ENTRANCE
/ˈɛntrəns/ - noun
the act of coming onto a stage, by an actor, dancer, or athlete
/ɪnˈtræns/ - verb
Something so beautiful or interesting that you cannot stop listening to or watching him, her, or it
CELESTIAL CORTEX ARENA, KNOWHERE
LOCKER ROOM
What a week. Fighting an actual Yautja, rescuing schoolchildren from an Ultronized Green Goblin, and even interfering on behalf of a ragtag multiversal hero group against Thanos and his Black Order stable. And here Manami thought this week was for R&R before tonight’s title match.
Her shoulder is screaming bloody murder and there’s a mean crick in her neck, with the bandages and athletic tape to prove it. Two extra bullseyes for her to target, Manami thinks. She’ll need to keep a close eye.
DING! DING! DING!
Just as soon as she’s finished warm-ups, the three strikes of the bell ring out. Intros coming soon, so it’s time to get ready.
“You got this.”
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“Tonight’s main event with no time limit is for the INFINITY PRO WRESTLING MULTIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP!”
Ring announcer David Angar’s voice booms through the entire arena, followed by a cascade of cheers from the tens of thousands gathered.
“And it will be contested inside the ADAMANTIUM CAGE!”
Right on cue, the Knowhere drones bring the cage on top of the ring. Twenty feet of adamantium bars on all four sides, covering the ring and some parts of ringside.
“There will be no count-outs, no disqualifications, and NO QUARTER. The only way to win is by pinfall, submission, or knockout!”
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The lights of the arena go down and just as the tens of thousands in the arena hold their breath, the shriek of Dokugumo’s theme pierce the silence.
“Introducing first…”
A sole spotlight shines on the center of the ring, reflecting light off a slick puddle on the mat. The puddle turns into a gaping mouth and as if an elevator, an imposing, muscled figure in green, black, and white emerges.
“In the blue corner, the challenger…”
The figure roars into the starry skies above as dozens of tiny mouths on symbiotic stalks follow suit, with a chorus of both cheers and boos as the reply. As her long, slinky tongue retreats into her gaping, sharp-toothed mouth, it solidifies into a mask, bearing white eyes and a focused stare.
“THE LETHAL PROTECTOR, THE POISON SPIDER, DOKUGUMO!”
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“…and in the red corner. She is the reigning and defending Infinity Pro Wrestling Multiversal Champion…”
The sirens of her theme begin to blare, as the blue-and-red lights converge upon the champion standing atop the giant screen. As the sirens fade into the thumping electronic beat, she kicks off into a mighty leap, landing in a three-point stance atop the ramp.
“…THE AMAZING, SPECTACULAR, SENSATIONAL…LADY ARACHNA!”
The cage and Dokugumo below it might as well be the Tower of Babel itself with how tall it seemed, and she wanted to take the time walking down to the ring, use that time to shrink the obstacle before her into something more manageable.
Climbing the top rope, she takes a second to raise her championship high in the air with almost universal cheers as the reply.
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Lady A hops down and still with her title in the air, marches right up to the waiting Dokugumo in the middle of the ring. “Y’know, it’s funny. We’ve spent so long looking up at the stars when we were rookies.”
The larger wrestler stares on, trying to guess where this might lead. “So what? We’re the stars now. Well, I’m gonna be the only one after this.”
Lady A, without missing a beat, snaps right back with a glance at the starry ‘sky’ in the open-air arena. “Some things won’t change, though. You’ll still be looking up at them when you’re flat on the mat.”
“Why you—“ Somehow, Dokugumo ALWAYS gets wound up, no matter how many times Lady A’s done this.
Just before she lunges though, referee Takagi steps in, staring daggers at both of them. “Hey, hey, not on my watch. Save it for the match.” Just as quickly, he turns to Arachna, hands out for the title.
“Keep her safe.” With the title in the ref’s hands, Lady A kisses her hand, places it on the title, and rubs it almost lovingly.
It’ll be with her before the night is over.
With both competitors inside the ring, the cage slams into place, the solid adamantium surrounding Arachna, Dokugumo, and the referee inside its four walls.
DINGDINGDING!
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SHINE
/ʃaɪn/ - noun
In which the babyface (good guy) looks strong and dominant, overpowering the heel (bad guy)
As soon as Takagi calls it, they’re underway. No sizing up, no preamble, Dokugumo pounces, launching a running lariat at Arachna, who saw it coming a mile away and bridged into a Matrix dodge, quickly turning around to deliver a dropkick to the back of Dokugumo's head. Lady A bounces off into another three-point landing, and the kick did little more than gently push Dokugumo.
The larger of the two turns around and makes a little "come here" gesture as a challenge. One Lady Arachna, against her better judgment, decides to take up. Running the other way, bouncing off the ropes...and instead of a dropkick, she goes low and slides past Dokugumo's legs, webbing her chest as she passes through...and then, YANK. Dropping the bigger wrestler onto the ground, and of course, everyone's the same height when they're on the ground.
Not losing any momentum, Lady A stands and leaps onto the opposite rope, springboarding into a moonsault knee drop right across Dokugumo's back, eliciting a sharp scream from the symbiotic competitor.
Great start. Now just to keep it up.
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As the contest wore on, the competitors match each other in capability. Years of training together and all the matches they had together means they developed counters for most of what the other has. But this young dog can still learn a lot of new tricks. Especially with this all new environment to innovate in.
After an especially heated strike exchange, Lady A, with her not-inconsiderable strength, makes a reversal and monkey-flips Dokugumo high into the air, following her up with a springboard. With a pair of webs, she sticks them at Dokugumo and spins, making what's essentially a hammer-throw to launch the larger competitor right into the cage. She crashes into the cage and rocks the entire structure, dropping into the hard floor of ringside.
With a big, proud smile, Lady Arachna lands back on the ring, taking a breather. And while she's at it, might as well play to the crowd a bit, pointing her web-fingers at Dokugumo who's slowly rising to her feet. That impact kept her down for a second, but she knows it takes more to put down someone that strong. So, with a run and a bounce from the opposite rope, Lady A dives through the middle rope in a tope trying to keep Dokugumo on the ground. Dokugumo was quicker to react though, waiting until Lady A was halfway through the middle rope to sidestep and slam both fists down on her back, sending her hurtling to the concrete.
The onslaught hasn't stopped, though. Still with the pain coursing through her body, Lady A only got as far as to get on all fours before Dokugumo snatches her by the waist. She haplessly reaches out for the rope before she feels the jerking motion of a picture-perfect, textbook German suplex.
The only thing not textbook is her spine and neck crashing right into the adamantium bars, sending thunderbolts of pain across her entire body.
Unfortunately, with this sudden shift in momentum, Lady A has been...
CUTOFF