PROVING GROUND XXI: HONOR AMONGST THIEVES

J.T. PRICE: Previously on Proving Ground, Larry KaChow made a power play for Caden Young’s job as Assistant General Manager...


ROCK JOHNSON: Shut up and listen to what I want you to do, Barry. I want you to go to the members of the Proving Ground roster, the staff and the talent, and I want you to get their signatures on a petition to replace Caden Young with yourself. If you can do that, if you can bring me enough signatures, I will consider....CONSIDER...granting your request.

Larry grins from ear to ear as he bounces up and down like a child on Christmas morning. He then gives a couple of bows to Johnson, as if he were royalty, to which the owner shrugs off. Finally, feeling that he’s sucked up enough, Larry raises his microphone back up.

LARRY KACHOW: Ladies and gentlemen...let’s hear it one final time for the most brilliant and attractive man in professional wrestling! RO-CKY, RO-CKY, RO-CKY!

Rock Johnson shakes his head out of pure disbelief, wondering if he’s just made a terrible decision.


J.T. PRICE: ...The One Real Shogun continued to show his dominance...


Arata now takes his turn to stand up, shaking his head as he does, and lifts Ackerman up with him; Ackerman suddenly scoops Arata up looking for SHATTERED VICTORY!

TREY BOOKER: He has him up! The Captain is spinning the Shogun out and looking to end it with this one!

J.T. PRICE: Arata is wobbling, he’s kicking, and The Captain can-- no! Arata is able to slide behind him.

Arata is able to kick his legs and waiver his momentum forward before sliding off of Ackerman’s shoulders and lands behind him. Arata shoots a kick to the back of Ackerman’s knee that drops him down to one knee before Arata rushes to the ropes behind him and comes back hitting RAIKIRI! Arata wastes no time making the cover, hooking the leg.

One!
Two!
THREE!

HOLLY PEREZ: Your winner by way of pin fall! ARATA ASAKURA!


J.T. PRICE: ...Rock Johnson made a huge announcement for Night of Honor…


ROCK JOHNSON: I know neither of you are medically cleared, so since we can’t have Christian DeMarco versus Indy Darling, how about if you both create a team from your rosters and we put those two teams against each other in an elimination match! Indy Darling’s Team Proving Ground against Christian DeMarco’s Team Fallout, with the winner getting the bragging rights that both of you seem to want so badly! Then maybe...just maybe...you two will learn the kind of professionalism we need to make our second year better than the first!

Indy and Christian remain silent, but both men begin to nod their heads in the affirmative.

ROCK JOHNSON: Good! Now shake hands like gentlemen and bring me the best damn brand versus brand match in the history of the business!

The General Managers continue to glare at each other as they slowly raise their hands to meet in a tight and unfriendly handshake. Rock Johnson looks back and forth between the two men, a smile on his face.

ROCK JOHNSON: Damn. Now that’s good shit. You’ve still got it, Johnson….

Pleased with his actions, the owner walks out of the scene, leaving Indy and Christian grimacing at each other, neither man willing to blink or back down…


J.T. PRICE: ...Lil’ Petey dropped some sick rhymes on John Blade…


♫You say you want some lovely ladies,
but always actin’ kinda shady.
Sayin’ you were in my room,
And now you just sound fuckin’ crazy.

I was clappin’ cheeks, fam
You don’t know what that’s like, BAM!
I’m already roastin’ your ass, damn.
Callmerobert reported you for spam!

I’m used to other types of six ways, but this will do
I got a lot of shit I gotta prove
Go back to where we can’t see you
Leave the wrestling to the pro’s, dude.

Hold up, I ain’t done with this fool yet
Let me finish then I gotta jet
Ran into Hannah in the back and we just met
Dickie ran off, soon we’ll all forget

My bestie Sav is goin’ through it right now
Her boo Jason got the pow pow
Stab stab, we all went WOW
That’s someone she can’t live without

Don’t worry I didn’t forget about Blade
I’m in a rhythm now, you know I just got laid
That’s more than he can say because all the girls evade
Call me Serrano, because this boy just got sauteed!♫


J.T. PRICE: ...Cadillac Jackson continued to improve his fortunes…


AND CADILLAC DROPS HER DOWN TO THE MAT WITH THE FULL FORCE OF THE TEST DRIVE! THAT VERTICAL SUPLEX SITOUT SIDE SLAM HAD MUCH FORCE TO CAUSE VALKYRIE'S HEAD TO BOUNCE UPON THE IMPACT OF THE MOVE! Cadillac looks out to the crowd and smiles, looking to the closest camera that's near him and telling it to zoom in before mouthing off-

CADILLAC JACKSON: Ozymandias, I hope you're watching...

Cadillac then hooks the leg of Valkyrie as the referee begins the count.

ONE!
TWO!!
THREE!!!

DING! DING! DING!

CADILLAC JACKSON: ...because this'll be the same fate you meet when I come for that Grand Championship.


J.T. PRICE: ...Big Drip made some big waves in the tag team scene…


Saucey Boy drives his shoulder into Mark’s midsection a few times, then backflips out of the corner, and finally charges back in with a picture-perfect Pele Kick to the back of Mark’s head! Sauce makes another quick tag to TJ, who begins to climb to the top turnbuckle. Before leaving the ring, Yung Sauce nails Mark Kelly with his Femboy Sauce omega driver and then TJ leaps off the top with his Hip With The Dip coffin drop! TJ goes for the pin!

ONE!
TWO!
THREE!

DING! DING! DING!

TREY BOOKER: What in the hell just happened? It’s...It’s over already!


J.T. PRICE: ...while Petey and Tara Fenix made some waves of their own…


ONE!
TWO!
THREE AND PETEY TAPS!

DING! DING! DING!

TREY BOOKER: Petey taps out! Tara Fenix has done it!

J.T. PRICE: Whoa! Hold up there, Trey! He may have been tapping but that ref was counting Tara’s shoulders on the mat! I think Petey has won this thing!

Tara releases the hold and gets back to her feet, raising her arms triumphantly as Lil’ Petey rolls away and clutches at his knee. Meanwhile, the official confers with Holly Perez so that she can give her official announcement…

HOLLY PEREZ: Ladies and gentlemen...the winner of the match as a result of a submission…

The referee begins to shake his head, interrupting Holly so that she gets it right.

HOLLY PEREZ: My apologies...the winner of the match by way of pinfall…

Again, the referee stops Holly’s announcement, trying to make his decision as clear to her as possible.

HOLLY PEREZ: Ladies and gentlemen...as a result of Lil’ Petey tapping out while the official counted Tara’s shoulders on the mat...the co-winners of The Friends Like These Tournament are Lil’ Petey and Tara Fenix!


J.T. PRICE: ...and the champions of Proving Ground defeated the originals, with Lance Williams getting the last laugh!


The champion looks from Lance then to Petey, finally deciding that there is little he can do except take his frustrations out on the members of Big Drip. As Ozy leaps to the floor with a punch for Sauce, an elbow for TJ, and a headbutt for Petey, Lance enters the ring and takes full advantage of the opportunity by covering a downed Dickie Watson…

ONE!
TWO!
THREE!

DING! DING! DING!

Lance pulls himself to his knees over the fallen Dickie Watson with a huge smile plastered on his face. Meanwhile, Ozymandias is literally chasing TJ Thompson toward the backstage area while MYOJIN and Emmanuelle trade shots with Sauce and Petey!

HOLLY PEREZ: Your winners of the match by pinfall...EMMANUELLE...OZYMANDIAS...AND LANCE WILLIAMS!!!

TREY BOOKER: The Champions have defeated The Originals, and as surprising as it may be, the original Grand Champion is the one who took the fall!

J.T. PRICE: That was Ozymandias’ moment of glory, even if Lance Williams did steal it like a thief in the night...whoa...I don’t think he’s done yet!

Lance exits the ring on the opposite side of the brawl between Big Drip, Emmanuelle, and MYOJIN, grabbing a steel chair from the time keeper. With all four of them preoccupied, they are left wide open as Lance hasn’t had enough for one night! He brings the chair down overy MYOJIN’s head before slamming into the midsection of Emmanuelle! He then turns to slam it across Sauce’s back, nearly killing him in the process! Lance takes one final swing at Lil’ Petey, who ducks at the last second and scrambles away from the monster as if his life depended on it.


♫ No, you're never gonna lie to me
Your mouth moves, but you never speak
And nobody can fuck with me
So get up, get up, or get out ♫

As “This Is War” begins to play over the brand new opening credits, we see Ace Sky hitting a perfect Shooting Star Press from the top rope, immediately followed by the determined face of Will Riley as he executes a Fujiwara Armbar. We then see flashes of Scott Oasis nailing his Seek n’ Destroy Psycho Driver and Tara Fenix hitting her Phoenix Wings double arm tornado DDT. As the song continues, John Blade is shown waving his hand in front of his face, thus making himself practically invisible.

♫ I know you're scared of catastrophe
Paranoid when you feel the heat
We'll start a riot, one, two, three
So get up, get up, or get out ♫

The arrogant smile of Cadillac Jackson appears on the screen, immediately followed by his execution of The Test Drive. We are also treated to Arata Asakura’s impeccable Golden Dragon, the Royal Crown from Daniel Ackerman, and Ulf Hednir’s Thor Punch! Then, from perfectly executed moves to expertly executed lyrics, all three members of Big Drip are featured as they drop their signature style of drip from inside the ring.

♫ ♫It's annihilation
Hell is in the air, it's hard to breathe
Sick of all the hatred
So I'm holding on, holding on ♫

The bloody yet determined face of Emmanuelle appears on the screen as she clutches her Warrior Rising Title before the opening transitions to Brandon Hendrix hitting his diving spear. The individual members of Jormungandr are shown, as Swindle Shelldrake hits his Violent Salvage, quickly followed by a shot of Jay Crowley’s Atonement. Even the chubby face of a smiling Serrano Poblano has a brief appearance.

♫In the trenches stuck
We've gone too far
Are you ready to die?
This is war!♫

The disturbing grin of Percival Burque follows, before we see MYOJIN in all of their flamboyant glory, sliding their mask to the side as their piercing blue eyes stare at the camera. We then see a cocky Lance Williams holding up The X-Factor Championship seconds before the scene switches to Mark Hunter hitting The Mercy Killer. Finally, the Proving Ground logo begins to emerge, while hovering behind it like a monster rising from the depths is Ozymandias, the Grand Championship over his massive shoulder.

♫ When every step you take is do or die
When every breath you take is filled with lies
And you can't deny you're feeling like you're paralyzed
So it's time to settle the score
This is war ♫


The opening music begins to fade as the live audience in The Indonesia Convention Exhibition center comes alive for another exciting edition of Proving Ground! The cameras scan around the arena as pyrotechnics erupt from the entrance stage, ramp, and ring posts, until the lights finally rise to reveal the crowd in its full glory.

“NOBI OWNS THESE SKREETS”
“OZY WILL BE HANDICAPPED”
“PLEASE SIGN DOOBIE”
“HUNTER OWNS DEMARCO”
“WE WANT RAGNAROK”

After scanning the crowd to pick up some of the various signs on display, the cameras settle on the announce team at ringside as they welcome the worldwide audience to the show.

TREY BOOKER: Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another heart-stopping, pulse-pounding edition of Project: Honor’s one-and-only flagship program! Welcome to Proving Ground!

J.T. PRICE: Don’t let that second-rate announce team from Fallout hear you say that! They might try to murder one of us!

TREY BOOKER: Kayden Ellis had his name cleared last night, but I still wouldn’t put it past them. And if you thought that episode of Fallout was a spectacle, just wait until you see what we’ve got in store tonight! In our main event, it will be the number one contender for the Grand Championship, Cadillac Jackson, facing off against the former champion, Mark Hunter!

J.T. PRICE: You mean, Proving Ground’s pride and joy, Mark Hunter?

TREY BOOKER: One and the same! Not only that, but we have some amazing tag team action as X-Factor Champion, Lance Williams, teams up with Warrior Rising contender, Tara Fenix, to face his rival, MYOJIN, and current Warrior Rising Champion, Emmanuelle!

J.T. PRICE: We’ll also see Ulf Hednir team up with Big Drip to take on Arata Asakura and a couple of gaijins, Swindle Shelldrake and Jay Crowley!

TREY BOOKER: Plus we’ll see Ozymandias face a challenging Handicap Match, John Blade and Lil’ Petey in a Straight Outta Compton Street Fight, the debut of The Ratman Percival Burque, and a hell of a lot more!

J.T. PRICE: Enough pimpin’, Trey! Let’s get to the action!



HOLLY PEREZ: Already in the ring… Standing at six foot, six inches tall… Weighing in at two hundred and thirty two pounds… From San Antonio, Texas… Don Dada… BRRRAAANNNDDDOOONNN HEEENNNDDDRRRIIIXXX!!!

"POWER" by Kayne West fades out as Brandon Hendrix stands in the ring with a smug look on his face.

HOLLY PEREZ: And his opponent… Standing at six foot exactly… Weighing in at three hundred and twenty pounds… The Heater, The Ambassador of Flavor Town… SEEERRRRRRAAANNNOOO POOOBBBLLLAAANNNOOO!!!

The stage remains empty as the sound of a guitar playing can be heard over the sound system. Moments later, the opening lyrics to “Fire Water Burn” can be heard…

The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire
The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire
The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire
We don't need no water, let the motherfucker burn

Burn motherfucker, burn

At that moment, the music picks up its tempo and the curtains fly apart to reveal “Spicy” Serrano Poblano. With his bleached blonde hair spiked up and his sleeveless flame theme shirt unbuttoned, Serrano headbangs toward the ring. After rolling under the bottom rope, he tosses his shirt aside and throws his hand up with his fingers giving the metal sign.

DING! DING! DING!

Brandon Hendrix stands there with a smirk on his face as Serrano Poblano just rolls his eyes at him. They both lock up in the ring and it’s Hendrix who uses his strength to push Serrano away, who uses the momentum and bounces off the ropes. Serrano seems so happy with not falling on his ass only for that smile to soon be knocked off as Brandon hits him with a Big Boot sending Serrano to the mat. Brandon backs up into the corner as he gets himself in position and he starts punching at the mat waiting for Serrano to get to his feet. Finally Serrano does get to his feet and Brandon runs at Serrano going for the Superman Punch, only Serrano has other ideas as he moves out of the way! He ducks behind Brandon, hitting him with a German Suplex. Serrano is now the one with a smirk on his face having wiped the one off of Brandon’s.

TREY BOOKER: Brandon Hendrix trying to finish this off early.

J.T. PRICE: I hear you have that problem too Trey.

TREY BOOKER: Not with your mom.

Serrano starts doing a spicy dance around Brandon as he swings his hips side to side and starts throwing peppers down at Brandon as if he is making it rain on him. This just pisses off Brandon who shakes himself off and gets to his feet. The realization on Serrano’s face is priceless and one of oh shit! Serrano starts running away from Brandon who chases after him as they both run around the ring again and again. Well, until Brandon has had enough and Serrano ends up running into Brandon who has turned around. Serrano ends up on his ass and he starts to scoot towards the turnbuckle like a dog with a case of worms. Once Serrano is back into the corner there is nowhere for him to go as Brandon picks him up and drops him with a Military Press Slam and gets on him, starting to Ground and Pound him like Serrano would his meat.

TREY BOOKER: Damn! Brandon is about to kill Serrano.

J.T. PRICE: No Trey! This is Proving Ground not Fallout.

Eventually Serrano manages to wriggle free after protecting himself from most of the meat beating punches that Brandon has thrown at him. Serrano is now on the outside of the ring as the ref starts to scream at him to get back in the ring. Serrano is leaning against the barricade and just shakes his head at the ref. Brandon is pissed off with Serrano and thinks ‘fuck it’ as he slides out of the ring. As Brandon does though, Serrano lunges forward releasing a barrage of punches. Brandon manages to shrug most of them off and backs away. Brandon then runs at Serrano going for his finisher, Acknowledge (Spear), only Serrano side-steps it, sending Brandon head first into the steel steps. Brandon is now out on the floor and Serrano looks at the ref who is now at a five count and tells him to shut up.

Noticing that Brandon Hendrix looks to be out of it, Serrano Poblano starts to tea bag him doing some sort of Spicy Tea Bag hip swinging dance. It seems that Serrano is getting carried away with it as he starts to grind his ass all over the face of Brandon and lets out the spiciest of farts you’ll ever smell, hear, or in Brandon’s case taste.

TREY BOOKER: Serrano is an absolute savage!!!

J.T. PRICE: My eyes hurt and my nose hurts!!!

As Serrano gets up from doing that, the ref has finally got to the count of ten as Serrano just shrugs.

HOLLY PEREZ: This match is a DRAW due to the case of a DOUBLE COUNT OUT!!!

Brandon is extremely angry as Serrano starts slapping hands with the fans. Serrano made the mistake of having his back to Brandon who had managed to grab a chair from under the ring. Brandon hits Serrano so hard on the back that it smells like he has shit himself, that or it’s still the smell from the spicy fart. As Serrano is on his knees, Brandon wraps the chair around his neck and goes to drive him into the ring post. Only before he has the chance to do so, a hooded figure Chopblocks Brandon, sending him down to one knee. The hooded figure then walks around and Superkicks Brandon, the sound of the Superkick sounds sickening as Brandon falls to the floor. The hooded figure helps Serrano Poblano out by taking the chair off of him and throws it into the ring out of harm's way. The hooded figure then sits Serrano up against the steel steps before tapping him on the shoulder.

As the hooded figure walks off, he looks down at Brandon and just shakes his head. The hooded figure walks with their head down so no one can see who they are as they walk up the ramp to the top of it. Once up at the top of the ramp, the hooded figure stops and turns to face the ring. After a few seconds, the arena goes black before the lights come back on to see Mark Hunter standing at the top of the ramp. A grin on the face of Mark Hunter, who holds his arms up to the cheers of the fans before heading backstage.

TREY BOOKER: Now that’s a stand-up man, right there! He had no reason to save Serrano from Brandon Hendrix, but he did it anyway!

J.T. PRICE: He shouldn’t have stuck his nose where it didn’t belong, Trey. He may have just made a new enemy in Don Dada...


Following the opening match, we go backstage to find Monsieur Larry KaChow roaming through the corridors, a clipboard held firmly in his hands.

LARRY KACHOW: So many signatures...so little time…

He looks from his left to his right, taking notice of some of the names on various private locker room doors.

LARRY KACHOW: MYOJIN...yeah, not even gonna bother. Hmm...Ozymandias? I don’t think so…

It’s then that Larry hears a commotion up ahead and the camera pivots to show a group of children gathered around one of the biggest stars in the wrestling business...John Blade. With a pen in hand, Big Match John is signing every piece of paper and merch that the kids push towards him without hesitation. Seeing his chance, Larry approaches…

JOHN BLADE: Ease up, Blade Gang! I’ll get to each and every one of you! Whatchu afflicted with, kid? You got that Spinal Stenosis? Hey you, with the crutches! S’ok if I make this out to Ilene?

Like a tame house cat stalking a piece of kibble, Larry squeezes into the mob of children and holds out his clipboard, patiently waiting for Big Match John to turn in his direction…

JOHN BLADE: Arik Holt better not be hiding among you little futher muckers...John Blade don’t wanna catch that Alopecia shit. Hey you...kid in the Big Drip shirt...suck on deez…

Big Match John tosses a package of Planters Peanuts at an unsuspecting child in a wheelchair.

JOHN BLADE: ...deez nuts! Ha-Cha!

Finally, the mega-star turns toward Larry, reaches out with his pen, and scribbles his name on the petition attached to the clipboard. With his first signature achieved, Larry shoves a child to the floor while escaping the mob of children.

JOHN BLADE: Hey, no pushing! While you’re down there, pump up my kicks, kid! Special Olympics 4 Life!

Once he’s a safe distance away, Larry looks at his petition with sinister glee.

LARRY KACHOW: Heh...this will be easier than I thought. One down...nine hundred and ninety nine to go...



A countdown appears on the Honor-Tron, and after counting down from 5, a rocket drops from the bottom of the screen to the stage and the pod door opens.

Ace Sky walks out in an aviator jacket and his usual in ring attire, he salutes a peace sign and jogs down the aisle, high-fiving as many fans as possible on both sides. He dashes forward, leaps up on the apron, and flings himself in with a front flip followed by a series of three front handsprings and a rolling savate kick.

HOLLY PEREZ: This contest is scheduled for one fall! Introducing first, from Interdimensional Universes Within The Galaxy and essentially weightless as we hurtle through space without gravity...The Space Shaman...ACE SKY!!!

As "Rats" by Ghost begins to play, the lights in the area begin to flash between bright green and yellow. A mischief of rats begins to scurry out from behind the curtains followed by Percival "Ratman" Burque riding atop a shopping cart filled with random miscellaneous items (likely everything he owns). The rats scurry around while Ratman moves his hands as if he's conducting the rats along with the music. The cart continues slowly rolling forward until it begins barreling toward the ring. Ratman begins to panic and tumbles out of the cart as it slams into the ring. The rats scurry toward Ratman and run around him as he slowly recovers to his feet. Ratman then begins to sway back and forth to the music as he rises, lifting his arms into the air. Ratman looks to the sky while closing his eyes and begins to slowly spin in a circle.

Ratman stops after a full rotation and opens his eyes.

HOLLY PEREZ: And his opponent...fighting out of the sewers and weighing in at one hundred and fifty five pounds...The Ratman...PERCIVAL BURQUE!!!

TREY BOOKER: What in the name of baby Jesus is that smell?

J.T. PRICE: If you’re talking about that smell of fermented cheese in a nursing home laundry room, I’m pretty sure it’s our newest addition to the Proving Ground roster.

DING! DING! DING!

There is a momentary look of concern on the face of Ace Sky as Percival goes to the center of the ring for a lock-up, not because he’s intimidated, but because he seems hesitant about touching his opponent. The Space Shaman eventually pushes his concerns aside and steps forward, but when Burque lunges towards him, Ace ducks underneath the grapple and fires off a series of quick kicks to the homeless man’s lower body! The Ratman is momentarily thrown off his game, but soon goes for another grapple, only to receive an armdrag from Ace Sky! Burque pops back to his feet and charges a second time, right into another armdrag takedown! Not giving up, Percy tries to lock up with Ace yet again, this time getting hit with a leaping knee strike for his efforts! With Burque staggered, Ace leaves his feet to take The Ratman down with a hurricanrana, pops back up to bounce off the ropes, and plants a low dropkick to his kneeling opponent’s face!

TREY BOOKER: Impressive work by the lightning-quick Galaxy Guru!

J.T. PRICE: I’m starting to wonder if this Burque guy is really a wrestler or if he just stumbled in here looking for a place to sleep…

Ace pulls The Ratman to his feet and then whips him into the turnbuckles, but before he can follow him in, Burque hits the turnbuckles hard enough to flip over the top rope and land on the apron! The turnbuckle oversell throws Ace off for a second, and The Ratman begins to dig into his pocket as Ace approaches. Burque then throws whatever he’s retrieved from his pocket toward Ace, which turns out to be a live rat! The Pocket Rat is such a shock to The Space Shaman that he leaves himself wide open for Burque to reach over the ropes, grab him by the head, and then drop to the floor, hanging his neck over the top rope! As Ace bounces back to the canvas, Burque slides back into the ring and leaps on top of his fallen opponent! Instead of applying a wear-down hold or throwing punches, The Ratman begins gnawing at Ace’s forehead with his teeth!

TREY BOOKER: What the hell? He’s biting him, ref! Get in there!

J.T. PRICE: Damn...do you think he has Rabies?

ONE!
TWO!
THREE!
FOUR!
FI---BREAK!

The referee succeeds in pulling Burque off of Ace Sky and then gives him a stern warning, but the damage has been done as blood trickles from The Galaxy Guru’s forehead. Ace slowly gets back on his feet, but a smiling Percy immediately stomps on his foot and then hooks him in a backslide!

ONE!
KICKOUT!

The hold isn’t enough to keep Ace Sky down for long, but as soon as he kicks out and gets on his feet, Percival attempts a small package!

ONE!
TWO - KICKOUT!

Again, Ace is quick to escape defeat, but this time Percival grabs him by the waist, runs him into the ropes, and takes him back down with a rolling reverse cradle!

ONE!
TWO!
KICKOUT!

The Space Shaman gets back on his feet, ready to fight, but instead Percy grabs him by the ears and leans in to lick the blood from his forehead! The bizarre actions of The Ratman stun Ace so much that he’s unable to avoid the two-handed facebuster that follows! With his opponent stunned on the mat, Percival sticks a hand down the front of his pants, seemingly without rhyme or reason. He then pulls his hand back out, revealing a pair of tattered and discolored underwear. With the disgusting pair of briefs wrapped around his hand, he charges at Ace Sky as he’s getting back to his feet, locking on his Skidmark Mandible Claw!

TREY BOOKER: Oh...dear lord...no...

J.T. PRICE: *blargghhhpphh*

As J.T. Price vomits beneath the announce desk, Ace Sky falls back to the mat, his entire body squirming as he struggles for oxygen. Unfortunately for Ace, it would seem that The Ratman has the hold locked on tight. After a few moments, The Space Shaman ceases to move, leaving the referee no choice but to call for the bell!

HOLLY PEREZ: Your winner of the match by way of knock out...PERCIVAL BURQUE!!!

With the match complete, Percy shoves the pair of underwear back into his pants and rolls to the ring apron. He then begins to sway his arms to the music as his mischief of rats scurry at ringside.

TREY BOOKER: Seriously...what the fuck? I’m a broadcast journalist with a degree in communications. I could be working at ESPN right now...

J.T. PRICE: Oh god...I don’t remember eating corn...

As Percival Burque wanders away from the ring, someone else starts making their way to the ringside area. It is none other than Larry KaChow, his clipboard still in hand. He doesn’t hesitate in making his way to the announce position, where Trey and J.T. are questioning their career choices.

LARRY KACHOW (off mic): I want you both to know that I sympathize with your plight! You should also know that I have it on good authority that Caden Young is the one responsible for signing that homeless freak to a contract! I think you both know what you need to do…

Larry hands his clipboard toward Trey Booker, who hesitates as he considers what he’s about to do. Finally, Trey takes the clipboard from Larry and signs his name to the petition. He then hands the clipboard over to J.T., who doesn’t even hesitate in signing his name as well. Larry then takes the clipboard back and gives the announce team a huge grin.

LARRY KACHOW (off mic): Pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen!

With that, Larry turns to face the ring and sees that Ace Sky is still semi-conscious at best. With a nod of his head, Larry slides under the bottom rope and crawls to where Ace is laying on the mat. He then picks up Ace’s hand, forces a pen between his fingers, and starts to put his name on the petition like a kindergarten teacher showing someone how to write their name. Once he’s finished, he carelessly drops the hand of Ace Sky and crawls back to the ring apron. As he makes his exit, one of the cameras picks up his voice…

LARRY KACHOW (off mic): Four down...nine hundred and ninety six to go...





HOLLY PEREZ: The following match is scheduled for one fall!!



As the beginning intro to “The Plan” by Travis Scott rings out through the arena’s P.A. System as the house lights simply bring it’s focus towards the entrance curtain, the crowd - though not visible - are on their feet and awaiting the arrival of The Captain, the voice of Travis Scott being heard as a figure steps through the curtain with their head held down.

“Last time I wrecked it, last time I whipped around
Last time I did the whippets (yeah), last time I live reverse (yeah, yeah, ooh)
Pour the brown, hit the reverend (yeah), last time I hit your crib (yeah)
Last time there was no tenants”

All of the house lights within the arena begin to flash, like a strobe light, as the beat dropped through the first verse. The figure continued to stand in the same position as he was beforehand, taking slow steps forward until he’s just at the edge of the stage from the ramp that leads to the ring below. A slight movement from the figure as he brings his head into a viewable position and shows his face. Daniel Ackerman had arrived.

“Not a vibe (Yeah) but a wave, with the sound by the way
Count it down, by the days (Ooh)
To myself, know they wicked, with the moves (Ooh, ooh)
I'm drinkin', off the juice, know I'm drinkin'
I be smooth, then I lose it, yeah, yeah now”

The One Winged Angel began to make his way down the ramp, slow nonchalant steps as he looked out to the crowd and the spotlight following his every move, and with these steps he take- he gives the opponent time to evaluate what they’re to expect. Daniel makes it to the ring side area and again, continuing his nonchalant walk, he circles around the ring until he’s made a full path around before hopping onto the apron where the hard-cam is facing.

“Close the opera
Hear the red and blue outside, I think our option's up
I recrossed it 'round the map, I had to line it up
I be swervin' on the waves, it's like a line of us (Yeah, yeah)”

Pointing up to the hard-cam and then back to himself as if telling it to zoom in on just himself, Ackerman gently steps into the ring and looks across the ring to his opponent, giving off the cocky smile we’re used to seeing resting on his face before heading into the corner and tapping the point of his right foot on the ring mat as Holly Perez gives him his introduction.

HOLLY PEREZ: [Introducing first… Wrestling out of Waterford City, County Waterford, Ireland and weighing in tonight at one hundred and ninety-eight pounds… he is “The One Winged Angel”... DANIEL AAAAACKERRRRRMAAAAAANNNNN!!!

Upon hearing the name of The One Winged Angel, Daniel climbs to the second rope and with the spotlight shining down onto him, pulling his black leather jacket open to show his pectoral muscles with that same cocky smirk on his face, the hard-cam picks up him mouthing something off but with the fans cheering loudly and the music continuing to play over, his voice becomes inaudible. Ackerman drops down to the ring mat with a loud thud as he turns toward the ramp.

HOLLY PEREZ: And his opponent… residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...he is the former Warrior Rising Champion… “The Brand”... “The Iceman”... “The Vanilla Gorilla”...SCOTT OASIS!!!

“Bop” by CJ plays out as Oasis’ MMA roots show in his entrance as he doesn’t do anything too extravagant himself, staying focused on the task at hand while the red carpet is rolled out around him to express how big of a deal he is. Scott Oasis’ wealthy status speaks for itself when he comes out in special made Gucci boxing shorts and 1000 dollar boots made in a collaboration by Adidas x Virgil. He shadow boxes in his Big Oasis Brand and skullcap while his hype men hold up the boombox playing his theme.

J.T. PRICE: In the build up to this one, these two have been as mute as Arik Holt pretended to be, so we have no idea what to expect here.

DING! DING !DING!

Oasis strikes first and hits midsection punches, hard lefts, hard rights, and a fierce knee strike. Ackerman covers up and recoils back into the corner!!

TREY BOOKER: Scott Oasis starting out strong and fast.

Ackerman is backed into the corner as Oasis unleashes more lefts and rights until the Captain blocks one and massively stuns Oasis with a spinning back elbow!!

J.T. PRICE: What the f...

TREY BOOKER: Scott Oasis is rocking, that was brutal, Oasis already has no idea where he is.

Oasis stumbles around but before he can even hit the deck, Ackerman nails his Jumping Corkscrew Roundhouse Kick!!!

TREY BOOKER: OH MY GOD!! That’s stardust!!

J.T. PRICE: HE'S OUT COLD!! SCOTT OASIS IS OUT COLD AND DONE!!

Daniel Ackerman just lays over the top of Scott Oasis and stares directly into the hard camera.

ONE!!
TWO!!
THREE!!…. NO!! KICK OUT BY SCOTT OASIS!!!

The sold out arena all gasp at the same time. The gasps soon drift into a “holy shit” chant.

TREY BOOKER: Damn, what a kick out, Daniel Ackerman nearly beat Oasis in just seconds.

J.T. PRICE: What the hell is this? Scott kicked out at literally two point nine.

As Ackerman sits there surprised that Scott Oasis kicked out, Oasis rolls slowly toward a corner and takes a very quick breather. After a moment Ackerman rises and charges at the shaken Oasis, Scott however sees him coming and uses the smaller man's momentum to throw him over the top rope. Ackerman lands with a thud and Oasis takes the chance to regain his bearings.

TREY BOOKER: Scott being sensible by not following his opponent.

J.T. PRICE: Yeah, he needs every moment available to regain his senses.

After getting back to his feet, Ackerman shakes the cobwebs loose and walks towards the ring, clearly gesturing to the ref that Scott Oasis isn’t allowing him to enter. Upon hearing the complaints, Scott walks back well away from Daniel to the opposite side of the ring. With a smirk on his face, Ackerman slides into the ring, taunting Scott Oasis as the ref stands between them. The ref quickly steps back and almost on cue Ackerman slaps Oasis across the face, to Ackerman’s obvious surprise Oasis doesn’t flinch and Scott almost instinctively grabs at Ackerman sending him overhead with a vengeful belly to belly suplex!

TREY BOOKER: Annoying a big man like Oasis isn’t going to end well.

J.T. PRICE: That slap from Ackerman was about as intelligent as inviting Victoria McKenzie to an all you can eat buffet.

Oasis picks his smaller opponent up from the mat and irish whips him into a far corner, Ackerman hits hard but has no time to recover because Scott has followed him in and nails a strong clothesline.

TREY BOOKER: Scott has recovered brilliantly from that start.

J.T. PRICE: Beginning to appear like Daniel Ackerman has blown his chances in this one.

Scott Oasis now enjoying the upper hand pulls Daniel Ackerman away from the corner, however as he turns… BOTH MEN ARE DESTROYED BY A DOUBLE RAGING BULL FROM LANCE WILLIAMS!!!

J.T. PRICE: Holy shit… where the fuck did he come from?

Lance looks down at the fallen men just chuckling away as the crowd boo his actions and presence.

J.T. PRICE: And also… why the fuck?

The referee is left with no choice and calls for the bell.

DING! DING! DING!

HOLLY PEREZ: Due to outside interference, the referee has declared this match a no contest!!

Embracing the crowd response, Lance Williams poses for them and smirks in his own arrogant manner. After a moment Lance rolls out the ring and heads slowly up the ramp clearly not giving a damn about the carnage he has left behind.


We once again go backstage where Larry KaChow continues his search for signatures, the clipboard still in his hands as he counts out loud.

LARRY KACHOW: Add the four...carry the one...multiply by ten...Oh! What a silly goose I am! I haven’t forged Mark Hunter’s name yet!

Larry begins to scribble on his petition, paying no attention to where he’s going or who he’s about to walk into.

ARIK HOLT: Hello, Larry.

KaChow looks up from his paper into the face of Arik Holt, the man who revealed himself as Redd only the night before. Larry’s expression is one of momentary shock, which then turns into a nervous look of fear.

LARRY KACHOW: Hey...uh...Arik...Mr. Holt. What a surprise! It sure is great to see you here...talking...without a knife…

ARIK HOLT: Hm. I suppose it would be. How have you been, Larry? Behaving yourself, I hope.

LARRY KACHOW: Oh...you know me. Always on my best behavior. Not to spill my guts or anything...that is...I’m just gathering signatures for my petition to remove Caden Young as Assistant General Manager so someone competent can have the job…

ARIK HOLT: I see. Someone like you?

LARRY KACHOW: Heh...well...yeah. Not that I’m as competent as you are. I mean, your recent work on Fallout, well, I’m a big fan. Would you...would you like to take a stab at signing my petition?

A sly smile comes across Arik’s face, almost on the verge of being a sinister grin. After a few moments of awkward silence, Fallout’s Assistant General Manager breaks the tension.

ARIK HOLT: It would be my pleasure, Larry.

Still with a nervous smile, KaChow hands Arik his pen and holds up the petition for him to sign. Arik examines the simple, black pen for a moment before handing it back.

ARIK HOLT: I don’t suppose you have something in...red?

KaChow chuckles as he takes the pen back and slides it into his pocket, then produces a red ink pen which he offers instead.

ARIK HOLT: Thank you. I don’t suppose you could turn around so I have a more solid surface to write on?

Larry’s eyes grow wide with fear, but his desire for power seems to outweigh his love for life as he slowly turns around and presents his back to Arik. The Fallout Assistant GM then places the clipboard against Larry’s back as he signs his name, dotting the ‘i’ in a hard stabbing motion. Larry, who looks as if he’s just wet himself, slowly turns back around as Arik begins to hand the pen back. Suddenly, he stops.

ARIK HOLT: You know what? Why don’t I give you another signature while I’m at it?

Still staring a hole into Larry’s soul, Arik writes another name on the petition before finally handing the pen back over.

LARRY KACHOW: Heh...that’s...really nice of you, Arik. Thank you.

ARIK HOLT: Us Assistant General Managers have to stick together, right?

With another smile, Arik turns and begins to walk away. He then stops to look back at Larry over his shoulder.

ARIK HOLT: Stay out of trouble, Larry.

With that, he continues on his way. Once he’s gone, Larry turns the clipboard around to look at the names that have been printed. Sure enough, he sees the name of Arik Holt and underneath it...the name of Redd.



HOLLY PEREZ: The following contest is a Straight Outta Compton Street Fight and falls will count anywhere!

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.

♫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.

HOLLY PEREZ: Introducing first...from the mean Skreets of Condom, France and weighing in at one hundred eighty pounds...The Drip Sensation…LIL’ PETEY!!!

“Time is Now” begins to play as Big Match John walks out on stage. He talks to the camera man 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 to begin to fight.

HOLLY PEREZ: And his opponent...fighting out of Boston, Mass and weighing in at two hundred sixty pounds...BIG MATCH JOHN BLADE!!!

DING! DING! DING!

TREY BOOKER: This one is going to be interesting to say the least. I’m not even sure what a Straight Outta Compton Street Fight is!

J.T. PRICE: Pretty sure it’s just a street fight for rappers, Trey.

There is no immediate lock up when the bell rings as both Petey and John slide under the bottom rope on opposite sides of the ring. Both men begin to dig underneath the ring apron in search of a valuable weapon. It doesn’t take long to see that Blade has gotten his hands on a kendo stick, but Petey finds something much different. Producing a Glock from underneath the ring, Petey stares at it with wide-eyed surprise. Not realizing what his opponent has discovered, John runs around the ring, ready to do some damage. As he reaches Petey, The Drip Sensation holds the pistol in both hands and points it at his opponent. John immediately stops in his tracks and throws his arms up, not expecting to face this level of violence in their match. Petey, however, refuses to back down.

TREY BOOKER: Holy hell!

J.T. PRICE: Don’t do it, Petey! It’s not worth it!

Unable to hear the announcers, Petey begins to pull the trigger, sending a squirt of water into John Blade’s face. As the crowd reacts with a mix of laughter and relief, Petey continues to unload the water pistol on Big Match John. Realizing that he hasn’t been shot, John’s face contorts into a sneer as he swings the kendo stick, knocking the water gun out of Petey’s hands. He doesn’t stop there as the next few swings connect with Petey’s head, stunning The Big Dripper and forcing him to retreat. Petey quickly reaches the time keeper’s table where John Blade’s chain is resting, and he grabs the weapon without thinking twice. He swings it toward John as he approaches, but the chain wraps around the kendo stick and the two men begin a tug of war! It is a battle that John Blade wins as he pulls Petey towards him, hoists him onto his shoulders, and sends him crashing down onto the time keeper’s table!

TREY BOOKER: Attitude Adjustment! Petey has managed to piss off John Blade and he’s been put through a table because of it!

J.T. PRICE: Petey’s time is up! John Blade’s time is now!

John reaches down to pull Petey away from the broken time keeper’s table and drops down for the pin!

ONE!
TWO!
THREE!

NO! Before the referee can bring his hand down a third time, Petey slams the ring bell over the top of John Blade’s head! The blow stuns John but he still tries to stagger to his feet, unaware that Petey still has the ring bell clutched in both hands! Another swing, and this one slams against the side of Blade’s face, spinning him like a top and dropping him to the floor! Petey then tosses the bell aside, but still feeling the effects of the Attitude Adjustment, he’s unable to capitalize with a pin attempt! Petey makes his way around the ring steps and drops back to the floor, looking for more weapons underneath the ring skirt. Meanwhile, John is barely conscious after two blows from the ring bell as he tries to pull himself up with the assistance of the steps. Just as he gets to his feet, Petey pulls a cardboard box out from underneath the ring and raises it over his head for everyone to see…

TREY BOOKER: Is that...a case of Truly’s?

J.T. PRICE: That’s not just a normal seltzer, Trey! It only has 100 calories and 1 gram of sugar!

Petey hurls the case of Truly’s at John Blade, who barely has enough sense to block the box with a swipe of his arm, sending it crashing against the ring post! Cans of Truly’s spill out onto the floor, and Petey scoops up one in each hand! He charges towards John Blade, but at the last second, Blade is able to flip the ring steps forward into Petey’s path! The stairs take Petey to the floor and land on top of him, with John Blade pouncing on top of them to pin Petey down! Before the referee can make a count, Blade proceeds to send a flurry of rights and lefts down against Lil’ Petey’s head! Then, once he’s convinced that Petey has had enough, he grabs his own can of Truly’s, pops the top, and takes a big swig. Instead of swallowing down the refreshing beverage, Blade then leans down and spits it into Petey’s face!

TREY BOOKER: Party foul! Party foul by John Blade! Does he have no respect?

Not only have Blade’s actions insulted Trey, but they also seem to fire up Lil’ Petey as he kicks the ring steps off his body with both feet, sending them back into John Blade! Petey then kips up, still holding a Truly’s in each hand! He brings his hands together as if he were clapping them, sandwiching Blade’s head between the two full cans of thirst-quenching seltzer! The impact is enough to break open the cans, drenching both John Blade and Lil’ Petey in the process! Petey then rolls John into the ring before going back under the apron to retrieve....a golden record! Petey slides back under the ropes and pops onto his feet with the framed gold record in hand, but suddenly Blade takes him back to the mat with a drop toe hold! The STFU is applied and Petey has nowhere to go! It looks as if Petey will be taking the big L from Big Match John, when he suddenly swings the golden record backwards over his head, slamming it against John’s face! He still refuses to release the hold, so Petey swings the record again! This time Blade lets go of his opponent and Petey has a chance to get back on his feet. Blade charges to put Petey back down before he can capitalize, but The Drip Sensation swings the golden record with all of his strength behind him, and shatters it over Blade’s head!

For a brief moment, Blade stands motionless, but after a few seconds he slowly falls backwards and crashes to the mat in an unmoving heap. Seeing his chance, Petey gets on top of the nearest turnbuckle and launches himself into the air for a Freaky Bomb! The move is right on target and Petey hooks Blade’s leg…

ONE!
TWO!
THREE!

HOLLY PEREZ: The winner of the match by pinfall...LIL’ PETEY!!!

TREY BOOKER: We now know what a Straight Outta Compton Street Fight is all about, and Lil’ Petey may have found his signature match!

J.T. PRICE: It seems like John Blade was not ready for the refreshing power locked away inside every can of Truly’s Hard Seltzer, available at a grocery store near you.





“SHHHHEEEEEESSSSHHHHHH!”

After hearing the voice of The Stallion of Sauce, “Man in The Mirror” by bbno$ is heard through the speakers and the crowd cheers out loud. All of the house lights shine down onto the entrance ramp as the slow beat to the song continues before the lyrics hit the speakers.

“I see a man in the mirror that I'm proud of
In way too deep, on my mama, I need power
Baby's on the streak, I make hits like every hour
If you want some beef, yeah, baby ain't a coward
You better stand clear, only alive for some dead presidents”

That’s when the crowd are met with The Disputed King of Drip as he makes his way out from behind the curtain, all smiles on his face as he leaps around on the stage and sees all the fans that are there for him.

“I'm the man in the mirror
I'm here for long, I claimed my residence
I'm the man in the mirror
My numbers growing, ain't it evident?
I'm the man in the mirror
I'm finally glad I set some precedence
I'm the man in the mirror"

Sauce begins to make his way down the ramp, hitting his hand along the fan’s hands as he passes them by, mouthing the words to the song as he makes his way to ringside.

HOLLY PEREZ: Wrestling out of The Hip House in Inglewood, California and weighing in tonight at two hundred and two pounds… he is “The Stallion of Sauce”, “The Disputed King of Drip”, “The Yung Drip Gawd”, “The Sauce”, “The Exaggerated Swagger of a White Teen”, “The Pretty Fly Guy”, “The Sauce”, “The Milli-Billi-Dripper”, “The Kid Everyone Loves To Hate”, “Toronto’s Biggest Hit”, “The Big Dripper”. “The Sus Imposter”, “He’s Really Good at Soundcloud”, “The Headliner”, “The Product Placement”... THHHHHEEEEE BIIIIIIG DRRRRRIIIIIIPPPPP PRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNCEEEE… YUUUUUUUNNNNGGGGG SAAUUUUUUUUUCCCEEEEEEE!!!!!

“Please chill out, baby got all the labels like tweaking, now
Yeah, I just set a standard they all have to allow
Yeah, I'm sure I got some years left, watch me keep to my sound
I'm gon' deem myself the man of the year”

Sauce rolls under the bottom rope and leaps to his feet, running into the corner to climb up to the second rope and allowing the fans to cheer as loud as they can as the music fades and his opponent makes his way to the ring.

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.

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 the match to start with a huge grin on his face.

HOLLY PEREZ: His partner, fighting out of The Hip House and weighing in at one hundred eighty pounds… “The Hipbeast”...TJ THOMPSON!!!

The opening introduction for “Raise Your Horns” by Amon Amarth plays over the PA system, and the crowd goes into a frenzy! The music can barely be heard over the sound of the fans. Ulf Hednir quickly shoves the curtains aside, dressed in his wolf headdress, and marches out onto the stage with his drinking horn held high over his head.

Ulf Hednir: SKÅL!

Crowd: SKÅL!

Ulf drinks from the drinking horn, and after, turns it upside down to show the crowd that there is nothing left. Ulf attaches the drinking horn to a strap hanging off his belt, and marches down the ramp to shake hands or high five many of the fans along the ramp; fans scramble to get as close as they can and he takes an extra moment to ensure he greets as many as he can. Ulf goes around to the right side of the ring, still greeting as many fans as he can until he reaches the timekeeper’s table, where he removes the headdress and the drinking horn, placing them on the table. He walks up to the apron and leaps up, grabbing the ropes, and leaning back to let loose a mighty howl.

Raise your horns, raise them up to the sky,
We will drink to glory tonight!
Raise your horns for brave fallen friends,
We will meet where the beer never ends!

The chorus plays over, and Ulf steps between the middle and top ropes before parading around the ring a bit, raising his arms from each side of the ring. He stands by and waits for the match to start.

HOLLY PEREZ: And their partner, from Odda, Norway and weighing in at two hundred forty three pounds… “The Son of Thor”...ULF HEDNIR!!!

The lights in the arena fall dark for a moment before a serpent coated in dark purple and bright pink scales appears on the titantron, circling round and round until it consumes its own tail as letters seem to emerge through a watery effect to read "JÖRMUNGADR". The spotlights of purple and pink hues turn to light up Crowley and Shelldrake respectively on the stage. Both wearing their masks. Crowley walks down the ramp first, with the taller frame of Shelldrake right behind him. The DAMNED Heart steps up onto the apron and stands by the corner turnbuckle, Shelldrake moving through the ropes before standing on the middle rope behind his tag team partner and removing his mask, raising the 'up-yours' V gesture to the camera. Meanwhile Crowley pulls down his hood to reveal his own dark mask, ripping it off and outstretching his arms. Shelldrake places his kraken mask on the ring post as Crowley steps through the ropes and into the ring.

HOLLY PEREZ: And their opponents, introducing first at a combined weight of four hundred fourteen pounds… “Damned Heart” Jay Crowley… “The Kraken” Swindle Shelldrake...They are JORMUNGANDR!!!

"Honō no Megami (炎の女神)" by Adrian von Ziegler starts to play as Swindle and Jay await the arrival of their partner, and the man in question begins to make his way towards the ring.

HOLLY PEREZ: And their partner, from Osaka, Japan and weighing in at two hundred twenty pounds… “The GaiJin Killer”...ARATA ASAKURA!!!

DING! DING! DING!

TREY BOOKER: And here we go! This one is going to be interesting to say the least!

J.T. PRICE: Hell yes! They’re gonna kill each other!

At the sound of the bell...Arata bulldozes Ulf into the ropes as the Golden Dragon starts to lay into Ulf with some stiff forearms. However, surprisingly Ulf just eats them all up as Arata slowly begins to tire out…

...thus allowing Ulf to LEVEL Arata with a forearm of his own, causing Arata to retreat back into his corner. Ulf smiles as frustration is seen in the early stages of this match as Arata paces back and forth in his corner while eyeing down his opponent.

Ulf Hednir: SKÅL!

Crowd: SKÅL!

The crowd seems heavily behind Ulf, who then gives a bit of a sour reaction as TJ Thompson tags himself in! Ulf seems confused at first but the hyper TJ Thompson stakes his claim, telling the Viking that he could take Arata. Ulf thinks it over for a minute before he shrugs and allows for TJ to go to work with Arata.

The two then circle around each other with TJ warning Arata to not take him lightly, mentioning his various training exercises and practice sessions to prepare him to be the exact PINNACLE form of pro wrestler...

...then falls over as he is blasted with a chop across the chest by Arata.

TJ scrambles back to his feet as still everyone was too busy focusing on Arata, who was exchanging a tense glare with Ulf. Clearly the two were ready to tear into each other. TJ however calls for Arata's attention again, stating that he wasn't ready and looks to lock up with Arata to prove that he is now. Arata rolls his eyes before obliging. The two struggle for a bit with Arata forcing TJ into the corner... much to the surprise of the crowd and TJ actually is able to push Arata back and slip him into a headlock. The crowd and TJ let out a celebratory cheer at the impressive display, however they did not expect to see Arata shove TJ off of him, causing Thompson to rebound off the ropes and back to Arata…

...who leaps over TJ once…

...then a second time...

Arata then takes down TJ with a dropkick!!!

TJ falls back and rolls over into his team's corner, and as Arata looks to take advantage, Ulf tags himself in….

Arata charges at Ulf, just for Ulf to come in and knock him straight back on his rear end after NAILING Arata with a headbutt!! Finally, Arata makes the tag into Swindle to which an unimpressed Ulf tags TJ back in. TJ Thompson and Swindle Shelldrake begin locking up and working for position.

At that moment, there is movement at the entrance and the camera picks up the arrival of Kyle Valentine and DJ Hunter, collectively known as The Phantom Troupe! The two men stop their advance on the entrance ramp, content to watch some of their potential tag team tournament competition from a distance.

Back in the ring, Swindle takes early control with a side headlock, but TJ looks to emulate Arata's earlier tactic by shoving his opponent towards the ropes; however when Swindle rebounds he hits a back elbow on TJ knocking him to the ground. Swindle capitalizes off of the downed Thompson, as he stands next to TJ's hip, grabs one arm, and applies an armbar. Swindle then steps over the arm with his inside leg so that he's facing away from TJ and continues the turning motion and dives forward over his opponent, rolling onto his side. The barred arm of TJ acts as a lever, flipping him over Shelldrake and onto his back. Swindle hooks both legs as the opponent goes over and holds for the pin.

ONE...TWO...KICKOUT!

Swindle quickly tries to maintain offense as he rebounds off the ropes for a PK, but instead he runs right into a clothesline! Then another! Then another! Swindle tries to answer back with a clotheslines of his own but TJ ducks under the attack and takes out his opponent with a Superkick!

TJ drags Swindle over towards his corner as Sauce tags in and B.D.P hits Swindle with a Double Snap Suplex before Sauce quickly goes for the cover.

ONE..TWO...KICKOUT!

Swindle rolls towards the ropes trying to catch a breather but Sauce is right on his trail. Sauce goes to pick him up, but once he lays a hand on Swindle, The Kraken then proceeds to bend the fingers of his opponent back, forcing Sauce to a knee! Swindle takes pleasure in the evident pain that Yung Sauce is in so he takes hold of Sauce's hand and TWISTS him into a wristlock. Swindle then nabs the other hand of Sauce…

...before trapping him into a Zetsubo Death Clutch' (Double wrist-clutch bridging cradle pin)

ONE...TWO...KICKOUT!

Sauce then gets to his feet and runs right into a Bicycle Big Boot from Swindle that floors him. Swindle then quickly drags Sauce into his team's corner and tags in Jay before they begin to lay the boots to him.

Sauce fires up and lays in strikes, managing to fight for the tag to TJ! The two follow up with Double Hip Toss to Jay. Sauce and TJ demonstrated lots of energy playing into the crowd before Swindle & Arata cut them off by ambushing them from behind!

The ref soon manages to get back control with members of each team in their own respective corners. It's at this point Swindle and Jay have taken control, once again isolating Sauce and locking in a Crossface (Crowley)/Sharpshooter (Shelldrake) combination.

However with the earlier chaos, the ref is quick to instruct Jay to have the ring to himself as he is the legal man. Jay continues to work him over, first applying the Sleeper on Sauce...THEN TOSSING HIM WITH A SLEEPER SUPLEX! Jay quickly puts Sauce back into his team's corner, tagging in Swindle. The two then double team him as they mock Sauce.

TREY BOOKER: We’re seeing a lot of tag and cohesion from these teams, much to my surprise!

J.T. PRICE: It’s not over yet, Trey. In fact, I think it’s just getting started!

With The Phantom Troupe already watching from the entrance ramp, someone else emerges from backstage. This time it is Proving Ground’s General Manager, Indy Darling, who remains on the stage and seems to take a special interest in the contest.

As this was transpiring, the action went outside the ring for a few minutes with Sauce rolling to the outside. Then Sauce spent a good part of the match taking the beating while desperately reaching for the hot tag.

Jay gets the tag to Swindle and goes to pick up Sauce...but Yung Sauce fights back with a Kitchen Sink Knee lift knocking Crowley off his feet! Swindle rushes in for a Yakuza Kick...but Sauce PLANTS him with the Renegade (Back Suplex into a Uranage)!!

Arata looks as if he's about to enter the ring, but once Sauce charges at him, he quickly drops off the apron trying to avoid any offense from the Drip Prince!

Sauce is starting to feel the energy of the crowd! He eyes Crowley who seems to be recovering, Sauce charges in for a lariat...

...But Crowley ducks under the attack and executes a Back Suplex lift…

RIGHT INTO A EUROPEAN UPPERCUT BY SHELLDRAKE!

Swindle makes the cover…

ONE...TWO... KICKOUT!

Swindle is starting to get frustrated with the resilience of the Sauce, and he slaps the back of Sauce's head before he rebounds off the rope...

...AND SAUCE COUNTERS THE PENALTY KICK INTO A PIN!!!

ONE...TWO... KICKOUT!

Swindle gets to his feet...AND IS BLASTED WITH A BUZZSAW KICK before Sauce tags in Ulf! The big Viking begins to run wild on his opponents!

He rushes in towards Swindle who tries to catch Ulf out with a lariat…

BUT ULF CHARGES PAST THE LARIAT AND EXECUTES A MAJOR SUICIDE DIVE ON ARATA ON THE OUTSIDE!!!

Crowley tries to get advantage by landing a Moonsault on The Berserker…

BUT ULF LITERALLY CATCHES HIM OVER HIS SHOULDER...RUNNING POWERSLAM ON THE FLOOR!

The crowd goes crazy for Ulf as he eyes Swindle, who is completely stunned at the incredible display! Ulf then gets back in the ring, but Swindle immediately catches Ulf with an enziguri which stuns the Lone Wolf! Deciding he needs to go big or go home, Swindle places Ulf's head between his legs (a standing head scissors), and hooks each of Ulf's arms behind his own back. Swindle then calls for Violent Salvage (Double Underhook Piledriver)....

But Ulf quickly unhooks his arm before pulling his opponent's arm over his far shoulder and lifts the Swindle's body over his shoulders while having his other hand between and holding onto one of the Swindle's legs. He stands up…

...Valhalla Driver' (Death Valley Driver)!!!!

Ulf however isn't finished as he wraps his arms around the head and one arm of his opponent and squeezes, choking Swindle out with a The Serpent Lock' (Anaconda Vice)!!!

Swindle struggles and yells about trying to reach the ropes, however he's just too far! He extends a foot over to the ropes but he still can't reach them, the pain and the need for air begin to sink in majorly…He lifts his arm up above the mat...

….AND TAPS….

... however right as his hand hit the mat...Jay Crowley had climbed back onto the apron and proceeded to distract the ref from seeing the fall! Ulf however did take notice of this and released the hold to turn his attention towards the direction of Jay…

...AND ARATA GRABS HIM FROM BEHIND AND OBLITERATES ULF WITH A TIGER SUPLEX, THE REF DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE!

Ulf gets sent to the floor, JÖRMUNGANDR tosses him into the steel steps before they roll him back in and maintain offense, keeping Ulf in their corner. Ulf gets tossed into the steel post, and that allows JÖRMUNGANDR and Arata to work quick tags and keep control. Ulf fights back, and manages to tag in TJ, who’s looking to run wild.

He first catches Swindle with a European Uppercut! Then catches GET HIP OR DIE (BLUE THUNDERBOMB) STRAIGHT INTO THE PIN!

ONE...TWO...TH--KICKOUT!!!

TJ was so close to wrapping this match up! TJ goes up top...but he gets crotched by Arata! Swindle follows with a superplex!

Swindle makes the cover!

ONE...TWO...KICKOUT!!

Jay gets the tag, grounding TJ with a Sliding D (Sliding Forearm Smash). JÖRMUNGANDR keeps working quick tags, continuing the heat on TJ. Suddenly, he’s able to turn the tide by hitting For Your Own Good (Slingblade) on Jay!

Sauce tags in and runs wild! Yung Sauce with lariat on Swindle, then a bicycle knee strike to the head, dropkick to Arata and a SPEAR by SAUCE on Jay as he tries to reenter the match. Lost in The Sauce [Bicycle Knee Strike] knee by Sauce on Swindle!

He makes the cover...

ONE...TWO…Jay pulls the ref out of the ring thus stopping the pin!

TJ lands a plancha on Jay. Arata with a penalty kick to TJ and then a clothesline by Ulf sends Arata out of the ring. Arata fires back with a Roaring Elbow to Ulf! Sauce throws some cool kicks and a dropkick to Arata before he heads up top and Swindle tries to cut him off, but Sauce hits him with a Ticket to My Downfall (Top Rope DDT)!

Sauce makes the cover…

ONE...TWO…THR--JAY just manages to make the save!!!

Sauce takes exception to this and quickly disposes Jay to the outside, he however misses the tag that Swindle makes to Arata.

He grabs onto the Kraken and locks him in Holy Calamafuck [Modified Dragon Sleeper]! Swindle again seems to be suffering as Sauce wrenches in the hold…THEN WE SEE YUNG SAUCE OBLITERATED WITH A RAIKIRI' (SHINING WIZARD TO THE BACK OF OPPONENT'S HEAD) FROM BEHIND!!!

Swindle rolls out of the ring while Arata makes the pin!

ONE...TWO...THREE!!!!

HOLLY PEREZ: Your winners of the match by pinfall...JAY CROWLEY, SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE, AND ARATA ASAKURA!!!

TREY BOOKER: What an amazing contest by those six men! Just when you think it’s going to be a night full of strange and unusual matches, we see a six person classic!

J.T. PRICE: Even Indy Darling and The Phantom Troupe seem impressed by what they’ve seen! This may very well have been a breakthrough performance that could elevate everyone involved!


Following the previous match, we go backstage where Indy Darling is returning from his vantage point on the stage. The General Manager has a confident smile on his face when he’s approached by Crystal Ward, with her microphone in hand.

CRYSTAL WARD: Indy, if you have a moment, we couldn’t help but notice you taking a special interest in that last match. Care to share what’s on your mind?

INDY DARLING: For you, Crystal? Any time.

The two share a brief moment of awkward silence and exchange some coy smiles.

INDY DARLING: *Ahem* After what Mark Hunter did on Fallout last night, it should come as no surprise that I’ve chosen him to lead Team Proving Ground to victory at Night of Honor. As a former Grand Champion and someone who’s really become a fan-favorite over the past couple of months, I can’t think of anyone better to represent Proving Ground. That left me with rounding out the best team possible and I wanted to get a closer look for myself before revealing my final decision.

CRYSTAL WARD: Sounds to me like that decision has been made. So who’s it gonna be, Indy?

INDY DARLING: Well, I don’t want to force anyone into double duty at one of our biggest shows of the year, so champions and number one contenders had to be taken out of the equation. Then I looked at a few guys like Brandon Hendrix, Scott Oasis, and Daniel Ackerman, but they didn’t have the best outings tonight. After that last match, and what a match it was, I’ve decided that I definitely want Arata Asakura and Ulf Hednir representing Proving Ground at Night of Honor.

The cheers from the crowd can be heard back in the arena as Indy pauses before continuing.

INDY DARLING: I was also impressed by Jormangandr, but Big Drip Productions are a Proving Ground staple. With that in mind, I’ve decided that Swindle Shelldrake and TJ Thompson will be joining the team as well.

There are more cheers from the crowd to be heard before Crystal interjects.

CRYSTAL WARD: That’s an All-Star team for sure, but do you really think they’ll be able to co-exist and defeat Fallout’s team? I mean, Arata hates white people, and they don’t get much whiter than TJ Thompson. Not only that, but they just tried tearing each other apart out there...

INDY DARLING: That’s a legit concern, Crystal, and it’s something I have a solution for. If Mark Hunter, Arata Asakura, Ulf Hednir, Swindle Shelldrake, and TJ Thompson can get along for one night, I will reward each of them with a shot at the Grand Championship, no matter who leaves Night of Honor as the title holder. They don’t have to win and they don’t have to like each other, but they do need to represent Proving Ground as five of our best.

CRYSTAL WARD: Wow...I guess that’s one way to motivate your team. Thanks for your time, Indy!

INDY DARLING: My pleasure, Crystal.

Crystal gives the GM a playful smile, causing Indy to blush as usual. He clears his throat and makes his way out of the scene awkwardly while Crystal brings her interview to a close.





HOLLY PEREZ: The following Handicap Match is set for one fall… introducing first...

The Lights dim to black as guitars strum dark surf chords drowned in reverb. As the walking bass and clattering drums come to the fore white lights center on the middle of the walkway. Will Riley stands there. Wearing a Black Ring Jacket emblazoned with "Snake Pit Fight Club" on the back.

HOLLY PEREZ: Wrestling out of Portland, Oregon and weighing in tonight at two hundred and twenty-five pounds… THIS IS WIIIIILLLLLLLLLL RIIIIILLLLLEEEYYYYYYYY!!!

As the hazy singing begins, Riley's black wrestling boots move confidently down the ramp towards the ring. He slaps the offered hand keeping his eyes on the ring. Reaching the apron he slaps it with both hands, before hopping up on to the apron as the song takes on more speed and urgency. Wiping his boots on the apron, he ducks between the second and third ropes, raising both of his in exultation before moving to his corner and removing his jacket.

HOLLY PEREZ: And his partner…

With the Project Honor fans ready for what's to come next, the starting riff of 'Boneshaker' by Airbourne kicks in over the PA system. After a few moments from the back out jogs Mark Kelly, running to one edge of the stage and doing two finger-guns at the fans with a smirk. He then moves to run to the other side, repeating the gesture, before finally coming to the center of the entryway. Pausing for a moment, he finally throws his hands up high, then brings them down in the same way finger guns, 'shooting' at the ring before blowing away the smoke from his fingertips.

HOLLY PEREZ: Wrestling out of Perth, Australia and weighing in tonight at two hundred pounds… he is “The Australian Ace”... MAAAARRRKKKKKKKK KELLLLLLLLEYYYYYYYYYY!!!

With the theatrics over, Kelly now races to the ring, diving in under the bottom rope, and rolling forward and to his feet. Springing up to the middle rope, he throws his arms wide and roars, letting out a sign of exhilaration to get the fans on his side, before hopping down and slowly turning to face the ring. Now ready for battle, as he moves to his corner and kneels, running fingertips across the mat to get a sense of the ring, while awaiting the opening bell.

HOLLY PEREZ: And their opponent...

As the slow, creeping sounds of Heilung start to play the lights around the entrance dim down to bare visibility. The drums of the song beat, as small glimpses of a rainstorm can be seen on screen. The stage itself begins to billow out a thick fog, a cold mist curling its way along the platform and down the ramp. Quickly, the stage itself is engulfed in the fog, as much of the ramp is also. A small light shines its weak glow from the entrance, shining against the figure of a man. His silhouette, huge in size against the soft light now moves as he does, down the ramp and through the curtain of mist. He emerges towards the end of the ramp, his form now fully visible… Ozymandias.

HOLLY PEREZ: Wrestling out of Reine, Norway and weighing in tonight at three hundred and fifty-seven pounds… he is the CURRENT, REIGNING PROJECT: HONOR GRAND CHAMPION… THE BUTCHER OF REINE… OZZYYYYYYYYMMAAAAAANNNDDDDIIIAAASSSSSSS!!!!!

He pauses before the ring, staring into the squared-cage before slowly removing his jacket and placing it under the apron. He stands upright, cracks his neck in both directions then power-squats onto the apron, before entering through the ropes.

DING! DING!

Within the match’s beginning, Ozymandias has steamrolled through Mark Kelly with the Big Boot that turns him inside out, and a Throat Thrust for Will Riley on the apron and dropping him down onto the floor. The Butcher of Reine is making his strength known with a massive Lariat taking down Mark Kelly and keeping his foot down on the throat of Kelly. Riley soon enters the ring and looks to take out Ozymandias from behind to try and lift up the Grand Champion with the Bridging Hammerlock Suplex--but there’s no use for it, and it’s becoming a struggle for Riley as Ozymandias twists himself around and pulls himself in towards Riley and taking him down with a massive Burning Lariat! Both men are down and the Grand Champion is looking strong tonight, he raises his arms out and looks out to the crowd who give him a loud negative reaction.

J.T. PRICE: This isn’t looking good for Riley and Kelly right now, and although I should have expected this from Ozymandias, I feel somewhat bad by watching all of this, having to watch this destruction of two well-endured wrestlers.

TREY BOOKER: I’m glad you think that, J.T. Because I don’t feel bad for them, they went into this knowing what’ll come to them as they got into the ring with the Project: Honor Grand Champion. That’s their fault for slacking.

Kelly springs to his feet behind and attacks the champion, laying in the Axe Handle strikes to the spine of Ozymandias but the champion is able to push away Kelly--into the ropes and catching him with the Spinning Side Slam! AND RILEY HAS THE FUJIWARA ARMBAR LOCKED IN! HE’S GOT THE ARMBAR LOCKED IN TIGHT! BUT OZYMANDIAS IS FORCING HIMSELF UP TO HIS FEET! HE’S COUNTERING THE FUJIWARA ARMBAR! BACK ELBOW! BIG BOOT TO THE HEAD! AND NOW OZYMANDIAS PICKING UP RILEY INTO THE AIR--- THE CALL! THE CALL! THE CRUCIFIX RELEASE POWERBOMB! RIGHT DOWN ONTO KELLY! And now, the champion is calling for the end. He’s putting a notice to both of his opponents, but even then, they’re too downed and out to know what’s coming. Picking up Kelly and into the Vertical Suplex position--SINKING FAIIIIIITHHHHH!!!! THE JACKHAMMER SUPLEX! THE COVER ON BOTH MEN NOW!

ONE!
TWO!
THREE!

DING! DING! DING!

HOLLY PEREZ: Here is your winner… the Project: Honor Grand Champion… OZZZZZZZZYYYYYYYYMANNNNNDIAASSSSSSSSSS!!!!


As if Larry KaChow hasn’t made enough appearances for one show, we go backstage once again to find him wandering the halls with his clipboard and a triumphant smile.

LARRY KACHOW: Nice...I had no idea how many people would be willing to sign this thing if all I had to do was make false promises. Let’s see...I’ve got Brandon Hendrix and Lance Williams. Clearly they recognize what it takes to be a leader. Now I just need to find Arata Asakura. He should appreciate my questionable Korean heritage...at least I’m not Gaijinese.

Suddenly Larry comes to a stop as he sees a group of individuals loitering nearby. The camera follows him as he approaches, revealing Serrano Poblano, Rapture, Guy, and El Puma crowded around a coffee machine.

LARRY KACHOW: Well, well, well...if it isn't the Dark Match Men in Tights. How’s it hanging, losers?

Their conversation regarding the superiority of Battlestar Galactica over Stargate comes to an immediate halt as they turn their attention towards KaChow.

LARRY KACHOW: You chumps should know that I’ve almost got the one thousand signatures that Rock Johnson wanted, and once I’m done there won’t be any more of this lazy behavior allowed!

The masked man known only as El Puma is the first one to step forward.

EL PUMA: Comer una polla, gilipollas.

With that, El Puma takes a sip from his Styrofoam coffee cup and makes his exit.

LARRY KACHOW: What did he just say?

SERRANO POBLANO: I’m not sure, but I think I heard someone order it at Taco Bell once. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I still need to change my shorts.

LARRY KACHOW: Dude! You shit your pants like an hour ago!

Serrano pauses, giving Larry a questioning look before glancing over to Guy and Rapture, and finally back to Larry.

SERRANO POBLANO: And?

With no other explanation needed, Serrano is the next to make his exit. At this point, Rapture steps forward and pokes his finger against Larry’s chest.

RAPTURE: You should really be nicer to the people you meet on your way up. They could be the same ones at the bottom when you come back down.

The masked man then makes his exit as well, seemingly proud of the point he’s made.

LARRY KACHOW: That’s not even how the saying goes!

That leaves Larry alone with Guy, who continues to sip from his styrofoam cup.

LARRY KACHOW: Who the fuck are you supposed to be?

Guy looks over his shoulder, assuming Larry is talking to someone else, before turning back upon realizing that he’s actually being spoken to.

GUY: Oh...I’m Guy. Nice to meet you.

He kindly holds out his hand for Larry to shake, but instead, KaChow smacks the styrofoam cup away from his other hand, sending hot coffee splattering all over.

LARRY KACHOW: I thought the chef who crapped his pants was named Guy!

GUY: No, that was Serrano. I’m Guy. Nice to meet you.

Guy continues to hold his hand out, waiting for Larry to shake it. KaChow leaves him hanging yet again, as he storms past Guy in search of more signatures.

LARRY KACHOW: That’s the problem with this place...too many damn comedy acts…

Guy watches Larry take his leave before he bends over to pick up his styrofoam cup, holds it next to the coffee pot, and pours himself another.



As “Cash Flow” by Ace Hood begins to trail off, we see that entrances for our next contest have already begun.

HOLLY PEREZ: Introducing first, currently in the ring from Pacific Palisades, California...she is the reigning Warrior Rising Champion and “The Platinum Standard”...EMMANUELLE!!!


The lights dim down while the catchy, fast paced rock of RAINBOWS by A9 echoes as a spotlight suddenly appears on a figure on the ramp, with his back turned and begins kneeling. Once the beat finally kicks in, MYOJIN explodes with energy- wearing a masquerade-style mask over his eyes, and turns around with a confident smile on his face, raising his arms to soak in the positive reaction from everyone around.

With his blonde locks hanging over his face. He then whips his head back, flipping his hair out of his face before excitedly running down the ring before performing a cartwheel and a jump, landing on his feet near ringside!

He climbs up to the apron, grabs a hold of the top rope, and slingshots himself into the ring. MYOJIN performs a somersault roll, landing on his side with a hand on his hip. The other, taking off his mask to reveal his piercing blue eye contacts. He tosses it aside nonchalantly before climbing up the top turnbuckle, tilting his head upward as if he’s looking toward the sky- while the lights mimic stars above. He backflips off, back onto his feet while taking off his flamboyant coat and moving to his corner. The lights go back to normal as he checks his wrist tape. His charismatic smile fading to a more focused expression as he paces back and forth, ready for action.

HOLLY PEREZ: And her partner, from San Diego, California and weighing in at one hundred sixty five pounds… “The Shining Star”...MYOJIN!!!

Every light in the arena shuts off… moments later, a single blue spotlight shines to the curtain as the opening melody for “The Eagle Flies Alone” by Arch Enemy plays over the PA system and the crowd is giving their mixed reactions… The longtime fans have cheered, and overpower the ones who do not know whether to cheer or not; some join in just out of peer pressure. Fog has filled the stage. The first verse comes and goes. The chorus comes in.

I, I go my own way!
I swim against the stream!
(Forever) I will fight the powers that be!

Tara emerges from behind the curtains; her head is covered by her hood. Tara stands at the top of the stage with a sneer on her face as her eyes scan the crowd as if to find her supporters. Some of the crowd has gotten louder in her favor, while others are still mixed. Tara flings the hood back, and takes a better look at the crowd. The legendary Tara strides down the ramp; the stride turns to a brisk walk about halfway down the ramp. The crowd along the front row is bowing down to her. As she reaches the bottom of the ramp, she goes around to the camera side of the ring, leaps onto the apron with one knee and straightens out her other leg while looking at the crowd and the camera.

I, I go my own way!
I swim against the stream!
(Forever) I will fight the pοwers that be!
The eagle flies alone!

Tara crawls between the middle and lower ropes, and crawls to the middle of the ring. After standing up, she walks to the nearest turnbuckle and goes to the second turnbuckle; she just stares out at the crowd, and shouts out inaudible words. After several seconds of basking, she does a one-eighty off of the second rope and landing. She hands her coat to the referee, then proceeds to wait for the match to start.

HOLLY PEREZ: And their opponents...introducing first from Hartford, Connecticut and weighing in at one hundred forty three pounds… “The Phoenix Queen”...TARA FENIX!!!

"Bulldozer" by Machine Head graces the ears of those in attendance as it plays throughout the arena. The crowd reaction is clear to hear that they hate Lance Williams as they boo and shout abuse at him. The lights dim down, enough to just see the frame of a mountain of a man, the lights come back on after "The Essence Of Egotism", "The Bulldozer” Lance Williams lets out a ferocious primal roar. Lance stands there flexing his biceps, holding his guns up for the world to see with The X-Factor Title over his left shoulder for all to see. Once he has soaked in the boos and abuse, he starts to head down towards the ring with an arrogant smirk on his face. The crowd still maintains the booing and abuse, Lance Williams smirking smugly at those who boo him and give him abuse, he even stops to abuse the crowd back as well as even making it known to all that he is the X-Factor Champion. Now at the ring, Lance jumps up onto the ring apron showing off his amazing athletic side letting out another roar just as ferociously primal as the first as pyros shot up from each turnbuckle. He then gets into the ring, the focus and determination clear to see as he stands there showing off his 315 lb muscular physique, dressed in just a pair of black shorts that are just above his knee and black wrestling boots. A self satisfied smirk on his face as he is ready for action and takes the X-Factor from around his waist and hands it to the ref.

HOLLY PEREZ: And her partner, fighting out of Los Angeles, California and weighing in at three hundred and fifteen pounds...he is the reigning X-Factor Champion and “The Essence of Egotism”...LANCE WILLIAMS!!!

DING! DING! DING!

TREY BOOKER: This is going to be another interesting tag team match, but I’m not sure how much cohesion we’ll see from at least one of these teams.

J.T. PRICE: I’m sure MYOJIN and Emmanuelle will be on the same page, but Lance and Tara? Talk about mixing oil and water...

There seems to be some debate between Tara and Lance as to who will start the match, while on the other side of the ring, Emmanuelle has opted to begin the contest. With Lance defiantly arguing with Tara, Emmy takes advantage of the situation and charges across the ring, hitting Lance in the back of the head with a surprise dropkick! As Lance staggers against the turnbuckles, Tara simply shakes her head and takes her place on the ring apron. Back inside of the ring, Emmanuelle climbs to the second turnbuckle and rains down a series of punches to Lance’s head as the crowd counts along! Then, just before the tenth punch can land, Lance shoves Emmanuelle off with all of his strength, nearly sending her all the way across the ring.

The Warrior Rising Champion gets back to her feet and charges back in, and Lance tries to take her head off with a big clothesline! Instead, she ducks under and hooks his arm, then swinging her legs up to hook his other arm as well, her momentum pulling him to the mat in a crucifix pin!

ONE!
KICKOUT!

Lance gets onto one knee, but before he can fully stand, Emmy starts to land a series of martial arts kicks to various parts of his body. The blows rain down too fast for Lance to block, and he’s stunned long enough for Emmanuelle to follow up by hooking his head and dropping him with a snap DDT! She goes for the cover…

ONE!
TW - KICKOUT!

Once again Lance starts to pull himself up, and this time Emmanuelle targets his midsection with a hard liver punch! He winces in pain as he tries to put some distance between himself and the Platinum Standard, but she stays right after him with more strikes. Hoping to end her assault, Lance reaches out to grab her in a bear hug, then immediately throws her over his head with a powerful suplex! The move clearly stuns Emmy as she pulls herself up by the ropes, but she attempts to maintain her advantage nonetheless! Instead, Lance meets her charge with a hard spinebuster, then lifts her off the mat and slams her back down with a thunderous powerbomb!

ONE!
TWO!
MYOJIN BREAKS UP THE PIN!

The Shining Star glares at Lance as he makes his way back to his corner, but Lance gives an arrogant grin in response. He then pulls Emmanuelle up again, wraps his massive arms around her, and executes another overhead belly to belly suplex! This one sends Emmy flying towards her corner, thus giving MYOJIN the opportunity to tag in legally! Then, instead of meeting his contender head on, Lance reaches over to smack Tara Fenix on the shoulder. Laughing to himself, he then steps between the ropes as Tara locks eyes with her respected friend.

TREY BOOKER: Apparently Lance wants nothing to do with the number one contender to his title!

J.T. PRICE: Nah, that’s not it, Trey. He’s just playing games with MYOJIN.

TREY BOOKER: Be that as it may, we’re about to see something very interesting between The Phoenix Queen and The Shining Star!

Tara and MYOJIN size each other up as they circle each other, eventually diving together in a collar and elbow tie up. MYO ducks behind in an attempt to wrap his arms around Tara, who reverses in turn to put herself behind MYO. She barely has him grappled before he drops to a knee to bring her over with a snap mare, but before he can apply a headlock, Tara rolls backwards to snatch his head between her legs with a headscissor. MYOJIN isn’t about to let the move hold him down as he kips out of the hold and back to his feet! Tara quickly follows suit and grabs MYO’s arm, whipping him toward the ring ropes! Not impressed with the back and forth sportsmanship, Lance chooses that moment to strike at MYOJIN from ringside, shooting his knee between the ropes to The Shining Star’s ribs.

Instead of taking advantage of MYOJIN’s momentary distraction, Tara storms toward Lance and gives him a defiant shove, lecturing him for his underhanded tactic. Lance continues to laugh as he’s clearly pleased with himself, forcing him to miss MYOJIN shouting “duck”, to which Tara quickly obliges. The kick that MYOJIN sends flies right over Tara’s head and hits Lance on the jaw, knocking him from the ring apron and to the floor. In response, Tara gives MYOJIN a nod of her head before the two of them move back toward the center of the ring.

TREY BOOKER: Now that’s something you don’t see every day! Tara just made it clear that she’s not about to let Lance play dirty against people she respects!

J.T. PRICE: Ew...sportsmanship…

Tara manages to get a brief advantage by locking MYOJIN in a side headlock, but it doesn’t take long before he counters with a back suplex. Tara tries to scramble back up, but this time MYO is able to hit a shining wizard that keeps her on the mat. The Shining Star then begins to make his strategy clear as he targets Tara’s arm with a dropkick and then follows it up with a double knee armbreaker. MYOJIN continues to wrench on Tara’s arm for good measure, rotating between strikes and stretches to the appendage. Finally, MYO reveals his end game as he gets Tara into position for his Aquila Kimura Lock with a headscissors.

Fortunately for Tara, she knows her opponent very well and manages to grab hold of the ropes before the hold can really take effect. MYOJIN doesn’t even wait for a count of two before breaking the hold, showing Tara the same measure of respect that she’s shown him thus far. That doesn’t stop MYOJIN from immediately taking Tara back to the mat with an armbar that he expertly transitions into a crossface! Fenix does her best to roll out of the move before she’s completely trapped, which puts her legs into the ring ropes and forces another break. This time Tara gets back up to a series of chops from MYOJIN that forces her into the corner and allows MYO to bring Emmanuelle back into the match. Without hesitation, Emmy leaps onto the second buckle and brings Tara down to the mat with her Malibu Shine! She goes for the cover…

ONE!
TWO!
THR - KICKOUT!

After the close call and last second kick out, Emmanuelle pulls Tara back to her feet and whips her across the ring. Now that MYOJIN is out of the match, Lance makes a blind tag to bring himself back in, which Emmanuelle misses as she lowers her head to hit a back body drop. Instead, Tara counters the move with a sudden kick that straightens Emmy back up, just in time for her to nearly have her head taken off by a lariat from Lance Williams!

Tara glares at Lance as she makes her way to her corner, but he doesn’t take the time to notice as he pulls Emmy up for a suplex, then a back suplex, and finally a release German suplex! Lance backs up and measures Emmanuelle for his Raging Bull, but as he charges towards her, she manages to leapfrog over him! Unable to stop his momentum, he charges into the corner of his opponents, where MYOJIN is ready to take his head off with a stiff martial arts kick from the ring apron!

Unfortunately for The Shining Star, Lance is able to duck at the last second and MYOJIN’s kick hits Emmanuelle as she approaches Lance from behind! The smirk that The Bulldozer gives MYOJIN is enough to bring him into the ring illegally to finally get his hands on The Essence of Egotism. The flurry of strikes that follow drive Lance back into his own corner where Tara Fenix makes a blind tag of her own! She immediately makes her way to the top rope and flies off towards Emmanuelle with The Phoenix Drop! She goes for the cover and MYOJIN is too focused on Lance Williams to stop her…

ONE!
TWO!
THREE!

DING! DING! DING!

HOLLY PEREZ: Your winners of the match by way of pinfall...LANCE WILLIAMS AND TARA FENIX!!!

TREY BOOKER: That’s a big win for Lance and Tara over the more experienced team, but I don’t think this is over just yet!

Lance manages to break away from MYOJIN, using his strength and leverage to fling The Shining Star between the ropes and to the floor. He then sets his eyes on Tara Fenix as she rises from the mat with her arms raised in triumph...and he hits his own partner with The Raging Bull! Tara Fenix crumples to the mat alongside Emmanuelle, while Lance Williams gets back to his feet and smiles down at them. Then, having returned to the ring with a steel chair in hand, MYOJIN spins Lance around and slams the steel over his head!

Now it is Lance who hits the mat and immediately rolls toward ringside as MYOJIN throws the dented chair in his general direction. As Emmanuelle rolls to her corner and begins to shake off the damage, MYOJIN helps Tara to her feet as a sign of respect and sportsmanship. Emmanuelle watches from her corner, and while not pleased with the outcome, she seems content to allow MYOJIN’s act of kindness for the time being.




Returning from the commercial, we check in with Larry KaChow one last time as he makes his way down one of the arena hallways. As we join him, he is looking over his shoulder with a smile.

LARRY KACHOW: Thanks again, Caddy! I’m glad a man with some foresight won Opportunity Knocks, and I’m glad you appreciated my efforts to give true superstars like you a fighting chance!

CADILLAC JACKSON (from off-screen): Anytime baybee!

Larry continues on his way to allow Cadillac the opportunity to prepare for his main event, when another superstar crosses his path. Fresh off his tag team match against Lance Williams and Tara Fenix, MYOJIN does not look pleased to see Larry KaChow in the least.

LARRY KACHOW: Oh! It’s you…

MYOJIN: Mm-hmm.

MYOJIN crosses his arms in front of him while glaring at Larry, who returns the distasteful glare in return.

LARRY KACHOW: Guess what I’ve got in my greedy little hands. No, better yet, I’ll just tell you. With Cadillac Jackson adding his name to my petition, I now have the one thousand names Rock Johnson wanted to strip Caden Young of his position and give it to me. So you’d better wipe that look off your face and show me a little respect if you want to have any kind of future with MY brand.

MYOJIN: Your brand? Let me show you exactly what I think of your brand...

MYOJIN reaches out to snatch the clipboard out of Larry’s hands and then rips the papers off of it. The Shining Star then proceeds to snap the clipboard over his knee before ripping Larry’s petition into tiny shreds of paper. The would-be Assistant General Manager looks heartbroken as he slowly sinks to his knees and tries to gather up every torn scrap. With a satisfied smile, MYOJIN gives Larry one last glance before walking off screen.

MYOJIN: Bitch.

With that, MYOJIN continues on his way as Larry desperately sobs and continues to sweep the pieces of his petition into a pile. After a few seconds, a pair of sneakers enter the scene, and the camera pans up to reveal Proving Ground GM, Indy Darling. With tears in his eyes, Larry looks up at him like a lost kitten.

INDY DARLING: Jesus, man. Get a grip.

LARRY KACHOW: B-b-but...m-m-my...p-p-petition…

INDY DARLING: You know what, Larry? If there’s one thing I appreciate, it’s hard work. I’m sure most of the names on those little scraps were forged, but I just can’t stand to see a grown man cry. Since everyone loved your Opportunity Knocks match so much, I’m going to give you the reins for the next show.

LARRY KACHOW: ...wait...really?

INDY DARLING: Yup. Besides, if there’s one thing I hate more than seeing a grown man cry, it’s missing an opportunity to see you fall flat on your face. Good luck!

Indy pats KaChow on the top of his head before making his way out of the scene, as Larry’s pained expression fades into a mischievous smile...



HOLLY PEREZ: Ladies and gentlemen...it’s now time for our main event of the evening!


"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 stage hand before hopping down and getting ready for action.

HOLLY PEREZ: Introducing first...hailing from Hampton Falls, New Hampshire and weighing in at two hundred and seventy four pounds...he is the number one contender to The Project: Honor Grand Championship and “The Luxury Experience”...CADILLAC JACKSON!!!

“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 his opponent...a former Grand Champion and the Team Captain of Team Proving Ground...hailing from San Jose, California and weighing in at two hundred and eleven pounds… “The Straight Shooter”....MARK HUNTER!!!

DING! DING! DING!

TREY BOOKER: It’s main event time, and it rarely gets any better than two men at the top of their games facing each other in one-on-one competition!

J.T. PRICE: Except for two women in their prime going at each other…

TREY BOOKER: Damn it, J.T.

The opening bell barely has time to ring before Caddy charges across the ring, looking to get the drop on Mark Hunter before he’s fully aware. Fortunately for Mark, he turns out of his corner just in time to bring his leg up, halting Jackson’s attempted blind spear with a hard knee lift! The blow straightens Caddy up so that Mark can unload a series of knife edge chops to his chest! Caddy is blistered by the blows and knocked back towards the center of the ring, where Mark hooks his head and slings him to the canvas with a snap suplex! He goes for a quick cover!

ONE!
KICKOUT!

Caddy isn’t about to lose his first main event singles match so quickly as he pops his shoulder off the canvas, but Mark doesn’t slow down his offense. Pulling Caddy to his feet, Mark tosses a few elbows to Caddy’s jaw, then takes a step back, and unloads with a superkick! The move doesn’t meet its mark as Cadillac catches his foot and pulls him in for a T Bone Suplex! Without missing a beat, Jackson then hits the ropes and charges back to meet Mark with a lariat just as he’s getting to his feet! This time it’s Caddy who immediately drops down for the cover!

ONE!
KICKOUT!

Showing just as much tenacity as his opponent, Mark refuses to stay on the mat for long. This doesn’t dissuade Jackson as he grabs Mark by the head to set him up for a reverse neckbreaker! Then, just before he’s able to drop Mark’s neck over his shoulder, Mark manages to hook Caddy’s arms and pull him to the mat with a backslide!

ONE!
KICKOUT!

Both men are back on their feet quickly, but this time they are not looking to exchange holds as Cadillac lands a hard right hand to Mark’s temple and Hunter responds with a stiff punch to Jackson’s nose!

TREY BOOKER: There is no hesitation from either of these men! It’s clear how much a win means to both of them and they’ve gone non-stop since the opening bell!

J.T. PRICE: Fine! I admit it...this might be better than a couple of hot chicks throwing down…

The exchange of fists is a battle that Cadillac wins with his superior size and strength, as he batters Mark backwards into the ropes and then whips him across the ring. Hunter tries to respond by taking to the air for a cross body block, but Jackson is able to catch him in his arms and drop him over his knee with a backbreaker! With the Straight Shooter temporarily down, Caddy follows up with a series of hard elbow drops! One after another until he suddenly stops, and plants a blatant stomp to Mark’s nose! The damage that Hunter has inflicted is obvious as blood begins to trickle onto his lips, but Caddy isn’t about to give him a breather. Instead he pulls Mark up and slams his knee into his midsection before lifting him into position for a powerbomb! Desperate to avoid the impact to come, Mark sits atop Cadillac’s shoulders and fires down with a series of strikes!

At first it looks as if Caddy is losing his balance, but instead of allowing Mark to drop down on top of him, he shoves him off his shoulders before falling backwards, dropping Mark’s neck over the top rope! As the former champion grasps at his throat and struggles for air, Caddy shoots the half nelson…

ONE!
TWO!
KICKOUT!

While he’s managed to keep Mark down a little longer, Cadillac realizes he’s still a long ways away from a victory. With that in mind, he slides to the floor and pulls Mark’s upper body onto the ring apron. He then drives a few elbow strikes against Mark’s esophagus before taking a few steps back, and then charging forward with a kick that nearly takes The Straight Shooter’s head off!

Mark rolls onto the floor, but Caddy stays on top of him with a series of mounted punches while the referee begins to count them out…

ONE!
TWO!
THREE!

Cadillac pulls Mark back up and flings him against the announcer’s table spine-first. He then charges in after his prey, but Mark is able to dip his head at the last second and flip Cadillac onto the announcer’s table with a backdrop! Instead of breaking the count, Mark joins Caddy on top of the table and pulls him back to his feet, before lifting him up and driving him through the table with The Extreme Dream double arm DDT! Back in the ring the referee continues to count while the fans chant their approval!

FOUR!
HOLY SHIT!
FIVE!
HOLY SHIT
SIX!
HOLY SHIT!

Mark is back to his feet, while Cadillac lays amongst the rubble of what used to be Trey and J.T.’s table. While wiping the blood from his nose, Mark rolls under the bottom rope, seemingly content with a count out victory. From there he watches as Cadillac begins to stir, blood now dripping from his head as well…

SEVEN!

The number one contender shakes his head back and forth as he rests on his hands and knees…

EIGHT!

He then manages to pull himself onto one foot...and the other…

NINE!

And he lunges for the ring! He’s going to make it back in...but Mark Hunter won’t allow it as he leaps over the top rope with a diving plancha that puts both men on the floor! Now the referee has no chance but to begin his count over again, as Mark rolls off of Caddy to catch his breath. As the official shouts out a two count, the crowd begin to rise to their feet as the reigning Grand Champion...Ozymandias...makes his way onto the entrance stage.

TREY BOOKER: Oh shit...

J.T. PRICE: Daddy’s home!

Fortunately for both men, Ozymandias seems content to stay on the stage, watching his former opponent and future contender from afar. Meanwhile, Mark pulls Cadillac to his feet and rolls him under the bottom rope before climbing onto the ring apron. Then, just as Jackson is getting to his feet, Mark springboards himself back into the ring with a crossbody! It turns out to be a move he regrets as Cadillac catches him in his arms and follows through with The Cadillac Flapjack! Mark faceplants against the mat and rolls onto his back, giving the number one contender a chance to take the match! With a look of confidence, Cadillac climbs to the top of the nearest turnbuckle and gives the signal for his Going Over swanton bomb!

At that moment, Cadillac finally notices Ozymandias on the stage. As if he senses Jackson’s gaze, Ozy begins to raise his arms to his sides, and if he controls the forces of nature itself, the arena’s sprinkler system is suddenly activated!

TREY BOOKER: What the hell? Ozymandias is making it rain again!

J.T. PRICE: And Cadillac is not in a good position for slippery surfaces!

Sure enough, despite his best efforts to keep his balance, Cadillac slips from the top buckle and crotches himself in the process! With the water reviving him, Mark Hunter sees Caddy’s predicament and rushes to the corner as quickly as he can! He hooks Jackson’s head and then springs off the buckles, driving both men down with a superplex! As soon as they hit the mat, Mark rolls them back up while keeping hold of his opponent, transitioning it into The Mercy Killer!

ONE!
TWO!
THREE!

DING! DING! DING!

HOLLY PEREZ: And your winner of the match by way of pinfall...MARK HUNTER!!!

Apparently content with the outcome, Ozymandias gives a satisfied nod of his head before turning back towards the curtains. Once he’s disappeared from the same direction he emerged, the sprinkler system is cut off. Back inside the ring, Mark Hunter kneels down to check on his fallen opponent, showing the kind of respect he’s been known for in recent months. Unfortunately for Mark...that brief moment of concern backfires…

Springing over the barricade are a pair of men, both familiar to fans of Project: Honor even if they are not official members of Proving Ground’s roster. In fact, Lazarus Arjen and Charon Seede are card-carrying members of Fallout. As they enter the ring, Mark remains unaware until the first kick hits the back of his head! With Mark stunned, Charon then lifts him into position for a piledriver before Arjen hits him with a low superkick! Following The Murder in the French Quarter, Charon rolls Hunter over into a Boston Crab while Lazarus begins to deliver one curb stomp after another!

TREY BOOKER: Damn it! Damn you Fallout! Mark Hunter is helpless in there!

J.T. PRICE: Aw man...fuck those guys! We don’t have Massacres on Proving Ground!

Cadillac Jackson begins to stir, but when he sees Mark in trouble, he chooses not to intervene. Instead, he rolls to ringside and begins to make his way up the ramp with nothing on his mind except for Ozymandias. Luckily for Mark, the assault by Lazarus and Charon has not gone unnoticed, as Ulf Hednir and TJ Thompson emerge from the curtains and bolt past Cadillac Jackson towards the ring! Not far behind them is Indy Darling and members of Proving Ground Security, which proves to be enough to convince The Massacre to halt their attack and retreat into the crowd…

TREY BOOKER: Thank god for Ulf Hednir and TJ Thompson! We may have fired the first shot, but tonight Fallout has crossed the line! Ladies and gentlemen...we are out of time...don’t you dare miss the next episode of Proving Ground!

J.T. PRICE: And fuck those Fallout guys!