Phase Fifty-Four: Raiders of the Lost Ark
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Indi Hartwell Confronts Candice LeRae
Candice wasn’t booked tonight, but she was present anyhow. The only way to adapt would be to watch and understand how to manoeuvre in such a unique realm. Her quiet time was interrupted, as usual in PCW, by none other than Indi Hartwell.
“Enjoying your night off? Typical.”
“Excuse me?” Candice says as she slowly stands. “What’s that suppose to mean?”
“People like you, average or below, use your free time to lounge around instead of improving yourself. I’m not booked, so I’m not hanging around for too long. I have the training to do to remain impressive, but you can’t relate to that.”
Candice weighs her options and shakes her head before turning her back to Indi. “I don’t have time for this. I’m watching the show. Go train and stop bugging me.” Indi smirks and takes a seat next to Candice. LeRae sighs heavily.
“It’s not like you’ll learn anything. You can’t compete with us, especially not me. Might as well just pack your bags.”
“If you were so good, you wouldn’t need to blab about it. Action speaks louder than words.”
Indi nods. “You’re absolutely right, Candice.” Hartwell stands to get feet and suddenly yanks LeRae from her seat and tosses the woman over a nearby table. Candice drops to the floor hard and Indi proceeds to attack her until security splits them up.
UIC Pavilion
Rhea Ripley vs Alexxis Nevaeh
Alexxis is out to the ring first with a smile on her face. She greets the crowd and enters the ring, ready to get rowdy against her opponent tonight.
Ripley makes her appearance with a stone expression. Callous and cool as a cucumber, Rhea makes her way to the ring and enters with a smirk shot towards Alexxis.
The bell rings but Rhea doesn’t make a move. She snickers at Alexxis and mocks her height by raising a hand up high. “Go on. Jump for it, mouse,” she says with a smile. “Show me how strong you think you are!” Alexxis does her best to reach but finally stomps on Ripley’s foot. The blonde hunches over in pain and Alexxis grabs the hand before following up with a corner arm drag.
She keeps Rhea grounded with quick strikes. Ripley is shocked at the aggressive and is caught in the corner with multiple stomps. Alexxis follows up with a dropkick before yanking Ripley to the center for the pin. Rhea powers out at two and Alexxis tries to keep control with a double knee drop, but Ripley rolls out of the way. She takes control with her overwhelming power. Rhea tosses Alexxis around and shoves her into the corner, slamming the head into the turnbuckle viciously before setting her up on the top. Ripley goes for a suplex, but Alexxis headbutts her down.
Alexxis leaps for the crossbody, but she is caught in midair. Ripley slams her down before stomping a boot down for a cocky pin. Alexxis easily kicks out at one, but Rhea has had enough. She shoves Alexxis into the ringpost in the corner to daze he before finishing her with a Riptide to be awarded her second point.
CM Punk vs Taeler Hendrix
Taeler has been feeling less than ideal since her loss and took it out on Punk, costing Jay his match. At this point, she needed to rethink her decisions, but first? Punk wanted to make her pay. She waited for him in the center of the ring as he entered. The two had a long stare down even as the bell rang. They circled the ring before finally locking up. Hendrix was in no mood for a technical battle and immediately claws at the eyes. The referee gives her a warning as she snatches the back of the head down to the mat. Blinded, he’s an easy target for a pin, but still kicks out in time.
Hendrix slaps and scratches at his face, not even wrestling, but genuinely trying to mail him. Punk manages to crawl into the corner, playing possum until she’s close enough to send right into the second turnbuckle. CM Punk capitalizes with running knee into the corner before going for the pin. Taeler uses the ropes to break the count and slides out of the ring. Punk doesn’t hesitate to go after her, flying through the ropes with a suicide dive. They both drop to the floor, but Punk is up quick.
He attempts to capitalize on Hendrix, but she sends him into the steel steps. Hendrix climbs into the ring to look for a count out at first, but instead decides to roll out and attack him again. The two brawl on the outside, but it’s Punk who sends her back into the ring before locking in the Anaconda Vise for the tap out victory. Punk is awarded his first point and Hendrix looks on in both anguish and frustration.
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Shooting The Breeze
The ring was decked out with a party theme, for this week's episode of "Shooting The Breeze" with Tyler Breeze. Streamers, confetti, balloons and noisemakers filled the ring - all with the New Years theme to them. Tyler was dressed in a purple sequined vest, over his white dress shirt, a matching purple sequined party hat and some cheesy 2019 glasses on.
"Happy New Year, ladies and gentleman! And while I hate clichès, I'm gonna kick things off with a new years resolution. I promise... To continue to deliver the most interesting and entertaining talk show in all of wrestling. All the while, continuing to deliver incredible win after win, here in the PCW. I promise to be the bar that you all set your sights on! To be your role model and hero! You're welcome!"
He nodded his head, clapping his hands, while the crowd jeered his antics. "But enough about that. Let's focus on today. On Twitter, I put out an open call to anyone to be on the show today. And one man was quick to get in contact with me. My guest is a man you all know veeeeery well. Welcome to the show... Phil Jackal!"
As the cameras would pan over the rowdy crowd, Phil Jackal’s theme song would blast throughout the PA system, followed the first verse, the famous line by Kevin Hart, “All I can tell y’all is that it’s about to go down” followed by a man saying the words “World Wide” multiple times. Smoke would emerge from the stage, and a few moments later, Phil Jackal would emerge from the smoke, he would be wearing a black jacket with the words “World Wide” written in red on the back of it and blue and black tights.
As he was in the center of the stage, Jackal would pull out a towel from the back of his tights and what was on it was “Shooting the Jackal”, which was a message towards the host of Shooting The Breeze. He would then throw it on the floor before stomping on it. Soon afterwards, he would finally make his way towards the ring.
A few moments later, Phil was already in the ring and was making his way towards the right turnbuckle before hopping on it. He would beat his chest three times before looking off into the distance, he would then get off the turnbuckles before heading over towards the other side of the ring and hopped onto the turnbuckles before making a cross for his late father. He would finally hope off the turnbuckle before going over to the chair across from Tyler.
"Alright, Jackal. Let's get down to business. When we discussed you coming on the show with me, you told me you had some stuff to get off your chest. And I'm here to give you the platform to do so. The floor is yours. Tell the world what you want them to know."
“See, this is why you’re one of the only people I respect around here Breeze, you give the right people the respect they deserve.” He said as he would give the host a smile before turning his attention to the camera. “Ever since I’ve come to PCW, I have not been able to bring out my full potential, but that’s how my whole rookie season last year went. Yes, I was able to be apart of a Championship match against Flash Morgan, and I hate to say it but I lost.”
Phil would pause for a moment before talking back into the mic. “But that won’t happen again! Flash, you might’ve beaten me once but I won’t stay down. You see, when I say I will do something, I will. And right now, I am saying that I will do whatever it takes to take that Future Phoenix Championship from around your waist.”
Tyler nodded his head, looking on impressed and amused. "Very strong words, amigo. Any last thoughts before we wrap up?"
“Yes, I would also like to send a message to Assistant GM Taya Valkyrie. I don’t care what you think about me, I don’t care if you come in the way of my destiny... But if you do get in my way... I will run through you... So you better watch your back.”
Tyler looked on in surprise, his mouth agape from the threatening message Jackal had. Phil exited the ring, the cameras cutting away.
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Will Ospreay vs Charlie Morgan
Will is our first to greet the PCW fans. Since his showing in the rumble, he’s been on a slow rise and is hoping to build up points to reassert himself as a threat.
Charlie is up next and her luck has slowly thinned out. From Fire partnering and being preoccupied with Jenny to losing her shot in the rumble by cheap tactics, it’s like Morgan is on a steady decline, but she looks to bounce back tonight.
The two shake hands before locking up, but Ospreay easily wiggles out of her grasp and locks the arm behind her back. She smoothly gets out of it and connects with a Northern Lights Suplex pin. Will kicks out immediately and gets the side headlock, but Charlie kips up and takes him down with an arm drag. She goes for another, but Will uses his weight to hold her down before slapping the chest. He then goes for a corner arm drag before dropkick Morgan into the corner. Will takes control and keeps Morgan grounded, getting two close pins. He takes a high risk from the top with a moonsault and Charlie counters with double knees into the gut.
She quickly capitalizes with a cross face submission, but he fights his way out. He lifts Morgan up and drops her down with a back suplex. The crowd are really into this as the two go back and forth. Morgan gets the advantage with a hurricanrana and sends Will into the ropes. She rebounds and connects with the double knees to the back for a close two count. Charlie sets him up for an Irish whip, but he counters with a kitchen sink to the gut. Morgan drops to the mat hard and Will immediately sets her up for the Stormbreaker for the pin and his third point.
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Sami/Allysin
The camera is rolling as Allysin stands backstage with a similar getup as her promo video. This time, she had another Sami merch shirt with the sleeves cut off and the mask sitting on her. She removes it, just as before and smiles.
“I’ve yet to hear from Sami, but I’m not surprised. He doesn’t like the new Allysin. The one that’s not running into this completely reckless. He knows I’ve been thinking and plotting since I left. Now he’s afraid of what comes next, but he can’t hide from me forever. We got plenty to catch up on and I’ve got so much to say to his face. Sami, if you’re liste—“
Before she can finish, Allysin is speared down to the floor by the man himself. He lays in fist after fist and she fights back without hesitation. The two brawl backstage and topple into crates and passing stars. Sami eventually shoves Allysin’s head into the wall and the woman is dazed before he lifts her up high. He looks to toss her into the catering table, but she manages to wiggle out of his hold and shove him back. Kay immediately goes for a bicycle kick and takes him down.
Kay shoves people out of the way and grabs a trashcan. She dumps the contents into Callihan before slamming the can repeatedly on top of him. Allysin shoves the can on top of him before forcing him to his feet. She whips him into the wall and the man crashed into the floor. Referees attempt to break it up, but Allysin shoves them back as a warning before eventually taking them all out. This allows enough time for Sami to recuperate. He charges and lifts her up before planting her through the food table with a spinebuster. Security separates them, even having to hold Allysin back as she tries to get the last strike, despite being hurt. Callihan spits in her face and she desperately tries to take him down, face beginning to turn a shade of red, as Sami smirks at her.
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Vicky Haskins (With Scarlett Bordeaux) vs Shaul Guerrero
Vicky is out first followed by the Heart of PCW Champion. Haskins is seen carrying the infamous barbed-wired bat in her hands, admiring its twisted beauty before making her way down to the ramp. Scarlett remains on the outside, taking the bat carefully as if it were a child as Vicky enters the ring.
Shaul makes her appearance and she comes marching down the ramp, not bothering with theatrics. The women slide into the ring and the two collide before the bell even rings.
Guerrero has Vicky on the run early on, using her power to keep Haskins grounded. It’s not enough for the pin, however, and Vicky crawls into the corner for safety. Guerrero charges and Haskins makes sure its a mistake by rolling out of the ring. Shaul connects with the turnbuckle before Vicky pulls her out of the ring. She mercilessly beats down on Shaul as the referee counts. She slams the woman’s head against the apron before scrubbing her face into it. Bordeaux cheers her partner on and even leans over Shaul’s back while her face is still planted to lightly kiss her friend.
Haskins tosses her back in for the pin, but Shaul kicks out. The fans rally behind her as Vicky keeps control. She tosses Shaul into the corner and headbutts her before choking her in the corner. She backs off at four and elbows Guerrero hard. Vicky admires her handiwork. She looks to Scarlett and demands the bat. Bordeaux slides it under the ropes and Vicky points it at Guerrero, clearly unfazed by disqualification. She looks to swing, but the referee gets in her way. This allows Guerrero to take advantage with a superkick. She follows up with the Three Amigos for the pin.
Shaul points to Scarlett at the end of the match, a smirk on her face as Bordeaux holds tightly to her Championship while pulling Vicky out of the ring.
Flash Morgan Webster vs Corvus (With Vipress)
Corvus was already in the ring, but Vipress was nowhere to be seen. Harlow was also absent, allowing her minions to do the work for tonight. Time passes before Vipress appears with Flash being dragged down the ramp by his leg. She forces him into the ring and Corvus looks upon him with an intense expression. A crazed look only those with evil intent could harbour.
Vipress exits the ring as Corvus takes his time in torturing Morgan. The man was weakened heavily by Vipress and stood no chance. Corvus finished him off with a sleeperhold, grinning as the Modfather slowly fades into oblivion. Vipress looks on in amusement and celebrates the victory with her partner as the referee checks on the champion.
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Indigo/Priscilla
Indigo and Priscilla are in the hall, Priscilla heading to Taya to demand another matchup, but Indigo stops her. “We need to talk.”
“Not now! I’m—“
“Yes, now. For once, talk to me and act like a mother! You’ve been so strange since Vipress. What she said clearly got to you, but why? What is it that you haven’t been telling me?”
Priscilla stared at Indigo for a long time, her face unreadable. “Vipress is trying to toy with me and I’m going to put an end to it. That’s all.”
“What are you hiding? What about Hania and Harlow that you’re not telling me?” Priscilla says nothing and Indigo slams her hand against the wall.
“FOR ONCE, STOP TRYING TO SPARE ME FROM THE BIG, BAD WORLD AND JUST SPILL IT!”
“Hania is dead because I wanted her out of the way,” Priscilla says it so calmly and cooly that Indigo wasn’t sure she heard right.
“What?”
“She’s dead because I told Harlow to do it. She wants your soul and I couldn’t let her take it... So I offered up Hania’s instead. That’s why she’s been targeting Hania the way she has...”
“How...how long have you... Been plotting this?” Indigo could barely get her words out. She choked on each one, trying so hard to keep her composure. Emotions were swarming in her mind, but she looked Priscilla in her eye and saw nothing. Hallow, empty orbs staring through her.
“Since she attacked you. I knew as soon as she revealed herself that you were in danger of losing your soul. I did what I had to do. It was either you...or Hania. She willingly stepped up to sacrifice herself. That’s more on her than me.”
Indigo couldn’t speak. She simply stared at Priscilla and saw nothing but a monster. How could she do this to her? How could Priscilla take the one person she could count on? How? HOW?! Indigo took a step back.
“It wasn’t enough, though. She wanted Hania gone permanently. Then... Something happened. Now she’s no longer following our deal. She got wind of that,” she said in disgust as she pointed at Indigo’s belly. “Now she wants it. A fresh, pure, and innocent soul she can corrupt.”
“Wha—?”
“And if you want that baby to survive, you need to stick by me.”
“Are you crazy?! FUCK YOU! I hate you! You are not my mother. You’re a monster, the spawn of the devil himself. Stay away from me and my baby!”
Indigo ran off into the opposite direction, leaving Priscilla alone to ponder. She can’t leave Indigo alone, but the child will likely go haywire if she gets near. “Dammit...”
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Kyle O'Reilly's Open Challenge
Kyle is already waiting in the ring with a mic in hand. He looks confident despite this open challenge having a number of opponents that could appear. He smiles and clears his throat. “This open challenge was orchestrated by Taya. I told her not just anyone should be able to face me, but she wouldn’t hear it. After my loss to Punk, she thinks I’m getting complacent and soft. Can you believe that?!” O’Reilly laughs loudly and shakes his head. “Whoever she set me up with, get the hell out here already. I have things to do.”
Everyone waited for what seemed like forever until a record scratch could be heard. Dolph Ziggler made his way out to the stage and he received some mixed reactions. O’Reilly looked unimpressed but still made the effort to attack Ziggler as he climbed the apron. He yanked Dolph and beats down on him until the referee has to force him back. The bell finally rings and Kyle attempts an armbar early on. Ziggler escapes, but Kyle locks in an ankle lock immediately. Dolph struggles to escape, but once he does, Kyle is on him for a sleeper hold.
Ziggler counters with a jawbreaker and creates some space between them. Kyle goes for a clothesline, but Dolph reverses into a backslide pin. O’Reilly kicks out and goes for a roundhouse. Ziggler ducks and connects with a dropkick to the back. Dolph takes control with fast-paced action, keeping Kyle off his feet. He connects with a superkick, but only gets the two count. O’Reilly crawls into the ropes and Dolph charges, but he goes flying as Kyle yanks the ropes.
Dolph collapses on the outside and the referee starts the count. Kyle doesn’t bother with the count. He continues to beat down on Ziggler until the match is thrown out. He snatched a steel chair and slams it against the back over and over until security forces him to retreat.
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Taeler Hendrix and Jay Lethal
Taeler paces back and forth in the secluded portion of the PCW building. She’s spent her time here often and it shows as ivy grows in the corners and other plant life begins to surface. Hendrix slows her pace and breathes in heavily. She can’t understand what’s happening. The losses, the lack of control—where does it end? She should’ve had Punk. She HAD him.
Just then, Jay makes his appearance. Only a few knew about this room. Taeler hid it well. The two were glaring more than lovingly staring at each and Hendrix finally had enough.
“Where were you?”
“I shouldn’t have to hold your hand through a match this week after you cost me my own!”
“I had my reasons for lashing out. You know that! That doesn’t mean you should get some petty revenge against your wife.”
“Now we suddenly care about the marriage.”
“What is—“
“You didn’t care the last showing when you distracted me.”
“Marriage is a team effort. I lost control of my emotions, but I didn’t purposely abandon you as you did me tonight.”
Jay stares at her for a long time before shaking his head slowly. A smirk started to form, but there was no humour in it.
“You’re selfish. It has become really apparent that your title loss is all you think about now. Not me...nor Tefé...”
The ivy surrounding them pulses and the room slightly shakes as if the plants were enraged. Taeler flares and Jay takes a step back.
“Get. Out.” He left her alone to her thoughts. “I’m losing control...”
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Jenny Blake vs Fire Ant
Jenny and Fire Ant shake hands in the centre of the ring and hug each other before locking up. The two test each other with different holds. They wanted to see what they could get by with. This was for the gold, after all. Jenny wanted to be a fighting champion and offered Fire the opportunity despite the point system. She wanted to prove her worth as champion and Fire Ant wanted to prove he could be on top of PCW.
Eventually, they come to a stop, unable to hold the other down for long. Jenny claps her hands to get the crowd hyped before locking up with Fire Ant again. He falls back and tosses her up and over with his feet. She lands hard and Fire rebounds off the ropes with a cannonball for the pin. She kicks out at one. Fire Ant continues to wear Blake down, keeping her grounded with an array of aerial assaults. The woman rolls out onto the apron and Fire Ant charges. She sidesteps and connects with a knee strike.
Blake follows up with a hotshot to send Fire Ant back into the ring for a one count. She waits until he stands before connecting with a hurricanrana. She sends him into the corner and follows up with a bronco buster. The fans are on her side as Fire Ant slowly rises. She looks for another hurricanrana, but he powerbombs her into the corner. Fire dazed her with multiple elbows before whipping her into the opposite corner. He follows up with a dropkick, but she dodges. Jenny yanks him out of the corner and finishes him with a Canadian Destroyer for the three count.
The two hug it out in the ring as Jenny retains her title and Ant holds her arm up high. She grabs a mic and smiles as Fire Ant leaves her to it. “For so long I’ve fought for this title. I fought to be champion and the opportunity was never awarded to me. I simply wasn’t what they wanted and so they kept me from it. I’m not going to let that happen. I respect the point system, but I also believe in giving other opportunities, so I say why not defend my title every week? Against those with or without the points necessary. I wanna be the champion that’s not afraid to fight. I wanna be the champion th—“
“Woah, woah, woah, chica. ¿Has perdido la razón? Have you lost your mind, Jenny? You don’t get to demand this and that because you’re Champion now,” Taya says as she makes her way to the stage. She laughs in a sarcastic manner and shakes her head. “You wanna be a fighting champion? You barely won that thing because Sami was distracted by the special guest referee and now you think you’re some kind of big shot? It’s actually... Kind of adorable. Silly, but adorable.”
Taya shrugs her shoulders as the fans boo her before settling her eyes back on Jenny. “If you wanna lose it so badly, fine. You’ll defend your title every week... But I decide who you will face and you won’t know until the night of the show.”