2021: A New Odyssey

[FGA Office]

[FGA Office]

Appearing on camera is Jaelynn Ramsey, already in her ring gear. She walks in the direction of the locker rooms, stopping inches away from her destination. Acknowledging the cameraman hot on her tracks, she turns to see who else is around, perhaps anticipating Amanda Johnson or anyone else assigned to interview her and fellow teammate, Sadie San Francisco. This wasn’t the case for the blonde Utahn and that was more than okay for her.

Jaelynn Ramsey: What an exciting time it is to be on the FGA roster, and most of all, a fan. There has been fulfillment for the nostalgic, the insane, and most importantly the ones who want to see the best this business has to offer.

She points to herself matter-of-factly, letting that slip in because of who she is as a person. The locker room door opens from inside, prompting Jaelynn to block the entryway, informing the occupant(s) that she “has this under control.” She shuts the door and resumes addressing the viewers.

Jaelynn Ramsey: Please forgive Sadie. As you know, her hands are full to say the least. Like the wonderful friend that I am, whatever I can do to alleviate things, I will do it - no questions asked. Tonight will not be like any other night. Sadie and I will have the chance to become the new FGA World Tag Team Champions. After years of putting one another through the ringer, being one another’s thorn, to joining forces? It will be poetic. For those that believe in miracles, they will now understand why their favorite barista talks about “manifestation” and putting things “into the universe.”

Jaelynn Ramsey: Of course, this isn’t something that happens overnight. It has taken many hours learning about one another. What are our strengths, weaknesses, and where can we complement one another as a team? We didn’t join forces because we like the same music or because we share the same first names. We found common ground for reasons that are far from vapid and shallow.

She shakes her head, judgmentally.

Jaelynn Ramsey: When it comes to Sadie and I, we do things our way, wanting to go against the mold. There was no need for us to insert ourselves minutes before my cluster-y tag match at Vertigo just because “everyone else was doing it.” Did we not sit through the same anti-drug programs in middle school? Tsk, tsk. I needed to prepare for my match and Sadie agreed with the sentiment. And I suppose Jillian and Nando felt the same, because they can use all the preparation they can get (if I’m being honest.)

Jaelynn Ramsey: As far as scouting my opponents? Yes, that needed to happen. Every team indeed brings something to the table, yet the one I find capable of walking away as the World Tag Team Champions are Erin and Sara of Silk and Cyanide. They have years of experience working together and have been successful. I know better than to underestimate them, yet I am confident that Sadie and I are well capable of dealing with them and everyone else. TJ seems like a nice guy, yet I can’t imagine not wanting to turn on his annoying partner at any given moment. You seem like a man of integrity, Mr. Techniques, yet please take into consideration that you do not want to risk anything for Cassius Reed of all people.

A smirk escapes her.

Jaelynn Ramsey: Ashes to Ashes have another thing coming to them. As much as I’d like to slander them, I will express myself in the ring with them instead, face to face. And of course, The Saturnian Connection - who I have spared at Vertigo 86. Nando had some pent up rage and decided to take it out on me. The “hall pass” he’s had for that is now null and void. Sorry, Jill. I am sure you will understand after all has been said and done.

She puts her hand on the door knob, turning it slowly, and enters her locker room, setting up the feed for a proper transition.

[FGA Office]

And now, Frontier Grappling Arts presents… 2021: A NEW ODYSSEY!

Our camera pans around the MassMutual Center. Various shots of the limited-capacity coed are shown before switching to the announce desk.

Kris Cruise: Hello, everyone and welcome to the MassMutual Center! Welcome to Springfield, Massachusetts! Welcome to 2021: A New Odyssey! I am Kris Cruise! Joining me as always is my colleague Stephy Auger and Stephy, FGA returns to pay per view here tonight! We're used to seeing these New Odyssey events around the beginning of the year in February. But like you mentioned last year during All-Star Showdown IX, everything's been thrown out of whack with what's going on.

Stephy Auger: That's exactly right, Cruise. Schedules have been altered. Some events have been rescheduled or cancelled. But one thing that is consistent, Cruise, and that's the quality that these grapplers give you night in and night out inside the ring. Even Fuji Water and that five head Lowri Moss aren't half bad!

Kris Cruise: You just can't help yourself, can you? We're not even a minute into the broadcast and you're already making digs at Fujiko Mine and Lowri Moss.

Stephy Auger: Why wouldn't I?

Kris Cruise: You know what? I'm not even going to go down this road with you. Let's just give the people a rundown of what's in store tonight. Can you do that?

Stephy Auger: Yes, of course!

Kris Cruise: Thank you! In our opening contest, Mark Bisley will defend his FGA 15 Championship against Kazu Hirano.

Stephy Auger: The Wanderer recently beat Mark Bisley in non-title action. Can the eccentric Kazu pick up his first ever championship in FGA?

Kris Cruise: In our next championship match, we'll see a Tag Team Gauntlet as Silk & Cyanide, Sadie San Francisco & Jaelynn Ramsey, The Saturnian Connection, Ashes 2 Ashes and TJ Techniques & Cassius Reed will battle it out for the vacant World Tag Team Championship!

Stephy Auger: Lowri Moss vacated the World Tag Team Titles on behalf of Pendragon at the start of this latest cycle of shows. Tonight, one of these teams will be walking out of here the new champions. But it's all about the luck of the draw. You could be the best team in this match on paper. If you get picked number one or number two, you're gonna have a long night ahead of you.

Kris Cruise: In our third championship match, Mighty Sparrow will defend his Mid-Atlantic Legacy Championship against Laura Perelli!

Stephy Auger: Correction, Laura Perelli will be defending her Mid-Atlantic Legacy Championship against that imposter, Mighty Sparrow. Possession is nine tenths of the law and the last time I checked, Laura Perelli is the one with the championship around her waist!

Kris Cruise: The championship matches continue as Nina Stokes defends her United States Championship against Sadie San Francisco!

Stephy Auger: The issues between these two have gone on for far too long. Tonight, Stokes leaves Selfish San Francisco in the dust, once and for all!

Kris Cruise: We've got yet another championship match on the boards as Tyler Storm will defend his Pride Championship against the current number one contender, Ace Voltage!

Stephy Auger: Ace Voltage has proven over the course of this cycle of shows that he can wrestle a match cleanly. He knows how to get it done by the rulebook. He's proven to everyone that he can succeed in a Pride Rules match. Ace proved that we was the greatest Mid-Atlantic Legacy Championship in history. Tonight will be the start of him becoming the greatest Pride Champion in FGA history!

Kris Cruise: This next one we've been waiting quite a while for. We saw a tease of it in those two tag team matches this past summer. But tonight, there are no partners. It's strictly one on one. Of course, I'm talking about the Dream Match between Fujiko Mine and Lowri Moss!

Stephy Auger: You say it's a Dream Match. If you ask me, this sounds like my worst nightmare. Half this crowd will be cheering Lowri. The other half will be cheering for Fujiko. Me personally, I'll be cheering for the ring to collapse!

Kris Cruise: Finally, it's the big match. In sports, we heard it over and over that a match or a game is "for all the marbles." But this time, it's really for all the marbles. Its Title vs. Title, Champion vs. Champion! The FGA World Champion against the FGA International Heavyweight Champion! It's the Unification Match, Stephy! Seth Iser versus Cordy Stevenson. Someone will walk out of here with all the gold tonight!

Stephy Auger: You talked about Fujiko and Lowri being a Dream Match? No, this is the Dream Match right here. We're looking at two of the greatest in the world at the tops of their games. Two of the biggest prizes in all of wrestling will be up for grabs. This crowd hates Cordy just as much as they hate Seth. Me personally, I love them both and no matter who walks out of here the gold, I'm the biggest winner of all. I can't wait for Seth and Cordy to go out there and blow away the rest of the matches from tonight.

[FGA Office]

The camera fades up in the dressing room of none other than Cassius Reed. Oversized headphones cut him off for the world as he sorts through his gym bag, mentally getting in the zone for the night. The camera slowly fades out, revealing TJ Techniques right behind him. The appearance of The Funky Technician garners cheers from the audience this on the Video Tron. Cassius continues to stay in his zone, completely oblivious to TJ’s presence. TJ is shown slowly flexing and extending his arm.

It’s the same arm that Laura Perelli targeted in their match on the last Vertigo.

The same arm that Perelli would have further attacked had Mighty Sparrow, NOT Cassius, made the save.

TJ continues to stare Cassius down from behind while The Funky Dragon is still in his own world.

TJ Techniques: Cassius…

There's no response from Reed, as he continues to sort through his bag.

TJ Techniques: Cassius...

Still oblivious to his surroundings, Cassius fails to react.

TJ Techniques: Cassius...

It seems for a moment like Cassius has finally heard TJ, as he steps back… but it's only to give himself more room to kick into an air slap bass solo. At this point, TJ’s had enough of Cassius. The frustration is visible on his face. TJ lets out a annoyed sigh before snatching Cassius’ headphones off his head, garnering an “OOOOOOHHHH!” from the viewing crowd. Cassius spins on the spot, hands still in position on his "air bass".

TJ Techniques: Ayo, where were you on Vertigo?! Huh?! Just where were you?! Because I’ll tell you one thing, your ass wasn’t out there when I needed you. Now I didn’t need you out there during the match. I didn’t need you out there holding my hand. But what I needed was your help after the match, when Laura Perelli was about to do to me what she did to my man Sparrow. Speaking of Sparrow, thankfully he had my back and was able to make the save because my so-called tag team partner was nowhere to be found.

TJ continues to stare daggers at Cassius. There’s a palpable tension in the air. The crowd is nowhere near these two. But they can even feel the tension through the Video Tron. The two partners continues to stare each other down. TJ lets out another sigh before trying to talk calmly.

TJ Techniques: Look, Cass’, we need to get something straight right here, right now. Ever since I came to this company, you been hating on me. At first, I just thought it was because I eliminated you from the Gold Rush Rumble and you were still salty about it. I could understand that. But then you had to take it one step further and brush off my handshake time and time and time again. When you finally decided to shake my hand, after I beat you for a second time?

TJ holds two fingers up in Cassius’ face.

TJ Techniques: I figured that whatever beef you and I had was deaded right then and there. But apparently, I was wrong. ‘Cause since that time, you been getting real slick with your mouth. “Cassius leads his team to victory” here, “Cassius willed his team to a win” there. Every single time we’ve teamed up, you gotta go out there and show off. You gotta make it all about you and what you do. You wanna brush off tags. You wanna stand there and ignore me on the apron and it’s damn near cost us twice, my dude. Twice! Now look, I don’t know what the hell your problem is? But whatever it is, you need to let me know now. If you don’t wanna do this? If you don’t wanna do this tag team thing? Then you just let me know. We’ll go my separate ways and I’ll find me a tag partner that actually wants to do this thing. But if you are down? If you wanna do this? Then you need to start acting like you’re apart of a team. Let me remind you, this ain’t Cassius Reed and the Reedettes. It’s Cassius Reed AND TJ Techniques. Let me remind you of something else. You and I have a Gauntlet Match for the vacant World Tag Team Titles here tonight. Not Cassius and his “padawan”. Not Cassius and “his associate”. Cassius and TJ Techniques, his tag team partner. His equal. You and I need to get on the same damn page, bro. So whatever it is you got on your mind, I suggest you get it off your chest and speak your speech right here and now.

Cassius looks at TJ just a moment. He starts to put his air bass down… before acknowledging the ridiculousness of what he's doing and stopping the mime together, before giving TJ his undivided attention.

Cassius Reed: Aight. Listen. Cassius hears you. He does. Cassius understands where you’re coming from. But what Cassius needs is for you to chill a minute, and try to understand Cassius. We cool to do that?

TJ gestures to Cassius that he can have the floor to continue speaking.

Cassius Reed: Yes, Cassius didn’t come to your rescue last time out. And maybe Cassius should have… and maybe Cassius would have, if he had any idea what was going down. You saw Cassius when you walked in here… gettin’ in the zone. Cassius was up against mammajammin’ Fuji Fridays herself. Cassius was gettin’ ready for one of the biggest matches of his career… you can appreciate that, right? For right or wrong, that night, you weren’t even on Cassius’ radar… and Cassius hopes that if the situation was flipped, he wouldn’t be on yours. And he means that. Honestly.

TJ Techniques: Hmm...

Cassius Reed: And that’s how Cassius is. And rather than assumin Cassius is gunna play house like all these cookie cutter teams, you need to get Cassius. You know why Cassius walks into that ring ready to take on every other mammajamma between the ropes? Because Cassius at the drop of a hat, he just might have to. Cassius won’t just sit down and wait to be invited in the ring… if he feels the moment, he’s in. Cassius talks like he's led us to victory every time not because he believes it, but because he needs to believe it. And he needs you to be the same. Cassius needs to know that you’re ready to fight everyone there, at any moment. Cassius needs to know that you want that win enough that you’ll climb over Cassius himself to take it. That if you want that tag to sink yo’ teeth in, you’ll take it. That when the day is said and done, you make damn sure it's known its due to your actions. You can’t just look at these other teams with their touchy feely super best friend BS and think that needs to be us… because that ain’t ever going to be us. You cannot treat Cassius like any other tag team partner out there… because he is unlike any other tag partner you’re ever going to funk with. And you know why Cassius agreed to this superhero team-up? Because Cassius thinks you can get that. Cassius thinks inside you, you got what it takes to actually be on Cassius' wavelength, to tune into this funky frequency. You got talent, Cassius ain’t going to deny that… but have you got the attitude for this? Coz Cassius believes we can do some real FUNKY shit… but that’s going to be on you. Cassius can’t be the type of partner you seem to want him to be… Cassius ain't built that way, and he ain't about to pretend to you or anyone else otherwise… but can you be the type of partner Cassius needs?

TJ Techniques: I’ve always been a go getter. I came in here out the gate gunning for gold and damn near took a champion to their limit. I went into my very first Gold Rush Rumble and lasted 34 minutes. The only person that lasted longer than me is the woman that won it. Tonight, I ain’t interested in being second best. I ain’t interested in putting on a good show. I’m interested in going out there and claiming those World Tag Team Titles. I don’t care if we’re the first team in there or if we’re the last team in, I wanna show up, show out and show and prove why I’m apart of the new standard bearers of this tag team division. You ask me if I can be the type of tag partner you need me to be? My tag titles elsewhere already answers that question. The fact that we’re already 2-0 answers that question. But if you need further proof? Then I’ll show you out there tonight when we run this gauntlet and take those Tag Titles.

Cassius gives TJ a long stare… before following up with a backwards head jut of acknowledgement.

Cassius Reed: I'mma hold you to that. Because if there's anything this company needs right now… its a healthy dose of FUNK.

With that, the camera fades off the pair.

[FGA Office]

In a corridor backstage at the MassMutual Center we find Mark Bisley pacing back and forth – and it’s impossible to notice that, rather that the usual cocky and assured look on his face, instead he is focused and a lot more serious than we are used to, and there is a reason for that…

Mark Bisley: Allow me to take you back to All Star Showdown IX. On that night I set foot in the ring looking to prove that I was the superior athlete, the rightful title holder, and somebody who didn’t need chicanery or flimflam in order to cheat a title from under my opponent. And what did I do? Prove it. No ifs, no buts, just a three count and a tapout to make it abundantly clear who was the rightful and deserving winner and title holder, and not a single person whose opinion matters could say otherwise.

Raising a finger, Bisley looks like he’s about to say something, but then he shakes his finger and continues to set the scene

Mark Bisley: What that was supposed to mean was that I would go on to bigger and better things, having proved that I was always the superior athlete and the deserving champion, and I would prove that over a period of days, weeks and months to come. And then…

Once again Bisley raises a finger, but instead of shaking it instead he holds it in place and his tone of voice noticeably changes

Mark Bisley: Kazu Hirano not only took that from me, but he did the worst thing possible: he sowed a seed of doubt. Not in my mind, but I will get to that, but in the minds of literally every single person who is aware of Frontier Grappling Arts. Some of them will no doubt…pun not intended…be thinking that I am more focused on the idea of winning a championship than actually defending it, believing that I have a mentality that sees victory as the ending rather than the beginning. Others will surely be thinking that it’s about time somebody took the wind out of my sails, and at least this time they were able to do it without performing a ruse in order to see me defeated. And I’m sure somebody on one subreddit or other has posted approximately fourteen threads documenting the irony of how my Achilles heel is Japanese wrestlers considering I sold one out to get into this position.

With a pause, and a noticeably condescending look on his face aimed directly down the camera, Bisley makes it clear what he things of that third theory

Mark Bisley: But the problem is that, now that seed of doubt is sewn, that also plants a seed of belief in the mind of Kazu Hirano. Or, as it looks to me, a weed that needs to be torn out – and the thing with weeds is you don’t get the flowers and leave it at that, you need to get right down to the root.

Once again pausing, Bisley oh so briefly flicks his eyes skywards

Mark Bisley: But I said that there was a seed of doubt in my mind as well, and rather than leave you hanging I am going to address that. You see, I am quite happy to ignore the doubts that less informed people are willing to project onto me, because I know they’re so wide of the mark they might as well aim in the opposite direction, but to pretend that I haven’t got a doubt in my mind would be untrue. The fact is that I am now fully aware that, on his day, Kazu Hirano can beat me, and that means that now I have to think about how many of those days he has. Is it a one-off event where everything fell into place for him? Is it something he can do two out of three times? Is it something he can do one time out of ten? That’s where the doubt comes into it: I need to know, and the only way I can get an idea of it is to step into the ring tonight and see what Kazu Hirano is capable of.

Once again Bisley raises a finger, but rather in a manner of wagging a finger to an imagined comment he disagrees with it’s to make it clear he hasn’t finished quite yet so maybe keep that response to yourself for a moment or two longer

Mark Bisley: And this is why it is important to have something to doubt, to have some unanswered questions, because instead of going into a match knowing the answers like I did at All Star Showdown instead I am going into a match relying on my wits. It’s the difference between theoretical and practical, because in theory you can study until your life depended on it and ace the test – but in practice things have a habit of behaving in ways that they don’t in a textbook. And that’s what tonight will see me do, put down the textbook so I’m not defeating an opponent with math, with equations that I understand that my opponents cannot comprehend until they realise I had them beat several minutes earlier, instead I will be matching up with an opponent in a display of raw talent, because tonight I want to know if Kazu Hirano can get one over me a second time or if I picked up just enough that I found a weakness that I can exploit on the way to victory

There’s the merest hint of a cocky shrug, but that seems more of a reflex by the rest of Bisley;s demeanour

Mark Bisley: And, of course, there’s a reason I say these things: it’s my turn to plant a seed of doubt, to have Kazu Hirano wonder if he simply had a perfect match where it would have taken an act of god to prevent him getting the victory that one night, just as I’m making him wonder if I have spotted something that I can expose and exploit that will create an opening that leads to my victory. More than that, I’m doing this to see how Kazu Hirano responds to this, be it convincing himself that I know a way to beat him that he’s unaware of and being wary as he tries to ward off what he thinks I think that is, or if he wants to replicate that match down the last movement to see if he can match the result a second time when the stakes are higher hoping that I haven’t pored over the match ten times over to cut out that one crucial sequence. Well rest assured, I haven’t pored over the match ten times over. Are you nuts? Ten times are rookie numbers, and I put so much more effort into scouting my opponents for when victory means that little bit more.

Slapping his hands together, that trademark Bisley cockiness seems to be returning

Mark Bisley: So that, Kazu Hirano, is what tonight is: a test. For you it’s a test to see if you can repeat your past successes while proving you can take what worked and expand upon it to raise yourself to a higher level, while for me it is a test to prove that I can rebound from a setback and come back stronger, slicker and smarter than before to put that setback behind me and do what I intended to do in the first place and make myself the 15 Champion the title and this company needs, and I certainly believe I can handle the pressure. The question, Kazu Hirano, is whether you can handle the pressure you’re under right now to prove that you are more than a fluke. So…can you?

[FGA Office]

FGA 15 CHAMPIONSHIP
(c) Mark Bisley vs. Kazu Hirano

A rock band with a full god damn orchestra is set up in the entryway – a collective known as SUPERNOVA. How the fuck does a pro wrestling newcomer put an entrance like this together? He went out into the world, became a regular in a few places, and made a lot of friends. These are the Watarimono's musician pals from all over – an interchanging group that is never the same for more than one gig, yet synced as if their individual destinies were meant for this performance of “I Am The Walrus.” They strike a perfect balance between the psychedelic LSD-inspired original by The Beatles and the powerful cocaine-fueled Oasis cover – a life-changing experience for everyone fortunate enough to have them make fuck to their ears. Kazu Hirano is not a technically good singer by any means, but there's a lot of energy and he never fails to nail the chorus.

HIRANO: “I AM THE EGG MAN!”

CROWD: Throwing their arms in the air when Hirano points the mic at them. “WOO!”

HIRANO: “THEY ARE THE EGG MEN!”

CROWD: Throwing their arms in the air when Hirano points the mic at them. “WOO!”

HIRANO: “I AM THE WALRUS! GOO GOO G'JOOB!”

J.A. Aldridge: Ladies and gentlemen, 2021: A New Odyssey begins with the following contest! It is scheduled for one fall with a 15 minute time limit and it is for the FGA 15 Championship! Introducing first, the challenger! Hailing from Koenji, Tokyo, Japan! Weighing in at 176 pounds… KAZU HIRANO!

Kris Cruise: Kazu Hirano recently picked up a victory over Mark Bisley in non-title action, which set up this match tonight. Can the Wanderer pull off another win over the self-proclaimed Smartest Man In The Rom?

Stephy Auger: I don’t think he can. It’s not that Kazu’s not good enough. It’s about the simple fact that Bisley won’t let it happen twice. Bisley had that championship stolen from him once. He won’t let it happen again.

The arena lights dim to almost pitch blackness, save for a couple of blue lights that pulse in sync with the intro to "Storms End" that is rising in pitch and intensity until the main hook burst forth and, at that very second, the ramp is bathed in blue light as Mark Bisley strides onto the ramp before he turns his head towards the title resting upon his shoulder and raises the belt high above his head while wearing one hell of a self-satisfied smirk upon his face.

J.A. Aldridge: His opponent, hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota! Weighing in at 201 pounds! He is the reigning… defending… FGA 15 Champion, MARK BISLEY!

Keeping his title raised as he makes his way down the ramp, Bisley walks at his own pace as he confidently walks to the ring at his own pace right up until he reaches the ringside area, and once he reaches the ringside area he lowers his arm and breaks into a short dash to give him the momentum to hop onto the ring apron where he crouches for a moment and taps the side of his head a couple of times to the song's beat before he climbs onto the nearest turnbuckles.

As he stands on the turnbuckles with the title held firmly in his hands, Bisley fixes his eyes on his opponent as he looks down on them and the smirk leaves his face entirely as his eyes move from his opponent to the title and then back to his opponent once more, at which point he climbs down from the turnbuckles and the second his feet meet the canvas he whips the towel from around his shoulders and chucks it to the referee without taking his eyes off his opponent, as he takes a few steps forward so he's stood in the centre of the ring where he drops to a knee and carefully places his title on the mat where he runs his hand over its faceplate while looking his opponent dead in the eye to remind them of one fact: this is my title.

Kris Cruise: I don’t agree with Bisley when he implies that Kazu’s win over him was a fluke. But you just know that Bisley has rewatched their match 20 times over.

Stephy Auger: Of course he has. He wants to sure up any holes in his game, no matter how small they may be. More importantly, he wants to find something in Kazu’s game that he can exploit.

The bell sounds as Bisley and Hirano lock up. Bisley quickly gains the advantage with a side headlock before Hirano pushes him off into the ropes. When Bisley returns, the crowd boos when he knocks Hirano down with a shoulder block. He then takes off into another set of ropes. When Bisley returns, he knocks Hirano down with another shoulder block. The 15 Champion takes off into another set of ropes. When Bisley returns, Hirano leapfrogs over him. Bisley continues to run the ropes. When Bisley comes back, Hirano goes for a hip toss. Bisley steps through it and tries for a hip toss of his own. Hirano blocks it. Bisley tries to muscle him up for another hip toss. Again, Hirano blocks it. Bisley then tries to knock his head off with a lariat. Hirano ducks the lariat, reaches back, hooks both arms and pulls Bisley down with a backslide pin!

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Bisley slips out to all fours. Before Bisley can get back to a vertical base, Hirano quickly rolls him up with la magistral!

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Bisley kicks out.

Kris Cruise: Two quick nearfalls there for Kazu!

Bisley scrambles back to his feet and charges at his challenger. Hirano steps to the side and pushes him off into the ropes. When Bisley returns, Hirano tries to take him out of Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (Polish Hammer)! But Bisley rolls underneath it as Hirano’s momentum takes him into the ropes. Hirano comes back and ducks a lariat before countering with a Crucifix Driver!

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Bisley kicks out.

Bisley falls over into the prone position before Hirano traps him in the Gedo Clutch!

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Bisley gets the shoulder up.

Kris Cruise: Two more nearfalls for Kazu!

Hirano takes Bisley and sets up for an irish whip. Bisley reverses, sending Hirano into the corner. The 15 Champion charges in to attack until Hirano turns him around with a boot to the face. Bisley starts to stagger away from the corner until Hirano runs up from behind, leaps onto his shoulders and brings him down with a Victory Roll!

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Bisley kicks out.

Kris Cruise: Kazu nearly got him again!

Both grapplers return to their feet. When Hirano charges at the champion, Bisley goes to counter with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. But Hirano reverses the counter with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors takeover. Bisley gets back to his feet, turns around and gets sent over the top rope to the floor with a running lariat!

Kris Cruise: Mark Bisley is all out of sorts!

Stephy Auger: This one is far from over. We’re just getting started. Bisley can always turn this sound. Right?

Hirano starts to strut around the ring until he sees Bisley pick himself up on the outside. So he quickly takes off into the far ropes. The crowd cheers when Hirano runs back across the ring, leaps through the ropes and knocks Bisley down with a suicide dive!

Kris Cruise: Kazu connects with the dive to the outside!

Hirano rolls back inside before scaling the turnbuckles. Once Bisley picks himself back up, he turns around and does a double take after looking up. The crowd cheers when Hirano flips off and knocks him down with a moonsault!

Kris Cruise: The high risk pays off for Kazu Hirano!

Stephy Auger: Mark, please! Do something!

Kris Cruise: If Kazu keeps this up, the 15 Championship will be coming home with him.

Hirano pops back to his feet and plays the air guitar before rolling Bisley back inside. He then slides himself back in to make the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Bisley kicks out.

Kris Cruise: Only two!

Stephy Auger: Did you see that?

Kris Cruise: See what?

Stephy Auger: Kazu hot dogging for the crowd. He didn’t just roll Bisley back inside and make the cover. He had to play to the crowd. He had to do his little air guitar or whatever. Those were precious seconds there. That was the difference between Kazu getting the three count and him only getting a two count.

Hirano pulls Bisley back to his feet. He then takes control of Bisley’s back before going for I Want To Hold Your Hand (Ripcord Lariat, but holding their hand instead of wrist)! But Bisley ducks the lariat before hitting the ropes. When Bisley comes back, the crowd boos when he sends Hirano crumbling to the mat with You Didn't See That Coming (high speed running dropkick to the knee)!

Kris Cruise: Oh no!

Stephy Auger: Bisley just took out his knee, I think.

Bisley lifts up Hirano’s right leg before delivering a grounded dragonscrew. Hirano turns over into the prone position before Bisley heads towards the ropes, flips back and connects with the Corazón de Zorro (lionsault to a face-down opponent's back)! He pulls Hirano over and makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Hirano gets the shoulder up.

Bisley takes Hirano, moves him into the corner and unleashes the Minnesota Buzzsaw (repeated shoot kicks to a cornered opponent's chest)! The 15 Champion steps back towards the center of the ring before executing the Orbital Heel (running corner elbow smash followed by a chop block to the staggered opponent)! The boos continue as Bisley drags Hirano into position before delivering the KneeDT (foot DDT)! The boos grow louder when Bisley delivers a second KneeDT! He then delivers a third KneeDT for good measure before stepping out to the apron.

Kris Cruise: The tide had turned in this one, Stephy.

Stephy Auger: It has! I bet Kazu is wishing he wasn’t playing the air guitar for these idiots now! This match would have probably been over already!

Bisley scales to the top, leaps off and lands down hard across Hirano with the Sapienza (frog splash to the opponent's legs)! The champ opts out of going for the cover and instead tries to go for the Minnesota Cloverleaf (Texas cloverleaf with a knee to the opponent's back)! But Hirano’s able to kick his legs free before nailing Bisley with an upkick that knocks him down to the mat. Once both grapplers return to their feet, Hirano stuns Bisley with Maxwell’s Silver Hammer before whipping him into the ropes. Bisley comes back, slides through Hirano’s legs and catches him with a superkick to the leg when he turns around. Hirano drops down to a knee before Bisley nails him with a superkick to the face. Bisley snatches him off of his knees before delivering the Iko Uwais (cravat with repeated knees to the head)! The boos continue when Bisley takes control of Hirano’s back before bringing him down with the Hirano Killer Combo (two rolling German suplexes followed by a release Dragon suplex)! Bisley then heads over and takes control of Hirano’s legs before turning him over into the Minnesota Cloverleaf! He doesn’t take long for Hirano to succumb to the pain and tap out.

Kris Cruise: He’s got it!

The crowd boos as “Storms End” hits the speakers.

J.A. Aldridge: Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this bout… aaaaaaand STIIIILLLLL the FGA 15 Champion, MARK BISLEY!

The boos continue as Bisley gets handed the 15 Championship. He then gets his arm raised in victory.

Kris Cruise: Mark Bisley picks up the win over Kazu Hirano. I think you might be right, Stephy. Kazu was in total control of this match. He had Bisley dead to rights. But that carefree, playful attitude of his likely cost him a championship here tonight.

Stephy Auger: Of course I’m right. It was an unforced error that cost him a title tonight.

[FGA Office]

There is a heady aroma of wine and candle wax in the air of Silk & Cyanide’s inner sanctum, the one locker room that nobody dares knock on the door out of fear of the sharpest of rebukes at best, and within this little corner of the world Erin Mariani and Sara Mason are plotting for this evening’s festivities

And yet rather than show a singular focus, or scouring over hours of footage of the various teams they will be facing in this evening’s gauntlet, instead we find Mariani pouring a particularly generous measure of a particularly sinful pinot noir into the goblet which is precariously balanced between her ring and middle finger, while Mason is pacing back and forth on the spot while furiously winding her hair into spirals around her index finger as thoughts of what she intends to do this evening course through her mind

Erin Mariani: What is that quaint little saying? “Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die”, I believe is how it goes, and one which is brought up by those seeking to convince themselves of their bravery, their heroism, their willingness to do their duty.

Taking a sip of her wine as she knows full well that the scene won’t be cutting to anything else, Mariani cannot mask the dark chuckle emanating from deep within her as she already knows how this is going to go

Erin Mariani: Perhaps you should look at the source of that quote before telling yourself that you sound brave, or heroic, by reciting such a phrase to anyone who is in a position to listen. If you did, you might realise that the source is saying that you are willing to blindly follow orders even if it leads to your violent and inevitable destruction, because you think that is what you should do before all else. Fools believe that, and fools alone.

First Mariani sets down her goblet on the table in front of her chaise longue, and once she does she leans forward with a conspiratorial look on her face

Erin Mariani: Yet if you wish to walk into your violent and inevitable demise, there is no need to recite something you read in a book of inspirational quotes in the belief that it makes your pointless sacrifice sound worthwhile, not when all you need is for somebody to dangle a glimmer of success in front of your greedy, grasping hands and you will ignore the cliff face you are surely walking off until reality lets you know that you are not long for this world. And this is precisely what this evening’s festivities entail: so many greedy, grasping hands reaching for a glimmer of success which is so tantalisingly close to their grasp, and not one owner of those greedy, grasping hands realising that the ground beneath their feet will not be there for much longer – that is until it comes rushing towards them with a certain finality.

Making no effort to hide the dark chuckle, brought on either by the thought of defeating so many opponents in one fell swoop – or possibly the mental image she’s conjuring of their imminent grisly ends – Mariani needs not say another word, so instead she plucks her goblet from the table and takes a sip of that so sinful pinot noir, and that is all the opening that Mason needs to place her hands on the back of the chaise longue and stare towards the camera with a predatory glee in her eyes

Sara Mason: No doubt you are going to hear from every single team in this match saying how they’re the greatest and will win, how they’re going to overcome every last obstacle in front of them, and so many other claims we have heard a thousand times before from a thousand different teams with a thousand reasons to need to convince themselves, but the mistake they’re all making is that each and every one of them is focused solely on creation: creating a legacy, creating a new chapter in their lives, creating a bond between friends who are definitely not trying too hard to convince other people that they’re absolutely on the same page.

The look on Mason’s face indicates she has heard that exact same comment before, and it soon dawns on her that she’s recycling claims that Mark Bisley has made in the past, and is appalled that something that fatheaded tryhard said has somehow wormed its way into the back of her mind

Appalled, but not finished yet…

Sara Mason: We are not here to create anything this evening, we are here to destroy. We are here to destroy the hopes of every team who think it is their time, we are here to destroy the illusions that those teams have that they can call themselves anything, and we are particularly interested in destroying that record Pendragon set before they ran away into the night while pretending that they were doing anything but. That is our aim, to remove the team that could never beat us from the record books, and there is not a single thing that they will be able to do about it and all they can do is watch. Watch as their record is broken. Watch as team after team fall when they challenge us. Watch as the team they could never beat make it abundantly clear why they could not do it, and when that happens the illusion of Pendragon will disappear as they will no longer be able to hold a single thing over our heads, as we will be reflecting reality back into their broken, dead inside faces. And we are looking forward to doing it, more than words can express.

Erin Mariani: That is what our opponents cannot and will never fathom: we are not here to do enough to defeat a team and move on to the next until there is nobody else to come, we are here to hurt them. To hurt their pride, to hurt their self-worth, to hurt…

A particularly malicious smile crosses Mariani’s lips as she pauses

Erin Mariani: …their flesh, all in the name of carving out a legacy, because a legacy is never created by playing nicely with others, a legacy is created by exploiting others, crushing the weakest beneath your heel, by leaving those who wish to chatter with little alternative but to accept there is a reason why you have a legacy and they have nothing but the crumbs you so thoughtlessly brush from the table which they gratefully gather up thinking that they shall feast when what they really do is starve.

Taking a deep, cleansing breath, a crick of pleasure crosses Mariani’s face

Erin Mariani: That is the difference between us and the other teams. They are all thinking of themselves at the end of the night, the short-term plan which they believe will become a long-term story. We, on the other hand, are absolutely thinking of each and every one of those teams, as each and every one of those teams is a nuisance we can remove from our paths not just for this evening but the foreseeable future.

Sara Mason: And when that happens, we are more than ready to hear every single excuse you wish to use to try and deny what your own eyes are telling you is the truth. Tonight is the night where we take what is rightfully ours, and after we have taken the hopes and dreams of a series of deluded individuals and crushed them, we’ll be taking those titles too.

[FGA Office]

Ashley Sands and Ashley Marie Chase both are standing in the ring. They are not alone though. A large wheel with steel pins encircling the outer edge is in there with them. It is almost entirely covered in pink displays, Sands’ and Chase’s faces decorating the center of each section that are divided only by much smaller black slivers with the names of tag teams competing in FGA.

Ashley Sands: Ladies and gentleman, FGA has easily one of the most competitive tag team divisions in wrestling today. I mean just look at the names we got here. It’s really stacked. So with that much competition going on, how does management decide who is next to challenge for the titles and call themselves kings… or queens of FGA? A Tag Team Turmoil Match but we have a much better idea.

Turning her head and giving Chase a look from the corner of her eye, Sands gives a wave of her arm to the large wheel standing beside them.

Ashley Sands: I give you tag team roulette! Now what do you say we give this thing a whirl and let the odds decide who should be challenging for those belts huh?

Reaching out, Sands pulls the wheel down and sends it spinning with each pink hitting an arrow with a clicking sound. After a few seconds of spinning, it finally stops on one of the much larger pink sections with Sands and Chase, Sands giving a look of feigned shock.

Ashley Sands: Well what a surprise!

AMC: Well it would appear that the wrestling gods have spoken and they demand that Ashes 2 Ashes be given the title shot. Even the wrestling gods know who the best team in FGA is and it isn't any of those other teams right Sully?

Ashley Sands nods her head with a big grin on her face

AMC: That is right folks! Ashes 2 Ashes are the team that will take the FGA tag division into places they have never been. Unlike other teams we will never back away from a challenge nor we will just give up the belts because things got too rough for us.

AMC looks toward the camera and smirks

AMC: So FGA do the right thing and give us the FGA Tag team titles and allow the other teams to face each other to decide our challengers. Hell we are even willing to defend the titles against the winner of the gauntlet match tonight immediately following because that is how generous A2A is.

Sands looks at Chase, holding up a hand as if to stop her.

Ashley Sands: I don’t think trying to reason with them will work. I mean just look at what happened last Vertigo if you want to get an eye of how mind blowingly stupid people can be. I had that match won when the Saturn aliens just couldn’t leave well enough alone and tried to steal the glory for themselves. They’re not meant for the spotlight and look at what happened. It blew up in their faces when they could’ve got the win with me.

Looking around at the ringside area, Sands moves over to the ropes.

Ashley Sands: You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink. But you know what else you can do to stupid people that you shouldn’t do to a horse? Shove their face down into that water. At least they’ll get some water even though they’ll be choking on it. So if everyone else is going to have to be beaten into submission so their thirsty asses can get it into their thick skulls that we’re the top team in FGA now, then so be it.

[FGA Office]

As the attention of the camera switches elsewhere, Spencer Burke is seen standing somewhere backstage at the MassMutual Center, microphone in hand.

Spencer Burke: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my guest at this time… Lowri Moss!

The camera pans out, and the [restricted] audience responds with a cheer, as the popular young woman from South Wales comes into view. Ahead of her match later, Lowri is already dressed in her ring attire, and she is also wearing a Simpsons t-shirt. Well, we are in Springfield, after all.

Spencer Burke: Lowri, later on tonight, you’re going to be facing Fujiko Mine, in what is being billed as a “dream match” between two of FGA’s best. The two of you have been opponents before, but never in a one-on-one match, so how are you feeling right now, ahead of your match with the former FGA World Champion?

A smiling Lowri makes a minor correction to what Spencer just said.

Lowri Moss: That’s the record-setting former FGA World Champion, Spencer!

The reporter nods his head, acknowledging Lowri’s remark.

Lowri Moss: To answer your question though, Spencer… simply put, I’m excited-- I’m excited to be facing Fujiko for a number of reasons, which I’m sure we’ll go into in greater detail shortly, but I’m also excited because it kinda feels like I’m at the beginning of a new chapter for me in FGA.

Spencer gestures to Lowri for her to expand upon that latter part.

Lowri Moss: I believe I’m right in saying that tonight is the first pay-per-view event since Only The Strong Survive in 2018, almost three years ago to the day, in which Pendragon aren’t involved in a tag team match of some description, either as champions or as challengers. We went from being the number one team on Vertigo, to being the number one team in the entire promotion and achieving unprecedented success, which is something that I’m very proud of. That particular chapter has to come to an end, however, and now Gareth is… well, I know he's my boyfriend, but your guess is as good as mine as to quite what he has in mind for himself.

Non-committal shrug.

Lowri Moss: As for me though, having spent so long at the top of the tag team division, I’m now able to focus solely on reaching the very top as a singles competitor. I may have suffered a setback at All-Star Showdown IX, but my belief that I’ll make it to the top of the mountain hasn’t wavered, and after a victory against Savannah Taylor in my last match, following that up here tonight with a win over Fujiko would be a real statement of intent.

Spencer Burke: You just alluded to what happened at All-Star Showdown, back in December, and had things gone differently for both you and Fujiko that night, it could’ve been you two contesting the unification match in tonight’s main event, rather than Seth Iser and Cordelia Stevenson.

Lowri nods, well aware of that fact.

Lowri Moss: I know, Spencer, that was something that occurred to me not long after I accepted Fujiko’s challenge the other week, it’s something that Fujiko herself brought up last week, and I daresay it’s something that has crossed the minds of a lot of other people too.

A sigh escapes her lips.

Lowri Moss: Of course Fujiko and I would’ve wanted to be in the main event, but I expect so would everyone else on the roster. Admittedly it’s a bit different for the two of us in that, although we didn’t know it at the time, we were both one win away from a place in tonight’s main event, but there’s nothing we can do about that now. And while our match may not be the main event, it definitely isn’t a “consolation match,” like a certain someone has suggested.

That certain someone being Cordy.

Lowri Moss: It also isn’t going to be like the third place playoff that you get in some knockout tournaments between the two beaten semi-finalists, a match that the fans aren’t all that interested in, nor really are the two teams or opponents, who often don’t take the match all that seriously, not caring whether they win or lose.

Lowri pauses momentarily to take a breath.

Lowri Moss: There may not be any titles at stake in our match, but I’m not taking it any less seriously, I’m not going to be giving it any less effort than I would if it was a world title match, and I’m sure the same can be said for Fujiko. This match still matters - it is still a big match, titles or no titles. Like you said before, Spencer, it’s a first-time match between two of FGA’s very best-- Fujiko has even gone so far as to say that she and I are the best that FGA has to offer. Seth and Cordy would undoubtedly both have something to say about that, but no one in FGA, including those two, has spent more days as a champion in the past three years than either Fujiko or I have, so even without any added stakes, our first-ever one-on-one match is a big one, and it’s one that you can be certain that we each want to win.

The smile on the face of the happy-go-lucky robot broadens slightly.

Lowri Moss: Besides, try telling the FGA fans that this isn’t a big match. I don’t doubt that they, along with everyone else, will be interested to see who leaves here tonight as the undisputed or unified world champion, but which match do you think they’re actually most looking forward to? I expect the welcome they give Seth and Cordy will be poles apart from their reaction to me and Fujiko - if they’ve got any voice left after they’re done cheering us, that is.

Spencer Burke: On the subject of the main event, I assume that you’ll be paying close attention to that match, but do you have any preference as to who you want to win?

Lowri responds with a shake of her head.

Lowri Moss: No, I don’t. I’m guessing you’re probably expecting me to say Cordy, Spencer, but I really don’t have any preference. Obviously I have some unfinished business with her, after how our match at All-Star Showdown ended, but I would also like to have another match with Seth at some point, following on from our match twelve months ago in the semifinals of the Wildcard Lottery, so… yeah, it makes no difference to me who wins-- either way, I’ll want what they have.

Spencer Burke: Do you think that the winner of you and Fujiko should be first in line to challenge whoever is the winner of the main event?

There is a shrug of the shoulders from Lowri, although this time is not done simply to imitate her other half.

Lowri Moss: I don’t know, it’s not for me to tell Leonard T. Asherman, or anybody else on the Executive Committee, how to do their jobs. I know that some people, including Fujiko, and also Seth, I think, have speculated that either she or I, depending on who wins our match, could potentially be the first challenger for Seth or for Cordy, but I’m not making any assumptions on that part.

She shakes her head again.

Lowri Moss: Going back to what I said before about making a statement of intent, if I do beat Fujiko, I would like to think that a victory over the record-setting former World Champion, on the back of a win against a former International Heavyweight Champion, would make a good case for me getting a shot at the winner of the unification match, whomever that may be… but again, I’m not making any assumptions-- I’m not taking anything for granted. After all, while Fujiko and I may have been the ones that have been the most vocal, we’re hardly likely to be the only members of the roster that would want to have the first crack at Seth or at Cordy, and when the Executive Committee meet to decide who will be that first challenger, they’ll probably take more people than simply me and Fujiko into consideration, so… we’ll see what happens. I can only control my own actions and decisions, no one else’s. I’ll give my all to try to beat Fujiko, and if a win in that match is judged to have earned me a title shot, then great. But if not, or if I don’t win, well, the next pay-per-view event after tonight is Only The Strong Survive; I’m sure my performance at last year’s show is still fresh in the minds of a lot of people, and if I need to earn a title match by becoming only the second two-time winner of the Gold Rush Rumble, then so be it.

Spencer Burke: As we’ve already said, tonight’s match between you and Fujiko will be your first time facing one another in a one-on-one contest, but at the contract signing last weekend, you mentioned that the first time the two of you talked about possibly having a one-on-one match was back in 2018, after Fujiko and Izzy Anders had won that year’s Dynamic Duos Tournament, so I wonder, do you feel like this match is a long time coming?

Lowri places her hands on her hips, as she takes a moment to consider the question, before she then answers.

Lowri Moss: I’m not sure I would put it quite like that, Spencer, as that kinda makes it sound like it’s a match that should’ve happened some time ago, but I understand what you mean, and you’re right, it was around two and a half years ago that we first discussed having a match some time. Fujiko was also one of the names, along with Seth, Cordy, Savannah, and others, on the list I've spoken about previously, of ten people I wanted to wrestle that I tweeted a couple of years ago. And just last October, after her reign as World Champion had come to an end, I told her I still wanted a match with her at some point, even if it could no longer be for the world title, so… perhaps it has been a long time in the making, but if anything I think that just makes it more special, and adds to what makes this a “dream match.”

Following the briefest of pauses, she continues.

Lowri Moss: We’re two of the longest-tenured members of the roster. I think you can count on one hand how many people currently in FGA have been here longer than I have, and I guess for Fujiko the number is even lower. In fact, I still remember her very first appearance on an FGA show, about six and a half years ago, when I was watching as a fan at home in the UK, and I saw her accompany Sebastian Stone to the ring for his match with my compatriot Natalie McKinley. At the time, no one could’ve possibly known what she would go on to achieve here in FGA, all of which was topped off by her recent Hall of Fame induction. I know she feels that she doesn’t quite get the respect that she deserves, but I certainly respect her and everything that she has accomplished, and as I said at the start of this interview, I’m excited to be facing her.

Lowri nods her head once more, to emphasise her statement.

Lowri Moss: I’m also flattered that Fujiko wanted me to be her opponent tonight. While she could’ve issued a challenge to pretty much anyone on the roster, it was me that she wanted to face, which I think says a lot about where I am in FGA, and how I’m thought of not just by the fans, but also by my peers. I appreciate the fact that she wanted to challenge me specifically, I was more than happy to accept, and now we don’t have much longer to wait. Ultimately, we both want the same thing, the same prize, and I believe it'll only be a matter of time before one of us is competing for it. However, for that to happen as soon as possible, we both know that we need to be victorious here tonight, and so as much respect as there is between the two of us, neither of us is going to hold anything back in this match, in order to try to ensure that we’re the one that walks away with the win. And as good as Fujiko is, as long as she reigned as World Champion, I’m confident that once it’s over, I can be the one getting her hand raised.

Spencer Burke: If you were to beat Fujiko, then even though there isn’t a title at stake, do you think it would be your biggest win to date in FGA?

Lowri takes her hands off her hips, as she replies.

Lowri Moss: I’m not sure, Spencer. I think it would definitely be my biggest win in FGA in a one-on-one match, but would it be bigger than me and Gareth winning the tag title unification match, or my victory in the Gold Rush Rumble?

She thinks about that a moment, before continuing.

Lowri Moss: I don’t know, I’ll leave that for other people to judge. Speaking of Tag Team Championship matches though, I’m keen to go and see which team is going to win the titles that Gareth and I held for so long, so if you’ll please excuse me, Spencer.

Spencer Burke: Of course. Thanks for your time, and good luck for later tonight.

She gives Spencer one final smile.

Lowri Moss: Thanks.

Lowri then takes her leave, and the camera cuts back to ringside, ready for the tag team gauntlet match for the vacant World Tag Team Championship.

[FGA Office]

GAUNTLET MATCH
FGA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Silk & Cyanide, Sadie San Francisco & Jaelynn Ramsey, The Saturnian Connection,
Ashes to Ashes, TJ Techniques & Cassius Reed

J.A. Aldridge: The following contest is a Gauntlet Match for the FGA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP! Here are the rules. Earlier tonight, all five teams were picked at random. The two teams that drew numbers one and two will start off the match. Every time a team is eliminated, a new team will enter the match in the order that they were picked. Eliminations can occur via pinfall, submission, disqualification or countout. This process continues until only two teams are left. The last team remaining will win the vacant FGA World Tag Team Championship!

Kris Cruise: Alright, Stephy, we’re about to decide new World Tag Team Champions. Which team will be out first?

A thick fog begins to consume the entranceway. The lights in the venue dim and multiple green-and-blue lasers illuminate the interior of the building with what appear to be starlight, giving its ceiling the look of a planetarium.

"Attention, all personnel, this is CBTS; phase vehicle pre-count operation will start on my mark in

FIVE.

FOUR.

THREE.

TWO.

ONE.”

Kris Cruise: It’s SatCon!

Polaris’ “Hey Sandy” explodes across the PA system as the house lights explode to life, casting shades of blue and green across the venue. Rising from the fog, turning in a full circle, arms outstretched is Jillian Clay. She has a distant smile on her face, walking to the ring with an unfocused expression as thoughts swim behind her eyes, arms swaying at her sides. The camera rushes past her toward a second figure that emerges from the fog-- Nando Fresno: Alien Hunter, who looks right into the lens, saying clearly “I see you” before pushing the camera gently aside, walking alongside his partner to the ring.

J.A. Aldridge: Introducing first, making their way to the ring at a total combined weight of 289 pounds! They are the team of Nando Fresno: Alien Hunter and Jillian Clay, THE SATURNIAN CONNECTION!

Jillian Clay climbs up onto the apron and pauses, glancing out at the audience in the attendance. With a smile, Clay nods a bit to herself and climbs the turnbuckles, holding two fingers skyward, looking up until she closes her eyes for just a moment, muttering something to herself before stretching her arm back. Nando leaps up onto the apron, taking Jill’s hand as an assist before a second leap takes him over the ropes and into the ring. Still maintaining the grip, Jill leaps down from the corner, hair falling around her face and there, finally their grip breaks. Nando walks to the far corner of the ring, leaning out, motioning directly to the camera that “I’m watching you” while Clay sways out-of-focus behind him, gaze steadily skyward.

Kris Cruise: The Saturnian Connection drew the short straw and are the first team in this Tag Team Gauntlet. That means that either them or the number two team will have to run the entire gauntlet if they want to win the Tag Titles.

Stephy Auger: Talk about some rotten luck. The Saturnian Connection have already been on a skid as of late. Now they will have to reverse their fortunes and essentially win multiple matches in a row.

Kris Cruise: Drawing one or two in a gauntlet match doesn’t give you great odds. But we have to remember that The Saturnian Connection and especially Nando Fresno have pulled off some big upsets.

Stephy Auger: But this would be the upset of all upsets. They might be able to pick off one or two teams. But all four? I don’t think so, Cruise.

"No Regrets" by Sohodolls begins to play throughout the venue. A small cloud of smoke appears on stage, outlining the silhouette of a petite woman. The woman, revealed to be Jaelynn Ramsey walks through the cloud and onto the ramp.

Kris Cruise: Well, well, well.

J.A. Aldridge: Their opponents! First, hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah… Jaelynn Ramsey!

She struts down the ramp completely ignoring the fans. She then walks up the steel steps, entering through the ring ropes. As the music fades out, she backs into a turnbuckle, eyeing her surroundings before go-time.

Kris Cruise: Team number two is going to be Jaelynn Ramsey and Sadie San Francisco! Those two have had a strained relationship with The Saturnian Connection recently. Jillian Clay is entranced by them. Yet Nando Fresno hasn’t always been on the same page as he’s shown a resistance to go along with Sadie’s schemes.

Stephy Auger: Smart boy.

The lights in the arena fade to a rose-gold color as the familiar sound of smooth jazz echoes throughout the building. “Young Nation” hits the PA system and the audience promptly responds with a chorus of boos. Sadie San Francisco steps out to the top of the ramp, shaking her head slightly at the response before turning, winking to the camera nearest as she continues past. Sadie pauses at the bottom of the ramp, narrowing her eyes slightly as she gazes at the audience in the venue.

J.A. Aldridge: Her partner, hailing from The West Side! She is “The Pope” SADIE SAN FRANCISCO!

Nodding a bit to herself, Sadie slowly walks around to the side of the ring facing the hard camera. She climbs onto the apron, rolling her eyes toward the camera while it pans closer to her, capturing only a cold gaze from Sadie as she spends a few seconds staring into the lens-- before slinking through the ropes, sliding seamlessly back into the ring. Sadie makes her way toward the turnbuckles, slowly ascending to the second rope, shooting a distant half-smirk out toward the audience before raising a single “V” above her head with her left hand. Sadie lazily drops down from the turnbuckles and turns, leaning against the turnbuckles as she awaits competition.

Kris Cruise: Sadie San Francisco

Stephy Auger: SELFISH San Francisco!

Kris Cruise: … has a chance to join exclusive company tonight. She could join the likes of Cordy Stevenson, Fujiko Mine and Lowri Moss as the only double champions in FGA history. But she’ll have to make it through the gauntlet, not to mention her match with Nina Stokes later on tonight. Surviving this gauntlet will be one thing. The match with Nina Stokes is also going to be a grueling affair.

Stephy Auger: I wish Jaelynn nothing but the best, I really do. So it hurts me to say this. But I hope her partner fails in spectacular fashion. Nothing would make me happier.

Kris Cruise: I thought you wanted to see the ring collapse during Fujiko and Lowri’s match?

Stephy Auger: Correction, the only thing that would make me happier than seeing Selfish San Francisco fail in spectacular fashion would be the ring collapsing during Fujiko and Lowri’s match.

Kris Cruise: ...

The bell sounds as Ramsey and Fresno start things off for their respective teams. The two grapplers meet up in the center of the ring and stare each other down before Ramsey motions for him to lay down for her.

“BOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Kris Cruise: What?

Stephy Auger: You know what? I’m not shocked by what I’m seeing.

The boos continue as Ramsey motions for Fresno to lay down for her again. But Fresno won’t do it. The boos turn to cheers when the crowd sees Fresno shake his head. Ramsey then turns towards Sadie and shrugs her shoulders before nearly knocking Fresno’s head off with a superkick!

Kris Cruise: Good lord, what a kick!

Stephy Auger: Jae would have had better luck asking for Jillian to lay down for her. She would have done it in a heartbeat!

Ramsey takes Fresno, runs into the corner and slams him face-first into the top turnbuckle. She then hits Fresno with multiple elbow strikes before setting up an irish whip. Fresno reverses, sending her into the far corner. Fresno runs across the ring, hops on top of Ramsey and sends her flying out of the corner with a monkey flip! NO! Ramsey blocks by hooking her arms around the most, causing Fresno to slip off and smack the back of his head on the mat on the way down. Fresno starts to roll away from the corner as Ramsey hoists herself up onto the middle ropes. Once he’s back to his feet, Ramsey leaps off and knocks him down from behind with a flying thrust kick to the back of the head! She makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Fresno gets the shoulder up.

Ramsey takes Fresno by the leg and drags him over into her corner before tagging in Sadie San Francisco. The boos grow louder when The Pope gets in and puts the boots to The Alien Hunter. Sadie pulls Fresno back to his feet and delivers an arm wrench before delivering a inverted foot stomp, sending Fresno stumbling back into the ropes. The former US Champion heads over, grabs Fresno and pulls him away from the ropes before delivering an arm wrench, followed by a rolling fireman’s carry followed by a knee strike series. She then takes Fresno and whips him into the corner. Sadie runs across the ring, connects with a high knee out of the corner and brings him down with a running bulldog! NO! Fresno pushes off, sending Sadie into the ropes. The Pope returns and throws out a bicycle knee, only for Fresno to counter with a dragon screw! Fresno then hits the ropes as Sadie tries to pick herself back up. The crowd cheers when Fresno returns and plants San Francisco with a Satellite DDT! He makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Ramsey goes to break up the pin with a jumping elbow drop! But Fresno rolls out of the way, causing Sadie to get hit with the elbow instead!

Stephy Auger: AH!

Fresno takes Ramsey, runs and tosses her through the ropes to the floor! Back inside, Fresno takes Sadie and whips her into the corner before running across the ring and delivering a Stinger Splash! He then takes hold of Sadie and lifts her up before bringing her down out of the corner with a running back suplex! The Pope is then pulled up into a seated position before Fresno hits the ropes, returns and flattens her with a Sliding Knee! He makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Sadie gets the shoulder up.

Kris Cruise: This isn’t going how Sadie and Jae envisioned!

Stephy Auger: Of course not! They thought that Fresno was gonna lay down for them!

Fresno takes Sadie, whips her into the ropes and sets up for a back body drop. While Fresno’s doubled over, Ramsey reaches over and makes the blind tag. San Francisco returns off the rebound and hurdles over Fresno. Ramsey then runs back into the ring as Fresno stands back up. She goes to knock him down with a lariat until Fresno counters with a Spanish Fly! The cheers continue as he makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Sadie breaks up the pin with a stomp to the back.

Kris Cruise: Good save there by Sadie. Nando Fresno nearly pulled off another upset!

Sadie and Jae take Fresno and send him for the ride. They go to catch him off the rebound with a double clothesline when he ducks and continues to run the ropes. Fresno comes back off the rebound and tries to knock them both down with a diving clothesline! But Sadie and Jae immediately drop to the canvas, sending Fresno crashing down across the mat. Sadie and Jae head over, grab Fresno and whip him into the corner. Ramsey runs over and catches him with a running lariat before Sadie charges in and blasts him with a bicycle knee! The Pope takes Fresno and whips him across the ring into the far corner before Ramsey catches him with a running corner yakuza stick.

Kris Cruise: Ramsey adding insult to injury by taking a move out of Ashley Sands’ book with that Wind Kick.

Ramsey heads back out to the apron as Sadie runs across the ring, connects with another corner high knee and brings Fresno out of the corner with a running bulldog. The boos continue as Ramsey scales to the top, flips off and lands across Fresno’s back with Down By The Jae (moonsault)! She pulls Fresno over and makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
THREE!

The Saturnian Connection: ELIMINATED

Kris Cruise: Fresno put up a fight. But it wasn't enough to get the Saturnian Connection to advance through this gauntlet.

Stephy Auger: Time for them to hit the showers. Next!

The crowd cheers as “Warrior” blasts over the PA. Ashley Sands and Ashley Marie Chase burst through the curtain as they run down the aisle.

Stephy Auger: Great! Just great!

Kris Cruise: It’s Ashes to Ashes! This two have been at war with Sadie and Jae ever since the latter put Antoinette Sands on the sidelines with that double mist attack! The Ashleys aren’t here just for the Tag Titles. They’re out for revenge!

As soon as Ashes to Ashes slide into the ring, they’re immediately met with stomps from both Sadie and Jae. The boos continue as Sadie takes AMC and slams her face-first into the corner. Ramsey then takes Sands and brings her into the far corner. She takes Sands and delivers multiple knife edge chops before applying a two-handed choke.

Back across the ring, Sadie unleashes multiple forearm strikes before catching AMC with a spinning backfist. The Pope looks across the ring and gets Ramsey’s attention. Once Ramsey gives her a nod, the two go for an irish whip. But Ashes to Ashes reverse, sending Sadie and Jae colliding in the center of the ring!

Kris Cruise: Sadie and Jae just had a meeting on the minds in the middle of the ring!

Sadie stumbles back before AMC brings her down with a Scorpion Death Drop! Meanwhile, Sands brings Ramsey down with a one-handed bulldog! She makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Ramsey kicks out.

Sands takes Ramsey and sends up for an irish whip. Instead of coming back, Ramsey hangs onto the ropes. Sands then runs over to attack until Ramsey ducks and dumps her over the top rope. After landing safely on her feet, Sands yanks Ramsey down to the mat, drags her to the outside and brings her down to the floor with a reverse russian leg sweep!

AMC leaps down off the apron and pulls Ramsey up before delivering a knee strike to the midsection. The crowd cheers when she lifts Ramsey up onto her shoulder, turns and throws her down with a Powerbomb across the edge of the apron! Ramsey bounces off the apron before hitting the floor.

Kris Cruise: AMC put a little something extra behind that powerbomb!

Stephy Auger: You said it yourself. They’re doing this for Antoinette. But she needs to keep her emotions in check. Both AMC and Ashley Sands do. They don’t want to get themselves DQ’d.

AMC rolls Ramsey back inside. Sands then slides back in and makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Ramsey gets her shoulder up.

Sands takes Ramsey and slams her face-first into the corner before tagging AMC in. The cheers continue as AMC gets in and nails Ramsey with The Chase-Tizer (hard smack across the face)! She then brings Ramsey out of the corner and sets up an irish whip. Ramsey reverses, sending AMC towards the ropes. The crowd boos when Sadie heads over and knees AMC in the back. AMC arches her back before turning around and dropping Sadie off the apron with a punch to the face. She continue to yell down at Sadie until she turns around and gets caught with a running yakuza kick from Ramsey! Sadie climbs back up onto the apron and gets tagged back in. The boos grow louder as The Pope puts the boots to AMC before applying a foot choke. The crowd really starts to let Sadie have it as she crouches down while applying the choke.

Ref: ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Sadie breaks the choke. The Pope takes AMC, heads into the corner and slams her face-first into the top turnbuckle. After turning AMC around, Sadie delivers multiple forearm strikes to the face before following up with a rope-assisted gamengiri. AMC is then whipped into the far corner. Sadie runs across the ring to attack until a back elbow knocks her back. Sadie shakes off the blow before rushing back in. This time, she gets turned around with a boot to the face. San Francisco remains dazed while AMC hops out to the apron. She scales to the top turnbuckle, jumps off and drives Sadie down with a top rope bulldog! She makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Sadie gets the shoulder up.

AMC heads over and tags Sands back in. Ashes to Ashes then take Sadie and whip her into the corner before Sands runs over and blasts her with the Wind Kick (running big boot in the corner)! AMC then sits Sadie up on the top turnbuckle and lifts her onto her back before bringing her out of the corner with the Gucci Drop (Backpack Stunner)! Sands then hits the ropes, returns and follows up with the Wind Whisper (rolling senton) before making the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Sadie gets the shoulder up.

Kris Cruise: Nice combination of moves there by Ashes to Ashes, but they only get a two count.

AMC gets tagged back in. Sands heads over, takes Sadie and drives her down face-first with a reverse side russian leg sweep! AMC then flips off the top and lands across Sadie with a moonsault! The cheers continue as she pulls Sadie over before making the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Sadie gets the shoulder up.

Kris Cruise: Another nearfall for Ashes to Ashes. Sadie and Jae need to get it together.

Ashes to Ashes take Sadie and whip her into the ropes. When she returns, the crowd cheers when she gets thrown down with a double back body drop. AMC pulls Sadie back to her feet and hits multiple chest kicks before both members of Ashes to Ashes run in opposite sets of ropes. When they return, the crowd cheers when they hit a running pump knee to the face/spinning back kick to the back of the head combo! AMC makes the cover.

Kris Cruise: That’s got to be it right there!

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
TH-NO!

Ramsey dives over and breaks up the pin.

Kris Cruise: What a save by Jaelynn!

Stephy Auger: She dove halfway across the ring!

Sands gets tagged back in. She takes Sadie, moves her into the corner and goes for a Tornado DDT. Sadie counters by shoving Sands off mid turn. The crowd boos when Sadie catches AMC with a back elbow in the corner. Sands runs back over and throws out another Wind Kick! This time, Sadie catches her foot. The crowd gasps, then boos when Sadie touches her throat before spewing out red mist at Sands! Luckily for Sands, she’s able to block by covering her face with both hands before countering with an enzuigiri. Sands positions herself up on the middle ropes before planting Sadie with the Tornado DDT!

Sadie lays sprawled out on the mat as Sands heads out to the apron. Sands starts to scale towards the top for the Sunset (Swanton Bomb) when Ramsey runs across the ring, leaps over Sadie and lands on the middle ropes. The crowd boos when she starts firing off rapid fire right hands to Sands.

Kris Cruise: Jae is pummeling Sands with punches to the face.

The boos continue as Ramsey tries to nudge Sands off the top rope. But Sands is able to grab onto the top rope and the ring post. Ramsey then starts delivering multiple clubbing strikes before trying to shove Sands off. But again, Sands hangs on. AMC then rolls back into the ring, yanks Ramsey down off the ropes and starts to fight her across the ring with right hands. She then takes Ramsey and sets up for an irish whip. But Ramsey reverses. When AMC returns, Ramsey throws out a clothesline. But AMC’s able to duck and counter with a Float Over DDT!

Back across the ring, Sands recovers from Ramsey’s attack and fully climbs up to the top turnbuckle. She flips off for the Sunset… and gets countered when Sadie gets her knees up! The boos continue as Sadie takes Sands and sets up for Vanity (Unprettier)! Before Sands can be driven down to the mat, she slips out from behind and pushes Sadie over towards AMC, who nails her with the Kick of Doom (superkick)! Sadie remains dazed before she turns around and gets dropped with Into Dust (Codebreaker)! Sands heads back to the top, flips off and hits the Sunset before reaches back and hooking the near leg.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
THREE!

Sadie San Francisco & Jaelynn Ramsey - ELIMINATED

Kris Cruise: Sadie and Jae are gone!

Stephy Auger: I feel bad that Jae couldn’t advance and win. But I’m not shedding any tears over Selfish San Francisco.

The sound of a woman's laugh heavy with contempt echoes through the arena, which soon segues into the bassline of "She's Gone Away" signals the arrival of Erin Mariani and Sara Mason as the duo slink onto the entrance ramp and pause for a moment, with Mariani looking towards the ring in disgust while Mason looks as if she's waiting for any excuse to start a fight.

Kris Cruise: Here we go, Stephy! It’s the former two-time United States Tag Team Champions, Silk & Cyanide!

Stephy Auger: This is the pick to win it all right here! They have the tag team championship experience.

Kris Cruise: So do Ashes to Ashes!

Stephy Auger: Yeah, that was ages ago in a promotion far, far away. Silk & Cyanide are the only two-time US Tag Team Champions!

Kris Cruise: Actually, Pendragon were two-time US Tag Team Champions, as well.

Stephy Auger: Yeah, the same Pendragon that never beat Silk & Cyanide in a straight up tag team match! The same Pendragon that ran away scared and vacated their titles instead of giving Silk & Cyanide their rightful rematch!

Kris Cruise: I see you’ve been drinking your Kool Aid from the same goblets that Erin and Sara use.

The pair turn their heads towards one another and share a conspiratorial look before they slowly turn their attention back towards the ring and without a moment's hesitation the pair begin to walk towards the ring, keeping in step with one another and maintaining focus on what they have planned for the sorry individuals that await them.

Once the duo reach ringside Mariani climbs the ring steps and climbs the ropes so she's perched with one foot upon the top turnbuckle as she literally looks down upon Her opponent while, at the same time, Mason dives under the bottom rope and slides into the ring and quickly rises to her feet. She goes to attack Sands from behind until AMC spins her around, doubles her over with a boot to the gut and throws her down with a powerbomb! Sands turns around and does a double take when she sees Mariani leap off the top. The crowd erupts with cheers when Sands jumps up and counters with a Codebreaker!

Kris Cruise: Into Dust!

Stephy Auger: Where the hell did Sands come from?

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
T-NO!

Mariani gets the shoulder up.

Sands takes Mason and whip her into the ropes before catching her off the rebound with a spinning heel kick. She makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Mariani gets the shoulder up.

AMC gets tagged back in. She then takes Mariani and whips her into the ropes. AMC catches her off the rebound with a Samoan Drop before Sands follows up with the Wind Whisper! AMC makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Mariani gets the shoulder up.

Sands gets tagged back in. After Mariani gets whipped into the far corner, AMC runs across the ring and blasts her with a running pump knee to the face before Sands runs over and nails her with a Wind Kick! She then places herself on the middle ropes, takes Mariani and plants her with a Tornado DDT! She makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
T-NO!

The crowd boos when Mason drags Sands out of the ring and throws her hard against the guardrail!

Kris Cruise: Oh come on!

Stephy Auger: What, you acted like Sara hit her with a chair or something.

AMC quickly hops off the apron before running over to her partner. Mason retreats to the apron and swings around the ring post when AMC approaches. AMC then points at Mason before kneeling down next to Sands.

AMC continues to tend to Sands until Mariani rolls to the outside and brings her down with a double knee backbreaker. The boos continue as she takes hold of Sands and slams her face-first onto the apron. She then drags Sands up onto the apron before stepping back inside. Mariani reaches out, places Sands in a front facelock and drags her across the middle rope. The crowd starts to murmur when they see Mason climb the turnbuckles.

Once Mason’s in position, the crowd boos when Silk & Cyanide bring Sands down with The Infernal Council (combination rope-hung DDT from Mariani and diving splash to the opponent's back from Mason)! Mariani drags Sands away from the ropes, kicks her over to her back and makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
TH-NO!

The crowd cheers when Sands gets her shoulder up.

Mariani takes Sands and whips her into the ropes. When Sands comes back, Mariani sends her flipping down to the mat with a kitchen sink. Mariani follows up with a running hip attack to the back of the head. She then pulls Sands back to her feet and whips her into the corner. Mariani runs over, hops on top of Sands and throws her out of the corner with a monkey flip. Sands sits up and arches her back in pain until Mariani hits the ropes, comes back and flattens her with the Libertine (running double stomp to a seated opponent)! She makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
THR-NO!

The crowd cheers when Sands gets her shoulder up.

Kris Cruise: Mariani was THIS close to getting that three count.

Mariani heads over and tags Mason in. She then goes back over and holds Sands in place while Mason scales the turnbuckles. When Mason is in position, Silk & Cyanide deliver The Pleasure Principle (Mariani holds the opponent in a front facelock as Mason comes off the top rope to rake the opponent's back)! The boos continue when Mason brings her down with the Falling Idol (hangman's neckbreaker to a kneeling opponent)! She makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
THR-NO!

The crowd cheers when Sands gets the shoulder up.

Kris Cruise: Ashley Sands will not stay down. She will not give up. While she was recently a 15 Champion, it’s been roughly six years since she held tag team gold. She would love nothing more than to hold those belts again. This time, with Ashley Marie Chase.

Stephy Auger: Yeah, well, she better come up with something quick because she just barely escaped those last tow pin attempts.

Mason takes Sands, moves her into the corner and nails her with the Salem Slap (palm strike to the face)! She then grabs holds of Sands and rushes out of the corner before bringing her down with a one-handed bulldog. Instead of going for the cover, Mason opts to slowly circle her victim. As Sands starts to try and push herself up off the mat, Mason smiles sweetly as she watches her. Suddenly, her smiles drops. She then takes off into the ropes before coming back and flattening Sands with a running seated senton across the back. The boos continue as Mason heads back into the ropes before returning with another seated senton across the back! She then drags Sands into position before stepping out to the apron. Mason scales to the top, leaps off and lands down hard across Sands’ back with a flying elbow drop! She pulls Sands over and makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
THR-NO!

The crowd cheers when AMC dives over and breaks up the pin.

Kris Cruise: AMC with the timely save!

The cheers continue as AMC gets back to her feet and delivers three stomps for good measure before returning to the apron.

Stephy Auger: Come on, ref! Get her out of there!

Back in the ring, Mason shakes off the stomps before returning to a vertical base. She then grabs a hold of Sands and starts to slowly bring her back to her feet. The crowd cheers when Sands catches her with a punch to the midsection. Sands connects with another punch to the midsection. Sands then nails Mason with three straight right hands to the gut, doubling Mason over. Sands then turns and hits the ropes. But the cheers quickly turn to boos when Mariani reaches over and nails Sands with a knee to the back. Sands starts to stagger away from the ropes until Mason tackles her down with a Lou Thesz press followed by multiple headbutts! She then heads over and tags Mariani back in. Mariani gets in, grabs a holds of Sand and runs over before slamming her face-first into the top turnbuckle. She then turns Sands around before sending her slumping down in the Silk & Cyanide corner with a front facelock with multiple knee lifts. Mariani then turns and nods to Mason. On Mason, Mason runs over towards their corner. Mason then executes a hip toss as she aims to send Mason crashing into Sands with a cannonball senton. The Sands slips out to the apron, sending Mason crashing into the turnbuckles! The crowd cheers when Silk & Cyanide’s plan fails.

Kris Cruise: Sands got out of the way just in time!

Mariani goes over, reaches over the ropes and grabs a hold of Sands. She slowly pulls Sands back to her feet before Sands grabs her by the back of the neck with both hands and drops off the apron to deliver a hangman across the top rope. The crowd cheers as they see Mariani stumble back. Sands climbs back up to the apron, climbs to the top turnbuckle, flips off and knocks her down with a moonsault!

Kris Cruise: Mariani’s down!

Stephy Auger: Yeah, but Sands can’t make the pin!

Both Sands and Mariani are down. After checking on both grapplers, the ref starts his count.

ONE!





TWO!





THREE!





FOUR!





Sands slowly turns over into the prone position. She then pushes herself up on all fours before turning towards her corner. Sands starts to crawl over towards the corner when Mariani rolls over and grabs onto her ankle. Sands tries to pull her leg free. But Mariani won’t let go. So Sands uses her free leg to kick Mariani over and over in the face. The last kick successfully knocks Mariani off her.

AMC can be see repeatedly slapping the top turnbuckle as she tries to will Sands over towards the Ashes to Ashes corner. She then sticks her upper body through the ropes before reaching out with her right hand. Sands continues to slowly crawl across the ring. Just as Sands gets within range to dive for the tag, Mason darts across the ring, leaps over and flattens Sands with a running seated senton across the back!

“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Frustrated, Sands gets in and tries to go after Mason, but the ref holds her back. Mason then uses the distraction to drag Sands all he way back across the ring. The boos increases when Mason starts to stomp away at Sands’ back.

Mason steps out to the apron as Mariani gets back to her feet. Across the ring, AMC reluctantly gets back out to the apron. The ref then turns around and sees Mariani making the tag out to Mason. Mariani then steps back towards the center of the ring before dropping down to a knee. Once Mason takes control of Sands, Silk & Cyanide go to deliver the Vow (one-handed bulldog by Mason over Mariani’s knee)! NO! Sands counters at the last second, shoving Mason off and sending her crashing into Mariani! The crowd erupts with cheers over the reversal!

Kris Cruise: Sands countered the double team!

Stephy Auger: Dammit, get up!

Sands slowly gets back to her feet. She looks over and sees Silk & Cyanide getting back to their feet. She then realizes that Silk & Cyanide are standing in between her and AMC. The crowd gasps when they see Sands run right at them!

Silk & Cyanide run forward and try to knock Sands down with a double clothesline. But Sands rolls underneath, dives over and tags in AMC!

Kris Cruise: AMC’s back in!

The crowd erupts with cheers when AMC climbs to the top, leaps off and knocks Mason & Mariani down with a diving high crossbody!

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Silk & Cyanide kick out.

AMC runs over and throws out a running pump knee to Mason. But Mason swats it down, turns AMC away from her and holds her from behind. Mariani then rushes over and throws out Lilith's Kiss (bicycle knee strike)! The crowd erupts with cheers when AMC breaks free and spins out of the way, causing Mason to get dropped with the knee!

Stephy Auger: Gah!

Mariani then turns and gets knocked down with the Kick of Doom!

Kris Cruise: AMC nearly knocked Mariani’s head off!

AMC turns her attention back to Mason and makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
THR-NO!

Mason gets her shoulder up.

AMC takes Mason and whips her into the ropes. Mason returns and gets knocked off her feet with a Kick of Doom! AMC makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
THRE-NO!

The crowd sighs Mason gets her shoulder up.

Kris Cruise: AMC nearly got her there!

AMC pulls Mason up before doubling her over with a boot to the midsection. She then pulls Mason into a standing headscissors to set up a Cradle Piledriver. Before AMC can lift her up for the piledriver, Mariani comes in from behind and sends her crumbling down with a running elbow tackle from behind.

The ref reprimands Mariani for getting in the ring illegally. Mariani responds by totally ignoring him while putting the boots to AMC. She reaches down, pulls AMC back to her feet and whips her into the corner. Mariani runs across the ring to attack when AMC counters with a back elbow to the face. She then hoists herself up onto the middle ropes, grabs Mariani and plants her with a Tornado DDT! NO! Mariani counters by pushing her off mid turn. Once AMC lands on her feet, Mariani charges over and goes for another running elbow tackle. This time, AMC ducks underneath. Mariani then turns around and gets caught with another Kick of Doom! Mariani remains dazed until Sands runs in and brings her down with Into Dust!

Ashes to Ashes take Mariani, run and toss her through the ropes to the floor.

Back inside, Ashes to Ashes take Mason and whip her into the ropes. When Mason returns, AMC and Sands deliver a double pop-up before stepping back and watching Mason splat across the mat! Sands heads over towards the Ashes to Ashes corner, steps out to the apron and gets tagged back in. AMC takes Mason, doubles her over with a boot to the midsection and lifts her up onto her shoulders for a powerbomb! AMC keeps her held in place while Sands starts to climb the ropes.

On the outside, Mariani climbs up to the apron and tries to get back in. But the ref stops her. While the ref argues with Mariani, Jaelynn Ramsey leaps up onto the apron, grabs Sands by the arm and tries to yank her down.

Kris Cruise: That damn Jaelynn Ramsey is back out here! She wants nothing else but to screw Sands and Chase over more than she already has.

Sands tries to fight back by trying to kick Ramsey off of her. On Sands’ third attempt, she’s successful as Ramsey falls down to the apron. Once Ramsey gets back to her feet, she turns and does a double take as AMC runs forward, leaps through the ropes and hits a spear off the apron that sends them both to the floor!

Kris Cruise: AMC just knocked Ramsey off the apron with the Walk of Fame!

Stephy Auger: Jae! No!

Sands turns her attention back to Mason, but it’s too late! Mason grabs a hold of Sands before slamming her down off the top rope. The boos continue as Mason pulls Sands up into position before bringing her down with Le Dernier Tournant (Paige Turner)! She makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
THREE!

Ashes to Ashes - ELIMINATED

Kris Cruise: Ashes to Ashes were well on their way to advancing to this last leg of the match! Ramsey’s interference should have gotten Silk & Cyanide disqualified!

Stephy Auger: Well, the ref can’t call what he can’t say, now can he?

It’s not my fault your girlfriend likes me,
I do her hard like fucking warp speed,
Your Dad’s mad, it’s not my fucking fault,
That your Mom wants to fucking fuck me!

As the intro to “You Suck” by Pour Habit blasts throughout the arena, out from the back bursts Cassius Reed and TJ Techniques!

Kris Cruise: TJ Techniques and Cassius Reed are the last team, which means they’re the freshest. That’s a huge advantage after Silk & Cyanide and Ashes to Ashes just took it to each other.

Stephy Auger: These two will need all the help that they can get. But they still won’t be able to get it done, I think. Silk & Cyanide are a well-oiled machine. Cassius and TJ are oil & water. They don’t mix.

Kris Cruise: You say they don’t mix, but by my count, they’re 2-0 in tag team competition. One of those wins even came over Silk & Cyanide.

Stephy Auger: One, that was beginner’s luck and two…

Kris Cruise: Beginner’s Luck!?

Stephy Auger: Cassius Reed is the engine that makes this machine go. If I were Cassius, I’d leave that loser TJ Techniques by the wayside. Chance The Grappler over here wants to turn Cassius into something that he’s not.

Kris Cruise: Well, Cassius did make it clear to TJ earlier tonight is that if this thing is going to work long term, he needs to let Cassius handle things his own way. One has to wonder if TJ is willing to cross a line to achieve greater success here as a team. You know Cassius would in a heartbeat.

Reed soaks in the atmosphere for a bit before Techniques rushes down the aisle. He slides into the ring and immediately starts to circle the ring along with Mason. He then makes his way over to Mason and initiates a lock up. The crowd boos when Mason cuts him off with a boot to the midsection. Techniques is then caught with a Salem Slap before being sent into the corner. NO! Techniques reverses the irish whip and follows Mason across the ring. Instead of crashing into the corner, Mason hops through the middle & top ropes before catching Techniques with a pendulum overhead kick! Mason then fully slips out to the apron before climbing the turnbuckles. The boos quickly turns to cheers as Techniques runs back into the corner, runs up to the top turnbuckle, hooks Mason’s arm and throws her down with a japanese arm drag!

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Mason kicks out.

Mason reverses an irish whip, sending Techniques into the ropes. When Techniques returns, he brings Mason down with a running hurricanrana. Techniques turns and hits the ropes. He comes back and throws out a Shaolin Sidekick (Harlem Sidekick). But Mason’s able to slip out of the way. Techniques then turns around before being brought down with a step-up hurricanrana. He then returns to his feet before getting doubled over with an inverted atomic drop. The boos continue as Mason takes hold of Techniques and brings him down with a one-handed bulldog. Mason returns to her feet and motions for a moonsault splash, only to hit a back kick to the head instead.

Mason heads over and tags Mariani back in. Once Mariani drops down to a knee, Mason grabs a hold of Techniques, runs over and brings her down across Mariani’s knee with the Vow! The boos continue as Mariani makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Techniques kicks out.

Mariani pulls Techniques back to his feet and grabs him by the throat with both hands before moving him over towards the Silk & Cyanide corner. Mariani continues to choke Techniques while Mason tags herself back in. Mariani then pulls Techniques out of the corner before Silk & Cyanide bring him down with the Canto V (Mariani goozles the opponent before Mason hits a spinning leg sweep, allowing Mariani to drive the opponent to the mat)! Mason makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Techniques gets the shoulder up.

Mariani gets tagged back in. Silk & Cyanide then take a hold of Techniques before delivering a double arm wringer followed by stereo palm thrusts to the chest! The boos continue as Mariani reaches down and pulls Techniques up to a seated position before delivering a kick to the spine followed by an eye rake followed by a knee drop. She makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Techniques gets the shoulder up.

Kris Cruise: TJ and Cassius were on paper the fresher team. But this has been all Silk & Cyanide during this last leg of the match.

Stephy Auger: Why are you surprised? Cassius, the veteran, did the smart thing by taking his time getting to the ring. Yet TJ wanted to be all gung ho and rush to the ring without even waiting for his partner.

Techniques gets pulled back up to a seated position before Mariani hits the ropes. Mariani comes off the ropes and flattens him with the Libertine (running double stomp to a seated opponent)! NO! Techniques rolls out of the way. He gets back to his feet and tries to make his way over to his corner to tag out. But Mariani’s able to knock him down from behind with a running elbow tackle.

The boos continue as Mariani takes Techniques, delivers an irish whip and follows him across the ring. Instead of crashing into the corner, Techniques executes a Tiger Wall Flip off the turnbuckles and over Mariani. When Mariani turns around, the crowd cheers when she gets knocked down with a Koppu Kick!

Kris Cruise: That kick caught Mariani right in the face!

Techniques turns over and starts crawling towards his corner. TJ’s about halfway over to Cassius when Mason runs over, leaps up and stops him in his tracks with a running seated senton across the back!

Stephy Auger: Aaaaw, so close!

Mason heads back out to her corner as Mariani heads over to TJ. She gets in between TJ and Cassius and places him in a front chancery. Mariani follows up with knees to the head. Mariani then pulls Techniques back to his feet before backing up into the corner. After climbing up onto the middle ropes, Mariani starts to go for the Bellona (Mariani grabs an opponent's wrist and walks the middle rope before hitting flying knee facebreaker). But before she can jump off, Techniques slaps her hand off him and follows up with a dropkick, sending Mariani flipping over the top rope to the floor!

Kris Cruise: Mariani just took a hard tumble to the outside! Get up, Erin!

Techniques gets back to his feet, leaps over and makes the tag to Reed!

Kris Cruise: Cassius is in!

The Funky Dragon runs along the apron before flipping off and bringing Mariani down with a somersault huracanrana!

Kris Cruise: What a maneuver by Cassius Reed!

Reed picks up Mariani and rolls her back inside. He quickly hops up to the apron before coming back in with a slingshot left elbow drop! He makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Mariani kicks out.

Mariani reverses an irish whip, sending Reed into the ropes. When Reed returns, he slides underneath a running elbow tackle attempt. Mariani turns around and marches back over to Reed when he performs a forward roll before bringing her down with What The Funk (kip-up huracanrana)! Mason then rushes in and throws out a clothesline, but Reed ducks and counters with a Snap DDT! Mariani is then planted with a Snap DDT before Reed makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Mariani kicks out.

Kris Cruise:

Stephy Auger: Look at how the tide turned as soon as Cassius Reed got in the ring. You and everyone else called Cassius a hot dog? No, it was TJ Techniques that wanted to hot dog and make it all about him. What happened? He promptly got tossed all around the ring. Now that an actual professional is in, you see just how quickly things have turned around.

Reed takes Mariani and sends her for the ride. Mariani returns and sees Reed setting up for a back body drop, so she counters with a kick to the face that knocks him upright. She then turns and runs back into the ropes. Mariani comes back off the rebound for an attack when Reed throws her down with a bridging Northern Lights Suplex. Reed floats over, pulls Mariani back to her feet and brings her back down with a belly to back suplex. The Funky Dragon returns to his feet and turns away from Mariani before crushing her with Funky Knee, Funky Do (Kneecolepsy)! He makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
T-NO!

Mason dives over and breaks up the pin.

Kris Cruise: Good save by Mason. We’re down to just two teams, Stepney. One of them will walk out of here the brand new World Tag Team Champions. Will Silk & Cyanide be able to add the World Tag Titles to their trophy case? Or will the team of Cassius and TJ be able to coexist and win the big one?

Stephy Auger: You already know how I feel.

Mason heads back out to the apron while Reed moves Mariani into the corner. The Funky Dragon goes to town with rights and lefts to the body before blasting her with a left cross. Another left cross connects. Reed then socks her with a Discus Punch before whipping her into the far corner. The Funky Dragon runs across the ring to attack when Mariani counters with a back elbow before following up with the Morning Spider Despair (headscissors driver into the turnbuckles)! Mariani climbs back up onto the middle ropes and waits for Reed to get in position. Once Reed gets back to his feet and turns around, the crowd boos when Mariani knocks him down with a diving clothesline! She makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Reed gets the shoulder up.

Mariani takes Reed and whips him into the corner. She then runs over, hops on top of Reed and throws him out of the corner with a monkey flip. But Reed’s able to rotate and land on his feet! The Funky Dragon quickly hits the ropes. When he returns, Mariani sends him flipping down to the mat with a kitchen sink. Mariani then heads towards the ropes, rebounds back and goes for a handspring moonsault! Reed counters! The crowd cheers when Reed gets his knees up in time!

Mariani remains curled up on the mat while Reed turns over on all fours. He crawls over before looking over towards his corner. Reed sees Techniques reaching out for the tag. He then looks back and sees Mariani starting to get back to her feet. Reed then leaps over and makes the tag out to Techniques!

Kris Cruise: Reed made the tag! He actually made the tag! He didn’t brush off TJ like before!

Stephy Auger: He’s being gracious enough to give Hip Hop Harry over there a chance! He better not blow it!

The crowd cheers when Techniques springboards to the top and catches Mariani when she turns around with a diving Tornillo! Techniques takes Mariani and goes for an irish whip when she reverses, sending him into the ropes. TJ comes off the ropes and sees Mariani setting up a back body drop. So he cartwheels out of the way, knocks her off her feet with a spinning legsweep and follows up with a snap leg drop. He makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Mariani gets the shoulder up.

Techniques takes Mariani, delivers an irish whip, follows her across the ring and connects with a step-up high knee in the corner. He then takes Mariani and tosses her through the ropes to the apron. TJ reaches through the ropes, pulls Mariani halfway through the ropes before knocking her down with a Scissors Kick. He makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Mariani gets her foot on the bottom rope.

Techniques takes Mariani and whips her into the ropes. Mariani comes off the ropes before getting knocked off her feet with a spinning heel kick. He makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Mariani gets the shoulder up.

Kris Cruise: Another nearfall for TJ Techniques. He was this close to getting that three count.

Stephy Auger: If Cassius stayed in, this match would be over already.

Kris Cruise: Just stop it, Stephy.

Techniques takes Mariani and sets up for an irish whip when she reverses, sending him into the ropes. The crowd boos when Mason low bridges the top rope, sending Techniques flipping over and landing hard on the outside!

Kris Cruise: Oh come on!

Stephy Auger: Wait, what happened!?

Kris Cruise: You know exactly what happened! That damn Sara Mason just send TJ tumbling to the floor after yanked down the top rope!

Stephy Auger: Aw, too bad. So sad.

Kris Cruise: ...

Mariani rolls to the outside. Silk & Cyanide take a hold of Techniques before running over and throwing him down across the announce table with a double hip toss. Techniques bounces off the table before falling to the floor.

Stephy Auger: Did you see that!? TJ nearly hit me right in the face with a somersault kick!

Kris Cruise: What are you talking about!? Silk & Cyanide just threw him on the table with a double hip toss!

Mariani picks up Techniques and rams him back-first against the edge of the apron before rolling him back inside. She then slides back in before making the tag out to Mason. The boos continue as Silk & Cyanide brings Techniques down with Heaven Bound (inverted atomic drop by Mason into double knee backbreaker by Mariani)! Mason makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
T-NO!

Techniques gets his shoulder up.

Mason pulls Techniques back up before bringing him back down with the Falling Idol. She makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
T-NO!

Techniques gets his shoulder up.

Mason pulls up Techniques and goes for another one-handed bulldog. TJ counters by pushing her off into the ropes. When Mason returns, Techniques brings her down with a Spanish Fly!

Kris Cruise: Mason’s down!

Stephy Auger: But TJ can’t follow up with the cover!

The ref checks on both grapplers before starting his count.

ONE!





TWO!





THREE!


Mason remains down while Techniques starts to crawl over towards his corner. Reed can be seen holding his arm out for the tag.



FOUR!






FIVE!




Techniques dives over and tags Reed back in!

Kris Cruise: TJ made the tag!

Reed springboards to the top turnbuckles, leaps off and brings Mason down with a diving huracarana! Reed gets back to his feet and ducks another running elbow tackle from Mariani before rocking her with a Pimp Slap! He then grabs Mariani by the hair, runs and tosses her over the top rope. Luckily for Mariani, she lands safely on her feet. Reed then goes over to knock her off when Mariani doubles him over with a shoulder thrust through the ropes. Reed stumbles back and turns around before being brought down with a jumping front facelock into a double knee chest breaker! Mason heads over and tags Mariani back in. The boos continue as Silk & Cyanide take Reed and hold him in the air. Mason and Mariani have him positioned for the Haute Tension (double team inverted crucifix powerbomb) when Techniques runs over and nails Mason with Set 'Em Straight (Busaiku Knee Strike), causing Silk & Cyanide to drop Reed!

Kris Cruise: Mason got rocked with that knee right to the face!

Stephy Auger:

Mariani pulls Reed back up and places him in a front facelock. She motions for the Subjugation (Implant DDT), but Reed grabs her arms, spins out of the front facelock before doubling her over with Johnny Cage (Split-Legged Punch). Reed follows up by bringing her down with a split-legged stunner. He makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
THR-NO!

Mariani gets the shoulder up.

Reed picks up Mariani and goes for an vertical suplex. The crowd gasps when Mariani slips down from behind and shoves Reed right into the referee!

Kris Cruise: Oh no!

Reed turns around and nearly gets caught with a kick right between the legs. But Reed’s able to catch Mariani’s foot in time. He then swings her leg away from him, takes control of her back and goes for a belly to back suplex. Mariani counters by rolling over his shoulder, landing on her feet and shoving him over towards Mason, who doubles him over with the Lyssa (side kick to an opponent's midsection)! Silk & Cyanide start to nail Reed with clubbing strikes when Techniques rushes over and makes the save. The crowd cheers as Mason gets knocked back with repeated Shoteis. TJ takes a couple of steps back before running forward and delivering a clothesline that sends him both over the top rope to the floor!

Back inside, Mariani runs up behind Reed and goes for a double knee backbreaker. But Reed hangs onto the ropes, causing Mariani to slip off his back and smack the back of her head on the way down. While Mariani rolls towards the center of the ring, Reed reaches down the front of his tights and pulls out a golden elbow pad.

Kris Cruise: Now wait just a minute...

Stephy Auger: Do I spy a loaded elbow pad?

After slipping off his black elbow pad and tossing it out of the ring, The Funky Dragon slips on the golden elbow. The camera cuts to Mariani, who is slowly picking herself up off the mat. When she turns around, Reed blasts her with the Spanish Archer (Bionic Elbow) with the loaded elbow pad. Mariani falls like a tree before Reed drops down and makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
.
.
TWO!
.
.
.
.
.
THREE!

Kris Cruise: We’ve got new champions.

The crowd cheers as “You Suck” plays over the PA.

J.A. Aldridge: Ladies and gentlemen, the winners of this bout… aaaaaaaaand NEEEEEWWWWWWW FGA World Tag Team Champions, CASSIUS REED and TJ TECHNIQUES!

The cheers continue as Reed take his half of the tag team championship away from the referee. He then heads into the corner, climbs up onto the middle ropes and raises the title over his head.

Kris Cruise: Cassius Reed and TJ Techniques have done it! They are the new World Tag Team Champions after surviving this Tag Team Gauntlet!

Stephy Auger: Yeah, but if you think Silk & Cyanide will take this lying down, you’ve got another thing coming. I applaud Cassius for doing what he had to do to win. But the way he won won’t sit well with Sara and Erin. I can guarantee you that!

Techniques slowly rolls himself back into the ring. After using the ropes to pull himself back up, he sees the ref handing him his half of the Tag Titles. He can’t believe it. Techniques graciously receives the title from the ref and kisses it before raising it in the air.

Reed climbs down and sees Techniques standing with the Tag Title belt. Both men nod before shaking hands in the center of the ring.

[FGA Office]

RELIVE THE SURPRISES!...

The white flashing light stops and Owen Gonsalves bursts through the curtain with a pace that matches the rhythm of the track.

Melanie Sierra: From Melbourne, Australia! Weighing in at 205 pounds! He is “Indestructible” OWENNNNNNNN GONSAAAAAALLLLLVEAAASSSSSS!

He storms his way to the top of the entranceway and pauses to soak in the electric energy from the crowd, with a smirk on his face as he rolls his wrists while subtly mouthing the words to the song.

Kevin Clement: HE’S HERE! OWEN GONSALVES! OWEN GONSALVES IS THE MYSTERY OPPONENT FOR TYLER STORM!

RELIVE THE EXCITEMENT!

When Sparrow returns, Madison hoists him up for a Pop-Up Codebreaker! The crowd erupts with cheers when Sparrow counters with a Meteora!

Kevin Clement: DID YOU JUST SEE THAT REVERSAL FROM MIGHTY SPARROW!

RELIVE THE BETRAYAL!

Scott goes to hook the arm before delivering the DNA Driver (Bloody Sunday), but Stevenson quickly grabs his wrist, spins out and counters by yanking him into a knee below the belt.

“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Catch the replay at Frontier+

[FGA Office]

The Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion still without his championship is standing still as stone, looking down at the ground. Right next to him, Amanda Johnson. Mighty Sparrow’s custom ring gear tonight, seeming to be a running theme for him? White. Literal white and mild accents of red. Little streaks here and there but for the most part the theme here is a whole lot of blinding white on his tights. His boots are two toned, one with a heavier emphasis of white with angel wings. The other, heavier on the red has devil wings, or at least a facsimile thereof. He continued standing by, his head bowed. His shoulders roll every so often as Amanda clears her throat in the mic before speaking up.

Well. Sort of roll.

The champ’s right arm has continued to be laced up in kinesio tape. It’s extended up to the shoulder, thanks in part to the most recent showing against “Mayhem” Chris Madison. He extends the offending arm to test it. Once. Twice. He opens and closes his hand before looking at Amanda.

Amanda Johnson: Sparrow we are here tonight at the MassMutual Center for 2021: A New Odyssey and there’s so much I imagine you want to address. At Past v.s. Present we saw you put on an excellent showing against Chris Madison. While you weren’t victorious, I think you earned the former standout’s respect. What do you make of Neal Dur--

Mighty Sparrow: Gareth.

Amanda Johnson: Excuse me?

Mighty Sparrow: Gareth Prichard Jr. That’s he name, ain’t?

Sparrow’s expression is unreadable. Not a tic, not a twitch, not a single hair out of place. Amanda’s reaction is mild confusion before she nods.

Amanda Johnson: My mistake. I’m still getting used to it. Uhh...Right! What do you make of Gareth revealing that he was actually FGA brass’s first choice for the match against Chris, and declined it? For all intents and purposes the only reason you were put against “Mayhem” Chris Madison was because Gareth, for his own reasons, had no interest in that particular setting?

Mighty Sparrow: S’pose I should thank him yes. So uh...Thank you, Gareth.

Amanda Johnson: That’s what I----what?

Sparrow looks ahead off-camera, that look on his face still entirely unreadable. Anger. Adulation. Agony. Amusement. Anxiety. Adoration. Every single possible emotion that could possibly be read on the face of the Mid-Atlantic Legacy champion is a complete lack thereof. He simply continues to stare off at something, maybe seeing something that no one else can see.

Mighty Sparrow: At first I think I was angry. Who wouldn’t be yes? To know that not only were you not the first choice you believed you were, all the pomp and circumstance and assumption that does come with that...But that you lived up to precisely the expectations that management had for you. Nothing. I am glad I had a match with someone of Chris Madison’s calibre because there is a lot to learn, a lot to take away from that, but I ain’t have it because anyone actually thought I was worthy of it. Just...Chance. Random flip of the coin and...Just like that, any ‘undefeated in one-on-one matches’ kinda things I was holding, unless you ask Laura of course...? Gone. Just like that. Poof.

Amanda Johnson: So what changed your perception? Why aren’t you...Angry anymore?

Mighty Sparrow: Because Amanda, to be angry would presuppose that I somehow deserved to be in that match in the first place and, wouldn’t know it, I’m not Laura Perelli. I don’t go assuming that just because I’m only slightly more capable than the average wrestler that I can pretend to be literally God in wrestling tights.

The Trinidadian wrestler’s face for the first time takes on a countenance of emotion. A sneer, mild as it is. Disdainful.

Mighty Sparrow: We are given nothing in this life. Nothing in this industry comes to us free. Some of us work harder for it than others. We are constantly in a state of being tested. Minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, months, weeks, years, we ain’t ever allowed to be at rest. Me? I ain’t owed nothing for whatever abilities I have and to expect perennial treatment just because I...Wha? Beat one of the greatest Mid-Atlantic Legacy champions in FGA history? Won a championship in shorter than average time to most? Those expectations would be mad. You see what I sayin’? You really see what I sayin’?

Amanda Johnson: Some of your peers would disagree with you.

Mighty Sparrow: Some of my peers would be wrong. Look what works for everyone ain’t exactly work for me. Sane people chose Backstreet or N*SYNC, I really was on 98° even if all that music passed me way by, by the time I came up. My opinions are my opinions, my code is my code. Big damn...What you call it...Boy scout? That I am. I listened to what Cordy and Iser had to say. In the same instance of course I was on the Afterburn bit of Lowri and Fujiko. There are always things to learn from your elders, understand with them, and things you argue with. Ain’t mean you respect them any less. There’s something that...Pertains to the match tonight. I heard this thing thrown around...’white hat’. Choosing to wear the white hat.

Amanda watches Sparrow in silence. She hangs on his every word before clearing her throat, having been staring for so long.

Amanda Johnson: With regards to tonight's match against Laura Perelli...Which do you choose to do?

Mighty Sparrow: With regards to Laura, with regards to my FGA career? I choose the white hat. Now there may come something that breaks that someday, that breaks me. Today ain’t that day. Laura Perelli has been...A problem for me since I got here. She saw me as little more than a speed bump in she destined road to greatness. How’d that work out for her? She came at me in this mindset of everything bein’ in the bag. I was nothing to her. I still am, let we be honest. When that didn’t work and I did what she...Up to now? Couldn’t? Didn’t? She stole my title from me. She made me submit to her...After the match was over. That was good enough for she. You ain’t ever gonna hear me talk down against her abilities or talents as one of the foremost submission experts on the current roster...But to her? I was never even a factor. Even after beating her? Luck. Mistake. Reality bendin’ in on itself, whatever excuse needs to be made to deny...Deny...Deny. Laura’s welcome to that title y’know.

Amanda Johnson: Really?

Mighty Sparrow: Yeah. After all I been through, after all the misery she put me through, after putin’ shame on my name, makin’ me look ass backwards week after week, after tryna put a crack in Teej’s head just cuz he was leagues better than she could even begin to process. She’s welcome to the Mid-Atlantic Legacy championship. All she has to do is actually beat me for it.

Amanda Johnson: Thank you Sparrow.

The Mid-Atlantic Legacy champion walks away, out of the frame with an unflexing stare ahead off-camera.

[FGA Office]

Come here…

The camera pans from the floor up towards Gorilla position. Gareth Prichard Jr. is sitting there on the stairs just before the curtain. On the other side, the few fans that were allowed into the venue, thanks to this fucking pandemic that doesn’t seem to recede, were making enough noise that if you closed your eyes you could be forgiven for thinking you were in for a full crowd. He points at the unnamed cameraman and signals him to come closer.

Gareth Prichard Jr: You can come closer, Josh… is it Josh, right? I always found it impolite to keep you guys unnamed when your work is just as important as mine. But I digress. Josh, come close I need to tell you something.

Prichard crouched forward, strongly planting his feet on the bottom stair. His untamed hair flopping about as a swift breeze enters the hallway and blows the curtain behind him a bit. The tag-team gauntlet had just finished and preparations were being made for the next bout. It was fitting for him to be on camera right now, after all, he was the primary reason that the gauntlet match was for the belts in the first place…

Gareth Prichard Jr: Josh, ever since I first appeared in FGA’s programming I've been paired with the love of my life. I've made history year after year. We were not only the most consistent team in all of wrestling, but also the best tag team FGA had to offer. Individually, everyone knew who was top dog; but few paused to actually analyze things…

Gareth looked to his right side, to where the monitors were and every technician had their equipment. They were all getting ready to hit Laura Perelli’s music. Prichard smirked. His mind kept rolling and you could tell everything he was thinking about just by the way his smirk turned to a full smile, the same smile that Neal Durden gave the world. That stupid smile of “I’m just happy to be here”.

Gareth Prichard Jr: Lowri is actually older and more seasoned as a wrestler than I was all along. It was logical that she would have the most success up front; but I was on the back, learning. While your top dogs run about calling themselves every nickname a Nickname Generator might give them on the internet. While your Hall of Famers scream about not being “recognized” enough… I was in the shadows. For four years I just stayed in my lane. Being the butt of the joke. Being the perceived “weak link”. Getting defeated time and time again. Being the one that put his body on the line and said nothing… because I was just happy to be here. I was just happy to share the ring with some of the best wrestlers in the world; I was just happy to be able to travel the world with my better half. I was just happy… but it was meaningless.

He licked his upper lip while finally pushing himself to his feet. Prichard moved away from the stairs as he saw Laura Perelli getting close to where he was and being the gentleman he is, he gave her the space she needed before her big match tonight. Yet, before he continued talking he took a moment to pat her in the shoulder and say something in her ear, to which Perelli just devilishly smirked and nodded. Prichard then turned his attention to the camera as he moved away from Gorilla position.

Gareth Prichard Jr: It was meaningless, not because I didn’t find success… as a matter of fact I did. I became a multiple time tag-team champion; I even held the Underworld Title in Underground. I became that what I wanted… or so I thought. You see, for the longest time I thought I wanted to be adored. For the longest time I thought I wanted to be the one everyone looked up to… but now I understand that’s not the case. I’m not going to go full Cordy and say the fans are to blame… because no, fans have nothing to do and if you think it does, then you’re just delusional and you should cheque that out. But I’m going to say that for the first time I understand that what I was lacking was the respect of those who make this area their home. I crave the posts on Twitter, I crave the “appreciation” dates… I crave people respecting what I’m doing… but that’s also meaningless.

Prichard threw himself against a wall and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath.

Gareth Prichard Jr: I guess, the only constant in life is the knowledge that nothing is ever enough. Tonight, I don’t have a match as I haven’t had one in a while. Tonight I don’t put my body on the line for anything. I might just interfere for the hell of it as I've been doing all this time. I might just create chaos for the hell of it… many might hate my guts after tonight, I might clip the wings of some flyers… I might cut the silver tongue of a hall of famer… I might take away without giving back. I might do nothing more than what you've already seen.

Gareth gives a noncommittal shrug and exhales as he speaks.

Gareth Prichard Jr: One thing is for certain… tonight, everything changes.

After that, he just puts both of his hands inside of his pockets and walks away as we fade to the ring.

[FGA Office]

Kris Cruise: Interest comments there by Nea-

Stephy Auger: Gareth!

Kris Cruise: Sorry, GARETH! Interesting comments, nonetheless. We’ve seen him pop up here and there in recents weeks. He promises that everything changes tonight. What could he be going on about?

Stephy Auger: Well, tonight there will only be one top title left in FGA. If you’ve been following his travels elsewhere, we’ve seen Gareth pop up during Seth Iser’s matches. Is Gareth teasing a possible appearance for later on tonight? Is he trying to play mind games with Wrestling’s Greatest Mind?

Kris Cruise: We’ll have to be on the lookout for Gareth as this pay per view continues. But up next, we’ve got the Mid-Atlantic Legacy Championship match! So let’s send it back to the ring where J.A. Aldridge is standing by!

FGA MID-ATLANTIC LEGACY CHAMPIONSHIP
(c) Mighty Sparrow vs. Laura Perelli

The arena goes dark for just a moment, as the opening riffs to Voodoo Johnson's "United Divided" play through the PA, before the white lights are replaced by swirling blue and yellow replacements.

J.A. Aldridge: Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall and it is for the FGA Mid-Atlantic Legacy Championship! Introducing first, hailing from Trenton, New Jersey, weighing in at 127 lbs, this is LAURAAAAA PERRELLIIIIIIIII!

A few seconds pass. But there’s still no sign of Perelli.

Kris Cruise: What’s going on here?

Stephy Auger: Maybe that hoodlum Mighty Sparrow decided to jump Perelli before the match. You can tell he’s still salty about losing the Mid-Atlantic Legacy Title to her.

Aldridge starts to look around. He gives Cruise and Auger a confused look. But they don’t know anything, either. Aldridge restarts his introduction.

J.A. Aldridge: … this is LAURAAAAA PERRELLIIIIIIIII!

A couple of seconds pass. But there’s still no sign of Perelli. Her music starts to fade out. After about five seconds or so past, “United Divided” starts back up. The limited-capacity crowd keeps their eyes glued to the entrance way. But Perelli has yet to emerge through the curtain.

Kris Cruise: I don’t understand what’s going on her. We clearly saw Perelli backstage during Gareth Prichard Jr’s diatribe. Why isn’t she coming out here?

“Oh give the drummer some, yeah yeah! (Yah!)
Oh give the drummer some, yeah yeah! (Uh!)
Oh give the drummer some, yeah yeah! (Rah!)
Oh give the drummer some, yeah yeah! (Drop it.")

From the entrance to the ring, Mighty Sparrow appears through the curtain. He gets in some last minute leg stretches before the West Indian Whirlwind begins high-fiving fans on his way down the ramp. He gets to the outside of the ring as “Gold Watch” continues playing before he jumps and lands on the apron. With a second jump he clears the ring ropes before taking off for the farthest turnbuckle. He springs onto the second rope turnbuckle, executing a backflip and lands on his feet. He does sliding motion on his heel before turning and striking a pose to the cheers of the crowd.

J.A. Aldridge: Her opponent, hailing from South Oropouche, Trinidad! Weighing in at 205 pounds! He is the reigning… defending… FGA Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion… MIGHTY SPARROW!

“Yeah yeah, them niggas over there, it’s just,
Yeah, yeah, now look at what I wear!
Got my, gold watch and my, gold chain,
With my, fancy car and my diamond ring!”

Sparrow leans up against his corner, talking a few seconds with the referee before looking out to the crowd. He mouths a few of Lupe’s lyrics to himself casually and takes one last glance about. Sparrow grabs the ropes in his corner, again with a few last second leg stretches before he is ready to go.

Kris Cruise: Mighty Sparrow’s ready to go. He’s also ready to finish this between him and Perelli once and for all. For all of Perelli’s skill, Mighty Sparrow came into FGA hot and surpassed her. He won the Elimination Chase. He then won the Mid-Atlantic Legacy Championship from Ace Voltage. Those events haven’t set right with Perelli and she’s taken it out on Sparrow ever since. She’s attacked him. She’s stolen his championship. She’s attacked his friend. Perelli has truly shown her character in the aftermath of that loss. She may walk around with that title. But possession isn’t nine tenths of the law. I don’t care how much you or Perelli disagree. Perelli isn’t the Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion. Mighty Sparrow is! If Perelli wants that title, then she has to beat him right here in the center of the ring!

The arena goes dark for just a moment, as the opening riffs to Voodoo Johnson's "United Divided" play through the PA, before the white lights are replaced by swirling blue and yellow replacements. A few seconds pass, though, and it’s only when the drum beat kicks in that the curtain is pushed aside, and Laura Perelli comes spinning through, immediately spreading her arms out wide, a sly little smile on her face as she glances out into the arena. She holds her spot in the center of the stage, rolling her neck out to either side before unstrapping the Mid-Atlantic Legacy belt from around her waist, raising it up overhead. There’s more than a second of her relishing holding the belt up before she drapes it over her shoulder, only making her way down the ramp when she’s good and ready.

Kris Cruise: You have to be kidding me!

Stephy Auger: Ah, it all makes sense now. No wonder Perelli didn’t come out initially. THE CHAMPION DOESN’T ENTER FIRST!

Kris Cruise: Oh stop it!

Gripping the title with one hand, Laura’s not exactly in a particular hurry, as she more saunters down the ring, occasionally glancing to either side of her to take in the fans at the aisleway. It’s never for more than a moment or two, though, as the most regard Laura’s willing to give is a little tilt of the head to one fan in particular trying to get her attention--whatever he may have been saying, it didn’t do much to faze her, and she just continues to move on. At her own pace, she reaches the end of the ramp, and one fan in particular seems to catch her attention--for a moment, at least--as she takes a second to flaunt the belt on her shoulder to him. She eventually reaches the ring steps, pausing with one boot on the bottom step, closing her eyes for just a second before quickly jogging up onto the apron, casually wiping the soles of her boots off before spinning around to face the crowd--if only to smirk a little bit, and raise her title up again.

Laura swings herself through the ropes, spinning in a half circle to face the opposite side fans and stretching one arm out, lifting the belt up with the other. She holds the pose for more than a couple seconds before eventually backing herself into her corner, laying her title down in front of her before shrugging her jacket off and dumping it out of the ring. Grabbing the top rope with one hand, she leans down, stretching her opposite leg out in preparation for the match.

As soon as the bell sounds, Sparrow darts across the ring before bringing Perelli down with a running hurricanrana.

Kris Cruise: Sparrow’s gone right after Perelli!


Sparrow takes control of Perelli’s arm as she gets back to her feet before whipping her into the far ropes. When Perelli returns, she ducks a falling crescent kick before continuing to run the ropes. When Perelli comes back, the crowd cheers when Sparrow leaps up for The Notorious K.I.C.K. (standing double foot stomp)! At the last second, Perelli slides underneath him. Sparrow lands on his feet, turns around and gets caught with an arm drag into an armbar. The crowd boos as Perelli cinches in the hold. The ref gets down and asks Sparrow if he wants to give up. The champ refuses. After battling back to a vertical base, Sparrow takes his left arm and uses it to move Perelli into the near ropes. He then pushes her off into the far ropes. When Perelli returns, she goes for a running shoulder tackle to the right arm. But Sparrow leapfrogs over her. Once Sparrow lands back on his feet, Perelli takes control of his back. She tries to pull Sparrow down with the Code of Silence (Saka Otoshi into Sleeper Hold)! But Sparrow rolls over her shoulder, lands on his feet and knocks her down with a falling crescent kick! Instead of going for the pin, Sparrow mounts down on top of her before raining down a flurry of left hands to the face.

Kris Cruise: Look at Sparrow go! He’s raining down those left hands!

Stephy Auger: Yeah, I see him! I see him letting his emotions get the better of him!

Sparrow takes Perelli, marches into the corner and slams her face-first into the top turnbuckle. After turning Perelli around, Sparrow lights her up with multiple knife edge chops. Sparrow goes for an irish whip when Perelli reverses and follows him across the ring. Instead of crashing into the corner, Sparrow gets his foot on the middle turnbuckle before catching Perelli with a back elbow to the face. Sparrow then springboards to the top turnbuckle. But before he can stand up out of his crouched position, Perelli darts over and shoves him from behind! The crowd gasps, then boos when Sparrow flips off the top turnbuckle and lands hard on the floor!

*THUD!*

Kris Cruise: Oh my God! Did you hear the impact from that fall!?

Perelli rolls to the outside, takes control of Sparrow’s right arm and swings it down hard across the steel steps! Sparrow howls out in pain as he immediately pulls the right arm to his torso. The Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion turns and staggers down the ringside arena. But unbeknownst to him, Perelli is right behind him. Perelli grabs Sparrow and wrestles control of his right arm away from him. After placing Sparrow in a hammerlock, Perelli runs forward before throwing him shoulder-first into the guardrail! The crowd boos as Sparrow immediately crumbles to the floor.

Kris Cruise: Perelli continues her assault on the arm!

Stephy Auger: She would be a fool not to.

Perelli pulls Sparrow back to his feet before rolling him back inside. She then reaches back inside, takes control of Sparrow’s right arm and swings it down hard across the edge of the apron! Sparrow howls out in pain as he rolls back towards the center of the ring. Perelli climbs up to the apron and observes her opponent before stepping back into the ring. La Principessa slowly circles Sparrow as she waits for the right time to pounce. As Sparrow starts to stand up on his feet, Perelli turns and hits the ropes. She then runs past Sparrow before hitting the far ropes. Perelli returns and takes Sparrow’s head off with a Sliding D! NO! Sparrow rolls out of the way! Perelli turns over onto all fours and gets caught with Sparrow spins around on the mat and nails her with a kick right to the face! Perelli pushes herself up on all fours before standing up on her knees. Sparrow is right there to crack her across the head with a Switchblade Kick! The cheers continue as Sparrow hits the ropes, comes back and and sends her rolling over towards the ropes with a front dropkick to the face! Sparrow heads over and finally makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
T-NO!

The crowd gasps when Perelli reaches up, grabs Sparrow’s right arm and places him in a Kimura!

Kris Cruise: Oh no!

Stephy Auger: Perelli just countered the lateral press into the kimura from off her back! When’s the last time you saw someone do that?

Sparrow yells out in pain as Perelli cranks on the arm. Before the ref can even ask him if he wants to give up, Sparrow quickly reaches out with his left arm and grabs the bottom rope, forcing a rope break. But Perelli doesn’t release the hold!

Kris Cruise: Come on, ref! Sparrow’s got a hold of the ropes! Break the damn hold!

Stephy Auger: Why? Perelli has until the count of five.

The crowd boos Perelli while the ref gives her until the count of five to break the hold.

Ref: ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Perelli breaks the hold. She then takes hold of Sparrow and drags him over towards the center of the ring before delivering a stomp to his keylocked arm!

Kris Cruise: Sparrow has to find a way to protect himself.

Stephy Auger: That’s the thing. I don’t think he can. The Not So Mighty Sparrow has proven that he can’t survive these submission specialists. He tapped out to Perelli. He tapped out to Chris Madison. Now he’s about to tap out to Perelli again! If he was facing any other kind of wrestler, I might just give him a puncher’s chance. But against Perelli? Oh no. She’s gonna finish what she started and put this Mid-Atlantic Legacy debate to rest.

Sparrow rolls away from Perelli before scooting himself back towards the corner. As Perelli approaches, Sparrow reaches up with his left arm and tries to pull himself up using the ropes. When Perelli gets within striking distance, Sparrow throws out a kick to the midsection. But he’s a step too slow as the kick is easily blocked. Perelli catches his foot before dragging him away from the corner. Sparrow continues to hop on one foot until an enzuigiri sends Perelli flipping down to the mat. Sparrow then hits the ropes, comes back and connects with a running senton! Sparrow gets back to his feet, hits the ropes and returns with another running senton! He turns over and makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Perelli kicks out.

Sparrow takes Perelli and goes for an irish whip when she reverses, sending him into the corner. Perelli runs over, throws out a corner high knee and misses when Sparrow slips out of the way. The cheers continue as Sparrow catches her with corner chest kicks before positioning her across the middle ropes. Sparrow then steps back towards the center of the ring before running forward and dropping Perelli with the LAUNCH PAD (Running double knee on an opponent draped over the middle turnbuckle)! NO! Perelli slips out to the apron, causing Sparrow to land on his knees! The boos continue when Perelli reaches back in, grabs Sparrow’s right arm and swings it hard against the ring post! Perelli then drags Sparrow to the outside before throwing him down to the floor with Gone Bust (Floatover Butterfly Suplex)! Sparrow gets rolled back into the ring before Perelli slides back in, drags him away from the ropes and makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Sparrow gets his left shoulder up.

Kris Cruise: Just when Sparrow starts to get some offense in, Perelli is right there to cut him off.

Stephy Auger: This is a horrible matchup for him, Cruise. Sometimes, you’re just in there in the reign with someone that you can’t do much against.

Perelli sits Sparrow up before clamping on a Shoulder Claw! The crowd boos when they see Sparrow in pain. The ref then asks Sparrow if he wants to give up. When Sparrow shakes his head, Perelli cinches in the hold to apply more pressure. Sparrow can be seen reaching out to the limited capacity crowd. The fans reach out to try and will the champion back into the match. They then continue to rally behind Sparrow with chants of…

“LET’S GO, SPARROW!”
*CLAP-CLAP, CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*

“LET’S GO, SPARROW!”
*CLAP-CLAP, CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*

“LET’S GO, SPARROW!”
*CLAP-CLAP, CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*

Sparrow starts to feet off the energy of the limited capacity crowd. He then starts to shake his right arm before slowly turning over to a knee. Perelli shakes her head in disbelief when Sparrow gets back to his feet. The crowd cheers when Sparrow nails her with an elbow to the midsection. Another elbow finds its mark. Sparrow buries a third elbow in the midsection, breaking the hold. With Perelli doubled over, Sparrow turns and takes off into the ropes. NO! Perelli reaches out, grabs him by the back of the tights and yanks him into a forearm strike to the lower back. The boos continue when Perelli throws him down with Dead Money (Bridging Leg-Hook Belly to Back Suplex)!

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Sparrow gets his shoulder up!

Perelli takes Sparrow and whips him into the ropes. Sparrow returns and sees her setting up for a back body drop. So he counters with a kick to the face that knocks Perelli upright. Sparrow then turns, heads towards the ropes and brings Perelli down with a Handspring DDT! NO! Perelli catches him across her shoulder before bringing him down with a shoulder breaker! The crowd boos as she makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Sparrow gets his left shoulder up.

Kris Cruise: Good counter there by Perelli, but she only gets a two count.

Perelli takes Sparrow and lifts him up for a brainbuster. On the way up, Sparrow knees her in the head. Sparrow gets lowered back down before he turns to hit the ropes. The crowd cheers when he flies across the ring and knocks her down with a leaping (left) forearm smash! Sparrow gets back to his feet before hitting the ropes. He comes back before knocking Perelli back down with another leaping (left) forearm smash! Sparrow takes Perelli and delivers an irish whip, follows her across the ring and connects with another font dropkick. The cheers continue as Sparrow positions himself up on the middle ropes before planting Perelli with a Tornado DDT! He makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
Perelli gets the shoulder up.

Sparrow takes Perelli and brings her down with a single knee backbreaker before heading into the corner. The crowd cheers when Sparrow leaps to the top turnbuckle and flips back to hit a springboard moonsault! Perelli ends up rolling out of the way. Thankfully for Sparrow, he lands on his feet. Perelli scrambles back to a vertical base and throws herself at Sparrow with a crossbody block. The crowd cheers again when Sparrow catches her in mid air. He then throws her down with a fallaway slam before returning to his feet with a kip up. Sparrow then hits the far ropes while Perelli slowly sits up. The Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion comes back, leaps into the air and flattens her with a Meteora! He makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
T-NO!

Perelli gets the shoulder up.

Kris Cruise: Sparrow got the three cont! NO, only two!

Stephy Auger: Come on, Laura! Don’t let him steal your championship from you!

Kris Cruise: ...

Sparrow slowly pulls Perelli back to her feet before she swats his hands off her. After catching Sparrow with a European Uppercut, Perelli takes control of Sparrow’s right arm before clamping down on his right shoulder. The two then spin in place as Perelli tries to muscle him down into a Fujiwara Armbar! Perelli gets Sparrow down! But Sparrow able to stop himself from betting flattening into the prone position by dropping to his knees and left hand. He then rolls forward, leans back and sends Perelli’s head snapping back with a double upkick! Perelli stumbles back while Sparrow returns to his feet with another kip up. He then hits the ropes, comes back and delivers another running hurricanrana, sending Perelli down across the middle rope. Sparrow then steps out to the apron before measuring the distance between himself and Perelli. The crowd gasps, then cheers when Sparrow springboards to the top turnbuckle, leaps off and connects with a guillotine leg drop across the back of the neck!

Perelli falls onto her back before Sparrow rolls back into the ring. Sparrow then takes Perelli, heads into the corner and sits her down on the top turnbuckle. While Perelli faces away from the ring, Sparrow climbs the turnbuckles and positions himself behind her before throwing her down with the Izuna Drop (Spider Suplex)! While Perelli lays splayed out on the mat, Sparrow slowly sits back up onto the top turnbuckle. He then gets to his feet, turns around, leaps off and crushes her with The Notorious K.I.C.K. II (Top Rope Double Foot Stomp)! Sparrow makes the cover.

ONE!
.
.
TWO!
.
.
THREE!

Kris Cruise: Sparrow retains!

The crowd explodes into cheers as “Gold Watch” blasts over the PA!

J.A. Aldridge: Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this bout… aaaaaaand STIIIIILLLLL FGA Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion, MIGHTY SPARROW!

The cheers continue as Sparrow is reunited with his Mid-Atlantic Legacy Championship. Sparrow slowly raises the title in the air with his left arm.

Kris Cruise: The Mighty Sparrow trains his championship! He wins back possession of the title that was stolen from him by defeating Laura Perelli! He was able to withstand the assault on his right arm. He was able to avoid and escape the submissions. Tonight, he proved that he can survive a submission wrestler. Mighty Sparrow, STILL your Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion!

[FGA Office]

Nina Stokes: Every story must come to an end―

Black and white hues fill the screen as the picture begins to come to life. Though, the picture is not entirely clear. Lines of distortion are scattered about. Nevertheless, Nina’s figure can be seen. She’s wearing a short leather jacket, distressed jeans, and Chucks. She’s also holding what appears to be a baseball bat.

Nina Stokes: Imagine you concocted some elaborate Disney-like story when this whole ordeal began, yes? You firmly believed that you were going to pull a fast one over ol’ Nina and then ride into the sunset holding the Frontier Grappling Arts United States Championship.

She slowly shakes her head.

Nina Stokes: But a fool’s dream always lacks foresight. And you, Sadie? You didn’t account for what happens when you royally piss off one of the baddest women on the planet.

A moment passes.

Nina Stokes: But at the very least, you have proven yourself to be an interesting case study. People who are perceived to be “pure of heart” are always placed on a pedestal. They are worshipped and deemed superior. But thoughtfully, they are no different than the rest of us. They have dark sides. They have flaws. And in Sadie’s case, she showed the world just how much an “angel” can fall when she is corrupted by greed.

Another moment passes.

Nina Stokes: I ruined you, Sadie. Bit by bit. Piece by piece. Match by match. You’ve reached the point of no return. And instead of letting you wallow, I’m simply going to put an end to it all for you―

She twirls the bat in her hands for a moment or two. But then it stops. A smirk appears on Nina’s face before she smashes that bat into the camera. The picture fades out.