"Out With the New, In With the Old, and Out With the Old Again" iNtense 36 opened with a very familiar face standing mid-ring, microphone in hand, and ready to go. That familiar face was Damien Lee, jOlt's former General Manager and part owner. He would waste no time addressing the audience. "Some of you may know who I am." Huge pop. Damien was awestruck by the response he was receiving but he tried his best to keep his composure. "Some of you may not. My name is Damien Lee and I am one member of a group of investors that have banded together to bring jOlt back from the grave and into your living rooms. An as such, I was appointed by that group of investors to return to my old post and oversee the production of each jOlt broadcast in the absense of Jim Johnson." The reaction to Johnson's name ... slightly different than that of Damien Lee's. "I know. I know. We have been informed that Jim Johnson is severely injured and will be recovering at home for an undetermined amount of time." The reaction to Johnson being injured, however, very close to that of Lee's. "I hate to take up valuable air time, but there are a few things that have happened in the past week that need to be addressed immediately. Number One, the random assaults leading to numerous injuries ... they stop now. Any jOlt employee that takes it upon his or herself to assault another jOlt employee outside of the confines of a sanctioned match will face extreme, and swift, action from jOlt officials. We are currently putting together a list of punishments for offenders that will be enforced by an appointed jOlt official in the coming weeks. This nonsense needs to stop, gentlemen, before it gets any further out of hand. "Number two, Brandon Blade ..." Boom, the roof came off the building. "Last week on iNtense Brandon Blade competed in a Loser Leaves jOlt match aganist Alexander Jerusalem for the jOlt Championship ... a match in which Brandon lost. It is an incredibly unfortunate situation, and something I may not completely agree with, but I regret to inform all of you that Brandon Blade is no longer on the jOlt roster." BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! "Believe me, I understand. But allow me to finish. In accordance with jOlt policy any employee that had been terminated is ineligible for rehire for a minimum of sixty days. That said, ladies and gentlemen, I would absolutely expect to see Brandon Blade's return to jOlt in approximately two months time." A "We want Blade" chant had started up in the arena. Damien Lee allowed it to continue for a few moments. "That leads me to my final important piece of information for the night, the jOlt Championship. Brandon Blade may have lost that match to Alexander Jerusalem but he lost by D.Q. and, as we all know, a championship cannot change hands via disqualification. So ... "As of right now the jOlt Championship is vacated. And that leaves quite a few questions, doesn't it? Let me shed some light on the subject. A contract came across my desk this morning and I decided it would be in the best interest of jOlt to sign it and make it official. So tonight we will see the, for the first time in jOlt history, the Legacy Championship defended with Sylo taking on Superstar Vince Jacobs in tonight's main event!" The fans exploded at the thought of the Legacy Championship, LoC's ultimate prize, being defended on a jOlt program. But what did that mean for the jOlt Championship? Brandon Blade continued. "The winner of tonight's match will not only be the new Legacy Champion but he will go on to Divide & Conquer to compete for the brass ring, the jOlt Championship! And now, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to step back and let the real stars of the show take center stage ... "Welcome back to jOlt!" Damien Lee, surrounded by thousands of cheering fans and feeling back in his element, left the ring and iNtense moved backstage. "The Mighty Have Fallen" The backstage area of the arena was shown where an assortment of staff members could be seen frantically making their way from one place to another in hopes of being on time. A Coca-Cola vending machine could be seen to the left where jOlt interviewer Donny Layne repeatedly pounded his fist in frustration. The focus now shifted to a closed door on the right where inaudible shouts could be heard coming from inside. Without warning, the door burst open, making a loud cracking sound as it collided with the concrete wall behind it. Two jOlt security guards could be seen in the doorway, each with a handful of a light-grey tweed sports coat belonging to former LoC color commentator Keith Kane. “You’re makin a big mistake fellas,” Keith nervously pleaded while being pushed out the door from behind. With one final shove from both guards, Keith went sprawling on the concrete floor, barely able to raise his hands in time to protect his face. He shuffled around on the floor for a moment before standing up and dusting off his jacket. The rotund individual was not accustomed to wearing suits nor sports coats unless he was at a televised event. He was usually happy with a pair of jeans and a bowling shirt on any given day of the week. He slowly eyed his surroundings, realizing he would never work for this company. His meeting with upper management did not go well. He was told that the current jOlt color commentator, Nathan Powers, was irreplaceable. The irony caused him to laugh hysterically. He turned his attention back to the door. “Ya guys won’t amount to dick without me! You hear that? To dick!!” He turned around and walked in the opposite direction with his head hung low. “These guys have financially ruined me. It’s over, I just know it,” he muttered uneasily under his breath. BOOM! The top of Keith’s oddly shaped head slammed into the chest of a man taller than he, who wore a raggedy pair of stonewashed Levi 501 jeans, a white buttoned up shirt, and a pair of work boots that had seen better days. The guy looked like he may have been an electrician checking out the wiring for the building. It was not until Keith raised his head that he saw a white mask covering half of the large man’s face. It resembled the one seen in the Phantom of the Opera movies. Was it Halloween? “Watch where you’re going nut job,” Keith said dismissively, not sure if he should have opened his mouth in the first place. The masked figure spoke low, “There’s no need for that Keith. You weren’t even watching where you were going…” Being a color commentator all those years, Keith often heard much of the same thing day in and day out. It was not hard to pinpoint the odd familiarity to the brooding man that stood before him. Keith realized this weirdo knew his name. “We know each other slick?” His Jersey accent tended to get thicker when he wanted to sound intimidating. The mask did not hide the fact the guy was visibly uncomfortable with the question. “Possibly another life,” With that response he brushed past Keith. Before he got too far, Keith snapped his fingers. He suddenly remembered where he had heard the voice before. “I got it!” he shouted loud enough to get the man’s attention. Keith scurried back over so they were standing face-to-face again. “Another life? Bull-shit. Ha Ha! I love it. Is it really you? I haven’t seen ya in forever man. The Equalizer himself.” “Wrong guy,” was his response. Keith had not gotten this far in the wrestling business being a blundering idiot. He quickly faked to the left, then to the right as the masked man stood there, a puzzled expression on his face. Without warning, Keith lifted up the man’s right sleeve and revealed the trademark yin-yang tattoo engulfed by dragons. “Ya son-of-a-bitch. It is you!” Keith began bouncing around like he had just won the lotto. “I don’t get you man. What’s with the mask and pretending you’re not you?” The awkward excitement did not faze the man once known as The General of LoC. He brushed his hair out of his face, exposing more of it in the light. It was then that Keith could see, very faintly, what appeared to be scars under the phantom mask which covered half of Ray’s face. Keith cleared his throat and did his best to muster up a compassionate voice, “Is everything ok bud?” There was a point in Ray’s life where he would have seen through the falsehood in that question. For whatever reason, this was no longer the same man. Something had changed, but what was the real question. “You know what Keith? I’m not in the mood for twenty questions. I just came here to respond to Jim’s letter he sent me in the mail, alright?” Ray answered impatiently. Keith frowned and flashed a goofy ear-to-ear smile at his former colleague. “Twenty questions? Ray, I only asked ya one. Ya sure your ok? Actually, scratch that. What’s this letter you’re talkin about?” Ray realized the only way to get rid of Keith and his stench of day old salami was to humor him. “Jim (Johnson) sent me a jOlt contract, certified mail. It’s kind of a joke if you ask me, but I have no choice right now.” “Let me see here,” Keith said before snatching the envelope out of Ray’s hand. He thumbed around the inside pocket of the only sports coat he currently owned and pulled out his reading glasses. He gave Ray wink before putting them on, only to have them fall ¾ of the way down his nose. He chewed on his upper lip as he read the contract terms. “Uh, bud… This contract says you’re gettin’ paid $250 per appearance” he stated, thinking it might be a joke. Ray looked up at the roof and took a deep breath before returning his focus back to Keith. “What’s the point in hiding anything, right? I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough. The media is funny like that. Long story short, it seems Jim had some credible sources when he went prying into my personal and professional life. I’m almost positive that he’s aware I am completely broke, in debt to damn near everybody, and blacklisted from all major movie studios. Things could not be any worse than what they are right now.” When opportunity knocks, you answer that motherfucker without hesitation. Or so Keith believed. “I heard somethin about that movie stuff through the grapevine. I didn’t know it held any truth until now. I’m truly sorry bud. I can only imagine what you’re going through. But have no fear, because your knight in shining armor is here. Catchy huh?” Keith was back in his comfort zone as he placed his hand on Ray’s massive shoulder. Keith continued, “I’m already privy to your situation with Jim and the jOlt Board of Directors. I take it you haven’t seen last week’s show?” Keith knew that if Ray had, this scam would not work because he would know Johnson was injured at the hands of Sylo. “No,” Ray shrugged. “That’s fine, don’t ya worry about it. I can bring ya up to speed,” he began talking faster in hopes Ray would not be able to hear every word clearly. “I really see no problem with the contract, especially if ya haven’t got a penny to your name. There are just a couple of items we need signed. Like this contract for one, a power of attorney, and the addendum.” Ray moved Keith’s hand off his shoulder, “Slow down. What addendum? What is being added to the contract?” Keith squirmed around a bit before answering, “It’s a lot of legal jargon, baby, all which I’m sure ya don’t wanna hear. Look, I have tons of jOlt offers on my table, from the board of directors, to do everything from commentating to general manager. I tell ya, I finally told ‘em to give me something important or I was walkin! Then Ol’ Double J himself told me about your contract and that I would be your new consigliore.” Ray was not up to par with his Godfather references, “What are you talking about?” “I’m your new manager, agent, it’s all the same to me baby! It’s my job to get ya back on your feet again and help you regain the level of success ya had last time around. Who better to do it than the man that knows about your entire career? We can talk fees later, but right now I’ll have my secretary draw up all the legal mumbo jumbo so we can get it out the way. Be right back.” Keith ran for the nearest bathroom, reaching into his slack pocket for his cell phone. His heart rate had accelerated and he might be having a panic attack, but to hell with all that! His sweaty fingers fumbled across the buttons on the phone. He waited while it dialed, biting his fingernails in the process. His wife’s voice was heard on the other line. “Love of my life, take all my shit off the front lawn and rip up those for sale signs. We ain’t going anywhere! The specifics aren’t important just yet. Just know I got the job with jOlt like I knew I would. Call cousin Joey and tell him to fax over a legit manager contract. I’ll text ya when I know the number. I’m back baby, I’M BACK!! Manzo Tanaka vs. Sam Sweet Roughly seven-hundred pounds stood in-ring ready to start the action for iNtense 36. On one side, Manzo Tanaka, six foot-two, three hundred and ten pounds, eight-year veteran with a large, no pun intended, footprint in Japan. On the other, Sam Sweet, nearly four-hundred pounds of single ab, hip thrustin', and lady lovin'. Referee Simon Boulder called the bell; iNtense 36 was off and running! DING! DING! DING! Sweet ignored the bell as he was in the middle of working on a buxom blonde, sitting front row at ringside. His attention was quickly brought back to wrestling, however, as Manzo Tanaka open-hand slapped Sweet across the face! Sweet was stunned, JKJ was livid, and Manzo stood, powerful arms folded across his chest. Sweet's seriousness went up a cog or three as he came toward the Japanese behemoth, asking him just where in the heck he got off cockblockin' the Sweet, Sweet Ladies' Man. Manzo, a snarl forming across his lips, exploded out with a charging lariat that knocked Sweet clean off his feet! As Sam Sweet fought back to his feet, Tanaka, grabbing a fistful of Sweet's hair-do, drove a precision knee into the big man's jaw. Sweet dropped back to the canvas and was greeted with mocking, open-handed slaps to the back of his head. The crowd started riding Manzo a bit. "Manzo Tanaka is showing zero respect to Sam Sweet, Nathan, and the fans are letting him have it," commented Michael Buhrman. "I sat down with Manzo when I heard he was leaving Japan to come to jOlt and this man is as serious as death. Sweet should have been worried more about Manzo and less about the Double D's in the front row! Instead, he insulted Manzo and, now, he's paying the price!" Nathan Powers shot back. Manzo brought the wobbly Sweet back up and ripped into him with a flurry of chest chops and capped the offensive with a chop right into Sweet's throat! Sweet's hands immediately shot up to his throat. Meanwhile, Manzo picked up and slammed the near four-hundred pounder with an Exploder Suplex! Even the somewhat hostile crowd coo'd and ooh'd at such a goliath of a man being thrown through the air with relative ease. Manzo lateral pressed Sweet and Simon Boulder slid in for the count! ONE! TWO! THR - NO! Boulder was treated to a glare from Manzo, as if he'd been the one who kicked out. Tanaka hoisted Sweet back up and whipped him into the cables. Sweet instinctively ducked a back elbow, hit the opposite ropes, and knocked Manzo off his feet with a Flying Shoulder Tackle! Manzo, no doubt displeased, came right back to his feet and at Sweet, who delivered a kick to his midsection and sent Manzo into the turnbuckles. Sweet backed up to the opposite buckles and charged in, looking for his SWEET DREAMS (Corner Splash)! Nobody home! Manzo had spun out at the last second and managed to assist in Sweet's melon smashing against the top turnbuckle. As Sweet laid back into the buckles, trying to gather himself, the three hundred-pound Tanaka retreated to center ring, charged forward, and, in true one-upsmanship, hit a Avalanche of his own! Sweet, completely out of it, stumbled forward. Manzo let him go by as he traded spots with one-half of Sweet, Sweet Lovin'. Again, like a bull, Manzo charged at Sweet and this time flattened him with an Enzuilariat (Running Lariat to back of head). Night, Night. He rolled Sweet over, not bothering to hook a leg. ONE! TWO! THREE! Manzo stood, allowing Boulder to raise his massive arm, and glared with disdain at the fallen opponent as his feet. If people had planned on not taking Tanaka seriously, they were quickly beginning to rethink that. Manzo Tanaka had arrived in jOlt and he'd done so in an impressive fashion. Winner: Manzo Tanaka via Pinfall "No Escape" Quiet. Something jOlt hadn’t been since it opened its door. Sylo sat on a lone wooden bench inside an empty locker room staring at the floor. The initial rage dump had left him after trying to fight through a sea of humanity to rip one man apart. One man. Those two words echoed through Sylo’s head as he stared at the thin carpet on the floor. He let his eyes trace each shape, trying to use them like a map, a map to connect all the thoughts flooding through his head. “Don’t lose focus. Don’t lose focus.” Sylo quietly kept repeating the same thing over and over almost like a motto to remind him of his ultimate goal. His head was pounding as the flood gates opened and his thoughts rushed through threatening to burst out and spill all over the cheap carpet. Was Jacobs really the end game in all of this? If so what came next? No, he couldn’t think that far ahead. Great chess players always played ten moves ahead but the greatest only needed one move because it was always the right move. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening but he refused to look up. He could tell by the footsteps it was a female and Sylo knew unless she had a gun she wouldn’t be there to try anything stupid. Even on the carpet he could hear the clack of heels and smell her perfume; flowers. He didn’t have to look up or even open his eyes to know who was standing in front of him. “If you’re here to negotiate peace I’ll go ahead and warn you it’s a waste of time. There won’t be any peace, just pieces, so what do you want,” Sylo looked up a little. “Natalia?” He lowered his head once more, letting his eyes shut. “How do you do that? How do you always know it’s me?” She asked, still shocked after all these years of Sylo being able to tell when she entered a room. Sylo just ignored her. “Speak,” Sylo muttered. “Come on, we’ve known each other for years. Why are you being so sho-” “Speak or get out. Your choice.” Sylo said softly still sitting with his head down and his eyes closed. Natalia’s eyes sparkled with what almost seemed like sadness. All the years she spent becoming one of the few people that could say they were close to Sylo had come to an end. She crossed her arms and composed herself, clearing her throat. “I just came to let you know this isn’t personal. Sylo, you’re still my friend, we can still be...what I mean is...look it doesn’t have to be this way. When this is over, when you and Vince aren’t at each others throats. Things can go back to normal,” She smiled. It was pure hope. “Get out,” Sylo muttered. “Sylo, please, just listen to me. You’re reasonable. I know you are. You’ve always talked to me. You told me about your youth. You even told me about your paren-” Sylo opened his eyes, looking through the hair over his face. Natalia didn’t dare finish. Sylo eyed her a few seconds longer before lowering his head and closing his eyes again. “You say this is business. You say things can go back to how they were. Unfortunately, Natalia, what Vince and I are about to go through isn’t business. Vince and I aren’t just fighting one another for a leather strap adorned in shiny metal. Vince Jacobs and I? We’re going to war. You’ve picked your side. There isn’t and never will be any going back. Now, get out.” Sylo didn’t roar, yell, or even bother to look at Natalia. Natalia chewed her lips as she fought back tears. She understood. She understood before she had walked in Sylo’s locker room but she had to try, right? The only sound she made was a small choking sound, catching the last tear from coming out, composed herself, and made a swift exit. Sylo sighed. The door opened again. “I said out,” Sylo muttered again. “Oh we’re not going anywhere. You think you can make me look weak and send me to the hospital? You think you can end my career? I’m just like you,” AJ snarled from the doorway. His ribs were heavily taped. “And you think you can steal my spotlight by costing Blade his job? That was supposed to be me!” Bane Loneheart sounded off next to “The Man of War”. Sylo kept his head down as he slowly stood up. He didn’t look at either man. Then again why would he need to? He knew AJ was injured but could still use a lot more power than most. The sound of lead tapping against flesh was a very familiar sound so he already knew Loneheart was carrying the lead pipe he had used on both Blade and Laz. Slowly, Sylo extended both arms with his hands out and palms showing. “I guess you two have the upper hand. Go ahead. You have me right where you want me. I have a match later and what better way to fuck me over than to put a hurting on me right here, right now, and ruin any chance I have at finishing this? I’ll even let both of you go first.” AJ and Loneheart both snarled in anger. “You think you’re untouchable? You won’t survive this, much less make it to your precious match, in fact after this you’ll be drinking your food through a straw!” AJ roared. He charged in first nailing Sylo with hard vicious lefts and rights. Sylo stood there taking them as AJ snarled and slammed Sylo against the nearby lockers. “Nail this son of a bitch!” AJ yelled over to Loneheart. Bane came forward and swung. He nailed Sylo right in the gut as The Superbeast fell to one knee. Sylo spit to the side casually as both Bane and AJ smirked, admiring their handy work thus far. What they didn’t expect was Sylo to stand up. “That it? I was hit by a fucking Hummer and you think your giant ham hands and his puny little pipe are going to put me down? Wow, you’re both thick. So I think I’ll go now,” Sylo’s tone was as casual as talking about the weather. “Why you cocky son of a bi-” AJ didn’t get to finish as Sylo decked him and in one motion sent him flying into Loneheart. “Get off me! Damn it! Get off me and get him!” Loneheart screamed at AJ. Meanwhile Sylo picked the lead pipe up, twirled it a little as he casually walked over to AJ and cracked him on the back of the neck. AJ groaned and rolled off Loneheart who tried to slide on his ass out of the door but Sylo kicked it shut. “Bane, I’m not going to hurt you, why would I do that? You have an important match. All I’m going to do to you is what you’ve done not only to Blade but your opponent for tonight as well,” Sylo finished as he picked Bane up by the collar of his shirt. Bane tried to plead and when he realized that wouldn’t work he tried to fight out but it was no use. Sylo shoved him face first into the nearby wall and Loneheart bounced off but before he could react. CRACK! The lead pipe buckled Loneheart’s knee. He cried out in pain as Sylo picked him up by the collar again and opened the door. “Sorry, you really shouldn’t see the rest of this. You have a match to get ready for.” And just like that Loneheart flew into the hallway with a thud, his lead pipe was launched right into his gut, and the door slammed. Sylo turned back to AJ who was still conscious and trying to get to his feet. Sylo casually kicked him in his broken ribs. “You should have stayed away Alexander. Your ego just wouldn’t let you accept it. Either that or you just wanted me to finish you off. I don’t know. I don’t care. Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I was riding a high from earlier in the night last time. Maybe I should have taken the extra step with you. I’m sorry for that. I’ll end you with the respect you deserve.” Sylo’s voice was still low, still casual, and it seemed a hell of a lot more eerie. AJ went to protest, he went to fight, he had to do something but it was too late as Sylo drove a boot into AJ’s skull making it collide with the steel lockers. The man once feared by many was now choking on his own blood as it cascaded out across the carpet. Sylo cocked his head to the side watching with a sort of amused boredom. Then he kicked his head into the lockers again. BANG! Again. BANG! It was a methodical rhythm. If you thought like Sylo you almost found it soothing. BANG! Sylo sighed as he reared back again. BANG! AJ’s face looked like hamburger meat. He was trying to crawl away but couldn’t. Sylo shook his head, a look of disgust and pity on his face, as he kneeled next to AJ. “Feel that? That’s a collapsed lung. The other is probably full of blood by now. That’s why you’re choking. It doesn’t matter how much you cough, honestly, it’ll have to be pumped out. They can save the lung and you may even keep one and not choke to death if you get to a hospital in time but,” Sylo looked down at AJ and sighed. “I wanted you to see something I’ve been working on. So you’re going to have to wait. Thank you for being patient though.” With one fluid motion Sylo had AJ locked in a triangle choke. AJ tried to fight but his arms resembled jelly. “It’s called No Escape, I don’t think I have to explain why. See if I hold this for too long you’ll suffocate. I can only imagine how horrible this must be since you’re already choking.” Sylo’s expression stayed dulled as he cranked it in tighter and AJ went completely limp. For the second time that night security rushed in but the damage was done. Sylo let go and moved over to the bench he previously was sitting on, sat down once more, and stared at the floor again. “Someone, get the fucking EMT’s in here! Oh my God...what has he done?” The lead security officer was shouting as loud as he could but Sylo wasn’t paying attention. He just sighed and went back to his thoughts. Vince Jacobs. It just had to be the right move and to Sylo it was as if AJ and Loneheart had never even happened. jOlt and the rest of the world had just witnessed what could possibly be the most dangerous man in the entire world and he was going to be in a ring with Superstar Vince Jacobs very soon. "Honest Mistake" The scene opened up with a little itty-bitty chyron in the corner that told folks that the events they were about to witness occurred earlier today. See? EARLIER TODAY. Yes. That thing. On the last edition of iNtense, a roving trio of assholes known collectively as The Heirs of Wrestling had scored a big win in their jOlt debut over the former jOlt Tag Team Champions Fueled by Ignorance. Seen traipsing about through the halls with a swagger that told the world “f-u-c-k y-o-u I'm a bawse” Frank Silver, Ryan Gallway, and Mack Brody each were cackling about something. “Then you saw the way she looked at me, dude,” Mack bragged. “She was all, dude that's the biggest I've ever seen. Then I told her, damn right it was.” “I told you, Mackie Brown,” Frank told his friend. “You keep whipping it out, you're going to make other people envious of you... even more so than they are already.” “I know!” Ryan yelled. “Especially when I'm laying my swag down! Quit taking that thing out in public!” Mack confidently reached into his pocket. “fuckin' right. In fact... I'm-a do it right now. Ready?” Frank and Ryan both waved their hands and tried to keep Mack from doing whatever he had planned... He reached and pulled something out of his pocket that was pretty big and... Silver? They make 'em in silver now? It's okay, FCC. Rest easy. Get your finger off the pixelation button. Mack was showing off his BRAND SPANKING NEW Samsung Galaxy S III with Verizon. AT&T who? It seemed that he was done with the HTC One X he used at ringside to film the Heirs' first victory. And now both Frank and Mack were groaning. “We get it. You less than three your phone,” Ryan frownd. “Shut the deuce up about it or I'm going to climb up there and *****-slap you. And besides, I've got something much better, dude. I saw this earlier and there's a place RIGHT here where I can get my intergalactic nines wet” “Hey, hey!” Frank chuckled. “Good to know. That brought a smile to Mack's face. “My kind of party. Let's do this!” Ryan approached a door and kicked it open with absolutely no tact whatsoever. He even yelled “KA-BLAMMY” when he did so. And what was on the other side of the door... were NOT. In fact... they were men who, like them, were in wrestling gear getting ready for something; probably a match they also had later. Ryan quickly started to shut the door in a hurry like he'd just walked in on something. “You chucklesfucks! Tie on the door if you're not finished!” Frank and Mack exchanged glances and nearly double face-palmed when the door opened. Out came none other than another young tag team looking to make it big in jOlt: The team of Dallas Griffin and Graham Youngblood. Collectively called the... “RINGRATS? YOU TRIED TO GET US RINGRATS? THESE AREN'T EVEN THE RIGHT FUCKING RINGRATS!” Frank tried to strangle Ryan, only for Mack to hold him back. Dallas and Graham looked nonplussed at the complete douchebags almost getting into a fight in front of the locker room door. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry!” Ryan shouted while Mack was trying his best to keep the peace between the Heirs. “I heard there was some ring rats in there!” “Yeah, assbites,” Dallas stated. “RingRats; from LoC's old training academy. THOSE RingRats. Who the hell are these guys?” “The Heirs of Wrestling,” Graham told his partner, “our opponents tonight.” Frank, Ryan, and Mack immediately stopped their childish bickering and looked at Youngblood. To their credit, he and Dallas weren't backing down from the group. “Yeah, I do my homework,” Graham said proudly. “And I might have been the only one that read the match listing by the gorilla position.” Dallas sneered. “Hey, don't blame me, I looked, just never seen 'em before. And clearly it's hard for them to read when they've got their heads up their asses.” None of the Heirs were even the slightest bit amused by anything Young “Kids... three words...” Frank looked up and held up three fingers to accentuate each syllable. “Puh-effin'-leeze. YOU'VE never seenUS? Kids must be aging a whole lot faster because I would SWEAR both of you pricks were just born yesterday. When WE come to the shows, we don't need to read ANYTHING. All we know is that whatever tag team gets laid out in front of us gets beat, plain and simple.” “Yeah, maybe you will...” Dallas stared Frank in the eye before turning his attention to Ryan. “Or maybe short-fuck over here keeps getting us confused for some knobslobbers. Maybe you keep looking past us. And maybe by the time he figures out what's going on, we beat YOU.” Ryan adjusted his fancy-ass hat and scarf (yes, scarf) and had himself a sarcastic chuckle himself. “Maybe? Maybe? No maybes here, rats. Funny you're called the RingRats because when we do tangle, you'll be OUR bitcheses.” “Knife. Tension. Yes.” Graham spat out. “Hope your big buddy back there has more bronzer cause you're gonna need it to hide the bruises you're gonna get.” The five men stared each other down before Dallas and Graham left the locker room area, leaving the Heirs to themselves. Ryan was about to lift his hand when Frank and Mack spun him around. A big finger from Mack jabbed him in the chest. “You don't get to wrestle tonight.” And with that, Silver and Brody left and now, Ryan was all by his lonesome. “Come on, honest mistake!” Adam Lazarus vs. Bane Loneheart *DING-DING-DING* Back in the ring, Bane Loneheart, fresh from a near death experience with Sylo and looking a little worse for wear, had a microphone in one hand and his trusty lead pipe in the other. "It's about respect." BOOOOO! "Better yet, it's about the lack of respect I get from ye people and the boys in the back. I'm a former jOlt International Champion. I was the almighty Brandon Blade's tag team partner and yet all of ye disrespect me and revere him. Why? WHY?!" "What did I do to deserve any of this?! What have I done besides prove, night in and night out, that I am every bit as much a competitor in that ring as anyone else in this company?! WHERE IS MY DAMNED RESPECT?!" The fans were letting Bane Loneheart have it, the full brunt of their ire. "That's fine, though. I learned I dinnae need ye to give me respect. I learned I can take it. Just like I took it from the almighty Brandon Blade and got him fired. Just like I took it from Adam Lazarus on Warriors. Just like I took it from The Superbeast tonight. Just like I'll take it from poor ol' Adam again right now. No respect shall be given to anyone who dinnae respect me in return. No, only pain. Only suffering. Only defeat. Tonight I ..." The fans let out a collective shriek and all attentioned was on the man sliding into the ring behind Bane Loneheart. Adam Lazarus rolled Bane Loneheart up, grabbed a nice big handful of tights, and propped both his feet up on the ropes for leverage. ONE! TWO! THREE! It looked like the only thing Bane Loneheart would be taking from anyone tonight would be a loss to Adam Lazarus and an elimination from the Underground #1 Contender's Tournament, as well as one seriously bruised ego. Adam Lazarus rolled back out of the ring and, walking backward up the ramp, revelled in his revenge on Bane Loneheart while Bane argued with the referee inside the ring. Finding that mission to be futile, Bane and his lead pipe made a bee-line for Adam Lazarus and both men disappeared through the curatin. Winner: Adam Lazarus via Pinfall "Party Crashing" Some things just feel right… Now is one of those times, over the past week rumors all over the internet of current BHC Heavyweight Champion “The Dream” Marcus Davis coming to terms with the recently awakened Jolt promotion have been at the tip of every conversation. Along with his recent spat over Sylo and his believed chosen exit from the UltraTitle. Just a few days ago it was announced that he had officially decided to sign a contract with Jolt and would be appearing live in Buffalo, New York to address the Jolt crowd for the very first time…all of that was speculation until… …The arena turned to black… “My Dreams….” A light blue light begins to shine through the arena, especially covering the entry way as the crowd looks on in wonder after hearing “The Dream” Marcus Davis’ voice. “Are Your Nightmare!” An explosion goes off at the entry way as “The Chapter of Dreams” by Itsuki Sato blasts through the arena; Marcus comes from the back wearing clothes from his DreamLine company, his silk white collar shirt and tan khakis’ look great as he walks to the ring. He circles the ring slapping the hands of fans, “Marcus Davis has all the potential to make a huge impact here in Jolt!” Michael Buhrman stated. “Yeah…if he doesn’t bore us all to death!” Nathan Powers quickly interjected. Marcus makes his way into the ring as the excited crowd greets him with cheers, some fans are even chanting “Dream” repeatedly as he is handed a microphone by the ring attendant. Before Marcus can get one word out "Welcome To The Jungle" By Guns 'n' Roses plays throughout the arena, Pyro begins to rain down on the entrance way as "Hollywood" Vince Matthews makes his way from the back arms extended with his back to the camera. he's wearing all black and wearing sunglasses which he takes off and hooks them on his shirt while smirking towards the ring "Is that who I think it is?" Michael Buhrman stated. "Yep I can't believe it myself, Vince Matthews in the flesh here in Jolt" Nathan Powers replies. Vince pulls a mic from his back pocket and begins to speak. "Hello Marcus! Long time no see! Who knew you were going to be here? I guess it's a small world after all! Actually that's not true, I knew you'd be here and I thought what better time to announce that I have signed a very Lucrative contract to wrestle here in JOLT than during one of my greatest rivals' promo time? I mean surely you don't mind do ya sharing the limelight do ya? I mean we share a quite a history than spans several promotions and hell several countries. Of course I won most of our matches not to mention beating in front of your home crowd but that's here nor there.” A smirk comes over Marcus’ face as the Buffalo crowd boos Matthews. Marcus looks out to the crowd and pulls the microphone up to his face. “I would say that I was surprised…by not only your misrepresentation of the past..but by you showing up here tonight…But…I’m really not…Not in the least bit.” Marcus walks around a bit, “Yeah, he’s always been better than you Davis.” Nathan Powers throws in. “You were always the one that craved attention were you not Vince? You were always the one who would do anything for the almighty dollar correct?” Marcus shrugs and motions towards Vince to respond. "Hey Money makes the world go around does it not? In my opinion if you're going to do anything worth a damn in life make sure you are the best and highest paid at it! As for me craving attention, well you got me there.. but the thing I crave more than attention is compeition! The Attention is just a very welcomed by product of that. So don't you come out here and get on your soapbox and tell me you aren't like me and don't crave the same things I do because we both know the truth! Just like we know who the better wrestler that’s right I said Wrestler!” Vince Replies. A smirk comes over Marcus’ face as the crowd boos Matthews. “Well..they’re letting you know how they feel…Just a little louder to make sure he can hear you.” The crowd boos Matthews more as Marcus leans against the ropes looking directly down the entry way. Vince doesn’t look at all pleased by the crowds booing. “Vince..the only thing you are better at than I am is sucking up to promoters in order to line your pockets and get title shots. The only reason you’re here is because you heard my name being mentioned all around the world, you knew if you stirred the pot one more time that you would be able to cash in.” Marcus states as the camera shoots to a view of Matthews before cutting back to Davis. “So why don’t you do everyone in this arena a favor and hop your ass back on a plane back to Hollywood?” Marcus’ voice was direct when delivering the line and cheers rang out through the crowd as Marcus points off to his left before beginning to walk around the ring again. Matthews snarls as he pulls the microphone to his lips. “These two really don’t like each other.” Michael added. "I Could do that but I would rather how do you say it "Piss in your punchbowl" and stay here in JOLT and do what I do best and it's not playing favorites with promoters either.” Matthews snickers in disgust. “It's talking the talk and then going out and backing up exactly what I said! The only thing that brings me more pleasure in my career than money, titles and ladies is to shut the people's mouths!” Vince points at Davis. “Lets think it about Davis do these people pay their money to see you win or do they pay to see you try and that is the key word try to beat me giving them that brief moment of joy before the harsh reality of their hohum lives comes crashing in? Remember Marcus you're biggest and most lucrative moments came because you did just that! You will never admit it but I am the devil you need to make your angel act be the best it's ever gonna be. But only this time there's not gonna be a happy ending to this story! BANK ON IT!” Vince drops the microphone as his music hits. He turns around and walks to the back without another word. Davis stands in the ring simply shaking his head. "You're Ready" Ray sat on a steel folding chair backstage in a makeshift office complete with water cooler and fax machine. It felt like an autograph session as he signed his name on every piece of paper, his new manager, Keith slid in front of him. “That was the last one. How ya feelin champ?” Keith asked of his new meal ticket. Ray dug his thumb deep into his palm trying desperately to massage a cramp out. “Just glad it’s over. When do I meet with Jim?” Keith rolled up the papers and stuffed them into his back pocket. “Ya know he’s a busy guy with door barely opening, right? jOlt isn’t like the LoC, Ray. We have all these new rules and regulations to follow. What’s important is that ya start makin some cheddar! Is the General ready to take command once again?” Ray shook his head in disapproval, resting his elbow on the table and grabbing his forehead. “I’m not that guy anymore. I was never the general of anything, but lies and deceit. In all honesty, I’m not comfortable with any of this. Not anywhere. Not ever.” Keith realized this could be a potential problem. The voice was the same, but he could not shake the feeling the Ray Chavez sitting before him was a shell of what he once was. The poor sucker had actually hit rock bottom and that was bad for business. “Hey bud, what does comfort have to do with anything? You’re still a name! The Equal-fuckin-lizer! I wipe my ass with comfort.” Keith scratched at his balding head quite perplexed. “Just out of curiosity, why wrestling? Why’d ya come back?” That was the most sincere question he had asked of the former Relentless champion. “My daughter just turned twenty about a month ago. She and I haven’t really seen eye to eye, well… ever. She went up to live with her aunt when she was younger and made it perfectly clear she wanted nothing to do with me. She blamed me for my wife’s death. I’m a man though, so I’m supposed to be able to handle that type of mind fuck right?” Ray paused to reflect on a past memory of when times had been a bit more enjoyable. He swallowed and continued, “She’s in an ivy league college now that her aunt helps pay for with money I’ve been secretly sending her for the last five years. That was until I got caught up with the federal government for back taxes. Million here, a million there. All I have left is my regret and the clothes on my back.” “Wow. I had no idea champ. This world can stick a lot of shit to ya, but it’s all about stickin it right back! I see a future with you as the jOlt champion of the world!” Keith said bobbling his head up and down with his arms wide open. It was an amusing thought, but who was he kidding. “Champion? No, no. People will never forget about the manipulating bastard I once was, the mastermind, the soulless piece of shit that would do anything for financial gain. Those things will forever define me, no matter what I do to try and change it,” Ray pointed to his face behind the mask, “This is what I am now. A hideous, revolting, monster like something out of a horror flick. This is what they’ll see, so they’ll never see me.” “Tough titty said the kitty but the milks still good. That’s just somethin my ma used to tell me, ah nevermind. Look, I get it. You feel like shit because ya lost everything. Your money, daughter, fame, agent, blah blah blah. I’m not a moron! I’m the guy that lights a fire under your ass to awaken the giant within! Yes! That’s right baby! I’m quoting Tony Robbins cause, contrary to popular belief, I do read ****in books! Allow me to put a smile on ya face now. While you were signing all those papers and thought I left the room to take piss, I actually made a quick phone call.” Keith eagerly paced around the room bouncing his head up and down. “Oh yeah baby. It’s time to repackage “The Equalizer” Ray Chavez. Leave all the heavy lifting to me bud. Now, wait for it. I got you booked on tonight’s card!” Ray bolted out of his seat, “You did what!? I’m not ready. I... I can’t go out there. Not like this.” “Yes ya can,” Keith reassured. Now it was Ray feeling anxious, “I haven’t even trained in months.” “Ya look fine,” Keith stated with a grin. “I CAN’T!!” Ray shouted with the roar of a lion. “Ya have no choice, really. This is the only job ya have right now. Hell, the only one ya can still do better than most other the chumps here.” The whisper of “Equalizer”… blared over the PA system. PAIN… PLEASURE… WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT… The music echoed throughout the arena to the bewilderment of the fans. They had never heard it before and neither had Ray. Ray stood there contemplating his next move. “I didn’t even bring any wrestling gear.” Keith quickly ran over to where Ray stood, “Ya do know I’m a natural problem solver, right?” With that he ripped Ray’s shirt off, revealing a massive physique with a couple new additions. Keith let his eyes slowly transition from one scarred point on Ray’s body to the next. The entire right side had been consumed with the remnants of mangled flesh. “Ray… what happened to ya?” that would mark the second sincere question of the night. Ray looked down at his chest, the same damn scars he had tried so desperately hard to conceal. He slowly brought his head back to eye level with Keith. As sternly as he could he instructed, “If we are going to do this, then you must never ever ask me anything about this. I’m serious. Never, Keith.” Keith folded his hands in front of him like a schoolboy being disciplined by the teacher. Ray could not rid himself of the lump in his throat. So many thoughts were racing. Questions he was not sure he wanted answer to. The music was still playing as the crowd waited on. “The music. Your idea I take it?” Ray asked with the tiniest formation of a smirk showing on the left side of his face while the mask covered the rest. Keith gently nodded “Told ya I’d repackage.” “I’m rusty. Is my opponent anyone I should be worried about” Ray asked, rolling his arms and shoulders in a backward motion. Keith quickly responded, “He’s nothin champ. I could barely hear with the bad reception and all, but I think ya got a match against a new addition to the roster named Randall. I could stomp a thousand Randalls into oblivion!” “I guess it’s time.” Ray said as made his way towards the entrance ramp. “I’m right behind ya, baby. Nerves of steel.” And with that Keith slammed the door shut behind them Heirs of Wrestling vs. RingRats The next match was going to pit two different tag teams from two different walks of life. The first being the Heirs of Wrestling; a trio of spoiled, trained, rich, pompous assholes who made some outrageous claims. The problem with said claims was that by hook or by crook, they were one of those teams who could actually back it up and did so everywhere else they've been. The RingRats consisted of Dallas Griffen and Graham Youngblood. A pair of young students of the now-defunct RingRats Academy now looking to get their careers kicked off. After a rather... er, unique... run-in with the Heirs earlier in the evening, this match had a little extra fire under it and now the RingRats were looking to pull out the upset. “Primetime Ratings!” The in-house theme of one Dallas Griffin played and the music brought out the duo looking to pull out the upset in this tag team match. The 6'3” and 250-pound Griffin was all business as he approached the ring. Trailing right behind him was his tag team partner, Graham Youngblood. The fans gave the RingRats a good response as Graham high-fived a few fans on his way to the ring. They, like the Heirs, had the youth and athleticism on their side. Could they put it together and score a huge win tonight? Dallas and Graham both shook hands inside the ring and looked poised to do just that. “Forever (Travis Barker Remix)” by Drake. Next, the lights dimmed to a single spotlight. And in this giant spotlight, the fans booed the presence of the self-proclaimed tag team dynasty. Frank Silver, Ryan Gallway, flanked by their friend and big bodyguard, Mack Brody, appeared ready for action as well. “And their opponents... being accompanied to the ring by Ryan Gallway.. hailing from a wonderful Spring residence in The Florida Everglades... at a combined weight of 575 pounds, they are the team of Frank Silver and Mack Brody... The Heirs of Wrestling!” It was the big man, Mack Brody's turn to show exactly what he could do in the squared circle. And standing at 6'6” and 320 pounds, needless to say he could probably cause lots of trouble for the RingRats crew, who were both plotting in their corner. The match was going to start with Mack Brody and Dallas Griffin. Graham and Frank looked on from their respective corners as the bell rang. “Break their asses in half and humble them!” Ryan shouted from the ringside area. Mack rolled his eyes as Dallas started off fast and furious, coming out swinging! He kicked away at Mack Brody with several hard shots to the legs to try and knot the big man's leg. He popped him with a few rights. Brody returned fire with one of his own, but Dallas ducked and and swung away at him some more trying to get the early advantage. An Irish whip attempt by Griffin turned out to be a big mistake. The Bronze Bomber planted himself firmly into the ground and launched him into the ropes. When he came back off the rebound Brody ducked low, but he telegraphed too early when Griffin went sliding and UPPERCUTTED Brody hard in the jaw! The blow even rocked the big man a bit, but he was still on his feet as Dallas looked wide-eyed, wondering what he needed to do to bring him down. He tackled Brody with all his strength into his corner and the tag was made to Graham Youngblood! Griffin and Youngblood showed some great teamwork as they each grabbed Mack by an arm and twisted around... double punch to the gut followed and a big pair of clubbing forearms to double him over in the corner. Griffin kicked away at Brody in the corner. The big man tried to defend himself, but Graham was much too quick, ducking under a shot and returning three more quick kicks of his own. Frank and Ryan watched from their corner while Dallas Griffin quickly tagged himself in again. Griffin got himself some room across the ring and charged forward... CORNER ELBOW SMASH! Brody was stunned by the shot from Griffin, but they weren't done. Griffin kneeled over on all fours while Graham Youngblood used his tag team partner like a launching pad, connecting with a flying leg lariat in the corner! After he got back up from the landing, Griffin kicked away at him with several more shots and tried to keep his distance from Brody. He went looking for some kind of suplex, but Brody was way too strong and CLOBBERED him with a big forearm to the head. Just one shot had turned the tide. He sent Griffin into the ropes and when he got there, Frank nailed him in the back with a knee when he came close to the Heirs' corner. The blow only stunned Dallas for a second as he turned around and Dropkicked Frank right off the apron! The fans cheered for Griffin kicking Frank's face in, but when he turned around... DISCUS LARIAT FROM BRODY! When Griffin recovered from the Dropkick, he left himself wide open and Mack made him pay for it. He ran over and nailed a Big Boot on Graham, kicking the other half of the RingRats right off the apron! “Don't make fun of my bronzer!” Brody shouted before turning his attention back to the downed Griffin. He dragged the other half of the RingRats over to the corner and tagged in Frank. They both launched him to the corner and sent him flying to the ropes. Griffin landed in the corner while Frank and Mack measured him up. Frank whipped Mack into a hard Body Avalanche that crushed Griffin in the corner and Frank came charging right after that with a Running Back Elbow! Frank was the legal man now and when Griffin staggered into his grip, he kicked him in the stomach... GET BENT! The Spinning Gutwrench Toss DROVE Griffin into the ground and Frank showed great strength all his own. He kneeled over and went for a cover. ONE! TWO! THR... NO! Griffin got the shoulder up. Frank wasn't too pleased and dragged him back to his feet. The Sovereign Superman kicked Dallas in the knee and tried to whip him, but Dallas reversed that and sent Silver flying. He charged at him in the corner, but he was caught and PLANTED hard into the top turnbuckle with a Reverse STO! Dallas fell to his knees and Frank grabbed him by the hair, pulling him back over to the corner of The Heirs. Ryan Gallway was filming the match from Mack's prized Samsung Galaxy III while Frank tagged in big Mack Brody. Big Brody simply opted to go crazy all over Dallas, stomping away at him in the corner. The boots just kept on flying and continued to wail on him. “That's what you get, chucklefuck!” Ryan yelled right into the face of Dallas, who was getting stomped on in the corner by Brody. The blows continued to keep on coming as he pulled Dallas up and set him against the ropes. He grabbed him by the legs and fell backwards, throwing Dallas up HARD into the ropes with a Catapult Hangman! Dallas coughed for air and struggled as Mack made the tag back to Frank Silver again. He raised the pinky to the crowd and roared out “YE OLDE ROYALE ELBOWE!” That damn stupid elbow that he'd been dropping on countless opponents over the last few years had landed on another victim and he went for a pretty lazy cover with a boot over Dallas' chest. ONE... TWO... Dallas pushed the boot off him with ease, but he'd taken a pretty bad beating from the Heirs in the last several minutes. Graham Youngblood slapped the turnbuckle and tried to get the fans into it, who were cheering in kind. They hated the Heirs and were happy to give the RingRats some extra support as Frank kept him pinned down in the corner. He lightly slapped Dallas in the back of the head as he led him up by the arm. “Who's the bitch, now?” Frank laughed at Griffin's expense as he paintbrushed the back of his head some more. He whipped him cross-corner and tried to charge in... NOTHING BUT CORNER! Frank missed the splash while Dallas went running out of the corner and when he came back, he nearly KILLED Frank with a FLYING LARIAT! Silver was ass over tea kettle rolling on the mat while Dallas collapsed himself, putting all his strength into the Lariat. Youngblood was now ready for the tag while Frank was trying to figure out where the hell he was. Once he shook the cobwebs out of his own head, Dallas looked out to the crowd and pointed over to Youngblood. He rolled over and made his way to the corner... TAG TO YOUNGBLOOD! The fans cheered on the Boston native as he climbed to the top rope and came flying off with a HUGE Cross Body right onto Frank Silver! He rolled off and landed to his feet before he charged over and dropkicked Mack off the ring apron, getting himself some revenge from earlier! Mack stumbled around on the floor as Graham waited for Frank to get back to his feet. He knocked him down with a pair of Clotheslines and kept the mouthpiece of the Heirs at bay while waiting for him to get back to his feet again. He whipped him off to the corner and followed him in, using the ropes as a springboard to land a Flying Back Elbow to Frank! Frank collapsed to a seated position while Graham was playing to the crowd. He did a lap around the ring before he sped across the ring and connected with a Hesitation Dropkick right to the face of Frank! He pulled the Sovereign Superman out of the corner and went for the cover again. ONE! TWO! THR... NO! Frank got the shoulder up while Graham shook his head. He shook his head in disbelief that his flurry didn't net him the win, but he stayed on the attack with a few elbows to the back of Frank's head. He pulled Silver up to his feet and used all his strength to get the 250-pounder up over his shoulder... But Mack was back in the ring and pulled Frank out of his grip. He kicked Youngblood in the stomach despite the referee's protest to get out of the ring. The Bronze Bomber lifted Graham over his own shoulder, but Dallas grabbed Graham by the leg and saved his tag team partner, pulling him out of Mack's clutches. The big man turned around and tried to charge at Graham, but some quick thinking by the RingRats sent Brody sailing over the ropes and out to the floor! Graham tagged in Dallas Griffin and let him take the fight to Frank in the ring while he went for a dive onto Brody... MISSED! He went for a crazy dive, but some quick thinking by Brody and he cleared the area making Graham go SPLAT in the ringside floor after a missed Pescado! Dallas was slugging away at Frank in the corner, but not for long as a NASTY shot from Mack Brody caught him in the back of the head. Silver took a second to recover from the barrage from Dallas as he and Mack nodded at one another. Mack whipped Dallas across the ring and crushed him with another HARD Corner Clothesline! Frank was waiting on the top rope on the opposite side as Mack rolled Dallas by the head into a Snapmare-like move that put him in the center of the ring... THE FLYING ELBOW DROP by Frank was nailed perfectly! The three-step finisher that the Heirs had been working on was called... THE TRIPLE CROWN! Frank was the legal man and cradled the fallen body of Dallas Griffin, pulling back on the legs. ONE! TWO! THREE! The RingRats definitely took the fight to the Heirs and put up a damn good showing for themselves, but the experience factor belonged to the Heirs of Wrestling and allowed them to snag another impressive victory. Frank was helped to his feet by Mack Brody as he and Ryan Gallway all huddled together to start... yup, they were swaying back and forth, dancing and rocking out to their music. Assholes. “JOLT TAG TEAM TITLES!” Frank shouted to the camera as the three of them cackled and walked out of the ring as Graham struggled to get in the ring and check on his tag team partner. And if the Heirs had their say, they'd be in line for a tag team title shot sooner rather than later. Winner: Heirs of Wrestling via Pinfall "A Citizen's Warning II" The fans within the jOlt arena were abuzz once again, awaiting the action of the forthcoming match when the lights killed for a second week in a row. The slow hum of the tron sparking to life was evident due to the eerie black glow coming from it, and the mask of Citizen, dull, but very evident. “We all eventually face our demons,” the sound of the vocalizer began, “I warned you all last week that it would begin on the very first episode of Warriors. I hope I didn’t disappoint.” “The fate of this tournament is inevitable, and it doesn’t matter who I ended up pitted against. My mission is too important to fail, and there isn’t a man in this company who is strong enough to break my will. You may not understand it now, but in time you will grow to love me for the actions that I do. For the simple fact that I am helping to bring to you the light of all things and the nature of their being.” “Money is the root of all evil, and it’s the one thing that the men within this company strive to attain the most. You are only worth your weight in gold, as the old adage goes.” Citizen paused for a moment, “Within our business, you are only worth your weight in sales. Being able to push the merchandise that you are told to push, being able to sale the autographs that you are forced to sign, and being able to fill the seats in the arenas.” “What they don’t want you to know, is that regardless of the fact if you cheer them or you boo them, they all loathe the fact that they are forced to do these things. Last week, I exposed this in Jason Rau, and he will never be the same for it. A man who calls the jOlt champion his friend, a man who pandered to you, week in and week out in his last stint with this company. Jason, you have now seen the light of a brighter day, and you can thank me for that.” “As the weeks progress, more will fall and their lives will be changed in one way or another due to my hand. This coming week on Warriors, you will all see the demise and rebirth of Colin Mitchell. Unlike Jason Rau, you have embraced the calling of this business and you have never let that fake waver. There is nothing you can throw in my path that I haven’t survived in the past; there is nothing that you can do that I won’t come back from. On that day, you will all witness a change in the life of one Mike Extreme.” “This all leads to one inevitable fact,” Citizen paused once more, “a fact that I have made clear from the very beginning. I am coming for you, Jason Roberts. Once I have physically and mentally destroyed the rest of the underlings in this tournament it will come down to the two of us. And I will strip you of the very thing that brings you the most joy in this world, the Underground Championship. Enjoy it the most you can over the coming weeks, because when Divide and Conquer descends upon us all, you will be in for the fight you never thought you would ever have to step into. Tick, tock, Jason, tick, tock.” With that final comment, the tron died down and the lights in the arena were brought back up. More cryptic messages from the Enigma of the jOlt promotion, and then it was done. Ray Chavez vs. Grendel With his newly acquired theme music still blaring loudly over the PA system, the “repackaged” Equalizer Ray Chavez took center stage as he walked out from behind the curtain. He stood there for a moment while the camera lights flashed and the crowd gave him a mixed reaction. They still did not have a clue who he was. Ray stood there in his dark blue jeans and shirtless, his mask the only protection from the many faces in the crowd. There may have been a few fans that took notice to his trademark tattoo, but for the most part the majority was oblivious. This all felt refreshing to Ray, but different at the same time. He questioned rather he deserved to even be there. He felt a nudge from behind as his newly appointed manager, Keith Kane (former LoC color commentator), noticed his hesitation and ran to the ring, all the while swinging his arms to entice the fans to go crazy. Ray started walking down the aisle once he realized he had been stagnant for long enough. Keith grabbed a microphone from the nearby announce table and entered the ring via the steel steps. Ray inched closer and closer, the tightness in his chest intensified with each step he took. He could not get the thought out of his head that every single person in that arena was mocking him. Keith was now in the ring with a microphone in hand, his armpits soaked with perspiration. Luckily for him he was wearing a grey tweed sports coat that covered the worst of it. Keith was only 5ft 8inches and weighed about 200 pounds. He was a pudgy man with a balding head, thick mustache, and a sleazy disposition. For whatever reason, he man now managed one of the most popular figures in sports entertainment. “No idea why Brad didn’t announce my client, but I’ll discuss that with him later. I see some of ya out there with a puzzled look on your face, but you are in for the ride of your lives. So without further a due, Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages, the man before ya is as special as they come. Ya may have seen him on the big screen in some of your favorite motion pictures. Well tonight ya get to see him on the biggest screen of them all. jOltvision baby!” Keith pointed stiffly at the jOltron above the entrance ramp. He was actually quite the showman. The mere mention of a celebrity garnered enough attention from the live audience resulting in a massive amount of cheers. As Ray entered the ring slower than usual, ring lights flooded his body and revealed the hideous scars draped over the entire right side of his body. Some jaws dropped while others turned away, uncomfortable with the imagery. Ray brushed the hair out of his face as everyone in attendance took a good look at the mask which covered half his face. It was obvious this man had scars under his mask, but they were pretty well covered. “Who is this masked man in ring? I don’t recognize him. Do you Mike?” asked jOlt color commentator Nathan Powers. “I’d be lying if I said I had a clue. The only disfigured celebrity that comes to mind is Freddy Kreuger?” responded jOlt play-by-play announcer Michael Buhrman, which came out not entirely what he intended. “I assure ya, behind that mask is one of the greatest men I’ve ever known. Get ya butts up out of ya seats because this man is a former Relentless champion and he’s come back, against doctor orders, for your entertainment. Yes, the same title currently held by a man that looks like he hasn’t touched a treadmill since he started in this wrastlin’ business.” He paused briefly to catch his breath and let the red drain from his face. “He weighs in at 240 pounds. He stands at 6 feet 4 inches tall. He hails from Los Angeles, California. That’s right, near Hollywood and the beach! Put ya hands together for the man that told me, and I quote, there is no other reason in the world that I would ever do this day in and day out if it wasn’t for the great fans that make it possible.” The fans roared with approval. Ray looked out amongst the sea of cheering fans from behind the mask that hid his eternal demise. “I give you The Equalizer Ray Chavez!!” Keith screamed as loud as he could. He stood there, chest heaving in and out rapidly, while the fans damn near blew the roof off the place. It worked he thought. Brad Arnold managed to snatch the microphone back from Keith’s hand. Keith chuckled a bit and gave him a steady wink. “Eye” by the Smashing Pumpkins blasted over PA. “And his opponent, weighing in at 337 pounds. He stands at 6 foot 11 inches. Grendel!!” he announced before exiting the ring. The hulking monster known as Grendel made his way out to a chorus of boos. His white hair covered most of his face as he made his way to the ring. He wore brown pants that appeared to be ripped at the calves. “He looks like he means business,” Nathan powers commented. Keith was in shock at ringside by Grendel’s enormous size in comparison to his client’s. Ray looked over at Keith and shook his head disapprovingly. It was not long before Grendel entered the ring. Ray noticed his teeth were clenched and he too wore a mask. The bell sounded. DING DING DING Grendel snarled and lunged at Ray with a solid right to the temple. The force of the blow disoriented an unprepared Equalizer. Grendel continued the assault with a bombardment of lefts and rights as Ray did his best to cover up. Grendel capitalized on Ray’s defense and drove his knee into his abdomen, driving all the air out of Ray’s lungs. With Ray leaned over, Grendel jabbed Ray in the throat, causing Ray to let out choking sounds as he landed hard on his back. Ray laid prone on the mat wondering why each blow Grendel delivered felt like a bus was hitting him. Before he could think any longer, Grendel stomped several times on Ray’s lower back, almost as if he intended to break it! “That’s a bit unorthodox,” Nathan Powers commented, not knowing if Ray’s back could snap at any moment. Grendel picked Ray up with a handful of hair and flung him into the turnbuckle with ferocity. The impact felt like Ray was colliding with a brick wall. Wincing from the pain, Ray raised his head up to see a 337 barbarian running at him full steam. Ray did not move as his timing was completely off and he was met with a solid clothesline causing his body to pop up and slam down hard on the mat. “Come on champ! You can do it!” Keith encouraged from ringside, hoping to spark some life back into the abysmal performance from Ray so far. Grendel would not give Ray any time to catch his breath, quickly hoisting him up to an upright position again. Grendel heaved Ray high up with a military press, holding him there with ease, walking around the ring as if he was carrying a sack of potatoes. Grendel used a bit of strength for the last effort push as Ray’s body went up and came crashing down face-first. The fans were not happy with the match so far. They wanted more fight out of The Equalizer, even if he was in the ring with the pro-wrestling version of Juggernaut. They started chanting, “Let’s Go Chavez, Let’s Go Chavez, Let’s Go Chavez!!” It had been a long time since Ray had heard that. It was like music to his ears. Ray struggled to get to his feet, noticing Grendel was barefoot. He popped up quickly and stomped on each foot, causing Grendel to stumble backwards a short distance. The fans cheered loudly for this unexpected comeback. Even Keith was ecstatic and raised both arms. Now it was Ray’s turn to deal some damage in this debut match. Ray delivered some solid rights to Grendel’s large head, followed by three knife-edge chops that echoed throughout the arena. Grendel took the shots and kept on coming. Ray turned around, bounced off the ropes, and clotheslined Grendel to no avail. Second time should be the charm. Ray bounced off the ropes again and followed with a second clothesline, this one causing Grendel to take two steps back until his back was flush with the ropes. This time Ray would send him over the top ropes with the same move as before. He bounced off the ropes, but before he could raise his arm on the return, he was met with a big boot that clobbered him back to the mat, twisting his body in the process. Grendel raised his right foot in air then dropped a colossal legdrop on Ray’s neck. He rolled his limp body over for the pin. 1… 2… NO!! Ray managed to raise his arm in the nick of time. He could hear Keith pounding the mat in an effort to revive him. Not only did Ray have ring rust, but he was also experiencing a level of fatigue quite foreign to him. The fans were still behind Ray with different chants and claps. Grendel was the first one to his feet, Ray a distant second. He wrapped his giant arm around Ray’s neck, bringing him vertical for, what looked to be a suplex. At the last minute, Grendel dropped his own body with a deadly brainbuster! He then rolled on top of Ray. 1… 2… SO CLOSE!!! Ray kicked out, not understanding where this reserve energy was coming from. Grendel let out a growl out of frustration. He picked up Ray effortlessly and irish whipped him into the ropes. He missed a lariat as Ray ducked, then a forearm smash as he ducked again. Grendel would not miss a third time as he gave Ray an arched tilt-the-whirl-backbreaker. The cover. 1… 2… NO!! Ray had so much fight in him. Grendel brought him up so he was on his knees. He locked his hand around Ray’s jaw and squeezed his hardest, as Grendel leaned in closer, his body shaking with anger. With every ounce of strength he wanted to break Ray’s jaw! “Ya big bastard, LET HIM GO!!” Keith shouted, trying to get the monster’s attention. Ray felt the grasp loosen up, but seemed to notice a brief glimpse of Grendel grinning from behind the mask. The next thing Ray knew, he was hoisted up face-forward on Grendel’s broad shoulders. Ray began drilling Grendel with fierce right hand shots to the face. With each hit, Grendel took a step towards the announce table position. Out of desperation, Ray leaned in and bit Grendel’s head, only to be immediately powerbombed over the top rope. Ray’s back hit first, his neck whipped back and his head bounced hard against the outside mat. Grendel stood admiring his work for a second, then motioned for Ray to get back in the ring. There was absolutely no movement on Ray’s part. 1… 2…. 3…. Keith rushed over to check on Ray. 4… 5… Keith slapped Ray’s face a couple times, but he appeared to be out cold. 6… 7… “Grendel just destroyed The Equalizer Nate!” Burhman exclaimed. 8… 9… Keith looked up at Grendel in the ring, a smug-frustrated look. 10…!! “Are you serious, Ray Chavez just lost his first match in jOlt?” Nate asked. “I don’t know if we can call that match. It looked more like a predator slaughtering it’s prey.” Burhman added. DING DING DING “Your winner of the match, Grendel!” Brad announced before moving out of the way as Grendel stepped over the ropes and onto the floor. In a gutsy move, Keith shielded Ray’s unconscious body with his own, hands extended, pleading with Grendel to leave them both alone. Grendel brought his fist up and stalked Keith as he jumped to his feet. Grendel kept walking towards him with no emotion. Keith covered his face and ended up tripping over his own feet, falling on his rear. Keith screamed out in agony, clutching at his ankle which he apparently injured in the fall. The referee motioned for the medical staff, while Grendel backed off. “Eye” by The Smashing Pumpkins cued up as Grendel walked up the entrance ramp to the same boos he had entered with. The only difference was he had his first victory in jOlt, the first of many. Winner: Grendel via Knockout "The One Eyed Man is King" The black-masked face of a man appeared live from the backstage area, to everyone in attendence. His face was a familiar one even though it was masked, because that mask that he wore? It only had one eye. YES, One Eye nodded his head and patted the green gem that rested on his chest, an air of confidence to his manor since this was the man who had defeated Bane Loneheart, this was the man who had advanced to face Derecho in the Underground Championship tournament. The fans cheered the Mask Enigma as he bowed towards the camera backstage, a smile almost showing through the mask. “Evening. I proud to be here. Here is the great US of A. I know little word in engrish and wish to say 'Arigatou' Phoenix-san. Arigatou gozaimasu. We shall fight, fight for fans. Fight for HONOR of Jolt ‘Restring.” He peered out through his lone eye hole at the audience. His new fans. His new life-blood who applauded in kind, as it seemed that One Eye was answering the call for combat laid down by jOlt’s newest superstar during the first Warriors broadcast. The open challenge of Phoenix had been accepted. As if his fellow masked competitors ears were burning he were burning, Phoenix appeared beside the Masked Enigma. The competitor from clan Ryuko tensed up, on habit, in the presence of his lucha-influenced compatriot. “The man with one eye,” came the graveled voice of the tall, lean, bird of fire, “It’s as if you heard me asking for you, without having to even say the word.” The audience applauded the potential showdown between two growing fan favorites. “This match was meant to be then, Phoenix-san.” One Eye replied susintically with a nod, his broken English taking him only so far. “One could say… I am honored to fight a king.” “King?” One Eye was confused by this truly enigmatic lucha, “Arigatou Phoenix-san. I heir to my household, but I no king.” “In the world of the blind, the one eyed man is king." And that’s all Phoenix had to say, leaving his honored competitor, the man who was now set to face him later in the night… standing alone once again. It was a cold exit for a man who seemed so warm towards the fans, just a few days prior. And One Eye? The true fan favorite kept his eye on Phoenix… The Golden Masked Man on Fire was his next opponent; he could return his mind to the Underground tournament after tonight’s ‘fight of honor’ was complete. "Will Your True Friends Stand Up?" Vince Jacobs sat in locker room lacing his boots as he was going to be stepping into the ring to defend his Legacy Championship against the SuperBeast, Sylo. Vince knew this was going to be a daunting task. He had to go into the ring to face a man that was over seven feet tall and weighing close to three hundred and fifty pounds. If Vince Jacobs was nervous he definitely was not showing it. The champ looked over to the small coffee table that had his signature fruit tray on it, as the light from the room hit the gold of his Legacy Championship just right. The champ smiled as he went back to lacing his boots. Suddenly the door slowly crept open and in walked the Russian hottie, Natalia. Jacobs never looked up at his partner as he continued to lace his boots. “Where were you, Natalia?” Jacobs said as he lifted his head to see Natalia upset. “I went to see Jay.” Natalia spoke, her Russian accent cutting through the anxiety that was felt in the room. Jacobs shook his head. “Why?” Natalia felt she did not have to answer to Vince about who she talked to. “Cause I wanted him to end this silly little vendetta he has against you.” Vince sighed as he stood to his feet, looking at Natalia as he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Nat, you don’t understand. Sylo has been jealous of me for years. He wants to be as popular and entertaining as me. The problem is that Sylo wants everyone to believe that he is the best thing since sliced bread. He wants people to believe that he fighting for a noble cause and not being the same selfish prick he’s always been.” “Vince I have known Jay for years and he really has this ultimate vendetta against you.” Natalia replied. “He is really serious on hurting you and I cannot let that happen. Even though I have a strong connection with Jay as a friend, I have an even bigger emotional connection to you.” Vince pulled his hands away from Natalia shoulders. He stepped back and looked at her for a minute before speaking. “Natalia I know you and Sylo have this friendship but he is trying to use your friendship with him to draw a wedge between the two of us. He is nothing more than a lying piece of ****. He doesn’t care about you or anyone else. He only cares about himself. I am sure he probably will tell you the same thing about me but you know I am a asshole to everyone except you.” Jacobs said as he grabbed a grape from the table and popped it in his mouth. “You were there when me and Victoria got a divorce. You helped me through that situation and now your friend wants to break the bond that you and I share because he is mad that you are at my side and not his.” Vince sat on the couch as Natalia at down beside him, placing her head in the champion’s lap. Vince pulled her hair back from her face as he looked at her. “I know that Vince but I am just worried.” “Why are you worried? Don’t you trust me.” “Yes Vince, I have never been with a champion like you before, but there was something different about Jay. He is a changed man and I have never seen him like this before. He’s more methodical and calculating now. Every move he makes is with a purpose now and the scary thing is he’s after you. I know what Jay is capable of and I do not want to see him hurt you.” Natalia said as she looked up at Vince. “Nothing is going to happen to me. I promise. The problem is that everybody around this place is scared of him. He’s nothing but a bully and you know what you do to bullies, you knock their ass down. The problem is that Sylo has never had anybody stand up to him. Well tonight that problem will be solved when I beat Sylo in the middle of the ring.” Natalia smiled as Jacobs gave her a kiss. “Now I need to get back to my match warm ups.” Natalia sat up so Vince could get to his feet. SVJ walked over to the corner and starting to do some pull ups from the bar over top of his door. Jason Rau vs. Khristain Keller Back inside the ring JASON RAU, the former zTw Steel Champion and long-time jOlt star, awaited his opponent. “Ladies and gentleman this match is UNDERGROUND RULES and is part of the number one contender TOURNAMENT!” Pops and all that. … “Hey Jimmy, lemme see that program.” “Ugh.” As Jimmys father took the official jOlt programme for the evening off his sons hands, he wondered why exactly the booklet had cost him $20, and also who Jason Rau’s opponent would be for the night. “Who is Kayden Paulton?” … “Dirty Window” by Metallica. What. The. Actual. Fuck?. As the lightning bolts shot across the stage the arena popped the hell out as a booming sign blazed over the big screen at the top of the ramp just as James Hetfield began his guitar riff. The King Shit of Fuck Mountain was in jOlt. KHRISTAIN KELLER. Now for anyone who maybe needed a little reminder? This man was a true Bastard. The wrestling world, for the most part, hated this man. However, given his run in the ULTRATITLE and how he left ACW, he was becoming a little bit of a tweener. For how long though? As Rau made a drastic attempt to pull the referee to one side and ask him what the hell was going on, Keller had already made it to the ring. SPLAT. He was ready for action. A big time clothesline sent Rau to the mat, but as he was quick to pop up he was looking for more punishment it seemed, as K2 hit him with another big time clothesline. The hefty 6’3’’ Aussie got to his feet a little more gingerly this time and walked straight into the arms of the man they call the Bastard King. Belly-to-belly suplex. Looks like someone has been to wrestling camp. However, everyone in jOlt knows that the Underground division isn’t for wrestling! It’s for straight up beating people senseless to a bloody inch of their lives wrestling. Keller looked at the camera and winked. Big kick straight to the mush. As Rau held his face for a few moments it gave Keller a chance to look at his first jOlt crowd… before flipping them the bird. ROAAAAAAAAR. What? Keller was up and at Rau straight away, not even giving the youngster the chance to breathe before he rushed head-on at Rau with a hard Running Back Elbow that knocked him into the corner. Once trapped there, the stone-faced K2 continued to knock the living hell out of his opponents face with elbows. After four or five of these bad boys, Keller was ready to go again as he waited for Rau to get to his feet. However, as he staggered forward right into a knee from Keller, who was then quick to turn him around and lift him up, powering him back down to the mat with a vicious back suplex. "So this is UNDERGROUND is it?" KICK TO THE KNEE! No. That wasn’t Keller. “Shit.” ANOTHER KICK TO THE KNEE. Keller was now hobbling about as Rau had had enough of being Kellers whipping boy as he got to his feet and landed two hard right hands which sent Keller reeling back into the corner. A right. A left. A whip to the other side followed by a big splash had the fans back on their feet, this time cheering the actual good guy! CRAZY TIMES. Rau watched as Keller motioned forward after the impact of the big splash, and as he moved behind him the Aussie wrapped his fairly large guns around the Bastards neck and smashed him to the mat with the reverse DDT. First pin of the match! 1… 2… KICKOUT. A two and a half count was enough to spur the former Zybertech Wrestling star to keep this up. Yanking Keller off the floor but smashing him back down against with a hard powerslam. Keller winced in pain. Rau smiled in joy as he tried to get the crowd on his side, rather than the latest marquee signing for jOlt. Just what was Khristain Keller doing in the company? BOOM. Reeling from a second rope legdrop by the looks of it. 1… 2… KICKOUT. Keller wasn’t going to let his debut go down like a lead balloon, far from it. As Rau got to his feet Keller whipped out his right leg and dripped the Aussie fucker up… before wrapping him up in a submission! K2 squeezed Jason’s head in between his legs as he yanked his left arm all sorts of ways, trying to find that sweet spot. But as Rau shuffled towards the ropes, the referee shouted on Keller to let go of the hold. No chance. 1… 2… 3… 4… Done. The damage, and the momentum had swung. Keller brushed his shoulder off and waited… for what seemed like the inevitable. The one that that looked like it was going to happen the whole night. Because really, who loses on their big debut? #kicktothestomachthenhoisthimhighthendrophimlikeasackofshit PAINKILLA. 1… 2… 3. The King Shit of Fuck Mountain had arrived. Can you say “Underground Champion in the waiting?” Winner: Khristain Keller via Pinfall "Shots Fired" "You realize they're keeping us off T.V. because you fucked up our second chance, right?" Chris Register just shook his head at the accusation of his tag team partner, Chris Titan. "Don't blow me off, man, you know that you fucked up. We had our opportunity against the Heirs of Wrestling. Now they're out there taking our fucking spotlight and we're doing house shows and sitting around with our thumbs up our asses during iNtense! And here you are, the guy who fucked this shit up for us, and you're shaking your head at me? FUCK YOU!" Titan snubbed Chris Register's forehead with his index finger. Register had had enough. He jumped up to his feet and got right back in Titan's face. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! You're the one who tagged me in and got me triple teamed! Where the hell were you when I needed a teammate?! Oh, that's right, you were busy getting dumped out of the ring! Now YOU have the nerve to keep giving me shit, man?! You know what, asshole?! FUCK YOU!" Boom. Shots fired. Titan unloaded on Register with a flurry of rights and lefts, taking the smaller of the Chrises down to his knees. Register placed both arms over the back of his head in a desperate attempt to block some of the blows from connected but that only worked to take the force of Titan's fists and have them jerk Register's cranium about like a bobble-head. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME?! I'LL KILL YOU!" Register was nearly unconscious. Bruises were already beginning to surface on his forearms. Chris Titan raised both tightly clenched fists up over his head for the knockout blow ... and stopped. "FUCK!" Instead, Titan turned and kicked a locker room door right off its hinges. He was out of his mind furious but, for whatever reason, he couldn't bring himself to deliver that final blow to Chris Register. Titan stormed out of the locker room the same way he did a week previous. Chris Register slowly pulled himself up onto his chair. "No, you son of a bitch ... I'll fucking kill you." "The Slow Death of Truth and Honor" Intense moved to the another area backstage as the camera man was rushing towards the locker rooms, caught in the chaos and excitement of the night as it was, so far, was an unexpected event that needed to be covered. As the camera finally made it to the locker room, we could see why… the place was in chaos. Dallas Griffin was handing Phoenix a fresh white towel, as he knelt on the cement floor with his expected opponent for the night, Phoenix, on the floor in front of him. Phoenix readily dapped the white towel at the opening in One Eye’s mask and each time the towel touched the open area of flesh on the black mask… the white cloth turned crimson. “I want you to find me some water. Can you do that?” Phoenix tersely asked Lennox Love, as the Flyweight division competitor stood to one side. Phoenix, the Golden Man on Fire, turned his attention back to One Eye as he rose the Masked Enigma’s head to rest on his knee. “King, can you hear me?” Phoenix spoke softly, “Don’t tell me the only eye open to the truths in this world isn’t going to go into combat with me tonight…” One Eye still didn’t reply, because even though the Masked Enigma wasn’t unconscious, he seemed to attacked badly enough that keeping his eye from rolling into the back of his head was the most he could do. “Who did this?!” Phoenix barked at the surrounded Jolt superstars of the locker room, “You mean to tell me there was a room full of men and women, yet no one is the wiser? I knew there was a layer of filth over this organization that needed to be burned free… but before you lays a man of TRUE honor and hope!” Lennox returned with the bottle of water and Phoenix snatched it from Love’s hand. He splashed the water on One Eye’s face, at once to clean the blood that had pooled under One Eye’s mask but also to break the Masked Enigma away from his foggy state. “King! King, what happened?” “Phoenix-san, do no… no be angry at these men, these proud honest men. Room was dark when I return from speaking with you, I attacked from behind… felt metal against skull…” That was all One Eye could muster before he finally passed out. He would not be in the condition to wrestle tonight. Hell, One Eye would be lucky if he would be able to compete against Reno Davis in his second-round Underground Contenders Tournament next week. Phoenix growled a growl that almost sounded like a soft chuckle, of all the ugly deceit in this world of villains had produced, he knew whom to expect. That cold dark metal that One Eye felt on his skull? Something that Ruin Winter had felt just as well, from the Golden Man on Fire's prime suspect... “Derecho.” Superstar Vince Jacobs(c) vs. Sylo The lights cut out. Everything seemed to go completely silent in an arena packed with thousands. A familiar voice came on the PA, it was that of the late, great Johnny Cash. And he spoke to the masses from beyond the grave. “And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder: One of the four beasts saying: “Come and see.” And I saw. And behold, a white horse. And his name that sat on him was Death. And Hell followed with him.” A blinding white light followed. It was as if a bomb had gone off on the stage as "Miracle (Pale Horse Remix)" by Nonpoint played. As the light began to die down the silhouette of Sylo could be seen. Smoke covered the stage but seemed to swirl back, like the story of Moses parting The Red Sea, as The SuperBeast made his way to the stage. The smoke and pyros hit the stage as Sylo, the challenger walked through the eruption with a purpose. His target tonight was the Legacy Champion, Vince Jacobs. Sylo slowly walked down the ramp eyes fixated on the ring as the noise in the arena was nothing more than background noise to him at this moment. He climbed onto the apron and stepped over the top rope into the ring. His face told the story of a man who was ready and determined. He walked over to his corner and waited for his opponent. Sylo and the fans waited for several minutes before suddenly the jOlt tron lit up and a voice was heard throughout the arena. "I didn't have to come to the jOlt to become a superstar...I brought my spotlight with me" The jeers would fall into hindsight with the visual eye candy, dancing across the ominous trinity of super screens. A select bevy of monikers would appear at random exploding on the Arena of Champions one after the other. Pro Wrestling's Phenomenon - The Icon - The Living Legend – The Ratings Grabber- The Reason there is a show After the last moniker appeared on the screen new music reverberated throughout the arena speakers. Vince Jacobs in his ring gear made it to the stage as “Villain” by Theory of a Deadman erupted throughout the United Center. The last Legacy champion stood on the stage peering out into the crowd as the lovely Natalia stood by his side clapping for her champion. The fans continued to jeer loudly as Jacobs held both arms out soaking it all in. He held the Legacy Championship high in the air before walking down the ramp in his wrestling gear. Natalia was right beside her man in a long Vera Wang evening gown with a huge diamond necklace adorning the black dress. Vince who slowly walked up the steps, pointing to the fans at ringside as Natalia looked at Sylo who stood in the corner with a stern look. Natalia sat on the second rope while pushing the top rope open for her champion. Jacobs made his way through the ropes into the ring where he stood center stage never taking his eyes off of his opponent. Vince smirked as he handed the Legacy Championship to senior referee Mike Hunt. Hunt showed the Legacy Championship to Sylo who peered down at the belt before slowly moving to his corner. Jacobs escorted Natalia out of the ring as his opponent waited for the bell to ring. Jacobs hopped around the ring as Hunt called for the bell. Both men moved their way to the middle of the ring. “Tonight you have no place to run, Jacobs. I have been waiting for this for a long time.” Sylo calmly stated to the Legacy Champion. Jacobs smirked before slyly remarking to his challenger. “I am not scared of you Sylo. You do not put fear in my heart. You are beneath me in every way, shape, and form. Now I have the chance to shut you up and I plan to do just that.” Sylo let out a huge laugh. “We’ll see about that Vince.” Jacobs quickly slapped Sylo across the face and rolled out of the ring as the SuperBeast was livid. “That may be a death sentence right there by Jacobs.” Buhrman said. “Do not know what Vince was thinking there? You don’t want to piss Sylo off.” Powers replied. Jacobs walked around the ringside area as he made his way toward Natalia. Sylo did not let Hunt start the ten count as he went to the floor after the Legacy Champion. Jacobs quickly noticed he was being stalked as he turned around and put Natalia in between the two men. Vince knew that Sylo would not hurt one of his friends as Natalia shook her head at Sylo. Jacobs rolled into the ring as Sylo looked at Natalia disapprovingly. The SuperBeast went to climb in the ring but Jacobs met him as soon as he got to the ropes with several forearm shots. That did not stop the big man as he continued to climb into the ring. Jacobs stepped backwards as Sylo made it fully into the ring. Vince nailed Sylo with a standing dropkick that sent the challenger near the ropes but was not enough to put the massive man down. Jacobs rushed at Sylo who quickly caught him by the throat as the fans in the arena started to cheer. Hunt knew that it was a choke hold and told Sylo he had to release his grip. Sylo did not want to let go as the champion struggled. Hunt quickly administered the five count. ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR… Sylo released the hold as Vince gasped for air. Sylo’s massive paw actually left an imprint on Vince’s neck as Natalia looked on. SVJ held the top rope as Sylo looked at Mike Hunt for a second before focusing his attention on Jacobs again. Vince was begging off as he wanted to be as far away from Sylo as possible. Sylo nailed Vince with a big right hand that sent the champion staggering into the corner. Sylo had SVJ where he wanted him now as he unloaded on the champion in the corner. Vince tried to cover up but the SuperBeast unleashed his wrath on SVJ. Jacobs slowly slumped in the corner holding his hands up to the SuperBeast as if to say ‘no more’. “I think Vince is regretting that slap now.” Buhrman said. “Don’t count the champ out. He’s been in worse predicaments than this.” Powers replied. Sylo peered ringside at Natalia before methodically reaching down to grab Jacobs by the hair. Vince was out on his feet as Sylo was toying with the champion. The challenger was looking to become a two time Legacy Champion, a feat that only two men can claim, one being the current champion. Sylo grabbed Vince by the arm and whipped him into the ropes. The force of the throw sent Vince barreling into the ropes as Sylo waited for the champion to bounce off. The champion came back at Sylo full speed as was nailed with a Power clothesline that turned the champion inside out. Jacobs was down as Sylo went over for the cover. Mike Hunt dropped down for the count. ONE… TWO… KICKOUT BY THE CHAMP!!! Sylo shook his head as he looked at Vince. “My advice to you Vinny, is to stay down.” Sylo said with a snarl. Jacobs hurting from the blows he had been taking from Sylo, quickly replied. “My advice to you is you need to stop hitting like a bitch.” Sylo shook his head as he picked Jacobs up from the mat and nailed him with a quick T-bone suplex. The challenger was not in any rush as he was taking the champion apart. Sylo walked over to Vince, grabbing the champion by his hair again. He picked Vince up to a standing position and slapped the champion across his face. He pushed Vince back into the corner and nailed him with a right hand. He nailed Vince with another one as the champion was being held up in the corner by the ropes. Mike Hunt came over to let Sylo know about the closed fists in the corner. Sylo slowly moved the senior referee around out of the way. Hunt’s back was turned from the corner as he was telling Natalia to keep her distance. Sylo quickly made his way back to the corner but was met by a low kick that would stop any man and SuperBeast alike. Sylo staggered backwards but did not fall as Mike Hunt looked at Jacobs who threw his hands in the air. Vince raced toward Sylo and nailed him with a dropkick to the knee but the big man did not fall. SVJ raced off the ropes this time and used the momentum to get more impact on the dropkick this time which finally sent Sylo to one knee. Jacobs still gathering himself quickly saw his opportunity as he bounced off the ropes and nailed the SuperBeast with a shining wizard. “Wow, I can’t believe that connected.” Buhrman said. “I think the champ has his rhythm now.” Powers replied. Vince saw that Sylo did not go down completely as his hand hit the mat after succumbing to the Star Gazer. The Icon quickly grabbed Sylo by the hair and drove him into the mat with a DDT. The champ hooked one of Sylo’s massive leg for the pinfall. Mike Hunt dropped down for the count. ONE… KICKOUT!! “Massive kick out by the challenger.” Buhrman said. “Sylo still has a lot of power left.” Powers replied. Jacobs quickly made it to his feet and drove a boot into Sylo’s temple but the big man continue to try to get to his feet. Jacobs quickly hopped onto the top rope and waiting for Sylo to get in position. The SuperBeast got close to standing but Jacobs dove off the top with a big corkscrew plancha. Jacobs just took the SuperBeast to Superstardom. Vince was not happy as he knew a few more moves were needed to keep this monster down. That’s what Vince did as he climbed to the top rope again. Jacobs dove off again, this time nailing Sylo with his signature Guillotine Leg drop. “That may be the end for Sylo. The Shining Star just connected flush on his throat.” Buhrman said. “I hope so because this guy is boring. Thank god Jacobs is making him look good.” Powers replied. Vince quickly went for the pinfall on the challenger as Hunt dropped down for the count. ONE… TWO… KICKOUT!! Vince sat up as he could not believe that all he got was a two count after those series of moves. The fans erupted as Sylo was still in this match showing that nothing was going to keep him down. SY-LO!! SY-LO!! SY-LO!! SY-LO!! Jacobs was pissed that Sylo was still I this match. He stood to his feet shaking his head as to what to do next against this massive man. Sylo continued to make his way to his feet as Jacobs slowly stalked his prey. He walked over to Sylo who shoved him away, sending the champing clear across the ring. Jacobs hopped to his feet and charged at Sylo again and it was a repeat of what just happened sending Vince flying across the ring again. Jacobs gritted his teeth and got to his feet again before making his way back over to Sylo, who this time sent Jacobs to the mat with THE SLAUGHTER. “You know what is about to happen now.” Buhrman said. “NOOOO!!! I can’t watch this. Get up Vince.” Powers replied. Everyone in the arena knew what was coming next and maybe Vince did as well. The champ carried his momentum out of the ring to the floor. Sylo looked displeased as he was ready to take Vince out for good. Natalia raced over to her man as Vince was literally broken in half. He held his midsection from the powerful spear as Natalia tried to help him to his feet. Mike Hunt did not waste any time as he started the ten count on the champion. Vince looked back at the ring before looking at Natalia. “Get my belt.” ONE… TWO… THREE… Natalia ran and took Vince’s title off the table as Mike Hunt continued counting. The fans exploded in jeers as Vince walked up the ramp way. FOUR… FIVE… Sylo could not take any more as he climbed over the top rope to the floor. He was going after Vince. The challenger grabbed Vince from behind by the hair. He pulled the champion back to the ring, shoving him violently into the ring. Jacobs stood to his feet as Sylo was coming into the ring tried for a Superstar Kick but Sylo sidestepped the move. Sylo quickly grabbed Vince’s arm and pulled him to the mat, showing his MMA style grappling moves. The SuperBeast had Jacobs in the same triangle choke hold he had on AJ earlier in the night. “Oh my God. Sylo calls this move No Escape. Fitting name for it.” Buhrman said. “Come on Vince. AJ couldn’t get out of this move earlier. I don’t know what Vince is going to do.” Powers replied. Jacobs was in dire pain and could not break free of the hold. The champ tried desperately to reach for the ropes with his free arm but could not. He also tried to reach for it with his foot but still could not. Vine started to scream in pain and scream at Natalia. The Russian beauty threw Jacobs his Legacy Championship. Vince grabbed the title and swung and nailed Sylo in the side. He continued to nail the challenger in his side with the title until Mike Hunt called for the bell. “Jacobs intentionally got himself disqualified.” Buhrman said. “Smart thing to do if you ask me.” Powers replied. Sylo released the move as Jacobs quickly rolled out of the ring, holding Natalia as the two scampered away. The SuperBeast was not happy but the Legacy Champion survived to fight another day. Vince turned to look back at the ring with a sly smirk as Sylo finally stood to his feet and let out a loud roar. Winner: Sylo via Disqualification