Post by Avery Quinn on Jan 24, 2018 10:30:29 GMT -5
Outside of the Houston Field House, just east of the arena, a celebration is happening on Lot E. Tailgating, field-party style, as advertised.
A semi-circle of jacked up Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge trucks on one side and on the other, a concert stage backed by semi trailers. In the middle, there's a huge crackling bonfire sending embers and smoke high into the early evening. Fans have gathered since noon for a great time of eating, drinking, smoking while playing games and rocking to the outlaw music.
A hick-hop duo from California finish their set by inviting everyone that performed through the day to join them on a highly-popular ensemble about partying “Outback”. The song brings out a couple rebel yells as the crowd gets into it.
Everyone enjoys a fantastic time as the song comes to an end and the host, a man that has wrestled a match or two for Spirit and Pride as Johnny Vivacious, takes the stage.
From the Harley-Davidson Badlands under his boot-cut Timberlands, a black Boss suit jacket over a black T-shirt, Johnny Matthews, is also in New York to support his recent Lonestar Academy graduate. He has an Insignia dangling from his kisser and dark shades shrouding his emeralds greens and a microphone in hand. Matthews allows the rowdy crowd to settler before bringing it to his lips.
“Thank you,” Matthews begins, flipping ashes everywhere as he speaks, “thank you all for coming out to celebrate and support Matthew Gamble!” The crowd cheers and Matthews allows it as he surveys the lot, “Where is that boy anyway?”
In a trifold lawn chair, kicked back and cleaning the meat from the final bone of an entire rack of once charred ribs, Gamble waves.
“GAM-BLE! GAM-BLE! GAM-BLE!”
The large, young man takes the hint and makes his way up the steps and across the ramp. He's wearing Mossy Oak, from the Arctic Hunter IIs on his feet, tucked under the legs of his tactical pants and a black T-shirt with a camouflage Notorious “N” on the chest, to the Aussie-style fedora on his head.
Matthews shakes hands with Gamble and audibly wishes him, “Good luck,” as he hands him the microphone.
“Hey, Ya’all,” Gamble starts, “I wanna thank good ol’ Johnny fer this here party an’ ya’all fer comin’ out.” Gamble and Matthews hug it out, briefly, before Gamble continues and Matthews exits the stage, “Ya kno’, he's trained me up real good an’, like all ya’all, he's countin’ on me t’night. In-a lil’ bit, I'll be makin’ my debut against Stone Hendrix.”
He pauses to allow the crowd to cheer. They chant for both. It's all on the line for both SAP newcomers. They have everything to lose tonight. They are both aware of it.
“It's like the Souljas sang earlier, ya kno’,” Gamble does his best to explain lyrically, “there ain't no way to kno’ if I’ma gonna make it, but I only gots one shot an’ Stone, I’ma gonna take it.”
Again, the crowd interrupts with chants for “GAM-BLE!” They quickly settle though to allow him to continue before the doors of the Houston Field House open for entry.
“I gots nothin’ pers-nal ‘gainst the man, but,” Gamble air boxes and throws the knockout uppercut, “he has to fall. Purdy much, plain an’ simple.”
Gamble bombs a full jar of moonshine and then takes a big hit from a ‘handmade cigarette’, “I'ma gonna hafta be gettin’ in there. When I gets back out here, I’ma hopin’ to have’a notch in the dubya column.” Thick, dank smoke billows above him as he speaks.
With all of that said, the shine and Hogsbreath setting in, Gamble gives a big bow; even tipping his hat to all of the performers that have started digging into the ribs. He exits the stage and disappears beyond the semi trailers behind it.
________________________________________
Wally Lee: “Let me sit down and tell you all a story real quick… Is that ok with you guys?”
[The crowd cheers a bit as Wally Lee paces around the ring with a microphone. He’s still trying to fully catch his breath as he undoes one of the straps to his wrestling dungarees. He finds the closest corner turnbuckle and scales it to the top. He turns to sit and perch on top of it as he slowly brings the microphone back to his lips.]
Wally Lee: “I’m going to make this short and sweet so we can all get back to seeing some amazing wrestling guys… Next SAP show… I don’t care who it is… But you better be watching. To all the Quinn’s that run this place, you better be watching as well…
I’m not like the other people who flocked to SAP because all the big names decided to flock over here… Nah, I’m in SAP because I wanted to use this place as a platform to become a big name in my own right.
Guys when it comes down to it, it’s all about pride. No one in this company… Fuck, no one in this industry would be here if they didn’t have a desire to have their name highly regarded as one of the best… That's why this place is called Spirit and Pride Wrestling...
[he takes his free hand and points to his chest with his index finger] Not a single person in this company comes close to Wally Lee when you're talking about Spirit and Pride...
[He pauses to let a small 'Wally Lee' chant vent through from the New York audience] But where exactly has that gotten me? Absolutely... fucking... nowhere... You can have all the spirit and pride in the world, but it means nothing when you can't capitalize on it and turn it into victory... That's been my SAP story. I haven't been here long but you people know my name... You people know that those ticket sales got that pretty little buffer when they slotted me into the show tonight.
[He stops and smiles, letting the microphone breathe a bit as he rolls it in his hand] But for as big of an impact that I've made in such short order... I don't have anything to show for it... Nothing but regrets, pain, and a bad taste in my mouth... Lets turn the page from twenty-seventeen to twenty-eighteen... Because there's going to be a difference. All it takes is just one signature win and the SAP monkey hops off of my back...
[He extends a finger pointing it at the entrance curtain] I don't give a fuck about who its gonna be... But I suggest all eyes stay on me, because I'm sick and tired... Sick and tired of losing out on chances and opportunities... Sick and tired of seeing people who can't eat shit off of my ring... [he stops with a small grin growing on his mug] or people who don't even know when the show its, get those high profile matches that I don't.
And this isn't sour grapes or anything... This is merely just a statement. Quinn clan, Marisol, whoever fucking runs this place... You can give me what I want yeah. You can go through he back and see the man or woman who wants me to make a name off of them. Or... you could do what you do with the people on your roster who you guys didn't have a hard-on signing. You can ignore me...
[He slowly hops off of the turnbuckle stepping down back inside the ring] And if that's the case... Then I'll just have to take matters into my own hands."
________________________________________
The scene is a simplistic one, the camera crew's caught up with Joe Stanton at one of the gyms he's been training at. Stanton is dressed in a sleeveless athletic top and shorts, nothing particularly fancy for this interview.
"For those that don't know, tell us, who are you?"
Stanton cracks a small smile and he glances down, he swipes at his nose with his thumb. Bobbing his head a little he looks back up.
"My name's Joe Stanton, I'm a thirteen year pro of this industry and I'm Chicago born and raised. Got my start in the midwest, paid my dues in that area, took a few trips to Japan before getting my dream job of working for the promotion I had been a fan of for years. Worked there for a few years before they sadly closed their doors and I've been just doing the pro-wrestler thing ever since, globe trotting and working for whatever promotions catch my eye."
Breaking the fourth wall Joe stares at the camera and he waves at it when he introduces himself before looking back at the unseen interviewer. He quickly goes over the details of his early career before that smile grows when he mentions achieving his dream job, it doesn't lessen even when he mentions the unfortunate closure of it. Stretching out his arms, Stanton looks around when he states what he's been doing since then and shrugs his shoulders in a good humored way.
"Why SAP?"
This question gives the Scarlet Speedster pause, he sort of looks off and genuinely gives it some thought.
"I've found it doesn't matter how much money you have bankrolling a promotion, talent will find a platform to perform on. Are there a ton of talented folks in global scale promotions? Sure, but there's something unique about SAP and the way it's able to attract some of the best talents that this business has ever seen step into a ring, talents that are one of a kind. It's people like the Jessica Sear's, the Andre Holmes', the Manny Fernandez
's, and Cosmo Cooper's, the list goes on, that drew me to this place. That made me see what these people were capable of and say, yeah, I want to step into the ring with that."
Frowning lightly when he thinks about it, he dismissively waves off the notion that a bigger budget makes a promotion better. His eyes get this bizarre, hungry sort of twinkle to them when he passionately explains what appealed to him about SAP.
"And, it's why I told management to put me wherever they had room for me, against whoever they wanted to and I would not disappoint them. I would give my very best and I would put on a match that no one will soon forget. I admit to not being super familiar with my opposition before I started training for this match, but I can tell just by what I've studied that we could produce something very special for the fans out there. That we could set the tone for the rest of the weekend in the very first match of the night."
The smile on Joe's face becomes a full blown grin.
"It's opportunities like that that brought me to SAP."
The Scarlet Speedster says definitively to close out the piece.
________________________________________
The camera cuts backstage, where DA #TROLL GUY Mariano Fernandez has just arrived to his locker room, still dressed in his leather jacket and faded blue jeans, placing his gym bag on the floor.
Mariano: “Hey yo. Spirit and Pride. How you doing, mang?”
He snaps his fingers to the camera, giving the audience a smile and a wink.
Mariano: “See I ain’t even in a match tonight, but ain’t no way I’m missing the action that’s about to unfold tonight, right here on Night One of “Don’t Drink From The Hudson.”
He turns on the T.V., about to check out the competition in the first day of the back-to-back show, before his official debut the day after. Just as soon as he sits down on a lazy boy recliner...
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!*
Mariano: “... Hang on mang, be right there!”
When he opens the door, there is none other than the Prime Girl.
Trixie is dressed in quite a flirtatious pizza girl uniform with a modified collar shirt cut at the waist to show off her navel. Some black shorts covered by an apron reading “Hot Dish” with her blue hat on holding a pizza box as she sings to an instrumental tune.
Trixie: "If you like Pineapple Pizza… And a tall glass of milk."
Trixie then reveals the glass of milk she set down to knock at the door.
Mariano makes a pouting face, his cheeks turning tomato-red.
Mariano: “WHAT THE FUCK TRIXIE!”
He gives her a mock glare, but he can’t keep the face up as he notices her peculiar attire.
Mariano: “Uhhh, eh - nice outfit mang BUT STILL WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!...” (he pauses mid-sentence, having just realized something else) “And who even drinks piña coladas anymore, mang? That song was like the ‘70s or something.”
He looks next at the glass of milk, and shakes his head no.
Mariano: “And I already had enough with Phe making me drink a milkshake that one time.”
Trixie: "Well, since tomorrow you'll be ordering these for a month, I thought you'd totally like to sample the great taste of Hawaiian pizza."
Mariano rolls his eyes and facepalms.
Mariano: “Listen mang. I KNOW what pineapple pizza tastes like alright? My girlfriend makes me eat it when she orders it and before that I was dared into eating it too!”
Recalling the awful taste - to him, anyway - he shuts his eyes and shakes his head wildly as he sticks his tongue out.
Mariano: “And NO, mang - thanks a lot for the thing but I AIN’T gonna be ordering anything after tomorrow. By the way - how’s your drink mixing skills?”
He gives her a Trollface.
Mariano: “Because THAT’s what you’ll be doing after our match is over, chica.”
Trixie: "Better than Tom Cruise in cocktail, but you'll not find out. Because we'll be seeing you munching on this delectable, delicious, ham and pineapple pizza."
She says wafting a slice before his nose and nibbling the end off with a foodgasm face. Manny turns away and covers his face with his hand.
Mariano: “EWWWWWWWWW! I SWEAR, mang. This is gonna be the god damned death of me.”
He pays attention she’s still carrying the box and the glass of milk.
Mariano: “But I ain’t gonna keep you standing around here, mang.” (He signals to a small coffee table in the room) “Set those down. Show’s about to begin and we’re both here wasting time - why not watch it together?”
Trixie: "I thought you'd never ask, birthday boy. You're totally invited to my birthday party too."
She politely waits for him to open the door for her to come in, bringing the pizza and casually scoots her bag on the floor in too. Mariano immediately does, and she shuffles in, sitting on another couch next to his.
Mariano: “Wait - when’s your birthday, mang?”
Trixie: "Next weekend. But I think Honey is planning a party for February since she's wrestling on my birthday."
Mariano: “Well then - thanks for the invite, chica. Will gladly be there.” (He gives her another mocking mean look) “But there BETTER not be any funny surprises or anything.” (He takes his fingers to his eyes, then points them at her) “I’m WATCHING you.”
Trixie: "I know you will. But you can totally invite your girlfriend too."
Trixie says biting again into the pizza.
Trixie: "She has good taste in food."
Mariano almost jumps out of his chair.
Mariano: (Visibly upset) “God DAMN IT TRIXIE!”
She giggles, but their banter is interrupted at that moment, as the first match of the night is about to begin...
________________________________________
Felix Hartley vs. Joe Stanton vs. Wally Lee vs. Jamal Scott
The match began with Jamal Scott going after Wally Lee while Felix Hartley took on Joe Stanton. Wally turned the tables on Jamal and tossed him from the ring before turning his attention over to the other two. Felix suffered a couple of dual attacks, before a clothesline meant for Felix struck Wally. Joe then began to feel the wrath of Wally, while Felix stayed in the corner to recover. Wally Lee hit a big sequence of moves, but when he went for “Bomb Voyage”, Joe blocked it and hit a recovering Wally with his “Catch Me!” crossbody. He only got a two count. Jamal Scott then rushed back into the ring, and began to blaze his other opponents with his flashy style! He took down Wally with a quick hiptoss, cartwheeling over, and then clapping before hitting a basement dropkick. He then hit Joe with a springboard DDT, and then went after Felix. However, she poked him in the eye when she knew the ref wasn’t looking. She then pulled his hair, and dropped him over her knee. She then picked up Joe...only for a recovering Wally to dropkick her in the back! She tumbled into Joe, knocking them both from the ring. Wally then hit “Bomb Voyage!” on Jamal, getting the three count in a nice opening match.
Winner: Wally Lee
_________________________________________
The scene cut to the back where Stone Hendrix is getting ready for his match. He is in his full ring gear and seems to be going through some last moment mental checks. He runs his hands through his hair and lets out a low sigh. He hears footsteps coming up to him causing him to turn around and see his girlfriend, Viv Jimenez, making her way to Stone. Her smile turns to a look of concern as she can see a look on his face that she hasn’t seen on his face before, doubt.
Viv Jimenez: Hey, what’s wrong?
He rubs his chin for a moment and bites at his bottom lip.
Stone Hendrix: What if this is it, you know? Like another loss for me that takes me down and leaves me not really knowing how to fix things? Like I end up in quick sand and the more I try to get out the deeper I sink?
She looks to him, with concern in her eyes as she wraps him up in a hug, her jaw resting on his shoulder.
Viv Jimenez: What on earth makes you think all that?
He lets out a heavy sigh as he partly gives into the comfort of her arms.
Stone Hendrix: I don't know, it’s like… It’s my first real loss and I haven’t heard much from my trainers since leaving Chicago. Then I see all these young talents all over where their trainers hang around and make sure they are able to keep going and I’m just questioning things cause I’ve never been in this spot before. I just want to make everyone who had a hand in who I am to this point proud. Like their time and effort was worth something.
She lightly give his back a reassuring rub.
Viv Jimenez: You have to know that I’m proud of you and I think all the time we have put into us has been worth it.
He leans back slightly to look her in the eyes.
Stone Hendrix: I know that, but then I see these guys getting meet and greets and stuff like this and I guess I feel kind of alone professionally.
His words cause her eyebrow to slowly raise followed quickly by a smirk.
Viv Jimenez: What if I was out there for you? Out at ringside? Maybe I should take a more hands on role in my man’s career?
A grin comes to his face as he can’t help but chuckle.
Stone Hendrix: Wait, for real?
She nods her head and smiles big as the two then come to a warm embrace as the scene fades out.
_________________________________________
Stacked Deck vs. Zombie Vice Squad
Stacked Deck played their participants close to the chest initially, with Tyler in the ring and Nancy standing on the apron. But they quickly both exited the ring to play mind games with the experienced ZVS. This enraged Kowloon, who tried to get to them from the inside. The referee held him off, until Kimberly slid in and attacked! She ignored the boos that rained in as she beat on Kowloon. She traded off with Tyler, who came in and began working on the head and neck of Kowloon. He however, quickly overpowered Tyler, and knocked him back before tagging in Siberia. She calmly entered and put down Tyler with kicks. She completed neutralized their advantage, and even got Tyler in the Poison web for a few moments, with Kowloon lighting up Tyler with chops. However, Nancy pulled Kowloon down while the referee wasn’t looking. This distracted Siberia enough that Stacked Deck were able to take over the match again. Kimberly got Siberia trapped in their corner for a bit, with the crowd trying to rally ZVS back into the match. Nancy saw an opening to set up the “No Future” finisher, and got onto the apron to distract the referee, but Siberia sent the attacking Kimberly into her, knocking her off the apron! She rolled forward and tagged in Kowloon, who began to destroy the legal member of the opposition! He capped off his rampage with a setup of the “Swing Sting 2” (Big Swing into punt kick), to the delight of the crowd! Siberia then knocked Tyler off the apron, and ZVS hit the Uzumaki Kai (Sliced Bread #2/Sitout Bomb combo) for the victory!
Winner: Zombie Vice Squad
_________________________________________
Phoenix Quagliaterre is walking those backstage halls with that infamous black flag draped over her shoulders as it flies behind her, the Firebird wanting the cameras to make sure they captured it in full. Her expression reads satisfied and it means that she’s actually in a good mood tonight and thinking that nothing can go wrong at all.
Suddenly a voice off camera.
VINCE STEEL: "There she is… Phoenix Quagliaterre in the flesh."
Phoenix immediately gets in a defensive posture as Steel approaches.
VINCE STEEL: "Hey now no need to get all defensive, I’m not here to fight. But it’s obvious and apparent that you have an issue with me, and instead of you voicing your opinion to a bunch of slack jawed yokels out there in the seats, I figured you would like the opportunity to say what you have to say about me… to me."
She looks him up and down before looking over her right shoulder and then her left, wondering who he’s talking to before looking back at him and pointing at herself, raising a questioning eyebrow at him.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "Look here… Ima need you to put some whole respect on those fans out there, let’s start there. Also… yes, I do find fault with something concerning you. Marisol wanting to make YOU the new Face and strip Eli of it, no I am honestly not feeling it."
VINCE STEEL: "So because someone doesn’t think a cat that has been here less time than it takes you to do your hair shouldn’t be considered the face of an organization, you have issue with me? That makes sense. But I noticed you said something that actually explains a great deal. You said the “new” face of SAP...as in new...like I wasn’t the face already? You are kidding me right?
Day one...match one...I was standing in that ring. When the Hellfire Club first came around beating people up and threatening to kill SAP before it began. I was the one that fought them off...often times by my damn self. When I won the title, I took it everywhere. I went to schools, to summer camps, juvenile detention facilities, charity events, everywhere I could go to talk to kids or anyone that needed to see a guy that grew up like they did achieve something. And everytime I had that belt at my side. I put the SAP name out there for everyone to hear. You know how YOU heard about SAP? ME boo boo! When 3 quarters of the roster bounced when the head office made changes, who was still out there in that ring repping SAP? ME boo boo!
I busted my ass from the beginning to gain SAP the respect that it deserved even though I was NEVER given that same respect. Half the freaking roster wastes everyone's time posting pics of themselves half naked because it’s Friday and that makes them number one contender. I have been the most consistently dominant wrestler on the roster from the start. I have been loyal to SAP not wrestling for 15 different companies looking for cash grabs all over the place. So you see Miss Quagliaterre, maybe Ms. Marniceau is looking to make me the “face” of SAP because I’ve been it’s backbone for so damn long."
Phoenix is taken back by Vince’s words and actually looks him up and down as if he has the audacity to try to come at her like that. She points her index finger at him and wags it.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "Oh no no no, see… let me stop you right there. I HEARD of SAP because the FOUNDER of the company is one of my closest friends… boo boo. I dont care about all those ass-less, plain janes who post half naked pictures because you see, they are not MY Face of SAP, BOO BOO. Also, while I do applaud you for being an upstanding person with giving back to the community WHEN YOU WERE CHAMP, let me remind you that my captain, my SAP National Champion…."
She stops herself for a moment and even clears her throat, giving her head a shake before continuing.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "OUR captain and OUR-
She points between herself and Vince to let him know that he counted in those OURS too, whether he liked it or not.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: -SAP National Champion, is Brendan Samuels so you better never forget that, okay? And Elijah Carlson? He is our Face of SAP so everyone who continues to claim to be the new Face, the next Face, all of that yipper yap when they aren’t even tough enough to at him on twitter? Can stop embarrassing themselves. And YOU… you better get it through that thick skull of yours that Eli? Isn’t going anywhere unless I tell him to, his words he stated publicly. And I? Well I don’t want him to go anywhere NOR do I want him to stop being the Face of this company. So you and the poor mans Fran Drescher had better get it through yall heads that it just aint about to happen."
VINCE STEEL: "Your champion? The guy that the majority of his title wins was because SOMEONE else? The guy that my cousin and I punked over a month ago and like everyone else has yet to check me on it face to face? And speaking of face to face...maybe…"
The camera catches the sight of gold, the SAP National Championship in fact, as the reigning champion, Brendan Samuels coolly and calmly stepped into few. He was right behind Steel, tilting his head to one side as he stubbed out the Cuban cigar he was smoking in a little tin, before putting it away. He exhaled deeply, as Steel realised there was someone behind him by the change of expression on Phe’s face.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "If yer wanna talk face to face, lad, yer have to turn around."
Vince did so, glaring at Samuels, but slightly taken off guard as he clearly wasn’t expecting to see the Irishman at this time. Samuels tipped his cap to Phoenix before squaring right up to the hulking figure of the man he dethroned, a cool and cold grin upon his face as he stared with those iceberg like eyes of his.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "This whole “Face of SAP” argument still going on, aye? I find it funny how a man who whines and complains about every aspect of this company is so obsessed with being the face of it. A man who wants to represent the company by bitchin’ and moanin’ at every given opportunity, who thinks the best way to showcase the brand is to attack people from behind while belittling every person who got us to where we are now."
Samuels readjusted the belt on his shoulder, tilting his head to the side as he continued to speak.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "Personally, I don’t care who the face of SAP is. Faces tend to get stamped on in these parts, and there are dozens of faces in that locker room, each and everyone of them trying to better themselves and the company, who want to take us all to new heights never seen before or imagined. And yer don’t see them complainin’ at every given turn for every single reason possible."
Samuels calmly laughs, a rare showing of emotion from the iceman.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "And yer seem to be forgetting that I’m the champion because I beat you, fair and square, clean as a whistle. And I be still champion because you, and everyone else who has tried to take this prize off of me has failed. And they will continue to fail, as I will drop each and every challenger into the ocean, just like I will do against Cosmo Cooper and Jaser Cruz when I face them. All faces, all who want to represent, all who want to be the best. But right now, this title shows that I’m the best, and I will be the best until someone betters me. And that ain’t happening on my watch."
Samuels glares at Steel as the former champion glares right back, the pair circling each other as Brendan then found himself by Phoenix’s side.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "I may not be the official “face” of the company, but I damn well sure am the wrestling. This is my ship, and I am the Captain who has been at the helm for the better part of the year. And you? With yer constant rants? Yer not the face of SAP, but yer certainly shown that yer the bitch!"
Vince’s face goes cold. He gets right up in Samuels face. And then suddenly a smile crosses his face. And then a chuckle escapes.
VINCE GRAHAM: "You see that’s what I’m talking about. The hostility...the name calling...none of this was called for. I just came to have a talk.
Vince’s cousin Triple T suddenly shows up behind Samuels, “brushing the dust off” the SAP title.
VINCE GRAHAM: "Miss...you have a great rest of your evening."
With that Vince pushes past Samuels to join his cousin not giving the SAP champion a second look as he leaves. Samuels grinned as he watched Vince leave, before turning back to Phoenix.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "Yer sure do attract them, don’t ye?"
He then took her by the hand, kissing her knuckles gently as he looked up at her.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "Nice flag."
Phoenix is caught off guard and smiles bashfully at that before pulling the flag more onto her shoulders with her free hand.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "Well I mean… people are seeming to get more ballsy nowadays. All these fit throwers, tantrums are SO not becoming on a grown ass man."
She gives a slight shake of her head before leading Samuels down the other end of the hallway with a growing smile.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "Soooooo… let's go see what we can find in catering."
_________________________________________
Stone Hendrix vs. Matthew Gamble
So far in his SAP career Stone was usually the bigger man in the match but that wasn’t the case against the large Matthew Gamble. Gamble made it clear that he wanted to throw hands early and Hendrix wasn’t having it. Stone managed to get behind Gamble and locked him up looking for a German suplex but Gamble held on blocking it. Stone adjusted himself and tucked his head underneath Gamble’s shoulder and took him to the mat with a back suplex. Gamble landed hard but still stared to get to his feet. Hendrix went to grab him but caught a shot to the gut from Gamble that made him take a step back. Gamble then got to his feet and connected with a big haymaker uppercut that dropped Hendrix to the mat. Gamble continued to use his size as his advantage as he worked over Stone. Gamble looked like he was going to hit “Medium Rare” (T-bone suplex) when CJ Cross made his way to ringside. The two shared some words and when Matthew turned around Hendrix was waiting and scooped him up for “The Broken Mirror” (TKO). Stone made the cover and got the three count.
Winner: Stone Hendrix
_________________________________________
It’s more of a private settling for our RAWGRAPS crew of Cosmo Cooper and Michael Kelly. They sit across from one another in a small locker room as Cosmo seems to be elsewhere, Michael is watching him closely. They’re both wearing gear from RAW Graps gym, and Cosmo has his headphones around his ears. Kelly leans across and gently shakes him on the shoulder before leaning back.
Michael Kelly: You alright, buddy? Something seems to be… off.
Cosmo seems to break out of his trance and look up to his friend. He turned his neck side to side a few times.
Cosmo Cooper: I’m fine man… I’m just ready to get out there and get after it, you know? Ready to climb these ranks.
But there was an emptiness as he said it. Michael Kelly, being as close to Cosmo as about anyone nodded a few times.
Michael Kelly: Yeah, well. We are definitely going to do that, but something is up. Look, I know you lost to Jeb at Holy Grail and that sucks, but we can win some more tag titles here. I know we can do that, dude.
Cosmo shook his head a few times as he looked back up to Michael.
Cosmo Cooper: Losses happen dude, I’m not worried about that. i’m worried about us, worried about you and I.
Kelly furrowed his brow.
Michael Kelly: Why would you be worried about us?
Cooper looked down to his shirt which read #RAWGRAPS and hit it a few times with his fist before he looked back over to his partner.
Cosmo Cooper: When I debuted in AWE, I did so with my best friend in the world, Mike. We had dreams and aspirations of being a tag team which would do what we are trying to do, run through the ranks, but AWE saw something in me. They thought I should be a singles competitor. The same thing happened in GCW… now…
He pointed to himself and then pointed over to Michael.
Cosmo Cooper: I’m being booked in a National Championship match the night after we tag… and… what if I win? What if I become champion? What does that do for our tag team hopes? I don’t want to be that guy, man. I don’t want to be someone who just… is the guy who throws his friends to the side. We had a mission here, and I feel like I’m already failing you, already failing the gym we fight for…
But Michael didn’t seem to be bothered, he just had a smile on his face as he reached over and punched Cosmo in the shoulder.
Michael Kelly: Dude. I’m just happy to be here, and to be doing this with you. To be representing RAW Graps. We could never hold a championship here and I would love the hell out of this. We’re a team, we’re a force, Ortega and Hemingway is going to find that out quick tonight. And tomorrow? Or the next week? If you’re National Champion?
Michael shrugged.
Michael Kelly: I’ll be right there in your corner, cheering you on.
Nodding a few times, Cosmo finally flashed a smile.
Cosmo Cooper: Dude, I’d do the same for you. 100 times over. Let’s go out here and give Ortega and Hemingway our best, and fight like it’s our last time together. Even though we know it’s not.
Cosmo raised a fist out and Kelly tapped it. They both stood up and made their way towards the hallway.
_________________________________________
The Fam vs. Monetta, Evans, Santana, Salvitor, Thompson
Monetta, Santana, Evans, Salvitor, and Thompson stare across the ring at The Fam, Vince Steel and Terrence Tillman. Steel and Tillman wear smirks on their faces and the bell rings for the handicap match to begin. All five of Steel and Tillman's opponents rush them at the same time and the far superior physically strong men shove them off with the simplest of ease! Steel launches Thompson against the ropes and brings her down with his spear signature attack. Tillman grabs Evans and immediately takes him down with a powerful DDTripleT [Stylin' DDT]. Santana and Salvitor try to ambush Steel with double team attacks, only for Steel to strike back and hit them with a powerful double clothesline that takes both men down. Monette realizes she's the only one left standing and Steel and Tillman smirk. Steel grabs Monetta before she can run and he Irish whips her into the ropes. Tillman and Steel connect with an aided elevated brainbuster and send her crashing to the mat. Santana tries to rush Tillman, but Tillman counters with a Terrific Kick [Scissor Kick] that floors him instantly. Meanwhile, Steel ruins Salvitor's night with his two-handed overhead chokeslam toss signature move and sends him to the outside. While Monetta is still down, Tillman goes up top and lands on her with the Terry-sault [Double Jump Moonsault]. Tillman pushes her body out of the ring alongside Salvitor. Steel grabs ahold of Evans and forcefully takes him down with The Hand of Steel [Iron Claw Slam]! Tillman nails Santana with the Top-Tier-Takedown [Leaping Reverse STO] and immediately follows through with the Skyfall [450 Splash] off the top rope! Finally, Steel grabs ahold of Thompson, lifts her up, and brings her down to earth with World Breaker [Razors Edge Powerbomb] on top of Evans and Santana! Steel drags Thompson off and pins her for the 1, 2, 3!
Winners: The Fam
_________________________________________
A surprisingly solemn looking Nora Harris steps out in front of a static cam, her long luxurious curls caught up in a high ponytail for her match which is coming up soon. She takes a few deep breaths, her fingers wandering over the pink of her gear, the sparkle of the silvery trim a gleaming contrast to her nails. A few moments pass before she starts to speak, and as she does, she slowly looks up at the camera.
Nora Harris: North Atlantic Champion. It’s… I’ve worked very hard, to be looked at as someone that’s not just an adorable wrestling attraction, someone that’s just so, well… I do get called Noradorable for a reason. I have this special connection with the fans, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.
She straightens up her stance, a look of fierce determination on her face.
Nora Harris: But I will not bow to the likes of Ashley Maldano, no matter who claims her as a daughter, or a granddaughter. I may respect the man that trained me with everything I have, but that’s not going to make me hesitate for an instant out in that ring. Ashley’s already looking past me. Everyone knows it. She’s too busy saying I’m boring or any number of equally middle school insults.
Nora shakes her head and lifts a hand to brush off her shoulder.
Nora Harris: Boring doesn’t bring what I do to the ring, and you know it. Deep down, Ashley, you know exactly what I’m capable of. You’re not stupid, but you think because I’m a legitimately nice person that you get to walk all over me at will. You want to do whatever you want and fu… forget everyone else. That’s not how it works, Ashley. You can parade around in your expensive clothes and jewelry and your perfect manicure and show off that big honking engagement ring on Instagram all you wanna. But I don’t care about that Ashley.
She shakes her head again, lifting a hand to flip her braid off her neck.
Nora Harris: I want the Ashley that’s full of fire in that ring. That wants to push and push and try to get under the skin of her opponents just to make them so pissed off they make mistakes. I want your rage, Ashley. I want it ALL. And then I’m going to weather everything you have and keep on coming. I don’t quit, Ashley. I don’t give up. I won’t. Not for you or anyone else. I want this worse than anything, even more than that World title I had a shot at, because Spirit and Pride is important to me. THIS is my home. I represent SAP wherever I might go and yeah, that means something. This ALL means something.
Nora takes a deep breath, calming herself out.
Nora Harris: What I want more than anything? Is to beat you the right way, and then stand there with the words ringing in my ears…. And NEW North Atlantic Champion… NORA HARRIS. It’s going to be worth whatever I have to do, to get there.
With another deep breath she calms completely, and winks at the camera before she turns and walks away, a bounce in her step.
_________________________________________
You know how sometimes things happen where the scene switches backstage and you get a little bit caught off guard by what you see. Well that’s sort of what happens here as the scene changes and gives the audience an opening shot of Eli Carlson flanked by two large, bald men. On the floor in front of them scurries a little yellow baby duck that has a leash around its neck that leads right into Eli’s hands. When they finally come to a stop, right outside the locker room door, Eli kneels down and begins to talk to the little guy.
Eli Carlson: “Now listen. Your mom and I don’t have to go out to the ring tonight but Ms. Phe is throwing a nice birthday party for me. And there’s a lot of really big jerks here who would like nothing more than to hurt you. Or, in Vince Steels case, probably eat you. And I don’t want that to happen so you’re going to stay here with daddy’s friends, ok? They’ll keep you safe and make sure you’re the happiest little duck in the world.”
Almost as if it was on cue, the duck quacks in response, causing Eli’s face to light up with a smile before holding the leash out for one of the two big, brooding men that had been hired on recently as body guards, to take.
Eli Carlson: “Dylan… take the leash.”
Nothing happens. Nobody moves. The little baby duck cocks his head curiously at the trio.
Eli Carlson: “Dylan, are you fucking deaf. I said take the leash.”
Again a few moments pass, a couple of quacks go by, before Eli finally turns to the taller of the two with his face twisted in irritation.
Eli Carlson: “FOR FUCKS SAKE DYLAN I SAID TAKE THE LE-”
Tall Brooding Bodyguard Man: “My names not Dylan..”
Eli looks taken back by this revelation.
Eli Carlson: “Really? Your name isn’t Dylan? I thought all bodyguards names were Dylan. You mean to tell me I bought you two Thing #1 and Thing #2 t-shirts so that I could tell you two apart and your NAMES aren’t even the same?!”
Shoving the leash into the taller of the two bodyguards hands, Eli throws his hands up in the air in frustration before bursting through the door into the locker room set aside for him and his wife.
Eli Carlson: “HIS NAME ISN’T DYLAN, GENIE?! WHAT THE HELL! I HIRED BODYGUARDS WHOSE NAMES AREN’T DY…. goddamn you look good.”
Eli stops in his tracks as Genevie turns around and frowns at her husband’s outburst into the room. She ignored everything else he said except for the last part. She just smiled and walked over to him wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss before rubbing his chest with one hand and keeping the other around the back of his neck.
Genevie Carlson: “Thank you babe. You look pretty good yourself. Now what were you saying? I kinda wasn’t paying attention after the comment and seeing your gorgeous self walk in here. Who’s Dylan? I thought that’s what your bodyguards were named? Did you name the duck Dylan?”
Shaking his head he pulled away for a moment, pacing in thought before looking at the door.
Eli Carlson: “Well Jesus Christ don’t just stand there in the doorway. Take him for a walk, not Dylan’s.”
Waving his hand at them dismissively, he turned back to his wife.
Eli Carlson: “No I haven't named him yet. I thought their names were Dylan because that’s what all good bodyguards names are supposed to be. My friend Kaelan used to have a bodyguard named Dylan. She ended up fucking him, which isn’t going to happen here, but he supposedly was the best of the best. But now I have to not only think of a name for the duck but also for those two meatheads.”
Biting his lip he took a steadying breath and leaned against one of the nearby chairs, reaching out to take Gen’s hand into his own.
Eli Carlson: “I was thinking maybe Huey… or Duey… or Louie. Everyone likes DuckTales right? OH MY GOD! I’ll name the bodyguards Huey and Duey… and I’ll name the duck Louie. I’m fucking BRILLIANT!”
Feeling a sense of relief wash over him, Eli gets a little bit more serious.
Eli Carlson: “You know Phe is throwing me a birthday party, right?”
He knew she knew. He also knew that his wife could sense his wariness about it as she began to draw closer to him, nodding her head.
Eli Carlson: “I love Phe for it. The gesture is awesome. But do we have to go? I don’t really like anyone that’s here except Cosmo and Michael Kelly and they’ve got their own shit to be planning for. And we’ve got our own match to start focusing on for tomorrow night. I don’t want what happened the last time to happen again.”
Shrugging his shoulders, he sighed. The weight of letdown and disappointment from the way the Young Guns Cup had ended for him obvious.
Eli Carlson: “So maybe we just stay here and get things in order instead of going to the party and being social”
Genevie just looked down at Eli and shook her head.
Genevie Carlson: “Phe is one of our best friends. She put this party together and it was really nice of her. It would be rude not to go, and it would probably hurt her feelings.”
She grabbed his hand and sat down on his lap. She knew he was exhausted from travel and losing recently.
Genevie Carlson: “You’re tired and you’re disappointed. I can see it on your face but maybe a party for you is exactly what you need love. Get you in good spirits for tomorrow night because, if you’re like this tomorrow it could prove just as disastrous.”
He sighed and muttered under his breath something and she shook her head.
Genevie Carlson: “Also your bodyguards have names already. I don’t think you can just rename people. It costs extra at the very least. Plus if they aren’t happy with you they might just you know not do their jobs and if you get hurt because they aren’t doing their jobs? I will kill them.”
Of course she was right. She usually was when it came to things like this. Or really just anything in general. That bothered him at times but at other times it helped to calm him and this was one of those times.
Eli Carlson: “I don’t care. I’m calling them Huey and Duey. And nobody is going to actually hurt me. Only time I’ve ever been hurt was my own fault.”
He paused.
Eli Carlson: “Well.. except when Lauryn punched me in the ribs but that’s beside the point. I don’t get hurt. That’s not what happens to me.”
Knowing there were camera’s set up in the locker room to record conversations like this one, Eli decided to speak more directly to their opponents the next night, CJ Cross and Celeste.
Eli Carlson: “You know, somewhere out there CJ and Celeste are probably eating my birthday cake and giggling about gummy worms and pixie stix, thinking that they know anything about how relationships actually work. And they’ll probably scoff and roll their eyes right about now because they think they know better. But this is what a real relationship is about. It’s about picking the other person up when they’re at their lowest. It’s about being there and getting through the hard times that come along, no doubt about it. It’s not about just dusting a loss off and say HAHA WE’LL GET YOU LATER! When people look at us, babe, they take shots at us because we’ve had public fights and we’ve had fall outs and things haven’t always been perfect. But you know what. When they look at us, they see something that is absolutely real.”
Melting away slowly was the pain of losing from a few nights prior in a country that smelled like camel shit.
Eli Carlson: “In the last two months a lot of flukey shit has happened to me. A roll up by Bri Davenport. A fucking roll up by these two idiots. Losing against Jolyne Dysart. The things that have one percent chance of happening out of one hundred have happened. It’s time for things to reset back to the norm. It’s time for things to reset to what is actually real. And tomorrow night, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. When a real power couple, that’s you and I, shows these two children what a real tag team looks like.”
Genevie Carlson: You know me better than anyone Eli. I usually love competition. I love the battle of words and really I just love the importance of showing myself as better than the competition. I mean when have you known me ever not to actually like verbally sparring with an opponent? Never. It’s totally my thing.”
She rolled her eyes.
Genevie Carlson: “I can’t even stomach messing with these two for five seconds. Anytime you go at them on twitter they say the stupidest and lamest shit that it’s not worth responding to. I honestly don’t even want to fuck with them. I don’t want to pass them in the halls because it’s not fun to me because they are so autistic I don’t want to get my next twitter suspension because of them. They’re young and think they are this great and forever couple and they haven’t even begun to go through anything remotely close to what we have gone through and come out the other side of. I say let’s break these kids playing adults and give them the harsh reality of what this business is really like as a couple. Put one of them on the shelf for six months and see how long they last. Relationships aren’t about pizza and being sweet to each other all the time. They can be rough and torturous. Like what we are going to do to Celeste and CJ Cross.”
Feeling at least a little bit more like himself, Eli nodded along with her as she made her points. When she finally stopped he felt like there wasn’t anything more to say about their opponents for the second evening.
Eli Carlson: “Alright… I guess we can go to that party now…”
Helping her up and then standing up himself, the two of them began to make their way toward the locker room door which suddenly slammed open causing Eli to jump a bit and take one step back defensively. A moment later a tiny little baby duck came waddling through the door way, followed by the two big men that Eli had unofficially given the names of Huey and Duey. Huey, the taller of the two, spoke.
Bodyguard Huey: “The duck shat on my boots.”
He pointed down sadly at his feet. Duey, the smaller of the two, pointed at his other index finger which was red and starting to swell.
Bodyguard Duey: “And he bit me!”
Eli stared at the two as innocently the baby duck waddled up to him and quacked, causing Eli to bend down and scoop him up affectionately into his where he patted him softly.
Eli Carlson: “What did these big mean bullies do to you, Louie? Do you like the name Louie?”
Again, the duck quacked, pressing its head against Eli’s hand leaving him to take it as a sign that the duck liked the name. Gently Eli kissed the little creature and then held him up for Genie to do the same.
Eli Carlson: “Mama give him a kiss.”
Genie rolled her eyes and began to walk out of the room.
Eli Carlson: “BABE! Don’t do that to him! Give him a kiss so he knows you love him!”
Silently she walked out of the room, her hips swaying a little bit more seductively than usual, drawing Eli’s attention. Shortly after he shoved the baby duck into Duey’s hands and followed after his wife, lecturing her about the need to be nice to their newest family addition as the scene faded.
_________________________________________
Hell is Waiting vs. Holocene
Tyson Braddock and Alexander North seemed uncertain which of them would start this match, finally North got the nod and met Masaru Inoue in the center of the ring as the bell rang. North’s Strong Style like offense put Masaru on the back foot for a couple of tense moments as Aurora called out encouragement in Romanian to him, and made a gesture towards Tyson Braddock that was exceptionally rude if you understood it. Masaru quickly rallied and began striking with some devastating kicks, the echo of them around the ringside area had the referee and fans wincing as Aurora clapped with delight. North weathered as best he could but a pair of Buzzsaw style kicks had him down for a long two count, broken by Tyson who was viciously assaulted by Aurora before the referee could order him out of the ring. She hit him with her Flowing Snap DDT, the To Be Named and wiped him out! The referee got him up and to his corner as Aurora grinned and waved at the fans who were mixed at best on the cheering and booing before she slid back out to the apron. She and Masaru spent the next big portion of the match hot tagging in and out and tormenting Alexander North, who to his credit managed many kickouts before he finally broke loose and tagged in Tyson. Braddock went nuts and Suplexed both members of Hell Is Waiting, but in the end fell prey to a Snapmare Neckbreaker from Masaru followed by Aurora’s Haunted Revolution, the Split Legged Corkscrew Moonsault putting him down for the three count.
Winners: Hell Is Waiting
_________________________________________
Backstage, Lilah Reed is posing in front of the mirror, she flashes herself a smile as she shakes out her long blonde hair. Running her hands down, over her hips she rests her hands there before preening some more, admiring herself.
Lilah Reed: Damn, I look good!
Just then, Charlie Reed walks up behind her and smiles. He holds both of the SAP International Tag Team Championship belts on his broad shoulders.
Charlie Reed: You know you always look damn good, babe. You’re easily the sexiest woman on the entire roster. Then again I might just be bias cause I’ve seen you naked.
He chuckles a bit before looking at the belts on his shoulders.
Charlie Reed: Think they’ll let us keep these old belt before awarding us with the new SAP World Tag Team Championship belts?
She shrugs as she looks at his reflection, loudly popping gum in her mouth before giggling.
Lilah Reed: They should, I mean… we’re going to retire those belts tonight, it’s only right they stay with the greatest team to ever hold them, right?
Charlie shrugs before looking down at the belts once more. He extends one out to Lilah as he smiles.
Charlie Reed: Record of most successful defenses and in less time that the previous holders. We made these belts what they are… So I’m gonna make sure we leave with them. Nice centerpiece on the mantle in the Hawaii house.
Lilah turns on her heels and takes her belt from him with a quick nod, running her fingers over the faceplate.
Lilah Reed: The nobodies we face tonight will just be another digit in the record books, we’re going to do what we always do, we’re going to FUCK. SHIT. UP. Nobody here can stop us, nobody here can step up. We are the undefeatable tag team champions and we didn’t get here by chance, these belts, new belts… any opponents, any time… we will walk away with that W.
Charlie steps up behind her and grasps her championship belt. He positions it at her waist and fastens it before resting his chin on her shoulder.
Charlie Reed: Sexiest. Champion. Ever!
Lilah smirks and gives him a light giggles before kissing him as the scene fades out.
_________________________________________
RAWGRAPS vs. Ortega & Hemingway
The bell rang and Ortega & Hemingway went right after Cosmo and Michael. Hemingway tosses Kelly to the outside and follows after him leaving Joey and Cosmo in the ring. Joey tries to press the advantage by wildly beating Cooper. It works at first but Cosmo eventually reaches his feet and starts to fight right back. Hemingway heads to his corner after whipping Kelly into the ring steps. Joey makes the tag and the big man comes in and tries to work the back of Cooper by landing a few backbreakers. Cosmo keeps fighting though and manages to land a few heavy shots on Stone that gets him reeling. Ortega tags himself in and goes right back after Cooper and the two begin to slug it out in the center of the ring. Cooper lands a hard body shot that drops Joey to the mat. Cooper then goes and makes the tag to Kelly who comes into the ring like a house on fire and begins to lay the hammer down. Hemingway comes into the ring to tries to put down Kelly but it doesn’t work and soon finds himself on the mat after a quick onslaught from Michael. Cosmo comes back into the ring and grabs Joey, he lifts him up and they connect with “Congratulations” (Cosmo lifts the opponent in the air for what looks like a Stalling suplex while Michael comes off the ropes with a giant jumping boot to the face). Kelly goes for the cover while Cosmo stands guard and they get the three count.
Winners: RAWGRAPS
_________________________________________
Wearing a party hat on her head, Phoenix Quagliaterre is fussing with a backstage worker outside of her office while Jae-Yun Sun stands by her side, arms crossed and wearing an identical party hat. You can tell by the look of his face that he wasn't in the best of moods.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "I SAID the big tubs of ice cream in the freezer, NOT these little tiny ice cream cups. I'm not throwing a toddler party at Chuck E. Cheese here, OKAY?? SO PLEASE do as you're asked!"
She shoves the little ice cream cups into the poor frightened employee's arms and shakes her head as she watches the poor man scamper off quickly. She turns to look at Jae-Yun who is staring into space in his own little world. She starts to say something to him when Reiko Aguilar arrives from the right end of the hallway. The Colombian is pushing a cart full of wrapped gifts too fast to the point Phe stops her.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "Careful, careful now. None of these items are cheap so you need to handle them with care. When taking them out, remember to place GENTLY on the table and not slam them down. And TRUST me I will know if you have done it or not."
Phoenix opens the office door so that Reiko can push the cart inside. She happens to peek inside and catches the decorator messing up hanging the banner.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "EXCUSE ME?! HOW exactly hard is it to hang up a banner??"
She waits for him to get it right before closing the door behind her once she's satisfied and looks just in time to see the General Manager's assistant, Jasmine Bishop pass by with a dissatisfied expression aimed at Phoenix before disappearing into one of the nearby offices. Amused, Phoenix turns to look at Jae-Yun.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "I still can't believe Marisol is trying to go through with that poorly made decision of trying to catapult Vince up there as the face of the company. Now she's conveniently out sick when she knew I was throwing Eli's birthday party tonight. Probably too shook to face the man she's trying to unface."
She fixes her party hat while looking at the distracted Jae-Yun for a response. Finally he looks at her with a blank expression and dimming eyes.
JAE-YUN SUN: "I am sure the GM will make an appearance tomorrow, given her seemingly fixtures of wanting to be in the spotlight slinging around orders. You're stressing yourself out over this party when I am sure Eli will appreciate the effort you put into it. Relax, Kwin."
He says as his hand falls on the doorknob to Phoenix's office and he gives it a twist to open it up before stopping himself from fully entering the office.
JAE-YUN SUN: "Oh... and another thing.. while we're talking about 'poorly made decisions', you might not want to fill yourself up on so much cake and desserts, given you have that mistake of a dinner after this with that baeg-in. Can't wait for him to go back to pretending you didn't practically wash his ass while he was in a coma. Wish he was still in one. You continue to save the undeserved, Kwin. Disrespect and disloyalty should not be embraced."
He suddenly closes the door behind him before Phoenix can protest, leaving her in the hallway with a stunned expression at the usual upbeat Korean's attitude.
_________________________________________
World Tag Team Title Match
The Reeds vs. Hawthorne & Overton
The bell rang and Lilah started the match with Iris. Lilah used her tall slender body to avoid Hawthorne’s grapples and landed a few European uppercuts before sending her to the mat with a ddt. Reed then dropped a knee on to the back of the head of Iris before making her way over to tag in Charlie. He pulled up Iris and landed a few chops before whipping her into the ropes. Charlie went for a clothesline but Iris hooked it and took him over for a crucifix. Hawthorne got a two count and the two got right back up. Charlie charged at Iris and she took him over with a judo throw. Iris then makes the tag into Oliver who connects with a few right hands before whipping Charlie into the corner. Overton got a running start and went for a corner spear but Charlie moved and Olly’s shoulder hit the ring post. Charlie tagged in Lilah and then ran across the ring and hit Iris with a hard forearm dropping her from the apron. Lilah grabbed hold of Olly and connected with “Kiss the Ground” (sit out facebuster). Lilah made the cover and got the three count.
Winners: The Reeds
_________________________________________
North Atlantic Championship
Nora Harris vs. Ashley Maldano
Nora Harris began her title opportunity by trying to put forth a handshake, but Ashley sneered and didn’t reciprocate the gesture. The larger Ashley took down Nora, getting the in the driver’s seat early. She worked on her back and abdomen with takedowns and knee drops near her ribs, prepping her for her “AshFall” finish. Nora tried to fight back, but whenever she managed to get a little bit of momentum, Ash would slow her down with a timely reversal. Ash looked ready to go for a Lou Thesz press, but Nora hit the brakes, and then hit the stumbling Ashley with a front kick to the face! She then pulled Ash to the corner, and then hit her with a Tornado DDT, but it only got two! Nora then tried to speed up the match, landing a dropkick, then a frankensteiner, and then a standing moonsault! It only got her two, however. She kept her foot on the gas, snuffing out a reversal from Ash to drop her, and then climb to the top rope. She leapt off, and connected with a shooting star press! The crowd cheered loudly for the move! She covers...and got the three?! NO! The referee waves off the pin, as Ashley had her foot on the rope! The crowd boos, hoping for a new champion. Nora looks desperate, but pulls up Nora. She goes for the Code of Silence, but Ashley turned it around into a Northern Lights Suplex! She then lifts Nora up, and hits her with AshFall (Inverted Powerslam)! Ash goes for the pin...but Nora kicks out at two! The crowd goes wild as Nora is still in the match! Ash screams at the referee that it was three, but he insists that it was two! Ash drags her up, and hits her with the AshAttack! (Gory Neckbreaker) She stacks Nora up, and gets the three! The crowd applauds the match, and after Ashley leaves with her title, they give Nora a standing ovation.
Winner: Ashley Maldano
As the ring finished getting cleared, the still reigning SAP North Atlantic Champion, Ashley Maldano stands tall inside the ring. Holding her championship up high, she looks at the emotions of the fans smiling and smirking as they are clearly unhappy with the result, but that doesn’t phase her. She walks herself over before snatching a microphone out of the hands of a worker before breathing hard, trying to catch her breath before lifting it up to her lips panting hard into it over her music.
ASHLEY MALDANO: Cut my music! Cut my daaaaamn music!
She shouts, before listening to her theme song get turned down low as she walks circles around the ring, smiling and smirking looking down at her SAP North Atlantic Championship before speaking out loudly.
ASHLEY MALDANO: Sorry to disappoint you people out there tonight but you didn’t honestly think the Queen was going to be overthrown that easily, did you? What I did to Bore-A Nora tonight was just an example. I made an example out of her for anyone who thinks about sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong. She came into my world here because she interpreted a joke the wrong way. Now look at her…
She smirks, laughing to herself before shrugging her shoulders. She raises HER North Atlantic Championship high up in the air, before her eyes look up to it as she bites down on her lip.
ASHLEY MALDANO: Tonight I became ONE STEP CLOSER to my goal of becoming the LONGEST REIGNING NORTH ATLANTIC CHAMPION OF SPIRIT AND PRIDE WRESTLING! I close out night one of this two night journey leaving you all to think about something. While majority of you sit here and boo me, send allllll your pettiness my way, just look at who is STANDING tall before you! Felix was the only other North Atlantic Champion who successfully made it to three challengers other than myself. But the difference between Felix and I? There won’t be a fourth person to come in here and take this strap from me….but that doesn’t mean I don’t invite ANYONE to come and try. I WELCOME IT!
Ashley shouts into the microphone, her breathing getting heavier and heavier with each word she speaks before she looks up, pursing her lips as she grunts out.
ASHLEY MALDANO: One hundred and fifty-nine days. That’s what I have to beat…..that’s what I plan on beating. I didn’t get to claim my long reign goal in RISE because that belt was taken from me and made a joke out of for a short time. You think I’m gonna let the same thing happen to another championship I care about? Nah….
She shakes her head before her smile grows wider, looking up as she lets out a laugh before shrugging her shoulders again.
ASHLEY MALDANO: Nah this baby is staying right where it belongs. As for my next hopeful for this belt...I’m ready. I’m ready to defend this belt once again to show just why I’m the best this championship will ever get!
Ashley says before slamming down the microphone as the scene fades out.
A semi-circle of jacked up Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge trucks on one side and on the other, a concert stage backed by semi trailers. In the middle, there's a huge crackling bonfire sending embers and smoke high into the early evening. Fans have gathered since noon for a great time of eating, drinking, smoking while playing games and rocking to the outlaw music.
A hick-hop duo from California finish their set by inviting everyone that performed through the day to join them on a highly-popular ensemble about partying “Outback”. The song brings out a couple rebel yells as the crowd gets into it.
Everyone enjoys a fantastic time as the song comes to an end and the host, a man that has wrestled a match or two for Spirit and Pride as Johnny Vivacious, takes the stage.
From the Harley-Davidson Badlands under his boot-cut Timberlands, a black Boss suit jacket over a black T-shirt, Johnny Matthews, is also in New York to support his recent Lonestar Academy graduate. He has an Insignia dangling from his kisser and dark shades shrouding his emeralds greens and a microphone in hand. Matthews allows the rowdy crowd to settler before bringing it to his lips.
“Thank you,” Matthews begins, flipping ashes everywhere as he speaks, “thank you all for coming out to celebrate and support Matthew Gamble!” The crowd cheers and Matthews allows it as he surveys the lot, “Where is that boy anyway?”
In a trifold lawn chair, kicked back and cleaning the meat from the final bone of an entire rack of once charred ribs, Gamble waves.
“GAM-BLE! GAM-BLE! GAM-BLE!”
The large, young man takes the hint and makes his way up the steps and across the ramp. He's wearing Mossy Oak, from the Arctic Hunter IIs on his feet, tucked under the legs of his tactical pants and a black T-shirt with a camouflage Notorious “N” on the chest, to the Aussie-style fedora on his head.
Matthews shakes hands with Gamble and audibly wishes him, “Good luck,” as he hands him the microphone.
“Hey, Ya’all,” Gamble starts, “I wanna thank good ol’ Johnny fer this here party an’ ya’all fer comin’ out.” Gamble and Matthews hug it out, briefly, before Gamble continues and Matthews exits the stage, “Ya kno’, he's trained me up real good an’, like all ya’all, he's countin’ on me t’night. In-a lil’ bit, I'll be makin’ my debut against Stone Hendrix.”
He pauses to allow the crowd to cheer. They chant for both. It's all on the line for both SAP newcomers. They have everything to lose tonight. They are both aware of it.
“It's like the Souljas sang earlier, ya kno’,” Gamble does his best to explain lyrically, “there ain't no way to kno’ if I’ma gonna make it, but I only gots one shot an’ Stone, I’ma gonna take it.”
Again, the crowd interrupts with chants for “GAM-BLE!” They quickly settle though to allow him to continue before the doors of the Houston Field House open for entry.
“I gots nothin’ pers-nal ‘gainst the man, but,” Gamble air boxes and throws the knockout uppercut, “he has to fall. Purdy much, plain an’ simple.”
Gamble bombs a full jar of moonshine and then takes a big hit from a ‘handmade cigarette’, “I'ma gonna hafta be gettin’ in there. When I gets back out here, I’ma hopin’ to have’a notch in the dubya column.” Thick, dank smoke billows above him as he speaks.
With all of that said, the shine and Hogsbreath setting in, Gamble gives a big bow; even tipping his hat to all of the performers that have started digging into the ribs. He exits the stage and disappears beyond the semi trailers behind it.
________________________________________
Wally Lee: “Let me sit down and tell you all a story real quick… Is that ok with you guys?”
[The crowd cheers a bit as Wally Lee paces around the ring with a microphone. He’s still trying to fully catch his breath as he undoes one of the straps to his wrestling dungarees. He finds the closest corner turnbuckle and scales it to the top. He turns to sit and perch on top of it as he slowly brings the microphone back to his lips.]
Wally Lee: “I’m going to make this short and sweet so we can all get back to seeing some amazing wrestling guys… Next SAP show… I don’t care who it is… But you better be watching. To all the Quinn’s that run this place, you better be watching as well…
I’m not like the other people who flocked to SAP because all the big names decided to flock over here… Nah, I’m in SAP because I wanted to use this place as a platform to become a big name in my own right.
Guys when it comes down to it, it’s all about pride. No one in this company… Fuck, no one in this industry would be here if they didn’t have a desire to have their name highly regarded as one of the best… That's why this place is called Spirit and Pride Wrestling...
[he takes his free hand and points to his chest with his index finger] Not a single person in this company comes close to Wally Lee when you're talking about Spirit and Pride...
[He pauses to let a small 'Wally Lee' chant vent through from the New York audience] But where exactly has that gotten me? Absolutely... fucking... nowhere... You can have all the spirit and pride in the world, but it means nothing when you can't capitalize on it and turn it into victory... That's been my SAP story. I haven't been here long but you people know my name... You people know that those ticket sales got that pretty little buffer when they slotted me into the show tonight.
[He stops and smiles, letting the microphone breathe a bit as he rolls it in his hand] But for as big of an impact that I've made in such short order... I don't have anything to show for it... Nothing but regrets, pain, and a bad taste in my mouth... Lets turn the page from twenty-seventeen to twenty-eighteen... Because there's going to be a difference. All it takes is just one signature win and the SAP monkey hops off of my back...
[He extends a finger pointing it at the entrance curtain] I don't give a fuck about who its gonna be... But I suggest all eyes stay on me, because I'm sick and tired... Sick and tired of losing out on chances and opportunities... Sick and tired of seeing people who can't eat shit off of my ring... [he stops with a small grin growing on his mug] or people who don't even know when the show its, get those high profile matches that I don't.
And this isn't sour grapes or anything... This is merely just a statement. Quinn clan, Marisol, whoever fucking runs this place... You can give me what I want yeah. You can go through he back and see the man or woman who wants me to make a name off of them. Or... you could do what you do with the people on your roster who you guys didn't have a hard-on signing. You can ignore me...
[He slowly hops off of the turnbuckle stepping down back inside the ring] And if that's the case... Then I'll just have to take matters into my own hands."
________________________________________
The scene is a simplistic one, the camera crew's caught up with Joe Stanton at one of the gyms he's been training at. Stanton is dressed in a sleeveless athletic top and shorts, nothing particularly fancy for this interview.
"For those that don't know, tell us, who are you?"
Stanton cracks a small smile and he glances down, he swipes at his nose with his thumb. Bobbing his head a little he looks back up.
"My name's Joe Stanton, I'm a thirteen year pro of this industry and I'm Chicago born and raised. Got my start in the midwest, paid my dues in that area, took a few trips to Japan before getting my dream job of working for the promotion I had been a fan of for years. Worked there for a few years before they sadly closed their doors and I've been just doing the pro-wrestler thing ever since, globe trotting and working for whatever promotions catch my eye."
Breaking the fourth wall Joe stares at the camera and he waves at it when he introduces himself before looking back at the unseen interviewer. He quickly goes over the details of his early career before that smile grows when he mentions achieving his dream job, it doesn't lessen even when he mentions the unfortunate closure of it. Stretching out his arms, Stanton looks around when he states what he's been doing since then and shrugs his shoulders in a good humored way.
"Why SAP?"
This question gives the Scarlet Speedster pause, he sort of looks off and genuinely gives it some thought.
"I've found it doesn't matter how much money you have bankrolling a promotion, talent will find a platform to perform on. Are there a ton of talented folks in global scale promotions? Sure, but there's something unique about SAP and the way it's able to attract some of the best talents that this business has ever seen step into a ring, talents that are one of a kind. It's people like the Jessica Sear's, the Andre Holmes', the Manny Fernandez
's, and Cosmo Cooper's, the list goes on, that drew me to this place. That made me see what these people were capable of and say, yeah, I want to step into the ring with that."
Frowning lightly when he thinks about it, he dismissively waves off the notion that a bigger budget makes a promotion better. His eyes get this bizarre, hungry sort of twinkle to them when he passionately explains what appealed to him about SAP.
"And, it's why I told management to put me wherever they had room for me, against whoever they wanted to and I would not disappoint them. I would give my very best and I would put on a match that no one will soon forget. I admit to not being super familiar with my opposition before I started training for this match, but I can tell just by what I've studied that we could produce something very special for the fans out there. That we could set the tone for the rest of the weekend in the very first match of the night."
The smile on Joe's face becomes a full blown grin.
"It's opportunities like that that brought me to SAP."
The Scarlet Speedster says definitively to close out the piece.
________________________________________
The camera cuts backstage, where DA #TROLL GUY Mariano Fernandez has just arrived to his locker room, still dressed in his leather jacket and faded blue jeans, placing his gym bag on the floor.
Mariano: “Hey yo. Spirit and Pride. How you doing, mang?”
He snaps his fingers to the camera, giving the audience a smile and a wink.
Mariano: “See I ain’t even in a match tonight, but ain’t no way I’m missing the action that’s about to unfold tonight, right here on Night One of “Don’t Drink From The Hudson.”
He turns on the T.V., about to check out the competition in the first day of the back-to-back show, before his official debut the day after. Just as soon as he sits down on a lazy boy recliner...
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!*
Mariano: “... Hang on mang, be right there!”
When he opens the door, there is none other than the Prime Girl.
Trixie is dressed in quite a flirtatious pizza girl uniform with a modified collar shirt cut at the waist to show off her navel. Some black shorts covered by an apron reading “Hot Dish” with her blue hat on holding a pizza box as she sings to an instrumental tune.
Trixie: "If you like Pineapple Pizza… And a tall glass of milk."
Trixie then reveals the glass of milk she set down to knock at the door.
Mariano makes a pouting face, his cheeks turning tomato-red.
Mariano: “WHAT THE FUCK TRIXIE!”
He gives her a mock glare, but he can’t keep the face up as he notices her peculiar attire.
Mariano: “Uhhh, eh - nice outfit mang BUT STILL WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!...” (he pauses mid-sentence, having just realized something else) “And who even drinks piña coladas anymore, mang? That song was like the ‘70s or something.”
He looks next at the glass of milk, and shakes his head no.
Mariano: “And I already had enough with Phe making me drink a milkshake that one time.”
Trixie: "Well, since tomorrow you'll be ordering these for a month, I thought you'd totally like to sample the great taste of Hawaiian pizza."
Mariano rolls his eyes and facepalms.
Mariano: “Listen mang. I KNOW what pineapple pizza tastes like alright? My girlfriend makes me eat it when she orders it and before that I was dared into eating it too!”
Recalling the awful taste - to him, anyway - he shuts his eyes and shakes his head wildly as he sticks his tongue out.
Mariano: “And NO, mang - thanks a lot for the thing but I AIN’T gonna be ordering anything after tomorrow. By the way - how’s your drink mixing skills?”
He gives her a Trollface.
Mariano: “Because THAT’s what you’ll be doing after our match is over, chica.”
Trixie: "Better than Tom Cruise in cocktail, but you'll not find out. Because we'll be seeing you munching on this delectable, delicious, ham and pineapple pizza."
She says wafting a slice before his nose and nibbling the end off with a foodgasm face. Manny turns away and covers his face with his hand.
Mariano: “EWWWWWWWWW! I SWEAR, mang. This is gonna be the god damned death of me.”
He pays attention she’s still carrying the box and the glass of milk.
Mariano: “But I ain’t gonna keep you standing around here, mang.” (He signals to a small coffee table in the room) “Set those down. Show’s about to begin and we’re both here wasting time - why not watch it together?”
Trixie: "I thought you'd never ask, birthday boy. You're totally invited to my birthday party too."
She politely waits for him to open the door for her to come in, bringing the pizza and casually scoots her bag on the floor in too. Mariano immediately does, and she shuffles in, sitting on another couch next to his.
Mariano: “Wait - when’s your birthday, mang?”
Trixie: "Next weekend. But I think Honey is planning a party for February since she's wrestling on my birthday."
Mariano: “Well then - thanks for the invite, chica. Will gladly be there.” (He gives her another mocking mean look) “But there BETTER not be any funny surprises or anything.” (He takes his fingers to his eyes, then points them at her) “I’m WATCHING you.”
Trixie: "I know you will. But you can totally invite your girlfriend too."
Trixie says biting again into the pizza.
Trixie: "She has good taste in food."
Mariano almost jumps out of his chair.
Mariano: (Visibly upset) “God DAMN IT TRIXIE!”
She giggles, but their banter is interrupted at that moment, as the first match of the night is about to begin...
________________________________________
Felix Hartley vs. Joe Stanton vs. Wally Lee vs. Jamal Scott
The match began with Jamal Scott going after Wally Lee while Felix Hartley took on Joe Stanton. Wally turned the tables on Jamal and tossed him from the ring before turning his attention over to the other two. Felix suffered a couple of dual attacks, before a clothesline meant for Felix struck Wally. Joe then began to feel the wrath of Wally, while Felix stayed in the corner to recover. Wally Lee hit a big sequence of moves, but when he went for “Bomb Voyage”, Joe blocked it and hit a recovering Wally with his “Catch Me!” crossbody. He only got a two count. Jamal Scott then rushed back into the ring, and began to blaze his other opponents with his flashy style! He took down Wally with a quick hiptoss, cartwheeling over, and then clapping before hitting a basement dropkick. He then hit Joe with a springboard DDT, and then went after Felix. However, she poked him in the eye when she knew the ref wasn’t looking. She then pulled his hair, and dropped him over her knee. She then picked up Joe...only for a recovering Wally to dropkick her in the back! She tumbled into Joe, knocking them both from the ring. Wally then hit “Bomb Voyage!” on Jamal, getting the three count in a nice opening match.
Winner: Wally Lee
_________________________________________
The scene cut to the back where Stone Hendrix is getting ready for his match. He is in his full ring gear and seems to be going through some last moment mental checks. He runs his hands through his hair and lets out a low sigh. He hears footsteps coming up to him causing him to turn around and see his girlfriend, Viv Jimenez, making her way to Stone. Her smile turns to a look of concern as she can see a look on his face that she hasn’t seen on his face before, doubt.
Viv Jimenez: Hey, what’s wrong?
He rubs his chin for a moment and bites at his bottom lip.
Stone Hendrix: What if this is it, you know? Like another loss for me that takes me down and leaves me not really knowing how to fix things? Like I end up in quick sand and the more I try to get out the deeper I sink?
She looks to him, with concern in her eyes as she wraps him up in a hug, her jaw resting on his shoulder.
Viv Jimenez: What on earth makes you think all that?
He lets out a heavy sigh as he partly gives into the comfort of her arms.
Stone Hendrix: I don't know, it’s like… It’s my first real loss and I haven’t heard much from my trainers since leaving Chicago. Then I see all these young talents all over where their trainers hang around and make sure they are able to keep going and I’m just questioning things cause I’ve never been in this spot before. I just want to make everyone who had a hand in who I am to this point proud. Like their time and effort was worth something.
She lightly give his back a reassuring rub.
Viv Jimenez: You have to know that I’m proud of you and I think all the time we have put into us has been worth it.
He leans back slightly to look her in the eyes.
Stone Hendrix: I know that, but then I see these guys getting meet and greets and stuff like this and I guess I feel kind of alone professionally.
His words cause her eyebrow to slowly raise followed quickly by a smirk.
Viv Jimenez: What if I was out there for you? Out at ringside? Maybe I should take a more hands on role in my man’s career?
A grin comes to his face as he can’t help but chuckle.
Stone Hendrix: Wait, for real?
She nods her head and smiles big as the two then come to a warm embrace as the scene fades out.
_________________________________________
Stacked Deck vs. Zombie Vice Squad
Stacked Deck played their participants close to the chest initially, with Tyler in the ring and Nancy standing on the apron. But they quickly both exited the ring to play mind games with the experienced ZVS. This enraged Kowloon, who tried to get to them from the inside. The referee held him off, until Kimberly slid in and attacked! She ignored the boos that rained in as she beat on Kowloon. She traded off with Tyler, who came in and began working on the head and neck of Kowloon. He however, quickly overpowered Tyler, and knocked him back before tagging in Siberia. She calmly entered and put down Tyler with kicks. She completed neutralized their advantage, and even got Tyler in the Poison web for a few moments, with Kowloon lighting up Tyler with chops. However, Nancy pulled Kowloon down while the referee wasn’t looking. This distracted Siberia enough that Stacked Deck were able to take over the match again. Kimberly got Siberia trapped in their corner for a bit, with the crowd trying to rally ZVS back into the match. Nancy saw an opening to set up the “No Future” finisher, and got onto the apron to distract the referee, but Siberia sent the attacking Kimberly into her, knocking her off the apron! She rolled forward and tagged in Kowloon, who began to destroy the legal member of the opposition! He capped off his rampage with a setup of the “Swing Sting 2” (Big Swing into punt kick), to the delight of the crowd! Siberia then knocked Tyler off the apron, and ZVS hit the Uzumaki Kai (Sliced Bread #2/Sitout Bomb combo) for the victory!
Winner: Zombie Vice Squad
_________________________________________
Phoenix Quagliaterre is walking those backstage halls with that infamous black flag draped over her shoulders as it flies behind her, the Firebird wanting the cameras to make sure they captured it in full. Her expression reads satisfied and it means that she’s actually in a good mood tonight and thinking that nothing can go wrong at all.
Suddenly a voice off camera.
VINCE STEEL: "There she is… Phoenix Quagliaterre in the flesh."
Phoenix immediately gets in a defensive posture as Steel approaches.
VINCE STEEL: "Hey now no need to get all defensive, I’m not here to fight. But it’s obvious and apparent that you have an issue with me, and instead of you voicing your opinion to a bunch of slack jawed yokels out there in the seats, I figured you would like the opportunity to say what you have to say about me… to me."
She looks him up and down before looking over her right shoulder and then her left, wondering who he’s talking to before looking back at him and pointing at herself, raising a questioning eyebrow at him.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "Look here… Ima need you to put some whole respect on those fans out there, let’s start there. Also… yes, I do find fault with something concerning you. Marisol wanting to make YOU the new Face and strip Eli of it, no I am honestly not feeling it."
VINCE STEEL: "So because someone doesn’t think a cat that has been here less time than it takes you to do your hair shouldn’t be considered the face of an organization, you have issue with me? That makes sense. But I noticed you said something that actually explains a great deal. You said the “new” face of SAP...as in new...like I wasn’t the face already? You are kidding me right?
Day one...match one...I was standing in that ring. When the Hellfire Club first came around beating people up and threatening to kill SAP before it began. I was the one that fought them off...often times by my damn self. When I won the title, I took it everywhere. I went to schools, to summer camps, juvenile detention facilities, charity events, everywhere I could go to talk to kids or anyone that needed to see a guy that grew up like they did achieve something. And everytime I had that belt at my side. I put the SAP name out there for everyone to hear. You know how YOU heard about SAP? ME boo boo! When 3 quarters of the roster bounced when the head office made changes, who was still out there in that ring repping SAP? ME boo boo!
I busted my ass from the beginning to gain SAP the respect that it deserved even though I was NEVER given that same respect. Half the freaking roster wastes everyone's time posting pics of themselves half naked because it’s Friday and that makes them number one contender. I have been the most consistently dominant wrestler on the roster from the start. I have been loyal to SAP not wrestling for 15 different companies looking for cash grabs all over the place. So you see Miss Quagliaterre, maybe Ms. Marniceau is looking to make me the “face” of SAP because I’ve been it’s backbone for so damn long."
Phoenix is taken back by Vince’s words and actually looks him up and down as if he has the audacity to try to come at her like that. She points her index finger at him and wags it.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "Oh no no no, see… let me stop you right there. I HEARD of SAP because the FOUNDER of the company is one of my closest friends… boo boo. I dont care about all those ass-less, plain janes who post half naked pictures because you see, they are not MY Face of SAP, BOO BOO. Also, while I do applaud you for being an upstanding person with giving back to the community WHEN YOU WERE CHAMP, let me remind you that my captain, my SAP National Champion…."
She stops herself for a moment and even clears her throat, giving her head a shake before continuing.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "OUR captain and OUR-
She points between herself and Vince to let him know that he counted in those OURS too, whether he liked it or not.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: -SAP National Champion, is Brendan Samuels so you better never forget that, okay? And Elijah Carlson? He is our Face of SAP so everyone who continues to claim to be the new Face, the next Face, all of that yipper yap when they aren’t even tough enough to at him on twitter? Can stop embarrassing themselves. And YOU… you better get it through that thick skull of yours that Eli? Isn’t going anywhere unless I tell him to, his words he stated publicly. And I? Well I don’t want him to go anywhere NOR do I want him to stop being the Face of this company. So you and the poor mans Fran Drescher had better get it through yall heads that it just aint about to happen."
VINCE STEEL: "Your champion? The guy that the majority of his title wins was because SOMEONE else? The guy that my cousin and I punked over a month ago and like everyone else has yet to check me on it face to face? And speaking of face to face...maybe…"
The camera catches the sight of gold, the SAP National Championship in fact, as the reigning champion, Brendan Samuels coolly and calmly stepped into few. He was right behind Steel, tilting his head to one side as he stubbed out the Cuban cigar he was smoking in a little tin, before putting it away. He exhaled deeply, as Steel realised there was someone behind him by the change of expression on Phe’s face.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "If yer wanna talk face to face, lad, yer have to turn around."
Vince did so, glaring at Samuels, but slightly taken off guard as he clearly wasn’t expecting to see the Irishman at this time. Samuels tipped his cap to Phoenix before squaring right up to the hulking figure of the man he dethroned, a cool and cold grin upon his face as he stared with those iceberg like eyes of his.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "This whole “Face of SAP” argument still going on, aye? I find it funny how a man who whines and complains about every aspect of this company is so obsessed with being the face of it. A man who wants to represent the company by bitchin’ and moanin’ at every given opportunity, who thinks the best way to showcase the brand is to attack people from behind while belittling every person who got us to where we are now."
Samuels readjusted the belt on his shoulder, tilting his head to the side as he continued to speak.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "Personally, I don’t care who the face of SAP is. Faces tend to get stamped on in these parts, and there are dozens of faces in that locker room, each and everyone of them trying to better themselves and the company, who want to take us all to new heights never seen before or imagined. And yer don’t see them complainin’ at every given turn for every single reason possible."
Samuels calmly laughs, a rare showing of emotion from the iceman.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "And yer seem to be forgetting that I’m the champion because I beat you, fair and square, clean as a whistle. And I be still champion because you, and everyone else who has tried to take this prize off of me has failed. And they will continue to fail, as I will drop each and every challenger into the ocean, just like I will do against Cosmo Cooper and Jaser Cruz when I face them. All faces, all who want to represent, all who want to be the best. But right now, this title shows that I’m the best, and I will be the best until someone betters me. And that ain’t happening on my watch."
Samuels glares at Steel as the former champion glares right back, the pair circling each other as Brendan then found himself by Phoenix’s side.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "I may not be the official “face” of the company, but I damn well sure am the wrestling. This is my ship, and I am the Captain who has been at the helm for the better part of the year. And you? With yer constant rants? Yer not the face of SAP, but yer certainly shown that yer the bitch!"
Vince’s face goes cold. He gets right up in Samuels face. And then suddenly a smile crosses his face. And then a chuckle escapes.
VINCE GRAHAM: "You see that’s what I’m talking about. The hostility...the name calling...none of this was called for. I just came to have a talk.
Vince’s cousin Triple T suddenly shows up behind Samuels, “brushing the dust off” the SAP title.
VINCE GRAHAM: "Miss...you have a great rest of your evening."
With that Vince pushes past Samuels to join his cousin not giving the SAP champion a second look as he leaves. Samuels grinned as he watched Vince leave, before turning back to Phoenix.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "Yer sure do attract them, don’t ye?"
He then took her by the hand, kissing her knuckles gently as he looked up at her.
BRENDAN SAMUELS: "Nice flag."
Phoenix is caught off guard and smiles bashfully at that before pulling the flag more onto her shoulders with her free hand.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "Well I mean… people are seeming to get more ballsy nowadays. All these fit throwers, tantrums are SO not becoming on a grown ass man."
She gives a slight shake of her head before leading Samuels down the other end of the hallway with a growing smile.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "Soooooo… let's go see what we can find in catering."
_________________________________________
Stone Hendrix vs. Matthew Gamble
So far in his SAP career Stone was usually the bigger man in the match but that wasn’t the case against the large Matthew Gamble. Gamble made it clear that he wanted to throw hands early and Hendrix wasn’t having it. Stone managed to get behind Gamble and locked him up looking for a German suplex but Gamble held on blocking it. Stone adjusted himself and tucked his head underneath Gamble’s shoulder and took him to the mat with a back suplex. Gamble landed hard but still stared to get to his feet. Hendrix went to grab him but caught a shot to the gut from Gamble that made him take a step back. Gamble then got to his feet and connected with a big haymaker uppercut that dropped Hendrix to the mat. Gamble continued to use his size as his advantage as he worked over Stone. Gamble looked like he was going to hit “Medium Rare” (T-bone suplex) when CJ Cross made his way to ringside. The two shared some words and when Matthew turned around Hendrix was waiting and scooped him up for “The Broken Mirror” (TKO). Stone made the cover and got the three count.
Winner: Stone Hendrix
_________________________________________
It’s more of a private settling for our RAWGRAPS crew of Cosmo Cooper and Michael Kelly. They sit across from one another in a small locker room as Cosmo seems to be elsewhere, Michael is watching him closely. They’re both wearing gear from RAW Graps gym, and Cosmo has his headphones around his ears. Kelly leans across and gently shakes him on the shoulder before leaning back.
Michael Kelly: You alright, buddy? Something seems to be… off.
Cosmo seems to break out of his trance and look up to his friend. He turned his neck side to side a few times.
Cosmo Cooper: I’m fine man… I’m just ready to get out there and get after it, you know? Ready to climb these ranks.
But there was an emptiness as he said it. Michael Kelly, being as close to Cosmo as about anyone nodded a few times.
Michael Kelly: Yeah, well. We are definitely going to do that, but something is up. Look, I know you lost to Jeb at Holy Grail and that sucks, but we can win some more tag titles here. I know we can do that, dude.
Cosmo shook his head a few times as he looked back up to Michael.
Cosmo Cooper: Losses happen dude, I’m not worried about that. i’m worried about us, worried about you and I.
Kelly furrowed his brow.
Michael Kelly: Why would you be worried about us?
Cooper looked down to his shirt which read #RAWGRAPS and hit it a few times with his fist before he looked back over to his partner.
Cosmo Cooper: When I debuted in AWE, I did so with my best friend in the world, Mike. We had dreams and aspirations of being a tag team which would do what we are trying to do, run through the ranks, but AWE saw something in me. They thought I should be a singles competitor. The same thing happened in GCW… now…
He pointed to himself and then pointed over to Michael.
Cosmo Cooper: I’m being booked in a National Championship match the night after we tag… and… what if I win? What if I become champion? What does that do for our tag team hopes? I don’t want to be that guy, man. I don’t want to be someone who just… is the guy who throws his friends to the side. We had a mission here, and I feel like I’m already failing you, already failing the gym we fight for…
But Michael didn’t seem to be bothered, he just had a smile on his face as he reached over and punched Cosmo in the shoulder.
Michael Kelly: Dude. I’m just happy to be here, and to be doing this with you. To be representing RAW Graps. We could never hold a championship here and I would love the hell out of this. We’re a team, we’re a force, Ortega and Hemingway is going to find that out quick tonight. And tomorrow? Or the next week? If you’re National Champion?
Michael shrugged.
Michael Kelly: I’ll be right there in your corner, cheering you on.
Nodding a few times, Cosmo finally flashed a smile.
Cosmo Cooper: Dude, I’d do the same for you. 100 times over. Let’s go out here and give Ortega and Hemingway our best, and fight like it’s our last time together. Even though we know it’s not.
Cosmo raised a fist out and Kelly tapped it. They both stood up and made their way towards the hallway.
_________________________________________
The Fam vs. Monetta, Evans, Santana, Salvitor, Thompson
Monetta, Santana, Evans, Salvitor, and Thompson stare across the ring at The Fam, Vince Steel and Terrence Tillman. Steel and Tillman wear smirks on their faces and the bell rings for the handicap match to begin. All five of Steel and Tillman's opponents rush them at the same time and the far superior physically strong men shove them off with the simplest of ease! Steel launches Thompson against the ropes and brings her down with his spear signature attack. Tillman grabs Evans and immediately takes him down with a powerful DDTripleT [Stylin' DDT]. Santana and Salvitor try to ambush Steel with double team attacks, only for Steel to strike back and hit them with a powerful double clothesline that takes both men down. Monette realizes she's the only one left standing and Steel and Tillman smirk. Steel grabs Monetta before she can run and he Irish whips her into the ropes. Tillman and Steel connect with an aided elevated brainbuster and send her crashing to the mat. Santana tries to rush Tillman, but Tillman counters with a Terrific Kick [Scissor Kick] that floors him instantly. Meanwhile, Steel ruins Salvitor's night with his two-handed overhead chokeslam toss signature move and sends him to the outside. While Monetta is still down, Tillman goes up top and lands on her with the Terry-sault [Double Jump Moonsault]. Tillman pushes her body out of the ring alongside Salvitor. Steel grabs ahold of Evans and forcefully takes him down with The Hand of Steel [Iron Claw Slam]! Tillman nails Santana with the Top-Tier-Takedown [Leaping Reverse STO] and immediately follows through with the Skyfall [450 Splash] off the top rope! Finally, Steel grabs ahold of Thompson, lifts her up, and brings her down to earth with World Breaker [Razors Edge Powerbomb] on top of Evans and Santana! Steel drags Thompson off and pins her for the 1, 2, 3!
Winners: The Fam
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A surprisingly solemn looking Nora Harris steps out in front of a static cam, her long luxurious curls caught up in a high ponytail for her match which is coming up soon. She takes a few deep breaths, her fingers wandering over the pink of her gear, the sparkle of the silvery trim a gleaming contrast to her nails. A few moments pass before she starts to speak, and as she does, she slowly looks up at the camera.
Nora Harris: North Atlantic Champion. It’s… I’ve worked very hard, to be looked at as someone that’s not just an adorable wrestling attraction, someone that’s just so, well… I do get called Noradorable for a reason. I have this special connection with the fans, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.
She straightens up her stance, a look of fierce determination on her face.
Nora Harris: But I will not bow to the likes of Ashley Maldano, no matter who claims her as a daughter, or a granddaughter. I may respect the man that trained me with everything I have, but that’s not going to make me hesitate for an instant out in that ring. Ashley’s already looking past me. Everyone knows it. She’s too busy saying I’m boring or any number of equally middle school insults.
Nora shakes her head and lifts a hand to brush off her shoulder.
Nora Harris: Boring doesn’t bring what I do to the ring, and you know it. Deep down, Ashley, you know exactly what I’m capable of. You’re not stupid, but you think because I’m a legitimately nice person that you get to walk all over me at will. You want to do whatever you want and fu… forget everyone else. That’s not how it works, Ashley. You can parade around in your expensive clothes and jewelry and your perfect manicure and show off that big honking engagement ring on Instagram all you wanna. But I don’t care about that Ashley.
She shakes her head again, lifting a hand to flip her braid off her neck.
Nora Harris: I want the Ashley that’s full of fire in that ring. That wants to push and push and try to get under the skin of her opponents just to make them so pissed off they make mistakes. I want your rage, Ashley. I want it ALL. And then I’m going to weather everything you have and keep on coming. I don’t quit, Ashley. I don’t give up. I won’t. Not for you or anyone else. I want this worse than anything, even more than that World title I had a shot at, because Spirit and Pride is important to me. THIS is my home. I represent SAP wherever I might go and yeah, that means something. This ALL means something.
Nora takes a deep breath, calming herself out.
Nora Harris: What I want more than anything? Is to beat you the right way, and then stand there with the words ringing in my ears…. And NEW North Atlantic Champion… NORA HARRIS. It’s going to be worth whatever I have to do, to get there.
With another deep breath she calms completely, and winks at the camera before she turns and walks away, a bounce in her step.
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You know how sometimes things happen where the scene switches backstage and you get a little bit caught off guard by what you see. Well that’s sort of what happens here as the scene changes and gives the audience an opening shot of Eli Carlson flanked by two large, bald men. On the floor in front of them scurries a little yellow baby duck that has a leash around its neck that leads right into Eli’s hands. When they finally come to a stop, right outside the locker room door, Eli kneels down and begins to talk to the little guy.
Eli Carlson: “Now listen. Your mom and I don’t have to go out to the ring tonight but Ms. Phe is throwing a nice birthday party for me. And there’s a lot of really big jerks here who would like nothing more than to hurt you. Or, in Vince Steels case, probably eat you. And I don’t want that to happen so you’re going to stay here with daddy’s friends, ok? They’ll keep you safe and make sure you’re the happiest little duck in the world.”
Almost as if it was on cue, the duck quacks in response, causing Eli’s face to light up with a smile before holding the leash out for one of the two big, brooding men that had been hired on recently as body guards, to take.
Eli Carlson: “Dylan… take the leash.”
Nothing happens. Nobody moves. The little baby duck cocks his head curiously at the trio.
Eli Carlson: “Dylan, are you fucking deaf. I said take the leash.”
Again a few moments pass, a couple of quacks go by, before Eli finally turns to the taller of the two with his face twisted in irritation.
Eli Carlson: “FOR FUCKS SAKE DYLAN I SAID TAKE THE LE-”
Tall Brooding Bodyguard Man: “My names not Dylan..”
Eli looks taken back by this revelation.
Eli Carlson: “Really? Your name isn’t Dylan? I thought all bodyguards names were Dylan. You mean to tell me I bought you two Thing #1 and Thing #2 t-shirts so that I could tell you two apart and your NAMES aren’t even the same?!”
Shoving the leash into the taller of the two bodyguards hands, Eli throws his hands up in the air in frustration before bursting through the door into the locker room set aside for him and his wife.
Eli Carlson: “HIS NAME ISN’T DYLAN, GENIE?! WHAT THE HELL! I HIRED BODYGUARDS WHOSE NAMES AREN’T DY…. goddamn you look good.”
Eli stops in his tracks as Genevie turns around and frowns at her husband’s outburst into the room. She ignored everything else he said except for the last part. She just smiled and walked over to him wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss before rubbing his chest with one hand and keeping the other around the back of his neck.
Genevie Carlson: “Thank you babe. You look pretty good yourself. Now what were you saying? I kinda wasn’t paying attention after the comment and seeing your gorgeous self walk in here. Who’s Dylan? I thought that’s what your bodyguards were named? Did you name the duck Dylan?”
Shaking his head he pulled away for a moment, pacing in thought before looking at the door.
Eli Carlson: “Well Jesus Christ don’t just stand there in the doorway. Take him for a walk, not Dylan’s.”
Waving his hand at them dismissively, he turned back to his wife.
Eli Carlson: “No I haven't named him yet. I thought their names were Dylan because that’s what all good bodyguards names are supposed to be. My friend Kaelan used to have a bodyguard named Dylan. She ended up fucking him, which isn’t going to happen here, but he supposedly was the best of the best. But now I have to not only think of a name for the duck but also for those two meatheads.”
Biting his lip he took a steadying breath and leaned against one of the nearby chairs, reaching out to take Gen’s hand into his own.
Eli Carlson: “I was thinking maybe Huey… or Duey… or Louie. Everyone likes DuckTales right? OH MY GOD! I’ll name the bodyguards Huey and Duey… and I’ll name the duck Louie. I’m fucking BRILLIANT!”
Feeling a sense of relief wash over him, Eli gets a little bit more serious.
Eli Carlson: “You know Phe is throwing me a birthday party, right?”
He knew she knew. He also knew that his wife could sense his wariness about it as she began to draw closer to him, nodding her head.
Eli Carlson: “I love Phe for it. The gesture is awesome. But do we have to go? I don’t really like anyone that’s here except Cosmo and Michael Kelly and they’ve got their own shit to be planning for. And we’ve got our own match to start focusing on for tomorrow night. I don’t want what happened the last time to happen again.”
Shrugging his shoulders, he sighed. The weight of letdown and disappointment from the way the Young Guns Cup had ended for him obvious.
Eli Carlson: “So maybe we just stay here and get things in order instead of going to the party and being social”
Genevie just looked down at Eli and shook her head.
Genevie Carlson: “Phe is one of our best friends. She put this party together and it was really nice of her. It would be rude not to go, and it would probably hurt her feelings.”
She grabbed his hand and sat down on his lap. She knew he was exhausted from travel and losing recently.
Genevie Carlson: “You’re tired and you’re disappointed. I can see it on your face but maybe a party for you is exactly what you need love. Get you in good spirits for tomorrow night because, if you’re like this tomorrow it could prove just as disastrous.”
He sighed and muttered under his breath something and she shook her head.
Genevie Carlson: “Also your bodyguards have names already. I don’t think you can just rename people. It costs extra at the very least. Plus if they aren’t happy with you they might just you know not do their jobs and if you get hurt because they aren’t doing their jobs? I will kill them.”
Of course she was right. She usually was when it came to things like this. Or really just anything in general. That bothered him at times but at other times it helped to calm him and this was one of those times.
Eli Carlson: “I don’t care. I’m calling them Huey and Duey. And nobody is going to actually hurt me. Only time I’ve ever been hurt was my own fault.”
He paused.
Eli Carlson: “Well.. except when Lauryn punched me in the ribs but that’s beside the point. I don’t get hurt. That’s not what happens to me.”
Knowing there were camera’s set up in the locker room to record conversations like this one, Eli decided to speak more directly to their opponents the next night, CJ Cross and Celeste.
Eli Carlson: “You know, somewhere out there CJ and Celeste are probably eating my birthday cake and giggling about gummy worms and pixie stix, thinking that they know anything about how relationships actually work. And they’ll probably scoff and roll their eyes right about now because they think they know better. But this is what a real relationship is about. It’s about picking the other person up when they’re at their lowest. It’s about being there and getting through the hard times that come along, no doubt about it. It’s not about just dusting a loss off and say HAHA WE’LL GET YOU LATER! When people look at us, babe, they take shots at us because we’ve had public fights and we’ve had fall outs and things haven’t always been perfect. But you know what. When they look at us, they see something that is absolutely real.”
Melting away slowly was the pain of losing from a few nights prior in a country that smelled like camel shit.
Eli Carlson: “In the last two months a lot of flukey shit has happened to me. A roll up by Bri Davenport. A fucking roll up by these two idiots. Losing against Jolyne Dysart. The things that have one percent chance of happening out of one hundred have happened. It’s time for things to reset back to the norm. It’s time for things to reset to what is actually real. And tomorrow night, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. When a real power couple, that’s you and I, shows these two children what a real tag team looks like.”
Genevie Carlson: You know me better than anyone Eli. I usually love competition. I love the battle of words and really I just love the importance of showing myself as better than the competition. I mean when have you known me ever not to actually like verbally sparring with an opponent? Never. It’s totally my thing.”
She rolled her eyes.
Genevie Carlson: “I can’t even stomach messing with these two for five seconds. Anytime you go at them on twitter they say the stupidest and lamest shit that it’s not worth responding to. I honestly don’t even want to fuck with them. I don’t want to pass them in the halls because it’s not fun to me because they are so autistic I don’t want to get my next twitter suspension because of them. They’re young and think they are this great and forever couple and they haven’t even begun to go through anything remotely close to what we have gone through and come out the other side of. I say let’s break these kids playing adults and give them the harsh reality of what this business is really like as a couple. Put one of them on the shelf for six months and see how long they last. Relationships aren’t about pizza and being sweet to each other all the time. They can be rough and torturous. Like what we are going to do to Celeste and CJ Cross.”
Feeling at least a little bit more like himself, Eli nodded along with her as she made her points. When she finally stopped he felt like there wasn’t anything more to say about their opponents for the second evening.
Eli Carlson: “Alright… I guess we can go to that party now…”
Helping her up and then standing up himself, the two of them began to make their way toward the locker room door which suddenly slammed open causing Eli to jump a bit and take one step back defensively. A moment later a tiny little baby duck came waddling through the door way, followed by the two big men that Eli had unofficially given the names of Huey and Duey. Huey, the taller of the two, spoke.
Bodyguard Huey: “The duck shat on my boots.”
He pointed down sadly at his feet. Duey, the smaller of the two, pointed at his other index finger which was red and starting to swell.
Bodyguard Duey: “And he bit me!”
Eli stared at the two as innocently the baby duck waddled up to him and quacked, causing Eli to bend down and scoop him up affectionately into his where he patted him softly.
Eli Carlson: “What did these big mean bullies do to you, Louie? Do you like the name Louie?”
Again, the duck quacked, pressing its head against Eli’s hand leaving him to take it as a sign that the duck liked the name. Gently Eli kissed the little creature and then held him up for Genie to do the same.
Eli Carlson: “Mama give him a kiss.”
Genie rolled her eyes and began to walk out of the room.
Eli Carlson: “BABE! Don’t do that to him! Give him a kiss so he knows you love him!”
Silently she walked out of the room, her hips swaying a little bit more seductively than usual, drawing Eli’s attention. Shortly after he shoved the baby duck into Duey’s hands and followed after his wife, lecturing her about the need to be nice to their newest family addition as the scene faded.
_________________________________________
Hell is Waiting vs. Holocene
Tyson Braddock and Alexander North seemed uncertain which of them would start this match, finally North got the nod and met Masaru Inoue in the center of the ring as the bell rang. North’s Strong Style like offense put Masaru on the back foot for a couple of tense moments as Aurora called out encouragement in Romanian to him, and made a gesture towards Tyson Braddock that was exceptionally rude if you understood it. Masaru quickly rallied and began striking with some devastating kicks, the echo of them around the ringside area had the referee and fans wincing as Aurora clapped with delight. North weathered as best he could but a pair of Buzzsaw style kicks had him down for a long two count, broken by Tyson who was viciously assaulted by Aurora before the referee could order him out of the ring. She hit him with her Flowing Snap DDT, the To Be Named and wiped him out! The referee got him up and to his corner as Aurora grinned and waved at the fans who were mixed at best on the cheering and booing before she slid back out to the apron. She and Masaru spent the next big portion of the match hot tagging in and out and tormenting Alexander North, who to his credit managed many kickouts before he finally broke loose and tagged in Tyson. Braddock went nuts and Suplexed both members of Hell Is Waiting, but in the end fell prey to a Snapmare Neckbreaker from Masaru followed by Aurora’s Haunted Revolution, the Split Legged Corkscrew Moonsault putting him down for the three count.
Winners: Hell Is Waiting
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Backstage, Lilah Reed is posing in front of the mirror, she flashes herself a smile as she shakes out her long blonde hair. Running her hands down, over her hips she rests her hands there before preening some more, admiring herself.
Lilah Reed: Damn, I look good!
Just then, Charlie Reed walks up behind her and smiles. He holds both of the SAP International Tag Team Championship belts on his broad shoulders.
Charlie Reed: You know you always look damn good, babe. You’re easily the sexiest woman on the entire roster. Then again I might just be bias cause I’ve seen you naked.
He chuckles a bit before looking at the belts on his shoulders.
Charlie Reed: Think they’ll let us keep these old belt before awarding us with the new SAP World Tag Team Championship belts?
She shrugs as she looks at his reflection, loudly popping gum in her mouth before giggling.
Lilah Reed: They should, I mean… we’re going to retire those belts tonight, it’s only right they stay with the greatest team to ever hold them, right?
Charlie shrugs before looking down at the belts once more. He extends one out to Lilah as he smiles.
Charlie Reed: Record of most successful defenses and in less time that the previous holders. We made these belts what they are… So I’m gonna make sure we leave with them. Nice centerpiece on the mantle in the Hawaii house.
Lilah turns on her heels and takes her belt from him with a quick nod, running her fingers over the faceplate.
Lilah Reed: The nobodies we face tonight will just be another digit in the record books, we’re going to do what we always do, we’re going to FUCK. SHIT. UP. Nobody here can stop us, nobody here can step up. We are the undefeatable tag team champions and we didn’t get here by chance, these belts, new belts… any opponents, any time… we will walk away with that W.
Charlie steps up behind her and grasps her championship belt. He positions it at her waist and fastens it before resting his chin on her shoulder.
Charlie Reed: Sexiest. Champion. Ever!
Lilah smirks and gives him a light giggles before kissing him as the scene fades out.
_________________________________________
RAWGRAPS vs. Ortega & Hemingway
The bell rang and Ortega & Hemingway went right after Cosmo and Michael. Hemingway tosses Kelly to the outside and follows after him leaving Joey and Cosmo in the ring. Joey tries to press the advantage by wildly beating Cooper. It works at first but Cosmo eventually reaches his feet and starts to fight right back. Hemingway heads to his corner after whipping Kelly into the ring steps. Joey makes the tag and the big man comes in and tries to work the back of Cooper by landing a few backbreakers. Cosmo keeps fighting though and manages to land a few heavy shots on Stone that gets him reeling. Ortega tags himself in and goes right back after Cooper and the two begin to slug it out in the center of the ring. Cooper lands a hard body shot that drops Joey to the mat. Cooper then goes and makes the tag to Kelly who comes into the ring like a house on fire and begins to lay the hammer down. Hemingway comes into the ring to tries to put down Kelly but it doesn’t work and soon finds himself on the mat after a quick onslaught from Michael. Cosmo comes back into the ring and grabs Joey, he lifts him up and they connect with “Congratulations” (Cosmo lifts the opponent in the air for what looks like a Stalling suplex while Michael comes off the ropes with a giant jumping boot to the face). Kelly goes for the cover while Cosmo stands guard and they get the three count.
Winners: RAWGRAPS
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Wearing a party hat on her head, Phoenix Quagliaterre is fussing with a backstage worker outside of her office while Jae-Yun Sun stands by her side, arms crossed and wearing an identical party hat. You can tell by the look of his face that he wasn't in the best of moods.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "I SAID the big tubs of ice cream in the freezer, NOT these little tiny ice cream cups. I'm not throwing a toddler party at Chuck E. Cheese here, OKAY?? SO PLEASE do as you're asked!"
She shoves the little ice cream cups into the poor frightened employee's arms and shakes her head as she watches the poor man scamper off quickly. She turns to look at Jae-Yun who is staring into space in his own little world. She starts to say something to him when Reiko Aguilar arrives from the right end of the hallway. The Colombian is pushing a cart full of wrapped gifts too fast to the point Phe stops her.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "Careful, careful now. None of these items are cheap so you need to handle them with care. When taking them out, remember to place GENTLY on the table and not slam them down. And TRUST me I will know if you have done it or not."
Phoenix opens the office door so that Reiko can push the cart inside. She happens to peek inside and catches the decorator messing up hanging the banner.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "EXCUSE ME?! HOW exactly hard is it to hang up a banner??"
She waits for him to get it right before closing the door behind her once she's satisfied and looks just in time to see the General Manager's assistant, Jasmine Bishop pass by with a dissatisfied expression aimed at Phoenix before disappearing into one of the nearby offices. Amused, Phoenix turns to look at Jae-Yun.
PHOENIX QUAGLIATERRE: "I still can't believe Marisol is trying to go through with that poorly made decision of trying to catapult Vince up there as the face of the company. Now she's conveniently out sick when she knew I was throwing Eli's birthday party tonight. Probably too shook to face the man she's trying to unface."
She fixes her party hat while looking at the distracted Jae-Yun for a response. Finally he looks at her with a blank expression and dimming eyes.
JAE-YUN SUN: "I am sure the GM will make an appearance tomorrow, given her seemingly fixtures of wanting to be in the spotlight slinging around orders. You're stressing yourself out over this party when I am sure Eli will appreciate the effort you put into it. Relax, Kwin."
He says as his hand falls on the doorknob to Phoenix's office and he gives it a twist to open it up before stopping himself from fully entering the office.
JAE-YUN SUN: "Oh... and another thing.. while we're talking about 'poorly made decisions', you might not want to fill yourself up on so much cake and desserts, given you have that mistake of a dinner after this with that baeg-in. Can't wait for him to go back to pretending you didn't practically wash his ass while he was in a coma. Wish he was still in one. You continue to save the undeserved, Kwin. Disrespect and disloyalty should not be embraced."
He suddenly closes the door behind him before Phoenix can protest, leaving her in the hallway with a stunned expression at the usual upbeat Korean's attitude.
_________________________________________
World Tag Team Title Match
The Reeds vs. Hawthorne & Overton
The bell rang and Lilah started the match with Iris. Lilah used her tall slender body to avoid Hawthorne’s grapples and landed a few European uppercuts before sending her to the mat with a ddt. Reed then dropped a knee on to the back of the head of Iris before making her way over to tag in Charlie. He pulled up Iris and landed a few chops before whipping her into the ropes. Charlie went for a clothesline but Iris hooked it and took him over for a crucifix. Hawthorne got a two count and the two got right back up. Charlie charged at Iris and she took him over with a judo throw. Iris then makes the tag into Oliver who connects with a few right hands before whipping Charlie into the corner. Overton got a running start and went for a corner spear but Charlie moved and Olly’s shoulder hit the ring post. Charlie tagged in Lilah and then ran across the ring and hit Iris with a hard forearm dropping her from the apron. Lilah grabbed hold of Olly and connected with “Kiss the Ground” (sit out facebuster). Lilah made the cover and got the three count.
Winners: The Reeds
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North Atlantic Championship
Nora Harris vs. Ashley Maldano
Nora Harris began her title opportunity by trying to put forth a handshake, but Ashley sneered and didn’t reciprocate the gesture. The larger Ashley took down Nora, getting the in the driver’s seat early. She worked on her back and abdomen with takedowns and knee drops near her ribs, prepping her for her “AshFall” finish. Nora tried to fight back, but whenever she managed to get a little bit of momentum, Ash would slow her down with a timely reversal. Ash looked ready to go for a Lou Thesz press, but Nora hit the brakes, and then hit the stumbling Ashley with a front kick to the face! She then pulled Ash to the corner, and then hit her with a Tornado DDT, but it only got two! Nora then tried to speed up the match, landing a dropkick, then a frankensteiner, and then a standing moonsault! It only got her two, however. She kept her foot on the gas, snuffing out a reversal from Ash to drop her, and then climb to the top rope. She leapt off, and connected with a shooting star press! The crowd cheered loudly for the move! She covers...and got the three?! NO! The referee waves off the pin, as Ashley had her foot on the rope! The crowd boos, hoping for a new champion. Nora looks desperate, but pulls up Nora. She goes for the Code of Silence, but Ashley turned it around into a Northern Lights Suplex! She then lifts Nora up, and hits her with AshFall (Inverted Powerslam)! Ash goes for the pin...but Nora kicks out at two! The crowd goes wild as Nora is still in the match! Ash screams at the referee that it was three, but he insists that it was two! Ash drags her up, and hits her with the AshAttack! (Gory Neckbreaker) She stacks Nora up, and gets the three! The crowd applauds the match, and after Ashley leaves with her title, they give Nora a standing ovation.
Winner: Ashley Maldano
As the ring finished getting cleared, the still reigning SAP North Atlantic Champion, Ashley Maldano stands tall inside the ring. Holding her championship up high, she looks at the emotions of the fans smiling and smirking as they are clearly unhappy with the result, but that doesn’t phase her. She walks herself over before snatching a microphone out of the hands of a worker before breathing hard, trying to catch her breath before lifting it up to her lips panting hard into it over her music.
ASHLEY MALDANO: Cut my music! Cut my daaaaamn music!
She shouts, before listening to her theme song get turned down low as she walks circles around the ring, smiling and smirking looking down at her SAP North Atlantic Championship before speaking out loudly.
ASHLEY MALDANO: Sorry to disappoint you people out there tonight but you didn’t honestly think the Queen was going to be overthrown that easily, did you? What I did to Bore-A Nora tonight was just an example. I made an example out of her for anyone who thinks about sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong. She came into my world here because she interpreted a joke the wrong way. Now look at her…
She smirks, laughing to herself before shrugging her shoulders. She raises HER North Atlantic Championship high up in the air, before her eyes look up to it as she bites down on her lip.
ASHLEY MALDANO: Tonight I became ONE STEP CLOSER to my goal of becoming the LONGEST REIGNING NORTH ATLANTIC CHAMPION OF SPIRIT AND PRIDE WRESTLING! I close out night one of this two night journey leaving you all to think about something. While majority of you sit here and boo me, send allllll your pettiness my way, just look at who is STANDING tall before you! Felix was the only other North Atlantic Champion who successfully made it to three challengers other than myself. But the difference between Felix and I? There won’t be a fourth person to come in here and take this strap from me….but that doesn’t mean I don’t invite ANYONE to come and try. I WELCOME IT!
Ashley shouts into the microphone, her breathing getting heavier and heavier with each word she speaks before she looks up, pursing her lips as she grunts out.
ASHLEY MALDANO: One hundred and fifty-nine days. That’s what I have to beat…..that’s what I plan on beating. I didn’t get to claim my long reign goal in RISE because that belt was taken from me and made a joke out of for a short time. You think I’m gonna let the same thing happen to another championship I care about? Nah….
She shakes her head before her smile grows wider, looking up as she lets out a laugh before shrugging her shoulders again.
ASHLEY MALDANO: Nah this baby is staying right where it belongs. As for my next hopeful for this belt...I’m ready. I’m ready to defend this belt once again to show just why I’m the best this championship will ever get!
Ashley says before slamming down the microphone as the scene fades out.