Phase Forty-Seven: Peace, Love and Woe
The screen flashed in tones of sepia, with blue faded stars and a two stripes crossing over it in succession. Someone kicking and shadow boxing was shown against the changing background.
"All your heroes are dead. But CM Punk is not. And all of you will be in great company soon enough."
The screen started to fade, and a few flashes of CM Punk's matches showed up, with a smiling Punk looking straight at the screen before it went completely black.
UIC Pavilion
Candice LeRae & Natalya vs The Cycle Of Life
Taeler and Priscilla make their way out first. Hendrix raises her title up high in the air and walks down the ramp with Priscilla by her side. Kelly makes a quick glance at the title as they enter the ring. Hendrix takes no notice as she blows a kiss to the audience.
Candice LeRae rages her way out onto the stage to a round of applause. She steps aside and points to the curtains before Natalya appears as her surprise tag partner. The two women make they way to the ring and enter as their opponents look on with disgust.
Candice and Taeler starts the match, but immediately Priscilla is tagged in. Kelly and LeRae locks up with Candice taking her down. She connects with a series of moves, forcing Priscilla to tag Taeler in. Hendrix takes control briefly before Candice fights back with everything she has. She’s eventually caught by Priscilla as the woman grabs the hair. Taeler takes advantage.
She tags in Kelly and they switch back and forth, keeping Candice isolated. The fans begin to chant for a tag to Natalya and finally Taeler slips up, allowing Candice a superkick to the jaw. She manages to tag out and Natalya shows off her strength, overwhelming Hendrix. Priscilla tags herself in, unbeknownst to Natalya, and takes her down from behind. The two jump Natalya and Candice races in. She takes Hendrix down and the two brawl, rolling out of the ring as Kelly tries to take advantage. Natalya gets the best of her with a discus lariat and kicks in the Sharpshooter for the submission.
Rachael Ellering vs Tyler Breeze
Rachael makes her appearance first and heads down the ramp with determination on her face. No smiles tonight from the second generation star.
Tyler is our next with his selfie stick. He takes his time, making sure to get every angle of the fans behind him before entering the ring. He scoffs at Rachael before pretending to barf as the bell rings.
Breeze avoids Rachael, often sliding out of the ring to keep her from grappling him. Ellering eventually chased him on the outside, getting caught with a superkick. Tyler takes advantage and rolls her into the ring for a two-count. He beats down on Ellering before tossing her into the corner. He stomps down on her, avoiding the five-count entirely, before another two-count pin.
He drags Rachael by her hair around the ring, humiliating the woman. He eventually takes a selfie with the woman as he violently shakes her by the head. Rachael uses the distraction to her advantage and kicks him off. She tries to regroup as he goes for another superkick. Ellering ducks under it and rolls him up for the two-count. Breeze kicks out and connects with an uppercut before taking Rachael down with a sickening superkick. He pins her, putting his feet on the ropes, to get the three count.
Phil Jackal vs Pete Dunne
Purple lights flared as Phil Jackal ran full tilt down the ramp, slapping a few hands in passing as he jumped from the ramp, landed on the outside apron and flipped into the ring then jumped from the mat to the top turnbuckle to pose.
As he jumped down Young and Bitter began playing and overwhelming boos erupted from the audience. Pete Dunne came into view with a cocky smile on his face. He took his time getting to the ring, looking unimpressed by his opponent. He moved like he was getting into the ring and the crowd responded so loudly he jumped back down and walked around the entire ring a second time. Phil shouted out him and made moves like he was going to jump out at him. Pete waved him off and got into the ring opposite him.
The match got off to a harsh start. There seemed to be some heat between the pair and Pete started things off with several hard hits, but Phil was proving just a little too fast, dodging half of them.
For most of the match, the two struggled for who was setting the timing and tone. Phil kept to the air as much as he could but any time Pete caught ahold of him, he took him off guard with sever power moves that rocked the ring.
Finally Phil took him off guard with two consecutive flying moves and managed to put down the bruiser weight for the three count to erruptive cheers from the crowd at large.
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Good Luck
Chris paced back and forth in the empty hall. His match with Sami was fast approaching and there was a mix of excitement and fear. Sami was unlike anything he’s ever faced. Allysin proved to be a challenge the first time they squared off. If Callihan could beat her, whereas Chris could not, he was in for a hellish night. Still, this opportunity doesn’t come often. If he can win tonight, he’s in the running for a title match.
Cadwell didn’t remain alone. Jenny Blake slowly approached him, mixed emotions on her face. She cleared her throat to speak. “Big match coming up. Definitely earned it.”
“You put up a good fight last week. You were damn close to taking home the win.”
“Close doesn’t cut it...but everything happens for a reason. Maybe I’m simply not ready for the challenge Sami poses. I hope you are. He’s not going to take this match lightly.”
“Anything he can do, I can do.”
“Doesn’t mean you should. Good luck.”
Jenny leaves Chris to his own thoughts as the man continues to prepare for his match.
Chris Cadwell races out onto the stage to a round of applause. He makes his way down the ramp with a determined expression. He enters the ring with confidence, knowing what he must do to win.
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Indigo Kelly (With Hania) vs Zack Sabre Jr.
Indigo made her way down the ramp. She hadn't seen Hania since before she got into the gorilla position and she wasn't around now either. The whole situation seemed extremely suspicious, but she had a match to focus on. She made it into the ring and glared at Jimmy as she passed by him, and received a cold stare in return.
Zack came down the ramp, made a quick round around the ring and was stopped by Jimmy, who pulled him by the wrist to tell him something that only the two of them could hear. It was a quick exchange, and there was nothing readable from their expressions to tell what had just happened.
The match started and they fought as clean and fairly as Indigo's superhuman abilities allowed, but in the end, Zack's experience, and maybe a little something of an extra incentive gave him the victory over the demonic woman, who spent a great deal of the match looking over her shoulder, hoping Hania would show up unharmed, but alas, she ended the match alone, though Sabre did offer her his hand to stand up once they were done.
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Skinned Wolf
The camera is cloaked in darkness, but the room was far from empty. There was movement as if someone were struggling and panicking. Eventually, the lights brighten to a slight dim, just enough for Hania to be seen strapped to a chair and her lips ducted shut. The Howling Huntress tries her best to escape, but she couldn’t move.
She wasn’t alone, however. A figure came into view and she looks to them with a glare. It was too dark to get a great view of the unknown kidnapper. Not even Hania seemed to be aware of who they were.
Another figure eventually appears and the two turn to each other before nodding. They both booted Hania in the chest, shoving her back in the chair. They proceeded to beat down on her, unstrapping her from the chair before tossing her into the hard walls.
Only when she was barely conscious did they stop. They stepped closer to the camera and it became clear they were women. The second figure bent down, black lipstick the only thing visible as her lips curled into a wide grin.
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Sami Callihan vs Chris Cadwell (Non-Title Match)
Callihan comes next with a stoic expression. The man makes his way down the ramp, each step seeming to trigger his lips to spread into a maniacal grin. He slides into the ring, tossing the title aside.
Sami charges before the bell even rings. He spears Cadwell into the corner, beating him down as the bell rings. Cadwell tries to fight back but Callihan overpowers him. Chris regroups on the apron, creating space with a high kick. He slingshots himself into the ring with a DDT and takes control of the match.
Eventually, Sami takes control again. He chokes Cadwell in the center of the ring, nearly counting himself out. He continued his torment by twist the neck of Cadwell in the center of the ring. Chris fights back, however, showing Sami he’s no easy pickings. The two go back and forth with Sami nearly getting a pinfall again and again. Getting frustrated, Sami attempts to choke him again, but Cadwell catches him with an armbar. Sami refuses to tap out and lifts the man up high. He attempts a powerbomb, but Cadwell counters for a packaged pin for the shocking three count. Cadwell races out of the ring and celebrates as Sami sits in the ring stunned and pissed.
Flash Morgan Webster vs Rhea Ripley (All-Weight Championship)
Rhea Ripley is up first to the stage. She makes her way to the ring with the stolen title around her waist. She smirks to the fans as she enters the ring and holds the title up high.
Morgan Webster is out next, nearly running to the ring to meet Rhea head on. The two clashes in the ring as the bell goes off, going back and forth. Rhea headbutts Webster and takes him down with a spinebuster for the pin. Morgan kicks out at one. She attempts another power move, but is taken down with a dropkick.
The two clash again and Rhea uppercuts him. She stomps his chest in the center of the ring before tossing him across the ring into the corner. Rhea goes for a running big boot and Flash dodges it before connecting with a backstabber. He gets the one count and the two continue to battle it out. Morgan has the advantage, taking Rhea down again and again until she slides out of the ring in frustration. She snatches up the title and raises it high. “It’s mine! I already won this!”
As she mouths off to Flash, Frankie comes up from behind with a vicious attack. The fans are in shock as the match is thrown out. Frankie continues to beat down on Rhea before tossing her into the steel steps. She demands a mic and makes eye contact with a fallen Rhea.
“You...you were supposed to be my friend, but the minute gold came into the picture? Tossed me aside like I was nothing to you. I’m tired of being a doormat, taking loss after loss because I want to do the right thing. Now I’m going to give back what this company continues to give me: Hell.”
She turns to Webster with a malicious expression.
“And you... YOU have something of mine. I was the FIRST All-Weight Champion. That is my title you’ve gotten comfortable with. Rhea is the last person you should be worried about now.”