The soft melody of ‘Crimson’ by Morcheeba begins to play throughout the arena as The Crimson Baroness steps out from behind the curtain; her top hat is tipped forward, covering her eyes slightly as she poses, resting both hands on the head of her cane. The crowd give her a moderately negative reaction, booing and jeering emanating from a small section of them as The Crimson Baroness begins her slow walk to the ring.
Tony Allen: The following contest is scheduled for one fall! Introducing first, from, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! Representing LDFC… THE CRIMSON BARONESS!
She climbs up the ring steps, urging the referee to hold the ropes open for her before she steps in under the middle ropes; The Crimson Baroness removes her hat and places it delicately in the corner next to her cane before she waits for the match to begin.
Geoff Penzer: Two months ago, we learned that The Crimson Baroness captured the Carolina Cup through questionable means. According to her, she’s to thank for this trophy being brought into existence. Also according to her, she’s the first Carolina Cup holder. But that remains to be seen. Tonight, she faces arguably her toughest test to date when she takes on Sydney Christensen. The Baroness has been successful as of late both inside and outside of the LDFC ring. But there is no tag team partner for her to rely on tonight. There’s nowhere for her to run tonight. If she wants to officially be recognized as the first Carolina Cup holder, she’s got to go through Sydney Christensen. But that is easier said than done.
Tony Allen: And her opponent, from San Diego, California! Representing (r)Evolution Wrestling! She is “The North Star”, SYDNEY CHRISTENSEN!
“They said there was no way
But they forgot the black hole in the sky
Yesterday is nothing
I have half a life to rewrite
Flying into this future
I will let the science bring the change
This will be the final cure
I am gonna take the past away...”
Sydney continues to make her way down to the ring in a new duster jacket and brand new t-shirt, grinning as she slaps hands with a few fans before getting into the ring.
The sound of an explosion is heard over the soundsystem, leaving the fans in attendance wondering what is going on. Almost immediately, the sound of "The Future Is Now" by Starset erupts over the PA System, bringing out the one and only Ace of (R)Evolution Wrestling...THE NORTH STAR, SYDNEY CHRISTENSEN!
As the chorus starts, she quickly climbs the turnbuckles and points a finger to the sky, the crowd cheering for the North Star before her music gives way!
Geoff Penzer: Sydney Christensen has got a ton of titles to her name. She’s the ace of (r)Evolution Wrestling. But tonight, she could also become the first Carolina Cup holder. But she cannot put anything past The Crimson Baroness. Time and time again we’ve seen The Crimson Baroness’ schemes pay off. One of those schemes is the reason why the Baroness is even in this match tonight. Sydney cannot underestimate The Baroness. While Sydney’s got years of experience on her, the talent is there when it comes to her opponent. Also, she has to have eyes in the back of her head. The Baroness has proven that she will do anything to come out on top. The North Star’s got to be prepared for anything.
The bell sounds as The Baroness kicks Sydney in the midsection and follows up with a side headlock. But Sydney is quick to shove Baroness off of her and into the ropes. When the Baroness comes back, Sydney goes for a hip toss. But Baroness steps through it and goes for a hip toss of her own. But Sydney steps through it and throws down Baroness with a hip toss. The crowd cheers as The Baroness gets thrown down to the mat. The Baroness gets back up, but Sydney throws her down with an arm drag takedown. She quickly transitions into an armbar, causing the Baroness to cringe. She then complains to the ref that Sydney’s pulling her hair, causing the crowd to boo. The ref then asks her if she pulled her hair, but Sydney adamantly refuses.
After The Baroness battles back up to her feet, she moves Sydney back into the corner. From there, the ref gives both women until the count of five to break the hold.
Ref: ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR…
Both grapplers make the clean break. But The Baroness is quick to slap the taste right out of Sydney’s mouth, resulting in jeers and boos from the crowd.
Geoff Penzer: The Baroness with a slap that could be heard all the way back in San Diego.
While Sydney turns to hold her cheek, The Baroness snickers before telling her,
“Talk shit, get h-”. But The Baroness’ taunting is cut off as Sydney grabs her and tosses her into the corner. From there, Sydney delivers a series of stinging knife edge chops that echo throughout the building. She then takes Baroness and whips her hard into the opposite corner. As The Baroness stumbles out, Sydney leans forward and throws her down with a back body drop. The Baroness gets back to her feet, but Sydney knocks her down with a clothesline. The Baroness gets back up, but Sydney knocks her right back down with another clothesline. As The Baroness gets back up, Sydney kicks her in the midsection and then lifts her up in the air. The cheers from the crowd get louder and louder the longer Sydney keeps Baroness held in the air. After about 12 seconds, Sydney falls back and delivers Killing Time. She then turns over and makes the cover.
ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Baroness gets her shoulder up.
Geoff Penzer: The Baroness delivered the cheapshot with that slap and now, Sydney’s making her pay!
Sydney picks up Baroness, latches onto her wrist and delivers an arm wrench. After a tug of the arm, Sydney delivers another arm wrench, causing The Baroness to whine. The ref then goes over and asks her if she wants to give up. But The Baroness refuses to quit. So Sydney takes her time delivering a slow arm wrench. But as soon as Sydney turns around, she gets caught with a kick to the gut by Baroness. The Baroness then takes Sydney by the wrist and returns the favor with an arm wrench of her own. The crowd boos as she delivers another arm wrench. The Baroness proceeds to taunt Sydney. The North Star reaches over to fight back, but The Baroness begins yanking on the arm repeatedly. She then delivers one last arm wrench before dragging Sydney over into the corner.
The Baroness walks up the turnbuckles and begins to carefully walk along the top rope. Once The Baroness is on the center of the top rope, she jumps off before socking Sydney with a right hand to the face, knocking her down to one knee. From there, The Baroness delivers a hard slap upside the head before quickly latching onto Sydney’s arm. She then pulls Sydney back to her feet before delivering an arm wrench into a hook kick, knocking her down. She then makes the cover.
ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Sydney kicks out.
The Baroness picks up Sydney, moves her into the corner and delivers a series of knife edge chops of her own. She then takes Sydney and goes for an irish whip. But Sydney reverses, sending Baroness into the opposite corner. She then charges across the ring. But The Baroness nails her with an elbow to the face. As Sydney turns and stumbles away from the ropes, Baroness runs up from behind and brings her down with a bulldog. The crowd boos as she makes the cover.
ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Sydney kicks out.
The Baroness picks up Sydney and pushes her into the ropes. From there, The Baroness walks over and delivers a shoot kick to the midsection. She then takes Sydney and goes for an irish whip. But Sydney reverses, sending The Baroness into the ropes. When The Baroness comes back, Sydney goes for another back body drop. But this time, The Baroness slips down from behind. She then spins Sydney around and knocks her down with a clothesline. Baroness drops down and makes the cover.
ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Sydney gets her shoulder up.
Geoff Penzer: The Baroness now starting to pull away a bit and you can tell how much she’s enjoying this by that signature smirk that’s planted on her face. She’s loving everything minute of this. But she can’t get too cocky. This match is not over yet.
The Baroness picks up Sydney and knees her in the midsection, doubling her over. She then grabs Sydney and lifts her up for a vertical suplex. But Sydney slips down from behind. She then quickly grabs Baroness and goes for a belly to back suplex. But The Baroness rolls over her shoulder and lands on her feet. When Sydney turns around, Baroness delivers a knee strike to the midsection, doubling Sydney over. She then takes off into the ropes. When Baroness comes back, she goes for a scissors kick. But Sydney moves out of the way. She then quickly lifts Baroness up onto her shoulders for The Remedy, causing the crowd to gasp, then explode into cheers.
Geoff Penzer: Sydney’s got her up! This one could end right here!
But The Baroness panics and quickly begins punching Sydney on the top of the head. She then slips down from behind and quickly takes down Sydney with a Fujiwara Armbar, resulting in boos from the crowd.
Geoff Penzer: Baroness with the counter! She’s for the armbar applied! Sydney’s trying to fight through it!
The Baroness screams as she continues to apply pressure. Sydney can be seen cringing as she tries her hardest to block out the pain. The ref then gets down next to Sydney and asks her if she wants to give up. But Sydney refuses. So The Baroness pulls back, causing Sydney to let out a groan.
Geoff Penzer: Sydney’s this close! She’s this close to the Carolina Cup! She can’t give up right here!
The Baroness can be heard yelling at Sydney to tap. But Sydney still refuses to give up. So she begins to try and pull herself towards the ropes. The Baroness yells out
“No!” as Sydney continues to pull herself towards the ropes. Sydney reaches out… and grabs the bottom rope. The crowd cheers as they assume the hold is going to be broken. But they assume wrong as The Baroness plants her feet and bridges back, applying even more pressure. The crowd erupts with boos as the hold hasn’t been broken. Sydney meanwhile, can be seen groaning through gritted teeth. The ref then gives The Baroness until the count of five to break the hold.
Ref: ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR…
The Baroness reluctantly breaks the hold. Sydney immediately rolls over onto her back before clutching her left arm. The Baroness sees this so she goes over and begins to stop away on Sydney’s arm. The Baroness then grabs Sydney by her hair, pulls her back up to her feet and tries to bring her down with another Fujiwara Armbar. But Sydney fights and successfully blocks the move. She then rolls forward, leans back and delivers an upkick to the face, sending Baroness stumbling back into the ropes as the crowd cheers. While The Baroness clutches her mouth, Sydney rolls over onto one knee. She tries to get back to a vertical base. But The Baroness darts over and knocks her down with a knee lift. She makes the cover.
ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Sydney gets her left shoulder up.
The Baroness picks up Sydney, wrenches her right arm and delivers an elbow to the arm. After yanking on the arm, The Baroness takes Sydney and goes for an irish whip. But Sydney reverses, sending Baroness into the ropes. Sydney then charges into the corner and connects with a hip attack. She then takes Baroness and whips her into the opposite corner. After sizing her up, Sydney charges into the corner and hurls herself at Baroness for another hip attack. But this time, Baroness moves out of the way. After Sydney crashes into the corner, The Baroness grabs her, spins in a circle and then tosses Sydney through the ropes and to the floor.
While Sydney tries to get back up on the floor, The Baroness takes off into the ropes. When Baroness comes back, she flips over the top rope, knocking Sydney down with a Fosbury Flop. The Baroness gets up and curtseys in front of her “adoring” fans in the front row, resulting in boos from the crowd.
Geoff Penzer: The Baroness is just rubbing it in now!
After a few stomps to the right arm, The Baroness pulls Sydney back up to her feet. She then latches onto Sydney’s right wrist, holds the arm up and then swings down hard, sending Sydney’s right arm down against the edge of the apron. Sydney lets out a groan as she immediately clutches the arm. After rolling Sydney back into the ring, The Baroness reaches in, grabs Sydney by the right arm and drags her over towards the corner.
Geoff Penzer: Oh no, no, no, no, no! Not this, Baroness! Not this!
Sydney tries to fight The Baroness off. But The Baroness reaches in and punches her in the face. From there, The Baroness latches onto the right arm, pulls back and…
*THWACK*Sydney’s right arm smacks hard against the ring post to boos from the crowd. Sydney immediately rolls away from the corner and towards the center of the ring. While she clutches her right arm, The Baroness rolls back into the ring. Once she gets to a vertical base, she circles the ring with an air of arrogance, soaking in the boos. After she’s done prancing around Sydney, The Baroness makes her way over towards her. She then reaches down and slaps Sydney across the back of the head.
While Sydney turns over onto one knee, The Baroness reaches down and slaps her across the head against. As Sydney slowly gets up to her feet, The Baroness gets in her face, daring her to do something. So Sydney does just that, nailing Baroness with a forearm strike to cheers from the crowd. The Baroness then comes back and nails Sydney with a forearm strike of her own. But Sydney comes right back, blasting her with a forearm to the jaw as the crowd cheers. Before Baroness can strike back, Sydney delivers another forearm strike… and another… and another. She then steps back and throws out a kick to the midsection. But The Baroness reaches down and catches her foot. The Baroness then proceeds to talk shit. But Sydney makes her pay with an enzuigiri, sending The Baroness flipping down to the canvas.
Geoff Penzer: That’s what The Baroness gets for all that talking!
With both grapplers down, the ref starts his count.
ONE!
TWO!
THREE!
FOUR!
FIVE!
SIX!
SEVEN!
Both grapplers slowly return to their feet. The Baroness runs over at Sydney and throws out a clothesline. But Sydney ducks and runs into the far ropes. When Sydney comes back, she knocks down The Baroness with a Lou Thesz Press. The crowd cheers as she mounts herself on top of Baroness and hammers away with left hands to the face. She then gets off of Baroness, pulls her up and marches into the corner. From there, Sydney slams her face first into the top turnbuckle. Sydney then turns Baroness around, climbs up onto the middle ropes and punches her with her left hand while the crowd counts along.
Crowd: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FI-
The Baroness shoves Sydney off of her, sending her falling on her back. After Sydney rolls over and gets up on one knee, The Baroness runs from out of the corner and connects with a Shining Apprentice. The crowd boos as she makes the cover.
ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Sydney gets her left arm up.
Baroness picks up Sydney and whips her into the ropes. When Sydney comes back, Baroness sets up for a back body drop. But Sydney counters with a snap swinging neckbreaker. The crowd cheers as she makes the cover.
ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Baroness gets her shoulder up.
Sydney picks up Baroness and whips her into the ropes. When Baroness comes back, Sydney sets up for a back body drop. But The Barones counters with a hard kick to the right shoulder, causing Sydney to stand up. As Sydney clutches her arm and stumbles back, The Baroness turns and runs back into the ropes. When Baroness comes back, Sydney nearly takes her head off with a discus clothesline using her left arm. The crowd cheers as she makes the cover.
ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
THR-NO!
Baroness gets her shoulder up to boos from the crowd.
Geoff Penzer: So close!
Sydney picks up Baroness and whips her into the corner. She then runs into the corner and hurls herself at Baroness, connecting with a hip attack. After moving her out of the way, Sydney climbs up onto the middle ropes, grabs Baroness and goes for a tornado DDT. But Baroness shoves Sydney off in mid air. After Sydney lands on her feet, The Baroness runs from out of the corner, leaps up and plants her with a jumping DDT. The crowd boos as she makes the cover.
ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
TH-NO!
Sydney gets her left arm up to cheers from the crowd. The Baroness looks over at the ref and holds up three fingers. But he tells her that it was only two.
Geoff Penzer: The Baroness can pout all she wants. It was only a two count!
Baroness picks up Sydney and goes for an irish whip. But Sydney reverses, sending The Baroness into the corner. Sydney then charges into the corner. But The Baroness steps out and knocks her down with a spinning back fist. After dragging Sydney into position, The Baroness steps through the ropes and scales the turnbuckles. When she gets to the top, she leaps off, going for a diving splash.
Geoff Penzer: The Baroness comes off the top… but Sydney gets her knees up!
The crowd cheers as The Baroness bounces off of Sydney’s knees. As Sydney slowly turns over, The Baroness curls up and guards her midsection. After both grapplers slowly return to their feet, Sydney runs over, jumps up and brings Baroness down with a double knee facebuster. But instead of letting Baroness bounce off of her knees, Sydney quickly wraps her legs around Baroness’ torso and applies a Kimura Lock.
Geoff Penzer: ALPHA-16! ALPHA-16!
The crowd explodes into cheers as Sydney applies the Alpha-16. The Baroness howls in pain as Sydney cranks away on the arm. She then raises her hand… and repeatedly taps the mat to an explosion of cheers.
Geoff Penzer: It’s over! It’s over! Sydney tapped The Baroness!
Baroness continues to slap away on the canvas, signally that she’s given up. But the ref doesn’t call for the bell. Why? Because he’s distracted by one of those mysterious teenagers has hopped onto the canvas and gained the ref’s attention. The crowd boos as they see the ref with his back turned to the action.
Geoff Penzer: It’s another one of those darn minions of The Baroness! He’s got the ref distracted! Ref, throw him out of here!
Sydney looks over and sees one of Baroness’ minion distracting the ref. So she lets go of the hold. While The Baroness rolls over and clutches her left arm, Sydney marches over and moves the ref out of the way. The teen takes a wild swipe at Sydney. But Sydney ducks and counters with a shoulder thrust through the ropes. From there, Sydney takes the teen, runs towards the corner and slams her face-first into the ring post. The teen bounces off the post and twirls to the floor.
Geoff Penzer: Good! That’s what he gets for getting involved in this match!
When Sydney turns around, the Baroness hurls herself at her. But Sydney moves out of the way. After the Baroness’ back crashes against the turnbuckles, Sydney runs into the corner, hops onto the Baroness and monkey flips her out of the corner. The crowd cheers as the Baroness soars through the air and crashes onto the canvas. While the Baroness is down, Sydney steps through the ropes and scales the turnbuckles. Once the Baroness gets up and turns around, Sydney leaps off and knocks her down with a missile dropkick, resulting in a burst of cheers. Sydney then pulls up Baroness, hoists her up onto her shoulders and then plants her with The Remedy. The crowd explodes into cheers, then counts along with the ref.
Crowd: ONE!
Ref: ONE!
Crowd: TWO!
Ref: TWO!
Crowd: THREE!
Ref: THRE-
Another one of The Baroness’ minions has hopped onto the apron, causing the ref to once again become distracted. The angry crowd begins to boo and jeer.
Geoff Penzer: What the heck is this!? Another one!? They’ve got no business being out here! This is between Sydney and the Baroness!
While the teenager argues with the ref, Sydney lets and marches over towards him. Meanwhile on the floor, another hooded minion rolls out from underneath the ring and pushes something across the canvas.
Geoff Penzer: A third one!? And what did they just shove into the ring!? What was that!?
After the teenager moves the ref out of the way, Sydney runs over and connects with a bicycle kick, knocking him off the apron and to the floor to cheers from the crowd.
Geoff Penzer: Sydney just sent that boy’s head flying five rows back into the crowd! Good God what a kick by The North Star!
When Sydney turns around, she sees the third minion waving her on. So her and the ref march over towards the other side of the ring. But just before Sydney can attack, the teenager hops down off the apron. While Sydney and the ref yell at the minion, the Baroness reaches over and secures her replacement cane, since Sherry Diamond stole the original. When Sydney turns around, Baroness gets up and delivers a cross-check to the throat, knocking Sydney down to a thunderous round of boos and jeers from the crowd.
Geoff Penzer: Baroness just nailed Sydney right in the throat with that cane! Sydney might be seriously hurt here!
While Sydney clutches her throat, the Baroness gets rid of the evidence by flinging the cane to the outside. When the ref turns around, he sees the Baroness pulling Sydney back up to her feet. After hooking both of Sydney’s arms, the Baroness plants her with Dom’d. The crowd continues to boos as she makes the cover.
ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
THREE!
“Crimson” blares throughout the arena as the crowd boos.
Tony Allen: Here is your winner and the first Carolina Cup holder, THE CRIMSON BARONESS!
After the Crimson Baroness gets back to her feet, she gets her arm raised as the crowd erupts into boos and jeers. She motions for the ref to hurry up and give her the Carolina Cup. Once the ref retrieves the Cup, the Baroness snatches it away from her and clutches it. She then becomes transfixed with the Cup and begins caressing it with a sinister smirk on her face.
Geoff Penzer: The Baroness won the match, thus becoming the first Carolina Cup holder. But it was plain to see that Sydney Christensen had this match won not once, but twice. But thanks to her minions running interference, the ref didn’t see Baroness tapping out repeatedly, nor did he finish the three count. I know I’m supposed to be happy that someone from LDFC defended the Cup. But this was highway robbery. That Cup should be Sydney's, but she was royally screwed over tonight. There’s no two ways about it. The Baroness put the screws to The North Star. I hope she’s proud of herself.
When The Baroness notices Sydney coming to, she slowly lowers the Cup and places it on the mat. She then stalks up behind Sydney….
Geoff Penzer: What is she doing now?
After Sydney returns to her feet, The Baroness turns her around, kicks her in the gut and brings her down with a rolling cross armbar on the right arm.
Geoff Penzer: The Baroness has the Subjection applied! She already won the match! This isn’t even necessary! Enough is enough!
The bell repeatedly rings as the crowd continues to rain down boos and jeers on The Baroness. The Baroness, meanwhile, continues to cackle as she keeps the hold locked on. But The Baroness’ smile is wiped off her face as Emily Carter hops the guard rail. The crowd cheers as Emily rolls into the ring.
Geoff Penzer: Emily Carter’s here! Head Trainer Chris Bond banned her from this event! But she defied his orders!
As soon as Emily rolls into the ring, The Baroness releases the hold. Emily runs over towards the Baroness, but the Baroness hightails it out of the ring to thunderous boos from the crowd.
Geoff Penzer: The Baroness clearly wants no parts of Emily Carter. Though you know that Emily is just salivating at the chance to finally get her hands on her after everything she’s put Emily through.
Emily walks along the ropes as she eyes The Baroness making her way around ringside, then up the aisle. Baroness can be heard yelling,
“You’re not supposed to be here! This is my night!”. Emily’s attention then shifts to the Carolina Cup, which The Baroness left in the ring.
Geoff Penzer: Uh oh, looks like The Baroness left something behind...
Emily darts over towards the Cup. But The Baroness runs over and swipes the Cup to the disappointment of the crowd. She then backs up towards the center of the aisle and clutches the Cup for dear life. She repeatedly yells back at Emily,
“MINE!”Back in the ring, Emily checks on Sydney. The North Star is still favoring her throat, as well as her right arm. As Emily and the ref help Sidney up to her feet, the LDFC fans stand up and give Sydney a round of applause. Emily then pats Sydney on the back before raising Sydney’s arm to a thunderous ovation.
Geoff Penzer: These LDFC fans are showing Sydney Christensen the respect that she deserves. An athlete like her didn’t deserve what just happened in the ring. If Sydney lost the match straight up, then so be it. But that was not the case. Not by a long shot. These cheers will do a bit to sooth the wounds from tonight. But Sydney will always remember being robbed of the Carolina Cup tonight and that’s something that she may never get over. It’s just a shame because she deserves so much better than that….
“The Future is Now” continues to blast over the PA as Sydney slowly exits the ring. She slowly makes her way up the aisle as the fans reach over and pat her on the back.
Geoff Penzer: For everyone here in LDFC as well as all of our guests tonight, this is Geoff Penzer signing off. Until next time…
Once she gets to the top of the aisle, she turns towards the crowd and waves at them. The crowd responds with cheers and applause before breaking out into a thunderous “SYDNEY!” chant….
[ FADE OUT ]
