Post by gvb on Dec 27, 2021 10:55:22 GMT -6
MWE Presents: Below Zero Pre-Show(night 1)
Live from Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, WA
Saturday, December 25th, 2021
Evelyn Carter:
It’s Christmas, I’m going to make my PPV debut and I’m going to win the titles back with my best friend… Can things actually get better than this?
It’s an excited Evelyn Carter standing in front of the camera with a big smile on her face. With the pre-show match about to start, the young student is already dressed to compete. Not too far away from her, her tag partner is lacing up her boots, almost ready to go.
Addison McKinnley:
I could be competing for the Gold Star, thaaaat’d be a lot better probably.
If the rolling of her eyes wasn’t evident enough on camera, it was easily heard in her voice.
Addison McKinnley:
Or I could be chilling with Harper and Sean and his kids. That’d be pretty neat.
The answer wasn’t quite what Vi was expecting. When the match was announced, Addison seemed just as excited as she was about it, but that wasn’t the case tonight.
Evelyn Carter:
You ok, Addi? We have a big opportunity, competing together on the big show and win the titles.. It’s what we always wanted and yeah, I kinda miss not being home with the family for Christmas and stuff, but still…
She walked toward her partner, resting her hand on her shoulder, looking for the words to turn her mood around.
Evelyn Carter:
Besides, Harper and Sean and Sky and everyone are out there, ready to see you kick butts.
Addi shrugged the hand off, going back to fiddling with her boots.
Addison McKinnley:
Yeah maybe. I guess I’m just not really in the mood for any of this right now.
With a final tug of the laces, her boots were secured.
Addison McKinnley:
It’s not like it’s some big achievement anymore. There’s no real rhyme or reason to any of it.
Now the look on Vi’s face changed as she grew more concerned.
Evelyn Carter:
What are you talking about? We have the chance to win back the titles and make our team proud. Lady chose us because she knows that Addi and Vi, you and I… We’re unstoppable together.
Seeing how her words weren’t having the effect she hoped for, Evelyn sighed.
Evelyn Carter:
Tell me what’s wrong, Addi.. I can tell something’s off, you’ve been kinda weird since…
She froze as if she suddenly realized what was upsetting her best friend..
Addison McKinnley:
I’ll keep my end like always, Vi. I just think it’s time we both reach for the stars.
She shrugged her shoulders before hopping off of her seat, though she had the faintest of smiles.
Addison McKinnley:
And let’s just leave it at that, you’re already distracted enough and if Sean were backstage with us, he’d slap your head off….soooo….let’s just move it on out there and do whatever it is we do as this supposedly unstoppable team.
Evelyn Carter:
Okay…
Vi replied, her voice barely a whisper.
Evelyn Carter:
It’s just… This is important for me, Addi. Like, I know you want to be the Gold Star and I’m sure you’ll get there. Like, you’re probably going to compete for that on the next ppv but for me… I don’t know, this might be my first and last ppv appearance and I want to make the best of it. I’m not as good as you, as far as I’m concerned you’re the best in the Academy and I’m lucky to have you on my side.
She let out a soft sigh before continuing.
Evelyn Carter:
I’m lucky to do this with my best friend, there’s no one else I would want to go out there tonight with. Hell, who am I kidding? I couldn’t do this without you by my side. I need you tonight, I need my best friend. And whatever happened, whatever happens? This will never change.
Addison took a step toward Evelyn, her small smile disappearing.
Addison McKinnley:
And all that’d change if you could be teaming with JJ instead.
She brushed by Vi, grabbing her t-shirt on her way out the door. It suddenly became extremely cold in the locker room, and not because of the breeze coming in from the open door. Evelyn wanted to chase after her tag partner, stop her and tell her that she was wrong. But that was probably pointless now. Maybe time will help mend this wound, maybe by the time they’ll go back in the Academy everything will be back to normal. But right now, her dream to fight on Christmas alongside her best friend had turned into a nightmare.
Academy Pre-Show Match
Team Title Match
Team Title Match
Team Noir © (Shaina Sheridan & Walker) VS Team Strike (Evelyn Carter & Addison McKinley)
The Academy Team Title match were up for grabs in the pre-show of night one. Helena Noir picked Shaina Sheirdan and the newcomer Walker to defend the gold for her team while Lady Magdalena chose Evelyn Carter and Addison McKinley. For those who don’t know, Addison has been living with MWE commentator Peyton Holland for two years now. To say that the blue-eyed voice of Millennium was involved and excited to call the action might have been an understatement, though she couldn’t hide a certain concern about what transpired right before the match.. She still managed to maintain her professionalism even when Shaina blatantly broke the rules and pulled her hair to get out of the headlock and slammed her face into the top turnbuckle. Quick tag to Walker who climbed to the top rope and dove toward Addi, grabbing her head after twisting in the air and taking her down with a blockbuster that earned him the applause of the fans. He made the cover but Evelyn broke up the pin. Addison soon showed what she was capable of by hitting Walker with a flurry of shots that left the young man dizzy in the center of the ring. She jumped and caught his head between her legs, flipping him over right into a pinning predicament with a standing hurricanrana. Walker kicked out in two but he was still in McKinley’s grasp. She had him in another side headlock and she was walking to the corner. Right before the tag she switched to a three-quarter facelock, running up the corner to backflip in the air and drive her opponent down on the mat with a shiranui. In the meantime Evelyn had climbed to the top rope, her back turned to action. From that position she jumped and landed on top of Walker with a beautiful moonsault, hooking the leg for the cover. Sheridan was able to break it up right before the three. The social media star shined halfway through the match. Sure, she had to resort to another underhanded tactic to interrupt Vi’s set of offense, blinding her temporarily with an eye rake. But once she regained control she did a good job in staying one step ahead of her competitor and showing some interesting progress. Her technique might not be as polished as some of her fellow students, but considering she entered the Academy with basically no training, she definitely had come a long way since then. A running neckbreaker took Evelyn down and allowed Shaina to make the cover, but Carter kicked out in time. Vi was struggling tonight, that falling out with her friend right before the match clearly undermined her confidence and affected her performance. Addison on the outside didn’t seem as supportive as she has been in the past, watching as Carter got dropped on her head with a spike ddt from Sheridan. Eventually Vi managed to create an opening with a sitout jawbreaker, getting enough room to reach Addison and make the tag. McKinley entered the ring like a house on fire, greeting Shaina with a flurry of slaps to the face and chops to the chest and finishing the sequence with a spinning backfist. Walker decided to interfere, but his diving crossbody was countered by a dropkick from Addi who quickly got up on her feet and picked up Shaina. She connected a couple of high kicks to the head and a jumping knee strike to knock her down. Laying on top of her, McKinley made the cover but only got a two out of it thanks to Walker’s last minute save. The New York born didn’t stop there. Determined to buy his partner some valuable time, he dragged Addi up and hit her with a standing dropkick. McKinley got up immediately and went to chase him but the referee stood between the two of them and prevented her from getting her hands on him. While he pushed the young man back to his corner, Shaina struck the distracted Addison with a superkick to the back of the head, but thanks to her partner's quick intervention the match could continue. Addi was pissed, sneering and insulting Shaina who decided she wanted nothing to do and quickly made the tag to Walker. The young man entered the ring and was met by a kick to the gut that doubled him over, to which McKinley followed with a scissors kick. Walker kicked out and stayed in the match, but Addison was all over him with a whirlwind of strikes. He managed to duck one of her blows and countered with a hair pull backbreaker, starting to stomp the grounded opponent right after. Addi managed to once again take control and went to make the tag to her partner. A little miscommunication between them allowed Walker to break free and push McKinley into Carter. Both members of team Strike got knocked down in the process, Walker pushed Addison out of the ring and picked Vi up, dropping her on her head with a brainbuster for the three count. WINNER: Team Noir (STILL TEAM CHAMPIONS) BY: Pinfall (Brainbuster), 13:12 |
MWE Presents: Below Zero (night 1)
Live from Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, WA
Saturday, December 25th, 2021
Backstage at the Tacoma Dome we find the devious and demented ginger known as Kimberly Williams. The Woman Scorned is dressed in her wrestling gear, as she preparing for her upcoming match against the monster known as Valentine. We find Williams deep in conversation with her trusty and loyal (and also repaired) Dalek.
Kimberly Williams
Tell me something Dalek, don’t you like making new friends? I like making new friends.
Dalek
FRIENDSHIP IS IRRELEVANT! DALEKS HAVE NO NEED OF FRIENDS! ALL I REQUIRE IS GRACE VAN BEEK! SHE IS MY WIFE!
Kimberly Williams
Well maybe you don’t need friends but I do like making new friends and I have a new friend named Valentine. This is the second person in the span of a year named Valentine who I have fought in a hardcore match. That’s no coincidence, by the way. There are way too many Valentine’s running around this sport.
Dalek
SHALL I EXTERMINATE VALENTINE FOR THE GLORY OF THE DALEK EMPIRE?!
The Woman Scorned shakes her head.
Kimberly Williams
No, he’s my new friend and friends don’t exterminate friends. Friends maim, cripple, and leave friends in a bloody heap. But they never ever exterminate one another. And tonight, Valentine Version Three Thousand and Six and I will maim and cripple one another in a falls count anywhere match! And you know what that means?
She reaches off screen and produces her bag of tricks. She reaches inside and puts on her Betty White knife glove and waves it menacingly.
Kimberly Williams
Everything is legal. Anything I want to do to him is perfectly legal.
Kimberly skips away with her Dalek in tow.
Falls Count Anywhere Match
Valentine VS Kimberly WilliamsAs the bell rings Valentine takes control right from the get-go. Using his strength advantage with hard strikes that knock the smaller Kimberly around the ring. He gets her trapped in the corner where he drives several hard body shots that drive the air from her lungs. Valentine backs away from the corner, letting Kimberly stumble forward into a driving knee lift that knocks her to the mat. Before Valentine could follow up Kimberly rolls the ring to put some distance between them. Valentine doesn't allow it and goes out after her. He quickly grabs her and shoves her into the timekeeper's corner Kimberly finally starts to get back into things as Valentine pulls her from the corner. She lashes out with kicks to his thigh and knee area. He stumbles back a bit, giving Kimberly the room needed to charge at the much larger man. She jumps in the air, wrapping her legs around his head and flipping him over with a head scissors the pops the crowd. Valentine doesn't stay down long, but it was enough time for Kimberly the grab hold of the ring bell and run up the ring steps and dive off the drive the ring bell across the head of Valentine. The ringing of the bell echos through the arena as Kimberly makes the cover. Much to everyone's shock he kicks out before two. As Valentine shakes his head, while getting up, Kimberly stays on him with knees and kicks to the side of the big man. Kimberly uses her quickness and speed advantage again by using the ringside barricade to leap off of, to take Valentine down with a tornado DDT. She comes over to make the cover once again, but he kicks out, this time just after two. Feeling more confident Kimberly pulls Valentine up, but is shoved away into the barricade. Valentine finishes pushing up in time to see Kimberly charging. He has just enough time to bring his large boot up and catch her in the face. Valentine makes a lazy cover that Kimberly kicks out of. Kimberly crawls up the entrance ramp, to get away from her larger opponent. Valentine stalks her up the ramp, grabbing her about half way up. He easily pulls her up and whips her up the ramp. Stumbling near the top, she falls to her knees. Valentine quickly follows her up as she tries to stand. He throws her into the side panels of the stage. She bounces off and he makes a cover, but Kimberly kicks out. Valentine jerks her up by her hair and flings her across the stage. As he stalks toward her as she crawls toward the backstage area, behind the curtain. As Valentine moves toward the area and to the curtain leading backstage there is a loud bang and Valentine stumbles back. He holds his head as he's struck on the side by a chair. Kimberly grabs Valentine and pulls him back into the gorilla position and backstage area. She kicks him back down a small set of stairs. She jumps, hitting a moonsault off the top of the stairs. She stays on top of him and makes the cover. He kicks out after two. Both are a little slow getting up this time. Valentine is getting to his feet when Kimberly grabs him and sends him into a hard concrete wall. As he stumbles forward, after slamming into the wall, Kimberly hits a running dropkick right to his chest that knocks him back into the wall. The sound of the back of his head hitting the wall is heard. That is followed by Morrigan’s Wrath (superkick) from Kimberly. She falls into the cover, but again he kicks out. This time just before thee. Kimberly is up and and moves down the hall to find a weapon. She finds a heavy wrench on top of a production box. She hears a sound behind her and turns to be slammed shoulder first into her stomach by Valentine and his Gutbuster (gore). He slowly makes a pin, but Kimberly kicks out just before the three count. She's not moving much after that as Valentine slowly starts to get up. He sits up and his eyes widen for a moment before he"s blasted with the same heavy wrench that Kimberly had dropped. The wrench smacked him right in the forehead causing the skin to break and blood start to trickle. Camera pans over to see Jordan Parker-Kane standing over him with a smirk. "Bet you thought I forgot about you." The Valiant Chaos champion says as he pulls Valentine up to a sitting position, leaning against the production box. "I never forget." Jordan walks a few feet away before charging back in to hit Valentine with his Bomaye (Running knee to the head of kneeling opponent) agains5 the metal production box. Satisfied he walks away dropping the wrench as Valentine slowly slumps to the floor with a glassy look in his eyes. Kimberly is getting up and positions Valentine before climbing the box, then a top of the weather crate of some kind. She leaps off hitting Valentine with Chaos Theory (corkscrew senton). She makes the cover for the 1..2..3 WINNER: Kimberly Williams BY: Pinfall (Chaos Theory), 16:32 |
“Too Sexy” Tiffany Lynn Page is standing in her locker room looking at her red ring gear.
“Too Sexy” Tiffany Lynn Page:
This has been a long journey. I have had to put up with that lunatic, Jimmy Edwards, since our days in Oath Wrestling. Obviously he is obsessed with me seeing how he followed me here to MWE but that ends tonight.
Tiffany turns away from her ring gear.
“Too Sexy” Tiffany Lynn Page:
The idiotic masses think I must be off my rocker because Jimmy is a former multiple time World Champion all over the world who has accomplished so much in the wrestling ring. While people love to keep him on a pedestal they choose to forget that I have beaten him before. He is so weak minded that after I squashed him in our previous match he lost his grip on reality to become the unhinged loser we all see before us today. After tonight he will continue to spiral into obscurity while I continue my ascension up the MWE ladder.
Tiffany takes a seat on a chair.
“Too Sexy” Tiffany Lynn Page:
The real question about tonight isn’t if I am going to win or lose but what will be my next move after I defeat Jimmy. The entire world that Matt Stone is quite enamored with me as he has proven by keeping track of what I am tweeting about. It is a clear cry that he wants my attention. I can’t say that he himself has my attention but his Intercontinental championship belt certainly does. But that isn’t the only championship I am looking at. I have always said the Junior Heavyweight title would look excellent on my waist. So obviously I’ll be keeping up with who wins the match between Echo and Tiana, as well. Just like I will be watching Duke successfully defend his World Heavyweight Championship once again in whatever a Snow Holds Barred match is. Of course, my hired gun will successfully defend his MENTV championship against that gloryhound narcissist tonight. Righting the wrong of their past.
Tiffany smiles.
“Too Sexy” Tiffany Lynn Page:
Also, tonight the world will get to see the dominance of Megan Coleman tonight. We all got to see her destroy Marcus Ali Jr. a couple weeks ago on Riot in her MWE debut match. A match that saw her with a whole new attitude. Well, I shouldn’t say new because this is who Megan really is. She is a stone cold bad ass who is tired of playing nice with you insignificant morons. It is time for her to take what is hers and that is on top of her very own pedestal. That journey starts tonight when she goes through everyone else in that battle royal and gets a championship opportunity. Tonight is going to be a very, very good night. For me, atleast.
Tiffany sits back in her seat with an evil grin on her face.
Singles Match
Tiffany Lynn-Page VS James EdwardsA rivalry that has been going on for months, a feud turned into an obsession for James Edwards who has been waiting for this one on one opportunity against Tiffany Lynn-Page for a long time, having to “earn it” by beating her hired gun, the Assassin Clyde Sutter back at On The Rise in November. And speaking of the MENTV champion, Aspen Eisley informed the fans that both him and Megan Coleman are officially banned from ringside. That came as news to Tiffany who had possibly plotted to get them to help at some point in the match. She was furious, yelling at the referee what was going on and that he should change that ridiculous stipulation. Of course the official didn’t have that kind of power and he started the match instead. James wasted no time and dropkicked Tiffany in the knee. She fell to one knee and Edwards quickly got up and ran to the ropes. Upon his return, The Burning Heart planted his foot in the side of Page’s head with a huge Shining Wizard. James got up as Tiffany lay on the mat holding her head in pain. Edwards stayed on the attack but his roundhouse kick missed the target and Tiffany was quick to plant him into the canvas with a cutter. The Diva quickly rolled up to her feet and jumped, driving both feet on his chest. She quickly made the cover but James kicked out in one. She grabbed him by the back of the head and helped him to his feet but he pushed her back and busted a few chops and an European uppercut. Edwards lunged forward with a clothesline but came up short as Tiffany ducked and side stepped. Tiffany then kicked him in the back of the knee and knocked him to one knee again. The Kentucky born bent over in pain as Page quickly climbed the turnbuckle. She then leaped from the top rope and drove both knees to his face with a diving meteora, but she only got a two out of it. In the second part of the match The Burning Heart finally turned the tides with his Triple Play (two spinning backfists followed by a spinning elbow). James then unleashed months of pent-up frustration, unleashing a whirlwind of stiff kicks and punches to the former MENTV champion, forcing her into the corner and continuing the relentless onslaught with knees to the midsection and elbows to the face. On several occasions the referee had to step in to separate them when James blatantly ignored his warnings and requests for a clean break and kept beating her up way past the five count. The official went face to face with the Burning Heart, clearly stating that he would stop the match at the next infraction. Edwards didn’t seem too bothered by that possibility, winning the match didn’t seem to be his priority anymore now that he could finally make her pay for everything she’s done. But this although brief interruption allowed Tiffany to regroup and duck under his next blow. After missing the right hand Edwards ended up back against the corner, and that gave Page the opportunity to partially return the courtesy throwing some kicks at his chest. When she went for an irish whip though, Edwards managed to counter the move and sent her into the opposite corner. He charged in for a running uppercut but the Diva leaned back and raised both her legs, placing both her feet onto his chest and stomping him into the canvas. Tiffany Lynn-Page struggled to keep her offense going with some continuity, having to resort to some of her dirty tricks every time James overpowered her and regained control. And that happened quite often, to the point where the referee grew tired of her antics and gave her the same speech he gave Edwards earlier in the match. Final warning, the next misconduct will result in an instant disqualification. And while that seemed at first an easy way out from the punishment she was being handed by James, she knew that if she took that road this feud would never be over. She started fighting back cleanly, no more cheap shots or anything of the kind. A few elbows to the side of the face to counter the belly to back attempt and a Pele kick to rock the opponent marked the beginning of her comeback. She followed with the characteristic Prima Donna/PAWG combination but she could only get a count of two out of her pinfall attempt. She almost wasted all the advantage when she missed the Money, Power, Respect shooting star press, crashing into the canvas. Edwards quickly dragged her to her feet and planted her on her head with the butterfly brainbuster, but Tiffany survived the pinning predicament. Edwards kept her cool and invited the opponent to get up with broad gestures. Tiffany slowly stood up, looking dizzy and a bit disoriented. The Burning Heart kicked her in the head with the spin kick, the first part of his Wildfire finishing combo. When he went to complete it with a roundhouse knee combo though, he caught a back elbow to the face. The All Eyes On Me out of nowhere caught him flush on the side of the head, knocking him down instantly. Exhausted, Tiffany hooked the leg for the cover, the fans watched in silence as the referee’s hand hit the canvas once, twice, three times. WINNER: Tiffany Lynn Page BY: Pinfall (All Eyes On Me), 13:08 |
The show transitions to a video recorded earlier in the day, in which Lowri Moss is seen sitting on a chair in the front row at the Tacoma Dome. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a replica Wales football jersey, she is mic’d up and sat looking in the direction of the ring, staring at the space that she will be competing inside later on. However, she soon turns her head to look at the camera, and with that familiar smile of hers on her face, she starts by giving her equally familiar greeting.
Lowri Moss:
What’s occurring, Tacoma?
Despite there not yet being any fans there to react to her in real time, she still pauses for a second or two, as if to allow for the customary cheap pop.
Lowri Moss:
I hope you’ve all had a wonderful Christmas so far, and that Santa brought you everything that you wanted.
As it happens, the jersey that Lowri is currently wearing was a present that Gareth Prichard Jr got her for Christmas twelve months ago.
Lowri Moss:
The thing that everyone who you’re going to see competing inside that ring–
She gestures towards the ring with her right hand.
Lowri Moss:
Today and tomorrow, myself included, the thing that we all want for Christmas is, I presume, to win our respective matches. But for some of us, the stakes in our matches are greater than others, as a victory could bring with it one of a limited number of special prizes– prizes that are priceless, that can't be found in any shop, and that are each one of a kind… well, except for the tag titles, I suppose.
There are two of those belts, after all.
Lowri Moss:
And the biggest prize of all that’s going to be up for grabs is, of course, the MWE World Championship… which is what, later on tonight, I am going to be fighting for; I know that the man who is currently possession of it, Duke Andrews, I know that he isn’t going to let go of it willingly, certainly not without a fight, but I’m prepared to fight with everything that I have, as I’m sure are both BROOKFORD and Joey Leclair, in order for each of us to try to claim it for ourselves.
After a momentary pause, Lowri continues.
Lowri Moss:
If you cast your minds back three and a half weeks, to the first day of this month, you may remember that Joey Leclair and I were opponents in the main event of Millennium, in a match that had been speculated as having potential World title implications, with Ambra Monroe on commentary referring to it, I believe, as an unofficial number one contender match. Nothing got settled that night though, as the match ended in a double pin– was it instinct that we each put an arm over the other’s chest, or was it luck?
She gives a shrug of her shoulders.
Lowri Moss:
I’ll leave that for all of you to decide.
She then lets out a sigh.
Lowri Moss:
Had I known that it was indeed a number one contender match, then in the aftermath of the double pin, I would’ve been willing to be… whatever the female equivalent of chivalrous is, and say, “Give the title match to Joey.” In any event, on the following episode of Riot, Duke Andrews revealed that at Below Zero he would be defending the World title against both me and Joey, in a triple threat match… until a week later, when BROOKFORD announced that he was going to cash in his guaranteed title opportunity, changing the match from a triple threat to a fatal four-way.
Lowri runs a hand through her hair.
Lowri Moss:
You often hear people– not just in wrestling, but in other sports as well– talk about athletes wanting something the most. “Who wants it the most?” Well, I don’t mind admitting that, out of the four of us, I probably don’t want it as much as I assume that Duke, Joey and BROOKFORD all do. Now, I appreciate that’s a statement that’ll probably surprise most, if not all of you watching– and it’s not down to my other half’s apathy having rubbed off on me, in case that’s what you thought.
She chuckles as she shakes her head.
Lowri Moss:
For Duke, this is his second defence of the World title, and I’m sure he won’t want his reign as champion to come to an end so soon. As for my two fellow challengers, Joey made it clear when he returned to MWE earlier this year that he had his sights set on the World title, while BROOKFORD did similarly, prior to him going on to win the Battle For The Briefcase tournament, and now that they have this opportunity, they’re both going to want to make the most of it– especially BROOKFORD, considering that he decided now was the time for him to cash in. But as for me, well, until a few weeks ago, this wasn’t a situation that I expected to find myself in– not now, at least. About two and a half months ago, on the first episode of Millennium after the end of my reign as Cloud Gate Champion, I told Paisley Dawn that I wasn’t thinking about any other championship, that I simply wanted to have more matches with opponents who I had never faced previously, as well as at least one match with an opponent who I have faced before.
Lowri is still waiting for that match with James Edwards– if she wins tonight, perhaps he could be her first challenger, who knows?
Lowri Moss:
However, I do have this habit of winning matches– or not losing them, in the case of the match with Joey– and I knew that if I continued to pick up wins, then in all likelihood, I would end up in contention for the World title at some point. But like I just said, I hadn’t expected it to happen so soon, I had been willing to be patient. Besides, the prize that I so richly wanted to win this year, I already claimed at the end of October.
That being the FGA Undisputed Championship, for those unaware.
Lowri Moss:
Make no mistake though, I’m not going to be giving this match any less than my all– quite the opposite, in fact. I’m looking at this match as a “no lose” situation for me. Of course I want to win, I want to win every match that I’m in, title match or not, but if I don’t win tonight, if I don’t end the show as the MWE World Champion, I’m not going to be as gutted about it as Duke, BROOKFORD or Joey probably would be. I’m too good of a wrestler that if things don’t go my way tonight, I find it hard to believe that I won’t get another shot at the World title at some point in the future. And so, because of that, because I’m not worried about losing, I can take whatever risks I feel I need to during the match, and not be concerned about what the consequences might be.
There is another brief pause, before Lowri continues.
Lowri Moss:
The one thing that I haven’t mentioned yet about the match, is that it’s going to be a snow holds barred match– a no holds barred match, but with a Christmas theme. I think Elsa, or whoever, must have been looking through some of my old tweets, as a snow holds barred match is something that I’ve been wanting to compete in for several years, and that I tweeted about as far back as when I was just a couple of months into my career.
November of 2016 was the first time that she tweeted about wanting such a match.
Lowri Moss:
Me wanting to be in a no holds barred match, a Christmassy one or otherwise, may surprise some people, as I’m not exactly known for competing in these sorts of matches. But while I might not particularly be a fan of hardcore matches, something that I am a fan of is a good pun, and what better pun than one that combines wrestling and Christmas? Hopefully I won’t come to regret wanting this kind of match too much by the time that it’s over.
Lowri gets up from her seat and vaults over the guardrail.
Lowri Moss:
It has been just over ten months since my first official match as part of the MWE roster, when I got to spend Valentine’s Day doing what I love. And now, on Christmas Day, I already know that I’m getting the gift of getting to wrestle, I already know that I’m getting the gift of a snow holds barred match, but will I end the night by getting the best gift of them all, the MWE World Championship? We’ll find out the answer to that one soon enough.
She then turns and walks off, out of shot, as the video reaches its end.
Junior Heavyweight Championship Match
Echo © VS Tiana Petrova-HammondA lot of emotions and tension in this match, the referee struggled to keep Tiana away from her opponent before the the beginning of the match. Damian on the outside managed to calm her down a bit, asking her to remain focused. But when the bell sounded and the Junior Heavyweight champion turned to Yulia in the front row and taunted her mocking the injured leg Echo herself broke at On The Rise, the young Russian-American snapped and knocked the bigger opponent down with one single, brutal right hand. She then rolled Echo on her chest and sat on her back, hammering at her with dangerous elbow shots to the back of the head. The referee had to step in to separate them when Tiana kept hitting the Aussie even after she reached the ropes. His reprimand wasn’t as stern as the one Damian gave her, the head trainer of the Chicago Fight Lab was particularly hard with the first ever Gold Star, telling her that this was exactly what Echo wanted, and she shouldn’t play into her hand. But his words didn’t have the desired effect. As soon as Echo stood up to her feet, Petrova-Hammond charged once again with a superman punch, knocking the champion back into the corner where she continued hitting her until the referee, once again, separated the two contestants. This second brutal assault resulted in a busted lip for the Australian, but the taste of her own blood in her mouth didn’t seem to bother her. Actually, she smiled, a wicked smile only made more disturbing by the blood. With an unequivocal gesture, she invited the challenger to attack her again. This time though she was ready and the two of them clashed in the middle of the ring, hard punches flying back and forth between them in a long and exciting exchange that saw the Junior Heavyweight champion coming up victorious, flooring the younger opponent with a discus lariat. In an exchange of roles, Echo was the one on the defensive in this part of the match. People were expecting to see Tiana taking a more cautious approach, sticking to that famous “Fight Lab Style” relying on swift counterattacks to beat the opponent. But the Russian-American had other plans tonight. Driven by the desire to avenge her mentor, her friend and herself as well, she kept going at the champion, all guns blazing. As much as Echo may have grown to hate the former Riot general manager, she found her teachings very useful tonight, using some of those counterattack techniques to turn the tides and regain control. She threw Tiana off-balance after dodging a right punch and punished her with a stiff kick to the side, eliciting a groan of pain from the opponent. As Tiana remained doubled over, clutching at her ribs, Echo hit a wicked knee strike to the side of her head, knocking her down. Instead of pinning her, she mounted on top of her and began raining down lefts and rights to her face. Still dizzy from the previous knee strike, it took Tiana a few moments before she was able to put her arms up in protection. One of the strikes Echo was able to land in that window of time caught the Russian-American on the nose, causing blood to start pouring down from her nostrils. Much like for Echo before, this injury didn’t affect Tiana. She started fighting back, managing to throw a punch that caught the Australian right between her eyes. She instinctively backed down, just enough for Tiana to slip from under her and, with one swift and smooth movement, putting her into a triangle choke. Tapping out was not an option for Echo, but she was well aware that if she didn’t get out of this quickly, she may have no other choice. Using her strength, she lifted the opponent off the mat and tried to powerbomb her out of the ring. Tiana didn’t let go, and both of them fell ruinously on the hard floor below. The fight continued on the outside for a long time, involving all sorts of props and furniture surrounding the ring. The barricade, of course, with Echo dropping Tiana onto it with a suplex so that she could kick her head off with a running big boot. The steel steps, into which the champion crashed shoulder first and the nearby post Tiana slammed her head against several times, until she drew blood from the champion. And of course the ring apron, stage of a brutal piledriver from the champion right before rolling the helpless opponent back into the ring for what looked like an obvious count of three. But Petrova-Hammond still had some left in her tank and kicked out in time. Even more shocking, a minute later she survived The Reverb too, and for the first time you could see a look of shock and concern on the champion’s face. What else was she supposed to do to keep her down? On the other hand, this riled up the fans, now more vocal than ever in their support to the former Gold Star. She pushed Echo off with a kick to the sternum and quickly spun around, catching her with a spinning backfist followed by a spinning kick. The champion was down, but only for two seconds. Echo used the ropes to get up, wiping away some blood that was covering her eyes and hindering her vision. Now having recovered her sight, she could see that Gold Star Standard (roundhouse kick) coming, but it was too late to dodge it. The brutal kick knocked the Australian down and it was lights out for her. Luckily, she was close to the ropes and the referee spotted her foot under the rope and blocked the count. A slight mistake in positioning the challenger will come to regret as Echo capitalized on that brief moment of disappointment and regret immediately following the referee’s decision to put Tiana in her heel hook. With the path to the nearest ropes blocked by the champ, the Russian-American path to salvation was a long one, but she was determined to reach them despite the excruciating pain. She almost got there, her fingers only brushing against them before Echo rolled through, putting more distance between the opponent and the ropes. The pain was too much to handle, the nightmare of another injury and a long rehab must’ve come to Tiana’s mind and she wisely tapped out. WINNER: Echo (STILL JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION) BY: Submission (Heel hook), 18:06 |
Singles Match
Melissa Reeves VS Karen EldonAs Karen and Melissa approached each other in the middle of the ring, the former tag champion immediately tried to get under the Australian’s skin with her sharp words. Seeing how that was uneffective, she threw a hard slap across her face. Mel clutched her cheek as she looked at the woman with a cold stare, almost daring her to try that again. Eldon swung with another hard slap, but she caught her by the wrist and spun her around, tossing her down to the canvas before releasing the grip. The Reaver followed up with a hard stomp but Karen rolled out of the way, dodging it by a hair. Melissa walked over as Karen got up to her feet. The “resourceful” Californian put her hand up on Mel’s face and raked her eyes, pushing her back into the ropes with a series of chops. The former World Champion surprised her with a kick to the midsection. Without thinking twice, Mel just threw the opponent over the top rope, like she meant nothing. In an unexpected feat of agility and quick reflexes, the blonde bombshell was able to catch the ropes and landed on the apron. Mel quickly turned around and swung with a right hand, ducked by Karen who then drove her shoulder through the ropes and into the Aussie’s midsection, doubling her over. Entering the ring with a well executed sunset flip, Karen obtained the first near fall of the match. That sort of awakened Reeves, almost as if she didn’t take the task seriously until now. But when she did, Karen experienced how those hard kicking combinations felt. Mel’s feet connected with her sides, head and finally the stomach, doubling her over. In one fluid motion, the Australian then dropped the opponent on her skull with a cradle ddt, but Eldon still managed to raise her shoulder in time. The match continued with Reeves apparently in full control, thanks to her fast striking combinations and her quick suplexes. She had just scored another near fall after a dragon suplex, looking down at Karen surprised by her resilience. Still, part of her enjoyed the fact that the woman wasn’t giving up so easily, if anything it gave her the chance to really taste and enjoy revenge. But dropping the attention for even a brief moment can be extremely dangerous around someone like Karen. As Mel went to pick her up she surprised him with a small package. Reeves managed to kick out before the count of three despite Karen holding onto her pants for some extra leverage. They were both up quickly to their feet and Mel rushed toward Karen who took her down with a drop toe hold. The former Tag champion got up to her feet and grabbed Mel by both sides of her hair, leaping up as she drilled her face on the canvas with a sit-out facebuster. Melissa rolled onto her back, holding her face. Karen was quickly on top of her and started pounding the back of the head into the canvas, but the Reaver flipped her over the head and backflipped on top of her, raining down some forearms to the face of the grounded opponent. With Karen now in the corner, Melissa climbed on the second rope and began to throw punches at the opponent. The fans loudly counted as she landed nine of them, taking a moment to play with the crowd before dropping the tenth. That slight hesitation cost her as Eldon slipped under her and took her legs out, causing the Aussie to land face first on the top turnbuckle. Karen quickly rolled her up and leaned on the ropes with her feet for some extra-leverage, but the ref caught her and immediately stopped the count. Acting quickly so that she won’t lose the advantage, Karen slapped the still dazed Mel across the cheek and charged at her at full speed with a running knee strike. The “Can I Speak To Your Manager?” connected and the fans looked in shock as she hooked the leg for the cover. The pop that followed Mel kicking out was one of the biggest of the night, and the look of utter shock on Karen’s face only made things better. Karen could not believe that she kicked out in time, and protested with the ref guilty, according to her, to be too slow on his count. Melissa slowly picked herself up and Karen quickly turned her attention back to the Australian. She went for the same move a second time, but in this case the Reaver moved out of the way and Karen ended up hitting the air. Mel then dropped her on her back with the Reaver Slam and quickly followed with the From The Heavens (shooting star press). She didn’t make the cover though, quickly standing up and waiting impatiently for Karen to do the same. When she finally did, Melissa ended her and the match with the Magnitude Nine. WINNER: Melissa Reeves BY: Pinfall (Magnitude Nine), 12:30 |
Gareth Prichard Jr:
I believe…
As soon as those words get uttered Gareth Prichar Jr comes into frame. A sand colored trench coat over a grey tuxedo. The sarcastic smile on his face driving your eyes towards him, hiding behind his reading glasses. The fact is, he looks more like your friendly history teacher or literature professor than a man willing to take your limbs out of socket and smile while doing so.
Gareth Prichard Jr:
Powerful words, innit? I mean, wars have been won just off the back of someone believing they can change the course of history. Just the belief of being able to spread one’s will towards everyone; no matter what others think… do… or want.
Gareth hangs his head as a smirk appears on his face. He puts both of his hands inside the coat’s pockets and shrugs.
Gareth Prichard Jr:
But then reality hits… and it hits like a fuckin’ semi. Reality doesn’t care about your beliefs or dreams. Reality doesn’t care about your position or your aspirations. No… reality is and that’s it. It isn’t concerned about how it’s viewed by the moron paying £20 to say they were AT the show even if they can’t see shit due to how far they are from the actual action.
Reality isn’t concerned about catchphrases or cadences… it isn’t concerned about how many times you appear on camera on any given night or how many consolation prizes they create to appease your fucking ego that cannot fathom the fact that; for THIS MOMENT… THIS PRECISE MOMENT… you’re just not good enough.
A half shrug follows those words as Gareth gets his head back up and looks straight into the camera to speak.
Gareth Prichard Jr:
I guess believing the impossible is more desirable than understanding reality. But once you understand reality, once you understand your position and come to terms with the fact that THIS IS NOT YOUR MOMENT… you begin to control everything around you; as nothing can steer you away from your course.
That’s my aim… that’s my goal. Tonight there will be JUST one winner; and I know it won’t be me… but I can control who that person might be and steer everything in MY favor… and that’s not a belief… that’s a reality.
MENTV Championship Match
Clyde Sutter © VS Glory BraddockAfter the loss suffered ten days ago on Millennium, the MENTV champion was out for blood tonight, specifically his former mentor’s blood. He didn’t even wait for the match to start, attacking Glory on the ramp as she was making her way to the ring. A brutal clothesline to the back that flattened the Best In The World. He reached down and grabbed her by the hair, grunting some incomprehensible words before pushing her face down on the cold steel of the ramp. His ambush didn’t stop there, he tossed her against each side of the barricade as he dragged her to the ring and even smashed her head against the steel steps several times before rolling her under the bottom rope. He went to pin her but the referee reminded him that the match hadn’t started yet. And possibly wouldn’t even start since Glory didn’t seem to be in shape to continue. Visibly disgruntled, Sutter gave her a stomp to the chest for good measure before backing down into his corner. The ref went to check on Braddock, seeing if she was fit to continue. She nodded, slowly beginning to stand up. Wobbly on her legs and visibly stunned, she still commanded the ref to ring the bell, keeping her eyes on her opponent. Despite her focus being on Clyde, she couldn’t avoid the clothesline. Truth being told. Clyde exploded out of his corner a moment before the bell rang, and that probably made all the difference allowing him to catch Glory unprepared. After four minutes of absolute dominance by Sutter, in which the Assassin almost got the win in record-time with his Cruciform Slam, Glory was able to turn things around when she countered a powerbomb with the Gloria In Excelsis Deo, finally knocking the champ down. Too tired to capitalize, she preferred to use that time to recover and regroup, pulling herself up and leaning back against the corner. Sutter instead didn’t want to waste any time and charged in, taking a kick to the face as Glory raised her leg to counter his attack, buying herself a few more seconds. Clyde charged a second time and crashed into the empty turnbuckle as Glory deftly left through the ropes to get out of the way. From the apron she watched the opponent hit the empty corner and bounce back, clutching his chest in pain. She quickly climbed to the top of the turnbuckle and jumped with a missile dropkick, knocking him off his feet. She then tried to choke him out with a figure four necklock, a move with a dual-purpose. Wear out the opponent and at the same time recover some energy to afford the final part of the match after that brutal assault earlier on. Clyde was able to power out of the submission but right as he stood up, a bicycle knee strike brought him back down on the mat and into another submission. Glory kept sticking to her plan, relying on several holds and choke to limit the powerhouse’s offense. This attitude seemed to piss off Clyde, leading to him making more mistakes and making it easier for her to control the pace. The time ticking didn’t seem to be an issue for the British Bombshell, patience is a virtue and she was confident that, in the end, she could put him down within the fifteen minutes time limit. And this strategy seemed to pay off when she finally caught Clyde in her Shekinah Glory, but Sutter was able to resist over a minute without tapping out or passing out, dragging the match into the extra time. Five more minutes to find a winner and, in an unexpected turn of events after that shocking beginning, the pressure was all on the champ now. It had been an uphill battle for Glory but her strategy to keep a slow pace and wear down the opponent with chokes paid off, putting her in an advantage position going in on the extra-time. And as the match was restarted, she immediately went for a standing guillotine but Sutter saw it coming and planted her into the canvas with a spinebuster. Feeling the urgency to end this quickly, the MENTV champion vehemently attacked Glory with a series of stomps before dragging her up and powerbombing her into the turnbuckle. Braddock favored his neck after the high-impact move, the whiplash sending a stinging pain through her body. But she still managed to get out of the way and dodge the running splash. Her reaction though wasn’t exactly fast, which gave Sutter time to remove the protective padding from the top turnbuckle, exposing the metal under it. He covered his tracks by leaning against it, hiding it from the referee’s sight. The fans saw it, and their boos were deafening, almost trying to warn the Best In The World. But it was all in vain, she charged at full speed and ended up against the exposed turnbuckle when Sutter took a step aside. The Assassin then assumed the role of Judge, Jury & Executioner, powerbombing the British Bombshell twice into the canvas before dropping her with an F5, marking his first defense with a huge win. WINNER: Clyde Sutter (STILL MENTV CHAMPION) BY: Pinfall (Judge, Jury & Executioner), 17:53 |
The camera pans backstage where Joey is seen stretching getting ready for his match later tonight when he notices the cameraman.
Joey Leclair:
Tonight is the biggest night of my career, and it’s been a long journey to get here. Since the day I signed a contract with Millennium I have had a lot of defining moments from battle my past when I faced Helena Noir, to winning the Chicago Way Championship, and beating the former World Champion Seth Iser, but it’s not just the moments that led me here, because you see it’s the losses that I have endured that made me ask time, and time again am I good enough? What can I do to improve? Losses to the likes of Lowri Moss, Brookford, and Melissa Reeves who are all main event talent!
Joey collects his thoughts for a second, and smiles before continuing with what he was saying.
Joey Leclair:
Speaking of Melissa Reeves? I will give her the credit for being the reason I am in this position tonight, because it was her that pushed me so far I had to drop my hardcare beat em up style, and pull out my technical side, and briefly out wrestler even if it was short lived, and I ended up losing to her, but still the brief moment reminded me of who I really am, and it was that moment that the prodigy of professional wrestling was reborn, and since that match? It’s like Lowri Moss said I have not had the best winning record. I agree my record has been rocky, but I have been training constantly, and have been working on a new submission finisher to use if I ever got the shot against Seth Iser for the MWE World Championship.
Joey lets out a short laugh.
Joey Leclair:
Yet here we are, Seth Iser is no longer Champion, but I proved I didn't need to use the finishing move I was working on to beat him, and at the same time I proved that I have the Heart of the champion when I beat Seth Iser, and wrestled Lowri Moss to a time limit draw. Tonight however there will be no time limit draw Lowri, and there are two other competitors. Speaking of the two others? First we have Brookford, and I remember the brutal beatings delivered to me both times we wrestled in the past, and tonight I will be cashing in the receipts, and show you that your not the baddest man in Millennium, and that I am not the same guy you beat in the past.
Joey lets out a long sigh.
Joey Leclair:
Last, but not least we have The MWE World Champion Duke Andrews, and Duke I know we have not really crossed paths before, but I am fully looking forward to this, because if you rewind time to when I first joined Millennium? At this time Chris Constintine was World Champion, and American Pain Experience was still alive, and well, and you were the weak link of APE to which I called you out on twitter to which you responded with “Who are you? You're just a nobody” Oh yea I remember that well, and so Duke you may call yourself the Epitome of Perfection, but I still see that nobody who was carrying APE’s bags, and tonight I will show you that Joey Leclair is far from being a nobody.
Joey adust’s his body to be facing directly at the camera, and gets a serious look on his face.
Joey Leclair:
Tonight may be called Below Zero, but I promise you the action is going to be red hot, and come what may even if I am beating and broken? I won’t stop even if I have to crawl my way to breaking up every pinfall attempt that’s not made by me? Even if the numbers leave none of us at an advantage? Come what may, you all will learn what I mean by the world won’t stop, and when the bell rings? The announcer will be saying, And new MWE World Champion! Joey Leclair!.
Joey returns to stretching at the scene comes to an end.
Cage Match
KO And Submission Only
Nine van der Hoek VS Luna SmithKO And Submission Only
The two competitors were already in the ring when the cage was lowered down, locking them inside. No doors to escape from, a ceiling to prevent them from exiting from above. And no pinfalls either, the only way to win this contest was by knocking out or submitting the opponent. The odds seemed to be heavily stacked against Luna, the cage will definitely limit her aerial offense and keep West out of their business: on top of that, submission wasn’t really her bread and butter. All things that Nine definitely kept under consideration when she picked the stipulation. The only silver lining for the Star Of The Night was that no cultists would show up during the match, or at least that was what Nine promised. The match started with the two circling around, carefully keeping out of the other's reach, well aware of how dangerous the other can be. Luna might not be the best submission specialist in the company, but her Krav Maga background gave her some mean strike, as Nine soon realized when the former Lockdown champion struck her with a jumping knee. The impact sent the Dutch back into the cage, Luna tried to capitalize with a superman punch but the Frisian Demon stepped aside her fist connected with the cage. Luna’s face suffered the same fate a moment before as Nine pushed her into it, grinding her side against the cold steel. An elbow to the stomach ended this painful experience, creating some separation between the two women, enough for Luna to hit the opponent with the Starstorm (discus spinning roundhouse kick). Down went Nine, but she immediately picked herself up, not wanting to give Luna even the slightest bit of confidence or psychological advantage. Submissions didn’t seem to be in the cards tonight, none of the two competitors ever tried to go for that kind of strategy, at least in this first part. It was all about proving a point and showing their supremacy by knocking the opponent out, or trying to. Kicks, punches, knee strikes or even the cage… All grist to the mill in doing the maximum damage. Which was surprising, considering that Nine was the better technical wrestler between and she could’ve easily steer the match in her favor by slowing down the pace and putting Luna through an endless series of painful holds. Instead, she accepted to fight the former champion in an uphill battle of strikes, perhaps wanting to prove something to the blonde, though this seemed to be a bit counterproductive. Luna, in fact, was winning most of those exchanges, using those vicious throat strikes to turn the tides every time Nine was getting the upper hand, following with those Krav Maga knee strikes. She even connected the Upgrade (two knee strikes followed by an overdrive neckbreaker), but that wasn’t enough for her to win the match.Getting up to her feet, Nine invited the opponent to strike again, but this time she dodged the blow and rocked Luna with a wicked kick to the back of the head. By the end of the match, both competitors had blood on their faces for the stiff strikes and the frequent impacts against the steel structure. Luna, especially, looked in a bad shape after getting launched into the cage with a catapult. The impact opened a cut right above her eye, the blood gushing out and impacting her sight. Van der Hoek showed no mercy and began to punch Luna there, causing the wound to grow wider. Even bleeding profusely though, the Star Of The Night kept fighting. Most of her strikes missed the target, Nine seemingly always one step ahead of the former Lockdown champion. One of them hit the target, a spinning heel kick that floored the Dutch. And while Nine was picking herself up, Luna headed to the corner and exposed the turnbuckle, throwing the New Problem into it. That wasn’t the end of her plan though, the fact that this impact reopened the cut on her forehead wasn’t enough for her. She lifted her so that her feet were on the second rope and tucked her head in, leaning the back against the exposed corner to connect the most vicious The Dark Side Of Luna (cheeky nandos kick). Nine fell down on the canvas and for a moment it thought that this was it, that Luna had beat the Frisian Demon. But van der Hoek was still moving, pushing herself up. The blood covering her face gave her an even scarier look, a dark fire burning in her eyes as she gritted her teeth, growling at Luna. The two charged at each other and it was Nine getting the best with her patented leaping reverse sto. She followed with a flurry of strikes with a greater intensity than the one she showed earlier in the match. This incredible combination left Luna dazed and allowed the Frisian Demon to hit her with the Seventh Nightmare (Somersault Cutter into Armtrap Crossface). Smith tried to resist, but eventually she had no choice but to tap out. WINNER: Nine van der Hoek BY: Submission (The Seventh Nightmare), 14:16 |
The scene opens outside in the back of the Tacoma Dome. BROOKFORD can be seen wearing his customary three piece suit. He is standing in front of a barrel. A flame and smoke is immianting from it.
BROOKFORD:
Storytime with Nathaniel Brookford. Pay attention.
BROOKFORD takes off his suit jacket. He tosses it into the barrel. Immediately the fire becomes bigger, eating up the suit jacket. Once the fire settles, BROOKFORD continues.
BROOKFORD:
Albert Einstein once said you can’t solve the same problem with the same thinking that got you there. Several years ago, I was brought into the sport by a man named Trenton Snow. Our philosophies were in line. Treat this sport like a business. Nothing personal. You’ve heard me ramble on and on about that until the cows come home. For a while, that mindset worked for me. I was the Underground Dynasty Champion. I lasted in that company one full calendar year without being beaten.
BROOKFORD now rips off the white button up shirt. He tosses it into the barrel.
BROOKFORD:
Here in MWE I have also done well for myself. You saw me eat Alan Envy alive to become the briefcase winner. You’ve seen me beat countless challengers along the way. Certified beast. Where has that line of thinking gotten me, truly? Becoming a World Champion is the pinnacle of this sport. Without that, where’s the huge payday? Where are the pay per view main events? What is the point of all this?
BROOKFORD sighs.
BROOKFORD:
Never gone into detail about my life prior to wrestling. Today I will. I was born in New York. One of if not the toughest place in all the United States. I wasn’t standing on the corner dealing drugs or robbing banks. I grew up on the rough side of the city. My parents weren’t wealthy. They made ends meet. Lucky I was an only child or else things my upbringing would have been a bit more strenuous. I had to fight for everything I got. Some things I wasn’t proud of. No need to delve into that. I made a promise to myself. Rise out of my situation. Become a bit more respectable. Meeting Trenton was a Godsend. He gave me my way out. I did what he suggested. Put on a suit. Look at professional wrestling as a means to an end. If I needed to rough people up along the way. So be it.
BROOKFORD seems transfixed by the fire.
BROOKFORD:
I am taking off my metaphorical suit. I need to. The one thing that will never change is I am a reasonable man. I am not going to become the World Champion with the same line of thinking that brought me here. That would be a mistake. I knew the risk of adding myself into a match with two world class competitors already a part of it. You’re not getting BROOKFORD the business man. You are getting a Nathaniel Brookford who had to fight, scratch and claw to survive the streets of New York. You are getting a guy who didn’t know where his next meal was going to be. Most importantly you’re getting a certified savage. I am willing to sink to whatever depth he needs to become the MWE World Champion.
A sadistic smirk forms on BROOKFORD
BROOKFORD:
This isn’t business. Tonight is personal.
BROOKFORD walks away. The scene fades to black on the burning barrel.
Cloud Gate Championship Match
Faith Savell © VS Lucie CallawayThere was certainly no love lost between Lucie and Faith, and the reason certainly had to be found in what Faith had put Lucie’s niece Tiff through in the past year. And while she, pretty much like everybody else, would love nothing more than seeing the former Cloud Gate champion get her payback, the chance to avenge those humiliations the Five Foot Murder Machine had to suffer and taking the title from the ever confident Savell in the process was too good to pass on. The two young ladies circled one another, sizing each other up. Lucie threw a couple of feint shots to test the reaction of the Cloud Gate champion. Savell frustratingly pushed forward with a right hand that Callaway easily ducked under. Lucie ran towards the ropes and rebounded towards her opponent, leapfrogging over her to hit the ropes one more time. On this second rebound, Lucie spun around and caught Faith right on the nose with a rolling back elbow. Savell quickly brought her hands to her face, checking for blood loss. Luckily everything was alright but this momentary distraction allowed Lucie to strike again, this time with the Nine Crimes. Faith’s pretty face took another hard hit as it bounced on Callaway’s knee, dropping her flat on her back right in the middle of the ring. Wasting no time, the Louisville native took a run at the ropes and bounced back with a springboard moonsault. Savell had this scouted and she pulled up her knees, trying to quickly pin the former Chicago Way champion with a roll-up but only getting a two. Both women get to their feet simultaneously. Savell threw a right hook towards the body of the youngest champion in MWE history, and she blocked it, trapping her opponent's arm between her body and her elbow. Faith throws another punch, this time with the left hand but that one was blocked by Lucie as well. As a matter of fact, she had both of her arms trapped which opened the opportunity for her to hit the Cloud Gate champion with multiple rapid fire headbutts. At the end of that sequence of shots, Savell was down but Callaway wasn’t able to capitalize. Side effects of those headbutts, she was quite dizzy as well, staggering toward the ropes and holding on to the top rope, needing a moment to collect herself. Interestingly enough, Faith recovered before her, grabbing the opponent’s arm and twisting it. She reached her with a few kicks to the side before pulling her into her arms for a belly-to-belly suplex. That was the first of a long series, for the next couple of minutes the Valedictorian put on an absolute clinic, showcasing her vast array of suplexes throwing Callaway from one side to the other of the ring. She concluded that long series with a bridging German, from which Lucie barely kicked out in time. In the final part of the match, Savell tried to slow down the pace, keeping Lucie on the ground as long as she possibly could. The reason why she switched to this strategy was that Callaway’s speed was really causing her some real problems, even so far into the match. Despite the clock fastly approaching the twenty minutes, Lucie seemed to have a ton of energy left, flipping and flying all across the ring to come at Faith with various and spectacular aerial assaults. Notably, a springboard enziguri caught the Valedictorian off guard and gave Callaway the chance to climb to the top rope and dive onto her with the Thrillkiller (swanton bomb) for a very close near fall. Faith almost got caught with the S.O.S, but unlike last week she was able to block the attempt and push Lucie away. The former Chicago Way champion ended up chest first on the ropes, bouncing back into a backstabber from the young Savell. The defending champion put the opponent in a sharpshooter, looking to submit Callaway. Slowly, she started clawing at the canvas, eventually reaching the ropes and forcing the break. Faith obviously kept the submission locked in for a little longer, fully exploiting the five count before eventually letting her go. She then waited for Lucie to get uo, kicked her in the stomach and set her up for the bridging northern lights suplex. Callaway escaped by a whisker and quickly hit Savell with a dropsault, sending her all the way back against the ropes. Before the champion could recover, a superkick sent her tumbling over the top rope. Lucie followed with a suiced dive, taking Faith down. The fight continued on the outside, an environment that clearly didn’t favor the champion, more comfortable in the ring than the opponent, well accustomed to fight rough and use the surroundings to her advantage. After driving the fan’s head into the announcer’s table, Lucie quickly slid under the bottom rope to restart the count, well aware that she couldn’t win with a count out. She then went back to the opponent, dragging her off the table to continue the punishment. But Faith had managed to reach for her title and didn’t hesitate to slam it on Lucie’s face, knocking her out right under the referee’s eyes. WINNER: Lucie Callaway (FAITH SAVELL STILL CLOUD GATE CHAMPION) BY: DQ, 20:44 |
Tiff Rollins was in the zone. Laser focused, determined and with a changed, more positive attitude after the events occured in the past few weeks. With the battle royale looming in, the former Cloud Gate champion was getting ready for the hard task ahead, made even more tough by the unlucky draw that named her as the first one to enter the match.
The blonde girl was shadowboxing in the backstage area, her girlfriend the Valiant star Skylynn Reed assisting her as she tried some of the combinations Jackie Fowler taught her. At some point Sky nodded at someone behind Tiff’s shoulders before smiling at the former champ.
Skylynn Reed:
Enough for now, your sister is here.
Tiff didn’t seem too happy to interrupt her preparation, but that quickly changed when she heard it was her half sister Trinity Thompson. Surprise, the Naptown Girl wasn’t alone. A man in his forties was standing next to her, and a closer inspection would reveal a striking resemblance between him and Trin. Seeing these two managed to bring a smile to Tiff's otherwise focused demeanor.
Tiff:
Hey.
Trinity Thompson:
Hey sis… I know you got your big match coming up so we’re not gonna take too much time.. Just wanted to say hi and… Well…
Oddly nervous, Trinity pointed at the man next to her,
Timothy Thompson:
I told her we should have waited after the show but she insisted… It feels so good to see you again, Tiffany.
The emotion cracked the man’s voice as he took a step toward the former champion. Turns out, he was Trin’s and Tiffany’s dad, the man the Five Foot Death Machine met for the first time last spring and hadn’t seen ever since. This clearly took Tiff off-guard, both figuratively and physically as she stopped herself altogether.
Tiff:
Yeah…same to you.
Trinity seemed surprised, this was not how she expected this surprise to go. Skylynn noticed it and walked up to her, patting her on the shoulder and walking away with her to give them some privacy. Well, as much privacy as they can get with the camera rolling. Her dad instead nodded, offering his daughter a soft smile. Unlike Trinity, he was expecting this kind of reaction from Tiffany.
Timothy Thompson:
I just wanted to wish you luck in your match. I admit this wrestling thing is still a bit new to me but your sister told me how important this is. There’s like an opportunity at a title on the line, if I got it correctly?
Tiff nodded.
Timothy Thompson:
I’m sure you’re prepared for it. Trin also told me about everything that happened to you in the past months, you’ve been literally the topic of all our conversations for the past few days. I know all about your struggles, I know how you picked yourself up and how you got people to help you. All I want to say is that I’m so proud of you. I missed all your life and that will always be my biggest regret… But now I’m here, another person you can count on if you ever need it.
Tiff did very well to hold in the tears in this moment; the only thing keeping herself from balling her eyes out is the thought of competing tonight. Nonetheless, to see her real father again, on Christmas day of all days, was a moment that she would not forget anytime soon, as well as an extra added motivation to put in the effort tonight. Without saying a word, she nodded again; saying something at this point could trigger her to lose her focus. Understanding that this was a very delicate time and seeing the rollercoaster of emotions on his daughter’s face, Timothy realized it was better to cut this meeting short before adding unnecessary pressure on Tiffany.
Timothy Thompson:
Merry Christmas, Tiff. See you later.
He wrapped his arms around her for a quick, heartfelt hug. As he pulled back, he offered her one last smile.
Timothy Thompson:
Kick their ass.
Before emotions could take over and make her lose concentration, Skylynn stepped into frame once again quickly bringing Tiff’s attention back to the training.
Skylynn Reed:
Ok, that’s enough. Let’s see if you still remember how to throw some kicks now, ok?
Tiffany turned one last time to see her dad and sister leaving, before turning back to continue her warm up with Reed.
Battle Royal Match
Winner gets a shot at the Lockdown or Junior Heavyweight Championship
Winner gets a shot at the Lockdown or Junior Heavyweight Championship
Betsy Gallagher VS Megan Coleman VS Tiff Rollins VS Devon Slayton VS Siobhan Mahoney VS Alan Envy VS Crystal Zdunich VS West Long VS Khalil Washington III VS Marcus Ali Jr. and more?
Peyton Holland: “And it’s now time for the Battle Royale. Ten confirmed entrants, more to possibly come, all fighting for a title shot at either the Lockdown or the Junior Heavyweight championship.” Ambra Monroe: “So many factors come into play in these kinds of matches, and luck is certainly one of them. A high entrance number will likely increase your chances to win.” Peyton Holland: “And Lady Luck certainly didn’t smile upon Tiff and Devon Slayton, respectively entrants number one and two.” Ambra Monroe: “Certainly not. They will be starting this match, a new competitor will enter the ring every two minutes, eliminations can only occur by throwing the opponent over the top rope. Who will be the last one standing?” The match was off to a slow start, both wrestlers knew this was more of a marathon than a sprint and they had the longest road to go all the way through it, so they might as well save some energy in the early moments. They just circled around, studying the opponent and testing their defense with some strikes, but none of them seemed eager to really sink in their blows. That was until Tiff began to kick the veteran’s thighs with some hard strikes. Devon’s leg buckled under the blows, forcing him to kneel. Rollins hit the ropes but as she came back Slayton powerslammed her into the mat. The man quickly got to his feet and jumped in the air, landing a knee drop on the former Cloud Gate champion. Peyton Holland: “Early mistake there from Rollins.” Ambra Monroe: “Indeed, and now she’s on the receiving end of a flurry of punches in the corner. Not quite the most enjoyable spot, especially in a battle royale.” Peyton Holland: “Yep. Speaking of which, it’s time to introduce the third competitor. Let’s see who’s next!” “Dusted” by Astro Boys blasted out of the PA system and out came Betsy Gallagher, welcomed by a warm pop from the Tacoma fans. The Brit entered the ring and bailed Tiffany out of a tough spot, blasting Slayton with a forearm to the back of the head. The veteran turned around and caught her with a right hand, but he then got hit with a jumping knee to the back from Rollins. The two women exchanged a quick nod and teamed up on Devon, taking turns to kick him and finishing him with a double superkick. Being the strongest of the two, Betsy picked him up and threw him out of the ring but Slayton managed to grab the rope and land safely on the apron. Ambra Monroe: “And that’s as far as this alliance between Tiff and Betsy goes. As for Devon? That was really a close one.” Peyton Holland: “Yeah, the two girls teamed up and almost eliminated the big man. And who knows, they might do it again, considering who’s entering next.” Standing at 6’8’’, weighing in almost 300 pounds, West Long was one of the biggest threats for everyone in this match, and one of the hardest to take out. Tiff and Betsy knew it and, for a moment, stopped hostility to focus on the Warwolf. They tried the same tactic they implemented earlier against Devon but West was a different beast. He simply reached with his huge hands behind the opponents’ heads and bashed them together. Slayton quietly stayed in the corner, watching the giant handling the two women almost effortlessly, whipping them on opposite sides of the ring and shuttling between the two of them with mighty clotheslines that caused the whole ring to quake. Peyton Holland: “I kinda agree with Slayton here, it’s probably best to sit this one out.” Ambra Monroe: “And besides, a new competitor is about to enter so they might as well be the ones to deal with the Warwolf.” Number five was none other than Gareth Prichard Jr. The man walked out to a unique reaction. There were certainly some die-hard fans of the former Neal Durden in the arena tonight, but the majority of the fans didn’t really know how to take hime, more so after that cryptic promo he dropped before the match. Gareth walked down the ramp with a slow pace, circling around the ring without actually entering. Some of the fans called him a coward for this, but the man didn’t really care. Much like Slayton, he seemed to be biding his time though it wasn’t the fear of facing the behemoth that kept him on the sidelines. He actually barely looked at the Warwolf, staying focused on Devon more than anything. Inside the ring the match continued with Long on the verge of scoring the first elimination. He lifted Tiffany over his head in a Gorilla Press position, ready to launch her out of the ring. The former Cloud Gate champion managed to slip away, landing on her feet behind West. She jumped and hit him with a dropkick, pushing him against the ropes chest first. That was when Slayton struck. Quick as a snake, he charged at Long and hit him with a clothesline to the back, causing the big man to tumble over the top rope. Aspen Eisley: “West Long has been eliminated!” (Devon Slayton #1) Ambra Monroe: “This was… WHAT?” One brief moment later and Devon suffered the same fate, eliminated by a superkick from Gareth. Aspen Eisley: “Devon Slayton has been eliminated!” (Gareth Prichard Jr #1) After the elimination, Gareth turned his head and looked down at Tiffany who was just starting the get up. “Karate” by Babymetal anticipated the next entrant to the match, one half of Warblade 42 Valkyrie. As the Dane ran down the ramp, eager to enter the ring and wreak some havoc, Prichard smirked at Rollins and dropped on the mat, rolling out of the ring under the bottom rope. Once again his behavior didn’t sit well with the fans, but the enigmatic Welsh started pacing around the ring, deaf to their criticism. Three wrestlers were inside the ring, three women with different motivations but the same determination to reach their goal and be the last one standing. Being the freshest of the pack, Valkyrie quickly gained control, firing off some Tank-style chops to Tiff’s chest. Betsy sneaked up behind her and connected a big time German suplex on the Warmaiden Of Roskilde, but Valkyrie was up to her feet in no time. The two powerhouses then locked up in a test of strength where nobody could really get the advantage. Tiff broke up the stalemate with a double dropkick, knocking down both opponents. Standing between them, she started kicking both of them on the chest, using the right to hit Valkyrie and the left for Betsy. Peyton Holland: “Make some room ladies, here comes entrant number seven…” Megan Coleman was up next, charging to the ring with a full head of steam and spearing Tiffany to the mat. From a mounting position the former Empire National champion dropped hard punches to her face. Betsy and Vee got up and resumed their battle, this time the Brit got the upper hand and lifted the Dane for the British End (pumphandle lift into a reverse STO. On the other side of the ring Tiff managed to get free, though that flurry of strikes clearly took its toll on her. Still, she managed to dodge the following attack, showing once again that trademark footwork she learned from the Bastard Of Bowland Jackie Fowler. This new trick definitely came in handy and allowed the former Cloud Gate champion to turn the tides with some quick, powerful punches that stunned Megan and left her defenseless against the swinging neckbreaker. It had been a while since the last elimination was scored, the ring was starting to get crowded with four competitors in and a fifth just about to enter. Oh, and there was always Gareth on the outside, technically in the match though he wasn’t really taking part in the action. Peyton Holland: “Here comes the former MENTV champion, the Human Disaster…” Ambra Monroe: “She had her first taste of gold a few months ago but she didn’t really get to enjoy it. Caught up in the feud between James Edwards and Tiffany Lynn-Page she had to defend it in a legitimately impossible match back at Glory Horizons.” The fiery northern Irish Siobhan Mahoney entered the ring determined to clean it up. Valkyrie was about to eliminate Betsy and she decided to intervene looking to make this a double elimination. She grabbed Valkyrie’s leg and tried to lift her, but this was easier to be said than done. Gallagher was fighting against the Dane, Vee was trying to shake Mahoney away. In the end, gravity won and all three women fell on the outside. Valkyrie and Siobhan landed hard on the apron, Betsy wasn’t as lucky and her fall ended on the floor. Aspen Eisley: “Betsy Gallagher has been eliminated!” (Valkyrie #1, Siobhan Mahoney #1) Vee and Siobhan stood up and started a dangerous fight on the apron, holding on to the rope with one hand and throwing wild punches with the other. Coleman’s strength allowed her to take control and knock her lights out with the Super Woman punch. The buzzer went off, revealing the ninth entrant in the battle royale, Marcus Ali Jr. Peyton Holland: “One of the two Bad Boyz…” Ambra Monroe: “He did it again! Gareth just eliminated Megan Coleman!” Exactly like he did before, GPJ entered the ring, tossed Megan out and left under the bottom rope. Aspen Eisley: “Megan Coleman has been eliminated!” (Gareth Prichard Jr #2) Peyton Holland: “This is the second time he strikes and leaves…” Ambra Monroe: “And both times he rescued Tiff in a moment of difficulty. He mentioned in his promo that he can control who the winner might be… Is he trying to help Tiff here?” Peyton Holland: “It’s never easy to tell with him but you may have a point… And here goes Valkyrie!” Vee and Siobhan were still fighting on the thin apron, both risking elimination. But it was Marcus Ali who kicked the Great Dane bitch knocking her off it and scoring a quick elimination a few seconds after entering the ring. And he would have probably done the same to Siobhan, if he didn’t see it. That sign “REPENT” being held right in front of his face. and a second one, on his right. Then a third appeared, and more followed in different sectors of the crowd. Siobhan took advantage of this distraction to enter the ring and get out of the dangerous position. As soon as she got up to her feet, she was blasted by a running single leg dropkick from the Five Foot Death Machine. Marcus was frozen on the spot, looking at all those signs telling him to repent. He started to yell at whoever was harassing him to come out, but he obviously got no answer. Meanwhile Tiff and Siobhan were battling, the former Cloud Gate champion pulling out an impressive performance tonight having entered this match with the number one. The countdown appeared on the tron, but it was quickly replaced by the tolls of a bell. A choir began singing a church anthem, while bright lights illuminated the entrance stage. Inside the ring, Ali was losing it. Peyton Holland: “It looks like Marcus is finally getting the answer he was waiting for..” Ambra Monroe: “Hold on a second.. Is that Alan Envy?” With Marcus focused on the entrance stage, Alan Envy jumped the barricade and entered the ring behind him. Ali Jr turned around quickly and ate a terrific punch right to the face. Stunned, he stumbled back a few steps but the Lonestar was right back on him with an uppercut. He kept punching him all the way across the ring without Marcus being able to react. The final blow was a clothesline that dropped the former All American athlete out of the ring. Aspen Eisley: “Marcus Ali Jr. has been eliminated!” (Alan Envy #2) Ambra Monroe: “Sometimes the solution to the greatest mysteries is the most obvious one. Everybody has been wondering who sent these religious zealots against the Bad Boyz and the answer was the most obvious one. Riot’s resident preacher.” Peyton Holland: “This opens a new question though.. Why did he do it?” There was no time to answer it, or even to speculate. After knocking Tiffany down with a neckbreaker, Siobhan charged at Alan only to be turned inside out by a stiff clothesline. The Lonestar was on his own path for redemption, and eliminating the woman who beat him at On The Rise would be a great first step in the right direction. Easier said than done though, the Northern Irish was going to fight tooth and nail to avoid elimination. Quite literally as she bit and clawed at the preacher’s face until she managed to get some space between them. Tiffany was back up and ready to fight, going for the Peacemaker to the back of Siobhan. The Hot Mess sensed her coming and moved out of the way and the former champion’s leaping knee connected on Alan, pushing him back into the corner. Mahoney took care of Rollins with a belly-to-back suplex and focused back on Alan. The clock ran down to zero, time for entrant number eleven to join the battlefield. Ambra Monroe: “Here comes the other Bad Boy, and I’m fairly sure he’ll be out for revenge. Khalil Washington III entered the ring and went straight for Alan, grabbing Siobhan by the hair and throwing her on the canvas. He then began hitting the Envious One with an absolute whirlwind of punches. A flat-out assault aimed at punishing the man who harassed them for over a month and eliminated Marcus earlier tonight. Both Tiffany and Siobhan tried to get involved but KW3 just punched them away. Envy finally started fighting back, the exchange between them looking more like a drunk brawl than an actual wrestling match. Just heavy fists flying back and forth, brute power at the expense of precision. And while they were fighting it all out, the buzzer went off once again. Ambra Monroe: “Look who’s back!” Peyton Holland: “Now, that is a surprise!” After months of absence and a trip back at the Academy, JJ Night finally made his return to the ring, and he did it in a spectacular fashion. Not only he chose a great stage to make his impactful comeback, but he entered the ring with a springboard hurricanrana on Siobhan Mahoney that basically saved an exhausted Tiff Rollins from the elimination. Or so he thought. Aspen Eisley: “Tiff has been eliminated!” (Gareth Prichard Jr. #3) Peyton Holland: “He just.. he just eliminated Tiffany! That makes no sense!” Ambra Monroe: “I guess he wasn’t saving her after all. She was just another name on his list.” The last one. After shoving the Five Foot Death Machine over the top rope, The Artist Formerly Known As Neal Durden tipped his imaginary hat at JJ and hopped over the top rope, landing on the apron and then jumping down on the floor. Aspen Eisley: “Uhhh.. Gareth Prichard Jr has been eliminated?” (Gareth Prichard Jr #4) Peyton Holland: “What the hell was this all about?” Ambra Monroe: “It looks like he entered this match not to win it, but rather to target certain people. And once he achieved his goal, he took himself out.” As Gareth left, the last entrant joined the battle royale, bringing the total of participants to five. Crystal Zdunich was the last entrant, and she immediately made an impact by helping Alan eliminate Khalil. Aspen Eisley: “Khalil Washington III has been eliminated!” (Alan Envy #2, Crystal Zdunich #1) The last few minutes were hectic, the action so fast and furious that it was hard to keep up. Not that there was much wrestling there, everyone was pretty much trying to toss their opponent out to thin the herd event further. The first one to leave was Siobahn who tried to clothesline Night out of the ring but flew over the top rope as the young man dropped to the mat and pulled the rope down. Aspen Eisley: Siobhan Mahoney has been eliminated!” (JJ Night #1) Crystal had Envy on the ropes and went to knock him out of the ring with the Flashing Lights but the Lonestar ducked the roundhouse kick and back body dropped her on the concrete floor. Aspen Eisley: “Crystal Zdunich has been eliminated!” (Alan Envy #3) Down to two, the fans were firmly behind the younger competitor, the returning JJ Night. He fought bravely against the stronger and more experienced opponent but eventually Alan’s power came into play as he tossed the young kid in the air and dropped him down with a pop up death valley driver. Signaling that it was over, Alan dragged him up and threw him out of the ring. JJ miraculously saved himself by hanging on the top rope with his feet dangling a few inches off the floor. Not hearing any announcement, Envy turned around and shook his head at the struggling opponent, walking toward him to finish him. With one quick movement JJ pushed his legs up and wrapped them around Alan’s head, using the momentum to drag him out of the ring. Aspen Eisley: “Alan Envy has been eliminated!” (JJ Night #2) Ambra Monroe: “He did it! What a comeback story for JJ!” Peyton Holland: “He’s the last man standing, he’s the next contender to either the Lockdown championship or the Junior Heavyweight championship. And if you follow the Academy, then you have no doubt which title he’ll be chasing. WINNER: JJ Night BY: Last Man Standing, 31:00 |
You are all trying to get hyped. You are trying to mentally put yourself in the position you feel you need, in order to walk out of Below Zero Night One as the Millennium World Heavyweight Champion.
The room was empty, a dingy yellow light overhanging the center of the room. The MWE World Heavyweight Championship sitting perfectly over the shoulder of Duke Andrews. His hooded sweatshirt was light grey in color, “Too Sexy Tiffany Lynn Page'' on the front. The hood pulled up over his head as he tossed a roll of red athletic tape in his left hand.
Duke Andrews:
I’ve spent the last 159 days as the reigning, defending, Millennium World Heavyweight Champion. Something that I set out to win when I first stepped foot in this company. When Grace took a chance on some podunk, backwoods boy. When Simon and Christian begged her to sign me. I have turned that one eighty. I’ve hit every goal along the way. I’m apart of the greatest faction that this company has ever seen, the American Pain Experience. The longest reigning tag team champion of all time. The only two time Lockdown Champion. So when I said I was going to take this title from Seth and hold onto it for as long as I damn well pleased. The fact that some of you children sat back and questioned that…
He let out a long deep sigh as he began to spin the tape around his wrist.
Duke Andrews:
Then, it’s Elsa that sticks her nose into a situation that never needs it. But she wants to stack the deck. And let’s be fair. I don’t have to be pinned or submitted to lose my title, we all know that. So then she wants to make it a pretty little Snow Holds Barred match. Well that kind of creativity should stay in Connecticut, because I’ve seen better produced by Christian McMillion, and he’s got maybe seven braincells left in his head. But I digress.
He slowly spins the tape around his wrist. The blue prewrap gives a glimpse of the gear he is wearing tonight.
Duke Andrews:
This was stacked against me, because Elsa is realizing that it doesn’t matter who is placed in front of me, they go up, and then I bring them crashing back down to earth. It’s a shame that Melissa Reeves is set to take on Karen, because I feel like shes the only rightful one that should get a chance at MY TITLE.
He pauses as he looks up at the camera. The stoic look on his face turning to a grin.
Duke Andrews:
Don’t think I haven’t just decided to ignore you three. I mean, in todays day and age, only one of us has been doing the leg work. And I know you three know how much I love leg days, so it’s fine. I’ll let it slip this one time. Lowri, Joey, Brookey. You three….
He tears the tape from his wrist as he looks back down for a moment.
Duke Andrews:
I mean, I’ve helped stack the deck. I can almost promise you that with Elsa’s fine general managing that Alan is going to try and come down and get a piece of my skin for what I did to him. Although, I don’t know if that would be the wisest move in the world. But for what it’s worth it’s three on one. Yet, while the deck stays that stacked, I feel calm. I’m cool. And i’m collected. Because the goal wasn’t just to win this title. I have been begging for anyone, anything, to come at me since day one. I want the challenge, because after tonight and I hold this title for fifteen more days and I become the longest reigning World Heavyweight Champion in Millennium history, then I say the goal was met. But tonight, this is just another stepping stone along the way. This is nothing more than…
He paused again as he shook his head.
Duke Andrews:
I mean, I get it Brookford. You’re mad that I got in your head the last few days on twitter. You’re not the first and you won’t be the last. I’ve had Karen Eldon chasing ghosts for months just with the use of my thumbs. Sure, I subtweeted you. Didn’t need to even mention the other two. But one little subtweet here and there and I had you bursting at the seems. This is what you think is going to make a great World Champion?
A simple grin escapes as Duke looks back into the camera.
Duke Andrews:
What we should be focusing on Nathaniel, is the history you will be making tonight. For the first time ever, the Battle for the Breifcase winner loses. Let’s let that sink in.
Duke holds up his two hands.
Duke Andrews:
The battle for the briefcase winner….loses.
He smirks as he holds his hands above his head.
Duke Andrews:
You did it. You wanted to be remembered for something. You and I put on an absolute clinic, but then you weren’t satisfied. You could’ve ridden the coattails to the top. Had the crumbs of success fall into your lap. But you decided you wanted to be a better man. And look at what this gets you. Being a footnote in history. Being the answer to a trivia question.
Another small shaked of the head.
Duke Andrews:
You made it in this company by being a hitman. I know all about Constantine bringing you into this company, you were a pawn to save his title. Money that he spent on you came directly from my check and Envy’s check and Redd’s check. But it made me even more money. Stay tuned, theres a little theme.
Duke began to wrap his other wrist.
Duke Andrews:
See, when that happened there was white hot heat on APE. You added to it. Shit, our merch sales began to sky rocket. Milfs everywhere wanted a piece of APE. Then we fast forward to almost a year ago. I’m back on track ready to go, you and I should’ve headlined Hic Sunt Leones, but we didn’t. Yet the talk of the company for days thereafter is about Duke Andrews beating Brookford. Again, my pockets get heavier, thanks to you. And now tonight…
And yet another smirk on the lips
Duke Andrews:
Just another night where Brookford doesn’t understand where he’s at. You’re the base of lining my pockets once again. So thank you. Thank you for being that guy. Thank you for not seeing clearly and tossing your lone chance into the fire.
Duke laughs as he continues to prep for the main event.
MWE World Championship Match
Snow Holds Barred
Duke Andrews © VS BROOKFORD VS Joey Leclair VS Lowri MossSnow Holds Barred
Amy Maynard: “Merry Christmas everyone and welcome to tonight’s main event!” Peyton Holland: “It still feels weird to have a pay-per-view on Christmas day, but at least we hopefully made your night even more fun.” Sir Figgles: “Of course we did.. Let’s be honest, most people spend this holiday with their family and what’s more boring than hearing your grandpa’s stories for the umpteenth time? What did you say? A Seth Iser promo? Yeah… but he’s old enough to be everyone’s grandpa so it’s pretty much the same thing..” Ambra Monroe: “Four of MWE’s finest competitors are about to battle it out in a Snow Holds Barred match, for the greatest prize in the company. Will Duke begin 2022 still the World champion? Will BROOOKFORD’s gamble pay off? Is tonight the night when Joey Leclair will finally grab the big one? Or will the fans witness the Christmas Miracle they’re all hoping for and see Lowri Moss walk out with the title around her waist? The atmosphere was electric, the eyes of the champion scanned through his three opponents. Duke has been very vocal about their alleged lack of fire in the weeks leading up to this, but what they didn’t express with words, written or spoken, they were ready to demonstrate in the ring tonight. This was about the World championship, the company’s biggest prize, a title Duke held onto for 159 days, making it the second longest reign in the company history for this belt, only 11 days short of Melissa’s record. For all this time he ruled on this company with an iron fist, remaining undefeated in singles competition and raising the bar for all his contenders. The bell finally rang and the match was on. BROOKFORD wasted no time and sprinted out of his corner, turning Duke inside out with a stiff clothesline. Joey started pounding at the Problem Solver’s back, hammering down at him with heavy forearm strikes. The New Yorker barely felt those blows, and when he turned around he looked extremely pissed. But Joey was waiting for him and hit him with the Prodigal Elbow (discus elbow strike); he needed a second one to finally take the powerhouse down. Lowri had been waiting on the sideline until now, but as soon as BROOKFORD hit the mat, she knocked Joey down with her Breuddwydion Melus superkick. The crowd roared as her foot connected with the side of Joey’s head, knocking him down. Moss hooked the leg for the cover but Duke saved his reign with a last minute dive. Amy Maynard: “What a start!” Sir Figgles: “This shows why Joey shouldn’t even be in this match. He almost cost the champ his title, and the match has only just begun” Duke was very aggressive in this first part of the match, wanting to set the pace from the get going and trying to control the inevitable chaos that comes with a four-way no disqualification match. He shoved Lowri into the corner and drove his shoulder into her stomach several times. Joey was only now coming back to senses and Duke spotted him. He kicked him hard in the ribs as he was getting up and tossed him into Lowri in the corner, setting them up for a two for the prize of one corner splash. Where was BROOKFORD, though? The 2021 Briefcase winner was out of the ring, looking for the first object to introduce. Among the many Christmas themed oddities scattered around and under the ring, he opted for a steel chair. A regular chair, only wrapped in green and white paper with a cure ribbon on it. And with that in his hands he entered the ring and smacked it on Duke’s back. As the champ fell down and started to roll in pain, he landed another shot catching him on the chest and knocking the wind out of him. He then charged at full speed toward the corner. Joey stepped aside but Lowri wasn’t just as quick, ending up getting squashed by the big man. Leclair unfolded the chair and stepped over it to leap toward BROOKFORD and punching him between the eyes with a superman punch. Peyton Holland: “Things are happening so fast, it’s hard to keep track of the act… OUCH!” Sir Figgles: “And that, ladies and gents, is the true meaning of Christmas!” Duke retrieved a small plastic Christmas tree and smacked it on Leclair’s back. It wasn’t the tree itself that hurt, not as much as the decorations exploding upon impact and opening numerous cuts on the former Chicago Way champion’s back. BROOKFORD charged out of the corner and Andrews speared him with the tip of the tree into the Problem Solver’s midsection. Luckily there wasn’t any of those pointy decorations on, or this could’ve turned real ugly for BROOKFORD, but still the impact doubled him over in pain. Joey recovered from the previous shot and disarmed the World champ, taking the fake plastic tree from his hand and throwing it out of the ring. And while the two of them beat the hell out of each other, Lowri climbed up to the second rope and jumped with a double foot stomp to the back of the doubled over BROOKFORD. Leclair surprised Duke with a heabutt, sending him stumbling over toward the ropes. Then he took him out with a clothesline, the momentum behind his impact sending both of them tumbling over the top rope and landing on the floor outside. The former Cloud Gate champion was left dealing with BROOKFORD and, quite frankly, she was doing one hell of a job keeping him at bay with her quick and hard kicks. It was a bicycle knee that floored the big man, allowing Lowri to make the cover for a count of two. Peyton Holland: “There’s no doubt who the fans want to see leaving with the title tonight.” Ambra Monroe: “I agree. Sure there are some Duke’s fans here and there, Joey’s rise to the top earned him a few followers and BROOKFORD always have his estimators, but the vast majority of the MWE fans are behind Lowri.” Those people surely didn’t enjoy seeing their hero getting tossed over the top rope and into Joey and Duke who were still fighting it all out. The trio crashed into some Christmas presents clustered near the barricade. Alone in the ring, BROOKFORD smiled at the carnage he just made. While his opponents took a moment to recover and lick their wounds before slowly starting to get up, the Problem Solver was already thinking about his next move. He brought a table inside the ring and set it up near a corner and brought in some Christmas lights, wrapping them around one of the turnbuckles. Leclair was the first to come back in the ring, and he came in armed with a giant candy cane. He smashed it on BROOOKFORD’s head with all his force, leaving the Briefcase winner staggered. Leclair then clobbered him with a striking combination that reminded of Duke’s Red White & Blue combo. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but the champ didn’t seem flattered at all, and punished the longest reigning Chicago Way champ with the same combination of a quick left and right hand to the face, kick to the thigh backfist and roaring lariat to take the opponent down. On the outside, Lowri was looking through the gifts trying to find one particular box that must, for some reason, have caught her attention earlier when they crashed through them. When she finally found it, she quickly unwrapped it, tearing through the wrapping paper. Inside she found a box of Lego, which frew a roar of cheers from the fans. She sneakily entered the ring behind Duke’s back while he was stomping the hell out of the Prodigy and dropped the colored plastic bricks on the floor. Sir Figgles: “This is illegal even in a hardcore match, someone should stop her! Come on Lowri, where’s your Christmas Spirit?” Ambra Monroe: “Tis the season of giving, and she’s about to give Duke something alright…” Simple and effective, that was the best way to describe the sit out rear mat slam the former Cloud Gate champion used to drop the World champ on the Lego. It was painful to watch, and the champion’s groan confirmed it was painful to receive too. Moss quickly made the cover but BROOKFORD dove onto her to make the last minute save. Duke rolled out of the ring to recover, arching his back in pain. The Problem Solver and Moss exchanged some kicks and slaps, slowly drifting away from the dangerous bricks scattered on the floor. BROOKFORD buckled a couple of times under the Welsh’s stiff strikes, but in the end he floored her with a lariat. He eyed the table, thinking about putting Moss through it. But then another idea came to his mind, a twisted one. With his big hands, he collected as many Legos as he could from the floor and scattered them all over the table. Amy Maynard: “This is not going to end well for Lowri..” Peyton Holland: “I don’t think this is what she asked Santa for Chri… HOLY SHIT!” The fans chanted those same two words over and over as BROOKFORD lifted the charging Leclair off his feet and pivoted around in one fluid motion, putting the Prodigy through the table with a spinebuster. Ambra Monroe: “The Problem Solver seemed focused on Moss but he saw Leclair getting up and charging toward him out of the corner of his eye. This is the kind of ring awareness you need in a match like this. Danger may come from any direction…” Sir Figgles: “Just like this! This is brilliant!” Duke Andrews used the candy cane to low blow the Briefcase winner and lift him over his shoulders for the Andrews Effect. A stomp from Lowri prevented the champ from retaining, allowing the match to continue. The Welsh was on fire, kicking the Epitome Of Perfection all the way back to the corner, where she continued the onslaught with the Scarlet Barrage. She put him in a headlock and took a couple of steps back, looking to drop him on his head with a ddt. Andrews reacted and punched her in the ribs, causing her to lose the grasp. A big boot leveled her and the champ was ready to end this once and for all with another Andrews Effect. Peyton Holland: “Hold on a second… Is that Alan Envy?” Amy Maynard: “Looks like Duke was right after all.. Alan is here to get his payback for the brutal attack from a couple of weeks ago!” Seeing his former partner in crime coming to the ring distracted Andrews for a brief moment, just enough for Lowri to surprise him with a victory roll, from which the champ barely kicked out. Just as Duke was getting up, Moss turned his lights out with a knee to the face, flooring him once again. Another cover was made, but the champ survived. Alan was now at ringside, mocking Duke and telling him that his reign was about to end and blabbering about how “Thy Kingdom Come”. Lowri told him to stay out of this, this match was chaotic enough without the need for any interference. Envy threatened her about the consequences of standing up against God’s Will but Moss wasn’t budging. Alan then grabbed her ankle and dragged her out of the ring, braining her with an Envious Demise on the concrete floor. Sir Figgles: “Good night, Lowri!” Peyton Holland: “I wouldn’t be so merry if I were you.. Your boy Duke is next!” Alan climbed on the apron, one second away from entering the ring and getting his payback on his former partner. He took a moment to preach to the masses and the World champion, saying how fitting it was that this sinner’s reign will come to an end on the day our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was born. The analogy he was trying to make came to an abrupt end when Gareth Prichard Jr hopped the barricade and positioned himself between Alan’s legs, exploiting gravity to powerbomb the bigger man on the hard floor below. This had to be revenge from attacking his girlfriend, GPJ this time didn’t stand there and watched but he took the matter in his hands. And to make sure Alan wouldn’t be an issue for the rest of the night, Gareth knocked the Preacher out with a soccer kick to the side of the head and concluded his performance with a mocking “Go In Peace”. Duke finally got up to his feet, looking at his former brother in arms laying motionless next to Lowri and Gareth standing smiling next to them. The reason why the enigmatic Welsh was smiling could be that BROOKFORD was right behind the champ's back, and he had the Christmas Lights in his hand. He wrapped the wire around Duke's neck and put him in his Lights Out (half Nelson choke with body scissors). The World Champion started in an attempt to escape the submission, but that only resulted in BROOKFORD tightening the grasp, both with his arms and legs. The champ could barely move now, but he still wasn't giving up, trying to resist the incredible amount of pressure in hope that either Lowri or Joey could break up the submission. But none of them could make it there in time, and eventually the World champion started to pass out. The referee went to check on him and, getting no response, he ascertained that Duke was indeed out by raising and letting his arm fall three times. WINNER: BROOKFORD (NEW MWE WORLD CHAMPION) BY: Submission (Lights Out), 27:12 |