Genocide 2007

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

ACW Proudly Presents: Genocide
Saturday 24th March

Schedule of Matches:
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Long-awaited return match
Quimby vs. Mystery Opponent

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Asgard Ice Coffin Match
Nick Durden vs. Adrian Flamingo

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ACW Entertainment Title - Ladder Match
Jason Freeman vs. Thunderkiss

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ACW Light-Heavyweight Title - No-DQ Match
Victor "Latino" Laureano vs. Kudo Yasuda

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Tag Team Tables Elimination Match
Top Draw vs Wyldcard

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ACW International Title Match
Brimstone vs. Scott Andrews

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ACW World Title Match
Chance “Tiger VII” Emmerson vs. The Senator

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

Opening Video: Genocide Introduction (Credit: Michael)

The screen turns a dark black...then moments later, the ACW logo appears on-screen for a few moments. Then after it fades out, the cover of 12 Stones’ self-titled LP fades in on the screen itself...and “Broken” appears in a white font below the album cover, before slowly disappearing.

A few seconds later, the electric guitar of the intro begins to roar all one can see is a Japanese town amidst flames…and samurais on both sides of a wooden bridge, walking towards each other as proud, noble warriors, all of their hands near the hilts of their swords. One side is coming out of the fire, while the other side is coming from the forest.

The cameras focus on the men coming from the fire, most of them being common looking Japanese men...but the focus is mostly on the people leading the group, which are Chance Emmerson, Umeko Saito, and Starkweather dressed up in their Shinsengumi get-up, the crimson flames of hate flowing through the buildings behind them.

On the other side, with the leaves falling behind them, the common-looking Japanese follow suit behind two specific people on the center. Senator Steve Phillips, dressed in the traditional clothes of a ronin, and Wyvern, who sports similar garb and two samurai swords with hilts behind his back.

As the song subdues itself war cries from both sides roar. Both forces charge towards the bridge, drawing out their swords. The image around them goes white, as the camera closes up on the bridge. Only two people can be seen through it in slow motion, charging towards each other in the very center of the bridge. Senator Steve Phillips and Chance Emmerson. As their swords clash, we see a shot of the both of them struggling. The cameras close in on Chance’s face and we go to wrestling footage now.



Alone again, again alone

Adrian Flamingo paces anxiously through a hallway until Nick Durden arrives. Flamingo then offers his hand to exchange the formal challenge, but Nick refuses, causing the corners of Flamingo’s mouth to quickly shoot down into a bitter frown.

Patiently waiting by the phone

Fast forward to a week later when Flamingo pompously marches to the ring and begins to read from documents in a manila folder, Nick’s face wearing countless worries throughout. Nick finally lunges forward and takes a clipboard from Flamingo and signs his name on the dotted line.

Hoping that you will call me home

Conclude with a shot of Nick standing over a bloodied William Epstein in the gelid refrigeration room.



The pain inside, my love denied

Cut to a shot of William Charles Wilcox pulling out a replica of the ACW Entertainment Title belt from a cloth bag and hands it to Thunderkiss, who drapes it haughtily over his shoulder. Jason Freeman takes a swig of his Gatorade, and after taking only a few steps, keels right over.

Hopes and dreams, swallow thy pride

TK suddenly appears on the scene and shoves Freeman into a laundry bag before hurling him into a cart. TK puts on a janitor’s outfit and wheels Freeman out of the room. Cut later to a seedy hotel room, where TK injects Freeman with steroids and sprinkles cocaine onto Freeman’s chest.

Everything I need it lies in you

TK can then be seen putting on a horrendous rendition of “Wind Beneath My Wings” in the ring until WCW calls him over to the corner and delivers the most unpleasant of news, namely, that their ploy had not worked and that Freeman is still champion. TK hurls his mike down to the mat and marches off in a huff.



’Cause I’m broken

Kudo Yasuda is stretching his legs against the wall in the middle of a hallway. Latino suddenly appears and is forced to stop in his tracks as Kudo occupies a significant portion of the room. Latino’s mouth stretches out into a yawn that catches Kudo’s attention.

I know I need you now

Kudo faces Latino and the two exchange biting retorts before Kudo takes his Light Heavyweight Title belt and arrogantly struts off.

Deep inside I’m broken

Kudo is lying on the outside mats as Latino comes flying off with a Last Night’s Hangover, but Kudo moves out of the way. Latino crashes headfirst to the mat.

You see the way I live

Kudo tries to pull himself back into the ring, but the ref counts to ten, thereby declaring the match a double count-out.

I know, know your heart is broken
When I turn away

After his match with Thunderkiss, Latino is standing all alone in the ring, but Kudo soon arrives. Kudo holds the belt in between himself and Latino before swiftly pulling it back.

I need to be broken

Kudo slaps his belt three times and raises 1 finger, then 2, and finally 3. Latino slaps Kudo’s hand out of his face.

Take the pain away

The two men glare each other down, but just as their foreheads are about to touch, outside officials come to separate them.



I question why you chose to die

BK London and Jake Cheng are exiting their locker room with the mysterious Pro Wrestling Bond Tag Title belts hung over their shoulders. Jonny Spade and GooeyGarth lift up their respective briefcases and place it on their left arm to balance it. Then with their right hand they lift the locks and open it up to show two Tag Team Title belts that have not been on ACW TV for almost a year. They both take the belts out of their briefcases and place the belts on their shoulders and smiles wickedly.

When you knew your truth I would deny

Top Draw hits their patented So a Chinese Guy and a Black Guy Walk into a Bar..., and BK folds Freeman into a jackknife pin to grant them a victory in this six-man tag match. Gooey and Jonny are seen using a table as a battering ram as they crack it across BK. Gooey is in his locker room getting a bottle of water out of the cooler, but just as he turns around, he’s ambushed by Top Draw. Jake beats him down with a kendo stick, and BK hurls him into the TV.

You look at me
The tears begin to fall

Later on that night, Top Draw powerbombs Jonny onto Gooey, sending him through a table. Top Draw then grab their PWB belts and raise them high into the air as they stand tall over their fallen foes.

And all in all, faith is blind

Now in the Senatorial Office, Rattlesnake, fresh off his loss to Chance, sits with a menacingly distant look on his face. Suddenly, his head twitches as he begins to maniacally laugh.

But I fail time after time

Snake can then be seen grabbing a random guy by the throat and throwing him up against the wall. A security guard confronts Snake, and receives a sit-down powerbomb through a table.

Daily in my sin, I take your life

Then we cut to the first “conversation” Snake had with Cobra, his head twitching violently as he shifts between personas. After only a few exchanges, he viciously clubs himself over the head with the Snakequalizer.



‘Cause I’m broken

Open again with a shot of Jessie Young and Scott Andrews having a heated argument about her whereabouts that previous Monday. Next Monday, the couple is much more civil with each other.

I know I need you now

Scott bids Jessie what appears to be a warm farewell as she heads out the door. As soon as she’s gone, though, Scott’s demeanor intensifies considerably as he grabs a black coat and rushes out silently after her.

Deep inside I’m broken

Brimstone can be seen sitting alone in his room. A few knocks catch his attention and he moves to the door to open it, only to be greeted by none other than Jessie. The camera moves to focus on a shadowy figure in the corner. The shadow suddenly storms off in a rage.

You see the way I live

Jessie and Scott are then seen having yet another argument, this one even more bitter than the last one. Jessie grabs her bag and rushes out the door, slamming it behind her. Scott sits down and lets out a huge breath. He looks down at the mess on the floor.

I know, know your heart is broken
When I turn away

Scott can be seen storming through the hallways until he comes upon a sight most horrid to his eyes: Jessie has her arms thrown around Brimstone as he stands in his locker room. Scott moves to rush in, but he’s met with a door slammed straight into his face.

I need to be broken

Scott hits a stiff kick to Brimstone’s chest that sends him flying across the hall. After getting to his feet, Brimstone ducks under Scott’s next kick and manages to straight jacket Scott’s arms before pulling him down to the floor.

Take the pain away

As Brimstone brings his leg high into the air for the next blow, Jessie eventually beckons for the him to stop and scurries off.

All the hate deep inside
Slowly covering my eyes

Now we’re at a shot of Alicia and Victor Laureano’s housewarming party. Cut to a somewhat intoxicated Alicia is going into a vicious tirade against Rayne. It isn’t until Latino gently touches her arm that something resembling reason takes hold of her. She tries to walk up the stairs, but only manages to stumble and Victor has to carry her back up.

All these things I hide
Away from you again

Alicia is then seen in her locker room, intently thumbing through her diary. She’s then seen thrusting her diary at Latino and pleading with him, but Latino can only shake his head in disbelief. Cut to a shot of Alicia, Ryan, and Rena stranded in the woods as their car seems to have run out of gas, causing Alicia to miss her match. We then see Alicia’s replacement, and it’s none other than Rayne Iwashita.

All this fear is holding me

Rena is reading an article in which Rayne badmouths Alicia. Rena is stunned at what appears to be betrayal on the part of Rayne and storms off in a rage. Rayne is in the process of seducing Latino. As she moves in for the kiss, Latino sticks his finger to her lips to halt her advance.

My heart is cold and I believe

Now Alicia is standing outside of Latino’s door. Just as she’s about to grab the handle, Latino opens the door. The two exchange tender smiles before embracing passionately.

Nothing’s gonna change
Until I’m broken

Finally, we see Rayne attempting to take a swing at Rena, but Rena grabs her arm and throws it to the side. Rena exits, leaving Rayne to bitterly punch the wall.



‘Cause I’m broken

Starkweather and Chance Emmerson stand across from each other, Umeko standing between.

I know I need you now

Chance takes a few aggressive steps forward, but he’s quickly stopped by Umeko’s hand.

Deep inside I’m broken

Cut to later when Chance has left. Umeko and Stark are standing practically glued together, their bodies clinging tightly to each other.

You see the way I live

But before the spark can ignite again, the two quickly draw away from each other.

I know, I know your heart is broken
When I turn away

Umeko is standing in the ring, yet again attesting to the greatness of her Tiger yet again, that is, until she is interrupted by the arrival of Wyvern and Senator. She’s absolutely livid as she throws her arms wildly in the direction of backstage. Senator tries to reason with her, but she reaches inside her coat to pull out a black bag and hurl it at Wyvern, who gets a face full of mysterious white powder upon impact.

I need to be broken

Senator turns to help Wyvern, but a pair of muscular arms reach right out from under the ring and pull him through the hole.

Take the pain away

After pulling Senator through, Chance unloads with a few sledgehammer shots before throwing him back into the ring.

And I’m broken
I know I need you now

Fast forward to the lumberjack match later that night. As chaos takes over ringside, Senator emerges from backstage and begins to clear the riffraff on the outside. A punch to BK, an elbow to Jake, a European uppercut to Jay Zero, and a roundhouse to GooeyGarth. Senator slides into the ring and takes out Thunderkiss with a thunderous chop. After Wyvern takes Stark out of the ring, leaving only Senator and Chance in the ring. Senator charges, only to receive a clothesline for his trouble.

Deep inside I’m broken

Umeko tosses Chance his championship belt. Chance tries to deck Senator, but Senator ducks under and buries a kick into Chance’s abdomen. Chance stumbles to the ropes, and Senator clotheslines him to the outside.

You see the way I live

The rest of the Senatorial Stable enters the ring. Wyvern takes the World Title belt and drapes it over Senator’s shoulder.

I know, know your heart is broken
When I turn away

Now at Senator’s match against Stark on the March 19 Warfare. Stark has just hit the Frontal Lobotomy. RAF is about to flop to the mat as he expects Stark to make the pin, but Stark shoots up and the crown of his head catches RAF under the chin. Chance suddenly storms in from the back. Stark and Chance get ready to double team Senator, but Wyvern hops over the guardrail and enters the ring to clothesline Stark over the top rope.

I need to be broken

Chance tries to hit a woozy Senator with the chair, but Senator ducks under and knocks the chair out of his grasp with an outside crescent kick.

Take the pain away

The two adversaries just stand in the center of the ring, intently eyeing each other down.

The shot shifts back to ancient Japan. Chance and Senator can be seen standing within the forest, the pale moonlight above them and the leaves floating with the breeze, passing through them in the process. Both of them are at the ready as the song hits its final crescendo.

SENATOR
One last chance...let this pass.

A close-up of Chance shows a snide smirk creep across his mouth. He slowly shakes his head.

SENATOR
...So be it.

The cameras focus back on both men standing by the forest, as they continue to focus backwards (slowly), tall and modern buildings can be seen around it alongside a lagoon to the lower right, iron gates all around, old construction work around different areas. The shot then quickly rushes back to where both men are standing, still in their ronin and Shinsengumi costumes.

As the main guitar solo breaks out, both men rush towards each other, swords in hands and they clash upon the center of the entire jungle, the cling being the last thing heard as an overwhelming white light overtakes the area.

We fade down to a shot of Chairman Gingerdude standing in a starkly empty room. The lone spotlight shining on top of him is the only light in the room. He raises his head to address the audience one final time before the show.

GINGERDUDE
May God have mercy on these men...



GINGERDUDE
...they will not.

Fade…

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

Segment: My Interrogation (Credit: Wyvern)

”Well, here we are…It’s going to be quite a busy evening. People running around, the production crew freaking out more than any other regular night, Ginger keeping unused members of the roster on hand as last minute replacements, it’s definitely a pay-per-view.”

Wyvern stands at the entrance of the arena from the event staff/member parking lot, as he steps through the door, and enters the backstage area. True to his word, there’s a lot of hustle and bustle going on here tonight, and it’s sure to elevate. Wyvern dodges a running group of crewmembers that mutter the logistics of an ice coffin, while nearly backing into someone carrying a reinforced ladder.

”That’s why production groans about gimmick matches…Well, I better get going to the locker room. I need to speak with Senator.”

Wyvern turns and heads down the familiar corridor, and is just about to swing open the Senatorial Stable door, when he sees a familiar face, Sean Nichols.

Sean: Hey man! What’s going on?

Wyvern: Not a whole lot. How about you?

The two exchange via a handshake, as Nichols appears a bit different from the last time he was seen, which was Ragnarok. His hair is very short, and he now sports a beard.

”Wow…he’s definitely changed. What’s he doing here?”

Sean: Been busy, that’s for sure. Wow…I heard mumblings from a few passerby crewmembers about an ice coffin? How in the hell does that work?

Wyvern: Beats me.

Sean: I’ve never understood Ginger’s spending. Anyways, what’s up? I see you don’t have a match here tonight…what’s up with that?

Wyvern: What do you mean?

Sean: C’mon dude. I know you. You’ve been a tear since the year started, and you’re easily one of the top contenders for the title. You know you’re past due for a title shot.

The question clearly strikes a nerve with Wyvern. In recent weeks, he had conceded an opportunity to take on Chance for the World title to Senator. Wyvern’s demeanor shifts from cool and calm to uneasy. This catches the eye of Nichols.

Sean: Did I cut to the core?

Wyvern: No…I just really don’t want to think of the situation that way.

Sean: What situation? The fact every other member of the Senatorial Stable without gold has, or will have their opportunity?

”What’s his angle? He’s got a point…but, am I really supposed to be buying this?”

Wyvern: Yeah, but what’s that really got to do with me?

Sean: Simple. You’re primed for the title. There’s no way you can tell me watching Senator go out there tonight irks you. No one has forgotten how badly you want a second shot at that title.

Wyvern: Will you stop? Seriously, I’m committed to the stable. I support them and everything they do.

Sean: I think you know deep down inside what you need to do.

Wyvern: Knock it off! Listen, I’m going to earn my title shot the hard way. Either I earn it from the current champion, or I win the Fallen Heroes battle royal once again! I’m going out there tonight, to make sure the playing field is even. I can’t risk Senator getting severely injured, so-

Sean: Why can’t you risk him getting hurt?

Wyvern: Because he’s my GODDAMN STABLEMATE! Look Sean, not all of us would betray one another to attain something. I’m doing this the honorable way. I’m going to go down to that ring tonight with one, and ONLY ONE, motive on my mind: protect Senator. Chance and Umeko are extremely dangerous together, and I’m not going to let them dismantle the Senatorial Stable.

Sean: Seriously, Wyvern…think about it. Don’t think about loyalty. It’s all useless rhetoric – look at how much you could have attained if you didn’t join up with the leeches. You’d have your shot already, in fact, you might have had a title reign by now. You’ve defeated both men in that very ring, however, you’ve defeated Chance around a month ago…you can defeat him again. That’s all.

Wyvern stands speechless, as Nichols turns and walks away.

”Is he right? Have I just been the Senatorial Stable’s footstool?”

End Segment.

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

Segment: SHOWDOWN! (credit: Renix)

"For sure! Sounds great, see you soon."

Renix Williams is shown walking through a door within a tiny office. She clamps her cellular phone and shoves it down her purse, holding a few papers under her arm and a suitcase in the other. Oddly, she wasn't with Nick Durden as she usually was. Renix notices chairs lined up along the wall as she takes a seat near the middle of the lined up chairs. She waited in the tiny office while holding a few papers in her hands. Carefully, she pulls the papers apart and reads it over while the smug smile across the secretary in the front desk goes through her prefferial vision. The Headliner's eyebrow rises in a friendly manner while the secretary gives off a huff, continually staring at Renix.

"I'm quite surprised that you look at me like that. Surely, you do know why I am here. Maybe you should just go back to your work. I'm sure they didn't pay you to stare at beautiful women all day, right?"

Renix gives a slight smile while the secretary's eyes narrow down, grinding her teeth at the comment. She sneers as she crosses her arms and sits straight in her chair. Renix glances back at the secretary, who is now leaning over her desk in a defensive way.

"Kind of sad, isn't it? You, the so-called "Headliner", claiming yourself as the Alpha Championship Wrestling's Women's Champion. That's just like calling me claiming I'm th-"

Renix Williams slams down her papers upon the desk with magazines on it. The secretary jumps back while she smiles in making Renix Williams angry, while being alert on what had been going on. Renix Williams pulls up her suitcase while walking slowly to the secretary, who at this moment is a bit shocked that she'd receive such motions from a sweet blonde.

"Whoa, lady. Who are you to tell ME, Renix 'the Headliner' Williams, what I can do and what I can't do? Do you know who I am? DO you even know what lengths I've gone to help to push those wrestlers and those people to who they are today? No, oh! It just seems that NO one knows. Do you know how long I've been awaiting the moment where I can actually claim my spot within ACW, hell even professional wrestling?"

"Nu-"

Renix cutting her off.

"Don't 'Nuu-" me! I'm the 'it' girl over on the West Coast... I am the one who they all cheered. I am one of the best they had over there. I was basically a big fish in a small pond, but do you know what I did? I moved to the ocean, damn it... the OCEAN!"

The telephone rings while Renix comes face to face with the secretary.

"Aren't you going to get that ..."

The telephone continues to ring as the stubborn secretary glares into Renix's eyes. The heat between the two ladies grows.
____________________________

SH-SH-SH-SHOOOOWDOWN!

The scenery changes with Renix Williams in a white cowboy hat, smiling with her Sheriff badge. The desert air fills with hushed sounds while empty saloon doors wisp back and forth, making a creaking sound while the Headliner's boots *clink clink clink* within the ground. She dusts off her white pants as she notices a black shadow across from her.

"High time, Sheriff ... ain't you suppose to be 'bout 'round here."

"No, but I know where my place is when I see it, bud."

"Ah, well. Ain't you that new 'eriff 'round here. Ain't somebody tell ya what high time is?"

"I guess not ... why don't you 'xplain it to me, soldier."

A laugh comes from the other end as Renix's eyes glare, trying to see the shadow's face while the sunlight blares across the horizon. Really, this would be a beautiful scene if it weren't for the ... wait, the chick fight does make it a bit better.

"Maybe I should come a bit closer ..."

The shadow moves closer as her heels *clink clink clink* closer to Renix. Renix moves closer as she runs her hand over her gun, gripping on tightly while the shadow stops and smiles.

"High time 'round here ... is MY TIME!"

The shadow pounces upon Renix as Renix jumps in fright from the unexpected attack.
____________________________
Once again, we find Renix Williams back into the office. She blinks her eyes furiously as she is woken up out of no where.

"Ah, it was just a dream ..."

"What?"

The secretary was not the mean one from earlier. It was actually a younger yet bubbly girl who was sitting down, reading a magazine at the desk. The phone rings as the girl answers with a cute little voice.

"Hello? Oh! Shooooore ... mmhmmm, yeah. Ooo-kay! Goodbye!"

Renix tilts her head down a bit while she smiles.

"Oh ... nothing."

"What?"

Apparently, the secretary wasn't as bright as the one in Renix's dream. Renix smiles more wide now while the secretary forgets about the little happening and looks back at the appointments, basically doing nothing in the process.

"Excuse me, ma'am ..."

Renix stands up out of her seat while the girl looks up at her, smiling the most fake smile in the world.

"Do you know when I'm able to see -"

"OOOH! I'm so sorry about that. Uhm, just in a bit, I think. He's dealing with his last client and well ... long story short, he was just a hassle to deal with."

"Ah, I see. I guess I'll see him when he wants to see me."

"NO! Don't leave."

The secretary gives a puppy look off to Renix, as if she were a man. Renix shakes her head as she smiles.

"Give it up, kid. Tell him to call me when he's ready."

Scene fades...

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

Segment Name: OOC Italics can be fun. (Credit: Jason Freeman)

Once…there was a time…when a man…Jason Freeman…wrote a promo…that had italics that were out of character. It wasn’t very funny, and was kinda…quite frankly…lame...but in any case, this is another one of these promos. Why, you ask? Could it be that I’m bored? Finally out of ideas? Do I just hope it will be good to raise my calcs? (I’m just kidding I promise). In any case, here we go. The camera fades in to of course…Jason Freeman. The ACW Entertainment Champion. He is the best wrestler in the company, and the soon to be ACW champion. A savior of the company. He’s just an all around great guy, because I am writing for him. And I just love that.

Freeman: I hear that there are many people that think that I am going to lose tonight…

Yeah, like that will happen…

Freeman: And some people even think that my speech on Monday was too “Cliché”

And I’ve also heard that my portrayal of Ginger wasn’t good enough for some of you…ain’t that right, Durden? And BK agrees with him??!! My portrayal of him wasn’t bad at all…it was just different from the right way…or something…and you know what?! I hate writing for other characters, for precisely this reason…and Durden? Your portrayal…of…YOURSELF…wasn’t good enough okay??! AND IM TIRED OF YOUR FIVE CLICHÉ PROMOS ABOUT EITHER LOVE OR HATE FOR SOME RANDOM GUY WITH RANDOM MUSICAL REFERENCES PER SHOW OKAY??!!........SO DON’T CRITICIZE OTHER PEOPLE FOR BEING CLICHÉ OKAY??!!! *cough*….moving on…*cough*

Freeman: Well, I have something to say to those people. I would like to tell them that it doesn’t matter how cliché somebody is…the only thing that matters is who the winner is at the end of the night.

Oh man…I’m thinking I’m getting more cliché as I go along…it’s starting to worry me. And also, I am writing this as I go along. Which is never a good idea. You should always have a set beginning, end, and some middle points. Like the Lost writers. Or else your promos start to sound like you just are filling up time with boring stuff just for the sake of writing. Strangely, that is also like the Lost writers...hmm…(Nah, I love Lost.)

Freeman: And I know that tonight there are many matches that the people want to see.

And some that they don’t. Who wants to see TBA in action? AGAIN! The guy never wins….lol….get it? I made him sound like TBA is a real person but it really stands for to be announced…hahaha…my wit amazes even me sometimes.

Freeman: But there is only one of them, that they forked over their money to see!

Three guesses to which one THAT is.

Freeman: And that is the ladder match to decide the TRUE Entertainment Champion!

Okay, you most likely guessed wrong…I’ll admit.

Freeman: Yeah, I know, Senator vs Chance will be a good match…and everybody wants to see who the International champion will be…and everybody wants to know what the hell an Asgard-something match is.

I think I speak for everybody in wanting to know what that match is. I really do. And speaking of those other matches. I think it should be known that it’s Friday night and I haven’t even started to write the International title match yet. That’s sad, isn’t it? Because…procrastination really does suck. It really really really really does.

I concur entirely.

What? I don’t recall writing anyone else into this segment…who are you?

Who do you think, genius?

……..Oh, right. Hi. Isn’t this breaking some sort of unwritten rule about not tampering with other people’s work?

Technically, yes. But there is also a rule about not blurring in-character and OOC comment, and if some people do take offense at a segment’s contents, I’m the person who invariably has to smooth everything over.

Ah, I get you. What does this mean, exactly?

It means that I’m simply inserting this little section to prove that I have read this segment before broadcast. I’m letting it go out otherwise unedited, but don’t make a habit of this sort of thing. OK?

OK.

Lovely. Enjoy the rest of the show, folks.

………Has she gone? Phew. I thought I was in for a taste of the mod stick there. Where were we?

Freeman: But in the end, we all know that Senator will win…Scott will win…and who really cares whether Durden or Flamingo wins…they’re both pretty boring. In my opinion at least.

Don’t take offense at that comment. That was in character. Durden. You are cliché. That’s out of character. (Yes, I am taking much offense at the criticism of my promo…and no I’m not blowing this out of proportion.)

Freeman: And who else is there on this show? I don’t even remember…I think…Latino’s going against somebody...and I think that….there’s some kind of tables match.

Which should be for REAL tag team titles, instead of pride. Because pride doesn’t go very far nowadays. I say that whoever wins should declare themselves the champions anyways. It’s not like you need that many teams to make a tag division. A year ago, Raw was operating just find with about two.

Freeman: So I guess everybody must realize that there really is no alternative to the fact that this ladder match will be the match of the night. Not only the match of the night. Quite possibly the match of the year. I think it is in contention.

Actually, it isn’t…because somebody decided that the match of the year wasn’t good enough for them, and stopped doing it…eh, Hunter??!! Just like BK apparently decided that the Power 15 isn’t good enough for him. Bi-monthly…that’s just an excuse for saying “Whenever the hell I feel like it…” isn’t it? Better be one soon, BK, better be. Plus, I better be up there after successfully defending my title in the match of my career.

Freeman: And one more thing that I think needs to be said….

Okay…NOW…I admit Im drawing this out. I have literally no idea what Freeman is thinking. Because I just wanted an excuse to keep going. I don’t think Im supposed to do that, so Im going to wrap this up. The glory of this writing style…is…that I can just…keep writing as I think. I am literally just typing my train of thought. As you can tell, my train of thought is incredibly boring. Oh, and I think it should be thrown in that Hogan sucks by the way. That’s probably the main reason why Im better than Thunderkiss. He likes Hogan. And VKM. And people call ME a mark.

Freeman: No matter what happens tonight…I have a plan for the future, and you people are going to be seeing a lot of Jason Freeman

And with that, I run out of things to say. Actually, in retrospect, the first one was funnier. Unless people find a lot of amusement in my rambling. Actually, funny fact. The only people who find amusement in their rambling, is the people who wrote the rambling in the first place. Which is kinda ironic, because if you’re the only person who’s going to enjoy it, then what’s the point? These questions are very confusing, and I don’t think there’s a logical answer. Actually, I could probably keep going on a tangent for hours. Pages. But I won’t do that. I’ll spare you guys. Freeman gets up, and leaves. Presumably to go to his match. And obviously to win. Okay, this time, Im really done, I promise.

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

Segment: A call in the night. (Credit: Rena / AK)

Friday Evening, Late

Rena and her husband were in bed. Her head was placed lightly on his chest, her hand placed on his abdomen, which had a trace of hair trailing from his belly button to his pubic area. The clock illuminated in a green light read 2:43am as the phone began to ring. Rena opened her eyes and tried to reach for the phone, but it was located on her husband’s side. She shook Ryan awake for him to answer the phone. Blearily, Ryan fumbled for the

Ryan: ….hello?

--in an apartment--

…: Hello? I’m sorry to bother you. I just didn’t know who else to call.

An incoherent voice from the phone spoke, but it was obvious to detect it was Ryan’s.

…: Well, I’m calling about Rayne Iwashita. She’s been crying all night. She’s sick, sir….well she won’t let me take her to a hospital.

--in Rena’s home--

Ryan: She won’t? Well, I’ll be right over.

Rena propped herself up. She was now intrigued on who exactly he was talking to. As soon as he hung up, he flung himself out of bed and put on a pair of jeans which were lying on the floor next to him.

Rena: Who was that?

Ryan: Some woman from Rayne’s complex. She’s sick.

Rena: Well then tell her to go to the hospital.

Ryan: She won’t go. I’m going over there.

Rena didn’t look best pleased.

Rena: Just come back into bed. She’ll be fine.

Ryan: I can’t just ignore it, Rena. I’ll just check and see and I’ll be right back.

Rena: RYAN!

Ryan couldn’t answer. He was already out of the bedroom and heading down the stairs. Frustrated, Rena searched in her bedside table and found a cigarette, a lighter and an ashtray. She grumbled to herself as she lit the smoke.

--back in the apartment--

The girl who was speaking to Ryan had hung up the phone. Smiling, she turned around and looked at Rayne. She was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, and obviously not crying or seemingly sick. She hugged the girl and thanked her before the girl slipped into the hallway and back into her own room. Now all Rayne had to do was wait. And, of course, change into something more presentable…

[fade]

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

Segment: Act 3: Final Scene (Credit: Adrian Flamingo)

Adrian Flamingo stood in the debris of what was once William Epstein’s office. A force called Hurricane Durden came right through and wiped everything out. To quote the gap-toothed inbreeds that the news always loved to interview after a natural disaster, “it was time to rebuild.” Flamingo had his boa draped over his shoulders and had his avatars sitting atop his increasingly shaggier blonde hair, hints of it’s natural brown was starting to peak out towards the root.

Many people always asked him if Adrian Flamingo was just an act… which he wasn’t. Flamingo was just as much a big a part of him as his real last name. Flamingo wasn’t an act, but moreso a dam that held the flood waters of his own inner demons in. Flamingo was eccentric, fun-loving, and always out looking for a good time… his real persona was short-tempered and quick to lash out.

This whole charade was nothing but a plan… a way for him to leap frog into superstardom… but Durden couldn’t play his role. He didn’t know that if he played by the rules, this would help the both of them out. Nope, instead he had to get into his “self-martyr” avenging angel persona and suck the fun out of the whole thing. Sure, Adrian could’ve pulled some of his own punches… but sometimes Flamingo just doesn’t know when to stop. Durden single-handedly sucked the fun out of the game… and when there’s no fun to be had, Flamingo takes a backseat.

So, Epstein got jumped and he had sent Jonesy away. He wanted to deal with Durden on his own-accord. Sure, he dug up Durden’s past… but he did something that Flamingo could never forgive… he treated Adrian like a fool. Adrian looked out of the corner of his eye to see the ACW camera-men pile into the room.

“ACW… I gotta ask you all a question… is Adrian Flamingo looking good tonight or what?!”

Adrian tried to feint a smile, but grimaced as he pulled his feathered boa off of his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. He also tossed off his aviators and removed the large feathered ear-rings from his ear.

“You know what? No. I’m not in the mood to be all “wild and crazy!” I’m not in the mood to be flamboyant. I’m not in the mood to be “Astonishing” Adrian Flamingo. Tonight, you’re just talking to Adrian… and Adrian is quite livid with a certain Nick Durden. Nick, you must be real proud of yourself. Am I upset that Epstein got the shit beat out of him? Fuck no! See Durden, you fucked up royally and you are too caught up in your self-righteousness to see it. Epstein… is nothing. He’s a schmuck… he’s a clod… he’s a putz… he’s a puppet… he was NEVER the brains of Machismo International. Epstein is a pawn… and he’ll always BE a pawn. Epstein is replaceable… Jones, however much it pains me to say, is replaceable… the only person who has EVER been essential to the existence of Machismo International is ME. You came here, you beat him up, and you thought you were really sending me a message, huh Durden? You thought that I’d be REAL scared after you beat up some Jewish sleaze that I HIRED to amuse me! See, Durden… I’m the brains behind ALL of this… I always have been. There was never a point when I followed anyone’s orders but my own! I’m fucking loaded, Durden… I can hire and fire whomever I please… because I can. See, unlike you, I don’t need wrestling… I wrestle because it humors me. I wrestle because I love getting a rise out of people. I wrestle because us millionaires are known to do crazy, eccentric things with our money!”

Adrian’s face was starting to get red and his words were coming out more and more through gritted teeth.

“No, Durden, you PISSED me off just like everyone else in this fucking company PISSES me off! You took me lightly. You assumed that Epstein was the head of MY posse… you call me out, and when I don’t come out because I don’t owe your ass nothing, you challenge some other guy? What the fuck, Durden? You looking ahead of me now? You looking past me? You’re under-estimating me? Why? Because I like to wear pink and purple? Because I go out there and enjoy myself at the expense of others? See, I don’t put on a tough-guy act because I don’t need to show anyone that I’m tough. If someone wants to see how tough I am, they have to make the mistake of under-estimating me. A mistake you’ve made since the VERY beginning. I might be funny to the fans, Durden… but I’m no joke. Just like Joe Pesci, I crack a joke or two and then people think I’m some bit comedy act? Well, let’s see how many people laugh when I break your fucking legs. Let’s see how many people laugh when I make you cry out to whatever god you pray to for an end to the suffering I’ll put you through. Let’s see how many people laugh when I wear YOUR blood like face paint!”

Adrian took a deep breath and slicked his hair back with his hands.

“I have no idea what this match is even about. I’m going to assume that whatever it is… you’re going to regret asking for it. Durden… you make me sick. I’ve never liked you… I’ve never respected you… hell, I wouldn’t even give that little skank of your’s a pity fuck. Every pay-per view, you go out and fight in these horribly contrived matches that never make any remote sense. Every time you open your mouth, you spout more of your self-righteous mumbo-jumbo and make everything seem much more epic than it really is. Tonight… this isn’t a clash of good versus evil. This is a match that could’ve been easy to avoid if you had just learned your place in this world that I’m starting to own bit-by-bit and played by the rules… my rules! This is a match between a self-righteous boy whose seen way too many action movies and the puppet-master you’ve under-estimated, looked past, and disrespected EVERY inch of the way. To quote the greatest NWA Heavyweight Champion in the history of wrestling, no offense Jonesy, “This is MY world… and you’re just living in it!”

Adrian reached down and draped his bright pink feathered boa over his shoulders. He somehow put one of his trademark smiles on his face as he hammed it up for the camera.

“What the hell? It just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t end it on this note. Nick Durden, you’re guilty of being a hero… don’t you know that those only exist in comic books and movies, boy? So I, the great judge of Adrian Flamingo’s World, sentence you to death by stupidity! Oh wait, you’re already dealing with the punishment because you were stupid enough to treat me like a lackey! Well, ACW… when you need someone to act as judge, jury, and executor… who ya gonna call? That’s right, ACW’s Favorite Son… “Astonishing” Adrian Flamingo!”

Fade.

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

Match 1: Long-awaited return match
Quimby vs. Mystery Opponent (Credit: Wyvern / AK)

The crowd is pumped as the audience has already seen some talking – now it’s time for action! The ring crew did an amazing job here tonight, as the overall spectacle of the specialized entranceway, the pyrotechnics, not to mention the ring itself, all showcase the dedication the crew of ACW truly have. The crowd goes wild as Phillip gets out of his chair at ringside and grabs a microphone, entering the ring and looking to get ready to announce the first match.

Phillip: The following contest is scheduled for one fall. Introducing first, in his return match, QUIMBY!

”Burn In My Light” hits the P.A., as Quimby gets a huge welcoming pop from the sold-out crowd.

Edison: Who’s this Quimby guy?

McNally: Don’t you remember? He was a part of ACW in the beginning!

Edison: Oh yeah…I wonder where he’s been?

McNally: I wish I knew, but judging by his confident demeanor, I’d say he just forgot where the arena was!

Quimby makes his way down to the ring, looking at the crowd and smirking. He climbs into the ring, and gets over to the corner and awaits his opponent.

Phillip: And his opponent…accompanied by Paul Kubbyd, Renix!

”Girlfight” hits, as Renix emerges from the entranceway with her new associate Paul Kubbyd. The crowd doesn’t really know what to think of this, as she enters the ring.

McNally: An interesting partnership, that’s for certain. Your thoughts Edison?

Edison: I’d say. Look, Quimby’s going nuts already!

And before one can make heads or tails, Quimby knocks Renix out of the ring with a clothesline. Kubbyd looks irate, but Quimby slides out of the ring and stomps on Renix violently. He picks her up, but she gets right back up to her feet, and the two start going at it!

McNally: We’ve got a fight escalating here, and the bell hasn’t even rung yet!

Edison: Quimby reminds me of a cagefighter. No, not like one from UFC or anywhere like that. More like a drunken frat boy at a bar. Look at him go!

Renix and Quimby continue to trade blows; interestingly, the first match is being presided over by none other than Raymond Fleming, who quickly barks to get both competitors back into the ring, with the bell sounding in the background.

Bell rings.

Renix moves first, looking for the high ground, and Quimby isn’t far behind; with a swinging kick Renix tries to keep Quimby on the outside but Quimby dives in through the ropes, rolls and pops up close enough to Renix to hit her with a rapid elbow. Renix is momentarily stunned, and Quimby executes a neat powerbomb before making the cover. RAF is on hand for the count, and Renix kicks out before the 2.

On the outside, Kubbyd calls out encouragement to Renix, who stands up and beckons Quimby forward. The Mayor advances with a note of caution, and it’s well observed as Renix moves forward suddenly and lashes out with a roundhouse to the ribs. Quimby stumbles sideways, but regains his footing and makes a dash forward of his own, knocking Renix down to a pop from the crowd. Renix, however, nips back to her feet to surprise Quimby and hits a quick DDT before Quimby can resist. Renix makes a pin of her own and gets a borderline 2 from RAF, as well as a bit of a pop from the assembled fans.

McNally: The old school fans still hold a candle for Quimby, but Renix isn’t without support either here tonight.

Edison: Both of them will need their wits about them, this match is still there for the taking…

Quimby rolls over to the ropes and conserves energy by using them to pull himself up. Kubbyd moves around to monitor the situation, and Quimby keeps an eye on the notoriously sly manager. This, however, hampers his ability to track Renix, and she is able to get close to the ropes and use them to jump into a high dropkick. She plants her feet into Quimby’s chest and sends him to the mat; with her opponent down, Renix tries to apply her Octopus Stretch, but Quimby still has plenty in the tank and easily prevents her from doing so. Applying classic strategy, he throws Renix into the corner and then sets about her with body blows, which gets Kubbyd’s goat in no small measure. He protests to RAF, and when Quimby applies his boot to Renix’s neck, RAF enforces the 5 count strictly.

Renix is slightly out of breath, and once Quimby releases her, she slides to the outside to recover her energy. Quimby is smart enough to see the risk factor, but he can’t simply let Renix dictate the pace and he moves around, using a baseball slide to exit the ring quickly. Renix dodges this, but Quimby still manages to get her up against the unforgiving security barrier and a selection of fans are treated to some up close and personal action as Quimby beats on Renix with solid forearm strikes. Kubbyd again makes his sentiments known loudly to RAF, and when Quimby tries to whip Renix into the steel ring post, Kubbyd steps into her path, folding his arms across himself to offer some protection.

Edison: I’ve never seen that before, Kubbyd must have felt some pain from that impact.

McNally: Yes, but he defended himself against the worst of it, and it’s given Renix a chance to surprise Quimby – look, here she comes!

McNally is right; Renix has hit Quimby with a running shoulder block against the barrier, and now she drags her dizzy opponent around to Edison and McNally’s announce table. She bashes Quimby’s head against it several times, and when her opponent is suitably dazed, she runs forward and steps up on to the apron to perform her Devious Drop (no hands Lionsault). The crowd cries out, and Quimby rallies in time to half-catch Renix; he staggers backward and sprawls over the announce table, depositing Renix on to it so that she ends up rolling into McNally and Edison’s laps, causing chaos in the vicinity.

Edison: Hey! Don’t you know it’s rude to drop by unannounced, Miss?

McNally: Heh, Eddie, and to think I didn’t believe you when you said that women practically threw themselves at your feet…

Renix extracts herself from the tangle of wires, and as Quimby takes a moment to pose for the crowd, she stands on the desk and then jumps off to dropkick Quimby in the back. Through the noise, the sound of RAF counting is heard; he’s counted all the way to eight, and seeing a chance to claim the win, Renix slips back into the ring. Quimby fights to make it back as well; he grips the apron cover, but Kubbyd sidles around and kicks him away. The crowd boos, but Kubbyd hasn’t gone unnoticed – RAF gives Kubbyd a verbal warning and allows Quimby an extra second or two to get back into contention. Quimby does so, and he gets up as fast as possible to find Renix closing the gap fast.

Strikes are exchanged at a rapid pace, and Quimby begins to make his superior raw power count, as he uses a double arm DDT to floor his opponent and follows up with a leg drop. Quimby makes a cover and gets a solid 2; Renix looks a little groggy, and with the crowd urging him on, Quimby gets to the corner and goes for a splash. He’s not quite as quick as he needs to be, though, and Renix rolls out of the way; she stomps on Quimby’s back as Kubbyd encourages her, and then as Quimby fights back to his feet, Renix attempts to lock in her Headliner (Dragon Sleeper with leg scissors). Quimby has to act fast, and he grips on to Renix’s arms and forces her to break her hold. Renix abandons the attempt and moves clear of Quimby; she challenges him to come forward, and the crowd gets noisy as they sense the match escalating.

McNally: There’s not much dividing these two superstars… Quimby’s seemingly free of ring rust, and Renix is totally focused.

Edison: This is where having a manager could really prove its worth… Quimby has to be extremely careful, Max.

For another two to three minutes, Renix and Quimby’s battle tracks all around the ring; both are fast on their feet, and the advantage swings back and forth. But Quimby seems to be able to hit a fraction harder, and as Renix draws close to the ring ropes, Quimby shows a burst of Latin fire and thunders across the ring, performing a suicide dive which simultaneously takes the pair of them down to the outside.

Renix rolls over and throws Quimby off of her; Kubbyd begins to shout loudly, firing Renix up, and Renix gets up on the ring steps to perform a Hurricanrana. The crowd pops, but Quimby offers a response by hauling himself up, and then getting on the apron to deliver a Hurricanrana of his own.

Edison: Some serious one-upmanship here!

McNally: I agree, this could easily get nasty, and there’s the count to bear in mind as well…

RAF is indeed making his standard 10 count; he has reached four, but no one seems to have noticed and Quimby lifts Renix up and hits the first of three powerbombs in an attempt to wear down her resistance. The crowd cheers the first, then the second… but on the third, Renix struggles for all she’s worth, and Kubbyd creeps up behind Quimby and sticks out a foot to trip him up. Both competitors collapse on the ground as RAF counts to six; Renix uses the steps to help her up, but Quimby is very close and as he rises, he sees a chance and swings out an arm, knocking Renix over backward across the steps with a metallic thump.

Quimby moves around and grasps Renix by her head; Kubbyd starts to harangue him, and this distracts Quimby long enough for Renix to wriggle free. With the crowd bellowing, she summons all her strength and lifts Quimby up from behind to drop him down on his shoulders as she drops to her knees. RAF shouts “EIGHT!” and Renix scrambles for the ring; she gets halfway in, but then Quimby grabs on to her around the waist and tries to wrench her free. Renix yells, and thrashes as the count hits nine; Kubbyd dashes around and throws caution to the wind, trying to help his client; this causes all hell to break loose, and RAF’s actual “ten” is lost amongst the general noise at ringside. Quimby and Renix continue to rip into one another and RAF can see at once that the match is officially out of control; he calls for the bell before exiting the ring to sort things out directly.

Philip: Ladies and Gentlemen… due to a double count out, this match has been declared a draw!

RAF isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty when he needs to, and he manages to separate the warring parties as the crowd reacts to the outcome. Both Quimby and Renix are quick to claim their superiority, and Renix has her arm held up regardless by Kubbyd as they move up the ramp; Quimby just slaps his chest a little in response, and the fans are pleased to see that there’s likely to be more to this rivalry as the show heads to a break.

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

Segment: The performance of a lifetime. (Credit: Rena / AK)

Saturday morning.
11:12am

Rayne was folding clothes after the laundry she had done. She smiled, burying herself in the beautiful scent which had clung to her clothes through the wash. She wasn’t dressed very modestly, only a dress shirt and panties, but she was alone today. It was the morning before Genocide and although she was quite upset she didn’t have a match, she was happy that neither did Alicia. There was a knock on the door as she had finished her laundry and was about to put them into a drawer. Placing the basket of folded clothes on the kitchen table, she rushed to the door and unlocked it. It was Ginger behind it. She knew he would be seeing her today, but she wasn’t aware he would be visiting so soon. She nodded her head and welcomed him into her apartment. He had already seen it twice. Once when he had come over to inquire about her past life; the second time was when he came over to have her sign an Alpha Championship Wrestling contract. She was now a full competitor for ACW, but her annoyance at not being on the PPV card wasn’t entirely concealed by her polite manner.

Rayne: Please sit, Ginger.

Ginger shook his head.

Ginger: That’s quite all right, I’ll stand. What the devil are you so cheery about?

Rayne: Oh, you won’t believe it!

Ginger chuckled.

Ginger: My dear, I’ve seen many things in my life. I’m quite sure I can.

Rayne pressed the button to turn on the coffee maker. She smiled, looking back.

Rayne: Coffee?

Ginger: Yes, please, with a little Bailey’s perhaps?

Rayne: Of course. I think I have some in the fridge. I like to put a few drops in the odd time.

Ginger: Well I wouldn’t suggest today. It wouldn’t be a good idea to be under the influence when you perform tonight, now would it?

Rayne turned around, the bottle of Bailey’s in her hand, and looked puzzled.

Rayne: Perform? But I don’t have a match tonight.

Ginger: Says who?

Rayne: I wasn’t notified, then. Was it a last minute decision?

Ginger nodded sagely.

Ginger: Most things are in this business.

Rayne: Well give me the details, if you will.

Rayne moved over to Ginger, intrigued. He only smiled and decided to sit on a comfortable chair near the apartment’s entrance.

Ginger: I would, but right now I’m much too interested in what you’re so happy about.

Rayne: Okay, I’ll tell you. Well-

The coffee was finished. Her face lit up even as her back was towards his as she poured the coffee.

Rayne: Sugar or Cream?

Ginger: The Bailey’s will do just fine, thank you. Now do tell.

Rayne: Well, where do I start?........ I’m in love.

Ginger raised an eyebrow slightly.

Ginger: With whom, my dear?

Rayne: Ryan.

Ginger was now completely intrigued by this story. He barely noticed his coffee was now on a side table quite near him as he leaned in to hear the tale.

Ginger: Ryan…Rena’s Ryan?

Rayne: Yes.

Ginger: And how did this come about?

Rayne: We just…fell in love.

Ginger frowned slightly.

Ginger: And is Rena aware of this?

Rayne almost let out a giggle at Ginger’s apparent naivety.

Rayne: God, no. But she will be.

Ginger: And how do you propose that?

Rayne: We’re running away together.

Ginger’s other eyebrow elevated to match the first.

Ginger: Now I’m interested. So, let me make sure I understand fully, you and Ryan are in love and now you’re planning to run away with each other?

Rayne: Exactly.

Ginger: And what about your contract?

Rayne shrugged, as if the thought had hardly crossed her mind.

Rayne: Contract? Well, I don’t know. I’m sure you can understand and let me go freely.

Ginger: It wouldn’t be out of the question, if it was a different circumstance.

Ginger’s tone became more serious.

Ginger: Rayne, Rena is a dear friend to me. Surely I cannot be an accomplice to ruin her marriage.

In an instant, Rayne’s demeanor shifted from pleasantness to an uglier self-concern.

Rayne: Screw Rena!

Ginger gave her a wry smile.

Ginger: I already have, twice before her marriage as it happens, but that is beside the point. Ryan is not only a dear friend but also a pillar of this company. I cannot just let him go like that. And there is another thing.

Rayne: What’s that?

Ginger fixed Rayne with a look which told her at once she just asked precisely the question he was waiting for.

Ginger: Well, I think you’ll find it interesting. I had quite a long chat with Rena this morning. And let me tell you, I have learned quite a bit about you.

Rayne: Oh, really?

Rayne remained outwardly confident, but there was a hint of nervousness in her eyes, now.

Ginger: Using my name to blackmail her into letting you take the place of Alicia, for starters. Not exactly the way to get into my good books, you know.

Rayne: Ginger, you can’t-

Ginger: I’m telling my story now. You’ll listen to me, alright?

Rayne sat down at the kitchen table, bracing herself. Ginger finally noticed the coffee and sipped on it.

Ginger: Hmmm, too much Bailey’s. Perhaps trying to booze me into bed? Nevertheless, Ryan has no intentions of leaving Rena.

Rayne shook her head.

Rayne: She’s just delusional.

Ginger: Not only did I talk to Rena, but Ryan on the phone as well. He has NO intentions of leaving his wife. But I don’t blame you. I mean, lies are a part of your personality, aren’t they?

Now the look in Rayne’s eyes was clear.

Rayne: What do you mean?

Ginger stood up, with a hard edge in his voice.

Ginger: You never had a husband who died. You never grew up poor or anything. You are, in fact, the daughter of an extremely influential family who left Japan to pursue wrestling. Nothing from your past has revealed any truth to anything you have ever told us.

Rayne shook her head again, this time defiantly.

Rayne: Then you must have me mistaken with another girl.

Ginger: Oh, believe me, I may not flash my amassed assets around like some people, but I am confident that I have hired the very best personal detectives that money can buy, as well as using my business links to obtain information. My team surely did NOT find a different girl.

The pain of discovery almost seemed too great for Rayne; she yelled at the Chairman in pure anger and frustration.

Rayne: GINGER!

Ginger: Don’t you scream at me. Oh, don’t cry either.

Rayne, indeed, had started to cry.

Ginger: Your tears are better wasted on someone else. Now, Rayne, I am a business man. I do not care about who you were, are, or what you have done. I do not care how many people you step on to get where you are. But I will not have you step on me and use my name to get ahead.

Rayne rushed to her bedroom. Ginger followed her, finding her having thrown herself on the bed. He was not about to let her off the hook before she’d faced the consequences of her actions.

Ginger: Using that little newspaper story to paint me as someone who forced you to behave in such a manner... A likely story to some, perhaps, but when I heard of what you said to Ryan and the others about it I knew better. How dare you pretend I forced you into anything! You may have slipped through the system up until now, but now I am the person pulling the strings, my girl.

Rayne buried her head in the pillows, lifting it only to half cry, half growl a demand.

Rayne: JUST GO.

Ginger folded his arms.

Ginger: I will not go, I am not finished. Rayne, my personal opinion is that you are a disgusting person; you are ruthless, selfish and backstabbing. However, as a businessman, I have no problem with seeing your obvious talent and drive, and that is something I wish to harness for the good of the company. I will not destroy your contract… I’ve decided to keep it.

Rayne looked up at him, her face stained with tears.

Rayne: Just let me go, please.

Ginger: Of course not. I’ve spent a great deal of money on you, and I intend to keep my promise and deal I made with you. You were the one who wanted to be here. Contrary to your accusations, though, I did not force you to sign the contract.

Rayne continued to cry. Ginger took pity on her and went for the door. He smiled and turned around.

Ginger: Oh and one more thing... About your match. I suspect you’ve already worked out who you’re facing, hmm?

Rayne shook her head, still too stunned by events to have her brain fully in gear.

Ginger: No? Well, it’s quite simple… ever since you came here, you’ve been at pains to draw parallels to yourself with one particular member of my roster. You’ve ingratiated yourself, tried to undermine her personally and professionally… and to my mind, that equals one heck of a good matchup. Wouldn’t you say so?

Rayne just stared at Ginger, who smiled more broadly.

Rayne: But I can’t wrestle…I just can’t possibly perform.

Ginger: Oh you will, my dear. You’ll give the performance of your life. It’s time for me and everyone else to find out just how far you actually match up to Alicia Laureano in the ring. I’ll see you this evening.

He left her in her room alone, closing the door behind him. She growled, throwing a wave of flowers against the wall in anger. This was not the last of her, and she would get even.

[fade]

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

Segment: "Hero's Fall" (Credit: Michael)

Wednesday, 4.30pm

Jab right.

Jab right.

Cross left.

Jab right.

Uppercut to the solar plexus.

Alicia Laureano falls back into the corner. Her pupil wastes little time in continuing the assault on his mentor’s abdomen.

”Ugh-GAH!” Nick Durden grunts with each body shot

Mustering up what little strength she has left in her, Alicia lashes out with a left hook. The attack catches Nick off guard and causes him to stumble back a few steps.

“How could you?”

“I had no choice, Renix!”

Nick holds his forehead in the palm of his right hand to shake off the initial shock from Alicia’s counterattack. The Boom reclaims his usual shoot stance. He hops back and forth on his feet. His left power hand hovers just below his chin and his right lead hand guards the waist.

Across from him, Alicia goes back into her own stance as well. The wily old veteran crouches down slightly with both arms by her thighs, waiting for the next mistake to capitalize on. The two adversaries begin to strafe in a circle around one another. Ever the energetic one, Nick continues bouncing on his feet and tries to fake out Alicia by jolting his head forward a few times.

Alicia stares intently at her pupil. Nick’s gaze is unfocused. His movements are jittery and uncertain. His stance is sloppy and less refined than it used to be. Something’s wrong.

Cross left.

Alicia sees it coming from a mile away. She leans her head back, just barely avoiding any impact. Shifting her weight, she delivers a martial arts-style kick right to Nick’s midsection.

“UGH!” Nick winced as he doubled over in pain.

“It’ll only be for one match, Renix! Once I beat him, we won’t have to worry anymore!”

“You promised…that nothing would get in the way…between us…”

Before he knows it, Nick’s head crashes onto the mat courtesy of a brutal DDT. Alicia rolls him over and hooks the outside leg for a pinfall. Nick feels helpless as he gawks up at the afternoon sky.

1........

........2.......

Twisting his hips, Nick throws up his free arm. He scrambles to get back up to a vertical basis. Alicia does the same. Nick fires two more piston-like jabs and follows up with an uppercut straight under Alicia’s chin.

Alicia is visibly dazed. Seeing this, Nick slowly reels his left fist back before viciously launching it forward. At the very last moment, Alicia ducks under the haymaker. Nick’s own momentum gets the better of him, causing him to twirl in place due to the miss. Seizing the opportunity, Alicia leaps up into a standing dropkick. The maneuver knocks Nick off his feet.

“Get out of my room. Get out of my house.”

“Renix, please listen to me!”

“I can’t stand to look at you right now…”

Before Nick could even consider getting up, he feels the collision of Alicia leaping off the top rope and landing a Ground Zero at full velocity.

1.........

........2.......

“Just go. I need time to think.”

..........3!

“Alicia Laureano wins it!” Michael Ghail yells jovially from ringside. “Alicia has won it! Alicia Laureano has etched her place in history! This crowd is going crazy!”

“Ah shut up, Mick,” Alicia growls with what appears to be a blush as she staggers to get back up.

She immediately approaches the fallen Nick. Nick’s eyes flutter open and sees her looming over.

“How’d I do, Mick?” Nick asks.

“Well, that’s the fourth time in a row that you’ve lost to Alicia today,” states Mick as Alicia helps Nick to his feet. “You must be losing your touch, Nick.”

“How long did I last this time?”

Mick examines the stopwatch in his hands. “About…fourteen minutes and four seconds. That’s the lowest of all your sparring sessions so far.”

“I’m just tired.”

“That’s no excuse. It’s especially not an excuse when your match could go as long as sixty minutes.”

“I know.”

“So what was that supposed to be?” demands Alicia as she butts into the conversation. “If that were an actual match, the arena would’ve rioted!”

“I’m just not feelin’ it today,” replies Nick as he scans the area.

Nick hastily goes to one of the corners of the ring and snatches up his awaiting leather jacket. He throws it on and proceeds to apply some chap stick to his lips.

“I’m gonna go back home, guys.” Nick states as he steps through the ropes and hops off the apron onto the floor. He picks up his sports bag and waves farewell to his comrades. “I’ll see you all later. I seriously need a hot bath and a quick nap.”

“You’re gonna come over for dinner later, right?” Mick asks.

Nick turns and gives a thumbs up Nice Guy Pose. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Wait a minute!” Alicia calls after him, sounding annoyed. “You’re done training already?”

”I’m tired,” utters an emotionless Nick as he continues walking away. “We’ll work all day tomorrow. I promise.”

Alicia shakes her head as she watches her pupil exit through the double doors.

“Something wrong?” Mick inquires with genuine concern.

“He’s not feeling right. Did you see his eyes? His eyes…they aren’t the same as they used to be.”

“He’s probably just nervous,” Mick concludes with a sagely nod. “We’ll talk to him about it during dinner tonight.”

“I suppose.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A lamp in the corner is the only source of illumination for the bedroom. Dressed in nothing more than Batman boxers and a blue dress shirt, Nick lies on his bed. For what seemed like an eternity, he simply lay there doing nothing.

“Genocide, huh?” Nick says aloud to no one in particular. He sits up and stares at his hands. “Do I still have it in me…to fight again? To fight…”

Adrian Flamingo. Nick sneers at the very thought of the man. He balls up a fist and it begins to shake angrily. Within seconds, it stops and his hand slacks once more. Loosely folding his arms over his thighs, he lowers his head.

“I promise I’ll get this figured out, Renix.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Ghail household is lush and clean. It was undoubtedly the work of Leticia.

That is Nick’s first thought as he steps meekly through the front door. He is welcomed by Leticia, who engulfs him in a vicious hug before scolding him for being late. Dinner had already started when Nick had entered the kitchen. Mick and Alicia lifted their heads up and greeted him.

“There he is,” Mick says with a smile.

“Good to see you could actually make it,” Alicia comments.

Nick sits down. Dinner goes smoothly with everyone chitchatting away. Everyone is having a great time. However, Nick is uncharacteristically quiet during the whole conversation. His head is down, picking away sadly at his food. Whenever there is laughter, he’d lift his head and curve his slack lips upward into a vacant smile. As much as he wants to talk with his friends, he simply can’t.

This didn’t go unnoticed though. Leticia had always been able to read people’s emotions and Nick is like a billboard at the moment. When the chatter begins to settle down, she speaks.

“What about Nick’s match?” She causes the subject in question to lift his head up with a shocked expression adorning his features. “You’re facing Adrian Flamingo, right?”

Alicia scoffs. “With the way he’s been training, he’s also set to lose to him.”

Leticia shoots Alicia an angry glare. “Alicia!”

“No,” Nick interrupts. “She’s right.”

“All you need is to strategize!” Alicia states, trying to build up encouragement. “Save that southpaw trick for when he least expects it! The match could end up being an hour long, so set the pace with rest holds and submissions!”

“I know.” Nick replies. “It’s just that…Flamingo is determined to mangle me and I just can’t match that kind of determination right now. I’ve got a lot on my mind, I guess. Renix got mad at me for hiding that secret from her, so she kicked me out.”

Leticia gives Nick a wink. “If she truly loves you, then she completely understands what you’re going through.”

“Then why’d she kick me out?”

“She probably needs time to adjust to all that’s going on.” Leticia concludes. “As long as Flamingo keeps your secret from her parents, I’m sure things will work out fine.”

“I guess you’re right. Maybe I’m just thinking too much. After the show, I’ll have a long talk with her and get this all worked out.”

Almost as if on cue, a rhythmic chime emitting from Nick’s jacket interrupts the conversation. He hastily pulls out his cell phone and sees that the call is coming from the Williams Estate.

“Excuse me,” Nick says to everyone at the table before getting up and taking the phone into the living room. Opening the device, he answers. “Renix?”

What happened next would later be a blur in Nick’s memory. He remembers hearing Mr. Williams’ voice screaming a bevy of swears. The words, “Stay the hell away from my daughter” was shouted several times. Nick didn’t bother to respond. He already knew what was going on.

Flamingo had broken his promise.

Nick throws down his cell phone, causing it to shatter to pieces. He storms out of the Ghail household and slams the door behind him. His eyes are beginning to water. Mick, Leticia, and Alicia quickly went out to see what was wrong.

“Nick!” Alicia calls out before her friend could go any further. “What happened?”

Nick bitterly stifles back the urge to cry. “He broke his promise.”

“What?”

“He told them!” Nick shoots back in an enraged tone.

He begins to walk away but Alicia is quick to step in front of him.

“Where are you going, kid?”

“I’m going home,” says Nick, keeping his head down. “This isn’t worth it anymore. Flamingo wants to beat me so bad that he’d be willing to destroy my personal life? Fine. He can beat me by forfeit. I’m done.”

Alicia steps in Nick’s way once more. “Think about your career! How would it look if you just forfeit?”

“I don’t care!”

In a split second, Alicia delivers a swift slap across Nick’s face. The veteran is seething with anger.

“Don’t care?” Alicia repeats. “Don’t care? There are some men who work their ass off their entire lives without ever getting to where you are! And you’re saying that you don’t care? Is that fair to Mick? Is that fair to me? You don’t care? You’re just gonna let that bastard deprive you of what most people only ever dream of achieving?”

“SHUT UP!” shouts Nick, now openly weeping. “IS IT FAIR FOR ME TO FEEL THIS WAY? IS IT FAIR FOR ME TO BE BETRAYED BY ONE OF MY CLOSET FRIENDS? IS IT FAIR FOR MY ONLY CHANCE AT LOVE TO BE SHATTERED? IS IT FAIR FOR ME TO BE ALONE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE? IS THAT FAIR, ALICIA? HUH? IS IT?”

In one swift motion, Nick slams his fist into the side of Mick’s house, pounding it into the bricks.

“THEN FUCKING INDUCT ME INTO THE HALL OF FAME. FUCKING INDUCT ME, GODDAMMIT! INDCUT ME A MILLION TIMES OVER! I’LL HANG THE PLAQUE ON MY WALL PROUDLY FOR ALL TO SEE!”

Nick continues relentlessly pounding his fist into the side of the house. Soon enough, his knuckles are bleeding profusely. He cringes at the sight of his own blood.

“Kid, calm down,” Alicia says softly, reaching out to her pupil.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!”

Blinded by his own tears, Nick swings his arm out to keep Alicia at bay. Wounded, both emotionally and physically, Nick does the only thing he can do.

He runs away.

As far as his legs would take him, he runs. The blood trickling from his hand and the tears staining his face does nothing to slow him down. He wants to escape. He curses himself for being born. He cursed himself for being too much of a coward to die. He hears the voices of Alicia, Leticia, and Mick calling out to him. He keeps running.

He doesn’t deserve their friendship.

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moon is out. It casts its reflection onto the ocean. The gentle waves crash against the land. The shoreline is barren except for a solitary figure.

Nick sits on the sand whilst hugging his legs into his chest. His face is buried into his knees. It’s cold. He doesn’t care though. He wants to be cold. Dual trails of tears stream down his face. His nose is runny and his breathing ragged.

How far had he run? How long had he been here? What time is it? Where is he?

He doesn’t know. He doesn’t care to know. Sitting by himself, Nick realized that it truly was his destiny to be alone. His true love abandoned him because of who he was. His mentor scolded him because of how he felt.

So he just sits there. This is his fate. It was foolish of him to even think he could change it.

His body begins to shiver. Suddenly, a blanket is draped around his shoulders.

“Sometimes I wish we lived in Hawaii,” a soothing voice states.

Nick doesn’t bother to lift his head up. “How’d you find me?”

Alicia looks out towards the ocean. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Call it a lucky guess.”

“Leave me alone.”

Alicia takes a seat next to his pupil. “No can do, kid.”

A set of footsteps, scrunching against the soft sand, and the rolling of wheels approached.

“Here, let me help you out with that,” Nick hears Leticia’s voice. He begins feeling his wounded hand being wrapped in bandages.

“Let’s go back, Nick,” Mick says. “We’ll work all this out where it’s a bit warmer.”

“I wanna stay here.”

“We thought you might say that.” Leticia places some blankets and sleeping bags onto the sand. “So we came prepared. Let’s see if we can get a fire started.”

“Why are you doing this?” Nick asks, feeling tears welling in his eyes.

Alicia wraps her arm around Nick’s shoulders. “Kid, if you want to waste away your career to that punk, then who am I to tell you otherwise? But if you’re just gonna sit here feeling sorry for yourself, then damnit, we’ll all be here with you.”

“Wh-Why?”

“That’s what it means to be part of a family,” Alicia whispers.

Nick rests his head on Alicia’s shoulder and begins crying once more. “I’m sorry about what I said, Alicia.”

“I’m sorry too. I didn’t think about your feelings and I said some things that I shouldn’t have.”

“All of you deserve to be in the Hall of Fame more than I ever could.”

“Don’t worry about any of that now.”

“I can never be with Renix ever again.”

“You’ll figure something out.”

“I feel miserable.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that at all. We’re here for you. Don’t forget that.”

Leticia and Alicia eventually get a small fire started. Wrapped in blankets, the four friends shared sandwiches that Leticia made for their “rescue mission.”

“Feelin’ better, Nick?” Mick asks.

“A little. This all happened way too fast.”

“Just remember,” Alicia chimes in, “we’re never going to leave you, kid.” Alicia locks eyes with Nick and nods approvingly. “Nick, you taught me what it meant to have honor and to fight for that honor. You taught me a lot about loyalty and having one another’s back. You taught me what it meant to have a heart of gold and that there are some people, like Flamingo, who would stop at nothing to chip away at that gold for their own greed. But you, kid…there’s no pickaxe sharp enough to penetrate what you have going for you.”

“Thank you.” Nick is beginning to feel better. For the first time in a long time, he lets out a genuine smile.

The four friends all smile as the fire causes shadows to dance on each of their faces.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Nick, wake up! There’s someone here to see you!”

Letting out a yawn, Nick sits up and stretches. He’s still on the shoreline overlooking the ocean. Leticia and Mick are still sleeping around the burnt out fire. Nick looks around to see who woke him up. There, standing with her hands on her hips is Alicia.

“Alicia?” Nick rubs his eyes.

Alicia smiles. “I made a new friend. Do you know this crazy girl?”

She steps aside, revealing a woman that was standing behind her. She has long blonde hair that cascades past her shoulders and piercing eyes that stare deeply into Nick’s.

“Hi, Nick,” she greets him with a coy smile.

Nick’s jaw drops. “Renix? What are you doing here? I thought Flamingo ratted me out to your parents.”

“He didn’t tell my parents,” Renix corrects him. “It was me.”

“But…why?”

Renix turns away. “I was sick of being in such an ambiguous relationship. I wanted my parents to know the truth regardless of the consequences. At first, they were really angry.”

“I can tell,” Nick says, remembering Mr. Williams’ phone call from the other night.

“But I eventually told them everything about what happened. I told them about everything you went through just to be with me.”

“So…are they cool with me now?”

Renix shakes her head. “No. They still don’t want me seeing you. But at the very least, they want to see you beat Flamingo.”

“Oh, that’s good. I guess.”

Renix leans down and extends her hand toward Nick. “This is our story…”

Nick pauses before taking her hand in his and getting up off the ground. The two share a kiss that would make even the heavens jealous.

“Wake up, ya bums!” Nick says as he wildly shakes the sleeping bags containing his comrades.

“The hell?” Leticia says with a groan.

“We’ve got a lot of training to do!” Nick exclaims. “No time to be snoozing off! FIRE IT UP! FIRE IT UP!”

Realizing what Nick was saying, Leticia and Mick seemingly become rejuvenated with newfound energy. Mick pulls himself back into his wheelchair. Nick proceeds to give Renix a piggyback ride as he dashes away. Renix laughs uncontrollably as she does her best to keep her arms wrapped around Nick’s neck.

“Enigmatic Charisma is back,” Alicia says as she chases after.

Holding hands with Leticia, Mick follows.

Mick shakes his head. “Crazy kids…”

The sun is rising beyond where the horizon where the ocean met the sky. Five friends happily race across the shoreline with Nick and Renix leading the way. Nick is beginning to feel something that he never felt before. His career had brought him fame, wealth, authority, and even respect. However, none of those things had granted him what he was feeling right then and there.

For the first time in his life, Nick felt strong.

“No matter how much these people love you...there’s one thing they love more than a hero...
And that’s to see their hero fall.”

The moment he set eyes on Renix, Nick had definitely fallen.

Fade.

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

Segment: Leaving the Hotel (Credit: Jay Basin)

Jay Basin, ACW’s newest wrestler is in his hotel room with his manager, Chet Walton. Walton is a slim, short, and sleazy guy to everybody, but not to Basin. He and Jay go way back in College, where Chet was in business school, and Basin was still exploring for a major. The two met at a fraternity party, and Chet was so wasted, that Jay let him sleep at his dorm for the night. That is what kindled their friendship, and Chet’s heavy alcoholism. Chet, however, has made efforts to stop drinking, but the urge has been too strong. Both Chet and Jay are sitting in chairs, and stare at the ceiling for sometime.

“Ya know Jay my man, I don’t know why you’re doing this. You said three years ago that ya lost passion for wrestlin. I mean, after what that slimy bastard Blake Huncker did to ya, I’d never come back. He took your company!”

Jay remembers that it wasn’t that he retired saying that he needed to search for something. The truth was that Jay was forced to leave when Huncker took his company, Extreme Wrestling Alliance away from him, and that took every last bit of passion of wrestling that there was left in Basin. Basin’s face tightens as he remembers the bitterness.

“It was one of the most painful and heartbreaking moments in my life. I had no choice but to leave Chet, but to ultimately leave professional wrestling? There’s going to one place, and one place too far Chet, and ultimately leaving professional wrestling is going too far. I posted up a legacy, and I have the ability to do so still. Why-why would you quit on making efforts of kicking your habit of drinking Chet? When you have so much in you?”

Chet get riled up, and doesn’t like how this is going. He leans out of his chair, and his eyes intensely stare at Jay’s, as he wants his message to get to him.

“Now listen here Jay, my drinking problem is different from your wrestling problem! I can quit my drinking! You can’t quit wrestling! It-it-it’s so much different Jay, and you know that! How dare you put that kind of pressure on me! I thought you were my friend?”[/color]

Jay gets out of his chair.

“I am your friend Chet… come on! Make some damn sense now! I can quit wrestling, and you know that I had no intention of putting any pressure on you. Why would I do that? I was using your drinking problem as an example.”

“An example of what?”

“An example of knowing that it’s never too late to do something.”

Jay sits back down, and Chet is silent for a brief moment. He returns to a reclined position on the chair.[/i]

“So uhh Jay, what do you think was your toughest match you’ve ever been in, since ya never tell me this stuff?”

Jay stares at the ceiling for guidance and help. He places his right hand on his chin in the thinking like pose, and thinks back to the greatest matches. He picks one and looks back at Chet.

“Did I ever tell you that I created a match Chet?”[/color]

Chet shakes his head.

“I did. It was called the World Series Match. It was the most brutal match of my entire career, and I still have a nagging injury in my leg from it. This was when I was in the ICW, and I was the World Heavyweight Champion. I was defending the title against Stan Young in Detroit, Michigan. Now what is the World Series Match? Imagine the six sided ring like in TNA, with a steel cage surrounding it. Attached to the cage are weapons, and the match is a best of seven victories. The first two matches are win by pinfall, the next two are win by submission. Then it’s win by submission, win by pinfall, and win by escaping the cage. After each round, there is a ten second break. We went the whole seven rounds.”

“Young got the first pinfall with a top rope pedigree, called the Mountain Dew Drop. He used the weapons to wear me down, so I was helpless for the first round. I surged back though, and hit him with a spear to secure a pinfall and tied the series. Into the submission series’, we both got technical, and used the weapons to not only soften up each other, but to weaken each other’s arms, so that our submission strength would be weaker. Young got me to tap out to the California Clutch, or else known as the Walls of Jericho, after using a chair at my back.”

“So it’s 2 to 1, and I need to secure a submission for my sake, and I take Young out my old fashioned way, with low-blows. I make him tap out to an ankle lock hold, and it’s 2 all, but soon him and I de-habilitate each other, and both of us are bleeding. Young chokes me out, and gets a 3 to 2 lead, and has a chance of winning my title. Young picks me up, and with ten seconds given, I had enough strength to get back up, and roll him up for a three count. So now it’s three all.”

“It’s all about climbing over the damn cage, and I was weary. I beat down Young with a chair, and hit him with a spear, followed by Angels Wings. I climbed up the cage and reached the floor, and that sealed the match, and I was still champion.”

Chet shakes his head.

“You sir, are a shitty story teller.”

“Well you wanted to know my most brutal match, right? So I told you as best as I could without giving every detail, because you bitch about that.”

Chet concedes and nods.

“Yes, but I do see where you mean that this was brutal. You think though that you are going to be like everybody else?”

Jay laughs and shakes his head.

“No Chet, I’m too good. I’m beyond their leagues. You see, I have had an illustrious career so far, and it will only continue. I will start small like everybody does, but I’ll make a fast chase to the top, like nobody has. You see, the new guys that came in with me and the jobbers and the nosebleeds, and even the ACW World Champion need to know that this is business, and business is tough. I am not a wrestler, I am a wrestler beyond the entire backstage locker room’s league!”

“I was NAW Universe Champion, ICW World Heavyweight Champion, ICW Undisputed Champion, NAW Earth Champion, NAW Duo Champion, the first ever NAW Triple Crown Champion, PWS-IWC X-Division Champion, PWS-IWC Hardcore Champion, and a three time XCW American Champion. It’s not that I was the champion, it’s that I was champion, and nobody else here was any of these, so it makes me better than them. Who here can actually say that they are a Triple Crown Champion? Few if any. I am one of the rare. I am the best. I am ACW’s newest? Yes, but don’t let the fact that I’m new strike you, because I’m far more than anybody can handle, now Chet, where is that god damn limo?”

Chet takes out his cell phone and pushes send.

“Hello? Yes? It’s here? Okay, thank you.”

Chet shuts his phone off and puts it back in his pocket.

“Says there here now. Let’s go.”

Chet and Jay get up and walk out of the hotel door. Second Coming by Julez Santana plays, and Jay takes out his cell phone. He opens it up.

“Hello? Yes. Hi, how are you? Yes, I was wondering if I would have a match within this week or so? Really? Well, okay, thank you, bye.”

Jay hangs up and puts his phone back in his pocket.

“That was the GM.”

Chet stops walking and becomes irate.

“And…?”

“And he said that I should report either way.”

Chet continues walking

“And he didn’t say whether you have a match or not?”

“No. But I’ll tell you one thing…”

Chet and Jay continue walking and reach the elevator. They walk in, and are by themselves.

“I feel bad for my first opponent whenever I face him Chet, cause he’s going down.”

Just then, the elevator doors shut, and the camera fades to black with Jay and Chet smiling.

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

Match 2: Asgard Ice Coffin Match
Nick Durden vs. Adrian Flamingo (Credit: Jonny Spade)

Reference picture: img357.imageshack.us/img357/5360/matchlayout1uj1.jpg

The ring at the moment is empty but the crowd is buzzing with anticipation because at the moment the lights start to dim and the alphatron flickers to life to show the east end parking lot. What can be seen is a ring setup in the centre and an announcer table just off to the south east of the ring. What else could be seen is a man that is standing in the centre of the ring who happens to be ACW announcer Phillip Jones. He takes his cue and begins to speak.

Phillip: Ladies and Gentlemen the following match that will be taking place out here is the Ice Coffin Match. The rules are quite simple. The first person to put the other person through the ice lid to the coffin will be declared the winner of this match. Now if you will stagehands, please bring out the ice coffin.

Stagehands slowly start to emerge from the building some pulling the tank and some others that are pushing the tank from behind that is on wheels to make it of easier movement. Then, to follow the parade of stagehands are “Fast” Eddie Edison and Maxwell McNally, who then when possible to quickly move to their make shift announcer table and start talking.

McNally: Hello everyone once again we finally had made it to our post outside of the ACW arena. We definitely are in store for a very interesting match tonight wouldn’t you say so Eddie?

Edison: Most definitely Max, we are for sure going to see someone get the chills by the end of this bout. While the coffin is being placed and all the necessary final checks why not give some details about that coffin that they are fighting to put each other in.

McNally: Good idea Max. This ice coffin is 2 degrees Celsius, and with the freezing point being at the 0 degree mark, or for our Fahrenheit friends that is roughly 35 degrees Fahrenheit. That would be one hell of a cold swim wouldn’t you say Ed?

Edison: Mhm.

McNally: Also, that layer of ice on top of the case of cold water is a half an inch thick so both competitors will be able to stand on top of it in the get go but every second that someone stands on it, you the viewers and the competitors should note that it does get weaker. The walls of that tank are 3 inches thick. And also note now much of water is in that behemoth of a coffin. There is about 200 cubic feet of water in that tank.

Edision: Man, oh man. I’m getting shivers just thinking about how cold that is.

By this time the ice coffin has been placed on the right hand side of the ring with the short ends facing east/west.

McNally: We now let Phillip Jones speak once again to introduce our competitors.

Phillip: Now, introducing the competitors…

Staying Alive starts to play on the speakers that line the entrance way from the door from the building.

Phillip: He makes his way to the ring at a height of 5’11 and at a weight of 205 pounds and hails from Venice Beach California…Adrian Flamingo!!!

He comes out from the building with his boas around his neck and still has his trademark smile but not much is seen by him on this day as there is no body watching in the arena other than the announcers and stagehands so actions are kept short.

Phillip: And his opponent…

Survive by Rise Against start to play on the speaker setup.

Phillip: He makes his way to the ring at a height of 6’2 and a weight of also 205 pounds…he also hails from Venice beach California…Nick Durden!!!

No silhouette highlights his features in his match but he still has the bopping up and down to his music and the pyro going. Then on cue he makes his way to the ring and gets into the ring. He does his pre-match stretches the ref signals for the bell and this match then gets going.

Both men walk to the centre of the ring with intense cold looks in their eyes.

McNally: Wow. Look at these guys, if looks could kill then these guys could go on killing sprees. Nick Durden with the visible size advantage against Adrian, but that disadvantage doesn’t deter him from backing down.

Edison: That’s for sure. That is just one obstacle of many for him to overcome in this match.

After the brief staredown, they both start things off with a collarbone tie up. Nick is able to win the tie up and successfully gets Adrian into a headlock but then it is quickly countered into a northern lights suplex by Adrian but Nick is able to quickly kick out of the pinfall attempt. Nick quickly then gets up to his feet and then charges at Adrian and Adrian does the same and charges back at Nick and meets him again with a clothesline send him back down to the mat. Nick gets up once again and Adrian is there waiting for him, Nick charges towards Adrian and Adrian goes for a second clothesline but Nick ducks the clothesline and bounces off the opposite ropes Adrian turns around just in time to end up receiving a leg lariat by Nick knocking the wind out of Adrian for a moment being.

Now doing so, this gives Nick a few moments to catch his breath, instead of doing this Nick decides to go out of the ring on the west side. He lifts the apron up and just as if he was in the arena he reaches under the ring to find something to get this match more exciting. What he finds is something that is very usable which happens to be a table. He then slides the table into the ring and then goes back to searching for some other useful stuff under the ring. Moments later he finds a ladder, which he slides into the ring too and then he slides himself into the ring. What he didn’t notice was that Adrian had done the same thing except on the east side of the ring. Adrian had pulled out a trashcan with a lid, a stop sign and a steel chair. So when Nick had gotten himself back into the ring, he was somewhat shocked to see those other weapons in there too and kind of confused on how they got in there.

Nick then snaps out of his light daze and quickly thinks of ways of how he can utilize these various items in the ring to their greatest potential. But that thought is quickly put on hold because Adrian one more time charges at Nick and Nick ducks the clothesline attempt and Nick turns around to see a charging Flamingo and out of impulse ducks and lifts up at the right time and picks up Adrian for a huge spinebuster spinning him around and having him land back first onto the steel chair that was brought in earlier. Nick then stands up and goes over to the table that he had brought into the ring earlier and sets it up in the ring; Adrian starts to stir a little bit and once the table is set up properly Nick moves back to Adrian to get him to his feet. Nick then starts to lift him up for the Blue BrianWash but Adrian starts to fight it and he wins and then he land on his feet and then starts to lift Nick up and he is able to execute the Ghostbuster having Nick go through the table and then land on his back.

Those stagehands at ringside cringe when they see that and its obvious that Nick looks to be out cold from that. Adrian stands up and then grabs Nick by his head and pulls him over to the centre of the ring, but in the process of doing so Nick had grabbed a piece of the table that had broken off from the impact. Once in the middle of the ring, Nick puts the piece of table on his head and grabs Adrian’s head and drops him down for a jaw breaker having Adrian’s jaw on the table making him stumble backwards in pain and holding his jaw with his hands. Adrian stumbles backwards and then forewords just enough that Nick is able to grab him and pulls him down for a school boy pin but then grabs onto his right ankle and holds him in an ankle lock.

Edison: Why go for a ankle lock when there is no submissions?! What a stupid idea.

McNally: I think this is a great idea Eddie, with an injured foot he won't be able to walk thus giving Nick a possible advantage.

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

But Adrian quickly scampers to the ropes and holds onto them but since there is no disqualifications Nick continues to hold onto the ankle and this causes Adrian to yell more in pain and then crawls through the bottom rope and out out of the ring to catch a breather from the action. Nick, who is still a little groggy grabs the stop sign that was brought in and then starts to climb up the turnbuckle and then waits for Adrian to be facing him and then Nick leaps off the top turnbuckle holding the stop sign to his chest for as long as possible he attempts a crossbody splash to Adrian who at the last possible moment ducks and rolls forward having Nick landing square on the ground with his stomach landing on the stop sign.

Edison: WOW! THAT HAD TO HURT!

McNally: Remember folks there are no mats around the ring out here Nick had landed on solid concrete.

Edison: That he did.

Nick rolls around on the concrete in pain and Adrian is on his hands and knees still catching his breath. While catching his breath he looks around and gets an idea. He makes his way slowly to the steps that go into the ring on the east side and take them off their set spots. He spreads them apart somewhat so he is able to walk in between them and keeps them close to the apron…

Edison: I wonder what he is going to be doing now.

…and then reaches down under the ring and pulls out another ladder and sets it on top of the steps to make it into an impromptu table.

He then turns back to Nick who is starting to get up to his feet and Adrian then gives him a knee to the face to send him back down onto the concrete but he holds onto him by his head and drags him over to the “table” and steps onto the apron and gets Nick to climb up too. He sticks Nick’s head between his legs…

McNally: I think he’s going for the Cradle Robber here.

Edison: WHAT? He can’t be serious! That’s gonna cause some serious damage to Nick.

McNally: He’s lifting him up! [/colour]

Edison: *gasps* HE COUNTERED IT! NICK COUNTERED IT WITH A BACK BODY DROP!!

McNally: Wow that was intense.

As awkward as that would probably be, Nick did counter it with a back body drop sending Adrian back first on to the ladder cracking it somewhat, and causing some serious damage to the ribs of Adrian. Nick looks back to where Adrian is and takes a moment…

McNally: What’s Nick going to do here now?

Nick then bends his legs, hops onto the middle rope and arches his back just enough so that he is able to accomplish the Asai Moonsault that he was after.

McNally: Wow, for all the pain that he had suffered already that was sure a thing of beauty.

Nick lands on the stomach of Adrian perfectly making that arch in the ladder bend even more so much that its touching the concrete. The paramedics that are waiting off to the side are very eager to rush in at the moment to check on these two individuals but they have been informed that they are not allowed to until the match is complete.

Edison: It’s a shame for these two guys that this match has no pin falls otherwise I’m sure this match would have been over by now.

Nick starts to get up from where he is after a few moments and shakes his head to try to get the cobwebs and dizziness out of his head, he then stands on his own two feet and picks up Adrian who is pretty much like a ragdoll at this point and pulls him over all the way around the ring to the side of the coffin and Nick just throws him down onto the ground as if he was nothing.

Edison: They should have gone through the ring it would have been faster. [/color]

McNally: I think at this point Ed; both these competitors had thrown logic out the window.

Nick then goes back to Adrian and turns him around so his body is parallel with the coffin and then runs up the steps of coffin but has to catch his breath at the top. This gives Adrian enough time to be able to get up and hit Nick in the back making him fall forward and onto the lid having him slide a little. Adrian steps onto the lid and pulls Nick over by his shirt so that he is laying length wise on top of the coffin lid. Adrian rips off the shirt from Nick’s body and then sits down on the back of Nick making his chest feel the coldness of the ice, he grabs onto the arms of Nick and does the C Average (Cut throat Camel Clutch). The camera men then zoom in real close on Nick who is screaming in pain. The ref who is there at ringside isn’t able to do a single thing except call for 2 things call for the bell in the beginning of the match and then again at the end of it to signify the winner.

McNally: Look at Nick.

Edison: It’s hard NOT to. The camera is focused close in on him.

McNally: Touché. But he in so much pain right now. I bet you that he is hoping that this match could be over right about now.
--
While on the ice lid, cracking can be heard from the pressure of these two men on it and at the same time, Nick figures out that, since its ice, he can slide off of it and that he does. He pushes himself backwards off the lid so that his feet land first back on the solid ground.

Edison: Well that’s being creative there.

Now, Nick is in control of what’s going on. Adrian is still on Nicks back trying to choke him out changing his camel clutch hold into a sleeper. But Nick is full of energy and that sleeper hold isn’t doing much to calm him down in this situation. Nick continues to carry him out as if it was a piggy-back ride. He carries him over to the ring post and rams him, spine first making a somewhat “ding” sound causing Adrian to instantly release the sleeper hold on him.

Edison: Wow that had to hurt.

McNally: At this point of the match, these guys will use whatever is available to them to gain an advantage

Nick, still holding onto the legs, continues on carrying him this time back to the ice coffin. Now with Adrian somewhat aware of what is going on sees that they are both heading towards the ice coffin throws an elbow to the back of the head/neck of Nick making him stumble a little and making him fall forward just in front of the coffin causing Adrian’s head to hit the side of it making a little crack in the side of it.

Edison: UH OHES! THERE IS A CRACK IN THE COFFIN SIDE!

While ring technicians rush over to the coffin to see if its going to start leaking or not, Nick sees Adrian out on the ground and takes this opportunity that has been put before him. Nick, surveys the situation he is in…

McNally: Look at the look in Nick’s eye. I can sense that he is planning something big to happen.

…and then after a moment he runs up the stairs of the coffin and then without hesitation he jumps backwards back flipping over the ring crew, causing them to duck from being scared, and the steps and lands on top of Adrian causing both men to hold their stomachs in pain.

McNally: What an impact! That Bombs over Bagdad.

Edison: That move was dan--…er.. I mean deadly.

McNally: You’ve been using a thesaurus lately haven’t you?

Edison: Yup. I have been. *Said with a smile*

While stagehands are still looking after the problem with the coffin still, Nick gets up and kneels while looking at the lifeless body of Adrian who is lying on the mat breathing heavily. Nick gets enough strength to stand he then bends down and makes Adrian sit up. Nick starts to walk away from the Adrian but then quickly turns back to him and gives a hard kick to the chest of Adrian sending him crashing back down to the ground holding onto his chest and rolling round…somewhat.

McNally: Ladies and Gentlemen that are watching this match I have just been informed that the coffin has been repaired and the crack has been sealed up.

Nick then bends down to pick up Adrian once again by the head but Adrian takes this chance and grabs onto the sides of Nick and yanks him down making him hit the stairs face first ending his momentum that he had going.

[Alicia "Atomic" Kitsune]

Adrian then crawls over to the ring apron and sticks his head under the apron and then his arms and then after a moment or two he emerges with a smile and then starts pulling out another ladder. But just any old ladder, he is pulling out the jumbo sized ladder. He gets to his feet and then stands up the ladder and leans it against the corner post. He goes back to get Nick…who happens to not be there. Adrian starts to look around to where he could be.

McNally: Where did he go?

Edison: I don’t kn--OH WAIT I KNOW! I KNOW! He’s in the ring!

While Adrian was getting the ladder setup, Nick had gone into the ring and bounced off the opposite ropes and charged back towards Adrian and then when he reaches the ropes he flips over them and lands on his shoulders and is able to hit a hurricarana as best as possible (due to the condition he is in) sending both guys down to the ground once again.

McNally: Now that was impressive. Nice Hurricarana by Nick there.

Nick is first to his feet and he goes over to Adrian and picks him up by his head and drags him in the direction of the announcer table.

Edison: Uh oh looks like were gonna get the action up close and personal here.

Nick continues on dragging him over to the announcer table and then once there he gets Adrian’s head and makes him hit his head on the announcer table having him slouch over it completely. Then while Adrian relaxes on there, Nick goes back to the ring where the ladder was placed and grabs that and carries it back over to the announcer table.

Edison: Uh...Max, I think it’s time we got out of the way of these two if we don’t want to get hurt here.

McNally: Yeah good idea.

Both men abandon their posts at the announcer table, leaving Nick to do his destruction of it in peace. But, luckily for the fans of ACW their announcers had gone wifi, so they can still be heard. As Nick sets up the ladder Adrian had gotten to his feet and had climbed onto the announcer table. Once Nick turns around Adrian jumps off for an axe handle smash on Nick but Nick ducks it and leans on to the table and grabs a TV monitor and whacks Adrian on the head, making him fall down to one knee.

Edison: OH MY GOSH!! WHAT A SHOT!!

McNally: What a deadly blow to the skull of Adrian I am surprised that he isn’t down on the ground after it.

Nick then picks up Adrian and puts him on his feet and then clears all the stuff off the announcer table and then rolls Adrian onto the announcer table. He then quickly makes his way to the ring and reaches into the ring for the chair that was used all the way in the beginning of this match up. He then quickly makes his way back to the ladder with the chair in hand and climbs it all the way to the top.

Edison: This is going to be big. I can feel it.

Nick reaches the top of the ladder and then sits on the very top, pauses and looks down below at the lifeless body of Adrian and then off to the horizon. Then out of nowhere he stands up, chair in hand, and leaps forward front flipping in the process and completing a somersault legdrop with the chair connecting on the upper chest of Adrian and thus breaking apart the table in the process.

Edison: WOW WHAT A MOVE! THAT HAD TO BE LIKE 20 FEET HIGH!

McNally: What a somersault legdrop. That’s going to cause some serious damage to the body.

Edison: YOU THINK?

Both men after a minute or two start to move and stand to their feet but that last one is showing the damage on Adrian because he has been busted open and blood is visibly dripping down his face. Nick starts to get up too, and he looks to be in better shape. Now Nick is looking to end this fight so he starts to drag Adrian back to the ice coffin. While being dragged, Adrian steps out in front of Nick and this results in Adrian giving Nick a drop toe hold onto the concrete making Durden land face first on the concrete. Adrian walks over to the ring and reaches under the bottom rope and grabs the trash can and lid and brings them out of the ring. He turns to Nick and makes him kneel on his knees and puts the trashcan over his head.

Edison: Looks like lights out for Durden here.

He then takes the trashcan lid and starts whacking both sides of Nick and then once Adrian is done Nick continues to kneel there but eventually he falls forward hitting the concrete. Adrian goes back under the ring once more and this time he pulls out 2 steel chairs.

McNally: Adrian now with 2 steel chairs in his hands. This can’t be good for Nick.

Edison: That’s for sure this will be D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S.

He goes back to Nick who is still not moving and with a trashcan on his head. He bends down to pick up Nick once more and once again makes him kneel. With those 2 chairs in hand he stands behind Nick, holds his arms out wide and then quickly pulls them in as if he was playing the symbols and Nicks head just had happened to be caught in between.

Edison: OH MY GOSH!! THAT WAS CRAZY! NICK’S HEAD MUST BE RINGING LIKE….WOW!

McNally: Nick’s head just got rung.

Nick starts to slump not forward but to the side this time but Adrian doesn’t let him fall over. In fact he stands him up on his feet, takes the trashcan off his head and now he picks him up and throws him over his shoulder and carries over to the ice coffin and lays him on his back.

McNally: I think Adrian is looking to end this match right now.