AUGUST 20th, 2014
VERIZON CENTER - WASHINGTON D.C, USA
VERIZON CENTER - WASHINGTON D.C, USA
Before the normal opening the screen fades to the following title card.
DATE: Wednesday, August 13, 2014. 6:06 PM
LOCATION: Barrows Mansion. Reno, Nevada.
The camera fades in to show the front side of Barrows Mansion, home of Matthias and Stacy Barrows and base of operations for the Pacific Rim Cartel. Soon, a limousine pulls up in front of the house and AWS Interviewer Geoffrey James steps out with a cameraman. They walk through the gate and up to the front door. Geoffrey rings the doorbell, but as soon as he does, he can feel a presence behind him. He turns around to see Gary the Assassin standing there brandishing a metal baseball bat.
GEOFFREY JAMES: Oh, sorry. I didn’t see you there. You must be Gary the Assassin.
GARY THE ASSASSIN: Well, I’m sure as hell not Stacy.
JAMES: Right. Well…um…I came here to conduct an interview with Matthias Barrows. Is he here?
As Gary smiles sinisterly at them, the doors open and the Twin Dragons step out.
GARY: Matthias is down in the Devil’s Lab.
JAMES: Devil’s Lab?
GARY: That’s what he calls his gym down in the basement. But you can relax, we need to go through a little security measure first. Grab ‘em!
At Gary’s command, Bahamut and Tiamat grab Geoffrey and the cameraman, restraining their arms.
CAMERAMAN: Hey, what are you doing?!
While Geoffrey and the cameraman struggle in the grip of the Dragons, Gary takes their wallets out of their pockets.
JAMES: Hey! That’s mine!
GARY: Don’t concern yourself with it.
STACY: What the hell is going on out here?
At the sound of her voice, Geoffrey and the cameraman become immediately relieved to see that Stacy Barrows has arrived on the scene.
JAMES: Oh, thank god.
GARY: Relax, Stacy. The Dragons and I are just having a little fun.
STACY: Oh, and I suppose by “fun”, you mean “picking their pockets?”
GARY: Ummmmmm…No?
JAMES: He’s lying! That’s exactly what he did!
STACY: MATTHIAS!
GARY: Aw, crap. Stacy, you’re a buzzkill, you know that?
A few seconds later, Matthias Barrows appears from downstairs and arrives at the front door.
STACY: Guess what your delinquent friends are up to. Again.
MATTHIAS BARROWS: God damn it, not again. Dragons, let them go! What the hell is wrong with you guys?
BAHAMUT: Gary put us up to it.
BARROWS: Duh. Gary’s a criminal, now let them go!
Bahamut and Tiamat release them.
TIAMAT: Come on, let’s go finish that joint we rolled earlier.
The Dragons go back inside the house and head upstairs while Matthias turns his attention to Gary.
BARROWS: Gary, give me their wallets.
GARY: Oh, come on!
BARROWS: Give it!
Gary sighs as he hands over the wallets.
BARROWS: You can’t go around robbing people. This is not a good time for you to go to jail.
GARY: Well, when exactly WOULD be a good time to go to jail?
BARROWS: Don’t change the subject, now put the cash back in their wallets.
GARY: How’d you know I took their cash?
BARROWS: You just told me.
GARY: DAMMIT!
Gary angrily stuffs the cash he took back in the men’s wallets before storming into the house grumbling to himself.
GARY: Can’t get away with anything around here.
Barrows then takes $400 out of his own pocket and puts it in Geoffrey and the cameraman’s wallets before returning them, while Stacy goes back to what she was doing.
BARROWS: That’s a token of my apology for the crass behavior of my associates. I doubt a single one of them has ever cracked a book in their lives.
JAMES: I’m glad your wife arrived when she did. I need that money for my hotel room tonight.
BARROWS: Well, she’s the only one here with a conscience. Why don’t you guys get set up in my office over there, and I’ll be with you after changing out of these sweaty workout clothes.
Barrows disappears into the master bedroom while Geoffrey James and the cameraman set up the shot in the office. After a few minutes, Matthias returns wearing different clothes.
BARROWS: Well, looks like were ready in here.
JAMES: Ready and waiting.
BARROWS: Well, fire away. Ask me whatever you want.
Matthias takes a seat on the couch and prepares to answer the questions.
JAMES: Now, according to your profile, you made your professional wrestling debut in 1999.
BARROWS: September 10, 1999. That is correct.
JAMES: But it also says you are 30 years old. So if that’s correct, back then you would have been…
Matthias cuts him off.
BARROWS: 15 years old.
JAMES: So I guess my first question is how does something like that even happen?
BARROWS: Well, I’m also guessing that you also know that Matthias Barrows is not my real name.
JAMES: Er..um…I’m not really-
BARROWS: It’s okay! You can say it.
JAMES: Well, I’ve been told your real name is Matt Barry.
BARROWS: That’s correct. You see, as a child I was constantly teased and bullied. Sometimes it was over little things, but most commonly it was because of my name. I heard them all: Matt “Straw” Barry, Matt “Blue” Barry, Matt “Rasp” Barry, and of course the ever popular Matt “Dingle” Barry. As you can imagine, that earned me quite a few brawls that came with free trips to the principal’s office and a week in detention.
JAMES: So how did that lead you to wrestling?
BARROWS: It started when I was 14. I was about three weeks or so into my freshman year, and I had gotten into a fight in the cafeteria during lunch time. I’m not going to tell you exactly what was said, but it was about my mother and her lipstick color. The next think I knew, I punched him square on the bridge of his nose and broke it. When he brought his hands up to his face, I had knocked him off his feet by kicking him in the knee, and then I sat on his chest and just started wailing on him.
JAMES: What happened there?
BARROWS: Well, it was in the cafeteria, so there were a lot of witnesses. I remembered that the principal, his assistance, and school police took statements from everyone there, and of course I was made out to be the bad guy. This led to my being expelled.
JAMES: I imagine your parents didn’t take that well.
BARROWS: Oh, my father was furious. First, he smacked my ass with his belt, then he and my mother spent two hours losing their voices on me about why I couldn’t behave and that they had to find me a new school. The way I saw it, a new school wasn’t going to solve my problems, and since I wasn’t getting help from anywhere, I was on my own. That night, I left home while my parents were sleeping. I spent the next year of my life on the streets.
JAMES: How did you survive?
BARROWS: My father did teach me how to do one thing: Fish. I found an abandoned fishing pole near the banks of the Truckee River. That’s how I got a lot of my food. On those days when the fish weren’t biting, I had to steal it. I would sit in a parking lot watching drive-thru windows. While customers waited for their food, I would sneak up behind their car and then snatch the bag when the worker handed it over. I’d run to a secluded area, eat, and then go on about my business. I got water from water fountains at playgrounds, and I shit wherever I believed no one could see me.
JAMES: So you were homeless?
BARROWS: Yes.
JAMES: What changed that?
BARROWS: Wouldn’t you know it? It was another fight and a chance meeting. You see, hobo’s are like alley cats, they get into turf wars. There was this one who wouldn’t leave me alone. Maybe he thought I was on his turf, maybe he was on crack, I don’t know. One day, I had enough and started beating the shit out of him on the street. It just so happened that this limousine was passing by at the time. Two big goons pulled me in and I met this guy named Kyle Mehr. He was the president and CEO of a wrestling organization called the KEF. I guess he took pity on me or something, because when he saw the things I was doing to that hobo, he wanted to sign me.
JAMES: So what was behind your decision to sign with him?
BARROWS: It was money. Mehr thought people would pay big money to see this scrappy little homeless teenager get in the ring and mix it up with guy’s who had been training for 20 years just to get their piece of the pie. I found out later that Kyle was a heavy recruiter. He was pulling in guys from everywhere. City streets, prisons, mental institutions, Texas, everywhere! In the month of December 1999 alone, Mehr had over 500 promo’s to sift through.
JAMES: Wow. So when did your first big break come with the company.
BARROWS: It was at his pay-per-view event in January of 2000, January Jakked. The main event was the Jakked-up Rumble. I won it and earned a shot at the KEF World Heavyweight Championship two months later, and I won that match too. I was the youngest World Champion in company history, winning it just two months before my sixteenth birthday.
JAMES: What happened then?
BARROWS: I realized that I was on a roller coaster, and what goes up must come down. It first started when my girlfriend at the time told me she was pregnant.
JAMES: So you have a child?
BARROWS: No. I found out some years later that she had cheated on me, and had been the whole time we were together. But at the time I did believe that the child, a boy, was indeed my son. I was a teenage father, busting my ass in the ring to provide for him. Eventually, this woman and I broke up and she took the child to live with her in L.A. while I sent a child support check every month, which was money that she abused by the way.
JAMES: So how did you handle the situation?
BARROWS: I fell into a deep depression. It was so deep that my doctor actually prescribed marijuana to even out my moods and to help with the headaches I started getting.
JAMES: So the marijuana you smoke is for medicinal purposes?
BARROWS: Yes.
JAMES: What about the rest of the Pacific Rim Cartel.
BARROWS: No. Stacy RARELY touches the stuff. Gary and the Dragons are just potheads, and Stacy RARELY touches the stuff.
JAMES: Speaking of your crew, which one did you meet first and how did they come to join you?
BARROWS: I recruited them in the KEF in the same order I re-recruited them for Apex, so Gary was first. It was 2004. Some of my friends in the KEF and I were celebrating my break up from that shrew who got pregnant and tricked me into paying for it. One of them, I think it was…Billy Norris, got one of those cakes where the top comes off and the stripper pops out. Well, turns out the super-bitch planned to prank me by putting Gary in the cake instead. We were all expecting a beautiful woman to pop out and start taking her clothes off, but what we got was this frosting covered midget wearing a top hat and a diaper while smoking a cigar the size of Kansas City and drinking from a flask.
JAMES: Wait, I’m confused. Gary was intended to be a prank from your ex-girlfriend.
BARROWS: Yeah, but it backfired on her. I found Gary to be one of, if not, the most obnoxious thing I had ever seen. I love things that are obnoxious. I passed him some pot, and the rest is history.
JAMES: Okay, what about Bahamut and Tiamat?
BARROWS: That started when Kyle Mehr signed a guy named Psycho Shroom in 2006. This guy was HUGE, bigger than the Dragons themselves, and Mehr was all over him like stink on shit. I felt as if he had an unfair advantage on not just me, but everyone who was in the company and that I had to do something to balance it out, so I searched the world looking for a heavy I could hire. At the time, Bahamut and Tiamat were framed for trying to overthrow the Mongolian government, though they had nothing to do with it. Regardless, they were branded traitors, and I put up the money, time, and effort to get them out before they were killed for treason. After arguing with authorities, they were given political asylum in the U.S. It was perfect. Not only would they even out the balance, but there were two of them!
JAMES: So what happened after that?
BARROWS: The KEF started falling apart, the Dragons were never, and I mean NEVER, booked in a match, and I felt that Mehr was trying to phase me out. That was when things got really dark for me. I was hemorrhaging money, I couldn’t afford to keep Gary and the Dragons around anymore so I had to cut them loose. I couldn’t afford my medicine anymore, and I started falling back into depression. That would be bad enough, but then came the icing on the cake in November of 2009, when I found out the “son” I was fighting to support wasn’t mine, and he knew it, and wanted nothing to do with me.
JAMES: How did that make you feel?
BARROWS: How would it make you feel? I felt betrayed, lied to, and fearful. I felt like I was going to explode. I was pissed off at everything. First, I wanted to break something, so I shattered every last window in this mansion. After that, the headaches returned, and I had decided that life had shit on me for the last time. I was ready to end it. I took my last ten dollars and bought a pack of cigarettes and the most alcoholic beverage I could afford, a can of Four-Loko. I spent that afternoon smoking the whole pack so I’d get good and sick, then, that evening…
Matthias has to take a second to compose himself before he continues.
BARROWS: I went into my bathroom and I took out a bottle of vicodin that I had been prescribed for a previous injury. I had nine pills. I swallowed them all and chugged that can of Four-Loko. At the time, I just wanted to die, but when I felt them starting to take effect, I regretted the decision. First, I got light-headed, then everything started going blurry. I just remember telling myself to fight it. The last thing I remember before vomiting in the sink and blacking out was someone bursting into my bathroom. That someone was a young woman named Stacy Jensen.
JAMES: So how did she fit into the equation?
BARROWS: Why don’t you ask her yourself? Stacy! Come in here!
After a few seconds, Barrows’ wife enters the room.
STACY: What’s going on?
BARROWS: Just telling my life story here. We’re up to the part where you enter the picture.
JAMES: He says you can tell the story better at this point.
STACY: Okay. So what do you want to know?
JAMES: Well, Matthias just told me about his suicide attempt and how you arrived just in time. What brought you to Barrows Mansion?
Stacy sits down next to her husband before she begins talking.
STACY: Well, I had just gotten out of college and began working for the KEF. My intention, like any other manager, was to sign on with one of the performers and guide them to the World Heavyweight Championship. The first few guys I worked with…well…they weren’t so great.
BARROWS: They totally sucked.
STACY: So when Kyle Mehr told me I needed to find a winner or else I’d have to look for a job elsewhere, I came here to sign Matthias, who had already spent ten years with the company establishing himself. When I first came here, it was eerie. The doors were wide open and the windows were all broken. I thought at least I’d find a clue to wherever he had gone, but when I found him in the bathroom, It was like seeing a ghost. I saw the empty pill container and the empty can, and I immediately knew what he was doing. I pulled his phone out of his pocket and called 911. I gave him CPR for three minutes until the ambulance arrived, but it felt more like three hours. They loaded him up and took him to the hospital. I went there every day to check on him
BARROWS: They pumped my stomach and I woke up three days later in the ICU. At the time, the KEF was on its last legs and Kyle Mehr had introduced what he called the “Breaking the Bank ladder match” in a last ditch effort to reverse his fortunes. Stacy had secured one of the spots in it and gave it to me, and I won it. But it was all for nothing, as the KEF folded less than a month later.
JAMES: And thus began five years of inactivity for you. How did you survive that without any means of income.
BARROWS: Well, first thing I did was I sued my ex-girlfriend for all the child support I had paid over the years, which came out to over 3 million dollars.
STACY: I stayed with him for…I suppose about seven months or so. At first, he didn’t show it, but I could tell he was thankful that I saved him…mostly because of the things he did for me. In April of 2010, I realized that I was falling for him, and two months after that, he ended up proposing to me.
BARROWS: I wanted to do that when I first saw her after waking up in the hospital. She went home for a month to tell her friends and family, and I went across the world to find the perfect ring, which was also when I went to the Congo. We were married in September, but something was still missing.
JAMES: In-ring competition?
BARROWS: Yes. I looked at countless federations, but I couldn’t see myself with them. Stacy couldn’t stand to see me so frustrated, so she went home.
STACY: I am so sorry about that, Matthias.
BARROWS: You’re back now, that’s what’s important. Next question?
JAMES: One question I’m curious about. Why do your call your group, the Pacific Rim Cartel?
Matthias and Stacy look at each other. Matthias shrugs and Stacy nods her head before he speaks.
BARROWS: Well, I will say this. It’s how I can afford to own this giant house, my own private jet, and keep my three friends around.
JAMES: Well, I hope you’ll answer this question, and it’s the one that’s been on all our minds. When is Matthias Barrows and the rest of the Pacific Rim Cartel coming to the Apex Wrestling Syndicate?
Matthias chuckles and stands up.
BARROWS: You know what, I haven’t even told Gary and the Dragons yet. But I suppose it is time. Gary! Dragons! Get in here, you’ll want to hear this! Don’t worry, Geoffrey. I promise they won’t rob you again.
Matthias walks over to his desk, opens a drawer, and pulls out a clipboard. Clipped to it is the contract given to him by Mr. Troy. As it is right now, there is no signature on the contract. When Gary and the Dragons arrive, Matthias speaks.
BARROWS: Geoffrey James here just asked me when we were going to arrive in Apex.
Gary rolls his eyes and adopts a sarcastic tone.
GARY: Yeah. I was wondering that myself.
BARROWS: Don’t get mad, Gary. I think it’s time we finally answer the question. I hold in my hand, an unsigned AWS contract. It’s time we made our marks.
Barrows crew murmur happily amongst themselves as they see him take out a ball-point pen.
BARROWS: Ladies first.
Stacy Barrows takes the pen, and signs her name on the dotted line.
BARROWS: Gary, you’re next.
Gary takes the contract, and quickly jots down his name.
BARROWS: Boys.
Bahamut takes the contract first and signs his name before passing it to his brother, Tiamat, who does the same.
BARROWS: Before I sign, Geoffrey James, I’d like to show you something.
Matthias walks over to a portrait of himself on the wall, and reveals that it is on hinges, concealing a small safe mounted on the wall. He shields the keypad and punches in the combination before putting his hand on the lever.
BARROWS: Meet the KEF Roster.
Barrows opens the safe to reveal that there are many vials of still wet blood, alphabetized by the name of the person they came from.
BARROWS: The reason for this is because I’d like to show the world my level of commitment.
Barrows goes to the “M” section and pulls out a vial of blood.
BARROWS: Behold. The blood of Kyle Mehr, President and CEO of the KEF.
Barrows pulls out a fountain pen and opens the vial to draw the blood out of it. He draws every drop into the pen, and then, in his former boss’ blood, signs his name on the dotted line before emptying the remaining blood back into it’s vial and turning to his crew.
BARROWS: Our schedule is set. On Wednesday, August 20, 2014, we’re gonna get up, we’re gonna get on the jet, and we’re gonna fly to Washington D.C!
BAHAMUT: Finally.
BARROWS: Then we’re gonna give Congress the finger!
GARY: Fuck yeah we are!
BARROWS: THEN we’re going to the Verizon Center!
TIAMAT: YES!
BARROWS: I’m going to HAND-DELIVER this contract to Mr. Troy!
STACY: That’s my man!
BARROWS: And the Pacific Rim Cartel is INVADING ASCENSION!
Barrows’ entire crew erupts in cheers and celebration at the delivery of the news as Geoffrey James looks into the camera.
JAMES: Well folks, you heard it here straight from the man himself! Matthias Barrows and his band are coming to AWS Ascension, August 20. Don’t miss it!
Barrows then reaches behind the couch where he was sitting, pulls out a three-foot metal pipe, and points it at the camera
BARROWS: If you thought I got cold feet about coming to Apex, hear what I say right here and now. My name is Matthias Barrows, and I'm coming for your blood!
The camera fades to the normal AWS opening video & music.
DATE: Wednesday, August 13, 2014. 6:06 PM
LOCATION: Barrows Mansion. Reno, Nevada.
The camera fades in to show the front side of Barrows Mansion, home of Matthias and Stacy Barrows and base of operations for the Pacific Rim Cartel. Soon, a limousine pulls up in front of the house and AWS Interviewer Geoffrey James steps out with a cameraman. They walk through the gate and up to the front door. Geoffrey rings the doorbell, but as soon as he does, he can feel a presence behind him. He turns around to see Gary the Assassin standing there brandishing a metal baseball bat.
GEOFFREY JAMES: Oh, sorry. I didn’t see you there. You must be Gary the Assassin.
GARY THE ASSASSIN: Well, I’m sure as hell not Stacy.
JAMES: Right. Well…um…I came here to conduct an interview with Matthias Barrows. Is he here?
As Gary smiles sinisterly at them, the doors open and the Twin Dragons step out.
GARY: Matthias is down in the Devil’s Lab.
JAMES: Devil’s Lab?
GARY: That’s what he calls his gym down in the basement. But you can relax, we need to go through a little security measure first. Grab ‘em!
At Gary’s command, Bahamut and Tiamat grab Geoffrey and the cameraman, restraining their arms.
CAMERAMAN: Hey, what are you doing?!
While Geoffrey and the cameraman struggle in the grip of the Dragons, Gary takes their wallets out of their pockets.
JAMES: Hey! That’s mine!
GARY: Don’t concern yourself with it.
STACY: What the hell is going on out here?
At the sound of her voice, Geoffrey and the cameraman become immediately relieved to see that Stacy Barrows has arrived on the scene.
JAMES: Oh, thank god.
GARY: Relax, Stacy. The Dragons and I are just having a little fun.
STACY: Oh, and I suppose by “fun”, you mean “picking their pockets?”
GARY: Ummmmmm…No?
JAMES: He’s lying! That’s exactly what he did!
STACY: MATTHIAS!
GARY: Aw, crap. Stacy, you’re a buzzkill, you know that?
A few seconds later, Matthias Barrows appears from downstairs and arrives at the front door.
STACY: Guess what your delinquent friends are up to. Again.
MATTHIAS BARROWS: God damn it, not again. Dragons, let them go! What the hell is wrong with you guys?
BAHAMUT: Gary put us up to it.
BARROWS: Duh. Gary’s a criminal, now let them go!
Bahamut and Tiamat release them.
TIAMAT: Come on, let’s go finish that joint we rolled earlier.
The Dragons go back inside the house and head upstairs while Matthias turns his attention to Gary.
BARROWS: Gary, give me their wallets.
GARY: Oh, come on!
BARROWS: Give it!
Gary sighs as he hands over the wallets.
BARROWS: You can’t go around robbing people. This is not a good time for you to go to jail.
GARY: Well, when exactly WOULD be a good time to go to jail?
BARROWS: Don’t change the subject, now put the cash back in their wallets.
GARY: How’d you know I took their cash?
BARROWS: You just told me.
GARY: DAMMIT!
Gary angrily stuffs the cash he took back in the men’s wallets before storming into the house grumbling to himself.
GARY: Can’t get away with anything around here.
Barrows then takes $400 out of his own pocket and puts it in Geoffrey and the cameraman’s wallets before returning them, while Stacy goes back to what she was doing.
BARROWS: That’s a token of my apology for the crass behavior of my associates. I doubt a single one of them has ever cracked a book in their lives.
JAMES: I’m glad your wife arrived when she did. I need that money for my hotel room tonight.
BARROWS: Well, she’s the only one here with a conscience. Why don’t you guys get set up in my office over there, and I’ll be with you after changing out of these sweaty workout clothes.
Barrows disappears into the master bedroom while Geoffrey James and the cameraman set up the shot in the office. After a few minutes, Matthias returns wearing different clothes.
BARROWS: Well, looks like were ready in here.
JAMES: Ready and waiting.
BARROWS: Well, fire away. Ask me whatever you want.
Matthias takes a seat on the couch and prepares to answer the questions.
JAMES: Now, according to your profile, you made your professional wrestling debut in 1999.
BARROWS: September 10, 1999. That is correct.
JAMES: But it also says you are 30 years old. So if that’s correct, back then you would have been…
Matthias cuts him off.
BARROWS: 15 years old.
JAMES: So I guess my first question is how does something like that even happen?
BARROWS: Well, I’m also guessing that you also know that Matthias Barrows is not my real name.
JAMES: Er..um…I’m not really-
BARROWS: It’s okay! You can say it.
JAMES: Well, I’ve been told your real name is Matt Barry.
BARROWS: That’s correct. You see, as a child I was constantly teased and bullied. Sometimes it was over little things, but most commonly it was because of my name. I heard them all: Matt “Straw” Barry, Matt “Blue” Barry, Matt “Rasp” Barry, and of course the ever popular Matt “Dingle” Barry. As you can imagine, that earned me quite a few brawls that came with free trips to the principal’s office and a week in detention.
JAMES: So how did that lead you to wrestling?
BARROWS: It started when I was 14. I was about three weeks or so into my freshman year, and I had gotten into a fight in the cafeteria during lunch time. I’m not going to tell you exactly what was said, but it was about my mother and her lipstick color. The next think I knew, I punched him square on the bridge of his nose and broke it. When he brought his hands up to his face, I had knocked him off his feet by kicking him in the knee, and then I sat on his chest and just started wailing on him.
JAMES: What happened there?
BARROWS: Well, it was in the cafeteria, so there were a lot of witnesses. I remembered that the principal, his assistance, and school police took statements from everyone there, and of course I was made out to be the bad guy. This led to my being expelled.
JAMES: I imagine your parents didn’t take that well.
BARROWS: Oh, my father was furious. First, he smacked my ass with his belt, then he and my mother spent two hours losing their voices on me about why I couldn’t behave and that they had to find me a new school. The way I saw it, a new school wasn’t going to solve my problems, and since I wasn’t getting help from anywhere, I was on my own. That night, I left home while my parents were sleeping. I spent the next year of my life on the streets.
JAMES: How did you survive?
BARROWS: My father did teach me how to do one thing: Fish. I found an abandoned fishing pole near the banks of the Truckee River. That’s how I got a lot of my food. On those days when the fish weren’t biting, I had to steal it. I would sit in a parking lot watching drive-thru windows. While customers waited for their food, I would sneak up behind their car and then snatch the bag when the worker handed it over. I’d run to a secluded area, eat, and then go on about my business. I got water from water fountains at playgrounds, and I shit wherever I believed no one could see me.
JAMES: So you were homeless?
BARROWS: Yes.
JAMES: What changed that?
BARROWS: Wouldn’t you know it? It was another fight and a chance meeting. You see, hobo’s are like alley cats, they get into turf wars. There was this one who wouldn’t leave me alone. Maybe he thought I was on his turf, maybe he was on crack, I don’t know. One day, I had enough and started beating the shit out of him on the street. It just so happened that this limousine was passing by at the time. Two big goons pulled me in and I met this guy named Kyle Mehr. He was the president and CEO of a wrestling organization called the KEF. I guess he took pity on me or something, because when he saw the things I was doing to that hobo, he wanted to sign me.
JAMES: So what was behind your decision to sign with him?
BARROWS: It was money. Mehr thought people would pay big money to see this scrappy little homeless teenager get in the ring and mix it up with guy’s who had been training for 20 years just to get their piece of the pie. I found out later that Kyle was a heavy recruiter. He was pulling in guys from everywhere. City streets, prisons, mental institutions, Texas, everywhere! In the month of December 1999 alone, Mehr had over 500 promo’s to sift through.
JAMES: Wow. So when did your first big break come with the company.
BARROWS: It was at his pay-per-view event in January of 2000, January Jakked. The main event was the Jakked-up Rumble. I won it and earned a shot at the KEF World Heavyweight Championship two months later, and I won that match too. I was the youngest World Champion in company history, winning it just two months before my sixteenth birthday.
JAMES: What happened then?
BARROWS: I realized that I was on a roller coaster, and what goes up must come down. It first started when my girlfriend at the time told me she was pregnant.
JAMES: So you have a child?
BARROWS: No. I found out some years later that she had cheated on me, and had been the whole time we were together. But at the time I did believe that the child, a boy, was indeed my son. I was a teenage father, busting my ass in the ring to provide for him. Eventually, this woman and I broke up and she took the child to live with her in L.A. while I sent a child support check every month, which was money that she abused by the way.
JAMES: So how did you handle the situation?
BARROWS: I fell into a deep depression. It was so deep that my doctor actually prescribed marijuana to even out my moods and to help with the headaches I started getting.
JAMES: So the marijuana you smoke is for medicinal purposes?
BARROWS: Yes.
JAMES: What about the rest of the Pacific Rim Cartel.
BARROWS: No. Stacy RARELY touches the stuff. Gary and the Dragons are just potheads, and Stacy RARELY touches the stuff.
JAMES: Speaking of your crew, which one did you meet first and how did they come to join you?
BARROWS: I recruited them in the KEF in the same order I re-recruited them for Apex, so Gary was first. It was 2004. Some of my friends in the KEF and I were celebrating my break up from that shrew who got pregnant and tricked me into paying for it. One of them, I think it was…Billy Norris, got one of those cakes where the top comes off and the stripper pops out. Well, turns out the super-bitch planned to prank me by putting Gary in the cake instead. We were all expecting a beautiful woman to pop out and start taking her clothes off, but what we got was this frosting covered midget wearing a top hat and a diaper while smoking a cigar the size of Kansas City and drinking from a flask.
JAMES: Wait, I’m confused. Gary was intended to be a prank from your ex-girlfriend.
BARROWS: Yeah, but it backfired on her. I found Gary to be one of, if not, the most obnoxious thing I had ever seen. I love things that are obnoxious. I passed him some pot, and the rest is history.
JAMES: Okay, what about Bahamut and Tiamat?
BARROWS: That started when Kyle Mehr signed a guy named Psycho Shroom in 2006. This guy was HUGE, bigger than the Dragons themselves, and Mehr was all over him like stink on shit. I felt as if he had an unfair advantage on not just me, but everyone who was in the company and that I had to do something to balance it out, so I searched the world looking for a heavy I could hire. At the time, Bahamut and Tiamat were framed for trying to overthrow the Mongolian government, though they had nothing to do with it. Regardless, they were branded traitors, and I put up the money, time, and effort to get them out before they were killed for treason. After arguing with authorities, they were given political asylum in the U.S. It was perfect. Not only would they even out the balance, but there were two of them!
JAMES: So what happened after that?
BARROWS: The KEF started falling apart, the Dragons were never, and I mean NEVER, booked in a match, and I felt that Mehr was trying to phase me out. That was when things got really dark for me. I was hemorrhaging money, I couldn’t afford to keep Gary and the Dragons around anymore so I had to cut them loose. I couldn’t afford my medicine anymore, and I started falling back into depression. That would be bad enough, but then came the icing on the cake in November of 2009, when I found out the “son” I was fighting to support wasn’t mine, and he knew it, and wanted nothing to do with me.
JAMES: How did that make you feel?
BARROWS: How would it make you feel? I felt betrayed, lied to, and fearful. I felt like I was going to explode. I was pissed off at everything. First, I wanted to break something, so I shattered every last window in this mansion. After that, the headaches returned, and I had decided that life had shit on me for the last time. I was ready to end it. I took my last ten dollars and bought a pack of cigarettes and the most alcoholic beverage I could afford, a can of Four-Loko. I spent that afternoon smoking the whole pack so I’d get good and sick, then, that evening…
Matthias has to take a second to compose himself before he continues.
BARROWS: I went into my bathroom and I took out a bottle of vicodin that I had been prescribed for a previous injury. I had nine pills. I swallowed them all and chugged that can of Four-Loko. At the time, I just wanted to die, but when I felt them starting to take effect, I regretted the decision. First, I got light-headed, then everything started going blurry. I just remember telling myself to fight it. The last thing I remember before vomiting in the sink and blacking out was someone bursting into my bathroom. That someone was a young woman named Stacy Jensen.
JAMES: So how did she fit into the equation?
BARROWS: Why don’t you ask her yourself? Stacy! Come in here!
After a few seconds, Barrows’ wife enters the room.
STACY: What’s going on?
BARROWS: Just telling my life story here. We’re up to the part where you enter the picture.
JAMES: He says you can tell the story better at this point.
STACY: Okay. So what do you want to know?
JAMES: Well, Matthias just told me about his suicide attempt and how you arrived just in time. What brought you to Barrows Mansion?
Stacy sits down next to her husband before she begins talking.
STACY: Well, I had just gotten out of college and began working for the KEF. My intention, like any other manager, was to sign on with one of the performers and guide them to the World Heavyweight Championship. The first few guys I worked with…well…they weren’t so great.
BARROWS: They totally sucked.
STACY: So when Kyle Mehr told me I needed to find a winner or else I’d have to look for a job elsewhere, I came here to sign Matthias, who had already spent ten years with the company establishing himself. When I first came here, it was eerie. The doors were wide open and the windows were all broken. I thought at least I’d find a clue to wherever he had gone, but when I found him in the bathroom, It was like seeing a ghost. I saw the empty pill container and the empty can, and I immediately knew what he was doing. I pulled his phone out of his pocket and called 911. I gave him CPR for three minutes until the ambulance arrived, but it felt more like three hours. They loaded him up and took him to the hospital. I went there every day to check on him
BARROWS: They pumped my stomach and I woke up three days later in the ICU. At the time, the KEF was on its last legs and Kyle Mehr had introduced what he called the “Breaking the Bank ladder match” in a last ditch effort to reverse his fortunes. Stacy had secured one of the spots in it and gave it to me, and I won it. But it was all for nothing, as the KEF folded less than a month later.
JAMES: And thus began five years of inactivity for you. How did you survive that without any means of income.
BARROWS: Well, first thing I did was I sued my ex-girlfriend for all the child support I had paid over the years, which came out to over 3 million dollars.
STACY: I stayed with him for…I suppose about seven months or so. At first, he didn’t show it, but I could tell he was thankful that I saved him…mostly because of the things he did for me. In April of 2010, I realized that I was falling for him, and two months after that, he ended up proposing to me.
BARROWS: I wanted to do that when I first saw her after waking up in the hospital. She went home for a month to tell her friends and family, and I went across the world to find the perfect ring, which was also when I went to the Congo. We were married in September, but something was still missing.
JAMES: In-ring competition?
BARROWS: Yes. I looked at countless federations, but I couldn’t see myself with them. Stacy couldn’t stand to see me so frustrated, so she went home.
STACY: I am so sorry about that, Matthias.
BARROWS: You’re back now, that’s what’s important. Next question?
JAMES: One question I’m curious about. Why do your call your group, the Pacific Rim Cartel?
Matthias and Stacy look at each other. Matthias shrugs and Stacy nods her head before he speaks.
BARROWS: Well, I will say this. It’s how I can afford to own this giant house, my own private jet, and keep my three friends around.
JAMES: Well, I hope you’ll answer this question, and it’s the one that’s been on all our minds. When is Matthias Barrows and the rest of the Pacific Rim Cartel coming to the Apex Wrestling Syndicate?
Matthias chuckles and stands up.
BARROWS: You know what, I haven’t even told Gary and the Dragons yet. But I suppose it is time. Gary! Dragons! Get in here, you’ll want to hear this! Don’t worry, Geoffrey. I promise they won’t rob you again.
Matthias walks over to his desk, opens a drawer, and pulls out a clipboard. Clipped to it is the contract given to him by Mr. Troy. As it is right now, there is no signature on the contract. When Gary and the Dragons arrive, Matthias speaks.
BARROWS: Geoffrey James here just asked me when we were going to arrive in Apex.
Gary rolls his eyes and adopts a sarcastic tone.
GARY: Yeah. I was wondering that myself.
BARROWS: Don’t get mad, Gary. I think it’s time we finally answer the question. I hold in my hand, an unsigned AWS contract. It’s time we made our marks.
Barrows crew murmur happily amongst themselves as they see him take out a ball-point pen.
BARROWS: Ladies first.
Stacy Barrows takes the pen, and signs her name on the dotted line.
BARROWS: Gary, you’re next.
Gary takes the contract, and quickly jots down his name.
BARROWS: Boys.
Bahamut takes the contract first and signs his name before passing it to his brother, Tiamat, who does the same.
BARROWS: Before I sign, Geoffrey James, I’d like to show you something.
Matthias walks over to a portrait of himself on the wall, and reveals that it is on hinges, concealing a small safe mounted on the wall. He shields the keypad and punches in the combination before putting his hand on the lever.
BARROWS: Meet the KEF Roster.
Barrows opens the safe to reveal that there are many vials of still wet blood, alphabetized by the name of the person they came from.
BARROWS: The reason for this is because I’d like to show the world my level of commitment.
Barrows goes to the “M” section and pulls out a vial of blood.
BARROWS: Behold. The blood of Kyle Mehr, President and CEO of the KEF.
Barrows pulls out a fountain pen and opens the vial to draw the blood out of it. He draws every drop into the pen, and then, in his former boss’ blood, signs his name on the dotted line before emptying the remaining blood back into it’s vial and turning to his crew.
BARROWS: Our schedule is set. On Wednesday, August 20, 2014, we’re gonna get up, we’re gonna get on the jet, and we’re gonna fly to Washington D.C!
BAHAMUT: Finally.
BARROWS: Then we’re gonna give Congress the finger!
GARY: Fuck yeah we are!
BARROWS: THEN we’re going to the Verizon Center!
TIAMAT: YES!
BARROWS: I’m going to HAND-DELIVER this contract to Mr. Troy!
STACY: That’s my man!
BARROWS: And the Pacific Rim Cartel is INVADING ASCENSION!
Barrows’ entire crew erupts in cheers and celebration at the delivery of the news as Geoffrey James looks into the camera.
JAMES: Well folks, you heard it here straight from the man himself! Matthias Barrows and his band are coming to AWS Ascension, August 20. Don’t miss it!
Barrows then reaches behind the couch where he was sitting, pulls out a three-foot metal pipe, and points it at the camera
BARROWS: If you thought I got cold feet about coming to Apex, hear what I say right here and now. My name is Matthias Barrows, and I'm coming for your blood!
The camera fades to the normal AWS opening video & music.
The Ascension theme music begins to play as the camera makes rapid pans across the roaring crowd! A series of red and white pyros go off above the ring, up the ramp and then around the stage and screen leaving a haze of white smoke.
BUDDY ROBERTS: Welcome to the final Ascension, before the Syndicate Royale Pay Per View!
MICHAEL HEENAN: We have a packed show tonight, Buddy!
The camera feed cuts the parking lot area of the Verizon Center, and a limousine is seen entering the building.
MH: It can’t be Mr. Troy, his car is gone and he’s already here. I saw him earlier.
As the limo comes to a stop, the sunroof opens and Gary the Assassin pops his head out. Immediately after that, the door opens and Matthias Barrows steps out.
MH: Well look who FINALLY decided to grace us with his presence!
Behind Matthias, his wife Stacy steps out, while the Twin Dragons, Bahamut and Tiamat appear on the other side.
BR: The Pacific Rim Cartel is in the house.
MH: Took them long enough.
The Dragons walk to the other side of the limo to where Matthias and his wife are standing. When they get there, Gary climbs through the top of the sunroof and hops on Tiamat’s back like a jumping spider. Matthias then inhales deeply.
BARROWS: Smell it! It always goes down smooth.
They begin walking further into the building, but stop abruptly.
BARROWS: Ah! Mr. Troy.
Matthias extends his hand as the AWS CEO appears on camera.
MR. TROY: Matthias Barrows! Welcome to Ascension!
BARROWS: First order of business, I have something for you.
Matthias reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out the recently signed contract before handing it to Mr. Troy, who smiles as he looks it over.
MR. TROY: Thank you very much. We’re happy to have you and your people!
BARROWS: Well, we’re happy to be here. But now, I think I need to go reintroduce myself to the public.
Mr. Troy heads back to his office as Matthias leads the rest of his crew towards backstage curtain.
BR: Hey, they’re coming out here.
The lights in the arena begin to dim as the sound of a pipe organ begins to play throughout the arena, increasing a note every few seconds. The fourth tier of Dancing Mad by the Black Mages starts playing as the crowd rises to their feet and start cheering. When the lights come back on, Bahamut and Tiamat are standing of the stage on either side of the curtain, and then Gary the Assassin leads out Matthias Barrows with Stacy on his arm.
RING ANNOUNCER: Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome The Twin Dragons, Gary the Assassin, and Stacy and Matthias Barrows, The Pacific Rim Cartel!
BR: They’ve been teasing us for weeks, but now they’re here on Ascension, live and in the flesh!
MH: And not a moment to soon, but I want to know when they’re going to compete in that ring.
BR: We may get that answer momentarily.
Stacy breaks off from her husband and walks up the steps leading to the ring. The Dragons then hop up onto the apron on either side of her and hold the ropes open for her while Gary climbs to the top of the turnbuckle. The Dragons then step into the ring over the top rope before Matthias jumps onto the apron, setting off pyro above them when he throws his head back. After stepping through the ropes, Matthias gets on the turnbuckle opposite Gary and poses while a spotlight shines down on him from above. He then hops down and sticks his hand out through the ropes, where it is soon filled by a microphone as the music fades out. Barrows walks around the ring soaking in the reaction from the fans while Gary hops down and snatches a sign from a fan that reads “Gary for President 2016”, taking it back up to the top of the turnbuckle and holding it out for the fans to see.
BARROWS: President? Maybe president of bad ideas.
Gary hops down and returns the sign, and then gets into the ring.
BARROWS: Ladies and gentlemen, don’t adjust your sets! Matthias Barrows actually IS on Ascension! And I’ll tell you this: Apex knows how to attract an audience.
The crowd cheers as Matthias looks them over.
MH: Great! Another cheap-pop artist.
BARROWS: So now that we’re here, the question is… when does Matthias Barrows see action?
The fans cheer in approval, wanting an answer.
BARROWS: Well, that’s the reason I bought out that skybox up there for the night. I’m gonna sit up there all night and watch every single match tonight to see what’s on display as far as the locker room goes. Because when I set out to do something, I do it big. Now we-and by “we”, I mean me and my two enormous friends here…
Bahamut nods his head as Tiamat cracks his knuckles.
BARROWS: As of now, we are throwing our names in the Syndicate Royal Match. And you can bet your bottom dollar that when the smoke clears, the winner will be a member of the Pacific Rim Cartel! But for right now, let’s get this night started. I want to see what I’m up against.
Matthias hands the microphone back to the ring announcer and the five of them find their way through the crowd and climb up to the skybox.
BR: Well there it is folks. Matthias Barrows, along with the Twin Dragons, Bahamut and Tiamat will be in the Syndicate Royal Match on Pay Per View next Wednesday night.
MH: I have to admit, I kind of like his style… but I don’t know how smart that kind of move is.
BR: He’s got two giant Mongolian helpers. Will Matthias Barrows also have the luck of the draw when it comes to backing them up next Wednesday night. BR: This is out in the parking area here in the building. Someone obviously arriving here.
BUDDY ROBERTS: Welcome to the final Ascension, before the Syndicate Royale Pay Per View!
MICHAEL HEENAN: We have a packed show tonight, Buddy!
The camera feed cuts the parking lot area of the Verizon Center, and a limousine is seen entering the building.
MH: It can’t be Mr. Troy, his car is gone and he’s already here. I saw him earlier.
As the limo comes to a stop, the sunroof opens and Gary the Assassin pops his head out. Immediately after that, the door opens and Matthias Barrows steps out.
MH: Well look who FINALLY decided to grace us with his presence!
Behind Matthias, his wife Stacy steps out, while the Twin Dragons, Bahamut and Tiamat appear on the other side.
BR: The Pacific Rim Cartel is in the house.
MH: Took them long enough.
The Dragons walk to the other side of the limo to where Matthias and his wife are standing. When they get there, Gary climbs through the top of the sunroof and hops on Tiamat’s back like a jumping spider. Matthias then inhales deeply.
BARROWS: Smell it! It always goes down smooth.
They begin walking further into the building, but stop abruptly.
BARROWS: Ah! Mr. Troy.
Matthias extends his hand as the AWS CEO appears on camera.
MR. TROY: Matthias Barrows! Welcome to Ascension!
BARROWS: First order of business, I have something for you.
Matthias reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out the recently signed contract before handing it to Mr. Troy, who smiles as he looks it over.
MR. TROY: Thank you very much. We’re happy to have you and your people!
BARROWS: Well, we’re happy to be here. But now, I think I need to go reintroduce myself to the public.
Mr. Troy heads back to his office as Matthias leads the rest of his crew towards backstage curtain.
BR: Hey, they’re coming out here.
The lights in the arena begin to dim as the sound of a pipe organ begins to play throughout the arena, increasing a note every few seconds. The fourth tier of Dancing Mad by the Black Mages starts playing as the crowd rises to their feet and start cheering. When the lights come back on, Bahamut and Tiamat are standing of the stage on either side of the curtain, and then Gary the Assassin leads out Matthias Barrows with Stacy on his arm.
RING ANNOUNCER: Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome The Twin Dragons, Gary the Assassin, and Stacy and Matthias Barrows, The Pacific Rim Cartel!
BR: They’ve been teasing us for weeks, but now they’re here on Ascension, live and in the flesh!
MH: And not a moment to soon, but I want to know when they’re going to compete in that ring.
BR: We may get that answer momentarily.
Stacy breaks off from her husband and walks up the steps leading to the ring. The Dragons then hop up onto the apron on either side of her and hold the ropes open for her while Gary climbs to the top of the turnbuckle. The Dragons then step into the ring over the top rope before Matthias jumps onto the apron, setting off pyro above them when he throws his head back. After stepping through the ropes, Matthias gets on the turnbuckle opposite Gary and poses while a spotlight shines down on him from above. He then hops down and sticks his hand out through the ropes, where it is soon filled by a microphone as the music fades out. Barrows walks around the ring soaking in the reaction from the fans while Gary hops down and snatches a sign from a fan that reads “Gary for President 2016”, taking it back up to the top of the turnbuckle and holding it out for the fans to see.
BARROWS: President? Maybe president of bad ideas.
Gary hops down and returns the sign, and then gets into the ring.
BARROWS: Ladies and gentlemen, don’t adjust your sets! Matthias Barrows actually IS on Ascension! And I’ll tell you this: Apex knows how to attract an audience.
The crowd cheers as Matthias looks them over.
MH: Great! Another cheap-pop artist.
BARROWS: So now that we’re here, the question is… when does Matthias Barrows see action?
The fans cheer in approval, wanting an answer.
BARROWS: Well, that’s the reason I bought out that skybox up there for the night. I’m gonna sit up there all night and watch every single match tonight to see what’s on display as far as the locker room goes. Because when I set out to do something, I do it big. Now we-and by “we”, I mean me and my two enormous friends here…
Bahamut nods his head as Tiamat cracks his knuckles.
BARROWS: As of now, we are throwing our names in the Syndicate Royal Match. And you can bet your bottom dollar that when the smoke clears, the winner will be a member of the Pacific Rim Cartel! But for right now, let’s get this night started. I want to see what I’m up against.
Matthias hands the microphone back to the ring announcer and the five of them find their way through the crowd and climb up to the skybox.
BR: Well there it is folks. Matthias Barrows, along with the Twin Dragons, Bahamut and Tiamat will be in the Syndicate Royal Match on Pay Per View next Wednesday night.
MH: I have to admit, I kind of like his style… but I don’t know how smart that kind of move is.
BR: He’s got two giant Mongolian helpers. Will Matthias Barrows also have the luck of the draw when it comes to backing them up next Wednesday night. BR: This is out in the parking area here in the building. Someone obviously arriving here.
MARCUS POLO VS RIAN RAE
SINGLES MATCH
Marcus Polo's music hits as the crowd erupts in cheers with a fair portion of boo's mixed in. After about 30 seconds Marcus emerges on the ramp with white smoke flooding the entrance to another huge pop. After a few taunts he walks forward a bit to the ramp and hits some intense kicks and poses as gold pyro explodes right under him. As Marcus Polo walks down the ramp his manager Hollywood Skyes comes out on the ramp to the dismay of the fans. Hollywood follows Marcus to the ring. In the ring Marcus poses a bit for the crowd and awaits the start of the match.
RING ANNOUNCER: This match is set for one fall with a twenty minute time limit. Currently on his way to the ring being accompanied by Hollywood Skyes, from Bronx, New York, weighing in at 289 pounds... MARCUS POLO!
BR: Try as he might, Marcus Polo is zero and three. Tonight he faces Rian Rae in singles competition.
MH: Marcus finally showed a bit of balls this week in Alistair's office, but I'm not sure if he's having a complete change of heart or not.
BR: A string of losses can make even the most moral man desperate, Michael.
The Power Of Love hits over the arena as the crowd erupts in cheers. Rian comes out bouncing up and down to her adoring fans. She points across the crowd as she walks down the ramp. She rolls into the ring and bounces on the ropes while waving at her fans.
RING ANNOUNCER: His opponent, making her way down the aisle, from Vancouver, Washington, Weighing in at 130 pounds... RIAN RAE!
BR: Here comes the lover herself, Rian Rae!
MH: I'm getting tired of her sunny demeanor.
The two competitors lock up as the bell sounds. Marcus Polo lifts Rian with an obvious size advantage. Marcus slams Rian down and beats his chest.
BR: Big man right here.
Rian leg sweeps and takes Polo down. Rian hits a jumping flip on Polo! Rian backs up and hits a running knee! She goes for the cover.
On-KICKOUT!
MH: Not even a one count!
BR: Rian testing the water.
As Polo gets up Rian hits a series of kicks stunning Polo. Rian hits a running neckbreaker.
BR: So far Rian has neutralized the size difference!
Rian hits a legdrop on Marcus Polo and waves to the crowd. Hollywood is on the outside shaking his head. Rian lifts Polo's leg and tries to twist it into a submission hold, but Polo kicks her back and gets up. Polo runs at Rian and hits a big boot! Rian falls to the ground holder her face.
MH: Oh no! One of her only assets!
The camera shows the skybox show Matthias and his crew watching the match and talking amongst themselves. Polo lifts up Rian and puts her over his head... powerbomb! Marcus covers.
One...
Two...KICKOUT
BR: Only two off of that big time power move!
Marcus gets up and kicks Rian in the face and laughs a bit. Marcus lifts Rian up once more and puts her head between his legs, signalling for a second powerbomb. Marcus lifts her up onto his shoulders. Powerbomb number two! Cover!
One...
Two... Rian places her hand on the rope! But Hollywood Skyes pushes it away before the referee sees!
THREE!
RING ANNOUNCER: Your winner via pinfall... MARCUS POLO!
RING ANNOUNCER: This match is set for one fall with a twenty minute time limit. Currently on his way to the ring being accompanied by Hollywood Skyes, from Bronx, New York, weighing in at 289 pounds... MARCUS POLO!
BR: Try as he might, Marcus Polo is zero and three. Tonight he faces Rian Rae in singles competition.
MH: Marcus finally showed a bit of balls this week in Alistair's office, but I'm not sure if he's having a complete change of heart or not.
BR: A string of losses can make even the most moral man desperate, Michael.
The Power Of Love hits over the arena as the crowd erupts in cheers. Rian comes out bouncing up and down to her adoring fans. She points across the crowd as she walks down the ramp. She rolls into the ring and bounces on the ropes while waving at her fans.
RING ANNOUNCER: His opponent, making her way down the aisle, from Vancouver, Washington, Weighing in at 130 pounds... RIAN RAE!
BR: Here comes the lover herself, Rian Rae!
MH: I'm getting tired of her sunny demeanor.
The two competitors lock up as the bell sounds. Marcus Polo lifts Rian with an obvious size advantage. Marcus slams Rian down and beats his chest.
BR: Big man right here.
Rian leg sweeps and takes Polo down. Rian hits a jumping flip on Polo! Rian backs up and hits a running knee! She goes for the cover.
On-KICKOUT!
MH: Not even a one count!
BR: Rian testing the water.
As Polo gets up Rian hits a series of kicks stunning Polo. Rian hits a running neckbreaker.
BR: So far Rian has neutralized the size difference!
Rian hits a legdrop on Marcus Polo and waves to the crowd. Hollywood is on the outside shaking his head. Rian lifts Polo's leg and tries to twist it into a submission hold, but Polo kicks her back and gets up. Polo runs at Rian and hits a big boot! Rian falls to the ground holder her face.
MH: Oh no! One of her only assets!
The camera shows the skybox show Matthias and his crew watching the match and talking amongst themselves. Polo lifts up Rian and puts her over his head... powerbomb! Marcus covers.
One...
Two...KICKOUT
BR: Only two off of that big time power move!
Marcus gets up and kicks Rian in the face and laughs a bit. Marcus lifts Rian up once more and puts her head between his legs, signalling for a second powerbomb. Marcus lifts her up onto his shoulders. Powerbomb number two! Cover!
One...
Two... Rian places her hand on the rope! But Hollywood Skyes pushes it away before the referee sees!
THREE!
RING ANNOUNCER: Your winner via pinfall... MARCUS POLO!
WINNER: MARCUS POLO
BR: That was a rope break damnit! That son of a bitch Hollywood Skyes cost Rian the match!
MH: I didn't see anything.
BR: Well, Marcus Polo might be happy! He just got his first win here in the AWS!
We go outside to the production truck. Where we see Scar walking up to it. He walks up the stairs and knocks on the door. Someone from within responds. Scar enters and we follow.
Inside the truck are a bunch of electronic boards that control the lighting, music, audio, and a bunch of other production. There are a handful of AWS employees monitoring the TV which shows the events taking place inside.
PRODUCTION GUY: You can't be in here sir...
SCAR: I just have a quick question about the Steel Cage for my match tonight?
The guy looks at him cautiously.
SCAR: I'm just curious. Do you guys control the lowering of the cage inside here or is that done in the building?
The guy stares at him some more, probably trying to figure out what in hell Scar is up to.
PRODUCTION GUY: It can be controlled in both places.
He says as his eyes dart to something behind Scar.
PRODUCTION GUY: We have production men inside making sure things run smoothly in there. They have a remote switch that they will use to control the cage. And in case that one fails, we have one in here.
Scar just nods his head.
SCAR: That's smart. And what do all those switch boards do?
He asks, drawing the guys and everyone elses attention to the big switch board at the other end of the production truck. When they turn around Scar is gone.
MH: I didn't see anything.
BR: Well, Marcus Polo might be happy! He just got his first win here in the AWS!
We go outside to the production truck. Where we see Scar walking up to it. He walks up the stairs and knocks on the door. Someone from within responds. Scar enters and we follow.
Inside the truck are a bunch of electronic boards that control the lighting, music, audio, and a bunch of other production. There are a handful of AWS employees monitoring the TV which shows the events taking place inside.
PRODUCTION GUY: You can't be in here sir...
SCAR: I just have a quick question about the Steel Cage for my match tonight?
The guy looks at him cautiously.
SCAR: I'm just curious. Do you guys control the lowering of the cage inside here or is that done in the building?
The guy stares at him some more, probably trying to figure out what in hell Scar is up to.
PRODUCTION GUY: It can be controlled in both places.
He says as his eyes dart to something behind Scar.
PRODUCTION GUY: We have production men inside making sure things run smoothly in there. They have a remote switch that they will use to control the cage. And in case that one fails, we have one in here.
Scar just nods his head.
SCAR: That's smart. And what do all those switch boards do?
He asks, drawing the guys and everyone elses attention to the big switch board at the other end of the production truck. When they turn around Scar is gone.
BR: I don't trust this Scar fellow, and what the hell did he do with Mr. Troy's car?
MH: Oh lighten up, it's about time we had some fun around here!
"Unbelievable" by EMF hits and a single red spotlight hits the curtain. After a few seconds, "Beautiful" Bobby Crane pushes through it, AWS Hardcore Championship held above his head with one arm, sunglasses on, his shimmering red robe sparkling in the house lights, and his long blonde hair tied back into a tight pony tail.
He walks to the ring, a scowl on his face, climbs the ring steps, wipes his feet on the apron, and steps through the ropes. All business, he grabs a microphone from the ring announcer, shoves the announcer away, and as the music dies down, he looks out into the sea of AWS fans booing him wildly.
BOBBY CRANE: I don't have to take this, you know.
BOOOOO!
BOBBY CRANE: No, shut up. This is Washington, DC! This is the hub of democracy and I have RIGHTS, damnit!
BOOOOOO! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK!
BOBBY CRANE: You people are animals! Savages! Beasts!
WE WANT LI-AM! Clap clap clap clap clap! WE WANT LI-AM! Clap clap clap clap clap!
BOBBY CRANE: And speaking of beasts, I guess all you morons are feeling about two feet tall right now, huh? And speaking of Liam McAllister...well he ALWAYS feels about two feet tall because he IS about two feet tall, which as I am given to understand, is the approximate height of a house elf. Now, that's all well and good, but this "unknown beast" as he's come to be known is a lot bigger than that. This guy is at least six foot six, at least three hundred some odd pounds, and last week, he was charging out of the back looking for Bobby Crane! Now Washington, I ask you...how...tell me, HOW, is Bobby Crane supposed to compete against Liam McAllister tonight with that giant animal running around trying to hunt down your undisputed AWS Bobby Crane Technical Wrestling Champion? HOW?!
BOOOOOOOO!
BOBBY CRANE: AND! Annnnnnd! AND! On top of all that, Liam doesn't think that's even enough to beat Bobby Crane! No! It's not enough that a rabid gorilla is trying to tear Bobby Crane's limbs off, he has to enlist PAUL FREAKIN' BLAIR to help him tonight! Puh-lease!
YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK!
BOBBY CRANE: Well ladies and gentlemen, I implore you. The cards are once again stacked against me, but once again I will rise above it all and conquer the adversity laid before me! Once again I will overcome the odds, and like the true hero that I am, I will ride into uh...umm...Vuh-jin-ya...ok that doesn't sound so heroic any more. Who the hell goes to Vuh-jin-ya to do anything notable? But I digress, I will ride into the Syndicate Royale, as promised, and become your first ever AWS World Heavyweight Champion!
The crowd begins throwing garbage in the ring at Bobby Crane. Bobby kicks a water bottle back into the crowd and angrily points out the fan who threw it at him to security.
BOBBY CRANE: THERE HE IS! That guy RIGHT THERE! Get him out of here! Come on, security! Do your freakin' job! Who the hell knows who else Liam has enlisted to help him here tonight? Get him out! And stay on your toes, you ingrates!
Security escorts the fan out of the building. The crowd gives the fan a huge ovation as he turns back and flips Bobby Crane the bird.
MH: Hooligan!
BOBBY CRANE: Yeah screw you too! You know this is what's wrong with this country! You people have no respect for the REAL heroes! You know what? Tonight it doesn't matter what you people think! Tonight, Bobby Crane will once again make history and advance to the finals of the AWS World Heavyweight title tournament! And there's nothing you, nor your TV Champion with a face for radio can do about it! Now hit my music!
Bobby Crane drops the mic and storms backstage as garbage rains down on him.
BR: The fans not very receptive to Bobby's message tonight, Michael.
MH: These retards wouldn't see greatness if it came up and smacked them in the face.
BR: Bobby Crane will face Liam tonight in a non-title champion versus champion match to determine who will get a shot at the World Heavyweight title at the Pay Per View next week.
MH: Oh lighten up, it's about time we had some fun around here!
"Unbelievable" by EMF hits and a single red spotlight hits the curtain. After a few seconds, "Beautiful" Bobby Crane pushes through it, AWS Hardcore Championship held above his head with one arm, sunglasses on, his shimmering red robe sparkling in the house lights, and his long blonde hair tied back into a tight pony tail.
He walks to the ring, a scowl on his face, climbs the ring steps, wipes his feet on the apron, and steps through the ropes. All business, he grabs a microphone from the ring announcer, shoves the announcer away, and as the music dies down, he looks out into the sea of AWS fans booing him wildly.
BOBBY CRANE: I don't have to take this, you know.
BOOOOO!
BOBBY CRANE: No, shut up. This is Washington, DC! This is the hub of democracy and I have RIGHTS, damnit!
BOOOOOO! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK!
BOBBY CRANE: You people are animals! Savages! Beasts!
WE WANT LI-AM! Clap clap clap clap clap! WE WANT LI-AM! Clap clap clap clap clap!
BOBBY CRANE: And speaking of beasts, I guess all you morons are feeling about two feet tall right now, huh? And speaking of Liam McAllister...well he ALWAYS feels about two feet tall because he IS about two feet tall, which as I am given to understand, is the approximate height of a house elf. Now, that's all well and good, but this "unknown beast" as he's come to be known is a lot bigger than that. This guy is at least six foot six, at least three hundred some odd pounds, and last week, he was charging out of the back looking for Bobby Crane! Now Washington, I ask you...how...tell me, HOW, is Bobby Crane supposed to compete against Liam McAllister tonight with that giant animal running around trying to hunt down your undisputed AWS Bobby Crane Technical Wrestling Champion? HOW?!
BOOOOOOOO!
BOBBY CRANE: AND! Annnnnnd! AND! On top of all that, Liam doesn't think that's even enough to beat Bobby Crane! No! It's not enough that a rabid gorilla is trying to tear Bobby Crane's limbs off, he has to enlist PAUL FREAKIN' BLAIR to help him tonight! Puh-lease!
YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK!
BOBBY CRANE: Well ladies and gentlemen, I implore you. The cards are once again stacked against me, but once again I will rise above it all and conquer the adversity laid before me! Once again I will overcome the odds, and like the true hero that I am, I will ride into uh...umm...Vuh-jin-ya...ok that doesn't sound so heroic any more. Who the hell goes to Vuh-jin-ya to do anything notable? But I digress, I will ride into the Syndicate Royale, as promised, and become your first ever AWS World Heavyweight Champion!
The crowd begins throwing garbage in the ring at Bobby Crane. Bobby kicks a water bottle back into the crowd and angrily points out the fan who threw it at him to security.
BOBBY CRANE: THERE HE IS! That guy RIGHT THERE! Get him out of here! Come on, security! Do your freakin' job! Who the hell knows who else Liam has enlisted to help him here tonight? Get him out! And stay on your toes, you ingrates!
Security escorts the fan out of the building. The crowd gives the fan a huge ovation as he turns back and flips Bobby Crane the bird.
MH: Hooligan!
BOBBY CRANE: Yeah screw you too! You know this is what's wrong with this country! You people have no respect for the REAL heroes! You know what? Tonight it doesn't matter what you people think! Tonight, Bobby Crane will once again make history and advance to the finals of the AWS World Heavyweight title tournament! And there's nothing you, nor your TV Champion with a face for radio can do about it! Now hit my music!
Bobby Crane drops the mic and storms backstage as garbage rains down on him.
BR: The fans not very receptive to Bobby's message tonight, Michael.
MH: These retards wouldn't see greatness if it came up and smacked them in the face.
BR: Bobby Crane will face Liam tonight in a non-title champion versus champion match to determine who will get a shot at the World Heavyweight title at the Pay Per View next week.
THE NINJA VS JASON DRAGO
SUBMISSION MATCH
I'm shipping out to Boston began to play in the arena. The Ninja comes out and walk off the ramp and then screams to the crowd and says "LOOK WHO WON ASSCLOWNS!" The crowd booing at him and chant "Ninja sucks." He goes into the ring as he is given a microphone.
RING ANNOUNCER: This match is a submission match scheduled for one fall. Currently in the ring, from Chicago, Illinois, weighing 225 pounds... THE NINJA!
THE NINJA: I told you all who would win.
The crowds boo started to get louder.
THE NINJA: I told every single one of you all that I will beat the shit out of Jeffrey Sweeney, but none of fat asses wanted to believe me.
The crowd chants "bullshit."
THE NINJA: I think all of you people are bullshit. None of you people wanted to believe me. Let me tell you what happen in the match then. I stunner him and gave him the sharpshooter and then he tap out and ran out of the ring and was crying like a little bitch, what more you people want.
They start chanting "asshole."
THE NINJA: Okay lets stop talking about Jeffrey "the crybaby bitch" Sweeney, lets talk about my next opponent tonight Jason Drago. Last time I heard he lost his Television Championship belt to Liam McAllister. (Starts laughing to himself.) You won it and then you lose it what a joke he is. You see even if Melvin Brown didn't shown up that bitch still would have lost it. I'm better than everyone of those assclowns but let me tell you something, someone actually had the nerves to tell me that Bobby Crane is better than me.
The crowds boo gets louder than before.
THE NINJA: Yeah I'm not kidding, he actually said that and you know what I did. I kick his ass so bad that he didn't even know what even happen to him. Yeah knock him out cold.
Crowds chanting "Ninja sucks."
THE NINJA: That man Bobby Crane thinks he's beautiful but he looks like a man who came from the streets living in the dumpster.
The Ninja sees a fan holding a picture of Bobby Crane.
THE NINJA: So your a fan of Bobby Crane?
BR: Probably the only one in the arena! It wouldn't surprise me if Bobby paid the man to hold his picture.
MH: The only fan here with any taste.
FAN: YEAHHH!
The Ninja gets out of the ring goes toward the fan and takes the picture and tears into pieces.
THE NINJA: This is what I think of Bobby Crane, pieces of shit.
The fan starts crying while her sister (presumably) hugs her and tries to calm her down.
THE NINJA: Yeah cry, cry because that's what Bobby Crane will become because I'm the best in the world!
The Ninja rolls back into the ring...
MH: I like The Ninja but it's probably not the best idea to start shit with Bobby Crane.
RING ANNOUNCER: This match is a submission match scheduled for one fall. Currently in the ring, from Chicago, Illinois, weighing 225 pounds... THE NINJA!
THE NINJA: I told you all who would win.
The crowds boo started to get louder.
THE NINJA: I told every single one of you all that I will beat the shit out of Jeffrey Sweeney, but none of fat asses wanted to believe me.
The crowd chants "bullshit."
THE NINJA: I think all of you people are bullshit. None of you people wanted to believe me. Let me tell you what happen in the match then. I stunner him and gave him the sharpshooter and then he tap out and ran out of the ring and was crying like a little bitch, what more you people want.
They start chanting "asshole."
THE NINJA: Okay lets stop talking about Jeffrey "the crybaby bitch" Sweeney, lets talk about my next opponent tonight Jason Drago. Last time I heard he lost his Television Championship belt to Liam McAllister. (Starts laughing to himself.) You won it and then you lose it what a joke he is. You see even if Melvin Brown didn't shown up that bitch still would have lost it. I'm better than everyone of those assclowns but let me tell you something, someone actually had the nerves to tell me that Bobby Crane is better than me.
The crowds boo gets louder than before.
THE NINJA: Yeah I'm not kidding, he actually said that and you know what I did. I kick his ass so bad that he didn't even know what even happen to him. Yeah knock him out cold.
Crowds chanting "Ninja sucks."
THE NINJA: That man Bobby Crane thinks he's beautiful but he looks like a man who came from the streets living in the dumpster.
The Ninja sees a fan holding a picture of Bobby Crane.
THE NINJA: So your a fan of Bobby Crane?
BR: Probably the only one in the arena! It wouldn't surprise me if Bobby paid the man to hold his picture.
MH: The only fan here with any taste.
FAN: YEAHHH!
The Ninja gets out of the ring goes toward the fan and takes the picture and tears into pieces.
THE NINJA: This is what I think of Bobby Crane, pieces of shit.
The fan starts crying while her sister (presumably) hugs her and tries to calm her down.
THE NINJA: Yeah cry, cry because that's what Bobby Crane will become because I'm the best in the world!
The Ninja rolls back into the ring...
MH: I like The Ninja but it's probably not the best idea to start shit with Bobby Crane.
BR: First ever submission match here in the AWS!
MH: The Ninja with a very impressive submission win in his debut last week! Let's see if he can beat the former TV champ.
"Been To Hell" by Hollywood Undead blasts through the speakers. Arena gets dark as crowd starts to boo. A spotlight runs all over the arena and stops at Jason Drago who is standing among the crowd in upper deck. He has his signature kendo stick with him. He walks down the stairs as the crowd continues to boo.
He jumps over the barricade and takes a look at the crowd. He puts the kendo stick and enters the ring. Drago goes to the turnbuckle and climbs on middle rope. He poses as the crowd still boos.
RING ANNOUNCER: And his opponent, hailing from Tampa, Florida, weighing in at 221 pounds... JASON DRAGO!
MH: Here comes Mr. Badass, the former Television champion!
BR: He's had a feud with Melvin Brown in recent weeks, I wonder if Melvin can keep his nose out of the match this time!
The Ninja circles Jason Drago as the referee calls for the bell. The Ninja runs at Drago, he leaps, hurricanrana! The Ninja taunts the crowd!
BR: What a strong start!
MH: The only way to win is to make your opponent submit, however rope break and DQ's still apply.
The Ninja runs up and hits a spinning heel kick on Drago, sending Drago to the ground. The Ninja grabs Drago and locks in a half Boston crab.
BR: The Ninja weakening the legs and back here. Smart move since The Ninja finished with a sharpshooter last week.
Drago is able to flip out of the hold and returns with a forearm shot to the head of The Ninja. Drago exchanges shots with the Ninja and hits a snap suplex on The Ninja. Drago locks in a chinlock on The Ninja who is able to reach the ropes.
BR: These two guys trying to weaken each other here before the big finish.
The Ninja pushes Drago away from him and jumps catching Drago with a DDT. The Ninja lifts up Drago and locks him in a full nelson. After a bit of struggling The Ninja lifts up Drago and hits a full Nelson slam.
MH: Every bit of hurt increases the chance of a submission later.
BR: So far no Melvin "The Carnage" Brown!
The Ninja grabs the legs of Drago and tries to lock in the Sharpshooter! But Drago is able to kick The Ninja in the gut! Drago charges at The Ninja but is caught with an enzuigiri! Drago is down, The Ninja locks in the Sharpshooter!
BR: He got him this time!
MH: Sharpshooter locked in tight! This made his opponent last week tap immediately!
Drago screams in pain! Drago is fumbling for the ropes. The referee is checking on Drago.
BR: Will he tap!?
Drago lifts himself off the ground with his arms but can't quite break the hold. Drago collapses back down.
MH: He's got nowhere to go!
Drago is able to lift himself up again and somehow leaps towards the ropes, hooking the bottom rope with his wrist! The Ninja refuses to break the hold... The referee begins to count. One... Two...
BR: The Ninja better let up!
MH: He wants to inflict as much damage as possible!
Three... Four... The Ninja finally releases. Drago is rolling on the ground holding his back. The Ninja pulls Drago back to the center of the ring, but Drago senses the Danger and grabs the ankle of the Ninja. Drago drags The Ninja to the ground
BR: I think he's going for it!
Drago scrambles up his body grabs his arm and then his head and locks in the Cigar City Stretch! The Ninja panics looking for an escape.
MH: What a crossface!
BR: A chickenwing over the shoulder crossface to be specific, Michael. He calls it the Cigar City Stretch!
The Ninja is kicking his legs wildly trying to move his body closer to the ropes! It seems to be working as they inch closer and closer to the ropes.
BR: I think The Ninja is going to get out of this!
After what seems like an eternity The Ninja is just a few inches away from hooking his leg on the ropes. Drago sees this and rolls towards the center of the ring flipping The Ninja along with him!
MH: Oh my god! Brilliant!
The Ninja tries to escape but realizes he can't. He is forced to tap out.
RING ANNOUNCER: Your winner via submission... JASON DRAGO!
MH: The Ninja with a very impressive submission win in his debut last week! Let's see if he can beat the former TV champ.
"Been To Hell" by Hollywood Undead blasts through the speakers. Arena gets dark as crowd starts to boo. A spotlight runs all over the arena and stops at Jason Drago who is standing among the crowd in upper deck. He has his signature kendo stick with him. He walks down the stairs as the crowd continues to boo.
He jumps over the barricade and takes a look at the crowd. He puts the kendo stick and enters the ring. Drago goes to the turnbuckle and climbs on middle rope. He poses as the crowd still boos.
RING ANNOUNCER: And his opponent, hailing from Tampa, Florida, weighing in at 221 pounds... JASON DRAGO!
MH: Here comes Mr. Badass, the former Television champion!
BR: He's had a feud with Melvin Brown in recent weeks, I wonder if Melvin can keep his nose out of the match this time!
The Ninja circles Jason Drago as the referee calls for the bell. The Ninja runs at Drago, he leaps, hurricanrana! The Ninja taunts the crowd!
BR: What a strong start!
MH: The only way to win is to make your opponent submit, however rope break and DQ's still apply.
The Ninja runs up and hits a spinning heel kick on Drago, sending Drago to the ground. The Ninja grabs Drago and locks in a half Boston crab.
BR: The Ninja weakening the legs and back here. Smart move since The Ninja finished with a sharpshooter last week.
Drago is able to flip out of the hold and returns with a forearm shot to the head of The Ninja. Drago exchanges shots with the Ninja and hits a snap suplex on The Ninja. Drago locks in a chinlock on The Ninja who is able to reach the ropes.
BR: These two guys trying to weaken each other here before the big finish.
The Ninja pushes Drago away from him and jumps catching Drago with a DDT. The Ninja lifts up Drago and locks him in a full nelson. After a bit of struggling The Ninja lifts up Drago and hits a full Nelson slam.
MH: Every bit of hurt increases the chance of a submission later.
BR: So far no Melvin "The Carnage" Brown!
The Ninja grabs the legs of Drago and tries to lock in the Sharpshooter! But Drago is able to kick The Ninja in the gut! Drago charges at The Ninja but is caught with an enzuigiri! Drago is down, The Ninja locks in the Sharpshooter!
BR: He got him this time!
MH: Sharpshooter locked in tight! This made his opponent last week tap immediately!
Drago screams in pain! Drago is fumbling for the ropes. The referee is checking on Drago.
BR: Will he tap!?
Drago lifts himself off the ground with his arms but can't quite break the hold. Drago collapses back down.
MH: He's got nowhere to go!
Drago is able to lift himself up again and somehow leaps towards the ropes, hooking the bottom rope with his wrist! The Ninja refuses to break the hold... The referee begins to count. One... Two...
BR: The Ninja better let up!
MH: He wants to inflict as much damage as possible!
Three... Four... The Ninja finally releases. Drago is rolling on the ground holding his back. The Ninja pulls Drago back to the center of the ring, but Drago senses the Danger and grabs the ankle of the Ninja. Drago drags The Ninja to the ground
BR: I think he's going for it!
Drago scrambles up his body grabs his arm and then his head and locks in the Cigar City Stretch! The Ninja panics looking for an escape.
MH: What a crossface!
BR: A chickenwing over the shoulder crossface to be specific, Michael. He calls it the Cigar City Stretch!
The Ninja is kicking his legs wildly trying to move his body closer to the ropes! It seems to be working as they inch closer and closer to the ropes.
BR: I think The Ninja is going to get out of this!
After what seems like an eternity The Ninja is just a few inches away from hooking his leg on the ropes. Drago sees this and rolls towards the center of the ring flipping The Ninja along with him!
MH: Oh my god! Brilliant!
The Ninja tries to escape but realizes he can't. He is forced to tap out.
RING ANNOUNCER: Your winner via submission... JASON DRAGO!
WINNER: JASON DRAGO
MH: The Ninja almost had him!.
BR: This one was a lot closer than it seemed. It could have easily been The Ninja making Drago tap in my opinion.
Backstage, Geoffrey James nervously stands outside of "Beautiful" Bobby Crane's locker room. The door appears to be reinforced, and two security guards stand outside of it.
GEOFFREY JAMES: I am standing outside of the locker room of "Beautiful" Bobby Crane, who will square off against Liam McAllister in tonight's main event. The winner of the match will advance to the Syndicate Royal event next week to compete for the AWS World Heavyweight title, where the first World Champion in AWS history will be crowned! Obviously, Mr. Crane appears to be somewhat nervous about the situation. Not only did this unknown assailant appear to come after him last week... Liam McAllister has seemingly forged an alliance with Paul Blair, one of Bobby Crane's closest friends and allies over the years. Of course, they had a nasty falling out several years ago and it would appear Blair is out to stop Bobby Crane from attaining the World title! Now...
A tiny door squeaks open in the center of Bobby Crane's locker room door. It is barred, and Bobby Crane's face appears behind the bars.
BOBBY CRANE: Gee-off, what are you doing here? I'm a busy man! I'm trying to focus here!
GEOFFREY JAMES: Just one quick question, Your Beautifulness. How on earth do you counteract the presence of Paul Blair at ringside tonight?
BOBBY CRANE: You don't counteract it, you idiot! This is what I'm talking about! You imbeciles all want to boo Bobby Crane! You all want to treat me like I'M the bad guy! WHAT HAS BOBBY CRANE EVER DONE?! Huh?! All I've ever done is defy the odds, like Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings! That's all! Well tonight, I'm taking the ring, climbing Mount Doom and dropping that ring into the fiery hell from which it came! That's just who I am, Gee-off! I'm a hero!
BOOOOOO!
GEOFFREY JAMES: Some might argue that, but be that as it may, behind all the smoke and mirrors, Liam McAllister is one hell of a competitor and even without these supposed distractions, it seems you'd have your work cut out for you anyway.
BOBBY CRANE: Oh is that right? Is that what you people think?!
The crowd roars.
BOBBY CRANE: Well I have had ENOUGH! Maybe I won't even go out there tonight! Maybe I'll just stay back here, and SCREW YOU PEOPLE! How would you like that, huh?! No main event tonight, what do you think?
BOOOOO! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK!
BOBBY CRANE: You know what? Maybe that's EXACTLY what I'll do!
Bobby Crane slams the tiny door shut.
GEOFFREY JAMES: Umm...apparently our main event will not be happening tonight...back to ringside?
MH: I can't blame him, these idiots don't deserve to see The Beautiful One.
BR: I think our owner Mr. Troy would feel differently. These fans paid good money to see this match. What's going to happen now?
MH: Well, what's going to happen right now is the first Intercontinental qualification match. A four way cage match, up next!
BR: This one was a lot closer than it seemed. It could have easily been The Ninja making Drago tap in my opinion.
Backstage, Geoffrey James nervously stands outside of "Beautiful" Bobby Crane's locker room. The door appears to be reinforced, and two security guards stand outside of it.
GEOFFREY JAMES: I am standing outside of the locker room of "Beautiful" Bobby Crane, who will square off against Liam McAllister in tonight's main event. The winner of the match will advance to the Syndicate Royal event next week to compete for the AWS World Heavyweight title, where the first World Champion in AWS history will be crowned! Obviously, Mr. Crane appears to be somewhat nervous about the situation. Not only did this unknown assailant appear to come after him last week... Liam McAllister has seemingly forged an alliance with Paul Blair, one of Bobby Crane's closest friends and allies over the years. Of course, they had a nasty falling out several years ago and it would appear Blair is out to stop Bobby Crane from attaining the World title! Now...
A tiny door squeaks open in the center of Bobby Crane's locker room door. It is barred, and Bobby Crane's face appears behind the bars.
BOBBY CRANE: Gee-off, what are you doing here? I'm a busy man! I'm trying to focus here!
GEOFFREY JAMES: Just one quick question, Your Beautifulness. How on earth do you counteract the presence of Paul Blair at ringside tonight?
BOBBY CRANE: You don't counteract it, you idiot! This is what I'm talking about! You imbeciles all want to boo Bobby Crane! You all want to treat me like I'M the bad guy! WHAT HAS BOBBY CRANE EVER DONE?! Huh?! All I've ever done is defy the odds, like Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings! That's all! Well tonight, I'm taking the ring, climbing Mount Doom and dropping that ring into the fiery hell from which it came! That's just who I am, Gee-off! I'm a hero!
BOOOOOO!
GEOFFREY JAMES: Some might argue that, but be that as it may, behind all the smoke and mirrors, Liam McAllister is one hell of a competitor and even without these supposed distractions, it seems you'd have your work cut out for you anyway.
BOBBY CRANE: Oh is that right? Is that what you people think?!
The crowd roars.
BOBBY CRANE: Well I have had ENOUGH! Maybe I won't even go out there tonight! Maybe I'll just stay back here, and SCREW YOU PEOPLE! How would you like that, huh?! No main event tonight, what do you think?
BOOOOO! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK!
BOBBY CRANE: You know what? Maybe that's EXACTLY what I'll do!
Bobby Crane slams the tiny door shut.
GEOFFREY JAMES: Umm...apparently our main event will not be happening tonight...back to ringside?
MH: I can't blame him, these idiots don't deserve to see The Beautiful One.
BR: I think our owner Mr. Troy would feel differently. These fans paid good money to see this match. What's going to happen now?
MH: Well, what's going to happen right now is the first Intercontinental qualification match. A four way cage match, up next!
LANDON CARTER VS PAUL BLAIR VS STYTCH VS SCAR
4 WAY STEEL CAGE MATCH
INTERCONTINENTAL QUALIFICATION MATCH
"Run This Town" by Jay Z plays throughout the arena as Landon Carter steps out onto the ramp carrying a stack of 100 dollar bills. White and blue spotlights spin through the crowd. He smiles as he takes in the aroma of the fresh bills. He then makes his way down the ramp, passing out hundreds to audience members in the front row. He finds a young child in the audience and hands the remaining bills to him before ruffling his hair.
"Remember, everything has a price, kid." he says with a smile. "Keep working hard and you'll be able to pay it."
He then proceeds to the ring and rolls under the bottom rope. He walks to the middle of the ring and rubs his fingers and thumbs together before taking a graceful bow. He moves to his corner and cracks his neck before throwing some jabs to warm up.
RING ANNOUNCER: This match is an Intercontinental championship qualifying match, and is a steel cage match set for one decision with a 30 minute time limit. Currently on his way to the ring. making his AWS debut, from Brooklyn, New York weighing in at 215 pounds... LANDON CARTER!
BR: Everyone's favorite millionaire! He appeared on TV last week dropping gobs of cash on our fans, but this is his official in ring AWS debut.
MH: He is an idiot with his money, these people here don't deserve his charity, but I could use a new mansion myself.
BR: All four men in this match are making their debut and what an amazing opportunity! The first of two Intercontinental qualifying match-ups tonight. The two winners will face off at the Pay Per View next week for the IC title.
As the Blair vision theme starts up, Blair struts down the ramp. As he gets closer to the ring, he begins to mock the fans at ringside who boo him. Blair grabs a container of popcorn from a fan at ringside and dumps it on their head. Then he climbs up the steps and raises his hands high in the air as the fans shower him with boos.
RING ANNOUNCER: Currently on the way to the ring, making his AWS debut, from River Falls, Wisconsin, weighing 275 pounds... "THE RULER" PAUL BLAIR!
BR: This man is a long time veteran, starting in 1995. In my opinion his experience gives him the best shot here tonight.
MH: Since when does being old give you an advantage?
BR: This match can end by pinfall, submission or cage escape with only one decision. That means the first man to escape, or to gain submission or pinfall over another wins. There are no rope breaks or DQ's however.
As the light begin to flicker As the light begin to flicker off, the drums and guitars begin to play through the sound system. Suddenly the arena is thrown into complete darkness for several moments before several flickering green spotlights swing over the audience, enlighting the arena with an eerie green glow before a single bright white spotlight appears upon the stage, beaming light as Stytch begins to walk through the curtain, quickly raising his hands up on a devil horns gesture before quickly sprinting down the ramp and sliding straight into the ring, the spotlight struggling to keep up with his speed. The white spotlight disappears and in its place bright green lights enlight the ring as the masked menace climbs up onto the top turnbuckle and sits atop it, posing for the camera before the arena lights flicker back on and bring back visuals.
RING ANNOUNCER: Currently in the ring, making his AWS debut, from Glasgow, Scotland, weighing in at 115 pounds... STYTCH!
BR: This man is smaller than most of the competitors here in the AWS, but in this case that may be his advantage when it comes to escaping the cage.
MH: Maybe, but it's really anyone's game tonight.
"Sad But True" by Metallica plays as Scar walks out of the entrance. The fans boo him, his response is a small little smirk in their direction as he stands and takes in his surrounding.
He slowly makes his way to the ring avoiding the occasional high five from the near by fans.
Scar jumps up to the apron and enters the ring through the middle rope.
RING ANNOUNCER: Also making his AWS debut, from Des Moines, Iowa, weighing in at 220 pounds... SCAR!
BR: Strange man here, we don't know a whole lot about him.
MH: We now that all four of these men have a huge opportunity to go for big gold here in the AWS.
The four competitors stand in their corners eyeballing each other as the cage is lowered around them. Stytch stretches on the ropes as Scar looks around in a devious manner as the cage is secured to the base of the ring. The referee walks through the cage door as it is locked from the outside. The bell rings.
BR: Here we go! First cage match ever, taking place right now!
MH: First ladder match later tonight as well!
All four men charge to the middle in a chaos and flurry of punches, kicks and grappling. Stytch Irish whips Scar to the corner and follows up with a running heel kick. Stytch follows Scar to the floor and works on him as Paul Blair hits a hip toss on Landon. Paul locks in the figure four leglock on Landon.
BR: These are intense already!
Stytch jumps over and breaks up the figure four leglock. Scar comes up from behind and hits a running bulldog on Stytch. Landon whips Scar around and hits a series of uppercuts. Landon hits an eye rake followed up by an Atomic Drop on Scar. Scar falls down and rolls over to the ropes.
MH: These men are fighting for their lives AND a shot at the IC title!
Stytch catches Paul Blair with a German suplex Stytch runes and bounces off the second rope, cross body to Paul Blair! Cover!
One...KICKOUT!
MH: Only a one count!
Stytch continues to work on Paul Blair as Scar low blows Landon. Reverse suplex by Scar! Scar taunts the crowd as the camera cuts to the sky box once again. Matthias is listening to Gary as Gary is pointing towards the ring. We cut back to the action as Paul Blair has turned the tables on Stytch after a snap suplex.
BR: Back and forth. Back and forth.
Scar stays on Landon and hits a roundhouse kick to the head! Landon slumps down in the corner as Scar follows up with repeated stomps to the head. Scar is pulling Landon out to the middle of the ring as Paul Blair hits a powerbomb on on Stytch. Paul covers Stytch.
One...
Two...But it's broken up by Scar!
MH: Good thing Scar was paying attention or this would have been over!
Scar goes back to Landon and picks him up and hits a big suplex. Scar runs to the corner and climbs the ropes.
Scar leaps off of the top turnbuckle, he hits All The Rage on Landon as Landon stood up and turned around!
MH: What a damn vicious spinning elbow!
BR: Cover on Landon by Scar!
One...
Two...
Stytch dives over at the last moment breaking up the pin!
BR: Stytch was down!
Stytch picks up Scar and hooks the arms. Fallen Angel! Big time Elevated double underhook facebuster by Stytch! As Stytch lands he flips Scar over... Blair Kick! Blair kick out of fucking nowhere to Stytch!
MH: Oh my god! Superkick by Blair! Blair Kick!
Blair whips Landon head first into the cage and then covers Stytch.
One...
Two...
Th-KICKOUT!
BR: Oh! Only a two!
Blair rolls over and covers Scar!
One...
Two...
THR-KICKOUT! Blair screams out loud and argues with the referee.
BR: No! He couldn't get either one!
MH: High stakes tonight!
Landon stumbles up from behind and pushes Blair head first into the cage! Landon picks up Blair and grinds his face on the cage. Landon picks up Blair... Bankrupt! What a fall forward lifting side slam! Landon covers Blair.
MH: This is it!
One...
Two...
THRE-Scar makes the save once again at the very last moment!
BR: I think that was three!
MH: The ref says two! Another save by Scar!
Scar clotheslines Landon and begins to climb the cage. Landon follows. Scar and Landon are punching and kicking at each other halfway up the cage.
BR: Someone is going to make a deadly fall here!
Stytch and Blair are rolling around trying to lock submissions on each other in the ring as Landon grabs scar, back drop! Both men fall to the ring with a thud.
MH: Big time fall there!
Stytch picks up Blair and rams his head into the cage. Stytch begins to climb. Paul Blair rolls over to the opposite side of the cage and begins to climb as well.
BR: Here we go again!
Scar scurries up and climbs on a 3rd wall as he tries to get something out of his pocket. Landon Carter climbs to his feet and gives chase to Scar on the same wall.
BR: All four men climbing here! Intercontinental title shot on the line!
MH: Someone's going to end it here!
Stytch and Blair are nearly at the top as the cage starts to rise!
BR: What the hell is this!
The cage suddenly jolts and stops causing all four men to lose their balance for a moment. Stytch and Blair are near the top hugging the cage as Scar sits atop the wall looking down. Landon is right below him when the rage jolts up and stops once more!
MH: Who's doing that!
BR: It's SCAR! SCAR HAS THE REMOTE CONTROL!
Scar laughs and continues to push buttons as the cage jolts up and down. On the last jolt Blair and Stytch lose their footing and fall all the way to the mat!
BR: Oh my god! Oh my god! They might be dead!
MH: Wicked fall!
BR: DEAD I TELL YOU!
Scar laughs out loud as Landon slams Scar's leg against the cage. Landon climbs up a few more feet before punching Scar in the face. Both men are sitting atop the cage fighting for the remote... Scar drops it! As the remote falls to the outside Scar grabs for it but loses his balance. In a moment of natural human instinct Scar grabs the cage and over corrects trying to not fall over.
MH: The remote's broken!
dScar fumbles backwards into the cage area as Landon kicks Scar in the head! Scar goes plummeting down inside the ring!
BR: Third man down! Looks like Landon's got this!
As Landon swings his second foot over the top of the cage Scar looks to his left and see's a body next to him. He throws his limp arm over Stytch!
MH: Cover attempt!
The referee slides into place as another referee watches Landon climb down...
One...
Landon increases his rate of speed noticing scar going for the pin!
BR: Who's going to get it!
MH: Can Scar get the three before both of Landon's feet touch the ground!?
Landon tries to scurry down the cage as fast as possible, he looks panicked...
Two...
BR: Who's gonna get it! Who's gonna get it!
THR-LANDON DROPS TO THE FLOOR-EE! The bell rings!
MH: Who got there first!
BR: I think it was Landon!
RING ANNOUNCER: Your winner via cage escape...LANDON CARTER! MH: Next! BR: He should be trying to climb out!
"Remember, everything has a price, kid." he says with a smile. "Keep working hard and you'll be able to pay it."
He then proceeds to the ring and rolls under the bottom rope. He walks to the middle of the ring and rubs his fingers and thumbs together before taking a graceful bow. He moves to his corner and cracks his neck before throwing some jabs to warm up.
RING ANNOUNCER: This match is an Intercontinental championship qualifying match, and is a steel cage match set for one decision with a 30 minute time limit. Currently on his way to the ring. making his AWS debut, from Brooklyn, New York weighing in at 215 pounds... LANDON CARTER!
BR: Everyone's favorite millionaire! He appeared on TV last week dropping gobs of cash on our fans, but this is his official in ring AWS debut.
MH: He is an idiot with his money, these people here don't deserve his charity, but I could use a new mansion myself.
BR: All four men in this match are making their debut and what an amazing opportunity! The first of two Intercontinental qualifying match-ups tonight. The two winners will face off at the Pay Per View next week for the IC title.
As the Blair vision theme starts up, Blair struts down the ramp. As he gets closer to the ring, he begins to mock the fans at ringside who boo him. Blair grabs a container of popcorn from a fan at ringside and dumps it on their head. Then he climbs up the steps and raises his hands high in the air as the fans shower him with boos.
RING ANNOUNCER: Currently on the way to the ring, making his AWS debut, from River Falls, Wisconsin, weighing 275 pounds... "THE RULER" PAUL BLAIR!
BR: This man is a long time veteran, starting in 1995. In my opinion his experience gives him the best shot here tonight.
MH: Since when does being old give you an advantage?
BR: This match can end by pinfall, submission or cage escape with only one decision. That means the first man to escape, or to gain submission or pinfall over another wins. There are no rope breaks or DQ's however.
As the light begin to flicker As the light begin to flicker off, the drums and guitars begin to play through the sound system. Suddenly the arena is thrown into complete darkness for several moments before several flickering green spotlights swing over the audience, enlighting the arena with an eerie green glow before a single bright white spotlight appears upon the stage, beaming light as Stytch begins to walk through the curtain, quickly raising his hands up on a devil horns gesture before quickly sprinting down the ramp and sliding straight into the ring, the spotlight struggling to keep up with his speed. The white spotlight disappears and in its place bright green lights enlight the ring as the masked menace climbs up onto the top turnbuckle and sits atop it, posing for the camera before the arena lights flicker back on and bring back visuals.
RING ANNOUNCER: Currently in the ring, making his AWS debut, from Glasgow, Scotland, weighing in at 115 pounds... STYTCH!
BR: This man is smaller than most of the competitors here in the AWS, but in this case that may be his advantage when it comes to escaping the cage.
MH: Maybe, but it's really anyone's game tonight.
"Sad But True" by Metallica plays as Scar walks out of the entrance. The fans boo him, his response is a small little smirk in their direction as he stands and takes in his surrounding.
He slowly makes his way to the ring avoiding the occasional high five from the near by fans.
Scar jumps up to the apron and enters the ring through the middle rope.
RING ANNOUNCER: Also making his AWS debut, from Des Moines, Iowa, weighing in at 220 pounds... SCAR!
BR: Strange man here, we don't know a whole lot about him.
MH: We now that all four of these men have a huge opportunity to go for big gold here in the AWS.
The four competitors stand in their corners eyeballing each other as the cage is lowered around them. Stytch stretches on the ropes as Scar looks around in a devious manner as the cage is secured to the base of the ring. The referee walks through the cage door as it is locked from the outside. The bell rings.
BR: Here we go! First cage match ever, taking place right now!
MH: First ladder match later tonight as well!
All four men charge to the middle in a chaos and flurry of punches, kicks and grappling. Stytch Irish whips Scar to the corner and follows up with a running heel kick. Stytch follows Scar to the floor and works on him as Paul Blair hits a hip toss on Landon. Paul locks in the figure four leglock on Landon.
BR: These are intense already!
Stytch jumps over and breaks up the figure four leglock. Scar comes up from behind and hits a running bulldog on Stytch. Landon whips Scar around and hits a series of uppercuts. Landon hits an eye rake followed up by an Atomic Drop on Scar. Scar falls down and rolls over to the ropes.
MH: These men are fighting for their lives AND a shot at the IC title!
Stytch catches Paul Blair with a German suplex Stytch runes and bounces off the second rope, cross body to Paul Blair! Cover!
One...KICKOUT!
MH: Only a one count!
Stytch continues to work on Paul Blair as Scar low blows Landon. Reverse suplex by Scar! Scar taunts the crowd as the camera cuts to the sky box once again. Matthias is listening to Gary as Gary is pointing towards the ring. We cut back to the action as Paul Blair has turned the tables on Stytch after a snap suplex.
BR: Back and forth. Back and forth.
Scar stays on Landon and hits a roundhouse kick to the head! Landon slumps down in the corner as Scar follows up with repeated stomps to the head. Scar is pulling Landon out to the middle of the ring as Paul Blair hits a powerbomb on on Stytch. Paul covers Stytch.
One...
Two...But it's broken up by Scar!
MH: Good thing Scar was paying attention or this would have been over!
Scar goes back to Landon and picks him up and hits a big suplex. Scar runs to the corner and climbs the ropes.
Scar leaps off of the top turnbuckle, he hits All The Rage on Landon as Landon stood up and turned around!
MH: What a damn vicious spinning elbow!
BR: Cover on Landon by Scar!
One...
Two...
Stytch dives over at the last moment breaking up the pin!
BR: Stytch was down!
Stytch picks up Scar and hooks the arms. Fallen Angel! Big time Elevated double underhook facebuster by Stytch! As Stytch lands he flips Scar over... Blair Kick! Blair kick out of fucking nowhere to Stytch!
MH: Oh my god! Superkick by Blair! Blair Kick!
Blair whips Landon head first into the cage and then covers Stytch.
One...
Two...
Th-KICKOUT!
BR: Oh! Only a two!
Blair rolls over and covers Scar!
One...
Two...
THR-KICKOUT! Blair screams out loud and argues with the referee.
BR: No! He couldn't get either one!
MH: High stakes tonight!
Landon stumbles up from behind and pushes Blair head first into the cage! Landon picks up Blair and grinds his face on the cage. Landon picks up Blair... Bankrupt! What a fall forward lifting side slam! Landon covers Blair.
MH: This is it!
One...
Two...
THRE-Scar makes the save once again at the very last moment!
BR: I think that was three!
MH: The ref says two! Another save by Scar!
Scar clotheslines Landon and begins to climb the cage. Landon follows. Scar and Landon are punching and kicking at each other halfway up the cage.
BR: Someone is going to make a deadly fall here!
Stytch and Blair are rolling around trying to lock submissions on each other in the ring as Landon grabs scar, back drop! Both men fall to the ring with a thud.
MH: Big time fall there!
Stytch picks up Blair and rams his head into the cage. Stytch begins to climb. Paul Blair rolls over to the opposite side of the cage and begins to climb as well.
BR: Here we go again!
Scar scurries up and climbs on a 3rd wall as he tries to get something out of his pocket. Landon Carter climbs to his feet and gives chase to Scar on the same wall.
BR: All four men climbing here! Intercontinental title shot on the line!
MH: Someone's going to end it here!
Stytch and Blair are nearly at the top as the cage starts to rise!
BR: What the hell is this!
The cage suddenly jolts and stops causing all four men to lose their balance for a moment. Stytch and Blair are near the top hugging the cage as Scar sits atop the wall looking down. Landon is right below him when the rage jolts up and stops once more!
MH: Who's doing that!
BR: It's SCAR! SCAR HAS THE REMOTE CONTROL!
Scar laughs and continues to push buttons as the cage jolts up and down. On the last jolt Blair and Stytch lose their footing and fall all the way to the mat!
BR: Oh my god! Oh my god! They might be dead!
MH: Wicked fall!
BR: DEAD I TELL YOU!
Scar laughs out loud as Landon slams Scar's leg against the cage. Landon climbs up a few more feet before punching Scar in the face. Both men are sitting atop the cage fighting for the remote... Scar drops it! As the remote falls to the outside Scar grabs for it but loses his balance. In a moment of natural human instinct Scar grabs the cage and over corrects trying to not fall over.
MH: The remote's broken!
dScar fumbles backwards into the cage area as Landon kicks Scar in the head! Scar goes plummeting down inside the ring!
BR: Third man down! Looks like Landon's got this!
As Landon swings his second foot over the top of the cage Scar looks to his left and see's a body next to him. He throws his limp arm over Stytch!
MH: Cover attempt!
The referee slides into place as another referee watches Landon climb down...
One...
Landon increases his rate of speed noticing scar going for the pin!
BR: Who's going to get it!
MH: Can Scar get the three before both of Landon's feet touch the ground!?
Landon tries to scurry down the cage as fast as possible, he looks panicked...
Two...
BR: Who's gonna get it! Who's gonna get it!
THR-LANDON DROPS TO THE FLOOR-EE! The bell rings!
MH: Who got there first!
BR: I think it was Landon!
RING ANNOUNCER: Your winner via cage escape...LANDON CARTER! MH: Next! BR: He should be trying to climb out!
WINNER: LANDON CARTER! (ADVANCES TO IC TITLE MATCH)
BR: It was a split second difference! But Landon's feet touched the ground just a moment before the ref slapped the mat for three!
MH: My heart is still pounding! Scar got screwed over!
BR: It was damn close! If Scar hadn't been screwing around with that damn remote he may have won... Let's go to Geoffrey James who is with Matthias Barrows...
GEOFFREY JAMES: I’m up here in the skybox with Matthias Barrows. Matthias I want to ask you a few questions. First of all, how are you enjoying yourself this evening?
BARROWS: With my feet up. Gary doesn’t have your wallet again, does he?
GEOFFREY JAMES: No he doesn’t.
BARROWS: You’d better double check. Gary’s sneaky. You think you’re in the clear, but he may be on a bender at your expense.
Geoffrey checks his pocket just to make sure.
GEOFFREY JAMES: Have you been impressed with what you’ve seen so far tonight?
BARROWS: There are a couple of guys here in Apex I’ve got my eyes on, lots of talent and skill on display here tonight. I’m starting to get an idea on how I’m going to need to strategize for the Syndicate Royale next week.
GEOFFREY JAMES: Our main event is still coming up tonight, Champion vs. Champion, Liam McAllister vs. “Beautiful” Bobby Crane. Any prediction on who you think is gonna win?
BARROWS: Well, Liam McAllister has got a lot of talent, he’s gonna go far in his professional wrestling career. I like the kid, I like what he brings to the table. I don’t have any bad words to say about him, but I can think of several to say about Bobby Crane and that’s where he has the edge. He also denies any affiliation with this mysterious beast man who’s been helping him out, but the fact of the matter is, whether or not he has anything to do with him, that beast man is benefiting Crane. As much as I’d like to see Liam wipe that smug look off his face, I gotta predict Bobby Crane as the winner tonight. However, I haven’t correctly predicted a Super Bowl winner in over ten years, so we’ll see what happens.
GEOFFREY JAMES: Well, thanks for that, and we look forward to seeing you and the Dragons in action this week. Buddy, Michael, back to you at ringside.
BR: Thanks Geoffrey. Up next we have the first of our two remaining World Heavyweight championship semi-finals matches. The winner will go on to the Pay Per View to fight for the World Heavyweight championship!
MH: This is a tough match for me, I kind of like both of them.
BR: I'm glad you go on who you "kind of like" instead of being a fair damned commentator.
MH: My heart is still pounding! Scar got screwed over!
BR: It was damn close! If Scar hadn't been screwing around with that damn remote he may have won... Let's go to Geoffrey James who is with Matthias Barrows...
GEOFFREY JAMES: I’m up here in the skybox with Matthias Barrows. Matthias I want to ask you a few questions. First of all, how are you enjoying yourself this evening?
BARROWS: With my feet up. Gary doesn’t have your wallet again, does he?
GEOFFREY JAMES: No he doesn’t.
BARROWS: You’d better double check. Gary’s sneaky. You think you’re in the clear, but he may be on a bender at your expense.
Geoffrey checks his pocket just to make sure.
GEOFFREY JAMES: Have you been impressed with what you’ve seen so far tonight?
BARROWS: There are a couple of guys here in Apex I’ve got my eyes on, lots of talent and skill on display here tonight. I’m starting to get an idea on how I’m going to need to strategize for the Syndicate Royale next week.
GEOFFREY JAMES: Our main event is still coming up tonight, Champion vs. Champion, Liam McAllister vs. “Beautiful” Bobby Crane. Any prediction on who you think is gonna win?
BARROWS: Well, Liam McAllister has got a lot of talent, he’s gonna go far in his professional wrestling career. I like the kid, I like what he brings to the table. I don’t have any bad words to say about him, but I can think of several to say about Bobby Crane and that’s where he has the edge. He also denies any affiliation with this mysterious beast man who’s been helping him out, but the fact of the matter is, whether or not he has anything to do with him, that beast man is benefiting Crane. As much as I’d like to see Liam wipe that smug look off his face, I gotta predict Bobby Crane as the winner tonight. However, I haven’t correctly predicted a Super Bowl winner in over ten years, so we’ll see what happens.
GEOFFREY JAMES: Well, thanks for that, and we look forward to seeing you and the Dragons in action this week. Buddy, Michael, back to you at ringside.
BR: Thanks Geoffrey. Up next we have the first of our two remaining World Heavyweight championship semi-finals matches. The winner will go on to the Pay Per View to fight for the World Heavyweight championship!
MH: This is a tough match for me, I kind of like both of them.
BR: I'm glad you go on who you "kind of like" instead of being a fair damned commentator.
EZ-PUNK VS THEO OPTIMAS
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT SEMI-FINALS MATCH
“Hail To The King” hits while a video package showing his greatness is played on the big screen. After about 15 seconds, he graces the crowd with his presence. EZ-Punk makes his way down to the ring with an intense look on his face while a wave of hatred from the crowd flows over him. He slides into the ring and shows off his refined physique while posturing on the turnbuckle. “Wow these fans are sure lucky to see me” he thinks to himself.
"Palladio" by eScala begins over the PA, accompanied by Theo's entrance video. At 6 seconds in, Theo makes his entrance onto the stage. After only a few steps, he stops, looks left and right, and rests his hands on his hips with an air of superiority. He continues to oscillate, looking around at the fans. At 16 seconds in, he continues walking across the stage and down the ramp. At 48 seconds into his theme, pyros ignite above the ring, raining down silver sparkles.
RING ANNOUNCER: And his opponent, hailing from Cardiff, Wales, weighing in at 210 pounds... THEO OPTIMAS!
BR: One of these two men, will be getting the very first World title shot at the Pay Per View next week!
MH: This is like a choice between pie and cake to me, different but both tasty!
BR: These men don't like each other very much from what I gather.
The two men stare one another down as the bell rings three times. EZ-Punk charges violently at Theo and pushes him into a corner, hitting him with jab after jab. The referee forces the break. EZ-Punk charges at Theo once again but Theo sidesteps Punk and pushes hid head right into the turnbuckle!
BR: Smart!
Theo chops Punk across the chest. Theo takes Punk's arm and wraps it up in the ropes applying pressure as the referee counts. Theo breaks the hold. Theo whips Punk into the opposite corner and hits a running splash to follow up. Punk falls to the ground.
MH: I think Punk was a bit hasty here.
Theo hits an elbow drop. He goes around to the legs and locks in a basic leglock which EZ-Punk easily counters. EZ-Punk jumps over Theo as Theo darts, as Theo makes the return Punk hits a big dropkick on Theo.
BR: But don't count Punk out!
Punk mounts Theo and hits a series of punches followed by a snap suplex. Punk taunts the crowd as he hits a running snap mare. Punk lifts Theo and hits a northern lights suplex which he holds for a cover.
One...
Kickout!
MH: Solid move, but not nearly enough damage.
Punk gets up and whips Theo into the ropes and hits a running elbow to Theo on the way back. Punk lifts up Theo... Perfect Reflection! Punk spits in Theo's face and slaps him. Punk calls Theo his "little bitch."
BR: Punk with a helluva move there!
Punk laughs as he picks Theo up once more. Perfect Reflection! Another one!
MH: I think Theo is done.
Punk cockily places one foot on Theo's chest and raises his arms as the referee begins to count...
One...
Two...
Theo springs into action and grabs punks legs sending him to the ground. Theo flips over Punks legs, landing with his knees holding punks neck down while holding Punks legs!
BR: Reverse pin! Reverse pin!
One...
Two...
THREE! The bell sounds as EZ-Punk sits up in shock.
MH: I think Punk was a little over confident and Theo was playing possum!
RING ANNOUNCER: Your winner via pinfall... THEO OPTIMAS! RING ANNOUNCER: This match is a semi-finals match in the World Heavyweight championship tournament and is scheduled for one fall with a 30 minute time limit. Currently on his way to the ring, from Indianapolis, Indiana, weighing in at 250 pounds... EZ-PUNK!
"Palladio" by eScala begins over the PA, accompanied by Theo's entrance video. At 6 seconds in, Theo makes his entrance onto the stage. After only a few steps, he stops, looks left and right, and rests his hands on his hips with an air of superiority. He continues to oscillate, looking around at the fans. At 16 seconds in, he continues walking across the stage and down the ramp. At 48 seconds into his theme, pyros ignite above the ring, raining down silver sparkles.
RING ANNOUNCER: And his opponent, hailing from Cardiff, Wales, weighing in at 210 pounds... THEO OPTIMAS!
BR: One of these two men, will be getting the very first World title shot at the Pay Per View next week!
MH: This is like a choice between pie and cake to me, different but both tasty!
BR: These men don't like each other very much from what I gather.
The two men stare one another down as the bell rings three times. EZ-Punk charges violently at Theo and pushes him into a corner, hitting him with jab after jab. The referee forces the break. EZ-Punk charges at Theo once again but Theo sidesteps Punk and pushes hid head right into the turnbuckle!
BR: Smart!
Theo chops Punk across the chest. Theo takes Punk's arm and wraps it up in the ropes applying pressure as the referee counts. Theo breaks the hold. Theo whips Punk into the opposite corner and hits a running splash to follow up. Punk falls to the ground.
MH: I think Punk was a bit hasty here.
Theo hits an elbow drop. He goes around to the legs and locks in a basic leglock which EZ-Punk easily counters. EZ-Punk jumps over Theo as Theo darts, as Theo makes the return Punk hits a big dropkick on Theo.
BR: But don't count Punk out!
Punk mounts Theo and hits a series of punches followed by a snap suplex. Punk taunts the crowd as he hits a running snap mare. Punk lifts Theo and hits a northern lights suplex which he holds for a cover.
One...
Kickout!
MH: Solid move, but not nearly enough damage.
Punk gets up and whips Theo into the ropes and hits a running elbow to Theo on the way back. Punk lifts up Theo... Perfect Reflection! Punk spits in Theo's face and slaps him. Punk calls Theo his "little bitch."
BR: Punk with a helluva move there!
Punk laughs as he picks Theo up once more. Perfect Reflection! Another one!
MH: I think Theo is done.
Punk cockily places one foot on Theo's chest and raises his arms as the referee begins to count...
One...
Two...
Theo springs into action and grabs punks legs sending him to the ground. Theo flips over Punks legs, landing with his knees holding punks neck down while holding Punks legs!
BR: Reverse pin! Reverse pin!
One...
Two...
THREE! The bell sounds as EZ-Punk sits up in shock.
MH: I think Punk was a little over confident and Theo was playing possum!
RING ANNOUNCER: Your winner via pinfall... THEO OPTIMAS! RING ANNOUNCER: This match is a semi-finals match in the World Heavyweight championship tournament and is scheduled for one fall with a 30 minute time limit. Currently on his way to the ring, from Indianapolis, Indiana, weighing in at 250 pounds... EZ-PUNK!
WINNER: THEO OPTIMAS (ADVANCES TO FINALS)
MH: I think Punk feels a bit stupid.
BR: I'm sure this isn't the last we'll hear from Punk, but congratulations to Theo, he gets one of the two spots in the World Heavyweight championship match!.
"Just Dropped In" by Kenny Rogers begins to play over the the arena as the crowd anticipates the arrival of the owner & CEO of the Apex Wrestling Syndicate. After about twenty seconds Mr. Troy appears on stage in a nice suit waving to the crowd with a large grin on his face.
Mr. Troy walks down the ramp, shaking hands and, apparently, having a good time. Mr. Troy climbs up the stairs and steps into the ring for another round of posturing. He walks over and a stage hand gives him a microphone. The music fades out as he begins to speak.
RING ANNOUNCER: Please welcome the Apex Wrestling Owner & CEO... MR. TROY!
MR: TROY: How's everyone feeling tonight! I wanted to take a moment to come out here and address a few things. First of all. I wanted to address the car situation with Scar. I'm kind of a mellow dude most of the time so I don't want to make a great big deal out of this but I wanted to bring it up.
Scar... not cool man. Not cool. I was reviewing the situation and apparently I was a little bit too trusting and relaxed when it came to contract negotiations. Apparently Scar is correct.
BR: What?
MR. TROY: During our contract negotiations Scar did request transportation and apparently it had to be provided within so many days otherwise I would become personally responsible for his transportation. I guess we didn't meet that deadline. Now, this could have been handled a lot differently, man.
It kind of peeved me off a little bit, but I've cooled down. You're not wrong Scar, you're just an asshole!
MH: That's rude!
BR: Rude! The man's car was by-gawd stolen!
MR. TROY: Now, on to more important business. The Syndicate Royale! At the Pay Per View named Syndicate Royale, we will have the actual Syndicate Royale match. This match is one of the most important matches in the entire AWS year.
This is a large timed battle royale involving most of the competitors in the AWS! Obviously the two men who will be in the World Heavyweight championship main event will not be in the match, but almost everyone else will be.. and here is what is at stake.. a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at the biggest Pay Per View of the year... SUPERNOVA!
BR: Oh man! Blockbuster news right here!
MR. TROY: Now, the SuperNova Pay Per View will take place at the end of September where the winner of the Syndicate Royale and the winner of next week's World Heavyweight Championship match will face off. The Syndicate Royale match is somewhat simple, two men will start and every few minutes a new competitor will come down to the ring. The last man or woman standing will be the victor.
MH: Awesome!
MR. TROY: Eliminations occur by being thrown over the top rope and BOTH feet hitting the ground, pinfall, submission and first blood! There are no rope breaks or DQ's! Oh, and here's the best part, the entrance order will be decided at random!
Mr. Troy's music hits as he waves to the crowd and exits...
BR: Tremendous news! That is going to be one hell of an exiting match at next week's Pay Per View!
BR: I'm sure this isn't the last we'll hear from Punk, but congratulations to Theo, he gets one of the two spots in the World Heavyweight championship match!.
"Just Dropped In" by Kenny Rogers begins to play over the the arena as the crowd anticipates the arrival of the owner & CEO of the Apex Wrestling Syndicate. After about twenty seconds Mr. Troy appears on stage in a nice suit waving to the crowd with a large grin on his face.
Mr. Troy walks down the ramp, shaking hands and, apparently, having a good time. Mr. Troy climbs up the stairs and steps into the ring for another round of posturing. He walks over and a stage hand gives him a microphone. The music fades out as he begins to speak.
RING ANNOUNCER: Please welcome the Apex Wrestling Owner & CEO... MR. TROY!
MR: TROY: How's everyone feeling tonight! I wanted to take a moment to come out here and address a few things. First of all. I wanted to address the car situation with Scar. I'm kind of a mellow dude most of the time so I don't want to make a great big deal out of this but I wanted to bring it up.
Scar... not cool man. Not cool. I was reviewing the situation and apparently I was a little bit too trusting and relaxed when it came to contract negotiations. Apparently Scar is correct.
BR: What?
MR. TROY: During our contract negotiations Scar did request transportation and apparently it had to be provided within so many days otherwise I would become personally responsible for his transportation. I guess we didn't meet that deadline. Now, this could have been handled a lot differently, man.
It kind of peeved me off a little bit, but I've cooled down. You're not wrong Scar, you're just an asshole!
MH: That's rude!
BR: Rude! The man's car was by-gawd stolen!
MR. TROY: Now, on to more important business. The Syndicate Royale! At the Pay Per View named Syndicate Royale, we will have the actual Syndicate Royale match. This match is one of the most important matches in the entire AWS year.
This is a large timed battle royale involving most of the competitors in the AWS! Obviously the two men who will be in the World Heavyweight championship main event will not be in the match, but almost everyone else will be.. and here is what is at stake.. a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at the biggest Pay Per View of the year... SUPERNOVA!
BR: Oh man! Blockbuster news right here!
MR. TROY: Now, the SuperNova Pay Per View will take place at the end of September where the winner of the Syndicate Royale and the winner of next week's World Heavyweight Championship match will face off. The Syndicate Royale match is somewhat simple, two men will start and every few minutes a new competitor will come down to the ring. The last man or woman standing will be the victor.
MH: Awesome!
MR. TROY: Eliminations occur by being thrown over the top rope and BOTH feet hitting the ground, pinfall, submission and first blood! There are no rope breaks or DQ's! Oh, and here's the best part, the entrance order will be decided at random!
Mr. Troy's music hits as he waves to the crowd and exits...
BR: Tremendous news! That is going to be one hell of an exiting match at next week's Pay Per View!
CONRAD BLACK VS MELVIN BROWN VS BEARDMAN VS ROCKY HOLLYWOOD
4 WAY LADDER MATCH
INTERCONTINENTAL QUALIFICATION MATCH
Beat It begins to play over the venue's sound system as Conrad Black appears from behind the black curtain. Conrad runs from left to right at the top of the aisle, pointing at fans that are cheering for him and holding Black Rose signs. Conrad then makes his way back to the center and starts to walk down the aisle, slapping hands along the way. Black gets to the ring and hops up on to the apron, walking left and right across it, still acknowledging his fans. Conrad then steps through the ropes and in to the ring.
RING ANNOUNCER: This match is an Intercontinental championship qualifying ladder match! The only way to win is to climb the ladder and retrieve the briefcase! Introducing first, from Seattle, Washington weighing in at 220 pounds... CONRAD BLACK!
BR: This man had a very impressive debut last week!
Melvin Brown's theme hits, the crowd boos as he walks out... he hypes up by jumping up and down shaking his arms and slams his arms down and the pyro flashes all around the arena. He walks slowly to the ring, accompanied by his manager Tommy McClinton. Once he gets in the ring, he jumps up to the apron and the ring pyro hits. He jumps into the ring and warms up.
RING ANNOUNCER: Currently on his way to the ring accompanied by Tommy McClinton, from Chicago, Illinois, weighing in at 287 pounds... MELVIN "THE CARNAGE" BROWN!
MH: One of the biggest beasts in the AWS.
BR: I was surprised that Melvin didn't screw over Drago earlier tonight!
Beardman's music hits to massive heat and he shows up on stage about 10-15 seconds later, slowly walking to center stage to stop and calmly taunt while gold fireworks flood the stage from top to bottom. He continues to the ring occasionally taunting fans. He steps into the ring and flexes his right bicep arrogantly and points at it to the dismay of the fans.
RING ANNOUNCER: Introducing third, from Indianapolis, Indiana, weighing in at 255 pounds... BEARDMAN!
MH: This is my pick. It's Beardman's time!
The music hits as the crowd begins to boo. A limo pulls out onto the side of the stage as the driver stops and gets out. The driver goes to the rear and opens the door and bows as Rocky Hollywood gets out and adjusts his clothing a bit. He yells at the driver to get out of the way as he makes his way down to the ring and steps in.
RING ANNOUNCER: Currently on the way to the ring, making his AWS debut, from Hollywood, California, weighing in at 262 pounds... ROCKY HOLLYWOOD!
BR: Unlike fellow rich man Landon Carter, Rocky doesn't seem to be as generous with his money.
MH: I like this man.
The four men pace around the ring as the referee calls for the opening bell. Beardman tosses Rocky Hollywood to the outside and follows as Melvin locks up with Conrad Black. Melvin hits a big belly to belly suplex as Beardman slams Rocky's face into the guard rail. Melvin is working on Conrad in the ring while Rocky gets up and tries to whip Beardman into a ladder standing outside... but Beardman reverses and whips Rocky into the ladder! The ladder falls down.
BR: The ladder already being used as a weapon here!
Melvin picks up Conrad but Conrad kicks Melvin in the face. DDT by Conrad! Melvin is already back to his feet. Bulldog by Conrad! On the outside Rocky Hollywood is exchanging blows with Beardman. Rocky whips Beardman into the stairs and sets up a ladder.
MH: Someone should tell Rocky the ladder needs to be in the ring!
Rocky climbs half way up the ladder and hits a diving dropkick to Beardman! Beardman slams to the ground. Melvin hits a German suplex on Conrad and slides out and grabs a second ladder. He slides it in the ring.
BR: Melvin's got the right idea!
Melvin is trying to stand the ladder up as Conrad runs up from behind. He hits a running knee to the back of Melvin causing Melvin to bust his face on the ladder! Conrad picks up the ladder and slams it into the chest of Melvin. Conrad sets the ladder up in the corner. Rocky slides into the ring.
MH: The only way to win is above their heads!
Rocky whips Conrad into the ladder in the corner and runs at him, avalanche attempt! No! Conrad Black rolls out of the way and Rocky slams himself into the ladder!
BR: Backfired on Rocky!
Rocky is down as Melvin comes up from behind Conrad and clubs him down with a chair!
MH: Where did he get that chair!
BR: I think Tommy handed it to him!
Melvin smashes Conrad with the chair four more times before turning around... right into a Spear by Beardman! Beardman grabs a ladder and sets it up in the middle of the ring. He starts climbing to the top. Rocky rolls over and starts climbing up the other side.
BR: Beardman and Rocky going for the briefcase, they both want to fight Landon for the Intercontinental title!
As they reach the top they swing at each other exchanging blows. Rocky slams the head of Beardman into the ladder. Rocky climbs to the very top of the ladder swiping at the briefcase but it swings around wildly. Beardman punches Rocky in the gut! Beardman is also climbing up!
MH: Oh god this is so dangerous!
Rocky is standing on the very tip top of the ladder and puts Beardman's head between his legs. He hooks the arms and leaps off to the side!!!
BR: Good lord!
Poority Call! Double underhook facebuster all the way to the ground!
MH: Holy popsicles!
BR: Beardman is broken in half! Rocky just did the Poority call! Beardman is out of it!
As Rocky stands to his feet he turns around... Spear! Spear by Melvin Brown! Rocky rolls out of the ring and onto the floor. He hits another Spear! This time on Conrad Black! Everyone is down except for Melvin!
BR: Melvin's got the advantage! He just needs to climb that ladder!
Melvin starts to climb the ladder as Tommy McClinton laughs hysterically. As he reaches the top he hears "Been To Hell" by the Hollywood Undead hit on the audio system. He looks down the ramp.
MH: That's Jason Drago's music! But where is Drago!?
After a few moments of not seeing anyone come down the ramp Melvin grabs the briefcase, he almost has it when Drago flies out of the crowd! Drago slides in the ring and smashes Melvin in the back with a kendo stick! Drago hits him again... and again! Drago grabs Melvin and slams him to the mat!
BR: Drago may have just cost Melvin a shot at the Intercontinental championship!
Drago slides out of the ring and starts to run as Melvin gives chase... Conrad Black is on his feet just as Rocky Hollywood swings with a chair! Conrad ducks... The Black Out! Conrad hit his signature diamond cutter on Rocky! Conrad begins to climb.
MH: The Black Out! Conrad is climbing!
BR: Beardman is still dead and Melvin is off chasing Drago!
Conrad reaches the tops and pulls the briefcase down! He has it! It's over!! The bell rings.
RING ANNOUNCER: This match is an Intercontinental championship qualifying ladder match! The only way to win is to climb the ladder and retrieve the briefcase! Introducing first, from Seattle, Washington weighing in at 220 pounds... CONRAD BLACK!
BR: This man had a very impressive debut last week!
Melvin Brown's theme hits, the crowd boos as he walks out... he hypes up by jumping up and down shaking his arms and slams his arms down and the pyro flashes all around the arena. He walks slowly to the ring, accompanied by his manager Tommy McClinton. Once he gets in the ring, he jumps up to the apron and the ring pyro hits. He jumps into the ring and warms up.
RING ANNOUNCER: Currently on his way to the ring accompanied by Tommy McClinton, from Chicago, Illinois, weighing in at 287 pounds... MELVIN "THE CARNAGE" BROWN!
MH: One of the biggest beasts in the AWS.
BR: I was surprised that Melvin didn't screw over Drago earlier tonight!
Beardman's music hits to massive heat and he shows up on stage about 10-15 seconds later, slowly walking to center stage to stop and calmly taunt while gold fireworks flood the stage from top to bottom. He continues to the ring occasionally taunting fans. He steps into the ring and flexes his right bicep arrogantly and points at it to the dismay of the fans.
RING ANNOUNCER: Introducing third, from Indianapolis, Indiana, weighing in at 255 pounds... BEARDMAN!
MH: This is my pick. It's Beardman's time!
The music hits as the crowd begins to boo. A limo pulls out onto the side of the stage as the driver stops and gets out. The driver goes to the rear and opens the door and bows as Rocky Hollywood gets out and adjusts his clothing a bit. He yells at the driver to get out of the way as he makes his way down to the ring and steps in.
RING ANNOUNCER: Currently on the way to the ring, making his AWS debut, from Hollywood, California, weighing in at 262 pounds... ROCKY HOLLYWOOD!
BR: Unlike fellow rich man Landon Carter, Rocky doesn't seem to be as generous with his money.
MH: I like this man.
The four men pace around the ring as the referee calls for the opening bell. Beardman tosses Rocky Hollywood to the outside and follows as Melvin locks up with Conrad Black. Melvin hits a big belly to belly suplex as Beardman slams Rocky's face into the guard rail. Melvin is working on Conrad in the ring while Rocky gets up and tries to whip Beardman into a ladder standing outside... but Beardman reverses and whips Rocky into the ladder! The ladder falls down.
BR: The ladder already being used as a weapon here!
Melvin picks up Conrad but Conrad kicks Melvin in the face. DDT by Conrad! Melvin is already back to his feet. Bulldog by Conrad! On the outside Rocky Hollywood is exchanging blows with Beardman. Rocky whips Beardman into the stairs and sets up a ladder.
MH: Someone should tell Rocky the ladder needs to be in the ring!
Rocky climbs half way up the ladder and hits a diving dropkick to Beardman! Beardman slams to the ground. Melvin hits a German suplex on Conrad and slides out and grabs a second ladder. He slides it in the ring.
BR: Melvin's got the right idea!
Melvin is trying to stand the ladder up as Conrad runs up from behind. He hits a running knee to the back of Melvin causing Melvin to bust his face on the ladder! Conrad picks up the ladder and slams it into the chest of Melvin. Conrad sets the ladder up in the corner. Rocky slides into the ring.
MH: The only way to win is above their heads!
Rocky whips Conrad into the ladder in the corner and runs at him, avalanche attempt! No! Conrad Black rolls out of the way and Rocky slams himself into the ladder!
BR: Backfired on Rocky!
Rocky is down as Melvin comes up from behind Conrad and clubs him down with a chair!
MH: Where did he get that chair!
BR: I think Tommy handed it to him!
Melvin smashes Conrad with the chair four more times before turning around... right into a Spear by Beardman! Beardman grabs a ladder and sets it up in the middle of the ring. He starts climbing to the top. Rocky rolls over and starts climbing up the other side.
BR: Beardman and Rocky going for the briefcase, they both want to fight Landon for the Intercontinental title!
As they reach the top they swing at each other exchanging blows. Rocky slams the head of Beardman into the ladder. Rocky climbs to the very top of the ladder swiping at the briefcase but it swings around wildly. Beardman punches Rocky in the gut! Beardman is also climbing up!
MH: Oh god this is so dangerous!
Rocky is standing on the very tip top of the ladder and puts Beardman's head between his legs. He hooks the arms and leaps off to the side!!!
BR: Good lord!
Poority Call! Double underhook facebuster all the way to the ground!
MH: Holy popsicles!
BR: Beardman is broken in half! Rocky just did the Poority call! Beardman is out of it!
As Rocky stands to his feet he turns around... Spear! Spear by Melvin Brown! Rocky rolls out of the ring and onto the floor. He hits another Spear! This time on Conrad Black! Everyone is down except for Melvin!
BR: Melvin's got the advantage! He just needs to climb that ladder!
Melvin starts to climb the ladder as Tommy McClinton laughs hysterically. As he reaches the top he hears "Been To Hell" by the Hollywood Undead hit on the audio system. He looks down the ramp.
MH: That's Jason Drago's music! But where is Drago!?
After a few moments of not seeing anyone come down the ramp Melvin grabs the briefcase, he almost has it when Drago flies out of the crowd! Drago slides in the ring and smashes Melvin in the back with a kendo stick! Drago hits him again... and again! Drago grabs Melvin and slams him to the mat!
BR: Drago may have just cost Melvin a shot at the Intercontinental championship!
Drago slides out of the ring and starts to run as Melvin gives chase... Conrad Black is on his feet just as Rocky Hollywood swings with a chair! Conrad ducks... The Black Out! Conrad hit his signature diamond cutter on Rocky! Conrad begins to climb.
MH: The Black Out! Conrad is climbing!
BR: Beardman is still dead and Melvin is off chasing Drago!
Conrad reaches the tops and pulls the briefcase down! He has it! It's over!! The bell rings.
WINNER: CONRAD BLACK (ADVANCES TO IC TITLE MATCH)
BR: That means it is Landon Carter vs Conrad Black for the Intercontinental Championship at the Syndicate Royale Pay Per View a week from now!
ALISTAIR MASON: Well, "congratulations" are in order I guess for both you and Landon, even though neither of you really deserve a shot at the Intercontinental title, both of you with your cheap victories... but what's done is done.
Now we know WHO is in the Intercontinental title match next week, but we don't know what kind of match it is... now do we? Next week, live on Pay Per View we will have Landon Carter vs Conrad Black for the Intercontinental Championship in a LAST MAN STANDING MATCH!
BR: Huge matchup at the Pay Per View! A Last Man Standing match for the Intercontinental title!
ALISTAIR MASON: Oh. Yea, one more thing. I'm getting kind of tired of seeing Melvin Brown and Jason Drago go around playing grab ass and costing each other title's... also next week at the Pay Per View we will have Melvin Brown vs Jason Drago in a KENDO STICK MATCH! This is like a normal match excpet the ONLY weapon that is legal are kendo sticks! Don't worry Drago, we will provide plenty of them!
The GM's music hits as he walks off stage.
MH: We've got a real genius of a general manager, Buddy!
BR: I can't disagree that the two announced matches for next week are blockbuster! Next up we have our MAIN EVENT to determine who will face off against Theo for the World's title next week... that is as long as Bobby Crane hasn't walked out like he said he was going to... "I've Got It All" by Jim Johnston hits causing the crowd to erupt in a rumble of boos and disapproval. We see a young handsome man step out onto the stage with a smug smirk on his face. He paces back and forth on the stage, looking out into the crowd. His music fades as he begins to speak.
ALISTAIR MASON: Well, "congratulations" are in order I guess for both you and Landon, even though neither of you really deserve a shot at the Intercontinental title, both of you with your cheap victories... but what's done is done.
Now we know WHO is in the Intercontinental title match next week, but we don't know what kind of match it is... now do we? Next week, live on Pay Per View we will have Landon Carter vs Conrad Black for the Intercontinental Championship in a LAST MAN STANDING MATCH!
BR: Huge matchup at the Pay Per View! A Last Man Standing match for the Intercontinental title!
ALISTAIR MASON: Oh. Yea, one more thing. I'm getting kind of tired of seeing Melvin Brown and Jason Drago go around playing grab ass and costing each other title's... also next week at the Pay Per View we will have Melvin Brown vs Jason Drago in a KENDO STICK MATCH! This is like a normal match excpet the ONLY weapon that is legal are kendo sticks! Don't worry Drago, we will provide plenty of them!
The GM's music hits as he walks off stage.
MH: We've got a real genius of a general manager, Buddy!
BR: I can't disagree that the two announced matches for next week are blockbuster! Next up we have our MAIN EVENT to determine who will face off against Theo for the World's title next week... that is as long as Bobby Crane hasn't walked out like he said he was going to... "I've Got It All" by Jim Johnston hits causing the crowd to erupt in a rumble of boos and disapproval. We see a young handsome man step out onto the stage with a smug smirk on his face. He paces back and forth on the stage, looking out into the crowd. His music fades as he begins to speak.
MAIN EVENT
LIAM McALLISTER VS "BEAUTIFUL" BOBBY CRANE
CHAMPION VS CHAMPION (NON-TITLE)
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT SEMI-FINALS MATCH
“Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits comes over the PA system and the fans began to rise to their feet. After a few moments, out steps Liam to a huge pop. McAllister wears a pair of black and yellow trunks with LM on the rear with matching knee pads and black boots.
RING ANNOUNCER: This match is a World Heavyweight championship semi finals tournament match scheduled for one fall with a 30 minute time limit! Currently on his way to the ring, hailing from Manchester, England, weighing 205 pounds... the AWS Television Champion... LIAM McALLISTER!
BR: You’ve got to love this kid! What an exciting athlete and a wonderful role model for our young fans!
MH: Oh please, Buddy. The only role model in this company is Bobby Crane!
BR: Give me a break, Bobby Crane is a deplorable human being!
RING ANNOUNCER: And his opponent…from Hollywood, California…weighing in at 220 pounds…the AWS Hardcore Champion… “BEAUTIFUL” BOBBY CRANE!
“Unbelievable” by EMF hits, and a single red spotlight hits the curtain. After about thirty seconds, the music dies out and the lights restore power. Bobby Crane is nowhere to be found.
BR: Where is Bobby Crane?!
MH: He doesn’t need this crap! Didn’t you hear him earlier?
BR: Are you kidding me? This is the biggest match in AWS history thus far! The winner moves on to the finals next week in Virginia!
MH: He’s a busy man!
RING ANNOUNCER: …”BEAUTIFUL” BOBBY CRANE!
Once again, “Unbelievable” by EMF hits, and once again, Bobby Crane does not appear from behind the curtain.
BR: Well these fans are getting understandably restless here…this match was heavily hyped all week long and Bobby Crane is robbing them of their main event!
MH: It’s their fault, Buddy! All they had to do was show him a little respect!
“Just Dropped In” by Kenny Rogers hits, and the fans roar as AWS Owner and CEO, Mr. Troy emerges from behind the curtain with a mic in hand.
MR. TROY: Now hold on just a minute here, Bobby Crane…you ain’t gettin’ off that easy. Now these fans here in Washington paid to see this main event here tonight! The fans at home watching all around the world tuned in to see this match here tonight!
The crowd roars.
MR. TROY: And the AWS always delivers what it promises, so Bobby Crane, if you don’t get out here and get in that ring, you will be stripped of the AWS Hardcore Championship, you will be disqualified from the World title tournament, and God as my witness, you will be FIRED from the AWS!
The crowd erupts!
BR: Oh my! The owner of the company just laid down the law! Will Bobby Crane respond?
“Unbelievable” by EMF hits, the lights dim, a single red spotlight beams down onto the curtain, and….still no Bobby Crane.
MR. TROY: Last chance, Bobby! If you aren’t out here in –
Mr. Troy is cut off by what transpires at ringside. “Beautiful” Bobby Crane crawls out from under the ring, slides into the ring and NAILS Liam McAllister from behind with the AWS Hardcore title!
BR: HEY! COME ON NOW!
MH: Ha!
BR: Bobby Crane with a cheap shot! This whole thing was a damn set up perpetrated by “Beautiful” Bobby Crane and Liam McAllister was absolutely blindsided!
Bobby Crane wildly smashes the Hardcore title repeatedly into Liam McAllister, who is rolling around the ring trying to evade the assault to no avail. Finally, Liam can do no more and Bobby Crane stomps him viciously in the back of the head.
Suddenly, the crowd’s boos fade and the fans rise to their feet and roar as Paul Blair comes sprinting down the aisle!
BR: PAUL BLAIR! Paul Blair has come to even the score!
MH: Get him outta here!
Bobby Crane instinctively ducks back under the bottom rope just as Blair hits the ring. The crowd boos him as he taunts Blair who tends to Liam McAllister. The EMS crew rushes out to the ring and huddles around the fallen Television Champion.
BR: How in the hell can he get away with this? Every damn week something happens to one of his opponents!
MH: He is the master, Buddy! When you’re up against Bobby Crane, it’s not just about beating him in the ring, it’s about manipulation, mind games, tactics! No one does it better!
BR: Give me a break! This kid had the opportunity of a life time snuffed out by this egotistical narcissist! Bobby Crane should be fined and suspended!
Mr. Troy watches on in anger as the EMS crew work on Liam, fitting a neck brace on him and preparing a stretcher for him. The crowd erupts though as Liam pulls the neck brace off and pulls himself to his feet, shoving the medical workers away, ignoring their protests for him to forfeit the match for the sake of his long term health.
BR: HE’S UP! BY GAWD HE’S UP! WHAT HEART! He has the heart of a lion and Bobby Crane is beside himself!
The camera zooms in on Bobby Crane’s face – eyes bulging, hair flying as he throws a tantrum on the outside of the ring. Liam slides out of the ring and chases after him! Crane running for dear life and PAUL BLAIR CUTS HIM OFF! Blair stands between Crane and any chance of escape! Crane begs him off but turns around and Liam FLIES at him and hits him squarely in the chin with a flying forearm!
BR: And now it’s time to pay the piper! Liam McAllister is a house of fire and the roof is gonna blow off the Verizon Center!
MH: Ahhhh!
Liam mounts Crane and rains down fists of fury on him as the crowd goes bananas! Rights and lefts come down on Bobby Crane in a blur of rage, and finally Liam jumps up off of him and the adrenaline is pumping! He works the crowd and throws Bobby Crane back in the ring, Crane’s trademark red robe hanging on him by one arm. And the referee calls for the bell!
BR: And this match is officially underway!
MH: Now hang on a minute! Bobby wasn’t even ready!
BR: Give me a break!
Liam pounces on Crane and wildly drives forearms and elbows and anything he can connect with into his back. Crane desperately scrambling around the ring trying to escape and Liam tears off his robe! The crowd roars as Liam holds the robe up as a trophy and Bobby Crane desperately begs him not to ruin it!
MH: That robe costs more than Liam! Stop him!
BR: Liam McAllister is pissed off and he’s not gonna take it any more! He is making Bobby Crane pay for his sins on behalf of the entire AWS roster!
Liam puts the robe on and mocks Bobby Crane, strutting around the ring like a big shot to the delight of the crowd. He picks up AWS Hardcore Championship that Crane assaulted him with, checks his hair in the reflection and flips Bobby Crane the bird! The crowd eats it up and Bobby Crane slams his fist into the mat in anger. Liam pulls the robe off and throws it to the arena floor. Bobby Crane is incensed and charges at him, but he was reckless and Liam side steps him and throws him into the turnbuckle! Crane hits it with force and animatedly bounces back to the middle of the ring where Liam is waiting with a drop kick that sends him right back into the corner, this time on the seat of his pants! Liam quickly heads to the opposite corner of the ring and charges full steam at Bobby Crane with a knee to the side of the head!
MH: AHHH!
BR: My God the smack of the impact! Bobby Crane’s head whipped back like he was shot and Liam is firmly in control!
Bobby Crane slumps to his side and hangs across the bottom rope, semi-conscious after the head shot. Liam leaps up onto the top turnbuckle and in one smooth motion jumps over the top rope and connects with a leg drop onto the apron across the back of Bobby Crane’s neck!
BR: Liam McAllister is landing a flurry of high impact moves here and Bobby Crane is in a bad way early on!
Liam rolls back in and drags a stunned Bobby Crane back to the center of the ring, making a cover!
One...
Two...
Kickout!
MH: You’ll never beat Bobby Crane that easily!
BR: Liam did the right thing and tried to end this thing quickly but there’s still lots left in the tank for the Hardcore Champion!
Liam pulls Crane up quickly, wasting no time and whips him to the ropes…Liam drops to his stomach and Crane picks up speed as he leaps over him. Liam leapfrogs over him on the rebound, Crane picks up more speed and as he bounds back, Liam catches him with a scoop slam! Crane arches his back in pain and Liam runs to the ropes now. Crane trying to stand up but Liam with a perfectly timed step up enzuigiri and Crane’s head snaps back and he lands flat on his face.
BR: Liam McAllister is running on pure adrenaline here and Bobby Crane is in big time trouble!
MH: He’s gonna crash though, Buddy! No one can take the kind of assault Liam did and keep this going!
Liam heads to the top rope and perches, waiting for Bobby to stand himself up. Crane does so, wobbly, on all fours, and then finally to his feet. He spins, looking around for Liam, and sees him at the last second. Just as Liam is about to jump from the top rope, Bobby Crane shoves the referee into the ropes and Liam loses his balance, crotching himself on the top turnbuckle!
BR: Come on! He can’t put his hands on the official like that! That’s illegal!
MH: You call it illegal, I call it resourceful!
The crowd boos as Bobby Crane shakes his head and regains his bearings, the referee warning him not to touch him again. Bobby Crane smirks and drives his fist into the jaw of Liam McAllister, still reeling on the top turnbuckle. Crane meets him up there, hooks him in, and crashes back to the mat with a superplex! Liam folds up on the mat clutching his ribs.
BR: That’s a ten foot drop at least and Liam is hurting now! No doubt the effects of that pre-match assault playing a role here!
Bobby Crane slaps Liam on the back of the head and screams at him.
BOBBY CRANE: You think you can beat me?! You think you can hang with Bobby Crane! I DON’T THINK SO, BOY!
On the outside, Paul Blair yells words of encouragement to Liam, trying to will him back up, but Bobby Crane cinches in a tight side headlock and leans into it. Liam yells out in pain and immediately begins crawling towards the ropes, but Crane simple rolls him over and resets in the middle of the ring until Liam can only refuse to submit.
BR: Bobby Crane slowing the pace of this match way down, and we’ll never question his technical ability. There’s no better ring general than “Beautiful” Bobby Crane, it’s his behavior that has drawn the ire of fans and wrestlers alike.
MH: He doesn’t care who likes him or not, Buddy! He’s the best wrestler to ever lace up a pair of boots and he knows it!
Bobby Crane is doing his best to restrict the air flow of Liam, who calls on the fans to provide him some more adrenaline, stomping his feet on the mat. The crowd claps along, firmly behind the TV Champion, and Liam gets to his knees, then his feet! Bobby Crane pleading with the fans to shut up but Liam has escaped the hold and shoves Crane into the ropes! Crane on the rebound and Liam gets caught with his head down! The crowd’s energy is sucked away as Bobby Crane drops him with a swinging neck breaker!
BR: The youngster got caught there!
MH: Bobby won’t let you get away with anything!
Crane mockingly wags his finger at the crowd as if to say he’s the one in control. He pulls Liam up to his feet and rocks him with a European uppercut, sending McAllister staggering back into the corner. Crane smothers him and delivers a vicious reverse knife edge chop! The smack of palm on chest echoes throughout the arena, and Crane delivers another, and another! Liam’s chest is beat red and Crane whips him to the opposite corner…no, Liam reverses! Crane hits the buckle and the crowd roars! Liam charges at him with a huge BODY SPLASH! But Crane ducks out of the way and Liam’s head hits the ring post on the outside!
BR: Oh my! Liam’s skull hit that steel ring post and…is he? Yes, yes Liam McAllister is busted wide open here!
MH: Ha! What an idiot!
BR: He took a big chance there, all or nothing, but the wily veteran Bobby Crane saw it coming and Liam is in big trouble now!
Liam rolls on the mat, clutching his forehead, blood trickling down his face. Bobby Crane’s eyes light up and he immediately pounces, driving his fist into the wound and opening it up. The referee pulls him off and Crane fixes his hair for the fans who are booing him relentlessly. Liam McAllister’s face is a crimson mask and the referee is asking him if he wants to continue. Liam refuses to stop the match and springs to his feet, the taste of his own blood igniting something within him. Crane turns around and Liam hits him with a flying elbow! Crane goes down and Liam nips up, smearing his own blood across his chest and smiling, the crowd eating it up.
BR: That is one tough hombre right there!
MH: He’s crazy! Did you see that?! He just smiled at the sight of his own blood!
Liam McAllister pulls Bobby Crane to his feet and backs him into a corner, and climbs to the second turnbuckle. The crowd counts along as Liam drives his fist into Bobby Crane’s head! 1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8! 9! 10! Bobby Crane staggers out of the corner and flops on his face. Meanwhile, Liam is on the top rope and Bobby Crane is a bit too far for his Dire Straits shooting star press trademark move, so he measures Crane up and FLIES across the ring with a perfectly executed flying elbow drop! Crane looks to be out cold and Liam with a cover!
One...
Two...
THRE-NO! Bobby Crane had his foot on the bottom rope and the referee signals a two count!
BR: So close! Liam McAllister was just inches away from victory!
MH: Bobby Crane knows where he is at all times, Buddy! Even when he’s out cold, he has a wrestler’s instinct and knows right where he is in the ring!
BR: It may have saved his bacon right there, Michael!
Liam can’t believe how close he came to beating him, but quickly collects himself and pulls Crane back up to his feet. He whips him to the ropes…no, Crane reverses it…Liam hops over him and bounces off the ropes once more. Crane fumbles on a clothesline and Liam baseball slides between his legs. Crane spins around and ducks a clothesline himself. Liam quickly runs to the ropes himself but Crane steps into him with a THE SPOTLIGHT STRIKE! HE NAILED IT!
BR: THERE IT IS! CRANE NAILED THE SUPERKICK AND THAT’S GOTTA BE IT!
MH: He took his head off with that! Liam’s molars are somewhere in the nosebleeds!
BR: This is it, Crane with a cover!
One...
Two...
THRE- NO! SHOULDER UP!
MH: AHHHH!
The crowd goes wild as Liam McAllister gets a shoulder up just in the nick of time! Bobby Crane is in utter disbelief and yells at the referee about a slow count. He’s getting nowhere and instead he hooks Liam in…BEAUTY LOCK! He has it dead center of the ring and cinched in tight!
BR: There’s nowhere for Liam to go now! Bobby Crane has him locked perfectly and there’s no way he can withstand this!
MH: He’s gotta tap, Buddy! Bobby’s gonna break him in half if he doesn’t!
Paul Blair frantically coaxes Liam towards the ropes, but Liam looks ready to tap. Blair screams at him not to quit and Liam somehow begins to will himself towards the ropes, scratching and clawing across the mat. Bobby Crane shakes his head frantically as the fans rise to their feet! Liam reaching for the ropes desperately, trying to get the tips of his fingers far enough. Crane hanging on for dear life and Liam with one final surge…MAKES IT TO THE ROPES! The crowd comes unglued and Paul Blair jumps up and down cheering!
BR: My God what guts! What heart! This kid will not give up! The AWS World Heavyweight title means that much to Liam McAllister!
MH: What does Bobby Crane have to do, Buddy!?
Bobby Crane hangs on until the count of four and then breaks the hold, earning the admonishment of both the referee and the sold out crowd. Crane looks drained, and he’s clearly unsure of how he’s going to beat Liam. Liam fighting to get back to his feet but his legs are jelly, the blood loss obvious starting to affect him. Crane works out a game plan, the wheels spinning in his head, and he jumps on Liam’s back and tightly wraps him in the BEAUTY SLEEP! Liam’s arms flail wildly as Bobby pulls him into the middle of the ring and they both drop to their knees, the sleeper hold applied.
BR: Well, that’s it. It’s over now. A valiant effort by Liam McAllister but he’s lost to much blood. The Beauty Sleep is all he can take…
MH: No doubt about it, Buddy! And Bobby Crane continues on to the finals of this tournament!
Liam fades quickly and the referee raises his arm once. Twice. Three times! And it’s over!
NO! Liam’s arm pops back up and the hopeless crowd is suddenly reignited! Bobby Crane is in complete disbelief and Liam fights back to his knees, elbowing his way out of the hold! Liam off the ropes…SPINNING NECK SCISSORS! Bobby Crane slides across the mat on impact! Liam and Crane both to their feet at the same time and Liam catches him with a frankensteiner! Bobby Crane in big trouble now and Liam pulls him right back to his feet, taking no chances! Liam scoops him up and body slams him to the mat, then heads to the second turnbuckle and DRIVES an elbow into the sternum of Bobby Crane! Crane grimacing on the mat and Liam pulls him right back up, relentless! Liam again with a body slam and this time heads to the top rope!
BR: Here it comes! This crowd is on their feet and if he hits this it’s all over!
MH: LOOK OUT, BOBBY!
The cameras flash as Liam McAllister leaps off the top rope with DIRE STRAITS! He nails the shooting star press perfectly! But he rolls off Bobby Crane, his ribs taking the brunt of the impact and he’s unable to make a cover!
BR: That pre-match attack by Bobby Crane is again a factor here!
Liam grits his teeth and fights through the pain, crawling over to an unconscious Bobby Crane, blood blurring his vision. He gets an arm on Crane’s chest and the ref counts!
One...
Two...
THR-NO! KICKOUT! SHOULDER UP!
BR: MY GOD!
MH: YES! YES! YEAH BOBBY!
Liam McAllister is in disbelief as the ref shows him only two fingers. Bobby Crane is almost motionless and Liam can’t even get to his feet without the aid of the ropes, neither man able to finish off the other.
BR: I don’t know how we’ll come to a conclusion here! These men absolutely despise each other, it’s a matchup we’ve been waiting to see and it’s lived up to the hype! Something has got to give here!
MH: It might be that hatred for one another that’s keeping them going, Buddy!
Liam pulls Crane up to his feet and with no other ideas, delivers a big right hand straight to the jaw. Crane’s hair whips back from the snap, and he comes back with a right hand of his own! Liam throws one back, then Crane, then Liam, picking up speed, both men going at it tooth and nail and the crowd is on their feet in appreciation of the effort! Crane though abruptly stops the exchange with a thumb to the eyes and the crowd boos him for the dirty tactics! Crane with the upper hand now and grabs Liam by the hair…and throws him between the turnbuckles! Liam hits the ring post shoulder first and slumps between the ropes!
BR: Come on!
MH: Brilliant!
BR: Bobby Crane is out of tricks and now he’s resorting to this crap!
Paul Blair immediately leaps up onto the apron and starts arguing with the referee about the hair pull. The crowd stands up and all eyes hit the entrance ramp as the unknown beast assailant from previous weeks appears. Bobby Crane’s eyes bulge out of his head as the beast charges for the ring!
BR: HEY! HEY! IT’S THE BEAST!
MH: RUN BOBBY! RUN! RUN FOR THE HILLS!
The beast hops over the top rope showing incredible agility for his size, and stares down a gassed Bobby Crane. The beast tugs at his beard and grins from ear to ear as Bobby Crane frantically begs him not to hurt him. And the beast charges! He charges at Bobby Crane and goes for a SPEAR! But Crane desperately flings himself out of the way and the beast connects with the referee instead!
BR: Oh no! The ref is down! The ref is down!
MH: Get the hell out of here Bobby! Ahhh!
The beast slams his fist into the mat, frustrated at missing his mark, but immediately turns and gets after Bobby Crane, who slides under the bottom rope and runs for his life. Round and round the ring they go, the beast gaining on him…AND PAUL BLAIR CUTS BOBBY CRANE OFF!
MH: NOOO! AHHH!
Crane between a rock and a hard place and he begs them both to just leave him alone. Blair grabs him by the hair and trunks and rolls him back into the ring, climbing in after him. Security floods out from the back and surrounds the beast!
BR: Security is out here! And it looks like the beast is being tamed!
Six security guards surround the unknown beast, and though he nearly fights through them, grabbing the ring ropes and trying to pull himself in, security manages to hold him back and drags him through the crowd and out of the arena!
BR: Well Bobby Crane dodged one bullet but guess what?! The ref is still down and Paul Blair has him cornered!
MH: This ain’t fair!
Bobby Crane is on his knees begging off Paul Blair, the crowd on their feet! Liam McAllister back to his feet and eggs the crowd on to get behind Blair! Blair cocks his fist and Crane squeezes his eyes shut tight in fear, cowering in the corner. Liam encouraging Blair to get him! Blair’s fist starts to come down, and then…
BR: WHAT?!
MH: HA!
Blair instead turns and nails Liam McAllister with the BLAIR KICK!
BR: OH MY GOD! BLAIR JUST HIT LIAM! HE JUST NAILED HIM WITH THE BLAIR KICK AND TOOK HIS DAMN HEAD OFF!
MH: I can’t believe it!
Bobby Crane looks up at Blair. Blair looks at Bobby Crane. And the two smile widely and embrace in the center of the ring!
BR: It was a set up the whole damn time! Bobby Crane and Paul Blair!
MH: GENIUS! I LOVE IT!
BR: Paul Blair has betrayed Liam McAllister and my God, here comes another referee!
A second referee sprints out from the back and Blair quickly exits the ring. Crane covers Liam and grabs a handful a tights! The cover!
One...
Two...
BR: NO! NO NOT THIS WAY!
THREE!
MH: YES!
RING ANNOUNCER: Here is your winner, by pinfall... “BEAUTIFUL” BOBBY CRANE!
The crowd is livid and begin throwing garbage into the ring as Paul Blair climbs back in. He helps Bobby Crane back to his feet, on spaghetti legs, and Crane, chest and hair stained with Liam McAllister’s blood, holds the AWS Hardcore Championship belt above his head, using Blair as a crutch, before slumping back to the mat and sitting up against the ropes, breathing heavily.
BR: That is pathetic! Bobby Crane has stolen another one here tonight and this time, he’s punched a ticket to the main event of the Syndicate Royale and a chance to become the first ever AWS World Heavyweight Champion!
MH: I love it, Buddy! Crane is a mastermind!
BR: He had his hooks in Paul Blair the entire time and Liam had the rug pulled out from under him! Absolute treachery!
Crane slinks out of the ring and he and Blair retreat up the aisle, victorious. Liam McAllister slowly regains consciousness, and the camera zooms in on his bloodied face as he lifts his head slightly from the mat and stares daggers through Blair and Crane from the ring.
RING ANNOUNCER: This match is a World Heavyweight championship semi finals tournament match scheduled for one fall with a 30 minute time limit! Currently on his way to the ring, hailing from Manchester, England, weighing 205 pounds... the AWS Television Champion... LIAM McALLISTER!
BR: You’ve got to love this kid! What an exciting athlete and a wonderful role model for our young fans!
MH: Oh please, Buddy. The only role model in this company is Bobby Crane!
BR: Give me a break, Bobby Crane is a deplorable human being!
RING ANNOUNCER: And his opponent…from Hollywood, California…weighing in at 220 pounds…the AWS Hardcore Champion… “BEAUTIFUL” BOBBY CRANE!
“Unbelievable” by EMF hits, and a single red spotlight hits the curtain. After about thirty seconds, the music dies out and the lights restore power. Bobby Crane is nowhere to be found.
BR: Where is Bobby Crane?!
MH: He doesn’t need this crap! Didn’t you hear him earlier?
BR: Are you kidding me? This is the biggest match in AWS history thus far! The winner moves on to the finals next week in Virginia!
MH: He’s a busy man!
RING ANNOUNCER: …”BEAUTIFUL” BOBBY CRANE!
Once again, “Unbelievable” by EMF hits, and once again, Bobby Crane does not appear from behind the curtain.
BR: Well these fans are getting understandably restless here…this match was heavily hyped all week long and Bobby Crane is robbing them of their main event!
MH: It’s their fault, Buddy! All they had to do was show him a little respect!
“Just Dropped In” by Kenny Rogers hits, and the fans roar as AWS Owner and CEO, Mr. Troy emerges from behind the curtain with a mic in hand.
MR. TROY: Now hold on just a minute here, Bobby Crane…you ain’t gettin’ off that easy. Now these fans here in Washington paid to see this main event here tonight! The fans at home watching all around the world tuned in to see this match here tonight!
The crowd roars.
MR. TROY: And the AWS always delivers what it promises, so Bobby Crane, if you don’t get out here and get in that ring, you will be stripped of the AWS Hardcore Championship, you will be disqualified from the World title tournament, and God as my witness, you will be FIRED from the AWS!
The crowd erupts!
BR: Oh my! The owner of the company just laid down the law! Will Bobby Crane respond?
“Unbelievable” by EMF hits, the lights dim, a single red spotlight beams down onto the curtain, and….still no Bobby Crane.
MR. TROY: Last chance, Bobby! If you aren’t out here in –
Mr. Troy is cut off by what transpires at ringside. “Beautiful” Bobby Crane crawls out from under the ring, slides into the ring and NAILS Liam McAllister from behind with the AWS Hardcore title!
BR: HEY! COME ON NOW!
MH: Ha!
BR: Bobby Crane with a cheap shot! This whole thing was a damn set up perpetrated by “Beautiful” Bobby Crane and Liam McAllister was absolutely blindsided!
Bobby Crane wildly smashes the Hardcore title repeatedly into Liam McAllister, who is rolling around the ring trying to evade the assault to no avail. Finally, Liam can do no more and Bobby Crane stomps him viciously in the back of the head.
Suddenly, the crowd’s boos fade and the fans rise to their feet and roar as Paul Blair comes sprinting down the aisle!
BR: PAUL BLAIR! Paul Blair has come to even the score!
MH: Get him outta here!
Bobby Crane instinctively ducks back under the bottom rope just as Blair hits the ring. The crowd boos him as he taunts Blair who tends to Liam McAllister. The EMS crew rushes out to the ring and huddles around the fallen Television Champion.
BR: How in the hell can he get away with this? Every damn week something happens to one of his opponents!
MH: He is the master, Buddy! When you’re up against Bobby Crane, it’s not just about beating him in the ring, it’s about manipulation, mind games, tactics! No one does it better!
BR: Give me a break! This kid had the opportunity of a life time snuffed out by this egotistical narcissist! Bobby Crane should be fined and suspended!
Mr. Troy watches on in anger as the EMS crew work on Liam, fitting a neck brace on him and preparing a stretcher for him. The crowd erupts though as Liam pulls the neck brace off and pulls himself to his feet, shoving the medical workers away, ignoring their protests for him to forfeit the match for the sake of his long term health.
BR: HE’S UP! BY GAWD HE’S UP! WHAT HEART! He has the heart of a lion and Bobby Crane is beside himself!
The camera zooms in on Bobby Crane’s face – eyes bulging, hair flying as he throws a tantrum on the outside of the ring. Liam slides out of the ring and chases after him! Crane running for dear life and PAUL BLAIR CUTS HIM OFF! Blair stands between Crane and any chance of escape! Crane begs him off but turns around and Liam FLIES at him and hits him squarely in the chin with a flying forearm!
BR: And now it’s time to pay the piper! Liam McAllister is a house of fire and the roof is gonna blow off the Verizon Center!
MH: Ahhhh!
Liam mounts Crane and rains down fists of fury on him as the crowd goes bananas! Rights and lefts come down on Bobby Crane in a blur of rage, and finally Liam jumps up off of him and the adrenaline is pumping! He works the crowd and throws Bobby Crane back in the ring, Crane’s trademark red robe hanging on him by one arm. And the referee calls for the bell!
BR: And this match is officially underway!
MH: Now hang on a minute! Bobby wasn’t even ready!
BR: Give me a break!
Liam pounces on Crane and wildly drives forearms and elbows and anything he can connect with into his back. Crane desperately scrambling around the ring trying to escape and Liam tears off his robe! The crowd roars as Liam holds the robe up as a trophy and Bobby Crane desperately begs him not to ruin it!
MH: That robe costs more than Liam! Stop him!
BR: Liam McAllister is pissed off and he’s not gonna take it any more! He is making Bobby Crane pay for his sins on behalf of the entire AWS roster!
Liam puts the robe on and mocks Bobby Crane, strutting around the ring like a big shot to the delight of the crowd. He picks up AWS Hardcore Championship that Crane assaulted him with, checks his hair in the reflection and flips Bobby Crane the bird! The crowd eats it up and Bobby Crane slams his fist into the mat in anger. Liam pulls the robe off and throws it to the arena floor. Bobby Crane is incensed and charges at him, but he was reckless and Liam side steps him and throws him into the turnbuckle! Crane hits it with force and animatedly bounces back to the middle of the ring where Liam is waiting with a drop kick that sends him right back into the corner, this time on the seat of his pants! Liam quickly heads to the opposite corner of the ring and charges full steam at Bobby Crane with a knee to the side of the head!
MH: AHHH!
BR: My God the smack of the impact! Bobby Crane’s head whipped back like he was shot and Liam is firmly in control!
Bobby Crane slumps to his side and hangs across the bottom rope, semi-conscious after the head shot. Liam leaps up onto the top turnbuckle and in one smooth motion jumps over the top rope and connects with a leg drop onto the apron across the back of Bobby Crane’s neck!
BR: Liam McAllister is landing a flurry of high impact moves here and Bobby Crane is in a bad way early on!
Liam rolls back in and drags a stunned Bobby Crane back to the center of the ring, making a cover!
One...
Two...
Kickout!
MH: You’ll never beat Bobby Crane that easily!
BR: Liam did the right thing and tried to end this thing quickly but there’s still lots left in the tank for the Hardcore Champion!
Liam pulls Crane up quickly, wasting no time and whips him to the ropes…Liam drops to his stomach and Crane picks up speed as he leaps over him. Liam leapfrogs over him on the rebound, Crane picks up more speed and as he bounds back, Liam catches him with a scoop slam! Crane arches his back in pain and Liam runs to the ropes now. Crane trying to stand up but Liam with a perfectly timed step up enzuigiri and Crane’s head snaps back and he lands flat on his face.
BR: Liam McAllister is running on pure adrenaline here and Bobby Crane is in big time trouble!
MH: He’s gonna crash though, Buddy! No one can take the kind of assault Liam did and keep this going!
Liam heads to the top rope and perches, waiting for Bobby to stand himself up. Crane does so, wobbly, on all fours, and then finally to his feet. He spins, looking around for Liam, and sees him at the last second. Just as Liam is about to jump from the top rope, Bobby Crane shoves the referee into the ropes and Liam loses his balance, crotching himself on the top turnbuckle!
BR: Come on! He can’t put his hands on the official like that! That’s illegal!
MH: You call it illegal, I call it resourceful!
The crowd boos as Bobby Crane shakes his head and regains his bearings, the referee warning him not to touch him again. Bobby Crane smirks and drives his fist into the jaw of Liam McAllister, still reeling on the top turnbuckle. Crane meets him up there, hooks him in, and crashes back to the mat with a superplex! Liam folds up on the mat clutching his ribs.
BR: That’s a ten foot drop at least and Liam is hurting now! No doubt the effects of that pre-match assault playing a role here!
Bobby Crane slaps Liam on the back of the head and screams at him.
BOBBY CRANE: You think you can beat me?! You think you can hang with Bobby Crane! I DON’T THINK SO, BOY!
On the outside, Paul Blair yells words of encouragement to Liam, trying to will him back up, but Bobby Crane cinches in a tight side headlock and leans into it. Liam yells out in pain and immediately begins crawling towards the ropes, but Crane simple rolls him over and resets in the middle of the ring until Liam can only refuse to submit.
BR: Bobby Crane slowing the pace of this match way down, and we’ll never question his technical ability. There’s no better ring general than “Beautiful” Bobby Crane, it’s his behavior that has drawn the ire of fans and wrestlers alike.
MH: He doesn’t care who likes him or not, Buddy! He’s the best wrestler to ever lace up a pair of boots and he knows it!
Bobby Crane is doing his best to restrict the air flow of Liam, who calls on the fans to provide him some more adrenaline, stomping his feet on the mat. The crowd claps along, firmly behind the TV Champion, and Liam gets to his knees, then his feet! Bobby Crane pleading with the fans to shut up but Liam has escaped the hold and shoves Crane into the ropes! Crane on the rebound and Liam gets caught with his head down! The crowd’s energy is sucked away as Bobby Crane drops him with a swinging neck breaker!
BR: The youngster got caught there!
MH: Bobby won’t let you get away with anything!
Crane mockingly wags his finger at the crowd as if to say he’s the one in control. He pulls Liam up to his feet and rocks him with a European uppercut, sending McAllister staggering back into the corner. Crane smothers him and delivers a vicious reverse knife edge chop! The smack of palm on chest echoes throughout the arena, and Crane delivers another, and another! Liam’s chest is beat red and Crane whips him to the opposite corner…no, Liam reverses! Crane hits the buckle and the crowd roars! Liam charges at him with a huge BODY SPLASH! But Crane ducks out of the way and Liam’s head hits the ring post on the outside!
BR: Oh my! Liam’s skull hit that steel ring post and…is he? Yes, yes Liam McAllister is busted wide open here!
MH: Ha! What an idiot!
BR: He took a big chance there, all or nothing, but the wily veteran Bobby Crane saw it coming and Liam is in big trouble now!
Liam rolls on the mat, clutching his forehead, blood trickling down his face. Bobby Crane’s eyes light up and he immediately pounces, driving his fist into the wound and opening it up. The referee pulls him off and Crane fixes his hair for the fans who are booing him relentlessly. Liam McAllister’s face is a crimson mask and the referee is asking him if he wants to continue. Liam refuses to stop the match and springs to his feet, the taste of his own blood igniting something within him. Crane turns around and Liam hits him with a flying elbow! Crane goes down and Liam nips up, smearing his own blood across his chest and smiling, the crowd eating it up.
BR: That is one tough hombre right there!
MH: He’s crazy! Did you see that?! He just smiled at the sight of his own blood!
Liam McAllister pulls Bobby Crane to his feet and backs him into a corner, and climbs to the second turnbuckle. The crowd counts along as Liam drives his fist into Bobby Crane’s head! 1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8! 9! 10! Bobby Crane staggers out of the corner and flops on his face. Meanwhile, Liam is on the top rope and Bobby Crane is a bit too far for his Dire Straits shooting star press trademark move, so he measures Crane up and FLIES across the ring with a perfectly executed flying elbow drop! Crane looks to be out cold and Liam with a cover!
One...
Two...
THRE-NO! Bobby Crane had his foot on the bottom rope and the referee signals a two count!
BR: So close! Liam McAllister was just inches away from victory!
MH: Bobby Crane knows where he is at all times, Buddy! Even when he’s out cold, he has a wrestler’s instinct and knows right where he is in the ring!
BR: It may have saved his bacon right there, Michael!
Liam can’t believe how close he came to beating him, but quickly collects himself and pulls Crane back up to his feet. He whips him to the ropes…no, Crane reverses it…Liam hops over him and bounces off the ropes once more. Crane fumbles on a clothesline and Liam baseball slides between his legs. Crane spins around and ducks a clothesline himself. Liam quickly runs to the ropes himself but Crane steps into him with a THE SPOTLIGHT STRIKE! HE NAILED IT!
BR: THERE IT IS! CRANE NAILED THE SUPERKICK AND THAT’S GOTTA BE IT!
MH: He took his head off with that! Liam’s molars are somewhere in the nosebleeds!
BR: This is it, Crane with a cover!
One...
Two...
THRE- NO! SHOULDER UP!
MH: AHHHH!
The crowd goes wild as Liam McAllister gets a shoulder up just in the nick of time! Bobby Crane is in utter disbelief and yells at the referee about a slow count. He’s getting nowhere and instead he hooks Liam in…BEAUTY LOCK! He has it dead center of the ring and cinched in tight!
BR: There’s nowhere for Liam to go now! Bobby Crane has him locked perfectly and there’s no way he can withstand this!
MH: He’s gotta tap, Buddy! Bobby’s gonna break him in half if he doesn’t!
Paul Blair frantically coaxes Liam towards the ropes, but Liam looks ready to tap. Blair screams at him not to quit and Liam somehow begins to will himself towards the ropes, scratching and clawing across the mat. Bobby Crane shakes his head frantically as the fans rise to their feet! Liam reaching for the ropes desperately, trying to get the tips of his fingers far enough. Crane hanging on for dear life and Liam with one final surge…MAKES IT TO THE ROPES! The crowd comes unglued and Paul Blair jumps up and down cheering!
BR: My God what guts! What heart! This kid will not give up! The AWS World Heavyweight title means that much to Liam McAllister!
MH: What does Bobby Crane have to do, Buddy!?
Bobby Crane hangs on until the count of four and then breaks the hold, earning the admonishment of both the referee and the sold out crowd. Crane looks drained, and he’s clearly unsure of how he’s going to beat Liam. Liam fighting to get back to his feet but his legs are jelly, the blood loss obvious starting to affect him. Crane works out a game plan, the wheels spinning in his head, and he jumps on Liam’s back and tightly wraps him in the BEAUTY SLEEP! Liam’s arms flail wildly as Bobby pulls him into the middle of the ring and they both drop to their knees, the sleeper hold applied.
BR: Well, that’s it. It’s over now. A valiant effort by Liam McAllister but he’s lost to much blood. The Beauty Sleep is all he can take…
MH: No doubt about it, Buddy! And Bobby Crane continues on to the finals of this tournament!
Liam fades quickly and the referee raises his arm once. Twice. Three times! And it’s over!
NO! Liam’s arm pops back up and the hopeless crowd is suddenly reignited! Bobby Crane is in complete disbelief and Liam fights back to his knees, elbowing his way out of the hold! Liam off the ropes…SPINNING NECK SCISSORS! Bobby Crane slides across the mat on impact! Liam and Crane both to their feet at the same time and Liam catches him with a frankensteiner! Bobby Crane in big trouble now and Liam pulls him right back to his feet, taking no chances! Liam scoops him up and body slams him to the mat, then heads to the second turnbuckle and DRIVES an elbow into the sternum of Bobby Crane! Crane grimacing on the mat and Liam pulls him right back up, relentless! Liam again with a body slam and this time heads to the top rope!
BR: Here it comes! This crowd is on their feet and if he hits this it’s all over!
MH: LOOK OUT, BOBBY!
The cameras flash as Liam McAllister leaps off the top rope with DIRE STRAITS! He nails the shooting star press perfectly! But he rolls off Bobby Crane, his ribs taking the brunt of the impact and he’s unable to make a cover!
BR: That pre-match attack by Bobby Crane is again a factor here!
Liam grits his teeth and fights through the pain, crawling over to an unconscious Bobby Crane, blood blurring his vision. He gets an arm on Crane’s chest and the ref counts!
One...
Two...
THR-NO! KICKOUT! SHOULDER UP!
BR: MY GOD!
MH: YES! YES! YEAH BOBBY!
Liam McAllister is in disbelief as the ref shows him only two fingers. Bobby Crane is almost motionless and Liam can’t even get to his feet without the aid of the ropes, neither man able to finish off the other.
BR: I don’t know how we’ll come to a conclusion here! These men absolutely despise each other, it’s a matchup we’ve been waiting to see and it’s lived up to the hype! Something has got to give here!
MH: It might be that hatred for one another that’s keeping them going, Buddy!
Liam pulls Crane up to his feet and with no other ideas, delivers a big right hand straight to the jaw. Crane’s hair whips back from the snap, and he comes back with a right hand of his own! Liam throws one back, then Crane, then Liam, picking up speed, both men going at it tooth and nail and the crowd is on their feet in appreciation of the effort! Crane though abruptly stops the exchange with a thumb to the eyes and the crowd boos him for the dirty tactics! Crane with the upper hand now and grabs Liam by the hair…and throws him between the turnbuckles! Liam hits the ring post shoulder first and slumps between the ropes!
BR: Come on!
MH: Brilliant!
BR: Bobby Crane is out of tricks and now he’s resorting to this crap!
Paul Blair immediately leaps up onto the apron and starts arguing with the referee about the hair pull. The crowd stands up and all eyes hit the entrance ramp as the unknown beast assailant from previous weeks appears. Bobby Crane’s eyes bulge out of his head as the beast charges for the ring!
BR: HEY! HEY! IT’S THE BEAST!
MH: RUN BOBBY! RUN! RUN FOR THE HILLS!
The beast hops over the top rope showing incredible agility for his size, and stares down a gassed Bobby Crane. The beast tugs at his beard and grins from ear to ear as Bobby Crane frantically begs him not to hurt him. And the beast charges! He charges at Bobby Crane and goes for a SPEAR! But Crane desperately flings himself out of the way and the beast connects with the referee instead!
BR: Oh no! The ref is down! The ref is down!
MH: Get the hell out of here Bobby! Ahhh!
The beast slams his fist into the mat, frustrated at missing his mark, but immediately turns and gets after Bobby Crane, who slides under the bottom rope and runs for his life. Round and round the ring they go, the beast gaining on him…AND PAUL BLAIR CUTS BOBBY CRANE OFF!
MH: NOOO! AHHH!
Crane between a rock and a hard place and he begs them both to just leave him alone. Blair grabs him by the hair and trunks and rolls him back into the ring, climbing in after him. Security floods out from the back and surrounds the beast!
BR: Security is out here! And it looks like the beast is being tamed!
Six security guards surround the unknown beast, and though he nearly fights through them, grabbing the ring ropes and trying to pull himself in, security manages to hold him back and drags him through the crowd and out of the arena!
BR: Well Bobby Crane dodged one bullet but guess what?! The ref is still down and Paul Blair has him cornered!
MH: This ain’t fair!
Bobby Crane is on his knees begging off Paul Blair, the crowd on their feet! Liam McAllister back to his feet and eggs the crowd on to get behind Blair! Blair cocks his fist and Crane squeezes his eyes shut tight in fear, cowering in the corner. Liam encouraging Blair to get him! Blair’s fist starts to come down, and then…
BR: WHAT?!
MH: HA!
Blair instead turns and nails Liam McAllister with the BLAIR KICK!
BR: OH MY GOD! BLAIR JUST HIT LIAM! HE JUST NAILED HIM WITH THE BLAIR KICK AND TOOK HIS DAMN HEAD OFF!
MH: I can’t believe it!
Bobby Crane looks up at Blair. Blair looks at Bobby Crane. And the two smile widely and embrace in the center of the ring!
BR: It was a set up the whole damn time! Bobby Crane and Paul Blair!
MH: GENIUS! I LOVE IT!
BR: Paul Blair has betrayed Liam McAllister and my God, here comes another referee!
A second referee sprints out from the back and Blair quickly exits the ring. Crane covers Liam and grabs a handful a tights! The cover!
One...
Two...
BR: NO! NO NOT THIS WAY!
THREE!
MH: YES!
RING ANNOUNCER: Here is your winner, by pinfall... “BEAUTIFUL” BOBBY CRANE!
The crowd is livid and begin throwing garbage into the ring as Paul Blair climbs back in. He helps Bobby Crane back to his feet, on spaghetti legs, and Crane, chest and hair stained with Liam McAllister’s blood, holds the AWS Hardcore Championship belt above his head, using Blair as a crutch, before slumping back to the mat and sitting up against the ropes, breathing heavily.
BR: That is pathetic! Bobby Crane has stolen another one here tonight and this time, he’s punched a ticket to the main event of the Syndicate Royale and a chance to become the first ever AWS World Heavyweight Champion!
MH: I love it, Buddy! Crane is a mastermind!
BR: He had his hooks in Paul Blair the entire time and Liam had the rug pulled out from under him! Absolute treachery!
Crane slinks out of the ring and he and Blair retreat up the aisle, victorious. Liam McAllister slowly regains consciousness, and the camera zooms in on his bloodied face as he lifts his head slightly from the mat and stares daggers through Blair and Crane from the ring.
WINNER: "BEAUTIFUL" BOBBY CRANE (ADVANCES TO FINALS)
(click image to enlarge)
BR: Son of a bitch. It just ain't right!
MH: Calm your man tits, Buddy.
BR: It's an awful way to end the night, in my opinion, by you better believe you don't want to miss the Pay Per View next week!
MH: See everyone next week... LIVE at the Syndicate Royale!
BR: Son of a bitch. It just ain't right!
MH: Calm your man tits, Buddy.
BR: It's an awful way to end the night, in my opinion, by you better believe you don't want to miss the Pay Per View next week!
MH: See everyone next week... LIVE at the Syndicate Royale!