS FEET ON THE FLOOR!!
ELIMINATION #12: LINUS BADGER BY ALEJANDRO GIUNTI AND GINO GALUCCI AT 29:49
(TIME IN MATCH: 14:49)
Giunti and Galucci fist bump as The Gentleman consoles Badger on the outside, ignoring the mocking tones of Jason Quinn and Bobby Joel.
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #21: MIKE PARR AT 30:00
A HUGE cheer goes up inside The Sphere as the next entrant is revealed to be none other than ‘The Prodigy’ Mike Parr. Parr takes a deep breath on the stage and looks out to the fans and then into the ring, where everyone is aware of the new and very dangerous threat that has just entered the match. Parr shakes off his jacket and walks down towards the ring with purpose.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, Gabrielle no longer ties for the most Carnal Contendership appearances because Mike Parr has retaken the lead and now holds it on his own with this being his seventh appearance in the Carnal Contendership. The now-former North American Champion has been working as hard as he can to shed the notion that he is not World Champion material and if he can pull this off tonight then he will have the chance to main event Back in Business once again.”
Rod Sterling: “There is no one that would dare suggest that Mike Parr does not have what it takes. Even without the FWA World Championship, this man is a surefire future first ballot Hall of Famer. Whether Parr will feel content looking back on his career without having won the big one, that is only for him to know. 21 is a good number, it has produced a winner before back in 2010.”
‘The Prodigy’ gets into the ring and immediately gets to work by taking Galucci down with a Clothesline. Giunti ducks the next one that is intended for him but Parr evades the Dropkick that follows… and hits Giunti with a SHINING WIZARD!! Brooklyn Steiner frees himself from Fenix and Xtacee but eats a knee to the face from Parr when he gets close enough. Parr gets Steiner around the back of the head and gets him over the top rope, but Steiner hangs on… and impressively skins the cat to stay in the match. Unfortunately his escape from that puts him back into Parr’s clutches… ROLLING CUTTER!!!
The next to try their luck is Xtacee, who tries a strike of his own, but Parr ducks it and hooks XX up this time… ROLLING CUTTER!!! ‘The Prodigy’ is like a man possessed but his progress is stalled by Fenix who catches him with a Bicycle Knee to the face after he comes up from downing Xtacee. Parr stumbles back towards the ropes and Fenix charges in, but Parr catches him with an elbow to the side of the head as he approaches. This leaves Fenix vulnerable and Parr gets the hometown boy in position to the chagrin of the fans. A shrug from Parr… ROLLING CUTTER TO FENIX AS WELL!!
Konchu Hao: “This is what the Carnal Contendership is all about! KEHAHAHA! Fan opinion be damned - a focused Mike Parr is not going to be deterred. A conscience cost him against that loutish fool Chris Peacock in the F1 Climaxxx. No chances will be taken here tonight!”
As Parr gets up to his feet after hitting Fenix he looks across the ring and sees another experienced competitor and someone else that would be considered a clear favourite for this match - Gabrielle. The two share a knowing look with each other - a clear respect is present. They both adopt a ready stance and lock up formally as the clock begins once more with the two stalwarts exchanging holds in the middle of the ring…
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #22: JOE BURR AT 31:30
The feed cuts to the backstage area and the crowd can be heard cheering in the arena for it is another return to the FWA. A security guard knocks on a door which opens and initially no one is shown until the camera pans downwards. Another cheer goes up as the diminutive former Gauntlet Champion Joe Burr is seen for the first time in almost a year here in the FWA. Burr has a serious look on his face and starts to walk through the backstage area. He still has the mechanical voice box tied around his neck.
Rod Sterling: “ANOTHER huge surprise here in Vegas for the return of ‘The Giant Killer’! You can see that voice box around his neck as a result of the shattered larynx he suffered at Back in Business XVI at the hands of Saint Sully and the last time we saw Joe Burr he was injured by Keres as he did everything he could to prevent Liz-Elizabeth Rose from joining the Eternal group.”
Konchu Hao: “Joe Burr has always been a valiant fighter and it takes some considerable bravery - or foolishness - to continue to come back again and again only to get more hurt than you did the previous time.”
Burr finally reaches the arena and enters the sight of the fans for the first time and it becomes noticeable that he has other enhancements/support in addition to his voice box. A metal brace is lined up his right leg, the one injured by Keres, helping him walk with greater ease. As Burr advances towards the ring, Mike Parr and Gabrielle reach a sticking point in their battle and their standstill is brought to a halt by Al Blizzard, who catches Parr with a Big Boot to the side of the head. This knocks Parr towards the ropes and Blizzard looks to follow up with another one, but Parr ducks it and Al gets caught up on the top rope! Parr shakes off the cobwebs and then tips Blizzard out to the floor!
ELIMINATION #13: AL BLIZZARD BY MIKE PARR AT 32:34
(TIME IN MATCH: 8:34)
Blizzard lands on the floor and slams his fist into the ring apron in frustration. He is joined by Quinn and Steel, who express their disappointment at his failure before leading him away up the ramp.
Anzu Kurosawa: “We don’t know too much about The Path, but my guess is that there could be some serious repercussions for Al Blizzard for failing to get the job done in this match.”
With Parr dealing with Blizzard and with basically everyone else down as a result of Parr’s Rolling Cutter spree, Gabrielle focuses on Burr as he arrives in the ring. When Joe sees Gabrielle, he greets her as almost an ally with a stoic nod, likely due to their connection through Rose, but any apparent partnership is quickly kiboshed by Gabrielle, who boots Burr in the midsection. She looks down at his crumpled body and then around to the fans… AND DROPS HIM WITH THE 34 DOUBLE D-DT!!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “No idea what Burr was thinking there, as if Gabrielle was going to even entertain working together. We've got just eight entrants left, who is going to be next?”
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #23: ELIZABETH ROSE AT 33:00
There is a mixed reaction for the next entrant into the match as some fans still hold a sliver of hope that the old Lizzie Rose is still in there but this is almost certainly Elizabeth Rose that walks out from the back. She has a determined look on her face and her eyes locked solely on Gabrielle, who stares back at her, beckoning for her to come and face her.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, coincidentally enough it is Elizabeth Rose who is number twenty-three and we saw earlier on tonight the return of Keres who ominously warned of a new chapter of sorts for Eternal. What this means for Elizabeth and the FWA as a whole is unclear? However this dangerous group being granted a spot in the main event of Back in Business could spell doom for all.”
Konchu Hao: “Their full supernatural potential remains to be seen, Jean-Luc but what is known is that since the dawning of Elizabeth, this previously joyous young lady has turned into a terrifying prospect. Any connection to her past self is long gone, and not even the greatest necromancer can bring it back!”
Rolling into the ring, there is a cheer that goes up for Elizabeth staring across the ring from her mentor and the woman who she previously idolised. They have met several times before, with the most recent being at Winter Wasteland and it is clear that from the angry look on Elizabeth’s face that she has not forgotten that defeat at the end of December. Just before she goes on to attack ‘The Goddess’, she pauses when she hears a croaky, robotic voice calling out to her.
Joe Burr paws at Elizabeth’s leg, calling her by her former name and the name he knew her by. Surprisingly, she helps him up but then screams in his face that she is no longer who he knew and loved… AND ELIZABETH LAUNCHES BURR OUT OF THE RING AND TO THE FLOOR!!!
ELIMINATION #14: JOE BURR BY ELIZABETH ROSE AT 33:41
(TIME IN MATCH: 2:11)
Lizzie turns around and then goes straight after Gabrielle, with the two former associates turned rivals taking shots at each other, including scratching and pulling hair. Elsewhere around the ring, most have recovered from Parr’s outburst and some want revenge on him for it. Brooklyn Steiner lifts ‘The Prodigy’ up from behind as he was attempting to take out Giunti and drops him with THE SPEED OF LIGHT! Parr goes limp on the mat from the cutter, but Steiner then has to fend off Galucci.
Xperienx Xtacee is shown trying to budge Vengador on his own to no avail and the big man knocks him to the mat with a Headbutt. Jackson Fenix tries his luck next but before he can do anything he is kicked in the midsection by Giunti, who tries to follow up with a Famouser, but Fenix repels it. Giunti flips back and lands on his feet, and then eats a huge chop from Fenix across the chest. Jackson then shoves Giunti into the corner and attempts to tip him out.
Rod Sterling: “The action is becoming quite difficult to keep track of but the ring is only going to get more and more crowded as the last entries begin to file in!”
Anzu Kurosawa: “I have a feeling like this is going to be a big one, Rod!”
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #24: KRASH AT 34:30
Anzu Kurosawa: “No… it can’t be? NO FUCKING WAY?!”
The iconic opening drum beat of ‘Back in Town’ has the crowd on their feet in an instant, mouths agape with shock and excitement. There is an air of almost not believing what they are seeing and hearing. It is only when Krash does walk out from the back that they can finally digest and accept that this IS real. Then the cheers start even more; the camera even manages to find five men whipping their shirts off and revealing the ’K’, ’R’, ’A’, ’S’ and ’H’ on their chests.
Rod Sterling: “For the first time since the main event of Back in Business XVII, KRASH IS BACK IN AN FWA RING! He was victorious in the main event of Night One last year but his return to the Carnal Contendership could mean that he gets a spot in the main event of Night Two this year… against, well… let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Krash was the runner-up in the Carnal Contendership back in 2021, losing out to Michelle von Horrowitz… but that was a different time and a very different Krash. It pains me to say it… but something doesn’t seem quite right here.”
Watkins would be correct in that assertion as it becomes apparent very quickly that this is not the Krash that the fans know and love. His hands are visibly trembling and he looks around the arena in a distrusting manner. It is almost as if Krash is not there or in control, and his body is on autopilot as he walks towards the ring. He reaches the ring steps and takes his first proper look at what is going on in the ring, seeing all of the battles between the other competitors already in there. With a deep breath, he looks around the arena once more before stepping into the ring.
Unfortunately, the first encounter for ‘The White Wolf’ is Vengador, who bundles him into the corner. Krash barely gets a guard up for the heavy strikes that Vengador throws at him. Vengador lays into Krash’s chest with Machine Gun Chops and it seems that this sparks something inside of Krash.
Konchu Hao: “I think what Krash is experiencing right now from Vengador is awfully familiar to Alyster Black’s Violence Party… perhaps some memories are being brought back?”
As if a switch has been flicked, Krash fights out of the corner and starts laying into Vengador with forearm strikes to the head. Vengador looks to hit back but Krash ducks and Vengador’s momentum takes him over the top rope and onto the apron. Krash continues forward and takes down Fenix with a Clothesline, and hits a Running Back Elbow on an oncoming Rose. Steiner meets him in the middle of the ring but Krash cuts him off with a kick, and then another - Steiner gets a full Krash Kourse!
The fans cheer loudly as Krash seems to feel their energy a bit more and he points at Vengador on the apron as Bobby Joel puts his head in his hands… ONE HIT KILL TO VENGADOR - KNOCKING HIM FROM THE APRON!!!
ELIMINATION #15: VENGADOR BY KRASH AT 35:52
(TIME IN MATCH:10:22)
Krash drops to his knees but then slowly nods his head to himself, even wiping a tear from his eye. He then rises to his feet and screams at the top of his lungs, ready and waiting for whoever will be next;
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #25: SIR STACHE AT 36:00
In an instant, all of the air is sucked out of the arena. The high high drops to the lowest of lows as Sir Stache of the Friendship Wrestling Alliance runs out onto the stage and enthusiastically waves at everyone inside The Sphere. In the ring, Krash drops to his knees. He shakes his head and can be heard repeating the word ‘No.’ to himself. Eventually, Sir Stache sees him and races towards the ring.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, at least we will not be subjected to his commentary for this match but this is one of the last people that I would imagine Krash wanted to see enter this match along with him. It has been a prosperous night for the Friendship Wrestling Alliance and if Sir Stache can convince Krash to join their ranks once more in the confines of this match, that would be the icing on the cake for Jeremy Best and co.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “I’m actually quite worried about Krash. We saw a flash of the brilliance we used to expect from him and saw on a weekly basis but after everything he has been through over the last two years… I’m not sure how he is going to handle seeing this idiot again and being reminded of all of the things he represents.”
Sir Stache gets into the ring and holds his arms wide open, greeting Krash as if he is an old friend. Krash’s eyes are red and he can barely bring himself to look at the masked man that was originally introduced as a faux version of himself. Stache advances towards Krash, looking like he is going for a hug. There is a look of fear on Krash’s face as Stache’s arms begin to wrap around him… but he pushes him away.
This small act gets a huge cheer from the fans but Stache is persistent, going in again as everyone in the ring seems to now be watching this interaction unfold, unsure of where it is going to lead. Again though, Krash pushes Stache away, demanding that he leaves him alone. It is on the third attempt that Krash physically retaliates, knocking Stache down to the mat with a straight punch to the face!! Stache is down on the floor and Krash gets on top of him, laying into him with forearms and then stomps to the head, not relenting at all.
Rod Sterling: “This is barbaric! I don’t think Sir Stache has even moved since that first punch… these are all just exclamation points!”
After stomping Sir Stache into oblivion, Krash lifts him up from the mat and with all of his power, sends him flying over the top rope and out to the floor!!
ELIMINATION #16: SIR STACHE BY KRASH AT 37:11
(TIME IN MATCH: 1:11)
Krash shakes with dozens of emotions as he looks down at Stache on the mat and he feels a hand on his shoulder. He initially acts with concern, smacking it away but he then sees that it belonged to Mike Parr. It is as if Krash does not recognise his longtime associate and former tag team partner. Even in the midst of the competition, Parr gives Krash a reassuring nod. However the two of them are together knocked down by Elizabeth Rose and Gino Galucci, who then turn their attentions on each other.
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ENTRANT #26: KATSU AT 37:30
Another loud cheer goes up for another returning competitor, and the former Television Champion Katsu is shown on the stage with strobe lights pointing down onto her. She has her arms crossed and then extends them, causing fire to shoot out from the stage and she marches towards the ring with her long cape flowing behind her. She removes her entrance mask to show her much more familiar one that she wrestles in and then does a throat slashing gesture.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, it seems that we were able to reach an agreement with Katsu in time for her to be able to appear in her second Carnal Contendership match. It was at last year’s event that we saw the end of Vampyra and the birth of Katsu. She lasted over thirty minutes last year and finished in an impressive fourth place.”
Konchu Hao: “Not much room for improvement! KEHAHAHA! Her idols have smiled at her given this very fortunate entry number but she must do the rest of the work herself if she wants to improve on twelve months ago.”
Katsu removes her cape and then slides into the ring where she immediately collides with another former Television Champion in Brooklyn Steiner. Steiner welcomes the challenger and gives Katsu an immediate harsh dose of what the FWA is now like by taking her over with an Arm Drag, but Katsu flails her legs up to escape the following Arm Bar. They both rise back up and Katsu lands a picture perfect Dropkick on Steiner’s chest, knocking him down. Her next act is to tip Alejandro Giunti over the ropes and ‘The Maltese Falcon’ has to ensure that he does not slip to the floor.
Fighting off Katsu, Giunti gets his leg up from the apron and catches Katsu on the side of the head. She stumbles back a few steps into the middle of the ring and Giunti pulls himself up onto the ropes and Springboards in… but KATSU CATCHES HIM WITH THE KITSUNE BUSTER ON THE WAY DOWN!!! Giunti’s head snaps back and lands on the mat and Katsu rises to a good cheer from the crowd for the emphatic counter. She sees Mike Parr doing his best to fend off Gino Galucci as Elizabeth Rose stomps on Krash against the bottom rope.
Katsu approaches Parr and pulls him towards the middle of the ring, but Parr breaks her grip and catches her with a Jumping Knee, knocking her down to a knee herself. Parr then hits the ropes, assumingly going for a Shining Wizard upon his return… but Jackson Fenix low bridges them and Parr tumbles out onto the apron! Fenix uses his knee and boot to try and force Parr down to the floor from the unsafe position, but ‘The Prodigy’ does his utmost to hold on.
Rod Sterling: “We’re really starting to see the fatigue coming into play here as the likes of Gabrielle, Fenix and Xtacee have been in this match for a considerable amount of time. Fenix from 8… Gabrielle from 12… These later entry numbers are going to prove a huge advantage for those who hold them. Speaking of, number twenty-seven is about to reveal themselves…”
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #27: CHRIS PEACOCK AT 39:00
There’s a big reaction in the arena, split between the boos and the cheers as the NEW North American Champion saunters out from the back. Chris Peacock is alone, unlike earlier on, and he shows the kind of fatigue that one would expect after going that kind of time with Michelle von Horrowitz. That does not sway his swagger or confidence, though.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Ah, why am I not surprised? Well, everything else seems to be going his way at the moment, so it should be no shock that Chris Peacock would luck his way into a very favourable draw in this match. Absent from last year’s match due to being the FWA World Champion, Peacock is seemingly not content with just the North American Championship… that second world title could be beckoning in the main event of Back in Business… in his hometown.”
Konchu Hao: “I, like Jean-Luc, find myself ashamed for not predicting this outcome. After two hour-plus stints in his last two turns, this match still has a long way to go if he is to repeat that feat once again.”
Peacock climbs up the steps and into the ring where he surveys the scene around him. He makes a beeline for Jackson Fenix, which draws the ire of the Vegas crowd, and slams him down to the mat by his hair. This allows Mike Parr to get back into the ring for safety and ‘The Prodigy’ spins Peacock around and the two go face-to-face. The manner in which Peacock overcame Parr in the F1 Semi-Final is clearly brought up and Peacock attempts to laugh it off, but Parr has none of it, dropping the new North American Champion with a right hand; he follows up with a stomp on the right knee that Peacock pretended to injure in their encounter as an exclamation point.
There is no chance for Parr to do anything else to Peacock as Katsu is back on the scene and she runs in and takes him down with a Slingblade! Katsu then tries to get Parr out of the ring, as Gabrielle approaches Peacock and kicks him in the ribs as he rises to his feet. Peacock grimaces… and then PIMP SLAPS GABRIELLE!! This is followed up by some comments not appropriate for the viewing audiences, but before Gabrielle can do anything to Peacock in retaliation, she is grabbed from behind by Elizabeth Rose. The former Lizzie runs Gabrielle forward and kicks off of Xtacee in the corner to hit Gabrielle with the SLICED ELIZABETH!!!
Anzu Kurosawa: “There’s a lot going on in the ring right now and all of these big moves are landing. The ring may continue to fill up until everyone is in the match… but there’s just three people left to come now!”
As Xperienx Xtacee charges across the ring to hit Galucci with a Leg Lariat by leapfrogging over Peacock, ‘Disco’s Last Warrior’ stands up and finds himself standing across the ring from Krash. The two best friends of Alyster Black look at each other with honest reactions; Peacock’s facade seems to drop completely as he asks Krash if he is okay, and Krash slowly nods. A fist is extended by Peacock, to which Krash initially recoils, but he then recognizes it as a symbol of friendship, especially when Chris points to his ‘FTN’ scar on his chest. The countdown starts once more with both moustachioed men coming to an understanding of sorts.
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #28: RANDY RAMON AT 40:30
From the first high-pitched word of the song, both Krash and Peacock have their full attention on the stage as the crowd rises up and cheers in anticipation. Krash gulps, but Chris Peacock turns around with a face of fury, shaking with unadulterated anger. Randy Ramon is then shown on the stage, without his FWA Tag Team Championship, and he walks down the ramp towards the ring.
Rod Sterling: “Well, this is going to be something, folks. There are not many people on this planet that can get under Chris Peacock’s skin, but his former mentor is one of them as Ramon has haunted him at every step since their paths crossed at Back in Business last year. We’ve seen sneak attacks, but nothing direct - OH! PEACOCK DOESN’T WANT TO WAIT FOR RAMON TO GET INTO THE RING!!”
Despite Krash’s limp warning for him not to, Peacock turns around and rolls underneath the bottom rope so he can meet Ramon on the ramp - and PEACOCK AND RAMON BEGIN SLUGGING IT OUT ON THE RAMP!! Neither hold anything back, but Ramon is the fresher man given Peacock already competed tonight and he quickly gets an advantage over his former Ground Zero mentee. He slams Peacock into the ring barricade and then walks him towards the ring, sending him into the steel steps! Inside the ring, Krash is debating whether to get involved in the skirmish himself to give Peacock some back up, but the appearance of Ramon seems to have shaken him up once more.
Krash is then alerted to Xtacee approaching him and he ducks an Educated Feet attempt from XX, trying to follow it up by throwing Xtacee out, but Xtacee holds on. Gabrielle screams as she tries to fend off Rose and Galucci is shown helping Giunti up to his feet before both go after Katsu together.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well the action is continuing in the ring despite Chris Peacock and Randy Ramon going at it on the outside… but I think they could both be coming back into the fray… or Ramon is, at least.”
After an emphatic slamming of Peacock’s head into the ring post, Ramon rolls him back into the ring. Krash watches on as Ramon then enters himself and the two men who plunged to their apparent deaths in Rio two years ago find themselves in the same ring. Krash shudders, trying to will himself to fight, but Ramon is quicker to it with a Discus Punch that causes Krash to fall back into the ropes. Ramon runs in, Clotheslining Krash over the top rope and Krash lands on his knees on the apron.
Before Ramon can follow up on Krash, he has to deal with Peacock once again, who desperately jumps onto his back. Peacock bites Ramon’s ear from on top of him, trying to take it off completely, but Ramon manages to Snapmare him over the top rope and Peacock is stopped from hitting the floor by Krash, who manages to grab onto his arm. Krash helps Peacock back up to his feet on the apron and they see Ramon lining up one of them…
Anzu Kurosawa: “I think someone is about to get Remixed!”
Ramon strikes… GOING FOR KRASH… BUT PEACOCK SHOVES KRASH OUT OF THE WAY AND THE REMIX STRIKES PEACOCK - KNOCKING HIM TO THE FLOOR!!!
ELIMINATION #17: CHRIS PEACOCK BY RANDY RAMON AT 41:48
(TIME IN MATCH: 2:48)
It is not a long stretch for Peacock this time around and the rare unselfish act from the North American Champion causes surprise to everyone, Ramon especially. This then allows Krash to duck back through the ropes and bring the fight to him, pinning him against the turnbuckle with punches and forearms, harnessing the expertise of Alyster Black.
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #29: CYRUS TRUTH AT 42:00
Perhaps the largest ovation of the match so far is reserved for the man who was unsuccessful in capturing the FWA World Championship in the opening contest, but was the winner of last year’s Carnal Contendership. Cyrus Truth wears a face of pure wrath as he walks out from the back, scanning the ring to see who is standing in the way of a third victory in this match and his fifth Back in Business main event.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “One of just two individuals to have won more than one Carnal Contendership and the man who holds the record for the most eliminations in these matches is the penultimate entrant tonight. This is one place earlier than last year when Cyrus Truth won by last eliminating weaselperson. Can he become the first person to win back to back Carnal Contenderships?”
Konchu Hao: “I know that Cyrus’s focus will be on getting revenge on Jeremy Best and his cronies for what happened earlier tonight, I can assure you of that. I also find myself empathising with Allen Price, which is a strange feeling, I assure you. My professional bias will be called into question should Best, Baxter or any of the others feel the need to prevent Truth from winning this match.”
Cyrus gets into the ring and with a face of thunder, dares anyone to step up to him. The first person is Gino Galucci, who is kicked in the midsection with a Savate kick and then kneed in the side of the head. Giunti eats an Elbow Smash to the face which crumples him and Cyrus then runs through Jackson Fenix with a Clothesline. Elizabeth Rose looks to go after Cyrus next, but he puts his hand on her forehead and takes her down to the mat with the Memento Mori! Truth is unable to get to his feet though as Xperienx Xtacee sledges him across the back and then lays into him with some more strikes to his upper back.
Weathering this storm, Truth manages to wince through the pain. Xtacee gets him up from the mat and tries to send him into the ropes, but Truth blocks it and then connects with a Discus Punch! Xtacee lands against the ropes, Truth charges in… and CLOTHESLINES HIM OUT OF THE RING TO THE FLOOR!!!
ELIMINATION #18: XPERIENX XTACEE BY CYRUS TRUTH AT 42:55
(TIME IN MATCH: 23:25)
Anzu Kurosawa: “I don’t think Cyrus is in the mood to play any games here tonight.”
Xtacee follows up his long showing 2023 with another impressive effort in 2024 but Cyrus Truth is already on the hunt for his next prey and he scoops Gabrielle up and away from Mike Parr and holds her above his head… EXILE’S EDGE!!! Truth then takes a Dropkick to the face from Katsu and she tries to elevate him upwards over the top rope. Katsu is stopped by Galucci, who wants a piece of Cyrus himself after being targeted by him. Galucci lines up Truth… PIZZA-TRIGGER!!
The knee from Galucci causes Truth to drop to the mat holding his jaw, but Gino is unable to follow up as Mike Parr is back on the scene… TORNADO DDT TO GALUCCI!! Parr stays on the mat next to Gino for a moment and then gets up to his knees, looking around the ring. He contemplates trying to save Krash from Ramon, who is trying to force him out, but his attention is drawn to the large screen, which shows the countdown clock for the final time;
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**BRRRRRRRR**
The popular Foo Fighters song plays, with the crowd unsure at first who this is heralding but as soon as the man walks out onto the stage, they rise in loud cheers. In the ring, Mike Parr looks as shocked as anyone to see who has emerged… and even the commentators are stuttering upon seeing who it is in a close-up shot from on the stage.
Rod Sterling: “THA-THAT’S TREVOR OCEAN! A former FWA World Tag Team Champion, a tag team champion in CWA also… but someone we have not seen here in the FWA in YEARS, folks. This… I don’t think ANYONE saw coming!”
ENTRANT #30: TREVOR OCEAN AT 43:30
A smile forms on Ocean’s face, almost in relief, when he experiences the reception that he is receiving from the Vegas crowd. Mike Parr rises to his feet in the ring and watches as Ocean breaks into a jog and then slides into the ring. Before both know it, they are face to face surrounded by the packed crowd and everyone else left in the ring.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “When you consider the history between the mutual associates of these two men in the last couple of years, you can understand the look of surprise on Mike Parr’s face. Ocean does seem pleased to see him, though.”
Ocean nods his head and looks at Parr, but then neither of them hold anything back against the other. Parr’s fatigue at having been in the match for almost fourteen minutes already comes into play as Ocean gets the better of it and it quickly becomes a STORM SURGE! The knees and elbows to Parr’s head eventually take their toll and Parr drops to the mat. Ocean has to keep an eye out behind him for Giunti, who he catches with a Spinning Back Fist. Ocean attempts to follow up with a Spinning Roundhouse Kick, but Giunti ducks it and a recovering Galucci takes the boot instead, knocking him loopy. This leaves Gino in a bad spot… and it allows Ocean to cradle him by the back of the head and then send him over the top rope to the floor!!
ELIMINATION #19: GINO GALUCCI BY TREVOR OCEAN AT 44:48
(TIME IN MATCH: 16:18)
Galucci is out, and Ocean wastes no time by laying into Cyrus Truth with a knee to the head as ‘The Exile’ was in the process of rising to his feet. Gabrielle and Elizabeth Rose are in the midst of going at it again and Jackson Fenix has Katsu in a precarious position. Krash lands a definitive punch to the top of Ramon’s head to finally free himself from ‘Rockstar’s clutches. Ramon does not give in so easily, though, and he leaps in the air, looking for the OCCISOR PUNCH - but Krash dodges it! Krash hits the ropes… but he pauses when he sees someone in the ring behind Ramon.
Konchu Hao: “I thought he’d gone?!”
Ramon is confused as to why Krash stopped in his tracks right in front of him but Krash’s uneasiness is something worth interrogating for him. Ramon remains completely unaware of Chris Peacock standing behind him with a steel chair in hand as he questions Krash about his strange actions. Finally, Krash motions behind Ramon and ‘Rockstar’ turns around… AND PEACOCK BRAINS HIM OVER THE TOP OF THE HEAD WITH THE STEEL CHAIR!!! Ramon drops to the mat and Peacock looks down on him and SPITS right onto Ramon’s face!
Rod Sterling: “I know given everything that has gone down between Ramon and Peacock over the last twelve months has been wrought with sneak attacks and duplicity, but that is the lowest form of action from Chris Peacock. Spitting is the ultimate showing of disrespect, especially after he had knocked Ramon’s lights out with that steel chair.”
A small pool of blood forms from the top of Ramon’s head after Peacock had laid him out with the chair. Krash looks concerned, but Peacock gives him a reassuring nod before leaving the ring and walking up the ramp, proud of himself. Krash watches Peacock leave and then looks down at Ramon, knowing what he has to do but seeming rather uncomfortable about doing it given the hearty assist from the already-eliminated Peacock. With some considerable effort, Krash is able to lift the large frame of Ramon up from the mat and he forces him over the top rope… where Ramon hits the apron and lands on the floor.
ELIMINATION #20: RANDY RAMON BY KRASH AT 46:08
(TIME IN MATCH: 5:38)
Jean-Luc Watkins: “With that elimination we are down to the final ten. One of these individuals will face Jeremy Best at Back in Business and six others will earn places in the Golden Opportunity Steel Roulette. For the next three who are eliminated from the match, they will leave with nothing.”
The final ten are; Jackson Fenix (#8), Gabrielle (#12), Brooklyn Steiner (#16), Alejandro Giunti (#19), Mike Parr (#21), Elizabeth Rose (#23), Krash (#24), Katsu (#26), Cyrus Truth (#29) and Trevor Ocean (#30).
Krash does not have long to consider his elimination of Randy Ramon as he is immediately beset upon by Brooklyn Steiner, who lifts him up and hits an Atomic Drop. The momentum from the impact propels Krash forwards, and he almost is sent out of the match due to it. Steiner attempts to force the issue but Krash plants a hand on the ring apron to keep himself alive. On the other side of the ring, Gabrielle catches Elizabeth Rose with an elbow and then reels off a few strikes to send Rose back into the middle of the ring.
Anzu Kurosawa: “No matter what seems to happen in this match, Rose and Gabrielle just keep getting drawn to one another. There is just some sort of connection between them and it has existed the entirety of Rose’s time here in the FWA.”
Gabrielle hits a Savate Kick to Rose’s chest, which knocks the former North American Champion down to a knee. Gabrielle then attempts to hook Rose up for the Double D-DT, but Rose spins out of it and sends Gabrielle careening forward… and JACKSON FENIX CATCHES HER WITH A SUPERKICK!!! Fenix does not get much of a chance to revel in his moment of glory as Rose seems to take someone else targeting Gabrielle personally. Fenix attempts to fight her off by going for a punch, but she catches his fist. She does the same with the other and is about to knee him in the face, but Katsu takes to the air and lands on Fenix with a Diving Crossbody!!
Once again, Rose’s prey is taken from her by another and she is evidently annoyed by this, so much so that she sees Brooklyn Steiner trying to eliminate Krash, and she pulls Brooklyn away in order to give someone a taste of her medicine! Steiner swings for Rose and misses, and she cracks him with the CALLING MISTER VIOLENCE KICK! This seems to cause Steiner’s leg to go dead and but she jumps up at him and gets her knees in his chest. Steiner is off balance and Rose causes him to lean into the ropes, and she uses her weight and the momentum to get Steiner onto the ring apron, but falls down onto it too!
Konchu Hao: “It is always enthralling when two competitors are on the ring apron like this… you don’t know which one of them is going to win the battle!”
Steiner gets to his feet with Rose on her knees and he kicks out at her, but she manages to dodge it and then sweeps his standing leg. This causes Steiner to have to put his weight back on the dead leg… but it can’t support him… AND ROSE SHOVES HIM TO THE FLOOR!!
ELIMINATION #21: BROOKLYN STEINER BY ELIZABETH ROSE AT 48:19
(TIME IN MATCH: 25:49)
The fans are unhappy to see Steiner go, and Rose ensures to blow him a kiss before she ducks back through the ropes. She is met by Trevor Ocean, who knees her in the midsection and then bounces her head off of the top turnbuckle. Cyrus Truth and Krash are both working in unison to eliminate Alejandro Giunti, but ‘The Maltese Falcon’ proves to be a tricky customer due to his agility. Giunti catches Truth with an Enziguiri and then interlocks his fingers with Krash’s, before going very high risk in a match like this by scaling up the turnbuckle and then walking along the top rope with Krash’s hand in his, but he steadies himself and leaps off, landing on Truth’s shoulders, and he hits a Hurricanrana/Arm Drag combination on the two former FWA World Champions.
After Katsu took down Jackson Fenix with the Crossbody, she has focused her efforts on eliminating the Undisputed Alliance member but these are fruitless as Fenix staves off another wave. He catches her with a forearm and but a Roundhouse kick in response is enough to send Fenix sprawling into the corner. Katsu gets waylaid by Giunti as she goes to follow up on Fenix, and Katsu gets dropped by a Rolling Wheel Kick!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “This is a very impressive showing here by Alejandro Giunti - he’s been hard for anyone to pin down and that kick to Katsu is definitely a bit of payback from that nasty-looking Kitsune Buster from earlier in the match.”
After dealing with Katsu, Giunti looks to feed on her spoils by going after Fenix himself. He manages to lift Fenix up onto the top turnbuckle in a seated position. A slap across Fenix’s chest is enough to stun him momentarily and this allows Giunti to climb up the turnbuckle himself. It looks as if a Frankensteiner could be in the offing but Fenix blocks it and Giunti lands very awkwardly on the back of his head on the mat! Whether it is just by pure instinct or voluntarily, Giunti stands hunched over in front of Fenix in the corner and Fenix nods his head, looking as if he may go for the IF YOU SEEK AMY… but he does not see KATSU CHARGE BACK IN AND VAULT OFF OF GIUNTI’S BACK, CONNECTING WITH A DROPKICK TO FENIX WHICH CAUSES HIM TO TUMBLE FROM THE TURNBUCKLE AND DOWN TO THE FLOOR!!! THE HOMETOWN HERO IS OUT!!
ELIMINATION #22: JACKSON FENIX BY KATSU AT 49:53
(TIME IN MATCH: 39:23)
Anzu Kurosawa: “I’m not sure that Katsu is going to be very popular in Vegas anymore, but there is no denying that was a fantastic piece of innovation to eliminate Jackson Fenix. The hometown dream is over but that is two years in a row now that Jackson Fenix has been a lynchpin of the Carnal Contendership. A brilliant showing from the ‘Sin City Bad Boy’.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Indeed, Anzu. Well, with that elimination there are just eight competitors left in the match and that means just one of them is going to agonising miss out on a spot in the Golden Opportunity Steel Roulette match at the very least.”
This situation seems to dawn on the remaining eight, who take up various different positions in the ring and assess each other for the amount of damage that they have taken. Elizabeth Rose marches forward, going for Gabrielle once again and ‘The Goddess’ is more than willing to go another round and they embroil in another exchange of strikes. As they battle, Cyrus, Krash and Parr seem to stand with each other with Katsu, Ocean and Giunti opposite them. There seems to be an informal understanding, and then everyone pairs up in a hockey fight-type scenario. Krash and Ocean, Parr and Katsu and then Cyrus and Giunti.
Cyrus gets the better of ‘The Maltese Falcon’, who was still smarting from his bad landing moments earlier. This enables Truth to collar him and send him over the top rope, but a last ditch moment of awareness from Giunti allows him to land on his feet on the apron. He is still very much vulnerable though, and charges in at Giunti… BUT GIUNTI CUTS HIM OFF WITH A KNEE TO THE MIDSECTION! Saving himself, Giunti then watches as Cyrus slumps against the middle rope. Katsu ducks a punch from Parr and spots Cyrus in his predicament… SAKURA KICK!! That knocks Truth down to the mat and Katsu finds herself next to Giunti on the apron but not at risk of being eliminated as she went through the middle rope whilst executing her move.
Anzu Kurosawa: “This isn’t a good spot for Giunti - Katsu can do whatever she wants here without having to worry about getting eliminated from the match!”
The first port of call on the apron for Katsu is to avoid contact with Elizabeth Rose, who is sent in her direction by Gabrielle. Katsu achieves this by dropping the ropes down and then helping Rose out onto the apron, where she too is at risk now. Katsu drops to the floor to get out of the way, but then gets her head in between Giunti’s legs, as if to try and Powerbomb him to the floor to get the elimination. At the same time, Gabrielle tries to force Rose from the apron with her boot in the stomach. Both Rose and Giunti hold on for dear life to the ropes to prevent themselves from being eliminated.
Rose loses grip with one hand as she tries to resist Gabrielle, and then lunges forward with it, grabbing only a handful of Gabrielle’s hair. Montgomery screams as her roots is all that Rose is holding onto, and she is also in danger of going herself as Rose is leaning all the way back. Meanwhile, Giunti’s fingers seem to be slipping and Katsu strains as she tries to break his grip. Gabrielle cranes her neck back, groaning as her hair slips through Rose’s fingertips… AND ROSE FALLS BACKWARDS, LOOKING IN SHOCK AT THE FEW STRANDS OF GABRIELLE’S HAIR IN HER HAND… AND ROSE IS ELIMINATED!!!
ELIMINATION #23: ELIZABETH ROSE BY GABRIELLE MONTGOMERY AT 51:48
(TIME IN MATCH: 18:48)
Giunti looks over to see that Rose is on the floor and eliminated and knowing that his time is up, seeing Trevor Ocean bounding towards him… he loosens his grip and KATSU POWERBOMBS HIM TO THE FLOOR!!!
ELIMINATION #24: ALEJANDRO GIUNTI BY KATSU AT 51:55
(TIME IN MATCH: 24:55)
Rod Sterling: “Alejandro Giunti sneaks into the Golden Opportunity match by just seven seconds and even though that Powerbomb must have hurt, you can sense that he is pleased about ensuring his spot inside the Steel Roulette. As for Elizabeth Rose…”
Konchu Hao: “The mind can only begin to fathom what kind of consequences await her from Keres and the Eternal contingent.”
Wanting to avoid a repeat of the Peacock incident, the ringside officials are quick to escort both of the eliminated individuals away from the ring. Katsu is instructed to get back in and when she does she looks around the ring to find herself as very much the odd one out given that the rest of those left are decorated and tenured FWA competitors; all of them either current or future members of the FWA Hall of Fame. She does not let this deter her and rides the current temporary wave of unpopularity after eliminating Fenix to go after Krash, who was conversing with Cyrus Truth in one of the corners - albeit it seemed more like Truth was checking in on him.
This act of course draws ‘The Exile’s ire and after Katsu’s running knees puts Krash down, she is left to contend with Truth who catches her with a Hip Toss into the same turnbuckle as where she left Krash. Katsu falls in front of Krash and they are in a seated position. Truth motions for Krash to move his head, which the faded ‘White Wolf’ does, and this allows Truth to lay into Katsu with the FIRST FIVE STEPS! The crowd counts along, and Krash motions to Cyrus that he is fine, but Truth is knocked down from behind by Gabrielle. She checks her hair for a moment after losing a few strands thanks to Rose, but then stomps on Cyrus.
Perhaps unwisely, Montgomery riles Truth up by talking at him and she picks him up with some difficulty (she has been in the match for over thirty five minutes) but this works to her detriment as Truth is able to easily navigate himself out of the attempt to hook him up for the 34 Double D-DT… and he scoops Gabrielle up onto his shoulders! The crowd cheers for the popular move… and CYRUS DRIVES GABRIELLE INTO THE MAT WITH THE JOURNEY’S END!!!
Anzu Kurosawa: “I’m not really sure what Gabrielle could have left in the tank after that; it could just be elementary from Cyrus at this point…”
After a long night of mixed emotions, Truth is lethargic himself but he drives himself to scoop Gabrielle up onto his shoulder and walk her towards the ropes. Truth has to lean over himself to get Gabrielle over the ropes… BUT MIKE PARR RUSHES HIM FROM BEHIND AND TIPS CYRUS OVER THE TOP ROPE… AND ‘THE EXILE’ HITS THE FLOOR, WITH GABRIELLE LANDING ON THE APRON!!!
ELIMINATION #25: CYRUS TRUTH BY MIKE PARR AT 53:35
(TIME IN MATCH: 11:35)
Rod Sterling: “Last year’s winner is OUT! Cyrus Truth WILL NOT be going to the main event of Back in Business for the fifth time, at least not this year!”
Truth is shocked as he is shown sitting on the floor. He looks up at the exhausted Parr leaning on the ropes and shakes his head solemnly, accepting his fate as much as he is disappointed by it. He gives Parr an understanding nod before picking himself up and heading towards the back. Gabrielle is very slow to move whilst on the apron… and this is her downfall as TREVOR OCEAN CHARGES IN AND CONNECTS WITH A BASEBALL SLIDE - KNOCKING HER FROM THE APRON AND DOWN TO THE FLOOR AS WELL!!!
ELIMINATION #26: GABRIELLE MONTGOMERY BY TREVOR OCEAN AT 54:01
(TIME IN MATCH: 37:31)
Gabrielle is too exhausted and hurt to properly process what has happened as she finds herself on the floor just seconds after Cyrus’s elimination.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “What a turn up for the books; two bona fide legends of this business gone within seconds and it means that one of Mike Parr, Trevor Ocean, Katsu and Krash will be going to Back in Business to challenge for the FWA World Championship.”
Both Parr and Ocean lift themselves up after taking out Cyrus and Gabrielle, respectively. Katsu crawls away from Krash and they both pick adjacent corners to pull themselves up in. The final four each take up a corner and consider their next move carefully, and it is the freshest person in the match - Ocean - that blinks first to run across the ring and land a forearm into Parr’s face. On the other side, Krash approaches Katsu but she is ready and meets him with a Jumping Bicycle Knee which catches him off guard. She tries to force him out to the panic of the fans, but Krash grits his teeth in an attempt to hold on.
Parr does his best to keep Ocean at bay, managing to kick him away a few paces to create a bit of separation. Ocean tries to charge back in, but Parr gets his boots up and catches him in the face. This allows Parr to sucker Ocean in and he hooks his head up, trying to get him in position for a Tornado DDT, but Ocean stands firm in the middle of the ring and negotiates Parr’s body into position in an Inverted Gory Special… into an EMERALD FLOWSION - THE REIKO EXPLOSION!!! Parr lays on his back in the middle of the ring but Ocean does not go to eliminate him after hitting the move.
Instead, the former tag champion rushes both Krash and Katsu, trying to Clothesline them both out of the ring at the same time. However they catch him with elbows at the same time to halt his progress.
Anzu Kurosawa: “A misstep there by Trevor Ocean? I can understand going for two eliminations at once, especially at this stage of the match, but Mike Parr was right there for the taking. The last thing you want to do is allow ‘The Prodigy’ to recover. That kind of thing can and will come back to bite you on the ass.”
Both Krash and Katsu have the same idea again to leap into the air and Dropkick Ocean, who stumbles back and then trips over Parr on the mat. This also rouses Parr and he fights to pick himself up. Ocean rises up and Parr gets to his knees but Katsu uses him as a platform in a similar manner as she did earlier to eliminate Jackson Fenix, and she hits another follow-up Dropkick to Ocean’s chest. As Katsu follows up on Ocean, Krash makes a point to pick Parr up from the mat.
There is a moment where Krash and Parr exchange a look to say that they’re about to get into it, but they’re interrupted by Katsu who shouts for them both to come over and help her with Ocean. A temporary truce seems to activate with them both working on eliminating Ocean alongside ‘The Kitsune Warrior’. Katsu takes one leg whilst Parr and Krash take the other and between them they are able to lift Ocean up and almost tip him out. Ocean is not going without a fight though and he kicks out, catching Krash in the face with his left boot. This leaves just Parr and Katsu to deal with Ocean, and together they lift him up… and Ocean lands on the apron!
A Headbutt from Ocean to Katsu gets her back slightly but she thinks quickly and Dropkicks Parr in the back… sending him forward and he and Ocean clunk heads… and OCEAN FALLS TO THE FLOOR!!
ELIMINATION #27: TREVOR OCEAN BY KATSU AND MIKE PARR AT 56:43
(TIME IN MATCH: 14:13)
Jean-Luc Watkins: “We’re down to three! Katsu, Krash and Mike Parr! A welcome return to the FWA for Trevor Ocean, but he was just unable to make it that extra bit further to win the Carnal Contendership after entering at number thirty.”
Ocean shakes his head on the floor after taking the heavy blow and Katsu pumps her fist, having guaranteed herself at least an improvement on her positioning from the previous year. She immediately goes forward towards the groggy Parr and gets him by the neck… trying to eliminate him, but he manages to turn it around on her and Katsu goes over the top rope, but she holds on to the top rope with both hands! Parr turns away, thinking that he has ensured the elimination, but he ventures straight into Krash’s path, who cannot see Katsu hanging on due to Parr being in the way.
Believing that he is in the last two, Krash sees it as a suitable time to finally be an aggressor towards Parr and he catches Parr square in the jaw with a ONE HIT KILL!!! Parr doesn’t go down and instead turns idly towards the ropes where Katsu is still holding on. She strains and skins the cat, managing to get her feet around Parr’s neck, where she brings him forward and over the top rope… ELIMINATING HIM! IT’S THE FINAL TWO - KRASH AND KATSU!!!
ELIMINATION #28: MIKE PARR BY KATSU AT 57:49
(TIME IN MATCH: 27:49)
Katsu quickly dives back in through the ropes again, and both she and Krash are on their knees looking at the other. Both completely understand the gravity of the situation that they have found themselves in.
Rod Sterling: “It has all come down to this. Thirty entrants. Now there are just two left. One of these two competitors is about to etch their name into the history books and have the chance to challenge for the FWA World Championship at Back in Business. Which one is it going to be? Krash, the former FWA World Champion looking to refind the person he was at his prime or Katsu, the brave warrior who perhaps has not yet found hers?”
Konchu Hao: “The tension is palpable! There is no thrill quite like this! The chaos; the glorious chaos! KEHAHAHA!”
They get up and Katsu initiates an exchange of forearm strikes between the two of them. The crowd are rabid and on their feet, with bets being visibly placed by individuals in the front rows over which one of the two is going to come out on top. Krash builds up a bit of momentum with his strikes, seeming more and more confident with each one. Katsu fires back with a Roundhouse kick to Krash’s knee which causes him to buckle slightly. This gives Katsu an opening to go for a Superkick, but Krash ducks it by rolling through. She goes for another swinging back fist, but Krash moves backwards to avoid that and he then hits the ropes… coming back at Katsu with the EIFFEL D’PARACHUTE!!!
The classic piece of Krash offence gets the crowd in a frenzy as he stands up over her after the acrobatic move. Almost full of the confidence he was once known for, Krash taps into the showman inside of him and then tentatively points to the turnbuckle to a HUGE cheer from the fans. He picks up on their adoration for him and slowly removes his elbow pad and drops it down onto the mat. Krash scales the turnbuckle and looks down over Katsu and takes flight… DAYBREAKER-NO!! KATSU GOT HER KNEES UP!!!
Krash rises from the mat and holds his ribs as Katsu nips up and hits the ropes behind him and comes back with the BURNING ARROW!!! The knees to the back of Krash’s head cause him to fall down on his face and his body is lifeless on the mat. Katsu holds her knee, perhaps tweaking it when hitting the move.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “The match is here for the taking for Katsu. Krash veered back into the persona that he was known and loved as… but maybe his heart was not fully in it? It may be too soon to say that ‘our’ Krash is back. Maybe too soon for him to think about main eventing Back in Business once again…”
Katsu strains once more to lift Krash from the mat. She looks out to the crowd and nods her head knowingly, knowing that she is just moments away. She leads Krash towards the ropes and sends him on his way… BUT KRASH QUICKLY TURNS IT AROUND… AND SENDS KATSU OUT OVER THE TOP ROPE!!! SHE HITS THE FLOOR!!! KRASH WINS IT!!!!!
ELIMINATION #29: KATSU BY KRASH AT 59:59
(TIME IN MATCH: 22:29)
WINNER: KRASH AT 59:59
(TIME IN MATCH: 25:29)
The fans scream in delight as Krash flops to the mat in exhaustion, perhaps not even aware that he has just won the Carnal Contendership match. On the outside, Katsu looks up at the ceiling of The Sphere and covers her eyes, realising that she was agonisingly close to achieving a monumental feat so early in her FWA career.
Kurt Harrington: “Ladies and gentlemen… your winner of the 2024 CARNAL CONTENDERSHIP… KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
Rod Sterling: “For someone who has faced so much adversity in the last two years - a generous way of saying ‘returned from the dead’, Krash has done the unthinkable and made an enormous stride towards normalcy. He has won a big match on one of the biggest stages. If that is not a Krash hallmark, I do not know what is!”
Anzu Kurosawa: “This is something that I did not think possible. No one thought Krash was going to be here tonight, let alone find enough inside of himself to walk away the winner. The same can be said of Katsu; she also returned tonight and is a definitely worthy runner-up. This is something to build on and definitely only the beginning for the next stage of this young woman’s career.”
Katsu is shown to be understandably disappointed with her defeat but she takes it in extremely good grace. Sharing a nod with Krash, she bows to him as a mark of respect before slowly making her way around the ring. Inside of it, Krash accepts Katsu’s congratulations with a weak thanks, still completely in shock that all eyes and attention are on him as the winner of the match. The moment seems to overwhelm him and he starts shaking once again, similarly to how he did when he entered the match.
However, two individuals run out from the back and enter the ring. Easily identifiable by a black mask and a green mohawk, Alyster Black and Violet Dreyer quickly embrace Krash. Them being there with him is enough to cause him to feel instantly more comfortable. He is shown shedding a tear as he has an arm around each of them. After ensuring that he is okay, Alyster helps him up and then lifts his arm into the air as Violet applauds next to them.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Krash is your winner of the 2024 Carnal Contendership… for those paying attention, you’ll know what this means for Back in Business. It is going to be tough, but maybe he’ll get by with a little help from his friends.”
Speaking of friends, the feed cuts from Krash having his arm raised by Alyster to a television screen in a backstage area showing the same thing. A zoom out reveals that it is inside the locker room of the Friendship Wrestling Alliance. The celebrations following their big win earlier on seem to have dissipated and Jeremy Best looks at the screen with a steely expression.
His grip on the FWA World Championship on his lap tightens as he looks into Krash’s eyes on the screen.
”CARNAL CONTENDERSHIP 2024.”
only on the WCNetwork.
live from Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Saturday 4th May, 2024.
After the sponsor videos play, we go straight inside the venue and as there is a lot to happen tonight, no time is being wasted. The steel cage slowly begins to make its way down from the top of The Sphere, the crowd cheering in anxious anticipation.
Kurt Harrington: "Our opening contest tonight is a CCCAAAAAGE MATCH and it is for… for the Fantasy Wrestling Alliance WWWWWOOOOORRRRRRLLLLLLDDDD CHAMPIONSHIP!"
The roof nearly explodes as “The Exile” jogs out from the back, his hood flipped up over his head as he makes it onto the stage. He stops as a burst of pyro shoots off from behind him and he flips his hood back, revealing Cyrus Truth’s determined face to the fans, only bringing about even more cheers for the fan favorite.
Kurt Harrington: “Introducing first… the challenger…. from The Long and Winding Road… weighing in at two hundred twenty seven pounds… he is “THE EXILE”.. CCCCCCYYYYYRRRRUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSS TTTTTRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUTH!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I think there’s little reason to doubt who the fans are going to be behind in this one.”
Rod Sterling: “You can see the determination on his face. You can see how bad Cyrus Truth wants this. This is not an unfamiliar position for The Exile - challenging for a title he held in the past… he’s hungry… he wants this more than anything. And he especially would love to be the one to take the title off our current champion.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “I think a lot of people would like to do that, Rod. But Cyrus has the benefit of a 20 foot steel cage tonight.”
Rod Sterling: “By his own doing, as well. Cyrus knows that where Jeremy goes - so goes the rest of the Friendship Wrestling Alliance - and he’s hoping tonight the cage will be the great equalizer to keep them from getting involved.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “He better hope that the plan works out because this was supposed to be a four-person booth and there’s only three of us here.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Konchu Hao - certainly conspicuous by his absence, apparently running late tonight.”
Rod Sterling: “The one man in the FWA locker room who would certainly have Cyrus Truth’s back tonight if things got out of hand… and conveniently is having some transportation issues…”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Convenient my ass. We’ve seen the Friendship Wrestling Alliance do this before with Chris Peacock… I think we all know why Konchu Hao isn’t here right now.”
Focused and determined, Cyrus Truth makes his way down to the ring where FWA Official Richard Davis opens up the cage door to let him climb up the steps and enter the stage of tonight’s FWA Title match.
Boos no fill the Sphere in Vegas as Jeremy Best emerges from the entrance, holding his arms high in the air with the FWA World Friendship Championship wrapped around his waist. Joining him are his two masked compadres, Sir Stache and Mejor Amigo as well as his resident friendly magician, Tonya Scott, who tips her top hat to the less than adoring crowd. Rounding out the Friendship Wrestling Alliance group is the former FWA North American Champion, Big Bryan Baxter, whose face looks much more sour than usual.
Kurt Harrington: “And his opponent, representing the Friendship Wrestling Alliance… he is the reigning and defending FWA World Champion… from Friendship, North Carolina… this is “Your New Best Friend” ….. JJJJEEERRRREEEEMMMMYYYY BBBBBBBBBBBBBBEEEEEESSSST!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Your eyes do not deceive you ladies and gentlemen, this is our champion - the man who holds the most respected belt in all of wrestling… and the entire circus he brings with him… including a literal clown.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “She’s a magician, not a clown!”
Rod Sterling: “Either way, we can see the fact that there’s a cage designed to keep them away, Jeremy is still bringing the entire Friendship Wrestling Alliance out with him for this one.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Of course he is. They have something up their sleeves. Just ask Konchu Hao, wherever he is.”
Jeremy and the entire group make their way down to cageside. Jeremy stops to shake hands with each of his friends, lastly with Bryan Baxter who overall seems a lot less interested in being in Jeremy’s corner than he has in the past, but he still gives Jeremy a shake of the hand and heads to one of the corners of the ringside.
Rod Sterling: “Not usually known for his pleasant moods, Bryan Baxter’s scowl tonight seems even stronger than normal.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Perhaps the big man can’t take losing. He’s lost how many matches in a row now? Plus a draw. I can’t even remember the last time he won a match! No wonder he’s in a bad mood.”
Sir Stache: “Ahem, I’d be careful with what you say.”
Sir Stache had picked up the headset that should’ve belonged to Konchu, and now joins the announce team.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Oh joy, looks like we got quite the downgrade for our four person booth.”
Sir Stache: “Nice to see you too, Jean-Luc. Who is ready for Jeremy’s first exciting title defense?”
Rod Sterling: “Well, if you’re going to be joining us Sir Stache, how about shedding some light on if you guys had anything to do with Konchu Hao being late tonight?”
Sir Stache: “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Mmmhmm… suuuureeee….”
While Sir Stache pleads their innocence at the booth, Richard Davis opens up the cage allowing Jeremy Best to slowly make his way up the steps and into the cage. His smile begins to fade into a much more anxious look as he joins Cyrus Truth in the cage, the door being locked by Davis behind him.
FIRST MATCH | 1/60.
Jeremy Best [c] vs. Cyrus Truth.
Cage Match. FWA World Championship.
Match Writer: Dubb.
The bell rings to start the match. Jeremy and Cyrus approach each other in the center of the ring, and as customary, Jeremy extends out his hand to Cyrus for a handshake. With his hands on hips, Cyrus is clearly not looking for a handshake and instead takes a swing at Jeremy..
But Jeremy ducks and runs to the ropes! Jeremy leaps over the top rope onto the side of the cage and begins trying to climb out!
Sir Stache: “Look at the strategy here from our hero!”
Rod Sterling: “What strategy? This isn’t escape the cage rules!”
Sir Stache: “Look it’s strategy, okay Rod.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “It’s not strategy. It’s fear!”
Unfortunately, Jeremy’s attempts to escape are foiled as Cyrus catches up, grabbing him by the boot and pulling him down off the cage back into the ring. Jeremy tries to beg Cyrus off, looking for a truce but Truth isn’t interested as he lights up Jeremy’s chest with a big open handed chop. Jeremy leans back against the ropes as Truth hits him with a pair of knife-edge chops before he grabs Jeremy by the hair… and runs with him across the ring to the opposite side, tossing Jeremy head first into the side of the cage!
After his head collides with the steel of the cage, Jeremy stumbles backward back to Truth who grabs him by the head and runs once again with him, back across the ring again and once again sends Jeremy head first into the wall of the cage! Best stumbles back away from the ropes, trying to shake off the attacks to open the match, taking a wild swing at Truth which The Exile easily avoids and then drives his elbow into the side of Jeremy’s head…
And then grabs him and tosses him into the side of the cage a third time!
Anzu Kurosawa: “Jeremy Best is in a lot of trouble to start this match. The savvy veteran that is Cyrus Truth is making good use of the cage early.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I imagine you’re starting to feel a little worried now, Stache?”
Sir Stache: “Worried? No, no… not all. This is all part of Jeremy’s plan, I assure.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “He plans to get his ass kicked?”
Best falls to a knee, but Truth is there to pull him back and whips him into the ropes. As Jeremy rebounds, he slides through Truth’s legs, getting back up and turning around… right into a Discus Punch from Truth, once again catching Best off guard and Best drops to the mat. The champion begins to get back up as Cyrus hits a series of rapid fire strikes before attempting to send Jeremy into the corner with an Irish Whip..
.
But Jeremy reverses it! Cyrus is instead sent crashing into the turnbuckles. Jeremy shakes off the cobwebs and then charges in toward The Exile, but Truth gets his boot up, connecting right with the jaw of Jeremy! Truth darts out of the corner with a big running clothesline to take Best back down to the mat.
The Truth stalks over Jeremy, who begins to pull himself up to his knees, once again trying to plead with Truth… begging the challenger off to stop the onslaught that the Exile has brought since the opening bell… but Truth is showing no mercy as he instead knees Jeremy right in the face!
Sir Stache: “What a disgusting, cowardly act!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Cyrus Truth isn’t the one begging for his life in that cage!”
<< 04:37. >>
Rod Sterling: “Cyrus Truth continues to dominate the action inside the cage while I think we can see a lot of anxiety on the faces of the Friendship Wrestling Alliance here at ringside watching their leader get picked apart in the ring by The Exile!”
Sir Stache: “Don’t speak for us, Rod. Jeremy is fine! He absorbs the pain and will use the power of Friendship to rally. Just you wait.”
It’s a RUNNING DDT from Cyrus, taking Jeremy back down to the mat and the Exile goes for the first pinfall of the match!
One! Two!
KICKOUT by Jeremy!
Truth gets right back up on the attack, stomping on the back of Jeremy’s neck and upper back as Your New Best Friend attempts to get back up to his feet. Truth hooks him for a Dragon Suplex attempt, but Jeremy is able to block him from locking up his arms securely and scores with a series of back elbows to rock The Exile briefly.
Best recovers to his feet, getting in some of the first offense in the match for him as he charges in with a running shotgun dropkick that has a high impact, sending Truth through the ropes and into the side of the cage! Jeremy backs up… and charges in with another running shotgun dropkick, this time with Truth up against the side of the steel!
Anzu Kurosawa: “Well, maybe Stache was onto something here because Jeremy Best is storming back now! Truth’s back bounced off that steel cage after the big impact from that dropkick!”
Climbing out through the ropes, standing on the apron between the ropes and the cage alongside Truth, Jeremy takes Truth by the head and walks the apron, slamming his head into the steel ring post! Truth is left staggering as Jeremy jumps onto the side of the cage before leaping off it with BULLDOG onto the apron!
He’s slow to recover himself, but Jeremy is able to roll Truth through the bottom ropes, climbing through them himself to go for the pin! Larry Stevens slides into place…
One! Two!
KICKOUT!
Jeremy climbs on top of Truth’s back with a rear naked choke, but Cyrus battles his way back up to his feet and charges backward, sandwiching Jeremy into the turnbuckles, causing Jeremy to release his grip. Truth staggers out of the corner, trying to catch his breath..
As Jeremy climbs the turnbuckles..
Cyrus turns around - FLYING CROSSBODY FROM JEREMY!
He connects and down he goes on top of Truth to the mat for another pinning attempt.
One! Two! NO!
<< 07:52. >>
Sir Stache: “Let’s go Jermey! You got this buddy!”
Jeremy connects with a trio of rolling vertical suplexes - the Three Amigos… but was unable to get a pinfall on The Exile as Truth immediately rolls out under the rooms and onto the apron next to the side of the steel cage. Jeremy seems frustrated, but begins to measure up The Exile as he uses the ropes to begin to pull himself up.
Jeremy rushes to the opposite side of the ring, bouncing off the ropes and building up a head of steam as he DIVES THROUGH THE ROPES TOWARD TRUTH..
But CYRUS MOVES!
JEREMY CRASHES INTO THE SIDE OF THE CAGE!
The collision sends Jeremy bouncing off the steel and then down to the apron. He rolls over, his head resting against the side of the cage as Truth staggers over..
Truth leans in toward Jeremy, holding onto the side of the cage as he lifts his boot up…
FIRST.
FIVE.
STEPS!
It’s FIVE consecutive stomps to Jeremy’s head as its up against the side of the cage! The fans are loving every minute of it as they count along with Truth’s stomps.
“ONE!”
“TWO!’
“THREE!”
“FOUR!”
“FIVE!”
Jeremy’s head bounces precariously up against the side of the cage with every stomp
Sir Stache: “Okay, I’ve seen enough! Amigo! Come here! Take my spot!”
Sir Stache tosses the headset down as his associate, Mejor Amigo comes over, taking the seat.
Mejor Amigo: “Hola!”
Rod Sterling: “What exactly is going on now?”
Mejor Amigo: “I believe my friend Senor Stache is going to try and help out Senor Best.”
Rod Sterling: “But it’s a cage match for a reason!”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Don’t be so naive, Rod. You know that these guys are not going to be stopped at trying to help Jeremy win even if there’s a cage in the way.”
Sir Stache stomps with a purpose around the ring while Cyrus continues to stomp on Jeremy in the ring. Jeremy’s face now with blood trickling down from the corner of his forehead. Sir Stache approaches Richard Davis, the FWA official outside the ring with access to the key to the door of the cage.
Sir Stache, looking to help out his friend, approaches Davis - DEMANDING the key to the cage door! Ever the honorable official, Davis refuses which is certainly not what Stache was hoping. He then reaches for Richard’s arm and begins trying to pull the key away from him…
But Richard Davis is no pushover!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Stache may have pulled off more than he can chew here. Richard Davis is a former running back from TCU and is not going to take any shenanigans here!”
Richard Davis stands his ground, and SHOVES STACHE away, sending the mask man falling over to the floor!
Back in the ring, Cyrus sends Jeremy back through the ropes and hits the WANDER’S WRATH to Best!
Truth with the pin..
ONE!
TWO!
THRE… NO! Jeremy just barely gets his shoulder up!
<< 11:12. >>
Anzu Kurosawa: “So tell us, Mr. Amigo - did you guys have anything to do with Konchu’s absence right now?”
Mejor Amigo: “I… uh… err.. I have no knowledge of this matter.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Mmmhmm… very convincing, good job.”
Back in the ring, Cyrus Truth has Jeremy up on his shoulders, looking for the Exile’s Edge, but Jeremy is able to rake the eyes of Truth to escape the hold. He slides down Truth’s back and scores with a back cracker!
Best has Truth down but is slow to recover from the beating he has received throughout the match. Both are slow to their feet, just as Jeremy is getting up, Truth is already recovering as well. But the FWA Champion is able to strike first with a stiff kick to the ribs of Truth. Jeremy added another pair of stiff kicks to rock Truth before running to the ropes…
Coming off the ropes, Truth looks for a clothesline to Jeremy, but Jeremy floats over into a DDT to Truth!
Jeremy makes the cover!
One!
Two!
KICKOUT!
Jeremy slaps the mat in frustration but gets back up as Exile is right behind him in pulling himself up. Best looks to lift Truth up into a Fireman’s Carry, perhaps for the BFF, but Truth this time escapes with an elbow to the top of Jeremy’s head!
Truth goes down the back of Jeremy and scores with a stomp to the back of Jeremy’s knee before leveling him with a RUNNING BIG BOOT!
Rod Sterling: “It’s the BROKEN PATH to Jeremy his time as the momentum once again swings back to the challenger!”
Sir Stache stumbles back to the booth, grabbing the headset off Mejor Amigo.
Sir Stache: “Don’t just sit here you fool! Do something!”
Mejor Amigo: “..Uhh si! Si!”
While Amigo and Stache begin to conspire at ringside, Truth is going for another pinfall attempt on the champion.
One!
Two!
THREEEEE… NO!
Jeremy best manages to roll his shoulder up to keep himself still alive in the match.
<< 14:44. >>
While Truth remains in control, at ringside, Amigo assures Stache that he could get the key to the door and help out Jeremy… and he does so by approaching Richard Davis and seems to be… just talking to him?
Anzu Kurosawa: “This is getting a bit ridiculous.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Maybe Amigo has a way with words? Maybe he can talk Richard Davis into just handing over the key.”
Rod Sterling: “Based on the look on Rich’s face… I don’t think it’s working…”
Cyrus Truth, noticing the antics of the Friendship Wrestling Alliance at ringside, walks away form Jeremy long enough to yell at Stache and Amigo, which causes both to back away from Richard Davis, holding their arms up and acting as if they were innocent in the matter.
Annoyed, Truth shakes his head at the duo before turning back to Jeremy..
HE”S CAUGHT IN A SMALL PACKAGE FROM JEREMY!
ONE!
TWO!
THRE.. NO!
Truth escapes the flash pin!
Both Jeremy and Truth are back up their feet at the same time..
AND EACH go for a boot to their opponent’s head..
AND BOTH CONNECT!
Both Jeremy and Truth drop to the mat! Larry Stevens checks on both in the ring… and the crowd is on their feet as both slowly begin to pull themselves up…
Back at ringside, Amigo and Stache seem to realize they are getting nowhere with Richard Davis and the key… and Amigo points out there’s no ceiling to the cage, so they can just climb over! Stache smacks himself in the forehead for not thinking of it first..
ANd both masked men begin to climb the side of the cage..
BUT RICHARD DAVIS GRABS BOTH BY THE FEET!
Anzu Kurosawa: “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the outside the ring official have to be so active in a cage match… Richard Davis deserves a raise for his efforts tonight!”
Stache pulls his boot free from Davis and kicks at the official, creating some distance that seems like it might open the door for them to ascend the cage..
BUT TRUTH IS UP AND HE SUPERKICKS THE SIDE OF THE CAGE!
Both Amigo and Stache lose their grip and crash back down to ringside!
<< 19:30. >>
Cyrus Truth comes off the ropes, heading straight into an ARM DRAG from Jeremy who transitions it into the FRIENDSHIP BRACELET submission!
With the cross armbar on tight, Larry Stevens comes in to check on Cyrus, his face showing the pain but the Exile fights through it and is adamant in the fact that he is not giving up. Jeremy wrenches back on the arm as the crowd’s cheers grow in support of Truth to attempt to give him the energy he needs to battle out of this hold.
Truth begins to rotate his legs allowing hims to slowly begin to get himself more vertical, while Jeremy continues to hold onto the submission… but Truth lifts him up off the mat…
AND SLAMS JEREMY DOWN TO THE MAT TO BREAK THE HOLD!
Truth is slow to his feet while Jeremy grabs the ropes, pulling himself up as well. Both worn competitors stumble toward each other… and Jeremy… extends his arms… and wraps his arms around Truth with a very exhausted hug..
But he tightens his grap and goes for the belly to belly suplex..
BUT TRUTH reverses it into a belly to belly OVERHEAD SUPLEX THAT SENDS JEREMY INTO THE SIDE OF THE CAGE!
Truth pulls Jeremy back under the ropes and goes for the pin!
ONE!
TWO!
THREE!
NO!
Jeremy somehow manages to kick out!
Rod Sterling: “SO close! I thought that was going to be it but somehow Jeremy Best managed to keep this match going!’
Jean-Luc Watkins: “And don’t look now but his stooges seem to be once again up to something..”
Stache and Amigo have once again regrouped, but now its Tonya Scott who approaches them, seemingly annoyed by their combined ineptness. She seems to be telling them she’s going to handle it now.
Anzu Kurosawa: “Looks like Tonya Scott is telling he boys to step aside… but in the ring, Cyrus looks ready to finish Jeremy off, so they might want to hurry…”
Sure enough, in the ring, Cyrus Truth pulls Jeremy Best up and hoists him up onto his shoulders into a Fireman’s Carry… he’s looking for the Long Road to Nowhere!
BUT somehow Jeremy finds something left in his tank to drive a pair of punches to Truth’s forehead and he escapes down the back this time. Cyrus turns around and Jeremy catches him in the jaw with an elbow that rocks Cyrus..
And instead of following up with it, Jeremy decides to begin trying to climb the cage!
Anzu Kurosawa: “Here we ago again!”
Rod Sterling: “Once again Jeremy is trying to elect to escape the cage than deal with Cyrus Truth in the ring!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I’m not sure I can blame him after some of the punishment he’s been taking in this match.”
Truth gives chase, climbing the turnbuckles as Jeremy is near the top of the cage… Jeremy begins trying to pull himself over the top of the cage as Cyrus stands on the top turnbuckle, grabbing the back of his khaki pants, halting Jeremy’s progress!
Best tries to kick Truth off, but Cyrus clobbers Jeremy in the lower back with some hard forearm shots, and begins to pull him back over the cage… back toward him…
Turning Jeremy back toward the ring, his body still positioned across the top part of the cage, Cyrus ROCKS Jeremy with a huge elbow shiver to the side of the head… a blow so hard it almost sends Jeremy falling, but Cyrus actually holds onto him by the waistband of his khaki’s… and pulls Jeremy back to safety.
Well, safety may be a relativey term because now he was in the grasp of Cyrus…
Cyrus comes off the top rope, pulling Jeremy down off the side of the cage with an AVALANCHE POWERBOMB!
Rod Sterling: “OH MY GOD!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Jeremy Best may be dead.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “He may be… but Cyrus is also down!”
The impact had, in fact, left both Jeremy, crumpled up lifeless on the mat, and Cyrus down on his stomach, slow to recover from the impact of his own move.
Meanwhile, at ringside, things became more desperate as Tonya Scott now approached Richard Davis… and with some slide of hand magic, suddenly produced the key to the cage from.. HIS EAR! This seemed to really delight Mejor Amigo especially while Davis was not amused. Stache and Amigo blocked his way as Scott went to unlock the cage…
But Davis managed to get past his roadblock, and GRABBED SCOTT BY THE ARM as she was about to unlock the door!
However, the moment Davis laid hands on Tonya, Amigo suddenly seems to get a new sense of courage and strength as he shoves Davis away from Tonya! “UNHAND HER!” he shouts out..
CRACK!
Big Bryan Baxter, having remained standing stoically in the corner the entire match, finally makes his presence felt as he cracks Richard Davis across the back with a chair.
Rod Sterling: “Jesus! That’s one way to take care of things…”
Anzu Kurosawa: “I guess Bryan Baxter showing how you really take care of business.”
Tonya Scott finishes unlocking the cage door as Bryan stands over Davis, showing little emotion as Amigo and Stache rush into the ring, boos raining down. They attempt to attend to Jeremy, but instead, they quickly find themselves across from a recovered Cyrus Truth…
MOMENTO MORI TO AMIGO!
Stache decides to try and run away, but Cyrus grabs him by the back of his shirt… and pulls him in..
JOURNEY’S END TO SIR STACHE!
Truth pulls himself up after laying out both stooges…
And found himself now staring down Big Bryan Baxter, joining them in the cage with the steel chair in his hand and ready to strike. Truth eyes his opponent’s partner… staring Baxter down with no fear.
“You don’t want to do this.”
Baxter remains silent, positioning the chair, ready to strike but actually seems hesitant.
“Why are you helping him? Where was he when you needed him?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Is Cyrus Truth trying to talk some sense into Bryan Baxter here? Seems like an uphill battle.”
Rod Sterling: “I don’t know, Jean-Luc… Baxter could’ve laid him out already if he wanted too,,, there’s something about Truth’s words that are resonating with the Bastard.”
“Where was he win you lost your title?”
Bryan lowers his head… and begins to lower the chair…
LOW BLOW!
Jeremy Best had crawled up from behind and strikes Cyrus Truth with an uppercut to the groin.
Cyrus doubles over , drops down to his knees as Jeremy weakly sits up to his own knees.
“Finish him… Bryan… go ahead…”
Baxter looks to his partner and then to The Exile…
“I… can always… count… on you….”
Bryan sighs… as he lifts the chair high over his head…
AND CRACKS IT ACROSS TRUTH’S SKULL!
Boos flood the Sphere as Baxter tosses the chair to the mat, revealing the huge dent left in it from Truth’s head. Baxter walks out of the cage, slamming the door behind him… as he walks up the aisle, not sticking around to see the match conclude.
Anzu Kurosawa: “What… was that? It almost looked like we saw something we haven’t seen before from Bryan Baxter… but instead he lays out Truth!”
A smile has returned to Jeremy’s face as he pulls himself up… he grabs Truth’s no motionless body, lifting him up with what little strength he has left..
BFF! Just to make sure…
Jeremy makes the cover…
The crowd boos grow louder and louder..
One…
Two…
Three…
Winner: Jeremy Best via pinfall at 27:15.
A recovered Amigo and Stache along with Tonya Scott all rush to Jeremy’s aid, helping him to his feet. Through the pain and the blood on his face, a smile is still shining bright on Jeremy’s face as they hoist him up.
Kurt Harrington: “Here is your winner… and STILL FWA WORLD CHAMPION…. JEREMY BEST!!"
Rod Sterling: “Cyrus Truth had this match won! Cyrus Truth should be the FWA Champion once again! But not even a damn cage could keep the Friendship Wrestling Alliance from intervening.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Perhaps the power of Friendship really is just too strong!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Ugh. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.”
Sir Stache is more than happy to grab the FWA World Title from Larry Stevens, handing it to Jeremy Best. Best holds his “World Champion of Friendship” belt high into the air, waving to the fans as the cage begins to lift back up.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Jeremy may be celebrating with his friends now… but Bryan Baxter’s absence is quite telling after the big assist he offered up.”
Rod Sterling: “Perhaps a lot of questions about what’s going on inside the mind of the former North American Champion. We certainly haven’t seen the same side of him lately, with him on a losing streak - something he’s never experienced in his FWA career. But in any event, whether we like the outcome or not… Jeremy Best is still the champion and later tonight, we will find out who will be challenging him at Back in Business!”
We cut backstage where we see...HOLY FUCKING SHIT-! IT'S A SPOOKY SKELETON-!!! AND-oh, right, that's just one-third of Trick Or Trash, Lucha Wrestling Legend and the man who probably spends way too much time hanging around the haunted mansion ride, Halloween Knight. Who else, I wonder.
Halloween Knight: “When hinges creak in doorless chambers, and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls. Whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still… that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight! And at Carnal Contendership-”
???: "Um, excuse me?"
Halloween Knight is cut off as an unassuming backstage worker walks into his shot, and absolutely ruins the scary vibe he was going for.
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "Excuse me, I'm looking for a guy named Halloween Knight? He's meant to be a really spooky, scary guy, so I doubt I'd miss him."
Knight stares down at the man, blinking somewhat.
Halloween Knight: "...I'm Halloween Knight."
The backstage worker blanches.
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "Really?"
Halloween Knight: "Si."
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "You're the ultra scary, spooky guy?"
Halloween Knight: "Yeah."
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "You're spooky?!"
Halloween Knight: "Yeah!"
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "... Are you sure?"
Halloween Knight: "I'm the scariest wrestler in the history of wrestling."
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "Oh… Huh. Well, we all have dreams."
Knight’s impossibly hurt and emotionally scarred expression is hidden behind his mask.
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "Anyway, there's an issue with the numbers for Carnal Contendership."
Halloween Knight: "Well, that's a shame, but we got like… An hour before the match, so why are you telling me-"
Unassuming Backstage Worker: "Well, your friend Juan just started counting out the numbers and-"
That was as far as the man got, before Halloween Knight grasped him tight with the kind of strength only true fear could bring.
Halloween Knight: "JUAN'S COUNTING THE NUMBERS?! YOU LET JUAN COUNT NUMBERS?! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"
Before the man could reply, Knight suddenly took off running like his life depended on it, towards where everyone was getting their numbers, it was easy to find. It was the room with a big line of disgruntled-looking wrestlers out the door… And a rather loud, expressive voice echoing from within the room.
???: “-could be… Number SEVEN. Or… You could be… Number EIGHT…”
Carefully easing his way past the line of disgruntled and impatient wrestlers, Halloween Knight ducked into the room, letting out a sigh as he witnessed the sight - His loyal tag partner and fellow Champion of High Quality & Status, one third of the FWA Trios Champions… Juan Tothrefor, standing behind a golden tumbler, with a rather distressed assistant by his side. There’s also a random FWA wrestler in the room but this segment isn’t really about them so I’m not going to bother explicitly saying who it was. Fuck you.
Random FWA Wrestler, Of Whom Little Importance To This Segment Is Had, And Is Unlikely To Have More Than Two Lines: “Look, can we hurry this up?”
Juan Tothrefor: “Don’t interrupt me. You could be…”
Juan dramatically fishes around in the tumbler, producing the little white ball with the number six painted on it. He pauses, before flipping it upside down, brandishing it towards the random FWA wrestler.
Juan Tothrefor: “Number NINE.”
Before the random FWA wrestler can speak, Halloween Knight steps forward with a sigh. He plucks the number from Juan’s grasp, and tosses it back into the tumbler.
Halloween Knight: “What’s going on, here?”
Juan Tothrefor: “Hola, Knight. I’m just showcasing all of the numbers this entrant could have, all the possibilities. Observe.”
Juan rummages around in the tumbler once again, before fishing out a number.
Juan Tothrefor: “You could be… Number TEN.”
His hand goes back into the tumbler, repeating the process.
Juan Tothrefor: “You could be… Number ELEVEN.”
Halloween Knight: “... Why?”
Juan Tothrefor: “I’m the numbers guy. One of the brass mentioned it would be fitting for me to explain all the numbers for the Carnal Contendorship, so… Here I am. I’ll list out every possibility for this guy-”
Halloween Knight: “Sounds tedious but that should take, what… Three minutes, tops?”
Juan Tothrefor: “-Then I’ll list out every possibility for the next guy, then every possibility for the guy after that, then every possibility for the guy after that, then… So on, so forth.”
Halloween Knight: “Fuck, we’re going to be here all night.”
Juan Tothrefor: “Potentially! Anyway. You could be… Number TWELVE.”
A sigh echoes through the room. The distressed assistant looks particularly distressed. Halloween Knight looks mildly concerned. Juan Tothrefor looks like he’s having a wonderful time. The random FWA wrestler has a random facial expression.
Suddenly, another enters the room, leisurely. It’s the remaining third of the Trios Champions, Trash Mammal, casually sipping a starbucks coffee as he observes the room.
Trash Mammal: “Sup. I gots here as quickly as I could.”
Halloween Knight eyes the starbucks coffee quietly.
Halloween Knight: “… Sure.”
Juan Tothrefor: “You could be… Number THIRTEEN.”
Trash Mammal: “Oh. ‘E’s doing the numbers thing?”
Halloween Knight: “He’s doing the numbers thing.”
Juan Tothrefor: “I’m doing the numbers thing.”
Trash Mammal: “Roight, roight.”
Trash Mammal sips from his coffee again nonchalantly.
Trash Mammal: “‘S a lotta numbers to go through.”
Juan Tothrefor: “Si. You could be… Number FOURTEEN.”
Trash Mammal: “‘E doing this for every entrant?”
Halloween Knight: “Yup.”
Trash Mammal: “Might take a while.”
Halloween Knight: “Yup.”
Trash Mammal sighs, crumbling the starbucks cup and tossing it at the bin. Or the random FWA wrestler. Y’know. Whatever.
Trash Mammal: “Roight. You get his legs, I’ll get his arms.”
Juan Tothrefor: “You could be… Number FIFTEEN.”
Scooping their partner into their arms, Halloween Knight & Trash Mammal start to carry Juan away from the tumbler, out of the room and past the line of waiting impatient wrestlers.
Trash Mammal: “C’mon, Mathematical. Let’s get dis outta your system an’ quit holdin’ up traffic.”
Halloween Knight: “We’ll come back after he’s finished doing his thing, then we’ll draw our numbers.”
Trash Mammal: “Sure. Shouldn’t be too long.”
Juan Tothrefor: “You could be… Number SIXTEEN.”
Trash Mammal: “That’s tha spirit.”
The reaction is mostly negative as the next entrance theme plays in the arena, although there are a few noticeable and vocal pockets of cheers. The lights are down but for a spotlight on the stage, into which ‘Dreamer’ saunters. There is no smile on her face, as there would have been this time last year, nor is there a countenance expressing focus or determination. Instead, Michelle wears her anxieties plainly for all to see, a bundle of apprehension and even nerves as she begins her descent of the ring ramp.
Kurt Harrington: "Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one-fall, with a sixty minute time limit… is the final of the F1 Climaxxx 2024 tournament… and is for the vacant FWA North American Championship!"
The camera shows the currently unheld championship belt, which sits on a podium at the base of the ramp.
Kurt Harrington: "Introducing first, from Rotterdam in the Netherlands… she weighs in tonight at fifty four kilograms… ‘Dreamer’... Michelle von HORROWITZ!!"
MvH passes the championship belt at the foot of the ramp, pausing to contemplate it before rolling into the ring.
Rod Sterling: "There we see Michelle von Horrowitz contemplating the FWA North American Championship, which incidentally is the one belt that she needs to complete her grand slam."
Anzu Kurosawa: "We’ve heard Michelle say that illustrious accolade is far from her mind going into this one, with the idea of becoming a two-time F1 winner and getting one over old rival Chris Peacock more prevalent within her thoughts."
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Dreamer takes her seat in the corner, her eyes locked on the stage area as her music fades out. A familiar pose, but something about Michelle’s body language tonight suggests that she isn’t the ocean of calm that she usually is…"
Konchu Hao: "Ocean of calm? You and I must know very different Michelles, Jean-Luc. I know a thing or two about chaos when I see it."
As Michelle waits in the ring for her opponent to make his entrance, she paces, unsure what the hold up is. The Sphere gets plunged into darkness for a few moments before a piano is shown on the stage, illuminated by a single spotlight. On the stool in front of the piano sits Chris Peacock. He grins and waves in the direction of the ring towards MvH, who looks extremely annoyed by the unnecessary pageantry. Peacock is dressed in a full pink suit with matching waistcoat. He cracks his knuckles and begins to play;
“Doesn’t seem to matter what I do,
I can’t get respect from you.
No one knows how hard I tried, oh-oh I…
I have feelings that I can’t explain…
Causin’ me so much pain..
You hate me for being me,
Well I guess I’ll just make you see..”
Chris kicks the stool away and rips the microphone from the stand attached to the piano, starting to walk away from the stage. The lights brighten slightly to reveal around two dozen men on the stage with him, all dressed the same and wearing latex masks resembling his face.
“‘Cause I’m just Chris, shoot at me you better not miss.
There’s hilarity in your unrecognised hypocrisy.
I’m just Chris!
Everyone says you smell like piss,
Would it be mean for me to say Europeans don’t have personal hy-giene?”
There’s a grin from Chris as he knows that he is getting underneath Michelle’s skin as the music kicks into a higher gear and the backing dancers begin to perform a synchronised routine. He nods his head and dances along a bit himself to the more upbeat section before bringing the mic up to his mouth once again.
“I wanna know what it's like to win the Grand Slam!
Sorry to say, but you’re gonna lose like only a Nephew can!
You might not like me, but I don’t give a damn!
Fuck you, Dreamerrrrrrr…”
The backing dancers form into more organised routines, with most of the gestures and moves that they are making involving thrusting or other simulated acts of debauchery. Peacock himself runs into the back, allowing the dancers to take centre stage.
As they dance, a horn is heard and to the shock of almost no one, Chris Peacock is standing atop a truck which comes out onto the stage. It mows through the piano and shatters it into pieces. Whilst Chris is in the middle, he is flanked by both of the Diamond Dogs, as well as Alyster Black and Violet Dreyer. Allen Price is shown in the driver’s seat of the truck. They are all wearing pink tracksuits in another middle finger to the Nephews, but these are branded ‘FTN’.
“Can you feel that energy?
That sexy F-T-Nenergy!
Can you feel that energy?
That sexy F-T-Nenergy!”
As Chris begins to croon once more, he slides down the windscreen and starts walking down the ramp. As he does so, the dancers get a dosing from the hoses all of the other FTN Family members are in possession of, covering them in thick, frothy white liquid.
“I'm just Chris; this stuff’s not actually jizz,
I have to say legally that it’s a synthesised pro-per-ty!
I'm just Chris; you can all just suck on this!
Will it take me beating her again to take me ser-ious-ly?”
The other FTN members leave the truck as well, a white mess in their wake as they follow Chris down the ramp and sing along to the harmony section.
“I'm just Chris!”
“JUST WATCH HIM DANCE!”
“Shove my size ten up your ass!
So, hey, go fuck yourselves, yeah, I'm just Chris!”
Peacock slaps a baseball hat from a fan’s head and shoves a middle finger in his face, before looking back at Michelle in the ring who is seething.
“My name's Chris!”
“THAT’S CHRIS PEACOCK!”
“FUCK RAMON AND GOLDEN ROCK!
Fuck the Ne-phews too, yeah, I'm just Chris!”
This time the whole group - all of whom Michelle has had run-ins with in the past, give her a one finger salute before Chris steps forward for the crescendo.
“Baby, I'm just CHRIS!”
The song ends and Chris embraces his friends and they all offer him well wishes ahead of the match. He tosses the microphone over his head and then climbs into the ring, pleased with his performance.
Anzu Kurosawa: "Well that was certainly an entrance. Jean-Luc, any thoughts?"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Let’s just get this match underway."
SECOND MATCH | 1/60.
Chris Peacock vs. Michelle von Horrowitz..
Singles Match. F1 Climaxxx 2024 Final. FWA North American Championship.
Match Writer: SupineSnake.
<< 00:00. >>
The bell has sounded, but both competitors remain in their respective corners, staring across the squared circle at one another with contrasting expressions. Peacock has an air of confidence, whilst Michelle still wears a vague, uncharacteristic nervousness plainly. Eventually, with the crowd’s anticipation for the match properly built, the pair circle the ring, becoming ever closer to one another as the radius of their concentric circles decrease. Michelle seems to be offering a collar and elbow tie up, which Peacock initially reciprocates, before he shifts his weight and lashes out with an attempted boot to the midsection. Dreamer telegraphs it, though, catching his boot and then pushing it away to turn him around. She proceeds to grasp Peacock in a rear waistlock…
Rod Sterling: "von Horrowitz attempts to wrench Peacock up and over with a German suplex, but Peacock anchors his weight down, before aiming a side elbow at Michelle…"
Anzu Kurosawa: "Dreamer ducks it, Peacock turning to face her…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "… and Michelle throws him over her shoulder, with not so much a Northern Lights suplex as a judo-ish throw."
Anzu Kurosawa: "A judo-ish throw? Don’t get too technical, Jean-Luc."
Peacock scrambles straight up to his feet, lunging back towards Michelle. Dreamer doubles him over with a spinning kick to the gut, though, and then hits the ropes to connect with a dropkick to the side of the head! Peacock immediately rolls under the bottom rope, perhaps looking to recuperate after the flourish of offence from Dreamer. He props himself up against the barricade, but Michelle is perpetual motion in the ring, having already hit the opposite set of ropes…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Tope con hilo!! Michelle crashes onto Peacock on the outside!"
Rod Sterling: "This audience understandably doesn’t know who to cheer for in this one, but there’s no denying the athleticism on the display. Everyone’s on their feet here in the Sphere!"
Everyone, that is, except Chris Peacock, who needs some help from MvH to get back up to a vertical base. Dreamer throws him back into the ring, beneath the bottom rope, before hopping up onto the apron, feeding off the momentum as she climbs up towards the top rope. Peacock uneasily clambers to his feet in the middle of the ring, turning to face Michelle as she steadies herself atop the top turnbuckle…
Anzu Kurosawa: "Michelle goes for a picture perfect cross-body…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "… but Chris Peacock catches her with a SPEAR!! He wipes her out!!"
Rod Sterling: "Incredible anti-air from Disco’s Last Warrior, who now hooks the far leg. This might be it already!"
ONE… TWO… T – NO!
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Michelle thrusts a shoulder up, but Peacock follows up by slapping on a reverse chin lock."
Anzu Kurosawa: "Attempting to slow this match down to a more manageable pace, it seems."
Konchu Hao: "Time for a nap, then."
***
<< 06:24. >>
Peacock has dominated the early stretches of the match, and has most recently earned himself another two count following a delayed vertical suplex and then a standing leg drop. With Michelle suitably worn down, he Irish whips her into a corner and follows her in with a clothesline. He nails a quartet of hard, loud knife edge chops, before proceeding to mount the second rope, grabbing a fistful of Dreamer’s hair in the process.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Chris Peacock begins to rain down with right hands onto the top of Michelle's head, continuing to take it to her in the early stretches of this match."
Rod Sterling: "He's showing the world why they call him Dreamer's Nightmare!"
The crowd counts along with him as he completes ten punches, pauses, and then delivers another ten, more rapid fire than the first set! The crowd reaches twenty in their count and Peacock finally hops down from the ropes, allowing Michelle to fall down face-first in the middle of the ring! Peacock smirks as he drags her back to her feet by the scruff of the neck, then hoists her onto his shoulders.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Chris Peacock spins round and round and round and round with the airplane spin, and we know what usually comes next… Samoan drop!"
Anzu Kurosawa: "He calls that Dance Dance Revolution…"
Konchu Hao: "The softest of all revolutions."
Rod Sterling: "Chris Peacock with the cover…"
ONE… TWO… T – NO!
Again, Michelle gets the shoulder up, but Peacock is undeterred. He helps Dreamer regain a vertical base, holding her up with a fist full of hair… and then connects with a pimp slap!! The crowd audibly gasps at the disrespectful move, prompting another snide smirk from Disco’s Last Warrior, who follows up with a boot to the midsection. Michelle is doubled over, and Peacock hits the ropes…
Rod Sterling: "Chris Peacock maybe looking for his patented scissor kick famouser… but Michelle cuts him off with a discus forearm!!"
Anzu Kurosawa: "I think that pimp slap might’ve shaken Michelle back to life, and now she doubles Peacock over with a kick to the gut."
Dreamer applies a front facelock, attempting to wrench Peacock up and over with a brainbuster, but again Peacock anchors his weight down, proceeding to fight back with repeated digs at her midriff.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Once again, Dreamer is unable to lift Peacock up off the mat… and he reverses with a snap suplex!"
Peacock shakes the cobwebs loose from the discus forearm before dragging himself to his feet. Michelle is still down, allowing Peacock to reassume full control with a grounded side headlock as the match rolls on…
***
<< 12:01. >>
Peacock once again has Michelle backed into a corner, where he proceeds to drive a shoulder into her gut a half dozen times, before hoisting her up into a seated position atop the uppermost turnbuckle. He reaches up to connect with another slap, rocking Michelle, before climbing up onto the second turnbuckle.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Chris Peacock assumes a precarious position, with Michelle von Horrowitz already in one on that top turnbuckle… and now he applies a front facelock."
Rod Sterling: "Surely thinking superplex here, which is bad news for an already weakened Dreamer. She recognises that fact, too, and attempts to fight back with forearms aimed at Peacock’s gut."
Chris is forced to relinquish his front facelock, and then he attempts to incapacitate Dreamer with a straight right. Michelle blocks it, though, before firing back with a forearm… and then a headbutt!! Peacock is staggered, and Michelle thinks she has a moment or two to shake herself back to life. Chris has other ideas, though, immediately returning with a headbutt of his own!! Michelle is rocked, allowing Peacock to recollect her in a front facelock. He drags MvH onto the very top, before stepping up onto the uppermost turnbuckle alongside her…
Rod Sterling: "SUPERPLEX!!!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "All the way from the very top!"
Rod Sterling: "Peacock drapes an arm over Michelle…"
ONE… TWO… T – NO!!
Anzu Kurosawa: "Dreamer kicks out! This one's not over!!"
***
<< 16:38. >>
Peacock has Michelle on Dream Street (pun intended) in the middle of the ring, where he connects with a right hand. Then a second. And a third. Disco's Last Warrior wows the crowd with some theatrics, and then looks for the fourth… but Michelle ducks underneath it! She grasps Peacock from behind in a rear waist lock.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Once more, Michelle looks for a suplex - this time a German - and, once more, Peacock proves too heavy for her…"
Rod Sterling: "Peacock attempts a spinning back fist to counter the rear waist lock, but Dreamer sees it coming. She evades the strike…"
Anzu Kurosawa: "Russian leg sweep! Peacock is taken off his feet, but only for a matter of moments. Both competitors stagger to their feet and charge at one another… Michelle connects with a Busaiku knee!!!"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "You got the sense that Chris Peacock was looking for his Strut there, but Michelle von Horrowitz beats him to the punch!"
Dreamer is up to her feet first, this torn crowd unsure whether to cheer or boo as she clutches Peacock by the scruff of the neck. She drags him up and into position in a front face lock…
Rod Sterling: "Michelle is going for it again…"
Konchu Hao: "Madness! She can't do it…"
Michelle pauses, takes a deep breath, then heaves…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "BRAINBUSTAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! She gets it!!"
Anzu Kurosawa: "And now she hooks the leg…"
ONE… TWO… TH – NO!!
Peacock kicks out, but Michelle feels the momentum has shifted. She drags him up, doubling him over with a spin kick to the gut. Dreamer hooks both arms, and connects with a DDT! It's not a pinfall attempt that follows, though, with Michelle instead eyeing up a top turnbuckle that looks above Peacock's supine body.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "MvH is doubtlessly thinking 450 splash here, looking to end this one with a killer blow…"
Dreamer drags herself up to her feet and begins to move over to the corner…
… but then, unexpectedly for both her and the crowd, the lights dim low. She can still see, but not with the same clarity as a moment before. She is confused and on edge, the crowd's excitement for the interruption palpable.
Then, the big screen spurs into action. A timer more suited to a 1940s cinema counts down from five to two.
To those that watched the previous episode of Meltdown, the footage is familiar, having been played after the culmination of Michelle's semi-final match with Bryan Baxter.
We find ourselves in the corridor of a hotel, as viewed from a CCTV camera positioned in a high corner. Text in the corner acts as ID for the security camera and a timestamp:
4S-MCC F7-002
07/23/2023 03:26
After a few moments of flickering footage and buzzing audio, we see the sullen and dejected figure of a female dressed all in black. She walks away from the camera, her rucksack low on her shoulders. The figure is immediately recognisable as Michelle von Horrowitz, and this is confirmed by the woman's reaction within the ring. We see her scowling and seething as the footage plays on.
Just like we saw on Meltdown, Michelle turns a corner in the corridor and we see her walking towards a different camera. She arrives at a specific door, full of shame and regret to go alongside the physical pain that she wears plainly. She knocks on the door with only a moment's hesitation.
As on Meltdown, we can’t hear the audio of the brief exchange that follows between Michelle and the unseen man who opens the door. We can tell they are talking only by the muffled snippets of speech on the audiotrack.
???: ". …. …’. ….."
An awkward shuffle. Dreamer grips the top rope in the ring in present day, her rage tangible.
MvH: ". …, …."
On the screen, Michelle enters the room, and a title card announces INTERMISSION. The lights come back up inside the arena, Michelle's anger and terror now obvious for all to see. She continues to watch the screen, until the image shifts into one of herself, standing in the ring, looking as lost as she did that night in July.
Finally, she remembers herself. Where she is. She turns around…
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Peacock connects with a pimp slap!! The third of this match-up, catching Michelle unawares!"
Rod Sterling: "DISCO THRILLER!!! Peacock hits his split-legged stunner!"
Dreamer does her best to fight up to her feet, but manages only a seated position. She doesn't even see Peacock charging towards her…
Rod Sterling: "STRUT!! STRUT!! Chris Peacock hits The Strut!"
Anzu Kurosawa: "But he isn't going for the cover! Peacock wants to make absolutely sure!"
He grasps Dreamer by both wrists and pulls her up into a kneeling position. He continues to maintain wrist control…
Rod Sterling: "Chris Peacock hits a second Strut! Dreamer has nowhere to go, and slumps down to the mat…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "Peacock with the cover! Michelle might be out!!"
Konchu Hao: "A dark day."
ONE… TWO… THREE!
Winner: Chris Peacock via pinfall at 19:31.
Kurt Harrington: "Here is your winner of the 2024 F1 Climaxxx… and the NEW FWA North American Champion… Chris… PEACOCK!!"
In the middle of the ring, the official helps Chris Peacock to his feet and lifts his hand in victory. Disco's Last Warrior, a wide grin on his face, promptly snatches his hand away from the referee so that he can celebrate alone. He raises both of his hands in the air and then moves to the side of the ring to demand his championship belt from the timekeeper.
Rod Sterling: "He's done it! Chris Peacock has won the F1 Climaxxx 2024, and claimed the FWA North American Championship in the process! That makes him only the fifth Grand Slam champion in company history!"
Peacock is handed the belt, finally, which he clutches to his chest, a look of relief and happiness plastered on his face.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "The FWA X Championship, the FWA World Championship, the FWA World Tag Team Championships, and now the FWA North American Championship. Chris Peacock completes the set, entering his name onto a historic list that - until tonight - included only Ryan Rondo, Chris Kennedy, WOLF, and Phillip A. Jackson. A remarkable achievement for a man whose FWA career is still so young."
Peacock mounts the second turnbuckle, the championship belt raised high above his head. The crowd is unsure whether to cheer or boo, both reactions raining down on the ring in equal measure. Sonny and Ricardo have joined Peacock in the ring, applauding him from the centre of it as the new champion celebrates in the corner. He eventually hops down from the turnbuckles and engages in an embrace of the tag team.
Anzu Kurosawa: "What a moment for Peacock, who made it very clear what this match and this accomplishment meant to him. You can chalk up an assist to the guys in the production truck, maybe, but tonight belongs to Chris Peacock!"
The Diamond Dogs each lift a hand of the new champion into the air after fastening the belt around his waist. Then, with his music blaring around the chaotic arena, Peacock and his accompaniments climb out of the ring.
Rod Sterling: "The new North American champion and his FTN associates head up the ramp, doubtlessly to begin their debauched celebrations, leaving the defeated Michelle von Horrowitz in the ring. She looks like she's finally coming around after that pair of devastating Struts from Peacock, and now she must contemplate the ramifications of this defeat…"
Jean-Luc Watkins: "As well as whatever that footage was we saw playing towards the end of the contest."
Peacock lingers on the stage as Michelle gathers herself in the ring. She uses a set of ring ropes to help hoist herself to a vertical base and watches on as Peacock lifts his belt into the air, a shit-eating grin on his face, before disappearing through the curtain.
In the ring, with Sister Sledge still blaring out of the arena's PA system, Dreamer silently seethes with her hands on her hips. Her eyes are fixed upon the stage, and remain so as - once more - the lights go off in the arena. Just like it did during the match, the big screen on the stage shifts from images of the action within the Sphere to a black, blank canvas. Upon this background, in white text, we see an introductory title card:
R.W.P. presents.
"[/color]ONE NIGHT IN MEXICO CITY."[/b][/color]
Part Two: the Director's Cut.[/b]
The screen flickers into motion, with the now-familiar grainy image of Michelle von Horrowitz walking down a hotel corridor. The timestamp and ID number in the corner is the same as it ever was.
4S-MCC F7-002
07/23/2023 03:26
When she arrives at the same particular door, though, we notice a startling difference. She knocks three times and we hear it. Not clearly, but more so than in earlier iterations of the footage. A moment later, the door clicks and opens. The person on the other side of it remains hidden behind it.
???: "I knew you'd come."
The voice is peculiar: both goading and sincere, and somewhat recognisable although clouded by its strange candour. Michelle shuffles awkwardly on the threshold, uncomfortable in the crosshairs of her expectant counterpart’s gaze.
MvH: "I did, too."
The door opens wider still, and Michelle disappears inside the hotel room.
It is the third time that we have seen these images, but - unlike the previous two occasions - the footage continues to play. Our feed remains fixed on the screen, but if it was to flit to the woman currently inside the wrestling ring it would find Michelle von Horrowitz silenced and paralyzed by her rage and her fear.
From within the room, a man wearing a white bathrobe and gold, silk boxer shorts walks into the corridor. He stretches, yawns, and turns to face the camera. He regards the lens thoughtfully.
We know him. He pushes his blonde hair back from his eyes. Smiles. Winks at the camera. A Basterdly wink.
He returns to the hotel room and the footage ends. The lights come up in the arena, revealing Michelle within the ring, even paler than she usually is. Her fists are clenched tightly, her shoulders convulsing slightly with anger.
Jean-Luc Watkins: "That was… Jesus Christ, that was Shawn Summers!"
Rod Sterling: "We haven't seen Der Basterd in the FWA for almost a year, since Back in Business 2023. Does this mean… is he coming back?!"
We don't get an answer. Instead, with excited chatter swirling around her in the audience, Michelle von Horrowitz climbs out of the ring. Her back is hunched and her eyes fixed firmly upon the ground in front of her as she paces abruptly up the ramp. We fade from the scene.
Elizabeth Rose walks into her locker-room before the Carnal Contendership match. Her intention is to get out any last-minute pre-match jitters, however… the lights in the room are off and all she can see is a television set with static filling the screen. There’s a figure obscured by the static on the screen, male in shape, but specific features are impossible to be seen. The television illuminates a large black throne facing it in the center of the room. There is a chill in the air that she hasn’t felt for months. It feels… familiar, yet it has a new sting to it.
Elizabeth crosses her arms and taps her foot before exclaiming, “Well, where the hell have you been? Abandoning me like that, who the fuck are you to do that?!”
From the side of the chair comes an outstretched arm and a limp-wristed hand. Hanging off the index finger of this hand… is a very familiar tiara.
“Bite your tongue, sister. I have been… collecting myself, dealing punishments, and allowing fate to run its course.”
The static on the television goes crazy as the female voice speaks. The woman stands from the throne and comes around to face Elizabeth Rose.
“My heart bleeds… For you, for the Princess… and for other reasons…”
The woman is the returning Daughter of Demise, Keres. She clutches the tiara in her hand as she walks up within inches of Elizabeth Rose’s face.
“The words you spoke, the truth you told, and the fire in your voice as you declared your intentions for the Carnal Contendership… while they were blasphemous in nature… showed me what I wanted to see. Instead of ending you where you stand… I will instead say that you passed your test, my darling Elizabeth. Perhaps you will be a good influence for… her.”
Keres holds up the tiara between them before bringing it back down to her side.
“Win or lose… make your statement in that match. And then… well, let’s just say I feel as if television is about to become more interesting.”
Keres snaps her fingers and the television shuts off, leaving the entire room in darkness.
Cut to backstage, at the familiar room with the tumbler and the numbers and the FWA assistant. The FWA assistant is cleaning up, a blanket over the tumbler, whilst whistling casually.
Unfortunately, that isn’t to last, as the FWA Trios Champions, Tr1ck or Tr4sh, burst through the doorway.
Juan Tothrefor: “LET’S GET OUR NUMBERS, AMIGOS.”
Halloween Knight: “SI, SI, SI!”
Etc.
Trash Mammal: “Took ya toime. Didn’t think you’d ever stop counting.”
Juan Tothrefor: “There’s a lot of numbers and I won’t apologize for exploring all avenues.”
Trash Mammal: “Regardless. Let’s grab our numbers for the CC and get out of here, pretty sure the match starts in, like… Ten minutes, ish.”
Nodding, Halloween Knight reached for the tumbler, gleefully ripping the blanket off of it, before pausing in dismay, as the tumbler lay empty, devoid of numbers. A long pause ensued, as TxT glanced at each other, then at the FWA assistant.
Halloween Knight: “... There’s no more numbers left, aren’t there?”
The FWA assistant nodded.
Halloween Knight: “So we could’ve been in the CC if Juan didn’t insist on counting every number possible.”
The FWA assistant nodded again.
Halloween Knight sighed, as Trash Mammal turned to Juan Tothrefor, glowering silently.
Halloween Knight: “There’s always next year, lads.”
Juan Tothrefor: “Look, when I was counting the numbers-
Trash Mammal: “The next numbers you’re going to be counting are going to be the number of teeth you got left, you motherf-”
As Trash Mammal lunges at Juan Tothrefor, we mercifully cut to black.
“The Carnal Contendership.”
We see stages of past Carnal Contendership shows go past as we see fans getting hyped.
“First appearing in 2008, it has become a mainstay of FWA as it resembles the first step on the path to Back In Business.”
We see a quick glimpse of a Back In Business before being transported once more.
“The rules are simple, 2 entrants start the match. After a starting bout of 3 minutes. another competitor will enter the match every ninety seconds until all thirty competitors have entered the match.”
The video shows as such.
“You get eliminated when not one but both of your feet touch the floor.”
We see classic eliminations over the years like Maximillion getting eliminated by Adam Rock, WOLF eliminating Ashley O’Ryan, Thomas Princeton throwing out Christian Quinn and who could forget Kayden Knox getting himself eliminated so he could help his mentor Michael Ga-
“The last 6 runner ups of the match go onto the Golden Opportunity Match but for the one who wins the Carnal Contendership..they have a chance to immortalise themself with a shot at the world championship in the main event of Back In Business. But with chances of winning being so slim, success is all about the numbers.”
263
“The number of wrestlers who have all tried their shot in this glorious bout, consisting of 26 Former world champions & 22 Hall Of Famers.”
Various competitors from the CC over the years making their entrance flash upon the screen. Names include Eyesnsane, Katsu, Uncle J.J.JAY!, Steve The Techno Vampire, Dave Sullivan, and Reagan Cole.
12
“The number of wrestlers of that 263 who have managed to win the Carnal Contendership. A whopping 4.63%. 12 is also special to the Carnal Contendership in another way. the entrant number of 12 holds 2 separate winners, Nate Richardson and Shannon O’Neal.”
We see the first-ever winner of the Carnal Contendership, Nate Richardson along with 2017’s winner Shannon O'Neal both coming out at 12.
1
"As showcased, the best entry numbers haven’t come from the later numbers but instead, it is actually the early ones and nothing proves that quite like the number one entrant that despite it’s tough challenge, has possessed more winning entrants than any other number with 3 different winners. A third of the last 9 winners have all come from number one."
This is showcased via showing Nova Diamond from 2019, Ryan Rondo from 2015, Danny Toner from 2022 all celebrating their Carnal Contendership Victory.
“The Carnal Contendership is no stranger to surprises, whether that’s Jeffry Mason in 2022 who does hold the record of most times an entrant has eliminated themselves with 2 separate occurrences or Jean-Luc Watkins returning to the ring for one night only last year. But no surprise was more iconic than the one that happened in..”
2016
The video goes dark for a moment, we hears the murmurs start to spread around as an now very familiar song begins to play we see Chris Kennedy standing in the ring – he may have been focused before but he seems to have lost a step as he stares at the screen... he was not expecting this.
“In 2016 professional wrestling legend, Cyrus Truth finally made his way to FWA and since then his name has been synonymous with The Carnal Contendership.”
15
“The amount of eliminations Cryus has made over his three appearances, the most career Contendership eliminations of all time, eliminating stars of past, present and future alike, all of them falling to the Exile.”
We see every single one of Cyrus’ famous eliminations in quick succession. Danny Toner. Chris Kennedy. Thomas Jordan. Ryan Rondo. KAIZEN. WOLF. Gabrielle. Chris Crowe. Xyz. Phillip A. Jackson. Kleio De Santos. The aforementioned Jean-Luc Watkins. Alyster Black. Chubby Carlos and finally…Weaselperson.
“And most recently last year he put another record in there by becoming the second person alongside WOLF…”
We get flashbacks to Wolf’s previous wins of the 2011 Carnal Contendership and also the 2014 Carnal Contendership where he kicks Gabrielle off the apron as we once again hear Langdon Trafford yell at the top of his lungs as WOLF is seen falling to his back and laying in the center of the ring.
“To win the Carnal Contendership not once but twice.”
We get a few more flashbacks this time to the 2016 & 2023 Carnal Contendership of Cyrus Truth last eliminating Gabrielle and Weaselperson respectively.
“Cyrus Truth is also one of 6 people to win their first Carnal Contendership”
More flashbacks to each winner that won the Carnal Contendership the first try. Nova Diamond. Michelle Von Horrowitz. Shannon O’Neal. Nate Richardson. Ryan Hall. And Chris Kennedy himself but we go back to..
“And someone that came so close to doing the same thing his first time is the man who knows Cyrus Truth very well.”
We cut back to last year’s Carnal Contendership where Cyrus stands tall and he shares a momentary eye contact with CHRIS PEACOCK who watches on knowingly.
1 Hour 3 Minutes
1 Hour 9 Minutes
“Chris Peacock in his, only to this date, outings in the Carnal Contendership have went the mile being the very few who have lasted over a hour not once but twice. In his secondary legendary run, he even managed to eliminate the most individuals in a single CC with 9 mostly nephews in his hunt yet he was outshone by a former rival of his Danny Toner who just lasted 16 minutes longer in the same match to gain the record of longest time in a Carnal Contendership with"
1 hour 25 Minutes
“Leaving Peacock still without a win in the biggest stipulation of the year but he isn’t the only one.”
We cut to 2016 where a younger version of the man who very recently lost his North American Championship, Mike Parr comes out at number 13.
“For the last 6 Carnal Contenderships in a row, they have all shared one common person and that is “The Prodigy” Mike Parr.”
Now we get cuts between this and every entrance Parr has made into this stipulation even his performance from number 2 in 2019, we see him fighting and yet even we see him coming up short sometimes because of his own fault for example 2022 when him and Shawn Summers eliminated themselves and each other as a just another highlight of their feud or 2023 when he was once again eliminated by Shawn Summers this time just more out of spite.
“Always the bridesmaid, never the bride but will this be the year Mike Parr finally makes it all the way? Or will he grasp short once again as someone else takes the prize?”
Eternal. Trixie Bordeaux. Sawyer Xavier. Jackson Fenix. Johnny Johnson. Konchu Hao. The Coven.
“Anyone on the FWA roster is eligible to enter which is one of the things that make this one of the unpredictable matches of the year.”
Nate Savage. XYZ. Jason Randall. Jack The Clipper. Jay Kenny. Trick Or Trash. Vengador, Gabrielle.
“Because there’s only
1
path to Back In Business.”
Shots of Back In Business from past years. Bryan Baxter. Colby Sol. Ryan Rondo eliminating Devin Golden. Sierra. Danny Toner on a truck from the 2017 Carnal Contendership. Xperienx Xtacee. PONI BOI. Lord Vincent Takaab Blackbird being eliminated by Yuna Funanori.
“And It starts right here at the
For what should be the final time on tonight’s show, we return to the ringside area. The jam packed crowd inside the Sphere are on the edge of their seats as the time has come for tonight’s titular match.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Tonight has already been a historic night for the Fantasy Wrestling Alliance with the crowning of a new North American - and Grand Slam - Champion in Chris Peacock and our FWA World Champion Jeremy Best securing his spot in the main event of Back in Business XVIII. It is now time to find out who will be challenging Best in New York on August 11.”
Rod Sterling: “Thirty competitors will walk out from the back and vie to earn that spot, ladies and gentlemen. Alliances may be formed or broken, career trajectories altered permanently or perhaps even ended entirely… what we do know is that there can only be one.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “I’m pretty pumped for this one, I won’t lie. The field is STACKED and that’s just the people we know about… this match is prone to throwing up a surprise or two every year.”
Konchu Hao: “Most definitely, Anzu. The winner of this match will be the individual that can control the chaos and become its master. Being true to oneself and not allowing your spirit to be broken by the immense pressure - that is the key!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Precisely. I’m positive everyone watching will be fully abreast of the rules of this match, but just in case… here is Kurt Harrington.”
The camera zooms in on Kurt in the middle of the ring, beaming with pride as he prepares to introduce another Carnal Contendership Match. Once the crowd noise has died down slightly, he raises his microphone and expertly projects his voice.
Kurt Harrington: “For the thousands in attendance and the millions watching at home, the following contest is your MAIN EVENT of the evening and it is the 2024 CARRRRNAAAALLLL COOOOONTENDERRRSSHIP MAAAAATCH!!”
The vibrant announcement sends the fans into another frenzy. Kurt grins and waits for them to calm slightly once again.
Kurt Harrington: “The rules of the match are as follows… Two competitors will enter the match and after a period of three minutes, another competitor will enter the match every ninety seconds until all thirty competitors have entered the match.
Competitors are eliminated from the match when they are put over the top rope and both feet touch the floor below. The match will continue until twenty-nine competitors have been eliminated and the winner will go on to challenge Jeremy Best for the FWA World Championship in the main event of Night Two of Back in Business XVIII!
Now introducing the individual who has drawn, number one!”
Kurt Harrington: “Introducing first, representing The Menagé… from Sitka Alaska and weighing in at one-hundred and eighty pounds… he is XYZ!!!”
Rod Sterling: “The fans here in Vegas seem to love themselves a bit of XYZ if that ovation is anything to go by. We’ve seen XYZ and his Menagé entangled with The Coven as of late with both groups suffering both actual and rumoured defections…”
Anzu Kurosawa: “XYZ held The Menagé back when he came out here and well, it is going to be a long night for him if he wants to book that spot alongside Jeremy Best at Back in Business.”
Konchu Hao: “But if anyone is going to possess the unwavering faith required to undertake such a task… it would be XYZ. The dream never dies! HA!”
XYZ vaults over the top rope into the ring and affixes his cape around his neck to ensure that it will stay in place for the very long journey he will have ahead of him from the starting blocks. Once ‘One Headlight’ fades out, he stands in the corner of the ring, waiting for his first of prospectively twenty-nine dancing partners.
Kurt Harrington: “Introducing the individual who drew number two… representing The Coven, she is the FWA Television Champion… KLEIOOOOOOO DE SAAAAANTOOOOOS!!!”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, it is always funny how the Carnal Contendership can throw some interesting pairings together at the beginning of these matches. We saw it with Bryan Baxter and Chris Crowe last year; Uncle and Danny Toner the year before. The leaders of two warring factions will be the ones to start things off in 2024 here in Vegas, and neither look particularly pleased with this outcome.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “That may have something to do with their low entry numbers in all fairness, J-L. Unlike XYZ with the Menagé, the rest of The Coven aren’t out here to show their support for Kleio. But that Television Championship being around her waist once again is probably a suitable recompense.”
Konchu Hao: “It is to my understanding that The Coven have misplaced Grandma Ethel, which would be the reason for her absence. A most peculiar thing to happen in the world of professional wrestling; the disappearance of an elderly woman.”
Kleio gets into the ring and rests her hand on her championship to keep it in place as she does, ensuring at all times to keep her eye on XYZ. XYZ seems to have some words for KDS, but she ignores him to make it clear that her focus is on the match at hand. Harrington evacuates from the ring, leaving just the two competitors and referee Larry Stevens on the outside motions for the bell to be rung so the match can commence!
Konchu Hao: “The scene is SET. The time is NIGH. LET BATTLE COMMENCE! KEHAHAHAHAHAAA!”
THIRD MATCH | MAIN EVENT | 1/∞.
The 2024 Carnal Contendership Match.
30-Person Battle Royale. FWA World Championship #1 Contendership.
Match Writer: Man.
The first section of the match gets underway, with there being three minutes until the as-yet-unknown third entrant will make their appearance. Kleio and XYZ circle the ring almost as if to get a feel for one another. The Television Champion is the first to make a serious move, lunging in and catching XYZ by the foot. He hops on his other for a few seconds but gets his balance and pushes Kleio away. Kleio immediately retaliates with a Spinning Back Fist attempt, which XYZ swiftly ducks. He lifts her up for a Belly-to-Back Suplex, but she is able to land on her feet behind him.
Seeing an opening, Kleio jumps on XYZ’s back and tries to cinch in a Rear Naked Choke, but he is alert to it and starts walking closer to the ropes… and Snapmares KDS over the top rope!! Desperately clinging onto the top and middle ropes, KDS lands on her backside on the apron and a panicked look on her face.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “An early scare here for De Santos - she’s held on but here comes XYZ, hitting the ropes and looking for a Basement Dropkick…”
A quick barrel roll back into the ring from the apron through the ropes enables Kleio to dodge the Dropkick attempt from XYZ, who then gets caught up in the ropes himself. This leaves him wide open for KDS, who stomps straight down onto his chest. The fans jeer as De Santos stalks XYZ away from the ropes and towards the corner. He uses the turnbuckles to pick himself back up, but this is to his detriment as KDS adopts a wide base and tries to force him up and over the top rope in the corner.
XYZ grits his teeth as he does what he can to resist the elimination attempt; he catches KDS with an elbow to the head but his only means of escape is to sit himself on the top turnbuckle. His adversary is quick to catch up with him though and together they stand on the middle rope in the corner. They jostle for position for a moment but then a loud scream comes out of XYZ’s mouth as KLEIO IS BITING HIS NECK!!
Anzu Kurosawa: “It has been said before that someone might need to be prepared to do all sorts of depraved acts in order to win the Carnal Contendership but I don’t think anyone has eliminated someone by impersonating a vampire before!”
Konchu Hao: “I think a vampire would not enjoy all of the bright lights and the loud noises. Vampires operate primarily in the shadows, you see. Plus, as a supposed witch - pure drivel if you ask me, though - Kleio should be practising magic as opposed to vampirism!”
Despite Konchu’s objections to her choice of craft, the move proves effective as Kleio has XYZ in a tremendously precarious position on the turnbuckle and she places her arm over his head and turns around, looking for LETTERS TO KLEIO OUT OF THE CORNER - BUT XYZ SHOVES HER FORWARD - AND KDS CATCHES HER FACE ON THE TOP ROPE AND FALLS DOWN TO THE MAT!! It is a very bad landing for the Television Champion, and she rises up from the mat whilst holding her chin and neck. By which time XYZ has stepped up onto the top rope and he takes flight, crushing Kleio with knees to the chest!!
Rod Sterling: “These two have treated us to a thrilling opening to this match, but I think it is about time that they got some company in there!”
XYZ stands up and accepts the applause from the fans in a gracious manner, but his attention is then drawn to the countdown clock which appears on the screen;
10!
9!
8!
7!
6!
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #3: TRIXIE BORDEAUX AT 3:00
The third entrant into the match means that two thirds of the active participants are champions as well as members of The Coven. Trixie walks out from the back sans her X Championship and picks up the pace the closer she gets to the ring.
Anzu Kurosawa: “Well I hope everyone who plans to compete in this match tonight has brought their crotch guards, because our unhinged X Champion has staked her claim as well it seems. The first ever Queen of the Deathmatch will want to add another accolade of winning the Carnal Contendership to her impressive list of accomplishments here in the FWA and in 2024 especially.”
Konchu Hao: “I harbour a natural respect for anyone who dares carry the mantle of X here in the FWA and this daring young woman seems to have embraced the required lifestyle rather quickly. Most importantly though, Kleio De Santos has one of her sisters of the Coven with her, which should make competing in this match significantly easier. One can only hope we do not have a repeat of that farcical display of the Nephews two years ago!”
Trixie slides into the ring and is immediately met by XYZ, but she ducks under his attempted Clothesline and hits the ropes… and comes back with a Thesz Press. She topples XYZ and from on top of him lands several slaps, a headbutt and then she bites XYZ’s neck as well! An audible groan from Konchu Hao can be heard on the televised broadcast, but XYZ is able to kick Trixie off, flipping her over his head with a Monkey Flip. The hero kips up, holding his neck and adopts a headstand as Trixie approaches him, and he catches her around the neck with a Headscissors. XYZ rotates from Trixie’s neck several times and then he snaps her off towards the ropes.
Quickly trying to follow up, XYZ lifts Trixie up as she is caught in the ropes in an attempt to eliminate her. It seems that she is having some trouble, but Kleio is back in the mix - she cranks her foot back and connects with a Roundhouse Kick to the side of XYZ’s head, causing him to drop Trixie who falls onto the apron.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “That is where the benefit of having a friend or teammate in the match at the same time as you can come in. But as we know, things have not been particularly rosy in The Coven as of late… and I think Kleio has noticed that.”
Kleio and Trixie stare at one another for a moment as it dawns on Kleio that Trixie is on the apron and in prime position for elimination. After seemingly considering it for a moment, she helps her fellow champion through the ropes and back into the ring to safety. Together, they then start to lift XYZ up and attempt to force him over the top rope.
10!
9!
8!
7!
6!
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #4: SAWYER XAVIER AT 4:30
A mixed reaction, but mainly composed of cheers, goes up for the Savannah, Georgia native in Sawyer Xavier. The high flyer jogs out from the back in seemingly decent spirits despite his unfortunate entry number.
Rod Sterling: “Here comes Sawyer Xavier at number four - coincidentally the exact same number he drew in 2023. Something he would hope to avoid is having the unfortunate and dubious honour of being the first person eliminated from the match for the second consecutive year.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Absolutely, Rod. Sawyer has been knocking on the door of something big for quite some time now and could a Herculean effort to win the Carnal Contendership from number four be just that? Not to mention he has a Television Championship opportunity lined up in the near future. Against somebody already in the match - Kleio De Santos.”
Almost sliding the entire length of the ring upon entering it, Sawyer is quick to get across to the far side where the two Coven members are attempting to remove XYZ from the ring. Instead of aiding his elimination, Sawyer pulls Bordeaux away and feeds her a leg before bringing his other up to connect with an Enziguiri to the back of her head. With Trixie dropped and out of the way momentarily, Sawyer pulls KDS away from XYZ and the two of them have a staredown for a moment, both fully away of Xavier’s upcoming challenge for Kleio’s Television Championship.
De Santos seems rather dismissive of Xavier and unwisely turns her back on him and tries to pick XYZ up from the mat. This backfires for a different reason as XYZ bursts into life and Dropkicks Kleio in the chest, which leads her straight back into Sawyer’s path… BRAIN SQUASHER!!! The knee to the back of Kleio’s head causes her to drop to the mat in an instant and she rolls herself towards the ropes. This leaves Sawyer and XYZ to stare at each other. Despite their temporary teamwork a moment earlier, they lock up in the middle of the ring.
Anzu Kurosawa: “Whilst alliances can be formed, it is fundamentally every person for themselves and Xavier and XYZ seem to have no reason to maintain a truce despite common enemies also being present in the ring.”
After a brief collar-and-elbow, Sawyer transitions into an Arm Drag which takes XYZ over. The pace picks up though as XYZ quickly rises and delivers one of his own to Xavier. They both rise from the mat at the same time and have the same idea to go for a Dropkick, but only meet each other’s feet. They rise one more time and XYZ ducks a high kick from Sawyer but misses a Leg Sweep as Xavier is able to jump over it. Both then run towards each other and Sawyer leapfrogs over a rushing XYZ. They then continue towards the ropes and leap onto the middle one and both Springboard Moonsault… and land opposite each other!
A big cheer goes up and XYZ in particular seems impressed with the outcome… but he can only watch as TRIXIE FLATTENS SAWYER WITH A TORPEDO TRIXIE!!! Xavier flies back into the turnbuckle as if he was shot in the chest by a shotgun.
Konchu Hao: “Unpredictability! A fascinating spectacle offered in the ring but a wholesome moment brought to a sudden end by the X Champion!”
10!
9!
8!
7!
6!
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #5: CELESTIA RAVENWOOD AT 6:00
After taking Trixie down with a Body Slam, XYZ looks on to see yet another member of The Coven rush out from the back. Celestia Ravenwood wastes no time with theatrics and she rushes towards the ring to assist her stablemates already entered into the match.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Here comes one of the former Trios Champions and another Coven member, Celestia Ravenwood. They lost the titles to TR1CK or TR4SH at Fight Night but Celestia bounced back in a big way with a victory over Sierra of The Menagé on Fallout.”
Rod Sterling: “These young ladies in the ring together will be very dangerous for anyone who dares to cross them; despite the rumoured issues in the group right now. XYZ has been able to fend them off well enough so far, but Sawyer Xavier is temporarily out of commission thanks to that Torpedo Trixie a few moments ago.”
As Celestia gets into the ring, she is immediately confronted by XYZ, who kicks her in the shin. Before he can begin to reel off more kicks, Trixie gets back up and jumps on his back. XYZ turns around, and Trixie’s feet strike Celestia, but she catches them. Celestia forces XYZ to spin the other way and Trixie manufactures the rotation into a Tornado DDT! XYZ is left in a seated position on the mat and Celestia follows up with a Penalty Kick straight down his back!
With gritted teeth and a primal scream, Bordeaux drops to her knees and then slams XYZ’s head into the mat numerous times as a follow up. Celestia runs over and stomps on Xavier in one of the far corners to keep him at bay and then offers a hand to Kleio, helping her up.
Anzu Kurosawa: “This is where that potential for teamwork can come in handy, though. It might be everyone for themselves, but if you can work together to control the ring you can pick your opponent’s off one by one. The Coven have XYZ where they want him now and you can see that Kleio De Santos in particular is enjoying this situation.”
Kleio slowly and methodically walks towards XYZ as both Trixie and Celestia hold him up in place. She can be heard telling him that despite everything that he has told her, her Coven is as strong as ever. He has no chance to answer as Kleio boots him in the midsection, causing him to double over… and she plants him with LETTERS TO KLEIO!!! The trio of witches then peel XYZ up from the canvas and Kleio does the honours, sending him out of the ring over the top rope!
ELIMINATION #1: XYZ BY KLEIO DE SANTOS AT 7:19
(TIME IN MATCH: 7:19)
Konchu Hao: “Devious and conniving, these creatures. One can hardly fathom what kind of trouble they can cause as a united front!”
As soon as XYZ hits the floor, the countdown starts again;
10!
9!
8!
7!
6!
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #6: BLAIR RAVENWOOD AT 7:30
There are more boos as the same song plays once again, meaning that the sixth entrant is Celestia’s sister, Blair. Unlike Celestia, Blair is in no rush to get to the ring and slowly walks down the ramp. Inside the ring, the three other Coven members are all pleased to see their complete contingent - Grandma Ethel notwithstanding.
Konchu Hao: “This is most suspicious. Perhaps I was wrong to doubt The Coven’s prowess in all fields magical and of the occult. This seems to be almost too coincidental for one to comprehend. Are there any more sisters we can expect will be joining us soon, also?”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Not as far as we are aware, Konchu, but the Carnal Contendership is the most unpredictable night of the FWA calendar. A third Ravenwood is not outside of the realms of possibility. What I do know for certain is that this is an extremely precarious situation for Sawyer Xavier; he is outnumbered four to one in there. His only hope for an alliance - XYZ - has been eliminated.”
Blair smirks at the departing XYZ as she walks past him at the bottom of the ramp. He looks back towards Kleio in the ring, dejected, and then walks away holding the back of his head. Blair enters the ring and the four Coven members convene in the middle of the ring for a moment before in unison they turn to Sawyer Xavier who is kneeling against the turnbuckle. He slowly pulls himself up to his feet knowing that he is almost hopelessly outnumbered.
The Coven form a line, almost cutting the ring in half diagonally. They all look across and KDS as the leader motions for them to go on the attack. The other three share a nod and take two steps forward each, within a couple of feet of Xavier. He puts his fists up and is ready to go… but Blair in the middle places a hand on each of Trixie and Celestia’s shoulders. They both nod at her, and the three of them… turn around.
Rod Sterling: “They’re not attacking Sawyer Xavier… what is going on here, guys?!”
A confused expression forms on Kleio’s face as she realises that her order has been disobeyed. The Ravenwoods and Trixie stand still for a moment, staring plainly at De Santos as the crowd grows slightly restless. Kleio shouts at them, telling them to attack her #1 contender, but they do not move. Kleio steps forwards towards Blair, screaming at her to remind her that she is the leader of The Coven… BUT KLEIO GETS BLINDSIDED BY TRIXIE!!! KDS drops to the mat and Blair and Celestia join Trixie in stomping Kleio out!
Anzu Kurosawa: “WHAT?! The Coven… THEY’VE TURNED THEIR BACKS ON THEIR LEADER!!!”
After delivering stomps all over Kleio, in front of a shocked and confused Sawyer Xavier, Trixie and Celestia hold Kleio in place on her knees, just as they had done to XYZ just minutes earlier. Kleio has a vengeful look on her face, but it is rearranged by BLAIR’S SHINING WITCH!! The knee to the face flattens De Santos, and the three Coven members lift up her limp body from the mat and unceremoniously dump her out of the ring to the floor.
ELIMINATION #2: KLEIO DE SANTOS BY BLAIR RAVENWOOD, CELESTIA RAVENWOOD AND TRIXIE BORDEAUX AT 8:44
(TIME IN MATCH: 8:44)
The three remaining members of The Coven look down at their (former?) leader lifeless on the floor for a few seconds, before turning their attention back to Xavier as the countdown clock appears once more…
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ENTRANT #7: JOHNNY JOHNSON AT 9:00
Trixie Bordeaux becomes distracted from the imminent offensive against Sawyer Xavier to look out to the stage as Johnny ‘The Legend’ Johnson slowly saunters out from the back. The #1 Contender for Trixie’s X Championship wears a cocky grin on his face, seemingly unbothered by the odds he is walking into waiting for him in the ring.
Konchu Hao: “Ah, a prospective possessor of the mantle of X! It will surely be pleasing to Trixie Bordeaux to share this opportunity in the ring with her future foe!”
As Sawyer Xavier begins to fight off the Ravenwood sisters by avoiding their attacks, Bordeaux’s attention is on Johnson as he walks closer to her and veers towards the steps. ‘The Legend’ assesses the state of the ring for a moment… and steps away from the steps! Instead, with a smug smirk, he starts to pace around the ringside area.
Rod Sterling: “I can’t say that I am surprised by this at all, folks. Johnny ‘The Legend’ Johnson has never been one to help his fellow man and well, he’s allowing Sawyer Xavier to be thrown to the wolves here.”
Xavier is able to duck under a Double Clothesline attempt from the Ravenwoods, but he only ends up in Trixie’s path and a Sit-Out Jawbreaker for his troubles. Bordeaux gets back to her feet and sneers at Johnson, who is talking with a female fan in the front row. Some commotion occurs in the crowd behind Johnson, though…
Anzu Kurosawa: “What’s going on over there with Johnson? He’s speaking to someone in the front row but there’s someone else making their way through the crowd?!”
The camera operator does their best to try and pinpoint exactly where from and who is responsible for this disturbance. A ripple in the fans forms and gets closer to Johnson, and someone eventually nudges him…
Rod Sterling: “THAT’S AARON HARROWS!”
A cheer goes up in the crowd when Aaron Harrows appears on the screen, taking up an empty seat and waving a ticket in his hand. Johnson screws his face up and then walks away, not wanting to have any part of whatever Harrows is involved in. This just leaves Trixie to shout out to Aaron on the outside, demanding that he leaves. Harrows repeats that he has a ticket and Bordeaux simply just waves him off, uninterested.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Aaron Harrows was Trixie Bordeaux’s partner in the inaugural Buddy Bowl turned opponent in the King of the Deathmatch tournament and it seems there is little love lost between them. Harrows has a desire to earn his keep here in the FWA and well, one supposes that this is probably as close as he can get to the Carnal Contendership match - as a paying fan!”
Attention turns away from Harrows as The Coven are dominating Sawyer in the ring now, crushing his windpipe on the middle rope. Johnson is uninterested and starts flirting with another fan. It seems that the combined force of Trixie, Blair and Celestia are about to get the elimination of Xavier…
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ENTRANT #8: JACKSON FENIX AT 10:30
The fans are initially confused by the mash up being played over the speakers but some grow loud from their seats as they connect the dots in their heads. Viva Las Vegas and Britney Spears... when entrant #8 struts out from the back in grey, gold, red and black gear, they all instantly recognise one of their own. The round roof almost blows off The Sphere as Jackson Fenix removes his jacket and sprints down the ramp.
Rod Sterling: “IT’S THE HOMETOWN ‘SIN CITY BAD BOY’! This is someone who I know will have no qualms about getting into the ring and facing the might of The Coven without any hesitation! Fenix enters earlier than he did last year, but in 2023 he lasted for over forty-two minutes!”
Konchu Hao: “A most impressive showing that he must exceed if he is to be victorious in his proverbial back yard, but with sentimentality on his side I believe that this reformed degenerate could have something of an outside chance. That’s unless he and that neanderthal of a partner of his decide to target my companion Epsilon again and then I will be forced to intervene myself!”
Fenix ignores Johnson on the outside and gets into the ring to a massive ovation from the crowd. Immediately he is accosted by Blair Ravenwood, but a Clothesline knocks her down to the mat and Celestia gets the same treatment. This leaves Sawyer Xavier free to get back into the ring and he takes a breather for a moment as Fenix finds himself confronted by the X Champion. Trixie goes to a familiar well and attempts to punch Fenix in between his legs, but he kicks her foot away. She tries another punch, but Fenix blocks once more and a Bicycle Knee finds the mark right on Bordeaux’s jaw. Fenix steadies himself and hits the ropes, coming back towards Trixie… BRITNEY SPEAR!
He rises to his feet and pumps both of his fists to the crowd, but is knocked down from behind by both of the Ravenwoods. This draws loud boos from the crowd and the two sisters get on top of Fenix and lay into him with punches and kicks. The hometown boy does what he can to get a block up to repel them.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, The Coven are under new leadership it would seem given the treatment of Kleio De Santos. But it is an old rival in Jackson Fenix that they have zoned in on here; Fenix unsuccessfully challenged them for the Trios Championships as part of the Undisputed Xperienx back at Winter Wasteland.”
Celestia assists Trixie back to her feet and the three witches stand dominantly in the ring, soaking in the negative reaction being put their way. One person in the crowd is extremely vocal… being Aaron Harrows. ‘The Top Star’ has his thumbs down, and his interaction draws both the attention and ire of Trixie. She leans on the ropes and starts to shriek towards her former Buddy Bowl partner. Behind her, she fails to notice that Sawyer Xavier is back up… and he takes down both Blair and Celestia with a Springboard Cross Body!! Bordeaux is still screaming at Harrows in the crowd… AND AS A RESULT IS UNAWARE WHEN JOHNSON DASHES INTO THE RING AND DUMPS HER OVER THE TOP ROPE!!!
ELIMINATION #3: TRIXIE BORDEAUX BY JOHNNY JOHNSON AT 11:48
(TIME IN MATCH: 8:48)
Anzu Kurosawa: “The X Champion is OUT! That’s a HUGE elimination for Johnny Johnson, getting one over Trixie ahead of their encounter. I suppose an assist has to go to Aaron Harrows from the outside?”
‘The Legend’ laughs heartily at Trixie as she shrieks and slams her fists on the floor at ringside. Meanwhile, Johnson turns his attention to Xavier, and the two of them begin to exchange blows.
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ENTRANT #9: SPOODER-MAN AT 12:00
There is… not much of a reaction as Spooder-Man runs out from the back, dressed in his full costume. Jackson Fenix finds himself battling both of the Ravenwoods to stay in the match, and Johnny Johnson has Sawyer Xavier hanging upside down from the turnbuckle as he tries to force his elimination. On the outside, Trixie Bordeaux is refusing to leave it would seem, causing the referees at ringside to swarm her and usher her towards the ramp. Aaron Harrows mocking her and waving her off only seems to make the situation worse.
Rod Sterling: “Well, I can’t say that I was expecting Spooder-Man to throw his name into the hat but stranger things have happened… but I’m not sure that Trixie Bordeaux is prepared to go quietly!”
The referees manage to escort Trixie to the bottom of the ramp and stand in a line to prevent her from accessing the ring once more. This coincides with Spooder-Man reaching the huddle. Trixie takes one look at him… and clobbers him from behind! Without any regard, Trixie picks up Spooder-Man’s head and slams it into the steel ramp several times. In an uncontrolled rage, she the lifts him up and spikes him head-first onto the ramp with a DDT!! Spooder-Man lays unconscious on the ramp, and Trixie finally - and mercifully - departs.
Konchu Hao: “An unfortunate situation for Spooder-Man… an initial prognosis from my current position is that he will not be able to participate in this match in the manner that he had planned.”
It would seem that the ringside officials agree with Konchu’s assessment and they beckon for a doctor. One runs out and begins to check on Spooder-Man. In the ring, Sawyer Xavier is elevated up into the air by Johnny Johnson, and attempts to Cross Body onto The Coven once more… but this time Blair and Celestia catch him! With a nod, the scheming sisters attempt to tip him out of the match, but the high flyer lands on his feet. From inside of the ring, they try to force him out, but once again he does his utmost to hold on.
Across the ring, Jackson Fenix now has to contend with Johnny Johnson. ‘The Legend’ blocks a punch from Fenix and tries to then hook him up for the Legend’s End, but Fenix rolls through and Snapmares Johnson over his shoulder. Fenix then runs up behind the Ravenwoods, and spotting an opportunity, tips Celestia over the top rope and she lands on the apron next to Sawyer! Blair instantly responds by shoving Fenix back. He then lines Blair up… SUPERKICK ME BABY ONE MORE TIME… BLAIR DUCKS… AND FENIX CRACKS CELESTIA IN THE JAW, KNOCKING HER DOWN TO THE FLOOR!!!
ELIMINATION #4: CELESTIA RAVENWOOD BY JACKSON FENIX AT 13:01
(TIME IN MATCH: 7:01)
A big pop goes up for the hometown Fenix scoring an elimination with a signature move, but he now has to deal with an irate Blair. Fenix has little chance to celebrate his elimination as he eats an elbow to the jaw from Blair, full of vitriol after eliminating her sister. This strike causes Fenix to stumble back towards Johnson… WHO GETS HIM WITH THE LEGEND’S END THIS TIME! Johnson revels in putting down Vegas’s own. Meanwhile, Blair sees Xavier still on the apron and charges in, looking to knock him off… BUT SAWYER LOW BRIDGES THE ROPES AND BLAIR FALLS TO THE FLOOR!!!
ELIMINATION #5: BLAIR RAVENWOOD BY SAWYER XAVIER AT 13:16
(TIME IN MATCH: 5:46)
Anzu Kurosawa: “A one-two punch for the Coven there courtesy of Jackson Fenix and Sawyer Xavier, but given the coup against Kleio De Santos is complete, I’m sure that Blair and Celestia will leave here in the belief that it was a productive evening.”
Xavier dives back into the ring through the ropes, where Johnson is waiting for him, and ‘The Legend’ takes him down with a Clothesline.
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ENTRANT #10: JACK THE CLIPPER AT 13:30
Jack the Clipper stomps out from the back with a scowl on his face, clearly displeased about failing to become the Television Champion on Meltdown. His first action in the match comes before he has even reached the ring as he sees Spooder-Man starting to rise back up to his feet after being taken out by Trixie. Clipper builds up a head of steam… and TAKES A LITTLE OFF THE TOP!!! The Lariat almost decapitates the masked vigilante and upon seeing this the doctor shakes his head, making it clear that Spooder-Man can no longer participate in the match.
Rod Sterling: “I think that’s going to be curtains for poor Spooder-Man. Jack the Clipper is PISSED about not becoming the Television Champion a few weeks ago and that anger could translate into a Back in Business spot.”
Jack slides into the ring and Johnson bug eyes when he sees the intimidating man advancing towards him. Johnson backs into the corner, and Jack follows him in with some hard body shots to the ribs and abdomen. He grabs Johnson by the wrist and pulls him out of the corner and uses Johnson’s own arm to Clothesline himself. With Johnson down, Sawyer Xavier catches Clipper’s eye and Jack instantly makes a beeline for him, looking for the Upper-CUTTER - but Sawyer ducks the Polish Hammer. A couple of chops from Xavier seem to do paltry damage to the much larger man.
Sawyer tries his luck by running the ropes and trying to come back with a Bicycle Kick, but Jack catches his foot and tips him upwards. Xavier impressively backflips and lands on his feet… but Clipper is quick to hit Sawyer also with A LITTLE OFF THE TOP!! The barber roars out to the fans, enjoying the dominance he has shown since entering the ring.
Word reaches the officials on the outside of the ring that Spooder-Man is not going to be able to continue in the match. There is some discourse over what that means for his spot… but all of a sudden they are towered over by someone standing on the ring barricade, looking like a superhero themselves.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “What does this guy think he’s doing? Aaron Harrows - a man desperate for a contract here… is trying to snipe a spot in this match!”
Konchu Hao: “It confounds me that everyone does not just do this. It seems that all one needs to do is incapacitate a participant prior to their entry and then purloin their position! There are some true heathens in this company…”
With some decent support from the fans in the arena, Harrows motions that he can take the now-vacant spot. There are some shrugs and a few eye rolls, but no one seems to have any harsh objections! This seems to be enough for Harrows, and he jumps down from the barricade and removes his suit in one swift motion, revealing his wrestling gear underneath! ‘The Top Star’ slides into the ring, becoming part of the 2024 Carnal Contendership match!
ENTRANT #9: AARON HARROWS AT 14:12
Unfortunately for Harrows, the first thing he has to deal with in the ring is a rampaging Jack the Clipper, who is trying to navigate Jackson Fenix’s removal from the match. A sledge to Clipper’s back does not seem like the wisest move as Aaron finds himself in Jack’s sights. Realising his mistake, Harrows retreats to a corner and Jack follows him in, but Harrows floats over impressively. What he does not account for his Jack catching him in mid-air and then trying to force his elimination. The clock appears once more as Harrows uses both hands to do his best to keep himself alive.
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ENTRANT #11: LINUS BADGER AT 15:00
A chainsaw revs before the song begins to play. There is a pause as the Sphere dims slightly, and a masked, hulking figure emerges onto the stage, illuminated by a lone light coming from behind him. 6’5 and 300lbs, the FWA audience are treated to the sight of Linus ‘The Chainsaw’ Badger for the first time. In his hand is his trusty chainsaw which he swings around under the watchful and caring eye of another man, known simply as The Gentleman.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “I think a little education is required here, friends. I use that word intentionally as that is what this man, Linus ‘The Chainsaw’ Badger will view this capacity crowd as. With him is The Gentleman, who seems to be one of few that can coherently communicate with this giant.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Fans of Longhorn Championship Wrestling will recognise this big man who, due to his size, definitely has the potential to change the course of this match.”
It takes a little convincing from The Gentleman for Linus to part with his chainsaw, but he does so eventually. The first person Badger sees is Johnny Johnson, who is battling with Jackson Fenix by the ropes. Badger grabs Johnson’s head with two hands and pulls him away, clubbing him on the back and knocking him down to the mat. Next up for Badger is Fenix himself, who manages to get away a couple of strikes which seem to actually cause Badger to back away a few paces.
Fenix follows up with a couple of forearm smashes to the head, but gets shoved away by Linus into the nearby corner. Badger slowly trundles in towards Fenix, but Jackson gets his feet up and this knocks Badger back further. Fenix then quickly backs up onto the second rope and jumps out towards Badger, but Linus catches him with a Chop to the head which he calls the BEDTIME STORY! It does seem to put Fenix to sleep, but Badger has to remain aware as he turns around and has Sawyer Xavier flying at him… but Badger catches him! With both hands around Xavier’s neck, he lifts Sawyer up and plants him with a Two-Handed Chokeslam!!
Rod Sterling: “Linus Badger is certainly proving to be an X factor here as someone that I do not think anyone here would have expected to see as part of the Carnal Contendership and this Gentleman fellow seems to be rather pleased. Oh, but HERE is something worth watching!”
After watching Sawyer roll away, Badger is confronted by the only other person in the ring who can match him physically - Jack the Clipper. The two large men stare each other down for a few seconds and then start exchanging heavy forearm strikes. Badger’s mask means that Clipper’s shaved forearms do not have their additional effect. Jack does get the better of the exchange though and he hits the ropes, looking for another one of those devastating Lariats - but Badger cuts him off with a Big Boot!! Jack is down too, and this leaves just Aaron Harrows, who considers his options as the clock starts once more…
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ENTRANT #12: GABRIELLE MONTGOMERY AT 16:30
A huge cheer goes up from the Vegas crowd as one of the ever-favourites to win a Carnal Contendership match is number 12. Gabrielle takes a moment to look out at the appreciative crowd with a smile before posing for a few moments and then breaking into a jog on her way down to the ring.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “With this, Gabrielle has tied Mike Parr for the most appearances in Carnal Contendership matches with six! How long she can stay at the top will depend on whether we are still to see ‘The Prodigy’ later on in this match.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “There are not many competitors that we can say have done almost everything there is to do here in the FWA. Gabrielle is already in the Hall of Fame, she’s a two-time FWA World Champion and the definitive trailblazer for women in this company but there is one thing that she is yet to conquer and that is the Carnal Contendership match. Number 12 has yielded more winners than any other…”
Gabrielle pauses when entering the ring and she sees the unusual Badger in front of her. He makes a move in her direction, but she nimbly evades him and hits the ropes, coming back with a Shotgun Dropkick! This causes Badger to lose balance and he stumbles back into the corner. Gabrielle hears a shout to crawl out of the way, and it comes from Harrows, who sprints in and Dropkicks Badger himself. Once Harrows has moved, an already-tired looking Sawyer Xavier makes three Dropkicks in a row to the face and chest of the big man.
The veteran Gabrielle seems to be directing traffic and making an instant impact, knowing that the best chance to eliminate someone like Badger is to work together. She urges Johnny Johnson to join in, and surprisingly it appears as if ‘The Legend’ is willing to lend a hand, but he diverts course and attempts to attack Gabrielle instead! However, she sees it coming from a mile off and blocks his onrushing with a knee to the face! This causes Johnson to go groggy for a moment, and he is the driven into the mat with the 34 DOUBLE D-DT!! The popular move gets a big cheer from the crowd, and they garner even more enjoyment when Montgomery decides not to fuck around… and she tosses Johnson out of the ring!!!
ELIMINATION #6: JOHNNY JOHNSON BY GABRIELLE MONTGOMERY AT 17:37
(TIME IN MATCH: 8:37)
Rod Sterling: “A statement elimination for Gabrielle, who now also ties up with Parr along with WOLF for the most in history with seven.”
As Gabrielle nods her head in achievement, Jack the Clipper is back up and he barrels into Linus Badger in the corner with a Running Splash. This finally causes the large man to drop to his feet. He sees both Sawyer and Harrows teetering as they attempt to eliminate one another and seems to consider an attempt to remove them both… but JACKSON FENIX CATCHES HIM WITH A SUPERKICK ME BABY ONE MORE TIME!! Clipper gets dropped, and Fenix then turns into Gabrielle, and the two look each other up and down.
Konchu Hao: “The rumour mill states some history in and out of the ring between these two, but on Fallout Jackson Fenix came out on top… pun not intended. I’d hate to be compared to those delinquents in FTN.”
Fenix’s recent victory over her seems to play heavily on Gabrielle’s immediate thoughts and she puts her all into a European Uppercut! Fenix absorbs it and fires back with a forearm. They exchange these strikes as the next competitor is on the way.
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ENTRANT #13: BOBBY BENNETT AT 18:00
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Another one for the Longhorn Championship Wrestling purists because one of their greatest exports is right here in the Carnal Contendership! Bobby Bennett is the COUSIN of former X Champion Tommy Bedlam. Tommy is sidelined with an injury right now, so it is time to see whether the talent runs in the family.”
Bobby Bennett comes out and raises an arm up into the air before jogging down the ramp and sliding into the ring. His first port of call is to stomp on Linus Badger, a familiar face, to keep him down on the mat. Bennett sees both Sawyer and Harrows in the same position as they were a moment ago, with both standing on the bottom rope in an attempt to force the other out. Bobby smartly tips both over the ropes and they both land on the ring apron but are not eliminated.
Before Bennett can do anything else, he turns to see Jackson Fenix stumbling into his path, and slams him down onto the mat with a Scoop Slam. Gabrielle does not allow herself to get caught so easily and she cracks Tommy Bedlam’s cousin with a European Uppercut and then stomps on his knee. This causes Bobby to drop down to one knee and Montgomery uses this to step up and then crack him on the back of the head with an Enziguiri! On the ring apron, Harrows knocks Sawyer down onto his back with a forearm. He then lines up Gabrielle in the middle of the ring as she has her back to him and he slingshots himself into the ring, adjusting his body in mid-air to be able to spike her with a Backstabber!!
Harrows sees the onrushing Fenix but catches him with an elbow to the side of the head. This causes Fenix to spin around, and Harrows attempts a German Suplex, but Fenix lands on his feet. This does not deter Harrows, who spryly pops up and then fires his leg back, catching Fenix with a Pele Kick! This causes Fenix to drop to a knee, and Sawyer Xavier then springboards in… Springboard Dropkick! Fenix is knocked back but Harrows is swift to try to throw Xavier out after the high risk move, but once again Sawyer clings onto the ropes for dear life.
Rod Sterling: “We’ve got Sawyer Xavier in trouble once more over here and he is homing in on the fifteen minute mark in this match up. Well, Jackson Fenix looks like he could be in a bit of trouble too!”
Jackson Fenix is indeed in trouble as he gets collared by Jack the Clipper and sent over the top rope onto the apron. Clipper kicks him in the knee to take out part of his base and looks likely to do what he needs to in order to eject the hometown star from the match…
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ENTRANT #14: XPERIENX XTACEE AT 19:30
A very loud cheer goes up for the next entrant, given his connection to their favourite, who is in deep trouble. Xtacee removes his robe and sprints down the ramp towards the ring, sliding in. His first order of priority is assisting Jackson Fenix. A Dropkick to the back of Clipper’s head is enough to divert attention away and this knocks Jack down into the corner in a seated position. Xtacee rises and charges in… Bronco Buster!!
Anzu Kurosawa: “Hey, that was pretty convenient timing for Jackson Fenix - Xperienx Xtacee helps out his Undisputed Xperienx teammate and we could see a little alliance form between these two in this match, despite both wanting to emerge victorious.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “It was in last year’s Carnal Contendership that we were first introduced to Xtacee and he’s definitely made a big impression in that time. His immense popularity has not yet yielded much in the way of championship gold, but that could be about to change!”
Once he has helped Fenix back into the ring, the next order of business for XX is to clobber Aaron Harrows from behind and execute another save for Sawyer Xavier despite falling to Sawyer recently on Fallout. Harrows holds the back of his head, but he is subjected to a chop across his chest for his troubles. Harrows fires back with a forearm, but Xtacee ducks it and then returns fire with his EDUCATED FEET!! The Spinning Wheel Kick knocks Harrows down flat on his back. Sawyer then springboards into the ring but Xtacee ducks his Clothesline attempt. Xavier rolls through and turns around to see Xtacee rolling in his direction, and he springs up into a Flatliner!!
Gabrielle does what she can to keep Xtacee grounded after he hits the move, striking him across the chest with a stiff kick. She is then in turn elevated up into the air by Bobby Bennett from behind, but she manages to Victory Roll her away out of the predicament and pops up with her head up… STRAIGHT INTO A SUPERKICK FROM JACKSON FENIX!! She falls back, tumbling over Bennett, who charges in at Fenix, who ducks the Clothesline attempt, but Bennett barrels straight into Harrows who had picked himself up into the corner.
Konchu Hao: “The ring is certainly beginning to fill up now! We’re going to see bodies collide with each other in situations intentional or otherwise!”
Xtacee lifts himself up from the mat and gets an immediate call from Fenix to duck, which he does, and Fenix catches the onrushing Jack the Clipper with a SUPERKICK ME BABY ONE MORE TIME!!! Each Superkick from Fenix gets a huge cheer from the crowd, with this one rendering the devious barber groggy against the ropes… and XTACEE CHARGES IN… AND TIPS THE CLIPPER OUT OF THE MATCH!!!
ELIMINATION #7: JACK THE CLIPPER BY XPERIENX XTACEE AT 20:43
(TIME IN MATCH: 7:13)
Rod Sterling: “The teamwork paid off! Great communication there from Fenix to protect his friend and a big threat is now out of the match!”
The two-thirds of the Undisputed Xperienx in the ring seem pleased with themselves, but then both Fenix and Xtacee are taken down by a HUGE Double Clothesline courtesy of Linus Badger! ‘The Chainsaw’ then drops to his knees in the ring, making it so everyone in the ring is down when the next entrant is about to emerge…
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**BRRRRRRRR**
The buzzer goes off, but instead of music, it's total silence, and suddenly we're plunged into darkness, and the sound of deep, haunting chants fills the air, echoing off the walls of the stadium. A dim blue light illuminates the entrance ramp, revealing a procession of the same mysterious cloaked figures that had invaded FWA TV for the last few weeks, slowly making their way onto the stage.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Konchu, would this have anything to do with you by any chance?”
Konchu Hao: “This definitely suits my aesthetic, but I can assure you that this is not my doing. If I am not mistaken, a ritual of sorts is about to take place…”
Each figure moves with a deliberate, almost ceremonial rhythm, their faces obscured by the shadows of their hoods; in their hands, they carry ancient tomes and arcane artefacts, symbols of the dark powers they serve. The atmosphere crackles with an eerie energy as a few of the figures carry on a figure covered in a black sheet that they gently place on the ground, forming a circle around of ominous intent.
"Matrem tecto scinde! Matrem tecto scinde!"
Around the figure, the acolytes begin to chant in unison, their voices growing louder and louder with each passing moment. They raise their hands to the sky, invoking the powers of the netherworld to bring forth some kind of dark power; in the mists of the chanting, the arena is suddenly bathed in a sickly green light, casting grotesque shadows around the stage. The air grows thick with the scent of sulphur, a tangible sign of supernatural forces at work. Sparks of dark energy crackle and dance around the stage as if responding to the figure's invocation.
Suddenly, a surge of energy ripples through the stage, illuminating the downed figure on the stage, AND CRACK-! A LIGHTING STRIKES THE FIGURE. After a beat, the figure begins to move. It slowly stands up reborn with dark power! It extends a hand as if silently asking for something from its followers, and one of them indeed passes him, something...
Something...round...
Something colourful....
Something loud and brash....
Something you might wear on your head....
A FEDORA-!
Rod Sterling: “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
ENTRANT #15: FUNKY FEDORA AT 21:00
THE FIGURE REMOVES THE ROBES! OH HAPPY DAY. IT'S FUNKY FEDORA. HE LIVES. HE'S ALIVE!
The cloaked figures remove their dark robes and wear shimmering funky attire, complete with sequins, bell bottoms, and neon colours. Funky Fedora leads them all in a funky dance before he STRUTS DOWN THE RAMP AND INTO THE RING.
Anzu Kurosawa: “Well, Funky Fedora is somehow back from the dead. We thought we’d seen the last of him but… ugh. Let’s just hope that none of the remaining fifteen entrants have fangs or a mankini.”
There are only a handful of occasions in the history of the Fantasy Wrestling Alliance that a crowd has reacted in such a loudly negative way. Funky Fedora has lucked into an amazing position with everyone else in the ring down. Does he use this time to pick them off one at a time? Of course he doesn’t. The idiot simply dances in the middle of the ring, wasting precious time and an entry number, until the countdown clock appears once again. Once this starts, Funky’s music and lighting goes away and the arena returns to normal.
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ENTRANT #16: BROOKLYN STEINER AT 22:30
After a couple of seconds of confusion due to the unfamiliar music, the fans suddenly burst to life when they see the next entrant’s face appear on the big screen as part of their entrance video. There is an incredible amount of noise on display for Brooklyn Steiner, who slowly walks out from the back and takes in the overwhelmingly positive reaction from the fans. In the ring, Funky Fedora’s face drops as he sees the man who initially put him on the shelf.
Rod Sterling: “WOAH! This is a big moment, guys! Brooklyn Steiner, the former Television Champion is BACK and it looks like that injury which caused him to vacate that championship isn’t bothering him anymore!”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Steiner was on a tear before that injury so it will be important for him to hit the ground running once more. What better person than to start it against? Part of me thinks that Funky Fedora only entered this match because he thought that it would not be possible that he’d see Brooklyn Steiner!”
Steiner examines Funky as he walks up the steps and then into the ring, stepping over Bobby Bennett as he does so. Fedora tries to play it cool, almost greeting Steiner as an old friend given their history. This proves to be just a ruse though, as Fedora attempts a Low Blow right down in Funky Town, but Steiner blocks it and grabs Fedora by the wrist. A stern and serious Steiner stares Funky down for a couple of seconds, and then pulls him in for the REDEMPTION SLAM!!! With Funky down and rolling on the mat in pain, Steiner appears to call out to everyone else in the ring.
One after the other, everyone else in the ring trundles over to where Fedora is and under Steiner’s instruction, they all lift him high above their heads. After the crowd gets a bit of enjoyment in trying to guess where they’ll put him, they settle for the side closest to the ramp. They drop him from a great height and he lands straight on his face.
ELIMINATION #8: FUNKY FEDORA BY EVERYONE AT 23:04
(TIME IN MATCH: 2:04)
Jean-Luc Watkins: “A symbolic gesture to tell Funky Fedora to go back where he came from and hopefully, he’ll never come back.”
The group then breaks into a series of scuffles between themselves, with most notably Gabrielle trying to fight Linus Badger all on her own. Bobby Bennett targets Brooklyn Steiner viciously with a kick to the side of the head that knocks Brooklyn towards the ropes. Bennett follows up with a couple of heavy body blows and then he tries to lift Steiner up and out of the ring, but Brooklyn kicks out at him to prevent it. Bennett takes a couple of steps back and then runs in, but Steiner drops down and drops the rope. Bennett goes over, but lands on his knees on the apron!
Bennett seems relieved to have survived, but it is only a temporary reprieve as Steiner charges up on him whilst on the apron - TURN THAT TV OFF!! The Hidden Blade-like manoeuvre seems to turn Bennett’s lights out and he limply falls to the floor.
ELIMINATION #9: BOBBY BENNETT BY BROOKLYN STEINER AT 23:24
(TIME IN MATCH: 5:24)
Konchu Hao: “A very impactful showing thus far for the ‘Workhorse’ of the FWA!”
Steiner steadies himself and then the countdown appears once again…
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #17: AL BLIZZARD AT 24:00
There is a slightly awestruck reaction from the crowd as The Path walks out together from the back. The trio of Al Blizzard, Jason Quinn and Robert Steel have not been seen in the FWA for some time and from how each of them are attired, it is clear that Blizzard is the one that will be entering the match.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “This match will always throw up some surprises and I am sure that we are in for some more, but we have the return of Al Blizzard. One can only wonder what the twisted mind of Jason Quinn has done to him since the last time we saw him and what kind of monster the rest of the field may have to deal with.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “Well, ignoring any sort of psychology, we can look at the physiology of this man and see that he is six-six and almost two-fifty. Combine that with a decent entry number here? Well, you’re looking at a dark horse if you ask me!”
Quinn and Steel wait on the outside as Blizzard gets into the ring and the two of them seem taken with The Gentleman who is also on the outside. Despite Badger’s associate being in possession of a literal chainsaw, they seem to have little problem imposing their will on and intimidating him. In the ring, Blizzard first comes face to face with Brooklyn Steiner, who seems unsure of how to deal with the Londoner, but Steiner is grabbed around the neck by Linus Badger and tossed aside with ease. It is clear that Badger is not pleased with what Blizzard’s associates are doing to his friend on the outside.
Blizzard does not hesitate and throws a big punch at Badger, who returns with one of his own. The two big men slug it out in the middle of the ring, but both are quickly beset upon by everyone else and bundled down.
Rod Sterling: “Well, this is quite clever strategising. Gang up on the two biggest physical threats in the match and eliminate them and continue, free from fear that one of these literal giants could pluck you up and eliminate you at any moment!”
The two large men struggle under the barrage from their opponents, but eventually they are both able to break free, sending bodies flying in all directions. Blizzard and Badger go face to face once more. Blizzard ducks down and attempts to scoop Linus up onto his shoulders with relative ease to an awestruck reaction from the fans. Before the Al Cutter can be hit though, Gabrielle kicks Blizzard across the stomach, causing him to drop the large man, but Badger impressively lands on his feet and cuts Blizzard off with a knee to the midsection. Things begin to break down once more as it becomes time for the next entrant…
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ENTRANT #18: VENGADOR AT 25:30
There are some looks of grave concern on the faces of the occupants in the ring as yet another massive bruiser makes his way out from the back. Vengador, the winner of Ground Zero Season Four, has ‘The Dubb’ Bobby Joel at his side and he does a good job of hyping the monstrous masked figure up. Vengador slowly walks towards the ring, adjusting his elbow pad, seemingly taking in the words that Joel is shouting at him above the noises of the crowd. Joel seems comfortable with both The Gentleman and The Path at ringside, motioning for Vengador to get into the ring and do what he does best.
Konchu Hao: “From one Ground Zero victor to another, I can say that Vengador has that grit and determination to succeed in a match as chaotic as this. We saw what happened when he stepped foot into the ring with ‘The Exile’, and his hasty exit from that match could have been with a view of saving himself for tonight’s big show. A sage strategy, KEHAHAHA!”
Rod Sterling: “I’m not sure whether that retreat was with tonight in mind or whether Bobby Joel didn’t want Vengador to be associated with the loss that his team was going to suffer. What I am suspectful of is that he is going to take out his frustrations on everyone in the ring right now.”
Vengador stands on the apron and witnesses Blizzard and Badger laying into each other with heavy strikes in the centre of the ring once more. Instead of going through the ropes, Vengador enters the match in a much more unorthodox way by knocking both of the other big men down with a DOUBLE SPRINGBOARD DROPKICK!!! Badger and Blizzard fall to the mat and Vengador kips up to applause from Bobby Joel. Brooklyn Steiner approaches him but eats a Superkick to the face from Vengador, who follows up by Clotheslining Gabrielle when she gets nearer to him. Vengador then follows up with a Standing Moonsault to ‘The Goddess’.
Once Vengador rises to his feet after hitting the move on Gabrielle, he immediately gets whacked with Xtacee’s EDUCATED FEET!! The strike does not put Vengador down immediately… so Jackson Fenix follows up with a SUPERKICK!!! Again though, the move only seems to cause a wobble from Vengador, who roars and then tears through the Undisputed Xperienx with a Double Clothesline!!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Vengador is proving a handful to everyone in the ring, leaving a path of destruction in his wake.”
Sawyer Xavier ventures into Vengador’s path and is grabbed, but Xavier counters into an Arm Drag Stunner! Vengador springs up holding his jaw and then Aaron Harrows boots him in the midsection, and plants him with OSCAR NUMBER THREE!! Vengador finally goes down, and Sawyer Xavier is quick to dart through the ropes and scale the turnbuckle… GENESIS OF TRUTH!!! Everyone is down once again, whether it be due to exhaustion or damage, as the clock appears once more.
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ENTRANT #19: ALEJANDRO GIUNTI AT 27:00
A good cheer bursts out for ‘The Maltese Falcon’, making his second appearance in the FWA following his impressive showing in December’s Buddy Bowl competition. He runs out from the back with a full head of steam and does not even bother to remove his sunglasses or driver’s jacket before he hops up onto the ring apron and pulls himself up to the top rope. He looks out at the crowd with a grin and then steadies himself, looming over Vengador… and hits the MEDITERRANEAN LANDING!!! After he hits the Shooting Star Press, Giunti throws his sunglasses out to the rabid crowd and removes his jacket, posing for the crowd.
Rod Sterling: “THE MALTESE FALCON SOARS AGAIN! What an entrance from Alejandro Giunti, who we last saw teaming with Gerald Grayson in the Buddy Bowl last year. Those two were a force to be reckoned with and well, looks like Giunti could be something special on his own, too.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “This is a man who was born into greatness as the ninth son of a Maltese aristocrat with resources beyond compare. Nothing short of victory here tonight will be enough for him to live up to his mantle, but that was certainly an impressive start!”
Aaron Harrows tries to immediately take advantage of Giunti’s showmanship, but his attempt to throw ‘The Maltese Falcon’ out of the ring is turned back around on him. Harrows goes over the top rope but hangs on. Giunti does not follow up on him, though, instead seeing that Fenix and Xtacee are back up and working together to eliminate Steiner whilst Gabrielle rams her knee into Al Blizzard’s face. Sawyer Xavier cuts Giunti off with a Savate Kick to the midsection which doubles him over. Another kick to the face from Xavier sends Giunti stumbling back and Sawyer goes in for a Clothesline, but Giunti moves. Sawyer hits the ropes and Giunti goes for a German Suplex out of the rebound, but Sawyer lands on his feet behind him.
Giunti turns around and Sawyer gets another kick to the midsection and then tries to hook him up for an Underhook DDT. Giunti spins out of it and hits a Rolling Wheel Kick, which catches Sawyer on the side of the head. It puts Xavier by the ropes and Giunti Clotheslines him over the top rope, but Xavier lands on his feet on the apron. Giunti does go for a follow up here, but Sawyer cuts him off with a shoulder to the gut. Xavier slingshots over the top rope and Sunset Flips over Giunti, who turns back around. Sawyer charges in, but Giunti leans back on the ropes and gets his boots up.
Sawyer holds his jaw and then runs in again and Giunti gets his legs up once more, but this time around his head. A moment of worry flashes across Giunti’s face as Xavier looks to Powerbomb him out… but he leans back and grabs the top rope… and snaps Xavier out with a Hurricanrana!! Sawyer lands on the floor, bringing an end to a very impressive performance!
ELIMINATION #10: SAWYER XAVIER BY ALEJANDRO GIUNTI AT 28:16
(TIME IN MATCH: 23:46)
Anzu Kurosawa: “A great battle there between those two high flyers, and it just goes to show how important your entry number is in this match. Sawyer Xavier could have won that duel had he not entered way back at number four.”
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #20: GINO GALUCCI AT 28:30
The very Italian music brings about some confusion from the crowd but it becomes clear why when a young man with a moustache runs out from the back. Gino Galucci has a big smile on his face and mimics tossing a pizza for a second before he jogs down to the ring, making his FWA debut in the Carnal Contendership.
Rod Sterling: “Well, here is another debutant in the Carnal Contendership match and ladies and gentleman, this is Gino Galucci from Little Italy! He’s taking a break from working in the family restaurant to be here in Vegas to try his luck in the biggest gamble in the world of professional wrestling. Whilst rumours say he is connected in some ways, one thing we do know about him is that he is good friends with Gerald Grayson!”
Konchu Hao: “What a positive young man! It is a shame that he would associate himself with that Nephew filth, but otherwise I endorse this very wholesome young man. The music is fantastic, too!”
Gino gets into the ring and his outlook shifts definitely to a more serious one, as his first act is to go straight after the biggest name in the match, Gabrielle. He attempts to tip her over the top rope but she forces him back with her boot. Gabrielle then attempts to go for a Savate Kick, but Gino catches her leg and forces her up into the air, bringing her down with a Flapjack! Gino then turns his attention to Al Blizzard, stomping him in the corner a couple of times. Brooklyn Steiner manages to fight off Xtacee and Fenix, turning the tables on the latter and trying to force him out, but Xtacee is on hand to help his partner out.
Aaron Harrows tentatively goes after Vengador, who is just about picking himself up after being hit with the barrage of moves. A clubbing blow to the back gets Vengador’s attention, and Harrows instantly realises his mistake. Harrows tries to escape from Vengador, but the big man grabs him from behind… JUSTICIA!!! Harrows gets spiked onto his head and instantly falls limp, making it very easy for Vengador to lift him up from the mat and unceremoniously throw ‘The Top Star’ out of the ring!
ELIMINATION #11: AARON HARROWS BY VENGADOR AT 29:19
(TIME IN MATCH: 16:57)
Anzu Kurosawa: “The spirit of Spooder-Man was not enough to see Harrows go all the way tonight! A decent showing from ‘The Top Star’ for sure, though.”
Vengador then goes after Gabrielle, trying to force ‘The Goddess’ out of the ring. On the other side, Linus Badger has Alejandro Giunti up on his shoulder and ‘The Maltese Falcon’ holds on to the top rope for dear life. Gino Galucci arrives on the scene and delivers a couple of body shots to Badger, which allows Giunti to drop down and land on his feet next to Galucci.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “One acquaintance of Gerald Grayson comes to the aid of the other and it seems that a bit of an understanding may have formed between Giunti and Galucci because of that. Badger is definitely a two man job, at least.”
They each grab a tree trunk-like leg of the big masked man but they can barely get him off the mat despite their best attempts. Badger strikes both in the head with punches and he walks them across the ring, trying to throw both out at the same time. They halt his progress with stereo kicks to the back of the legs, and use Badger’s reduced balance to send him towards the ropes. Again though, Badger resists them and tries lurching forward, but together Giunti and Galucci drop the top rope, and Badger stumbles over onto the apron. Badger gets up to his feet at the same time as the two smaller men, and they share a nod… DOUBLE DROPKICKS - BADGER LANDS ON HIS FEET ON THE FLOOR!!
ELIMINATION #12: LINUS BADGER BY ALEJANDRO GIUNTI AND GINO GALUCCI AT 29:49
(TIME IN MATCH: 14:49)
Giunti and Galucci fist bump as The Gentleman consoles Badger on the outside, ignoring the mocking tones of Jason Quinn and Bobby Joel.
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #21: MIKE PARR AT 30:00
A HUGE cheer goes up inside The Sphere as the next entrant is revealed to be none other than ‘The Prodigy’ Mike Parr. Parr takes a deep breath on the stage and looks out to the fans and then into the ring, where everyone is aware of the new and very dangerous threat that has just entered the match. Parr shakes off his jacket and walks down towards the ring with purpose.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, Gabrielle no longer ties for the most Carnal Contendership appearances because Mike Parr has retaken the lead and now holds it on his own with this being his seventh appearance in the Carnal Contendership. The now-former North American Champion has been working as hard as he can to shed the notion that he is not World Champion material and if he can pull this off tonight then he will have the chance to main event Back in Business once again.”
Rod Sterling: “There is no one that would dare suggest that Mike Parr does not have what it takes. Even without the FWA World Championship, this man is a surefire future first ballot Hall of Famer. Whether Parr will feel content looking back on his career without having won the big one, that is only for him to know. 21 is a good number, it has produced a winner before back in 2010.”
‘The Prodigy’ gets into the ring and immediately gets to work by taking Galucci down with a Clothesline. Giunti ducks the next one that is intended for him but Parr evades the Dropkick that follows… and hits Giunti with a SHINING WIZARD!! Brooklyn Steiner frees himself from Fenix and Xtacee but eats a knee to the face from Parr when he gets close enough. Parr gets Steiner around the back of the head and gets him over the top rope, but Steiner hangs on… and impressively skins the cat to stay in the match. Unfortunately his escape from that puts him back into Parr’s clutches… ROLLING CUTTER!!!
The next to try their luck is Xtacee, who tries a strike of his own, but Parr ducks it and hooks XX up this time… ROLLING CUTTER!!! ‘The Prodigy’ is like a man possessed but his progress is stalled by Fenix who catches him with a Bicycle Knee to the face after he comes up from downing Xtacee. Parr stumbles back towards the ropes and Fenix charges in, but Parr catches him with an elbow to the side of the head as he approaches. This leaves Fenix vulnerable and Parr gets the hometown boy in position to the chagrin of the fans. A shrug from Parr… ROLLING CUTTER TO FENIX AS WELL!!
Konchu Hao: “This is what the Carnal Contendership is all about! KEHAHAHA! Fan opinion be damned - a focused Mike Parr is not going to be deterred. A conscience cost him against that loutish fool Chris Peacock in the F1 Climaxxx. No chances will be taken here tonight!”
As Parr gets up to his feet after hitting Fenix he looks across the ring and sees another experienced competitor and someone else that would be considered a clear favourite for this match - Gabrielle. The two share a knowing look with each other - a clear respect is present. They both adopt a ready stance and lock up formally as the clock begins once more with the two stalwarts exchanging holds in the middle of the ring…
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ENTRANT #22: JOE BURR AT 31:30
The feed cuts to the backstage area and the crowd can be heard cheering in the arena for it is another return to the FWA. A security guard knocks on a door which opens and initially no one is shown until the camera pans downwards. Another cheer goes up as the diminutive former Gauntlet Champion Joe Burr is seen for the first time in almost a year here in the FWA. Burr has a serious look on his face and starts to walk through the backstage area. He still has the mechanical voice box tied around his neck.
Rod Sterling: “ANOTHER huge surprise here in Vegas for the return of ‘The Giant Killer’! You can see that voice box around his neck as a result of the shattered larynx he suffered at Back in Business XVI at the hands of Saint Sully and the last time we saw Joe Burr he was injured by Keres as he did everything he could to prevent Liz-Elizabeth Rose from joining the Eternal group.”
Konchu Hao: “Joe Burr has always been a valiant fighter and it takes some considerable bravery - or foolishness - to continue to come back again and again only to get more hurt than you did the previous time.”
Burr finally reaches the arena and enters the sight of the fans for the first time and it becomes noticeable that he has other enhancements/support in addition to his voice box. A metal brace is lined up his right leg, the one injured by Keres, helping him walk with greater ease. As Burr advances towards the ring, Mike Parr and Gabrielle reach a sticking point in their battle and their standstill is brought to a halt by Al Blizzard, who catches Parr with a Big Boot to the side of the head. This knocks Parr towards the ropes and Blizzard looks to follow up with another one, but Parr ducks it and Al gets caught up on the top rope! Parr shakes off the cobwebs and then tips Blizzard out to the floor!
ELIMINATION #13: AL BLIZZARD BY MIKE PARR AT 32:34
(TIME IN MATCH: 8:34)
Blizzard lands on the floor and slams his fist into the ring apron in frustration. He is joined by Quinn and Steel, who express their disappointment at his failure before leading him away up the ramp.
Anzu Kurosawa: “We don’t know too much about The Path, but my guess is that there could be some serious repercussions for Al Blizzard for failing to get the job done in this match.”
With Parr dealing with Blizzard and with basically everyone else down as a result of Parr’s Rolling Cutter spree, Gabrielle focuses on Burr as he arrives in the ring. When Joe sees Gabrielle, he greets her as almost an ally with a stoic nod, likely due to their connection through Rose, but any apparent partnership is quickly kiboshed by Gabrielle, who boots Burr in the midsection. She looks down at his crumpled body and then around to the fans… AND DROPS HIM WITH THE 34 DOUBLE D-DT!!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “No idea what Burr was thinking there, as if Gabrielle was going to even entertain working together. We've got just eight entrants left, who is going to be next?”
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #23: ELIZABETH ROSE AT 33:00
There is a mixed reaction for the next entrant into the match as some fans still hold a sliver of hope that the old Lizzie Rose is still in there but this is almost certainly Elizabeth Rose that walks out from the back. She has a determined look on her face and her eyes locked solely on Gabrielle, who stares back at her, beckoning for her to come and face her.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, coincidentally enough it is Elizabeth Rose who is number twenty-three and we saw earlier on tonight the return of Keres who ominously warned of a new chapter of sorts for Eternal. What this means for Elizabeth and the FWA as a whole is unclear? However this dangerous group being granted a spot in the main event of Back in Business could spell doom for all.”
Konchu Hao: “Their full supernatural potential remains to be seen, Jean-Luc but what is known is that since the dawning of Elizabeth, this previously joyous young lady has turned into a terrifying prospect. Any connection to her past self is long gone, and not even the greatest necromancer can bring it back!”
Rolling into the ring, there is a cheer that goes up for Elizabeth staring across the ring from her mentor and the woman who she previously idolised. They have met several times before, with the most recent being at Winter Wasteland and it is clear that from the angry look on Elizabeth’s face that she has not forgotten that defeat at the end of December. Just before she goes on to attack ‘The Goddess’, she pauses when she hears a croaky, robotic voice calling out to her.
Joe Burr paws at Elizabeth’s leg, calling her by her former name and the name he knew her by. Surprisingly, she helps him up but then screams in his face that she is no longer who he knew and loved… AND ELIZABETH LAUNCHES BURR OUT OF THE RING AND TO THE FLOOR!!!
ELIMINATION #14: JOE BURR BY ELIZABETH ROSE AT 33:41
(TIME IN MATCH: 2:11)
Lizzie turns around and then goes straight after Gabrielle, with the two former associates turned rivals taking shots at each other, including scratching and pulling hair. Elsewhere around the ring, most have recovered from Parr’s outburst and some want revenge on him for it. Brooklyn Steiner lifts ‘The Prodigy’ up from behind as he was attempting to take out Giunti and drops him with THE SPEED OF LIGHT! Parr goes limp on the mat from the cutter, but Steiner then has to fend off Galucci.
Xperienx Xtacee is shown trying to budge Vengador on his own to no avail and the big man knocks him to the mat with a Headbutt. Jackson Fenix tries his luck next but before he can do anything he is kicked in the midsection by Giunti, who tries to follow up with a Famouser, but Fenix repels it. Giunti flips back and lands on his feet, and then eats a huge chop from Fenix across the chest. Jackson then shoves Giunti into the corner and attempts to tip him out.
Rod Sterling: “The action is becoming quite difficult to keep track of but the ring is only going to get more and more crowded as the last entries begin to file in!”
Anzu Kurosawa: “I have a feeling like this is going to be a big one, Rod!”
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #24: KRASH AT 34:30
Anzu Kurosawa: “No… it can’t be? NO FUCKING WAY?!”
The iconic opening drum beat of ‘Back in Town’ has the crowd on their feet in an instant, mouths agape with shock and excitement. There is an air of almost not believing what they are seeing and hearing. It is only when Krash does walk out from the back that they can finally digest and accept that this IS real. Then the cheers start even more; the camera even manages to find five men whipping their shirts off and revealing the ’K’, ’R’, ’A’, ’S’ and ’H’ on their chests.
Rod Sterling: “For the first time since the main event of Back in Business XVII, KRASH IS BACK IN AN FWA RING! He was victorious in the main event of Night One last year but his return to the Carnal Contendership could mean that he gets a spot in the main event of Night Two this year… against, well… let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Krash was the runner-up in the Carnal Contendership back in 2021, losing out to Michelle von Horrowitz… but that was a different time and a very different Krash. It pains me to say it… but something doesn’t seem quite right here.”
Watkins would be correct in that assertion as it becomes apparent very quickly that this is not the Krash that the fans know and love. His hands are visibly trembling and he looks around the arena in a distrusting manner. It is almost as if Krash is not there or in control, and his body is on autopilot as he walks towards the ring. He reaches the ring steps and takes his first proper look at what is going on in the ring, seeing all of the battles between the other competitors already in there. With a deep breath, he looks around the arena once more before stepping into the ring.
Unfortunately, the first encounter for ‘The White Wolf’ is Vengador, who bundles him into the corner. Krash barely gets a guard up for the heavy strikes that Vengador throws at him. Vengador lays into Krash’s chest with Machine Gun Chops and it seems that this sparks something inside of Krash.
Konchu Hao: “I think what Krash is experiencing right now from Vengador is awfully familiar to Alyster Black’s Violence Party… perhaps some memories are being brought back?”
As if a switch has been flicked, Krash fights out of the corner and starts laying into Vengador with forearm strikes to the head. Vengador looks to hit back but Krash ducks and Vengador’s momentum takes him over the top rope and onto the apron. Krash continues forward and takes down Fenix with a Clothesline, and hits a Running Back Elbow on an oncoming Rose. Steiner meets him in the middle of the ring but Krash cuts him off with a kick, and then another - Steiner gets a full Krash Kourse!
The fans cheer loudly as Krash seems to feel their energy a bit more and he points at Vengador on the apron as Bobby Joel puts his head in his hands… ONE HIT KILL TO VENGADOR - KNOCKING HIM FROM THE APRON!!!
ELIMINATION #15: VENGADOR BY KRASH AT 35:52
(TIME IN MATCH:10:22)
Krash drops to his knees but then slowly nods his head to himself, even wiping a tear from his eye. He then rises to his feet and screams at the top of his lungs, ready and waiting for whoever will be next;
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #25: SIR STACHE AT 36:00
In an instant, all of the air is sucked out of the arena. The high high drops to the lowest of lows as Sir Stache of the Friendship Wrestling Alliance runs out onto the stage and enthusiastically waves at everyone inside The Sphere. In the ring, Krash drops to his knees. He shakes his head and can be heard repeating the word ‘No.’ to himself. Eventually, Sir Stache sees him and races towards the ring.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, at least we will not be subjected to his commentary for this match but this is one of the last people that I would imagine Krash wanted to see enter this match along with him. It has been a prosperous night for the Friendship Wrestling Alliance and if Sir Stache can convince Krash to join their ranks once more in the confines of this match, that would be the icing on the cake for Jeremy Best and co.”
Anzu Kurosawa: “I’m actually quite worried about Krash. We saw a flash of the brilliance we used to expect from him and saw on a weekly basis but after everything he has been through over the last two years… I’m not sure how he is going to handle seeing this idiot again and being reminded of all of the things he represents.”
Sir Stache gets into the ring and holds his arms wide open, greeting Krash as if he is an old friend. Krash’s eyes are red and he can barely bring himself to look at the masked man that was originally introduced as a faux version of himself. Stache advances towards Krash, looking like he is going for a hug. There is a look of fear on Krash’s face as Stache’s arms begin to wrap around him… but he pushes him away.
This small act gets a huge cheer from the fans but Stache is persistent, going in again as everyone in the ring seems to now be watching this interaction unfold, unsure of where it is going to lead. Again though, Krash pushes Stache away, demanding that he leaves him alone. It is on the third attempt that Krash physically retaliates, knocking Stache down to the mat with a straight punch to the face!! Stache is down on the floor and Krash gets on top of him, laying into him with forearms and then stomps to the head, not relenting at all.
Rod Sterling: “This is barbaric! I don’t think Sir Stache has even moved since that first punch… these are all just exclamation points!”
After stomping Sir Stache into oblivion, Krash lifts him up from the mat and with all of his power, sends him flying over the top rope and out to the floor!!
ELIMINATION #16: SIR STACHE BY KRASH AT 37:11
(TIME IN MATCH: 1:11)
Krash shakes with dozens of emotions as he looks down at Stache on the mat and he feels a hand on his shoulder. He initially acts with concern, smacking it away but he then sees that it belonged to Mike Parr. It is as if Krash does not recognise his longtime associate and former tag team partner. Even in the midst of the competition, Parr gives Krash a reassuring nod. However the two of them are together knocked down by Elizabeth Rose and Gino Galucci, who then turn their attentions on each other.
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**BRRRRRRRR**
ENTRANT #26: KATSU AT 37:30
Another loud cheer goes up for another returning competitor, and the former Television Champion Katsu is shown on the stage with strobe lights pointing down onto her. She has her arms crossed and then extends them, causing fire to shoot out from the stage and she marches towards the ring with her long cape flowing behind her. She removes her entrance mask to show her much more familiar one that she wrestles in and then does a throat slashing gesture.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well, it seems that we were able to reach an agreement with Katsu in time for her to be able to appear in her second Carnal Contendership match. It was at last year’s event that we saw the end of Vampyra and the birth of Katsu. She lasted over thirty minutes last year and finished in an impressive fourth place.”
Konchu Hao: “Not much room for improvement! KEHAHAHA! Her idols have smiled at her given this very fortunate entry number but she must do the rest of the work herself if she wants to improve on twelve months ago.”
Katsu removes her cape and then slides into the ring where she immediately collides with another former Television Champion in Brooklyn Steiner. Steiner welcomes the challenger and gives Katsu an immediate harsh dose of what the FWA is now like by taking her over with an Arm Drag, but Katsu flails her legs up to escape the following Arm Bar. They both rise back up and Katsu lands a picture perfect Dropkick on Steiner’s chest, knocking him down. Her next act is to tip Alejandro Giunti over the ropes and ‘The Maltese Falcon’ has to ensure that he does not slip to the floor.
Fighting off Katsu, Giunti gets his leg up from the apron and catches Katsu on the side of the head. She stumbles back a few steps into the middle of the ring and Giunti pulls himself up onto the ropes and Springboards in… but KATSU CATCHES HIM WITH THE KITSUNE BUSTER ON THE WAY DOWN!!! Giunti’s head snaps back and lands on the mat and Katsu rises to a good cheer from the crowd for the emphatic counter. She sees Mike Parr doing his best to fend off Gino Galucci as Elizabeth Rose stomps on Krash against the bottom rope.
Katsu approaches Parr and pulls him towards the middle of the ring, but Parr breaks her grip and catches her with a Jumping Knee, knocking her down to a knee herself. Parr then hits the ropes, assumingly going for a Shining Wizard upon his return… but Jackson Fenix low bridges them and Parr tumbles out onto the apron! Fenix uses his knee and boot to try and force Parr down to the floor from the unsafe position, but ‘The Prodigy’ does his utmost to hold on.
Rod Sterling: “We’re really starting to see the fatigue coming into play here as the likes of Gabrielle, Fenix and Xtacee have been in this match for a considerable amount of time. Fenix from 8… Gabrielle from 12… These later entry numbers are going to prove a huge advantage for those who hold them. Speaking of, number twenty-seven is about to reveal themselves…”
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ENTRANT #27: CHRIS PEACOCK AT 39:00
There’s a big reaction in the arena, split between the boos and the cheers as the NEW North American Champion saunters out from the back. Chris Peacock is alone, unlike earlier on, and he shows the kind of fatigue that one would expect after going that kind of time with Michelle von Horrowitz. That does not sway his swagger or confidence, though.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Ah, why am I not surprised? Well, everything else seems to be going his way at the moment, so it should be no shock that Chris Peacock would luck his way into a very favourable draw in this match. Absent from last year’s match due to being the FWA World Champion, Peacock is seemingly not content with just the North American Championship… that second world title could be beckoning in the main event of Back in Business… in his hometown.”
Konchu Hao: “I, like Jean-Luc, find myself ashamed for not predicting this outcome. After two hour-plus stints in his last two turns, this match still has a long way to go if he is to repeat that feat once again.”
Peacock climbs up the steps and into the ring where he surveys the scene around him. He makes a beeline for Jackson Fenix, which draws the ire of the Vegas crowd, and slams him down to the mat by his hair. This allows Mike Parr to get back into the ring for safety and ‘The Prodigy’ spins Peacock around and the two go face-to-face. The manner in which Peacock overcame Parr in the F1 Semi-Final is clearly brought up and Peacock attempts to laugh it off, but Parr has none of it, dropping the new North American Champion with a right hand; he follows up with a stomp on the right knee that Peacock pretended to injure in their encounter as an exclamation point.
There is no chance for Parr to do anything else to Peacock as Katsu is back on the scene and she runs in and takes him down with a Slingblade! Katsu then tries to get Parr out of the ring, as Gabrielle approaches Peacock and kicks him in the ribs as he rises to his feet. Peacock grimaces… and then PIMP SLAPS GABRIELLE!! This is followed up by some comments not appropriate for the viewing audiences, but before Gabrielle can do anything to Peacock in retaliation, she is grabbed from behind by Elizabeth Rose. The former Lizzie runs Gabrielle forward and kicks off of Xtacee in the corner to hit Gabrielle with the SLICED ELIZABETH!!!
Anzu Kurosawa: “There’s a lot going on in the ring right now and all of these big moves are landing. The ring may continue to fill up until everyone is in the match… but there’s just three people left to come now!”
As Xperienx Xtacee charges across the ring to hit Galucci with a Leg Lariat by leapfrogging over Peacock, ‘Disco’s Last Warrior’ stands up and finds himself standing across the ring from Krash. The two best friends of Alyster Black look at each other with honest reactions; Peacock’s facade seems to drop completely as he asks Krash if he is okay, and Krash slowly nods. A fist is extended by Peacock, to which Krash initially recoils, but he then recognizes it as a symbol of friendship, especially when Chris points to his ‘FTN’ scar on his chest. The countdown starts once more with both moustachioed men coming to an understanding of sorts.
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ENTRANT #28: RANDY RAMON AT 40:30
From the first high-pitched word of the song, both Krash and Peacock have their full attention on the stage as the crowd rises up and cheers in anticipation. Krash gulps, but Chris Peacock turns around with a face of fury, shaking with unadulterated anger. Randy Ramon is then shown on the stage, without his FWA Tag Team Championship, and he walks down the ramp towards the ring.
Rod Sterling: “Well, this is going to be something, folks. There are not many people on this planet that can get under Chris Peacock’s skin, but his former mentor is one of them as Ramon has haunted him at every step since their paths crossed at Back in Business last year. We’ve seen sneak attacks, but nothing direct - OH! PEACOCK DOESN’T WANT TO WAIT FOR RAMON TO GET INTO THE RING!!”
Despite Krash’s limp warning for him not to, Peacock turns around and rolls underneath the bottom rope so he can meet Ramon on the ramp - and PEACOCK AND RAMON BEGIN SLUGGING IT OUT ON THE RAMP!! Neither hold anything back, but Ramon is the fresher man given Peacock already competed tonight and he quickly gets an advantage over his former Ground Zero mentee. He slams Peacock into the ring barricade and then walks him towards the ring, sending him into the steel steps! Inside the ring, Krash is debating whether to get involved in the skirmish himself to give Peacock some back up, but the appearance of Ramon seems to have shaken him up once more.
Krash is then alerted to Xtacee approaching him and he ducks an Educated Feet attempt from XX, trying to follow it up by throwing Xtacee out, but Xtacee holds on. Gabrielle screams as she tries to fend off Rose and Galucci is shown helping Giunti up to his feet before both go after Katsu together.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Well the action is continuing in the ring despite Chris Peacock and Randy Ramon going at it on the outside… but I think they could both be coming back into the fray… or Ramon is, at least.”
After an emphatic slamming of Peacock’s head into the ring post, Ramon rolls him back into the ring. Krash watches on as Ramon then enters himself and the two men who plunged to their apparent deaths in Rio two years ago find themselves in the same ring. Krash shudders, trying to will himself to fight, but Ramon is quicker to it with a Discus Punch that causes Krash to fall back into the ropes. Ramon runs in, Clotheslining Krash over the top rope and Krash lands on his knees on the apron.
Before Ramon can follow up on Krash, he has to deal with Peacock once again, who desperately jumps onto his back. Peacock bites Ramon’s ear from on top of him, trying to take it off completely, but Ramon manages to Snapmare him over the top rope and Peacock is stopped from hitting the floor by Krash, who manages to grab onto his arm. Krash helps Peacock back up to his feet on the apron and they see Ramon lining up one of them…
Anzu Kurosawa: “I think someone is about to get Remixed!”
Ramon strikes… GOING FOR KRASH… BUT PEACOCK SHOVES KRASH OUT OF THE WAY AND THE REMIX STRIKES PEACOCK - KNOCKING HIM TO THE FLOOR!!!
ELIMINATION #17: CHRIS PEACOCK BY RANDY RAMON AT 41:48
(TIME IN MATCH: 2:48)
It is not a long stretch for Peacock this time around and the rare unselfish act from the North American Champion causes surprise to everyone, Ramon especially. This then allows Krash to duck back through the ropes and bring the fight to him, pinning him against the turnbuckle with punches and forearms, harnessing the expertise of Alyster Black.
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ENTRANT #29: CYRUS TRUTH AT 42:00
Perhaps the largest ovation of the match so far is reserved for the man who was unsuccessful in capturing the FWA World Championship in the opening contest, but was the winner of last year’s Carnal Contendership. Cyrus Truth wears a face of pure wrath as he walks out from the back, scanning the ring to see who is standing in the way of a third victory in this match and his fifth Back in Business main event.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “One of just two individuals to have won more than one Carnal Contendership and the man who holds the record for the most eliminations in these matches is the penultimate entrant tonight. This is one place earlier than last year when Cyrus Truth won by last eliminating weaselperson. Can he become the first person to win back to back Carnal Contenderships?”
Konchu Hao: “I know that Cyrus’s focus will be on getting revenge on Jeremy Best and his cronies for what happened earlier tonight, I can assure you of that. I also find myself empathising with Allen Price, which is a strange feeling, I assure you. My professional bias will be called into question should Best, Baxter or any of the others feel the need to prevent Truth from winning this match.”
Cyrus gets into the ring and with a face of thunder, dares anyone to step up to him. The first person is Gino Galucci, who is kicked in the midsection with a Savate kick and then kneed in the side of the head. Giunti eats an Elbow Smash to the face which crumples him and Cyrus then runs through Jackson Fenix with a Clothesline. Elizabeth Rose looks to go after Cyrus next, but he puts his hand on her forehead and takes her down to the mat with the Memento Mori! Truth is unable to get to his feet though as Xperienx Xtacee sledges him across the back and then lays into him with some more strikes to his upper back.
Weathering this storm, Truth manages to wince through the pain. Xtacee gets him up from the mat and tries to send him into the ropes, but Truth blocks it and then connects with a Discus Punch! Xtacee lands against the ropes, Truth charges in… and CLOTHESLINES HIM OUT OF THE RING TO THE FLOOR!!!
ELIMINATION #18: XPERIENX XTACEE BY CYRUS TRUTH AT 42:55
(TIME IN MATCH: 23:25)
Anzu Kurosawa: “I don’t think Cyrus is in the mood to play any games here tonight.”
Xtacee follows up his long showing 2023 with another impressive effort in 2024 but Cyrus Truth is already on the hunt for his next prey and he scoops Gabrielle up and away from Mike Parr and holds her above his head… EXILE’S EDGE!!! Truth then takes a Dropkick to the face from Katsu and she tries to elevate him upwards over the top rope. Katsu is stopped by Galucci, who wants a piece of Cyrus himself after being targeted by him. Galucci lines up Truth… PIZZA-TRIGGER!!
The knee from Galucci causes Truth to drop to the mat holding his jaw, but Gino is unable to follow up as Mike Parr is back on the scene… TORNADO DDT TO GALUCCI!! Parr stays on the mat next to Gino for a moment and then gets up to his knees, looking around the ring. He contemplates trying to save Krash from Ramon, who is trying to force him out, but his attention is drawn to the large screen, which shows the countdown clock for the final time;
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The popular Foo Fighters song plays, with the crowd unsure at first who this is heralding but as soon as the man walks out onto the stage, they rise in loud cheers. In the ring, Mike Parr looks as shocked as anyone to see who has emerged… and even the commentators are stuttering upon seeing who it is in a close-up shot from on the stage.
Rod Sterling: “THA-THAT’S TREVOR OCEAN! A former FWA World Tag Team Champion, a tag team champion in CWA also… but someone we have not seen here in the FWA in YEARS, folks. This… I don’t think ANYONE saw coming!”
ENTRANT #30: TREVOR OCEAN AT 43:30
A smile forms on Ocean’s face, almost in relief, when he experiences the reception that he is receiving from the Vegas crowd. Mike Parr rises to his feet in the ring and watches as Ocean breaks into a jog and then slides into the ring. Before both know it, they are face to face surrounded by the packed crowd and everyone else left in the ring.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “When you consider the history between the mutual associates of these two men in the last couple of years, you can understand the look of surprise on Mike Parr’s face. Ocean does seem pleased to see him, though.”
Ocean nods his head and looks at Parr, but then neither of them hold anything back against the other. Parr’s fatigue at having been in the match for almost fourteen minutes already comes into play as Ocean gets the better of it and it quickly becomes a STORM SURGE! The knees and elbows to Parr’s head eventually take their toll and Parr drops to the mat. Ocean has to keep an eye out behind him for Giunti, who he catches with a Spinning Back Fist. Ocean attempts to follow up with a Spinning Roundhouse Kick, but Giunti ducks it and a recovering Galucci takes the boot instead, knocking him loopy. This leaves Gino in a bad spot… and it allows Ocean to cradle him by the back of the head and then send him over the top rope to the floor!!
ELIMINATION #19: GINO GALUCCI BY TREVOR OCEAN AT 44:48
(TIME IN MATCH: 16:18)
Galucci is out, and Ocean wastes no time by laying into Cyrus Truth with a knee to the head as ‘The Exile’ was in the process of rising to his feet. Gabrielle and Elizabeth Rose are in the midst of going at it again and Jackson Fenix has Katsu in a precarious position. Krash lands a definitive punch to the top of Ramon’s head to finally free himself from ‘Rockstar’s clutches. Ramon does not give in so easily, though, and he leaps in the air, looking for the OCCISOR PUNCH - but Krash dodges it! Krash hits the ropes… but he pauses when he sees someone in the ring behind Ramon.
Konchu Hao: “I thought he’d gone?!”
Ramon is confused as to why Krash stopped in his tracks right in front of him but Krash’s uneasiness is something worth interrogating for him. Ramon remains completely unaware of Chris Peacock standing behind him with a steel chair in hand as he questions Krash about his strange actions. Finally, Krash motions behind Ramon and ‘Rockstar’ turns around… AND PEACOCK BRAINS HIM OVER THE TOP OF THE HEAD WITH THE STEEL CHAIR!!! Ramon drops to the mat and Peacock looks down on him and SPITS right onto Ramon’s face!
Rod Sterling: “I know given everything that has gone down between Ramon and Peacock over the last twelve months has been wrought with sneak attacks and duplicity, but that is the lowest form of action from Chris Peacock. Spitting is the ultimate showing of disrespect, especially after he had knocked Ramon’s lights out with that steel chair.”
A small pool of blood forms from the top of Ramon’s head after Peacock had laid him out with the chair. Krash looks concerned, but Peacock gives him a reassuring nod before leaving the ring and walking up the ramp, proud of himself. Krash watches Peacock leave and then looks down at Ramon, knowing what he has to do but seeming rather uncomfortable about doing it given the hearty assist from the already-eliminated Peacock. With some considerable effort, Krash is able to lift the large frame of Ramon up from the mat and he forces him over the top rope… where Ramon hits the apron and lands on the floor.
ELIMINATION #20: RANDY RAMON BY KRASH AT 46:08
(TIME IN MATCH: 5:38)
Jean-Luc Watkins: “With that elimination we are down to the final ten. One of these individuals will face Jeremy Best at Back in Business and six others will earn places in the Golden Opportunity Steel Roulette. For the next three who are eliminated from the match, they will leave with nothing.”
The final ten are; Jackson Fenix (#8), Gabrielle (#12), Brooklyn Steiner (#16), Alejandro Giunti (#19), Mike Parr (#21), Elizabeth Rose (#23), Krash (#24), Katsu (#26), Cyrus Truth (#29) and Trevor Ocean (#30).
Krash does not have long to consider his elimination of Randy Ramon as he is immediately beset upon by Brooklyn Steiner, who lifts him up and hits an Atomic Drop. The momentum from the impact propels Krash forwards, and he almost is sent out of the match due to it. Steiner attempts to force the issue but Krash plants a hand on the ring apron to keep himself alive. On the other side of the ring, Gabrielle catches Elizabeth Rose with an elbow and then reels off a few strikes to send Rose back into the middle of the ring.
Anzu Kurosawa: “No matter what seems to happen in this match, Rose and Gabrielle just keep getting drawn to one another. There is just some sort of connection between them and it has existed the entirety of Rose’s time here in the FWA.”
Gabrielle hits a Savate Kick to Rose’s chest, which knocks the former North American Champion down to a knee. Gabrielle then attempts to hook Rose up for the Double D-DT, but Rose spins out of it and sends Gabrielle careening forward… and JACKSON FENIX CATCHES HER WITH A SUPERKICK!!! Fenix does not get much of a chance to revel in his moment of glory as Rose seems to take someone else targeting Gabrielle personally. Fenix attempts to fight her off by going for a punch, but she catches his fist. She does the same with the other and is about to knee him in the face, but Katsu takes to the air and lands on Fenix with a Diving Crossbody!!
Once again, Rose’s prey is taken from her by another and she is evidently annoyed by this, so much so that she sees Brooklyn Steiner trying to eliminate Krash, and she pulls Brooklyn away in order to give someone a taste of her medicine! Steiner swings for Rose and misses, and she cracks him with the CALLING MISTER VIOLENCE KICK! This seems to cause Steiner’s leg to go dead and but she jumps up at him and gets her knees in his chest. Steiner is off balance and Rose causes him to lean into the ropes, and she uses her weight and the momentum to get Steiner onto the ring apron, but falls down onto it too!
Konchu Hao: “It is always enthralling when two competitors are on the ring apron like this… you don’t know which one of them is going to win the battle!”
Steiner gets to his feet with Rose on her knees and he kicks out at her, but she manages to dodge it and then sweeps his standing leg. This causes Steiner to have to put his weight back on the dead leg… but it can’t support him… AND ROSE SHOVES HIM TO THE FLOOR!!
ELIMINATION #21: BROOKLYN STEINER BY ELIZABETH ROSE AT 48:19
(TIME IN MATCH: 25:49)
The fans are unhappy to see Steiner go, and Rose ensures to blow him a kiss before she ducks back through the ropes. She is met by Trevor Ocean, who knees her in the midsection and then bounces her head off of the top turnbuckle. Cyrus Truth and Krash are both working in unison to eliminate Alejandro Giunti, but ‘The Maltese Falcon’ proves to be a tricky customer due to his agility. Giunti catches Truth with an Enziguiri and then interlocks his fingers with Krash’s, before going very high risk in a match like this by scaling up the turnbuckle and then walking along the top rope with Krash’s hand in his, but he steadies himself and leaps off, landing on Truth’s shoulders, and he hits a Hurricanrana/Arm Drag combination on the two former FWA World Champions.
After Katsu took down Jackson Fenix with the Crossbody, she has focused her efforts on eliminating the Undisputed Alliance member but these are fruitless as Fenix staves off another wave. He catches her with a forearm and but a Roundhouse kick in response is enough to send Fenix sprawling into the corner. Katsu gets waylaid by Giunti as she goes to follow up on Fenix, and Katsu gets dropped by a Rolling Wheel Kick!
Jean-Luc Watkins: “This is a very impressive showing here by Alejandro Giunti - he’s been hard for anyone to pin down and that kick to Katsu is definitely a bit of payback from that nasty-looking Kitsune Buster from earlier in the match.”
After dealing with Katsu, Giunti looks to feed on her spoils by going after Fenix himself. He manages to lift Fenix up onto the top turnbuckle in a seated position. A slap across Fenix’s chest is enough to stun him momentarily and this allows Giunti to climb up the turnbuckle himself. It looks as if a Frankensteiner could be in the offing but Fenix blocks it and Giunti lands very awkwardly on the back of his head on the mat! Whether it is just by pure instinct or voluntarily, Giunti stands hunched over in front of Fenix in the corner and Fenix nods his head, looking as if he may go for the IF YOU SEEK AMY… but he does not see KATSU CHARGE BACK IN AND VAULT OFF OF GIUNTI’S BACK, CONNECTING WITH A DROPKICK TO FENIX WHICH CAUSES HIM TO TUMBLE FROM THE TURNBUCKLE AND DOWN TO THE FLOOR!!! THE HOMETOWN HERO IS OUT!!
ELIMINATION #22: JACKSON FENIX BY KATSU AT 49:53
(TIME IN MATCH: 39:23)
Anzu Kurosawa: “I’m not sure that Katsu is going to be very popular in Vegas anymore, but there is no denying that was a fantastic piece of innovation to eliminate Jackson Fenix. The hometown dream is over but that is two years in a row now that Jackson Fenix has been a lynchpin of the Carnal Contendership. A brilliant showing from the ‘Sin City Bad Boy’.”
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Indeed, Anzu. Well, with that elimination there are just eight competitors left in the match and that means just one of them is going to agonising miss out on a spot in the Golden Opportunity Steel Roulette match at the very least.”
This situation seems to dawn on the remaining eight, who take up various different positions in the ring and assess each other for the amount of damage that they have taken. Elizabeth Rose marches forward, going for Gabrielle once again and ‘The Goddess’ is more than willing to go another round and they embroil in another exchange of strikes. As they battle, Cyrus, Krash and Parr seem to stand with each other with Katsu, Ocean and Giunti opposite them. There seems to be an informal understanding, and then everyone pairs up in a hockey fight-type scenario. Krash and Ocean, Parr and Katsu and then Cyrus and Giunti.
Cyrus gets the better of ‘The Maltese Falcon’, who was still smarting from his bad landing moments earlier. This enables Truth to collar him and send him over the top rope, but a last ditch moment of awareness from Giunti allows him to land on his feet on the apron. He is still very much vulnerable though, and charges in at Giunti… BUT GIUNTI CUTS HIM OFF WITH A KNEE TO THE MIDSECTION! Saving himself, Giunti then watches as Cyrus slumps against the middle rope. Katsu ducks a punch from Parr and spots Cyrus in his predicament… SAKURA KICK!! That knocks Truth down to the mat and Katsu finds herself next to Giunti on the apron but not at risk of being eliminated as she went through the middle rope whilst executing her move.
Anzu Kurosawa: “This isn’t a good spot for Giunti - Katsu can do whatever she wants here without having to worry about getting eliminated from the match!”
The first port of call on the apron for Katsu is to avoid contact with Elizabeth Rose, who is sent in her direction by Gabrielle. Katsu achieves this by dropping the ropes down and then helping Rose out onto the apron, where she too is at risk now. Katsu drops to the floor to get out of the way, but then gets her head in between Giunti’s legs, as if to try and Powerbomb him to the floor to get the elimination. At the same time, Gabrielle tries to force Rose from the apron with her boot in the stomach. Both Rose and Giunti hold on for dear life to the ropes to prevent themselves from being eliminated.
Rose loses grip with one hand as she tries to resist Gabrielle, and then lunges forward with it, grabbing only a handful of Gabrielle’s hair. Montgomery screams as her roots is all that Rose is holding onto, and she is also in danger of going herself as Rose is leaning all the way back. Meanwhile, Giunti’s fingers seem to be slipping and Katsu strains as she tries to break his grip. Gabrielle cranes her neck back, groaning as her hair slips through Rose’s fingertips… AND ROSE FALLS BACKWARDS, LOOKING IN SHOCK AT THE FEW STRANDS OF GABRIELLE’S HAIR IN HER HAND… AND ROSE IS ELIMINATED!!!
ELIMINATION #23: ELIZABETH ROSE BY GABRIELLE MONTGOMERY AT 51:48
(TIME IN MATCH: 18:48)
Giunti looks over to see that Rose is on the floor and eliminated and knowing that his time is up, seeing Trevor Ocean bounding towards him… he loosens his grip and KATSU POWERBOMBS HIM TO THE FLOOR!!!
ELIMINATION #24: ALEJANDRO GIUNTI BY KATSU AT 51:55
(TIME IN MATCH: 24:55)
Rod Sterling: “Alejandro Giunti sneaks into the Golden Opportunity match by just seven seconds and even though that Powerbomb must have hurt, you can sense that he is pleased about ensuring his spot inside the Steel Roulette. As for Elizabeth Rose…”
Konchu Hao: “The mind can only begin to fathom what kind of consequences await her from Keres and the Eternal contingent.”
Wanting to avoid a repeat of the Peacock incident, the ringside officials are quick to escort both of the eliminated individuals away from the ring. Katsu is instructed to get back in and when she does she looks around the ring to find herself as very much the odd one out given that the rest of those left are decorated and tenured FWA competitors; all of them either current or future members of the FWA Hall of Fame. She does not let this deter her and rides the current temporary wave of unpopularity after eliminating Fenix to go after Krash, who was conversing with Cyrus Truth in one of the corners - albeit it seemed more like Truth was checking in on him.
This act of course draws ‘The Exile’s ire and after Katsu’s running knees puts Krash down, she is left to contend with Truth who catches her with a Hip Toss into the same turnbuckle as where she left Krash. Katsu falls in front of Krash and they are in a seated position. Truth motions for Krash to move his head, which the faded ‘White Wolf’ does, and this allows Truth to lay into Katsu with the FIRST FIVE STEPS! The crowd counts along, and Krash motions to Cyrus that he is fine, but Truth is knocked down from behind by Gabrielle. She checks her hair for a moment after losing a few strands thanks to Rose, but then stomps on Cyrus.
Perhaps unwisely, Montgomery riles Truth up by talking at him and she picks him up with some difficulty (she has been in the match for over thirty five minutes) but this works to her detriment as Truth is able to easily navigate himself out of the attempt to hook him up for the 34 Double D-DT… and he scoops Gabrielle up onto his shoulders! The crowd cheers for the popular move… and CYRUS DRIVES GABRIELLE INTO THE MAT WITH THE JOURNEY’S END!!!
Anzu Kurosawa: “I’m not really sure what Gabrielle could have left in the tank after that; it could just be elementary from Cyrus at this point…”
After a long night of mixed emotions, Truth is lethargic himself but he drives himself to scoop Gabrielle up onto his shoulder and walk her towards the ropes. Truth has to lean over himself to get Gabrielle over the ropes… BUT MIKE PARR RUSHES HIM FROM BEHIND AND TIPS CYRUS OVER THE TOP ROPE… AND ‘THE EXILE’ HITS THE FLOOR, WITH GABRIELLE LANDING ON THE APRON!!!
ELIMINATION #25: CYRUS TRUTH BY MIKE PARR AT 53:35
(TIME IN MATCH: 11:35)
Rod Sterling: “Last year’s winner is OUT! Cyrus Truth WILL NOT be going to the main event of Back in Business for the fifth time, at least not this year!”
Truth is shocked as he is shown sitting on the floor. He looks up at the exhausted Parr leaning on the ropes and shakes his head solemnly, accepting his fate as much as he is disappointed by it. He gives Parr an understanding nod before picking himself up and heading towards the back. Gabrielle is very slow to move whilst on the apron… and this is her downfall as TREVOR OCEAN CHARGES IN AND CONNECTS WITH A BASEBALL SLIDE - KNOCKING HER FROM THE APRON AND DOWN TO THE FLOOR AS WELL!!!
ELIMINATION #26: GABRIELLE MONTGOMERY BY TREVOR OCEAN AT 54:01
(TIME IN MATCH: 37:31)
Gabrielle is too exhausted and hurt to properly process what has happened as she finds herself on the floor just seconds after Cyrus’s elimination.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “What a turn up for the books; two bona fide legends of this business gone within seconds and it means that one of Mike Parr, Trevor Ocean, Katsu and Krash will be going to Back in Business to challenge for the FWA World Championship.”
Both Parr and Ocean lift themselves up after taking out Cyrus and Gabrielle, respectively. Katsu crawls away from Krash and they both pick adjacent corners to pull themselves up in. The final four each take up a corner and consider their next move carefully, and it is the freshest person in the match - Ocean - that blinks first to run across the ring and land a forearm into Parr’s face. On the other side, Krash approaches Katsu but she is ready and meets him with a Jumping Bicycle Knee which catches him off guard. She tries to force him out to the panic of the fans, but Krash grits his teeth in an attempt to hold on.
Parr does his best to keep Ocean at bay, managing to kick him away a few paces to create a bit of separation. Ocean tries to charge back in, but Parr gets his boots up and catches him in the face. This allows Parr to sucker Ocean in and he hooks his head up, trying to get him in position for a Tornado DDT, but Ocean stands firm in the middle of the ring and negotiates Parr’s body into position in an Inverted Gory Special… into an EMERALD FLOWSION - THE REIKO EXPLOSION!!! Parr lays on his back in the middle of the ring but Ocean does not go to eliminate him after hitting the move.
Instead, the former tag champion rushes both Krash and Katsu, trying to Clothesline them both out of the ring at the same time. However they catch him with elbows at the same time to halt his progress.
Anzu Kurosawa: “A misstep there by Trevor Ocean? I can understand going for two eliminations at once, especially at this stage of the match, but Mike Parr was right there for the taking. The last thing you want to do is allow ‘The Prodigy’ to recover. That kind of thing can and will come back to bite you on the ass.”
Both Krash and Katsu have the same idea again to leap into the air and Dropkick Ocean, who stumbles back and then trips over Parr on the mat. This also rouses Parr and he fights to pick himself up. Ocean rises up and Parr gets to his knees but Katsu uses him as a platform in a similar manner as she did earlier to eliminate Jackson Fenix, and she hits another follow-up Dropkick to Ocean’s chest. As Katsu follows up on Ocean, Krash makes a point to pick Parr up from the mat.
There is a moment where Krash and Parr exchange a look to say that they’re about to get into it, but they’re interrupted by Katsu who shouts for them both to come over and help her with Ocean. A temporary truce seems to activate with them both working on eliminating Ocean alongside ‘The Kitsune Warrior’. Katsu takes one leg whilst Parr and Krash take the other and between them they are able to lift Ocean up and almost tip him out. Ocean is not going without a fight though and he kicks out, catching Krash in the face with his left boot. This leaves just Parr and Katsu to deal with Ocean, and together they lift him up… and Ocean lands on the apron!
A Headbutt from Ocean to Katsu gets her back slightly but she thinks quickly and Dropkicks Parr in the back… sending him forward and he and Ocean clunk heads… and OCEAN FALLS TO THE FLOOR!!
ELIMINATION #27: TREVOR OCEAN BY KATSU AND MIKE PARR AT 56:43
(TIME IN MATCH: 14:13)
Jean-Luc Watkins: “We’re down to three! Katsu, Krash and Mike Parr! A welcome return to the FWA for Trevor Ocean, but he was just unable to make it that extra bit further to win the Carnal Contendership after entering at number thirty.”
Ocean shakes his head on the floor after taking the heavy blow and Katsu pumps her fist, having guaranteed herself at least an improvement on her positioning from the previous year. She immediately goes forward towards the groggy Parr and gets him by the neck… trying to eliminate him, but he manages to turn it around on her and Katsu goes over the top rope, but she holds on to the top rope with both hands! Parr turns away, thinking that he has ensured the elimination, but he ventures straight into Krash’s path, who cannot see Katsu hanging on due to Parr being in the way.
Believing that he is in the last two, Krash sees it as a suitable time to finally be an aggressor towards Parr and he catches Parr square in the jaw with a ONE HIT KILL!!! Parr doesn’t go down and instead turns idly towards the ropes where Katsu is still holding on. She strains and skins the cat, managing to get her feet around Parr’s neck, where she brings him forward and over the top rope… ELIMINATING HIM! IT’S THE FINAL TWO - KRASH AND KATSU!!!
ELIMINATION #28: MIKE PARR BY KATSU AT 57:49
(TIME IN MATCH: 27:49)
Katsu quickly dives back in through the ropes again, and both she and Krash are on their knees looking at the other. Both completely understand the gravity of the situation that they have found themselves in.
Rod Sterling: “It has all come down to this. Thirty entrants. Now there are just two left. One of these two competitors is about to etch their name into the history books and have the chance to challenge for the FWA World Championship at Back in Business. Which one is it going to be? Krash, the former FWA World Champion looking to refind the person he was at his prime or Katsu, the brave warrior who perhaps has not yet found hers?”
Konchu Hao: “The tension is palpable! There is no thrill quite like this! The chaos; the glorious chaos! KEHAHAHA!”
They get up and Katsu initiates an exchange of forearm strikes between the two of them. The crowd are rabid and on their feet, with bets being visibly placed by individuals in the front rows over which one of the two is going to come out on top. Krash builds up a bit of momentum with his strikes, seeming more and more confident with each one. Katsu fires back with a Roundhouse kick to Krash’s knee which causes him to buckle slightly. This gives Katsu an opening to go for a Superkick, but Krash ducks it by rolling through. She goes for another swinging back fist, but Krash moves backwards to avoid that and he then hits the ropes… coming back at Katsu with the EIFFEL D’PARACHUTE!!!
The classic piece of Krash offence gets the crowd in a frenzy as he stands up over her after the acrobatic move. Almost full of the confidence he was once known for, Krash taps into the showman inside of him and then tentatively points to the turnbuckle to a HUGE cheer from the fans. He picks up on their adoration for him and slowly removes his elbow pad and drops it down onto the mat. Krash scales the turnbuckle and looks down over Katsu and takes flight… DAYBREAKER-NO!! KATSU GOT HER KNEES UP!!!
Krash rises from the mat and holds his ribs as Katsu nips up and hits the ropes behind him and comes back with the BURNING ARROW!!! The knees to the back of Krash’s head cause him to fall down on his face and his body is lifeless on the mat. Katsu holds her knee, perhaps tweaking it when hitting the move.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “The match is here for the taking for Katsu. Krash veered back into the persona that he was known and loved as… but maybe his heart was not fully in it? It may be too soon to say that ‘our’ Krash is back. Maybe too soon for him to think about main eventing Back in Business once again…”
Katsu strains once more to lift Krash from the mat. She looks out to the crowd and nods her head knowingly, knowing that she is just moments away. She leads Krash towards the ropes and sends him on his way… BUT KRASH QUICKLY TURNS IT AROUND… AND SENDS KATSU OUT OVER THE TOP ROPE!!! SHE HITS THE FLOOR!!! KRASH WINS IT!!!!!
ELIMINATION #29: KATSU BY KRASH AT 59:59
(TIME IN MATCH: 22:29)
WINNER: KRASH AT 59:59
(TIME IN MATCH: 25:29)
The fans scream in delight as Krash flops to the mat in exhaustion, perhaps not even aware that he has just won the Carnal Contendership match. On the outside, Katsu looks up at the ceiling of The Sphere and covers her eyes, realising that she was agonisingly close to achieving a monumental feat so early in her FWA career.
Kurt Harrington: “Ladies and gentlemen… your winner of the 2024 CARNAL CONTENDERSHIP… KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
Rod Sterling: “For someone who has faced so much adversity in the last two years - a generous way of saying ‘returned from the dead’, Krash has done the unthinkable and made an enormous stride towards normalcy. He has won a big match on one of the biggest stages. If that is not a Krash hallmark, I do not know what is!”
Anzu Kurosawa: “This is something that I did not think possible. No one thought Krash was going to be here tonight, let alone find enough inside of himself to walk away the winner. The same can be said of Katsu; she also returned tonight and is a definitely worthy runner-up. This is something to build on and definitely only the beginning for the next stage of this young woman’s career.”
Katsu is shown to be understandably disappointed with her defeat but she takes it in extremely good grace. Sharing a nod with Krash, she bows to him as a mark of respect before slowly making her way around the ring. Inside of it, Krash accepts Katsu’s congratulations with a weak thanks, still completely in shock that all eyes and attention are on him as the winner of the match. The moment seems to overwhelm him and he starts shaking once again, similarly to how he did when he entered the match.
However, two individuals run out from the back and enter the ring. Easily identifiable by a black mask and a green mohawk, Alyster Black and Violet Dreyer quickly embrace Krash. Them being there with him is enough to cause him to feel instantly more comfortable. He is shown shedding a tear as he has an arm around each of them. After ensuring that he is okay, Alyster helps him up and then lifts his arm into the air as Violet applauds next to them.
Jean-Luc Watkins: “Krash is your winner of the 2024 Carnal Contendership… for those paying attention, you’ll know what this means for Back in Business. It is going to be tough, but maybe he’ll get by with a little help from his friends.”
Speaking of friends, the feed cuts from Krash having his arm raised by Alyster to a television screen in a backstage area showing the same thing. A zoom out reveals that it is inside the locker room of the Friendship Wrestling Alliance. The celebrations following their big win earlier on seem to have dissipated and Jeremy Best looks at the screen with a steely expression.
His grip on the FWA World Championship on his lap tightens as he looks into Krash’s eyes on the screen.
