★★★ FRONTIER LIONS CUP (FIRST ROUND) ★★★
Savannah Taylor vs. NEON
Neon’s music hits and the bass echoes around the arena fusing with a sea of boos from the audience and she glides with decorum laced arrogance acknowledging the crowd around her with glacial eyes and a sinister smile. She raises both her arms so they hang level with her shoulders and the white lights begin to flicker heavily as she lingers for a brief moment.
The lights suspend again and Neon makes her way down the ramp, painted with the same expression she arrived into the arena with, fixating her gaze solely on the ring, remaining ignorant to the fans around her that send floods of jeers her way. She takes her hoop earrings off as she is walking down and throws them to the floor casually.
Melanie Sierra: The following contest is scheduled for one fall and it is a First Round Match in the Frontier Lions Cup! Introducing first, from Los Angeles, California! She is “The Queen of Mean” NEEEEEEEOOOOOOONNNN!!!
She runs towards the closest set of steel steps, peeling her mink off of her before motioning to the camera to come closer as she travels the apron, tossing it over it as it begins to get closer forcing it to jump to another on the other side of the ring which is witness to her slowly entering the ring. She walks to the centre and the lights begin to quiver again as she raises her arms in identical fashion to that on the ramp as the audience’s boos only strengthen in sound.
The lights pulsate finally until they rest on a solid white and Neon walks slowly backwards into her corner, widening her smile and toying with her hair in her hands…
Geoff Penzer: NEON suffered a hard-fought loss to Sadie San Francisco in the Dog Collar Match back at Patriot Games. After recovering from the brutality of that match, The Queen of Mean bounced back and has qualified for the Frontier Lions Cup! She is a long ways away from the Finals. But she could get one step closer to reaching them with a win here tonight. But it won’t be easy because standing across the ring from her is a woman that wants this just as badly...
There was silence; the lights began to fade away slowly. A soft instrumental echoes out across the audience. It starts slowly, a beautiful sound that contrasts the heaviness of the world. Like feathers, it glides among the waiting audience. The lighting fixtures produce a gentle spotlight upon the stage, offset by the occasional flash here and there. As the song continues, a woman’s words begin to come through. Her voice is tender, not raising upon a whisper.
Deceived by my eyes and all I was told I should see
Opinions not mine, the person they taught me to be
One night in the dark, a vision of someone I knew
And in the darkness I saw, a voice say, I'm you.
On the stage, a feminine figure appears. Her head lowered to everything. People cannot make out who it is. As she stands there, the flashes briefly illuminate her figure. It only gives small clues on who stands at the gate. She stands in the spotlight, her shadow cast large and proudly among the stage.
Inside me a light was turned on…
The instrumental picks up again. An electric guitar now joins the progressively exciting instrumentals of before. The singer’s voice suddenly intensifies.
Then I was alive!
In the light, it is revealed that it was Savannah Taylor. She stands at the gate, a robe of obsidian and ivory hues. The hood of it shadows her eyes, but the intensity of the final EXODUS World Champion remains clear as day. She starts off down the ramp, with a serious aura radiating from her body.
Melanie Sierra: And her opponent, from Las Vegas, Nevada! She is the “Las Vegas Siren” SAAAAAAVAAAAANNAAAAH TAAAAAAYYYYYLOORRRR!!!
If you close your eyes your life,
A naked truth revealed
Dreams you never lived,
And scars never healed
Savannah makes her way up the ring steps. She looks out towards the audience for a moment before entering the ring. From there, she heads for a turnbuckle. She stands there, taking in everything. She then lifts her up on top of it. She peers out in nothing, then takes off the hood with a flashy flourish. Her blonde locks fly up in the air. They descend, shaping her face as they famously do.
In the darkness, light will take you to the other side
You'll find me waiting there you'll see, if you just close your eyes
While she stands in her corner, she closes her eyes and takes a heavy breath. When her bright eyes open, Taylor is completely composed. There is nothing more than the heat of battle awaiting her. She takes off her robe, giving it to a stagehand. She stretches her wrists before devoting her mind to the war upon the horizon.
Geoff Penzer: Savannah Taylor is all by her lonesome here on Flashpoint. Heather Lasiewicz? M.I.A.! Yun Goeun? A.W.O.L.! Izzy Anders? Fired this past Tuesday after her cowardly attack on Leonard T. Asherman! Throughout the year, Taylor and Anders were as thick as thieves! Throughout the summer, Heroes Never Die dominated when they had the numbers game. But the numbers game is no more because the only number left is one. Savannah Taylor is now on a brand where most of her peers can’t stand here. Will Taylor be able to survive without backup? Can she thrive without timely interference? Can Taylor ascend to the top of Flashpoint by winning the Frontier Lions Cup? We are about to find out...
The bell sound as Taylor and NEON start things off with a snug collar and elbow tie-up. After jockeying for position, NEON moves Taylor across the ring and presses her against the ropes. Taylor then turns to her right and presses NEON against the ropes. NEON turns to her left and presses Taylor against the ropes. Taylor then turns back over to her right and presses NEON against the ropes. The two grapplers continue to switch positions until Taylor turns over and presses NEON up against the turnbuckles. The ref then scurries over and gives both grapplers until the count of five to break it up.
Ref: ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR… FIVE.
The ref then gets in between the two and tries to break things up. Once the two grapplers are finally separated, NEON nails Taylor with a sucker punch that knocks her back. NEON moves the ref out of the way and socks Taylor with another right hand that sends her stumbling back towards the center of the ring. NEON throws out another right hand. But this time, Taylor blocks before countering with a punch of her own. Another NEON punch gets blocked before getting countered with a punch from the Las Vegas Suren. Taylor nails NEON with four more right hands before sending her into the ropes with an irish whip. When NEON returns, Taylor throws out the Desert Rose (spinning backfist). But NEON’s able to duck. When Taylor turns around, NEON throws out a discus forearm strike. But Taylor’s able to duck the blow. When NEON turns back around, she gets knocked off her feet with a dropkick. Taylor then hits a second dropkick. She takes NEON and sends her back into the ropes with an irish whip. When she returns, Taylor tackles her down with a Lou Thesz Press. The former Pride Champion mounts herself on top of NEON before hammering away with rights to the face. NEON’s able to dodge out of the way of one of the right hands and uses the opening to roll over on top of Taylor. She then mounts herself on top of the Las Vegas Siren before raining down with wild rights and lefts. Taylor is then able to roll back over on top of NEON. The two grapplers continue to switch positions until they each roll underneath the bottom rope and hit the floor.
Geoff Penzer: These two grapplers have come out of the gates swinging! I am surprised at the level of aggression I’m seeing from these two. You could have sworn these two were enemies with the way they’re going after each other...
Once they get back to their feet, Taylor grabs NEON and goes to slam her face-first onto the apron. But NEON puts her hands out on the apron, blocking the move. After an elbow to the midsection, NEON grabs Taylor by the hair and goes to slam her face-first onto the apron. But Taylor’s able to put her hands out on the apron to block the hold. She then swats NEON’s hands from off of her and goes for an irish whip. But NEON reverses, sending Taylor crashing into the guardrail. Taylor arches her back after it collides with the unforgiving steel. NEON lines her up before running down ringside to attack. NEON picks up speed before sending Taylor flipping over the guardrail and into the crowd with a big boot.
Geoff Penzer: What a boot to the face from The Queen of Mean!
NEON climbs over the guardrail and begins putting the boots to Taylor. She reaches down, picks up Taylor and slams her face-first onto the guardrail. NEON takes her by the hair, pulls her head back and slams her face-first into the guardrail again. The Queen of Mean then chokes Taylor on the guardrail by pressing the back of her neck down across the top of the guardrail. The ref climbs over the guardrail and separates the two. NEON puts her hands up defensively when he motions for her to bring the action back into the ring. NEON nods her head… before totally ignoring the referee, swiping a fan’s bottle of water and throwing it right in Taylor’s face, sending the contents of the bottle all over the place. She then grabs Taylor around the waist before dumping her over the guardrail and back to ringside.
Geoff Penzer: This contest has turned into an all-out brawl! The ref needs to step in and get this action back inside!
After NEON climbs over the guardrail, Taylor gets up and rams her back-first against the rail. After a series of shoulder thrusts, Taylor stands up, swipes a fan’s cup of beer from out of his hands and smashes NEON in the face with it. After placing NEON in a headlock, Taylor proceeds to rake NEON’s face along the guardrail with it. When Taylor lets go, NEON staggers over towards the timekeeper’s area. Taylor remains on NEON’s trail. Just as she’s about to grab NEON, NEON grabs the ring bell. When Taylor spins her around, she takes the bell and swings & releases it like a frisbee at Taylor’s head. But Taylor’s able to duck, sending the bell flying down the other end of ringside. The bell sounds once it rolls along the floor while Taylor tackles NEON onto the table. The crowd erupts with cheers when Taylor mounts NEON, grabs her by the hair with both hands and repeatedly rams the back of NEON’s head against the table. Taylor gets down off the table, takes the Queen of Mean and slams her face-first onto the steel steps. After NEON’s face ricochets off the steps, she staggers down ringside. But again, Taylor remains right on her. Taylor slams her face-first onto the apron before rolling her back inside. After Taylor climbs up onto the apron, NEON nails her with a shoulder thrust through the ropes. She then takes Taylor by the back of the neck with both hands and drops down to a knee, guillotining Taylor throat-first across the top rope. Taylor falls back and drops to the apron. While Taylor holds her throat, NEON gets to her feet and runs back into the far ropes. When she returns, she knocks Taylor off the apron and to the floor with a baseball slide. NEON then slips right back to the outside.
Geoff Penzer: Oooooh here they go again!
NEON picks up Taylor and slams her face-first onto the announcer table. The cheers continue as she pulls Taylor back by the hair before slamming her face-first onto the table again. The Queen of Mean then takes Taylor by the hair and drags her on top of the table. After bringing Taylor up to her feet, NEON lifts her up for a sitout spinebuster through the table when Taylor counters with an elbow to the top of the head at the last second. Once Taylor’s brought back down, she doubles over NEON with a boot to the midsection before planting her with a DDT on the table. The table remains in tact to the chagrin of the crowd while NEON bounces off the table before rolling off and hitting the floor. Taylor lays sprawled out on the table. Once she catches her breath, the Las Vegas Siren sits back up. After Taylor turns over and gets back to her feet, NEON quickly reaches up, grabs her by the ankles and yanks back hard. Taylor’s yanked into the air before smacking the back of her head on one of the monitors. Taylor rolls off and falls to the floor and immediately grabs the back of her head with both hands.
Geoff Penzer: Taylor might be hurt after that hard fall!
A portion of the back of Taylor’s head is now red as NEON gets back to her feet. She stands over Taylor before putting the boots to the back of her head. She then picks up Taylor and sets her up for a DDT on the outside when Taylor counters by running forward and ramming NEON back-first into the steel steps.
Geoff Penzer: My God!
The crowd cheers when the top half of the steps go flying before Taylor and NEON land on the bottom half. Taylor again mounts herself on top of NEON and hammers away with right hands to the face. NEON is able to slip out of the way of the last punch, causing Taylor to accidentally punch the bottom half of the steel steps. As soon as Taylor grabs her right hand, NEON uses the momentum to toss Taylor off to the side. The Queen of Mean gets back up, grabs Taylor’s right hand and swings it against the guardrail. Taylor groans before immediately grabbing the hand. NEON then grabs a hold of Taylor from behind and pries her right hand away from her left before biting it. Taylor lets out a wail before using her free hand to punch NEON off of her. She then takes NEON and slams her face-first against the steel ringpost. After doubling her over with a knee to the midsection, Taylor plants NEON with a DDT onto the floor. She then turns NEON over into the prone position, takes her by the hair with her left hand and drags her over on top of the steps. The crowd murmurs as they see Taylor stepping back to clearly set up a curb stomp onto the bottom half of the steel steps.
Geoff Penzer: This is going to end very badly for NEON! The ref has to step in and stop this...
The fans in the first few rows stand up to get a good look at what’s about to happen. Taylor begins to frantically wave NEON up with her left hand while The Queen of Mean tries to push herself up on all fours over the steel steps. Once NEON’s in position, Taylor runs over at her. The ref then quickly jumps into Taylor’s way, resulting in an eruption of boos from the crowd.
Geoff Penzer: Thank God!
Taylor and the ref get into it. While this is happening, NEON gets her second wind. After Taylor moves the ref out of the way to get to NEON, NEON nails her with a throat thrust before rolling her back inside. After NEON rolls back in, she pulls Taylor up and slams her face-first into the top turnbuckle. She then climbs up onto the middle ropes, places Taylor in a front facelock and plants her with a DDT. She turns over and makes the cover.
ONE!
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TWO!
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Taylor gets her shoulder up.
NEON picks up Taylor and whips her into the ropes. When Taylor returns, NEON throws out another discus forearm strike. But Taylor ducks the blow. When NEON turns around, Taylor nails her with a front kick to the face. She then steps back, runs and nails NEON with a yakuza kick, knocking her back towards the ropes. Taylor then turns and runs into the far ropes. Before Taylor can bounce back, NEON darts over and catches her with a forearm strike. NEON delivers three more elbow strikes before turning around and running into the far ropes. When NEON comes back, Taylor grabs the top rope and drops down, sending NEON tumbling over the top rope and to the floor. The Las Vegas Siren slips out onto the apron before pulling herself up using the ropes. As soon as NEON gets into position, Taylor knocks her down with an Asai Moonsault! Taylor picks up NEON and whips her into the guardrail. She then runs down ringside before sending NEON flipping over the guardrail and into the crowd with another running yakuza kick! She then reaches over, pulls up NEON, places her in a front facelock and drags her across the guardrail before planting her with an elevated DDT! The raucous crowd buzzes as Taylor marches down ringside before waving up NEON. Once NEON gets into position, Taylor runs down ringside, jumps up and curbstomps NEON down on the floor! While NEON is down in the prone position, Taylor marches over, grabs the protective padding and pulls it back, exposing the concrete floor underneath. She then reaches back over, grabs NEON by the hair with her left hand and drags her over on top of the exposed floor. Taylor heads up the aisle before turning around.
Geoff Penzer: These two grapplers desperately want that Frontier Lions Cup! We’re seeing just how far they’re willing to go to advance!
Taylor can be seen waving up NEON while the fans in the first few rows stand up. After NEON slowly pushes herself up on all fours, Taylor runs down the aisle, leaps up and drives NEON face-first into the exposed floor with another curbstomp! She then picks up NEON and rolls her back inside before sliding back in to make the cover.
ONE!
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TWO!
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THRE-NO!
NEON gets her foot on the bottom rope.
Geoff Penzer: NEON just barely got her foot on the ropes and I have no idea how she did it!
Taylor picks up NEON and drags her away from the ropes before pulling her up onto her knees. Taylor nails her with a hard left hand… and another… and another. She then steps back and throws out a roundhouse kick to the head. But NEON ducks, pops up to her feet and throws Tylor down with a Michinoku Driver.
ONE!
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TWO!
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Taylor gets her shoulder up.
NEON picks up Taylor and sends her sternum-first into the turnbuckles with a hard irish whip. As Taylor stumbles back, NEON cracks her across the back of the head with a discus forearm strike! After Taylor collapses onto the mat, NEON drops down, pulls her over and makes the cover.
ONE!
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TWO!
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THRE-NO!
Taylor gets her shoulder up.
Geoff Penzer: How did Taylor get her shoul- wait a minute...
NEON makes the cover again.
ONE!
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TWO!
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THRE-NO!
Taylor gets her shoulder up.
NEON mounts herself on top of Taylor grabs her by the hair with both hands and repeatedly rams the back of her head against the canvas!
Geoff Penzer: NEON’s mauling Taylor! She’s out of control! Both of them are out of control!
NEON pulls up Taylor by the hair before doubling her over with a knee to the midsection. NEON turns and heads into the ropes. When she returns, she knocks Taylor down with a single leg dropkick to the side of the head. NEON gets up and begins to circle Taylor while Taylor remains in the prone position. The former Pride Champion tries to shake out the cobwebs before pushing herself up on all fours. NEON then runs over and connects with a front dropkick to the side of the head, knocking Taylor over onto her back. NEON returns to her feet and paces back and forth while she keeps her eyes locked on Taylor. The Las Vegas Siren tries to sit up, but ultimately falls back down. She clutches her head before slowly turning over onto her stomach. After pushing herself up on all fours and then getting back to her feet, Taylor is sent flying backwards into the turnbuckle after a running front dropkick from NEON. Taylor slumps down in the corner as The Queen of Mean approaches. She stands over Taylor and rains down a flurry of right hands to the head. She then hits Taylor with three front knee strikes to the face before pulling her back up by the hair. NEON then climbs up onto the middle ropes before scanning the crowd. She’s about to rain down more punches on Taylor when Taylor slips out from the bottom, ,grabs NEON’s ankles and yanks her off the ropes. NEON smacks her face against the top turnbuckle on the way down. Taylor slams her face-first onto the top turnbuckle before dragging her away from the corner, grabbing her from the side and driving her face-first onto the canvas with the Blonde Ambition! She pushes NEON over and makes the cover.
ONE!
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TWO!
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THR-NO!
NEON gets her shoulder up.
Geoff Penzer: Both of these grapplers are throwing everything they possibly can at each other! I did not expect this level of intensity from these two against each other!
Taylor picks up NEON and whips her into the ropes. When NEON returns, Taylor knocks her back with a yakuza kick. After taking a few steps back, NEON runs forward and knocks Taylor back with a big boot. She then turns and runs into the ropes. When NEON returns, Taylor flattens her with the Desert Rose! After NEON turns over and gets up on a knee, Taylor runs over and flattens her again. This time, with a Shining Wizard. Taylor picks up NEON, delivers an irish whip and follows her across the ring. As soon as NEON hits the turnbuckles, Taylor connects with a running corner yakuza kick! NEON slumps down before Taylor pulls her back up. She turns NEON around and lifts her up onto the middle ropes. Taylor then steps out onto the apron, climbs up onto the top rope and places NEON in a three quarter facelock before flipping back and bringing her down with Welcome to Sin City (avalanche shiranui)! She makes the cover.
ONE!
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TWO!
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THRE-NO!
The crowd gasps when NEON gets her shoulder up.
Taylor picks up NEON and goes for a running bulldog. But NEON shoves her off into the ropes. When NEON returns, she flattens Taylor with a discus forearm strike! She then reaches down, pulls up Taylor and sits her into the ropes. When Taylor returns, NEON lifts her up and throws her down with a sitout spinebuster!
ONE!
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TWO!
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THRE-NO!
The crowd gasps when Taylor gets her shoulder up.
Geoff Penzer: Another close call!
NEON picks up Taylor and doubles her over with a knee to the midsection before heading into the ropes. When NEON returns, she knocks Taylor down with the Lights Out (running scissors kick) to the back of the head. She then pulls Taylor back up before sending her into the corner with an irish whip. NEON runs across the ring before connecting with a running wheel kick, sending Taylor slumping down in the corner. NEON takes Taylor, turns her around and presses her face against the middle turnbuckle before running across the ring. NEON sizes up Taylor before charging across the ring and goes for NE To The Face (running bicycle kick). But Taylor moves out of the way, sending NEON crashing knee-first into the middle turnbuckle. As NEON stumbles back, Taylor doubles her over with a kick to the midsection before bringing her down with The Gamble! She then picks up NEON, lifts her up and plants her with a brainbuster, leaving her sprawled out on the mat. The crowd buzzes with anticipation when Taylor turns over and slowly pulls up a motionless NEON by the hair. After grabbing a hold of NEON, Taylor smirks before planting her with the Siren’s Song (scissored DDT). She makes the cover.
ONE!
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TWO!
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THREE!
The crowd erupts with boos when “Just Close Your Eyes” blares throughout the arena.
Melanie Sierra: Here is your winner, SAVANNAH TAYLOR!
The boos continue when Taylor gets her arm raised.
Geoff Penzer: Savannah Taylor comes away victorious with a win over NEON in the First Round! That was a slugfest! That was a brawl! It was the craziest match we’ve seen from two members of the Flashpoint brand since the draft! Both of them threw everything they could think of at each other. But in the end, Taylor advances to the Quarterfinals, where she will meet the winner of Brian Stryker and Terrence Tillman...
