PCW Phase Sixteen: The Sign Of Four

The UIC arena was full of fans. Some were new and many of them were by now familiar faces, some of them having been present for every show since the beginning. They were making themselves comfortable, making sure their shirts and signs were visible.

When the lights began to dim, there was an immediate chant of "PCW! PCW!" echoing through the huge arena. The first notes of The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy began, the red, orange and yellow lights tracking up the ramp, leading the way for the new ring announcer, Griffin West. He ran out, sliding partway down the ramp with his shiny new microphone in hand, grinning winningly at the audience.

He was clad in a royal blue suit with a patterned tie and made it look good. Effortlessly, he jumped up onto the apron the climbed up onto the turnbuckle, looking a little too comfortable up there even in his nice shoes.

Helllloooo Chicago!

He jumped off the turnbuckle, rolled and landed on one knee in the center of the ring. He spoke as he rose to both feet.

Welcome to another fun-filled night here at the UIC Pavillion for the newest instalment of PCW, The Sign Of Four! He punctuated each word, his voice projecting.

Our first two competitors are coming to you without a point to either of their names, so let's give them all the encouragement we can. That aside, we have all sorts of goodies for you tonight! New faces, guest stars and incredible feats of athleticism you won't get anywhere else! So, thank you for coming, make yourselves comfortable and get ready for the best thing that's gonna happen to you all week!

He winked at the crowd, slid out between the ropes and hopped off the apron, sauntering over to commentary. Once he reached the commentators he wrapped an arm around his boss's shoulders and tried to subtly snag one of the headsets again to get in on the on mic action.

Rhea Ripley vs Brandi Rhodes

Rhea came out to a happy beat, bouncing and running down the ramp while touching hands, stopping a few seconds here and there before reaching the ring, climbing up on the apron and sliding between the ropes, climbing up on the turnbuckle to pump the already excited audience, the fans cheering even louder for the hyper Australian.

"Goin' in" started to play and the audience wasn't behind Brandi Rhodes as they were during her debut match. She came out with a different attitude, something a bit more on the cocky side. Her losses and how she'd been underestimated so far had started to mess with her head, and it showed as she entered the ring and paced near her corner, barely allowing the referee to pat her boots and kickpads.

Rhea tried taking control of the match, but after the loss of Brandi's partner, she wasn't going to go easy on the Australian. They exchanged locks, and though Rhodes was the less experienced one of the two, she managed to keep up nicely, especially considering she'd been travelling the whole weekend.

Unfortunately, despite how even the match looked now, Rhea got the win this time, successfully ending her winning streak with solefood.

The announcer pulled off the headset he had managed to get his hands on eventually and made his way back to his mainstage.

Hey, now would you look at that!

Griffin barely waited for the wrestlers to leave the ring before pulling himself into it.

Let's give it up for Miss Rhea! Finally gettin' back on the board! Alright! Next up we have one competitor with just one point and another one who just found himself empty-handed after a cash in. Both of them have a lot to prove. Let's make them feel welcome!

Buddy Murphy vs Chad Lail

"Day of rage" started playing and Chad Lail walked down the ramp with a stern look on his face, arms at his sides, strong and confident as he stepped inside the ring to meet his opponent.

A Bass Renaissance filled the air to announce the arrival of Buddy Murphy in a very ominous way. The 5'11" Australian came down the ramp, flanked by Mick Moretti, the leader of the Rapscallion's Rebellion, who accompanied him to the ring and let him do his entrance, stopping at Murphy's corner only when he was face to face with his opponent.

Murphy had his streak broken just recently when he cashed in his points and wanted to restart a new one, making Lail his first step on the ladder back to championship contention. Both men tried to show their strength and one-up each other, with Chad rolling away from the Meteora and letting Murphy land on the canvas.

After a few more minutes, and with Murphy's knees failing him a couple of times during his moves, clearly favoring the right one, Chad put him down with the Hangar 18, rolling him over after for the pin.

Wow!

The host came back to the ring, up in the center in no time.

Chad Lail keeps showing us why he deserves to be here and Buddy, that has got to hurt. He'll get back on his feet soon enough. Probably.

He leaned against one turnbuckle, practically lounging. The crowd was worked up and making plenty of noise for each of the matches.

We've made it halfway already, people! Let's keep this party rollin' with a Tag Team Match!

One team made of former competitors and the other of a brand new face and a TWA Star that just won't leave our humble home! We heard a lot of talk from the wrestlers in this match already so let's see if they can back it up.

After running his mouth, Grif walked around the ring, talking to a couple members of fans before heading back to his seat at commentary, clearly pouting when there was no available headset for him this time.

Tessa Blanchard & Indi Hartwell vs Shaul Guerrero & Rachael Ellering

Both teams had had their word exchange, especially coming from Tessa. Shaul and Rachael were already waiting for the other team in the ring, one pacing and the other one stretching in place, but both ready for anything that would get thrown their way.

Tessa and Indi came out to Blanchard's theme, and they taunted the other two by posing and taking their time before walking down the ramp. As soon as they'd set foot inside the ring, the team of Ellering and Guerrero started their attack on them, they weren't playing anymore and weren't willing to take much more of Tessa's disrespect.

Just as the stipulation Blanchard had set, and despite Indi's assistance, Rachael pinned Tessa after taking her down with a strong TKO, at the same time as Shaul set Hartwell for a Gory bomb.

The fact that Rachael had pinned Tessa, granted her a singles match with the third generation wrestler. But Indi wasn't happy with the result either, and both Hartwell and Guerrero continued to fight even after the bell had been rung.

Griffin peeked around the ring to make sure the wrestlers were clear of it before entering himself.

Alright, forget I said anything. They were way more than ready to back up their talk.

The crowd agreed, cheering the whole way through the match, some jumping out of their seats at the end.

And that brings us to our final match of the night!

He ran to one of the turnbuckles to do an improvised drum roll.

Are you ready for some fireworks? We have our PCW Champion versus TWA's women's champion! Let's get ready for a clash of the titans!

He yelled out the last and made his way out of the ring backward, going to sit on the commentary table, trying to talk into his headset mic since he didn't have his own.

Hania vs Taya Valkyrie

Hania came in with her usual seductive cadence, walking down the ramp calmly, making her way inside the ring through the third rope, using it to propel herself up and landing on her knees, howling right before removing her wolf-like cloak, setting it on her corner while she waited for her opponent to appear.

The lights dimmed, the usual white hue faded to black as a familiar tune filled the arena. “Warface” resonates throughout as a red glow illuminates the stage. The atmosphere was no longer the same as the crowd caught on quick to the arrival of Taya Valkyrie. Thunder clapped as she made her appearance onto the stage, a simple kissed blown to all in attendance as her cape glides behind her. Taya’s eye fixated on the ring momentarily before her focus shifts to the fans. The crown adorning blonde locks gleams in the rays of the stage lights as she proceeds down the ramp with nothing but confidence and focus in her eyes.

The TWA Women’s World Champion approaches the ring and stops short, removing her crown before raising it high in the air towards the Heavens. Valkyrie removed her robe and the jewels caught the glow from the lights. Embellished in all red, effortlessly gliding onto the apron like a red Phoenix. Taya enters the ring and prances around the ring, completely carefree, arms tossed into the sky as if reaching for the Heavens. She was ready to reign supreme.

They circled one another from the start of the match, moving around and measuring before locking up. Taya's strength was of little use when she found she couldn't catch Hania, but the she-wolf's speed wasn't a match when it came to being on the mat. Her submissions, though painful for a few seconds, got powerfully reversed by the Valkyrie, and the match almost turned into an all-out brawl for a second before returning to a technical bout.

Taya's years in Lucha Libre and Hania's training painted a picture the audience hadn't seen before, and just when everyone thought we were going to have a winner, Taeler Hendrix made her way down the ramp, followed by Madison Eagles, while Lita stood at the top of the ramp. The TWA Women's champion got distracted and turned to look at the flock of women waiting for her on the outside of the ring, however, Hania didn't take advantage of this, instead, she also leaned on the ropes, making sure they knew they couldn't interfere in this Champion vs Champion matchup.

Lita stayed out of the fight, but Taeler and Madison did climb up to the apron, defying the other two women. Blows started to fly, and the referee had to call the match off, while he called his team to help separate the four women.

The announcer had to sidestep the wrestlers on his way up, making a "Yikes" face before speaking into his mic again.

Well, that was terrifying. That brawl concludes our show, ladies, gents and everyone else! We'll see what's going to come of it and this champion's run here in PCW next week right here in the UIC Pavillion for Phase Seventeen: The Valley of Fear! We'll see you then!

He raised a hand in a wave as the lights dimmed and The Phoenix played and faded.