#1 Vox Populi vs #2 Bad Company vs #8 Mascara Muerto

[PWXonline]

PWX World Cup Finals Triple Threat Ladder Match
Tag Team Championship
#1 Vox Populi vs #2 Bad Company vs #8 Mascara Muerto

Deadline: 3-25-14 at Midnight CST

RP Limit: 1 per person...NOTE: This will change after the finals to a 2 RP per person since its a championship...but this week, the limit is 1 RP.


Story: Will add later..

[Deleted]

“Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail, and never get to try again. The fall breaks them. And some are given a chance to climb, but refuse. They cling to the realm, or love, or the gods…illusions. Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is. But they’ll never know this. Not until it’s too late.” – Littlefinger
As Nighthawk replaces bandages and ice packs all over his body after his streetfight with his Bad Company tag team partner Jason Aries by his side against Vox Populi one has to wonder just how much was taken out of him in that brawl, and if he is going to be able to be the kind of partner that Jason Aries deserves by his side when they attempt to win the PWX World Tag Team Titles in a triangle ladder match at High Stakes.


But while we continue to question whether or not the Chicago native has enough of himself left in the tank to be the kind of ally, partner, and friend that he believes Jason Aries deserves to have battling by his side we would be foolish to not realize just how many times Nighthawk has waded into battles similar to these, and came out the other side victorious with another proof of his ability to suffer through pain but always be there for the people who need him.


however, despite this well-earned legacy for resilience, something about this week feels different, almost as though another match where pain is assured might be too much to withstand even for someone with Nighthawk’s famous recuperative abilities, a positive trait best exemplified by the nickname he has received of the “Wrestling Machine”. However, as soon as this thought enters our mind, it leaves because there is no one in the world who is more suited to go through



But as the “Man of 1000 Holds” sits down finally in the recliner which is located in the film room of his basement, his body seeming to him to be in the right frame of mind to possibly contemplate getting his film study started on the two teams who he will be facing in a triangle ladder match for the championship belts that he wants to hold so badly, the door to the basement slowly opens up like a saloon door in a Western and in walks his trainer and mentor Jorge Rivera, carrying a chair under his left arm and a bag of what appears to be freshly made carnitas and other Mexican delicacies.



(Author’s note: This conversation took place in Spanish.)



Nighthawk, stunned into almost silence at seeing his mentor before him: “What are you doing here, Jorge? I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s a pleasure to have you here. But forgive me if I'm a little bit stunned because I genuinely don’t know what it is that you’re doing here.”



Jorge, sitting down next to the student who has meant more to him than perhaps anyone else that he has trained before: “ Your wife called me, Tristan. She said that ever since the street fight, you’ve been jumpy, agitated, and simply put, not yourself. That’s why I'm here, to do one more thing just like I used to, just like you needed when you were training with me. I know that I have given you speeches until they all must have blended together until you can’t remember one from the other. But I need you to listen to this one, because it’s the most important speech I've ever given you. I'm a father, Tristan, and a grandfather too. I know what it is to be nervous about your life changing, to realize that the man you’ve always said you were is turning into something different and new. I understand that feeling, and I respect it Tristan. I really do. But this new man, the man that concerns himself with being the best partner and the best friend that he can be, is better than that stoic loner that was who you were before. Don’t get me wrong, Tristan. I trained you, and you’re like a son to me. The man you were before Bad Company started is still you. He’s still in there. But this Tristan? I like this one quite a lot.
You’re probably wondering where all of this is going. I'll get to it. Tristan, in a few short days, you have the chance to finish what this was all started to be about. You get the chance, in just a few short days, to shut Elijah Black up once and for all. You can do it. And the best way to do it, Tristan, is to do exactly what you’ve been doing. Put your mind on being the best partner you can be, on backing Jason’s play no matter what it is, and you’ll have what you want. Now, if you don’t mind, can your old trainer sit in on some film study and see if I can’t figure out a solution to your other problem?”



Nighthawk, the beginnings of a bashful smile crossing his face: “And what, pray tell, is my other problem?”



Jorge, a smile crossing his face as well: “Trying to figure out how to study for a match that there is no studying for. Come on, let’s go out to dinner. We’ll talk about theory if that makes you feel better.”



Smiling despite himself, Nighthawk gets up and heads towards the shower to get dressed.



The next morning……



As Nighthawk walks in to Nativity Of Our Lord Catholic Church which just so happens to be a few blocks away from his home, the “Wrestling Machine” lights the votive candles until his face is bathed in their flickering red glow and sits down in the front pew with his hands steepled, and his ice-blue eyes closed.



Nighthawk: “I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.

Christ shield me today
Against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through the mighty strength
Of the Lord of creation.”



Exhaling deeply, as though one of his burdens has been lifted, Nighthawk heads towards the exit and back home.



A few hours later…..



As Nighthawk sits at a gate in O’Hare Airport getting ready to fly to Las Vegas for High Stakes, he slowly closes his eyes. Clad in a black leather duster with orange and blue pinstriping up and down each sleeve, a dark-blue Flash t-shirt, black leather pants with orange and blue pinstripes up and down each legs, and black Adidas wrestling shoes, the “Wrestling Machine” opens his eyes and looks around with something approaching comfort on his face.



Nighthawk: “Really, what Jason and I are wrestling for is about ten pounds of gold with a nice little PWX logo in the middle with leather buckles on the back so that the both of us can wear it around our respective waists. Tangibly, that’s all it is. But that’s not really all it is, because no championship belt is ever just its corporeal form. It’s all of the hours spent training with your mind on holding it, all the hours spent sitting in an ice bath to make sure your body can do it again the next week, that is truly what those titles hanging high above the arena are, and what it is that they’re going to mean. But when I show up there with Jason Aries, and our theme music plays, I can look at my tag team partner and my friend and know that, more than anyone else in the world, he gets what being a champion means. And when it’s done, and we are holding those titles to our battered bodies and trying to soak up every good feeling from them that we possibly can, I'm going to be able to look at Jason Aries in the eye and tell him we did it, together. That’s the best part of this for me, honestly. But just behind that, just the next thing below it, is the knowledge that Elijah Black and Daniel Everett will never have that feeling, will never know what it is to hold a title and have it mean as much to you as winning the titles will mean to us. Because, Vox Populi, you will lose. You will fall. Consider this not a threat made by someone who can’t back it up, but instead as a promise by someone you should really take seriously.



Last week, Elijah, you and your protégé walked into that street fight flooded with confidence, packed tightly to the brim with the belief that when you hit Jason and I, we would crumble. As it turned out, you were the ones who couldn’t handle it. You were the ones who lost. You see, Elijah, your continual need to underestimate me is your fatal mistake, the Achilles heel that at High Stakes will prevent you from achieving your ultimate goal. This all started, Elijah, because you tried to injure me, tried to end my career where it stood. Now I could be the same monster you were that night, and vow to end your career at High Stakes. But I will not give you the satisfaction of going down the same road you did, of using the same tactics to achieve my goals. Rather, the way that I am going to hurt you is a lot simpler.


At High Stakes, you’re going to hear nine words come out of the mouth of Alexis Lace. Those 9 words, simple as they may be, will cause you the same pain you caused me. Those nine words will make you feel the same way I felt when I didn’t know if my career would ever continue, or even if I would be able to hold my wife again and not have to have her lean a certain way so I could see her as well as I could feel her. All of that pain, all of that fear, I will give it back to you, but not by putting you in a hospital bed. Nine words will be all I need. Because at High Stakes, Elijah, you will hear 9 simple words. Nine words that will let you know your mission failed, and that you have to start all over again. Those nine words I keep referencing, Elijah, are these: ‘The New PWX Tag Team Champions, Bad Company.” And when it’s done, as those nine words echo throughout your ears, I hope you can live with it.



As far as your protégé, Daniel Everett, goes, allow me to remind you of something as well. Last week, you told the world you could beat Jason and I easily. Last week, you promised victory for yourself. And last week, Jason and I hit you as hard and as many times as anyone has ever hit you since you’ve been here. Now you might have been able to stand up to it last week, Mr. Everett, but I don’t think you can two weeks in a row. This is a promise, Mr. Everett, and I take keeping my promises very seriously. At High Stakes, Jason and I will keep hitting you and this time we won’t stop until you fall down. You see, Mr. Everett, you’re going to fail. That’s a promise, Mr. Everett, and if you’ve learned anything about being in the ring with me, it’s that when I make a promise I keep it. If I have to crawl up that ladder on my hands and knees to be the partner Jason deserves, to watch his back while he pulls those titles down, that’s what I will do. Because, while you might want those titles for you and your mentor, I NEED them for Jason and I. I want, more than I have wanted anything, to see Jason hold the World Tag Team Titles above his head and know that he and I did this together. So believe me when I tell you this, Mr. Everett: No matter how much it hurts, no matter how many ladders you throw us on, Jason Aries and I will be the ones holding those tag team titles. We will be the ones standing victorious when the night is through.



And then that brings me to the dark horses in this thing, the team that, if I'm being honest, is sort of a surprise. Mascara Muerto. Now, gentlemen, Jason Aries and I will not be fools like Gorgeous Disaster was, or screwed out of a fair match like the Knockout Kings were. We will be here ready to fight you, ready to stop you from living your dream. And at High Stakes, we will do just that. We will stop you.
Senor Norte, since you’re apparently the one who does the talking for your duo, I'm going to address this to you. At the start of this match, we will shake hands like sportsmen. And at the end of the match, I sincerely hope that we will shake hands like sportsmen. The only difference between the beginning and the end? We’ll have the PWX World Tag Team Titles over our shoulders. You see, Jason and I respect what you did to get here, the odds you beat to find yourself one more win away from the PWX World Tag Team Titles. But here, at High Stakes, this is where it ends.



This isn’t Rocky, or the Miracle on Ice, or any one of those other underdog stories. Your Cinderella run, gentlemen, ends here. It ends when you step in the ring with us.



Goodnight PWX. May sleep give you the courage to go on.”

[Mascara Muerto]

The Lucharella Story Continues

The scene fades in moments after Mascara Muerto's win over Gorgeous Disaster as the two luchadores enter their locker room on a wave of emotion and adrenaline from pulling off the win. Muerto steps in and does a standing bicycle kick as he turns around and raises both hands for a double high five with Norte as the two share a brief hug and pats on the back showing how worked up they are over the win and that now they will be in the finals at High Stakes for the Tag Team titles.

Norte: Can you believe amigo!? We beat Gorgeous Disaster! We're in the FINALS now! All of our work has been leading up to this! One last match and soon the world will be calling us the NEW World Tag Team Champions!

Muerto nods in agreement as he and Norte high five once more as the two pace around the locker room too excited to sit down as Norte stops and looks over at Muerto who points at him and blows a kiss.

Norte: What?! I have NO idea what you are talking about! I did no such thing!

Muerto puts both hands on his hips and tilts his head as he stares at Norte who throws his hands up acting like he doesn't know what Muerto is talking about who resumes taunting him about the kiss.

Norte: Okay! Fine! Yeah I did it, what do you want from me? Walton disrespected you and so one of them had to be taught a lesson and that is the ONLY reason I did it!

Muerto shakes his head back and forth and makes more taunts at Norte insinuating that he likes Lindsay.

Norte: I most certainly do not! How can you say such a thing! It was to get back for Walton disrespecting you I swear! Besides no disrespect to Lindsay but I swear I tasted tongue!

Muerto points at Norte and acts like he is laughing in a more suprising show of emotion than what we have seen of him in recent weeks.

Norte: It's not funny! No disrespect to her but I may have to go see a doctor! Besides it was better me than you!

Muerto now acts like he doesn't know what Norte is talking about.

Norte: Oh you know full well what I mean! Remember back at HEW? I know you can control yourself around good looking women! I'm surprised you didn't try giving any of them your number!

Muerto just stands there staring at Norte who puts his hands on his hips and stares right back at Muerto.

Norte: Don't tell me, you did?

Muerto shakes his head back and forth quickly.

Norte: Don't lie to me! Our personal lives are supposed to be personal!

Muerto lowers his head for a moment before looking back at Norte who face palms for a moment and shakes his head.

Norte: You have a MASK on! How did you expect them to hear you in the middle of a match! You're lucky we don't need drama like that here.

Muerto kicks an imaginary stone as he lowers his head and stands there for a few moments as Norte walks up and shakes him by the shoulders.

Norte: Snap out of it! Now is not the time to be sad! Remember? We're in the FINALS now! We are SO close amigo! All we have accomplished has been leading up to this final match and it goes without saying that this will be the most important match yet!

Muerto looks at Norte and holds a fist up showing that he is ready for the great battle that will happen at High Stakes.

Norte: We cannot lose sight of the prize before us! For this shall be the truest test of our strength, our ability, our determination! We will be up against very stiff competition! After all we're going to be facing the number 1 and 2 seeds of the tournament! They got those spots for a reason!

Muerto nods as Norte takes a step back and puts a hand to his chin as he thinks.

Norte: You heard the crowd during the match, in all of our matches, we have fans that will be cheering for us in that match and the least we can do for them is to capture the gold! I can already hear the announcement, "Here are your winners and the NEW World Tag Team Champions! Mascara Muerto!" I really like the sound of that, don't you buddy?

Muerto motions to an imaginary title belt around his waist showing that he wants it as much as Norte.

Norte: The titles are within our graps and all we have to do is reach out and take them! I know it won't be easy but will give it our all for the fans! The same way we showed Gorgeous Disaster we will show both Bad Company and Vox Populi what we can really do and just how amazing we are!

A phone can be heard ringing in the background as Norte looks past Muerto towards the lockers, walking over to an open one he reached into a duffel bag and pulls out a cell phone checking the number before he answers.

Norte: Did you see it? I told you we would win and now we're in the finals can you believe it? Don't forget you agreed that if we made it to the finals you would be here for the match, and we could also use an interviewer and who better than the World's Largest Action Interviewer? So you'll do it? Great! So we'll see you then? Perfect, don't worry Harley we will win and become the NEW World Tag Team Champions! We've been working so hard to get to this moment and now is our chance to really shine and show the world and you get to be here for it! Yeah. Okay we'll see you then, enjoy the rest of the show.

Norte hangs up the phone and puts it away as he turns to see Muerto standing there facing him with a titled head.

Norte: That was Harley, you remember him right? Tall guy, owned HEW?

Muerto stands there and just shrugs his shoulders to which Norte sighs.

Norte: Guess it has been a while since you last saw him and I was the one who talked with him more. At any rate he is going to be coming by for the finals! Which he agreed to do when we made it to the finals. He also agreed to dust off the mic and interview us!

Muerto just stands there and again shrugs his shoulders.

Norte: Do you think I should go see a doctor though? I think I taste death. I mean what if her lipstick was poisoned?

Muerto shakes his head back and forth at Norte.

Norte: What? I'm just saying! No offense to her or Walton but they don't exactly seem like Nuns to me, so who knows where that girls mouth has been! A lot of good winning this match will have been if I end up dying of some unknown disease later in the night!

Muerto once again shakes his head at Norte before taunting him some more about the kiss.

Norte: Very funny, but in all seriousness provided my tongue doesn't rot away and fall out we keep our sights on those titles! We must do everything in our power to make sure we leave High Stakes with those belts or die trying!

Muerto nods his head as he pounds a fist into his hand showing he is ready for that fight when it finally arrives.

Norte: Right! Well we better start thinking up our strategies since now we have some time for the Pay Per View to prepare for our big match! We're going to have to train extra hard for this one! Nothing but 200 percent focus and determination! Are you with me amigo?

Muerto stands there and tilts his head.

Norte: What?

He continues to stand there.

Norte: You have an idea? What is it?

Muerto stands there for a few moments before holding up his copy of Titanfall for the Xbox One.

Norte: That again? Don't you think we should be focusing more on the finals than on that game?

Muerto continues holding up the game and extends it out towards Norte who stares at it for several moments.

Norte: 1 hour, 2 tops. then we prepare for the finals!

Norte and Muerto make their way over to the TV and Xbox One as Muerto puts the game in and Norte turns on the TV and grabs a controller and sits down with Muerto.

Norte: Again it is MY Xbox One so I get to go first.

Muerto shakes his head as they start up the game and the scene fades out.

[Elijah Black]

[We’re on the far end of the Las Vegas strip with the Vox Populi, Elijah Black wearing a Corporate Avenger t-shirt whilst Everett wears a black t-shirt with a desert camo flak jacket over it]

Black: Every year Americans flock to this city in their millions with one thing on their mind: throwing their hard-earned money off the edge of a cliff because, whilst bankruptcy isn’t socially acceptable in almost every other city this country has, somehow it is socially acceptable to throw away your savings in the blink of an eye in Vegas because that’s what everyone else does.

Think about this for a moment. Thanks to some archaic legislation that some states have but others don’t, they created a forbidden fruit that means people don’t feel like a loser hoping to double up their savings with a lucky turn of a card, and instead it’s been given a false veneer of being something more than it is, and that’s reflected in the tacky facades of this city that bathe the area in a sickly neon glow that may be bright, but to scratch the surface you will find that it is hollow, but looking a little closer you will see it’s coated in a darkness we’re supposed to forget about.

Vegas wasn’t founded by some trailblazers, far from it. The city’s only here because the Mormons were passing through to find a state dumb enough to let them in to preach their lunatic fiction, but it didn’t get built up until the other two Ms came along: the Mafia and the Manhattan Project. And not in that order.

But still they flock, somehow convinced that there is some kind of “glamour” to this city, because they’ve been programmed to think that way by the media. Tell me, America, where is this “glamour” at two in the morning when the strip is populated by prostitutes and drunk idiots on stag weekends? That’s not glamorous, that’s both obnoxious and pathetic.

Now let me think, what else is obnoxious and pathetic that is in Vegas this week?

[Black makes a show of pretending that he’s thinking]

Black: Oh yes, that idiot that likes to pretend he’s the hero as if nobody saw him take the cheapest of cheap shots on a guy who was looking the other way.

[Black fires a disdainful look down the camera]

Black: Keep pretending you’re the honourable hero with that sucker punch available for everyone to see, Nighthawk, it just underlines what a liar, a fraud and a hypocrite you have always been, and the more you let the mask slip the more people will realise that I was right about you from the very start.

Everett: Somebody needs to tell him that there’s a lot of shit flowing around his ankles in that bubble he’s lived in for so long.

Black: The beautiful part is that, right now, Nighthawk thinks he’s got the drop on us because of some fluke win last week. As per usual, he spends so long looking at the walls of that bubble of his, ignorant to the stench that Daniel so eloquently described, that he fails to see the bigger picture…

Everett: You shot your load a week early, boys!

[Black pauses, seemingly counting to three, before he cuts in]

Black: As is so typical of the pair of you, you looked at the short-term and put all your efforts into getting a win, one you most certainly didn’t deserve, in a match that means nothing when the match you need to focus on is what the Vox were focused on the entire time. It’s not the first time the pair of you have made such an amateurish mistake, placing short-term bragging rights when the long-term goal is just ahead of you, yet somehow neither of you thought of that. That’s why I like pulling the strings of such self-centred puppets like the pair of you, you’re so easy to get you to do half the work for me, and you keep falling for it time and again.

Everett: You know what else is funny? Nighthawk was trying to act like the big man last week, saying it would be a fight and not a wrestling match, telling the world he didn’t have a clue the match for the belts would be a ladder match. Just how dumb are the pair of you? Do you think that ladder matches involve exchanging wrist locks or something?

[Everett throws his head back and laughs]

Everett: You know what’s going to happen in this match, don’t you? Anything goes, dummies, the only rule is you have to climb the ladder in the middle of the ring and retrieve the belts so you bet your ass it’s going to be a fight rather than a wrestling match out there, because no matter what you do there’s always going to be four guys looking to stop you in your tracks and make damn sure you stay stopped.

Black: Ah yes, four guys, let’s not forget Mascara Muerto are in this thing…

Everett: Didn’t you forget they just beat the Knock Out Kings?

[Black casts a sideways glance at Everett]

Black: If the pairing of Nighthawk and Aries are the wicked stepsisters, demanding the attention at the expense of everyone else, that would make Mascara Muerto the Cinderella of the whole tournament. They came in as the lowest-ranked seeds and were initially drawn against early favourites the Knock Out Kings…

[Black casts another sideways glance at Everett]

Black: …and against the grain they won. To look past them and think of focusing all our attention on proving a point to Nighthawk and Aries would be foolish in moist circumstances, but in this match it would be borderline suicidal as all it takes is for one of them to scurry up the ladder and that’s all she wrote.

But no matter how well they’ve done to get this far, slapping a few preconceptions in the face to do what so many people who thought they knew everything said would never happen, there’s a problem with the Cinderella story: when that clock strikes midnight, their carriage becomes a pumpkin and their ball gown reverts to being tatty rags, and that moment where they looked the equals of everyone that surrounds them is gone in a puff of smoke and they look like they shouldn’t be there.

Putting aside the fact that the moral of Cinderella seems to be you have to pretend you’re something that you’re not in a desperate attempt to gain the attention of the handsome prince, the sort of poisonous message that has given us a generation that wants to be the Kardashians, when that clock strikes twelve you will both find out if you were the princess or the pauper, but the fact is that it’s not yours to decide.

Everett: On one side of the ring, you have Bad Company looking to spoil the party because that’s what they’re like, whiny bitches that can’t handle someone being in the spotlight yet not good enough or smart enough to be in the spotlight themselves. On the other side of the ring, that’s here we’re going to be stood, and unlike Nighthawk and Aries we’re not going into the match thinking of ruining the night for someone else, we’re going into the match knowing what we need to do: win the match, win the damn belts, and when we have those belts that’s when people will stop pretending we’re not here.

Black: Exactly, we’re not looking at those belts that will be hanging above the ring as some trinket to adorn our self-obsession, we’re looking at them as a means of legitimacy, to stamp the name of the Vox on the consciousness of PWX and that was the plan from the very beginning, to create a group that could grow in status and influence and to grow within PWX until they stand at the very top, and that means shoving Troy Stone and his hangers-on into the dirt just as it means knocking The Establishment off their perch.

That’s where my plans are so perfectly formed compared to the rest. Nighthawk wants to think he can take me out, but the fact is that I’ve taken him out plenty of times, Everett has taken him out plenty of times, it has actually become a joke how often I can prove myself to be the better man and that may drive him crazy, but all that’s done is take his focus off the real goal here.

Bad Company, they just want the belts to say that they won them, grasping for something shiny like a couple of spoiled children but they don’t have a clue what the hell to do with them and they’ll get bored of them when something else comes along, and given we’re in the shiniest, fakest city in America that won’t take long – with any luck it’ll be when they’re making their entrance, taking them out of the equation.

Mascara Muerto, on the other hand, you want to win the titles to prove that you can – which is a fine and honourable attitude to have, but that’s it: you just want the belts to win the belts, to be champions but not use the championship. That’s the thing, to not just win the battle but be able to use the victory to further what your agenda is. And don’t pretend the two of you don’t have an agenda, because there’s only two reasons anyone gets into this business: because they have an agenda, or because they’re in it for the money. I hope the two of you have made yours minds up which you are.

[Black smirks on one corner of his mouth]

Everett: You’ve picked up a couple of wins and you’re got yourself a little bit of attention, but how long do you think you can keep that up? One match? A couple of matches? There’s a time and a place to get starry-eyed and think of being a champion, but you’re not going into a match with some team that got carried away with the pre-tournament hype here, you’re going up against a pair of teams who are within touching distance of winning the thing and they’re way more experienced at winning the big matches than you two are. At least one of the teams you’re facing is, the other lot just like to talk a lot and people somehow give a goddamn about them even though they haven’t won a damn thing.

Black: What you need to know, and this goes to all four of you, is that any hopes you have of getting within a fingertip of those titles is going to come screeching to a halt because the pair of us are going to be stood in your way from the first bell until we claim those belts for the Vox, and our reign begins. But don’t go thinking we’ll be charging head-long into battle from the opening bell like a pair of idiots, oh no: you’ll be facing a pair of wolves, silently stalking their prey and knowing where they are at all times, striking an unknowing victim who has been in our sights for longer than they’d like to consider.

While you all have ideas of what those titles mean to you and are envisioning some great reign, you’re all looking at it far too small while I’m looking at the bigger picture, a picture made up of bold strokes that depicts the Vox standing triumphant over the vain, the egotistical, the self-absorbed and self-interested at the start of something new, rather than the same-old with the same faces or, just to be that little bit different, a couple of masks.

So when the four of you are lying on the mat in varying states of unconsciousness, staring at the ceiling though your glassy eyes at the exact moment the Vox claim the titles for themselves and for the good of PWX, the one thing you will be able to say is that you were there at the exact moment things started to change…in body at least because let’s be honest, you won’t be contributing much laid out on the mat unable to move because your body finally told you it wasn’t worth it and you should just give in to the inevitable.

If you have to bet on a winner, consider this: I’m the guy whose won the biggest matches with the highest stakes and the most risk, and not only have I imparted that knowledge to my partner but in the past he’s been through hell to claim victory for himself all on his own, so with that in mind why would you want to consider any of the opponents, other than because you’ve been told they’re the teams you want to root for?

First you ignored us, then you pretended we weren’t here, but soon enough you’re going to know everything there is to know about the Vox Populi.

[FTB]

[Jason Aries]

The scene opens inside a dark area but out of everything there is a ladder sitting in the middle of the room with a single light shining down on it. The camera focuses in on the ladder as there is a stillness in the air as the camera seems memorized by it. The light glistens off the rungs of the ladder as the sounds of footsteps can be heard in the distance. The steps get closer as they stop the sound of someone’s voice begins to be heard he begins to speak.

“The ladder war has come back to Pro Wrestling X this time it’s the war to settle the score so to speak as we find out who the best tag team in the world is. Night Hawk and I proved our point last week that being we can be as violent and brutal as anyone anywhere. I have bumps and bruises my body feels like hell but the truth is your never one hundred percent in that business. I know after this week I am not going to be able to walk but at the end of the day I will be a champion. Night Hawk and I are about to do what we always do that being proving we are the best in the world. I am going to break this down so hopefully our opponents see what is about to happen.”

He steps out of the darkness and stands in front of the ladder as he looks up at the top as the camera just begins watching him. He then slowly lowers his head and then he focuses his eyes in and once again continues speaking.

“Elijah Black and Daniel Everett you two have already learned and you will learn once again that when you step in the ring with us no matter the stipulation you need to be on your game. The entire world gave us no shot last week and then when the bell rang they found out what our goals truly are. I know I have unfinished business with the both of you and I know Night Hawk still wants Black one on one. I am sure the both of you will go on and on about it being luck or a fluke we will see trust me on that. I have to ask Elijah is your protégé ready to feel the pain of this very ladder? Daniel are you sure you’re ready to fall twenty feet to the canvas you better be. “

He takes his eyes off of the camera for a few moments as he puts his hand on the ladder he once again looks up at the top for a few seconds as a calm look comes over him. He then slowly looks back at the camera as he refocuses his eyes he once again continues to speak.

“I am not going to stand here and pretend to know next to nothing about these next two because the truth is I know nothing of them personally. I however have been watching tape after tape match after match and while you both are great your nowhere near what you need to be. I mean watching the both of you it’s like a high school comedy act are you two even taking this seriously? I see the both of you making faces at each other that’s fine make all the pain faces you want this week. I am going to go back to that dark and violent place is that something either one of you even possess? Night Hawk and I will have no problem in stepping over you on our way to the top.”

He begins climbing the ladder as he gets to the top he swings his leg over and sits at the top and looks down at the camera. He seems to be at home at the height as he takes a deep breath he lets it out as he continues to speak.

“I want to leave each and every one of you with these parting words are you all willing to put your body and career on the line for the chance at glory? I need to know are you all ready to be put through pain you never thought you would ever feel in your life? I ask these questions for one simple reason I am I am ready to show the entire world just who I am. I will bleed buckets I will take years off of my career for one thing and that is the right to be called a champion. I have spent years learning from Night Hawk it is time to show him his teachings have not been a waste. Four men are about to be in the only company around these days that being bad company.”

He glares down in to the camera as it watches him for a few moments before the scene slowly fades to black.

[Mascara Muerto]

A Giant Interview

The scene fades in and we see Mascara Muerto standing in front of a PWX Backdrop as they await the arrival of their special interviewer for the night as they wait for what many could call the biggest match of their career yet in PWX and even in their whole career. The Dynamic Duo will find themselves going up against the seasoned teams of Vox Populi and Bad Company the top two seeds in the tournament. The match will be a true do or die match for them as losing is not an option after all they have done to get to that math.

Norte: Alright amigo, the time is almost here! Not long from now we will be in that ring once again this time with the ultimate prize at stake, the tag team belts. This will not only be our Pay Per View debut match in PWX but also our shot at the titles and our shot to show everyone who we are. I think I've got chills, what about you?

Muerto remains silent as he looks over and up at the arrival of the Seven foot Three giant in a suit with a mic. The giant grins as he and Norte shake hands.

Norte: Harley long time no see! It's good you could make it, now you get to witness first hand our victory in the ladder match as we capture the gold!

Handsome Harley: It's good to be here and it's good to see the team I gave a shot to all that time ago has found some success after HEW closed it's doors. Not surprisingly you're in a match for the titles something I've always believed you two would capture one day.

Norte: You are too kind, we have worked very hard since then training ourselves to be the best possible and here in PWX we have found that chance to show everyone just what we can do!

Handsome Harley: And you've managed upset after upset, knocking off two teams and defeating a third. Some of them beings ones people expected to see in the finals.

Norte: And now we get to compete for the titles we have been chasing since we arrived here, everything has lead to this match and I am confident not only will we win the belts but we may steal the show!

Handsome Harley: Confident as always, let's say we get this interview under way there are things the fans would like to know.

Norte nods as he gets in position for the interview while Muerto continues to stand silently staring up at Harley for several moments until Norte nudges him with his elbow and he snaps back to reality and gets in position as Harley brings the mic up.

Handsome Harley: Ladies and Gentlemen allow me to introduce myself I am the Worlds Largest and most Handsome Action Interviewer and I come to you from PWX where I will be interviewing the future World Tag Team Champions, Mascara Muerto! It feels good to do this again. Now to start us off, Norte, the world wants to know....what was it like locking lips with Abigail Lindsay?

Norte lowers and shakes his head for a moment.

Norte: I thought we agreed you wouldn't ask that?

Handsome Harley: I only agreed to be here to watch your match and to interview you, no questions off limits that's how it works in Hollywood.

Norte sighs as he regains himself.

Norte: To be perfectly honest, it wasn't half bad at first until Walton tried to break my back. Then later I started feeling ill after the match and I'm not entirely sure why.

Muerto acts like he is giggling even though nothing can be heard as Norte shoots him a glance before looking back towards the camera.

Handsome Harley: How does it feel to be in the finals at High Stakes for the Vacant PWX World Tag Team Titles?

Norte: Surreal, it feels almost like a dream and our opponents have been fond of saying that all this will ever be is a dream. That we will not be able to capture the titles we have been working so hard to get to, but we will show everyone that dreams do come true in PWX when we are declared the new World Tag Team Champions!

Handsome Harley: Your opponents Bad Company and Vox Populi have some history and animosity with each other going into this match, has this affected your strategy for the match?

Norte: Not really, we do prepare for any possible occurrence in a match and that includes us briefly teaming up with Bad Company against Vox and vice versa. Although unlikely we are also prepared for them briefly teaming up with each other against us seeing as anything can happen in a PWX ring.

Handsome Harley: The final match is being contested as a Ladder match, how experienced are you when it comes to such a match?

Norte: Compared to our opponents we have the least experience in the match, we have fought in a few but never in a major company. Regardless we expect it to be a brutal match with the Ladders being used as weapons but we can also use them with our agility to even the playing field, you never know what we might think of on the fly.

Handsome Harley: Speaking of on the fly, do you go into a match with some key moves in mind that you want to hit or is it all in the moment?

Norte: It is largely all in the moment, we have our common moves that we will hit in a match but we also find ourselves in situations where you just have to go for it and see what happens and what usually ends up happening is something that can be called a highlight of the match. What has allowed us to get along so well as a team is our ability to just do things out of nowhere, we always know what the other is thinking and when you have that there is no limit to what we can pull off and how we pull it off.

Handsome Harley: Shifting gears, Nighthawk of Bad Company said in his promo that he wants to shake hands with you before and hopefully after the match, will you accept?

Norte: Of course, we have nothing but respect for Bad Company and win or lose I will gladly shake hands with them before or after the match.

Handsome Harley: Nighthawk also mentioned that he plans on ending your dream of winning the titles, your thoughts?

Norte: I can't really hold anything against him for that because everyone else we have faced in this tournament, the Knock Out Kings and Gorgeous Disaster, they have both said the same things. That they will end our hopes and stop us, but we have shown both times that we won't be stopped, we are determined to succeed and win those belts.

Handsome Harley: He also only addressed all of this to you and not Muerto, saying that only you do the talking for the group.

Norte: Some people just don't like listening to Muerto and I have to admit sometimes I find it hard to do as well.

Muerto glares at Norte.

Norte: What? You can be a little much at times is all I'm saying.

Muerto shakes his head.

Handsome Harley: But he doesn't say anything.

Muerto glares up at Harley and goes to take a step towards him but Norte holds him back and calms him down.

Norte: Of course he does, you just have to take the time to listen.

Handsome Harley: Moving on, what are your thoughts on Elijah Black and Daniel Everett of Vox Populi?

Norte: Honestly? While I respect him as a competitor he does seem to be judgemental and angry at everyone and everything, particularily at Nighthawk. He seems to say anything to boost his ego and demonize Hawk in some way to justify what he does and how he does it. The guy has had a great career he is a former world champion and has held more gold than we have, but if I'm to speak honestly he doesn't seem to have the heart of a champion. His heart seems only bent on vanquishing the evil he tries to make Hawk out to be. As for Everett he is just following the word is law mentality that Elijah puts on him when he could be so much more without him, though the two could also be better if they gave up the crusade they are on.

Handsome Harley: Elijah questioned your motives for wanting to win the titles, believing there is some hidden agenda you two have and that it's the real reason you want to win the titles.

Norte: It's funny because he said he wants to win the titles because he believes it will legitamize the Vox Populi in the eyes of the fans and everyone else. Which is the same thing we are after, we want to slidify our place in PWX and show that everything up until now wasn't a fluke and the best way to do that is by winning those titles. Which we won't stop there, we will hold those titles for as long as our bodies will allow us too, we will cement our place in PWX as one of the best tag teams they have ever seen and as one of the most respectful and honorable teams. We don't want to use the titles to say that we are better than everyone else and use them to try and control PWX, we want the titles to show the world who we are and how could we are, it's not about being the best ever because sooner or later someone else will come along, we won't deny that.

Handsome Harley: Moving to the other member of Bad company Jason Aries, who has questioned if you two take this seriously and has compared you to a high school comedy act. Your response?

Norte: We actually do take this very seriously, which may be hard for some ti believe. But just because we take it seriously does not mean we will let it overtake us and control us. We love what we do, we do it to entertain and we enjoy doing it and if we let ourselves get caught up in all the seriousness than it will stop being fun for us and we don't want that. Outside the ring we seem laid back and care free because we try to be, we want to enjoy doing this for years and years and if we act hyper serious all the time non-stop than soon we're going to burn ourselves out and once the fun is gone, what is the point? Many like to take this seriously which is fine but we don't think that means getting absorbed by it, when we step in that ring we are serious even if we still try to have fun. If he doesn't think we are serious then we will show him in the ring just how serious we are.

Muerto nods in agreement.

Handsome Harley: He also went on to question if you two have it in you to withstand the pain you will feel in the match and if you are prepared to sacrifice everything for the titles.

Norte: We are not afraid to put our bodies on the line for a match, we take risks in every match it comes with being a high flier. As for the pain one can prepare all they want for it but the truth is very few have the ability to shrug it off so we know full well there is a great chance we will get hurt in that match, that we will be in pain even after a winner has been declared. But that won't stop us from giving the match our all to win those belts, if pain is just another thing we have to go through to win than so be it.

Handsome Harley: And that will be all the time we have for the night, any parting words?

Norte nods at Harley before staring right towards the camera.

Norte: Bad Company, Vox Populi, we find ourselves all chasing the same dream, the same prize. We all want to win the belts and will do whatever it takes to do so, so I expect to see your best and you will see ours and more! When we meet in that ring we will give it all do or die and when the dust settles and all that remains are two men standing with the belts, you will all see your New World Tag Team Champions...Mascara Muerto!

Handsome Harley: Thank you for joining me here tonight gentlemen and thank you for inviting me over. Good luck in your match and make sure you leave with those belts even if they have to stretcher you out.

Norte nods as he and Muerto shake hands with Harley before walking off screen.

Handsome Harley: Once again Ladies and Gentlemen thank you for joining me here tonight as I interviewed your future World Tag Team Champions the Dynamic Duo themselves, Mascara Muerto. I'm your host Handsome Harley signing off!

Harley lowers the mic as the scene fades out.