PCW Phase Six: Barbary Coast

There was an air of excitement rippling through the filling UIC Pavillion as everyone took their seats. Many of the fans present had been in the past several events but some were brand new, excitedly discussing what happened at the last shows with others who had seen them personally.

As the lights went down, people made their last moves to take their seats, juggle their personal items and find where to place their signs. The first notes of The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy filtered as the arena was filled with red light.

On the mark of the first chorus, the ramp was lit orange and yellow, bracketed by red. Louden Noxious, the official announcer of PCW ran out to the top of the ramp holding out his arms, mic gripped in one hand. He ran up the ramp, basking in the cheers of the audience and pulled himself up on the apron, raising his hands again, which got another large cheer from them. He dipped into the ring from the middle rope and ran around the ring, stomping and yelled into the mic.

Welcome to TWA's Phoenix Championship Wrestling! Thank you all for joining us once again here in breezy Chicago Town!

He waited for the cheers to die down, the music going down along with it.

We have a heck of a show here for you tonight! It's going to be packed with so much action, drama and athleticism that I'm going to let it speak for itself. So coming up first is a match set for One Fall and is a couple stars from TWA, Rob Van Dam versus Samoa Joe!

Rob Van Dam vs Samoa Joe

Rob Van Dam's One of a kind started playing and before it even finished playing, Samoa Joe ran from the side of the stage, tackling Van Dam to the floor. They both slid partially down the ramp, they rolled closer to the ring, much to the surprise of the audience, who'd stood up to try and watch what was going on.

Once RVD had recovered from the sudden ambush, the match that was supposed to happen, turned into an outright brawl. Rob jumped up on stage, just as he had pushed Joe off to the side of the ramp. He jumped off the stage, landing a clean frogsplash on the Samoan, who caught him and tossed him on the floor, pulling him up to put him in the Muscle Buster. 

The referee called for backup and also called the match off, doctors and officials rushed out to both remove the men from the arena and tend to them, trying to pull them away from one another.

Diego Alvarez watched the brawl unfold, a hand on his chin and his arms crossed. He patiently waited to see what the officials would do and gave a tip of his hat to Joe as he moved past him backstage. They shared a common enemy in Rob Van Dam, and the exchange hadn't gone unnoticed. The TWA Tag Champion approved of the developments. He turned his attention to the screen again to continue watching the rest of the show.

The crowd was awash with whispers and questions. Louden stood up from his seat by the commentary table and headed back to pull himself back onto the apron and into the ring.

The titantron lights up with just Brandi Rhodes speaking to the camera, foretelling the upcoming match.

Many say that I don't belong in this industry. Many say I haven't yet earned my spot. That's okay, you wanna know why?

I never asked for any of this to be easy. No, I love a challenge. You see, I'm more than just a pretty face. I'm here to make a change. And to bring change, you must make an effort. Effort is something I put forth day in and out. Whether it be inside a ring training or out, I try my hardest to overcome the opinions of every critic. I fight to show that I have passion. There have been many to put me down, but I know that deep down I tried. You see, this isn't fun for me.

Wrestling is my very own lifestyle, an escape. For each and every task that is put forward, I fight to overcome. For every naysayer, I force them to see what I can bring. I'm no broken woman, I'm no girl, I'm a warrior. Now, I must show that pride. As you take a stroll through my Garden of Eden, ask yourself one thing. Are you ready to face the snake charmer?

Lucifer himself has offered me that forsaken apple, and I turned it down. I made my own path. And now, I'll make you all see. I'll make you see that I am worthy of my spot and how I can be the best woman that anyone has ever seen step into the squared circle.

He raised the mic to announce the match but paused when Brandi did his job for him through the titantron. When the music hit, he rolled back out with a heavy shrug and joined the commentary table, joining in with them for that match.

Tenille Dashwood vs Brandi Rhodes

"Goin' in" started to play, just as the audience has set themselves firmly behind the underdog newcomer. She'd been relentlessly training for the last few weeks inside the PCW facilities, and all her hard work was paying off now as she walked down, cheered by the crowd who had made up their minds about her before the match even started.

Tenille Dashwood's Feedback by Janet Jackson started playing, and after Brandi's entrance, the crowd was split. Especially since they weren't sure what to make of her alliance to the Rapscallion's Rebellion or her companion, the powerhouse Madison Eagles. They both confidently walked down the ramp and as Tenille entered the ring, Madison settled at ringside, just stalking around like a shark.

During the match, Dashwood wasted no time in taking the upper hand, trying to show her opponent "her place." But Rhodes didn't take a step back, she fought back and took the Australian down with a spinning hangman's facebuster. Madison Eagles climbed up on the apron and just as she was about to go in, a recovered Tenille let her know that she didn't need help, and her trainer hopped off to wait for her to finish. The match was decidedly more difficult than what Dashwood had expected, and just as Brandi was setting up for the Sunnyside up, the Aussie pulled her back, threw her down, and pulled her hair back to tangle her up for Rising Tide, making the snake charmer tap instead of risking an injury.

Following the match, Louden raised himself back up, avoiding the two women and keeping his microphone gripped tightly so no one would try to snag it from him.

Thank you for all your support, Flockers! So far we've kept the action high and it isn't about to die down now. The next match, from the chatter I've heard in the back, is a grudge match in the making between two of the scariest men I've ever met.

He walked backward towards the turnbuckle post, as soon as he heard the first notes of entrance music, he ducked out of the ring and headed back to his seat to watch the match unfold.

Darby Allin vs Jimmy Havoc

Darby Allin's theme, "Runnin outta places," started playing, and the former skater turned demon walked down the ramp. The crowd was split, but he didn't seem to care at all what the fans in attendance thought about him. He entered the ring, and sat down in the corner, holding on to the bottom rope with both hands, with his back against the turnbuckle post.

Jimmy Havoc came out slowly, biding his time and waiting for the right moment during Silent Descent's Psychotic Euphoric to walk down the ramp. His red jacket moved behind him, and his long figure spilling in shadows, framed by the eerie red lights on the floor. The shadows flipped to his back as he moved and the lighting switched, letting his shadow linger behind him as he stepped inside the ring.

Both men circled each other for a moment and then locked up. After the collar-and-elbow, things started getting progressively less favorable for the King of Goths, as Darby started to get more and more technical. Jimmy tried, and successfully escaped every hold, but his focus got more and more blurry with each one. He started getting angrier, and Allin started to burst around the middle of the match, uncontrollably laughing at his opponent's clear desperation.

Once he put him in an armbar, it was comeback time, and Jimmy sprung out of the hold with just rage in his eyes, he started screaming unintelligible words at Darby, who continued laughing, and just as the goth had pulled him in for the acid rainmaker, the demon slipped off his arm, moved to the other man's back and put him in an inverted headlock takeover, which he then transitioned into a sleeper hold.

Jimmy's conscience began to fade, and just before he was completely out, he tapped to the younger man.

Mandy Leon waited for Jimmy in the locker room and got up when the man arrived.

It's time. You've done enough waiting, Jimmy. Are you ready to take back what life took away from you? 

Jimmy waited a few moments before answering, but instead of talking, he just shut the dressing room door to leave the cameras out.

The match already had the crowd in an uproar but if that didn't already have them worked up, the segment certainly did. There were gasps and chatter through the audience.

Louden had may his way back to the center of the ring by the time the short segment had ended.

This next match has been brewing through a lot of mixed words exchanged on social media and I think the two competitors have been itching for this fight so get ready to be on the edge of your seat for Eve Torres versus the woman I'm now contractually obligated to refer to as The Queen, The Greatest Legacy of all Time, Tessa Blanchard!

Louden made a face like he'd maybe eaten something a little sour and rolled out of the ring to make room for the two bitter opponents.

Tessa Blanchard vs Eve Torres

Tessa's music hit, and she was out there and being greeted by mixed reactions from the audience, though this time the boo's outweighed the cheers. She turned, her hair flipped, she winked and she walked with her arms at her sides, owner of her actions and the floor she walked on. She knew how her opponent worked, she'd watched the tapes and watched her train before, but something in the air seemed amiss from the start. Tessa was not coming out of this match without a victory.

"She looks good" started playing, and Eve Torres stood at the top of the stage while she was being introduced, striking her signature pose and giving the audience, and the camera a huge smile. She walked down the ramp confident, like one who knows the path leading to their own home. She let the arena adore her without giving anything back, she ignored the fans trying to make contact with her and continued on her way. She climbed up into the ring and smiled a confident smile at Tessa Blanchard, who smiled back.

The match was incredibly even. Torres' jiu-jitsu training making her blows even deadlier. Blanchard was taken by surprise by the former diva's ability for a moment, but she quickly regained her footing and went through the match like she would with any other opponent. Eve took to the top rope for the greater part of the match, attacking Blanchard with a diving double knee drop and making the audience scream when she performed her signature all-eve-sault on the third generation wrestler.

Tessa's patience was running thin and her attacks got more vicious right after she grounded Eve with an Irish whip knee strike. From there, it was suplex city for Miss Torres. Tessa closed-fist punched her on the ground when she wouldn't tap to her headscissor leglock, but the referee, much to the disgust of the crowd, didn't count for her to stop, apparently too focused on checking if Eve's shoulders were touching the mat.

Despite Eve's best efforts, this seemed to be a two-on-one match, and she was on the losing end. Blanchard picked her up by the hair and dragged her to her feet, provoking the slowest five count any referee could possibly deliver. She flung her against the ropes to help her catch speed and caught her with a hammerlock DDT, successfully ending the match, pinning a very much battered and bruised Eve.

She stood in the center of the ring, receiving the people's booing and bowing at them, a long, sarcastic and exaggerated bow before leaving the ring.

As the music faded, Louden climbed back into the ring and paced around it once, letting the cheers, jeers and shouts of the audience calm.

This marks the end of PCW's Season One, everybody! Thank you, each and every one of you, for supporting us through this crazy month. 
Next week we'll have the start of Season Two, with a very special... And felted... Surprise for you guys, when PCW Phase Seven: Planet Koozebane hits the air. 

Thank you Chicago and thank you to you Flockers at home too and have a great night!