PROVING GROUND: XXXI: IN LIKE A LION RESULTS

♫ To be more than a conqueror
You have to learn to enjoy the pain
If you want to survive the game ♫

With Skillet’s “Surviving The Game” playing in the background, the video intro begins with the reigning X-Factor Champion, MYOJIN, as they hit the Falling From Heaven EX on a fallen opponent. That is soon followed by the Sultan of Spice as he wiggles his body in the center of the ring and slaps his ass cheeks in preparation for a spicy stink face. Then, with arms crossed in front of his massive chest, comes an image of the imposing Shooter Landell.

♫ You can try to defeat me (Defeat me)
You don't know it's the pain that'll feed me (Feed me)
And I'm gonna take back what you took before (Before)
'Cause I was born for this
All the bones that you're breakin' (Breakin')
You pretend that you're the one that can save me (Save me)
Now I'm takin' it back, it was never yours (Never yours)
I'm fightin' ♫

Lexi Gold is shown celebrating a victory as the crowd cheers her on, before we get a shot of Douglas Crane screaming as he locks in his Release Me submission hold. This section of the video wraps up with an image of Stella Jade connecting with one of her tarot themed signature moves.

♫ Fightin' for my focus
Give the pain a purpose
Light the fire inside
Feel it come alive (Come alive)
Show 'em what I'm made of
Victory's for the brave ones
Who never bow the knee
When it's do or die (Do or die-ie-ie)
One more time ♫

We see John Blade waving his hand in front of his face before turning completely invisible. Tara Fenix is the next to be highlighted, as we see the Phoenix Queen executing her Phoenix Lock. Finally, there is a shot of the young Mikey Hero as he does a backflip in the ring and poses for the crowd.

♫ Survivin' the game
I can be unstoppable
Gonna walk through Hell
Gonna shake the walls
Survive, survivin' the game (Survivin' the game)
Livin' the impossible
I'm the champion, indestructible (Survive)
Survive, 'cause I'm survivin' the game ♫

Kyle Valentine and DJ Hunter take over the screen next, with these members of The Phantom Troupe hitting Gran Rey Cero with perfect accuracy. After that shot of in-ring action, we then see the smiling face of Cadillac Jackson as he slides his sunglasses down to the tip of his nose.

♫ I can be unstoppable
Gonna be indestructible
I can be unstoppable
Gonna be indestructible ♫

The smug smile of Larry KaChow appears, soon to be followed by the eccentric Percival Burque as he throws one of his pocket rats at an unsuspecting opponent. From those unlikely images, we go to a shot of Mark Hunter as he locks in The Last Act.

♫ All the liars around me
Like the wolves of the walls that surround me
In the face of the fear, I keep standin' tall
'Cause I will conquer this
Knock me down like a lion (Lion)
I was born to be demon defiant (Defiant)
And I won't ever let this kingdom fall (Fall)
I'll show 'em ♫

Giovanni vogues for the camera and gives his best runway model expression, immediately followed up by Officer Greyfield beating down a perp with his billy club. Then comes the disturbing sight of a smiling Casanova English, moments before he connects with the Silence of the Lamb.

♫ Show 'em what you're made of
Victory's for the brave ones
Never bow the knee
'Cause it's do or die (Do or die-ie-ie)
One more time ♫

Malachite Minj licks the back of his hand before brushing a few strands of hair away from his face, which then transitions to TJ Thompson executing Hip with the Drip. Then comes images of Johnny Levy, who gives the camera an arrogant grin before we see the execution of his Box Office Blockbuster.

♫ Survivin' the game
I can be unstoppable
Gonna walk through Hell
Gonna shake the walls
Survive, survivin' the game (Survivin' the game)
Livin' the impossible
I'm the champion, indestructible (Survive)
Survive, 'cause I'm survivin' the game (Game) ♫

With Francis in hand, DIANA gives a happy smile to the camera before the scene switches to the much different visual of Swindle Shelldrake. The Kraken is shown planting an opponent with Violent Salvage before we switch to images of Archimedes J. Manson bringing his unique cartoon sensibilities to life.

♫ I am more than a conqueror
The past behind me, life is ahead
I'll take the way of the warrior
I walk alone, no fear to the death
One more time ♫

As the intro draws nearer to its conclusion, General Manager Indy Darling gives the camera a thumbs up, before we then see The Platinum Standard in motion. Following the execution of Emmanuelle’s Palisades Bomber, we get a shot of Skylar Ramsay giving a smirk during her entrance.

♫ Survivin' the game
I can be unstoppable
Gonna walk through Hell
Gonna shake the walls
Survive, survivin' the game (Survivin' the game)
Livin' the impossible
I'm the champion, indestructible (Survive)
Survive, 'cause I'm survivin' the game (Survive)
Survivin' the game (Survive)
Survivin' the game
Livin' the impossible
I'm the champion, indestructible (Survive)
Survive, 'cause I'm survivin' the game (Survive) ♫

Finally, the Proving Ground logo emerges on the screen with the reigning Grand Champion, Arata Asakura, towering above it with the championship on his shoulder and his eyes radiating with glowing energy.

♫ I can be unstoppable
Gonna be indestructible
I can be unstoppable
Gonna be indestructible ♫



The XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut comes to life as a burst of pyrotechnics erupts from the stage and ring posts. The cameras scan around as the sold-out crowd is already on their feet, pumped up for another edition of Proving Ground as they wave their signs in the air.

“I <3 TAXIDERMIED HEADS”
“KAVENGERS: INCOMPETENCY WAR”
“BJB GANG”
“I AM THE 5TH OWNER”
“CADDY DADDY IS BACK!”

After briefly panning across the audience, one of the cameras takes us to the ringside announce position as Trey Booker and J.T. Price are standing by to welcome viewers to the show.

TREY BOOKER: Good evening and welcome to a brand new era for Proving Ground! Indy Darling is back in charge…Mark Hunter and Cadillac Jackson have returned to action…and Arata Asakura is once again the Grand Champion!

J.T. PRICE: New era? Sounds like a rerun to me…

TREY BOOKER: We’ve got a loaded card tonight with an epic tag team main event, the continuation of the Lil’ Petey Retirement Tour, and both the Warrior Rising and Tag Team Titles on the line! Not only that, but I understand that Indy Darling will be addressing the immediate future of the brand!

J.T. PRICE: Is he handing out raises? Cause I’d stick around for that.

TREY BOOKER: Don’t go anywhere, because it all starts right now!



HOLLY PEREZ: The following match is scheduled for one fall… introducing first… from Boston, Massachusetts… JOHN BLADE!!!

“Time is Now” begins to play as he walks out on stage. He talks to the cameraman and bounces a little. He holds up his “Never Give Up” logo flag and tosses it to the fans. He salutes and runs straight down towards the ring. He bounces off the ropes side to side and he holds up his “Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect” shirt. He takes off his hat and tosses his shirt to the fans and hands his Chain to the ref readying himself to fight.

HOLLY PEREZ: And his opponent… from Buffalo NY… MIKEY HERO!!!

Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero" blares from the sound speakers as Mikey Hero Sheepishly walks out through the curtain with his head down, he walks to the center of the entrance way and begins to tap his feet to the music until the chorus kicks in.

"I Need A Hero!"

Mikey's head shoots up as he runs down the ramp, and slides into the ring under the bottom rope. Mikey jumps to his feet in the middle of the ring and does a backflip, landing on one knee as he poses for the crowd.

TREY BOOKER: Any predictions J.T?

J.T. PRICE: Only one, this will be stranger than that midget I once spoke to on discord.

TREY BOOKER: What?

DING! DING! DING!

The two begin to circle around each other before locking up, Blade quickly shows his superior power by launching Hero back and onto his ass, as Mikey returns to his feet whilst dusting himself off, John smiles and does the “you can’t see me” taunt. Mikey asks for a second lock up and John steps in, however Mikey is one step ahead, he drops down and takes John with him using a drop toe hold, before Blade can move he’s hit by a quick standing moonsault, Hero hooks the far leg…

ONE!

Power out by John that throws Hero all the way to his feet.

TREY BOOKER: Couple of quick fire moves from Mikey, but John still has that massive power advantage.

J.T. PRICE: Yeah, John Blade is like a damn superman when he gets on a role.

Hero runs at Blade going for a knee strike, however John catches the leg. John holds on and whilst rising to his own feet takes a helpless Mikey all the way up with him solely by the leg, John throws Mikey down with a brutal spinebuster. Big match John wastes no time messing about, he hits the ropes and rocks back before dropping the five knuckle shuffle, he hooks the leg…

ONE!
TWO!
T… Kick out by Mikey Hero!!

TREY BOOKER: So close for The Doctor Of Thuganomics.

John confirms with the ref about the count before pulling his much smaller opponent up, Mikey gets whipped into the ropes, on the rebound he is taken down by a Lou Thesz press, Blade nails a good few shots before being told to step away by the ref, John uses the chance to climb the ropes and stand on the second buckle, as Hero reaches his knees, he’s nailed with a leg drop to the back of his head. Again John goes for the pin…

ONE!
TWO!
T… Mikey gets his foot on the rope.

J.T. PRICE: Has Blade ever looked this good?

TREY BOOKER: Not often.

Blade looks slightly frustrated as Mikey uses the ropes to climb up to a vertical base, as Mikey begins stumbling toward the middle of the ring, John springboards off the ropes going for a stunner, however he’s met by knees to the back and taken down with a backstabber. As if gripped by a second wind, Mikey springs back to his feet and in one movement jumps onto the top rope, yet again no time is wasted, Hero takes off and nails a perfect looking 450!!

TREY BOOKER: THE BIG SPLASH!!!

J.T. PRICE: But look…

John Blade has managed to withstand the impact and is rising to his feet carrying Mikey with him, once vertical he throws the lighter man on his shoulders, before hitting the Attitude Adjustment though Mikey slides down his back. He grabs the head of John and runs for the corner, he runs up the turnbuckle and flips back with a perfect sliced bread number two!!

TREY BOOKER: BEST THING SINCE!!

Mikey Hero has the cover on Blade…

ONE!
TWO!
THREE!!! MIKEY HERO WINS!!!

DING! DING! DING!

HOLLY PEREZ: THE WINNER… MIKEY HERO!!!

TREY BOOKER: Wow! That’s got to be considered an upset for the young Mikey Hero!

J.T. PRICE: It looked like Blade had the kid where he wanted him, but he was as slippery as a gerbil covered in Vaseline!

TREY BOOKER: I couldn’t agree more…wait…what?!


As the two men from the opening contest make their exits, Holly Perez prepares to make another announcement…

HOLLY PEREZ: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome one of the co-owners of Project: Honor and the General Manager of Proving Ground…Indy Darling!

With “Just Like You” accompanying him, Indy Darling makes his way onto the entrance stage in the casual attire he’s become known for. In one hand he carries a microphone and in the other, a small canvas bag that is clearly hiding something within. Once his music dies down, Indy raises the microphone in an attempt to quiet the cheering fans.

INDY DARLING: At The Crowning II, my new business partners and I changed the course of Project: Honor, and those changes continued on last night’s Fallout. Well strap yourselves in, because I’ve got a few announcements that are going to keep that trend rolling.

The crowd cheers with anticipation in response, but Indy does his best to continue as quickly as possible.

INDY DARLING: First thing’s first, in two weeks both Fallout and Proving Ground will head south of the border for a special two-night spectacular from Paradise Beach and Nightlife Heart in beautiful Cancun, Mexico! The ring itself will be set up in the middle of an olympic-sized pool overlooking the beach and surrounded by the hottest nightclubs and hotels the city has to offer. Not only that, but the Spring Break crowd will be treated to something you’ve all been wondering about since Ozymandias was stripped of the Legacy Championship.

The buzz of the crowd grows louder as they realize the implications of what Indy is preparing to announce.

INDY DARLING: We will crown a new Legacy Champion during Proving Ground’s next main event, featuring two stars from this brand and two stars from Fallout! After much discussion with our legal counsel and Director of Operations, Mr. Adam Edakterin, I have decided that Proving Ground’s representatives in that match will be the two competitors who are victorious in tonight’s main event! Either Arata Asakura and Swindle Shelldrake or Emmanuelle and Mark Hunter will proudly represent Proving Ground in what will certainly be an epic battle for the gold!

The buzz turns into a raucous cheer when the fans hear Indy’s announcement, but it would seem as if the General Manager isn’t done just yet.

INDY DARLING: Later tonight, Lil’ Petey and Percival Burque will reveal their representatives from Fallout to make the match complete. You might think that announcement means that I’m carrying the Legacy Title in this canvas bag, but I assure you that Mark Hunter still has the title in his possession, at least until the night is over. What I have in this bag is something a little bit different…

Indy begins to undo the bag and then reaches his hand inside…then he seems to change his mind as he gives the camera a sly smile.

INDY DARLING: Well…we’ll get to the unveiling soon enough. First, I should point out that last night, Percival and Petey announced that the Gatekeeper Championship is now the exclusive property of Fallout as a replacement for The Ascension Title. I’ll admit, I was not involved in that decision, but I’m not gonna hold that against them. Instead, I’ve had something in mind for a while, something to replace the Gatekeeper Championship as a new cross-branded title. That idea has come to fruition in the belt that is securely in this very bag…the Triple A Title. Three A’s that stand for Anyone, Anyplace, and Anytime. Unlike our other championships, this belt does not need to be defended in the ring, it doesn’t need to be defended during a broadcast, and it is available to absolutely anyone affiliated with Project: Honor. All you have to do is be good enough to step up and take it…

Before Indy can continue, “The Man” by The Killers begins to play and an excited Larry KaChow rushes onto the stage. He immediately begins gesturing for Indy to hand over the mysterious belt, but the General Manager seems hesitant…

INDY DARLING: Uh…Larry…I’m not sure…

LARRY KACHOW: You said anyone, anyplace, and anytime! Well I’m not just anyone, I’m someone! I’m Larry freaking KaChow! There was an entire group in The Crowning’s main event named after me! Anyplace includes this stage and anytime means right now! You just said all of that…so I’m officially stepping up to take it! Gimme, gimme, gimme!!!

Larry reaches out to grab the bag out of Indy’s hands, but the GM pulls back. It doesn’t look like Larry is going to give up on his efforts to claim championship gold, when both men are interrupted by John Blade making his way toward the back after the opening match. Big Match John walks onto the stage, takes the microphone from Indy Darling, and sets his attention directly on Larry KaChow.

JOHN BLADE: Yo, yo, yo. Cut that beat!
That title Indy Darling is talking about sounds pretty sweet,
I ain’t about to let Kuckchow get that kind of heat,
So get to stepping, little man, or you’re dead meat!
You feel me?

Indy looks back and forth between Blade and KaChow, completely entertained by how his announcement has played out.

LARRY KACHOW: You don’t want to rap with me, Big Match John!
My rhymes are bigger than Jordan and LaBron!
You couldn’t buy my level of freestyle on Amazon!
Now make it like we can’t see you and just be gone!
Ya heard?

KaChow crosses his arms over his chest like a gangsta, but Blade shakes his head and takes a step forward…

JOHN BLADE: Oh no you didn’t, Lucky Larry.
Beat John Blade on the mic? You ain’t even my contemporary!
The only title you’ll ever win will have to be honorary!
Cause the Triple A Title and John Blade are like PB&J…grape or strawberry!

Larry’s eyes widen, but he remains determined nonetheless.

LARRY KACHOW: Take that jive back to one of your hoes!
John Blade with a title? That shit won’t flow!
I speak in works of art, like Giovanni and Michaelangelo!
You understand what I’m saying? Hablo español?

JOHN BLADE: Nah, your words are trash just like your career.
You with that gold? It would look better on Mr. Belvedere!
You can’t see me, isn’t that clear?
But when I wave this hand, you’ll disappear!

John drops his mic and raises his hand in front of his face. Now at a loss for words, KaChow does the unthinkable by taking a swing at Blade with his microphone! Big Match John ducks under the pathetic attempt, lifts KaChow onto his shoulders, and drops him hard onto the steel stage with an Attitude Adjustment! He then drops on top of KaChow for a cover and Indy goes to make the count…

ONE!
TWO!
THREE!

HOLLY PEREZ: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN…YOUR INAUGURAL TRIPLE A CHAMPION…JOOOOHNNNNN BLAAADDDEEEE!!!

John Blade proudly raises his arms over his head to the delight of the fans. As he continues to celebrate, we see Indy Darling return to the backstage area, the unrevealed championship still tucked under his arm…




HOLLY PEREZ: The following contest is a Ladies versus Men Four on Four Tag Team Match! Introducing first, from Manchester, England and weighing in at one hundred forty-three pounds…LADY BETSY GALAGHER!!!

"Dusted" by Astroid Boys plays and Betsy walks out with her robe on, taking her place in the middle of the ramp, where she stretches her arms to either side and lets the robe fall slightly down her back, exposing her shoulders but still being mostly worn. As she starts walking to the ring, she alternates between pointing at herself and at the crowd, her confidence only second to how much she appreciates the fans.

HOLLY PEREZ: And her partner, Okinawa, Japan and weighing in at one hundred nineteen pounds… “The Energizer Bunny”...DIANA!!!

As “The Hamster Dance” plays, DIANA skips down to the ring with a big smile on her face and when she gets into the ring she waves to the crowd in excitement.

HOLLY PEREZ: Their partner from Los Angeles, California and weighing in at one hundred twenty-five pounds… “The Golden Goddess”...LEXI GOLD!!!

“5 out of 6” by Dessa plays and Lexi Gold appears from behind the curtain to some thunderous cheers from the crowd. She slowly makes her way down the ramp and gazes out at the crowd, then claps a few fans hands before climbing the steps with a strut and enters the ring through the bottom rope. Once inside the ring, she stands in the middle, taunting the crowd. When she is finally satisfied with her grandstanding, she turns her focus to the entrance stage, impatiently awaiting her opponent's arrival as her music begins to die down.

HOLLY PEREZ: And finally, their partner from New Orleans, Louisiana weighing in at one hundred fifteen pounds… “Proving Ground’s Beacon of Hope”...STELLA JADE!!!

"Diamonds" by Megan Thee Stallion ft. Normani accompanies Stella to the ring, where she gives the fans a big smile and hopeful wave before joining her three teammates.

TREY BOOKER: This should make for an interesting intergender contest. I have to wonder what kind of condition The KaVengers are in following The Crowning…

J.T. PRICE: Does it really matter, Trey?

TREY BOOKER: Hold up…I’ve just received word that we’ve got something going down near the Gorilla Position…let’s see if we can get some footage…

The Honortron shows the scene that Trey has just been informed of, as an image of The KaVengers laid out in the backstage area comes upon the screen. Serrano Poblano, El Puma, Guy, and Noah Hope are all down and unconscious as backstage personnel begin to swarm around them. While there is no clue what has happened to the beloved KaVengers, it is clear that they are in no state to compete.

TREY BOOKER: Ladies and gentlemen…it would appear as if someone or a group of someones has taken out The KaVengers before this match. I’m not sure if they ran afoul of what’s left of The True Society…or maybe someone who doesn’t appreciate their happy-go-lucky vibes…

J.T. PRICE: Maybe they miss Burque so much that they offed themselves with a batch of Kool-Aid, Jim Jones style.

TREY BOOKER: Hold on…now I’m being told…we have a replacement team…?!

HOLLY PEREZ: Ladies and gentlemen, we have a substitution on the card. Due to the KaVengers being unable to compete, please welcome their replacements…


HOLLY PEREZ: Being led to the ring by their partner and manager, Willem DaFoe…they are STEVE THE SAMURAI…. “HARDWOOD” RICH MAHOGANY… “COOL DAD” DON CRENSHAW…AND THIS IS HOWIE DEWITT…they are The DaVengers!

The five come out as the “Willem Dripfoe Theme” begins to play with Holly’s announcement. They all walk to the ring as a unit, mean-mugging every child at ringside they see. Willem Dafoe takes center stage though as the charming, charismatic smile of the devil himself can be seen on his face.

J.T. PRICE: Wait, is that Willem Dafoe? Like, the Willem Dafoe?

TREY BOOKER: I don’t know anymore, it sure looks like it. You never know who you’re going to see here in Project: Honor.

The group make it to the ring and surround their corner with Willem Dafoe by the apron. Stella Jade and Samurai Steve take their places in the ring as we wait for the bell.

DING! DING! DING!

And immediately things start off hot when Steve charges Stella and goes for a slow running hammer fist but she ducks under and pulls Steve down with a schoolboy. The Samurai rolls through and Stella lands a kick square into the side of his head. In the most over the top way possible, Steve tumbles backwards toward his corner of the ring rolling multiple times from the impact.

J.T. PRICE: Wow, I’ve not seen someone react to a blow with such… exuberance before. What a kick by Stella.

TREY BOOKER: Not even the KaVengers make kicks like that look so good.

Steve is dazed in the corner when Rich Mahogany slaps his shoulder. The clap echoes throughout the arena as Steve winces in pain and rolls out of the ring. Mahogany steps through the ropes and lumbers to where Stella is still getting to her feet. Stella lands a stiff palm strike to the face of Mahogany who’s head jerks back with incredible force. He recovers though and grabs Stella, tossing her into her own corner where he dives in with a big corner splash. Stella dives out of the way, but not before DIANA tags herself in. She slides through the ropes getting behind Rich Mahogany and locking her arms around his waist, beginning to attempt to lift him.

J.T. PRICE: DIANA must’ve gone mad thinking she, at 5’2”, 119 lbs., can lift the 250 lbs. 6’5” Rich Mahogany.

TREY BOOKER: Oh my god, wait a minute. Look!

DIANA begins to grimace as Rich comes off the ground. He lands on his head with possibly the sickest German suplex ever shown on television.

TREY BOOKER: DIANA JUST GERMANED RICH MAHOGANY?!?!

Rich rolls back to his own corner from the momentum of the suplex. There he shakily raises his hand for “The Cool Dad” to tag in. When Don steps into the ring he gets into a boxer-like stance and throws a few very weak looking jabs. DIANA leans back into her corner where we can see Betsy Gallagher say something along the lines of “I got this one,” before tagging herself in.

The two circle the ring until finally Don makes the first move looking for a combination of really shitty punches, but Betsy sees them coming from a mile away and Matrix dodges every single one. Crenshaw looks Betsy up and down then throws up his hands to surrender. Betsy doesn’t accept though and lands a solid European uppercut, causing the wannabe fighter to clutch at his neck. Betsy then grabs his head and drops him down with a DDT. Don’s legs fly into the air as stiff as a rock and then bowling pins forward towards the corner of the ladies.

J.T. PRICE: Betsy dodged every one of those punches with such style! Then dropped Don like a sack of potatoes.

TREY BOOKER: To be fair, from the look of those punches, I feel like just about anyone could’ve looked good dodging them.

Lexi holds her hand out to Betsy seemingly begging for a tag, ready to give a go at the mysterious new team. Betsy shrugs and tags her in. Lexi steps through the ropes and grabs Don by the head and throws him back towards his own corner. She begins pointing to the last standing member of the DaVengers. She nods at Don who tags in Howie Dewit, who leaps over the ropes and looks as though he’s gonna clear the ring with his energy alone. He charges at Lexi who charges straight back. As the two meet in the middle Lexi hits him with a lariat with such force that it causes the man to do the most beautiful standing moonsault of all time, landing face first on the mat.

J.T. PRICE: WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MANEUVER!

TREY BOOKER: That lariat nearly has me tearing up J.T.!

All three of the other DaVengers members swarm into the ring causing the ladies to do the same. The six other competitors begin to brawl while Lexi notices Howie beginning to get up so she takes a few steps back then hits him with the Striking Gold! DIANA Follows suit hitting Mahogany with the Bunny Kick! Besty locks up Don and drops him with the Hexcalibur! Then finally, Stella hits Steve with The Moon! All four members of the DaVengers have been taken out by the finishers of Stella, Lexi, Betsy, and Diana!

J.T. PRICE: This is just utter domination!

TREY BOOKER: Let’s give these DaVengers some credit though, no one has ever made defeat look so damn good!

Suddenly Stella turns to Lexi and puts her hands together, begging to do one more thing. Lexi agrees as they all head back to their corner. Stella tags in where she calls for the finish. She picks up the unconscious DeWitt and locks up his arms bringing him into the air and dropping him with a straight jacket brainbuster, but she isn’t done! She rolls over and grabs Howie around the neck lifting and swinging him around with the STO!

J.T. PRICE: It looks like JUDGMENT has been served.

TREY BOOKER: It’s time to end this massacre.

Stella goes for the cover which Howie DeWitt is very much too unconscious to even attempt kicking out of.

DING! DING! DING!

HOLLY PEREZ: And your winners… Lexi Gold, DIANA, Betsy Gallagher, and Stellaaaaaaa Jadeeee!!!!!

J.T. PRICE: This new group sure did the KaVengers a favor by filling in here. After their beating at Wargames, I’m not sure they could’ve taken this much punishment from these four.

TREY BOOKER: Certainly not! I, for one, am ecstatic to see more from this new super faction!

The four celebrate in their own ways with the fans at ringside while Willem grins, gathering his fallen comrades, as we cut away from the ring.


Whilst the crowd is buzzing, whatever silence had befallen the arena between matches was quickly broken at the sound of The Clash’s classic ‘I Fought The Law’ blasting through the arena speakers at a volume that butchered whatever subtle tones had been left in a very unsubtle song.

TREY BOOKER: What’s this, I don’t recognize this music.

J.T. PRICE: It’s The Clash, you dingus. Leave it to you to not know good music.

TREY BOOKER: Not like that, you ass!

The bickering at the announce table goes on a bit longer, which means they completely miss the appearance of one smooth mfer in a suit that goes by the name ‘Litigious’ Larry Livingstone, wearing his finest finery that had undoubtedly cost multiple times his meager pay, he saunters down the ring holding a sizable chunk of paper under his arm. Every step of the way he’s serenaded by complete silence from the crowd and the continuing butchery of The Clash.

LARRY LIVINGSTONE: Thank you, Thank you. Always good to be in a city that’s not the utter dumpster fire that is Cincinnati!

If it had been physically possible for every person in the crowd to be replaced by crickets, it’d best explain the reaction Larry was receiving from what had ordinarily been an extremely captive audience.

LARRY LIVINGSTONE: As all of you may know, I am the official legal representative of my good clients and close friends ‘The Messiah’ Johnny Levy and ‘The God of Art’ Giovanni.

Finally Larry would receive something of a reaction, which could be best described as murderous rage as the crowd quickly turned from silence to anger, only the finer graces of living in the North-East holding them from setting fire to the building.

LARRY LIVINGSTONE: Well, yes. Anyways. Because Levy is still boycotting this company’s clearly discriminatory policies towards him, he is unable to be here tonight. My good friend Giovanni and his transcendentally beautiful muse Calliope also are unable to be here, Giovanni has spent the past weeks nursing Calliope back to health after she suffered an unprovoked and unimaginably vicious assault at the hands of that depraved maniac Lexi Gold.

TREY BOOKER: What the hell is he talking about? Giovanni sent a video message on Fallout where he was lounging on a beach, and Calliope looked fine!

J.T. PRICE: You’re goddamn right Calliope’s fine, her infinite hotness is what’s melting ice caps every damn day. But also, nobody watches ‘the inferior brand’ that is too focused on bringing in Proving Ground rejects like Percival Burque.

LARRY LIVINGSTONE: Thus since that they cannot be here to grace this atrocious channel with some class, I have been asked by them personally to deliver a statement to the poor souls that watch this show despite the absence of these two revolutionaries.

Rolling out the parchment of paper, it would form a sizable mound at the bottom of his feet as he prepared to start the statement. But not before putting on some reading glasses to protect his precious eyesight.

LARRY LIVINGSTONE: ‘And I quote’, “I refuse to work for this fucking flaming trash pile tinpot dictatorship of a wrestling company that is called ‘Project Honor’ until I get some fucking respect by the ‘powers that be’ that keep refusing me and my people’s indelible right to healing the many wounds that have been inflicted upon us. In fact, Larry, if you read this, I demand you tell them all they’re all fucking terrible human beings that should be ashamed for being alive, and that for every second they don’t see Johnny Levy on their screen, they should be storming their local government to ensure that justice is served… In fact…”

Licking his finger, Larry decided to skip ahead about ten pages of what Johnny Levy had to say, for the sake of brevity and his speaking voice. And in the hope it’d calm down the crowd that had once more become ever increasingly agitated.

LARRY LIVINGSTONE: “...Putting a statement on paper? What the hell kind of amateur do you take me for, Larry! I am an artistical revolutionary whose artistical brilliance knows no limits. I will not be asked to waste my breath on making inane statements on such an archaic and impersonal medium that is the written word. You know what kind of losers used the written word? Hacks like Shakespeare and Machiavelli, who were too busy patting themselves on their backs about how smart they were rather than show their true brilliance to the world and pushing the boundaries of what their arts were about, unlike me, because my art knows no bounds and is limitless in its very conceptual nature and—”

The crowd almost immediately explodes into joy as the tones of Yung Gravy fill the air, and that’s because of one man’s presence and that man could only be described as extremely drippy. Lil Petey walks out onto the stage already with a microphone in hand and wearing the most drippy outfit that his mind had put together when he had put it on.

LIL PETEY: Listen up, dude. Your vibes are like, massively off right now, and I think I talk for a lot of people that you should just shut the fuck up and stop bringing the temperature below zero with your ‘statements’ and shit.

Ever the beacon of relaxation and calmness, Petey saunters down and makes his way into the ring opposite to Larry Livingstone, the level of drip between the two of them clashing hard. But Larry Livingstone is not deterred by the ostentatious presence of Lil Petey.

LARRY LIVINGSTONE: Mr. Petey, if that even is your legal name. I am here as the representative of my two clients, both are talent on this mistake of a brand, their word is my word and vice versa. Their voices have a right to be heard, even if someone as poorly dressed as you cannot remotely fathom the war they are fighting.

Smiling and leaning on the ropes, the words seemed to fall on deaf ears when Petey was listening, which he probably wasn’t.

LIL PETEY: The only war right now is the atrocious pain your inferior drip is causing on these fine Connecticut people and all the sexy big booty MILFs at home. How about your ‘clients’ go and say their thing in two weeks, using their own mouths, rather than letting yours flap so much. Maybe you could go chase an ambulance instead.

Feeling somewhat offended, the crowd reacts to Petey’s words by starting a chant.

LARRY NO-DRIP!

LARRY NO-DRIP!

LARRY NO-DRIP!

LARRY LIVINGSTONE: I will not stand for this slander about my ‘drip’! I know my rights, and I do not have to stand here to take your abuse like this. I once had a martial arts workshop with Stephen Seagal, and whilst he never got off his chair, or spoke to me because he was eating donuts or out of breath, he did teach me many different ways to snap your neck!

Not even bothering to take off his suit jacket, Larry Livingstone would try to storm Lil’ Petey in vain as he is immediately caught in an MP3 that comes out of nowhere to an utterly rapturous roar from the crowd as the lawyer’s head gets drilled into the canvas below.

LIL PETEY: Now that that noise is behind us, how about we start a proper fucking party in here!

With his words being received by the crowd, Petey’s music starts back up as a small legion of amply endowed women are received in the ring to start the party proper with no care in the world for the unconscious lawyer still flat faced in the ring.

J.T. PRICE: I don’t want to agree with one of the GM’s of that dumpster fire called Fallout, but I can get down with this happy ending! Isn’t that right, Book…? Wait Booker, you can’t run off to go dancing, you ain’t got enough drip you fucking loser!

With the sight of more people joining the impromptu ‘drip party’ in the ring and ringside area, including announcers and ringside staff and a near impossible amount of good looking people having a great time, Petey gives a wink at the camera as the show goes to a commercial break.





HOLLY PEREZ: This match is scheduled for one fall, with a 30 minute time-limit. Coming to the ring first, hailing from Chicago, Illinois… standing at six-foot-four-inches tall and weighing in at two-hundred and ninety-nine pounds… OFFFFFIIIIICEEEEEERRRR GREEEEEYYYYYYFIIIIIEEEEEEEELLLLLDDDD!!!

The remix of C.R.A.S.H theme hits and Officer Greyfield comes from the back and twirls his nightstick while making his way to the ring, he hits the steel steps with his nightstick and enters the ring and waits for the match to start.

Before announcing the next match, Holly Perez points at Officer Greyfield and motions for him to hand his nightstick off to a ringside official, which he does after a moment’s hesitation, and with a scowl on his face. Clearly he doesn’t enjoy being parted from his trademark weapon.

HOLLY PEREZ: And his opponent, hailing from a place that can’t be determined… standing at six-foot-three-inches tall and weighing in at two-hundred and forty pounds… DOUUUUUGLAAAAAAAS CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNE!!!

"Hurt" by Johnny Cash begins to play and after a few seconds Douglas Crane comes out the back and heads down the ramp, at a steady pace, emotionless, his piercing blue eyes focused on the ring; specifically, the massive opponent waiting for him there. He slides under the bottom rope and crawls on his fists while on his knees, slithering first towards the ref to freak him out and then towards his Officer Greyfield. He then slithers back towards a corner where he just sits, awaiting for the beginning of the match.

Holly gestures for the timekeeper to ring the bell, as she begins to head towards the ropes to exit the ring.

DING! DING! DING!

Both competitors step towards the center of the ring, with Crane staring at - almost through - Greyfield blankly, as the officer stares Proving Ground’s resident psycho up and down, sizing him up and studying the man’s stance.

The stalemate continues for close to a full minute, as neither party seems willing to make the first move against an opponent.

TREY BOOKER: It’s not often Greyfield finds himself in the ring with someone who can nearly match him for size; looks like he’s planning on letting his opponent make the first move here!

J.T. PRICE: But Crane seems to have the same idea, staring dead-eyed at Greyfield and refusing to act!

Finally, as if hearing something above the din of the crowd, Crane breaks eye-contact with his opponent for a split-second as his glance darts to the side…

…and it’s exactly the opening Greyfield needs, as he thrusts his fingers into Crane’s throat, causing his competitor to step backwards as his hands fly up towards his neck, gasping for breath.

J.T. PRICE: And there was the moment Greyfield was waiting for!

TREY BOOKER: Leave it to him to take any advantage possible; not many on Proving Ground can match him for ruthlessness and under-handed tactics!

With a sadistic grin on his face, Greyfield moves forward and starts peppering his foe with body blows, alternating lefts and rights to the ribs. Despite the force of impact, Crane hardly seems to flinch or express any sign of the pain he should be feeling.

The violent punches are still enough to send him back to rest against the ring ropes, as Greyfield executes a savage clothesline to send Crane falling out to ringside; he lands on his feet, grabbing at his neck and attempting to gain some control over the apparent internal struggle which continues to take his attention away from the match.

TREY BOOKER: It looks like Crane is battling something more than Greyfield here!

J.T. PRICE: Hardly a surprise from Proving Ground’s resident psycho; let’s see if he’s able to get it together and focus on his opponent before it costs him the match!

While his opponent steadies himself on the outside, Greyfield runs to the opposite ropes, then back towards Crane’s position at ringside… as he approaches the set of ropes nearest his opponent, he dives through the second and third ropes and executes a flying suicide forearm dive that drives Crane back against the guardrails.

J.T. PRICE: HOLY SHIT!!!

TREY BOOKER: Have we ever seen such agility from the near 300-pound Officer Greyfield before?! Looks like he laid Crane out with that suicide dive!

The referee begins to count to ten as Greyfield slowly recovers at ringside, far quicker than his opponent who took the full brunt of his sizable bulk. Grabbing Crane and tossing him back into the ring just as the referee calls out a ‘6’, Greyfield rolls into the ring as his opponent begins to stand back up.

TREY BOOKER: Looks like that risky diving maneuver might have been the edge Greyfield needed to push this match-up in his favor!

J.T. PRICE: Might be all the motivation he needs to start learning some moonsaults and phoenix splashes!

Pushing Crane back into a corner, Greyfield begins to unleash a series of knife-edge chops to his chest, quickly turning the flesh a bright red as blood begins to leak from the broken skin. Satisfied with his work, he goes to irish whip Crane into the opposite corner; but it is reversed by Crane, to send his opponent into the turnbuckles instead.

He rushes in to follow, looking like he wants to run straight into Greyfield to sandwich him between his body and the ringpost; but Greyfield reacts quickly with an elbow to Crane’s face. Crane staggers back a step, but despite the vicious blow he only blinks in response before lunging forward again.

J.T. PRICE: It barely had any effect!

TREY BOOKER: We’ve seen Douglas Crane capable of amazing feats of endurance before, but it’s still surprising he can soak up blows by such a powerful opponent!

Crane goes to grab Greyfield around the neck, but the bulky cop manages to duck and weave under the grapple. He grabs his opponent around the waist and tosses Crane overhead with a brutal German Suplex that plants him dead in the center of the ring.

Standing up and gloating to the crowd, Greyfield seems entirely unaware that Crane has recovered just as fast; when he turns around, his opponent is waiting for him with a big boot to the face that sends Officer Greyfield reeling back into the corner.

Crane’s expression remains as inscrutable as ever, eyes wide as he approaches the recovering Greyfield. With an almost casual ease, he hefts the near-300 pound man high above before dropping him into the turnbuckle; Greyfield’s head snaps back as his chin makes contact with the padded buckle.

As he stumbles backwards towards the middle of the ring, Crane stands unmoving for a few moments - eyes darting around up high, giving the impression of searching for some noise unheard to the rest of the arena - before locking in a standing cobra clutch submission hold.

J.T. PRICE: This has to be it!

TREY BOOKER: One of the most feared submissions here on Proving Ground, locked in tight!

J.T. PRICE: I just wish he didn’t have to scream so loud.

Crane keeps the hold locked in as Greyfield begins to cease his struggling, as he shows the first emotion he has in this match while screaming ‘RELEASE ME!’ at the top of his lungs. Despite the lack of oxygen quickly robbing him of his remaining energy, Greyfield refuses to tap. As he begins to go limp, the referee steps in to raise his arm and drop it once…

…twice…

…three times!

Confirming that Greyfield has passed out completely, the referee signals to the timekeeper before tapping Crane on the shoulder.

DING! DING! DING!

It takes several moments of the referee trying to get the man’s attention before he seems to snap out of it, his screaming stops as he releases the hold to let Greyfield crumple to the mat. The official begins to back away as Crane’s unsettling stare falls dead onto him, holding his hands in front of him to show he’s only doing his job.

Despite this, Crane actually takes two steps towards the referee; predictably, the man thinks better of trying to reason with this weirdo, and rolls out of the ring. Staring at the fleeing referee, Crane’s eyes scan the assembled crowd, taking an unusual amount of time trying to lock eyes with as many members of the audience as he can.

Finally, seemingly satisfied, he looks at the slowly recovering form of his fallen opponent one last time, before calmly leaving the ring and exiting up the ramp.






The mixtures of crowd noises and restlessness blended into a low hum that filled the venue, but that would soon be drowned out. The entrance way went dark and a heavy, distorted guitar riff took over the speakers. The guitar riff lasted for two measures before the drums came in, introduced by crashing symbols. The video tron lit up with the logo of a serpentine sea-monster accompanying the word “HYDRA”. By this time, Chino Moreno’s voice was heard layered over the heavy instrumental of Deftones “Rocket Skates”. As soon as his first verse started, the entrance way was lit up with crimson red lights.

HOLLY PEREZ: The following contest is scheduled for one fall! Making her way to the ring: she is a former two time Legacy Champion! From London, England, she stands at five foot and eight inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty-five pounds! Accompanied by HYDRA, this is 'The British Raven'....... ELLLEEEENNAAAA. DDDDDEDRRRAAACCCAAAAA!

“You're red, soaking wet.
I'm right next to you.
You're red, soaking wet.
Let's writhe, let me see you trip.”

With that first section used as an introduction, Elena DeDraca pushed through the black curtain and onto the stage. The Pale Queen, the Fist of Hydra, stood motionless center stage for a moment before she was joined by the remaining HYDRA members - Alexandra Kelly, Deirdre Evans and Lara Chambers. The trio stood in a straight line across the stage behind Elena, who had a hint of a smile touching her lips. And on cue with Chino’s screams of his chorus hook, HYDRA began to descend down the walkway with Elena leading the pack.

GUNS, RAZORS, KNIVES!
Fuck with me!

Once the group meets the padding around the ring, they all stop for a moment. Alexandra, Deirdre and Lara all spread out - circling the ring with a different person ending up on different sides of the ring. All glancing toward Elena, she would give a nod and all would simultaneously climb up onto the apron and duck between the ropes to enter the ring. The whole group moved to the center of the ring while Elena marched to the ropes facing the hard camera, climbing up to stand on the middle, wrapping a single leg over the top where she perched herself - arms spread out in a dominant fashion. This visual lasted for a moment before Elena climbed down and joined her friends in the middle of the ring. The lighting would then return to normal and the music began to fade away. Alexandra, Deirdre and Lara exited the ring, leaving just Elena to face her opponent.

'I've got sunshine in my pocket, I'm just right here in my zone
I've got Sade in my tape deck, I'm just movin' right along
All these haters really love me, they just pretend that they don't
'Cause I've got sunshine in my pocket, I'm just right here in my zone
In my zone'

Then… nothing. Suddenly, the ramp shows a graphic of Elena DeDraca holding the Legacy Championship. Brandon Hendrix walks from backstage to an arena full of cheers. Fans then notice he's carrying something over his shoulder, and it's revealed to be a sledgehammer. Brandon stands on top of the rampway, staring a hole into the eyes of Elena DeDraca before placing both hands on the wooden handle of the sledgehammer and lifts the hammer up in the air as high as he can, before then slamming it on the face of the Elena DeDraca graphic. Then, the graphic starts cracking, going down the ramp way with a long crack before hitting the bottom, then coming back up with fire. And when the fire gets to the top, Brandon lets go of the hammer and throws his arms out as flames erupt from the stage as 'In My Zone' kicks in and another pop from the crowd as Brandon lets out his battle cry. He places his arms back down by his side as he looks at the crowd before marching down to the ring. He extends his arms out, high fiving the crowd as he makes his way down the ramp.

HOLLY PEREZ: Introducing her opponent! From Miami, Florida! He weighs in at two hundred and thirty-seven pounds and stands at six foot and six inches tall! Ladies and gentlemen he is 'The Don'... BRAAAAAAANNDDDOOONN….. HEEEEEEEEENDRIXXXX!!!

A grin appears on the face of Brandon as he makes his way up the steel steps and gets on the apron. Brandon wipes his feet off on the edge of the ring before stepping between the top and middle rope. Brandon looks at Elena before walking past her and climbs to the middle rope, placing one foot on the top rope and beats on his chest before yelling. He jumps off and takes his shirt off and tosses it to the crowd as he squats down in his corner as the referee checks with both as he orders the bell to ring. The time keeper rings the bell as Brandon launches out of the gate- FALL OF THE GUARD!!!! OUT OF THE GATE AND BRANDON HENDRIX DAMN NEAR KICKED ELENA'S HEAD OFF HER SHOULDERS!! THE CROWD IS GOING ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!!

TREY BOOKER: That’s one hell of a way to start!

J.T. PRICE: Hendrix realizes how much of a threat Elena is now that she’s on Proving Ground, and he wants to eliminate her fast!

Brandon stares down at the fallen Elena DeDraca before peering over at her HYDRA mates. He walks over to the ropes, staring down at Alexandra, Deirdre, and Lara before turning his attention back to Elena as he drops to his knees beside her, uses his left hand to hold her head up, and uses his right hand to start punching the top of her skull, right above her eyebrow before letting go and getting back into the corner of the ring. He squats back down, keeping his eyes on Elena, who's finally starting to regather herself as she starts pushing herself off the mat, staggering to her feet, and this gives Brandon the cue to go as he starts charging at Elena, looking for another Fall Of The Guard. The veteran uses her IQ to side step Brandon, who crashes back first onto the mat. When he sits up, grabbing his back, he is met by a Shining Wizard by the former Legacy Champion, dropping Brandon one more time. Elena places two hands on the chest of Brandon as the referee starts the count.

One!

And before a two count can be done, Brandon kicks out from the pin attempt. Brandon rolls over to the ropes, sliding out of the ring, using the barricade to keep himself upwards as he grabs his jaw from getting kneed there. Elena rolls out of the ring on the opposite side of Brandon. She runs and leaps off the steps into Brandon, who catches her in his arms. He then runs forward and slams her back into the edge of the ring before lifting her back up and running into the barricade where he finally lets go of Elena's body. Brandon leans against the edge of the ring before slowly sliding back inside. Brandon stands near the ropes of the side of the ring Elena is stationed at. Taking a deep breath, Brandon runs to the opposite side's ropes and runs back, jumping and flipping over the top rope, landing his back on Elena bringing her down with him.

TREY BOOKER: Big suicide move connects!

J.T. PRICE: Elena must still be feeling the effects of her match at The Crowning. She hasn’t kicked it into gear yet.

Brandon rolls off Elena and pushes himself off the ground to a kneeling stance as he grabs ahold of his back as the crowd is on their feet. Brandon has never done a high risk move like that in his career, but for a match at this magnitude, he knew he had to bring out things he never did before, including throwing that much caution to the wind. Brandon gets to his feet, high fiving some fans close by before grabbing Elena by the arm and pulls her up to her feet and pushes her into the ring, forcing Elena to roll closer to the middle of the ring. Brandon hops onto the edge of the ring, looking to step between the ropes but stops himself. He looks over, eyeing the ring post and turnbuckles before looking at Elena. With a shrug of shoulders, Brandon climbs the turnbuckles, getting to the top rope, waiting for Elena to get up. Elena gets to her feet and Brandon stands on the top rope, and jumps off and hits a diving dropkick onto Elena and- AND A KIP UP FROM BRANDON! HE'S BEATING HIS CHEST AS HE GOT THE CROWD GOING CRAZY TOO!!

Brandon then runs off the ropes and jumps up into the air, landing a knee onto the face of Elena before covering her.

One!

Two!

And this time, Elena kicks out at two. Brandon grabs the wrist of Elena, pulling her up and tries pulling her to him for a lariat, but Elena ducks under, kicking Brandon in the back of the leg and quickly drops him with a falling inverted DDT. Elena grabs her injured abdomen, her wrist covering some of the stitches as she leans against the ropes before jogging and hitting a jumping leg drop before covering Brandon.

One.

Two.

And Brandon kicks out at two. Elena heads to the corner of the ring. Grabbing her stomach in absolute agony, she sees Brandon set himself up in perfect position, so she runs, going for 'Flight Of The Raven', but Brandon pops up and lifts her into the air, dropping Elena with a pop up headbutt. This staggers Brandon too as he grabs his forehead from the exchange before flipping Elena onto her stomach. Brandon places one foot down just above each of Elena's knees and bends her legs up, hooking them around his own knees; at this point Brandon grasps both of Elena's wrists, and falls backwards while compressing her shoulder-blades and lifting her off the ground as he lands on his back, completely stretching Elena's midsection. This hold is applied for a good minute, and that's when the audible gasp of the crowd can be heard. The referee grabs hold of Brandon, telling him to let go now. Confused, Brandon lets go as Elena lands on the mat, holding her stomach. Looking up at the tron, it shows a replay of her stitches popping out, blood now coming from her freshly opened wound. Upon seeing this, Brandon is taken aback for a moment. He falls into the corner of the ring, hands over his mouth as the referee keeps checking on Elena.

TREY BOOKER: Henrix was starting to look like Superman there, but this is very unfortunate. It looks as if Elena’s stitches have completely ripped open and her injury from The Crowning has been re-aggravated…

J.T. PRICE: Somebody censor that stuff! This isn’t Fallout!

The referee confers with Elena for a few moments, and we can see The British Raven defiantly shaking her head in the negative. After double checking, the referee walks over, and with Brandon expecting him to say he's ending the match, is even more shocked when he hears that Elena has demanded that the match continues. He looks over past the referee's shoulder, seeing Elena pull herself up into the corner, blood going down her stomach, he asks the referee if he was sure about this. When the referee nods, Brandon slowly walks over to Elena, his hands not closed in a fist like normal, but opened up, like he wants to lend a helping hand. He gets over to Elena, and tells her she does not need to continue with this match, that she should be taking care of her injury. Elena responds, but not with words, but with action. She slaps Brandon as hard as she can.

TREY BOOKER: Whoa-Ho! How’s that for some fire?

J.T. PRICE: We knew we were getting the best when Ekaterin traded Elena to Proving Ground, and this backs it up!

Brandon's face is turned, and he places a hand on his cheek, his expression quickly changing. Once in a state of concern has quickly turned to a state of anger. Brandon's left hand closes and he goes for a swing, but Elena ducks, forcing Brandon to go into the corner. Elena runs and catches Brandon with a corner high knee, dazing Hendrix before she runs away from him. Holding her stomach, she runs forward and catches Brandon with a Body splash in the corner before pulling Brandon in and nailing him with a neckbreaker. Unable to cover him quickly, Brandon gains time to recover from the onslaught of moves. After a few moments, both start to get up, using each other to stand to their feet. Elena then grabs the nippers of Brandon, and like she said, she could twist them till they bleed, but Brandon grabs her wrists and forces them off, but she pushes Brandon, who is sent back into the ropes, he looks for another Fall Of The Guard, but Elena moves out of the way. Brandon lands on his back and immediately turns, landing on his hands and knees, but has no time as Elena runs and- FLIGHT OF THE RAVEN!! BRANDON'S FACE SMASHES INTO THE MAT BELOW!!! He lands on his back after his head nails the mat and Elena falls on top of him for the pin cover.

ONE!

TWO!

BRANDON GOT HIS SHOULDER UP!! THE FANS ARE GOING CRAZY AS ELENA ROLLS OFF OF BRANDON AND BOTH WRESTLERS ARE DOWN!! THIS IS ANYONE'S MATCH!!!

TREY BOOKER: Holy shit! I think the sight of her own blood has awoken something in The British Raven! She’s looking stronger now than she did before!

J.T. PRICE: But she still wasn’t able to make that cover with her full strength, Trey.

Brandon is nearly unconscious on the mat as Elena gets back to her feet, letting out a primal roar to show that she’s still in the fight. Her sudden shout sends more blood running from her abdomen, and with one hand covering the wound she takes a step back to watch Brandon pull himself up with the assistance of the ropes. She suddenly dashes forward to plant a running knee lift under his chin, and Hendrix sinks back to a seated position, the ropes holding him up. Elena runs across the ring to hit the ropes and gain more momentum before charging back and planting another knee square against his face! The move keeps Hendrix down, but Elena cannot help but stagger a bit, still holding her stomach. With the canvas quickly being painted red, at least one concerned individual begins to make their way toward the ringside area.

J.T. PRICE: Mark Hunter? Does he really need to stick his nose into everything?

TREY BOOKER: He’s obviously concerned about someone he deeply respects, and with good reason!

Upon reaching ringside, it looks as if Mark is trying to talk some sense into Elena, but other than a sideways glance, she doesn’t pay him any mind. As The British Raven begins to stomp away at Hendrix, Mark then turns his attention to the official, hoping he can talk some sense into him since Elena refuses to hear it. For every argument Mark seems to give, Alexandra, Lara, and Deidra begin to argue as to why Elena is more than capable of continuing. With this ringside distraction finally more than she can bear, Elena spins the referee around and demands that he keep his focus on the match at hand.

With her back turned as she pleads her case, Brandon pulls himself back up, oblivious as to what’s going on. With quite possibly the biggest opportunity of his career at stake, he grabs Elena from behind to lock her into an abdominal stretch, further aggravating the open wound on her stomach! Brandon leans back with all the strength in his much larger body, pulling at Elena’s injury whether he realizes the damage he’s causing or not. Finally, unable to watch further damage inflicted on an admired peer, Mark pulls his t-shirt over his head and hurls it over the top rope.

For a moment, the referee is confused, but when Mark shouts that he’s throwing in the towel on Elena’s behalf, the troubled referee calls for the bell. It barely has time to ring before Elena counters Hendrix’ hold, sending him down the mat with a simple hip toss escape. For a moment, both Elena and Brandon display a pair of confused expressions…

HOLLY PEREZ: Due to blood loss, the referee has decided to stop this match and award it to Brandon Hendrix!

Brandon’s expression is a mix of surprise and concern as he stands back up and the referee raises his hand. In return, Elena sits on the mat, holding her stomach and glaring at the official. The referee goes to Elena’s side as Brandon exits the ring, looking to check on her condition, but The British Raven refuses his aid and spits some venomous words at him.

TREY BOOKER: Well this…is not what I expected. It’s a momentous victory for Brandon Hendrix and a surprising way for Elena to begin her Proving Ground career…

J.T. PRICE: Well if she doesn’t like it, she can always blame Mark Hunter.

TREY BOOKER: Don’t even go there, J.T. Mark was concerned about Elena’s well-being and I’m just glad he had the sense to do what no one else would!

As the members of HYDRA join her in the ring, Elena continues to fume over the controversial loss. Instead of joining her in the ring to check on her condition, Mark Hunter instead makes his way back up the ramp, but pauses to look back toward the ring. Only his look of concern has been replaced by a curious grin…


Our scene opens as we see Casanova English in the locker room, getting ready for his upcoming match. Already dressed, he is making sure his shoes are on tight, when the door to the locker room opens.

CASANOVA ENGLISH: Great. I was hoping to be here alone, to get ready for my match.

Casanova slips on his leather jacket and picks his Warrior Rising Championship up off the bench, before turning to exit…but almost running into the person who entered the locker room: Arik Holt.

ARIK HOLT: Casanova, just the person I wanted to see.

Casanova rolls his eyes and stops walking, the look of annoyance is clear on his face.

CASANOVA ENGLISH: What do you need, Arik?

ARIK HOLT: So, I’m not sure if you saw what happened on Fallout last night…

CASANOVA ENGLISH: Everyone saw that train wreck. What about it?

ARIK HOLT: Well Syndicate, Havoc, Slade, Angelo, and Julius have all stepped away from True Society. The rest of us need to tighten our ranks and shore ourse-

CASANOVA ENGLISH: Woah, woah, woah. The rest of us?

ARIK HOLT: Yeah. Me, Billy, Savannah, and you.

Casanova shakes his head from side to side.

CASANOVA ENGLISH: Sorry, Arik…but that ship sailed long ago. You see, I understand it was hard to keep me involved with me being the ONLY member on Proving Ground…

ARIK HOLT: I tried to get more, believe me I did. I talked to Swindle before he joined Big Drip. I talked to Ozy before he joined Big Drip. Hell, I even talked to Emmanuelle. I aaaaaallllmooossstttt had her on our side, then she won gold and her head got too big for her own good.

CASANOVA ENGLISH: Sorry, boss…but I haven’t felt like a member of True Society in awhile. And honestly, with the others breaking rank, I think it’s in my best interest to break away too. But good luck running with beauty and the beast over there on Fallout.

ARIK HOLT: I’m not sure how much longer True Society can survive with this many people coming at us and such few numbers.

CASANOVA ENGLISH: Face it, Arik. True Society is dead. And the quicker you grasp that, the quicker you can move on. Just like this.

Casanova breezes past Arik, leaving Holt to contemplate what he said. True Society died on Fallout last night. He has lost his General Manager position…his Fallout…his leverage against everyone…and now True Society. But…at least…at least he still had Savannah. Right?



HOLLY PEREZ: The following match is for the Warrior Rising Championship!!

“Nonstop” by Drake hits as the fans rise to their feet, watching the curtain while cheering. T.J. Thompson marches out onto the ramp, pounding his chest while shouting at the crowd with contagious energy.

HOLLY PEREZ: Introducing first… the challenger… originally from Los Angeles, CA… TJ THOMPSON!!

Chants of "HIP" are heard as he high fives fans on his way down to the ring. At the bottom of the ramp, Thompson singles out a fan, and begins shaking uncontrollably as he raises his hand up. The crowd plays along with it as if Thompson is charging up before giving a massive high five to the fan. The fan swings his arm back from the impact of the high five while Thompson fires up the crowd before sliding into the ring.

TJ briefly poses on the top turnbuckle as the crowd continues to cheer before waiting for English with a huge grin on his face.

HOLLY PEREZ: And the champion… from Ontario, Canada… CASANOVA ENGLISH!!

The lights go dim as the eerie voice of a former member of the notorious Manson Family rings through the arena.

"yeah, I
remember her saying:
I'm already dead... I'm already dead... I'm
already dead..."

The lights flicker revealing Casanova English on the stage as the voice continues.

"You're going to get up and scream. I'm
already dead... I'm already dead... I'm already dead..."
You're
going to get up and-
Burn an x in your head."

The lights turn back on as Casanova English takes a long drag off his already lit cigarette, his leather jacket hung loosely over his shoulders. He scowls at the crowd before Bash Daddy slowly walks from behind the curtains to join him - the towering man shirtless, wearing black jeans and a leather mask.

English and Bash Daddy look at one another and smirk before walking down the ramp slowly. English stops to blow smoke in the general direction of some fans. Bash Daddy walks over to the corner between the guard rails and the ring. English slowly struts up the steps onto the ring apron. He hangs his jacket on the turnbuckle before stepping through the second rope. English smirks, pulling the cigarette from his lips, he blows a cloud of smoke straight up into the air and tosses his coffin nail into the crowd. English laughs as people move trying to avoid the ember. Bash Daddy glares from the outside at TJ.

DING! DING! DING!

TJ is off like a shot at English, but English manages to dodge, getting behind his opponent with a waist lock. He tries to lift, but TJ fights out, flipping Casanova over with an arm drag. TJ keeps the arm hooked, holding English in a sitting position then firing a quick dropkick to the back of the champion’s neck. Casanova reels, clutching his neck as TJ flips over him with a neck breaker. TJ’s weight pulls English forward, before he releases it and the head snaps backward into the mat. The Yung Goat is back on him in an instant, going for the first pin of the match…

ONE!
TWO!
T… KICK OUT!!!

J.T. PRICE: Professional wrestling, one of the few times a man trying to finish early ain't a bad thing.

TREY BOOKER: TJ with a great start, clearly wants that belt.

TJ is up first, but English surprises him with a vicious headbutt. Thompson staggers before English hooks him up for a powerbomb attempt. He lines up with the nearest corner and brings TJ up, but TJ fights out, firing a series of punches at the champion. Casanova gets a running start and tosses Thompson at the turnbuckles, but he anticipates, and lands perfectly with his feet on the middle turnbuckles. English advances on the corner, but TJ launches off with a ddt attempt…

TREY BOOKER: These two are so evenly matched. It’s hard to know what's about to happen.

Casanova however catches him and sends him over with a northern lights suplex. Casanova keeps the bridge…

ONE!
TWO!
THR… Shoulder up by TJ!!!

English is back up with great speed, driving both his feet to Thompson’s chest in a brutal stomp. TJ tries to recover, getting to his knees following the attack, but the champion measures him, then hits a shining wizard that sends the challenger back down.

TREY BOOKER: Pretty impressive how quickly Casanova can turn things around with one reversal. He’s not even giving TJ a chance to get his bearings.

Grabbing Thompson by the arm, English pulls him up, driving a knee into his midsection, before pulling back and firing a second at the same location. TJ nearly doubles over, but the champion keeps him vertical. Casanova grabs hold of TJ for a possible atomic drop, he hoists him up. TJ manages to flip out of it, deftly landing on his feet behind English. The challenger blasts the champ in the back with a dropkick that sends him stumbling forward into the ropes. English hits the ropes, but adjusts his momentum and bounces off of them, charging at Thompson. TJ is already back to his feet and leaps to catch English with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, however Casanova catches TJ mid momentum, he swings him back in the opposite direction. The champion drives TJ back into the mat with a sidewinder suplex that leaves the crowd groaning on impact.

J.T. PRICE: Casanova has star quality written all over him.

Casanova hooks the leg…

ONE!
TWO!
THRE… Another kick out by Thompson!!

TREY BOOKER: What an incredible match so far.

English acknowledges the count, and hoists TJ back up. Casanova’s right arm grips the throat of the challenger, lifting him up a little. Thompson fights out, spins around and traps English with a wristlock. The Hipbeast follows with a leg sweep that drops English forward, rolling him into a pinning combination.

ONE!
TWO!
T… Strong kick out from Casanova!!

TREY BOOKER: These two seem to be going for pins as often as possible.

J.T. PRICE: Never a bad option to wear someone out.

TJ is back up in a flash, but English is there to meet him. The two lock-up briefly before Casanova whips the challenger to the ropes. He looks for a backdrop on the rebound, but Thompson anticipates and flips over, landing on his feet behind English. English turns and walks right into a lightning fast superkick that catches him right underneath the chin. Dropping him to the mat yet again.

J.T. PRICE: Ouch…

Casanova scrambles to the ropes, using them to pull himself back up. TJ charges, but this time English catches him with a backdrop. The challenger flies to the apron, landing on his feet and barely hanging on by gripping the top rope. Thompson leaves an opening as he tries to regain his footing, and the champion takes advantage, stunning him with a shoulder to the gut. English hooks TJ up for a suplex and attempts to bring him back into the ring, but the challenger blocks by locking an arm under the top rope. English tries again but TJ gets free, cracking the champ across the jaw with a jumping enziguri. The hard shot is enough to break the suplex attempt, as Casanova staggers back toward the center of the ring holding his jaw. English gets his bearings quickly, and goes to rebound off the opposite rope so he can get a running start at TJ. Thompson anticipates and rockets forward, flipping over the top rope and charging ahead to catch Casanova with a buckshot lariat that sends both men to the canvas.

TREY BOOKER: Holy hell, what a clothesline from TJ!

Both men lay motionless for a moment, but Thompson is the first to stir, inching over to the champion so he can desperately get one arm over for a pinning combination as the crowd counts along…

ONE!
TWO!
THRE… KICKOUT BY ENGLISH!!!

The challenger closes his eyes and takes a breath, fighting through the frustration. Finding a second wind, Casanova springs back to life and hooks TJ with a crucifix that brings his shoulders to the mat…

ONE!
TWO!
THREE!!! CASANOVA ENGLISH WINS!!!

HOLLY PEREZ: THE WINNER… VIA PINFALL AND STILL THE WARRIOR RISING CHAMPION… CASANOVA ENGLISH!!!

Both men are still laid out on the mat breathless.

TREY BOOKER: Damn, seems English caught TJ off guard for just long enough there.

J.T. PRICE: What a match…


Following the previous contest, we go backstage where the co-General Managers of Fallout, Percival Burque and Lil’ Petey are standing by.

PERCIVAL BURQUE: Hello to all my old friends on the Ground where things are Proven! It is I, Ratman, Wrestling Supreme! Just because my duties have me on Fallout now, does not mean that I can’t stop in to say hello! Although I’m not just here to say hello. I’m here with the Littlest Petey to give you a very important announcement!

LIL’ PETEY: You’re all gonna catch that drip later when me and Caddy Daddy tear down the house, but right now it’s time to take care of some Fallout business!

PERCIVAL BURQUE: As our dear friend and partner told you all earlier, we are going to break Spring!

Petey shakes his head and puts his hand on Ratman’s shoulder.

LIL’ PETEY: Nah, dawg. We’re going to Spring Break! Not only that, but we’re gonna have a new Legacy Champion! Indy says Proving Ground will decide its contenders in tonight’s main event, but me and the mouse man already have our picks decided! After last night, my choice was as easy to nail down as Savannah Sunshine.

PERCIVAL BURQUE: Oh my! I’m not sure I get that reference, but it sounds interesting!

LIL’ PETEY: My pick to go into the Legacy Title Match is none other than The Nightmare Tyrant…the Ascended Prime Champion…Havoc!

PERCIVAL BURQUE: That is an excellent choice, Littlest Petey, but I have made my decision too! I want to keep up with your witty banter so I will say…picking my contender was as easy as picking my nose!

Percival pauses to shove his index finger into one of his nostrils, thus illustrating how easy it really is.

PERCIVAL BURQUE: And that contender is the person who took Havoc to his very limits…the one and only…Billy Bennett!

A surprised look appears on Petey’s face as he turns to look at his partner.

LIL’ PETEY: Whoa, dawg. Are you sure about that? She’s nuttier than a squirrel’s loaded sack and might still be down with old tampon-head…

PERCIVAL BURQUE: Have no fear, Littlest Petey! For I am Ratman, Wrestling Supreme, and I know exactly what I’m doing! Congratulations to both Havoc and Billy, and we wish you the bestest of luck!

Petey shrugs his shoulders as Ratman gives the camera a thumbs up before we return to ringside…



As Crossfyre’s “Badstreet USA” begins to fade, we see that The Phantom Troupe are already in the ring for the next contest.

HOLLY PEREZ: The following contest is scheduled for one fall and it is for the Project: Honor Tag Team Championships! Introducing first, the challengers, at a total combined weight of four hundred twenty pounds…DJ HUNTER…KYLE VALENTINE…THE PHANTOM TROUPE!!!

The arena darkens with a single soft spotlight on the stage where smoke begins to cover the ground. After the initial guitar strum of his theme, a silhouette can be seen through the spotlight. The silhouette is slightly rocking with his gaze down towards his hands. Slade walks into the spotlight still taping his fists and begins staring intensely, yet void of emotion, at the ring. Slade finishes taping his fists and cracks his knuckles, then his neck.

Then, his music fades away quickly, replaced by Hinder’s “Bad Motha Fucka”. With half of the tag team titles over his shoulder, Julius Fairweather joins Castle on the entrance stage. The two men give each other a quick fist bump before turning their attention toward the ring…

HOLLY PEREZ: And their opponents…both hailing from the Motor City…They are The Project: Honor Tag Team Champions…JULIUS FAIRWEATHER…SLADE CASTLE…THE MOTOR CITY PSYCHOS!!!

Julius and Slade continue to make their way to the ring, both of them with serious expressions as they stare down the members of Phantom Troupe. After entering the ring, they hand over their championships to the referee with confidence and await the opening bell.

DING! DING! DING!

TREY BOOKER: I have to say, it’s very interesting to see Castle and Fairweather on the same page after the way they came together as a team.

J.T. PRICE: Yeah, but we both know that Julius’ switch could flip at any time. Then what happens?

It’s going to be Castle and Valentine starting out for their respective teams, with the two men locking up in the center of the ring. It doesn’t last long, as Castle tucks his leg behind Kyle’s and gives him a hard shove, knocking him down the canvas. Before Valentine can respond, the former Marine is on top of him to apply a side headlock and hammer him with a flurry of right hands. Following the barrage, he pulls Kyle back to his feet, hooks him for a suplex, and then drops his abdomen over the top rope. As Valentine teeters over the rope, Castle hits the ropes to his side and comes back to drill a boot against the side of Kyle’s head, knocking him to the outside of the ring.

As DJ Hunter drops to ringside to check on his partner, Slade makes his way to his corner and tags in Julius. The two men then take a moment to measure the Phantom Troupe before running across the ring and diving between the ropes with a double suicide dive!

TREY BOOKER: Castle and Julius mean business tonight! Both members of the Troupe are down!

As Castle stomps DJ against the guardrail, Julius grabs Valentine and rolls him back under the bottom rope. After following him in, Julius peppers Kyle with a series of shuffling jabs before dropping him with a big roundhouse kick! He goes for the cover…

ONE!
TWO!
KICKOUT!

Not deterred by the kick-out, Julius pulls Kyle back up, but Valentine suddenly counters with a back body drop. Kyle then springs off the ropes and flies back at Julius just as he gets to his feet, connecting with a spinning headscissors! The move sends Julius staggering toward the corner, his head diving between the top and middle ropes to hit the ringside post! As The Bad MoFo slumps in the corner, Kyle rushes in to keep him there with a series of stomps. He then tags in DJ Hunter before hooking Julius for in a wheelbarrow, and Hunter springs into the ring with a slingshot sitout facebuster!

TREY BOOKER: The Troupe are back in this thing after a rough start!

J.T. PRICE: Wait…did Julius just yell something about ‘Sweet Baby Jesus’ when they hit that move?

While it previously looked like Julius was full of fire, he now seems meek and helpless against DJ Hunter’s offense, a sure sign that his personality has shifted to that of Fineweather. Castle curses at him from his corner in an attempt to knock his partner out of it, but it seems to be of no use. A well-placed superkick from DJ Hunter seems to knock out Julius’ lights for a moment before he teeters and finally falls flat on his back. With the match well in hand, DJ tags Kyle back in. Valentine rushes in to plant a soccer kick against the now-seated Julius, which DJ follows by hitting a standing moonsault. As Hunter rolls unde the ropes, Kyle goes for the cover…

ONE!
TWO!
SAVE BY CASTLE!

Knowing that his partner is in serious trouble, Castle stays in the ring long enough to grab DJ by the head and plant him with a DDT, hoping it’s enough to buy Julius a little time. After Castle returns to his corner, Julius begins to crawl across the mat to make the all-important tag. DJ shakes off the effects of the DDT and sees Julius, immediately going after him…but it’s too late! Hot tag! Castle comes in like a madman, knocking DJ down with a hard clothesline before running across the ring to kick an unsuspecting Kyle in the face with a big boot, knocking him off the apron! Slade then turns back toward DJ Hunter, measures him for a second, and hits his Loss of Control tackle!

ONE!
TWO!
KICKOUT!

As Castle stays on DJ Hunter, Julius begins to show a mischievous smile from his corner. The fog covering his eyes indicate that Foulweather has taken over, as he works to untie the turnbuckle pad and expose the metal underneath. Slade notices what Julius has done and hooks DJ Hunter in a half nelson, forcing him toward his corner. Before the referee can spot the missing turnbuckle pad, Castle begins to slam DJ’s head against the exposed steel! After several head smashes, it’s obvious that DJ has been busted open! Castle then flings DJ to the mat and tag Julius back into the contest.

TREY BOOKER: I think the champions are smelling blood in the water! This is bad news for the challengers!

J.T. PRICE: The Phantom Troupe were coming in as the underdogs tonight, so I’m not surprised in the least.

Julius pulls DJ up and hooks him in a standing side headlock before unloading a series of punches against his busted forehead. Julius then transitions the Great Vengeance into a series of arm trapped headbutts, the Furious Anger! From there he transitions the hold into his butterfly DDT…The Iniquities of the Selfish! It looks as if he’s going to follow up with his Tyranny of Evil Men submission hold, but thankfully for the Phantom Troupe, Kyle Valentine leaps into the ring to knock Julius away with a springboard dropkick!

This time it is Julius and DJ who are down, with Kyle desperately trying to get his partner fired up enough to make the tag. Hunter crawls across the ring toward his corner while Julius is stunned…and he makes the hot tag! Kyle rushes into the ring to drop Julius with a running knee strike and then turns to dropkick Castle from the apron! Julius is in serious trouble when Kyle hooks his arms for The Phantom Troupe’s Deep Six assisted double arm DDT, but he’s able to counter with a backdrop that sends Kyle crashing into his own partner! All three men in the ring are down and Castle is still at ringside!

TREY BOOKER: We’re at the point where this thing could go either way! The Phantom Troupe have given The Motor City Psychos more of a fight than they were expecting!

J.T. PRICE: Wait…what in the hell…?!

Castle recovers at ringside just in time to see several men in white coats running down the ramp toward the ring. With a straight jacket in their possession, it’s clear to Slade that they intend to once again capture and incarcerate his tag team partner. Not willing to stand by while that happens, Slade runs across the ringside area and meets the first two men with a double clothesline! He then grabs the third, lifts him off his feet, and flings him down to the floor! The trained Marine is having no trouble at all with the apparent orderlies, but he’s also left his partner alone in the ring against two opponents.

Julius is totally focused on DJ Hunter with a series of boxing-style punches, but that leaves him wide open to an attack from Kyle Valentine. Julius is quickly locked into Kyle’s Gory Special, which gives DJ enough time to hit a front flip facebuster off the middle rope…GRAN REY CERO! Castle finishes off the last orderly and turns his attention back to the ring just in time to see Kyle going for a pin on his partner…

ONE!

Castle dives under the bottom rope…

TWO!!

He dives toward Kyle Valentine…

THREE!!!

But he’s too late!

DING! DING! DING!

HOLLY PEREZ: Your winners of the match…and NNNEEEEWWWWW PROJECT: HONOR TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS…DJ HUNTER AND KYLE VALENTINE…THE PHANTOM TROUPE!!!

As Castle kneels by his partner, he has an expression of complete disbelief on his face. Kyle and DJ have similar shocked reactions before they finally embrace each other in a victory hug! The referee hands the championships over to Kyle and DJ, with Castle and Julius unable to do anything about it…

TREY BOOKER: New Champions! I don’t believe it! After Julius holding those titles with an iron grip since late summer, we finally have new champions!




"Applause" by Lady Gaga hits and some of the crowd goes wild. The rest of it, well, who really knows. It's kind of one of those weird moments where the realization that Archimedes J. Manson, aka The Animaniac, is not exactly the hottest thing on the streets. Much to some of these people's chagrin.

And apparently Archie's as well.

Archimedes J. Manson strolls out of the back and onto the stage without the slightest bit of fanfare. All of his usual happy-go-luckiness is gone and he just kind of mopes his way down the ramp. There are some half-hearted attempts to interact with the fans along the way but it's just not worth the effort, is it?

For the first time in a long time, Archimedes J. Manson looks completely defeated.

AJM takes the ring steps (he never uses the stairs) and climbs into the ring. He grabs a microphone from one of the techs around and goes to stand in the middle of the ring. His music cuts and he just sighs as he looks around at everyone gathered in the XL Center.

Eventually, he raises the microphone up to speak.

ARCHIMEDES J. MANSON: Hey.

Another mixed reaction since AJM's spirits don't seem to be as high. Still, though, it's mostly positive. Looks like the crowd is behind him on whatever's going on.

ARCHIMEDES J. MANSON: I just came out here to talk to you guys for a second. If that's okay. Can I do that?

The crowd gives him a pop to try and cheer the man on.

ARCHIMEDES J. MANSON: So um... I've never really been a wrestler. Not really. I've been doing it off and on for a few years now but that's only because they keep locking me in that damn Water Tower. But now that I'm free, I find myself drawn more and more to this sport. But to the entertainment part. Because that's what I was drawn for. To entertain.

This poor man actually thinks he's a cartoon. Oh boy.

ARCHIMEDES J. MANSON: I just wanted to make people laugh. Do something a little different. Coming here, to Proving Ground, to Project Honor... I thought that's where I would get that chance. To show people that professional wrestling, hell this world, wasn't as messed up as everybody thought. I wanted to show that you could still have fun. You could still live, love, and most importantly, laugh.

ARCHIMEDES J. MANSON: I realize, though, that since coming back to the world of professional wrestling and not taking it seriously, I've been doing the one thing I've never wanted to do in my life. And that's hurt the people that are closest to me. The people that I call my friends. The people that have gone out of their way to help me make this work. And to those people, I'm sorry.

ARCHIMEDES J. MANSON: Mz. Frizzelle, Jessica Rappitt, Olivia Gardan, Vanity James, Harleigh Davidson, Penelope Peril, Londyn Bridges, Titus Monroe Ingram... all of you guys have been the best friends I've had since...

AJM pauses for a moment, clearly trying to continue to repress some memories.

ARCHIMEDES J. MANSON: Let's just say a long time.

Even the crowd is feeling for AJM at this moment. He gets one of those AWWWWWWWs and everything.

ARCHIMEDES J. MANSON: But there's one person that I've let down more than anyone else... and her name is Anastasia Poe.

There's a middling pop from some of the crowd that followed Poe's work.

ARCHIMEDES J. MANSON: I owe her the biggest apology of all. She found me and took me under her wing. Despite all of our differences and how much I annoy the crap out of her on an hourly basis, she stuck with me. She's been trying everything under the sun to get me to the next level in this whole wrestling thing and I've done nothing but let her down. Let you all down. Let... everyone down.

AJM hangs his head as he drops the microphone down to his side for a moment.

??: Oh hell nah! Boy, you better turn that frown upside down!

??: Quite so, my historical amigo from a different matriarchal figure!

Archimedes J. Manson stops dead in his depressive tracks and starts to look up. Coming out onto the stage are two individuals dressed in the same styled colorful clothing as Archimedes J. Manson.

ARCHIMEDES J. MANSON: ...

??: Oh no! Don't get quiet now! Not when the party's just about to really begin!

??: Indeed! We shall be getting quite rambunctious in this location!

The crowd doesn't know what to think and one of the individuals notices that AJM is in full shock mode and so he takes care of this next bit as they walk their way down the ramp.

??: Ladies and Gentlemen! Allow me to introduce to you the biggest heart and the biggest brain in the badass business... my friend and soon-to-be yours. The Saturday Morning Monster himself! STANFORD EDISON!

The crowd really doesn't know if they should cheer or what.

STANFORD EDISON: My fellow countrymen, behold! I implore you to feast your optical revolution in the direction of this fine specimen of friendship and honor! My high-flying hip-hopping hombre! Davion Isaiah Zaire! But you may call him... THE DIZ!

At this point the crowd is just feeling the vibe and the cheering starts. Both The Diz and Stanford Edison climb up into the ring and stand across from Archimedes J. Manson.

DAVION ISAIAH ZAIRE: So that's it? You just gon' stand there?

STANFORD EDISON: I daresay the ol' chap's system might be a bit shocked.

DAVION ISAIAH ZAIRE: You ain't seen ya' boys in like ten years and you ain't gonna' say nothin'?!

Archimedes J. Manson just drops his microphone and dives into a group hug with Stanford and Davion. The group hug is a precious moment that gets that same AWWWWWWW from the crowd.

Stepping out from the back and onto the stage is Anatasia Poe. She locks eyes with Archimedes while he's trapped in this neverending group hug.

ARCHIMEDES J. MANSON: (off-mic) Thank you.

Anastasia Poe blinks away something in her eye, definitely not a tear or anything, before she nods in response to AJM's words and turns to head backstage. Meanwhile, we get the pleasure of seeing Archimedes J. Manson standing between "The Diz" Davion Isaiah Zaire and "The Saturday Morning Monster" Stanford Edison, raising both of their hands in victory.

Cue the freeze frame and the words: TOONING SOON.



The opening beat to "oops!!!" by Yung Gravy w/ Lil Wayne graces the ears of everyone in the audience. Peach and pink strobe lights start going off. Every woman in attendance suddenly feels the drip as the lyrics start and Lil Petey steps out onto the stage. Fur coat, multi-colored button up that's only halfway buttoned up, and black pants make up his attire. Petey's got a microphone in hand and starts to rap with the lyrics, even though the mic doesn't actually work.

TREY BOOKER: Here comes one of the owners of Project Honor and one half of the General Managers of Fallout, Lil’ Petey! Another night on his Retirement Tour and this night he has selected the returning Cadillac Jackson. Last time we saw Cadillac Jackson was his incredible X-Factor Championship Ladder Match against MYOJIN.

J.T. PRICE: God I hate this entrance.

♫Ayy, supercalifragilisticexpialiexpiali-dope shit
Supercalifragilic-, my ex be on some ho shit
Superman, I get dem bands but ain't gon' buy you roses
Super-duper get them cougars, took my wrist and froze it
Super-duper hoes
Y'all got Oompa Loompa hoes
I ain't never knew ya hoes
Prolly still ran through 'em, though♫

Lil Petey stops on the ramp and looks around at some of the women reaching out to him. He walks up to this couple as the song continues. Petey looks at the dude and points at the chick.

♫Oh, wait, wait, I do know your hoe?
You talkin' 'bout, you talkin' 'bout Tracy?
Nah, nah, nah, nah, you mean like, like, Tracy with the ass?
Tracy with the, with the Honda?
Shit, well♫

Petey winks at the woman and then starts jumping up and down while getting closer to the ring.

♫Oops, baby
Fuck up on your bitch, like oopsy daisy
Never knew that was your boo, baby
Hit her five times in the coupe, Mercedes, whoopsie dai-, yeah
Oops, baby
Gravy hit my bitch, yeah, whoopsie daisy
I just tried to hit, it's my duty, baby
Sippin' on the Goose, like Boosie, baby♫

By this time, Petey is in the ring, taking his fur coat off. He gently hands it to an official outside and vibes in the ring until his opponent enters.

"All of the Lights" by Kanye West hits, and the lights go out. Small flashes of multicolored lasers shoot through the arena in the dark, as a large white spotlight scans the crowd during the intro of the song. As we approach the drop, the lights go out besides the spotlight that stays on the middle of the entrance curtain. As the drums and lyrics pick up in the song after the drop, Cadillac bursts through the curtain and into the spotlight, where he stands soaking in it for a few moments. He then makes his way to the ring with the spotlight following him, pointing and waving at fans while making sure to be out of reach of them. He walks up the stairs and onto the apron, leaning his back against the ropes and surveying the crowd before spinning around and hopping into the ring. He goes to the top rope and removes his sunglasses and ring jacket, handing it to a stagehand before hopping down and getting ready for action.

J.T. PRICE: You know why Lil Petey picked Cadillac as his opponent? Because Jackson hasn't competed since Clash For the Cup in NOVEMBER OF 2021! Lil Petey wanted an easy victory!

TREY BOOKER: Oh shut up! Lil Petey picked Cadillac Jackson because Cadillac is world class and one of Project Honor's most premier wrestlers ever!

The bell rings as Cadillac and Petey approach each other and shake each other's hand before they circle each other and lock up. Cadillac maneuvers and gets the advantage, placing Petey in a headlock. Petey forces Jackson to the ropes and pushes Cadillac off, who rebounds off the ropes and drops Petey with a shoulder block. Cadillac runs off the ropes again, and Petey flips over onto his stomach that forces Cadillac Jackson to jump over his body and run off the ropes again. Petey has gotten to his feet and leapfrogs over Cadillac, where he once again runs off the ropes, but to no use as Petey flips through, rolling Cadillac up.

One!
Two!

Cadillac kicks out as Petey gets to his feet and extends his right arm and places two fingers from his left hand on the joint of his right arm before hitting him with a 'SHEEEEEEESH'.

TREY BOOKER: Some friendly head games by "The Drip Sensation”.

J.T. PRICE: Yeah well if Lil Petey was focused on this match, he wouldn't be mocking the man who nearly became Grand Champion at Night Of Honor. Total lack of respect from this idiot!

TREY BOOKER: Cadillac seems to be having fun himself with this attempt from one of the owners of Project Honor.

Cadillac nods and chuckles as he stands up and both men start circling each other again. Both men go for another lock up, but it was a ruse as Cadillac ducks under and rolls Petey up.

One!
Two!

Petey kicks out as Jackson walks over to the corner and leans against the buckles before mocking Petey by extending his left arm and placing two fingers from his right hand on the joint of his arm and mockingly says "Sheesh".

J.T. PRICE: YEAH HOW DO YOU LIKE IT PETEY?!?

TREY BOOKER: ..... what is wrong with you?

J.T. PRICE: I have a natural disdain for authority…

Lil Petey stands up and runs after Cadillac, only for Cadillac to duck under, letting Petey hit the turnbuckle chest first, bouncing off as Cadillac catches him with a catch and release German Suplex. Cadillac sees Petey get to his knees, but is dropped by Cadillac with a running lariat and then he covers Petey.

One!
Two!

Petey kicks out again!

J.T. PRICE: Now we're getting into the action! No more of that gross respect wrestling they were doing!

TREY BOOKER: Despite their friendship, both men know that the other man wants to win this match. Lil Petey wants to have his Retirement Tour going out on a good note and Cadillac Jackson wants to show that even being gone for so long that he's still one of the brightest stars in Proving Ground.

Cadillac lifts Petey up and brings him to the corner of the ring, putting him perched up on the top turnbuckle and climbs up to the middle turnbuckle himself. He tries applying Petey in for a suplex, but Petey holds onto the turnbuckle before punching Cadillac in the stomach and then pushes Cadillac off to the middle rope onto his back. Petey gets his stance on the top rope, hitting another "SHEEEEESH" pose before jumping off the turnbuckle, hitting Cadillac with his 'Freaky Bomb' Swantom Bomb that makes Petey roll off grabbing his back. He crawls over to the cover, but doesn't notice what the crowd is loudly reacting to as it's too late. His foot gets yanked and he starts getting some ground and pound by….LANCE WILLIAMS! THE SAME LANCE WILLIAMS WHO WAS FIRED BY INDY DARLING LAST YEAR BEFORE CLASH FOR THE CUP!!

TREY BOOKER: WHAT THE HELL?!?!?! THAT'S LANCE WILLIAMS! LANCE WILLIAMS IS BACK IN PROJECT HONOR!!!!

J.T. PRICE: THE FORMER X-FACTOR CHAMPION IS BACK AND HE'S KICKING THE CRAP OUT OF PETEY!

The bell rings as the match ends in disqualification as Lance continues to beat the hell out of Petey. Lance gets off of Petey and heads into the corner, he kneels down, demanding Petey to get up. The dazed and confused founder of Big Drip Productions gets to his feet and- RAGING BULL!! PETEY WAS GORED IN HALF BY LANCE WILLIAMS!!

J.T. PRICE: RAGING BULL!

TREY BOOKER: HE HAD TO KNOCK THE WIND OUT OF PETEY WITH THAT DEVASTATING MOVE!

Not done yet, Lance lifts Petey up and spins him around. He goes for a Torture Rack Bomb, but Cadillac is back to his feet and starts taking the fight to Lance. Rights after rights, and as he goes to clothesline Lance, The Essence of Egotism leaps from the ring and backs up the ramp.

HOLLY PEREZ: Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this match as a result of a disqualification: Lil Petey!

TREY BOOKER: Despite losing, thankfully Cadillac was able to get up and save Petey from any serious injuries at the hands of Lance Williams tonight.

J.T. PRICE: Next time he won't be so lucky! Hopefully next time Lance dumps Petey out of the ring and drops him on his neck.

"oops" plays as Cadillac kneels by Lil Petey, who is still holding his midsection from the spear he took. Lance smirks as he looks on as the show goes to commercial...





The sound of “Cash Flow” echoes through the arena as Emmanuelle paces back and forth in the ring, the crowd solidly behind her as she awaits the arrival of her partner and opponents.

HOLLY PEREZ: The following contest is a tag team match scheduled for one fall! Introducing first, from Pacific Palisades, California…she is “The Platinum Standard” and “The Silver Starlet”…EMMANUELLE!!!

“Feel Invincible” by Skillet suddenly sounds throughout the building and the crowd erupt into an undeniably positive response. After a few seconds' pause Mark Hunter strolls out onto the ramp area, he smirks in a self-satisfied and confident manner at the reaction from the fans and begins his walk down to the ring. Mark acknowledges a few fans with fist bumps as he wanders down the ramp, he continues to receive the great crowd response as he ascends the ring steps. He enters between the middle and top rope and instantly wanders over to the far corner, Hunter climbs up and poses for the crowd whilst taking in the response from the fans. He soon steps down to the canvas and stretches his arms in the air before readying himself for action. At this stage the music slowly fades away.

HOLLY PEREZ: And her partner, residing in San Jose, California and weighing in at two hundred twenty-five pounds… “The Straight Shooter”...MARK HUNTER!!!

“Two-Headed Hydra” replaces the sound of “Feel Invincible” as Swindle Shelldrake steps through the entrance and begins to make his way toward the ring, a confident smirk plastered on his face the entire time.

HOLLY PEREZ: And their opponents…first, from Cardiff, Wales and weighing in at one hundred ninety-one pounds… “The Kraken”...SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE!!!

As Swindle eyes his opponents from one side of the ring, "Honō no Megami (炎の女神)" by Adrian von Ziegler begins to play. The newly crowned two-time Grand Champion walks onto the stage, his expression a mix of confidence and disgust over the match that awaits him.

HOLLY PEREZ: And his partner…hailing from Osaka, Japan and weighing in at two hundred twenty pounds…he is the current Grand Champion of Project: Honor… “The One Real Shogun”...ARATA ASAKURA!!!

It doesn’t take long for Arata to join Swindle in the ring, but there is no conversation or strategy exchanged by the two men. In fact, they barely acknowledge each other as they size up their opponents. Meanwhile, it looks as if Emmy and Mark are much closer to being on the same page, quietly talking in their own corner of the ring.

DING! DING! DING!

TREY BOOKER: I hate to oversell this thing, but we could be in for a major treat! There are three current or former Grand Champions in this match, and Swindle Shelldrake briefly held that distinction during the Scramble Match at Clash For the Cup.

J.T. PRICE: They’re some of the best on the brand, even I’ll admit that.

It looks as if Arata and Emmanuelle are going to start things out for their respective teams, a proposition that has The Platinum Standard smiling from ear to ear. Then, her hopes of avenging her Crowning loss are dashed, as Arata turns back toward his corner and gives Swindle an unsuspecting tag. He steps onto the apron as if he cannot be bothered to lock-up with Emmanuelle again, as Swindle gives him a puzzled look.

Shaking his head at his partner’s lack of interest, Swindle steps into the ring and it isn’t long before he and Emmanuelle are circling each other. Then, when her back is to him, Arata suddenly rushes back into the ring and drops Emmanuelle with a knee strike to the kidneys! The referee immediately calls for him to get back to his corner, and he complies as the crowd responds negatively to his actions. Swindle, on the other hand, isn’t bothered in the least as he begins to stomp at Emmanuelle’s back.

As Mark cheers for his partner in his corner, Swindle pulls Emmanuelle off the mat in a gutwrench before dropping her right back down. He executes another pair of gutwrench suplexes without ever releasing Emmy, then bounces off the ropes for a basement dropkick to the side of her abdomen. Keeping her on the mat, Swindle hooks Emmanuelle’s arm under his own to keep her ribs exposed, and then drills a few stiff punches to the vulnerable area.

TREY BOOKER: Arata’s actions have put the former champion at an immediate disadvantage, and Swindle has been focused on that kidney area since the start.

J.T. PRICE: Smart man. Cruel, but smart.

Emmanuelle does her best to fight her way to a standing position, but Swindle keeps her arm locked under his and then lifts his leg over her head…The Tetran Coil is applied in the center of the ring! Swindle’s signature Octopus Hold has Emmy in clear pain, and that’s not something Mark Hunter is willing to stand by and endure. Before the referee can even think about asking Emmanuelle if she’s had enough, Hunter dives into the ring and smashes the point of his elbow against Shelldrake’s temple!

The move forces Swindle to release Emmy, at which point he sees Arata Asakura gesturing for the tag. Despite being stunned by Hunter, Swindle doesn’t seem to feel like letting his partner take advantage of his own hard work, and instead of tagging the champion in, Shelldrake gives him the middle finger. The glare from Arata is hard to miss, but even more on target is the sudden enzuigiri from The Platinum Standard! The kick to the back of his head rocks Swindle and drops him to one knee, giving Emmy the chance to dive toward her corner and make the tag!

Finally in the ring with the man who played a big part in putting him on the shelf, Mark Hunter is all over Swindle with stunning rights and lefts. After drilling him with punches, Mark takes Swindle down with a snap suplex, rolls back to his feet still in control of Swindle’s head, and follows it up with a side effect! Hunter goes for the quick cover!

ONE!
TWO - KICKOUT!

TREY BOOKER: Hunter barely got a two count after that quick exchange, but he made Swindle expend some of that all-important energy!

J.T. PRICE: Not bad considering Swindle lobotomized him a few months ago.

Swindle pulls himself up to his knees with Mark pulling on his head, but before Hunter can get him to a standing position, Shelldrake throws his arm up between Mark’s legs for a blatant low blow! The referee immediately begins to admonish Swindle, who ignores the ref by turning toward his corner. Arata is in no hurry to reach out for a tag after the insult Swindle threw his way earlier, so Shelldrake settles for slapping the Grand Champion on the shoulder instead. Arata takes a moment to glare at his partner before stepping between the ropes and turning his attention to the downed Mark Hunter.

Arata drills Mark with some European Uppercuts as he’s getting to his feet, channeling his disgust for his partner on his opponent. Ever the expert technician, Arata hooks Mark and sends him to the mat with a Dragon Suplex…

ONE!
TWO!
KICKOUT!

Wasting no time, Arata follows it up with a beautiful Tiger Suplex…

ONE!
TWO!
KICKOUT!

And then allows Mark to get on his feet as he hits the ropes and charges back with a roaring elbow strike!

ONE!
TWO!
KICKOUT!

Hunter may be seeing stars from the quickness of Arata’s offense, who quickly dashes to the ropes and comes back with a penalty kick! This time the champion doesn’t go for the pin attempt, instead hurling Mark into the corner buckles. Arata follows him in for a running corner kick and immediately follows it with a leg sweep. Hunter does his best to find his footing, unaware that Asakura is measuring him for slingshot dropkick. The champion catapults himself off the ropes and flies toward Hunter like a rocket, but The Straight Shooter manages to catch Arata’s legs and slam him onto his back before suddenly applying a sharpshooter!

TREY BOOKER: Great offensive skills there, but now Arata is trapped and I doubt Swindle will be in a hurry to save him!

J.T. PRICE: If that champ has to tap out to a guy who’s been on the injured list for months, it’s going to humiliate him!

Despite the commentary, Arata is in no danger of tapping as he quickly claws and scratches across the mat to cover the few feet between his hands and the bottom rope. Mark breaks the hold on the referee’s three count, but then spins around to plant a hard stomp in the small of Arata’s back. The Gaijin Killer gets back to his feet quickly, but Mark catches him with a belly to belly suplex! The momentum sends Arata crashing near his opponent’s corner, and when he gets to his feet, he’s greeted by a sudden liver punch from Emmanuelle on the apron!

The shot stuns the champion and leaves him wide open for Mark to plant a superkick on his jaw. He then hooks Arata’s head before tagging in Emmanuelle, who goes to the top rope and enters the ring by driving both elbows into Asakura’s back while he’s held in place. As Mark goes to the apron, Emmanuelle goads Arata to give her his best shot, which she expertly ducks and counters with a stiff right cross! Cross Counter and the champ is down!

ONE!
TWO!
KICKOUT!

Emmanuelle grabs Arata’s wrist and connects with a short clothesline, then hits the ropes and fires off a running big boot just when he’s back on his feet! With the champion stunned, Emmanuelle hooks his arms and lifts him for…THE PASADENA BOMB! It connects and she makes the cover…

ONE!
TWO!
THR - NO!

Emmanuelle is violently pulled off of Arata as Swindle has reached under the ropes to grab her ankles. She shoots him an angry look and Shelldrake sneers in response. Emmy turns her attention back to Arata quickly however, grabbing him by the head and dragging him into a corner. She climbs onto the second buckle to execute her Malibu Shine, when Shelldrake intervenes again! He runs across the ring apron and gives Emmanuelle a hard shove, sending her toppling over the top rope to the ringside floor!

TREY BOOKER: It’s obvious there is no love between Arata and Swindle, but there’s still an opportunity at the Legacy Title on the line!

J.T. PRICE: There’s a lot of egos in this match, Trey. Whichever team wins will have to face each other in two short weeks!

Shaken but still with plenty of fight in him, Arata sees Emmanuelle’s predicament outside of the ring and moves to capitalize…Evil of the Sky! The moonsault to the ringside area connects and both competitors are down at ringside!

ONE!
TWO!
THREE!
FOUR!

They both begin to stir but the impact of their bodies has clearly taken its toll, especially after their two out of three falls contest just two weeks prior.

FIVE!
SIX!
SEVEN!

Finally it is Arata who finds his footing, and he grabs Emmanuelle to roll her under the bottom rope, breaking the referee’s count. With his adversary down, Arata climbs onto the apron and then onto the turnbuckles…he may be looking to hit The Golden Dragon…but Mark Hunter starts to violently shake the ring ropes! Arata cannot keep his balance and falls onto the top buckle, his hopes of putting an end to Emmanuelle ruined!

The champion weakly falls off the buckle as Emmy rolls to her stomach. Both are in desperate need of a tag as they work toward their separate corners…but Emmanuelle reaches hers first! Mark Hunter rushes in to stop Arata from tagging, but suddenly Swindle slingshots himself into the ring…VULTURE CULTURE ON MARK HUNTER!

The leaping cutter and magic killer combo has The Straight Shooter completely laid out, as the referee admonishes Swindle for entering the ring without being tagged. Shelldrake complies with the official’s warnings and backs up toward his corner, but suddenly stops short. Instead of going to the apron, he reaches down to help his tag team partner get back on his feet…AND THEN HITS HIM WITH THE VIOLENT SALVAGE!



Arata has been unexpectedly dropped directly on his head by his own partner, who then slides under the ropes and begins to back up the ramp. As Swindle continues to watch, his emotions impossible to read, an extremely groggy Mark Hunter rolls over to drape his arm across Arata’s chest…

ONE!

Still unaware of what’s fully transpired, Mark looks up…

TWO!!

And locks eyes with Swindle who allows himself a slight smile…

THREE!!!

DING! DING! DING!

HOLLY PEREZ: Your winners of the match…EMMANUELLE AND MARK HUNTER!!!

Emmanuelle returns to the ring and helps Mark to his feet, their place in the Legacy Title match now secured. As the two have their hands raised by the referee, Arata Asakura regains enough clarity to look towards the man who was supposed to be his partner…the two men locking eyes in a hateful stare…

TREY BOOKER: I don’t fully understand what’s happened, but Swindle has cost his team the match!

J.T. PRICE: Seems obvious to me, Trey! Swindle and Hunter must have worked out some kind of deal!

TREY BOOKER: I doubt that very highly! I think Mark was just as surprised as anyone else! It seems more likely to me that Swindle has called his shot, and that Arata Asakura is directly in his crosshairs!

J.T. PRICE: Meh. I like my version better. I mean, they both love those leather jackets.

TREY BOOKER: Whatever the case may be, it will have to wait for another day! Don’t you dare miss Spring Break with Project: Honor in just two weeks! Goodnight everyone!