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Post by Johawn on Jun 25, 2010 21:32:19 GMT -5
The drumbeat to a familiar song starts pounding through the arena. The song has become synonymous with the man it announces, having indicated his presence for a great deal of his more famous and important matches. The message of the song is indicative of the mindset of the man. The cry that it’s time to ‘meet your master’ sums up Rose’s attitude to himself, and to the ability of his opponents, quite nicely. In his mind, he is the best. There’s certainly a case for that argument in other minds, too. His record is immaculate. His skills phenomenal. His star forever rising. The man makes people pay attention.
He steps from behind the curtain and immediately grabs the focus of all in attendance. The loud and enthusiastic booing of the crowd goes hand in hand with everything about the man, who tonight has no time for showboating or riling. At least not yet. He walks calmly down the ramp, his casualness seemingly not fitting the huge occasion.Sanction: And there he is, Pain. This one is going to be amazing. I can feel it. Rose reaches the bottom of the ramp. He turns around briefly, looking up at the Xtreme-o-Tron, which shows the sold out crowd in the United Center. It’s a big’n, alright. Rose takes a deep breath before turning right back around and making for the steps, which he lightly hops up before climbing into the ring.Pain: There’s a man who has a date with destiny tonight. Rose’s music fades out as he paces the ring, looking as good as he has in months. Especially compared to the last couple of weeks, where the weight of the world seemed to be on his shoulders. He looks up at the ramp as Amiee Allen’s Revolution begins to play, announcing the imminent arrival of tonight’s opponent.
Ciaren steps from behind the curtain to a huge ovation, and why not? This is a man who takes no shit, can kick your ass and drink like a trooper. A man who has overcome his problems and become the unlikely figurehead of this great company. This is a man that any real man aspires to be. If Ciaren knows all of this, he clearly couldn’t care less, as he strides down the ramp with little glitz of glamour. This is a man who is all business. He slides right into the ring and gets straight up, holding the XWA title belt in the air briefly to acknowledge the tremendous support who have come out to see him tonight.Sanction: That’s what stands in front of Rose and that title he’s craved so much. A hundred and ninety two pounds of pure fighting spirit and balls. Friend or not, Ciaren is not giving Rose that title. Pain: He won’t have to. You have no idea how much Rose wants it. Friend or not, Rose is not going to be stopped tonight. He’ll see to it. The last chords of the fading music are drowned out by the excited roaring of the crowd, eagerly anticipating what promises to be a great match. Ciaren hands the XWA title belt to Kirk Samson, who stands in the centre of the ring alongside Keri Thames.Thames: Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest, set for one fall, is for the XTREME WRESTLING ALLIANCE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP! At these words, Kirk Samson raises the XWA title high above his head.Thames: Introducing first, the challenger. Hailing from Caerphilly, South Wales…weighing in tonight at two hundred and thirty pounds…ROOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!!! Booing. Predictable. Not important anymore.Thames: And his opponent…from Slygo, Ireland…weighing in tonight at one hundred and ninety two pounds…he is the XWA World Heavyweight Champion…CIAREEEEEN, DONEGAN!!!!! Huge cheers. A hand raised in acknowledgement. Excitement at fever pitch. Keri goes to duck out of the ring, but is stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Rose (quite graciously) requests her microphone and she, though confused, obliges. He thanks her and allows her to delicately exit the ring, leaving the floor open for the challenger.Rose: You’ll have to excuse me here. He addresses the stage and raises a hand.Rose: Come on out! Ciaren looks suspicious as he looks between Rose and the stage, not daring to take his eyes off his cunning friend for too long. However, his worries are for nought, as several uniformed men walk out from the back in single file. They march down the ramp with almost German-like organisation and stop at the bottom. They then file out, standing side by side facing the stage, completely blocking access to the ring.Rose: Ciaren…man. I know this isn’t how you do things but…Legion, MadDog…DGX, Tempest. Tonight isn’t about them. This is our night. Our stage. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want some guy with a grudge coming out here to make one of our jobs easier. I want to see which of us deserves that belt. Can you get on board with this? Ciaren looks at Rose for a second before shrugging and nodding.Rose: Excellent. Good luck tonight, Ciaren, mate. Really. Give me hell. The two exchange a grin, knowing that hell is exactly what they’ll put each other through tonight, and that they wouldn’t have it any other way.Sanction: Two best friends. No grudges, no animosity, no gimmicks. Two people doing what they love for the biggest prize there is. Your pay per view dollars will be repaid tenfold with this one, ladies and gentlemen. And we’re just about to kick off. DING! DING! DINGCiaren and Rose stride to the centre of the ring, like two competitors in any other match would go to lock up. But they pause when they meet. They stare at each other. God, they must know each other inside out, know every move, every trick. When Rose extends his hand any other man would be cautious, reluctant…even hostile. But Ciaren knows what to expect, and he grasps Rose’s hand and the two shake like the men they are. They break off and back up a little, ready to start this contest.Sanction: Good luck, guys. Pain: Good luck, Rose. And we’re underway, with one question posed from the off. The love of competition, or the respect of each other? The two go hand in hand, and so we see no restraint from the two. Rose darts straight in at Ciaren, aiming low, looking to grab a leg and take advantage of Ciaren’s weakness. But the two know each other inside out and in again, and Ciaren is not about to be drawn in. He deftly dodges with the speed of a boxer, and goes to kick out at Rose. Rose sees the kick and takes a hold of the leg, looking for an amateur style takedown, but Ciaren has it covered, locking his arms around Rose’s head before anything can happen. Not to be outdone, Rose locks his own arms around Ciaren’s waist, and pushes himself to his feet against Ciaren’s weight. He tries to lift Ciaren like this, but Ciaren shifts his weight to resist. Ciaren hits a quick elbow to Rose’s shoulder, forcing him back down to one knee. But this is only for a second, as Rose pushes up again, more forcefully, and successfully lifts Ciaren up, straight over his head. Rose keeps his feet on the floor and bridges himself as he hits Ciaren with a northern lights suplex. Kirk Samson is quickly there.Samson: One… T-NO! Ciaren kicks out with authority and is swiftly back up, as is Rose.Sanction: I think there’s definitely going to be a feeling out process here. They know every move the other may make, so they HAVE to have some new tricks up their sleeves. Rose has Ciaren in a side headlock, looking to show off his wrestling skills, which Ciaren never did quite manage to pick up. But that doesn’t mean Ciaren can’t fight his way out a situation. He clobbers Rose with forearms to the side, forcing him to let go to deal with the pain, which allows Ciaren to escape and run backwards to the ropes. He bounces off them and comes back at Rose, who turns just in time to catch a hard forearm to the face, which sends him reeling to the opposite ropes. Ciaren follows him over and catches him with a quick clothesline. The momentum of the clothesline so close to the ropes sends Rose into the centre of the ring, with Ciaren close behind. Ciaren goes for another clothesline, this time to the back of Rose’s head, but Rose has this one covered. He ducks down, leaving Ciaren to run harmlessly past him, allowing him to bounce back off the ropes again. Ciaren rebounds and comes back at Rose, not having time to dodge any attack. Ciaren finds himself caught in a front waistlock, not dissimilar to the one which ended in him being suplexed. Realising this, Ciaren thinks fast and quickly puts his hands up to Rose’s face, raking the eyes. The hold is broken and Ciaren grabs Rose roughly by the shoulders and unceremoniously pulls him down onto the floor. Quick cover by Ciaren.Samson: One… T-NO! Big kickout by Rose and on their feet again.Sanction: It’s going to take something bigger to get the upper hand here. Pain: Rose’ll find a way. Straight back into it, Rose pulls Ciaren into a collar and elbow tie up. Even if Ciaren was better versed in wrestling skills, Rose is still forty pounds heavier than his friend, so was always going to get the upper hand here. And he knows it, clearly, as he exerts his superiority by not only gaining the upper hand but giving Ciaren a tremendous shove, sending him sprawling across the ring, getting a full backward roll in the mix to boot. Ciaren smiles a little at how easily he was beaten as he looks up at Rose. If Rose is smiling, it’s impossible to tell, as he’s already running the other way, bouncing off the ropes and looking to head straight for Ciaren. Ciaren quickly hops to his feet and sidesteps quickly as Rose reaches him. Ciaren raises a knee, catching Rose in the stomach and forcing him to fall forward from the force of the kitchen sink. Sanction: OOF! You know that one sent a message! Cover by Ciaren! Samson: One… T… And another kickout by Rose. It doesn’t look like this one is going to end too early. Rose pushes Ciaren away in a most unplayful manner which is not lost on Ciaren. Ciaren is still smiling as he looks at the quite annoyed look on Rose’s face. He gives Rose a look which says “Ah, chill out, mate,” though it’s not known if Rose takes too kindly to this as he climbs back to his feet. Nonetheless, we carry on. Ciaren goes on the offensive, quickly closing the gap between him and Rose, throwing quick, playful jabs at him, simultaneously luring and cornering his challenger. He moves in on Rose, attempting to back him into the corner, but Rose is wise to the trap. As Ciaren goes to throw a harder, more meaningful shot, Rose moves to his side and deftly manoeuvres his feet around the Irishman’s calf. Rose goes to ground, pushing his weight on Ciaren, bringing him down in a drop toe hold, which he quickly moves from his position up to Ciaren’s shoulder. He pushes his hand down firmly on the shoulder blade, using his other arm to pull Ciaren’s up, in a variation of a fujiwara armbar.Sanction: Could be a submission victory here! Title’s in trouble! Pain: Rose could beat Ciaren at any given second. His speed and intelligence make him so hard to predict. This one was in the bag from the word go, Mark. But Rose doesn’t seem to be looking for Ciaren to tap out. From his position, he has Ciaren trapped, and doesn’t seem to have taken kindly to Ciaren’s moment of superiority. He makes sure Ciaren knows about it, too, ramming hard elbows into the champion’s head, knowing that there’s not many places Ciaren can go from here. After four or five of these elbows, Rose simply lets go, gets to his feet, and backs up, smiling slightly himself now. This sentiment is not shared by Ciaren, who clearly believes that Rose’s “playing” is a small step too far. Rose would disagree, but Rose is a dickhead. Nothing is said, and it’s a subtle thing, but right here…this is where games are upped in this one.Sanction: Those were some harsh elbows from Rose. Pain: Why’d he let the hold go? Ciaren was never getting out of that! Smug smile still painted on his features, Rose steps back into the centre of the ring, looking confident. He holds his arms out a little, inviting Ciaren to come and get him. As far as he’s concerned, this is Rose’s match to lose. As long as he stays aware and watches himself, this one’s in the bag. Ciaren accepts Rose’s invitation and joins him in the centre of the ring. Rose still smiles that awful smile as he raises one arm, another invitation for his friend. Ciaren looks at him for a second before cottoning on. He grins, too.Pain: This one’ll decide the better man. Wrestlers have been doing it for decades. The good old, reliable test of strength! Sanction: Oh yeah. No one EVER cheated in a test of strength. How could you? It’s fool proof. Rose nods encouragingly as Ciaren begins to raise his arm to join Rose’s new little game. The smarks in the audience groan a little as they see the obvious coming a mile away. “Oh yeah, they’ll do this, Rose’ll kick him in the gut. Everyone boos. Big whoop.” That may have been the intention. Indeed, those looking hard enough would see Rose’s leg begin to raise to form the kick, but it never makes it. It doesn’t have time. Ciaren’s hard fist connects with Rose’s skull with the force only an Irishman can achieve, and Rose is sent several feet backwards before stumbling backwards onto the floor. The crowd go insane as Ciaren marches straight after him and keeps the initiative, following Rose down, first bending to hit more hard body blows and then kneeling down next to the challenger to lay some hard rights to the face.Sanction: Ciaren has officially stopped playing! Pain: Those are closed fists! Disqualify him, Samson! Sanction: If Rose is disqualified, he goes home with nothing. Pain: Good call, Samson! Rose’ll rally eventually! Good luck to him. Rose is getting his face caved in right now, and there doesn’t seem to be much hope for escape for him. But it suddenly stops. Ciaren gets up and allows Rose some room, backing off a little way. Rose, too grateful to care why the onslaught has suddenly ceased, rolls over onto his front trying to both get himself some air and also try and sooth some of the shots to the face. If he’s not bruised in two minutes’ time, it’ll be a miracle.Pain: See? He’s got Ciaren running. That leprechaun knows he’s got a world of hurt coming his way. Rose pulls himself up onto his hands and knees, looking to crawl to the rope to get himself some assistance in getting up. Ciaren couldn’t have planned it better. The second Rose is up on his knees, Ciaren storms right over and hits a ferocious kick into the challenger’s gut, connecting with a clearly audible snapping noise which sends Rose halfway across the ring, clutching his stomach and crying out.Sanction: You were saying? This time there’s no backing up from Ciaren, and he quickly moves back in to get at Rose, who looks stranded, face down, just trying to work through the pain.Sanction: What’s this from Ciaren now? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s a surprising move from Ciaren, one not renowned for his in-ring prowess, but he looks to do something proper for the occasion. He pulls Rose’s legs up and crosses them over each other, before putting his own foot against them, keeping them locked.Sanction: This looks to be the beginning of…a surfboard stretch, would you say? Pain: Whatever it is, I can promise you he learned it from Rose. Ciaren would be NOTHING without Rose, and this damn sure proves it. Sanction: I think I’ve seen Ciaren use all of two wrestling moves in his entire career, and he hasn’t done too badly. He’s gotten this far without them. Ciaren reaches down, looking to grab both of Rose’s arms to complete the hold, but Rose has enough about him to resist, only allowing Ciaren one arm. This proves a very brief problem, however, as Ciaren simply gives Rose a stiff shot to the side, melting Rose’s resistance immediately. He surrenders his arm, and Ciaren uses the arms to pull back, stretching Rose’s back out painfully.Sanction: Not just a wrestling move, an incredibly intelligent SUBMISSION manoeuvre by Ciaren here! Well, you don’t see that every day. Pain: Give Rose time. Kirk Samson hurries over to Rose, ready to give the opportunity for him to give up, as tapping is clearly not an available option, but he needn’t bother. No sooner is Kirk right and in position when, before Kirk even has a chance to ask Rose, Ciaren’s free foot is placed deliberately on Rose’s back. Ciaren pushes. Rose eats canvass.Sanction: Jesus Christ! My God, Rose’s face might look a little different by tomorrow morning! Now for the cov…no? Ciaren’s not done yet! It seems that playtime is fully back on the cards, as Ciaren uses his foot to poke at a barely moving Rose. Rose, for his part, is more preoccupied by the throbbing pains in his face than a toe poking at his side. Even when Ciaren goes a step further and actively begins using his foot to push Rose over, rolling him across the ring, Rose seems largely unconcerned. The present action pales in significance compared the last couple of minutes of punishment. Which, of course, suits Ciaren perfectly. He rolls Rose until the challenger’s head is sticking out from under the bottom rope, suspended the height of the ring from the ground. Rose uses his hand to sooth his face, covering his eyes, which seem to have taken quite a beating on their own.Pain: There’s a plan. There has to be a plan. Ciaren casually strolls over to the ropes and carefully climbs out onto the apron, where Rose is waiting, blissfully unaware of his surroundings. Ciaren looks so devil-may-care he could almost be whistling a jaunty tune. But there’s no time for that when there’s a match to be won. The crowd roar in excitement as it seems Ciaren can do no wrong at the moment. He frees his leg from across Rose’s chest and allows himself to drop to the floor. He takes a deep, sighing breath, blowing a little hair from out of his face, before placing his hands on his hips and beginning to pace, planning his next move.Sanction: Well, this is a pretty strong position Ciaren finds himself in. Pain: Of course it is, he’s breaking all the rules, with no repercussions. This entire match is built to put Rose at a disadvantage. Ciaren can play dirty and retain. Rose plays dirty and gets shafted. And Ciaren loves it… Ciaren apparently decides he deserves a little breather, deciding to walk around the corner to the front of the ring, near the announce desk. He slaps hands as he walks around, seemingly having the time of his life.Pain: …he’s using closed fists, he’s on the outside and where’s the count? And that doesn’t matter anyway, because the referee could count to four million and Ciaren would still retain. This is just cheap, dirty, conniving… And suddenly Pain is staring into the face of an unfriendly smiling Ciaren.Pain: …and what d’you want? ME LUCKY CHAARMS? Ciaren busts out laughing at what might possibly be the very first racist joke ever written. But it’s a cold, humourless laugh, akin to those he would often share with various members of Legion. And it’s making John Pain a little nervous.Pain: Heh…y…y’like that one? Ciaren: Oh yeah. Ciaren goes to turn away from Pain, before suddenly turning back, fist raised. Pain cowers, leaning back behind Sanction. Ciaren laughs again as he grabs Pain’s water bottle off the table. He flips open the capCiaren: Cheers! Pain comes out from his hidey hole, laughing nervously again. Ciaren swigs deeply from the bottle, letting out an exaggerated “Ahhh!” He raises the bottle to Pain, saluting him. Pain holds a thumb up to him in acknowledgement before, to the delight of the crowd, finding himself covered in water.Sanction: Ohohoho! Ah, John. I’ll never know how you get into these scrapes. Ah, classic. Pain looks angry as he stands up, ringing out a sleeve from his suit jacket. He goes to mouth something at the laughing Ciaren, but he suddenly smiles and sits back down. Ciaren looks confused. He turns around quickly just in time to avoid Rose. Rose crashes hard into the table, sending it back a foot or two, and sending a sickening crack into the ears of the commentators.Sanction: Jesus Christ! Rose went for it all just there and he got nothing! Damn! Ciaren looks stunned, as if he’s seen a ghost, as he quickly backs off from the scene, almost trying to absolve himself of any responsibility. He reaches the ring post and hold on it with one arm, clutching his heart with the other.Pain: You alright, Rose? That damn Ciaren…he’ll get what’s coming to him, though. Oh yes. Rose manages to pull himself along the floor, each movement a reminder of the toll and strain this match has caused. Ciaren, for his part, looks no better, clearly having seen his life pass before his eyes with that narrow miss. He is only on his feet thanks to the support of the ringpost.Sanction: We have to thank the professionalism of referee Kirk Samson here. This match is huge, and he knows it. The leniency he’s shown here has been perhaps too far tonight, but that man is as big a fan as any of us. He wants to see someone emerge the better man! Rose reaches the announce table and gratefully reaches up to grasp the top of it. A few fans from behind the desk forgo the usual “look at me, I’m on camera” routine to shout a few rare words of encouragement to Rose, who, for his part, has fought like a warrior tonight, as has Ciaren. Rose pulls himself up to a semi-standing position, using the table for support. Ciaren sees him from the corner of his eye, and even this crazy bastard who loves to fight so much has a weary, “let it end” look about him. He has beaten the crap out of his best friend, he doesn’t want to keep it up forever. But he lets go of the ringpost and shakes his head quickly, regaining focus, before starting a slow but deliberate walk towards his opponent. Rose, back on his feet, doesn’t look like a man who is ready for anything. And Ciaren knows it.Pain: Hey, back off, Lucky Charms, let the man get some air! John Pain is thrown a dirty look by Ciaren before the Irishman continues with his business, grabbing Rose by the hair and dragging him away from the table. He pulls him over to the ring apron and shoves him firmly into it, allowing him to lean against it.Pain: That’s better! Yeah, it’s about time my word was respected around here. Sanction: I think we should get out of the way. If Rose was expecting a reprieve, he’s about to be very disappointed. Almost at Sanction’s word, Ciaren roughly pulls Rose by the arm before moving to his side and half pulling, half shoving him forwards, sending him hurtling towards the announce table for a second time. The force is so great that the announce crew barely manage to scramble away from their desk before Rose hits it hard and tumbles over the top of it, finally falling behind it.Sanction: And Rose meets our announce desk again, and things are looking bleaker and bleaker for the challenger! Pain: That stupid-ass, Guiness drinking, rainbow chasing, ham eating, backwards little bastard! Ciaren assumes Rose’s previous position of leaning back against the ring, clearly feeling that he’s in no immediate danger, and that he deserves a bit of a rest. This is pretty accurate thinking, because Rose is currently huddled in a ball under the announce desk, barely visible. Around them, on the peripheries of the action, Pain helps a shaken Sanction back into his chair.Sanction: Thanks, John. Pain isn’t even looking at his colleague now, let alone listening.Sanction: John? Pain is staring into the wild, grinning face of Ciaren, who seems to be enjoying enraging the commentator who so favours his opponent.Sanction: John, just leave it. Well, really, there’s nothing to “leave.” All Ciaren has done is take the fight to one of Pain’s favourites.Sanction: What’s going on, John? Pain: Hm? Oh…nothing. Pain steps back a pace or two, eyes still locked on Ciaren.Sanction: C’mon, man. Sit down. Well…at least come back here. I’m not gonna try and move Rose. Heh. Pain: Yeah…yeah, right. Pain turns around and walks the rest of the way back to Sanction. He leans down briefly to get a look at how Rose is doing. He mouths something to him, and Rose raises a hand, thumb up. Sanction looks confused, and gives his broadcast partner a questioning look.Pain: Um…yeah…he says he’s alright. Still got a lot of fight in him yet. Man, this has been a great match, huh? Sanction: Umm…yeah? Yeah, been quite a battle. Not looking good for Rose right now, though, huh? Pain: I have a good feeling about his chances, Mark. I think something’ll come up for him. Ciaren is on his feet, free of support, and ready to continue. Whether the same can be said of Rose remains unknown, because he’s still almost completely under the table. Not for long. He drags himself across to the announce desk (now several feet from its original position, thanks to Rose). He uses it to support himself for a second, clearly not as well rested as he thought. He goes to reach over the table, looking to grab an arm, a leg, anything to get to Rose and finish this one.Sanction: W…Hey! Now where are you going? There is a dull clunk and a hissing noise as John Pain throws his headset down and quickly strides over to Ciaren. He reaches him, and, with strength belying his wintering years, locks his arms around him and pulls him back hard. He lets go and shoves him backwards, away from Rose. Ciaren’s face is a picture of shock, with a light coating of bemusement. He walks straight up to the announcer and pushes his own face into his. Kirk Samson spots this and, having not done anything but watch the match for a while, quickly drops to the floor and rolls under the bottom rope and to the floor.Ciaren: The fuck d’you think you’re doing, old man? Samson: C’mon, guys. Don’t touch him, John. I don’t want to disqualify anyone. Ciaren: Think you’ve still got it, eh? Think you’re hard? Pain moves his head away from Ciaren’s and backs off, holding his hands up to indicate his innocence, to a plethora of boos. Ciaren stares a hole into Pain as Kirk Samson tries to convince him to get back to his job and leave the fighting to the pros. Pain seems reluctant, though, as if wanting to make sure Ciaren doesn’t get it into his head that John Pain backs down from anyone.Sanction: Jesus Christ, John. What the hell’s gotten into you tonight? And then, in the blink of an eye, Pain is suddenly trying to get at Ciaren again, actively trying to get by referee Kirk Samson, to Ciaren. But somehow, even considering his age, the much bigger, much stronger, former XWA star can’t seem to get by the referee to get to a Ciaren who looks more than ready to make short work of him. And then Ciaren is down. Knocked straight onto his face with a resounding clang which chills the fans near him to the core. Rose is standing, exhausted but triumphant, holding a foreign object all too familiar to the hardcore XWA fans. Pain continues to struggle with Samson, who is too occupied with trying to keep the announcer from Ciaren to be aware that anything has happened.
Rose tosses the shovel aside, where it clatters harmlessly right by the ring apron. The back of Ciaren’s head is bloody and ugly from the sick shot from Vestal’s weapon of choice. Ciaren doesn’t move. Rose raises a hand to Pain, who, on cue, stops his struggling and becomes much more cooperative. He apologises to Samson and moves back towards Sanction.Sanction: Do you want to explain to me just what the hell you think you’re doing? Pain doesn’t answer. He merely takes Sanction’s chair by its handles and wheels him back to his position at their desk, before scooting behind him and taking his own seat. He picks up his discarded headset and gently places it back on his head.Pain: Am I back on? Sanction: Just what the hell was that? Pain: Later. Samson turns back towards Ciaren and is surprised to see Rose pulling the champion under the arms towards the ring. Of course he sees the blood, he sees the shovel, and of course, he puts two and two together. But what can he do? He saw nothing, there’s no call to make. Is he happy? No. Can he do anything about it? No. He can only do his job to the best of his ability and judgement, and right now his job is to get back into the ring, because that’s where the match is headed again. Rose props Ciaren up against the apron, where he sits, motionless and unresisting.Sanction: Now, let’s talk now. You owe me and these people some damn answers, John. We’re wating. Pain: You can keep waiting. We have a job to do. Do it. Rose pulls Ciaren up from under the arms again, standing him up. He holds him up with one arm, and uses the other to hook him under the leg so he can lift him onto the apron. Once there, he gently pushes the man he has called his best friend further into the ring. Rose grabs the bottom rope and uses it to help pull himself under the bottom rope and back into the ring.Sanction: Just tell me one thing… Pain: I’m not telling you SHIT, Mark. Call the damn match. Sanction: Not until… Pain: Fine, let me do it for you. Rose gets back into the ring, about to clinch a victory of both the body and mind. An incredibly physical and…intelligently fought match! Like a game of chess, Sanction. And Rose has Ciaren in checkmate right now. Rose looks tired but completely assured and at peace as he rolls over a little more and straight on top of Ciaren. However reluctant Samson is to do his job, what choice does he have? Feeling a little sick, Samson drops to the floor, in view of Ciaren’s shoulders, about to deliver the inevitable.Samson:One… TWO…. NO!!!! The crowd roar in relief, encouragement, and disbelief and Samson points excitedly at what has broken Rose’s heart. Ciaren, still unmoving, showing no visible sign of consciousness, is laid flat on his back, except for a single limb. Ciaren’s foot is resting on the bottom rope, saving the XWA title. Rose looks up from his position on top of Ciaren and the frustration is practically chiselled into his face. He stares at that foot like it’s Mount Everest. Sanction: CIAREN KICKED OUT! CIAREN KICKED OUT! TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THAT, JOHN! IS THAT PART OF YOUR SCHEME, HUH!? Pain: I can’t… Pain stands right as Rose is struggling painfully to his own feet, face still fixed in an expression disbelief. The crowd are on tenterhooks, wondering if Ciaren can possibly muster enough guts and gusto to fight his way out of another one. Pain waves at Rose, trying to draw his attention, and is successful after a second or two. Rose jerks his head up, forcing himself to look away from his opponent. He watches as Pain gestures with his arm, pulling at the air, shouting words that aren’t heard over the excitement of the audience in attendance. It seems to work, though, as Rose quickly nods his head in understanding and relief, seemingly recognising a simple solution when he sees one. He reaches down and grabs Ciaren’s arm tight before pulling backwards, dragging him right into the centre of the ring. The sheer joy on Rose’s face as he secures his victory is incredible. He drops to the mat again, on top of Ciaren, hooking one leg tightly, ready to usher in his destiny.Samson:One… TWO…. And the roof almost blows the top off the arena as one shoulder launches itself into the air. The reaction to Ciaren’s heroics is only equalled by the crestfallen expressions shared between Rose and John Pain, who look as though Christmas has been cancelled. Rose looks panic-stricken, and tears are clearly visible as he rolls back off of Ciaren to slam the mat in desperate frustration. Pain looks like he’d like to slam a mat himself.Sanction: Any more bright ideas, Mr. Upperhand? One more, it seems. The headset is off again, and before you know it Pain is out from behind the desk, on his way to the ring. As he walks the short distance between the table and the ring, he stumbles, seemingly tripping over a cable. Eagle-eyed Samson spots his approach this time, and heads for the ropes. Pain reaches the apron a second before Samson reaches the ropes and, in Samson’s authoritative self-importance, he misses a small movement from Pain which could just determine the fate of the match and the XWA World Heavyweight title. Samson won’t find out until much later, though, as he quickly becomes preoccupied with Pain’s arrival on the ring apron.Sanction: Oh no, John. Why are you doing this? What’s it going to achieve? Pain tries to climb into the ring, but, of course, Samson won’t allow that. Ciaren is discreetly crawling to the bottom rope. Rose is up, joining Samson in yelling at Pain, furthering the sense of chaos Samson finds himself in. One eye on the rallying Ciaren, Rose berates Pain for “getting in his business.” Ciaren grabs the second rope. Now or never, Rose. He leaves Samson to deal with Pain on his own.
Rose walks back to the centre of the ring, where the reason for Pain’s subtle movement lies. Rose bends and picks up the shovel. Ciaren is up, supporting himself on the top rope, looking almost completely done. Almost.
Ciaren manages to focus himself on Rose, seeing the shovel in his hand. For a second, Ciaren looks hurt, and not from any injury sustained in this contest. The next second, he looks determined, and pissed off. The crowd see it and once again get behind this warrior, the very definition of a champion. He lets to of the rope, and Rose pounces. Ciaren looks around him for somewhere to go, but there is nowhere. If he drops to the floor he might not get back up. There’s nothing and nowhere for it. Ciaren straightens up and waits.
CRACK!
The shovel almost cracks from the force of the blow to Ciaren’s head. The collective gasp from a capacity audience is a strange noise to hear. The yelp from Mark Sanction as he almost feels the blow himself is chilling, thought not as much as the satisfaction on John Pain’s face. You would expect Ciaren to fall straight down from the force, but the trajectory of the shot pushes him against the ropes, where he bounces back and forth lightly, arms dangling over the top rope, stopping him from falling. Rose looks distraught with himself and with his situation. Ciaren is still not down. The latter is purely circumstantial, but it hurts no less. Rose backs off, back to the centre of the ring. He looks at Ciaren, not hiding his frustrated tears now, begging him to fall, begging him not to make Rose hurt him anymore. By accident or design, Ciaren is still up.Sanction: Please, Ciaren. Fall down. Pain drops from the apron again, and Samson is back in the game but, like before, he saw nothing, he can do nothing. Pain is back at the announce desk, but Sanction isn’t talking. The two of them, for very different reasons, are urging Ciaren to fall. For this to be over.
What can Rose do but make him? To assist him, and to finally finish this. Take the opportunity to decide if it was all worth it.
So he steps forward, wondering to himself whether to do the kind thing, and just unhook Ciaren, or to properly finish the job, and take him down.
It’s not his decision. If Ciaren’s going down, he’s going down on his own terms.
Rose takes one more step forward and suddenly finds Ciaren running towards him. No time to think, barely time to react, only one outcome. Ciaren drops. Rose drops. The cover. The referee.Samson:One… TWO.... THREE!!!!!!!!! |
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