Harrys: The following contest is scheduled for one fall! About to make her way to the ring, she is the former WZCW World Heavyweight Champion, Kagura!
The crowd cheers and applauds a little, but more wait in anticipation for Kagura's music to hit.
[YOUTUBE]k2ZJYSbgTTY[/YOUTUBE]
When Kagura's music hits, the applause grows louder. The pink lights we have grown to be accustomed to during her entrance swirl around. She makes her way to the stage, smiling slightly to the crowd. She hesitates a little, by now the fog for her entrance has usually hit. She seems frustrated and throws her hands in the air. She makes her way to the ring and stretches in a corner as she awaits her foe for the night. Just as the lights come back up, the fog starts to pour onto the stage. Kagura shakes her head.
"Bordel de Merde!"
Copeland: I don't speak a lot of French, but I think I know what those fans are chanting.
Cohen: Can you blame them? Someone in the truck better be fired for this one. Kagura is a former World Champion and she deserves better.
Copeland: It has been a whirlwind of emotions for Kagura lately. From winning the World Title in her home country, to losing it just days later. Rumors of turmoil in her personal life are rampant, and fans and analysts alike have been calling her out on social media.
Cohen: She should pay them no mind. Giving those cretins attention just validates their worldview.
As Seabass and Jack continue their conversation on attention craving trolls off mic, the crowd starts to build to a fever pitch as the lights go down and the spotlight searches around the arena.
[YOUTUBE]JdWZolSp1cU[/YOUTUBE]
Harrys: And her opponent, he is the 2018 Lethal Lottery winner, Tyrone Blades!
The spotlight catches Blades, standing off to the side of the stage, having been taking Kagura's entrance in. He is tapping his bat against his foot. He takes a quick drink from a water bottle, before he bats it into the crowd and heads to the ring. He leaves his bat propped up next to the steps and offers Kagura a nod of respect as he removes his jacket.
Cohen: You know, I rarely know what to make of Tyrone. His list of accomplishments in WZCW is only matched by his rap sheet of charges against it. The fans embrace him though, and he proved even thought he has been in this business longer than most, he still has it, when he outlasted the twenty nine other superstars in the Lethal Lottery.
Copeland: There really isn't much Tyrone hasn't done, but he did most of it as a villain. Now, with the WZCW faithful behind him, he seems to have found a new purpose. A sort of Robin Hood who is robbing for the hood if you will.
Cohen: Never say that again.
Tyrone and Kagura both nod that they are ready and referee Keith Morse calls for the bell to get the match started.
*DING! DING!*
The two come out of the corner, Kagura bouncing on her feet, Tyrone in more of a traditional boxing stance with his hands high. They offer a quick MMA style touch of the hands as a sign of respect for each other before they begin their dance around the ring. Kagura is clearly the quicker of the two, as she darts in and out of Tyrone range, respecting his reputable striking game. She peppers him with a few jabs but few do more than graze his hands or arms. She continues to stay light on her feet and she manages to make contact with a decent right, she slipped a push kick by Tyrone at the last second and sneaked it in. Tyrone nods his head and smiles like he is enjoying this. Kagura keeps focus, knowing that she is playing Tyrone's game. She knows her speed is superior, but the grit and scrappy power of Tyrone could easily overwhelm her if she lets her guard down. They circle a little more, Blades starting to fire off some leg kicks, trying to take the bounce out of Kagura's step. The first two or three kicks don't seem to impact her much, but the more Tyrone connects with, especially when Kagura puts her weight down to throw a punch, the more they seem to slow her. She throws a feint to draw Tyrone off guard, and he reacts, leaving him open for a flush right hand to the jaw. He winches and puts his hand to his face. He smiles, as he knows he has Kagura in his realm.
Copeland: I commend Kagura for trying to stand and bang with Tyrone, but this is not her game, and the look on his face shows he knows it.
Cohen: Yeah, I'm not sure what point she is trying to prove, but this is like throwing a lamb into the ring with a loin. It may not happen quickly, but you know it will only end one way.
Almost on cue, Tyrone fakes a leg kick to Kagura's lead leg, causing her to react and try to check it. As she does, Tyrone throws a hook kick that lands flush and causes Kagura to fall back onto her ass. She recovers quickly though, showing she was just stunned as opposed to knocked off, and grabs the ropes to pull herself up. Tyrone throws his hands up as if to show he is backing off, but he does it with a grin that implies the trade mark Tyrone Blades trash talk. Kagura takes a second to lean over the top rope and spit a small amount of blood to the flour below. Without warning though, she uses the ropes to springboard and connect with a hard hitting flying forearm that knocks Tyrone down. They both scramble back to their feet and Kagura keeps up the pressure with the forearms. She fires them off rapidly, showing her trademark Japanese style, and backs him into a corner. The referee tells Kagura to make sure she doesn't keep him tied in the ropes. She relents her attack just momentarily, just long enough to back up to give herself room to connect with a series of quick strikes to the chest region, before she finishes it off with a throat thrust, which causes Tyrone to fall to the ground. She makes sure to grab his leg nearest the ropes and hook it as she makes the cover...1!...2!...but Tyrone kicks out just after the hand hit for two.
Cohen: Maybe that sheep was actually a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Copeland: Kagura was all sorts of fired up after that nasty head kick from Tyrone. Maybe she is determined to prove she deserves another shot at the World Title, maybe she is just motivated by the keyboard cowboys posting about her faults, but something has clearly lit a fire under Kagura here.
Kagura wastes little time in trying to get back on the attack. She grabs the arm of Tyrone and tries to isolate it, pulling it behind him as he tried to get to a vertical base. She tries to secure the arm bar, but Tyrone has about seven or eight inches on Kagura, so he uses his length and long limbs to fight to his feet, despite her having a vice grip on his left arm. He tries to reach out for the ropes for a clean simple break, but he is a little too far and Kagura shows off surprising strength to keep him from simply using his larger frame to muscle to the ropes. He uses his free hand to try to grab Kagura, but he only manages to get a handful of hair. The ref is quick to warn him and Blades throws his hand up to say it was a mistake. He tries to use the size difference to his advantage and twist around and connect with a modified short arm clothesline, but Kagura ducks and kicks the back of his knee. He stumbles so Kagura runs and hits a leaping knee into the center of his back. This causes him to tumble through the ropes, but he lands on his feet. He slaps his hands on the ring apron, clearly frustrated at Kagura's spell of dominance.
Cohen: Blades is clearly letting Kagura get to him a bit, after he seemed to be enjoying their early match kick boxing contest. What goes around comes around I guess.
Copeland: I do wonder how long this aggressive nature will pay off for Kagura, because usually she does her best when she picks her spots. She seems like she wants to keep up the pressure, as she just ignored Keith Morse's instruction to stay in the ring.
Indeed Kagura rolls out of the ring to go after blades, not wanting him to catch his breath. She runs and uses the ring steps to launch herself at Blades and catches him with a knee, though he had the presence of mind to get his hands up and block the brunt of the impact. He stumbles back into the barricade, catching himself before he falls. Kagura gets her feet under her and runs at him, but he gets a boot up to stop her. She stumbles back a bit and Tyrone tackles her back first into the ring. He connects with a quick chop just to soften her up, before he rolls her back inside.H e shakes his head out before he does anything else. Kagura is trying to crawl away, so Tyrone grabs her ankle and pulls her back to the floor, hard, her face making a loud smacking sound when it hits the padded mat. he wastes no time in grabbing her and Irish whipping her into the steel steps, they come off their base as she is sent shoulder first into them. Keeping his foot on the gas, Tyrone grabs her and tosses her hard into the barricade. He takes a moment to wipe the hair from his eyes before grabs her again, this time taking her to the announcer's area. He slams her head off the table, causing the cover to come loose. He does this a second and third time, both times the cover on the top of the table bounces and exposes the monitors. She tries to fight as he goes to do it a fourth time, but he sees the monitors have been exposed. He hesitates, not wanting to play too dirty, and Kagura responds with an elbow to the side to create a little space. She doesn't get far though as he grabs her and clubs her across the back. He drags her to the ring and rams her, chest first this time, into the ring. He then positions her so she is laying in the ring, under the ropes, with her head just hanging over. The referee warns him to get back in the ring, so he takes a few steps back to gather speed and hits a running knee to her head. He climbs onto the apron and then to the top rope. He leaps and hits a flying elbow drop and makes sure to make the cover...1!...2!...but Kagura is able to get a shoulder up. Tyrone sits up and looks over, just checking with the ref that it was only two.
Copeland: Well Tyrone has turned the tables here, by turning back the clock and bit and really bending the rules to his advantage.
Cohen: Not much in the way of pure wrestling from Blades, but it has been effective Seabass, no denying that.
In full control, Tyrone takes a moment to plan his next move. He walks over to the turnbuckle and perches on the second one. He motions for Kagura to stand. She begins to stir and he calls out to her, urging her on. She recovers enough to realize what he is doing and charges him. He waits until the last minute to leap over her as she crashes head first into the middle turnbuckle. Blades then runs and connects with a leaping stomp, driving her head into the turnbuckle. She is slumped in the corner, her eyes wide open, but paying attention to nothing of note. The Hall of Famer calls for the match to be over and readies for his go to finish, Click Clack. He waits in anticipation, but Kagura doesn't move.
Copeland: I think Kagura may be out.
Tyrone walks over to where she is, and tries to move her but she just falls limp. He tries to position her in the corner, but she is dead weight and just slumps against the turnbuckle. He looks over to the referee, who instructs Tyrone to fight on for now. When he turns his attention back to Kagura, she unleashes her red mist, but Tyrone was wise to it and avoids the spray. The distraction is enough for Kagura to get back on the offensive though and she connects with a saito suplex. She keeps hold and powers to her feet and hits a second saito suplex. She rolls away and waits for Tyrone to get to a kneeling position to try to get up and when he is in position she goes for the First Dance of Awarawa no Mikoto, her skull crushing shining wizard! Tyrone is able to just avoid it and get back to his feet, but he turns right into Fifth Dance of Amaterasu Omikami! Kagura's double fisted heart punch that was put hundreds of opponents away in her career. She hooks the leg deep for the cover..............but there is no count as referee Keith Morse is still trying to wipe his eyes of the mist from earlier.
Cohen: Kagura might have just cost herself the match with her own desperation ploy. The mist that Tyrone avoided seems to have caught the referee and he can't see to count the pinfall.
Kagura kicks her foot to the mat in anger and shouts in Japanese at the referee, who slowly stumbles over to count the pin............1!.........2!..........3-NO! Tyrone kicks out! He has the delayed pin count to thank, but he is still alive. Kagura jumps to her feet and is in the face of the ref, despite it being her fault he was distracted. She yells and gestures as he continues to try to wipe his eyes. She doesn't see Tyrone in the back stirring and getting to his feet. When she does turn, she just just avoids the super kick that sets up Click Clack. She turns off balance to try to connect with another Fifth Dance, but Tyrone manages to move enough to avoid it and grabs hold of one of her arms and takes her to the ground with a crossface submission. He has this arms cinched around her face, but he is still trying to secure her legs around her free arm. She fights him the entire way. She is feeling the pressure, but manages to keep her arm free long enough to avoid the hold being fully locked in. As Blades goes to readjust to properly secure the hold, Kagura shifts her weight and manages to roll Tyrone onto his back, with his shoulders down...1!...2!...3! Tyrone kicks out a fraction of a second too late, but three has been counted. Kagura is on her hands and knees, trying to catch her breath as Tyrone has already rolled out of the ring and kicks the steps in anger.
Harrys: Here is your winner, Kagura!
Copeland: So after almost costing herself the match due to some overly aggressive moments and blinding the referee, Kagura manages to walk away with W over the number one contender.
Cohen: We saw Tyrone turn the clock back a few times and show off that aggression that made him famous to keep pace with Kagura, but in the end, she ekes out a close one thanks to a craft pinning attempt.
As Keith Morse raises the hand of Kagura, she looks to Blades. He has collected his bat and started to walk away. He turns and raises his bat to Kagura as a show of respect to the fellow former World Champ before he disappears back to the shadows of the arena. The ref gives Kagura a moment alone to bask in the victory as a WZCW medical attendant comes to ringside to check his eyes. Kagura climbs to the second turnbuckle to bow to the fans, when suddenly she is taken down from behind by a masked man with a chair shot. The man removes the mask to reveal himself to be Garth Black as the crowd rains down boos. He drives the end of the chair into her chest a few times before he kicks her out of the ring. He pulls a microphone out of his pocket and places the chair in the center of the ring. He takes a seat.
Black: For years I would step into this ring each night and go to war with whoever they put in front of me. For years, I never said a word, content to try to work my way to the top. For years, I watched others jump me in line. Now I am not a man who likes to complain just for the sake of complaining. Some of those men, they earned those spots. This company has seen some great wrestlers and it was an honor to share this ring with them. Most of them? Most of them were utter shite that I would scrape from the bottom of my boot with a stick. Newcomers with a pretty face and flashy gear. Washed up has beens who would plead to the fans to support them on one last run at the top. Complete jokes who never accomplished anything, so they were given chances out of pity. I watched this company fall into pit, and I couldn't take it anymore. I spoke up, I fought and clawed my way to the top despite some higher ups who didn't want me there. I earned my World Title shot. I earned the right to be called champion when I went out and beat the champ in the ring. I was never given a fancy briefcase that promised me a match anytime anywhere. I never won the title, only to lose it in my very next match. When I saw that Kagura had been given that briefcase, I knew this company was on the expressway straight into the toilet. I feared the worst, and the worst came true when John Constantine, a man who has earned respect in this business, was brutally attacked, unprovoked I might add, and Kagura was allowed to step in and reap the rewards. She never beat Constantine. The corrupt owners of this company did. Why? Diversity? To fill a quota? To set up someone for a future political career? Whatever the answer may be, Kagura is weak. She has proven it night in and night out, and she is proving it now by lying out there gasping for air while Dr. Nick tends to her. She wasn't strong enough to keep her title at Lethal Lottery, she wasn't strong enough to beat Tyrone clean here tonight, she wasn't even strong enough to keep a man in her life. So please, Kagura, do us all a favor and run off back to Japan where you belong, before you really get hurt. Maybe you'll get lucky and some rich business man will take pity on you and you can start a family that he supports and you never have to worry about being strong again.
Garth stands and tosses the mic in the direction of Kagura. He doesn't even look at her as he exits the ring and heads up the ramp as two more medical personnel run to check on Kagura.
