Match SIG No Salvation - World Title Qualifier #2

[Roadster]

The following contest is scheduled for one fall!...and it is a Qualifier Fatal 4-Way for the SIG World Championship!

Luis Ovaldinho (@Ovaldinho) vs. Rio Nakayama (@Aurtle The Turtle) vs. James Dragon (@Drag) vs. James Sloane (@Dojo)

The rules are as follows:

-Only competitors can post here
-Titantron entrances and on-topic pictures are allowed.
-The first promo must be posted within 24 hours.
-There is a 2 promo limit.
-Voting will then last for 24 hours after the last promo is posted.

Voting for yourself will result in instant disqualification and a 2nd degree suspension
Please don't post during the match. If you need to post, it must be short and important.​

 

[Roadster]

I'm going to add an extension.

 

[Drag]

A somewhat unfamiliar theme plays creating confusion among the crowd but as the footage of James Dragon begins playing on the titantron and the man himself appears there is a large pop as the crowd is primarily made of former IWT fans who have seen Dragon's growth as a competitor.

Dragon dramatically raises one arm as a wind machine off-camera dramatically blows back his jacket and his hair. Dragon walks down the ramp with confidence in every step and a stern expression on his face, off-setting his grand entrance. As he enters the ring he takes off his shades and throws them into the crowd to a pile of awaiting fans, a microphone is then handed to Dragon from outside.

"First of all I want to thank each and everyone of you people for coming out to support us tonight. Generally I've made a habit in my younger years of stressing that I don't need you, but the reality is, without any of you, none of this really matters. Because the goal of everyone will ultimately come back to presenting themselves to you, whether it's Rio's unwarranted inferiority complex so he must endear himself to you people to convince himself he's good enough. Or Sloane's own sense of inferiority by feeling the need to constantly refer to himself as "The king of strikers". Hell, even Ovaldinho, a man that I've truly come to respect, his main goal is ultimately to win the world title here tonight, is there anything wrong with that? No, but I feel like each of my opponents are missing the bigger picture."

"I was at home one night, the intercontinental champion for a company that's now a glorified husk. And my phone goes off in the middle of the night, where I learn from a man that had worked from the company and quit because he didn't get the shit he wanted, that my services were no longer needed so that the company could create a "clean slate". Two other men in this match received that same phone call. I'm not mad because I was fired, I'm mad because everything I and the rest of those let go, had worked for, was gone. In the snap of a finger."

James' face darkens.

"I love this business. I love this sport. I've loved it since the day people told me I was a fool for following it, since the day I clawed out a living in the local independents, since the day I won the Intercontinental championship and remained undefeated until I was fired. I don't want to win here so I can be a champion, or prove something to myself or to show that I'm the best. I AM winning tonight so that I can be at the helm, the next time someone tries to snap their fingers and erase all that WE have done to make this sport the best it can be, I can look them in the eyes and tell them that under no uncertain terms are they or anyone else EVER going to remove stop this sport. And, as history has proven, they're not going to stop me."

Dragon stops and faces the entrance way.

"Now, for my opponents, and hell, anyone backstage wondering who the hell I am. Let me clarify."

Dragon leans on the ropes.

"I AM JAMES FUCKING DRAGON!"

"I have stood in rings like this from day one! with my arms held out begging for the company's best so that I can put 'em down like always. But now, i do the same thing, not for my own personal vindication, but because come hell or high-water, SiG is not going to become the next IWT. I won't allow it. So Rio! I implore you to think about what you and I tried to accomplish, instead of me having to show you why I was the only one no one had beaten in our group. You know deep down that I do respect you, I respect the hell out of you, but your issue tonight is, I respect this business more."

"Sloane. I don't give a shit how hard you hit, I don't care about the pain you've inflicted or your desire to impose your namesake as the king of strikers like it's something people should fear. You're more than welcome to do that, but as of tonight when you try and kick me like you kicked everyone else, very quickly you're going to be forced against something you won't know how to deal with. Your limits. I know you're no rookie like this company seems intent on labeling you, and I'm sure it's something you are very eager to prove them wrong about, but like I said, there's something here bigger than that. and if you know anything about me, you'll know that when I have a mission to do, a purpose to strive for. I don't let it die."

"Finally, Ovaldinho. I think you may understand where I'm coming from, you yourself were beset upon by an illustrious group of losers led by Dat Kid, then barely, and I do mean that, barely were beaten by Danny Jacobs from my group. I get that the hunger is there, hell if I wasn't so driven to make sure this company succeeds, that this industry continues to succeed, I'd be telling you to go for it, I'd be shaking your hand in the middle of this ring. But that's not the case tonight is it? Because no matter what you say here, you and I both know that you want that title, you crave that validation. I know because in the "other" company it was all you spoke about. It was the mission above all that you championed. But ultimately, you failed, not because you're not good enough. But because, like how you won the title, you encountered someone who simply wanted it more and had the tools to get it. This is another of those situations. But my aim is a little bit higher, and my track record has proven that I will never allow myself to fail in these situations. I respect you Luis, and I'll have to destroy you."

Dragon steps away from the ropes and his expression softens slightly.

"Well, as I stand here, let me say that I wish you three and whoever is in the finals, the best of luck."

"Because I'm not here as some punk trying to prove a point. I'm James Dragon. I have beaten Dat Kid and his band of merry men, I've carved out my name into every promotion I've walked into, I'M THE REASON THE FORMERLY UNBEATEN JACK FORTE HAS ONE LOSS AGAINST HIS STREAM OF VICTORIES! and tonight...."

"I'm going to be the reason you don't walk out of here as the champion."

"Your brush with greatness is over."

James tosses the mic to the side and opens the front ropes, yelling at the empty entrance way for the next competitor to come out.​

 

[Aurtle The Turtle]

James Dragon sits on and seperates the front ropes, he yells loudly at the entrance way for one of his opponents to come challenge him and there is a very long pause of silence, then suddenly...

​

​

The low drumming sound of a bass guitar begins to echo through the arena followed by complete silence from the crowd. A second guitar kicks in and after a short melody strums a final chord which causes Rio Nakayama''s titantron to start, causing a giant pop from the crowd, similar to the one James earlier recieved.

Rio emerges from behind the curtain and stumbles onto the stage, underneath his usual garb of a red leather jacket with no buttons, he is wearing a black shirt with the Bullad Club logo printed onto it, he has however duct taped over the "Bullad Club" name on the shirt and written "Nakayama Club" with black marker on the tape. He strolls down to the ring and despite taking his time, James still holds the ropes open for him. As Rio hops onto the apron, the two former teammates and friends make eye contact for the first time in SIG, Rio decides to use the top rope to jump into the ring rather than use James' offer of entry.

"Look at you James. Just take a good fucking look at you. Thanking fans for their "support" and telling them they are all that matters, talking about respecting a loser like Luis Ovaldhino. Okay James, you can play that game if you want, you can put on that act but that ain't you and that ain't us, that ain't Bullad Club. The Fans may have realized what fools they were and embraced us towards the end but it was never us to pander to them like a starving dog begging for a bone. It was never you James!"

The statement garners some light boos from the crowd, which Rio ignores completely as he maintains fierce eye contact with James.

"Bullad Club was an enhancement project, a project that would make IWT a better company, scratch that! The wrestling world a better place, regardless of whether the fans cared for us or not and we succeeded, regardless. See James, lying to yourself and therefore lying to me is something I really can't tolerate. You were never a panderer, you were a marksman, an executioner, like I grew to be! In our primes we couldn't be stopped and we still can't be stopped, truth is that if I faced Ovaldhino instead of Jacobs facing him, Luis wouldn't even be able to appear today for how badly I would have crushed him. You're the same James, you knocked Forte down so many pegs that he is only climbing back up now and I admire that, I admired you!"

Rio flashes a small smile at his memory of the past but it quickly retreats back into a grimace.

"And for someone that I admired to come out here, lie to himself and then tell me that I have an inferiority complex and you were almost right. You see, I DID have an inferiority complex but I fixed it and fixed myself, I get shit done James, I always have, it's why I agreed to face seven people in one night at IWT Civil War and it's why I came out of every single one of those matches the victor, sure, Ovaldhino saved our asses in the finale but you forget that I wasn't even pinned or submitted in that match just like you. I bet you want to bring up my constant mentioning of "being the weak of link of Bullad Club" and you can if you want, I'll take no offense in what was once the truth because you see, I changed, I turned what might have once been an inferiority complex into a crusade of conquest and the final chapters of that crusade begin tonight, when I defeat you in this match and go on to become the first ever SIG World Champion!"

Rio takes a few steps closer to James and is now only a few feet away. He smiles widly in James' face.

"Have you realized what I'm leading to here James? Let me give you a hint, I'm not just wearing this shirt just for the sake of riling you up or to pander to the fans. BULLAD CLUB AIN'T DEAD. Not yet at least, you don't just get to leave and smile on the memories, our mission was worldwide not just in IWT and the minute you leave that crusade, you turn your back on the club, you help kill the club and I aim to fufill the dying wishes of the greatest stable on this planet by punishing each and every one of the deserters that I come across. You're first James, so allow me to issue your second loss at the hands of a Bullad Club member because you seem to have blanked out that you layed down for Fargo in a World Championship match before, at the time I admired the sacrifice but now I see that you layed down for a reason. That's right, you may not have an inferiority complex like I did but the reason you don't is because you're perfectly fine with being beneath someone else. That makes you weak."

Rio turns his back on James, almost inviting him to attack but of course James does not.

"I haven't talked much about Sloane or Ovaldhino because frankly, I don't care for them, just like I stopped caring for you James but I'll give all three of you a little heads up and tell you that you SHOULD care about me or more importantly, what I'm going to do because I'm going to do what I've always done to those who get in my way. Tonight..."

"RIO KILLS"

He drops the mic to the floor and leans against the back ropes, back still turned to both James and the entrance way.

 

[Dojo]

The arena's lights dim, as the heavy intro of Broken Bones by CRX comes in, the lights flash a multitude of colours to the beat. As the vocals kicks in, James Sloane bursts out from the gorilla position to a loud pop. Sloane takes a moment to sit cross-legged at the top of the ramp, focused on the ring. He then stands and heads for the ring. He rolls under the bottom rope and heads to the nearest corner, he takes a moment and climbs to the second turnbuckle where he poses for the crowd. He drops down from the second rope and is handed a live microphone from a ringside attendant. Sloane turns his toward Rio, then slowly toward Dragon.

"I hope that you are right when you say SIG won't become the next IWT. Because over a year and a half ago, when I left NGW, I left because there wasn't any competition there for me. Everyone there from Nathan Cage to Reagan Cole, from Brian Nebraska to Kelsey Taylor, they all paled in comparison to my talent. All of them were beneath me. It was rather dull. So dull that it killed my passion for this business that I loved since I was child. And after that company died I was half tempted to follow the rest of the sheep and join IWT. But I resisted. I took one look at that roster, Dat Kid, Aids Johnson, Alias Antonio, Prince Balor, Schizo, and I envisioned having the same problem I had in NGW. Lack of a challenge."

"But that doesn't mean I didn't pay attention. Oh, I paid attention. I paid close attention to the names I've never heard before. I paid attention to those unknown to me. Only three names stood out."

Sloane holds up a single finger.

"Luis. Ovaldinho."

Sloane then raises a second finger.

"James. Dragon."

And a third as he turns his head toward Rio.

"Rio. Nakayama."

Sloane lowers his arms as he leans back in the corner focused on both of his formidable opponents.

"And after watching these three men take over and dominate IWT, I felt regret. I felt regretful that I didn't sign on the dotted line and jumped from a sinking ship to the life raft that was IWT. Because I knew that you three would be able to give me something that I haven't had in a long, long time. Competition. A challenge. So, I called up Michael, with the plan to come in IWT with the sole purpose to face one, or each one of you. But it was when I was watching the dumpster fire that was IWT Civil War that I realised, I would be jumping onto a life raft that was about to sink. So once again, I resisted the urge and didn't sign and continued to train."

"And it was then I got the call, just like each one of you got the call. I had one demand for Michael. Give me Luis. Give me Dragon. Give me Rio. Now that I'm here, I'm excited. More so than I have ever been for any match. I'm prepared."

Sloane leaves his careless pose in the corner to get in the face of James Dragon.

"I am gonna kick you. Harder than I have ever kicked anyone before. I'm sure you love thinking that you can take what I throw at you because you have some great mission to accomplish. But every man loves to think that. Until they get hit. Hard. And they can't take it. It breaks them. And their mission? Their great purpose? It dies. The only reason you think you'll never let it die is because you haven't been hit hard enough by the right person. Well, Dragon, sorry to break it to you, but I am that right person."

Sloane looks in Rio's direction with a confident smirk on his face.

"It breaks my heart that you don't care about me, Rio. Because, just like with James, on some level, I do respect you. I respect your talent. Your attitude and your English? It could use a little work. But I understand. It must be hard to have it drilled into your mind by everyone on the planet that you are the weak link of a dominant group. It must be hard thinking your the best Japan has on offer and then going to work in another country only to be told "oh, you're not that good". Don't worry, my friend. I understand."

Sloane then turns back to the entrance way.

"And Luis, unfortunately, I never really had the chance to get to know you in NGW. But I watched you streamroll over what qualified as the best IWT had. But for all that talent, there are weaknesses. I mean, how else would someone like Danny Jacobs beat you? He wasn't as good as you, he wasn't as smart as you, and let's be honest, he was a bit insane. But he beat you. Why is that? Because you have all this talent, yet you let a man like Lord Lee get in your ear and fill your head with all this bullshit and it makes you over-confident and it puts pressure, the weight of a Mack trunk, on your shoulders. And, Ovaldinho, you are the exact type of guy to crack under that immense amount of pressure."

Sloane lowers his mic as he backs up into the corner and awaits Ovaldinho.​

 

[Roadster]

I know Ovaldinho probably already knows, but just in-case @Ovaldinho - you're up.

 

[Dojo]

mr. ooc: this match has the best theme selection, especially if oval comes out to danny brown or james blunt.

 

[Roadster]

@Ovaldinho

 

[Ovaldinho]

Those familiar to the theme and titantron rise to their feet and show their love, knowing whose to come. Luis Ovaldinho emerges from the curtain to a big pop, applauding the fans for their appreciation before wasting no time in making his way into the ring. He takes a calculated glance at each of the men who oppose him as he is handed a mic. He waits for the crowd to naturally die down before beginning to speak

As four of the greatest wrestlers prepare to fight it out tonight, remember that the 'new' IWT has a no.1 contenders match between two Hall of Famers, and has one of the LOWEST attendances in IWT history. Clear to me that plenty of you here tonight were IWT fans barely months ago. Let me ask those who've watched IWT that are in the crowd tonight, do you still like it?

A decisive "NO!" chant fills out the arena in response

That's what I thought. Now, let's be honest, I didn't want this to be the situation we face at first, to leave the first promotion that I made it big in was tough. I invested months of my life to cement myself as one of the first names people thought of when they started thinking about IWT. And I may have achieved that, but I never got long enough to savour it.

But you know what? it's alright, better than alright actually. Now, I get to be one of the forefathers of the SIG movement. As this promising promotion develops and establishes itself through each phase, I'll be recognised as one of those who helped lay the foundations on day one, hustling as hard as possible to make this place the place to fight, to fight for the honour of being THE best. And when I win tonight, and I advance to the final, and then win the final, the beauty is that this time, I set the standard of the promotion's top belt.

Now, I've had the fortunate opportunity of hearing three promos already, in which many points were made. And I'd be damned if I allowed some of them, especially those directed at me, to be ignored.

Notably, Sloane made the rather intriguing claim that I crack under pressure.

A puzzled expression paints itself upon Luis' face

If he looked at the bigger picture, he'd be soundly aware that I won my IWT debut at IWT's BIGGEST show of the year, won my first IWT title match at the second BIGGEST show of the year, humiliating a Hall of Famer no less. Then I beat him again to retain and then another Hall of Famer the show after that, to once again retain. I've taken plenty of pressure, but I absorb pressure, I take it all in, in my stride and when the time comes I unload it all on my opposition. All this pressure right now is just fuelling my momentum for tonight. Sure, I lost my title to Danny Jacobs, but I was the man who saved his belt, same goes for Rio and James Dragon. The Bullads almost got beaten and borderline humiliated. But when the Bullad Club was about to slip on a banana peel in the PPV Main Event, I delivered in that very same main event to pin a Hall of Famer and ultimately be the saviours to such men as Dragon and Rio who stand here in front of me.

And hey, Rio makes fair point, he wasn't pinned or submitted, but still, when it was said and done, I scored the winning pinfall for your team. You're welcome buddy. And also, people called you the weak link of the Bullad Club for a reason. Now, let's make it clear that it doesn't mean you're not good by any means, you are talented in your own right. The fact of the matter is though, you were the fourth member to join the Bullad Club, and that tends to stick out. Furthermore you lost your debut to someone who was out-of-form, and even when you did strike gold, you were the holder of the lowest ranking belt, naturally that will make you perceived to be weak link. But that's the beauty of us having to come to SIG. You finally have the chance to fight back against that perception was unjustified. But can you? Can you win a big match? This isn't Schizo or Cousin Eddy in a singles match after all, or a Spawn at the height of complacency, with such great tactics like calling you a 'chinky'. You're taking on THREE World Class athletes who are very much eyes on the prize, this is far outside of your usual comfort zone. You're very much in for a shock, and it may make for a brutally humbling experience if you insist on continuing to be so unjustifiably cocky.

Ovaldinho scrunches his face and shakes his head before moving his focus more in the direction of James Dragon

Between the time I lost my title to Jacobs and the famous night I saved Dragon's IC title, that short space of time, I may have digested the talk he's thrown in my direction and conceded to it deep down, but not now. The confidence in your own belief that you 'aim higher' is admirable, but it needs to forcefully swiped from your head by the end of tonight. I do appreciate and respect the positive words you gave though, a true sign of professionalism and class. But for all that, you still have to let me know you 'have to destroy' me. Sure, that makes sense, because you'd HAVE TO DESTROY ME TO GET ANYWHERE CLOSE TO WINNING THIS MATCH! Wear your high-profile win over Forte like a gold badge, but I'll wear the fact I saved the Bullad Club from humiliation like a platinum badge.

And the only thing that will be shining brighter than that platinum badge... will be the SIG title around my waist. ​

 

[Aurtle The Turtle]

Still leaning on the ropes, with his back to the other three, Rio Nakayama lets out a bellowing laugh as soon as Luis Ovaldhino is finished and continues to laugh for several moments before finally managing to stifle himself. With hands on hips, he turns around whilst shaking his head, smiling.

"You've finally all arrived ay? Said all you've wanted to say? I doubt that actually, I bet the three of you all have more crap to spew, more aspirations to lay claim to, more ways to hype yourselves up ay? You're all dealing in false truths. Sloane...Ovaldhino is right, he isn't one to crack under pressure, not sure where you drew that from but I imagine it's something you didn't believe yourself, even when it was coming out of your own mouth. Ovaldhino doesn't crack under pressure, he loves it, he lives for the pressure as it allows him to bounce back like the annoying uncrushable ball of optimism he is! There was a time where pressure cost him a victory but it wasn't because he cracked under it, it's because the only time he's lost is when the pressure was on him the least, when he faced Danny Jacobs it was just another title defence to him, just another day at the office and because of that? Jacobs sneaked a victory from him."

Rio turns of Ovaldhino and rolls his eyes.

"Which brings me to the man himself, you call me cocky for talking in truths? I did change myself, that was clear to anyone and you're right, I lost to Nick at his worst but I obliterated, didn't just defeat, OBLITERATED Victoria Parker, Cousin Eddy and Spawn at their bests! Yet, you demean these people as the bottom of the barrel? You're acting like you're the greatest thing going or that has ever been going! You're the one acting cocky here Luis, has Lord Lee not been humbling you recently with reminders of just how much better he was then you have ever been? You're talking like this match is already over, like that belt is already around your waist! Well, you must be fucking delusional in more ways than one! When you say that you'll have to be "destroyed" for any of us to have a chance at winning you're delusional because in case you haven't noticed moron, there are four competitors in the ring and this is a fatal-4-way match! You don't even have to be beat to lose here! I could pin James! I could submit Sloane! All it takes is three seconds and you can wave that belt goodbye without the two of us even making contact!"

Rio sighs and chuckles once more but this time in more of a state of disbelief.

"You say I'm standing in the ring with three world class talents, which I believe means you're suggesting I'm not that and hey, maybe you're right. However, I'm standing in the ring with three world class talents whom are the exact same generic boring assholes with the same ideals and all the charisma of a washboard. You all make good points but you all make the same points! The only who is slightly different is Sloane but he's acting like he symphatizes and is the same as me when I bet he hasn't gone through half the torture I have! Either way each one of you went down your list of your opponents and one at a time slowly gave us about a minute each of insults and pointing out our negatives before saying why you're so different. Think back, that's all each of you did, the same shit!"

Rio looks at each of the men and shake his head before walking from the back of the ring to the front, he goes through the middle rope and turns his back to his opponents as he leans on the apron.

"Honestly, if this wasn't for a world championship shot? I'd jump off this apron and go up that ramp because this is obviously a waste of my time otherwise, I truly expected world class talent, I never demeaned the three of you before on that matter but I can see I was wrong. All you three talk about is what has already happened and what you "believe" you are going to do, none of you are living in the now, none of you are living in the truth! I felt like talk about Bullad Club with James because that was a personal matter but neither of you two had any reason to bring it up except for the fact that you wanted to use it as a generic gateway to generic insults, none of you truly listened to what I had to say did you? Especially you Ovaldhino! So allow me to reiterate."

Rio Nakayama does a quick spin around and leans over the apron.

"Bullad Club ain't dead! I ain't dead! I've defeated many people! I've clawed my way up to this point and I ain't about to let some young uptight prick who thinks he's better than everyone and a deadbeat striker who thinks he's can truly hurt me despite the fact that I've faced a man who has tried to murder me on several occassions take this title away from me. Talk all you want about the future and the dream of that belt around your waist because it ain't the truth, not today at least! This is a fatal-4-way with no disqualifications and I plan to use every tool in my arsenal! Every pain inflicted on me! To either insure I'm standing tall with the SIG World Championship or sending one of you home in a coffin by the end of this!"

Rio stares darts through each of the competitors.

"This ain't it, we're all going to be facing each other again someday, I know it because despite living in the now? I ain't acting like the now is all that matters, even if I lose tonight and there is a good chance of that happening, I'll be coming for all of you...."

Looks at Luis Ovaldhino.

"Each..."

Looks at James Sloane.

"And Every..."

He finally looks at James Dragon and the two share a very long stare. Rio Nakayama brings the microphone to his mouth again but this time only mutters what he has to say.

"One of you."

 

[Drag]

Dragon, who has been resting in the corner up to this point begins looking around, obviously making sure no one else has anything further to say. Rio gives him an emotionless stare and Luis gestures for him to speak. Dragon shrugs slightly and steps forward, bringing the microphone up to his mouth.

"I've been, trying to keep a sort of mental list of all the baseless exclamations and statements made in the past several minutes. But, I'm only one man so do forgive me if I miss something out eh?"

"You."

James points towards Ovaldinho.

"I still respect you, true you don't seem to grasp that I'm aware I'm going to have to destroy you to get past you and have been planning on it from the start, but I still don't take you lightly. One thing you said, really stuck out to me. you "saved" my title. This wasn't really a fact that I was aware of, I would've thanked you if it was the truth, but really it isn't. The sad part is I do think you genuinely believe it. Let me take you back to that match that you seem to have glossed over, you were right in saying that neither I nor Danny were pinned in that match, that's because we were taken out of it, however I wasn't beaten down. Rather, I took out two of our three remaining opponents by throwing myself, Dat Kid and Alias Antonio off the stage into the electrical equipment below. That left you, with Aids Johnson."

"Aids is a man you've proven you can beat, time after time again. I know this because several of your matches as champ were against that man. Jacobs beat him too if memory serves me right, the reality is Luis you beat most likely the weakest member of their group, whilst I gave you the odds you would've needed, since you can talk about how many beat-downs you've received from that trio of people. You didn't save a damn thing. You simply beat a man you know you can beat, had the last pinfall and chalked it up to another Luis success story. I don't wanna agree with Rio right now but maybe he's onto something, maybe you do need to be humbled here tonight. I brag about my "gold badges" sure, but at least I don't gloss over the details that lead to me getting them. Wear your badge of honour all you want Luis, I'm sure it'll bring you great comfort to your ego when you realize that you can't beat me. You don't have what it takes."

There is an audible cheer from the crowd but Dragon ignores them as he turns to Rio and now points at him.

"You."

"What's funny to me is that you've tried to now champion this assertion that we're all "boring assholes" is that what you said? It's funny to me because, for far too long now, you've been portraying yourself as this homicidal, vicious, driven maniac. Now, I know you aren't exactly the young boy from Japan who was beaten handily on his first match in IWT, but for you to stand here and try to even act like you're above all this is laughable. From the start you haven't cared about the title, so don't try and use that as an excuse, it's a means to an end, because you've always felt like you've had something to prove. A chip on your shoulder you can never shake off. Were you the weak link of the Bullad Club? Really, that's for you to decide, something you've never understood. All of your new "bloodlust" doesn't come from rage or the feeling of being looked down upon, really, inside; you're still just that kid that wants to be respected like his peers. It pains me to have to fill you in on all of this, I mean that, but your whole "Bullad Club isn't dead" shtick, is a farce."

"It is dead."

"Because I say it is."

"The club was my creation from the start. A joint vision between me and Jacobs. You were a member sure, a good one depending on whose asked, but you don't have a single say in that matter, regardless of how deluded you are now. If you want to hold onto its beliefs then go right ahead, I won't stop you. But for you to stand here, to try and disrespect me to try and even insinuate that you deserve respect insults me very, very deeply. I've been in your corner from the start. For all of your success within the Club, all of your beaten foes, any title you've won, every little accomplishment you've had in your history."

"It will always. Be a footnote. On mine."

James does a slightly over-exaggerated turn towards Sloane.

"Bringing. Me. To you."

"I know I said I'm well aware of who you are and what you can do, but bare in mind that quite literally everyone else in this building doesn't know a damn thing about you. Actually, let me fill them in real quick. This is James, he's won some titles both on his own and within a tag team, now whilst never having won the "big one" Sloane has a fairly eclectic resume under his belt. It's such a shame that in all that time Sloane has yet to be clued in the old adage that pride comes before a fall. See, you're standing there confident and steadfast in your belief that you're that "one" that's gonna take me down to reality. Good luck with that, really. Chiefly because I'm already pretty grounded I think, Like I said I know that you hit hard and I'm more than counting on it. But you fail to understand my meaning."

"Here's how this will go down, you will throw every single thing you can into the match, some of it may work against Rio and Luis, but very quickly, you will realize. That I won't be stopped. That I CAN'T be stopped. I have a goal in mind I have a FIGHT to follow through. And I am more than capable of throwing back anything you could possibly dish at me."

James stands in the center and addresses all three of his opponents.

"Frankly this goes for all my opponents. I implore you to strike with every ounce of strength possible, I implore you to use weapons and tap into your ferocity and I implore you to let your lust for gold try and guide you to victory. But I also warn you that after tonight, you will leave here with the knowledge that your best was not good enough. I have proven myself to be stronger than anyone when I am willing to fight for something I believe in. I have shown in hardcore and steel cage matches that when backed into a corner I am more ruthless than anybody else in this business. And I will prove that desire for the championship falls short in comparison to the desire to change the sport."

"I end this with the words I've said earlier as well as to every wrestler I've stood across the ring from, right before I beat them."

"Your brush with greatness is over."

Dragon walks calmly back to his corner, he gently lays down the microphone on the floor next to him and eagerly awaits the rebuttal of Luis or Sloane.​

 

[Dojo]

During the rants of Rio and James, Sloane has positioned himself seated on the top turnbuckle looking around at his opponents. Once Dragon stops, Sloane raises his microphone, his eyes locked on Dragon.

"Unstoppable? Do you not recall needing Ovaldinho to save you and your little group? I mean, If you truly believe that you are unstoppable, you're more delusional than Rio over there. Mike Tyson believed he was unstoppable. Then a man by the name of Buster Gates came along and knocked him unconscious. Muhammad Ali thought himself unstoppable until "Smokin" Joe Frazier knocked his ass out. Even Jack Forte thought he was unable to be beaten until you came along. Now, you are in the same situation as those men. Undefeated, but you are still a man. Mike Tyson was still a man. Muhammed Ali was still a man. Jack Forte was still a man. James Dragon.."

"You."

"Are still a man. You can still be stopped. And I will be the one to do it. Because when I step through these ropes, I'm home. I'm in my element. Anywhere else I feel I don't belong, this is the one place where I fit. Because I am the best. Whether it's a wrestling match, or a fight, I'm the best. There is not a single person who can do this job better than me. Not you. Not Rio. Not Ovaldino. Not anyone else in SIG, CQC or IWT, or wherever the fuck else."

Sloane looks over at Rio with a smirk on his face.

"Now, I'm sure to you that just sounds like another boring and generic claim made by someone who is nothing more to you than just a waste of time. And I hope that's the case. Because if all you care about is charisma and what shit people say and not about what we can do in the ring, you're stupider than I thought you were. And you know what stupid people are? Easy to beat. In The Bullad Club, there was no debate, you were the weak link, and now, in this match, you are still the weak link. Weak then, weak now, in the moment. The only that changed between then and now, Rio, is how angry and arrogant you are. I've wasted enough breath on you."

Sloane then looks to Ovaldinho.

"I apologise for my earlier slip-up, when I said crack under pressure, I meant more cracking under your own pressure. Because you are the type of guy who overthinks. You think up, you think down, left, right, forward, back, in, out, if there is a way to think it, you'll think it. You are your own worst enemy. Adding on to that, you had Lord Lee whispering into your ear for years. But despite all that you were the best IWT had to offer, you said it yourself. You saved The Bullad Club. You saved Rio from another loss. You saved Dragon from being stopped. You saved them from defeat when they were desperate for help. But I feel the time between IWT and SIG, you've changed. Maybe you haven't noticed it, or felt it, or whatever, but as I sit here, staring at you, you are not what I thought you were."

"Now that you've come out and you've said what you said, you've honestly disappointed me. All you've said is you saved The Bullad Club, and are focused on the belt. I'm sorry to say this because I do genuinely respect you, but your aspirations of being the champion are just that. Aspirations. Dreams. You were better than everyone in IWT by a large margin, but you aren't better than everyone. This applies to all of you for how good you think you are. There is always someone better than you."

"And that someone is me."

Sloane drops the microphone as he climbs down and sits cross-legged in the corner, waiting for Ovaldinho.​

 

[Roadster]

@Ovaldinho - last one big boy

 

[Ovaldinho]

Ovaldinho huffs, he lifts the mic back up to his face as his other hand twitches. He nods to himself as he collects what's he about to say, knowing all that is at stake.​

I won't lie, I've just listened to some very good monologues, what else would I expect in a match like this. But now, some very good retorts to come.

Head turns towards Rio first

I don't mean to demean your defeats like they didn't happen, I'm just saying having trouble giving them the same weight you are. You 'obliterated' Victoria Parker, sure but it was her first match in a long, long time. She clearly didn't do her research on you and went into it with confidence, just on the basis she used to be great.

And funny, you mention Lord Lee. He's no longer my manager. He said he didn't want to be anywhere that wasn't IWT, and that's his funeral, but I move with the times. And don't try pretending Lord Lee is better than Luis Ovaldinho. In the relatively short span of my career, I've already done things Lord Lee could never do. Lord Lee never got anywhere near as close to the title as me without winning a Royal Rumble in a total fluke. I won my right to the IWT title opportunity through a tournament.

But ultimately, directly affecting this match, you said I don't even need to be destroyed because of the fact you could pin someone else. You're still wrong. I will have to be destroyed if you expect me not to break up any pin that you attempt to make. I will hurl my body at it and whatever else is necessary to prevent such a fate from occurring.

A defiant look appears across Luis' face as he gives a parting nod to Rio before making

Now, Dragon, memory may not have served you well, but it wasn't Aids Johnson I was left last in the ring with, it was Alias Antonio. Would you say Alias was their weakest member? No. The opposite. The EXACT opposite. I with ease put to bed their strongest member, via submission to be the SOLE SURVIVOR. So yeah, to many it looks like I saved your belt. Sure, there's more to it, and in hindsight, saving your belt is a stretch, but when it was all said done, who delivered while everyone else got eliminated one way of another?

Luis proudly points to himself

Sure, it sounds egotistical, sure I'm bragging, but when you're in match like this, of this calibre and what's at stake, I'm doing what any professional athlete in a big match does; be as confident and self-assured as possible. I know what you can do, but I always need to remind you, our other opponents tonight and the fans in attendance exactly what Ovaldinho can do!

Luis' attention quickly turns to Sloane following the end of the sentence

Sloane, I enjoyed what you had to say there, up until you claimed I'm not what I was in IWT. Sure, you can have that opinion and believe in whatever caused that opinion to arise. All I can do is prove you wrong when the bell rings very soon. But you see, you bring up me focusing on the title, sure partly so you can make the point that I'm never going to touch, but you're still very much criticising how I focused on it. You see, I could babble on about the three of my opponents, and go into frankly irrelevant details, or I could concisely dissect each one of their points while bringing it back to WHY were are here! This isn't some grudge match, this wasn't booked to just rile the crowd up. Sure this match in a sense delivers both of those elements, this, at the end of the day is deciding who makes it to the final of the tournament. I know about winning title tournaments, I have that experience. When I won my last tournament, I never let anyone forget just how much that belt mattered, how much I'd bleed for that belt, that the belt would be covered in my own blood when it was all said and done if need be. The PRIMARY goal of most wrestlers is winning gold. As proud as I'd be to have Ws over all three of you on my SIG debut, you're very much just the three highly talented individuals who were put in the way of my path to gold. And I'll be damned if anyone continue to get in the way of my path.

Luis' heartbeat starts to race and the intensity picks up in his voice

Fact of the matter was, for months I was one man fighting a battle alone, sure, with the very loose presence of Lord Lee, but for the large part, I had no physical backup for the bulk of my long battle against the IW3. Sure not all of them were at their best anymore, but they had a fierce agenda designed to hinder my reign and my significance, and had the experience and expertise to potentially do it. Despite that, I was able to spin it into a great story of the bright and shining sun of the future overcoming the dark clouds of the bitter past. I had even had a couple of amazing matches along during my title reign too. I delivered a top quality IWT title reign that IWT hadn't had in over a year and a half. I want to continue such promise by being the professional athlete to introduce the SIG title to professional wrestling!

Luis pauses to take a deep breath. The emotion and adrenaline coated all over Luis' facial expressions and body language. He looks at the each of his opponents one last time, giving them all a nod of acknowledgement, knowing what's about to commence. He looks towards the crowd, holding a weird stance before uttering his final words

Everyone came expecting a fight in the squared circle, but after tonight, you'll be calling it the SQUARED OVAL!

Luis fiercely drops the mic before passionately and professionally applauding the crowd in attendance, who react largely positive to what they've just heard, expecting an absolutely fantastic wrestling match to come​

 

[Roadster]

@Roadster - Michael/Feroz Gazsi
@Aurtle The Turtle - Rio Nakayama
@Trevor - Trevor
@Drag - James Dragon
@Dojo - James Sloane
@Nick - Edward Pearson
@KeepItFresh - Bulk Swollen
@Rogue - Oli Cross/Jack Forte
@Ethan Hunt - Omega Dredd/Shinji Tsukada
@Jimmy King - Nate Savage
@TMBS - Zealot/Dick Fagget
@DK JAMES - Dos Vidas
@Dat Kid - Dat Kid

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