(EAW intro plays.)
(A recap is shown of last week’s Voltage, highlighting major events all throughout the night before the video package ends. The camera then opens up to the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where pyro is seen shooting up into the air. The camera pans around the crowd, revealing the thousands of excited fans ready for tonight’s show. After this, the camera transitions towards the commentary table.)
Rich Russillo: Ladies and gentlemen… Welcome BACK to Sunday Night Voltage! Pain for Pride is only weeks away, and as always we have another incredible night planned for you all as we approach the end of the season!
Thadd Blazevich: We sure do, bro! I’ve been dying to get to Pain for Pride, but I’m beyond excited for what’s in store tonight, especially after what happened last week wit-
(The commentary team is suddenly interrupted by the tune of “Everybody Knows (Unstoppable)” by Royal Deluxe. The crowd explodes… not in cheers, nor jeers. Simply explodes. Mixed reactions all over. That’s it.)
Rich Russillo: Well… Hold that thought. Adam Lucas is here!
(Adam Lucas steps out on the stage with hurried steps. He takes a second to observe the audience… knowing it may be their last time seeing him… while the spotlight shines right on the wound on his head, showing signs of healing… before storming down to the ring.)
Thadd Blazevich: An electric main event and an even more electric ending to Voltage last week, bro!
Persephone: Yeah… Kai ran the greatest aura gamble of all time, just walking past Bethany after he took out Adam, right in her face, without care. He could have—and should have—gotten his ass beat… but if there’s anything we learned about the Lucases, it’s that they’re just some cowards pretending otherwise.
Rich Russillo: Well… the situation they’ve been in? I don’t think anybody can manage something like that…
Persephone: I could. If I was in that situation, Kai would be left to rot in a grave right now!
(Thadd and Rich both roll their eyes.)
Rich Russillo: Well, there’s no doubt Adam Lucas is out here to get his hands on Kai. Before his match with Minerva, he said all that he cares about, all that he puts his energy into… is fueling his revenge on Kai Rabeaux. Last week, their brawl got cut short after Kai’s title defense, before he was blindsided after a match with Minerva that took a lot out of the Hall of Famer. The question is, will Adam get what he wants tonight?
Persephone: What does Adam even want at this point?
(Adam rushes around the ring to the timekeepers’ area, grabbing a microphone straight out of Bella Braxton’s hands, who’s shook by that, before Adam just rolls into the ring.)
Adam Lucas: Cut this damn music! I don’t even like hearing it anymore!
(“Everybody Knows (Unstoppable)” abruptly stops, as Adam exhales into the microphone.)
Adam Lucas: I’m done. So fucking done.
(He exhales again, this time with enormous weight behind it.)
Adam Lucas: Charisma.
(He glances up at the audience.)
Adam Lucas: *I’m sick of the fucking pity.*
Adam Lucas: Banning everybody from ringside, just for Kai to come out anyway. Booked me against a killer like Minerva, knowing if she wanted, she could’ve just taken me out of action for a good few months knowing the state I’m in.
Adam Lucas: Charisma, I need you to stop pretending to know what’s good for me. I need you to stop pretending you care. And I need you to let me go out on my own terms. I don’t give a shit anymore, none of this matters. The situation is bigger than all of us and I’m not here to have my tragedies milked to death just so a couple bootlickers can get an extra dollar in their pockets.
(Adam shakes his head.)
Adam Lucas: You always manage to wipe your hands clean, but in the end? You’re the dirtiest one of them all. You unassumed yourself after I put my career on the line… then looked out disappointed once you got rid of all the security. Disappointed, why? ‘Cause we stabbed each other? Or ‘cause I may still be able to compete? You see, I think both Kai and I are done with your involvement. For that to be something we agree upon, you know what it must mean. I don’t want you to come out here, Charisma. I don’t want to hear any more of your words. All I want you to know is that I am not backing away. I could be crippled, paralyzed, on a fucking wheelchair and I’d still compete at Pain For Pride, and put my career on the line.
Adam Lucas: You will not stop me, so do as you promised. Remove your involvement from this whole thing completely, and if you have me next year? Good for you. If you don’t…
(The crowd falls silent.)
Adam Lucas: Well. It is what it is.
(He slowly nods his head, while looking down at the ring’s clean white mat that’s usually bloody redt. Is he truly close to the end?)
(He exhales, looking up at the audience once more.)
Adam Lucas: Kai. Just get the fuck out here already.
(Adam turns his head towards the stage. Just waiting for that obnoxious song to cue.)
(And waiting.)
Persephone: Great. Cat and mouse games again. No fighting. I hate my life.
(10 seconds pass.)
Thadd Blazevich: Bro must’ve got “unlucky” with COVID again!
(20.)
(Adam runs out of patience; it’s obvious no one is going to come out, so he faces the fans once more, and shakes his head.)
Adam Lucas: Of course Kai’s not here. He’s a goddamn coward.
Adam Lucas: I’m not surprised. One cheap shot will always manage to settle it for him, and when it’s not his time to strike? When it’s time to stab that knife from the front? He cowers away. Finding some excuse. Hiding from his consequences. But Pain For Pride is where it all ends.
Adam Lucas: Pain For Pride is the day I **KILL** Kai Rabeaux… and if he doesn’t show up then? I’ll chase him to the ends of the earth until I do.
Adam Lucas: I never asked for a match with Minerva, even less so for the opening for him to lay me out with a bag of bricks while looking my fucking wife in her eyes, basking in his worthless glory to make up for the emptiness in his hollow life. He could’ve killed Ashlynn out there too, and guess what? He wouldn’t have felt anything about it…
Adam Lucas: That’s why I wanted him to lose the title, but in the end? After what I’ve done myself… I can’t let another victim go down on my watch. It’s the least I could do.
(The audience silently cheers.)
Adam Lucas: But if my career dies? If that’s the cost of my penance? Then I’m taking Kai Rabeaux with me no matter what… hoping that’s what will give me absolution from my wife. It likely won’t… but at least I want her to know I care. I want her to not regret falling in love with me. I want her to not pity me. She may never forgive me… but I don’t want her to think I was another waste of time in her difficult life…
Adam Lucas: I can’t love this profession anymore. I can’t love these championships. I can’t love my legacy. I can’t even love myself… I can only love my wife. And that’s what I deserve, I am content with that. My life is a sacrifice; worthless, putrid, sorry, and I earned that. I deserve the worst, because I am the worst… but nobody else deserves to suffer for my actions.
(Adam wipes something from his eye…)
Adam Lucas: …And Kai? You made her suffer. *We* made her suffer. And if you’re not willing to pay the price like I am? Then I’ll make you… and once the curtains close on Pain For Pride… I’ll meet you in Hell.
Adam Lucas: Where you’ll never escape me… and I’ll never escape you. WE earned a lifetime of eternal damnation, and whether you want it or not? I am the judge, jury, and executioner in this story. I have been… ever since I became the catalyst of my own, greatest failure as a man, as a husband, and as *a human being.* But now? I am using that power for good, for once. Because a world without me? A world without Kai Rabeaux, especially?
(The camera zooms in on Adam’s eyes.)
Adam Lucas: Is a better world–
(Clap… Clap… Clap…)
(Clap.)
(Adam’s attention swiftly turns toward the titantron.)
(Kai Rabeaux had been silently listening for a couple of seconds. Now? He is making his presence known, with slow claps. The same slow claps Adam used to mock him last week.)
Kai Rabeaux: You want to put me in the mud if it’s the last thing you do, don’t you, Adam?
(Kai snickers.)
Kai Rabeaux: But you’ll take everybody else along with you until you get to me, and from the sounds of it, I’m certain perpetuating the tale is the last thing you’d like to do.
(Adam simply stares at the titantron with an intense frown… seeing Kai speak… from an unusual location. The camera was zoomed in on Kai, the night’s sky gleaming off of him with only greenery visible in the scene behind him.)
Kai Rabeaux: After all? The first body you took with you… is the worst one of them all.
(Kai cannot resist but deeply smirk, as he reaches for the camera, zooming out… and panning it to the side, so he is not the sole focus on the frame.)
(As the depth of field slowly unfocuses…)
(Next to Kai’s silhouette… is a grave.)
(Adam begins shaking.)
(The name etched in stone was visible under the dark sky.)
(Baby Lucas.)
(No date of birth. Deceased on March 14th, 2026.)
(The crowd gasps revoltingly… and Adam’s face has quickly grown pale.)
Kai Rabeaux: I wish I could see the look on your face, Adam… Unfortunately, I can only hear you. Maybe that’s consolation for you. I believe *anything* is consolation for you at this juncture… after all, you’ve become a hollow shell of a once cherished man. It was inevitable when you let yourself lose your mind two years ago… now? You’re simply reaping what you sow. I wasn’t the catalyst; you were. You’re not an executioner, but I was.
Kai Rabeaux: Do you want to know my opinion, Adam?
(Kai takes a brief moment to twist the knife while the crowd remains booing…)
Kai Rabeaux: YOU DESERVED ALL OF IT… *and more.*
(Kai, once more, chuckles.)
Kai Rabeaux: THIS is what the Lucas family ASKED FOR. I am not the coward, Adam… No, that is what you tell yourself, and that is what the wife tells herself too… don’t think I did not watch that lousy, fabricated interview. Do you know who the coward is?
(Adam simply shakes his head, unable to mutter any other words…)
Kai Rabeaux: You are the coward. You are not a “man.” You are no “husband.” You’re simply a worthless coward, commanded by his worthless woman’s hubris. SHE turned you this way… Adam… and neither of you are contrite. Neither of you regret anything. You are simply angry the devil came to knock on *your* door this time around… and what sets us apart, Adam? Is acceptance.
Kai Rabeaux: You’re the same unassumed man who couldn’t even tell her that your creature was dead last time you poured your heart out to her, as if you were breaking any news. It’s likely I will get what is coming for me… but until then? I will drown in all the spoils, and make your torment my treasure. I am an assumed man, Adam. I am selfish. I am better than the rest. I am innately meant to bend this world at my will. That was my purpose from the day of my inception. Someone will get the better of me eventually. Someone will genuinely wear their heart on their sleeve, unlike you… and knock me down. But that person isn’t you. And that person will not even remain on top for long. That is the ebb & flow of this life.
(Adam exhales… faintly whispering into the mic, as if he channeled out everything Kai said…)
Adam Lucas: …don’t…
Kai Rabeaux: Hm?
Adam Lucas: Don’t…!
Kai Rabeaux: Don’t do… what?
Adam Lucas: Anything.
Kai Rabeaux: To the grave? Why does it matter? I doubt anything is buried in there anyhow. If anything, you are merely wasting space that could otherwise be used to bury dead men who actually lived a life.
Kai Rabeaux: You see, I have given you the respect no one else could—not even your wife. I didn’t pity you. I never pitied you. And there is no reason to pity you, is there? You got what you asked for. You suffered the fate you deserved. Frankly? Ignoring your wife’s symptoms, challenging her to a hardcore match?
Kai Rabeaux: That was merely the cherry on top–
Adam Lucas: Shut the fuck up.
Kai Rabeaux: What was that?
Adam Lucas: I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP!!
(Kai laughs.)
Adam Lucas: You have no idea what you’re talking about. You don’t know anything about ME… or BETH…
Kai Rabeaux: I know you both are pieces of scum, nurtured into this suffering, possessing a weak will, using this land of competition as an excuse to give your life worth and validate your delusions.
Adam Lucas: …
(Adam sharply exhales…)
Kai Rabeaux: What? Cat got your tongue?
Adam Lucas: No! Enough! Kai, you will get the hell out of there, and you will get in this ring, you will look at me in the face, and you will tell all of this DIRECTLY to me, see how much you believe it then, you fucking coward!
Kai Rabeaux: No can do. I’m not being a coward, Adam. I am simply forcing you to listen. If I do what you want… then you won’t hear the truth, and instead of accepting it, instead of living it, instead of swallowing that pride of yours… you’ll just attack me, and run away from your insecurities. You know I am right. You know very well. You would get your hands on just about anybody to escape the beating your mind is giving you right now, but you know that’s not possible, because the scapegoat is done hiding the truth.
Kai Rabeaux: There is no redemption for you. No absolution. No love left to receive. You… and your wife… are two parasitic hypocrites leeching off of one another, lying to yourselves that is what love is all about… and do you want to know my opinion, Adam?
Kai Rabeaux: She blames you far more than she should. But accountability has never been her strong suit, was it now?
Adam Lucas: You keep her… and your stupid defamation… out… of your… mouth… Kai…
(Kai simply shakes his head, ignoring Adam.)
Kai Rabeaux: She has used you for her own penance. Much like Ash did the same with me, except I am no coward the way you are. She receives cheers out of sympathy, and the narrative favors her once more, thus? She has nothing to redeem. Nothing to apologize for. Nothing to come to terms with. Only delusions to keep spewing while people eat it up because she put a “worthless” championship… above the baby in her stomach.
Adam Lucas: SHUT UP!!
Kai Rabeaux: You’re just two peas in a pod… because when I looked into her eyes last week, do you know what I saw, Adam?
Kai Rabeaux: I saw the same thing I see in yours. I saw pity. I saw malice. I saw delusion. And I saw emptiness… and while your mouths could lie… there is something that will never lie. The eyes. If Bethany hates you… then she hates herself. If you hate yourself, then you hate her.
Kai Rabeaux: YOU TWO killed your own baby like sick parasites you are. Give it up for the Lucas family!
(Kai claps his hands with enthusiasm while the crowd falls into a deafening silence… Adam Lucas? Is simply trembling with emotion.)
Kai Rabeaux: Actions have consequences, Adam. At Pain For Pride, I won’t just kill your career, I won’t let you ride into the sunset… because that’s what you want. At Pain For Pride… I’ll give your wife another grave to visit. And when her time comes? I won’t be the one you’ll be seeing in Hell… but her.
Adam Lucas: **THAT’S ENOUGH!!!**
Kai Rabeaux: SHUT THE HELL UP!!
(Kai sharply exhales…)
Kai Rabeaux: …Did you have fun playing referee last week? Did you have fun almost letting Ash *die* because you wanted me to lose the championship that badly? Did you?
Adam Lucas: Fuck you. I hated every second of it…
Kai Rabeaux: And yet you never stopped.
Adam Lucas: Frankly, Kai? I wasn’t unfair enough to you.
Kai Rabeaux: You were plentifully unfair, Adam. You’ve only attempted to screw me over as if your actions didn’t come bundled with consequences, for as much as you may have just given Charisma that harsh talk… he did allow you to officiate my match with Ash… knowing just what you would be willing to do.
Kai Rabeaux: And frankly, Adam? I am *pissed* Ash didn’t feel the brunt of her consequences… but you’d rather carry the burden all by yourself, right? You think that saves you from judgement? You think that makes anything right, don’t you? Very well, Adam. Because I will pass off Ash’s punishment unto you…
Adam Lucas: Do you think I regret what I did last week?
Kai Rabeaux: Not now, but you certainly will.
Adam Lucas: If I could, I would laugh in your fucking face.
Kai Rabeaux: Save it. I will give you a reason to laugh in due time…
Adam Lucas: Kai… You deserved all of that *and more.* If there’s one thing I’ll never regret… it’s all that I’ve done and will do to you.
Kai Rabeaux: But the pendulum always swings, doesn’t it? Disqualifying me in a strictly no disqualifications match is outrageous, is it not? I think you’re as corrupt as the people you hate. As a matter of fact, you’ve even used your money for power… when you attached a $10,000,000 bounty to my head… that nobody cared to even attempt to claim.
Kai Rabeaux: You’re pathetic, Adam.
Adam Lucas: AND WHAT DOES THAT MAKE YOU?!
(Kai only smirks.)
Kai Rabeaux: Tired. I am tired of this. I am tired of you. I am tired of this pathetic farce. I am ready to end it… and have been for a long time.
(Kai glances back towards the grave.)
Kai Rabeaux: Adam? If YOU want to make it personal… then that is fine by me.
(His body then fully turns…)
Adam Lucas: Wait… LOOK AT ME, KAI!! LOOK AT ME, DAMNIT!
Kai Rabeaux: I only have a camera to look at, Adam!! YOU’RE JUST A FLY, BUZZING IN MY EARDRUMS!
Adam Lucas: DON’T DO ANYTHING, DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE!!
Kai Rabeaux: I was never here just to spook you. I was here to execute your consequences. I’ve actually hidden the main event from you, Adam.
(From below his feet, Kai leans forward to grab…)
(A blue can of kerosene.)
Adam Lucas: NO… NO… WAIT… NO, NO!
(Kai glances back towards the camera, with a shit-eating grin.)
(He unbuckles the cap… and lets it pour all over the grave…)
(Every. Single. Inch.)
Adam Lucas: STOP!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Adam cries his heart out… but Kai… could only take his pain in laughter…)
(He steps towards the camera, shoving his face right into the lens.)
Kai Rabeaux: What do you think about the smell of kerosene, Adam? I find it quite pleasant. A guilty pleasure, if you will. Certainly above gasoline for me.
Adam Lucas: Kai… please…
(Adam’s begs turn into murmurs…)
(Kai takes a box of matches out of his pocket… he dangles one match in front of the camera, before sliding it across the side of the box…)
(As it lights on fire, burning in front of his eye.)
Kai Rabeaux: Set your heart ablaze, Adam. It’s the only thing you have left.
Adam Lucas: WAIT—
(Kai smirks… flinging the lit match backwards as the entire background behind Kai turns orange.)
(The crowd gasps.)
(Inferno sets out. The blaze of glory. The legacy of the Hall of Famer.)
Adam Lucas: NO!!!
(Then, without another care for Adam’s suffering, Kai simply steps away from the field of view… leaving the grave of “Baby Lucas” to burn to ashes… while Adam drops down on his knees in the middle of the ring.)
(Powerless.)
(Useless.)
(Worthless.)
(There isn’t even a heart left.)
(Not anymore.)
(“Better off fuckin’ dead.”)
(It’s so painful he could only maniacally laugh.)
(Voltage fades…)
(The camera begins to fade away, transitioning over to the parking lot of the Canada Life Centre. It transitions over towards a specific car, as the door opens to reveal none other than 2026’s Grand Rampage and Hall of Famer, Minerva. This brings a loud, negative reception from the crowd, as the fans clearly aren’t pleased to see the Universal Women’s Championship challenger tonight, especially given everything she has done to the Champion as of late. Minerva seems to have just arrived at the Canada Life Centre, taking her luggage out of the car before she closes the door. Minerva has a confident look on her face tonight, amused given her actions on Dynasty, where she invaded Milli Banks’ home. It isn’t something she hasn’t done before, rather a return to the kinds of things she has done in the past, especially around this exact time of the year. Knowing that this is her chance to not only reclaim the Universal Women’s Championship but to defeat the only person who has ever beaten her at Pain for Pride Minerva has held nothing back, and is remorseless following what she’s done to Milli.)
(Daniella Atlas and Selina Reyes had already entered the building, meaning that right now, Minerva was alone. Minerva doesn’t seem to mind this, though. She was never afraid of enemies trying to attack her and has spent her entire career proving that she’s more than capable in even the worst of situations, hence her reputation as one of EAW’s most dangerous Elitists ever. However…)
(What Minerva did not know is that she is not the only Elitist currently arriving at the building.)
(Only moments earlier, Milli Banks could be seen in her car, driving towards the building Voltage is taking place at tonight. While Minerva is thrilled to be inside of the Champion’s head, Milli Banks is furious and hasn’t hidden it one bit. It was bad enough when Minerva had attacked Milli and laid her out weeks ago following Fighting Spirit, but now she had crossed the line, and turned this into something far bigger and more personal than a fight for the Universal Women’s Championship.)
(Not only did Minerva break into her home, but she went out of her way to do everything that’d get under her skin. From destroying her property, to using her real name, to even going as far as to give Milli constant reminders of her Olympic past, and the unfortunate end that stage of her career saw through no one’s fault but her own. Milli knew that Minerva was trying to get under her skin and that the rage she was feeling now was exactly what she wanted, but at this point she’s past caring. She has no problem giving Minerva what she wants anymore, because she plans to make sure Minerva regrets it.)
(With one hand still on the wheel, Milli takes out her phone, making a certain call as she keeps her eyes on the road. As she prepares to make the call, a slightly more conflicted expression forms on her face. She holds the phone up to her ear once the person on the other line answers, and she just takes a moment, as if she is struggling to let out everything that’s actually on her mind right now. Finally, she just manages to force out a few words.)
Milli Banks: Bron, listen…
(She pauses for a moment, as the implications of both what she’s thinking and what she is trying to tell Bronson are starting to finally hit her. She knows that it’s something she’ll never be able to take back, and that it might alter her life going forward.)
Milli Banks: No matter what, I love you, okay? What I’m about to do… Please, just… Don’t hold this against me.
(With this, Milli hangs up the phone. She didn’t give Bronson the chance to respond, knowing that staying on the phone with him any longer only would’ve messed with her resolve right now. Her mind was made up, and the last thing she needed was anyone attempting to talk her down even if it’d be for her own good. With that message to Bronson, potentially her final one depending on how this ends, Milli just presses down on the gas and guns the engine. The car begins driving nearly as fast as it can as it reaches the Canada Life Centre, until…)
(THUD!)
(Milli Banks hits her intended target.)
(Minerva goes flying into the concrete following the impact of the car, which sped through the parking lot as soon as Milli caught a glimpse of Minerva’s orange hair. Minerva didn’t even know what hit her, completely caught off guard by the impact as she remains laid out on the floor, both grimacing as she suffers the pain of Milli’s car crashing into her, and in complete shock after having this happen out of nowhere. What Minerva didn’t even realize however, is that she was lucky to have not taken life-threatening damage from that collision, because tonight, Milli wasn’t satisfied with just hurting her. She wanted far worse.)
(Milli opened the door of her car, stepping out and walking towards Minerva. She takes only a second to glance around, noting that Daniella Atlas and Selina Reyes aren’t around, and that they must already be inside. Of course, this just meant that there was nobody around to interfere with what she was about to do.)
(Milli sees Minerva trying as hard as she can to get to all fours, and despite her current condition not even allowing her to do that much, Milli still goes out of her way to punt kick Minerva’s ribs, turning her over onto her back. Milli immediately gets on top of Minerva after this, and she just begins pummeling her with her fists, punching Minerva in the face endlessly. Minerva is still too dazed to even try getting her arms up to block, leaving her to just take the fists raining down onto her face. Milli eventually slows down, but only so she can grab Minerva’s head and begin smashing the back of it into the concrete below her. She shows no willingness to stop or give Minerva even a chance to breathe, just repeatedly smashing her head into the pavement as many times as she possibly can.)
(Milli eventually dragged Minerva back up to her feet, but only so she could turn her attention towards the many cars in the parking lot. She drags Minerva over towards one of the random cars nearby, and without even a moment of hesitation just throws Minerva head first into the window of one of the cars. Minerva crumbles to her knees, but even with all the damage Milli has already done, and the cuts and wounds that have seemingly been opened up, she still doesn’t seem to be satisfied.)
(Minerva is dragged right back to her feet by Milli, but she manages to land a desperate punch to Milli’s jaw. She connects and Milli does take a slight step back, but in the condition Minerva’s in she doesn’t have the strength to deliver attacks to the fullest extent, leaving Milli only further frustrated. Milli just grabs Minerva, and begins to bash her head into the small, shattered pieces of glass remaining in the car’s window after it was broken. Blood immediately begins pouring out of Minerva’s head, spilling from her forehead onto the pavement, the car door and even the inside of the car. Milli pulls Minerva away after this, just running in and sending Minerva head first into the passenger seat door of her own car. Minerva hits the door with a thud, dropping to the pavement immediately. After this, Milli just drags Minerva away, just enough for her to open the door. Once it’s open, she drags Minerva up enough to get her head inside of the car. With this it becomes clear exactly what Milli is attempting to do, as it’s not just hurting Minerva. It’s not just injuring her. Right now, she is trying to kill Minerva)
(Milli backs up for a moment, and while it disgusts her seeing Minerva’s blood get onto her car seat, that’s the least of her concerns right now, especially knowing that it’s about to get much worse. Milli grabs onto the car door, getting behind it before…)
(Using her full body weight to push the door closed as much as she can, smashing the door into Minerva’s head.)
(The blunt force trauma would be enough to knock Minerva out in any normal case, but that had already happened a long time ago. Milli opens the door after attempting to shatter her Pain for Pride opponent’s skul, but it is hard to tell the full extent of the damage as Minerva was already motionless before this. With that in mind she just opens the door again, before repeating the process, viciously slamming the door into Minerva’s head a second time. She opens the door once more, slamming it into Minerva’s head a third time before beginning to just kick the door into Minerva’s head. At this point, she doesn’t care about the consequences of what she is doing, and is more than content with giving Minerva brain damage to a lethal extent if it means she never has to see her again.)
(Milli continues bashing Minerva’s head in, and by this point it’s clear she won’t stop until Minerva is recognizable, and beyond the point of recovery. However, time has passed, enough for it to become suspicious that Minerva still hasn’t entered the building after her arrival to the parking lot. Security guards begin walking out to the parking lot, and as soon as the few present take notice of the scene that’s unfolding, the one in the front immediately speaks into his walkie-talkie, contacting more security guards as well as medical personnel.)
(The security guards rush into the area, dragging Milli away from Minerva as soon as they possibly can. Milli tries to fight out of the security guard’s grasp, still not content with all the damage she had done to Minerva. She’s able to land a back elbow to the jaw of the guard holding her, and immediately she starts running towards the motionless Minerva, but before she even has the chance to do anything else to her, the rest of the guards catch up to her. They grab Milli by the arms, preventing her from getting out of their grasp and inflicting any further punishment on the Grand Rampage winner.)
(This whole situation just leaves Milli even further frustrated, knowing that even after everything Minerva has done, she doesn’t even have the chance to give her everything she thinks she deserves before she’s stopped. Milli is yelling at the security guards to let go of her, but they just pull her away as the medical personnel arrive, as well as the Commissioner of Voltage, Captain Charisma. Captain Charisma is taking a moment to observe the situation, taking notice of just how chaotic it really is. From the broken car window, to the blood all over the pavement, to the unconscious Minerva laid out, spilling blood all over the floor of Milli’s car, the whole thing is a mess. Captain Charisma looks frustrated that things came to this, and he takes out a phone, quickly making a call as he watches the medical personnel check on Minerva, making sure that she’s at the very least still breathing.)
Captain Charisma: Hello? I need an ambulance right now. Please, get here as soon as you can.
(The camera shows another shot of Milli Banks, whose eyes have slightly watered, both out of her anger towards Minerva, and out of frustration that her actions tonight were for nothing, as she didn’t even get the chance to finish the job. Eventually, Captain Charisma puts his phone away, and just lets out a sigh seeing what he has to deal with.)
Captain Charisma: Unreal…
(Captain Charisma continues watching as Milli Banks is dragged away from the scene, and at this point he doesn’t even know what else to do, knowing that these are two of the Pain for Pride main eventers and one of them could’ve lost their life if security hadn’t arrived sooner. One more shot is shown of Minerva, and she isn’t moving. She has multiple wounds on her head, and blood is pouring out at an alarming rate at this point, having already left a significant amount on the floor of Milli’s car as well as both on the seat and the interior of the door. With this final shot of Minerva, the camera fades away from the scene.)
(Promotional ad for Pain for Pride 19, where Drake Armstrong defends the EAW World Championship against Hans Grayson in Barbed Wire Massacre XII.)
(Sunday Night Voltage returns to a shot of the Canada Life Centre, and before long… ‘Rompe’ by Daddy Yankee is heard playing through the speakers. The crowd erupts into a loud reaction as the camera goes over to show Carmen Sánchez as she’s seen making her way out from the backstage area. She’s storming out with a purpose, clearly unhappy after what happened last week, and she doesn’t waste any time beginning to make her way down the ramp and toward the ring.)
Bella Braxton: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome… CARMEN SÁNCHEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rich Russillo: Last week, Carmen Sánchez participated in a set of Pick Your Poison matches with her opponents in the Specialists Championship match at Pain For Pride, with the winner getting the chance to pick the stipulation. By the end of the night, Carmen would be in the lead, having lasted the longest against her opponent, Damon Lazarus.
Thadd Blazevich: But by the end of the night, it would be completely different, bro! Auburn Ware would barely come out with the longest time and would be the one to choose the stipulation, which would end up being PURE Rules! Certainly, Carmen is not happy about that, and she’s making her way out to the ring to address it before her match here tonight.
Persephone: Last week was possibly the biggest waste of time ever, all for it to end up being PURE Rules. I could not be more disappointed in the dry nature of such a hardcore brand. Get the fuck out of here.
(Carmen makes her way up the steps and onto the apron as she enters through the ropes and into the ring. She makes her way over and takes a microphone from the ringside area while ‘Rompe’ begins to come to a close. As she turns around and makes her way toward the center of the ring, she takes a moment before beginning to speak.)
Carmen Sánchez: I’ve spent the past couple of weeks wondering about my place in this company. I’ve been scrutinized and dragged through the mud by people who think that they’re above me in status. I’ve been dealt a worse hand than other people would’ve in my position, and for a minute… It left me to wonder whether or not I was good enough to belong here. But after spending all that time trudging in doubt, I then came to realize how far I got in the first place. Considering mi historia, mi familia, y todos personas who cheered me on and gave me the chance to give this a shot. In the Sánchez family’s name, I could not let them down. And it was less about enduring, and more so about standing up for myself.
(Carmen began to pace around, thinking to herself as she continued on.)
Carmen Sánchez: Which is what I have done. I stuck to my guns, and that is what got me here in the first place. Competing in a title match at my very first Pain For Pride, against two Elitists who are a whole lot more experienced than I am. There are people out there who think that I’ve bitten off more than I can chew, but I think I’m right where I belong, and it’s less a matter at this point of being forced to listen to what everyone has to say about how I don’t deserve this, and more so about making sure that every single person who made the mistake of overlooking me lives to regret it. And a lot of it comes out of the mouth of Saori Aizen and Auburn Ware.
(The crowd gives a not so positive reaction to the mention of both names, as Carmen can only smirk in response.)
Carmen Sánchez: I didn’t deserve to win Pick Your Poison last week, as much as I hate to admit it. Even if I had lasted the longest against my opponent, it didn’t change the fact that my loss to Damon Lazarus was as unceremonious as they come. A man who has seemingly intertwined himself with this match, having both Auburn and Saori around his finger, I don’t particularly understand what gravitates them toward older, over-the-hill old men like that, but to each their own. That pissed me off more than anything else, and while at the end of the day, whoever won that night wouldn’t have really made a difference, I would’ve at least expected an interesting stipulation so that we could truly sacrifice ourselves for that title with our own sangre. I can’t exactly help but be disappointed by what Auburn Ware would end up suggesting instead…
(Carmen pauses, pondering to herself for a moment before scrunching her face.)
Carmen Sánchez: PURE Rules? What a pussy. If she truly thinks that’s going to give her the one up, then esta soñando, she’s nothing but a dreamer. She doesn’t deserve that after everything that she’s done to me. It doesn’t change the fact that I SHOULD be Specialists Champion right now, and if it wasn’t for her getting herself involved and wanting to be the main character all of a sudden, I would be walking into Pain For Pride with that title around her waist. And the fact that she manages to get away unscathed because of that, even getting another title shot that she frankly does not deserve will continue to baffle me. I used to think highly of Auburn, but clearly she’s proven me wrong, and if you want to know the truth… the heartbreak of knowing that she’s going to lose to me is going to be so much worse than whatever Damon or Saori could put her through.
(Carmen lowers her microphone, but before she can say anything else… ‘Bad Blood’ by Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar is heard playing up. The crowd erupts as the camera goes from the ring to the stage to show Auburn Ware as she’s seen storming out. She has a serious expression on her face as she keeps her eyes focused on Carmen, and needless to say, after everything that she’s heard her say, she is most definitely not happy. She doesn’t waste time as she begins to make her way down the ramp and toward the ring.)
Rich Russillo: Here comes the former Specialists Champion, and Carmen has certainly not backed down on her words toward her. Though, nobody is going to deny that Auburn has been a short fuse as of late, and Carmen has certainly gotten the brunt of that in the middle of her conflict against Saori, definitely experiencing a lot more speedbumps because of it during her Specialists Championship journey.
Thadd Blazevich: But truthfully, bro, I don’t think Auburn really cares! She’s here for one reason and one reason only and that’s to make sure that Saori gets the beating that she deserves, and if someone gets in her way… then so what? We saw exactly what happened last week. That fire in her eyes, bro, she’s definitely not someone to fuck around with.
Persephone: Annoying as fuck.
(Auburn quickly slides into the ring, already having a microphone in hand as ‘Bad Blood’ begins to come to a close. Not wasting any time, she gets into the face of Carmen, the two of them having a staredown with one another, neither one of them backing down. After a long, tense moment, Auburn is the one who begins to speak.)
Auburn Ware: If I were you, I’d be really fucking careful with what you have to say for yourself.
(Carmen rolls her eyes.)
Carmen Sánchez: We’re past the threat phase of this conflict. Any reason for me to take any of what you say is out the window now. You’re clearly unstable.
Auburn Ware: Unstable? I think considering everything that I’ve gone through, I’m just fine. Walk a mile in my shoes, Carmen, feel the pain that I’ve gone through since all of this started, I don’t think I deserve that. You talk about how I’ve put you through unnecessary trouble that you shouldn’t need to go through… big fucking woop. I don’t think even for a second that I had any sort of consideration or sympathy for you, because this is what you asked for. You asked to get in the middle of me, the Specialists Championship, and make sure that Saori Aizen is six feet under, and that’s your fault, Carmen.
Carmen Sánchez: How is any of this my fault, Auburn? Yo no entiendo, estúpida. If anything, I think all of this is YOUR fault. You chose your path, and it strayed away from the title that you held close to your chest, and what happened? You let it get in the way and you got rolled up. What was all of that about this being a PURE Rules match… because you’re better than us in that ring? That with no fancy gimmicks, you run laps around us? Maybe the old Auburn. But now, she’s clearly not focused on that, she’s lost her way, and as much as she wants to fix that… it’s not going to happen.
Auburn Ware: Maybe my “innocence” was stripped away, however you or anyone else chooses to define that, Carmen. But at the same time, maybe it was necessary. Maybe I deserved to go through all this pain and suffering, because I would end up coming out a better person in the end. I don’t know, I’m choosing to believe as much. But it doesn’t change the fact that I still have a purpose here, and I was NEVER going to allow that to be thrown away by a couple of “star-crossed lovers” who want to try and get into my fucking head, but by a fucking mile.
Carmen Sánchez: What? Damon and Saori? Tell me how you really feel about them, Auburn? I bet it really just does piss you off, doesn’t it?
(Auburn is about to speak, but she pauses, almost overcome with anger and grief for a moment there. She stops, taking a moment to calm herself down, as the only thing that Carmen can do is smirk at this. But before anything else can be said… ‘Let Me Hear’ by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas hits.)
Thadd Blazevich: Oh no, bro, shit is about to go down now.
Persephone: Whatever.
(The camera goes over to show Saori Aizen as she’s seen making her way out. The crowd reacts negatively as she adjusts the Specialists Championship around her waist, taking a brief moment to examine the situation inside of the ring, before then beginning to make her way down the ramp and toward the ring.)
Rich Russillo: Here comes the last remaining piece of this puzzle. Saori, as we know, came up short against Daniella Atlas and would end up not being able to beat Carmen’s time earlier in the night last week. But that wouldn’t be the last time we saw her, as she would show up on the titantron during Auburn’s match along with Damon as a way to try and get into her head.
Thadd Blazevich: But she would only end up pissing her off further, and now she’s going to have to pay the price of that. But the reality is, this might be exactly what she wants! She wants to break down Auburn until she’s nothing, all if it means walking out of Pain For Pride still the Specialists Champion. But we’re just going to have to see what happens.
(Saori calmly makes her way up the steps and onto the apron as she enters into the ring. She makes her way over and takes a microphone from the ringside area as ‘Let Me Hear’ begins to come to a close. She then approaches the two of them, shifting her entire body, as she smirks, beginning to speak.)
Saori Aizen: All this fun… without me?
(Saori chuckles to herself, shaking her head.)
Saori Aizen: It appears I am the topic of discussion for more than just this title, and it would be wrong of me not to address that while the two of you are still here. What is it, Auburn…? That I am “trying” to get into your head? Tsk… If only I was having that much trouble, it would certainly give your argument more ground, but I am afraid that I’ve already gotten into your head. Is it because I have everything that you could ever want in your career? Not just this title, but…
Auburn Ware: Shut the fuck up. I don’t want to hear it from you, not now, not ever. This is your grave, you dug it, and now you have to lay in it. Pain For Pride is going to be the best day of my life because of what I get to do to you, and once I win the Specialists Championship back… it’s going to be like none of this ever happened. I’m going to put this ALL behind me.
Saori Aizen: Really now? A little too late for that, isn’t it?
(Saori continues to laugh, as Auburn’s eye twitches while continuing to stare at Saori. The Champion moves on, though, glancing over at Carmen.)
Saori Aizen: Do not get caught in her web, little one. You’re both right, that is unnecessary trouble that you have no reason to get involved in. We have a match to focus on, and my pride is stopping me from even considering starting a conflict between the two of you right now. I need you on your best behavior, and if you continue to talk to her…
(Saori glances over at Auburn before looking back at Carmen.)
Saori Aizen: It might just rub off on you.
Carmen Sánchez: You wish it did, maybe I would be a putty in your hands if I was that gullible. But unfortunately for you, I am not like Auburn. I do not let things like that get to my cabeza, because NOTHING comes before my wrestling career. And it’s so much more than pride like you and Auburn want to tote, it is because of my legacy, it is because of my journey, and I do not compromise that no matter what. I don’t care what you want to do, I don’t value your opinion and you certainly do not value mine. If you truly do want to win, then it’s not in your best interest to continue this conversation further, or else you’re going to be quick to make an enemy out of someone who should be your tag partner.
Saori Aizen: If only it was as simple as that… Unfortunately, I am forced to face the reality that with both of you involved in this very match, this is not something that is going to be as clearcut as me getting a win. But no matter, I will just simply take out all my rage and anger on the both of you when the time comes for it. See, the common theme about this is that all of you are so desperate to establish control. Carmen by claiming that she is unafraid of all of this, and Auburn… with that pathetic little stipulation that she seems so proud of. Neither of you seem to realize that I am the only one who dictates the result, the cards are in my hands, and you’re very much going to realize why I am the Champion in the first place… and it’s not because of circumstance.
Auburn Ware: I’m going to take that title away from you, I will… I’m going to take everything away from your cold, dead hands, and I’m going to take back the life that you stole from me… that you… ripped from my hands.
(Saori merely rolls her eyes as she makes a shooing gesture.)
Saori Aizen: Just sit at commentary like an obedient servant and move on with your life, that will most certainly give me and my lover a laugh.
(The crowd boos loudly at this as Auburn closes her eyes, taking a moment to control herself. Surprisingly, she doesn’t retaliate against her, she simply turns around, and makes her way out of the ring. Carmen glances over, clearly starting to get annoyed by all of this, before she turns toward Saori, who has already made her way toward her corner, as the two of them begin to prepare for their match that is coming up next.)
(Promotional ad for Pain for Pride 19, where Saori Aizen defends the Specialists Championship against Auburn Ware and Carmen Sanchez in a PURE Rules match.)
(The camera shot has returned to the ring after the commercial break as Bella Braxton is standing in the ring with a microphone in hand as she is ready to begin the introductions for the first match of Voltage.)
Bella Braxton: Ladies and gentlemen! Our opening contest for Sunday Night Voltage is a TAG TEAM MATCH SCHEDULED FOR ONE FALL!!
Crowd: ONE FALL!
(‘Let Me Hear’ by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas is already playing in the background. Saori Aizen and Carmen Sanchez are both seen inside of the ring, and while neither of them look thrilled to work together, what really has their attention is Auburn Ware, who has taken a seat at the commentary table. Despite her keeping an eye on this match, she doesn’t look pleased, either.)
Bella Braxton: Already in the ring! At a total combined weight of 232 pounds! Here is the team of “EL TIGRE” CARMEN SANCHEZ AND THE EAW SPECIALISTS CHAMPION “THE CONTROL DEVIL” SAORI AIZEN!
Rich Russillo: Welcome back to Voltage and our first contest of the night is about to begin and we are being joined by the young lady who decided the stipulation for the Specialists Championship match at Pain for Pride, Auburn Ware. Auburn, thank you for joining us.
Auburn Ware: I’m just ready to get this over with.
Persephone: Yeah yeah. So heartwarming. Let’s just hurry this up. Bring out the other losers.
(Saori’s theme is quickly replaced by the sounds of ‘Kendrick, Clae & Cole’ by Marqus Clae start playing throughout the arena. Seconds later, the “team” of Diego Montana and NICK enter the arena. Both gentlemen are being accompanied by their Pain for Pride partners, Circe and Cynthia Valice, as they glare at each other and just head to the ring without thinking about the other.)
Bella Braxton: Introducing their opponents! Being accompanied to the ring by Circe and Cynthia Valice! At a total combined weight of 424 pounds. Here is the team of “THE HARDEST ESE EVER” DIEGO MONTANA AND “EL CASTIGADOR” NICK!
Thadd Blazevich: Bro, what a way to kick off Voltage then with a classic “Can they Coexist” tag team match. Auburn, is it safe to say that you are banking on an implosion to happen in this match?
Auburn Ware: I’m not really “banking on” anything right now as much as I’m hoping Saori gets at least a taste of what she deserves, and Carmen joining her since that seems to be what she wants. If that’s because they can’t stay on the same page long enough to defeat NICK and Diego, that’s fine with me.
Rich Russillo: Fair enough. NICK accepted the chance to be Cynthia’s tag partner at Pain for Pride against Circe and Diego. Lots of hatred is brewing there along with the hatred in the Carmen and Saori team. These competitors are heading to Toronto, but let’s see if they can survive this match.
(NICK enters the ring as Diego follows suit. Circe and Cynthia take their spots at ringside as NICK’s music fades off. The referee has their hands full with this match. They decide to forgo checking the competitors and just calling for the bell.)
(DING! DING! DING!)
Rich Russillo: Here we go with the opening contest of Voltage. This is going to be something to say the least. Both teams are glaring at each other wondering who will start this match.
Thadd Blazevich: Bro, it looks like Saori and Diego have each shoved Carmen and NICK towards the ring and volunteered their “partners” to start this match.
Auburn Ware: I can’t even pretend to be surprised to see Saori already trying to screw with Carmen. Maybe if Carmen didn’t feel the need to get in the middle of me finishing Saori off for good, she wouldn’t have to put up with her right now.
Thadd Blazevich: Well bro, both Carmen and NICK both seem like they’re just gonna have to deal with this! They walk towards the center of the ring and NICK goes to lock up–
Rich Russillo: BUT CARMEN DUCKS UNDER IT! Carmen gets behind NICK AND HOPS ONTO HIS ARMS AND BACK TO TRY AND TAKE HIM DOWN FOR A CRUCIFIX–
Persephone: Yeah, like it’s working because isn’t this weirdo bastard like double this bitch’s weight!
Rich Russillo: Too much of a size difference for it to work right now, AS CARMEN CHANGES COURSE AND IS ABLE TO TAKE NICK DOWN WITH A MODIFIED ARM DRAG!
Persephone: Alright, maybe she isn’t a complete idiot, but she still is stupid.
Auburn Ware: She’s clearly not a bad wrestler. She just can’t help but get involved in situations she has no business being part of.
Thadd Blazevich: NICK taken up and over as Diego laughs his ass off, bro. Diego isn’t very bright is he AS CARMEN COMES IN AND TRIES FOR A HEADSCISSORS–
Rich Russillo: BUT NICK BLOCKS IT WITH THE POWER ADVANTAGE AND COUNTERS WITH A SIDEWALK SLAM! Carmen is down and now NICK puts the boots to his opponent.
Thadd Blazevich: This match is oddly being civilized considering the situation surrounding this match. Not that I am complaining, bro.
Persephone: Yeah it sucks. Just start killing each other and give us what we expect.
Thadd Blazevich: NICK is still putting the boots to Carmen as he brings her back to her feet AND HE JUST STARTS THROWING JAB AFTER JAB!!
Rich Russillo: Carmen is on spaghetti legs as NICK GOES FOR A RIGHT HOOK BUT CARMEN HAD THE AWARENESS TO DUCK AND HIT THE ROPES!
Persephone: Still lacking brain cells as she decides to be show offy AND JUMP ONTO THE SECOND ROPE–
Rich Russillo: CARMEN LEAPS AND TAKES NICK DOWN WITH A SPRINGBOARD CROSSBODY! NICK IS SURPRISED AND DOWN!
ONNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEE!
TWW–
Persephone: He kicked out at one. Big shocker.
Thadd Blazevich: NICK caught off guard as Carmen is back up and hits the ropes again as NICK gets up AND THIS TIME HE GETS TAKEN UP AND OVER WITH THE HEADSCISSORS!!
Auburn Ware: If I have to, I can give Carmen a bit of credit. She’s not doing too bad right now even with the size difference between them.
Rich Russillo: That’s a good point, and definitely something to keep in mind for Carmen given she’s the newest competitor here. Right now NICK is in his corner reaching out for the tag to Diego and DIEGO HAS JUST TURNED HIS BACK ON NICK! He pretty much just said keep going–
(SLAP!)
(TAG!)
Thadd Blazevich: NICK JUST SLAPPED DIEGO IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD AND THE REFEREE IS COUNTING IT AS A LEGAL TAG, BRO!! THE REFEREE IS FORCING DIEGO TO GET IN THE RING!
Persephone: If all the tags were like this, the matches would get very interesting and slightly more tolerable.
Thadd Blazevich: Now Diego is legal as he is still not happy and he comes running in AND TAKEN RIGHT DOWN WITH A DROP TOE HOLD! DIEGO FACEPLANTS ON THE MAT!
Auburn Ware: I would say that might shut him up, but none of us would get that lucky.
Rich Russillo: Carmen hits the ropes again to try for a dropkick, BUT DIEGO GETS UP AND GRABS CARMEN FROM AROUND THE WAIST AND HITS THE BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX! SHE GOT LAUNCHED ACROSS THE RING!
Persephone: But the idiot tossed the bitch into her own corner. That might have been a 3 on the suplex scale, but it loses effectiveness if you toss your opponent into their own corner. Idiot!!
Rich Russillo: Carmen landed hard but she uses the ropes to get back to her feet AS DIEGO RUNS IN AGAIN AND RUNS RIGHT INTO A ROPE ASSISTED HIGH KICK FROM CARMEN!
Persephone: What an idiot.
Thadd Blazevich: Carmen is back up and looking for a tag to Saori AND SAORI IS STARTING TO WONDER IF SHE EVEN WANTS TO GET INTO THE MATCH IN THE FIRST PLACE!!
Auburn Ware: Like that is a big shock there. She only cares about herself and trying to get under her skin. Carmen had this coming for getting involved in this, but as far as I’m concerned Saori won’t have gotten what she deserves until she’s in the ground.
Rich Russillo: Carmen wants to tag out and Saori is just looking at her like she’s not playing with a full deck—
(TAG!)
Thadd Blazevich: WELL THERE YOU GO! CARMEN JUST SLAPPED SAORI ACROSS THE SHOULDER AND THE REFEREE AGAIN ALLOWS THAT AS A LEGAL TAG! NO FRIENDS AT ALL IN THIS MATCH, BRO!
Persephone: This is hilarious. Idiocy at its finest. Let’s just forget the match and let them kill each other.
Thadd Blazevich: Well the Specialists Champion is legal as she just glares at Carmen as DIEGO COMES FROM BEHIND AND LIFTS HER UP FOR A BACK SUPLEX! SAORI DROPPED ON THE BACK OF HER HEAD AS DIEGO BRIDGES UP FOR A COVER!
ONNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEE!
TWWWWWWWWWOOOOOO!
Rich Russillo: SAORI ROLLS THROUGH AND KICKS OUT AT TWO! Diego about stole the match there as he starts putting the boots to Saori.
Auburn Ware: It would’ve been humiliating if Saori did lose there, but that kind of embarrassment is what’s bound to happen when you’re like Saori.
Persephone: I should have brought a magazine or some shit because this is ridiculous. Saori is on the ropes as the referee backs Diego up–
Rich Russillo: HE GOES FOR A BASEBALL SLIDE DROPKICK BUT SAORI BRIDGES UP AND DIEGO SLIDES RIGHT OUT OF THE RING! Saori gets back into the ring and hits the ropes to build momentum BEFORE DIVING THROUGH THE ROPES AND TAKING DIEGO DOWN WITH A SUICIDE DIVE!
Persephone: Boring move by a boring bitch to a boring bastard. Now we have the creepy Circe bitch yelling for her “Daddy Diego” to get back up… that is disgusting… while Cynthia is laughing her ass off. Whatever.
Thadd Blazevich: Saori is in firm control right now as she grabs the greasy hair of Diego and THROWS HIM BACK SO HIS HEAD CRACKS THE FLOOR! Bro, I’m surprised she didn’t lose grip of his hair. When was the last time he washed his hair?
Rich Russillo: That is something that I would expect from Persephone.
Persephone: For once, this idiot is actually not wrong about something. He should listen to me more.
Thadd Blazevich: I would rather not, Bro. But Saori grabs Diego again AND THIS TIME DELIVERS A HEADBUTT KNOCKING DIEGO LOOPY!
Rich Russillo: Diego is on his knees as SAORI COMES BACK WITH A CAPOEIRA KICK TO THE FACE! ANOTHER SHOT TO THE HEAD!
Thadd Blazevich: The referee has been counting for a little bit and Saori hears the count. She quickly rolls back into the ring to break the count before rolling back out.
Auburn Ware: Saori’s always going to try to bend the rules to her advantage and look for the worst, both in herself and in her opponents however she can. She enjoys making people miserable and it’s sick, but she’s gonna have to adjust at Pain for Pride.
Rich Russillo: It will definitely be a change of pace for the champion as she rolls Diego back into the ring, seemingly deciding to go to the high rent district.
Persephone: It’s going to backfire like it always does. Oh great! Now look at the dumb bimbos at ringside. What are they doing??
Rich Russillo: We will come back to that soon enough as Diego gets back to his feet AND SAORI JUMPS OFF THE TOP ROPE AND CATCHES DIEGO IN THE FACE WITH A MISSILE DROPKICK!
Persephone: Dumbass was turned inside out as Saori goes for the cover!
ONNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEE!
TWWWWWWWWWOOOOOO!
Thadd Blazevich: DIEGO KICKS OUT! As Persephone was mentioning, there is some tension brewing between Circe and Cynthia, Bro.
Rich Russillo: The ladies are staying separate per the referee’s orders, but Circe is being a little instigator trying to goad a reaction out of Cynthia. Cynthia however is doing well ignoring her so NICK and Diego can focus on the match while their opponents both lock eyes on you, Auburn.
(TAG!)
Auburn Ware: Saori willingly tagged in Carmen and Carmen accepted it. I guess they finally realized that fighting with each other isn’t going to get them past NICK and Diego, but I’d appreciate it if they could stop looking over here while they know I’m doing everything I can to resist going over there and dragging Saori off the apron myself.
Thadd Blazevich: Carmen gets in the ring and they both facelock Diego AND THEY TAKE DIEGO UP AND OVER WITH A DOUBLE SUPLEX!
Persephone: Very exciting.
Thadd Blazevich: Carmen is back in the match as she runs to the ropes AND HOPS ON THE SECOND ROPE FOR A LIONSAULT AS DIEGO GETS THE KNEES UP!
Rich Russillo: Not a good landing for Carmen as Diego crawls his way to his corner to get a tag AND NICK IS SURPRISINGLY WILLING TO GET THE TAG!
Auburn Ware: I’d imagine it’s the mentality of victory being important enough to put aside rivalries long enough for this match. In NICK and Diego’s case I at least understand. More than I can for the other two.
Rich Russillo: Well while this goes on, Carmen is trying to recover as Diego gets closer and closer to his corner.
Persephone: Yeah and that means that loudmouth screwball weirdo Circe is acting like a stupid banshee. I will give that Cynthia skank $10 to punch her in the mouth.
Thadd Blazevich: Carmen is back on her feet as she tries to grab Diego by the leg AS DIEGO BRIDGES UP AND TAKES CARMEN DOWN WITH A MODIFIED HEADSCISSORS, BRO!
Rich Russillo: NICK is halfheartedly trying to accept a tag, which is better than nothing in a match like this as Diego is about a foot away–
(TAG!)
Thadd Blazevich: THE TAG WAS MADE AND NICK IS BACK IN THE MATCH AS HE GRABS CARMEN BY THE WAIST FOR A GERMAN SUPLEX AND CARMEN GOES HEAD OVER HEELS, BRO!
Persephone: It wasn’t that exciting.
Thadd Blazevich: Carmen is able to roll back on her feet AND NICK WITH A DOUBLE LEG TAKEDOWN AND HE IS JUST THROWING FIST AFTER FIST INTO CARMEN’S FACE AS SAORI IS JUST EYEBALLING YOU, AUBURN!
Auburn Ware: I already told you how I feel on that front. The only thing Saori needs to do is focus on the match, and just for once leave me out of it.
Rich Russillo: The referee is telling NICK to open up the fists before they start a count and NICK does as he pulls Carmen back to her feet AND DELIVERS A KNIFE EDGE CHOP TO THE CHEST BEFORE FOLLOWING IT UP WITH ANOTHER CHOP!
Persephone: He should keep chopping her in the chest. That way she might get out of the training bra sizes.
Rich Russillo: Now NICK is doing shoulder thrusts in the corner right into Carmen’s midsection as the referee tells NICK to get her out of the corner.
Thadd Blazevich: As we get back to the match, NICK has put Carmen on the top rope as he seems to be trying for a superplex, Bro.
Rich Russillo: NICK goes up and tries to apply the facelock. He succeeds AND HE TRIES TO LIFT CARMEN, BUT SHE HAS WRAPPED HER LEGS AROUND THE TOP ROPE TO PREVENT BEING LIFTED!
Thadd Blazevich: Bro, NICK goes for a right hand, BUT CARMEN BLOCKS IT AND GETS HER FEET UP TO KICK NICK OFF THE MIDDLE ROPE AND BACK ONTO THE MAT!
Persephone: Oh great. What in the hell is this dumb bitch trying to do now? I hope it fails.
Auburn Ware: It looks like Carmen is planning to do something risky. She’s pulling herself to the top rope. I guess this could work, or it could screw both her and Saori over, not that I’d mind.
Thadd Blazevich: Carmen is standing on the top turnbuckle as SHE LAUNCHES HERSELF OFF THE TOP ROPE AND OVER NICK’S HEAD–
Rich Russillo: BUT NICK TRIES TO DUCK IT AS CARMEN GRABS NICK AROUND THE WAIST FOR A SUNSET FLIP! NICK TAKEN DOWN AND STACKED UP!
ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEE!
TWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOO!
THHHHHHHHHRRRREEEEEEEE–
Persephone: He kicked out. Big surprise there.
Auburn Ware: It was close.
Rich Russillo: That was a very close near fall as NICK rolls through the cover and get back to his feet very quickly as Carmen tries to get up as well, BUT NICK WITH A LOW KICK TO THE BACK OF HER KNEE!
Persephone: Is he gonna do something that has some actual importance or is he just going to bore us to death?
Thadd Blazevich: Carmen is down on her knees as NICK grabs her by the arms AND JUST STARTS STOMPING ON HER HEAD! GOOD GAWD, BRO!!
Rich Russillo: NICK MIGHT BE TRYING TO KNOCK CARMEN OUT WITH THOSE STOMP AFFECTIONATELY NAMED “STOMP THE STUPID OUT”!
Persephone: If it works, do you think this dumb bastard would stomp the stupid out of the rest of the roster? Lord knows they need it.
Thadd Blazevich: Carmen isn’t moving right now as NICK rolls her over and hooks the leg for the cover!
ONNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEE!
TWWWWWWWWOOOOOOO!
THHHHHHHRRRRREEEEEE!
Persephone: OH COME ON!!
Thadd Blazevich: CARMEN KICKS OUT RIGHT BEFORE THE THREE, BRO! VERY CLOSE NEAR FALL! What do you think about Carmen’s tenacity in this match, Auburn?
Auburn Ware: I won’t say she’s been doing bad, because she hasn’t. For a newcomer here she’s been giving her best effort. The problem is that she forced herself into my match with Saori, and I refuse to let her be the reason I can’t end this on my terms.
Rich Russillo: Be that as it may, NICK grabs Carmen and whips her into his team’s corner. NICK is reaching out for the tag and Diego is halfheartedly willing to accept it.
(TAG!)
Persephone: The other idiot is legal all while Circe tries to start shit with that other bimbo on the other side of the ring. I guess that Cynthia bitch has some brains in her head because she isn’t giving her the satisfaction of getting in her head. It would be the first thing that entered her head.
Rich Russillo: Diego with kicks to the midsection BEFORE HE FIRES OFF A SUPERKICK CATCHING CARMEN IN THE FACE! Now he pulls Carmen closer to the corner as he taunts Carmen.
Persephone: This guy is an idiot!
Thadd Blazevich: DIEGO HITS ALL THE ROPES TO GO FOR THE “METROPLEX CITY BOY”, BUT NOBODY WAS HOME AS CARMEN WAS ABLE TO ROLL OUT OF THE WAY!
Rich Russillo: DIEGO WAS SHOWBOATING TO THE CROWD BEFORE HE ATTEMPTED THE MOONSAULT NOW HE IS DOWN AND CARMEN IS TRYING TO MAKE IT TO THE CORNER!
Auburn Ware: Half assed or not, I am stunned that Saori is even trying to go for a tag.
Thadd Blazevich: Diego is back to his feet first AND HE ROLLS OVER CARMEN IN THE OKLAHOMA ROLL!
ONNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEE!
TWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOO!
THHHHHHHHHRRRRREEEEEEE!
Persephone: BITCH KICKS OUT AND IS ABLE TO ROLL INTO HER OWN CORNER–
(TAG!)
Thadd Blazevich: THE SPECIALISTS CHAMPION TAGS HERSELF IN AND HITS A SPRINGBOARD ROUNDHOUSE KICK CATCHING DIEGO RIGHT IN THE HEAD!
Rich Russillo: Saori hits the ropes AND SHE COMES BACK WITH A DROPKICK TAKING DIEGO BACK DOWN BEFORE FOLLOWING IT UP WITH A BASEMENT DROPKICK!
Persephone: Screwball bitch actually has a head of steam building. First time in a long time anything has been in her head.
Rich Russillo: Diego is being rocked by the Specialists Champion right now and he can’t even mount any sort of offense.
Persephone: Maybe if he, you know, TOOK A SHOWER he wouldn’t have this aura of skanky surrounding him and it would MAYBE allow an intelligent thought to enter or leave his head.
Thadd Blazevich: Diego crawls himself into the corner to try and get a breather, but Saori is on her way, BUT DIEGO GRABS HER BY THE TOP AND PULLS HER FACE FIRST INTO THE MIDDLE TURNBUCKLE!
Rich Russillo: Saori was caught off guard by that one, dropping down to a knee as Diego takes a moment to shake off the cobwebs.
Thadd Blazevich: Saori is resting against the middle turnbuckle AS DIEGO COMES RUNNING IN AND GOES ACROSS BEFORE CATCHING SAORI WITH “THE DIRTY MAVERICK” THE KICK RIGHT TO THE FACE SENDS SAORI BACK AS HE QUICKLY GOES BACK UP TO THE TOP ROPE!
Persephone: Why in the hell is this idiot showboating again? Like it worked well for him last time.
Thadd Blazevich: DIEGO COMES OFF THE TOP ROPE AND HITS THE “LATIN LOVER SPLASH”! FROG SPLASH CONNECTS INTO THE COVER!
ONNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEE!
TWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOO!
THHHHHHHHHRRRRREEEEEEE!
Rich Russillo: SHE KICKED OUT!! DIEGO CAN’T BELIEVE IT! Diego isn’t happy as he brings Saori up AND TRIES FOR A POWERBOMB–
Persephone: BITCH GETS FREE AND CLOBBERS DIEGO IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD! BAHAHAHAHAHA!
Rich Russillo: “THUNDERCLAP NOVA”! ELBOW TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD TAKES DIEGO DOWN AND SHE IS NOT GOING FOR THE COVER!
Persephone: STUPID BITCH!! INSTEAD SHE IS COMING OVER TO THE ROPES AND LOOKS AT AUBURN!! END THE MATCH!
Saori Aizen: (off-mic) IS THIS REALLY WHAT YOU WANT, AUBURN!? YOU WILL “TAKE YOUR LIFE” BACK!? FROM *ME*!?
Auburn Ware: SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND FOCUS ON THE MATCH!!
Saori Aizen: (off-mic) GET USED TO FAILURE!! ACCEPT IT, AUBURN! THIS *IS* YOUR LIFE!
(THUD!)
Thadd Blazevich: Well I don’t think Auburn is going to accept it as she just tossed off her headset and dives right into the ring AND JUST STARTS BEATING THE HELL OUT OF SAORI!
Rich Russillo: AUBURN DIDN’T EVEN TRY TO HIDE IT AND THE REFEREE CAUGHT IT AND THAT’S AN OBVIOUS DISQUALIFICATION!
(DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!)
(The bell has rung and the end result is completely obvious as Bella Braxton doesn’t even wait for the referee before announcing the final decision of the match.)
Bella Braxton: HERE ARE YOUR WINNERS AS A RESULT OF A DISQUALIFICATION… THE TEAM OF SAORI AIZEN AND CARMEN SANCHEZ!!
Rich Russillo: WELL THIS WASN’T EXACTLY THE WAY WE EXPECTED THE MATCH TO END, BUT IT CERTAINLY WAS THE WAY. BY NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN, NICK AND DIEGO LOSE BY DISQUALIFICATION DUE TO THE OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE OF AUBURN WARE WHO IS JUST ALL OVER SAORI AIZEN WITH REPEATED PUNCHED TO THE FACE!!
Persephone: I am surprised the bitch was able to last that long without losing her mind. I would call her an emotional queen, but I hate her so she’s just an emotional bitch.
Rich Russillo: SAORI SHOVES AUBURN OFF OF HER AND QUICKLY GETS BACK UP, BUT AUBURN RUSHED RIGHT BACK IN!! THERE’S A HOCKEY FIGHT GOING ON WHILE DIEGO AND NICK RECOVER, AND THE REFEREE IS TRYING TO STEP IN TO STOP THIS!
(Meanwhile, Auburn and Saori are still fighting as the referee is trying to break them up.)
Thadd Blazevich: BRO, THESE TWO ARE JUST BEATING THE HELL OUT OF EACH OTHER! THE TENSION BETWEEN THESE TWO HAS REACHED A FEVER PITCH WHICH IS GOING TO TURN INTO A WAR AT PAIN FOR PRIDE–
(CRASH!)
Persephone: Where the hell did this bitch come from?
Rich Russillo: GASOLINA! DOUBLE GASOLINA BY CARMEN AND SHE TOOK THEM BOTH OUT!! THE CUTTER PLANTS BOTH SAORI AND AUBURN!!
(The fans cheer loudly as Carmen pushes herself back to her feet, staring down at Saori and Auburn with a frustrated look on her face. She kicks and stomps at both of them, kicking them out of the ring as NICK watches on.)
Thadd Blazevich: All the while, NICK is watching this whole thing unfold– UNTIL DIEGO COMES IN WITH A SURPRISE FOREARM TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD FROM BEHIND! WHAT A CHEAP SHOT!!
(NICK is on the mat as Diego showboats and celebrates his cheap shot against NICK as he slides out of the ring, rushing before Cynthia Valice could go after him. He quickly grabs Circe and heads up the entrance ramp. Cynthia quickly rolls into the ring to check on NICK.)
Thadd Blazevich: BRO!! What a bunch of cowards that Circe and Diego are. Attacking from behind before getting the hell out of dodge.
Persephone: That might have been the smartest thing that bastard did was attack and get away. Now they just need to not come back.
Rich Russillo: Two big matches developing for Pain for Pride. Triple Threat PURE Rules match for the Specialists Title along with Circe and Diego against Cynthia and NICK! Get ready for the fists to fly.
(The final shot shows NICK and Cynthia glaring up the ramp before cutting to Diego and Circe smiling and making fun of their opponents as the camera shot fades elsewhere.)
(Promotional ad for Pain for Pride 19, where NICK and Cynthia Valice face Circe and Diego Montana.)
(Voltage returns to ringside.)
(The commentary team begins glancing over their shoulders as the crowd reaction starts to grow louder. Chris Elite suddenly steps past them and hops up onto the announce table. He repeatedly taps the microphone until it starts picking up sound, and as he stands tall on top of the table, the crowd’s reaction gradually shifts into a more mixed response.)
Persephone: What’s he doing up there?
Rich Russillo: Isn’t it obvious, Persephone? The man clearly has something to say.
Thadd Blazevich: Maybe after getting laid out by Cody Maverick last week, he’s out here looking to fire back with a rebuttal.
Persephone: Well, whatever it is, can we make it quick? We’re only halfway through the show and—
Chris Elite: Ay! Pipe down, bozos!
(Chris had been looking down at the announce team, but after shutting them up, he turns back toward the stage. He takes a moment to scan the arena, taking in the mixed reaction still coming from the crowd before speaking once again.)
Chris Elite: Aight, enough of all that. Last week happened, Cody got his little highlight, everybody went crazy, cool, but I’m still here and one punch didn’t change a damn thing. It didn’t prove you’re better than me, and it damn sure didn’t scare me.
(Chris narrows his eyes toward the stage.)
Chris Elite: So Cody… quit hiding in the back and bring your ass out here. I’m calling you out right now, because there’s something I need to make real clear before Pain for Pride.
(Chris steps down from the announce table and slides into the ring, immediately motioning toward the stage for Cody to come out. He keeps beckoning for him, but as the seconds drag on with no response, his impatience begins to show.)
Chris Elite: Look, I know you’re in the building, Cody, and I’m not about to stand out here all night waiting on you like a damn idiot, so you got two options right now: you can bring your ass out to this ring… or I can come to the back and get you myse—
(“Kostas” by Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine & Benny the Butcher suddenly blasts through the arena to a huge ovation from the crowd. Cody Maverick steps out onto the stage wearing a tank top over his ring gear, talking trash the entire way down the ramp as he shows absolutely no fear or intimidation toward Chris Elite.)
Rich Russillo: Well, ask and you shall receive! Chris Elite wanted Cody Maverick, and it looks like the King of Elite wasn’t interested in making him wait.
Thadd Blazevich: And talk about timing, bro! Cody was already scheduled for action next against Eris Morti, but it looks like Chris made sure there’d be no waiting around before that match.
(Cody Maverick makes his way up the steps and walks right past Chris Elite before climbing onto the middle rope to hit his signature pose, drawing a huge pop from the crowd. He steps down and heads to another corner, doing the exact same thing to another loud reaction. Cody then drops back down and makes his way to a third corner, striking the pose once more—before Chris Elite finally has enough.)
Chris Elite: Aight, aight, cut the music. We done with the whole entrance routine or what? My fault, I forgot we gotta stop everything so Cody can climb ropes and pose like he just won an Oscar. You good now, or you got one more turnbuckle left?
(The crowd rains down boos as the music fades in the background. Cody glances over his shoulder, then steps down from the middle rope before making his way to the right side of the ring, reaching through the middle rope to take a microphone from a stagehand. Once he has it, Cody walks back to the center of the ring, coming face-to-face with Chris Elite.)
Cody Maverick: Well? I’m here.
(Cody gestures with one hand, clearly unimpressed.)
Cody Maverick: You called me out, Chris. You got my attention. So go ahead and tell me what was so important that you needed to drag me out here right before my match.
(Cody takes a small step forward, keeping his eyes locked on Chris.)
Cody Maverick: Because I’m gonna be real with you, I don’t have a whole lot of patience for this tonight. I’ve got Eris Morti up next, and unlike some people, I’m not out here looking to hear myself talk just for the sake of it. So if all this was just to throw a few more threats around or cry about what happened last week, save it. You wanted me out here? Congratulations. I’m out here. Now say what you need to say.
(Chris scoffs to himself, resting a hand on his hip as he briefly looks around at the crowd before turning his attention back to Cody and continuing.)
Chris Elite: Cry about last week? Nah, see, that’s the funny part. You still think last week ended with you proving something, like catching me with one punch suddenly changed the whole story between us. Like because security dragged us apart while everything turned into chaos, I’m supposed to sit here and act like you got one over on me. You didn’t, Cody. You got lucky, that’s all. Lucky there were guards everywhere to get in the way, lucky they pulled us apart before I could really finish what I started.
(Chris slowly steps closer, the smirk fading from his face.)
Chris Elite: That’s why I called you out. I need you to understand something before Pain for Pride. When that bell rings, there won’t be security jumping in, there won’t be guards pulling us apart, and there damn sure won’t be anybody there to save you when things stop being fun and start getting ugly. It’s just gonna be me and you, and when it’s just me and you, I’m taking that King of Elite crown.
Chris Elite: I’m tired of dealing with you, man. I’m tired of hearing everybody talk about Cody this, Cody that, like you’re already the future of this place. Cody’s next up. Cody’s gonna be World Champion. Cool. That’s nice. Meanwhile everybody forgot who the hell I am.
(Chris points to himself with his free hand as he speaks.)
Chris Elite: I’m Chris Elite. Hall of Famer. Former World Champion. One of the best to ever do this, whether these bozos wanna admit it or not.
Chris Elite: So hear me when I say this. Pain for Pride is the end of all this. I beat you, I take that crown, and I move on from this annoying ass problem once and for all. Then I do what I came here to do and become a two-time World Champion, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.
(Cody’s mouth drops open as he looks around the arena in exaggerated disbelief, playing up the shock before finally responding.)
Cody Maverick: Oh no. Guys, I don’t know what I’m gonna do here. Chris Elite just came out here and told me he’s a Hall of Famer. A former World Champion too? Shit, why didn’t anybody warn me?
(The crowd laughs as Cody drags the act out for another second before suddenly dropping it, his expression going completely flat as he steps forward until they’re nearly chest to chest.)
Cody Maverick: Alright, enough. Do you hear yourself right now?
Cody Maverick: You dragged me out here before my match to say the exact same shit you’ve been saying for weeks. “I’m Chris Elite.” “I’m a Hall of Famer.” “I’m a former World Champion.” Yeah, Chris, we know. Everybody knows. You keep talking about your resume like I’m supposed to be intimidated by accomplishments from damn near a decade ago. You wanna know what I hear every time you open your mouth? Excuses. I hear a guy who keeps telling himself he’s still that guy because deep down he’s terrified he isn’t anymore.
(Cody points toward Chris’ chest, his voice sharpening.)
Cody Maverick: And you keep bringing up security like they robbed you of something last week. No, Chris. They saved you from making an even bigger fool of yourself. Because what happened last week wasn’t luck, and it damn sure wasn’t a fluke. It was simple. You came at me, you took your shot, and when it was time to finish the fight, I dropped your ass.
(The crowd erupts, but Cody keeps going without taking his eyes off Chris.)
Cody Maverick: Now you’re out here trying to rewrite history so you can sleep better at night. You keep talking about how everybody forgot who Chris Elite is. No, that’s not the problem. Nobody forgot. That’s exactly why this is so sad. We know who you were. We know what you accomplished. We know how good you used to be. The problem is you’re so obsessed with making everybody remember the old Chris Elite that you can’t accept what’s standing in front of you now.
(Cody taps his chest with his free hand.)
Cody Maverick: Me.
Cody Maverick: I’m not some rookie staring at your Hall of Fame plaque in awe. I’m not one of these guys who hears “former World Champion” and suddenly starts second guessing himself. I respected what you did. Hell, I respected you. Probably more than I should’ve. But respect doesn’t win matches. Names don’t win matches. Legacy doesn’t win matches. The better wrestler on that night wins, and at Pain for Pride, that’s gonna be me.
(Cody gives a dismissive shrug.)
Cody Maverick: So if this whole speech was supposed to shake me, it didn’t. If it was supposed to scare me, it didn’t. And if this was your big warning shot before Pain for Pride, I gotta be honest, Chris.
Cody Maverick: That was weak as hell.
(Chris stares at Cody in silence for a moment, his jaw tightening as the crowd roars at Cody’s words. He slowly nods to himself, almost like he’s trying to keep his temper in check, before letting out a dry laugh.)
Chris Elite: Weak as hell?
(Chris steps even closer, their faces now only inches apart.)
Chris Elite: Nah, what’s weak as hell is you standing there acting like you got me figured out after one good punch. That’s your problem, Cody. You always think one moment means everything. One win and suddenly you’re the man. One punch and suddenly Chris Elite is washed. One tournament and suddenly you’re the future of this company.
(Chris points to Cody’s chest.)
Chris Elite: You keep talking like you already made it, and that shit is exactly why I can’t stand you. You got all the talent in the world, I’ll give you that. You got the look, the confidence, the crowd behind you. But somewhere along the way, all that confidence turned into arrogance, and now you walk around like nobody can touch you.
Chris Elite: You wanna talk about me living in the past? Fine. Let’s talk about right now then. Right now, you’re still carrying around a crown you haven’t cashed in. Right now, you’re still not a World Champion. Right now, all that talk about being the future is still just talk, and I’m standing right in front of you telling you I’m the one about to take all of that away.
(Cody lets out a short laugh, though there’s no humor in it. He shakes his head before answering.)
Cody Maverick: You know what’s funny, Chris? You keep saying I think one moment means everything, but that’s literally you right now.
(Cody motions up and down at Chris with his free hand, gesturing from head to toe.)
Cody Maverick: One match. That’s all you got left to hold onto. That’s why you’re out here hyping yourself up like this. You need this to be your big comeback story so bad that you’re trying to convince yourself before you convince anybody else, and let me tell you what I actually can’t stand about you. It’s not the ego. Hell, I’d be a hypocrite if that bothered me. It’s not even the trash talk. It’s the victim mentality.
Cody Maverick: Every single time something goes wrong, it’s somebody else’s fault. Nobody gives Chris his flowers. Nobody appreciates Chris. Everybody forgot Chris. Shut the hell up.
(The crowd reacts loudly.)
Cody Maverick: You know why people stopped talking about Chris Elite like he was the guy? Because you stopped being the guy. Not because the world was unfair to you. Not because people were out to get you. Because when the lights got brightest, you kept coming up short.
(Chris’ face immediately turns serious.)
Cody Maverick: And now you’re looking at me, seeing everything you used to be, and it pisses you off.
Chris Elite: Watch your mouth.
Cody Maverick: Or what?
(Chris’ grip on the microphone tightens.)
Chris Elite: Or I forget we’re waiting for your little match and beat your ass right now.
(Cody immediately spreads his arms.)
Cody Maverick: Then do it.
(The crowd explodes.)
Cody Maverick: I told you already, Chris. If you wanna fight, I’m right here. I don’t need security. I don’t need a referee. I don’t need Pain for Pride to put you down.
(Cody leans in, nearly forehead to forehead with Chris.)
Cody Maverick: But if you’re not gonna do shit, then stop talking.
(Chris’ shoulders tense up as his patience finally runs out.)
Chris Elite: You really think I won’t?
Cody Maverick: No.
(A long pause.)
Cody Maverick: I think you can’t. Because deep down, you already know how this ends. You know what happened last week wasn’t luck. You know what’s coming at Pain for Pride.
(Cody smirks.)
Cody Maverick: You know I’m better than you.
Chris Elite: You arrogant little—
(Chris suddenly shoves Cody hard in the chest, knocking the microphone from Cody’s hand. Cody immediately shoves him right back, sending Chris’ microphone to the mat as well. The two start shoving each other back and forth until Chris finally motions for Cody to bring it, planting his feet and squaring up to fight. Cody does the same, pulling off his tank top and tossing it into the crowd before taking his stance.)
Rich Russillo: This is about to boil over! These two are done talking, and after everything that’s been said tonight, I don’t know if there’s anything stopping this from turning into another brawl!
Thadd Blazevich: Hold on, hold on! Someone get out here fast, because Cody’s got Eris Morti up next and if this turns into a fight right now, that match might not even happen!
(The crowd boos as a referee quickly slides into the ring and gets between Chris Elite and Cody Maverick, forcing Chris back toward the ropes while he continues talking trash to Cody off-mic. Chris slowly steps through the ropes, still jawing at Cody from the apron, before dropping to the floor and starting to backpedal up the ramp. Meanwhile, Cody bends down and picks his microphone back up off the mat.)
Cody Maverick: Keep walking, Chris. And do yourself a favor, don’t blink during my match… because what I do to Eris tonight is gonna make Pain for Pride look real ugly for you.
(Cody throws the microphone back down, sending it sliding underneath the ring. He then walks toward the ropes and leans against them, talking trash to Chris Elite off-mic as the two continue going back and forth. Chris keeps backpedaling up the ramp, never taking his eyes off Cody, as the camera eventually fades elsewhere.)
(Promotional ad for Pain for Pride 19, where Chris Elite faces Cody Maverick for the King of Elite crown.)
(Voltage returns showing the raucous live crowd ready for the next match.)
Rich Russillo: Welcome back to Sunday Night Voltage, and up next we have a fascinating matchup on deck! Cody Maverick is already in the ring and ready for action, but if you take a look at ringside, you’ll also notice Chris Elite has elected to stick around after his confrontation with the King of Elite earlier tonight.
(The camera cuts to Chris Elite seated at ringside. Chris leans back in his chair with a smirk on his face, eyes locked firmly on the ring.)
Bella Braxton: The following contest is scheduled for…
Crowd: ONE FALL!
Bella Braxton: Already in the ring! Residing in Las Vegas, Nevada! Weighing in at 235 pounds! He is the 2026 KING OF ELITE! “THE SIN CITY SUPERSTAR”… COOOODDDDYYY MAAAAVVVEEEERRRIIICCCKKKK!!!
(The crowd erupts as Cody Maverick stands on the middle turnbuckle and throws a confident fist in the air as he looks toward the audience before hopping back down. Cody paces the ring with a focused expression before briefly glancing toward Chris Elite at ringside.)
Rich Russillo: Cody Maverick has had an incredible season. Team captain at Territorial Invasion, winner of King of Elite, and now just weeks away from defending that crown against Chris Elite at Pain for Pride! Cody has built a reputation as one of the hardest working competitors on Voltage, and another victory tonight would keep that momentum rolling.
Thadd Blazevich: Dude, Cody’s been on a tear for over a year now! It feels like every big opportunity that’s been put in front of him, he’s found a way to rise to the occasion!
(“Burn Victim” by Methwitch suddenly blasts through the speakers.)
Rich Russillo: And speaking of dangerous opportunities…
(The arena lights dim as Eris Morti slowly emerges onto the stage. Her expression remains eerily calm as she surveys the arena. She doesn’t acknowledge the fans. She doesn’t acknowledge the cameras. Her eyes remain fixed on the ring.)
Bella Braxton: And his opponent! Weighing in at 130 pounds! Billed from Parts Unknown! She is “THE CURSE”… ERRRRIIIISSSS MMMOOORRRTTTIIIIII!!!
Persephone: Yeah. No. I don’t like her.
Thadd Blazevich: Bro, that’s because she’s terrifying.
Rich Russillo: Eris Morti joined the EAW roster earlier this season and she’s quickly made everyone aware of who she is! She’s unpredictable, she’s violent, and perhaps most concerning of all, she genuinely seems to enjoy every second of it.
(Eris slowly walks down the ramp, her eyes never leaving Cody. Cody stares right back from inside the ring as the two competitors lock eyes.)
Rich Russillo: Eris already has a spot in the 24/7 Battle Royale waiting for her at Pain for Pride, a win over somebody like Cody Maverick would be the biggest statement she could possibly make before the biggest stage the wrestling world can offer.
Thadd Blazevich: Absolutely, bro. Eris doesn’t care about reputations. She doesn’t care about accomplishments. She just wants the toughest fight she can find, and tonight she’s getting exactly that.
(Eris climbs onto the apron before stepping through the ropes. She immediately moves toward the center of the ring, standing across from Cody Maverick. Neither competitor backs down as the referee steps between them and calls for the bell.)
(DING! DING! DING!)
Rich Russillo: And here we go! Cody Maverick versus Eris Morti is officially underway here on Sunday Night Voltage, and this is a very interesting test for both competitors at this stage of the season! Cody Maverick has Pain for Pride ahead of him, where his King of Elite crown will be on the line against Chris Elite, who we can see is seated at ringside watching this match closely! Meanwhile, Eris Morti is heading toward the 24/7 Battle Royale, and a victory here over Cody would be a huge statement before the biggest show of the year!
Thadd Blazevich: Absolutely, bro! Cody Maverick is a former National Elite Champion, the current King of Elite, and someone who has been knocking on the door of the World Championship scene! But Eris Morti has been making noise since coming to Voltage, dude! She just picked up a win over Sayuri Himura and she has the chance to prove she belongs in the ring with somebody on Cody’s level!
Persephone: And Chris Elite gets to sit there watching both of them beat the hell out of each other without doing anything. Must be nice.
Rich Russillo: Cody and Eris start circling the ring, and there is a noticeable difference in the way these two approach this! Cody is loose, bouncing on his feet, hands up, looking to rely on that boxing background! Eris, on the other hand, is almost inviting him forward! Cody steps in for the lock-up, but Eris slips underneath and grabs a waistlock! Cody pries at the hands and quickly powers out, forcing Eris away before she can ground him!
Thadd Blazevich: That size difference is going to matter, bro! Cody has the power, the reach, and the weight advantage! Eris has to be smart about how she approaches him, because she can’t afford to just let Cody tee off on her!
Rich Russillo: Eris steps forward again, but Cody catches her with a jab! Another jab! A third jab backs Eris up, and Cody follows with a sharp body shot to the ribs! Eris drops to a knee for just a moment, but look at her face! She’s smiling!
Persephone: Ugh! Intergender bullshit. What ever happened to having two sweaty and oily men rolling around on top of each other while we all watched?
Thadd Blazevich: …pause?
Persephone: I like what I like. Fuck off.
Rich Russillo: Cody notices that grin and doesn’t seem amused! He grabs Eris by the wrist and sends her toward the ropes! Eris rebounds and Cody looks for a clothesline, but Eris ducks underneath! Cody turns around and Eris cracks him with a European uppercut! Cody stumbles back, Eris steps in with a knife-edge chop across the chest! Cody answers with a forearm smash! Eris fires back with an elbow! Cody hits another forearm! Eris with a spinning back elbow, and now Cody staggers toward the ropes!
Thadd Blazevich: Eris is not intimidated at all, dude! That’s the thing about her! She might be newer to EAW than Cody, but she does not wrestle like somebody who feels out of place! She’s stepping right to him, and Cody has to respect that whether he wants to or not!
Rich Russillo: Eris grabs Cody and looks for an Irish whip, but Cody reverses! Eris rebounds off the ropes and Cody catches her with a huge back body drop! Eris hits the mat hard and scrambles back to her feet, but Cody is already there with a clothesline that sends her down again! Eris rolls toward the corner, but Cody closes in and starts unloading with those mounted punches!
Crowd: ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! EIGHT! NINE! TEN!
Rich Russillo: Cody drops back down and immediately pulls Eris out of the corner! He hooks her around the waist and plants her with a powerful side slam! Cody hooks the leg!
ONNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
TWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Rich Russillo: Kickout by Eris Morti!
Persephone: Obviously. If mounted punches and a side slam ended this, I would actually respect this show for saving me time.
Thadd Blazevich: Cody staying on her now, bro! He’s not giving Eris a chance to recover, and that’s smart! You can’t let somebody like Eris get comfortable because she wants the match to get ugly! Cody drags her back up and backs her toward the ropes with a right hand! Another right hand! He sends her across the ring and looks for a tilt-a-whirl powerslam!
Rich Russillo: But Eris counters in midair and takes Cody down with a headscissors! Cody rolls through and gets back to a knee, but Eris catches him with a running face wash! Cody falls against the ropes and Eris immediately starts stomping at the arm and shoulder! That’s a smart approach from Morti! Target the arm, weaken those punches, and take away a major part of Cody’s offense!
Persephone: See, that’s actually competent. Disturbing personality aside, at least she understands basic strategy. Some people around here wrestle like they learned from falling down stairs.
Rich Russillo: Eris grabs Cody by that arm and twists it before driving an elbow right down across the shoulder! Cody drops to one knee, and Eris follows with a short-arm lariat! Cody stays up, but only barely! Eris keeps wrist control and pulls him in again, this time looking for a second lariat! Cody ducks underneath and catches Eris from behind! Back suplex by Cody Maverick!
Thadd Blazevich: Cody needed that, bro! Eris was starting to pick him apart, and Cody stopped that momentum before she could do too much damage! But look at Cody shaking out that arm already! Eris might not have had control for long, but she made sure he felt every second of it!
Rich Russillo: Cody gets back to his feet and Eris is using the ropes to pull herself up! Cody charges in, but Eris gets a boot up! Cody stumbles backward and Eris jumps to the middle rope! She launches herself, but Cody catches her! Cody holds Eris in place and turns toward the center of the ring! Fallaway slam by the King of Elite! Eris rolls across the canvas and Cody gets back to his feet, feeding off the crowd!
Thadd Blazevich: This is where Cody gets dangerous, dude! Once he starts building momentum, it’s hard to slow him down! Eris is trying to get back to her feet, but Cody rushes in and catches her with the slingshot shoulder block! He caught all of that one!
Rich Russillo: Cody hooks the leg again!
ONNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
TWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Rich Russillo: Eris kicks out again! Cody pulls her back up, and now he’s setting up for a vertical suplex! He lifts Eris up, holding her there, showing off that strength before bringing her down hard in the center of the ring! Cody rolls through with her and keeps control! He’s pulling her back up, maybe looking for another suplex, but Eris drives a knee into the skull! Another knee! Cody’s grip is loosened and Eris lands behind him!
Persephone: And there’s the mistake. Cody got a little too cute showing off, and the creepy lady started kneeing him in the head. That feels predictable.
Rich Russillo: Eris grabs Cody from behind and launches him with a German suplex! Cody lands high on his shoulders and rolls to his knees! Eris follows with a penalty kick right to the chest! Cody drops onto his back, and Eris crawls into the cover!
ONNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
TWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Rich Russillo: Cody powers the shoulder up!
Thadd Blazevich: But Eris isn’t frustrated, bro! That’s what makes her so dangerous! She doesn’t look mad that Cody kicked out! She looks happy because Cody is giving her a fight! She grabs him by the head and starts driving those hammer and anvil elbows down into the side of the skull! Cody’s trying to cover up, but Eris is finding openings!
Rich Russillo: The referee is warning Eris to watch the back of the head, but she drags Cody into a seated position and traps him in a headscissors shoulder lock! That arm she targeted earlier is being wrenched back, and Cody is in trouble here! This is not where Cody Maverick wants to be! He is not known for his submission game, and Eris is forcing him to fight from an uncomfortable position!
Persephone: Cody’s entire submission style is “never heard of ‘em,” so yeah, this is probably annoying for him.
Rich Russillo: Cody is trying to shift his weight and stack Eris onto her shoulders, but Eris adjusts and keeps that pressure applied! Cody reaches toward the ropes with his free arm! He’s close, but Eris rolls him back toward the center! Cody uses that momentum to get to one knee! He’s forcing himself up with Eris still hanging onto the hold! Cody powers to his feet and drops backward, crushing Eris underneath him!
Thadd Blazevich: That’s one way to break a hold, bro! Just use the size difference and drop the weight! Eris had that locked in tight, but Cody found a way out!
Rich Russillo: Cody rolls away, still shaking out that arm as Eris gets back to her feet! Eris charges in and Cody catches her with an inverted atomic drop! Eris stumbles, and Cody follows with the atomic drop! Eris is rocked, and Cody grabs her by the head! Swinging neckbreaker connects! Cody gets back to his feet and points out to the crowd!
Persephone: Oh good, the elbow is coming. Everyone act surprised.
Rich Russillo: Cody hits the ropes and drops the jumping elbow! Right across the chest of Eris Morti! Cody hooks the leg!
ONNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
TWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Rich Russillo: Eris gets the shoulder up again! Cody stays on her, pulling Eris back up to her feet, and he looks toward the corner! He may be thinking Moneymaker here! Cody drags Eris toward the ropes and tries to set her legs across that top rope, but Eris fights free with a forearm to the injured arm! Cody backs away, and Eris grabs him by the wrist! Dragon screw to the arm! That is not something you see every day, but Eris just twisted Cody down by the limb she has been targeting!
Thadd Blazevich: That was nasty, dude! Eris knows exactly what she’s doing now! Every time Cody starts rolling, she goes right back to that arm and shoulder! That affects his punches, it affects Lights Out, and it affects the way he lifts her for those power moves!
Rich Russillo: Eris pulls Cody to his feet and cracks him with a chop! Cody answers with a weaker forearm from that damaged arm, and Eris grins before slapping him across the face! Cody’s expression changes immediately! Eris steps forward and does it again! She’s trying to provoke Cody Maverick!
Persephone: That seems stupid. Cody already wants to punch everyone. Why give him a reason?
Rich Russillo: Cody answers with a left hand! He switches arms and starts using the other hand, catching Eris with a jab! Another jab! Cody unloads with body shots now, driving Eris back toward the corner! Eris tries to cover up, but Cody keeps digging those punches into the ribs! The referee warns Cody as Eris is trapped in the corner, and Cody backs off just long enough to avoid the count!
Thadd Blazevich: Cody’s got that boxing background, bro, and when he starts attacking the body like this, it changes the match! Eris wanted Cody angry, and now she got him angry! The question is whether that helps her or hurts her!
Rich Russillo: Cody rushes back in, but Eris sidesteps and sends Cody shoulder-first into the ring post through the turnbuckles! Cody collapses to the mat and grabs at that arm! Eris knew exactly what she was doing! She baited Cody into that charge and made him pay for it!
Persephone: So the answer was “helps her.” Good to know.
Rich Russillo: Cody rolls out of the corner, but Eris grabs him from behind! She hooks the arms! BED OF NAILS! Sleeper suplex connects! Cody landed hard on the back of his neck, and Eris turns him over for the cover!
ONNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
TWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
THHHHHHH—
Rich Russillo: CODY KICKS OUT!
Thadd Blazevich: That was close, bro! Eris just planted Cody with one of her signature moves, and Cody barely got that shoulder off the mat in time! Chris Elite had a very clear look at that one from ringside, too! He has to love seeing Cody get worn down like this before Pain for Pride!
Rich Russillo: Cody is still in this, but Eris is now dragging him back up! She hooks Cody by the head! She may be looking for The Dagger! She’s trying to lift Cody for that sheer drop brainbuster, but Cody blocks it! Cody widens his base and refuses to go up! Eris drives a knee into the midsection and tries again, but Cody counters with a back body drop! Eris lands hard, and both competitors are down!
Persephone: Finally, mutual suffering.
Rich Russillo: Cody and Eris both begin stirring as this crowd starts to come alive! Eris uses the ropes while Cody pushes himself up near the center of the ring! Eris charges first, but Cody ducks a lariat and catches her with a rolling elbow! Eris stumbles but stays up! Cody grabs her and plants her with an exploder suplex! Eris rolls through to the corner and Cody immediately charges in with a running clothesline! Eris staggers out and Cody lifts her up! Spinning scoop slam!
Thadd Blazevich: Cody’s finding another gear, dude! That arm is bothering him, but he’s not letting it stop him! He’s got Eris where he wants her now, and this crowd is behind the King of Elite!
Rich Russillo: Cody pulls Eris up and sends her toward the ropes! Eris rebounds and Cody catches her! DEEP END! CODY TURNS IN MIDAIR AND PLANTS ERIS WITH THAT SPINEBUSTER! COVER!
ONNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
TWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
THHHHHHHHRRR—
Rich Russillo: ERIS KICKS OUT!
Thadd Blazevich: Deep End wasn’t enough, bro! Cody planted her in the middle of the ring, but Eris is still alive!
Persephone: She is way too happy about surviving things. It’s deeply irritating.
Rich Russillo: Cody sits up and looks at Eris, and even he has to be impressed by that! This match has been competitive from the opening bell, and Eris Morti is showing that she can hang with someone who has been operating near the top of Voltage! Cody grabs Eris and pulls her toward the corner, and I think he’s going to try again for Moneymaker! He sets Eris across the ropes this time! Cody has her in position!
Thadd Blazevich: Moneymaker coming up, bro!
Rich Russillo: Cody drops back, but Eris slips free at the last possible second! Cody lands on his back and Eris rolls through! Cody sits up and Eris catches him with a buzzsaw kick to the side of the head! Cody drops to the mat, and Eris backs into the corner! Cody is crawling back to his feet and Eris has that look in her eyes!
Persephone: I don’t like that look. Then again, I don’t like most of the people here, so that means nothing.
Rich Russillo: Cody turns around! SPEAR BY ERIS MORTI! Eris cuts Cody in half! She hooks both legs!
ONNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
TWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
THHHHHHHHRRR—
Rich Russillo: CODY KICKS OUT! Cody Maverick gets the shoulder up, and Eris Morti almost just scored the biggest victory of her EAW career!
Thadd Blazevich: That was insanely close, bro! Eris hit that spear perfectly! Cody got caught clean, and he still found a way to survive! That’s the difference between Cody and a lot of people Eris has faced so far!
Rich Russillo: Eris sits up and stares at Cody, and once again, there’s no panic there! No rage! If anything, she looks even more invested in this match than she did before! She pulls Cody up and hooks him again! This time she is absolutely looking for The Dagger! She wants that sheer drop brainbuster, and if she hits it after the spear, this could be it!
Thadd Blazevich: Cody’s fighting it, dude! He knows how much danger he’s in!
Rich Russillo: Cody drives a fist into the ribs! Another shot to the body! Cody frees himself and backs into the ropes! Eris swings with a discus elbow, but Cody ducks underneath! Cody rebounds off the far side and comes flying in!
Persephone: Lights Out!
Rich Russillo: NO! Eris catches the arm! Eris caught the damaged arm before Cody could connect with Lights Out! She twists behind him and drags him down! Fujiwara armbar! Fujiwara armbar applied by Eris Morti! Cody is trapped in the center of the ring, and that damaged arm has been a problem all match long!
Thadd Blazevich: This is bad, bro! Cody doesn’t like submissions, he doesn’t specialize in submissions, and Eris has been tearing that arm apart for most of this match! Cody is trying to crawl, but Eris is wrenching back on it!
Rich Russillo: Cody is reaching for the ropes, but Eris shifts her body weight and pulls him back! Cody plants his free hand and tries to roll through! He turns his body, stacks Eris onto her shoulders!
ONNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
TWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Rich Russillo: Eris has to release the hold to kick out, and Cody just created an opening! Both competitors scramble back up! Eris rushes in, Cody catches her! Powerbomb position! CODY PLANTS HER AND ROLLS THROUGH! KNEE TO THE JAW! The powerbomb roll-through knee connects, and Eris might be out!
Thadd Blazevich: Cody can’t cover right away, bro! That arm is still bothering him! He’s trying to shake feeling back into it, but Eris might have bought herself precious time just by doing damage earlier!
Rich Russillo: Cody finally crawls over and hooks the leg!
ONNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
TWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
THHHHHHHHRRRR—
Rich Russillo: Eris gets the shoulder up! Another near fall in this matchup, and both competitors are showing exactly why their names are important heading toward Pain for Pride!
Persephone: Fine. This is getting “good”. There. I said something positive. Don’t get used to it.
Rich Russillo: Cody drags himself back up using the ropes, and you can see Chris Elite watching intently from ringside! He has not taken his eyes off Cody Maverick for a second, but Cody can’t worry about that right now! Cody pulls Eris up and goes for Moneymaker again! He drapes her legs across the top rope! Cody has it this time! CODY CHARGES! LIGHTS OUT—
Thadd Blazevich: NO, BRO! ERIS DROPS DOWN AND CODY GOES FLYING PAST HER! Cody catches himself against the ropes and turns around just as Eris gets back to her feet!
Rich Russillo: WAIT A SECOND! CHRIS ELITE JUST JUMPED ONTO THE APRON! Cody sees him immediately and starts shouting at Chris! The referee rushes over to get Chris down from the apron!
Persephone: Oh look. The reason he bought a front row ticket.
Rich Russillo: CHRIS IS ARGUING WITH THE REFEREE NOW- AND HE JUST SHOVED THE OFFICIAL! THE REFEREE STUMBLES RIGHT INTO CODY MAVERICK!
Thadd Blazevich: CODY GOT TAKEN OFF HIS FEET, BRO! THE REFEREE DID TOO! EVERYBODY IS DOWN!
Rich Russillo: ERIS DOESN’T KNOW WHAT TO FOCUS ON! SHE LOOKS TOWARD CODY- BUT CHRIS ELITE JUST ENTERED THE RING! CHRIS CHARGES FORWARD! BOX OFFICE SMASH!!!!
Thadd Blazevich: NO! CODY MOVED!
Rich Russillo: ERIS DIDN’T! CHRIS ELITE JUST CRUSHED ERIS MORTI WITH THE HOUSE CALL! CHRIS TOOK ERIS’S HEAD OFF BY ACCIDENT!
Persephone: That’s actually hilarious.
Rich Russillo: Chris can’t believe it! He turns around! AND CODY BLASTS HIM WITH A FOREARM! Cody grabs Chris and sends him through the ropes to the floor! Chris Elite crashes at ringside while Eris is barely stirring in the center of the ring!
Thadd Blazevich: The referee is coming to, dude! Cody sees his opening!
Rich Russillo: ERIS STUMBLES UP TO HER FEET! CODY KICK TO THE MIDSECTION!
Thadd Blazevich: SIN CITY STUNNER!!!!
Rich Russillo: CODY PLANTS ERIS MORTI WITH THE SIN CITY STUNNER! THE REFEREE TURNS AROUND JUST IN TIME TO SEE THE COVER!
ONNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
TWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
THHHHHHHHRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
(DING! DING! DING!)
Bella Braxton: HERE IS YOUR WINNER… CODY MAVERICK!!!!!!!
Rich Russillo: Cody Maverick survives an outstanding fight against Eris Morti, but Chris Elite’s attempt to interfere just blew up in his face! Chris tried to cost Cody the match and ended up handing him the victory instead!
Thadd Blazevich: Eris pushed Cody to the limit tonight, bro! But one mistake from Chris Elite changed everything!
Persephone: Good job, Chris. You somehow managed to ruin things for literally everybody involved.
(‘Kostas’ by Westside Gunn hits the speakers again. The camera pans as Cody has his hand raised by the referee, but Cody isn’t thrilled at all, knowing that once again a match of his was interrupted by an interference, and by Chris Elite no less. It then cuts over to show medical checking on Eris as she slowly comes to.)
Rich Russillo: WAIT A SECOND! CHRIS ELITE JUST SLID BACK INTO THE RING!
Thadd Blazevich: OH COME ON, BRO! HE’S STILL MAD ABOUT THAT ONE!
Rich Russillo: CHRIS ELITE JUST SPUN CODY AROUND AND DROVE A RIGHT HAND STRAIGHT INTO THE JAW! CODY FIRES RIGHT BACK! NOW THEY’RE THROWING HANDS IN THE CENTER OF THE RING!
Persephone: There we go. Now we’re speaking my language. Hit him harder! HARDER! KISS HIM! KISS HIM NOW!
Rich Russillo: CODY WITH A FOREARM! CHRIS WITH A RIGHT HAND! CODY ANSWERS WITH A BODY SHOT! CHRIS FIRES BACK WITH AN ELBOW! THESE TWO MEN ARE TEARING INTO EACH OTHER!
Thadd Blazevich: THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT THE MATCH ANYMORE, DUDE! THEY JUST WANT TO HURT EACH OTHER!
Rich Russillo: CHRIS SHOVES CODY BACK INTO THE ROPES! BUT CODY CHARGES RIGHT BACK WITH LIGHTS OUT! NO! CHRIS DUCKS UNDER IT AND BOTH MEN GO TUMBLING THROUGH THE ROPES TO THE FLOOR!
Thadd Blazevich: HERE COMES SECURITY, BRO!
Rich Russillo: SECURITY GUARDS ARE FLOODING RINGSIDE, BUT CHRIS AND CODY ARE STILL THROWING PUNCHES! CODY JUST DROPPED ONE OF THE GUARDS TRYING TO PULL HIM BACK! CHRIS SHOVES ANOTHER OUT OF THE WAY AND DIVES RIGHT BACK AT CODY! THE FIGHT IS SPILLING UP THE RAMP NOW! SECURITY IS DESPERATELY TRYING TO SEPARATE THEM! IT TAKES HALF A DOZEN GUARDS TO FINALLY PRY THESE TWO APART!
Thadd Blazevich: LOOK AT THEM, BRO! THEY’RE STILL REACHING FOR EACH OTHER!
Persephone: YES! REACH FOR HIM WITH YOUR PASSION!
Thadd Blazevich: Goddamn Brosephone, you good?
Persephone: Call me that again and they won’t find the body.
Rich Russillo: CODY MAVERICK AND CHRIS ELITE HAVE TO BE HELD ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE STAGE, AND IF THIS IS WHAT WE’RE SEEING TONIGHT, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY MEET AT PAIN FOR PRIDE WITH THE KING OF ELITE CROWN ON THE LINE!
(The final image is of Cody Maverick and Chris Elite being restrained by security on opposite sides of the stage, both men still screaming at one another as Voltage fades to black.)
(Commercial for Damon Lazarus’s anti-aging serum.)
(“Lowlife Princess” by BIBI blares throughout the arena as Miku Sakai steps onto the stage, wearing a suspiciously smug smile tonight. She glances around at the crowd with an almost fake cheerfulness, waving dismissively at the fans as she makes her way down the ramp, clearly acting far too pleased with herself for there not to be an ulterior motive.)
Bella Braxton: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome… MIKU SAKAI!!
Rich Russillo: Well, this is unexpected. After everything we saw from Miku Sakai the past couple of weeks, I was expecting her to come out here furious, but she looks almost… pleased with herself tonight.
Thadd Blazevich: Bro, that’s what scares me! When Miku’s angry, at least you know what you’re getting. When she’s smiling like that? Somebody’s probably about to have a really bad night.
Persephone: Great, so either she’s pretending to be sane or she finally snapped completely. Honestly, I’m not sure which is worse.
(Miku enters the ring and grabs a microphone before making her way to the center. She lets the mixed reaction from the crowd continue for a moment, a fake smile creeping onto her face as she raises the microphone to speak.)
Miku Sakai: Jesus Christ, you people are loud. I swear, every week I come out here and somehow all of you get even uglier and even more annoying. That’s honestly impressive in a really pathetic way.
(Miku looks around at the crowd in disgust, shaking her head.)
Miku Sakai: And shut the hell up for like… five seconds, okay? I know that’s hard for a bunch of brain dead weirdos who spend their free time booing people better than them, but try your best. This actually matters.
(Miku’s fake smile widens as her tone turns sharper.)
Miku Sakai: See, unlike most of you idiots, I’m actually in a pretty good mood tonight. Shocking, right? I know. You’re probably sitting there wondering, “Wow, Miku isn’t yelling at everyone for once. Did hell freeze over?” No, dumbasses. I just actually have a reason to be out here, because as all of you unfortunately already know, at Pain for Pride I’ll be in the Triple Threat All-Star Match against Brianna Hill and KASAI. Lucky me, right? One match, two opponents, and somehow I still ended up stuck with two people I can’t stand.
(Miku rolls her eyes.)
Miku Sakai: So I thought instead of waiting until Pain for Pride, I’d do something nice for once and invite both of them out here tonight. You know, woman to woman. Professional to professional. Just a little talk.
(Miku pauses before smirking.)
Miku Sakai: Mostly because I wanted to say this to both of their faces, so Brianna Hill, KASAI, get your asses out here right now. Let’s talk.
(Miku turns toward the stage, waiting patiently with a smile on her face as she tries to hide her amusement. “Mirtazapine” by Hayley Williams begins to play, and Brianna makes her way down the ramp, high-fiving fans on both sides of the barricade as she walks.)
Rich Russillo: And here comes Brianna Hill, the Showdown representative! She made it clear she sees Pain for Pride as a huge chance to rebuild momentum, and I doubt she’s out here just to listen to Miku run her mouth.
Thadd Blazevich: Yeah, and knowing Brianna, bro, she’s not gonna let Miku disrespect her for long. But we’re still waiting on KASAI too… and something tells me things are only gonna get more tense once the Empress gets out here.
(Brianna stops at the end of the ramp and takes a deep breath before hopping onto the apron and stepping into the ring. With a microphone in hand, she stands across from Miku as her music slowly fades in the background.)
Miku Sakai: Wow, you actually came out here. I’m a little surprised. I figured you’d need more time to prepare some inspirational speech about perseverance or whatever boring crap you tell yourself every morning.
(Brianna keeps a calm expression, not taking the bait.)
Brianna Hill: You called me out, Miku. I’m here. So if you’ve got something to say, say it.
(Miku lets out a short laugh.)
Miku Sakai: Oh, don’t worry. I plan on it. I just think it’s funny how serious you look right now, like this is some huge moment for you. But I guess it makes sense. This probably is a huge moment for you. Pain for Pride, big opportunity, chance to finally prove you belong again… I get it. I’d cling to this too if I were you.
(Brianna doesn’t look fazed by this and starts to respond, but she’s cut off as “NAKAMURA” by Lil Uzi Vert hits. Both women turn toward the stage as KASAI makes her way down the ramp with a microphone in hand, beginning to speak as her theme song slowly fades in the background.)
KASAI: Ahahahaha… well, this is entertaining. Look at this. Miku Sakai standing in the ring, trying so very hard to look confident after calling Mother Urai out.
(KASAI tilts her head, clearly amused.)
KASAI: Tell me, Miku… did you truly bring me out here just to bark and throw another tantrum? Because if so, I must warn you, darling, I already saw this performance once during Empress of Elite… and the ending was not kind to you.
(KASAI begins walking again, eyes locked on Miku.)
KASAI: You wanted this match for a reason, did you not? You begged for opportunity, screamed about being overlooked, cried about being screwed over by the universe. And now that you have your opportunity, you’re doing this? Talking.
(KASAI laughs again.)
KASAI: It does not concern me what you want, nor what Brianna Hill wants. At Pain for Pride, only one thing matters. The Matriarch walks in, the Matriarch wins, and the Matriarch leaves with yet another victory… over both of you.
(KASAI points at Miku with her free hand before curling her finger back toward herself.)
KASAI: And for you, Miku… it will simply be another reminder that no matter how loudly you scream, no matter how much you curse and complain… you still cannot beat me.
(KASAI walks up the steps, clearly amused with herself, and steps into the ring to join the two women. Miku’s smug expression doesn’t change, though there’s clear irritation in her eyes after KASAI’s words as she slowly raises the microphone again, staring right at her.)
Miku Sakai: God, you’re so fucking annoying.
(Miku lets out a dry laugh.)
Miku Sakai: That’s actually why I wanted both of you out here. Because I’m tired of hearing people talk about this match like it’s some big toss-up, like all three of us are on equal footing or some shit. We’re not.
(Miku points at Brianna first.)
Miku Sakai: Brianna, let’s start with you. You keep talking about opportunity, momentum, proving yourself, rebuilding, blah blah blah. It’s always the same motivational TED Talk with you. I get it. You’re hungry. Good for you. But being hungry doesn’t mean you get to eat.
(Miku takes a small step toward Brianna.)
Miku Sakai: You act like this is your big breakout moment, but from where I’m standing, you’re just the third wheel in a story that doesn’t revolve around you. This match isn’t about Brianna Hill finally getting her moment. It’s about me getting what I’m owed.
(Miku turns toward KASAI.)
Miku Sakai: And you.
(Miku briefly points at KASAI before lowering her arm back to her side.)
Miku Sakai: I am so sick of you acting like beating me in Empress of Elite means you own me forever. Congratulations, you beat me. Do you want a trophy? A cookie? A fucking parade?
(Miku scoffs.)
Miku Sakai: Because ever since then, you’ve walked around like you’re above everyone, laughing like a psycho and talking like you’re some untouchable final boss. News flash, you’re not.
(Miku points at herself.)
Miku Sakai: The reason I called both of you out here isn’t because I wanted some nice little face-to-face. It’s because I wanted to save everybody some time.
(Miku’s fake smile returns.)
Miku Sakai: You don’t stand a chance at Pain for Pride.
(The crowd reacts loudly.)
Miku Sakai: Seriously, there’s no point in pretending otherwise. Brianna, you’re not ready. KASAI, you’re not unbeatable. And at Pain for Pride, both of you are gonna find that out the hard way when I beat the shit out of both of you and finally get the one thing this company keeps trying to keep from me.
(Brianna finally speaks up, her calm demeanor still there, though her tone is sharper now.)
Brianna Hill: Are you done?
(Miku raises an eyebrow.)
Brianna Hill: Because all I’m hearing right now is someone trying really hard to convince herself she’s already won.
(Brianna steps forward, looking between both women.)
Brianna Hill: I don’t care about your history with KASAI, and I don’t care how badly you think you’ve been screwed. Pain for Pride is the biggest opportunity I’ve had in a long time, and I didn’t come this far just to be overlooked because of your personal grudge match. I already stood across from KASAI in the Empress of Elite finals and pushed her to her limit, so no, I’m not here to be treated like some afterthought.
(Brianna gestures toward herself.)
Brianna Hill: You can call me the third wheel if you want, but the truth is, Miku, you’re not the only person walking into Pain for Pride desperate to prove something. I’ve fought too long and worked too hard to get here. I bled with KASAI in that ring, I survived everything she threw at me, and I’m still standing here. You can keep telling yourself this is your moment, but that doesn’t make it true.
(Brianna turns slightly, now addressing both women.)
Brianna Hill: Because while the two of you are busy making this personal, I’m focused on what actually matters. Winning.
(KASAI lets out another amused laugh, shaking her head.)
KASAI: Ahahahaha… how adorable.
(KASAI slowly steps closer to the center of the ring.)
KASAI: Brianna Hill speaks of hard work and determination as if those things alone mean anything in the presence of greatness.
(KASAI looks Brianna up and down.)
KASAI: But I will give you this, Brianna… you are resilient. Mother Urai knows this better than anyone. You endured more from me than most women in this company ever could… and still, you refused to fall.
(KASAI smirks.)
KASAI: But do not mistake resilience for destiny. You survived me once. At Pain for Pride, survival will not be enough.
(Miku rolls her eyes dramatically.)
Miku Sakai: Oh my God, here we go. Another lecture from the self-proclaimed final boss.
KASAI: Silence.
(KASAI sharply turns toward Miku and snaps her fingers shut against her thumb in one quick motion, signaling for her to zip it.)
KASAI: That mouth of yours grows more irritating by the second.
(Miku laughs and steps forward.)
Miku Sakai: Or what? You gonna laugh me to death?
(The crowd reacts with a loud “oooh” as the tension rises.)
KASAI: No, Miku.
(KASAI steps forward as well, now nearly face-to-face with her.)
KASAI: But I may enjoy beating what little pride you have left out of you.
(Brianna quickly steps between them before things can escalate.)
Brianna Hill: Enough.
(Brianna looks between both women, frustration finally showing.)
Brianna Hill: That’s exactly the problem. Both of you are so busy trying to tear each other down that neither of you can see what’s right in front of you.
(Brianna points at the mat.)
Brianna Hill: Pain for Pride isn’t about your history. It isn’t about revenge. It isn’t about who talks the loudest. It’s about who shows up when it matters most.
(Miku scoffs.)
Miku Sakai: And you think that’s you?
(Brianna doesn’t hesitate.)
Brianna Hill: I know it can be.
(Miku stares at her for a second, then bursts into laughter.)
Miku Sakai: Wow. You actually believe that.
(Miku’s smile suddenly fades as she grows more serious.)
Miku Sakai: Then let me make this easy for both of you—
(BONK!)
Rich Russillo: WHOA! MIKU JUST CRACKED BRIANNA WITH THE MICROPHONE!
(Brianna stumbles to the mat, clutching the side of her head as Miku stands over her with a smug look before quickly turning her attention toward KASAI.)
Thadd Blazevich: AND MIKU IMMEDIATELY GOES AFTER KASAI WITH A RIGHT HAND! BUT KASAI SAW IT COMING! SHE BLOCKS IT AND DRIVES MIKU BACK INTO THE CORNER WITH A FLURRY OF STRIKES!
Persephone: And there it is. Took long enough.
Rich Russillo: KASAI IS UNLOADING ON MIKU — BUT WAIT, BRIANNA’S BACK UP! BRIANNA RUSHES IN, SHOVES KASAI OUT OF THE WAY, AND STARTS FIRING BACK AT MIKU IN THE CORNER!
Thadd Blazevich: Brianna’s had enough too, bro! She’s throwing bombs!
(KASAI clearly doesn’t appreciate being shoved aside. She storms back in and yanks Brianna away from Miku, forcing her toward the center of the ring. Brianna immediately shoves KASAI back, and the two stand face-to-face, shouting at each other as tensions boil over.)
Persephone: Oh, this is a mess.
Thadd Blazevich: WAIT — MIKU FROM BEHIND! MIKU SHOVES BRIANNA STRAIGHT INTO KASAI—
(THUD!)
Rich Russillo: THEIR HEADS JUST COLLIDED! BRIANNA AND KASAI JUST KNOCKED HEADS!
(Miku backs into the corner with a mischievous grin on her face as Brianna slowly gets back to her feet, with KASAI close behind her.)
Rich Russillo: MIKU! MIKU CHARGES IN — BUT BRIANNA LAUNCHES HER OVERHEAD WITH A HUGE THROW, AND MIKU CRASHES INTO KASAI WITH A TORNADO DDT!
(KASAI rolls through to her feet in the corner, clutching at her neck while Miku stumbles back up— only to get drilled with a kick to the gut by Brianna.)
Thadd Blazevich: BRIANNA’S GOT HER! SHE GOES FOR “THE GRUDGE!” BUT MIKU SLIPS OUT AND COUNTERS WITH A BACK BODY DROP!
Rich Russillo: Miku turns and rushes KASAI in the corner— BUT KASAI GETS THE BOOT UP!
(Miku staggers backward from the impact as KASAI quickly moves in from behind, wrapping her arms around Miku’s waist for a back suplex.)
Rich Russillo: KASAI LOOKING FOR THE BACK SUPLEX— NO! MIKU FLIPS OUT OF IT, LANDS ON HER FEET, AND NAILS A FRONT DROPKICK THAT SENDS KASAI INTO THE MIDDLE ROPE!
Thadd Blazevich: Miku hits the ropes looking for more— BUT BRIANNA CUTS HER OFF WITH A DROP TOE HOLD RIGHT ACROSS THE MIDDLE ROPE ON THE OTHER SIDE!
Rich Russillo: Brianna sees an opening and charges at KASAI for “HOTLINE!” BUT KASAI SLIDES UNDER THE BOTTOM ROPE JUST IN TIME! She barely avoided that tiger feint kick!
(KASAI and Brianna immediately start jawing at each other off-mic. KASAI hops onto the apron, ready to re-enter— but security suddenly rushes in and yanks her back to the floor, trying to restrain her as the crowd rains down boos.)
Thadd Blazevich: Security’s trying to contain KASAI, but I don’t think that’s gonna last long!
(Brianna turns around at the last second—)
Rich Russillo: MIKU! MIKU TRIED TO BLINDSIDE BRIANNA — BUT HILL SAW IT COMING! THEY’RE THROWING DOWN IN THE CENTER OF THE RING! IT’S A HOCKEY FIGHT!
Persephone: Yep. Total chaos. Love it.
(Security floods the ring, separating Brianna and Miku as all three women fight against the guards, each trying to break free and get their hands on one another while the crowd roars.)
Rich Russillo: This is exactly what we feared! These three are completely out of control, and with Pain for Pride right around the corner, this situation just became even more volatile!
Thadd Blazevich: Bro, if this is what happens when they’re all in the same ring for five minutes, I can’t even imagine what that Triple Threat is gonna look like!
Persephone: Hopefully worse than this.
(The chaos continues as all three women yell and struggle against security, each trying to break free for one more shot while the crowd loudly chants for them to fight. With tensions fully boiling over ahead of Pain for Pride, the camera eventually fades elsewhere.)
(Promotional ad for Pain for Pride 19, where the All-Star Triple Threat will take place.)
(Voltage returns.)
(ENDMYSUFFERINGENDMYSUFFERINGENDMYSUFFERINGENDMYSUFFERINGENDMYSUFFERINGENDMYSUFFERINGENDMYSUFFERING)
(???)
???: Oh.
!!!: …
(NOTYOUNOTYOUNOTYOUNOTYOUNOTYOUNOTYOUNOTYOUNOTYOUNOTYOUNOTYOUNOTYOUNOTYOU)
(!!!)
(!!!IMSORRYIMSORRYIMSORRYIMSORRYIMSORRYIMSORRYIMSORRYIMSORRY!!!)
(Right… you’re fucking sorry.)
(Breathe in. Breathe out.)
(Look into her eyes.)
(They weren’t blue… but in them I saw the ocean.)
(They had no light left in them… but I still saw the sparkles.)
(It was beautiful.)
(She’s beautiful.)
(I miss them. I miss her. I miss this.)
(I miss me.)
(I wish I was dead.)
(I’m powerless. Useless. Worthless.)
(My cross to bear.)
(I’m sorry… $()#%^#.)
(She blinks at me. Bewildered. Confused. Waiting for me to say something, since… I bumped into her, after all.)
(Oh, this is as awkward as the time I asked you out.)
(Fuck. I’m sorry.)
(What can I even say to you?)
(Just punch me. Punch me where it hurts most. Punch me in the heart. Be slightly inaccurate. Please.)
(Please.)
(Please.)
(Please.)
(Please.)
(Please.)
(Please.)
(Why won’t you do it?)
(Stop loving me.)
(I don’t deserve it.)
(I want you to love me, but I don’t deserve it.)
(Save yourself.)
(I can’t control the tear that escapes my eye.)
(Your stare remains empty.)
(Why the FUCK do I have to face you now…)
(…when he just burned our kid’s grave…)
(…when he just made our pain a game again…)
(…when I just sat there and watched.)
(Powerless. Useless. Worthless.)
(Why…
…Beth?)
(Just stop longing for me.)
(Stop.)
(Stop waiting for me to say something.)
(I won’t.)
(I can’t.)
(He was right. I’m a fucking coward.)
(**OW!!!**)
(You slapped me. Thank you.)
(That made me feel something.)
(It’s actually… nice. I haven’t felt something in months, Beth.)
(Can you tell, by the mere look in my eyes?)
(Jesus Christ. Look at me. Demanding I get no pity, but I’m the one pitying myself the most.)
(Man up, Adam Lucas.)
(Man the fuck up.)
(Tears wipe away.)
(Breathe in.)
???: I’m sorry, Beth.
(Say it out loud.)
Adam Lucas: I’m sorry, Beth.
(Breathe out.)
(That was way too difficult.)
(Sorry won’t cut it.)
(STOP LOOKING AT ME.)
(No… don’t cry.)
(Don’t cry for me. I’m sorry. I’m fucking sorry, baby.)
(FUCK!)
(No matter how many times I say it, it’s never gonna sound like I mean it, right?)
(He was right.)
(He was right.)
(I deserved it.)
(I have to be honest. To your face.)
(I can’t run around the truth.)
(I have to find it in me to tell you what we both know.)
(I deserved it.)
(*But you didn’t.*)
Dr. Bethany Blue: I’m sorry too.
(This is the only thing I meant.)
(It all started with me, didn’t it?)
(My hubris.)
(My ego.)
(I took you down the dark path with me.)
(And you never blamed me for it?)
(Why? Why the fuck did you not?)
(WHY, ADAM?)
(Your pupils are so dilated.)
(How much have you been drinking?)
(Are you coming to shows drunk?)
(Do you fight at bars?)
(How many fights have you had that I didn’t know?)
(What have you done…)
(At least. Tell me this one thing.)
(Tell her this one thing.)
(Or I’ll tell it for you.)
(Or she’ll tell it for me.)
(Then, there’s no going back.)
(Then, there’s no going back.)
Adam Lucas: Our child is dead.
Dr. Bethany Blue: Our—
(AND IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT. AND IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT.)
(Shit. I didn’t mean that.)
(It’s my fault.)
(It’s all my fault.)
(I wish I had some earpods.)
(You said it.)
(You finally did.)
(But now I wish you didn’t.)
(I thought not lying to me… would help.)
(But it didn’t. I can only run. I can only avoid.)
(I’m human. I’ll run out of energy. I’ll stumble, and I’ll fall.)
(I’ll hurt myself. I’ll be left to die alone.)
(And you’ll think I hated you.)
(But I think I hate myself more than I hate you.)
(Eyes water. Noses sniffle.)
(We barely said anything. But the message I get just looking at you… tells the story better than words ever could.)
(I’m glad there’s no door separating us anymore.)
(But I don’t know how to get rid of the door separating our love.)
(How do I do it?)
(How will you forgive me?)
(You won’t do it if I kill Kai.)
(I know you won’t.)
(This isn’t about him.)
(This is about accountability.)
(But I can’t do it.)
(No matter how much I try, I’ll always end up running.)
(Can you tell I’m drunk, Beth?)
(Can you tell how many whiskeys I’ve had?)
(Can you tell how many days I’ve gone without sleep?)
(It’s in the eyes, isn’t it?)
(I wish my eyes were as beautiful as yours.)
(I wish I knew what you loved about me.)
(I wish I knew…
…so I could love myself.)
(How can you love?)
(When there is nothing to love.)
(Stop crying.)
(There’s no point in crying.)
(I don’t deserve your tears.)
(Can I… wipe them away?)
(Will you let me?)
(OW!!)
(Okay. At least stop crying. I’m not worth it.)
(STOP!)
(I’m a fool. I wish I could kill you.)
(You’re worse than Jake. Worse than Bronson. Worse than Alexis. Worse than Kassidy. Worse than Kai.)
(At least they never pretended.)
(What the fuck am I saying?)
(I’m sorry, Adam. I don’t mean that.)
(I’m just so angry. I can’t help myself. The fans cheer me on for whatever reason. But I can’t understand.)
(I’m a piece of shit. That’s what I am at my core. No matter how much I hide it, that’s the truth.)
(And I’ll never stop coping, will I?)
(I just wish you saw the signs.)
(That you weren’t so selfish at the worst time.)
(Our child would be alive.)
(Our child would be alive.)
(Our child would be alive.)
(You always wanted to be a girldad.)
(I don’t really know what I wanted.)
(I think you gave me that clarity I never had.)
(I wish I knew what I had.)
(I wish YOU knew what you had.)
(Fuck. I’m being spiteful again.)
(But it’s hard not to.)
(Just look at the way you’re staring at me!)
(I collapsed into your arms.)
(And we wrestled the next week.)
(And our world came crumbling.)
(And… and… our…)
(I’m the coward now, aren’t I?)
(I get it now.)
(But I wish you noticed.)
(I wish you could’ve stopped this.)
(They all forget my pain while you insult one another.)
(I keep silent. But I can’t fucking take it. I want to cry every second of my life.)
(When they tell me they’re sorry, all they do is make me relive all of it.)
(Fucking dickheads.)
(But I can’t lose myself.)
(I have to remain strong.)
(I don’t know how much more I can handle.)
(I’ll drop the mask eventually. I’ll reach my limit.)
(Stop looking at me like that, Adam.)
(At least say something.)
(You have some nerve showing up right now.)
(You do.)
(I don’t care if it’s just a coincidence.)
(But I can walk away. You probably won’t do anything. You’ve never looked more defeated.)
(And still. I don’t.)
(I’m just entertaining this staring contest that shatters my heart.)
(At least say something. Stop looking at me like a lost puppy.)
(Well, that’s exactly what you are right now, isn’t it?)
(I’m like a lost puppy.)
(And I can feel your pity.)
(What can I even say, that isn’t stating the obvious?)
(I’m just…)
(Just…)
Adam Lucas: Better off fuckin’ dead.
(Oh no.)
(Why did your eyes widen so much.)
(Why did I say that.)
(Beth?)
(Beth? Say something.)
(Y— you’re suicidal!?)
(I mean— I never.)
(How could I.)
(How did I…)
(No.)
(No!)
(I hate you, Adam! I’ll never forgive you.)
(But you shouldn’t wanna die.)
(You don’t deserve that.)
(But you also don’t deserve being lied to.)
(I’m glad this is all in my head. But you can tell, can’t you?)
(Just don’t be stupid.)
(Don’t kill yourself.)
(I don’t know what I would do.)
(Don’t.)
(Don’t.)
(Don’t.)
(Don’t.)
(KILLYOURSELFKILLYOURSELFKILLYOURSELFKILLYOURSELFKILLYOURSELF)
Dr. Bethany Blue: What the fuck is wrong with me?
(He tilted his head.)
(I said that out loud, didn’t I?)
(Fuck.)
Dr. Bethany Blue: FUCK!
(…?)
Adam Lucas: Hey, it’s okay!
Dr. Bethany Blue: DON’T TOUCH ME.
(I slap his hand away again.)
(She slapped my hand away, again.)
(Good. That’s what I deserve.)
(She definitely saw what Kai did. She saw the grave burn to ashes.)
(We were ridiculed again. And it’s all my fault.)
(Your pupils are shaking.)
(You want to kill me, don’t you?)
(You want to kill me, right, Beth?)
(You should.)
(Please.)
(Please.)
(Kill me, Beth.)
(Your skin is red. Tears run down your eyes.)
(You’re in pain.)
(It’s my fault.)
(Did you at least hear me then?)
(When you slammed that door in my face?)
(Did you hear any of that?)
(I lack the power to tell you anything right now. I genuinely can’t open my mouth. My thoughts are so clear and yet I feel paralysed whenever my lips part.)
(I hope you did. I meant all of it.)
(And I’m sorry I couldn’t say it to your face.)
(I’m sorry.)
(I’m sorry.)
(I’m sorry.)
(I’m sorry.)
(I’m sorry.)
(I’m sorry.)
(I’m sorry.)
(I’m sorry.)
(I’m sorry.)
(So sorry.)
(But I need to ask you something.)
(I need to know if there’s a point.)
(I need to.)
(I know the answer already.)
(But this is my last bit of hope.)
(I’m gonna ask you now.)
(Are you ready?)
(You don’t look ready.)
(I mean, I can’t blame you. I have some nerve, being here, after what happened earlier.)
(I should’ve just left.)
(I should’ve gone to the graveyard. Salvaged whatever I could.)
(It’s a long drive, I know.)
(But that’s what I should’ve done.)
(Instead…)
(What the fuck am I doing?)
(Why the fuck am I here?)
(I need to stop being a bitch.)
(I’m making this awkward.)
(I’ll just ask, Beth.)
(Okay?)
(At least nod your head.)
(Like you can fuckin’ hear me…)
(God. I feel paralyzed. My lips are just trembling. This body doesn’t even feel like it’s mine.)
(I’m like some anxious fucking teenager.)
(I’ll just try.)
Adam Lucas: Will—
(You tilted your head.)
(I can’t do it.)
(I can’t.)
(I want to drown in my sorrows. I want another bottle.)
(WILL YOU EVER FORGIVE ME, BETH?)
(I’ll just look away. And say it.)
Adam Lucas: Will you ever forgive me!?
(Will you ever be ready?)
(Do I even deserve it?)
(I just don’t know what else to do.)
(You never approved of any of what I’ve done. It will change nothing.)
(You hate me for it, right?)
(I know you do. Because I do too.)
Dr. Bethany Blue: I don’t know.
Dr. Bethany Blue: I’m not ready.
Dr. Bethany Blue: And it’s all your fault.
Dr. Bethany Blue: And I’m— And I’m— And I’m—
Dr. Bethany Blue: I’m—
Adam Lucas: Angry.
(So fucking angry, Adam.)
(I mean, I just look up, can’t even see properly because of all these tears… and I just feel anger when I see you.)
(Please. Just leave.)
(Fucking leave.)
(LEAVE.)
(LEAVE.)
(LEAVE.)
(YOU LET HIM BURN THE GRAVE TOO.)
(LEAVE.)
(DIE.)
(LEAVE.)
(LEAVE.)
(LEAVE.)
(I just shoved him.)
(Why the fuck did I shove him?)
(JUST FUCKING LEAVE, ADAM!!)
(STOP BEING A COWARD. LEAVE.)
(Well.)
(The fact you’re not leaving.)
(Shows you’re strong.)
(I’m coping.)
(I’m gonna put my hands on you.)
(So leave, Adam.)
Dr. Bethany Blue: LEAVE!!!!!!!!
(Before I do something I’ll regret.)
(But you’ll never leave. You’ll just let me cry. You’ll let me be angry.)
(Why aren’t you leaving?)
(I left you, after all, right?)
(Please. Leave me alone. I need to be alone.)
(STOP LOOKING AT ME.)
STOP!!!
STOP!!!
STOP!!!
STOP!!!
STOP!!!
STOP!!!
STOP!!!
STOP!!!
STOP!!!
STOP!!!
STOP!!!
STOP!!!
(Fuck.)
(I just beat my fists into your chests. Screaming.)
(I didn’t even hold back.)
(But your expression didn’t change. You didn’t even move.)
(Way to make me feel like a fucking loser now.)
(You’re too stubborn.)
(I wish I let Siobhan—)
(I hope Kai—)
(What am I saying?)
(I don’t mean any of that.)
LEAVE!!
(Fuck.)
(I hit you again.)
(That dropped you on one knee.)
(I’m sorry.)
(I didn’t mean to.)
(I swear.)
(It felt good.)
(But I didn’t mean to.)
(But I want to do it again.)
(And again.)
(And again.)
(And again.)
(So I do it.)
(But I’m stopped.)
(Not by myself.)
(I look to the side.)
(TLA?)
(Fuck off.)
(Fuck off.)
(Fuck. Off.)
(LET GO OF ME.)
(WE’RE NOT FRIENDS.)
(WE’RE TEMPORARY PARTNERS.)
(ALL I’VE DONE IS FUCK YOU OVER.)
(SO DON’T PRETEND LIKE YOU CARE.)
(Why are you looking at me like you care?)
(Why do you actually look like you feel sorry?)
(Why is remorse written on your face?)
(There’s no way you have any empathy left to spare.)
(So stop.)
(Please, TLA. Stop.)
(I’m broken.)
(He’s broken.)
(Save yourself.)
(Just say something funny and fuck off.)
(Well. You haven’t even said anything at all.)
(I… just…)
(I smiled?)
(You punched me.)
(Everywhere but where I wanted.)
(You knew what you were doing, still.)
(I’m begging.)
(Beth.)
(Just…)
(I’m down on my knees. I won’t even get up. I’ll just sink. Into the floor. Until the void eats me. Hopefully.)
(Holding onto your ankles. They’re the last anchor I have left.)
(I weep.)
(Just kill me.)
(I want to die.)
(Kill me.)
(Beth.)
(Kill me.)
(I weep, and I weep, and I weep.)
(And I can’t even look up.)
(And I’m just begging.)
(To be killed.)
(If you still love me.)
(End my suffering.)
(Just do it.)
(Do it.)
(Do it.)
(End it.)
(I can’t do this anymore.)
Adam Lucas: KILL ME!
(KILLMEKILLMEKILLMEKILLMEKILLMEKILLMEKILLMEKILLMEKILLMEKILLME)
(Why won’t you do it?)
(Beth just steps back. My weak hands ungrip.)
(I splatter on the concrete.)
(I’ll never have you back, will I?)
(And living… is my punishment, right?)
(TLA saw too much. He knows I’m a mess. He found out my husband is suicidal.)
(When I fuck up his chances, he’ll just get his revenge. I’ll never escape.)
(Because we’re not friends. He shouldn’t be here.)
(We’ll never be friends.)
(Why would he be friends with me?)
(His sympathy is fake. I can feel it.)
(After feeling Adam… and hearing his cries…)
(Whatever fight was in me… evaporated.)
(TLA just lets me go.)
(He pats me on the shoulder.)
(Says he’s here for me.)
(Like hell he is.)
(I can’t say anything.)
(I’m just crying. I can’t stop crying.)
(I can’t even look at him. I can’t look at Adam.)
(I just want to cry.)
(I don’t know how I’ll walk out in front of an audience in like half an hour, and pretend everything is fine.)
(Nothing is fine.)
(I just want to cry.)
(So I just stand in place and cry.)
(My entire face feels numb. My feet get numb because I haven’t even moved.)
(I can’t even look at him. I don’t want to look at him.)
(Or I’ll cry even more.)
(TLA smiled at me. He still said nothing. Just kindly wiped my tears away with a tissue. Not that I’d ever stop crying.)
(He puts another tissue in my hand.)
(I do nothing with it.)
(I *can’t* do anything.)
(Does he really want to die?)
(%#^%…)
(Voltage fades.)
(Promotional ad for Pain for Pride 19, where TLA and Dr. Bethany Blue face ToXXXin for the Unified Tag Team Championships.)
(The camera returns to ringside, with ‘Self Help Tape’ by Moses Sumney already playing in the meantime. Captain Charisma is inside of the ring, standing with a microphone in his hand as he looks towards the loud fans in attendance, meeting his cheers with a smile as he takes in the applause. As the fans begin to calm down, the Voltage Commissioner begins to speak.)
Captain Charisma: Are you enjoying the show?
(The cheers that follow this question are enough to answer this question, and Captain Charisma’s smile widens as he nods.)
Captain Charisma: That’s great. You know we have to keep our foot on the gas heading towards Pain for Pride, and that’s actually part of the reason I’m out here. At Pain for Pride we have a number of incredible matches in store, and one of those matches is the one I’m here right now to address, and share some much-needed details with you all. Of course, that is none other than the match between Bronson Daniels and Jon Kelton, in Three Stages of Hardcore Hell!
(This just brings more cheers from the crowd, even louder than before as they’re beyond excited for the upcoming match between them, as well as the information Captain Charisma is about to provide.)
Captain Charisma: Three Stages of Hardcore Hell is a stipulation we already planned to have just this season. Dr. Bethany Blue and Jay Jerry Johnson were scheduled to compete in the match at Bloodsport, but due to things getting out of hand between them, that wasn’t able to happen. This time however I plan to make sure Three Stages of Hardcore Hell happens, and we AT LEAST see two of the stages, if not all three. With that being said, I left it to Bronson Daniels and Jon Kelton to choose the first two stages, and I spoke with them individually earlier tonight so I could find out what they came up with. Right now I’m here to share those stipulations, as well as my own should this match reach the third stage, with all of you as well as Bronson and Jon themselves. That being said, I’d like for both Bronson and Jon to come out here right now so we can get this started.
(The camera pans towards the stage, and ‘Run Into Flowers’ by M83 hits to loud cheers. Bronson Daniels begins walking out with a microphone in his hand, and while he’s ready to get this over with, there’s a few mixed emotions on his face. He’s skeptical at how well this is going to go given the hatred between him and Jon Kelton, and he’s still a bit lost in thought after what occurred earlier in the night with Milli Banks. Still, he chooses to walk down the ramp, heading towards the ring.)
Rich Russillo: It looks like it’s about time to find out the stipulations being used for Three Stages of Hardcore Hell! This is bound to be good, I wonder what they’ve come up with.
Thadd Blazevich: Bro, it could be anything! Bronson and Kelton hate each other’s guts, and right now that might be the best thing possible for this match!
Persephone: As tired as I am of these two, I agree. They better not pick anything stupid for their stipulations.
(Bronson Daniels enters the ring, and he glances towards the stage for a moment before turning back towards Captain Charisma.)
Bronson Daniels: Are you sure revealing the stipulations like this is the best idea? I don’t want to waste everyone’s time and I don’t want to lie to you either, so I can’t guarantee that nothing’s going to happen if I have to share the ring with Jon right now. He’s going to want a fight after what I did to him last week, and you know that that’s not something I plan to back away from. Not after everything he’s done. If he tries anything I will hurt him, and at this point I don’t think I’ll be satisfied until I know he can’t get back up even if that means ruining Pain for Pride for myself.
(Captain Charisma just smirks, nodding his head as he speaks, showing confidence despite being in full agreement with Bronson’s words.)
Captain Charisma: Trust me I know, and I won’t say I blame you either. Still, I want you all to at least be able to hear directly from me what Pain for Pride has in store for the two of you before you go and get any ideas, so I’m fine with taking the risk if it means you realize you’d much rather face each other at Pain for Pride than try to just kill each other right now. Besides, I didn’t go into this unprepared, so I know tensions are running high and you two have bad blood with each other, but I can promise that I have it all under contro-
(Before Captain Charisma could even finish speaking, ‘All of the Lights (Interlude)’ by Kanye West begins to play. This brings out loud boos as Bronson turns towards the stage following the sudden interruption. It turns out, Bronson was right. Jon Kelton storms out, and he isn’t even holding a microphone. Kelton is just ready to fight, walking down the ramp as he stares directly towards Bronson.)
Rich Russillo: Uh oh! Jon Kelton is here, and it doesn’t look like he’s just here to talk! He’s here for a fight, and after last week I don’t think we need to guess why!
Thadd Blazevich: Well this went down faster than I coulda expected! Kelton doesn’t even care about finding out the stipulations right now, bro just wants to get some payback on Bronson!
(However… Before Kelton could get far at all, security guards begin rushing out. They rush past Jon Kelton, before standing in front of him, blocking his path to the ring. Kelton is caught off guard initially, but once his realization sets in, so does annoyance, as he just glares at Captain Charisma.)
Captain Charisma: As I was saying, I have this all under control. Now, would you like to join us in the ring *without* turning this into a brawl so we can get started?
(Kelton continues to stare at Captain Charisma, before finally he just sighs. The security guards clear the way, allowing Jon Kelton to walk down the ramp, this time with more composure than before. Captain Charisma calls off the security guards, and as they head back up the ramp, Jon Kelton makes his way into the ring.)
Captain Charisma: Thank you, and don’t forget I can call them right back here at any time.
(Kelton doesn’t look amused whatsoever, just remaining silent as Captain Charisma continues.)
Captain Charisma: Anyways, you two gave me some interesting choices for the Three Stages of Hardcore Hell match, and trust me, I get it. You two want to tear each other apart and you certainly haven’t hidden that fact with your choices, and that is one of the reasons I’m trying to protect you two from each other right now. I want to give these people an incredible match at Pain for Pride and I want to give the two of you a shot at closure, and neither of those things happen if you go and kill each other before we even make it to Pain for Pride. I think it’s for the best that you two focus your attention and your energy towards Pain for Pride and the Three Stages of Hardcore Hell, because the FIRST stage, and Jon Kelton’s choice of stipulation is…
Captain Charisma: A STREET FIGHT!
(This brings an explosion of cheers from the crowd. Jon Kelton remains focused, while Bronson just nods hearing the stipulation Kelton had picked. Hearing the cheers, Captain Charisma takes a second and turns towards the crowd.)
Captain Charisma: I know, it’s great isn’t it? Talk about a hot start, but we’re not finished yet. The second stage is the one whose stipulation was picked by Bronson Daniels, which both Elitists will compete in regardless of the result of the first stage. That stipulation is…
Captain Charisma: AN EXPLODING TLC MATCH!
(This brings about an even louder reaction, given just how unexpected of a choice it was. Jon Kelton looks at Bronson after hearing this, noting how eager Bronson must be to try and destroy him for this to have been his choice.)
Captain Charisma: Like I said, you two hate each other and that’s been made pretty clear. You two both picked stipulations that’ll give you the freedom to do whatever you please to each other, and with that in mind, I felt it was only right that I followed up the energy you both have in the necessary manner. To be honest, a decisive ending is exactly what this chapter of your careers needs right now, and the stipulation that I chose reflects that. Granted, there is no guarantee that this match actually reaches the third stage, but in the event that it does, I think both of you will be satisfied with the finale of Three Stages of Hardcore Hell.
(Jon Kelton and Bronson Daniels glance at each other for a moment, before turning back towards the Commissioner.)
Captain Charisma: Now without further adieu… The final stipulation, and *my* choice for the Three Stages of Hardcore Hell match will be…
(The fans quiet down, eagerly waiting before finally… Captain Charisma reveals the final stipulation.)
Captain Charisma: AN I QUIT MATCH!!
(The crowd explodes with cheers, giving as loud of a reaction as they can following the reveal of this stipulation. The fans are as excited as they are surprised, knowing that I Quit matches in EAW are few and far between. Bronson and Kelton both have similar reactions to this. While it’s not what neither of them expected, neither of them are against it. In fact, after hearing this news Kelton walks towards the ropes, holding his hand out towards the timekeeper’s area before receiving a microphone.)
(After receiving the microphone, Kelton begins slowly walking up towards Captain Charisma, before finally beginning to speak.)
Jon Kelton: An I Quit match, hm?
(Kelton turns towards Bronson, slowly beginning to nod his head.)
Jon Kelton: I like it.
(Kelton gives a shrug as he says this, as if the choice in stipulation doesn’t actually bother him.)
Jon Kelton: To be honest I didn’t really care about what the third stipulation was because I don’t intend for this match to get that far, but after hearing both the I Quit and Exploding TLC match stipulations, I’m actually curious. I’m starting to wonder what the play is here, because all along I’ve been hearing that the point of this is for us to settle this once and for all and to close the “Elysium” chapter of our lives for good… But from my eyes, this looks more like Bronson’s being offered up to me on a silver platter.
(With these words comes a darker look on Kelton’s face as well as a much more stern tone of voice. He turns his head, looking at Bronson as he continues.)
Jon Kelton: So what is it, Bronson? Are you suicidal, or have you just lost your mind? I know you haven’t forgotten about what I did to you at Road to Redemption. You can’t seem to stop talking about it so it can’t be that you’re just ignoring the fact that the last time I had the freedom to dish out whatever punishment I wanted I put you on the shelf for months. Whatever was running through your head when you went to Captain Charisma and suggested something like an Exploding TLC match as your choice of stipulation, it was foolish. It was the kind of thought you should’ve suppressed, because at Pain for Pride you’re going to repeat history. You’re going to relive Road to Redemption on an even greater scale, and when it happens who are you going to blame for it? Me? No… No, you won’t have the right to do that. Not after what you pulled here.
(Kelton begins to slowly walk towards Bronson Daniels, and a slight smirk forms on his face as he continues speaking, knowing that Bronson won’t respond.)
Jon Kelton: When you lose at Pain for Pride, whether it’s through being blown up or because I extended the match just long enough to hear you say the words “I Quit”, it will be your fault. Everything you’ve built for yourself up to this point will shatter and finally come crashing down, and you will have nobody to blame for it but yourself.
(The fans boo, as Jon Kelton is standing directly in front of Bronson Daniels at this point, making use of the fact that should Bronson attack him, it won’t be long before Captain Charisma brings security back out here. Bronson keeps calm though, refusing to let Kelton get to him to such an extent.)
Bronson Daniels: Do you remember what I said long after Territorial Invasion was over, I had the time to at least try to process your betrayal, and speak my mind before I finally got back in the ring?
(Jon Kelton doesn’t answer this question, instead staring at Bronson with a slightly confused expression. Bronson brushes past this, continuing to speak.)
Bronson Daniels: “I hope what’s next will be worth it”.
(Some cheers emerge from the crowd after these words, now loaded after everything that has transpired between these two since they were said. Kelton isn’t amused with this statement being thrown in his face, but Bronson isn’t finished there.)
Bronson Daniels: I tried to understand your perspective, because you were my brother, and I wanted to at least consider why someone I cared so deeply about would do what you did to me. I tried to get in the mind of someone who had never defeated me, who had never been a World Champion, who had never been seen as anything more than second place even if the person you stabbed in the back was one of the only people in this company who saw more than that. I tried to get why you did what you did, but even if I understood it, I couldn’t accept it. I could accept the times where I was truly beaten. I could accept the times where I just wasn’t the better competitor, but I couldn’t accept having the EAW World Championship ripped out of my hands by someone I felt was my brother- not so you could win it for yourself, but so neither of us could have it because you were just that bitter and petty. I was done with you, and back then I was ready to just end this story. I was ready to get you out of my life and just move on with my career, but then…
Bronson Daniels: You tried to take my career from me.
(A more negative reaction follows, but Kelton doesn’t appear remorseful. Bronson however takes a step closer, showing more anger than before as he begins to slightly raise his voice.)
Bronson Daniels: You think this is about being suicidal, no, this is scorched Earth. This is me doing what I should’ve done ages ago, no matter what the consequences are. Street Fight, Exploding TLC, I Quit, those are all rough situations to go through back to back. There’s no telling what may happen to either of us by the time the match is over, but I don’t have the benefit of worrying about that anymore. You took that away from me, and I plan to take just as much away from you. I lost months of my career and involuntarily gave you time to breathe that you didn’t deserve, so when I returned back at Grand Rampage I made sure of one thing, and that’s that I learned from my mistakes. I’m not offering myself up to you, I’m just done sparing you. You’re not getting a second to breathe. You’re not getting the chance to move on with your head held high. You’re not getting anything you want, because this ends at Pain for Pride, and it ends with you in the ground.
(The crowd explodes with cheers following Bronson’s heated words, and Bronson continues to stare at his Pain for Pride opponent, maintaining the fire that’s been lit under him. Kelton however shakes his head, refusing to go along with Bronson’s words as he fires back.)
Jon Kelton: Scorched Earth? No, I don’t see it. You don’t care about consequences, that part is true. But scorched Earth? No. I don’t see it, because even after all the attacks, all of the bloodshed, all of your threats to finally put an end to me, I’m still standing here and unlike you I never stopped. You can ruin my World Championship matches. You can screw me over in Grand Rampage. You can even attack me while we’re on the same team, but you can’t put me in the ground. You don’t have the heart for it, and let’s just be honest, Bronson. You’re not good enough to do it.
Bronson Daniels: Really? I’m not good enough?
Jon Kelton: You’re not, which is why you’re in the situation you’re in. Yeah, it’s true, you always were looked at as “the guy” when it came to Elysium, but where did that get you? You held the Answers World Championship for not even a single day, and since then it’s just been an endless cycle of you “almost” getting the job done but ultimately failing, with the only real exception being Road to Redemption where thanks to me- you didn’t even come close. You’re not who you think you are, and THAT is why I can’t buy the idea of this being anything even reminiscent of scorched Earth. Truth is, my one and only mistake is that you had the chance to escape Road to Redemption with your career intact. You lied to me. You used me. You exploited me, and for that you deserved so much worse than what I gave you, but instead here you are getting another match at Pain for Pride instead of rotting away somewhere like you should be. You don’t belong here anymore Bronson, so I’m going to do the world a favor. This is a mercy killing. A fitting end to your most pathetic year yet.
Bronson Daniels: Alright, so what about you? How long do you plan to keep doing this? You say you’re going to beat me at Pain for Pride, that is just going to be a repeat of Road to Redemption- well you remember what happened after Road to Redemption, don’t you? You just kept proving yourself wrong. You kept proving that you’re not who you think you are. That you’re not what you wanted to be, and that everything you stabbed me in the back for was a lie. You have no hope Jon, because even after all the losses, setbacks, disappointment and everything else in your absence, you could never blame yourself. It was always someone else’s fault. It was always someone else screwing you over. You just can’t get over yourself, and that’s not going to change no matter what you do. Beating me, winning a World Championship, making it into the Hall of Fame. You can do everything you’ve been itching for. Everything I’ve already done. None of it will fill the hole you have inside of you, and make you any less pathetic than you are.
Jon Kelton: There’s nothing more “pathetic” than what the future has in store for you. This comeback run of yours is a joke. I don’t need you to talk to me about accountability and taking the blame for my setbacks when the only reason you’re here right now is to stick it to me. You lie to these people every week telling them that you’re here because you can’t let go of this sport- no. It’s me that you can’t let go of, but I’m not giving you a choice anymore. This is done at Pain for Pride, and once this ends that’s it for you. You won’t have anything. You won’t be anything. You’re going to be right back in a hospital bed, while this company finally moves on from you.
Bronson Daniels: And do what, focus on you instead?
(Bronson looks even more annoyed than before as he asks this, at this point having had more than enough of the back and forth with Kelton as his former teammate just remains silent, not even giving him an answer.)
Bronson Daniels: You don’t get it, Jon. This isn’t about my future anymore. This isn’t about success, or accolades, or even your envy. This is about you getting what you deserve, and I won’t stop until it happens. You can tell yourself whatever you need to believe in order to make this Three Stages of Hardcore Hell match work, but you know that you can’t beat me. You know that this match doesn’t favor you, and you know that when it comes down to it you set yourself for failure not now, not back at Grand Rampage, not even at Road to Redemption, but way back at Territorial Invasion. If you wanted me gone you should’ve killed me while you had the chance, because I’m here and the only way I’m going down is if you’re coming along with me.
(The loud reaction from the crowd returns following that threat, only this time, Kelton doesn’t look impressed. Instead he takes a moment, as if he’s trying to brush off the words he just heard before he responds one more time.)
Jon Kelton: Well I don’t fear your threats, so if you think words alone will make me freeze, think again. What happens at Pain for Pride will be almost two years in the making. Two years of me being forced to cover for your own mediocrity. Two years of me being pushed to the side for you. Two years of me holding your hand, guiding you to an easy way out that you still couldn’t find. That ends here, and I will be glad when this is over, and I never have to see your face again. You can go back to sitting on the sidelines, watching this company pass you by, watching me pass you by, watching Milli pass you by, watching everyone you know, love and hate all move on from you. You were never my brother, Bronson. Just another dead man waiting to be buried.
(This finally does it. Bronson doesn’t say anything for some time, not after everything Kelton just said, from his threats to choosing to even mention Milli given everything she herself is going through right now. Bronson tries to maintain his composure, but with each word he forces out, that becomes increasingly difficult.)
Bronson Daniels: Right… Well…
(Bronson finally just turns and looks towards Captain Charisma, before shaking his head. Captain Charisma seems to know exactly where this is, but before he could even react, Bronson says a few more words, continuing to stare directly at him.)
Bronson Daniels: Sorry. I tried to warn you.
Rich Russillo: BRONSON JUST HIT KELTON WITH A HEADBUTT!!!!!
Thadd Blazevich: HERE WE GO, IT’S TIME FOR A BRAWL, DUDES!!!!! BRONSON TAKES KELTON TO THE MAT WITH A DOUBLE LEG TAKEDOWN AND JUST BEGINS WAILING ON HIM- BUT KELTON TURNS IT AROUND, GETTING ON TOP OF BRONSON BEFORE STARTING TO LAND SOME FOREARMS!!! BRONSON CATCHES KELTON WITH A SURPRISE PUNCH THE JAW, AND THAT KNOCKS BRO OFF OF HIM!
Rich Russillo: Kelton stumbles back up, AND BRONSON RUNS IN BEFORE CLOTHESLINING KELTON OVER THE TOP ROPE!!!! BRONSON DOESN’T WAIT, HE IMMEDIATELY RUNS THE ROPES AFTER THIS- BEFORE FLYING AT KELTON WITH A SUICIDE DIVE!!!!!!!! BRONSON CRASHES INTO KELTON AS KELTON GOES BACK FIRST INTO THE BARRICADE, AND NOW BRONSON JUST KEEPS PUMMELING HIM!!!!
(Captain Charisma just shakes his head seeing this brawl continue, knowing that things were inevitably going to turn out like this eventually. He looks towards the stage, motioning for security to make their way back out. However, before that could happen…)
Rich Russillo: BRONSON GRABS KELTON, AND HE GOES TO SEND HIM INTO THE RINGPOST-
Thadd Blazevich: BUT KELTON TURNS IT AROUND, AND HE SENDS BRONSON’S SHOULDER RIGHT INTO THE POST!!!! DUDE, WE KNOW BRONSON’S SHOULDER ISN’T AT A HUNDRED PERCENT AFTER FIGHTING SPIRIT, AND NOW KELTON JUST TARGETED IT AGAIN TO GET THE UPPER HAND!!!
Persephone: Bronson just sinks to a knee holding his shoulder, and now Kelton is walking up to him with a look on his face that tells me he’s finally about to do something interesting.
Rich Russillo: Kelton grabs Bronson Daniels by the back of his head, AND BEFORE BRONSON COULD RECOVER, KELTON BASHES HIS FACE INTO THE POST!! HE DOES IT A SECOND TIME!!! A THIRD, AND HE DOESN’T STOP THERE!!! KELTON REPEATEDLY SMASHES BRONSON’S FACE INTO THE POST, GOING AND GOING UNTIL HE’S ABLE TO DRAW BLOOD!!!!!
Thadd Blazevich: AND HE GETS IT!!! I CAN SEE THE BLOOD RUNNING DOWN BRONSON’S FACE DUDE, BUT KELTON STILL WON’T STOP!!! WE KNOW HE WAS PISSED AFTER LAST WEEK, BUT I THINK WE UNDERESTIMATED HOW BADLY HE WANTED TO DESTROY BRONSON TONIGHT!!!
Rich Russillo: KELTON CONTINUES TRYING TO JUST BASH BRONSON’S SKULL IN- BUT FINALLY, SECURITY MAKES THEIR WAY TO RINGSIDE!!!
Persephone: Why does Captain Charisma have to ruin everything???
Thadd Blazevich: THE SECURITY GUARDS PULL JON KELTON AWAY, WHILE BRONSON IS STRUGGLING TO EVEN GET BACK UP AFTER WHAT WAS JUST DONE TO HIM!!! THINGS HAVE GOTTEN OUT OF HAND HERE BROS, BUT IT’S LIKE DOUBLE C SAID!! WE GOT THREE STAGES OF HARDCORE HELL AT PAIN FOR PRIDE, AND THOSE STIPULATIONS ARE SOMETHING SERIOUS!!!
(Jon Kelton is slowly dragged towards the ramp by a majority of the security guards, but as this happens, Bronson is able to push himself back to his feet. Though groggy, he can’t help but look back at Jon Kelton, and he tries to force himself over to him- only to be stopped by the remaining security guards, who hold the bloody Bronson Daniels back as Kelton continues being dragged up the ramp.)
Rich Russillo: A street fight in the first stage. An exploding TLC match in the second stage, and should it come down to it… An I Quit match in the final stage. I can see why Captain Charisma is trying to save these two from each other. At Pain for Pride, I think this really will end once and for all.
Thadd Blazevich: Couldn’t have said it better, bro. They’re both out for blood, and I think they’re gonna get a lot of it at Pain for Pride.
(The security guards continue separating the two former members of Elysium, while inside of the ring, Captain Charisma just watches it all unfold. With this final shot, Voltage fades away from ringside.)
(Promotional ad for Pain for Pride 19, where Bronson Daniels faces Jon Kelton in Three Stages of Hardcore Hell.)
(The camera returns to ringside.)
Bella Braxton: THE FOLLOWING IS A SINGLES MATCH SET FOR ONE-FALL!
(‘RUNITUP’ by Tyler, The Creator ft. Teezo Touchdown blasts throughout the arena as the crowd loudly boos. Cosmo Goldworthy comes out with a cocky smile on his face, Diamond Dixon following close behind him. Both of them look ready for the upcoming match, knowing that this is far from the first time Cosmo has faced Candice, but will be one of the last this season.)
Bella Braxton: INTRODUCING FIRST…ACCOMPANIED TO THE RING BY DIAMOND DIXON…FROM THE GOLDEN STATE…WEIGHING IN AT 220 POUNDS…HE IS COSMO “MONEY MO” GOLLLLLDDDDWWOOORTTTHHHYYYY!
Rich Russillo: And look at the confidence on Goldworthy here! He seems to always be oozing it! He has a chance to face off against Candice Blair before they engage in hardcore tag team warfare in Pain for Pride! Can he get the edge tonight?
(‘So Far So Fake’ by Pierce the Veil begins to play next as the crowd cheers. Candice Blair emerges onto the stage looking determined. ARIA is close behind her and they both respond to Goldworthy’s cockiness with sheer focus, ready for the bell to ring so she can get back at Cosmo for everything he and Diamond has done, and get momentum on their side ahead of Pain for Pride.)
Bella Braxton: AND HIS OPPONENT…ACCOMPANIED TO THE RING BY ARIA…RESIDING IN MALIBU, CALIFORNIA…WEIGHING IN AT 130 POUNDS…SHE IS PRINCESS CANNNDIIICEEE BLAAAIIIRRRRR!
Thadd Blazevich: Bro, there is a lot of unfinished business between these factions here! You have to think that it could get out of hand tonight! But let’s see if they can stay on task and keep this one on one!
(Candice Blair gets into the ring and stares down Goldworthy who’s already doing some trash talking. Diamond Dixon does a fair bit towards ARIA who ignores her at the moment. The referee separates Goldworthy and Blair before calling for the bell.)
(DING! DING! DING!)
Rich Russillo: There’s the bell and now this one is officially underway here folks! Cosmo Goldworthy looks to lock-up with Candice Blair in the center of the ring! But that was just a feint by Goldworthy who ducks underneath Blair’s arms! He gets right behind her and tries to pick her up for a back suplex! Candice gets him with an elbow in the face instead! She then turns around…AND GOES FOR THE SUPER KICK! But Cosmo dodges backwards and crawls towards the corner ropes! With a smirk on his face, he pulls himself back to his feet!
Persephone: Candice Blair approaches for some more offense but she’s caught off-guard by a right hand from Goldworthy! He then tosses her into the corner again and takes a few steps back! HE MEETS HER BACK IN THE CORNER WITH A CHARGING BACK ELBOW!
Thadd Blazevich: And now he rolls her forward with a snapmare bro! HE LOOKS FOR A DROPKICK RIGHT TO THE BACK OF HER HEAD BUT SHE ROLLS OUT OF THE WAY! Candice Blair gets back onto her feet but her opponent stays on her! HE LOOKS FOR AN AXE KICK BUT SHE AVOIDS IT DUDE! SHE THEN TAKES HIM DOWN WITH A DRAGON SUPLEX! He lands on his head and gets taken down!
Rich Russillo: Candice gets a big move in there! That did not look good for Goldworthy but he’s already pulling himself back up to his feet using the ropes! CANDICE BLAIR KEEPS UP THE OFFENSE WITH A BIG CHOP TO THE CHEST! She then tucks him forward, trying to set him up for a snap suplex! Goldworthy doesn’t seem to like that idea at all and charges into the corner, slamming Blair into the turnbuckles! HE THEN SENDS HER INTO THE OPPOSITE ONE WITH AN IRISH WHIP!
Persephone: HE RUSHES TOWARDS HER LOOKING FOR A LEAPING KNEE BUT SHE GETS OUT OF THE WAY! Blair tries to fire back with a forearm smash but he catches the arm! AND THEN HE PULLS HER FORWARD BEFORE SPIKING HER INTO THE MAT WITH THE URANAGE!
Thadd Blazevich: From there he takes hold of her arm and tries to get her in position for the fujiwara armbar! Candice Blair knows better than to let something like that get locked in! She’s able to pull her arm away and roll back up to a vertical base bro! BUT GOLDWORTHY MOVES QUICKLY AND DROPS HER WITH A RUNNING SHOULDER TACKLE! He then drags her back to her feet and tries getting her up on his shoulders for the death valley driver dude!
Rich Russillo: But Candice Blair is able to slip off and get behind her opponent! SHE THEN LIFTS HIM UP AND TAKES HIM DOWN WITH A SAITO SUPLEX! Goldworthy made an awful impact with the ground there! Blair quickly hooks the leg and looks for the first cover of the bout!
ONE!
T-
Persephone: But Goldworthy is able to get his shoulder up! Blair doesn’t seem all that surprised there! She stands back up and brings her opponent with her! SHE THEN SMASHES HIM WITH THE FOREARM! From there she sends him into the ropes with an irish whip! OFF THE REBOUND SHE GOES FOR THE DROPKICK!
Rich Russillo: Goldworthy is able to sidestep it! He keeps running towards the ropes and leaps up! HE COMES BACK AT CANDICE BLAIR WITH THE SPRINGBOARD CUTTER! But Candice is able to catch him instead, she tries for the half-and-half suplex but he shakes her off instead! She stays on him, looking to take him back down with a hook kick! But Goldworthy catches the leg! HE THEN PULLS HER IN AND TOSSES HER WITH THE EXPLODER SUPLEX!
Thadd Blazevich: He practically tosses her with that one bro! She hits the mat and keeps rolling and rolling…all the way to the outside of the ring! It doesn’t seem like Goldworthy is going to be able to capitalize on that one bro! Blair grabs onto the barricade and slowly begins to pull herself back onto a vertical base! BUT GOLDWORTHY IS BUILDING UP SOME SPEED IN THE RING! HE THEN LEAPS OVER THE TOP ROPE WITH A SUICIDE DIVE!
Persephone: He crashes down on her hard and drives her right into the barricade! That definitely had to do some damage there folks! He then throws her back inside the ring and then hooks the leg for the pin!
ONE!
T-
Rich Russillo: But Candice Blair is far from done in this one! She manages to kick out just before a two count! Cosmo Goldworthy wants to keep up the pressure! He immediately grabs that arm and rolls her over for the Fujiwara armbar! He gets it this time and this is a bad position for Blair! Goldworthy is just bending that arm back like he wants to snap it!
Thadd Blazevich: She reaches forward for the ropes bro but she can’t quite get there! She needs to find a different way out here! SHE MANAGES TO ROLL OVER AND GET HER FOOT ON THE BOTTOM ROPE! The referee is now calling for the break here and Goldworthy doesn’t seem all that thrilled to comply! Nonetheless he does!
Persephone: Both of them get back onto their feet here! Goldworthy steps towards her and looks for a roundhouse kick! Blair is able to duck underneath it! She nails him in the back of the head with a forearm smash! That caught Cosmo hard as he stumbles away. SHE TURNS HIM AROUND AND GETS HIM WITH A SERIES OF CHOPS! She keeps going until she drives him into the corner!
Rich Russillo: She then knocks him down until he’s in a seated position! Blair makes her way across the ring, going all the way to the opposite corner! SHE THEN RUNS FORWARD AND BRINGS UP HER KNEES FOR THE METEORA! BUT GOLDWORTHY SLIDES UNDERNEATH THE BOTTOM ROPE TO AVOID IT! Her knees collide with the bottom turnbuckles and she rolls back towards the middle of the ring!
Thadd Blazevich: Goldworthy slides back in…AND TAKES HER DOWN WITH A MASSIVE BRAINBUSTER! BUT WAIT BRO! AS SHE GOES UP, SHE BRINGS A KNEE RIGHT DOWN ON THE CROWN OF GOLDWORTHY’S HEAD! She gets dropped back down to her feet instead! SHE THEN CATCHES HIM WITH A SUPERKICK RIGHT TO THE JAW! Dude goes down and she looks for another cover!
ONE!
TWO!
Persephone: But Goldworthy kicks out right at the two count! Blair is going to hit harder if she wants to put this one away! That seems to be exactly what she has in mind as she delivers a nasty kick right to Goldworthy’s lower back!
Rich Russillo: She then brings him back up to his feet! SHE GRABS HIS HEAD AND TRIES TO TAKE HIM DOWN WITH THE TORNADO DDT! HERE COMES THE STARDUST! But Goldworthy manages to block it! HE THEN COUNTERS WITH AN IMPLANT DDT! Her head is driven straight into the mat! Goldworthy isn’t done there though!
Thadd Blazevich: Check this out dudes! Cosmo Goldworthy is making his way up onto that top rope! He’s got some ill-intent in his heart now! Blair slowly wobbles back to her feet…AND DOWN COMES GOLDWORTHY WITH THAT HOLLOW POINT! BUT THE DOUBLE STOMP TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD MISSES THE TARGET! CANDICE BLAIR WATCHES HIM ROLL AND BARELY GET BACK ONTO HIS FEET! SHE LOOKS FOR THAT SPINNING WHEEL!
Persephone: Goldworthy finds his balance with just enough time to evade the spinning wheel kick! As Blair gets back up, he lifts her onto his shoulders! HE THEN DELIVERS THE DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! HERE COMES THE COVER FROM GOLDWORTHY!
ONE!
TWO!
Rich Russillo: NO! Candice Blair with an emphatic kickout right at the two! These two are really bringing the fight to one another here…but they still have plenty of gas left in the tank! Goldworthy though wants to burn through that supply! He lifts his opponent back up to their feet and hooks their arms! HE TAKES HER DOWN WITH A BUTTERFLY SUPLEX! HE THEN TRANSITIONS THAT RIGHT INTO AN ARMBAR! Once again here he’s targeting the arm of Candice Blair!
Thadd Blazevich: Look at the way he’s hyperextending the arm! She needs to get out of this one quickly bro! And she tries once again to readjust her position in order to get a foot on the bottom rope! This time she’s nowhere close dude! Instead she tries rolling forward…AND IT WORKS! SHE MANAGES TO PIN DOWN HER OPPONENT’S SHOULDERS!
ONE!
TWO!
Persephone: NO! HE KICKS OUT OF IT AND HAS TO RELEASE THE HOLD! Candice Blair immediately makes some distance between her and her opponent! Goldworthy tries to stay on her! HE LOOKS FOR A PUSH KICK BUT SHE AVOIDS IT! She manages to get behind him once again…AND THIS TIME SHE HITS THE REVERSE SUPLEX!
Rich Russillo: Big move right there and it certainly got the EAW universe up off their feet! Candice Blair stalks her opponent now…letting him slowly rise back up! SHE THEN WHIPS HIM DOWN INTO THE MAT WITH THE HEADSCISSORS TAKEDOWN…AND APPLIES A CROSSFACE!
Thadd Blazevich: What a combination here bro! And now Blair is giving Goldworthy a taste of his own medicine! She pulls back on his head and neck, really turning up the pressure here! I wonder if there’s any chance that Goldworthy is going to tap out here bro?
Persephone: That doesn’t seem to be the case as he begins to slowly crawl towards the ropes! He may have Blair on his back but he is determined to keep this match going apparently. AND HE EVENTUALLY GETS THERE! HIS HAND GRABS ONTO THE BOTTOM ROPE AND THE REFEREE IS NOW CALLING FOR THE BREAK!
Rich Russillo: And Candice has no choice here! She releases the hold and gives Goldworthy some space! The moment he’s back on his feet is the moment she’s back on the attack though! She unloads a massive forearm right into his head! She then lifts him up, hoping to get him with an exploder suplex! BUT GOLDWORTHY DRIVES AN ELBOW RIGHT INTO THE SIDE OF THE HER HEAD!
Thadd Blazevich: He creates some distance between the two of them here! HE THEN LUNGES FORWARD WITH THE TORNADO KICK! BUT THAT READY TO DIE DOESN’T QUITE FIND IT’S TARGER BRO! His opponent ducks underneath it and slips behind him! SHE LIFTS HIM UP AND TRIES FOR THE SAITO SUPLEX!
Persephone: But Goldworthy rolls back and over her shoulder! HE LANDS ON HIS FEET! FROM THERE HE RUNS TO THE ROPES! OFF THE REBOUND HE SPIKES BLAIR’S SKULL INTO THE MAT WITH THE SPRINGBOARD DDT! DANCE MACABRE! He crawls on top of her for the cover and this might actually be the end here!
ONE!
TWO!
TH-
Rich Russillo: BUT NO! She manages to get her shoulder up! Just before the three count as well! Goldworthy looks shocked here but he knows that he can’t let this get inside his head! He needs to keep going here especially being so close to Pain for Pride! He now forces her back up to her feet…AND LEVELS INTO HER WITH A RIGHT HAND! And now he just hammers away here, once again driving her into the corner!
Thadd Blazevich: Once there, he lifts her up onto the top rope! It looks like he has some truly dangerous designs here dude! He climbs up after her and then lays into her with a few more big right hands! HE THEN REACHES DOWN AND TRIES TO LIFT HER UP! WE MIGHT BE SEEING A TOP ROPE BRAINBUSTER HERE!
Persephone: But she manages to slip out of it! She gets back down onto the top rope and then bashes Goldworthy with a headbutt! AND ANOTHER! AND ANOTHER UNTIL HE FINALLY GOES TUMBLING OFF THAT TOP ROPE! He lands awkwardly on the mat and she repositions herself! SHE COMES CRASHING DOWN HIM WITH A METEORA!
Rich Russillo: And she takes down Goldworthy in a big way there! She rolls back to her own feet and she’s ready to put this one away now! She approaches Goldworthy with some malicious intent here! SHE RUSHES FORWARD AND GETS INTO POSITION FOR THE WHEELBARROW FACEBUSTER! RAGS TO RICHES INCOMING!
Thadd Blazevich: BUT GOLDWORTHY IS ABLE TO CATCH HER BRO! HE HOLDS IN THAT WHEELBARROW POSITION THEN DROPS HER FACE-FIRST ON THE TOP ROPE! She bounces off of them in a disturbing way! Definitely a creative strategy there from Goldworthy who watches Blair crawl into the opposite corner! HE LINES UP HIS SHOT FROM THERE! HE COMES IN HOT WITH THE READY TO DIE!
Persephone: BUT SHE’S ABLE TO EVADE THAT LETHAL TORNADO KICK SOMEHOW! Candice Blair stumbles towards the middle of the ring! Goldworthy looks pissed off here as he grebs her arms and looks for that Ecstasy of Gold instead!
Rich Russillo: BUT CANDICE BLAIR ESCAPES AND IS ABLE TO LAND ON HER FEET! SHE ROCKS HIM WITH A MASSIVE HEADBUTT! He looks completely stunned after that almighty blow! SHE THEN TURNS HIM AROUND AND GETS THE SLEEPER SUPLEX IN! BEFORE HE CAN REACT…SHE DOES TWO FRONT FLIPS…AND GETS THE BASEMENT DROPKICK! BIBBIDI-BOBBIDI-BOO! She looks for the cover here and this could be over!
ONE!
TWO!
T-
Thadd Blazevich: BUT NO BRO! Somehow Cosmo Goldworthy manages to stay in this even after that gnarly combination there! Candice Blair cannot believe it, she was hoping that was going to be the death blow dude! She has to dig down deep and find how to put this away!
Persephone: I think she knows what might get this job done. Blair brings Goldworthy back to a vertical base here! She then gets him into position for that Canadian Destroyer! ARE WE ABOUT TO SEE CASTLES CRUMBLING?
Rich Russillo: IT DOESN’T SEEM LIKE IT! GOLDWORTHY DROPS DOWN AND SLIPS BETWEEN HER LEGS INSTEAD! HE THEN TAKES HOLD OF HER LEG AND TRIES FOR A FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK! All he gets though is a boot right to the face! Goldworthy stumbles away from Blair and she’s able to get back onto her feet! She steps towards him hoping to cut him down with a superkick!
Thadd Blazevich: BUT HE MANAGES TO AVOID THAT ONE! He then gets right behind her and cuts her down with a Russian legsweep! Goldworthy then grabs her by the arms and forces her back up! HE GETS HER IN POSITION FOR THAT UNPRETTIER! HERE IT COMES BRO! MONEY TALKS! He gets it and looks for the cover! This might be it!
ONE!
TWO!
TH-
Persephone: HOW? She gets that shoulder up before the three count! It was so close! Come on Cosmo, what are you doing?
Rich Russillo: It’s clear that Goldworthy believed that was the end there! But now he has to write a different one! He makes his way up onto the top rope! It is a slow and haggard ascent! But this is going to spell the end for Candice Blair if it hits! HE TAKES AIM…AND THEN COMES CRASHING DOWN FROM ON HIGH WITH THAT SHOOTING STAR PRESS! COSMOLOGY!
Thadd Blazevich: BUT SHE ROLLS OUT OF THE WAY JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME BRO! Cosmo Goldworthy collides face first with the face and that might just have knocked him out there! At the very least it doesn’t seem like he knows where he is anymore! Candice Blair pulls herself back up to her feet…AND THEN CUTS HIM DOWN WITH STARLIGHT! THE TORNADO DDT! SHE LOOKS FOR THE COVER!
ONE!
TWO!
THRE-
Persephone: HE GOT HIS FOOT ON HIS ROPE! GOLDWORTHY GOT HIS FOOT ON THE BOTTOM ROPE! The referee is explaining this to Blair who just seems stunned at the moment!
Rich Russillo: But she quickly shakes it off! She knows that she just needs to keep going here! She grabs her opponent and brings him up onto the top rope! There can only be one thing that’s on her mind right now! SHE GRABS HIS ARMS AND IT LOOKS SHE MIGHT GET THAT ICONACLASM! HERE COMES THE COAT OF ARMS!
Thadd Blazevich: BUT HE TEARS HIS ARM AWAY AND DEVLIVERS A KICK TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD! BLAIR GOES DOWN MOMENTARILY AND THAT’S JUST ENOUGH TIME! HERE COMES THE HOLLOW POINT BRO! THE DOUBLE FOOT STOMP COMES DOWN ON THE BACK OF THE HEAD! HE IMMEDIATELY HOOKS THE LEG!
ONE!
TWO!
THRE-
Persephone: BUT SHE KICKS OUT OF IT! HOW?
Rich Russillo: BECAUSE WE ARE ON THE ROAD TO PAIN FOR PRIDE! Everyone is going to be put their bodies on the line! Blair is not about to give in here tonight! Goldworthy looks frustrated but it looks like he’s distracted by something going on the outside of the ring at the moment!
Thadd Blazevich: It seems like ARIA and Diamond Dixon have gotten too close to each other out there! These two elitists seem to be having a very spirited argument bros! DIAMOND DIXON SHOVES ARIA!
Persephone: Well…I think we can all guess where this is going next.
Rich Russillo: ARIA GETS BACK UP AND SHOVES DIXON…WHO SLAPS HER IN THE FACE BACK! AND NOW THESE TWO ARE JUST GOING AT EACH OTHER! CHAOS SEEMS TO BE COMPLETELY ERUPTING ON THE OUTSIDE HERE! Goldworthy has no choice but to head to the outside and try to separate the two!
Thadd Blazevich: And Candice Blair finally gathers her senses enough to join the fray too, causing the ref to start the count!
Referee: ONE! TWO! THREE!
Thadd Blazevich: Both competitors are trying to break things up, BUT IT DOESN’T DESCALATE! IT JUST ESCALATES AS NOW ALL FOUR COMPETITORS ARE CAUGHT IN THIS SCRUM ON THE OUTSIDE! THE REFEREE IS TELLING THEM TO BREAK IT UP! HE WANTS THEM BACK INSIDE THE RING AND THAT COUNT IT COMING DOWN!
Referee: FOUR! FIVE! SIX!
Persephone: You know, I don’t think they’re listening to him at the moment.
Rich Russillo: IT CERTAINLY SEEMS THAT WAY PERSEPHONE! CHAOS IS UNFOLDING HERE AND THE OFFICIAL KNOWS IT! HE RELUCTANTLY CONTINUES THE COUNT, WHILE COSMO AND CANDICE ARE JUST HOLDING BACK DIAMOND AND ARIA, DOING THEIR BEST TO KEEP THEM AT BAY WHILE THEY CAN BEFORE THIS JUST GETS WORSE!!!
Referee: SEVEN! EIGHT! NINE-
Thadd Blazevich: BUT LOOK!!!! COSMO JUST TURNED AND CAUGHT CANDICE WITH A KICK TO THE FACE, ALLOWING DIAMOND TO GO AFTER ARIA!!! THEY’RE JUST BRAWLING IT OUT, AND I DON’T THINK THEY’RE GETTING BACK IN THE RING BRO!!!
Referee: TEN!!!!
(DING! DING! DING!)
(The fans boo as the bell rings, but those boos are short-lived as the brawl between the four at ringside continues with Candice taking Cosmo down with a double leg takedown, and Diamond sending ARIA into the barricade.)
Bella Braxton: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN…THIS MATCH HAS BEEN RULED A DOUBLE COUNT OUT!
Rich Russillo: That definitely seems to fall on deaf ears as this one spills further out of control! Diamond Dixon, ARIA, Candice Blair and Cosmo Goldworthy are all battling up the ramp! AND IT LOOKS LIKE SECURITY IS BEING CALLED NOW!
Thadd Blazevich: THEY TRY AND PULL DIXON AND GOLDWORTHY AWAY FROM THE OTHER DUO…BUT THEY JUST SHAKE OFF SECURITY AND DIVE RIGHT BACK AT THEM! Security tries to remove ARIA and Blair instead…BUT THEY’RE NOT ABOUT TO BACK DOWN EITHER! BRO!
Persephone: Here comes the cavalry.
Rich Russillo: AND MORE SECURITY IS COMING OUT HERE TO GET A HANDLE ON THIS SITUATION! They drag the two teams away from each other, trying to get them as far apart as they possibly can!
(Dozens of security guards are seen at ringside as the camera pans down towards the ring, where ARIA and Candice Blair are being held to prevent them from getting back into the brawl. They stare up towards the stage with frustrated looks on their faces, where Goldworthy and Diamond Dixon are seen with security guards holding onto both of them. The tension is palpable. The camera fades from there.)
(Sunday Night Voltage continues to show the backstage area of the Canada Life Centre, where Sofia Clarke is seen standing by. She is wearing an all-white dress with a firm but confident look on her face, giving a slight grin toward the camera before saying…)
Sofia Clarke: Welcome back to Sunday Night Voltage, and what an incredible night of action we’ve had here in the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg as we head closer and closer towards Pain for Pride in Toronto! The anticipation has reached its limit, and so has many elitists’ eagerness to be a part of the festivities. Whether that’s coming for titles, opportunities, or settling old scores and grudges… everyone has their eyes set on making an everlasting impact at our biggest event of the season! And while many have already found their way on the card, not everyone has a set destination just yet, which leads me to my next guest. She is coming off an eventful Hardcore Championship match last week on Voltage. Please join me in welcoming at this time… Ashlynn Quinn!
(Ashlynn Quinn enters the frame, looking rather disappointed about what happened last week in her title match against Kai Rabeaux. She is wearing casual attire, having a look of annoyance that she even has to speak on this right now, but regardless, she begrudgingly chooses to go on with it. After a moment, Sofia continues…)
Sofia Clarke: Thanks for joining me here tonight, Ashlynn… I know a lot is on your mind right now considering what went down last week in your Hardcore Title match. I assume it weighs heavily on your mind especially with what happened near the end.
(Ashlynn hears this from Sofia and scoffs, as she responds by saying…)
Ashlynn Quinn: It is NOT a result I am happy with, Sofia… It absolutely sucks considering I was so close to becoming a Champion on Voltage again, but Kai Kai’s jealousy was SOOO apparent, especially what he tried to do at the end of the match. Do you know how much BLOOD I lost???
Sofia Clarke: … A lot?
Ashlynn Quinn: A LOT! So it’s unreal to see how full of it he is. I guess talking and going out with Hans Grayson was enough for him to try to end my life. An absolute INCEL if I do say so myself. But, while he was able to keep that title around his waist, I am not going to let what happened last week throw me off my mojo, Sofia! I still plan on ending this season on a major high note when it’s all said and done.
Sofia Clarke: What do you have in mind?
Ashlynn Quinn: Well, Sofia… My match didn’t have a decisive conclusion, Adam Lucas was the referee for that match, and he and Kai-Kai have some serious problems with each other obviously. Because of what Kai did and when he shoved him, he called for a disqualification… So, I technically won the match, but… Kai still held on to his title. So considering ALL THAT, I should be a Champion right now. But I’m not going to lose my mind over it, no, I’m going to make it right. I am going to become a Champion again in EAW, and that’s because I plan on entering this year’s 24/7 Battle Royal and earning it!
Sofia Clarke: Wow! That is a huge announcement… you’re going to be entering into this year’s 24/7 Battle Royal??
Ashlynn Quinn: YEP! So to everyone else–
Sofia Clarke: Uhhh…
(Ashlynn pauses as Sofia clearly looks preoccupied, glancing over her shoulder and looking at someone creeping up behind her. Ashlynn is visibly confused, as she replies by saying…)
Ashlynn Quinn: … What- AH!
(Ashlynn turns around and is startled by what she sees as the camera pans over to reveal none other than Eris Morti, who has an intrigued look on her as she begins talking to Ashlynn, saying…)
Eris Morti: Ohhhh, Ashlynn… It’s been too long! I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation… Did you say you’re entering into the 24/7 Battle Royal at Pain for Pride?
(Ashlynn is a bit taken back seeing Eris, someone who she has history with dating back to Grand Rampage, but after hearing what she had to say, she responds by saying…)
Ashlynn Quinn: Yeah, Eris… I am. Do we have, like, a problem here or something?
(Eris’ face continues to look more intrigued as she tilts her head with almost an expression of interest written on her face. As Ashlynn speaks, she responds by saying…)
Eris Morti: How very interesting that is. Certainly no complaints if it means another unfortunate soul to sink my teeth into. But in fact… it looks like someone got to you already. I saw what happened with Kai, and to be honest, after what he did to you I’m surprised that you’re even standing here right now. I thought you’d bring a bit more heat to him after everything he’s done to you, but it seems deep down you still haven’t entirely moved on from the gullible idiot that disappointed me during our short little… partnership. Now you want to enter the Battle Royal? Well, that should be quite fun, wouldn’t you agree?
(Ashlynn looked a little offended after hearing what Eris had to say to her. She shakes her head in bewilderment before quickly responding.)
Ashlynn Quinn: Hold on… Why would you even be surprised, Eris? Of course I’m still here! I’ve gone through so much on this brand already, if you think something like that was going to keep me on the shelf ESPECIALLY this close to Pain For Pride season… then maybe you should reevaluate how you really see me.
(Eris Morti has a smirk on her face as she responds to Ashlynn by saying…)
Eris Morti: Heh… still quite the charmer aren’t you, Ashlynn? You certainly do a good job being an amusement.
(Ashlynn has a completely different expression on her face as she snaps back at Eris.)
Ashlynn Quinn: If anyone is going to win this match and win that contract, it’s going to be me, Eris. All anyone has EVER been asking is when Ashlynn Quinn is going to win her next Championship, nobody has asked about you. I’m not walking into Pain For Pride just to lose, I’m taking it all! And I am ready to take you or anyone else out of this match if that’s what it takes. Do I make myself clear?
(Eris continues to stare down Ashlynn, as if what she is saying is keeping her interest peaked, before she responds to what she just said…)
Eris Morti: You sound quite confident there, Ashlynn… Even after all these months away from each other it’s so adorable to see you still have this arrogance… But I doubt it. No, you will not succeed in this venture, but I sure do hope you try. I’d much rather us all make the most of this experience, but I have absolutely no problem with making sure you regret stepping foot into this match. Certainly a lot of harm to go around…
(Eris and Ashlynn have a moment of tense silence with one another as they stare each other down, but before anything else can really go down… Someone else chimes in and interrupts the two of them.)
???: Eris Morti, when are you going to realize not to pick fights you *can’t* win…
(The camera pans over to reveal Sayuri Himura who has a determined look on her face. She looks at both Ashlynn and Eris, who isn’t really happy to see her right now, as she begins to speak…)
Sayuri Himura: As I already told you… I will not allow your greed and chaos to take this 24/7 Battle Royal win from me.
(Eris rolls her eyes as Sayuri gives her mission statement, especially given how uninterested she is in it with the history between these two. She just does not understand how she could keep this going, especially as their journey continues heading into Pain For Pride.)
Eris Morti: Again, who are we fooling here, Sayuri? Is that victory I have over you still looming over your head just because I don’t have the same ridiculous code or morals that you do? That alone will affect your mind entering into this match at Pain for Pride, you know. It will only lead to yet another failure for you.
(Despite what Eris is saying to her right now, Sayuri doesn’t look too fazed over it right now, and after a moment, she responds back to her by saying…)
Sayuri Himura: Like I stated before… You are not in my mind, Eris Morti. No matter what you may say or claim… Nothing you do will change how I think or how I operate, because I assure you… that I will emerge victorious at Pain For Pride.
(Sayuri then turns over and glances at Ashlynn as she tells her…)
Sayuri Himura: As for you, Ashlynn Quinn… I respect your aspiration to enter this match. While your title match last week wasn’t what you expected, I am looking forward to meeting you at Pain for Pride in the 24/7 Battle Royal Match… but as I said to Eris Morti, I’ll ensure that I emerge at the grandest of stages as the victor… and your arrival and entry into this match doesn’t change that whatsoever.
(Sayuri turns back to Eris by saying…)
Sayuri Himura: And no threat… especially coming from you, Eris Morti… will change that either. Your threats won’t get you anywhere, especially in an environment like the 24/7 Battle Royal.
Eris Morti: Please, Sayuri… worry about yourself here. You can say what you want about not entertaining the idea of hating me, but we can be honest with ourselves… Your hate for me is showing quite well and the further you continue to ignore it, the worse it will get for you once you’re tipped over that top rope and no longer in this match. Neither you nor Miss Voltage here will end the match with your arm raised high–
(Ashlynn stops Eris right there as clearly she didn’t like what she had just said, as she responds by saying…)
Ashlynn Quinn: Hold on a second! I get what you’re doing, and you’re not winning this match, Eris! I have already been a Champion this season, and once I win this match… that second Championship WILL be in my grasp. Eris, don’t forget. I know you pretty well now. Your antics won’t work with me, and you, Sayuri… While I appreciate you welcoming me into this match and seeing me in that ring… emerging victorious at Pain for Pride isn’t going to be in the cards for you
(Sayuri hears this from Ashlynn as she responds by saying…)
Sayuri Himura: You can feel however you want to feel, Ashlynn Quinn… I can’t change your aspirations on wanting to win this match, but believe me when I say that I won’t give up on my goals either, that I won’t have an opportunity like this slip on my fingertips. Honor, integrity, strength… Everything that Eris Morti despises… will not bring me down to my pursuits. The warrior within me cannot allow that to be anything other than victory.
Ashlynn Quinn: Well–
(But before Ashlynn could say anything else, Eris nails her with a right hand punch!!! She goes down to the ground as Sayuri grabs a hold of Eris trying to get her away from Ashlynn.)
Rich Russillo: ERIS JUST NAILED ASHLYNN WITH A STRIKE!! SAYURI IS HOLDING ERIS BACK AND– NOW ERIS JUST ELBOWED SAYURI WITH AN ELBOW!! SAYURI IS HOLDING HER NOSE AS ERIS GOES FOR A STRIKE BUT SAYURI BLOCKS IT AND– NOW THEY’RE FIGHTING WITH EACH OTHER!!
Thadd Blazevich: LEFTS AND RIGHTS BEING LAID OUT BY BOTH LADIES HERE BRO AS THEY’RE LAYING IT ON EACH OTHER AND– NOW ASHLYNN IS BACK ON HER FEET AND JOINS IN ON THE BRAWL!! THIS IS CRAZY DUDE!!
Persephone: Sofia is already out of there!!
(Sofia Clarke quickly rushes out of the scene, with no proper conclusion to the interview as all three ladies are going right at each other. All of them want to win this match and earn the opportunity that comes from it as they continue to brawl. Sayuri lines up for something…)
Rich Russillo: SAYURI NOW GOES FOR IZANAMI!!! THE SPINNING BACKFIST TO ERIS– BUT ERIS MOVES OUT THE WAY AND ASHLYNN GETS NAILED WITH IT INSTEAD!!
Thadd Blazevich: ASHLYNN BRO IS DOWN AS SAYURI TURNS AROUND– THE SPEAR!!! ERIS NAILS THE SPEAR AS SAYURI IS NOW DOWN AND OUT!! IT LOOKS LIKE ERIS BRO IS ONE COMING OUT OF THE BRAWL ON TOP!
(Both Ashlynn and Sayuri are laid out on the ground as Eris looks to be the only one standing tall after that whole affair. She looks at both competitors down and out as she then proceeds to get down on one knee and tells them both…)
Eris Morti: Spend the rest of your time wisely. Get your act together, or this will be what Pain for Pride looks like. You wouldn’t want to miss out on all the fun, would you?
(A faint smirk briefly follows these words. Eris rises right back up as, soon enough, security comes rushing to check on both Sayuri and Ashlynn. The ending scene sees Eris Morti standing tall over both women, with every intention of her walking out of Pain for Pride as the winner of the 24/7 Battle Royal.)
(Promotional ad for Pain for Pride, where the 24/7 Battle Royal will take place.)
(Sunday Night Voltage returns as the camera pans around to show a shot of the Canada Life Centre, and it’s not very long before the sounds of ‘Duel’ by JINJER begins to play through the speakers of the arena. The crowd erupts negatively as it goes over to reveal ToXXXin as they make their way out from the backstage area. Daniella Atlas and Selina Reyes have a deadly serious expression on their face, titles over their shoulder as they glance around at the crowd who is certainly showing their disapproval, before they then begin to make their way down the ramp and toward the ring.)
Bella Braxton: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome… They are the EAW UNIFIED TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!! DANIELLA ATLAS AND SELINA REYES… TOXXXIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rich Russillo: It has certainly been an interesting weekend for ToXXXin to say the very least. After everything that was involved on Dynasty with Milli Banks and Minerva… Daniella and Selina touch back down on Sunday Night Voltage and focus completely on the mission at hand, and that is to make sure that they keep the Unified Tag Team Championships around their waist.
Persephone: Are we ignoring the fact that their leader just got hit with a fucking car? Yes? Alright then, I guess.
Thadd Blazevich: That was something for sure, bro! But they need to keep their mind completely focused if they want to make sure that they keep these titles. They know that Minerva can fight her own battles, and it’s not going to feel complete if she happens to win the Universal Women’s Championships and Daniella and Selina don’t have the Tag Titles. But they have some tough competition standing in their way, dude.
(Daniella and Selina both begin to make their way into the ring. They make their way over and take microphones from the ringside area while ‘Duel’ begins to come to a close. As they head toward the center of the ring, they raise their microphones as they begin to speak.)
Daniella Atlas: The time is ripe… the moment has almost come for Pain For Pride to arrive, something that ToXXXin has been waiting a very long time for. These Unified Tag Team Championships have endured, from the moment that we won this title to now, it is time for our crowning moment to finally arrive… and that will be at Pain For Pride. No opposition has stopped us yet, and nothing is going to change that no matter what. We stand by the fact that we are the best tag team that this company has to offer, and no matter how good Dr. Bethany Blue and TLA are or what they have to say about it… that was *never* going to stop us.
Selina Reyes: We have long shown exactly what we’re capable of inside of the ring, as a unit, we are untouchable. We have no reason to believe that any team that could have won the Tag Team Turmoil Tournament were going to pose a threat to us, and regardless of the circumstance, that was never going to change. Bethany and TLA… it is unfortunate the circumstances that have led them to this position. In any other situation, these titles would be as good as theirs, but it will not be against us, it will not be at our expense, that is not something that we are going to allow.
Daniella Atlas: We are not going to be hindered by anything that everyone has to say about us. All these doubts surrounding me, the two of us, The Black Rose, ToXXXin, none of that was ever going to get in our way. It is exactly why we are in the position that we are in today, and it is exactly why we are going to continue to endure beyond this season, ToXXXin is immortal, and we will only continue to grow stronger as we add more accomplishments to our trophy case… the satisfaction will be sweet.
Selina Reyes: Bethany and TLA are not going to play spoiler to that. They are not going to be the ones that stop us directly in our tracks on Voltage. We have fought hard for these titles, and no matter how hard the two of them have fought, it will not make a difference when they are pitted against our resolve. Pain For Pride is going to be ToXXXin’s greatest moment yet, and-
(Before Selina can finish what she’s saying, the sounds of ‘Ambitionz az a Ridah’ begins to play through the speakers of the arena. The crowd erupts as TLA begins to make his way out from the backstage area, he has a smile on his face, hyping the crowd up as he throws his fist into the air. But as he stops, his theme is overtaken by the sounds of ‘Somebody Get Me A Doctor’ by Van Halen to play up. Dr. Bethany Blue follows close behind him, and needless to say… she is not in the best of shape. Her eyes are red as she’s still trying her best to compose herself after what happened earlier in the night. TLA is trying his best not to bring too much attention to it, as the two of them begin to make their way down the ramp and toward the ring.)
Rich Russillo: Here comes the challengers, and after what happened earlier in the night involving Bethany and Adam… it is certainly a tense situation as Bethany makes his way out here. TLA tried his best to calm the situation down, but ultimately, it wasn’t successful.
Persephone: Yes, because who the hell asks TLA to mediate your issues? Just let those idiots cry like a bunch of losers or something.
Thadd Blazevich: But Bethany knows that she has to keep her eye on the prize, bro. Her mind doesn’t have a choice but to stay completely focused on the Unified Tag Team Championships, and we’re certainly going to have to see how that plays into this confrontation as they make their way to the ring.
(TLA and Bethany make their way inside as the two of them grab microphones for themselves. ‘Somebody Get Me A Doctor’ begins to come to a close as they approach ToXXXin, who almost look amused at what could come from this situation.)
TLA: Ay, we apologize that we out here interrupting your early fiesta, holmes, but to be fr? We don’t give a fuck! Y’all came out here and you tryna disrespect our good name with yo shit, and if there’s one thing that you should know, it’s that Dr. Azul and yo boi were never gonna stand for that. We been standing ten toes down from the moment that we entered this tag team race, and that means that anybody that opposes us is fucked. Y’all can stand on business all you want, but ain’t nothing gonna be able to stop the inevitable, and that’s that the two of us become a pair of Campeons like we deserve by the time the season comes to a close. Ain’t no matter what the two of you gotta say about us, talk yo shit fr. But that ain’t gonna take away from the fact…
(TLA looks around with a grin, before continuing.)
TLA: Me and the Doctora are locked tf in, amiright?
(TLA puts a hand over the shoulder of Bethany, but as he glances over, it’s clear that Bethany isn’t in the best shape right now. She’s still visibly shaken after what happened earlier, and it takes a long moment to process that TLA is talking to her.)
TLA: Ay, no problemas here, ese. Everything’s all cool-
Dr. Bethany Blue: There’s nothing fucking wrong.
(Daniella and Selina look at one another, almost a look of interest on their face as they glance back over at Bethany who is approaching the two of them.)
Dr. Bethany Blue: None of this is going to get in the way of me and my career. If I wanted to cry about it, then I would still be at home, but that’s not what I chose for myself. I bet the two of you think that you have it so easy right now, especially when you think my mind is preoccupied in the way that it is, but that could not be any further from the truth. Because if there is one thing that I want more than having just a single moment of goddamn peace in my life…
(Bethany glances at the titles over the shoulder of ToXXXin.)
Dr. Bethany Blue: It’s the Unified Tag Team Championships.
(The crowd inside of the arena cheers loudly, as TLA is smirking.)
Dr. Bethany Blue: Even at my worst, which you know is not going to happen because I would NEVER allow that to happen, we are still the better tag team. And I can’t sleep peacefully at night for a lot of reasons, but another one to add to the list is if I lose this match for our team. I can live with being able to blame TLA for it, but blaming myself? No, no… I can’t allow that. So, I want the two of you to put every preconceived notion you have about me to bed and face this exactly as you should, at face value. We are the biggest challenges to your title imaginable, and you want that, but you’re going to live to regret it soon enough at my hands.
(Bethany turns to look at TLA, who is nodding his head.)
Dr. Bethany Blue: That’s MY mission.
(Selina crosses her arms as Daniella shakes her head at Bethany, raising her microphone.)
Daniella Atlas: You poor soul, if it was that easy… we would’ve done it already. But unfortunately, we have seen everything that we need to see already. Your mind has wandered long ago, and it has taken your attention from these titles at the expense of your own tag team partner, who *knows* that this is the only opportunity that he has left in this company… It is truly such a sad thing. I do not wish to cause any further unnecessary harm, even as tempting as it may be, because all that matters right now is that myself and Selina have a goal to accomplish. We need to make sure that entering into the next season we are *still* the most dominant tag team in this division. That journey can only endure as long as these titles are around our waist, and we cannot allow you to get in the way of that.
Selina Reyes: We have done nothing but establish ourselves at the very top of the mountain in terms of tag team wrestling, and ToXXXin is this close to being able to have zero competition surrounding us on this brand. When Minerva rightfully takes the Universal Women’s Championship, we are going to be established as the team to beat, and maybe… just maybe… beating you two will be another necessary step toward doing that as well. I do not care what the two of you have going on right now in your personal lives, because what matters right now is what goes on inside of this ring, and when you’re in here with two women like us at Pain For Pride… you are NOT going to walk out victorious.
TLA: Ah, but trust me, vato, that’s exactly where ur ass is wrong. You tryna say that we don’t got our cabezas in the right place right now, but something like that is the only way the two of you would ever win at Pain For Pride against us. You tryharding rn to try and overlook us and say we ain’t shit, but little do you know, that’s the biggest mistake you could’ve made, holmes. Ain’t nobody fucking with a team as good as us, especially after all the shit that we been hearing involving our team the entire Tag Team Turmoil Tournament. We got a whole lot farther than anyone wants to admit, and we here to stay. This ain’t the fight for you to win. Nah, we gon beat that ass.
Dr. Bethany Blue: There is nothing, NOTHING I want more right now than to win those titles. Me and TLA have been starved long enough, and it’s about time that we get what we’re due. Unfortunately for the two of you, we’re not like any of the fresh meat that have allowed you to have their way with them, because we know our value and we know it well. We are two of the best and most underappreciated talents that this brand has, and we’re tired of being overlooked for opportunities that should’ve been long ours considering our pedigree. It’s about time we take something for ourselves, and while it was unlikely that it would’ve been side-by-side, that’s the case right now, and we’re not going to let ANYTHING get in the way of that.
Daniella Atlas: Well… I certainly do hope that is the case. We are used to such disappointment before, the two of you crumbling before our eyes would certainly not come as a surprise. But we need you to be at your best, because that’s the level that we need to beat you at, you could agree, Selina?
Selina Reyes: There is no choice but to do that. We need to make an example at your expense. We’re going to be the ones that win this match, and unfortunately for you… your season is going to end in disappointment. We have long heard the stories of what you two have gone through this past year, it is certainly not something that we wish upon ourselves. The Oryx Queen and The Blade of Hermes are going to make sure that the job is finished at Pain For Pride… if it means adding more disappointment to the two of you, then that is something that I am willing to accept.
Dr. Bethany Blue: Except that is not going to happen, over my dead body. If you feel any sort of pity toward me or think that I’m going to be at anything less than my A-game, then you might as well hand over those Tag Titles to us now, because you’re just asking for disappointment.
TLA: Trust me, amigas, the last thing you wanna do is fuck with two of the baddest mfers this entire company got. Ain’t nothing gonna get to us, and we gonna walk out of Pain For Pride with them Tag Titles wrapped around our waist.
(TLA and Bethany drop their microphones down to the ground as the crowd cheers loudly in response to this. They stand tall, staring down the two Tag Team Champions. Daniella and Selina glare at them, as the two of them take their titles and raise it high into the air. ‘Somebody Get Me A Doctor’ begins to play through the speakers of the arena, as the two teams stare one another down inside of the ring in what was an intense confrontation. It is the very last shot seen before Sunday Night Voltage fades to elsewhere.)
(Promotional ad for Pain for Pride 19, where Kai Rabeaux defends the Hardcore Championship against Adam Lucas.)
(The camera cuts to Bella Braxton in the ring.)
Bella Braxton: THE FOLLOWING CONTEST IS TAG TEAM DEATHMATCH SCHEDULED FOR…ONE FALL!!
Crowd: ONE FALL!!
(“Thoughts of a Dying Atheist” by Muse plays to a loud positive reaction as Jay Jerry Johnson steps onto the stage, focused and ready for the fight. But the mood quickly shifts as “Until It Sleeps” by Metallica cuts him off to heavy boos, Damon Lazarus slowly making his way out with a cold glare. Jay doesn’t look pleased as Damon joins him on the stage, the tension between the bitter rivals immediately clear.)
Bella Braxton: Introducing first! At a combined weight of 508 pounds… THE TEAM OF JAY JERRY JOHNSON AND DAMON LAZARUS!!
Thadd Blazevich: These two being on the same team still feels weird. Jay and Damon weren’t partners by choice, they were put together, and we all know they can’t stand each other.
Rich Russillo: Exactly. They may be teaming tonight, but at Pain for Pride they’ll be opponents again in Cash in the Vault. That makes this even more dangerous.
(“I2I” by Magnolia Park hits to cheers as orange and red smoke fills one side of the stage while blue and white smoke fills the other. Rex McAllister and Raven Roberts walk out side by side, Rex spinning Raven into a quick dip before the two look out at the crowd with a smile. Fire and Ice then make their way down the ramp, high-fiving fans along the way.)
Bella Braxton: At a combined weight of 360 pounds… RAVEN ROBERTS AND REX MCALLISTER… FIRE AND ICE!
Rich Russillo: Here comes Fire and Ice! They’re one of the best teams in EAW, and a win tonight would give them huge momentum going into Pain for Pride.
Persephone: Great. My least favorite duo is here. I’m already annoyed.
(“Another World” by Gojira blasts through the arena to heavy boos as Silas Mason walks onto the stage with Vincent Mondrian and Harper Lee by his side. Vincent and Harper stare toward the ring with focused expressions, both carrying the same confident arrogance as Silas smirks beside them. The three then make their way down the ramp.)
Bella Braxton: And their opponents, accompanied by Silas Mason! At a combined weight of ___ pounds… THE TEAM OF VINCENT MONDRIAN AND HARPER LEE… SILAS WORLD!
Thadd Blazevich: Silas World has been dangerous lately, and with Silas Mason at ringside, Vincent and Harper always have someone ready to help them gain an advantage.
(The referee signals to the bell.)
(DING! DING! DING!)
Rich Russillo: You are in for a treat, ladies and gentlemen, as it’s time for our main event of the evening! Fire and Ice, Silas World, and Jay Jerry Johnson teaming with Damon Lazarus in this tag team deathmatch where anything goes!
Persephone: Yeah, I can’t wait to see these four tear each other apart! :mjlit:
Thadd Blazevich: Dude… I mean, a match like this is always exciting. But sometimes I feel you’re a little *too* excited.
Persephone: Nuh-uh! Why don’t you just shut up and watch the show, Thadd, instead of worrying about me… God, you’re so annoying! 🙄
Thadd Blazevich: Alright, jeez.
Rich Russillo: JOHNSON AND LAZARUS MAKE THE FIRST MOVE BY RUSHING FIRE AND ICE! BOY, THEY MAY NOT LIKE EACH OTHER BUT THEY DONT REALLY HAVE A CHOICE *BUT* TO GET ALONG! AS IF THEY DONT, THEY’LL BE EATEN ALIVE BY THE OTHER TEAMS IN THIS MATCH THAT ACTUALLY DO!
Thadd Blazevich: ITS PRACTICALLY A FIGHT FOR THEIR SURVIVAL! DAMON BACKS RAVEN INTO THE CORNER WITH PUNCHES WHILE JAY HAMMERS REX WITH SOME RIGHT HANDS AS WELL AFTER GETTING THE DROP ON THEM! BUT NOT WANTING TO BE EXCLUDED, SILAS WORLD START TO MAKE THEIR PRESENCE KNOWN! ATTACKING FROM BEHIND!
Rich Russillo: DAMON TURNS TOWARD HARPER WITH A SHOT TO THE GUT, FOLLOWED BY A PUNCH TO THE FACE! NOW LAZARUS USES THE RULES, OR RATHER LACK OF THEREOF TO HIS ADVANTAGE BY BACKING HARPER INTO THE CORNER THROUGH GOUGING AT HER EYES! JAY JERRY JOHNSON TURNS AROUND TOO AND BACKS VINCENT MONDRIAN INTO ANOTHER CORNER WITH RIGHTS!
Thadd Blazevich: BOTH DAMON AND JAY START GOING TO WORK WITH STOMPS! STOMPING A MUDHOLE INTO VINCENT AND HARPER, SINKING THEM BOTH DOWN TO SEATED POSITIONS! JAY PRESSES HIS BOOT INTO VINCENT’S JAW, KEEPING IT PINNED THERE FOR… REALLY, HOWEVER LONG AS HE LIKES BEFORE FINALLY RELENTING!
Rich Russillo: Both Jay and Damon leave the ring and do some peeking underneath the apron… Perhaps trying to introduce the first weapon into this matchup.
Persephone: Perhaps? Dumbass, they *are*. What other reason would they have to look under there for?
Rich Russillo: I… guess you’re right. :kyrie:
(Damon and Jay both notice something at the same time before letting the ring apron drop back down and turning toward each other. Damon points between himself and Jay, making it clear they need to work together, even if neither of them likes the idea. Jay reluctantly nods, and the two work together to pull a LADDER out from underneath the ring!)
Rich Russillo: Whoa! A ladder! How fitting is that? In just a few weeks, all of these competitors will be battling in the Cash in the Vault ladder match!
Persephone: Yes, Rich, I know. You didn’t need to spell it out for me.
Rich Russillo: Well… it was more so for the… people who didn’t know.
Persephone: Tell em to watch the show then!
Rich Russillo: Persephone, do *you* even watch the show? :comeagain:
Persephone: …just pay attention to the damn match! Damn!
Rich Russillo: :francis:
Thadd Blazevich: Both Jay and Damon temporarily work together to try and bring that ladder into the ring… BUT WIND UP PAYING THE PRICE ONCE REX AND RAVEN BASEBALL SLIDE DROPKICK IT INTO THEIR FACES! BOTH JAY AND DAMON ARE DOWN AS THEY WRITHE IN PAIN, CLUTCHING AT THEIR HEADS THAT THE LADDER FELL ON!
Rich Russillo: Fire and Ice admire their handiwork for a minute, but can’t get too distracted as Silas World are back on the attack! Vincent rushes Raven before she could even rise from one knee, connecting with rights— BEFORE RAVEN DRIVES HIM BACK FIRST INTO THE CORNER! USING HER SHOULDER TO REPEATEDLY THRUST INTO HIS ABDOMEN, NO DOUBT TAKING THE WIND OUT OF HIM!
Thadd Blazevich: MEANWHILE HARPER TRIED TO AMBUSH REX WITH A RIGHT HAND— THAT HE SAW COMING AND BACKS HER INTO ANOTHER CORNER WITH A FLURRY OF HIS OWN! …RAVEN STOPS SHOULDER BARGING AND UNLOADS WITH A PAIR OF RIGHT HANDS HERSELF IN THE CORNER ON MONDRIAN!
Rich Russillo: BOTH REX AND RAVEN CLIMB TO THE MIDDLE ROPE, CONTINUING TO REIGN DOWN WITH PUNCHES AS THE CROWD COUNTS ALONG WITH THEM!
Crowd: ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! SI—
Rich Russillo: OH, AND JAY! JAY AND DAMON RE-ENTERING THE FRAY AS THEY YANK BOTH MEMBERS OF FIRE AND ICE DOWN! DAMON GOES FOR A RIGHT HAND ON RAVEN— BUT RAVEN BLOCKS IT! RAVEN BLOCKS THE RIGHT HAND AND SCORES WITH ONE OF HER OWN THAT STUNS DAMON FOR A KICK TO THE GUT! RAVEN THEN DIRECTS HIM TO AN EMPTY CORNER AND SLAMS HIM FACE FIRST OFF THE TOP TURNBUCKLE!
Thadd Blazevich: BUT JAY AND REX ARE ENGAGED IN A HOCKEY FIGHT RIGHT NOW! BOTH MEN THROWING PUNCHES— BUT JAY SWITCHES THINGS UP WITH A KNEE TO THE MIDSECTION THAT DROPS REX TO A KNEE! NOW ITS JAY THAT WANTS TO DIRECT REX TO AN EMPTY CORNER AS HE GRABS THE BACK OF HIS HEAD, GOING TO SLAM HIM OFF THE TOP TURNBUCKLE!!
Rich Russillo: BUT REX TURNS IT AROUND LAST MINUTE, SLAMMING JAY OFF SAID TURNBUCKLE INSTEAD!
(Both Rex and Raven turn their backs to a stunned Damon and Jay in the corner, pressing themselves against them to keep them trapped in place. The two then exchange a nod as they notice opponents waiting in all four corners.)
Persephone: What’s going through their minds now? …and I’m hoping it leads to their destruction as I can’t stand either of these two.
Thadd Blazevich: REX SHOOTS OUT HIS CORNER, BARRELING TOWARDS VINCENT MONDRIAN IN THE OPPOSITE WITH A STEP-UP KNEE STRIKE! WHILE RAVEN GOES CRISS-CROSS WITH A RUNNING EUROPEAN UPPERCUT INTO HARPER! NEXT, REX CHARGES INTO LAZARUS WITH A RUNNING FOREARM SMASH! AND RAVEN COLLIDES WITH JAY FOR ONE OF HER OWN!
Rich Russillo: RAVEN RUNS INTO VINCENT AFTERWARDS WITH A RUNNING BACK ELBOW WHILE REX CRISS-CROSSES AND DASHES TOWARD HARPER WITH ANOTHER STEP-UP KNEE STRIKE IN THE CORNER! REX IS FIRED UP AS HE LEAVES THE CORNER— AND ALMOST GETS CAUGHT WITH A CLOTHESLINE AS DAMON STAGGERS OUT OF HIS CORNER! SWINGING WILDLY!
Thadd Blazevich: BUT REX DUCKS UNDERNEATH AND SCOOPS DAMON UP FOR AN INVERTED ATOMIC DROP! HOLDING HIM IN PLACE AS RAVEN COMES IN WITH A RUNNING BIG BOOT THAT OFFICIALLY FLOORS LAZARUS!
Rich Russillo: Damon rolls out to ringside, joining Jay Jerry Johnson after he had collapsed in his corner and rolled out himself.
(Rex starts clapping, getting the crowd behind them as he steps onto the apron. He sits on the middle rope while holding up the top rope as well, giving Raven a clear path and making sure she’s safe as she hypes herself up inside the ring…)
Rich Russillo: OH, AND RAVEN’S BUILDING MOMENTUM! RAVEN’S BUILDING MOMENTUM FOR A SUICIDE DI— NO! :damn:
Thadd Blazevich: DAMON GETS OUT OF DODGE AND JAY JERRY JOHNSON SWINGS A STEEL CHAIR INTO HER FACE! JUST SWATTING RAVEN ROBERTS OUT OF MID AIR! REX TAKES NOTICE OF THIS AND GOES TO HELP— BUT JAY SMASHES THAT CHAIR INTO HIS KNEE BEFORE HE COULD GET OFF THE APRON!
(Rex clutches his knee, but still reaches out toward Raven with one hand, gently shaking her as she lies motionless on the floor.)
Persephone: Ha! Can we get a replay of that?! :gladbron:
Rich Russillo: Jay slides the steel chair into the ring, then reaches back under the apron and starts pulling out even more chairs, sliding those in as well! Jay rolls back into the ring and spots Harper leaned against the apron on the opposite side, still trying to recover. Jay’s not about to let her catch a break as he reaches through the middle rope to grab hold of—
(CLANG!!)
Rich Russillo: A TOOLBOX! HARPER JUST CRACKED JAY ACROSS THE HEAD WITH A TOOLBOX!
(Jay stumbles backward before collapsing to the mat. Harper groggily places the toolbox on the apron and begins opening it, the crowd raining down boos as she reaches inside and pulls out a pair of PLIERS. A sinister grin spreads across Harper’s face as she turns toward a—)
Rich Russillo: CLOTHESLINE! HARPER GETS DROPPED WITH A CLOTHESLINE! DAMON ROUNDED THE CORNER WITH THAT CLOTHESLINE, AND HARPER LEE HAS NO IDEA WHAT HIT HER AS SHE SITS UP! LEE IS ROCKED AND GETS DRAGGED BACK TO HER FEET BY LAZARUS! LAZARUS SLAMS HER FACE FIRST OFF OUR ANNOUNCE TABLE! NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE!
Thadd Blazevich: LEE IS STUNNED AND LAZARUS LIFTS HER UP FOR A BACK SUPLEX, DUMPING HER ONTO OUR ANNOUNCE TABLE! HARPER LEE IS IN A WORLD OF PAIN AND WHAT’S GOING THROUGH DAMON LAZARUS’ TWISTED MIND RIGHT NOW?!
(Damon picks up the pliers Harper dropped on the floor, and a sinister grin starts to spread across his face as he tries to mount her on top of the announce table while Silas watches in panic—)
Rich Russillo: VINCENT! VINCENT PULLS LAZARUS DOWN BEFORE HE COULD MOUNT LEE ON THAT TABLE AND RAMS HIM BACK FIRST INTO THE APRON! VINCENT MAKES THE SAVE FOR HIS PARTNER AND STARTS CLUBBING DOWN ONTO LAZARUS WHILE HE TRIES TO COVER UP! HARPER ROLLS OFF THE ANNOUNCE TABLE AND JOINS VINCENT MONDRIAN IN THE ASSAULT! BOTH CLUBBING DOWN ON DAMON!
Thadd Blazevich: BUT LOOK OUT FROM ABOVE! JAY JERRY JOHNSON WITH A SLINGSHOT CROSSBODY ONTO BOTH MEMBERS OF SILAS WORLD AT RINGSIDE!
(Damon starts shaking the cobwebs out of his head while leaning against the apron, then staggers around the ringpost and starts digging under the apron for a weapon, with Jay Jerry Johnson joining him.)
Persephone: It’s so weird seeing these two… actually work together.
Rich Russillo: Yeah, but don’t get too used to it. It’s only for tonight. After this, I’m sure the hatred comes right back, and Damon’s probably already itching to give Jay another CTE.
(Both Damon and Jay pull trash cans out from under the ring and begin making their way back toward Vincent and Harper.)
Thadd Blazevich: Vincent uses the announce table to pull himself back up… AND DAMON SMASHES THE TRASH CAN ACROSS HIS BACK! THAT JOLTS HIM UPRIGHT AS HE TURNS AROUND— MEANWHILE, JAY SLAMS HIS TRASH CAN RIGHT INTO HARPER’S FACE! HARPER DROPS TO A SEATED POSITION BEFORE USING THE APRON TO PULL HERSELF BACK UP TO ONE KNEE AS JAY TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO VINCENT!
Rich Russillo: BANG! Lazarus cracks Vincent in the head with that trash can, forcing him back against our announce table, and Jay follows it up with a trash can shot of his own to Mondrian’s head! VINCENT DROPS DOWN TO ALL FOURS, AND DAMON BRINGS THAT TRASH CAN CRASHING DOWN ONTO HIS BACK, FLATTENING HIM!
Persephone: :mjlol2: Again, again!
Thadd Blazevich: Harper Lee rolls back into the ring and Damon tosses his trash can back inside before rolling in himself. Damon helps Harper Lee up to both knees before placing said trash can over her torso! Jay enters the ring with two kendo sticks and he seems almost hesitant to place one in the hands of Damon Lazarus.
Rich Russillo: Can you blame him? Damon’s dangerous without one, let alone WITH.
(Jay looks down at the kendo stick before reluctantly reaching it out toward Damon Lazarus to take.)
Rich Russillo: Damon has the kendo stick and watches as Harper Lee slowly makes it back to her feet with that trash can still over her head. Both men exchange a nod before DAMON AND JAY START SWINGING FOR THE FENCES WITH THOSE KENDO STICKS! Harper Lee stumbles all over the place before she finally can’t take anymore and collapses to the mat!
Persephone: Oh, this is not a great night for Silas World, and I love it. Especially watching that bald fuck squirm.
Thadd Blazevich: Hey, I get he’s not the most likable guy… but what did Silas Mason ever do to you?
Persephone: He’s bald. Do I really need another reason?
Thadd Blazevich: …Fair enough.
(Damon and Jay toss their weapons aside and step out of the ring to pull out a table. The two set it up together at ringside before turning their attention toward Vincent Mondrian.)
Rich Russillo: Jay hooks both of Vincent’s arms behind his back as Damon grabs the trash can Jay set down, clearly having cruel intentions in mind— BUT VINCENT DRIVES A KICK INTO DAMON’S GUT JUST AS HE RAISES IT! Damon doubles over in pain as Vincent shakes one arm free and blasts Jay with a back elbow that staggers him! Vincent follows it up with a forearm that sends Jay down to all fours— AND NOW VINCENT HAS HIS HANDS ON THE TRASH CAN!
Persephone: This oughta be good.
Thadd Blazevich: VINCENT SLAMS THE TRASH CAN DOWN ACROSS JOHNSON’S BACK, THEN HURLS IT RIGHT INTO DAMON’S FACE WHILE HE’S LEANED BACK AGAINST OUR ANNOUNCE TABLE! Vincent winds up for a right hand while Damon is rocked— BUT DAMON BLOCKS IT AND FIRES BACK WITH A RIGHT HAND OF HIS OWN! That staggers Vincent backward into the apron! Damon leans against the announce table, trying to shake the cobwebs and get his bearings back!
Rich Russillo: Damon tries walking towards Vincent— BUT GETS A KICK TO THE GUT AND ROLLED BACK INSIDE THE RING! MEANWHILE HARPER DRIVES A STEEL CHAIR INTO JOHNSON’S ABDOMEN AT RINGSIDE AFTER USING THE APRON FOR ASSISTANCE BACK TO HIS FEET!
Thadd Blazevich: Jay crumples down to the floor as Harper slides into the ring and repeatedly drives that chair into Damon’s gut! Vincent joins in right after, standing over Damon and jamming the chair down into his stomach as well!
(Harper and Vincent taunt with the steel chairs as the crowd rains down boos, while Silas jumps up and down at ringside, giddy with excitement. The two soon toss the chairs aside as Vincent pulls Damon up and hooks both of his arms from behind, while Harper grabs the trash can.)
Rich Russillo: Damon’s defenseless as Harper Lee SMASHES THAT TRASH CAN INTO HIS HEAD!
(Damon stumbles before dropping to all fours and crawling into the corner, where he falls into a seated position. Harper and Vincent close in on him after Harper tosses the trash can aside.)
Rich Russillo: Harper and Vincent unload with stomps, looking to punish Lazarus— before Vincent brings to Harper’s attention the threat at ringside as now both members of Fire and Ice are back to their feet! Raven’s been busted open as a result of that steel chair, but that might’ve only fired her up as she slides in the ring! Rex does the same and its a hockey fight between both teams!
Persephone: Ugh. I knew they’d show back up.
Thadd Blazevich: A HOCKEY FIGHT HAS BROKEN OUT! REX AND VINCENT, RAVEN AND HARPER GOING AT IT! REX THROWS VINCENT OUT THROUGH THE MIDDLE ROPE, BUT VINCENT LANDS ON HIS FEET AND DRAGS REX OUT UNDERNEATH THE BOTTOM ROPE BY HIS ANKLE! VINCENT CLUBS DOWN ONTO REX BEFORE SENDING HIM STAGGERING AWAY WITH A RIGHT HAND!
Rich Russillo: BUT HARPER GETS THE BETTER OF RAVEN ROBERTS, BACKING HER INTO THE CORNER WITH RIGHTS! PERHAPS RAVEN ENTERED TOO PREMATURELY WITH THE BLOOD LOSS AS HARPER IRISH WHIPS HER INTO THE OPPOSITE CORNER— BUT RAVEN ROBERTS IMMEDIATELY SHOOTS OUT WITH A CLOTHESLINE AS HARPER CAME RUNNING IN!
Persephone: FUCK!
Thadd Blazevich: That’ll stop anyone in their tracks as Harper scrambles to her feet in the nearby corner. Raven closes the distance between them both with a KNIFE EDGE CHOP ACROSS THE CHEST IN THE CORNER! RAVEN THEN WHIPS HARPER LEE INTO THE OPPOSITE CORNER WHERE SHE COMES STAGGERING OUT INTO A BACK BODY DROP!
Rich Russillo: AND ON THE OUTSIDE, VINCENT LOOKS TO WHIP REX MCALLISTER INTO THE STEEL STEPS— BUT REX REVERSES LAST MINUTE! SENDING VINCENT SHOULDER FIRST INTO THE STEPS INSTEAD! VINCENT WRITHES IN PAIN BEFORE REX LIFTS HIM UP TO DO MORE DAMAGE! BUT RAVEN’S STALKING LEE FROM THE CORNER, URGING HER TO GET UP AFTER THAT BACK BODY DROP! HARPER HAS NO IDEA WHAT’S BEHIND HER AS RAVEN RUSHES IN!
Thadd Blazevich: WELL, RAVEN WENT FOR THE “TALON” BUT HARPER LEE AVOIDED IT WITH A DROP DOWN! LEE DROPPED DOWN, CAUSING RAVEN TO LAND HARD ON HER BACK!
(Raven makes it back to her feet, favoring her back as she staggers into the corner. Meanwhile, Harper crawls to the apron, where Silas Mason slides her a strip of barbed wire, which she starts wrapping around her fist…)
Rich Russillo: Oh no.
Persephone: Oh yes! That bitch is about to finally get what’s coming to her!
Rich Russillo: Harper Lee rushes toward Raven with her cocked back for a RIGHT— BUT RAVEN BOOTS HER IN THE HAND!
(Harper quickly shakes the barbed wire off her hand and clutches it, favoring it as the wire has dug in deep enough to draw blood.)
Rich Russillo: FROM BEHIND, RAVEN THROWS HARPER INTO THE ROPES AND SHE REBOUNDS BACK INTO A SITOUT SPINEBUSTER ONTO THE BARBED WIRE! HARPER’S BACK GETS DRIVEN INTO THAT BARBED WIRE!
Persephone: As much I don’t like that bitch, I can acknowledge… that was pretty awesome. :mjlit:
Thadd Blazevich: Pain is etched across Harper’s face as she rolls off the barbed wire and crawls to the nearest corner, pulling herself up with assistance from the ropes. Rex enters the ring and Raven gestures toward that barbed wire strip, the wheels turning in Fire and Ice’s head…
(Rex takes the strip of barbed wire and wraps it around his knee before dropping down to one knee…)
Rich Russillo: Rex has wrapped that barbed wire across his knee and Raven BULLDOGS HARPER FACE FIRST ONTO IT WITH “FROSTBITE!” FROSTBITE BY FIRE AND ICE! WITH RAVEN CRAWLING INTO THE COVER, HOOKING THE LEG DEEP!
ONNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
TWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
THHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRR—
Thadd Blazevich: HARPER KICKS OUT!
(Rex points at the referee and gestures for his belt. The referee quickly removes it and hands it over to Rex, while Lee struggles onto all fours with blood streaming down her face.)
Thadd Blazevich: Harper Lee survived “Frostbite,” but Rex and Raven are not letting up! REX STARTS UNLOADING WITH BELT SHOTS ACROSS HARPER’S BACK AND BODY! Harper writhes in pain with nowhere to go as Rex stays relentless with the attack!
(Harper reaches toward Vincent at ringside, and Vincent grabs both of her hands, trying to pull her out under the bottom rope— but Fire and Ice grab Harper by both ankles and yank her back, dragging Vincent in with her as well!)
Rich Russillo: REX STARTS WHIPPING VINCENT WITH THE BELT TOO— but Vincent rolls back out under the bottom rope to escape, dropping to one knee and leaning against the barricade! Rex passes the belt off to Raven, who quickly wraps it around Harper’s throat from behind! RAVEN IS CHOKING LEE WITH THAT BELT BEFORE TOSSING HER OVER THE TOP ROPE AND HANGING HER!
Thadd Blazevich: REX MOVES IN TO HELP— BUT JAY AND DAMON ATTACK BOTH OF THEM FROM BEHIND! LEE DROPS TO RINGSIDE, GASPING FOR AIR! AS DAMON TOSSES REX OUT THROUGH THE MIDDLE ROPE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE! MEANWHILE JAY ISOLATES RAVEN AND THROWS HER SHOULDER FIRST INTO THE RINGPOST, SENDING HER TUMBLING OUT TO RINGSIDE!
Persephone: Anytime Raven Roberts is getting the shit kicked out of her is a great time.
Rich Russillo: Jay exits the ring and goes right after Raven, while Damon rolls out after Rex— BUT REX DRIVES THE LADDER RIGHT INTO HIS ABDOMEN! Damon staggers backward into the apron as Rex leans the ladder against the barricade! Rex then drags Damon over and SUPLEXES HIM RIGHT ONTO THE LADDER!
Persephone: Careful. Unc might disintegrate. Honestly, I could say the same about Rex too.
Thadd Blazevich: Damon is in a world of pain on that ladder, and Rex fights through the obvious pain he’s in to start digging under the ring apron! Rex pulls out a TABLE and sets it up at ringside! He then turns his attention to Vincent, who’s kneeling against the barricade, and drags him over to the apron, pulling him up there with him!
Rich Russillo: Rex has Vincent in position for a powerbomb— BUT SILAS MASON! SILAS MASON INVOLVES HIMSELF IN THIS MATCH ONCE AGAIN BY GRABBING HOLD OF REX’S ANKLE! SILAS HAS BOTH ARMS WRAPPED AROUND HIS ANKLE! REX IS TRYING TO SWAT SILAS AWAY— BUT HARPER TAKES ADVANTAGE! SLIDING INTO THE RING WITH A CHAIR THAT SHE DRIVES INTO REX’S FACE! KNOCKING HIM OFF THE APRON AND THROUGH THE TABLE—
Persephone: YES— NO, WAIT! NO!
Thadd Blazevich: REX HOLDS ONTO THE TOP ROPE, TEETERING ON THAT APRON! HARPER SEEMS ANNOYED THAT WASNT ENOUGH TO KNOCK REX OFF AND GOES TO SCORE WITH A RIGHT HAND— BUT REX DRAWS FIRST WITH A RIGHT OF HIS OWN! HARPER RESPONDS WITH A RIGHT HERSELF!
Rich Russillo: HARPER! REX! HARPER! REX— REX PACKED ENOUGH FORCE BEHIND THAT LAST PUNCH TO SEND HARPER LEE STUMBLING INTO THE CORNER! REX RE-ENTERS THE RING AND BLOCKS A RIGHT HAND FROM HARPER AS SHE SHOT OUT THE CORNER! ANOTHER RIGHT HAND FROM REX CONNECTS THAT STAGGERS LEE BACK AGAINST THE ROPES AND REX IS FIRED UP BEFORE CHARGING WITH A CLOTHESLINE OVER THE TOP ROPE THAT SENDS BOTH COMPETITORS CRASHING TO THE OUTSIDE!
Thadd Blazevich: Rex struggles back to his feet— BUT VINCENT COMES FROM BEHIND WITH A CHAIR SHOT ACROSS HIS BACK! Rex staggers into the steel steps, leaning forward as he tries to catch his breath, but Vincent stays on him from behind and WRAPS THAT CHAIR AROUND REX’S HEAD! Vincent then yanks him back and SLAMS REX HEAD-FIRST INTO THE RING POST!
(Rex falls to the floor and pulls the chair off his head, coughing up blood onto the floor as he lies on his side.)
Persephone: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! MATCH OF THE NIGHT EASILY!
Rich Russillo: Vincent rounds the corner and catches Jay with a KICK TO THE GUT as he rushed in! Vincent rolls Jay back inside the ring AND CLOTHESLINES RAVEN UP AND OVER THE BARRICADE! Harper closes that toolbox she opened earlier and slides into the ring with it! LOOKING TO DO SOME SERIOUS DAMAGE AS SHE CHARGES AT JAY! JAY FELT THIS EARLIER—
Thadd Blazevich: AND HE DOESNT WANT TO FEEL IT AGAIN AS HE CONNECTS WITH A KICK TO THE GUT, FORCING HARPER TO DROP IT AS SHE DOUBLES OVER AND KNOCKING HER DOWN TO THE MAT WITH A PENALTY KICK TO THE CHEST! NOW ITS JAY THAT GOES DIGGING INTO THAT TOOLBOX AND PULLS OUT PLIERS! GUESS THERE WAS A SPARE PAIR IN THERE AND HARPER LEE TRIED USING THESE EARLIER!
Rich Russillo: NOW ITS JAY WITH THOSE PLIERS, READY TO PUT THE SHOE ON THE OTHER FOOT!
(Jay holds Harper’s jaw open as she sits on the mat, then brings the pliers to her tongue, trying to pull it out!)
Rich Russillo: AND HARPER’S NO STRANGER TO DOING THIS HERSELF! GETTING A TASTE OF HER OWN MEDICINE— BUT VINCENT SLIDES IN TO MAKE THE SAVE BEFORE HE CAN DO SO! JAY DELIVERS A KICK TO THE GUT ON VINCENT AND TAKES THOSE PLIERS TO HIS GROIN NEXT! JAY HAS THOSE PLIERS CLAMPED TO THE TESTICLE AREA OF MONDRIAN!
Thadd Blazevich: BUT HARPER CRAWLS FOR THAT TOOLBOX, GETTING A WRENCH FROM INSIDE IT BEFORE CRACKING JAY IN THE SIDE OF THE SKULL WITH IT! BLOOD BEGINNING TO SOAK THAT BLONDE HAIR OF HIS!
(Jay rolls out of the ring and stumbles toward the announce table before collapsing to one knee. Meanwhile, Harper checks on Vincent, who’s struggling to stand while clutching at his groin, but clearly fuming with anger. The two then exit the ring and go after Jay.)
Rich Russillo: Harper leans Jay back against the announce table and starts firing off right hands while Jay tries to cover up! Vincent slides even more chairs into the ring, building a pile of them before rolling inside as he spots Damon Lazarus pulling himself up in the corner. Vincent has a chair in hand and TRIES TO BRING IT DOWN ON DAMON’S HEAD! BUT DAMON MOVES OUT OF THE WAY, AND THE CHAIR GOES FLYING OUT TO RINGSIDE!
Thadd Blazevich: DAMON CATCHES VINCENT WITH A RIGHT HAND THE SECOND HE TURNS AROUND, THEN STARTS STOMPING A MUDHOLE INTO HIM IN THE CORNER! Vincent rolls out under the bottom rope, but Damon stays on him, following him up the ramp while unloading with right hands!
(Harper Lee rolls into the ring, yelling for Vincent to get back while he’s busy brawling with Damon up the ramp. Lee suddenly spins around and swings with a clothesline as Raven Roberts slides in—)
Persephone: Oh, here she goes again.
Rich Russillo: RAVEN DUCKS UNDERNEATH A CLOTHESLINE BY HARPER, SLIPPING BEHIND HER FOR A— WELL, SHE MIGHT BE GOING FOR A BLUE THUNDER ON THE PILE OF CHAIRS! BUT HARPER LEE BLOCKS IT, HOLDING HER WEIGHT DOWN TO REIGN DOWNWARD WITH ELBOWS TO THE BACK OF HER NECK! RAVEN MOVES TO A REAR WAISTLOCK AND GETS STAGGERED BACKED AGAINST THE ROPES WITH A BACK ELBOW THAT BREAKS IT!
Thadd Blazevich: RAVEN STAGGERS BACK AGAINST THE ROPES WHILE HARPER REACHES DOWN FOR A CHAIR! HARPER RUSHES RAVEN WITH THE CHAIR— BUT RAVEN BOOTS IT INTO HER FACE! HARPER STAGGERS BEFORE DOUBLING OVER IN FRONT OF THE CHAIRS… RAVEN DASHES FORWARD WITH A CANADIAN DESTROYER!! CANADIAN DESTROYER ON THE CHAIRS!!
Rich Russillo: HARPER MIGHT BE OUT AS RAVEN MAKES THE COVER!
Persephone: PLEASE DONT LET BE IT!
ONNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
TWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOO!!
THHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRREEEEE—
Rich Russillo: KICKOUT!
(Raven helps Rex back into the ring as he slowly crawls in under the bottom rope, clutching at his throat with blood on his mouth.)
Rich Russillo: It looks like Rex has recovered!
Persephone: What? I thought they killed him at ringside! Or maybe that was wishful thinking!
(Raven and Rex start setting up chairs with the seats facing each other, forming an almost bed of chairs in the ring.)
Thadd Blazevich: Some creativity being shown here by Fire and Ice.
Persephone: Regardless, I don’t like it.
Rich Russillo: Raven goes to retrieve Harper— BUT GETS CRACKED ACROSS THE BACK WITH A HOCKEY STICK BY VINCENT MONDRIAN! REX TURNS INTO A HOCKEY STICK SWING TO THE GUT! VINCENT HAS MANAGED TO SHAKE FREE OF DAMON IN THE CROWD! REX DOUBLES OVER BEFORE VINCENT BREAKS THAT HOCKEY STICK ACROSS HIS BACK, KNOCKING HIM DOWN TO THE MAT!
Thadd Blazevich: Vincent has Raven on his shoulders now and LAUNCHES HER ONTO THE BED OF CHAIRS WITH A DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! VINCENT CRAWLS INTO THE COVER! HOOKING THE LEG!
ONNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
TWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
THHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRR—
Rich Russillo: IN A DESPERATE MOVE, REX CHUCKS A CHAIR AT MONDRIAN TO BREAK THINGS UP! Vincent throws Raven out the ring and Harper stomps down onto Rex, pushing hin out the ring with her boot! Rex falls to a knee, holding onto the bottom rope as Vincent exits the ring, hooking both of Rex’s arms from behind as HARPER SHOOTS OFF THE ROPES FOR A BASEBALL SLIDE DROPKICK INTO HIM!
Thadd Blazevich: Rex stumbles into our announce table— BEFORE TURNING AROUND TO HAMMER VINCENT WITH A FLURRY OF RIGHTS! REX IS GETTING A SECOND WIND BEFORE VINCENT OVERWHELMS HIM WITH RIGHTS AND THROWS REX OVER THE ANNOUNCE TABLE!
Persephone: :krabs: Shi—
Rich Russillo: WOAH!! That was a close one! Rex is out as Silas World turns their attention to Jay! Harper rolls Jay back inside the ring while Vincent fishes out a CINDERBLOCK! VINCENT SLIDES A CINDERBLOCK INTO THE RING AND HARPER HOLDS JAY OVER IT! HARPER WANTS MONDRIAN TO STOMP DOWN ONTO JAY’S HEAD WITH A “MALOVENT SHRINE!”
Thadd Blazevich: VINCENT BOUNCES OFF THE ROPES— BUT DAMON DRAGS HIM OUT UNDERNEATH THE BOTTOM ROPE AND THROWS HIM BACK FIRST INTO THE BARRICADE! DAMON SLIDES IN NEXT AND DUCKS UNDERNEATH A CLOTHESLINE ATTEMPT BY HARPER! HARPER REBOUNDS OFF THE ROPES AND INTO “MELLOTRON SCRATCH!”
Rich Russillo: DAMON WITH A SCOOP POWERSLAM ONTO THAT CINDERBLOCK! HARPER LEE WRITHES IN PAIN, USING THE ROPES TO PULL HERSELF BACK UP AS DAMON STALKS HER FROM ALL FOURS! SLOWLY RISING UP TO HIS FEET WITH HER, WHICH IS USUALLY THE PRELUDE TO A…
Thadd Blazevich: CTE… TO JAY!! DAMON HIT JAY WITH THE CTE INSTEAD AFTER HE ROSE UP BEHIND HIM! DAMON THROWS JAY OUT TO RINGSIDE, LOOKING TO DO FURTHER DAMAGE THERE AS HE UNDOES THE RINGSIDE PADDING!
Persephone: It was only a matter of time, but I’m not mad at it!
(Harper signals something to Silas, who begins dousing the table at ringside in lighter fluid to set it on fire, while Harper quickly grabs Rex McAllister and drags him over to the apron.)
Rich Russillo: HARPER STARTS HOOKING REX UP FOR AN AVALANCHE SWINGING NECKBREAKER OFF THE APRON!! GOING FOR “DIRTY FIREWORKS!” BUT REX HANGS ONTO THE MIDDLE ROPE AND BATTLES BACK WITH SHOTS TO THE ABDOMEN! REX CONNECTS WITH A COUPLE OF RIGHTS HANDS AND HARPER IS STUNNED— BEFORE PULLING HIM INTO HARMS WAY AS RAVEN CHARGED TO KNOCK HER OFF THE APRON WITH A FOREARM!
Thadd Blazevich: REX GOES CRASHING THROUGH THAT FLAMING TABLE!
Persephone: Idiots!
Rich Russillo: REX ROLLS AROUND WHILE SILAS MASON LAUGHS MANICALLY! RAVEN CANT BELIEVE WHAT SHES DONE, BUT HARPER IMMEDIATELY MAKES HER FOCUS WITH A ROPE-ASSISTED ENZUIGIRI THAT STUNS HER! HARPER HOOKS RAVEN UP FOR A SUPLEX TO THE OUTSIDE— BUT RAVEN SHIFTS THE MOMENTUM! HARPER FLOATS OVER BEHIND RAVEN FOR AN O’CONNOR ROLL!!
Thadd Blazevich: BUT RAVEN HANGS ONTO THE TOP ROPE AND FLINGS HARPER OFF AS SHE ROLLS BACK THROUGH TO HER FEET— VINCENT SLIDES IN AND RUSHES RAVEN! BUT RAVEN SIDESTEPS AND THROWS HIM UP AND OVER THE TOP ROPE! LANDING ONTO SILAS MASON AT RINGSIDE! :damn:
Rich Russillo: VINCENT CANT BELIEVE IT BEFORE RAVEN SIDESTEPS HARPER AND SENDS HER INTO VINCENT AT RINGSIDE WITH A INADVERTENT SUICIDE DIVE! RAVEN CLIMBS TO THE TOP ROPE NEXT AS VINCENT AND HARPER REGAIN FOOTING AT RINGSIDE WITH REX… AND RAVEN DIVES ONTO ALL OF THEM WITH A CROSSBODY!
Thadd Blazevich: THOSE FOUR ARE WIPED OUT! AND DAMON HAS JAY HANGING ON THE APRON FOR “BLACKEST EYES!” BUT JAY SLIPS OFF ONTO HIS FEET AND DRIVES DAMON THROUGH THE BARRICADE!
Rich Russillo: DAMON GOES THROUGH THE BARRICADE AND JAY MOUNTS HIM WITH RIGHTS!
Thadd Blazevich: RAVEN’S STILL TRYING TO GET AT BOTH VINCENT AND HARPER WITH RIGHTS IN THE RUBBLE AND THE REFEREE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO! THIS HAS BECOME A MESS, BRO! I MEAN, ONE OF THE TEAMS ARE LITERALLY FIGHTING EACH OTHER AND EVERYONE ELSE IS DOWN AND OUT!!!
(Seeing all of the chaos, the referee just sighs, turning towards the timekeepers area.)
(DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!)
Rich Russillo: OH, HE’S LOST ALL ORDER OF THIS THING! HE DOESNT KNOW WHAT TO DO!
Thadd Blazevich: REX IS GETTING BACK UP, AND BRO IS STILL FIGHTING! I DON’T KNOW HOW AFTER GOING THROUGH A FLAMING TABLE!
Persephone: Beats me.
Rich Russillo: Meanwhile Jay and Damon are STILL going at it at ringside— there is absolutely no control left!
(Jay sends Damon into the steel steps with a loud CLANG, but Damon immediately fires back with a spear to the floor and mounts him with right hands.)
Thadd Blazevich: SECURITY NEEDS TO GET OUT HERE NOW!
(Security finally floods the scene, rushing both ringside and up the ramp to separate everyone.)
Rich Russillo: It’s taking an army to break this up!
(Security swarms Damon and Jay while more guards rush the ramp, pulling Raven off Harper and restraining Rex and Vincent. Soon the entire area is flooded with security, separating all six as they fight against the guards, each trying to break free and get back at one another while the crowd roars. The chaos continues as we fade elsewhere.)
(Promotional ad for Pain for Pride 19, where the Cash in the Vault ladder match will take place.)
(The camera returns to ringside, and right away the fans cheer as they’re introduced to the set up for a contract signing. The table is in the middle of the ring, with a chair set down on each side of it. The contract rests on the table alongside two pens and two microphones, and finally, Bella Braxton can also be seen inside of the ring, holding a microphone of her own with a smile on her face.)
Bella Braxton: Ladies and gentlemen… Welcome to the contract signing for the EAW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH between Hans Grayson and Drake Armstrong… IN THE TWELFTH BARBED WIRE MASSACRE!!!
(These words cause the cheers to grow louder, and Bella nods before continuing to speak.)
Bella Braxton: Introducing first is the challenger, who cashed in his Cash in the Vault briefcase for this opportunity… PLEASE WELCOME THE FIREHEART, HANS GRAYSON!!
(‘The Leaving Song Pt. II’ by AFI begins to play, bringing about an explosion of cheers as Hans Grayson begins to walk out. Hans looks focused, as he knows that with this, the match he has waited all this time for will finally be official. He also knows however that to get that he’ll have to share the ring with Drake Armstrong long enough for both men to have signed the contract, which he isn’t thrilled about whatsoever.)
Rich Russillo: Ladies and gentlemen we have a contract signing coming up, and it is for a match that has been brewing for a while now. One thing is for sure. Hans Grayson has been waiting for this.
Thadd Blazevich: He sure has, bro. He wanted to do things his way, and unfortunately that meant resisting the urge to cash in even as Drake kept winning! He didn’t want to blindside the Champ. Instead he wants to finish this his way, in Barbed Wire Massacre!
Persephone: That stipulation is doing an unreal amount of heavy lifting for this match. Hans forced me to sit through so many stupid matches by not just cashing in, so I for one couldn’t care less whether or not evil finally dies at Pain for Pride.
(Hans Grayson enters the ring, giving a smile towards the crowd as he makes his way towards his side of the ring. He takes a seat in his chair, ready to get this contract signing over with.)
Bella Braxton: And now for his opponent… Ladies and gentlemen please welcome the EAW World Champion, THE KING OF THE WORLD, DRAKE ARMSTRONG!!
(With this, ‘Pride and Arrogance’ by Takeru Kanazaki hits…)
Crowd: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(The fans boo as loud as they can, as the EAW World Champion walks out to the stage. Drake doesn’t look impressed, neither by the hostile reception that he is easily able to brush off, nor by the presence of his Pain for Pride opponent, who is waiting for him inside of the ring. Drake raises his Championship, bringing about more boos before putting the title back on his shoulder, and heading down the ramp.)
Rich Russillo: Here comes the Champion, who can’t be in the best of moves after Hans Grayson attacked just last week. Honestly, there’s really no telling what might happen tonight.
Thadd Blazevich: Drake can be a real evil dude sometimes, bro. Hans definitely has a problem on his hands, but it’s not like bro isn’t ready for it. He’s had all season long to prepare for this one!
Persephone: Yeah, which would make him losing even more embarrassing. I almost hope he does, but I don’t know if I can survive any longer with this guy holding the World Championship.
(Finally, Drake Armstrong enters the ring. When he does, he doesn’t even look at Hans Grayson. Instead, he takes a moment and just stares at the setup for this contract signing, rolling his eyes in disgust before grabbing the chair that has been left for him on the side of the table opposite from Hans. He brings it towards the spot he deems most fitting for the King of the World, which as one can guess, is at the head of the table.)
Hans Grayson: Really…?
(Drake ignores Hans as he places his Championship on the table, before finally taking a seat. Only after this does he acknowledge the presence of his Pain for Pride opponent, turning towards Hans with a slightly colder look than before.)
Drake Armstrong: Are you proud of yourself yet?
Hans Grayson: What?
Drake Armstrong: You got what you wanted. The spotlight. The fame, fortune, and above all else the applause. I can see it in your face every single time you look at the filth in these crowds. Your obsessive desire for validation pushed you to the main event of Pain for Pride, and all that was required for you to make it there was the pain and suffering of weaklings who never even had the chance to stand where we do now. I told you, it was clever. You altered the course of the season with your inaction, and in turn the entire Voltage roster has been dragged into the vortex that has surrounded you and I. Adam Lucas, Jay Jerry Johnson, Cody Maverick, the Elysian fools, they were all mere sacrifices in your road to everything you could wish for. None of it matters now, and yet you deny it. You deny that this was meant to be, and paint your actions as an act of justice rather than the cold, calculated move it really was. You are unable to accept the fact that deep down you are as selfish as the rest of us, despite the fact that the avarice that exists within you is precisely what resulted in your career falling directly into my hands.
Drake Armstrong: So what will it take, Grayson? What will it take for you to accept what is hidden deep within your Feebleheart, and acknowledge what you and I both know is the truth?
(Hans Grayson doesn’t respond to these words, and it seems to Drake that this is enough to confirm his suspicions. Drake lets out a smug grin as if he isn’t even surprised, before he just continues to speak.)
Drake Armstrong: You won’t do it. Far from unexpected. You despise me, so you couldn’t possibly come to terms with the pride you feel for effectively stepping over the corpses of the the rest of the insects making up the Voltage roster, as you must live with the knowledge that every single piece of success you’ve found from the beginning to the end of Season 19 can all be traced back to *me*. You owe me your gratitude. You owe me everything, and *THAT* is what is preventing you from taking pride in your newfound glory. I gave you retribution against Impact. I gave you a most triumphant victory in War Games. I gave you justice against Miku Sakai, who wrongfully accused you of bringing harm to her. Now I have given you a Pain for Pride main event and that should be more than enough for you to admit that you don’t feel even the slightest shred of guilt for those who paved the way for you to gain this opportunity, but you can’t do it because you’re and I are not one in the same, and the truth that lies deep within your heart is surrounded by layer after layer of insecurity, loneliness, and above all else, a pitiful need for affirmation.
(These words are instantly met with loud boos, while Hans just continues to stare at Drake. Hans doesn’t take his eyes off of Drake for even a moment, as behind his silence, Hans is actually fighting back the urge to just abandon the contract signing and fight him right now.)
Drake Armstrong: You want to face me in Barbed Wire Massacre, because you believe it is the “correct” decision. It’s the one that’ll please the masses, even if at the expense of your life. Your briefcase permits you to challenge any World Champion across any brand and rather than taking advantage of that stipulation to guarantee you begin a Championship reign that’d be a year in the making by the time of your own main event, you’ve chosen to challenge His Immaculacy to a match in which he will have no restraints, no limitations, and absolutely nothing to stand in the way of me wiping my hands clean of you once and for all. You are sacrificing yourself, solely for the sake of proving to people who do absolutely nothing for you that you are worth their praise. My killer instinct has served as one of my primary assets all throughout my career, and yours is nonexistent. You are not one to slay your enemies, Grayson. You beg for peace. You plead for co-existence. This was proven with myself, with Kai Rabeaux, with Cody Maverick, even with someone as worthless as Ashlynn Quinn, as you are so starved for attention that you’d court a thoughtless shell of a human for the sole purpose of having one less person in the world who sees you for the desperate, impotent rodent that you are.
(This causes the look on Hans’ face to change a bit. It was one thing when Drake’s disrespect was targeted towards him, but he wasn’t going to tolerate his harsh treatment towards Ashlynn, especially knowing what Drake had already done to her. For once however, Drake hadn’t noticed the anger swelling up within Hans. With him holding so little interest in Ashlynn Quinn and being unable to relate to Hans Grayson’s empathy, he didn’t even think twice about his statement beyond his greater point. Drake instead just kept speaking, with no care for how Hans might react to his constant disrespect.)
Drake Armstrong: You are putting yourself in place to become a martyr because you believe that should you fail under the brightest of lights the peasants of Toronto will at least follow you to a glorious end, but what will be left of you to follow when all that remains of your legacy is the knowledge that you had an entire year of preparation and *still* couldn’t deliver the killing blo-
(Before Drake could even finish his statement, one which he felt was sure to really get under the skin of Hans Grayson, Hans does what everyone was waiting for him to do. He signs the contract, causing an explosive reaction as the fans cheer.)
Hans Grayson: Are you done? If you’re finished running your mouth, you can go ahead and sign the contract now.
(For once, the look on Drake Armstrong’s face has completely changed. He’s not amused whatsoever with Hans taking matters into his own hands with that interruption, and now it’s as if with that move alone the dynamic has flipped. Drake doesn’t pick up the contract. He doesn’t even look at it, instead giving Hans a stare filled with annoyance as now, it is him with the freedom to keep speaking.)
Hans Grayson: I get it, Drake. You think that all I care about is the praise. Your manipulation, the countless people who faced defeat or worse against you because I didn’t step in and cash in, you think that everything that resulted in this match being made to begin with isn’t even weighing on me just because I managed to form a bond with millions of people who want to see me kick your ass just as much as I want to do it, but there’s a reason I’m able to come out here every week and give a smile to these people no matter how bad it gets and no Drake, it has nothing to do with lacking a killer instinct, or being desperate for affirmation, or being afraid of doing whatever the hell I’ve got to do to take you down. I do it for the same reason that they kept cheering me on no matter what situations you kept dragging me into, no matter what you made me do. I stand by them for the same reason that they stand by me no matter how bad things get. Unlike you, this business means way more to me and everyone else here than just a ticket to fame and fortune. This business means more to me than power. I care about what I do, and that IS the truth! I don’t hide who I am. I care about these people. I care about this ring. I care about having the opportunity to do what I love, and you took MONTHS of that away from me!
(The fans cheer hearing the passion behind Hans’ words, feeling the same frustration he’s felt after having to deal with his arm injury for so long following Road to Redemption.)
Hans Grayson: Now here you are, weeks away from the day where it all comes crashing down and you still can’t even see the position you’re in. You’re actually asking for gratitude from me, as if I’m supposed to be thankful for a bunch of wins that’ll always be tainted with the fact that I had to share them with. You have some serious nerve, Drake. You of all people, you don’t get to go and insult everyone else on the roster, or call anyone else here “insects”. You don’t get to treat anyone here like they’re beneath you, and you definitely don’t get to call Ashlynn hollow, because I’ve been around you long enough now to know that without that Championship, without the main events, without all the power you manipulated and cheated your way to, you’re just an empty husk. An empty husk that’ll never change. That’ll never get better. That’ll never have the chance to feel anything that isn’t envy towards me because I don’t NEED to be like you to get what I want. You’re just a sad excuse of a man that will never even do the bare minimum, and get over what I did to you two years ago.
(These words manage to strike a nerve, as Drake continues to remain silent, though growing further and further impatient with his challenger. Despite Drake’s best attempts to hide it, Hans can see the rage in Drake’s face, and it seems as if seeing that side of him is enough for him to maintain his own composure, knowing that Drake isn’t in control of this situation like he was during the first half of the season.)
Hans Grayson: I take pride in where I am, but I take pride in it because I earned this. Because I stayed true to who I am, and in the end I chose to do this my way instead of yours. You can hold this grudge as long as you want. It happened when I was the New Breed Champion. It happened when you were the Interwire Champion. When you and I cross paths, there’s never any question about whether or not I “have killer instinct” because in the end I always find a way to get the job done, and you TRIED to take that away from me. You did everything you could to get under my skin, to get inside of my head, and ultimately to just get me out of the ring entirely. You did ALL OF THIS just out of the fear that you were destined to repeat history as long as we both went after the EAW Championship, and yet somehow… Somehow, you are so caught up in your delusion that you’re able to start this whole mess with a rant about insecurities. You don’t get it, Drake. I have you figured out, and I’m not the one that has anything to fear. These are desperate times for you. More desperate than ever, because when you lose you won’t have the privilege of martyrdom. You won’t have the privilege of knowing that you earned the trust and support of so many that your loss brings them disappointment.
Hans Grayson: When you lose the only thing they’ll be feeling is relief, because this reign of terror will finally be over.
(Once again, Hans’ words are met with an explosion of cheers.)
Hans Grayson: Now sign the contract, Drake. We don’t have all night.
(Hans slides the contract over towards Drake, and at this point, the Champion’s annoyance only grows. Drake continues to stare at Hans, taken aback after everything he just said. Drake glances at the contract for a moment, until finally he begins to speak.)
Drake Armstrong: Do you genuinely believe you are in any position to make demands?
(Drake shakes his head.)
Drake Armstrong: You abandoned any leverage once held the moment you forfeited the inherent advantage of the Cash in the Vault briefcase for the sake of capturing this main event under the guise of honor. You lie, Feebleheart. You speak as if you have prepared for this scenario, as if you’ve finally found the answer to the problem that has plagued your season thus far, but you haven’t. You’re still just as lost as ever. You treat my ambition as if it is a weakness, my cunning as if it is worthless and my strength as if it is a hindrance, all while you overlook the most important factor of this match in favor of pandering to subhumans. A factor that you brought upon yourself without having realized what consequences may follow your decision. Hans, do you really think facing me in Barbed Wire Massacre is the wisest decision you could make, knowing that the lawlessness of this brand is precisely why I rule over it as its Champion?
Hans Grayson: Does it look like I’m scared? This is what I want, Drake. I don’t need any questions, I don’t need any excuses, I don’t need anything but your signature on that contract. I’m not scared of matches like this, and I’m definitely not scared of someone like you. See I still remember that night. I remember it clear as day, because it wasn’t even you that broke my arm. For all your arrogance, for all your insistence that I’m screwed if I face you in a match like this, you couldn’t even get your hands dirty yourself when it came down to it, because that’s not who you are. You need some kind of advantage. You need some sort of help. You need options, and Barbed Wire Massacre is going to be the most deceiving match of your career, because even with all the rules thrown out the window, all the weapons, all the barbed wire you could ask for, and everything else at your disposal to try and torture me… You’ll be all out of options, because you’ll still be reliving your nightmare. You’ll still be in a match against me, on equal footing.
(This receives cheers from the crowd, but within the ring an uncomfortable period of silence follows these words. Hans is forced to sit with his own words for a moment as Drake gives him a cold stare… Until finally, the Champion just begins to laugh.)
Drake Armstrong: So you consider yourself my Achilles’ Heel, is that it? You have quite the sense of humor, Grayson.
Hans Grayson: I haven’t told you any jokes.
Drake Armstrong: No no, you certainly have. Every word you’ve said since I entered the ring. Every single second of it has been a comedic act for the ages, and perhaps this is your calling. Serving merely as cheap entertainment for the masses. Perhaps at one point you’d have made a fine jester for me, but you outlived your usefulness the second you forgot what kind of profession this really is. Clinging to the past as if it’ll save you all while the present tells only the story of His Immaculacy’s domination. I’m sure it’s comforting reminiscing on easier times, but those days have passed. It’s over, and once I sign this contract, so will be your days as a respected, main event caliber Elitist.
(Drake finally picks up the contract, raising it as he continues.)
Drake Armstrong: I have held your career in the palm of my hands from the moment this season began. That hasn’t changed, and it won’t until I’ve decided I am satisfied.
Hans Grayson: Yeah? What was last week then? Or every other time I left you laid out, staring at the lights? You know, you do this all the time. You pretend you have it all figured out and that you’re two steps ahead of everyone, when in reality you spend a lot of your time getting lucky and being nothing more than an opportunist. Just look at Fighting Spirit. You stole a win that would’ve been Bronson’s if you were unconscious for just a little longer, and if that happened things wouldn’t have even turned out like this. You were lucky. Lucky that you had enough wherewithal to grab your title and hit Bronson with it before he could pin Kelton. Lucky that Bronson took the time to hit Kelton with a second elbow instead of going straight for the cover. Everything just happened to fall into place for you there just like it had been all season long, but not this time. You’re not two steps ahead, you’re not some King, you’re just a dead man. One who’s gonna finally get what’s coming to him.
(Hans Grayson’s words are meant with more cheers, as the former Cash in the Vault briefcase holder stares at Drake, waiting for him to finally make this match official. Drake just sighs.)
Drake Armstrong: I see. Well, have it your way.
(Drake picks up his pen, before finally he signs the contract, causing the cheers to grow loud once more as this Pain for Pride main event has finally been made official. Following this, Drake gets out of his seat, still holding onto his microphone as Hans begins to get up as well.)
Drake Armstrong: I gave you enough warnings, so if you insist on your pathetic end, I’ll gladly be the reason you never fight for this Championship again. You’ll learn your place soon enough.
(Drake tosses his microphone onto the table, before picking up his Championship. Hans slowly nods, knowing that all bets are off now that the contract has been signed. He watches for a few seconds as Drake seemingly prepares to leave, as if he’s weighing his options in his head, until finally…)
Rich Russillo: HANS JUST LEAPED AT DRAKE ARMSTRONG!!!! IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A FIGHT ON OUR HANDS!!!!
Thadd Blazevich: WELL WE KNEW THIS WAS COMING, AND FROM THE LOOKS OF IT SO DID DRAKE!!! BELLA JUST RAN OUT OF THE RING, AND I CAN’T SAY I BLAME HER!!! HANS MANAGED TO KNOCK DRAKE OFF HIS CHAIR, BUT NOW BOTH DUDES ARE JUST GOING AT IT ON THE MAT!! THIS ISN’T A PRETTY FIGHT, THESE TWO ARE JUST TRYING TO TEAR EACH OTHER APART!!!
Rich Russillo: DRAKE PUSHES HANS OFF OF HIM BEFORE USING THE ROPES TO RUSH TO HIS FEAT- AND HE TRIES GRABBING A PEN TO STAB HANS WITH IT, BUT HANS IS ABLE TO BLOCK IT BY GRABBING DRAKE’S ARM- BEFORE KICKING DRAKE IN THE MIDSECTION AND THROWING HIM ACROSS THE TABLE INTO HANS’ CHAIR!! Hans now rushes around the table to try to get to Drake-
Persephone: BUT DRAKE JUST PICKS THE CHAIR UP AND LAUNCHES IT AT HANS!! HANS STUMBLES BACKWARDS AND DROPS TO A KNEE, AND NOW DRAKE PICKS UP THE OTHER PEN FROM THE FLOOR BEFORE CHARGING HANS WITH IT!
Rich Russillo: DRAKE SWINGS AT HANS WITH IT- BUT HANS DUCKS UNDER IT!! HANS STUMBLES AWAY FROM DRAKE BEFORE PICKING UP ONE OF THE MICROPHONES- AND HE’S ABLE TO HIT DRAKE RIGHT IN THE JAW WITH IT!!!! DRAKE STUMBLES BACK AND DROPS THE PEN, AND NOW HANS RUNS IN-
Thadd Blazevich: BEFORE DROPPING DRAKE WITH THE FLAMING PUNCH!!!!
Persephone: Wow, Drake really is useless.
Thadd Blazevich: DRAKE ARMSTRONG IS DOWN, AND NOW HANS GRAYSON IS FIRED UP!!! HE’S DONE WITH ALL THE TALKING, AND NOW IT LOOKS LIKE ONCE AGAIN HE’S ABOUT TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THE CHAMP!!! It doesn’t look like Hans is done! He wants to make sure Drake is out!
(With Drake Armstrong down, Hans Grayson suddenly gets an idea. He knocks the table over and shoves it away, heading out to the apron as he waits for Drake to get up..)
Rich Russillo: UH OH! HANS IS CALLING FOR DRAKE TO GET BACK TO HIS FEET FROM THE APRON, AND IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HANS GRAYSON, I THINK YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THIS MEANS!
Thadd Blazevich: DRAKE GROGGILY GETS BACK UP, AND BRO IS RIGHT WHERE HANS WANTS HIM! HANS FLIPS OVER THE TOP ROPE!!!
Rich Russillo: BURNING SHOT LARIAT-
Thadd Blazevich: ????????
Persephone: Oh great, here we go.
(Suddenly, Hans Grayson is tackled to the mat by a man in a hood, and it doesn’t take long for the numbers to start pouring in from there. More and more hooded men begin to enter the ring, each of them having the same objective, which is solely to attack Hans Grayson. Drake Armstrong is able to recover during this, and as he regains his awareness, a smirk forms on his face.)
Rich Russillo: OH COME ON! HANS IS TRYING TO FIGHT HIS WAY BACK UP, BUT DRAKE’S GOONS ARE JUST STOMPING ALL OVER HIM!!!! THESE ARE THE SAME PEOPLE THAT BROKE HIS ARM BACK AT ROAD TO REDEMPTION, AND IT LOOKS LIKE IF IT WORKED ONCE, DRAKE IS MORE THAN FINE WITH USING THEM AGAIN!
Thadd Blazevich: HANS CAN’T GET BACK UP WITH ALL THESE DUDES ON TOP OF HIM, BRO!! HANS IS LITERALLY GETTING STOMPED OUT, AND THIS ISN’T EVEN FAIR ANYMORE!!! DRAKE CLEARLY HAD A PLAN FOR IF THINGS GOT OUT OF HAND TONIGHT, AND THAT PLAN WAS JUST TO STACK THE DECK AGAINST HANS!!!
Rich Russillo: HANS PULLS ONE OF THE GOONS’ LEGS OUT FROM UNDER HIM, TAKING HIM TO THE MAT BEFORE LANDING A FEW PUNCHES!!! HANS IS JUST LETTING EVERYTHING OUT ON THE HOODED MAN, NAILING PUNCH AFTER PUNCH RIGHT INTO HIS FACE-
Thadd Blazevich: BUT THERE’S JUST TOO MANY OF ‘EM, BRO!! THEY START HITTING HANS WITH PUNCHES AND KICKS FROM BEHIND, THERE’S NO WAY HE CAN FIGHT BACK AGAINST ALL THAT!!!
Persephone: Well this has become a mess pretty quickly. Drake is barking orders at his henchmen, and now they’re grabbing Hans by the arms before dragging him up to his knees. Are they gonna break both of his arms this time? That’d be great!
(With Hans Grayson restrained, Drake Armstrong picks up his EAW World Championship before walking towards his Pain for Pride challenger, looking down on him as he speaks.)
Drake Armstrong: (off-mic) I told you… You haven’t even seen a fraction of what I’m capable of.
(With this, Drake takes a few steps back…)
(CRACK!)
(Before smashing the EAW World Championship into Hans Grayson’s face.)
Rich Russillo: This just isn’t right. Hans Grayson can’t even do anything at this point! Even after falling back from getting hit with the title, the henchmen just drag Hans right back up!
Thadd Blazevich: Yeah, and this allows Drake to wind up again, BEFORE HITTING HANS WITH THE TITLE A SECOND TIME!!!! Come on dude! That’s enough already, he’s already out!
(Drake stops for a moment as the hooded men drag Hans back up to his knees. Hans at this point is done, but Drake doesn’t seem satisfied whatsoever. In fact, staring at Hans is only causing his anger to rise, so much so that he walks up to Hans and grabs him by the jaw, holding Hans’ head up so that he is forced to look at him, even if he’s not conscious enough to process what he is seeing.)
Drake Armstrong: (off-mic) Compared to what’s to come, the effects of Road to Redemption were negligible. Do remember… Everything that’s to come was entirely self-inflicted. Don’t you ever forget, THIS is what you wanted!
(With this Drake lets go of Hans Grayson’s face, before raising his Championship with a colder, even more cruel look than before.)
(CRACK!)
(CRACK!)
(CRACK!)
(CRACK!)
(Drake continues to bash his Championship into Hans’ face repeatedly, until slowly blood begins dripping onto the mat. Even with this, he doesn’t stop. He keeps smashing the title into his challenger’s face, causing the blood to begin pouring at an accelerated rate, as with every title shot the wound that has been opened on Hans’ forehead is worsened. The hooded men continue holding Hans in position throughout it all, not even doing so much as to let Hans fall anymore. They’re just forcing him to take the punishment Drake is inflicting, which seemingly has no end in sight.)
(Until… Someone begins running down the ramp.)
Rich Russillo: WAIT, LOOK!!!
Thadd Blazevich: IT’S ASHLYNN QUINN!!! ASHLYNN QUINN IS HERE!!!!
(The fans cheer at her arrival as she slides into the ring, immediately shoving past Drake Armstrong and knocking black one of the henchmen with a forearm. The henchmen look ready to take her out as well, but before they could make a move Drake puts a hand out, signalling for them to back off. They do, even letting go of Hans Grayson as he just crumbles down onto the mat. Ashlynn checks on him, shaking him a bit to see if he’s able to wake up, before immediately turning towards Drake Armstrong, staying in front of Hans to protect him from the assault from Drake.)
Persephone: Is she stupid??? She was completely outnumbered here, what is she planning to accomplish??
Rich Russillo: Protecting Hans, clearly! Hans was just destroyed by Drake, to the point that you can see the pool of blood soaking into the mat after all those shots with the title! I know she has her history of “self preservation”, but right now I don’t think Ashlynn cared about the logical choice. She wasn’t just going to sit back and let Drake continue battering Hans!
Thadd Blazevich: Especially not with her own history with Drake. There’s some real beef there, but I don’t think Drake expected anyone to actually get involved with this!
(Drake stares at Ashlynn for a moment, and seeing the desperate look on her face as she blocks Drake from getting to Hans, he can’t help but laugh. He shakes his head, finding the whole scene ridiculous as he finally turns around, calling off the henchmen as he is seemingly ready to leave. With this, Ashlynn is finally able to turn around to check on Hans, turning him onto his back, exposing her to the crimson mask covering his face. Ashlynn isn’t happy whatsoever, but keeps tending to him while she can as the henchmen make their way towards the ramp.)
(CRACK!)
Rich Russillo: OH COME ON! YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!
(However, Drake never actually left the ring. Instead he stopped at the ropes, and once Ashlynn had her back turned for long enough, he struck. He smashed the Championship into the back of her head, dropping her to the mat as she now grabs the back of her head in pain.)
(The fans boo as loud as they can, as Drake just takes a moment, staring at both Hans Grayson and Ashlynn Quinn, who are now both laid out at his feet. He turns towards Ashlynn, taking a moment to process what just happened. Of all the things Ashlynn could’ve done, she took the risk of facing Drake and his henchmen head on just for the sake of protecting Hans. Drake then begins to think about Hans’ own words earlier, as if he’s finally starting to see the extent of the care these two have for each other. Unfortunately… This sight only brings a grin back to his face.)
Rich Russillo: Oh no… What is Drake doing now?
Thadd Blazevich: Drake just called the goons back into the ring, AND THEY JUST DRAGGED ASHLYNN BACK TO HER FEET! THEY’RE HOLDING ASHLYNN IN PLACE FOR DRAKE! DUDE, DON’T DO THIS!! DON’T DO IT!!!
Rich Russillo: HE SMASHES HIS ALREADY BLOODY CHAMPIONSHIP INTO ASHLYNN’S FACE!!!! DRAKE WITH A TITLE SHOT TO ASHLYNN QUINN, AND IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE HE IS CONTENT WITH JUST ONE!!! DRAKE SMASHES THE TITLE INTO HER FACE AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND HE KEEPS GOING UNTIL THE FORCE OF THE TITLE SHOTS PUSH HER DOWN TO HER KNEES EVEN WITH THE HENCHMEN HOLDING ONTO HER!
Thadd Blazevich: DRAKE’S TITLE IS COVERED WITH THE BLOOD OF BOTH HANS AND ASHLYNN AT THIS POINT, AND SOMEHOW, THE GUY STILL ISN’T EVEN FINISHED YET!!! HE BACKS UP, BEFORE FINALLY RUNNING BACK IN AND LANDING A NASTY SHOT WITH THE TITLE, CAUSING ASHLYNN’S HEAD TO FALL BACKWARDS INTO THE ROPES AS THE GUARDS LET GO OF HER!
(Drake orders the henchmen to exit the ring, handing his Championship to one of them as they do so. They each make their way out of the ring, waiting at the bottom of the ramp as Drake seems to still have one more move in mind. He kneels towards Ashlynn, staring at her with a grin filled with disbelief as he says only a few words.)
Drake Armstrong: (off-mic) You? Really? What a joke.
(Drake stands up after this, dragging Ashlynn Quinn up with him as he casually lifts her up onto his shoulders, delivering one final move.)
Thadd Blazevich: THE DEATH PENALTY!!!!
Rich Russillo: This is terrible. I don’t even know what to say anymore.
Thadd Blazevich: I know. Hans Grayson is in for the fight of his life at Pain for Pride, because I’m starting to think bro’s opponent might actually be the devil himself.
(Drake drives Ashlynn head first onto the mat with the Gotch style Tombstone piledriver, before just returning to his feet. Once again both Hans Grayson and Ashlynn Quinn are left laid out at his feet, only this time, both of them are covered in blood, with Ashlynn being forced to suffer the same punishment as Hans as the consequence for her selflessness. Drake shakes his head as he turns and exits the ring, before he is handed his blood-covered World Championship by the henchman at ringside. Drake raises his Championship on his way up the ramp, soaking in all of the loud boos after the destruction that was just caused by him. The camera cuts to one last shot of Hans Grayson and Ashlynn Quinn inside of the ring, as their blood continues to spill onto the mat. Neither of them are conscious, and neither of them even move an inch as Voltage slowly fades to black.)
(EAW logo buzzes.)
