Welcome back... we're ready to kick off Part Two of Blood and Thunder! We've already seen one heck of a show, and now we're getting into some of our bigger matches tonight. The next match features Julian Page facing off against Johnny Smiles, in a dispute arising from jealousy over the ownership of the VCW Intercontinental Title. Tonight may mark the rise of one of these two men to the upper echelon of VCW. Both men have supporters among the insiders of this business, calling for them to move up the ranks in VCW. Tonight, one of them may take a step towards doing just that.

"Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin begins playing, and the crowd boos loudly as Julian Page steps out of the backstage entrance, with an insufferably arrogant smirk on his face. He has a lot to smile about, too... he just saw the Technicians crumble before his teammates in the earlier portion of tonight's pay-per-view, and he now has a chance to make a good night for the Hammer of the Gods into an even better night by achieving a victory here tonight. He steps into the ring, looking around at the crowd, then grabs a microphone.

J. Page: Jake... Rob... I want you boys to keep the champagne cold and the women hot, because our backstage celebration's about to get even bigger. As for you people out there... just open your eyes. You really oughtta know by now that I'm the new face of professional wrestling. If your idea of true wrestling greatness is seeing some grown man performing a wrestling move on a stuffed animal, then you're in for some dark days. Johnny Smiles can luck his way into victory when he's in a battle royal or a three-way dance or a stupid ladder match with stuffed animals involved, but tonight... he's face to face with an elite professional wrestler.

Those of you who don't believe me, or who don't want to believe me, can wait for the rude shock that's coming your way in a few minutes. But those of you who believe... those few select ones of you who are MY people, the guys who love watching a wrestling sensation at work and those girls who can't get enough of staring at my shapely, toned rear... tonight is the time to rejoice as your heroes are vindicated. Tonight, the conquerors have landed on the shore, and we're sweeping towards victory with every passing minute. We are the elite, the proud, the essence of excellence, the living embodiment of greatness... we are the Hammer of the Gods.

The crowd boos loudly... what a bunch of conceited dribble that is. But then they explode into cheers as "Degenerated" by the Lone Rangers begins playing, and Johnny Smiles comes out of the backstage entrance! He's carrying a microphone, and he stops at the top of the ramp, staring down the aisle at Julian Page.

J. Smiles: HEEEEEEERRRRRRRE'S JOHNNY!!

The crowd chants along and explodes into cheers at the end.

J. Smiles: You've had your chance to talk to your friends, and now I'll talk to mine. Lars... Marty... Ken... Yuri... Sumiko the cat... oh, and all the millions of other Johnnycoholics here and all around the globe... I want you guys to throw some more cookies in the oven and use the whole tube of frosting on the cake, because our worldwide celebration's about to get even bigger. But first, all of you people... just look at this shmuck I'm about to be facing. If your idea of wrestling greatness is seeing a grown man performing a wrestling move on a stuffed animal... then your idea of wrestling greatness and mine are the same. I can luck my way into victory when I'm in a battle royal or three-way dance, but tonight, I'm face to face with a pompous jackass!!

Julian Page flinches back and stares angrily down the aisle at Johnny Smiles, and Johnny starts walking down the aisle.

J. Smiles: Now, as far as all your babbling about excellence... it just so happens that I asked Marty and Lars, who are two primary authorities on what's totally excellent, and you're definitely not excellent. I asked Ken Collins, who is a foremost authority on wrestling... and he says you're definitely not a wrestling sensation. And as far as your alleged claims as to the shapeliness and tone of your nether regions... I know someone who has you outclassed there as well. A certain Japanese female acquaintance of mine, who looks pretty in pink and whom I've come to like--no, LOVE with all my heart in the past few months. She's been sharing my bed pretty frequently these days. Her plush, well-rounded, curvaceous posterior puts yours to shame. I'm talking, of course... about Sumiko, my stuffed cat!! She has a TAIL, for crying out loud! How can you compete with that!?

The crowd cheers, and Julian Page yells at them to shut up, but Johnny's climbing into the ring now.

J. Smiles: But regardless of all the shapeliness and tone that you have attributed to your butt... it's still going to get kicked all over the arena tonight!

Johnny Smiles tosses aside the microphone and rushes at Julian Page, and this match is on! Linda Peterson enters the ring and calls for the bell to officially begin it!

Johnny Smiles

vs.

Julian Page

Johnny Smiles backs Julian Page into the ropes with a series of punches, then whips him to the other side. Julian Page comes off the ropes, right into a big dropkick from Johnny! Johnny Smiles gets up, waiting on Julian Page to get up again, then takes him down with another dropkick as he does! Julian Page gets up again, and this time Johnny Smiles grabs his head and snap mares him to the mat! As Julian Page pulls himself to his feet once again, Johnny Smiles runs into the ropes, then takes him down with another dropkick when he comes off! Julian Page stumbles to his feet again, and Johnny Smiles bodyslams him to the canvas, then bounces off the ropes, leaps into the air, and comes down on him with a big elbowdrop! He covers Julian Page and hooks a leg, and Linda Peterson counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... Kickout at two by Julian Page!

They get up, and Johnny Smiles hooks Julian Page, then lifts him for a vertical suplex... but Julian Page flips out behind him and lands on his feet! Johnny Smiles turns around, and Julian Page kicks him in the midsection, then runs into the ropes and comes off with a leg lariat that takes Johnny Smiles down! Johnny Smiles starts to get up, but Julian Page whips him into a corner... no, Johnny Smiles reverses it! Julian Page collides back-first with the turnbuckles and staggers out, and Johnny Smiles rushes him with a clothesline... but Julian Page ducks and Johnny Smiles misses, and Julian Page reaches back, grabs Johnny Smiles by the hair, and pulls him down with a reverse neckbreaker! The crowd boos, and Julian Page stomps a few times on Johnny Smiles, then drops a leg on him.

Julian Page gets up again, not bothering to go for the cover, and pulls Johnny Smiles up, then lifts him and brings him down across a knee with a stomachbreaker. Johnny Smiles is down, and Julian Page steps out to the apron, then climbs to the top turnbuckle. Johnny gets back up... and Julian Page comes off the top with a flying axhandle, but Johnny Smiles dodges out of the way! Julian Page lands on his feet, then turns around just in time for Johnny Smiles to knock him off his feet with a clothesline! Julian Page starts pulling himself up on the ropes, and Johnny Smiles goes for a second clothesline, but this time Julian Page ducks again and backdrops him! Johnny Smiles flies out over the top rope and lands in a heap on the floor!

Julian Page climbs out of the ring, and Johnny Smiles is getting up, but Julian Page cuts him off with a kick to the midsection, then takes him head-first into the ring apron. He whips Johnny Smiles to the guardrail, and Johnny hits hard back-first, then slumps against the rail. Julian Page charges him and leaps at him with another leg lariat, but Johnny Smiles dodges, and Julian Page ends up straddling the steel guardrail painfully! The crowd lets out an "oooh" even though they don't like Julian Page, and Johnny Smiles backs up, measures him... then knocks him off the rail and into the first row with a superkick! Julian Page goes down among the fans, who immediately begin messing with him and slapping him around!

Julian Page gets up, and Johnny Smiles hooks him with a front chancery, then brings him crashing back into ringside area with a vertical suplex. The protective mats at ringside are thin, and judging by Julian Page's condition, they didn't do much to absorb the impact. Johnny Smiles grabs Julian Page and pulls him up, then rolls him into the ring and climbs in after him. He drops an elbow and goes for the cover, and Linda Peterson counts again... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... Shoulder up at two and a half by Julian Page! Undaunted, Johnny Smiles grabs him by the hair and starts to pull him to his feet... but Julian Page nails him with a low blow before he can get him up!

Johnny Smiles doubles over, and Julian Page slips behind him, grabs him, and brings him down with a belly-to-back suplex! The crowd boos, and Julian Page gets up, still suffering a little from the effects of the abuse he took on the outside, but smiling through the pain as he realizes he's in control. Julian Page pulls Johnny Smiles up from behind, then lifts him and gives him a second belly-to-back suplex... but this time, he gets up again, then drops a knee on his head! Johnny Smiles convulses and clutches his head, and Julian Page crouches over him, then starts raining down punches on him. Linda Peterson warns him to stop the closed fists, and Julian Page smiles and nods... then starts choking Johnny Smiles instead! Linda Peterson counts to four, and Julian Page releases the hold before five.

Julian Page pulls Johnny Smiles up and hammers him with a few punches to the head, then whips him to the ropes and goes for a backdrop... but Johnny Smiles sees it coming, then takes him down with a sunset flip! Linda Peterson goes down to count... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... Julian Page rolls backwards out of it, grabs Johnny's legs, and flips forward into a jackknife pinning hold! Linda Peterson counts again... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... Johnny Smiles kicks out at two and a half! They both get up, and Julian Page tries to gain the early advantage with a swift kick to the midsection, but Johnny catches his foot! But Julian Page leaps up... enzuigiri!! He just clocked Johnny Smiles in the head with it, and Johnny crumples to the mat!

Julian Page stops and points down to Johnny Smiles, then yells "HE'S NOT SO GREAT NOW, IS HE!?" to the crowd. The crowd just boos, and Julian Page glares at them, steps out of the ring onto the apron, then begins climbing to the top turnbuckle. But he may have wasted too much time, because now Johnny Smiles is up, and he catches Julian Page at the top! Julian Page begs Johnny not to throw him off and shakes his head "no" wildly, but Johnny Smiles pitches him into the middle of the ring! Julian Page crashes hard to the mat, then gets up, holding his back, and Johnny Smiles rushes forward and drops him with a clothesline! Julian Page gets up again, and this time Johnny kicks him in the midsection, then runs into the ropes and takes him down with a swinging neckbreaker!

Julian Page is getting up again, and Johnny Smiles slips to his side, then takes him down with a Russian legsweep! The crowd cheers loudly, feeling the momentum in Johnny's direction, and Johnny pulls him up again, then whips him to the ropes! Julian Page comes off the ropes, and Johnny Smiles lifts him, then drops him throat-first across the top rope with a Hotshot! Julian Page goes down, clutching his throat! Julian Page gets up, and Johnny stomps the mat, taking aim for a superkick. Julian Page gets up, and Johnny launches the kick, but Julian Page ducks! Johnny Smiles turns around after regaining his balance, and Julian Page doubles him over with a kick to the midsection, then puts him in a standing headscissors and hooks his arms... but Johnny Smiles backdrops out of it! Julian Page gets up near the ropes, clutching his back, and Johnny's waiting on him... and this time he nails Julian Page with a superkick, but Julian Page spills out over the top rope to the floor!

Julian Page is getting up slowly on the outside, and Johnny Smiles slides out after him, then starts hammering him with a series of punches before he can get up! Johnny Smiles bodyslams Julian Page on the outside, then reaches under the ring and pulls out a table! He slides the table into the ring, then pulls out a chair and sets it up at ringside. Julian Page gets up, and Johnny takes him head-first into the ring apron, then grabs his head and gives him a jawbreaker for good measure. Julian Page staggers back, then falls back... into a seated position in the chair that's set up! Johnny Smiles stands back and measures him... superkick!! He superkicked Julian Page back out of that chair, and he falls to the floor! Johnny Smiles rolls him back into the ring, then climbs in after him again.

With Julian Page down, Johnny Smiles begins setting up the table in the ring. Linda Peterson admonishes him about it, but she doesn't seem inclined to press the issue just yet. Johnny Smiles lifts Julian Page in a fireman's carry and begins spinning... he's going to give Julian Page a Smiledriver through the table! But Julian Page falls back into a crucifix! Linda Peterson counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... Kickout at two and a half! They both get up, and Julian Page slips around Johnny and puts on a waistlock... German suplex!! Julian Page holds the bridge, and Linda Peterson counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... Shoulder up at two and a half! Julian Page pulls Johnny Smiles up, then climbs onto the table, pulls him up onto the table, and hooks him in a front facelock... he's going to DDT him through the table! But Johnny Smiles backdrops him, and Julian Page crashes down onto the mat! Johnny Smiles jumps off of the table, driving an elbow down into Julian Page, then covers him and hooks the leg. Linda Peterson counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THR... Kickout at two and three-quarters!

Johnny Smiles whips Julian Page into a corner, and Julian Page hits the turnbuckles back-first, then slumps in the corner. Johnny Smiles follows him in, and nails him with a dropkick to the chest, rocking him back in the corner! Julian Page slumps down into a seated position, and Johnny Smiles backs up, then charges him and nails him with a low dropkick that also connects in his chest! Julian Page convulses in pain, and Johnny Smiles pulls him out by the legs, then flips over into a jackknife pinning hold. Linda Peterson counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THR... Again, Julian Page kicks out at two and three-quarters!

Johnny Smiles lifts Julian Page up, then puts him on the table. And now Johnny Smiles is climbing to the top turnbuckle... he's going to put Julian Page through the table! But as he gets to the top, Julian Page rolls off the table, then lunges forward and swats Johnny Smiles's ankle, causing him to fall crotch-first on the turnbuckle! Julian Page climbs up with him, and hooks him... SUPERPLEX THROUGH THE TABLE!! Julian Page just put Johnny Smiles through the table, and the crowd erupts into a huge chorus of boos! Julian Page is also stunned by the fall and a little slow to cover, but after a few seconds, he crawls across Johnny Smiles, and Linda Peterson counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... Kickout at two and a half by Johnny Smiles! Julian Page's slowness to cover may be at fault here.

Julian Page pulls Johnny Smiles up by the hair, then puts on a front facelock and gives a thumbs-down sign... DDT!! He hit it!! Johnny Smiles is down, and Julian Page goes for the cover again! Linda Peterson counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THR... KICKOUT!! Johnny Smiles kicked out of the DDT, and the crowd explodes! He's still in this match! Angered, Julian Page stomps down at Johnny Smiles a few times, then pulls him up into a standing headscissors and tries to hook the arms... but Johnny Smiles brings him down with a double leg takedown instead, then holds the legs and falls back, slingshotting Julian Page straight into one of the top turnbuckles! Julian Page collides with the turnbuckle and staggers out, right into a fireman's carry! Johnny Smiles spins for the Smiledriver... but Julian Page slips out behind him! Johnny Smiles turns around, right into a kick to the midsection! Julian Page puts on a standing headscissors and hooks his arms... DOUBLE UNDERHOOK FACESLAM!! He now calls that move the Swan Song, and it may have just won this match! He covers Johnny Smiles and hooks a leg, and Linda Peterson counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THREE!! Damn it, Julian Page wins!!

Julian Page pinned Johnny Smiles with the Swan Song in 0:14:38.
Rating: ** 1/2

The crowd boos loudly, and Julian Page smiles in victory as he raises his hands high above his head. For better or worse, he just beat Johnny Smiles more or less cleanly in the middle of the ring, and you just know that's going to fuel his ego to even greater heights. The crowd's not happy with this outcome, but Julian Page just did exactly what he intended to do, and beat Johnny Smiles in the middle of the ring. He rolls out of the ring, still holding his hands high above his head and smiling, and begins heading backstage, as Johnny begins to stir in the ring. Johnny stumbles backstage as well, and the crowd has a fair-sized round of cheers for him as he leaves... obviously, this match didn't go his way, but the fans are still behind him.

"Talk Dirty To Me" by Poison begins playing now, and here comes one of Johnny's friends, Lars Coverdale, as the crowd cheers again. Unfortunately, things aren't likely to pick up with this match... Lars Coverdale is a major underdog. He's a great athlete, but he has yet to accomplish anything significant here in VCW, and his opponent is a former VCW Intercontinental Champion, a former VCW World Champion, and one of the meanest, nastiest men VCW has ever seen. Nevertheless, Lars Coverdale has a goofy, unconcerned smile on his face as he climbs into the ring and starts playing air guitar and headbanging to his entrance music.

But now "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath begins playing, and the crowd explodes into boos as David Wright Hubbard storms out of the backstage entrance, looking angry and violent. That's his usual state of mind, and we know he's taken every opportunity he can get to beat Lars Coverdale within an inch of his life. Tonight, he'll get a chance to do it one-on-one, in a sanctioned match, and we know he's been looking forward to that. Without any hesitation, David Wright Hubbard climbs into the ring and stares at Lars Coverdale with unconcealed malice as he advances on him. Bobcat McGavin enters the ring and calls for the bell, and this match will begin!

David Wright Hubbard

vs.

Lars Coverdale

David Wright Hubbard steps forward carelessly, and Lars Coverdale takes him off of his feet with a dropkick! David Wright Hubbard gets back up and charges angrily, and Lars Coverdale knocks him down with another dropkick! He gets up again, this time a little more cautiously, and starts to step in again... but this time, he dodges back, and Lars Coverdale's dropkick doesn't connect! Lars Coverdale gets up... and David Wright Hubbard runs forward and takes him down with a dropkick of his own! The crowd boos, and David Wright Hubbard yells, "HOW ABOUT THAT, BOY!?" at him. Lars Coverdale gets a lot of credit for his high-flying ability, but we can't forget David Wright Hubbard can also take to the air impressively for such a big man!

Lars Coverdale gets up, and David Wright Hubbard immediately opens up on him with a series of punches to the face, then hooks him in a front chancery and lifts... then splats Lars Coverdale back down on the mat with a front layout suplex! He kneels beside Lars, grabbing a handful of his hair, and starts rubbing his face into the mat! Lars Coverdale pulls away and starts trying to get back up, but David Wright Hubbard just shoves him back into a corner of the ring and starts hammering him with repeated right hands! Lars Coverdale staggers out, and David Wright Hubbard yells "I'VE GOT YOUR FLIPPY FLOPPY CRAP RIGHT HERE!!" and kicks him in the midsection, then leaps up... Frankensteiner!! David Wright Hubbard just took down Lars Coverdale with a Frankensteiner! He's obviously trying to show Lars Coverdale up and humiliate him a little bit before he beats him.

David Wright Hubbard gets back up, and starts stomping at Lars Coverdale a few times as he gets up. David Wright Hubbard runs into the ropes, and comes off swinging with a big lariat, but Lars Coverdale ducks! David Wright Hubbard turns around, and Lars Coverdale nails him with a dropkick that sends him out over the top rope to the floor!! The crowd cheers, and David Wright Hubbard is clutching his knee as he gets up... he may have aggravated his nagging knee injury in the fall! But now Lars Coverdale is climbing to the top turnbuckle as he gets up... SHOOTING STAR PLANCHA!! David Wright Hubbard goes down under Lars Coverdale, and the crowd erupts! What a great move that was!!

Lars Coverdale pulls David Wright Hubbard up and takes him head-first into the steel ringpost... he's not giving him a moment's reprieve! David Wright Hubbard staggers away, hobbling, and Lars Coverdale kicks him in the back of the knee, then grabs him and whips him to the guardrail... but David Wright Hubbard reverses! Lars Coverdale crashes back-first into the guardrail, then staggers out... and David Wright Hubbard scoops him up, then rams him back-first into the steel ringpost! Lars Coverdale cries out in pain, and David Wright Hubbard steps away, then bodyslams him on the ramp!! Once again, Lars Coverdale is in a lot of pain, and Hubbard just starts stomping on him mercilessly!

David Wright Hubbard pulls Lars Coverdale up, then rolls him into the ring. He stops to flex his right knee, testing the extent of the injury to it, then climbs into the ring after Lars Coverdale, as he starts to stir. Hubbard pulls Lars Coverdale up, and brings him down across his good knee with a backbreaker! It looks like he's trying to hurt his back, and he may be succeeding! With Lars Coverdale down, David Wright Hubbard crouches over him and begins punching him in the face repeatedly. Bobcat McGavin orders David Wright Hubbard to stop that, and he finally does, but Lars Coverdale is taking one hell of a beating. David Wright Hubbard gets up and slips around behind Lars Coverdale as he tries to stand, then hooks him in a waistlock and takes him down with a release German suplex! He doesn't do that too often...

David Wright Hubbard stares down at Lars Coverdale with a little bit of disgust, then pulls him up again, into a standing headscissors. He's going for a power bomb... but Lars Coverdale grabs his leg and brings him down with a single-leg takedown into a kneebar!! The crowd explodes into cheers, and David Wright Hubbard roars in pain and outrage! He quickly begins struggling and hauling himself towards the ropes, and makes it before long. He gets up, glaring murderously at Lars Coverdale, then charges, but Lars Coverdale takes him down with a dropkick to the knee as he comes in! Hubbard gets to his feet again, but he's doubled over, holding his knee, and Lars Coverdale comes forward and brings him down with a Rocker Dropper! He rolls David Wright Hubbard over and covers him, and Bobcat McGavin counts... ONE!! ... And only one, before David Wright Hubbard kicks out angrily!

Lars Coverdale runs to a corner, and quickly hops up on the top turnbuckle. David Wright Hubbard gets up, looking furious... and Lars Coverdale comes off the top and takes him down with a flying Frankensteiner!! The crowd explodes into cheers, but David Wright Hubbard's still getting back up. He charges at Lars Coverdale, but Lars Coverdale rushes at him and takes him down with a jumping spinning thrust kick! David Wright Hubbard goes down again, but once again he gets up and charges... but this time, Lars Coverdale ducks and grabs his leg, then rolls backward with it to take him down and come up in a half Boston! The crowd cheers loudly as David Wright Hubbard yells out in pain... that was a great submission wrestling move right out of the textbook of Ken Collins or Amy Lin! David Wright Hubbard quickly pulls himself to the ropes, though, so it may not have been terribly effective. Lars Coverdale holds the half Boston as Bobcat McGavin counts to four, prompting a yell of "LET GO OF ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!" from David Wright Hubbard.

Lars Coverdale finally lets go, but grabs David Wright Hubbard in a headlock as he gets up. He runs up the turnbuckles, looking for a swinging bulldog, but David Wright Hubbard just pitches him off to the outside of the ring! The crowd lets out a gasp of "oooh" as Lars Coverdale lands in a heap on the floor, and David Wright Hubbard quickly steps out of the ring after him! Lars Coverdale gets up, and David Wright Hubbard grabs him by the hair, then hammers him in the face with a huge series of right hands! He lifts Lars Coverdale up over his head in a Gorilla Press... but Lars slips out behind him, then dropkicks him in the back! David Wright Hubbard staggers forward into the guardrail, and slumps forward on it... and Lars Coverdale takes a running start, then leaps up and sits down on David Wright Hubbard's back as he's slumped against the guardrail! He falls off to one side after impact, but David Wright Hubbard collapses, clutching at his stomach, with the wind driven out of him!

Now Lars Coverdale crouches over David Wright Hubbard, pummelling him with a series of right hands. He may be making a mistake by not rolling Hubbard back into the ring and trying to finish him off, but then again he may be wise in trying to inflict as much punishment on him as possible before trying for the pin! David Wright Hubbard finally seems to get his bearings again and throws Lars Coverdale off, then pulls himself to his feet. He rushes at Lars Coverdale again... but Lars Coverdale takes him down with a drop toe hold, and his head crashes into the steel ringsteps!! The crowd cheers loudly, and when David Wright Hubbard gets up, his forehead is busted open!

Lars Coverdale quickly rolls David Wright Hubbard into the ring, then climbs to the apron, leaps up on the top rope, and leaps off with a SPRINGBOARD 450 SPLASH!! The crowd cheers loudly, Lars Coverdale hooks the leg on David Wright Hubbard, and Bobcat McGavin goes down to count... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... Still only two! That was a HELL of a move, but it only got two! Lars Coverdale pulls David Wright Hubbard up and takes him down with a kneebreaker, then grabs his legs and steps through... into a figure-four leglock!! Lars Coverdale has David Wright Hubbard in a figure-four in the middle of the ring, and the crowd's going crazy! David Wright Hubbard yells out in pain, then reaches up to touch his bloody forehead... and pulls his hand away, seeing the blood! Suddenly, an angry grimace replaces the pain on his face, and he begins turning the hold over!! Lars Coverdale tries to hold the figure-four, but David Wright Hubbard's inner fury has been unleashed, and he can't be stopped from turning the figure-four leglock! Lars Coverdale now has to release the hold!

Lars Coverdale gets to his feet, but David Wright Hubbard's quickly up on his feet now as well. The camera picks up him saying "You're dead now, boy" as he advances on Lars Coverdale. Lars runs forward with a dropkick, but David Wright Hubbard puts his arms up to absorb it, and just staggers back a little bit. Lars Coverdale gets up, and David Wright Hubbard clobbers him in the back with a series of clubbing blows that double him over, then takes him down with a big gutwrench suplex! Lars Coverdale gets to his feet again, but David Wright Hubbard kicks him in the midsection, then lifts him over his head with a Gorilla Press and drops him face-first onto one of the turnbuckles! Lars Coverdale goes down in a heap!

He's getting up again, but now David Wright Hubbard's waiting on him as he gets up. Lars Coverdale turns around as David Wright Hubbard charges... LARIAT!! He nearly beheaded him with that! Lars Coverdale's down, and David Wright Hubbard could probably finish this one right now, but he's not going to... he puts on a standing headscissors instead! He's looking for a power bomb... but Lars Coverdale grabs his legs and takes him down again, then steps through and turns him over... SCORPION DEATHLOCK!! He has David Wright Hubbard down in the middle of the ring, in a scorpion deathlock, and he may just repeat his earlier victory!!

David Wright Hubbard is struggling, trying to escape the hold, but he's right in the middle of the ring. We know he's proud, and we know he won't give up easily... but we also know that there's only so much he can take! He grimaces as he hauls himself closer to the ropes, crawling and pulling both of them towards the ropes... and he's getting close now! His face contorts in pain as he crawls a little further, then reaches out... but Lars Coverdale drags him back into the center of the ring, getting a huge round of cheers from the crowd!! David Wright Hubbard's back where he started, still no closer to escaping the scorpion deathlock!

David Wright Hubbard's trying a different tactic now... he's planting his hands on the canvas and pushing up! He's trying to power his way out of the scorpion deathlock, and slowly but surely, he's doing it! Lars Coverdale continues leaning back on the hold, but David Wright Hubbard's pushing up... and Lars Coverdale finally topples forward and loses his balance, to a chorus of boos from the crowd! David Wright Hubbard gets up, and Lars Coverdale rushes him and leaps up for a Frankensteiner... but David Wright Hubbard refuses to go over, then muscles Lars Coverdale up... POWER BOMB!! He just drilled him into the mat hard!! He goes for the cover, having evidently decided to take no more chances, and Bobcat McGavin counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THR... Kickout at two and three-quarters! Lars Coverdale is surprisingly still in this match!

David Wright Hubbard glares down at him again, then steps out to the apron and begins climbing up to the top turnbuckle... he's going to end this with the Flying Cross Bodypress! But he's a little slow to climb with his bad knee, and Lars is able to nail him with a dropkick to the knee as he reaches the top! David Wright Hubbard falls onto the top turnbuckle, and now Lars is coming up with him! He hooks him for a superplex, but David Wright Hubbard blocks that, and slugs Lars Coverdale in the midsection, doubling him over! He straightens up on the top turnbuckle and lifts... he's going for a top-rope power bomb, the move which finished Lars Coverdale six days ago... but Lars counters!! TOP-ROPE FRANKENSTEINER!! David Wright Hubbard lands hard on the mat with a huge crash! And now Lars Coverdale is climbing back to the top turnbuckle! He leaps off... FROG SPLASH!! It connected! The crowd erupts, and Lars Coverdale covers David Wright Hubbard, and Bobcat McGavin counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THR... Kickout at two and three-quarters! David Wright Hubbard just won't stay down!

Lars Coverdale gets up and grabs David Wright Hubbard's right leg... and he rips the kneebrace off! The crowd cheers, and David Wright Hubbard starts begging him not to do it, but Lars Coverdale grabs the other leg and turns him over, into another scorpion deathlock! Does David Wright Hubbard have the strength to escape this time, without his kneebrace to protect his leg from some of the injury!? He's yelling out in pain, struggling desperately, and Lars Coverdale may just have this match won!! But wait... someone's running out of the backstage entrance! It's Michelle Hubbard, the wife of David Wright Hubbard!! The crowd boos loudly as she runs to the ring, then jumps up on the apron in Lars's view, then reaches down and pulls off her shirt, revealing that she's only wearing a white bra that leaves very little to the imagination! She smiles at Lars and beckons him to come forward to her.

Lars Coverdale stares at her, and a goofy smile spreads across his face as he releases the scorpion deathlock, then goes over to Michelle, getting a unified groan of dismay from the crowd. She throws her arms around his head and kisses him... but David Wright Hubbard's getting back up! He stares at Lars Coverdale in rage, then charges forward leading with a big right hand... but Lars ducks, and David Wright Hubbard hits Michelle! She tumbles from the apron and lands hard on the floor, and Lars Coverdale stares down in horror, then rolls out of the ring to check on her! That idiot!! She just tried to set him up, and now he's going out to make sure she's okay! David Wright Hubbard goes out of the ring as well, severely hobbling, and yells for Lars Coverdale to look up... and when he does, David Wright Hubbard rushes him with a lariat!!

Lars Coverdale goes down, and David Wright Hubbard glances down at Michelle, shrugs, then pulls Lars Coverdale up and rams him head-first into the steel ringpost. Bobcat McGavin climbs out of the ring to check on Michelle Hubbard as well, and David Wright Hubbard sees that... so he grabs a steel chair!! Lars Coverdale is starting to pull himself up... and David Wright Hubbard NAILS him with the chair! Lars Coverdale crumples from the chairshot, busted open, and David Wright Hubbard rolls him back into the ring, then climbs in after him. He pulls Lars Coverdale up into a standing headscissors, then lifts... POWER BOMB!! He drove Lars Coverdale down hard! David Wright Hubbard covers him, but Bobcat McGavin's still checking on Michelle Hubbard, so David Wright Hubbard yells "LEAVE MY WIFE ALONE AND DO YOUR DAMN JOB!!" and Bobcat McGavin slides into the ring. He counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THREE!! David Wright Hubbard wins!

David Wright Hubbard pinned Lars Coverdale after a power bomb in 0:18:28.
Rating: *** 1/2

The crowd boos loudly, and David Wright Hubbard gets to his feet, a pained grimace crossing his bloody face each time he has to put any weight on his right leg, and raises his hands in victory. Some trainers are out now to check on Michelle Hubbard, and David Wright Hubbard rolls out of the ring. He yells at the trainers to back off, raising a fist threateningly, then pulls Michelle to her feet. She winces in pain and puts a hand to her back, but David Wright Hubbard throws his right arm over her shoulder and leans on her on that side! She says something to him, apparently complaining, and the camera catches him saying, "Quit your whining and help me get backstage! I'm a hurt man!" to her. With Michelle's help, David Wright Hubbard begins hobbling backstage, to a huge round of boos from the crowd.

Shortly later, Lars Coverdale starts to get up. He's bloody and battered, but he gave David Wright Hubbard a better fight than most people ever thought he would, and he might have even emerged victorious if it hadn't been for Michelle Hubbard's presence in this match. He staggers backstage as well, getting a round of cheers from the crowd, but the fact remains that he didn't defeat David Wright Hubbard tonight. As Lars Coverdale makes his way backstage, we're going to check in with the participants of the next match, a contest for the VCW Television Title that pits two close friends against each other in a fight for both the title and survival, in what should be a highly emotional scene. First, let's take a look backstage at Desmond, then at Brujah, the VCW Television Champion.

Backstage...

Desmond finishes tying up his boots while sitting on a bench backstage. As he does, Melissa DelArmeggio approaches him.

M. DelArmeggio: This is it, I suppose... the moment of truth. I wanted to see you before this match.

Desmond: Thanks for coming... I wanted to see you too. I have a bad feeling about it.

M. DelArmeggio: It might not be so bad. You might show Brujah the error of his ways and win the VCW Television Title both at once.

Desmond: Yeah, I guess you're right. I just hope it doesn't get ugly. I don't want to hurt him unless there's absolutely no other choice.

M. DelArmeggio: Just do what you think you need to do. And I'll be watching out for you.

Desmond: Yeah... I wanted to tell you about that. Whatever happens during the match, unless he has someone there helping him... I want you to stay out of it. As long as it's one-on-one, until the match is over, I want you to stay back here.

M. DelArmeggio: Are you sure that's a good idea?

Desmond: Not really. But I need to find out, on my own, where everything stands with Brujah. If he has outside help, then all bets are off... but I don't think he will. And I just want to make sure we settle this between the two of us.

M. DelArmeggio: All right. I won't interfere in the match itself, unless someone else does first.

Desmond: That's all I ask.

M. DelArmeggio: Okay. Well, this is for good luck...

Melissa steps forward and throws her arms around Desmond, hugging him tightly. After several seconds, she pulls back, then looks into his eyes.

M. DelArmeggio: And this is because I think I love you.

Melissa pulls Desmond closer and kisses him on the mouth, putting her arms around him again. He returns the kiss, holding Melissa close, and it seems like a long time until they finally seperate.

Desmond: Wow. I think the good luck's starting to come my way already.

M. DelArmeggio: You might get even luckier tonight, if I don't end up getting crippled and/or enslaved by Amy.

Desmond blushes and steps back, as Melissa smiles suggestively at him.

Desmond: I'll... uh, see you after our matches. I hope.

Desmond turns and steps away as the camera fades out on the backstage scene...

Backstage...

... and then shows another backstage scene. Brujah is fastening on the VCW Television Title in a room backstage, when Jennie suddenly walks into the room.

Jennie: Brujah. I wanted to talk to you one more time. Are you still going to... do what Troy Black told you?

Brujah: No turning back now.

Jennie: Brujah... I know I'm not Troy, and I can't give you a lot of the things that he can. But I'll give you anything I can... absolutely anything, if you don't try to hurt Desmond tonight.

Brujah sighs and looks up from his belt at Jennie.

Brujah: Why's Desmond so important to you? He's my friend, not yours...

Jennie: It's not Desmond I'm worried about, Brujah. It's you. It's your soul.

Brujah: That sounds kind of dumb to me.

Jennie: Maybe it does, damn it, but I don't want you to be the kind of guy who can stab his best friend in the back because his egomaniac boss told him to! Brujah, please... if my feelings mean ANYTHING to you, don't hurt Desmond any more than you have to to win the match.

Brujah hesitates, then steps towards the door.

Brujah: I'm going out to the ring. You coming?

Jennie: Brujah... tell me everything's going to be okay.

Brujah: I'm not going to lie to you. Whatever happens out there, everything's NOT going to be okay, ever again. I'm either going to injure my best friend out there, or I'm going to ruin my career and see to it that we both eventually end up getting beaten within an inch of our lives by hired thugs. Everything's definitely not going to be okay... and if you want out now, I won't blame you a bit. Now... I'm going out to the ring. You coming?

Jennie's voice trembles as she speaks again.

Jennie: Yeah. Let's go.

Brujah puts a hand on her shoulder, and together they walk out of the room as the camera fades out on the backstage scene.

Wow... this is a tense moment for everyone involved. Both sides seem to be under a lot of emotional pressure tonight, hoping against all odds for a happy ending... but that may just not be possible tonight. "New World Order" by Ministry begins playing, and that brings out Desmond, to a large round of cheers from the crowd. Desmond has come a long, long way since his days as a perennial loser in the Illuminati. Just six days ago, he defeated Troy Black, a feat that very few people have ever managed. Tonight, he faces his best friend, and he'll be wanting to keep his inner fury contained to avoid hurting him... but will he be able to win? He enters the ring and looks at the backstage entrance with a mixture of anticipation and dread on his face, which is now half-covered by the half-mask.

Now "Woke Up This Morning (Chosen One Mix)" by Alabama Three begins playing over the arena sound system, and the crowd boos loudly as Brujah, the VCW Television Champion, comes out of the backstage entrance, accompanied by Jennie. Brujah has also come a long way since his days in SMCW... he has suffered only one loss in VCW so far, and that to the VCW World Champion, the Grave Digger. He climbs to the ring and hands the VCW Television Title to Jennie, then stares into Desmond's eyes without emotion. What could he be thinking? Jerry Rogers enters the ring and calls for the bell, and that'll get this match started!

For the VCW Television Title:

Brujah (c)
w/Jennie

vs.

Desmond

They advance into the center of the ring, both looking nervous. Desmond offers a handshake, and Brujah accepts... then kicks him right in the midsection! The crowd boos, and Jennie looks on in disappointment as Brujah begins hammering Desmond with repeated stiff right hands, backing him into a corner. Brujah whips Desmond into the other corner, and Desmond hits hard, then staggers out, into a big Yakuza kick from Brujah! Brujah crouches over Desmond and immediately begins hammering him with a series of punches, ignoring Jerry Rogers's orders to stop it! Jerry Rogers finally grabs Brujah and physically pulls him off, and the crowd boos... it certainly doesn't look as though Brujah's ready to hold anything back!

They get up, and Desmond stares at Brujah, seething with anger and hurt... but forces himself to shake it off. He once again seems to regain his composure as he steps forward and locks up with Brujah in the middle of the ring. Desmond grabs Brujah's right arm and twists... but Brujah reaches over and catches him with an eye gouge! Desmond staggers back, clutching his eyes, and Brujah advances on him, driving him into a corner of the ring with a series of punches, then unloading on him with a flurry of punches, kicks, and chops! He whips Desmond to the other corner... but Desmond reverses, and Brujah collides with the turnbuckles instead! He staggers out, and Desmond mows him down with a big clothesline! Desmond drops down with him and begins choking him... but then he seems to clear his head again, and stops choking Brujah... and now he's apologizing for it! This isn't going to win him the fight...

Brujah gets up, and Desmond hits him with a few forearm shots, then snap mares him to the mat and puts on a rear chinlock. When he's not fueled by his inner fury, Desmond's offense isn't known to be particularly inspired, and that could haunt him in a big way against Brujah here. He cinches in the rear chinlock, but Brujah struggles, eventually fighting his way back to his feet, then fires an elbow into his midsection! Desmond loosens his grip, and Brujah elbows him again, then runs into the ropes... but when he comes off with an attempted lariat, Desmond ducks, then grabs him as he turns around and gives him an inverted atomic drop! Brujah doubles over in pain, and Desmond grabs him in a side headlock, then whips him to the mat with a headlock takedown and clinches down tighter on the headlock. A small portion of the crowd groans and begins a "boring" chant... Desmond's keeping his cool, and his basic offense isn't exactly capturing the imagination of most of the fans.

Brujah begins to power up out of the side headlock, though Desmond's trying to keep him down. He gets to his knees, then to his feet, and throws his arms around Desmond's waist. Brujah lifts... and brings Desmond down with a big belly-to-back suplex! Brujah gets to his feet a fraction of a second before Desmond, and lunges at him with a series of punches and kicks that connect hard, driving Desmond back into the ropes. Brujah whips him to the other side, and grabs him as he comes off... spinebuster! Desmond hits hard on the mat, and Brujah goes for the cover... no, he crouches on top of Desmond and starts hammering him with more right hands! Brujah's not GOING to go for the cover... it seems like he's going through with his orders to hurt Desmond! Brujah's ignoring Jerry Rogers's demands that he get up and stop the closed fists... but now, Jennie yells something at him from the outside of the apron, looking sad, and at that he looks up and reluctantly steps away from Desmond.

Brujah steps over to the side of the ring, stopping to say something to Jennie... but as he does, Desmond gets up! His teeth are clenched, and anger is burning in his eyes as he looks at Brujah... and Brujah's back is turned to him! Desmond balls up a fist and comes up behind Brujah, preparing to clobber him from behind, and the crowd cheers in anticipation... but Desmond stops, seeming to shake off the anger again! Instead of striking Brujah, he simply taps him on the shoulder... and Brujah turns and wipes him out with a lariat!! Brujah just reacted on instinct and cut Desmond down... and if Desmond had struck from behind, we would have probably seen a very different outcome!! Desmond's down, but instead of covering Brujah just draws back and kicks him in the head!! The kick rings out with an audible "smack", drawing an "oooh" from the crowd and a squeal of dismay from Jennie, but Brujah's eyes just narrow, and he gives Desmond another hard kick, this time to the ribs!

Brujah pulls Desmond up by the hair, firmly in control now, and hooks him in a front chancery, then whips him to the mat with a snap suplex! But he's holding on, rolling through with it, and he pulls Desmond up and gives him another snap suplex! Once again, rather than letting go, he holds on and rolls back to his feet, then whips Desmond down with another hard snap suplex! He goes down and starts choking Desmond now... but Desmond grabs his wrists! Desmond grits his teeth and actually pulls Brujah's hands away from his throat, then gets up in a flash and snarls at Brujah! He clenches his fists and stares venomously at him... but Brujah just nods grimly and motions for Desmond to bring it on! But Desmond hesitates, and a look of sadness washes over his face, replacing the anger. He's backing up, putting his hands up as if to indicate that he wants no trouble... then he drops down and rolls out of the ring!! What's this!?

Desmond's on the outside of the ring now, and he's starting to walk up the aisle... he's leaving!! The crowd boos loudly... and Brujah slides out of the ring, then starts running after him! Brujah clobbers Desmond from behind with a forearm to the back that sends him sprawling down on the ramp, then begins stomping away at him viciously. Desmond gets up, and Brujah grabs him by the hair, then takes him head-first into the guardrail! Desmond staggers a few steps back towards the ring, and Brujah rushes him and bowls him over at ringside with a massive Yakuza kick! Brujah's not letting Desmond get away! And he's not letting him have a single moment of respite, picking him up by the hair and whipping him into the guardrail! Desmond hits hard back-first against the guardrail, and staggers out... into a second Yakuza kick from Brujah! The crowd boos loudly, and Brujah is really dominating this match!

Brujah pulls Desmond up and takes him head-first into the ringpost... and that just busted his forehead open. Brujah looks down at Desmond's bloody forehead, seeming to hesitate... then tightens his grip on Desmond's hair and takes him head-first into the ringpost again! There are a few lines of blood running down the ringpost where Desmond's head hit, and now Brujah rolls him back into the ring! He pulls Desmond up... DOUBLE ARM DDT!! And we know what comes next, as Brujah steps out and starts going up to the top turnbuckle. He raises his arms in a "V", then jumps... SWANDIVE HEADBUTT!! But Desmond rolls out of the way!! Brujah lands face-first on the mat, and the crowd cheers... and now Desmond plants his hands firmly on the mat and pushes himself up!

Desmond's seething with anger now... and he rips off his half-mask, wipes his bloody forehead with it, then tosses it aside and motions for Brujah to get up! Brujah pulls himself up... and Desmond tackles him to the mat, then starts raining right hands down on him! Brujah's caught off-guard a little by this, and understandably so... where did Desmond get this strength? It seems like he's finally given in to his inner fury... he knows he can't beat Brujah without it, and he knows Brujah won't let him walk away until it's over! Desmond hammers Brujah until Jerry Rogers tells him to stop the closed fists, then he grabs Brujah by the throat with both hands and hauls him up, and throws him back into a corner by the throat! Brujah's back collides with the turnbuckles, and he staggers out... and Desmond grabs him as he does, and brings him crashing down with a powerslam!! He hooks the leg, and Jerry Rogers counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... Kickout at two and a half by Brujah! That was the first pinfall attempt of this match!

Brujah gets up and shouts something at Desmond, then charges... but with his superior reach, Desmond clobbers him as he comes in, then forces him back into a corner of the ring and starts unloading on him with vicious right hands! Brujah slumps in the corner, but Desmond grabs him by the wrist and whips him across the ring to the opposite corner, then charges in with a massive clothesline! Brujah staggers out, and Desmond kicks him in the midsection, then hooks his head for the Outcast... but Brujah shoves him away! Desmond turns around, and Brujah rushes him... LARIAT!! And what a lariat it was! Brujah may have broken Desmond's neck... BUT DESMOND POPS BACK UP! He yells "DO THAT AGAIN!!" with a primal shout... and Brujah obliges him with a second brutal lariat!! Desmond goes down hard again!

This time, Desmond's not so quick to get up... he's clutching at his chest and throat in pain as he pulls himself to his feet. Brujah kicks him in the midsection, then puts him in a standing headscissors... but Desmond backdrops him!! Desmond's not quite done yet! Brujah gets up, and Desmond shakes off his grogginess, then rushes him with a series of punches! Desmond scoops Brujah up... backbreaker! But instead of releasing Brujah, he muscles him up again, and brings him down across his knee with a second backbreaker! He releases Brujah, and Brujah writhes in pain on the mat as Desmond goes down to cover him. Jerry Rogers counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... Shoulder up at two and a half by Brujah!!

Now Desmond hauls Brujah up and hooks him for a DDT... no, Brujah slugs him in the abdomen, then slips around behind Desmond and grabs him by the waist... but Desmond throws a back elbow that catches Brujah in the head! Brujah releases the waistlock, and Desmond reaches back and grabs his head... OUTCAST!! He just nailed Brujah with the Outcast! Brujah goes down in a heap, and the crowd erupts! Desmond goes for the cover, and Jerry Rogers counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THR... Kickout at two and three-quarters! Brujah's still in this match, and now he's survived the Outcast!

But now Desmond pulls Brujah up into a standing headscissors... he's going for a power bomb of his own! He lifts Brujah... but Brujah struggles, and slips out behind him as Desmond lifts him! Desmond turns around, but Brujah reaches back and grabs his head... ACE CRUSHER!! Desmond tried to use Brujah's own move against him, but Brujah just turned the tide in a hurry there. Desmond's down, and maybe Brujah could go for the cover... but he's not going to! He pulls him up and hooks him... DOUBLE ARM DDT!! Desmond's down again, and now Brujah's going to the top turnbuckle. He holds his arms in a "V" again, and here it comes again... SWANDIVE HEADBUTT!! This time, it connects! But Brujah's not going for the pin!

Brujah goes to pull Desmond up again, but this time Jennie jumps up on the apron, yelling something at him. Brujah looks at her, then looks down at Desmond... and he's walking over to the apron! He grabs Jennie and kisses her, to a rather confused reaction from the crowd... what's this all about!? As he pulls away, Jennie smiles hopefully... but her smile fades as she sees the sad, longing look that Brujah gives her before turning back to Desmond. With tears in his eyes, Brujah pulls Desmond up into a standing headscissors, then lifts him... POWER BOMB!! The crowd boos loudly, but Brujah just puts Desmond in a standing headscissors again, and lifts him once more... POWER BOMB!! That's a second Power Bomb, and Desmond has to be beaten now... but Brujah's pulling him up again! He lifts him... POWER BOMB!! Three Power Bombs, now!

Jennie turns and runs backstage, crying, and Brujah stares after her with a vacant look. He turns down to Desmond, who now seems like a bloody, motionless shell, then stares after her again, and his face starts to tighten... but he pulls Desmond up again! Jerry Rogers is telling him not to do it... but Brujah Power Bombs Desmond again!! And now he pulls him up again... POWER BOMB!! For the fifth time!! Brujah looks up and yells "IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH!? IS THAT ENOUGH FOR YOU, DAMN IT!?" to no one in particular, then drops across Desmond, burying his face in his hands. Jerry Rogers counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THREE!! Mercifully, this match is over. But it doesn't seem like it ended soon enough for Desmond.

Brujah pinned Desmond with the Power Bomb in 0:16:58.
Rating: DUD
(Brujah retained the VCW Television Title.)

Brujah is still the VCW Television Champion, but he's openly sobbing over the body of his former friend. He moves aside, looking somewhat numb, as some medics come out for Desmond and put him on a stretcher, then carry it away backstage. Even Jerry Rogers doesn't seem quite sure of the situation... he tries to hand Brujah the VCW Television Title, but Brujah doesn't respond, so Jerry Rogers just holds up the title, then points to Brujah and lays the title in front of him. The crowd boos loudly... and the boos get even louder when Amy Lin steps out of the backstage entrance, carrying a microphone. Come on... what could she want!? Didn't Brujah already do enough!?

A. Lin: Very good, Brujah. Troy's very happy with you. We know that was hard for you... but Troy's proud. He wants to talk to you backstage.

Brujah nods, then grabs the VCW Television Title and rolls out of the ring, walking slowly up the aisle and never making eye contact with Amy Lin. She watches as he disappears backstage, then looks around at the crowd, who are beginning a loud "SLUT" chant for her.

A. Lin: Just one more thing I'd like to add... you won't be seeing Desmond again, ever. Ever since that scarred, drooling piece of shit stopped me from finishing Melissa off at Disaster Area, we've been waiting for the right moment to remind him of something. Just like he did with the Grave Digger, Troy has total control over Desmond's contract. And now that the time is right, now that Desmond's been beaten half to death by his own best friend, I think I should give you all the official word... as of a few minutes ago, by the hand of Troy Black... Desmond has been FIRED.

What!? The crowd boos loudly... what did these sick people just do!? They could have fired Desmond any time they wanted to, but they chose to wait until now, after forcing his best friend to beat him within an inch of his life!! That's just purely sadistic. Amy Lin smiles... no doubt she had a role in this, since she above all others in the Black Plague hated Desmond. She raises the microphone to speak again...

But someone's running out of the backstage entrance... MELISSA!! Melissa DelArmeggio is sprinting out of the backstage entrance! Amy Lin backs up, raising her hands and stepping back... but Melissa DelArmeggio tackles her to the ramp, then begins beating the hell out of her with a series of forceful right hands! Amy Lin throws Melissa off and tries to get up, but Melissa's waiting for her, and she sends her right back down with a kick to the face! Amy Lin tries to get up again, but Melissa draws back this time, and nails her with a BRUTAL kick square in the chin! Amy Lin falls back down on the ramp, bleeding from the mouth, and the crowd explodes into cheers!

Melissa straddles Amy Lin, then begins choking her mercilessly! Amy Lin struggles, but she's not able to get away as Melissa leans over her, choking her... but then she reaches up desperately and thrusts her index and middle fingers together into Melissa's right eye! Melissa screams in pain and falls back off of Amy... and Amy tries to stand, but then staggers and topples over onto the ramp again! Melissa's starting to get up, and Amy scrambles to her feet and starts running... she's headed for the backstage entrance! Amy Lin's trying to run away! Melissa gets up, clutching her eye, just in time to see Amy Lin disappear through the backstage entrance, as the crowd boos!

The Living Hell Match is scheduled to be next, and Melissa certainly seems ready to kill Amy Lin after what happened to Desmond, but Amy Lin just escaped! Melissa's going up the ramp after her... but Christina Ellis and Yuri Sonoda come out of the backstage entrance, holding a kicking and struggling Amy Lin! They must have caught her trying to escape, and now they're tossing her out into the arena again! Amy Lin pulls herself to her feet, but she sees Christina Ellis and Yuri Sonoda blocking the exit, and Melissa DelArmeggio advancing on her... and she turns and starts climbing the ViolenTron! She's going to try to climb up there to escape!

Amy Lin's already ten feet up the ViolenTron by the time Melissa gets there, so Melissa starts climbing up after her quickly. Melissa's climbing a little faster than Amy is, and she catches up to her near the top and grabs her ankle! Amy Lin flings the other leg back and kicks Melissa in the head to make her let go, then climbs up to the top of the ViolenTron. Without thinking, Melissa continues climbing... but when her head comes up over the top, Amy Lin's waiting for her... AND SHE KICKS HER IN THE FACE! Melissa DelArmeggio flies back, but she's able to stay on the ViolenTron, clinging desperately with one hand. She scrambles to keep from falling, but as she gets back on, Amy Lin's measuring her. Melissa looks up, and Amy Lin smiles, puts a hand to her bloody lips, and blows Melissa a kiss... and she kicks her in the head again!! Melissa flies back again... AND THIS TIME SHE FALLS!! Melissa DelArmeggio plummets nearly twenty feet into a stack of crates near the ViolenTron!! The crates shatter upon impact, and the crowd goes silent for a second, then begins a chant of "HOLY SHIT!". There probably WON'T be a Living Hell Match after that!

Amy Lin stares down, looking shocked and horrified, and Melissa is completely motionless in the wreckage of those crates. The shock and horror on her face slowly gives way to a widening, bloody smile... but now Christina Ellis and Yuri Sonoda are crouching by Melissa's side, and after a second they start waving to the backstage entrance. As Amy Lin climbs down, some medics push a stretcher out of the backstage entrance. Amy Lin goes over to Christina Ellis and says something, and Christina says something back... and Amy Lin's eyes widen as the medics place Melissa DelArmeggio in a neckbrace and load her onto the stretcher. She almost seems to be showing some remorse... Melissa MUST be hurt badly, if that's the case.

Christina Ellis and Yuri Sonoda are both staying at Melissa's side as the medics begin to take the stretcher back... but Amy Lin just reached down into the wreckage of the crate, and she pulled out a baseball bat!! What the hell!? She comes up from behind and nails Yuri Sonoda in the back with it!! The crowd boos loudly, and Yuri goes down... and now Amy nails Christina Ellis in the midsection with the bat as she turns around! Christina Ellis doubles over, and Amy Lin clubs her in the back of the head with the bat, dropping her to the ramp! And now she raises the bat and nails Melissa DelArmeggio in the ribs with it, as she lies secured on the stretcher! Damn it, what kind of sadistic bitch is Amy Lin!?

Amy Lin shoos away the protesting medics with the bat as well, then looks around and drags Melissa's stretcher a few feet towards one of the ViolenTron beams. Yuri Sonoda and Christina Ellis are still down, and Melissa's strapped into the stretcher. Amy Lin throws aside the bat... and she's climbing the ViolenTron again! The crowd murmurs in anticipation as Amy Lin goes up... and she stops! She's not at the top, but she's a good eight or nine feet above Melissa's stretcher... MOONSAULT!! The stretcher breaks under the impact as Amy Lin leaps onto Melissa with the Moonsault, and the crowd explodes into a second chant of "HOLY SHIT!" Amy rolls off of the ruined stretcher, clutching at her ribs, but more disturbing is the utter lack of movement from Melissa on the stretcher. How badly was she hurt, and how badly is she hurt now after taking that additional abuse on top of her fall from the top!?

After a few seconds, Amy Lin gets up, still clutching her chest and wincing in pain. She pulls away the straps on the broken stretcher, then grabs Melissa and rips off the neckbrace that the medics had put on her... and starts dragging her down the ramp! What's next? She's already nearly murdered Melissa... is she dragging her to the ring to finish the job!? Or does she actually have some xrazy idea of going through with the match!? Amy Lin rolls Melissa DelArmeggio into the ring and climbs in after her, but no referee with even a fraction of a brain in his head would call for the bell to begin the match... but Linda Peterson quickly climbs into the ring, and calls for the bell!! Oh God, how stupid is she!?

Living Hell Match:

Melissa DelArmeggio

vs.

Amy Lin

Amy Lin looks down at Melissa DelArmeggio's motionless body with a triumphant sneer, then spits a glob of bloody saliva onto her face and puts one foot on her chest. At least she's not dragging out the violence anymore. Linda Peterson counts, in what's a totally unnecessary gesture at this point... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THRE... SHOULDER UP!!! WHAT THE HELL!? The crowd explodes into cheers! Amy Lin stares down at Melissa in shock, then looks back at Linda Peterson who holds up two fingers to indicate that yes, it was a two count! But it's still not an issue... if Amy makes a serious cover, this match has to be over. But Amy's not doing that... she glares down at Melissa, then drops a knee on her head! She's angry that Melissa still has the will to fight back, and she's going to punish her!!

Amy Lin rolls Melissa over, then straddles her, grabs the back of her hair, and starts rubbing her face into the mat. The crowd boos, and Amy Lin laughs... but suddenly, Melissa springs to life! She plants her hands on the mat, and begins pushing herself up... and she gets to her knees! Amy Lin tries to hop off, but Melissa reaches back and grabs her as she stands up... and she falls back onto Amy Lin! The crowd explodes into cheers... somehow, Melissa actually had the strength to push herself up like that, with Amy on her back! But now they're both down on the mat, and Amy's starting to stir first. Amy gets to her feet, but Melissa's pulling herself up on the ropes too. Amy knees Melissa in the midsection, then hooks her for a DDT, but Melissa grabs her around the waist... and flings her out of the ring with a belly-to-belly overhead suplex!! Amy Lin goes sailing head over heels out over the top rope and lands hard at ringside with an audible impact, and the crowd explodes into a chant of "VCW!" Amy Lin was just flung out of the ring head over heels, and she landed flat on her back!

Amy doesn't move from where she landed on the outside, and Melissa crumples back down into the ring, putting a hand to her back. Linda Peterson stares at both women, not knowing what to do... she can't count Amy Lin out, but it's questionable as to whether either one will be able to continue with this match! Amy Lin's starting to stir... but Melissa DelArmeggio's up again too! Melissa looks down at Amy Lin on the outside, waiting for her to get up, and grabs the ropes. She wouldn't... SLINGSHOT CROSS BODYPRESS!! Melissa just catapulted herself to the outside of the ring onto Amy Lin, after all the damage she's already taken! They both go down in a heap at ringside, and the crowd explodes into cheers! But how many moves like that does Melissa have left in her!?

They're both getting up again, and Melissa grabs Amy by the hair, preparing to smash her head-first into the ring apron... but Amy Lin blocks it, and elbows Melissa in the ribs! Amy Lin grabs Melissa DelArmeggio by the hair and takes her head-first into the apron, then rolls her back into the ring... and it looks like Melissa's forehead was busted open from going into the apron! Amy reaches under the ring, and grabs a large sack, then tosses it into the ring as well... this couldn't be good. Melissa is starting to stand again as Amy reenters the ring... but Amy draws back and kicks her in the head! Melissa goes down, and Amy grabs the sack... and she turns it over, emptying a horde of silver thumbtacks onto the mat near Melissa!! She pulls Melissa up into a standing headscissors near the tacks... she's going to power bomb her onto the tacks! She lifts... but Melissa blocks! Melissa reaches down and grabs Amy Lin's legs, bringing her down with a double-leg takedown, then crawls over her and starts hammering her with punches! Because Amy Lin fell backward, she missed the tacks; she's lucky that Melissa didn't backdrop her!

Amy Lin manages to shove Melissa off of her, and they both get up, but Melissa kicks Amy in the head! Amy Lin goes down, and Melissa DelArmeggio rolls out of the ring and reaches under it, grabbing a ladder! She pushes the ladder into the ring, and climbs in after it. Amy Lin's getting up... but Melissa DelArmeggio grabs the ladder and swings it into her midsection like a battering ram! Amy Lin doubles over, and Melissa draws back again, then swings it into her head! Amy Lin goes down, and Melissa leans the ladder against the top rope and crouches over her, nailing her with more quick punches! Amy Lin shoves her off again and tries to pull away, but Melissa reaches out and grabs the front of her tube top! Amy Lin jerks away again... AND HER TOP RIPS IN MELISSA'S HAND!! Melissa pulls harder, and it rips all the way to the bottom, then comes off in her hand... and Amy's not wearing anything under it!!

The crowd explodes into cheers, and Amy Lin looks down at her bare breasts in disbelief, then yells "YOU FUCKING BITCH!!" and charges Melissa, hammering her with a series of rage-fueled punches that catch her off-guard, spattering blood from her forehead and backing her into a corner. Amy's beyond being self-consciousness now... she's only thinking of hurting Melissa! She nails her with a series of kicks to the midsection, then grabs her hair and snap mares her out of the corner, towards the thumbtacks. She grabs Melissa and puts her in a standing headscissors again... here comes that power bomb in the thumbtacks! No, Melissa squirms free and slips behind her, then puts on a full nelson!! She wouldn't... FULL-NELSON FACESLAM IN THE TACKS!! The crowd erupts into deafening cheers, but an utterly anguished scream from Amy Lin can be heard even above the cheers!! Her bare chest was driven down into the tacks! That must have hurt like hell!

Melissa DelArmeggio gets up with blood running down her face, and there are a few thumbtacks sticking in her arms... but as Amy Lin gets up, the crowd winces... her breasts are covered in thumbtacks, and so are her arms! She turns towards Melissa and staggers out of the tacks, looking pale and dazed... and Melissa lashes out with a kick to the midsection! Amy catches her foot, but Melissa jumps up... BACK BRAIN KICK!! No, Amy ducks! Melissa wipes out face-first on the mat, and Amy's still holding her leg... and she drops into a reverse kneebar!! Amy Lin has Melissa DelArmeggio in a reverse kneebar, and there won't be any rope breaks in this match! Melissa's thrashing around on the mat, her bloody face contorted with pain, as she tries to escape the kneebar... and her hand grazes the ladder leaning against the top rope at her side! Desperately, she gives it a tug, and it topples over, onto Amy Lin!! The kneebar is broken... but it also landed on Melissa's trapped leg, and she's clutching her right leg in pain!

Melissa pulls herself to her feet, but her knee's giving her problems, and Amy Lin reacts first with a kick to the midsection! Melissa doubles over, and Amy Lin hooks her... DOUBLE ARM DDT!! That could do it! But Amy Lin's setting up the ladder, and she starts climbing it now! Is she really crazy enough to do a Moonsault from the top of the ladder, with thumbtacks in her chest like that!? She's getting near the top... but Melissa's starting to stir again, and she grabs the ladder! She pulls herself up a little bit, then leans on it, and the ladder falls!! Amy Lin falls back... INTO THE TACKS!! Amy Lin just fell from a ladder into the thumbtacks, and she lets out another anguished scream! As she gets up, several of them are sticking into one of her shoulders! The crowd begins a chant of "VCW!"... this is just carnage!

Amy Lin comes out of the tacks again, but Melissa's up and waiting for her with a kick to the midsection! Amy Lin doubles over, and Melissa grabs her in a standing headscissors... POWER BOMB!! No, Amy Lin counters it with a Frankensteiner, and now Melissa goes down in the thumbtacks!! She gets up, with her back dotted with tacks, and staggers out... and Amy Lin puts on a front chancery, then lifts... BRAIN BUSTER!! Melissa's down again, with blood oozing from her forehead, and Amy goes for the cover! Linda Peterson counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THR... Kickout at two and three-quarters!

Amy Lin looks down at the thumbtacks in her chest again, then glares at Melissa and mutters something to her. She rolls out of the ring, and she's reaching under it again... and she pulls out a wooden rod with a jagged, splintered tip!! Oh, no... we've seen that she has had a fixation with trying to gouge Melissa in the eyes with lethal weapons before, and she may be planning on doing that to end this match! She climbs into the ring with it and stands over Melissa, then raises the wooden rod... AND STABS DOWN!! But Melissa throws her head out of the way, then puts her legs up and brings Amy Lin down as if from a sunset flip! Linda Peterson counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... Kickout at two and a half!

Both Melissa and Amy start getting up again, and Amy stops to reach down and grab the wooden rod... but Melissa kicks her in the midsection when she does! Amy stays doubled over, and Melissa measures her... BACK BRAIN KICK!! This time, she hit it!! Amy Lin goes down face-first to the mat! But Melissa's not done... she pulls her up by the throat and lifts... CHOKESLAM!! Amy Lin lands hard on the canvas, and Melissa could have this match won! That was a pretty mean chokeslam for someone just under six feet tall... but Melissa's not going for the pin! Instead, she sets up the ladder, then begins climbing to the top of it! She reaches the top, and the crowd cheers... and the cheers get even louder as she pulls off her sweat- and blood-soaked shirt and tosses it into the crowd, revealing that her bra is equally soaked in sweat and blood, and her upper body is bruised and battered. She looks down at Amy, then takes flight... FROG SPLASH!! It connects!! Melissa rolls off of Amy Lin, clutching her right knee with a pained grimace, but then flops back down on her! Linda Peterson counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THREE!! MELISSA WINS!! Thank God, the brutality is FINALLY over!

Living Hell Match:
Melissa DelArmeggio pinned Amy Lin with the Frog Splash in 0:12:05.
Rating: *
Melissa DelArmeggio injured her right knee. She will be out approximately 3 months.

Melissa wins, and according to the stipulations of this match, that means Amy Lin is GONE from VCW!! What a BRUTAL match we just witnessed, though! Both Melissa and Amy are down in the ring, and Melissa DelArmeggio is clutching her knee in pain, as trainers come out for both of them. The crowd is on its feet, giving a standing ovation... after seeing these two women damn near kill each other, the crowd's giving them a huge show of appreciation! Finally, Amy Lin starts to get up. She grabs the wreckage of her tube top and covers the two pincushions that are her breasts, staring around the ring through a haze of pain and disbelief, and staggers backstage, as the crowd continues its standing ovation. If this is the last we ever see of Amy Lin, at least it can be said that she went out after one of the most brutal, bloody matches in VCW history.

In the ring, the trainers help Melissa DelArmeggio out and help her get to the backstage entrance as well. It's clear she can't walk on her own... we don't know what kind of toll this match took on her. She finally defeated Amy Lin, and banished her from VCW in the process, but she may never be the same emotionally or physically after tonight. As Melissa leaves, ring attendants quickly descend upon the ring, cleaning up the thumbtacks, blood, and weapons strewn about the ring.

It'll be hard to move on after that, but we've got four more matches coming up, and the next one is a Steel Cage Match. The cage is lowering, and "Shame" by Rollins Band begins playing over the arena sound system. The crowd cheers as Falcon comes out of the backstage entrance, accompanied by Lady Erica Whitmore. He'll be fighting one of his oldest enemies, Lance Errington, in that steel cage tonight. He has a scowl on his face as he walks to the ring; no doubt, he's already anticipating the match. He climbs into the cage and leans against one of the corners inside, awaiting the appearance of his enemy.

Now "Perfect Strangers" by Dream Theater begins playing, and the crowd boos loudly... but when Lance Errington comes out of the backstage entrance this time, he's dressed in black and silver trunks, wearing a black and silver robe, and he looks clean and confident. This is a change... normally, Lance Errington comes to the ring in dirty street clothes after not having bathed in the past week... what brought this on? He walks to the cage, looking at Falcon with determination and malice, but he no longer seems dominated by all-consuming hatred. He enters the cage, twirls around once for the crowd, then takes off his robe and hands it to an attendant on the outside. He's dressing differently, and acting a little bit different too, it seems... this is more like the old Lance Errington than the way he's been since Wrestlewar. We'll see if he wrestles any differently... Brendan Powers enters the cage, locks the door, and calls for the bell to begin this match!

Steel Cage Match:

Lance Errington

vs.

Falcon
w/Lady Erica Whitmore

Both men step into the center of the ring, staring eye to eye, and a staredown commences. Each man is clenching his fists as they stare into each other's eyes... and finally, Lance Errington turns away. He looks out at the crowd... but then he turns back, leading with a fist that nails Falcon right in the face! Falcon returns fire, and now the two men are trading blows in the middle of the ring!! The crowd cheers, and it seems for a moment that neither man will give, but then Falcon takes the upper hand! He backs Lance Errington up, into the ropes and the side of the cage, then knees him in the midsection! Lance Errington doubles over, and Falcon grabs him by the hair, then takes a running start and rams him head-first into the mesh at the other side of the cage!! Lance Errington falls back to the canvas, and the crowd cheers! But Falcon grabs him by the hair and runs to an adjacent side of the cage, taking him head-first into that one as well! Lance Errington goes down, but Falcon pulls him up again, and rams his face into a third side of the cage! Lance Errington goes down once again, but Falcon pulls him up, then runs and smashes him into the fourth side of the cage!! Lance Errington crumples to a heap on the mat, and the crowd erupts into cheers!

Lance Errington starts getting up now, and Falcon backs into the ropes and charges him, then knocks him down with a dropkick! Lance Errington's getting up again, and this time Falcon meets him with a series of punches, backing him up again, and whips him into the ropes on the other side. Lance Errington comes off the ropes, but he ducks a clothesline from Falcon and goes behind him into a waistlock! Falcon struggles, but Lance Errington shifts his grip and lifts him anyway... belly-to-back suplex! No, Falcon flips out behind him!! Lance Errington turns around... SUPERKICK!! But Lance Errington catches his foot and brings him down with a dragon screw leg whip, then grabs his other foot, steps through, and turns him over... SCORPION DEATHLOCK!! What a series of moves that was, and what a reversal of circumstances in this match!

Falcon grimaces in pain in the Scorpion Deathlock, but he hasn't yet been softened up significantly, and he still has a lot of fight left. He's struggling, trying to press his way out, but I don't think that's happening... he's just not that strong. Now he's looking for another escape... and he reaches back and grabs Lance Errington's ankle! He pulls on it as he starts rolling, tipping Lance Errington over, and turns it around into a half Boston on Lance Errington! The crowd cheers, but Lance Errington immediately grabs the ropes, and Brendan Powers begins counting. Normally, the rules are relaxed a little bit for a Steel Cage Match, but Brendan Powers may be making a good call here by enforcing rope breaks. Falcon doesn't seem to think so, though... he's getting up to argue with Brendan Powers, protesting the rope break! But as he does, Lance Errington comes up behind him... low blow!! Falcon doubles over in pain, and the crowd boos loudly!

Lance Errington grabs Falcon by the hair and pulls him into a headlock. He takes a running start and brings him down with a bulldog! Falcon starts getting up, but Lance meets him with a kick to the midsection, then scoops him up and bodyslams him to the canvas. Falcon's down, and Lance Errington drops a knee on him... but instead of going for the cover, he pulls Falcon up and starts hitting him with a series of punches to the face! Lance Errington grabs Falcon's hair, making sure he's not able to pull away, then grinds his face into the side of the cage! Falcon staggers away as Lance Errington releases him... and Lance Errington catches him immediately with a double leg takedown, then tries to step through his legs into the Scorpion Deathlock... but Falcon kicks him away! Lance Errington flies back into the side of the cage, then goes down in the ring!

Falcon's getting up first, and Lance Errington is doubled over, so Falcon runs at him and takes him down with a swinging neckbreaker! He goes for the cover... no, he's just straddling Lance Errington so he can punch him in the face repeatedly! Lance Errington struggles and thrashes about, trying to avoid the punches, and finally throws Falcon off. They both start getting up again, and Falcon whips Lance Errington into the ropes, then comes off the other side with a high cross body... but Lance Errington catches him and turns with the momentum... POWERSLAM!! What a move that was! Lance Errington holds it for the cover, and Brendan Powers counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... Kickout at two and a half by Falcon!

Lance Errington takes a moment to shake off some of the effects of the punishment he's taken, then scoops Falcon up and brings him down with a backbreaker! Perhaps Lance is trying to reinjure Falcon's back... we know that the last time they met, that was a favorite target, and it's one of the areas targetted by the Scorpion Deathlock as well. Falcon squirms on the mat in pain, but he gets no respite as Lance Errington turns him over, then drops a knee on his lower back! Falcon yells out in pain, and Lance Errington clobbers him with a few forearm smashes to the back, then pulls him up by the hair and takes him head-first into the side of the cage! Falcon staggers away... and Lance Errington scoops him up again, then flings him back over his head in a fallaway slam... but Falcon flies right into Brendan Powers, and the two go down in a heap!!

Lance Errington stares down at the heap, but as Falcon gets up, Lance Errington knocks him back down with a knee to the face. Brendan Powers is still down, and Lance Errington reaches into his pocket and grabs the key to the cage! He's going to the door, which is the only way out because this cage has a closed top, and unlocking it! The door is unlocked, and now Lance Errington grabs Falcon and tosses him out of the cage, then climbs out after him! What is Lance Errington doing, leaving the cage? This match can only be won by pinfall or submission, in the ring... being on the outside of the ring won't do them any good!

Falcon starts to get up on the outside... but Lance Errington knees him in the midsection, then rams him head-first into the cage! Falcon slumps down, but Lance Errington grabs the cage door, and ignores Lady Erica Whitmore's screams in protest as he slams it on Falcon's head!! That just opened up a huge cut on his forehead, and Falcon is now bleeding heavily! Lance Errington pulls Falcon up again, and whips him to the guardrail... but Falcon leaps up onto the guardrail, then springs back... FALCONSAULT!! He just Falconsaulted Lance Errington from the guardrail, and now both men are down in a heap at ringside!! The crowd explodes into cheers!

Falcon's getting up first now, and he looks like a bloody mess... but he's taking the offensive, hammering Lance Errington with a series of punches, then taking him head-first into the cage! Lance Errington staggers out, and Falcon scoops him up, then falls back towards the rail... HOT-SHOT ON THE GUARDRAIL!! Lance Errington just hit it throat-first, and he falls away, clutching his throat, as Falcon gets up! Falcon pulls Lance Errington up without giving him more than a moment's respite, then puts on a front facelock... DDT!! Lance Errington was just driven into those mats, and they're just a thin layer of protection between his head and solid concrete! If they were in the ring, Falcon might have this match won right now!

But they're not, and now Brendan Powers is up inside the cage, ordering Falcon and Lance Errington to bring it back inside. Falcon grabs Lance by the hair and hauls him around towards the door, then rolls him back in. Somehow, Lance Errington is getting up on the inside of the ring, as Falcon gets up... and Lance Errington rushes forward into the door, flinging it open into Falcon's face as he tries to come in! Falcon falls off of the ringsteps to the floor, and against the protests of Brendan Powers, Lance Errington climbs out after him. He's definitely staggered from the abuse he's been taking, but he shakes off the haze and begins pummelling Falcon's blood-covered face!!

Lady Erica Whitmore comes from behind Lance Errington and grabs his hair... she's pulling him off of Falcon! But he swings back and elbows her in the stomach, doubling her over, then takes her head-first into the cage! She collapses, but Lance Errington rolls her into the cage, then climbs in after her! He gets up inside and pulls the key out of his trunks, then closes the cage door and locks it... Lance Errington just locked himself inside the cage with Lady Erica Whitmore, and Falcon's trapped on the outside! Erica's getting up... but Lance Errington grabs her legs... SPINEBUSTER!! And he's holding her legs and stepping through... into the Scorpion Deathlock!! Erica screams in pain, and the crowd explodes into boos, but there won't be anything stopping Lance Errington!

Falcon's up on the outside now, and he looks into the cage with an horrified stare as he sees Erica trapped in the Scorpion Deathlock. Brendan Powers is begging Lance Errington to get off of her, but he just yells "FUCK OFF!!" and pulls back harder on the hold! Falcon grabs the cage door and starts jerking at it, but it's locked, and he's not getting in. He keeps beating on it and rattling it furiously, but there's just no give to the cage! In desperation, he goes to the timekeeper's table and grabs a remote control, then begins punching buttons on it randomly... and the cage starts to raise!! Lance Errington sees it, though, and stares out at Falcon with dismay... but he's letting Erica go and going to a corner, and grabbing the side of the cage as it goes up! He seems to be having second thoughts about confronting Falcon now, and he's going to ride the cage all the way up to the ceiling!

The cage continues to raise up, with Lance Errington clinging to it, but Falcon rolls into the ring, then climbs up to the top turnbuckle in the corner Lance Errington is in, leaps up, and grabs Lance's ankle as the cage continues rising to the ceiling, pulling him down!! Lance Errington falls down on top of Falcon, and Falcon falls crashing back into the middle of the ring, under Lance Errington! Brendan Powers goes down and counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THR... Kickout at two and three-quarters by Falcon! And the cage continues travelling up towards the ceiling!

Both men are a little slow to get up, but Lance Errington's up first. He pulls Falcon to his knees by the hair and begins hammering him in his blood-covered forehead with punches, but Falcon's shaking off the blows and getting to his feet! He blocks a punch from Lance Errington and returns fire with a flurry of his own, backing Lance Errington into the ropes. He whips him to the other side, then springs off of the middle rope as he comes off... FALCONSAULT!! Lance Errington goes down under Falcon, and Brendan Powers goes down to count... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THR... Kickout at two and three-quarters by Lance Errington!

Falcon pulls Lance Errington up and hooks him in a front chancery... he could be going for the Falcon Arrow!! But Lance Errington blocks it with a punch to the ribs, then reverses into a vertical suplex. Falcon crashes down to the mat, gets back up, and staggers forward... and Lance Errington casually scoops him up and brings him down on a knee with a backbreaker! Falcon writhes in pain, and Lance Errington turns him over onto his stomach, then repeatedly drops a knee into the base of his spine as the crowd boos. Lance Errington's trying to destroy Falcon's back!

Lance Errington pulls Falcon up and whips him into the ropes, and Falcon comes off into a spinebuster from Lance Errington... and Lance keeps a hold on his legs, steps through, and applies the Scorpion Deathlock!! He has Falcon caught in the Scorpion Deathlock again!! But Lady Erica Whitmore's getting up, limping and grimacing in pain, and she grabs Lance Errington and pulls him off of Falcon again! Lance Errington turns to her and smiles now, in stark contrast to his aggression moments ago... and she slaps him! Lance Errington absorbs the slap with a growing smile... then grabs Erica and forces a kiss on her! Falcon starts getting up as Lady Erica Whitmore struggles to get away from Lance Errington... and she knees him in the crotch! Lance Errington doubles over and turns around... INTO A SUPERKICK!! Falcon just blasted him on the chin with that one, and Lance Errington tumbles to the mat! Falcon covers him, and Brendan Powers counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THRE... FOOT ON THE ROPES!! Lance Errington got a foot on the ropes at the last possible second!!

Falcon stares down at Lance Errington angrily, then hauls him up and places him on the top turnbuckle. He draws his thumb across his throat, then starts going up after him... is he going to try a top-rope Falcon Arrow!? If he does this, it'll definitely end the match, and probably Lance's career as well!! He hooks Lance Errington in a front chancery... but Lance Errington blocks! He nails Falcon with a few shots to the midsection, then steadies himself on the turnbuckle and lifts... TOP-ROPE SPINEBUSTER!! That was the move at the Big Fight that nearly ended Falcon's career, and Lance Errington just nailed him with it again! He covers Falcon and hooks a leg, and Brendan Powers counts... ONE!! ... TWO!! ... THRE... SHOULDER UP!! Falcon got out of that one at two and nine-tenths!! How the HELL did he do that!?

Lance Errington stares at him in disbelief, then pulls Falcon up. He's putting him in a standing headscissors, but Falcon grabs his legs and brings him down with a double leg takedown! Falcon steps through Lance Errington's legs, going for a scorpion deathlock of his own, but Lance Errington kicks him away into the corner! Falcon staggers out... into a low blow from Lance Errington! Falcon doubles over, and Lance grabs his head... ACE CRUSHER!! Falcon crumples to the mat, and Lance Errington slides out of the ring next to Lady Erica Whitmore, then grabs her by the hair and takes her head-first into the steel ringsteps! What the hell was that for!? Now Lance Errington's reaching under the ring... and he grabs a pipe wrench!!

Lance Errington enters the ring with the wrench, as Falcon begins pulling himself up. Lance Errington swings... and NAILS Falcon with the wrench!! Falcon goes down hard, and Lance Errington grabs his legs and steps through... SCORPION DEATHLOCK!! He has it on good this time, in the middle of the ring! Brendan Powers goes down to check with Falcon... but Falcon's not even conscious to submit! Brendan Powers calls for the bell, and this one's over!!

Steel Cage Match:
Lance Errington defeated Falcon when the referee stopped the match in 0:18:07.
Rating: *** 1/2

Lance Errington gets up, raising his hands and smiling triumphantly, as the crowd boos loudly. He has FINALLY defeated Falcon, but this isn't an outcome that anybody wanted to see tonight. Something has changed about Lance Errington... this isn't the depressed, apathetic nutcase that we're used to. He wrestled with a vicious, single-minded purpose tonight, and came out the victor, much to the dismay of the fans at ringside. He rolls out of the ring, continuing to celebrate, as the crowd boos.

Inside the ring, Falcon has been destroyed. He's a bloody mess, and he's totally motionless... no, actually, he's getting up! He's making a pretty darn swift recovery for a man who just got bashed in the skull with a pipe wrench... and now he's grabbing a microphone!? What the hell is this!?

Falcon: This fucking show sucks, this fucking company sucks, and Sean and Rebecca can kiss my motherf--

Falcon's microphone suddenly goes dead as the camera pans out to a crowdshot. Obviously, he's feeling some frustration regarding this match... he was defeated by his age-old enemy tonight, and he has to be disappointed and angry. Tension is high all around in VCW, so we're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with the exciting conclusion of Blood and Thunder, Part III, when you click on the link below. Come on in and join us when you're ready.

Click here for Part III.