Revolution 112.

We open cold in the back of the SHOOT Project Epicenter. 

The first image of the night is JONNY JOHNSON slowly rocking back and forth, near the entrance curtain.  A world awaits his arrival, and his focus, composure, are undeniable.   A huge match, in a pay-per-view ATMOSPHERE, but he calmly waits for all of it to begin.  Of note, there are no ironic, sharpie T-shirts or catty, tongue-in-cheek smirks.  Not tonight.  Instead, he’s shirtless, ring-ready, in a pair of white wrestling shorts; black trim, with matching Adidas wrestling shoes, and his knuckles are wrapped in deep maroon tape.  

He takes a deep breath and casually sways his neck side to side.

Absolute.  Focus.

He is so focused, in fact, that he doesn’t notice the company he’s about to keep…

"I’ve been lookin’ fuh you."

DONOVAN KING appears on camera, behind Jonny, the SHOOT Project World Heavyweight Championship draped over his shoulder.  The fans instinctively ROAR with the arrival of their World Champ, but more noticeable, is the instant trepidation that follows as the realization of what they’re watching sinks in.

Two men that have not shared so much as a "Hello" in five years. 

Jonny’s gaze dart to the floor.  He runs his hands through hair, shakes his head and emits a disbelieving laugh under his breath.  He lightly jabs the palm of his left hand with his right fist, but does eventually turn, slowly, until he is face to face with King.

The look though, in his icy blue eyes, is far from elation.

He’s ready for anything. 

Jonny: (On guard) Awesome…  Heh…  Fucking.  Awesome.

King sternly dismisses any ideas that this is supposed to be anything but a cordial visit with a quick wave of his hand. 

Donovan King: I ain’t here fuh no fight.  You got a match, I got a match, I just felt like it was important that we…had a meetin’ you an’ me. 

Jonny laughs derisively. 

Jonny: Of course.  Yeah…  A meeting.

He notices the camera crew, finally, and points at them.

Jonny: Not in private, though, obviously.  (Looking away from King, from anything) Not earlier in the week, or last week?  (Shrugging)  Or, hell…  FIVE YEARS AGO.  (Short laugh, turning back to King)  No. Right now.  Sure.  Fine…  Yeah….

"Let’s meet." 

King shakes his head, his lips pursed, unsure of what to say or where to go next. 

Donovan King: Listen, you an’ me didn’t part on the best uh terms.  The impact you’ve left on this company…it’s greater than anybody I’ve ever seen.  You here…now…an’ you’re gonna try and win Master of the Mat for the right to face the World Heavyweight Champion.  Maybe you on some redemption kick, I don’t know. 

King looks Jonny up and down. 

Donovan King: What I DO know is you deserve a shot.  As much as I wanna fight you, you deserve a shot at this belt more’n most.  I wanted you to know I might not like how you did things…but I get why you did ’em.  I…

It’s clear that Jonny’s heard enough.  He finally interrupts. 

Jonny Johnson: You know what?  Enough.  Okay?  Just…  Enough.

He pauses and tries to get his compsure.

Jonny: I don’t operate like you, and this…?  Save it.   Whatever you think you know, or what you’re TRYING to know about me.  You’re wrong.

He bites back his agitation and tries his best to stay as calm as possible.

Jonny: Look, man…   In a second or two, or…  whenever (motioning back to the camera folks) these idiots wanna do something else…  Icona Pop’ll start playing and, uhh…  I’m gonna go to the ring, and I’m going to beat Valentine Lionheart.  Cool?  And the next week, same thing, different name.  WHEN I defeat Corazon or Tanya Black; and WHEN I go on to WIN Master of the Mat…

He pauses, making sure his words sink in.

Jonny: I’m saying goodbye and I’m gonna figure out what the fuck it is I’m supposed to be doing. 

He points at the Title, stares at it like a man saying goodbye to his wife forever.

Jonny: You guys can let someone else ruin their life over THAT. 

King chuckles, trying to laugh off Jonny’s apparent vexation. 

Donovan King: Jonny, I’m sorry I didn’t go about it the right way wit’ you.  You deserved better’n that.  I wanted you to know that, no doubt, no matter what happens…whether you win the Master of the Mat or you don’t or whether I make it through tonight as World Champion or I don’t or if Dan Stein manages to beat me or he doesn’t.  I wanted you to know I’m sorry for what happened an’ hopefully, when this shit is all over an’ Master of the Mat is done… 

King adjusts the belt on his shoulder. 

Donovan King: …I can fight you proper. 

King turns and leaves, perhaps realizing this situation was only ever going to get worse, while Jonny stares in silence.

At a loss for words.

MEANWHILE…

The entire Epicenter rumbles with anticipation from the rabid fans that stomp their feet and cheer loudly.  Their riotous roars echo throughout the backstage area and corridors where we find Valentine Lionheart.

Clad in his wrestling attire and an old, tattered Type O Negative vest top from their 1996 tour; he slowly stalks the corridors and hallways backstage. Valentine has begun the journey from the Orion locker room to the ring for the opening bout against Jonny Johnson in the Master of The Mat Tournament. Flanked only by his Personal Assistant Nicole Compton, whose only job in this instance is to carry his bottle of water and take his vest.

As he walks to corridors, members of the SHOOT team cling to the walls and avoid eye contact with Orion’s Omega Messiah. None dare interrupt a man whose face has nothing but a look of sheer determination and focus etched into its very core.

He turns the corner, where he comes face to face with…

Isaac Entragian.

And his ever faithful companion; Elizabeth Gaunt.

With a yelp Nicole hides behind Valentine, clinging to his vest top like a small child pulling on its mothers dress. Valentine sneers over his shoulder at her before turning his attention back to the fork tongued demon before him.

Entragian seems to just study Valentine for a moment, Gaunt standing at his side with her hands planted on her hips.

Entragian: I would wish you luck….but I don’t think a man like you needs luck. A hollow sentiment, really. Perhaps a tip, instead? If I were you…I’d hand out a few bottles of Pabst Blue Ribbon to the fans in the front row. Old hipsters can’t resist the taste. It would probably get you a count out victory against Jonny…

Isaac smirks, and Valentine offers a dark chuckle.

Valentine: Speaking of tips…I see you have a problem with the burnt man. Perhaps it is time for you to fight fire with fire. *He looks down to the branding and burn marks on his arm* After all; you still owe me a Fat Back Sandwich.

Nicole peeks around Valentine, not wanting to make eye contact with the towering SCAR member.

Entragian: You know…usually when I barbecue a piece of meat, it stays barbecued. This particular piece of meat jumped right back off the grill and carved a smiley face into my girlfriend’s stomach…

Liz scowls, her lips pouting, and Isaac casually slides a reassuring arm across her shoulders.

Entragian: This is persistent meat, Valentine. Defiant meat that threatens something I’ve worked hard to establish in SHOOT Project. Perhaps a man with your talents is exactly what I need to remind this meat of its place in the food chain.

A smile creeps across Isaac’s face, the teeth sharp and glistening.

Entragian: Maybe after you leave Jonny smeared across the mat…we can rustle ourselves up some fatback sandwiches and discuss a possible business venture. Something that I think might be mutually beneficial for the both of us…

Isaac cocks his head slightly, white hair hanging about his malevolent features.

Entragian: Interested?

With a raised eyebrow Valentine nods his head in agreement. Nicole’s lip quivers as if she wants to say something but yet decides against it; leaving Valentine to ponder Isaac’s “offer” for a moment until a macabre smirk adorns his face.

Valentine: I am rather hungry. And it has been quite some time since I went on the hunt. Consider it a deal.

Nicole looks away. She can handle Valentine on his own…But when he is around “These”  kind of people she sees that side to him she would rather forget. “The Omega Messiah” reaches out his gloved hand, awaiting a retort from the “The Ivory Terror.”

Isaac produces a tattered business card in one hand as though by a magic trick, the design showcasing a pair of sharpened teeth with the words “Primal Ink” in the middle. Isaac plants this in the middle of his palm…and he reaches out to shake the gloved hand of Valentine Lionheart.

Entragian: Drop by Primal Ink later…and we’ll continue this conversation. I think this might be the beginning of a BEAUTIFUL friendship…

A low, nasty chuckles travels out of Isaac’s chest, and he companionably pats Valentine on the shoulder before stalking off down the hallway with Gaunt at his side.  Valentine looks down at Nicole briefly gaging her anxiety before continuing his journey to the gorilla position.

A golden fuse on the blacktop of the Las Vegas Strip lights up the screen. It races towards the SHOOT Project Epicenter, which the camera pans up to reveal. “The Crazy Ones” by Stellar Revival kicks in as the fuse ignites the SHOOT Project Helmet. We are the new-school, no rules Needle in a haystack The first image is Donovan King, standing at the entrance to the arena with the SHOOT Project World Heavyweight Championship on his shoulder, flashing quickly to Dan Stein, a grin on his face as he saunters down to the ring. It cuts to Maya Nakashima kneeling in the ring, his arms outstretched as he looks to the skylights. We are the outsiders, all nighters Scream if you’re a badass! It shows Jonas Coleman marching down to the ring as Lunatikk Crippler is shown getting in someone’s face. The scene cuts to Charles Brandon Magnus and Buck Dresden with their titles held high in the air for a moment before we catch a brief view of El Asso Wipo breaking every back in existence while Silas Mitchell looks on, his face twisted in consternation. We see Jacob Mephisto slowly leaning in and whispering into the ear of some unknown Soldier as he stares at the camera, a grin forming on his face. We are the wheels that keep turning Long Island Hardcore individually during the Redemption Rumble, laying the heat on their opponents. It flashes to Johnny Napalm hoisting the Tag Team Championship in the air, cutting quickly to Thomas Manchester Black shouting out to the fans in attendance, which quickly cuts to Chance Ryan glaring at the camera, Cade Sydal behind him with a smirk on his face. We see Cronos Diamante sparring with Edmund Augustus Shan before it cuts to Henry Gordon wringing his hands with a grin on his face. We are the heart breakers, risk takers Anything but boring Laura Seton helping to eliminate Jaime Alejandro is shown as Corey Lazarus is arguing with a referee before we see Solomon Richards nods his head to the camera. We then see Ja Gi Kyung-Moon flying over the top rope into the ring. ‘Cause we are the crazy ones The mavericks, the dreamers, the forgotten sons Mason Pierce drops to the floor, leaving his partner to be victimized before we cut to ANARCHY saluting the fans as they stand at the entrance. Kenji Yamada has Flay Rios by her cheeks and slaps her across the face as he glares into her sad eyes. We color outside the lines for fun We are the crazy ones Johnny Napalm is covered in blood, staggering around with a gigantic grin on his face. Obsidian lords over a fallen foe as Isaac Entragian puts his arm around Elizabeth Gaunt, glaring down at Maya Nakashima. ‘Cause we are the crazy ones The badass, outcast, son of a guns Mason Pierce takes a harsh pile driver through the flaming table from Kenji Yamada. Thomas Manchester Black trades hits against Corey Lazarus. We then see Tanya Black holding her belt high before it cuts to her nailing a picture perfect dropkick to an unknown foe. We march to the beat of a different drum We are the crazy ones We are the crazy ones Henry Gordon stands tall in the ring, severely winded, as it cuts to Dan Stein holding Minxy Jones’ mask high above his head as a trophy. One of a kind, believe it So stand up and make ’em see it YEAH! The guitar solo brings us to Donovan King hitting the Dealbreaker on Mason Pierce, then Corazon hitting the Act of Inhumanity on Isaac Entragian, then Jester Smiles connecting with the Virginia Sidekick on Lunatikk Crippler, then Jaime Alejandro wailing away at Obsidian, backing the monster against the ropes. We see Drew Stevenson slapping the hands of a few fans before it cuts to David Miller, standing in a dimly lit ring, his head bowed and sweat dripping from his head. ‘Cause we are the crazy ones The mavericks, the dreamers, the forgotten sons Isaac Entragian lights Jaime Alejandro’s uniform on fire cuts to Laura Seton hitting a flying crossbody to Dan Stein. We color outside the lines for fun We are the crazy ones Corazon catches Isaac Entragian with the Act of Inhumanity and Phillip Goodman smirks at the camera. ‘Cause we are the crazy ones The badass, outcast, son of a guns Lunatikk Crippler throws his head back, his silken, ebony locks flowing back in slow motion gets quickly cut Alex Brooks sprinting to the ring. We march to the beat of a different drum We are the crazy ones The SHOOT Project Helmet reappears on screen, in golden flame against a black background. WE ARE THE CRAZY ONES REVOLUTION.

The opening video fades to black, and REVOLUTION comes back LIVE with a static shot on the ring.  Inside, Samantha Coil stands in the center, while official Dennis Heflin is off in the back, left corner of the ring, inconspicuously checking to make sure everything is in order with the turnbuckle.

Samantha Coil: LADIES AND GENTLEMAN.  Good evening and WELCOME to REVOLUTION ONE HUNDRED TWELVE!!!

Some people might call it a giant POP, while others might say the crowd reacts favorably with a great deal of enthusiasm and vigor!  One thing is for sure, though…  THEY.  ARE.  LOUD!!

Coil smiles at the positive response from yet another SOLD OUT SHOOT Project broadcast, and proceeds to introduce the first contest of the evening!

Samantha Coil: Our FIRST CONTEST of the evening is scheduled for ONE FALL and is a MASTER OF THE MAT QUARTER FINAL BOUT!

At the very second Samantha finishes her opening announcement, the lights go out and the Epicenter is filled with the sounds of a heavy, droning bass.  Upbeat, with a toe-tapping rhythm attached to it, but not musically diverse.  It goes on for a few measures, while various colored lights begin to flash on and off with each beat.

"I got this feeling on the summer day when you were gone."

As soon as the lyrics of Icona Pop’s, "I LOVE IT!" start a HUGE STREAM of fire shoots into the air, followed by a storm of pyrotechnics!  The curtains BURST open and JONNY JOHNSON could not appear anymore eager to get this thing started!!!  The audience ROARS with utmost approval, almost everyone on their feet!!!

Samantha Coil: Introducing first!  From CHICAGO, ILLINOIS!  He weighs in at two-hundred, nineteen pounds…  JOOOONNY JOOOOOHNSON!!!!!

 

"I crashed my car into the bridge. I watched, I let it burn!

I threw your shit into a bag and pushed it down the stairs. 

I crashed my car into the bridge…

"I DON’T CARE!"

"I LOVE IT! I DON’T CARE!"

Jonny, almost in awe, looks out to his left and right.  It’s clear the man is keyed in and ready to go, though he offers very little in way of audience participation tonight.  His path to the ring is similar to the one he took against Laura Seton several weeks back.  It’s one of focus, determination.  In another life, at another time, he might egg on the crazies with their weird signs, or the fat guy who shouts too loud.

But not now.

Eryk Masters: It is absolutely CRAZY in here folks.  WELCOME to Revolution One Hundred, Twelve.  Masters and OG with ya as always, and we are starting you off RIGHT.  Master of the Mat quarterfinals action.  Valentine Lionheart set to go ONE on ONE with the man coming to the ring.  SHOOT Project Hall of Famer, Jonny Johnson.  Welcome to the show!!!

Other Guy: If you got guys or girls of yours who maybe skip the first thirty minutes or whatever…  showin up late…  you call them RIGHT the hell now and tell them to kick up that live stream PRONTO because this is MAIN EVENT quality.

"You’re on a different road, I’m in the milky way 

You want me down on earth, but I am up in space 

You’re so damn hard to please, we gotta kill this switch 

You’re from the 70’s, but I’m a 90’s bitch!" 

Jonny walks up the steel steps and into the ring.  He flails his hand in the air and lowers his head in reverence to the fans.  They cheer, and he goes to check in with referee Heflin.

Eryk Masters: Out of respect to Jonny, we’ll keep the TMZ stuff in the tabloids, but still, man…  this has not been an easy adjustment for the former two time SHOOT Project World Champion, coming back into the wrestling spotlight.  Any chance that’ll factor into his potential performance against his opponent, Valentine Lionheart?

Other Guy: I really don’t think so, man.  Jonny’s a professional and I mean…  he knows his shit.  If I can be so blunt.  He’s been around the block a few times and I don’t think anything going on OUTSIDE of the ring is gonna affect his game inside it.  NOW, whether that means I think he’s in the right RING shape to get by a cat like Lionheart…  I a’int saying that.  Jonny clocking in at what…  Two Nineteen?  If that’s even the real weight…  Already losin’ like three inches of height…  and ya give up almost FIFTY pounds…  I think?  We’ll see in a sec.  But THAT?  I don’t know.

Jonny goes through his last minute rituals, while his entrance music fades.

A pause between arrivals.

Fans are already anxious.

Other Guy: Hell of a way to start the show.

The lights around the Epicenter dim down to nothingness, and a stillness, suddenly, hits the crowd.  Their response is solemn, a stark contrast to the entrance they cheered along to mere seconds ago.   The opening ambient strains of "Salt on Everything" by Sole fade in through the PA System with the opening lines "Seven Thousand Day Cough."

A spotlight beams down to the entrance ramp as Valentine Lionheart steps out to a chorus of boos and jeers. He looks up, straight at the ring, into the eyes of his opponent…  At Jonny.   He pauses as their gazes align, before slowly heading down the aisle join to him.

Eryk Masters: And where Jonny has had some issues adjusting…  it looks like business as usual for Valentine.  He’s a scary dude, OG, and to this point, has been very impressive.

Other Guy: EXTREMELY impressive, Eryk.  I mean, just to show up at a Revolution or Dominion takes balls!  We see cats in and out the door before you can even say hello, but to show up, man, here, in SHOOT, and do what he’s done so far.  Love the dude or hate him; you CANNOT deny his early success.  

 

"Better to be sick in the head than sane in the city  

Like there’s a difference or a reason to stay in the city.  

Sell the mob to the king, sleep with the dragon,  

Slay the princess, lay peaceful in the nothing nest.  

Laughing outside my opinion permeates and lives forever.

Eryk Masters: Both men so desperately want this win tonight.  A lot on the line…  

 

"The way people live to be remembered, then and only then  

See me perfect, more perfect than the sidewalk,  

More expensive than my shoes, more meaningful then hidden messages.  

In a quite safe quiet walk  

You forget your personality when they birth  

In the after-birth, I still fake it like I’m naked. 

If you got the right sunglasses, I wrote this on cough drops 

With the secret conveyer belt in the sidewalk  

And the big laughing gaping drooling lips ticked up  

And dressed like the lighter side of death. 

Neon eyes, cold to the touch and there’s salt on.  

Salt on everything. Salt on…salt on everything."

Samantha Coil: And HIS OPPONENT… Weighing in at Two Hundred and Sixty five pounds and hailing from London, England…Representing Orion. He is "The Omega Messiah" VALENTINE LIONHEART!

Other Guy: Forty Six pound different…  I’m fucking good, man. 

 

Valentine climbs the ring steps slowly and walks along the apron, sneering out at the crowd and shaking his head in disgust. 

 

"Some days we almost feel alive and most days we forget to live. 

For some reason, that’s all i can bring myself to say and  

You know what on everything, everything."

 

He enters the ring, the expression of disdain never fading.  His eyes remain locked with Jonny’s and Heflin steps in the middle of any trail that might lead to a premature start to the bout.  Coil leaves the ring, and after Heflin briefly checks in Lionheart, he turns and CALLS FOR THE BELL!!!

"DING, DING!!"

Other Guy: Show’s on the road!!!

Both men stay on guard and move quickly toward the center of the ring.  Jonny puts his hand out to shake, but Valentine dismisses the notion with a flippant wave of his fingers.  Jonny gets the picture and both men move in to start!  Elbow-Collar-Tie-Up!  Jonny uses Valentine’s forward movement, and size against him, quickly spinning around and cinching in a waist lock!  Valentine attempts to throw a back elbow with his left arm, but Jonny ducks, releases his grip and slams a backward, swinging elbow strike into Lionheart’s ribs!  He follows up with a QUICK left forearm attempt, but Valentine blocks it, pushes Jonny’s arm away and SLAMS Jonny with a forearm strike to the face!

Jonny staggers back into the ropes, the force of the blow catching him off balance!  Valentine CHARGES with a running knee and DRILLS Jonny in the midsection, nearly knocking him out of the ring entirely!  Jonny, though, manages to shift his weight and bounces awkwardly off the middle rope!  Valentine grabs him, though, pushes him back up to the ropes uses their springing momentum to help throws him across the ring!  Jonny flies off the ropes at the other end and tries to counter with an unexpected crossbody attack.  However, it’s executed fairly sloppily and Valentine CATCHES him in a front waist lock, HOISTS AND HURLS HIM UP OVER HIS HEAD with a release belly to back suplex!

Other Guy: That’s the size advantage early!

Eryk Masters: You called it.  And Valentine has this thing under control to start.  Nasty belly to back.

Valentine isn’t as quick to follow as he probably SHOULD, but also far from being "cocky" about it.  He moves over to his prey and lifts Jonny off the mat.  Jonny counters quickly, though, with a defensive CHOP! ("WOO!")  Valentine shrugs off the attack however and follows with a quick, painful Thai uppercut!  Jonny is ROCKED!  Valentine smirks!  He follows with a damning kick to Jonny’s upper right left to the quad and hamstring!  Jonny staggers sharply in pain, instinctively protecting the leg.  Lionheart follows with a HIGH left knee strike to Jonny’s now vulnerable left side and the former World Champion is in trouble!

Other Guy: Combo HELL!  Not good!

<b>Eryk Master:</b> OOH!  SHIT!

Jonny gets ROCKED in the face with an open palm JAB!!!  He falls to the mat, on his knees!  Valentine WINDS HIS LEG UP FOR THE KILL!!!

But Jonny DUCKS the HEAD-SHOT!  Valentine off balance and Jonny follows with a diving shoulder tackle to the side of his opponents left leg!  Lionheart buckles and falls to his side!  Jonny untangles himself from the skirmish, stands up and errantly DRILLS Lionheart in the JAW with a HEEL FIRST boot!  Not technically sound, but the instinctual move pays off!  Lionheart SPITS blood from his mouth and now Jonny SCREAMS for the man to get up!!!  Lionheart wipes his face with a scowl and LEAPS up, charging Jonny!  He bulldozes his way toward him, picks him up and SLAMS him to the mat!

Eryk Masters: I don’t know that this is the fight Jonny wants to take to his opponent!  He gets put down HARD to the mat!!!

Valentine floats over the top and tries to throw a bullying forearm!  BUT JONNY SEEMS READY!  He kicks his legs up as Valentine attempts the strike and COUNTERS WITH A TRIANGLE CHOKE!!!  It’s not locked in perfectly, but well enough that Valentine is subdued!!!  Heflin checks on the hold’s legality, and, once he’s notes that it IS legal, starts asking Valentine if he wants to call it quits!

Other Guy: Why even bother asking?

Valentine not only DOESN’T submit, he seems to fairly easily shake Jonny off!  Jonny lets go of the hold, BUT, while still laying down on the mat SMASHES Valentine in the face with an open palm SLAP!  Valentine holds his mouth and reels back a bit, giving Jonny time to get up!

Eryk Masters: Something has to give!  This pace is insane!!!

Jonny follows IMMEDIATELY with an enzugurai that CRACKS Lionheart in the head!  Valentine falls to a knee!  Jonny to his feet, turns around and CONNECTS on a shining wizard!!!  Valentine falls to the mat!!!

Jonny drops down for the pinfall attempt!

Other Guy: What a GODDAMN recovery!!!

Eryk Masters: COVER!!!

Heflin drops for the count!

ONE!

Jonny grabs at the leg for extra momentum…

Tw…

But Lionheart is too strong and kicks out before he can hook the leg OR get a count of two!  Jonny makes sure to follow with a QUICK elbow drop!  He lands the attack!  He stays on top of his opponent and hooks the leg!!!

Eryk Masters: Again!

ONE!!

TWO!!

Lionheart kicks out at two, but is a touch more groggy this time.

Eryk Masters: Jonny is COMING ALIVE!!!

Jonny stands up and the fans ROAR with approval for the man’s countering onslaught!!!  It pumps him up.  He clenches his fists and SHOUTS with primal rage!!!   Lionheart tries to get up but Jonny is right on top with a SWIFT kick to the upper left arm!  Valentine winces!  Jonny follows with a SECOND KICK!  AND THEN A THIRD!  He tries a forth but Lionheart has the wherewithal to put his arms up in defense and push Jonny away!  Jonny stumbles back but tries to charge forward!  However Valentine catches him with a LIGHTNING quick snap power slam!  Valentine rolls off and holds his arm, shouting some irritated profanities.  He tries to shake it off, though, and turns his focus back to Jonny.

Other Guy: BIIIIIIG time momentum shift…  That’s what tends to happen when you move at this pace.  Adrenaline can get you OUT of some horrible predicaments, but it’s tough as HELL to try and sustain.  Both men feeling the pains of that start right about now…

Valentine gets to his feet, while Jonny holds gingerly at his back, appearing to have tweaked something.  Lionheart is cautious to approach, aware that this would be as good as any time for a little possum.  Jonny seems a little unaware of his surroundings as he tries to shift his weight to his side and get up, and Valentine is able to land a quick KICK to the exposed shoulder blades!  Jonny grimaces in pain!  Valentine leans forward and grabs Jonny by the neck and starts to lift him up!  Jonny pushes away and throws a CHOP! ("WOO!") but Valentine counters with a straight punch to the chest!  Jonny winces and again staggers back!  Valentine proceeds with caution, covering up, ready for a counter!  Jonny doesn’t provide one!  Valentine throws a KICK to the thigh, but Jonny is able to crouch forward and absorb most of the blow, defensively.

Eryk Masters: Both men moving a little gingerly after almost ten VERY hard minutes…  Something has to give!

Jonny counters with a kick of his own!  Valentine catches him!  Jonny leaps for a second enzugurai attempt!  Valentine ducks!  He keeps a hold of Jonny’s other leg, though and looks to lock it maybe something like an STF, but Jonny spins to his back and manages to kick Valentine away!  He only staggers back a little ways, though, and charges back!  Jonny up to his feet!  Valentine with a clothesline attempt!  Jonny DUCKS and runs through!  He bounces off the ropes and charges at Valentine with a FLYING FOREARM!  Valentine DUCKS!  Jonny spills toward the ring ropes!

Eryk Masters: Incredible action to start the show!  Both men trying anything they can after a flurry of attacks early…  unbelievable.  One of these men is gonna move on to the Semi Finals, folks.  ONE of these men will be in the Master of the Mat FINAL FOUR!!!

Valentine shakes off the cobwebs and turns around, looking for any weakness to exploit at this point and end the match!  Jonny pulls himself up to his feet!  He throws a defensive CHOP ("WOO!") and connects!  Valentine FIRES back with an open palm jab, but Jonny SHIFTS to the side!  Valentine awkwardly stumbles into the ropes!  Jonny turns and runs at the nearest corner!  He springboards off the middle turnbuckle with a diving attack!  Valentine gets CAUGHT…  BUT CATCHES JONNY!  It’s not gracefully, though!  He turns and falls to the corner behind them, setting Jonny awkwardly on the top turnbuckle!  Jonny is dazed, having spent a good portion of the match running on adrenaline.  Age is certainly catching up.

Eryk Masters: Unbelievable strength by Valentine…  and now Jonny in a very precarious spot on that top rope.

Other Guy: Hah!  Yeah but  I don’t even think Valentine knows what to do next at this point!

Valentine turns around and slams a FOREARM strike into Jonny’s exposed chest.  He rocks back and nearly loses his balance!  Valentine takes a quick breath, and then, almost OUT OF NOWHERE, CHARGES, LEAPS AND CONNECTS WITH A RUNNING THAI KNEE TO THE CHEST!!! 

The IMPACT DESTROYS JONNY, WHO TAKES A HORRIBLE SPILL TO THE FLOOR!!!!!

Eryk Masters: NO!!!!  JONNY TO THE OUTSIDE!  THAT’S ALMOST A FIFTEEN FOOT DROP!!!

Other Guy: SWEET LORD!!!

The fans let out an unexpected GASP!  The pace has moved so quickly that hardly anyone has had a chance to react, whether positively or negatively, to ANYTHING!  However, they are ALL on their feet!!!  A small "Holy Shit" chant starts up, but mostly the concern starts to seep in.

…Because Dennis Heflin is starting his ten count.

Valentine falls up against the ring ropes and SNARLS in primal rage, knowing full well the situation at hand.  Jonny is next to unconscious and the sold out Epicenter seems to become painfully aware of the potential finish to this contest.

Jonny isn’t moving a muscle.

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

Heflin is slow, but consistent with his count.  It’s obvious that he’d rather not have the match end like this.  Lionheart, however, couldn’t seem to care less.  In fact, he notices the "deliberate" count and looks disgusted.  He SCREAMS at Heflin, inches toward him, threateningly.

Valentine Lionheart: COUNT HIM OUT!

Eryk Masters: Jonny is not moving.  This isn’t good.  I know you don’t always get the results you want, but not like this…  After everything he’s been through.  Can it really end like this?

"THREE!"

"FOUR!"

"FIVE!"

The fans are restless.  Valentine turns his attention to Jonny and starts yelling at him to stay down.

"STAY DOWN!"  He shouts.

Because Jonny is starting to stir!!!

Jonny is moving on the ground.  Not a lot, but enough that the fans notice.

Other Guy: He’s got five more of those seconds…  Does he have enough?

"SIX!"

Jonny shakes his head.  He’s definitely aware of his surroundings.  He holds his neck.  His lip is bleeding pretty badly at this point.  The man is a mess, but HE. IS. MOVING!

"SEVEN!"

Valentine can’t entirely believe it, but he’s also not about to jump out of the ring prematurely either!

"EIGHT!"

Jonny lunges at the ring apron!

"NINE!"

"T…"

AND SQUIRMS BACK INSIDE THE RING!!!

HEFLIN WAVES OFF THE COUNT!!!  He checks in on Jonny, though, realizing he may need medical help!  But Jonny manages to pull himself up to his knees, a step or two in front of the ref.

Valentine is OUTRAGED!!!  HE CHARGES AT JONNY WITH RUNNING BIG BOOT!!!

BUT JONNY DUCKS!!!  HEFLIN IS IN THE WAY!!!

Eryk Masters: Heflin look out!!!

JONNY PULLS HEFLIN OUT OF THE WAY TOO!!!

HE SAVED THE REF!!!

Valentine GETS TANGLED IN THE ROPES INSTEAD!!!

JONNY FROM BEHIND!!!

Eryk Masters: CHICKEN WING!!!  Demoralization Process!!!

JONNY LOCKS IN THE CHICKEN WING!!!

SWING!!!

BUT VALENTINE SHRUGS HIM OFF!!!

Other Guy: NO!! He counters!

Jonny sommersalts backward, but he WON’T GIVE UP!!!  HE RUNS BACK AT VALENTINE!!!

VALENTINE DUCKS HIS SHOULDERS!!!  CATCHES JONNY!!!

FIREMAN CARY!!!

HE SWINGS JONNY AROUND AND SENDS HIM CRASHING DOWN TO THE MAT WITH HIS VERSION OF THE F-5!!!!!

Other Guy: Massacare!!! VDM!!!

The fans are STUNNED!!!!

Lionheart wastes ZERO time with the cover!!!  HE HOOKS THE LEG!!!

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

"THREE!!!!"

Heflin calls for the bell and "Salt on Everything" by Sole begins to play ominously throughout the arena.

Eryk Masters: Wow…  I…  I’m stunned OG.

Lionheart slowly and very painfully rolls off his beaten opponent, perhaps not even certain what has happened.  Heflin, meanwhile, checks in on Jonny, who is bleeding pretty badly at this juncture.

Samantha Coil:The winner of this match…  via pinfall… and moving on to the MASTER OF THE MAT SEMI FINALS…  VALLLLLENTINE LIONHEART!!!

Valentine rolls to his knees and pumps his fist.  He GROWLS LOUDLY, MADLY in victory, having succeeded in almost completely letting the air out of the Epicenter.

Eryk Masters: An absolute BEASTLY performance from Lionheart…  and…  I mean…  OG, we may have just seen Jonny Johnson’s last match in SHOOT.

Other Guy: Crazy ass way to stay this show, Eryk.  I mean…  what else do you say?  Words can’t do this justice.

And they probably can’t. 

 

The clean-up crew is already hustling to the ring along with a couple of paramedics who Heflin looks to have signaled down for Jonny.  Fans have their hands on their faces, mouths opened, jaws dropped.   

 

This could end a show anywhere else in the world.

But not SHOOT Project. 

 

Not Revolution 112. 

 

This is just starting. 

 

Valentine Lionheart stands victorious. 

We fade to an undisclosed location as we find none other than Art De Luca standing in front of a black backdrop.  There are numerous signs in the background.  "CONOR CADEN=GHOST FORM OF RON JEREMY", "CONOR CADEN, HERE TO SAVE SHOOT PROJECT", and "CONOR CADEN WILL HAUNT THE SHOOT PROJECT UNTIL HE’S GIVEN HIS DUE." ;

Art De Luca is clad in a gray "Chelsea Grin" hoodie, black sweatpants, and a mask identical to the one Conor wears… only it’s pink, and has "ADL" written across the forehead.  Around his neck is a ‘gold metal’ with on a black strap, "SHOOT PROJECT SPECIAL OLYMPICS" written down it in white.  After a few moments of silence… he speaks.

Art De Luca: Art De Luca here… sorry to interrupt your (Art makes ‘air quotes’) star-studded event… <P>

He laughs.

Art De Luca: I can’t even say that with a straight face… shit, Randall Kash and Laura Lyons?!  REALLY SHOOT PROJECT?!  Just book Conor two nights in a row and call it a week…

He shrugs.

Art De Luca: All jokes aside though, I just… I couldn’t let this show go on without telling the Project’s uninformed fans about my client… which, client is a loose term… it loosely means ‘the guy who’s my best friend and gives me weed to talk about him…’ but yeah.

He laughs again.

Art De Luca: If you don’t know Conor Caden, you’ve obviously had your dick stuck up your own ass as this dude is RISING through SHOOT currently.  He is the white boy luchadore.  THE GHOST OF ANN ARBOR!!!  And he is the TRUTH, people.  And if you tune in tomorrow night for Dominion, you will see something that will skull fuck you into oblivion. 

A pause.

Art De Luca: Tomorrow night, Conor Caden battles Demontius Cafaretti…

A man whispers to him off camera.

Art De Luca:I don’t give a shit what his name is, don’t interrupt me.  (He shakes his head) Like I said, tomorrow night… TUNE IN.

He holds his ‘medal’ in his hand.

Art De Luca: And if you were wondering what the medal was about?  Won it in a three legged race.  BY MYSELF.  My dick was counted as a third leg due to it’s mammoth size… but my accomplishment PALES in comparison to what Conor Caden will accomplish here in SHOOT.  And tomorrow night?  You will all see The Ghost of Ann Arbor that I’m proud to call my friend…

He looks to the side, shrugging.

Art De Luca:Tomorrow night Conor Caden goes 3-0.  Don’t miss it.

Art De Luca pulls the mask up as he winks to the camera.  He then brings the medal to his face, unwrapping the foil and taking a bite of the chocolate as he throws a thumbs up before fading out.

The opening beat courtesy of Duck Sauce leads into autotuned vocals repeated the words [i]THE BIG BAD WOLF![/i] followed by howling.  The wolf calls bring out the team of Rich Mahogany and Don Hollywood to the booing of most of the crowd.

Samantha Coil: The following tag team contest is scheduled for one fall with a fifteen minute time limit!  Approaching the ring first from West Hollywood, California, tipping the scales somewhere between 200 and 700 pounds due to the team missing their weigh-in this morning… “Dap Happy” Don Hollywood and “Insert Nickname Here” Rich Mahogany… The Angel City Express!

Eryk Masters: Seems like somebody’s been messing with the announcing cards again.

Other Guy: This is an insult of the highest order!  Angel City Express demand respect for all that they’ve done for this company!

While Rich at least seems focused and ready for action, Don Hollywood is passing out signed autographs of himself.  At least he would be if they weren’t pre-stamped.  And he wasn’t also wearing a fanny pack around his waist full of tens and fifties, and charging $50 a pop for each one.  The camera catches sight and sound of a woman in her early twenties jumping up and down in the second row.

Woman: I love you, Don!

Don Hollywood: I’m not admitting anything until a paternity test!

[b]Eryk Masters & Other Guy:[/b] …  Classy.

With ACX arriving at the ring, their music is cut in favor of Tenacious D’s “Wonderboy.” The team affectionately dubbed “the silent asswipes” in certain internet circles gets a better reception from the live crowd.

Samantha Coil: And their opponents, hailing from the fourteenth state in the Union… Silas Mitchel—El Asso Wipo—Vermont’s Finest!

The men that others refer to as currently one of the only tag teams in SHOOT Project that the crowd will consistently cheer for walk out.  El Asso Wipo takes pictures with the crowd for free, somehow convincing Silas Mitchell to be the cameraman.

Wipo: Ready?  Okay, everybody!  One… two… three…

Wipo & Friends: TCHA!

Mitchell snaps the picture, handing back the fan’s camera.

Eryk Masters: It’s great to see that crowd interaction that reminds a lot of these wrestlers that we’re here because of the paying customers.

Other Guy: Pfft.  These people would be fighting even if there weren’t anyone to see it.  The fans get the privilege of paying to view top-class wrestling!

Eryk Masters: I hope to various deities that you’re not put in charge of a business anytime soon.

Other Guy: They couldn’t afford to have me anyway.

Eryk Masters: Well, you’re…  technically correct.

Other Guy: The best kind of correct.

As Vermont’s Finest reach the ring, El Asso Wipo gets jumped by Don Hollywood, leading the referee to call for the bell and have Mahogany and Mitchell exit the ring.  Hollywood backs Wipo into the corner with a flurry of knife edge chops and European uppercuts.  Referee Linam initiates the disqualification count, with Hollywood stopping at four to raise his hands to the crowd in triumph.

Other Guy: You have to respect that confidence.

Eryk Masters: Most respect you can ever get, though, is from winning the match.  Angel City Express would do well not to underestimate their opponents.

Heading back in with another chop, Don Hollywood grabs the wrist and whips El Asso Wipo to the opposite corner.  Wipo reverses the whip and sends Don Hollywood into the neutral corner.  Wipo follows in with the clothesline, but a mule kick from Hollywood knocks him back.  Wipo gets turned around and stumbles back toward the center of the ring, with The Dapper One running past him toward the cables, rebounding off of the side to return and leap onto EAW’s thighs for the Monkey Flip.

Other Guy: Oh, wow!  Wipo landed flush on Hollywood!

El Asso Wipo ends up lying on top of Don Hollywood, caught in a full guard position from the smaller man.  If this were MMA, that would be advantageous for Hollywood, however this is not mixed martial arts, leading to…

One!

Two!

Three!

Cut to panoramic camera sweep of cheering crowd.  Austin Linam records the three count with the timekeeper, who rings the bell.  Don Hollywood kicks El Asso Wipo off of him, the whitest luchador in history rolling out of the ring and running around in a circle with his arms high in the air… probably with an announcer in his head shouting, “ GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOAAL!”

Samantha Coil: The winners of this match, by pinfall at a time of one minute and fifteen seconds…. VERMONT’S FINEST!

“Wonderboy” hits the stereo yet again, Silas Mitchell hopping down off of the apron as Rich Mahogany steps into the ring to help up his partner.  Don Hollywood wears the red cheeks of embarrassment (debuffing his valor by -2) and asks where Mahogany was.

Other Guy: Outrage!  Travesty!  Rabble!

Eryk Masters: That was fast, so we’re going to look at it again!  Here we see Don Hollywood stepping up onto El Asso Wipo’s legs for the monkey flip.  He grabs the head and falls backward, the execution isn’t the problem.  Where it all goes wrong for Angel City Express is here, where you see Wipo pull Hollywood’s legs apart!  There’s no fulcrum point for the leverage throw, so Wipo falls through the legs and straight down onto Don Hollywood’s gut.  That’s 280 pounds taken right to the diaphragm… Hollywood had to get the wind knocked out of him.

Other Guy: And now the haters can rejoice as Angel City Express takes its first loss in tag team action.

Eryk Masters: Don Hollywood started out strong for his team, but you know how it goes… it only takes three seconds to beat a man, and El Asso Wipo did that for his team tonight.

Other Guy: Just a solid affair man.  Hot night, Eryk and still got a lot of show left to go!

Eryk Masters: That we do.  And, folks, coming up ne…

Masters pauses, while the cameras continue panning around ringside with an extended shot of the crowd.  A Master of the Mat graphic shows up on screen for people watching at home.  However, it just kind of floats for a second or two, then blinks out and it’s just a shot of the crowd again.  Finally the crew gets it together and the cameras head BACKSTAGE where Mary Kelly is standing just outside the Epicenter Paramedics and Emergency office.

It’s not clear if she’s aware that she’s on camera yet, nor does Masters seem to know the direction the show is supposed to be heading at this juncture.

Eryk Masters: Actually…  let’s go…    Yeah.  Sorry, folks.   Just a quick change in gears…  We are…  Okay.  We’re going backstage with SHOOT Project correspondent Mary Kelly. 

Mary looks ahead into the camera now, and nods.

Eryk Masters: That was way more painful than it needed to be.

She smiles and laughs at the Masters’ adlib.

Other Guy: Nothin’ like a LIVE broadcast.

Eryk Masters: All right, so Mary, I’m being told that you have an update on the…    condition of Jonny Johnson following his loss to Valentine Lionheart for us?

Everyone’s back on the same page.

Mary Kelly: Yes, Eryk, I do.  I just spoke with our head trainer, Nick Reece, and it doesn’t look like there was any "major" or "structural" damage at this point following that… horrible fall he took.  Jonny DID have to have a few stitches put into the right side of his forehead near the temple; eight is what I was told; a possible pinched nerve near his neck, a bruised tailbone and a very swollen lip.  They did a concussion test, but all signs point to negative at this point.  But, full results can often take three to five days so we will have to wait on that.

She stands, awaiting any questions from the announce team might have.

Eryk Masters: And Mary, emotionally…. knowing how much this tournament meant to him, what he put himself through…  His family.  How is he handling the loss right now?

Mary gives an audible sigh, not exactly sure how to answer without sounding insulting.

Mary Kelly: To be honest, not very well, guys.  (Considering her words) He was quite… visibly upset once everything sort of came together, and understandably so.  I know that at one point SHOOT Project Executive Vice President, Josh Johnson, who IS backstage tonight went to speak with him, though the details of that conversation have not been made public.

Eryk Masters: (Concerned, but professional) Well, thanks for the update Mary and if anything else comes up, please keep us posted.

Mary nods, ready to sign off on the report.

Mary Kelly: Absolutely, Eryk.  We’ll probably have a follow-up tomorrow night on Dominion.

The cameras make a quick cut to ringside, at the announcer pod, where we see the not-so-cheery faces of Eryk Masters and Other Guy.

Eryk Masters: Well folks, I guess…  another day, another Revolution here in SHOOT.  We still have three more quarter finals bouts to go…  Two more of those, tonight.  Of course Loco Martinez and Trey Willett…  followed by Adrian Corazon, in his first OFFICIAL contest back after the hellacious injuries he incurred at the hands of Project SCAR, against Tanya Black.

Other Guy: And don’t forget the main event, man.  Donovan King defending the SHOOT Project WORLD Title against Maya Nakashima.

Eryk Masters: Tons more on the horizon!  Revolution ONE TWELVE!

The cameras go elsewhere…

Backstage. The video wall. The camera starts off on a focus of the championship title cradled on the shoulder of a man wearing a suit and tie. The zoom pulls out to show Ja Gi Kyung-Moon, Iron Fist championship in his possession. He sports a shiner and a split on the left side of his upper lip, but remains in good spirits. Abigail Chase stands with him for the interview.

Abigail Chase: I’m here with the SHOOT Project Iron Fist champion, Ja Gi Kyung-Moon. Thanks for taking this time to answer a few questions.

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon: No problem. About time I did one of these things, let the people see what I look like with clothes on.

Ja Gi’s lithe, muscular frame is covered by his clothing, allowing him to look stylish but not very physically impressive to a stranger on the street.

Abigail Chase: You’re not normally one to visit a show on which you’re not booked. Are you here to make some kind of statement?

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon: Actually, no. I had some free time available, and my international bookings are all wrapped up. I didn’t hang around much after my matches by necessity, I was pulling shows in the South Pacific then rushing on a flight to come out for shows in SHOOT as well. Thankfully that’s over.

Kyung-Moon manages an earnest smile.

Abigail Chase: I’d like to get comment on the attack you suffered at the Valley View Casino Center last week. You’d already had a pretty hard tag team match against two long-time veterans of the sport with over 40 years experience between them. After that match you were attacked by—

Kyung-Moon jumps right in.

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon: Maybe the guys over in Phoenix don’t know who did it, but I was there for my own beating and I know exactly who it was, with all that “little brother” stuff. Thomas Manchester Black. Saying I cheated. Saying I used a loophole.

Ja Gi turns to the camera, speaking directly to TMB.

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon: I couldn’t care less about what you think of the way I beat you. It was a clean victory within the rules and you’re the one with too limited an imagination to understand what happened in the ring.

Ja Gi takes the belt off of his shoulder, becoming more animated.

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon: As to your attempt to scare me, or teach me a lesson? Honestly, I’d give it about a 6. Good effort, nice hustle, but I already had a match that night and getting jumped by a bigger guy swinging weapons at me is pretty low rent stuff. Anybody can pick up whatever’s not nailed to the floor and Def Jam Vendetta their way through a fight with a guy who’s already walking out to go home. You know I find when one side of the battle is preparing to charge and the other side is preparing to meet their mom and friends for dinner that first side is the one that usually wins, what with rolling for initiative and all that. But fine.

Ja Gi now holds the Iron Fist Championship into the camera, the anger and intensity pouring out with every word.

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon: I’m not going to play this game with you. You lost a fair fight and your feelings got hurt and now you want this back? I know you’re new to this but THIS IS A DAMN SPORT so your options are limited to politely asking for another match by invoking your rematch clause or you sit your narrow ass down and wait your turn. I will not reward you for committing assault.

After a pause to let that sink in, Kyung-Moon relaxes again.

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon: But that’s not why I’m here tonight. I want to watch some matches, scope out the landscape, sign a few autographs. Maybe catch a concert while I’m in town and have the night off. You know…have some fun. You should try it, Chesty. Cheers.

Ja Gi nods to Abigail Chase, tipping his hat (because he’s totally wearing a hat), and takes his leave.

The Epicenter crowd is buzzing in anticipation for the next match of the evening.

CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SON… 

 

Most of the fans in the arena rise to their feet as "Carry on, Wayward Son"hits the PA.   

 

THERE’LL BE PEACE WHEN YOU ARE DONE… 

 

LAY YOUR WEARY HEAD TO REST… 

 

DON’T YOU CRY NO MORE… 

 

The lights in the arena go out, and a purple filter light washes over the ring, stage, and ramp.  The fans begin to lose their minds as they are all on their feet now.  Trey Willett emerges from the curtain like a rocket, immediately leaping  forward to greet the fans on either side of the ramp seats.  The music continues to go on as Trey begins making his way down the ramp. 

 

Eryk Masters: The fans here definitely letting Trey know that they haven’t forgotten him here tonight and they are certainly excited for what should be one of the premier matches in the Master of the Mat tournament. 

 

Other Guy: Man.  Two SHOOT legends in the ring together.  These guys have been nothing but class all week, Eryk! 

 

Trey comes to the edge of the ring and grabs hold of the middle rope, pulling himself the the apron.  He steps into the ring and starts applauding, pointing to all of the fans in the crowd.  The fans return the sentiment by continuing to cheer for Trey as well.   

 

Samantha Coil: Ladies and gentlemen, this match is scheduled for one fall and is a MASTER OF THE MAT QUARTER-FINAL MATCH!  Introducing first, hailing from Staten Island, New York.  He is your WAYWARD SON!  TREY WIIIIILLLLLEEETTTT!!! 

 

Trey continues to clap, then point to the entrance ramp and begins clapping, making sure the momentum stays going for his opponent.

Lights out, but the lighting rig above the ring and the lights that run the perimeter of the giant tron shine bright, bathing the Epicenter in yellow. 

 

"Tonight we’re going Har-Har-Har-h-h-h-HARD" 

 

Loco flies through the curtain, bobbing to the sounds of Ke$ha’s "We R Who We R".  The epicenter roars his arrival.  He’s in a powder blue "Welcome to the Freakshow" t-shirt, black loose fitting vinyl pants, a yellow ‘MoFo’ vertically up the left leg, and his yellow boots.  

 

Samantha Coil:  Coming to the ring.   From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and weighing in at Two Hundred and Twenty Two pounds.  The "Freakshow"… LLLLLLLOCO.   MMMMMMAAAAAAAAAR.  TIIIIIIIIII.  NEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZ!!!!! 

 

He points at the crowd and exchanges some bumps and high fives with those lining the entry way.   As he hears his name he runs slides full speed under the bottom rope.  He rolls to his back and kips up throwing his arms out wide as the crowd roars. 

 

Eryk Masters:  We know all about Loco Martinez’s athleticism and energy! He’s already shown us a little bit of that with that entrance. 

 

Other Guy:  Hope he doesn’t gas himself.  

 

Eryk Masters:  I’m going to guess that eleven seconds of activity won’t be detrimental. 

 

Other Guy:  You say that now!  He’s going in there with our current Master of the Mat.  Every second of energy is going to be needed! 

 

Loco tosses his t-shirt into the crowd.  A small scrum over the article of clothing as he stands in his corner he starts to loosen up.

Willie Dean calls for the bell and the two men begin to circle. The crowd begins dueling chants for both men

LET’S GO LO-CO!

LET’S GO TREY!

LET’S GO LOCO!

LET’S GO TREY!

Loco and Trey move in towards one another and quickly fist bump in a show of respect. They back up a step before stepping into a quick collar and elbow tie up. The two men jockey for position before Loco quickly spins around and drops Trey with a drop toe hold. Loco floats over and hooks on a front facelock. Trey quickly reverses into a hammerlock before jumping forward into a headlock. Loco gets to his feet and backs Trey into the ropes. Loco pushes off, sending Trey across the ring in to the far ropes. Loco drops down and Trey hits the ropes again, coming off only to be caught by a QUICK arm drag!

Trey pops to his feet and turns, only to be caught with a dropkick from Loco! Trey quickly gets to his feet again. Loco moves in again, but Trey begins to FIRE forearms into Loco’s face, backing him up! Loco gets backed into the ropes. Trey Irish whips Loco across the ring, catching him on the rebound with and arm drag of his own! Loco pops up and turns into a dropkick from Trey! Loco pops up again, taking as fighting stance only to come face to face with Trey, who is in a stance of his own. The two men pause and nod at each other, backing off a step as the crowd cheers loudly in appreciation of both men’s skills.

Eryk Masters:These two men have very similar styles, OG. Loco has a bit more technical skill, but I’d say they are fairly evenly matched.

Other Guy:They’re feeling each other out right now, but it won’t be long until this breaks down, Masters.

Trey moves forward, but Loco drops down with a dropkick to the knees, sending Trey to the mat quickly. Loco hits the ropes and nails another dropkick, this time to the ribs. Loco steps over Trey and runs towards the ropes, springboarding off the middle rope and landing a BEAUTIFUL Moonsault. Loco rolls Trey over and covers!

ONE!

TWO!

TREY KICKS OUT!

Loco wastes no time, getting back to his feet and bringing Trey up with him. He Irish whips Trey to the corner and runs in, hitting a step up knee to the jaw. Loco follows up by flipping Trey back out to the center of the ring with a monkey flip! Loco quickly climbs to the top turnbuckle. Trey gets to his feet and turns around as Loco LEAPS from the top onto Trey with a high crossbody! Loco hooks the leg for the cover!

ONE!

TWO!

KICKOUT!

Eryk Masters:Loco Martinez is really pushing the pace of this match.

Loco rolls off Trey and gets to his feet. He quickly drops a leg across the throat and runs to the ropes, springboarding off the middle rope again. Loco turns his body in mid air and comes down with ANOTHER legdrop across Trey’s throat! Loco covers and Willie Dean is there!

ONE!

TWO!

THR-NO!

Trey gets his shoulder up again!

Other Guy:I think Loco is trying for a flash pin here. He’s hitting high risk maneuvers one after the other hoping to catch Trey. But, SHOOT’s Wayward Son has no quit in him tonight!

Loco brings Trey to his feet and plants a boot into his stomach. He hooks Trey’s head and tried to lift him up for a vertical suplex, but Trey blocks it! Loco tries again, and AGAIN Trey puts on the brakes! Trey EXPLODES and brings Loco over with a QUICK snap suplex! Trey rolls to his stomach and slowly gets to his feet. Loco gets to his feet as well. He turns and catches a boot to the stomach from Trey. Trey hooks Loco’s head and SNAPS him down with a DDT!

Trey gets back to his feet, bringing Loco up with him. Trey Irish whips Loco into the ropes. Loco bounces off the ropes and Trey hits the opposite ropes, catching Loco with a flying forearm! Loco hits the canvas hard and Trey gets to his feet again. Trey goes to the outside and climbs to the top turnbuckle. Loco gets to his feet and turns as Trey LEAPS from the top, twisting his body in mid air and NAILING Loco with a corkscrew leg lariat! Loco hits the canvas HARD and Trey rolls over for a cover!

ONE!

TWO!

THR-NO!

Loco gets the shoulder up!

Eryk Masters:This match is quickly becoming a high risk affair, OG! It’s almost as of the two are trying to one up each other!

Other Guy:I don’t think that’s it, Masters. Both guys have that kind of style and I’ll tell you what, all it’s going to take is just one mistake from either of these men to slow this thing down. You’ve got to wonder though, how long can these guys keep this style up?

Trey gets back to his feet again and brings Loco up with him. He scoops up Loco and brings him to the corner, tying him up in the tree of woe.

Trey backs up to the opposite corner and gets a running start. Trey drops down for a running dropkick, BUT LOCO DOES A SIT UP causing Trey to hit nothing but buckle. Loco frees his legs and shows AMAZING balance and athleticism by pushing himself up into a handstand on the top rope. Loco swings back down and hits a NASTY double stomp right onto Trey’s chest!

Other Guy:And THAT is what I was talking about!

Trey clutches his chest in pain as Loco grabs his feet and drags him out of the corner. Loco leaps into the air and comes CRASHING down across Trey’s chest with a jumping senton splash! Loco covers, hooking the leg!

ONE!

TWO!

THR-NO!!

Trey manages to kick out!

Loco gets to his feet, bringing Trey with him and Irish whips Trey into the ropes. Trey hooks the top rope and puts on the breaks. Loco charges in, but Trey ducks and back body drops Loco over the top, BUT LOCO LANDS ON HIS FEET on the apron. Trey turns quickly and reacts in a split second by sending a shoulder into Loco’s stomach between the ropes, doubling him over. Trey uses the top ropes for momentum and LEAPS over the top rope, catching Loco and SLAMMING him to the outside with a sunset flip powerbomb! The crowd explodes with a massive cheer!

Loco WRITHES on the outside in agony as Trey rolls back into the ring! Willie Dean begins his count on Loco.

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

FOUR!

Trey looks out at Loco and then to the crowd.

FIVE!

SIX!

Trey climbs to the top turnbuckle.

Eryk Masters:Oh, man, what is he looking for here?

SEVEN!

EIGHT!

Trey LEAPS from the tope turnbuckle and CRUSHES Loco with a HUGE 450 splash to the outside, forcing Willie Dean to restart his count! The crowd goes absolutely insane!

HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!

Eryk Masters:OH MY GOD! I THINK MY HEART JUST PEED!!!

Other Guy:What an INSANE move by Trey Willett! He is pulling out ALL the stops tonight!

Trey and Loco are both laying on the outside with very little movement as Willie Dean restarts his count!

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

FOUR!

Trey is the first to stir, rolling to his stomach.

FIVE!

SIX!

Trey gets to his knees slowly, trying to push himself to his feet.

SEVEN!

EIGHT!

Trey gets to his feet and rolls in under the bottom rope, breaking the count! He quickly rolls back to the outside and brings Loco to his feet, rolling him back into the ring. Trey follows under the bottom rope and makes the cover! Willie Dean is there!

ONE!

TWO!

THRE-NO!!!!

Loco just BARELY gets a shoulder up and Trey Willett’s face is a mixture of exhaustion and frustration! The crowd is in a frenzy!

Eryk Masters:I thought that was it, OG!

Other Guy:Loco Martinez is NOT done yet!

Trey slowly makes his way to his feet, bringing a very dazed Loco with him. Trey boots Loco in the stomach and hooks him up for the Dawn of a New Era! BUT LOCO breaks Trey’s grip and stands up, sending Trey to the canvas with a back drop! Loco drops to his knees right after and begins to crawl to the ropes, using them to get back to his feet! He turns and sees that Trey is up as well. Loco bounces of the ropes and LAUNCHES himself forward with a flying forearm! Trey tumbles through the ropes and lands HARD on the outside! There is a twinkle in Loco’s eye as he looks out to the crowd. The Epicenter fans get extremely loud and Loco hits the far ropes, picking up a head of steam.

Loco jumps up and springboards off the top rope before LEAPING out and NAILING Trey with a somersault plancha much to the delight of the crowd!

Eryk Masters:Oh man! HOW can these two keep this up?!

Loco slowly gets to his feet, bringing Trey with him. He rolls Trey into the ring and follows close behind. Loco drags Trey to the corner. He LEAPS up onto the top turnbuckle and NAILS a split legged Moonsault!

Other Guy:HAPPINESS!

Loco covers and hooks the leg!

ONE!

TWO!

THREE-NO!!!

TREY KICKED OUT!

The crowd is in disbelief as is Loco Martinez. His eyes go wide as he rolls off Trey.

Eryk Masters:Neither one of these men want their road to end tonight! We are witnessing a classic right now, folks!

Loco crawls to the ropes and pulls himself to his feet. He slowly makes his way to Trey and brings him to his feet. Loco shoves Trey back into the corner and begins to send SHARP kicks to the chest and ribs. Loco pulls Trey out from the corner and hooks his head. Loco pops up onto the middle turnbuckle and spins out for a tornado DDT. BUT TREY TOSSES HIM AWAY! Loco lands HARD on the back of his head and Trey drops to his knees in exhaustion. Trey slowly gets to his feet, as does Loco.

Loco dives forward with a dropkick to the knee, sending Trey to the mat face first! Loco hits the ropes and springboards off the second rope for another moonsault. Trey rolls forward out of the way, BUT LOCO LANDS ON HIS FEET! Trey gets to his feet as Loco springboards off the top rope and turns in mid air, catching Trey with a flying knee right to the temple!

ZOMBIE KILL OF THE WEEK!

Loco quickly gets to his feet and drags Trey to the corner. Loco SPRINGS to the top rope and hits the split legged moonsault!

HAPPINESS!!

Eryk Masters:What a succession of moves!

Other Guy:Loco wants to make sure he can put Trey away. Can he get him this time?

Loco hooks the leg for the cover!

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!!!

Willie Dean calls for the bell and the crowd EXPLODES with cheers! Loco rolls off Trey and We R Who We Rbegins to play.

Samantha Coil: Ladies and gentlemen, here is your winner, and advancing to the Master of the Mat Semi-Final Round, LOOOCOOOOO MAAAARRRTIIIINEEEEEZZZZ!!!!

Willie Dean raises Loco’s arm in victory as Trey Willett is very slowly getting back to his feet with a very dejected look on his face. Loco turns to face Trey and shakes his head. He extends his hand and the two shake. Trey PULLS Loco in and the two men share a brief hug before Trey raises Loco’s arm. Trey rolls out of the ring and walks back up the ramp. Loco celebrates in the ring as the music continues!

Eryk Masters:This match is what Master of the Mat is all about, folks. What an amazing affair this one was. And the sportsmanship between Loco Martinez and Trey Willett was just the cherry on top!

Other Guy:It was a great match, but we’ve got more to come still tonight! We’ve still got Adrian Corazon and Tanya Black going head to head, not to mention the Main Event featuring Donovan King defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Maya Nakashima!

Elizabeth Gaunt sits on a bench in an empty locker room. She leans forward, pulling a pair of boots towards her. Her face is a mask of blank emotion, yet there is madness behind her turquoise eyes. She pulls one boot on and begins to lace it up, humming as she does so.

Suddenly, Gaunt lurches forward with a look of shock on her face as she is SLAMMED in the back of the head with a title belt. A figure steps into the frame instantly recognizable as Jacob Mephisto. He holds the Sin City Championship in his hand as he stares at Liz while she slowly pushes herself up to her knees. Jacob drops his title belt on the bench and rushes forward, grabbing a handful of Liz’s hair. He looks her in the eye and smirks before SLAMMING her face into the locker with all his might. Gaunt slumps to the floor in a heap and Jacob reaches over and grabs the Sin City Championship. He crouches down next to Gaunt, holding his title up to her face.

Jacob: Before you slip into complete unconsciousness, Lizzy, I want you to listen closely.

Jacob slaps her across the face.

Jacob: This Sin City Championship? It’s mine. And nobody… not Johnny Napalm, not Sammy Rochester, and certainly not you… is taking it from me. I want you to remember that, hellcat.

Jacob stands and plants a boot directly onto the back of Gaunt’s head. He looks around quickly and makes a quick exit from the locker room.

Eryk Masters: For the next match, we have a special guest commentator with… Ja Gi Kyung-Moon!

Kyung-Moon waves to the people, already seated next to the commentators.  Ja Gi wears a red suit with black silk button-down shirt and shoes.  The tie and hat matches the red of the jacket.  The SHOOT Project Iron Fist Championship is resting on the table, facing the camera.

Other Guy: Joy.

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon Try not to sound so happy, Giggles.

Nicki Minaj’s “Baddest Bitch” begins to play, with Lisa Lyon immediately walking out from the gorilla position.  A few well-versed wrestling experts know who she is, but most of the SHOOT Project crowd isn’t sure how to react.

[b]Samantha Coil: The next match has a fifteen minute time limit!  Entering first, from St. Paul, Minnesota – Lisa Lyon![/b]

Lisa Lyon casts indignant gazes out over the crowd, walking down the ramp to roll underneath the bottom rope into the ring.  Using the cables, she stretches her back and arms.

Eryk Masters: What’s your assessment of Lisa Lyon, Ja Gi?

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon Lisa Lyon’s been active for a few years now.  The trick will that her power moves, strategies and instincts were all honed against wrestlers her own size.  Randall Kash weighs more than two of her and is a foot taller.

Eryk Masters: That’s a pretty serious acclimation and in a debut match, no less.

Other Guy: I like Lisa Lyon.

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon No… You’d like to watch Lisa Lyon, specifically as she engages in certain things that even SHOOT can’t put on TV.

Other Guy: It’s like you’ve known me my whole life.

“Dragula” by Rob Zombie plays out Triple L’s opponent.

[b]Samantha Coil: And her opponent, from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada… Randall Kash![/b]

At 6’5” and 272 lbs. Randall Kash is already an imposing figure, but the scowl he wears across his face and the daggers he stares into Lisa Lyon tell the whole story.

Other Guy: You wanted me to turn down the enthusiasm?  Randall Kash is bursting with glee.

Eryk Masters: Randall Kash feels disrespected by everybody.  Lisa Lyon, for not taking the match seriously.  SHOOT’s upper echelons, for not paying attention to him.

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon And random other people, whether they did something or not.

Other Guy: Randall Kash doesn’t discriminate; you all disgust him equally.

Kash gets just close enough to the ring for him to reach up and grab the middle ring cable.  Lisa Lyon takes the initiative to charge and dropkick him in the face.  Kash takes the kick to the jaw, staggering backward, with Lyon slinging herself over the top rope into another dropkick to the chest that puts both of them on the floor!

Other Guy: So she’s one of those fake lesbians.  Lays down for the first real man she meets.

The crowd perks up at the initiative shown by Lisa Lyon, who stands up holding the back of her head.  Lyon waits for Kash to get to his feet before lunging in with the Superkick to the side of the kneeling man’s head, causing the Blackwolf to tumble over onto his hands and knees.  Lyon steps onto Kash’s back and leaps into the air, flipping into a moonsault across Randall Kash’s back.

Other Guy: DAAAMN!

Kash’s back and core, the power in his arms and legs, is so strong that he does not buckle in the slightest when Lisa Lyon hits him, resulting in the smaller wrestler crashing with her ribs against a solid object.  The air is driven from Triple L’s body and she rolls over, clutching her abdomen.  Randall Kash sneers at some of the ringside fans who try to give Lisa Lyon encouragement.  He then steps on her, with his boot pressing into the abs.  Randall Kash peels Lisa Lyon off of the floor, lifting her up over his head with the Gorilla Press and tossing her over the top rope into the ring.

Other Guy: Randall Kash has his hands all over Lyon right now and all she can do is lay back and take it.

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon Is someone feeding you offensive lines through the headset or do you aspire to this sort of gobstopping ridiculousness?

Kash heads in after Lisa Lyon.  Austin Linam can finally call for the bell to start the match.  Grabbing the hair in his hand, Randall Kash yanks Lyon off of the mat and holds her up, rearing back with the free arm for a Burning Lariat that knocks her to the mat with enough force to produce a crash far into the upper levels of the Epicenter.  Kash sets a foot over Lisa Lyon’s chest, pointing to the mat to command Austin Linam to count the pinfall.

One!

Two!

Eryk Masters: Lyon gets the shoulder up!

Kash is only slightly less angry with Lisa Lyon now, but still wastes no time in scooping her up off of the mat and locks her into a devastating bearhug.  Lisa Lyon is violently shaken back and forth within the hold, her body wracked in excruciating pain.  Her attempts to hit Kash in the head are ineffective, met only with more wrenching on the bearhug.  Feeling herself fading, with the crowd getting into it and clapping for her to get out, Lisa Lyon locks her arms behind Randall Kash’s head, meets his eyes, and pulls him in close to her face.

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon Is that legal?  Don’t think that’s legal.

The crowd cheers as Lisa Lyon bites at Kash’s face, forcing him to throw her aside to get free.  Lyon wipes the blood from her mouth, with Kash sporting a cut beneath his left eye.  Kash, enraged, rushes Lyon with a high knee.  Lisa Lyon sidesteps to the planted leg and hits the back of the knee with a sidekick.  Randall Kash falls to the mat, receiving a knee drop to the face for his trouble.  Lisa Lyon rolls forward, jumping to the second rope and backflipping into a moonsault elbow drop across the bridge of Kash’s nose and the pin!

One!

Two!

Kash presses Lyon off of him, sending her away!  Lisa Lyon runs the ropes as Kash stands up.  Lyon returns into the Sideslam, but gets her legs up and around Kash’s head for the Flying Headscissors… but Kash stops the momentum of the swing and clutches Lisa Lyon’s head, pushing her up into the air by the legs and implanting her into the mat with the Kash’d Out screwdriver!

Other Guy: Oh my god, this is so over!

One!

Two!

Three!

The crowd boos Randall Kash, who shoves Lisa Lyon’s face into the canvas before rapidly crawling over to the nearest camera and grabbing the viewfinder.

Kash: DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION NOW?!

[b]Eryk Masters: Chilling words.  Randall Kash won’t be satisfied until he gets “noticed.”

Ja Gi Kyung-Moon More matches like this?  He won’t be waiting long.  Lisa Lyon gave it a great go, but the power advantage was just too much.

“Dragula” plays up on the speakers again, Austin Linam raising Kash’s arm.  Randall Kash yanks his arm away from the referee, rolling out of the ring without another thought to the fans, to the ref, or to Lisa Lyon, who remains down and out on the mat.

This is relatively cut and dried, the camera opens on a board featuring several images.  The first image is of Kid Lightning, with a stamp across the image with the word “GONE” in red.  The next image is of Tanya Black with a stamp across the image of the word “GONE” in red.  Finally, on this train of sad images, is Jay Sky.  His picture is clean when suddenly a hand clenching a stamp SLAMS into the image.  It pulls back and the camera sees the word “GONE” in red slowly drying.

The camera pulls back to reveal Charles Brandon Magnus and Buck Dresden, collectively known as the Gods of the Arena known as the Bad Ass Brotherhood.  Neither man are dressed outlandishly, both are in their usual garb.  The hand that did the fatal stamping belongs to Magnus, and he can’t help but smirk at the camera as he sits the stamp down on a table off screen.

Charles Brandon Magnus: It wasn’t too long ago we were the gods that had single handedly built the tag team division.  We toyed with our prey, mocked them openly, all before we finally feasted like the kings we were.

Buck Dresden: It all started, y’see, when we won this four way match fer them belts, but that’s history y’all already know.  See, but what I’m gettin’ at is…that’s when we first got to lock up with one Chance…Ryan.

The camera reveals a fourth image right before Kid Lightning…that of Chance Ryan.

Charles Brandon Magnus: Ol’ Chance here…he wasn’t much of anything back then.  Silly froo froo masks with him and his buddy there Kid Lightning.  The match saw the beginning of that team’s complete decimation.  Can anyone tell me what happened to the Flying Avengers after we won the titles?

He waits for an answer that won’t come.

Charles Brandon Magnus: Exactly.  No one knows because no one cares.  So we moved on…but Chance here…Chance just couldn’t let go.  So he found himself teaming up with Tanya Black.

Buck Dresden: An’ Tanya?  Well…Tanya Black an’ Chance Ryan don’t go together too well.  Never did.  They got together in some weirdly named group an’ did the impossible.  Credit where it’s due, they did the impossible an’ they beat the two of us fer the tag team titles.

Charles Brandon Magnus: But that win came at…a devastating price.

Buck Dresden: S’right, Charlie.  They were too exhausted, too wore out from us they promptly lost them titles an’ then decided to go their separate ways.

Charles Brandon Magnus: So Chance Ryan struck out yet again on his own.  He failed to win the tag titles, so he cut his old partner out and found himself a new one who gave him some success…but then he couldn’t stake his claim with the new one and even she got sick of him.

Buck smirks.

Buck Dresden: Which leads us where, class?  That’s right…Jay Sky.  Former member o’ VAS, the first team what gave us dramarama.

Charles Brandon Magnus: Jay Sky was a band-aid on a gunshot, however.  How Chance Ryan ever thought Jay Sky’d be able to get it done, I have no idea.  So we beat him up a little bit, and he’s turned tail and run.

Buck holds his finger up, drawing attention back to him.

Buck Dresden: Now, y’all might think we’re finished, right?  After he done went through three people, we’d leave little Chance here alone, right?

He shakes his head.

Buck Dresden: Fuck that.  The point o’ this here lesson ain’t just to show y’all Chance Ryan’s got no friends he ain’t willin’ to stab in the back…but also to show that Chance Ryan is the problem that keeps the tag division from shinin’ with us at the helm.

Charles Brandon Magnus: So…Chance, my darling little idiot, we’re going to tear your little soul apart just a little bit more.  We want to see you in the ring again…and again…and again.  We want to beat the hell out of you again…and again…and again.  And we’re gonna find you and we’re gonna hurt you and you’re gonna deal with it, why?

Buck Dresden: Because we’re the Bad Ass Brotherhood…and we can.

Magnus smirks.

Charles Brandon Magnus: So it’s reeeeeeal simple, Chance.  We’re just gonna keep hurting you until you can’t take it anymore and you quit.  Not tag teaming, not SHOOT Project, but the business as a whole.  We’re gonna keep beating the hell out of you until you get tired of being the butt of our jokes.  We’re gonna hit you, slam you, break you…

Buck Dresden: …take yer lunch money, pants you in front o’ the whole school, give ya swirlies…the whole nine, really.

Magnus looks over at Buck and sighs.

Charles Brandon Magnus: …but we’re going to give you an out, Chance.  See, we’re going to let you find yourself another partner if you can.  Anybody you can get your hands on that is willing to have the back of a traitorous little chump like you.

Buck Dresden: Like anybody’d be willin’ to be in yer corner…

Charles Brandon Magnus: If you don’t, Chance?  We’re going to simply find you by yourself and just…keep doing what we’re doing.

Buck Dresden: Until you’ve had enough.

Charles Brandon Magnus: And leave.

Buck grins.

Buck Dresden: See ya…real soon, Chance.

The camera zooms in on Chance’s picture surrounded by the images of those that have left his side over the years.  His image remains untouched by the stamp as the camera fades out.

The sold out Epicenter looks on in confusion as Kenji storms out from behind the entrance curtain. There’s no entrance music, and Kenji looks more flustered and angered than his usual calm sociopathic self. The initial surprise wears off quickly as the crowd starts to shower Kenji with a familiar ovation of disdain and hatred. Kenji slides into the ring, a hand perched on his brow before looking up.

Kenji: I am getting SICK and tired of this, Corazon. You think hunting US is going to bring you salvation, huh? Do you think that trying to undo this "mistake" you brought into SHOOT is suddenly going to grant you forgiveness and make amends for all the fucked up shit you’ve done? No, see, these fucking idiots here might start cheering you for a little while… but it’s only a matter of time until you revert again, Corazon. If there’s one thing every one can be sure of it’s that sooner or later the Corazon we all know and love, that BRUTAL and INHUMAN one… will come shining through.

Kenji takes a deep breath, pacing back and forth in the ring.

Kenji: So you want to hunt, Corazon? I’m not a hard man to find, I’m RIGHT here. You don’t have to go stalking around to find me, I’m sitting right here, come on and SHOW THE WORLD why you’re the Baddest Man ALIVE! Come on, Corazon, I challenge you to TRY to find some form of physical torment that would make ME question burning the flesh off your back. Find some space and carve your stupid fucking smile on me, I’M RIGHT HERE CORAZON, RIGHT FUCKING HERE!

Kenji doesn’t have to wait long as a low purple glow starts to blanket the arena, and it’s immediately followed by a dirty blues guitar riff that forces the crowd to lose their collective minds. Kenji, however, stands right on the edge of the ring, gripping the ropes tightly shouting obscenities towards the entrance ramp.

“I could take the pitchfork from the devil Keep a super suit like I’m incredible. From the deep blue sea to the dark blue sky…”

The song cuts out and the lights go dark, and then seconds later a purple spotlight falls at the top of the ramp, and ADRIAN CORAZON steps out from behind the curtains. Dark purple pyro fires off to either side of him,

“I’M THE BADDEST MAN ALIVE!!”

The cheers just continue to grow and grow with The Black Key’s “Baddest Man Alive” serenading the Epicenter. Kenji sits on the middle rope and pushes the top rope up, waving at Corazon to get in the ring. Corazon, however, simply stands at the top of the entrance ramp with a smile on his face and a microphone in hand. Kenji is practically BEGGING Corazon to come down to the ring. Corazon just keeps smiling, and brings the microphone to his lips.

Corazon: I just came out here to tell you something, Kenji. I was allowed to make a match for you.

The crowd goes berserk when they hear this, expecting to see Corazon get his hands on Kenji right here and now. It looks like Kenji also expects that as a smile creeps onto Kenji’s face as he again motions with his hands for Corazon to enter the ring. Corazon keeps smiling, waving a finger at Kenji.

Corazon: It’s next week.

Kenji snarls and the crowd loses a little of their pep.

Corazon: Oh, right… it’s not against me.

The crowd actually seems to fall silent, Kenji starts hurling profanities about cowardice towards Corazon. He, however, just keeps smiling.

Corazon: It’s against Maya.

Corazon simply drops the microphone and exits the ramp as the crowd absolutely loses their mind at this announcement. Kenji simply stands in the middle of the ring, completely silenced. He looks through the crowd to try and find something, but is left numb by the raucous crowd cheering and pointing mockingly at him. Kenji just sort of stumbles out of the ring, staring dazed at the sold out Epicenter populace as he staggers into the back.

Eryk Masters:  We’re set for our final Master of the Mat Quarter Final!

Other Guy:  Tanya Black one on one with the Adrian Corazon.  

Eryk Masters: The last two weeks, Tanya Black has harped on the fact that she wants to put down the old guard and establish a new regime for SHOOT Project, but Adrian Corazon knows that he can’t give up the momentum he’s building up heading into an impending war with Isaac Entragian and the rest of Project: SCAR

Other Guy: Which member of the Elite Eight advances to the Final Four and keeps their Master of the Mat hopes…

The announcers crew are cut off by Tanya’s entrance music.

Your fear it moves me.

Your weakness I taste.

I breathe you, I hate you.

You course through my veins.

And now.

And now.

The lights dim down for a moment and an explosion of pyro signals the entrance of Tanya Black who stands on the stage looking mesmerized for a moment as she soaks in the boos of the fans.

You want me. You love me.

And I hate myself.

I need you, but I hate you.

‘Cause I want nothing else.

As Die For You continues to play the arena watches as Tanya Black begins walking to the ring, every step seeming to awaken her more and more, her look going from vacant to determination. Sliding into the ring Tanya Black moves to the middle and holds her arms out to the sides as she leans her head back

And I bleed you since I’ve healed you.

Your pain escapes through me.

‘Cause I breathe you, but I hate you.

‘Cause they say we could never be.

They can’t see.

Samantha Coil:  From Boston Massachusetts, Standing at 5’4" weighing in at 165 pounds… The "ALPHA FEMALE":  TAAAAAAAAAAANYAAAAAAAAA BLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!

The music fades away and Tanya loosens up in the corner.   The Epicenter starts to rumble with excitement for the entrance of her opponent.

Samantha Coil:  And her opponent…

A low purple glow starts to blanket the arena, and it’s immediately followed by a dirty blues guitar riff that sends the crowd into total mark out mode.

“I could take the pitchfork from the devil  

Keep a super suit like I’m incredible.  

From the deep blue sea to the dark blue sky….”

Eryk Masters:  In his storied career, Adrian Corazon has done just about everything.  He’s looking to add to the impressive resume, by adding a Master of the Mat!

Other Guy:  He has a stiff challenge in Tanya Black.  Both of these competitors, former champions.  Both proud warriors who want nothing more than to get into the semifinals!

The song cuts out and the lights go dark, and then seconds later a purple spotlight falls at the top of the ramp, and ADRIAN CORAZON steps out from behind the curtains. Dark purple pyro fires off to either side of him, and the crowd pops HARD for the Brutal, Inhuman Soldier of SHOOT Project.

"I’M THE BADDEST MAN ALIVE!

The music relaunches and is nearly drowned by the crowd.  The Black Key’s “Baddest Man Alive” serenading the Epicenter.  Corazon stands on the ramp soaking in the Epicenter’s big fight atmosphere for a few moments before heading down the ramp.

Eryk Masters:  Listen to this place!!

Samantha Coil: Weighing in at two hundred and twenty five pounds, he is the BADDEST Man ALIVE… ADRIAN CORAZON!

Corazon looks out at the fans, slowly walking his way down to the ring, the crowd chanting “B-M-A! B-M-A!!”

Corazon walks up the steps to the ring, wiping his feet before ducking under the second rope. The fans absolutely EXPLODE as he stands up and looks over at Tanya Black. The music fades away.  The crowd kicks it up a decibel as referee Scott Kamura gives Corazon and Black some final instructions.  

Eryk Masters:  Scott Kamura calling the action for this match.

Kamura calls for the bell.   The two immediately circle.  Lock up.  Corazon uses his size advantage to back Tanya back into the ropes.  He whips her across the ring.   He steps out looking to hit a clothesline, she ducks, and bounces off the ropes. Corazon looks to hit a nice hip toss, but Tanya flips through, and lands on her feet.  She takes off and runs at the ropes, Corazon goes looking for a sweeping trip, but Tanya jumps it.  She hits the ropes and comes back, but Corazon takes a step back and levels her with spinning back elbow!

Eryk Masters:  Corazon gets the early advantage catching Tanya with that elbow!

Corazon brings Tanya up and drops her with a short armed clothesline.  He drops a leg across her chest.  He quickly spins and makes a lateral press.

One…

Tw-NO!  Tanya kicks out.

Eryk Masters:  Gonna need a lot more to keep Tanya Black down.

Other Guy:  Of course, Masters.  But every time you make your opponent work?  You drop that energy level.  If its a kick out or trying to work out of a reverse chin lock.

Corazon brings Tanya to her feet he goes to pull her in for another shortarm clothesline, but Tanya ducks it and manages to pull her arm free while sliding behind Corazon.  She leaps and grabs his shoulders and drives her knees up into his back with a vicious backcracker!  She is up quickly and is shocked to see Corazon getting to his feet equally as fast.  She runs and drives  a headbutt into his sternum.  Corazon staggers back, and Tanya keeps pressing she grabs his right arm, brings it up under his own chin and drops him down with a vicious snapping neckbreaker (Regal Cutter)!  She quickly makes a cover.

One…

Two…NO!  Corazon powers out.  

Eryk Masters:  A quick flurry from Tanya Black has really turned the tide!

Tanya is up and stomps down viciously into the torso of Corazon.  Corazon coils as she stomps down repeatedly and grabs her foot, dragging her down to the mat with a leg whip. Adrian stands to his feet, falling onto the ropes and holding his arm over his sternum.

Other Guy: Corazon told Tanya that he was going to give her a hell of a fight and he’s making sure she knows he’s not going to be her measuring stick!

Eryk Masters: The action has reset! Both Soldiers are focused on their A game tonight!

Both wrestlers start to circle the ring now before locking up in the middle of the ring. Tanya tries to shove Corazon back but Corazon stomps down reassuring his leverage. Tanya lifts a knee into Corazon’s stomach doubling the former two time World Heavyweight Champion over and drives another knee into his face, sending him onto his back! Tanya Black leaps and drops her knees across the chest of Corazon and quickly goes for the cover!

One…

Tw-

Eryk Masters: Corazon kicks out early!

Other Guy: Tanya working Corazon’s chest makes me believe she’s trying to keep Corazon’s strength out of the equation.

Tanya stands up and leaps with a double stomp on to Corazon’s chest.  She grabs both legs and flips on top of him with a jacknife cover.

One…

two…

TH-NO! Corazon is able to shoulder out.  

Eryk Masters:  Tanya was really close, there.

She is back up and begins laying vicious stomps into Corazon’s torso.   She slowly brings him to his knees.  Buries her right shin into his chest.  Winds up.  Again another nasty kick to his ribcage.  She lets out an animalistic growl, winds up one more time and sends a kick with all her might, but Corazon, drops to the side, and as her momentum carries her past, he pulls her back in a school boy roll up!

One…

Two…

THR-NO!  

Other Guy:  Tanya  narrowly escapes!

Tanya is up first.  The Epicenter springs to life with a “B-M-A!” chant.  She sizes up Corazon who gets up, and attempts to catch his breath.  Tanya comes in with a spinning heel kick, but Corazon ducks it.  As Tanya turns to come back for the attack Corazon rocks her with a vicious european uppercut.   And a second!  He boots her in the gut, doubling her over, and hits a lightning quick snap suplex.  He floats over for a lateral press.

One…

Two…NO!  Tanya kicks out right after the two.  Corazon gets up.  He brings Tanya to her feet.  Takes her by the wrist and whips her hard into the corner.  He charges in, but she goes low and drops his head and chest across the middle turnbuckle with a drop toe hold!  She steps through the middle rope and then slingshots herself over the top rope driving both knees into his back.

Eryk Masters:  That looked incredibly painful.

Other Guy:  The spine isn’t meant to bend that way, Masters!

Tanya drags Corazon away from the ropes.  Hooks a leg.  Kamura drops to make the count.

One…

two…

Thre-NO!  Corazon gets a shoulder up.  Tanya looks at the referee with total disbelief.  She holds up three fingers.  He shakes his head and answers with two.  She grimaces and gets up.  She sizes Corazon up, who is getting to his feet.  She charges looking for a kick, but he ducks and catches the leg.  He launches her back with a t-bone suplex!  

Eryk Masters: Could that be the momentum changer Corazon is looking for?

Corazon rolls to his stomach, pushing himself back to his feet. He turns and stalks towards Tanya, who has gotten to her knees. Corazon drops a QUICK succession of elbows across Tanya’s back, flattening her out. Corazon straddles Tanya and grabs a handful of hair, pulling her head and upper body back, clamping on a dragon sleeper!

Tanya shouts out in pain and Scott Kamura is right there asking her if she wants to give it up. Tanya shouts “no” and the match continues! Corazon continues to pull back, maneuvering Tanya so her back is across his knee and her legs are straight out in front of her. Corazon wrenches back and Tanya lets out another shout of pain. But, Tanya starts to use her feet to start dragging herself and Corazon forward!

Eryk Masters: Corazon has that hold on tight, but Tanya is FIGHTING to get to the ropes!

Tanya reaches out with a leg and grazes the bottom rope, but it’s not enough to break the hold! She SPRINGS forward with her feet and hooks the bottom rope! Scott Kamura immediately instructs Corazon to break the hold. Corazon holds on for just few seconds longer before releasing Tanya and getting to his feet. Tanya pulls herself to the ropes and slowly drags herself to her feet.

Tanya turns around, and Corazon is right there, moving in with a flurry of VICIOUS knife edged chops! The crowd “woo’s” with each SLAP of flesh on flesh and Corazon refuses to relent. Tanya grips the ropes tight and Kamura admonishes Corazon. Corazon grabs Tanya’s wrist and Irish whips her across the ring. She rebounds off the far ropes and Corazon boot her in the gut, stopping her in her tracks. He hooks her head and leg and floats over with a BEAUTIFUL fisherman’s suplex, holding on for the cover! Kamura is in position!

ONE!

TWO!

THR-NO!

Tanya manages to break free before the three count! Corazon stays on the offensive, quickly getting to his feet and bringing Tanya up as well. Corazon wraps his arms around her waist and sticks his head under her arm, before LIFTING Tanya up and over with a picture perfect northern lights suplex, bridging for the pin!

ONE!

TWO!

TH-NO!

Tanya manages to break free again!

Eryk Masters: Back to back near falls for Corazon there, but Tanya Black will not quit!

Other Guy: She’s certainly got some fight left in her, Masters!

Corazon brings Tanya to her feet and whips her to the corner. He gets a running start, but Tanya sidesteps and NAILS an enziguri to the back of Corazon’s head, using his momentum to send him face first into the turnbuckles! Tanya takes a moment to collect herself and Corazon staggers backward out of the corner. She moves in and PLANTS Corazon with a reverse DDT! Tanya for the cover!

ONE!

TWO!

THRE-NO!

Corazon gets his shoulder up!

Eryk Masters: Neither opponent giving away anything tonight!

Other Guy: Tanya is putting on one hell of a fight against the Baddest Man Alive.

Tanya brings Corazon to his feet and whips him into the ropes. She wraps her arm around Corazon’s waist for a side slam on the rebound, but Corazon rolls through, whipping Tanya to the mat with a DDT! Tanya out flat, Corazon uses this time to get to his feet and falls into the ropes! Tanya starts to stir and Adrian gets set. Tanya to a knee…Corazon runs out of the ropes, steps on Tanya’s leg!

Eryk Masters: Act of Defiance!

Other Guy: NO! Tanya ducks! Tanya heavily scouting her opponent and saw the counter coming!

Tanya manages to drop to her chest just long enough for Adrian to fall into the mat, holding his back. Tanya pushes herself to her feet, walking over to Corazon and dragging him to his feet before drilling him with a European Uppercut! Corazon falls back into the ropes! Tanya drags Corazon out of the ropes to the middle of the ring and turns her back to him, wrapping her hands around Corazon’s head!

Eryk Masters: Tanya looking for Tough Love!

Corazon senses the move coming and SHOVES Tanya! Tanya turns around, RIGHT into Corazon’s knees!

Eryk Masters: Act of Inhumanity! It connects!

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

Other Guy: He did it! Adrian Corazon is moving on in the Master of the Mat!

Samantha Coil: Ladies and gentlemen, here is your winner, and advancing to the Master of the Mat Semi-Finals, ADRIIAAAN COOOORAAAZOOOOON!!!

Eryk Masters: Tanya Black obviously distraught here, but no reason for her to look down on herself tonight. Tanya put Corazon through one HELL of a wrestling match!

Corazon lowers his hands now, looking back at Tanya, who rubs her jaw. Tanya looks at Adrian  and the two share a nod  before Tanya rolls under the bottom rope and to the outside.

SHOOT Project’s World Heavyweight Champion, Donovan King turns a corner, backstage; presumably headed toward the entrance area, with his match quickly coming up on the horizon. He walks passed a few faceless, nameless crew members who wish him luck, and nods appreciatively at them, though never loses focus.

Donovan King has a World Title to defend tonight.

And if all goes well…

He’ll defend it again in four weeks at MASTER OF THE MAT against Dan Stein.

That’s the schedule he wants; the image he wants the Championship to hold, and he’ll make this same long walk to the ring as many times as is necessary. The idea of being SHOOT’s flag bearer; that WORLD CHAMPION grind gets him psyched as he weights out how he wants to do business tonight.

He slaps the title, hanging over his shoulder with pride and seems to pick up his pace by a step or two.

"HEY! HEY C’MON! DON’T DO THIS!!"

King stops and realizes he’s being joined by a slew of SHOOT Project officials.

Scott Kamura is the only familiar face in the crew, and he’s joined by four other "security" types. Not quiet backstage agents, but rather guys specifically hired to maintain SOME semblance of order in the back.

They are obviously NOT succeeding, though continue to swarm around a VERY FAMILIAR face..

The man this whole parade is desperately trying to hold back.

An irate.

Volatile.

JONNY JOHNSON.

He’s emotionally unstable and physically battered. Bruised eye, swollen lip, cut and scratch marks on his face and down his body. Blood stains on ring gear he hasn’t changed out of yet. Battered, red flesh.

"JONNY COME ON! Get back to your fucking locker!" One of the lesser-knowns shouts. Scott Kamura tries to pull back, while another SHOOT Project staffer tries to reason from the front.

To no avail.

Jonny: KING!

He shouts, continuing to push through and shrug away the efforts to keep this whole situation off camera. King is absolutely miffed, and his instinct, given the parties involved is to play diplomat.

Donovan King: Whoa whoa…wait a second. Easy. What’s going on?

Although the officials keep Jonny surrounded, their PHYSICAL efforts appear to diminish now that King’s here. It’s obvious that whatever this is about wasn’t supposed to get here, but now that it has… well…

There’s not much anyone is going to be able to do about it.

Donovan King: What the hell is your problem, Jonny? If it’s about your match, I don’t really think you’re comin’ at the right guy wit’ that fury.

King’s tone creates a sense of calm; not necessarily with Jonny. Just the holding him back. One or two of them will probably lose their job, but that’s better than whatever it is they were fearing, otherwise.

Jonny, visibly shaking, throws an errant backhand into the wind, and the closest official QUICKLY scoots back a step or two. His eyes dart back in the opposite direction, and the others all do the same.

Jonny: GO! GET THE FUCK AWAY!

King, concerned, holds his hand up and nods.

Donovan King: Let him go. I got this. It’s fine.

Scott Kamura: Donovan…

He stares at Kamura.

Donovan King: I said I got this. It’s…fine.

Kamura sighs loudly but realizes it’s no longer his place, nor the place of the security team he’s joined in with. He nods and pulls the other guys back, leaving Donovan King and Jonny Johnson alone.

For the second time tonight.

Jonny appears on the verge of an all-out emotional break down. His lips quiver, his hands shake, he frantically cracks his knuckles; exhales loudly… puffs, fumes.

He’s not well, and King realizes it.

Anyone watching realizes it.

Jonny realizes it, but he’s beyond holding it in.

He points his finger at the champion.

Jonny: You…

His finger shakes and he scowls.

Jonny: YOU!

Donovan King: Me. Look, I don’t know what your deal with me is…

He SCREAMS NOW.

Jonny: SHUT UP!!! SHUT THE FUCK UP…

His frantic, angry breaths are the only thing that keeping back the waterworks.

Jonny: For FIVE YEARS, King… I tried to accept what you did. To me. To this company. The SAME WAY I tried to forgive Kygon. Del Carver. Eryk Van Warren, Josh, Jason. THE LIST GOES ON! I’ve TRIED to understand why the same people perpetuate the same problems OVER AND OVER AND OVER… why NO ONE is ever allowed to give SHOOT the proper love it deserves… THAT IT’S ENTITLED TO!

Jonny rubs at his eyes. At his face. A wet face…. wet eyes. He looks at the ground, takes a deep breath. Looks back up.

Jonny: I love this place, King. More than you. Than Jason. Than anyone… (Looking at the title slung over King’s shoulder) And I loved being the CHAMPION of this place. I protected it. I watched over it. I made sure everyone had a SPOT. I gave it order. I made heroes. I inspired people to look at a BIGGER PICTURE! And sure… sure that picture was cruel… but, if not me then… Then who? SCAR? X-Calibur? A NEW Anti-Christ? WHO? WHAT ARE THE OTHER CHOICES?

He fights to get out the words. Squints his eyes, tears visibly trickling down his cheek.

Jonny: (Sniffling) I’m the only… (Sniffling again, fighting for composure) The only one who could ever be… Champion, Donovan. You knew that and…. and all you ever wanted to do was TAKE THAT FROM ME. Because you’re jealous. You don’t like the way I DID BUSINESS because YOU didn’t think of it FIRST!

He shakes his head.

Jonny: Even now… you don’t LOVE SHOOT. You don’t fucking love it man… She’s a trophy… (Pointing angrily at the title, slamming his finger into the plating) THIS IS JUST A TROPHY TO YOU!!!!

King looks like maybe he’s finally about to step up and say something, but Jonny puts a finger to his own lips.

Jonny: Shh… I’m… look I’m sorry, but just… (Doing the same gesture again) Shhhh, okay?

His eyes fall to his feet.

Jonny: I came back to win Master of the Mat… I wanted to win. To say goodbye… and throw away the… the stupid title opportunity. Let it go…

He slowly lifts his gaze back up to King; features shifting into a glare.

Jonny: Because it’s NOT the SHOOT Project World Championship. That honor DIED WITH ME. It died when I died, King. (Again, motioning to the belt) This is just a memorial service that won’t end.

He takes a deep breath, perhaps finally finding the solace he was seeking.

Jonny: I have a… a rematch clause that I uhh… that I never got to make good on. You know, ’cause… Because back then… you made sure I couldn’t.

He shrugs.

Jonny: Water under the five-year-bridge, man. No hard feelings. But ummm… I want it. I want my rematch, and I want it at Revolution One, Thirteen. Eleven. Three. My favorite number and… and my THIRD reign as champion.

The smile on his face is far from one of joy.

Jonny: Cute, right? Some real math nerd shit.

Donovan King: Jonny I c…

Jonny rubs his right eye, scratches it, and interrupts with passive-aggressive laughter.

Jonny: I don’t really care what you CAN’T do. Trust me. I got off the phone with Jason earlier and it was nothing BUT a list of cant’s. You might not even BE champion after tonight. The Dan Stein obligations… My place on the roster. My contract. I. GET IT. I know why you CAN’T, or why we SHOULDN’T. But those aren’t options.

He speaks solemnly.

Jonny: This place has suffered enough, Donovan. I’ve watched it fall apart… I’m going to beat you in two weeks, and take this place off life support once and for all…

"…Proper."

He stares at King.

Jonny: Just say yes.

King doesn’t so much as bat an eye.

Donovan King: Fine. Let’s finish this.

The cameras couldn’t have cut away more appropriately.

The ring bell sounds, bringing the fans’ attention to the center of the ring, where Samantha Coil stands, a grin on her face as she brings the microphone to her lips.

Samantha Coil:  Ladies and gentlemen…this is your MAIN EVENT…OF THE EVENING!

The fans begin to cheer as the lights in the Epicenter die down and the start of “HORIZON” by D’espairsRay fills the arena. Spotlights search through the seats as the fans rise up from their seats in boisterous anticipation.

Eryk Masters: This right here?  This is going to be amazing.

The words “CAN YOU FEEL THE NEW WORLD?” scribble across the SHOOT-Tron in elaborate silver script for a moment, the searchlights converge on the ramp, on Maya with his head bowed downward. The script on the SHOOT-Tron fades slowly into light particles, the moment Maya lifts his head the word “HOPE” etches its way across the video screen, and the spotlights SHOOT out in all direction as the lights in the Epicenter surge on to their most brilliant and brightest.

Other Guy:  Can you FEEL the atmosphere tonight?!  It literally feels like we’re getting ready to watch the main event of a pay-per-view!

Eryk Masters: Can you blame them, OG?  Maya Nakashima’s never been given the big shots or the big moments, but the fans have always been behind him.  This match tonight, for the World Championship, is everything these fans have been waiting for when it comes to Maya.

Maya slides into the ring and paces it, trying to shake his head free of the nerves that are hitting him as the fans cheer him on.  After “HORIZON” dies down, the fans’ cheering continues until the lights die back down again, bringing the attention back to the stage.  The camera switches to Maya, who is in his corner, staring at the entrance when suddenly…

ALL OF THE LIGHTS

“All of the Lights (KING Edit)” by Kanye West begins to play as the fans in the arena start to cheer loudly.  The SHOOT-Tron shows a throne sitting defiantly in the middle of the empty Las Vegas strip, a Crown resting in the seat.

Turn up the lights in here, baby

Extra bright I want y’all to see this

Turn up the lights in here, baby

You know what I need

Want you to see everything

Want you to see ALL OF THE LIGHTS

The arena is BATHED in bright light as the stage ERUPTS with pyrotechnics.  Standing in the middle of the pyro, smoke billowing from behind him is none other than SHOOT Project World Heavyweight Champion DONOVAN KING.

Other Guy:  It don’t matter who you are or what you do, all the hope in the world isn’t gonna save you from the in ring onslaught that comes when you face off against our World Champion!

King walks down the entrance ramp, his black KING hood pulled tight over his head, the SHOOT Project World Heavyweight Championship buckled tight around his waist.  He keeps his fists clenched and his pace deliberate, wearing dark green tights with a black Crown on the front and KING written on the back, with matching green kneepads and black boots.  He walks up the ring steps and ascends a turnbuckle, throwing his hood from his head and unbuckling his World Championship belt.  He turns and glares at Maya, holding the belt by his side.  Slowly, he raises his arm, showing the world his title, bringing them to further cheers.  He drops down from the turnbuckle and hands Tony Lorenzo the belt.  “All of the Lights” dies down.

Eryk Masters: Now let’s go to Samantha Coil for the introductions.  Take it away, Sammy!

Other Guy:  Sammy?  You think she’s a fat pimply faced psychopath?

Eryk Masters: Shut up.

Samantha Coil:  The following contest is scheduled for ONE FALL and is for the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP!  Introducing first…by way of Nagasaki, Japan…standing at FIVE feet and SEVEN inches… weighing in at ONE HUNDRED and THIRTY FIVE pounds…  he is a former RULES OF SURRENDER and SIN CITY CHAMPION…MAYA…  NAKASHIIIIIIIMAAAAAAAAA!!!

The fans cheer loudly as Maya nods his head, smiling and waving to the fans briefly before going back to staring dead ahead.

Samantha Coil:  And his opponent…hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina…standing at six feet and three inches…weighing in at two hundred and fifty pounds…he is the SHOOT PROJECT WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION…DONOVAN… KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIING!!!

King slowly lifts his SHOOT Project World Heavyweight Championship belt high into the air for the fans to see, prompting further cheers from the fans.  Tony Lorenzo takes the title from him and walks it over to Maya, showing the belt to the young Japanese superstar Soldier.  Maya nods and Tony Lorenzo walks it over to King, who pats the face plate.  Lorenzo holds the belt up for all to see and then hands the belt off to Samantha Coil as she leaves the ring.  Lorenzo points to Maya and then to King and then points to the timekeeper to ring the bell and the match is on!

Eryk Masters: Here we go!

King walks to the middle of the ring and waits for Maya to make his way to meet him.  The two of them are face to face in the center of the ring.  King points out to the fans and then puts his finger in Maya’s chest, nodding his head with a smile.  The fans begin to cheer even louder.  King offers Maya his hand and Maya accepts, shaking it.  King and Maya back away from one another and King goes for a lock up, but Maya recognizes right away how much stronger King is and ducks under the attempt and catches King in the back of his knee with a well-aimed drop kick, bringing King to his knees on the mat.  Maya bounces off of the ropes and catches King’s head and brings him down with a swift leg lariat!  Maya then stands up and drops down to the back of King’s head with a knee drop, catching himself with his hands and, using the momentum, springs BACK up with a hand stand and connects with ANOTHER knee drop!

Eryk Masters: Maya’s not wasting any time!

Other Guy:  Maya’s gotta keep King guessing, keep him off his feet.  Otherwise, if he lets King get any offensive going, he’s in for a world of hurt!

Maya bounces against the ropes and goes for a leg drop, but King rolls away.  Maya catches himself just in time and, instead, goes for another drop kick but King rolls away from that as well!  Maya lands on his backside and scrambles back to his feet just in time for King to get to his knees.  Maya rushes at King on his knees, but King ducks the Maya elbow strike attempt.  King gets to his feet just in time for Maya to try to catch him once again with a single arm DDT, but King keeps a hold of Maya and SLAMS him down with a sidewalk slam!

Eryk Masters: OOOH!  Shades of Ron Barker there!

King wastes no time in picking Maya back up and hooking him with a snap suplex, floating over into a pinning attempt!

ONE!

TWO!

KICK OUT!

King picks Maya up and whips him to the ropes.  King goes for a lariat of his own, but Maya ducks under and catches King’s arm, wrapping him up in a crucifix pinning attempt, but King hangs on!  He braces himself to keep Maya from bringing him down and quickly counters with a HARD Samoan drop!  Maya is FLATTENED onto the mat, but he STILL hangs on!

ONE!

TWO!

King quickly rolls out of the crucifix pin attempt, realizing Maya still had a hold on him.  Maya gets back to his feet quickly and bounces off of the ropes and catches King with a flying headscissors, sending King to the mat!  Maya leaps over King, leaps to the middle rope and NAILS King with an Asai Moonsault!  Maya goes for the cover!

ONE!

TWO!

King THROWS Maya off of him to break the pin attempt!  King shakes his head as his rolls to his side trying to shake off the cobwebs while Maya is clearly paying no attention to the dizziness he feels from the previous sidewalk slam and Samoan drop.  Maya is up on his feet and going almost purely on adrenaline.  He snatches up King’s arm and wraps his own arm around the arm, bracing it against his own body, taking his leg and pinning King’s face in the crook of his knee.

Eryk Masters: Maya is going for some sort of standing arm breaker, but it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before…

Other Guy:  This guy’s a former Rule of Surrender Champion, E.  People forget that and, really, I think that works to Maya’s advantage.  A guy with his high flying skills AND some subs in his repertoire?  Pretty ruthless, if you ask me.

King, however, is much stronger than Maya and manages to swing the both of them close enough to the ropes to get his bottom foot on the ropes to break the submission.  Maya sees the foot and before the referee can say anything, breaks the hold.  Maya picks King up and wraps King’s arms over the top rope.  He measures King, who is trying to shake loose the cobwebs yet again, and Maya throws one foot on the middle rope and then another on the top rope and within a second, has King’s head wrapped up like he’s going for a hurracanrana but NO!  Maya SPINS around on King’s shoulders and goes for a REVERSE hurracanrana, snapping King’s head HARD against the top rope!  Maya crumbles in a heap on the ring apron, but he’s up quickly as he sees King staggering forward.  He wastes no time leaping to the top rope and FLIES over King, catching his head and spinning King around, nailing an INSANE DDT to the World Champion!  Maya makes the cover!

ONE!

TWO!

THR…KICK OUT!!!

Maya stays on the mat for a brief moment to catch his breath. When he sees King start to stir he immediately makes a break for the ropes, bouncing off of them at top speed. King tries to explode up off the mat with a lariat, but Maya is quick to duck under the attempt and spring off the ropes with another burst of speed. King barely has time to turn around before Maya is speeding past him, King tries to compensate by spinning backwards with an elbow but Maya ducks under it again and bursts off the ropes a third time with unheard of speed. Before King has a chance to turn around, Maya uses all the momentum he’s built up to jump up onto Maya’s shoulders and push all his weight forward causing him to flip King onto his skull with flipping pile driver!!!

Eryk Masters: For Japan! We haven’t seen Maya need to resort to using that move in ages, it’s an incredible spectacle that allows Maya to convert all that speed and momentum into a HUGE power move that works despite his size disadvantage!

Other Guy: Every time I see him do that… all I can catch is a blur of red and white trunks and then two guys on the mat. He’s moving so damn fast I can’t keep up.

Maya lays his back over King, stretching to hook the far leg to go for a pin attempt.

ONE!

TWO!

THRE…KICKOUT BY KING!

Maya rolls off of King, he clasps his hands to his face in disbelief for a brief moment. He quickly regains his composure and walks calmly to the nearby corner, crouching to the ground waiting for King to get back to his feet. When King starts to get to his knees, Maya quickly hops up to the top rope in one fluid motion, his back to King. Maya holds his arms out to his sides, the crowd going absolutely nuts, and leaps off the top rope with a moonsault! Maya gets so much air time that he seems to hang in the air for an eternity while in the flipping motion. King, now back to his feet, stares up almost in awe as Maya’s feet are about to connect… King CATCHES Maya right out of the sky onto his shoulder and in one fluid motion hauls Maya to his side and DROPS him head first onto the mat with an Emerald Flowsion! King hooks the far leg and makes the cover…

ONE!

TWO!

THRE… MAYA SHOULDERS OUT!

The crowd reaches a fever pitch when Maya somehow manages to shoulder out of such a high impact move. Maya rolls over to his stomach out of pure instinct, clutching the back of his neck.  King slaps the mat, but quickly grabs a hold of Maya and drags him back to a vertical base.  Suddenly, Maya wraps King up with a small package!

ONE!

TWO!

King powers out, but Maya manages to hook both of King’s arms and quickly wraps his legs around King’s head!

Eryk Masters: Maya’s got some kind of…I don’t even know!  It looks like a variation of a triangle choke but…I’ve never seen anything like it!

King manages to get to a standing position, but he’s still crouched over locked in this submission maneuver!  King, however, braces himself, trying hard to get a strong base…AND HE LIFTS MAYA UP OFF OF THE GROUND…AND POWERBOMBS HIM BACK DOWN!!

Other Guy:  GOOD GOD!

Eryk Masters: But look!  Maya’s STILL got the hold on!

Maya is shaking his head, trying to focus on the submission he’s got King locked in and the fans are starting to feel it!  King is visibly woozy from the hold and Tony Lorenzo is right there, trying to see if he’ll quit, but King quickly braces himself again…AND HE LIFTS MAYA ONCE AGAIN AND POWERBOMBS HIM INTO THE MAT!

Other Guy:  NO! WAY!  Maya STILL has the hold locked in!

Suddenly the fans begin to boo as DAN STEIN appears at the entrance to the arena.  He runs down to the ringside and is watching, obviously VERY concerned at what is going on!

Eryk Masters: Dan Stein couldn’t sit in the back and watch like everybody else, he’s concerned about his main event match at Master of the Mat going away here!

King and Maya don’t notice him there, at Maya is trying as hard as he can to keep the hold locked in.  King is breathing heavily and is obviously teetering in and out of consciousness when all of a sudden HE HOISTS MAYA UP AND POWERBOMBS HIM A THIRD TIME!!!  Maya releases the hold and BOTH men are DOWN.  Maya is clutching the back of his head and he rolls to the apron to try to get some of his cobwebs out.  Tony Lorenzo is checking on King when all of a sudden Dan Stein SNATCHES Maya off of the ring apron to the floor.  He quickly hooks Maya in a standing head scissors.  He looks around frantically.

Eryk Masters: C’mon ref!  Turn around!

Stein lifts Maya up…and SLAMS Maya into the ground with #TWITTERBATION.  Maya is FLAT on the ground and Stein presses himself up against the ring apron to avoid being spotted by Tony Lorenzo!

Other Guy:  I can’t believe this!  Dan Stein is so desperate to make sure King gets to Master of the Mat he’s screwed this match up!

Tony Lorenzo turns and begins his mandatory ten count!

ONE!

TWO!

King is sitting up now, looking around for Maya.

THREE!

FOUR!

FIVE!

SIX!

Maya is NOT moving!  King looks at Tony Lorenzo counting and then sees Maya on the outside, out cold!

SEVEN!

Eryk Masters: Maya’s not moving whatsoever, OG.  This is…just awful.

EIGHT!

King suddenly sees the forehead of one Dan Stein, peeking up from the ring apron.

NINE!

King gets to his feet and jerks Tony Lorenzo around, pointing to Dan Stein, who quickly ducks back down!  King marches over with Tony Lorenzo and points to Dan Stein, prompting the fans to cheer LOUDLY.  King shakes his head and sighs, his hands on his hips as he explains the situation to Lorenzo, who walks over to Samantha Coil.  He starts whispering in her ear as Maya slowly begins to come to.

Other Guy:  Wait a second…did King just rat himself out, so to speak?

Samantha Coil:  Ladies and gentlemen…the winner of this match as a RESULT OF A DISQUALIFICATION…MAYA… NAAAAAAAAAAKAAAAAAAAAAAASHIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMA!!!

The fans boo LOUDLY as King glares at Stein, who smirks as he backtracks up the ramp.  Maya, meanwhile, is slowly starting to and he hears the bell ringing.

Eryk Masters: I’m sure this isn’t the way they wanted this match to end, I assure you.  However, King is still the World Champion and is obviously going on to the next Revolution where he’ll be facing none other than…Jonny…

Maya: Wait…

Maya has a microphone as he rolls into the ring.  He is clutching the back of his head as he looks at King.

Maya: I know…this isn’t how you’d want to end this.  That isn’t you.  It isn’t me, either.  I’m not going to let somebody’s greed ruin…this for either one of us.

The fans ERUPT as King slowly grins.

Maya: I REFUSE to accept the decision and I want this match to end RIGHT.

King nods his head and hands the SHOOT Project World Heavyweight Championship belt to Tony Lorenzo.

Maya: Mr. Lorenzo…please…give us…and give SHOOT…the title match we ALL deserve.

Eryk Masters: I LIKE IT!  MY HEART IS PEEING ALL OVER THE PLACE!

Other Guy:  Maya doesn’t want a win like that, he wants that title AND he wants a clean match!  Tony Lorenzo is RESTARTING THE MATCH!!

Lorenzo calls for the bell and the match is BACK on!  King QUICKLY goes for a Dealbreaker, but Maya manages to slip out of the hold!  Dan Stein is on the ramp, STUNNED that the match is still going!  Suddenly, Maya pushes King into the ropes and he runs to the opposite ropes.  King bounces off and Maya is right there…ODE TO SHINYA!!!  MAYA CONNECTS WITH THE ODE TO SHINYA!  King’s head SNAPS off of Maya’s knee and King nearly flies OVER the top rope!  Maya grabs King’s arm desperately trying to keep King in the ring, but the weight difference is just too much for Maya and King crumbles to the ring apron!

Eryk Masters: OH MY!  If Maya can get King into the ring he’s got this match won!  The World Championship is his!

Maya tries valiantly to drag King into the ring, but to no avail.  Stein marches down to the ring and reaches under the ring apron to find a folded up steel chair!  He slides it into the ring as Maya has both of King’s arms, trying to drag him into the center of the ring away from the ropes!  Stein picks the chair up and the fans are already livid when…Stein FLATTENS Tony Lorenzo with a chair shot!  Maya quickly lets King go and turns around and is NAILED with a steel chair to the head!  Stein grabs King and drags him into the ring and snatches the microphone Maya had dropped as he stands over King’s body.  He places one boot on King’s chest and brings the microphone to his lips.

Dan Stein:  ONE…TWO…THREE.

Stein drops the microphone and lays the steel chair down on the mat.  He picks King off of the mat and hooks him up…#TWITTERBATION ONTO THE STEEL CHAIR.  King is SLAMMED into the steel chair as Stein releases King.  The fans are FURIOUS as Stein stands there, holding the microphone he picked up as he left King lying.

Dan Stein:  How DARE you, Donovan.

Stein kicks King in the back of the head.

Dan Stein:  You put OUR match in jeopardy for THIS?!  This…STUPID fucking match?  With this STUPID fucking guy over here?!

Stein motions to Maya, who is clutching the back of his head in pain.

Dan Stein:  Oh…and now you wanna face Jonny Johnson for the belt at the next Revolution?  What is this?  Fuck your dumb ass honor, YOU ARE FUCKING WITH MY DESTINY.

Stein crouches down, making sure he’s looking at King, who is obviously not in this world at the moment.

Dan Stein:  My destiny…is to become the SHOOT Project World Heavyweight Champion at Master of the Mat by beating YOU.  Not Maya.  Not ANYBODY ELSE…but YOU.

Stein SLAMS the microphone into King’s forehead.

Dan Stein:  This match is officially ruled a no contest as far as I’m concerned.  And if I have to hurt you again and again to make sure you get the message, Donovan, I will.  This isn’t about your stupid fucking pride or some shitty veteran that couldn’t get the job done in Master of the Mat wanting to close the book on some dead old feud.

THIS IS ABOUT ME!

ME!

DAN.  STEIN.

He SLAMS the microphone into King’s head yet again.

Dan Stein:  This is MY story.  Not yours.  Not Maya’s.  Certainly not Jonny’s.  This story only ends one way.

With my victory…and your defeat.

Stein stands tall, glaring at the sea of jeering fans as the last image we see…

…is Dan Stein standing among a sea of bodies.

Fade.