XWL Final Stand XI: 3/11/2019 - 3/25/2019

We begin with a sight of a view from the backseat of a vehicle. The sights outside begin with a light sunshiny day. Hills filled with flowers, grass, animals frolicking. A very peaceful sight. Then suddenly a voice begins to speak, a familiar voice.

Voice
New York. One of the most populated states in the country. Home to just under twenty million men, women, and children. However, still home to many relaxing, non populated areas. A state that  has given us so much to be thankful for. A state that has given us countless blessings and is chock full of history. A state that has made SUPER-stars.....





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Voice
A state that made hero’s.....







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Voice
And even in the rarest of occasions, a state that made diamonds in the rough. A state that made...Legends.







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The view now changes scenery from the cool and calming countryside, to concrete and metal. Sidewalks and buildings. Cars and people. Not a single sign of wildlife. Just.....business. We see many different kinds of people along the sides of the street as the voice continues.



Voice
And possibly the greatest city on the face of the planet. The largest city in the greatest country on God’s green earth. A place that many weren’t born to, but call home nonetheless. A city that many nationalities would call the gateway to their American life. I am speaking of the city that never sleeps, New York City..... However, all things aren’t always quite so good here in MY city. It is Like a great man once said, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Or more simply put. Everything can’t always be sunshine and roses. There are ups. and there are downs. Just like any other city we have our share of problems. We have crime.....





The video begins to have some sort of distortion or difficulty as static appears on the screen. A few moments of this continue until a new video appears. It is a video of last years Momey In The Bank ladder match between JBL, Aiden English, Wade Barrett, and John Cena. The video shows JBL and Aiden teaming up to beat down Barrett and Cena. The video continues to show JBL left standing alone in the ring with the ladder. JBL climbs the ladder, slowly but surly. He looks up to the prize that guarantees him a World Heavyweight Championship shot, knowing that it all his. He reaches further and further until he looks over just in the Knick of time to see Matt Sydal flying through the air and hitting him with one of the most brutal cutters EVER seen. The video ends with Aiden climbing the ladder and taking down the briefcase, becoming Mr. Money In The Bank.

Voice
We have poverty.....





The video again is interrupted to now show pictures of current and former XWL roster members. A slideshow of major names. Big Show, Randy Orton, D’angelo Dinero, Ric Flair, Charlotte Flair, Carmella, Leo Kruger, Matt Sydal, and Aiden English. And finally it is realized. These aren’t just former roster members. These are former CABINET members. “Failed” Cabinet members who have left, been fired, or quit the group.

Voice
And we have damn sure had our share of tragedy.....





The video Yet again seems to fail, before now showing a scene all too familiar for anyone to forget. The “end” to the epic feud between JBL and Matt Sydal that lasted nearly all of last year. A video of Matt Sydal and JBL on top of the ladder at Final Stand, a year ago today. The two men going back and forth, until Sydal grabs JBL, jumping off the ladder, sending both of them to the outside of the ring crashing through a separate ladder. The video continues to show the rest of what transpired that match, with the Cabinet and Undisputed Era getting involved. It shows Kruger pushing JBL to the top of the ladder before falling backwards, sending JBL to the outside, AGAIN. It shows Kruger revealing his Undisputed Era armband, helping Matt Sydal club the ladder. Sydal Reaches up with everything he has left until the screen fades to black, until suddenly.....



The screen returns to show the Statue of Liberty in all its grace from the view of a vehicle passing by. As we slowly drive past however, we realize this is no normal Statue of Liberty. For as we look harder and harder we realize it is actually a statue of XWL Women’s champion, Natalya. And instead of a torch she proudly holds the Women’s Championship high above her head. At the base of the statue is someone who isn’t quite so in awe as you or I however. It is a person wearing a pink hoodie. We can’t see their face, only their back and the fact that they are spray painting the statue pink and blue. The person continues to spray paint until red and blue begins to flash onto her “painting”. A voice can be heard “step away from the statue and drop the paint”. The figure wearing the hoodie slowly puts her hands into the air and turns around towards the voice. As she slowly turns it is revealed to be none other than Liv Morgan, as she sticks out her blue tongue and dashed away from the police. She runs through pushing people aside, until somehow she is caught up to and tackled from behind, face planting into the grass. Liv begins yelling “it wasn’t me, I didn’t do it” as the officer places their knee on her back, putting both wrists into cuffs. The camera turns to show the police officer picking Liv up off the ground. The officer removes their glasses to reveal.....

{Tessa Blanchard}
End of the line, cupcake!

the screen fades to black as the sound of a jail cell being slammed shut fills your ears. now the sounds of honking horns and cars can be heard. The screen returns to show a sight EVERYONE knows.....



The Empire State Building. A great spectacle in New York City. One of the tallest building in the US. And a building that TWO GIGANTIC MEN ARE CLIMBING LIKE MONKEY?! As you look up two 18 wheeler sized men are climbing up the Empire State Building, almost like a reenactment of King Kong. They are each holding onto a piece of black leather and gold plating, otherwise known as the XWL World Tag Team Championships. As they climb higher and higher, people below begin to scream and run in terror as gunfire can be heard. Eventually what seem like flies compared to the size of these two men begin to fly through the air and hit them. Them both let out small cries as the sway away the “flies” and turn to see what the hell is going on. As the turn they can see two 24 karat gold airplanes flying through the air shooting at them. Each is piloted by Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi. The planes fly around the King Kong like men, who are now revealed as Chad Gable and Chris Sabin. The the planes fly and shoot the tag team champions continue to swat them away, however neither can seem to finish off the other. Until finally each plane crashes into one of the two men sending the King Kong sized Champions and the Golden Lovers falling to the ground.



The screen fades to black just before all 4 men hit the ground below. The screen now reopens as the vehicle continues to drive down a street before it pull up to a red light. We look over to see a bus right next to us. I’m the bus sits the driver and five different men. ricochet, Jimmy havoc, Tyler Breeze, and Daniel bryan, and Matt Sydal. As the bus sits at the stop light Matt Sydal stands up from the back of the bus and begins to make his way towards the front holding a golden briefcase titled “international documents”. As he walks by jimmy reaches and snatches it from Sydal. Daniel Bryan and Tyler Breeze snatch it from Jimmy and begin to tug back and fourth for it before ricochet climbs onto the seat and dives forward onto the men to claim the briefcase. An all out brawl begins to break out between these five men over whatever it is inside this briefcase but whatever it is, it can be known. They would kill each other for it. Eventually the briefcase lands on the ground in the middle of all 5 men. Each waiting for someone to make a move. Tyler Breeze pulls out a selfie stick, Daniel Bryan grabs a wooden kendo stick from his bag, Jimmy Havoc grabs a chair, ricochet breaks a piece of lead pipe and Matt Sydal pulls out a golden baton. The each look from one to another before they all simultaneously swing their weapons and just before they connect with each others limbs.....



the light turns green sending all of them flying to the ground as the bus takes off. The man riding in the vehicle laughs at the sight before his laugh begins to fade and.....



The screen springs back to life showing the busy streets of Times Square. The bustling streets with countless people and cars all rushing to get to where they need to be. The view is still from the back set of the vehicle, however we can now see all of the different screens which would usually show advertisements for various products, today however it showcases many different matchups. One screen showcases “Ruby Riott and Nia Jax vs Alexa Bliss and Kairi Sane  - Last Team Standing Match”, while another shows “Alister Black and The Undertaker W/ Rosemary vs Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman”. And ass you look across you can see all kinds of screens showing all kinds of matches. “CM Punk Vs The Miz”, “Brian Pillman Jr. Vs Eli Drake”, “Finn Balor Vs Chris Jericho”, “Becky Lynch Vs Asuka -  Submission Match”, “Velveteen Dream Vs Shawn Michaels”, “Sami Zayn Vs Pete Dunne - Cage Of death match”, “Rosemary be Ronda Rousey”, and “AJ Lee vs Ember Moon”.

Eventually the screens fade out of view, as the vehicle continues to move, until finally making its stop. It pulls through Wall Street, before stopping in front of the “New York Stock Exchange” building. The door swings open from the vehicle and you can see boots and slacks stepping out from the vehicle, which now shows to be a limousine. The “host” we’ve had for this evening makes his way to the door of the building and enters. A man sitting at the desk in the lobby looks up and scurries to greet him.

Virgil
Hellow Mr....

However he is quickly stopped as the man continues to walk shouting back a.

Voice
Bring me a coffee to my office Virgil

Virgil
Yes Sir!

The man now walks through a set of doors in the back of the lobby to reveal a busy stock market room with brokers scurrying around to buy, sell, and trade their stocks for their clients.



When the man first walks into the room he looks to his left to see a woman with a name tag “Shayna Baszler”. She is at an “open market” stock booth, trying to sell to someone. Anyone. The man now looks to the right and sees two men arguing over who is buying the stocks. Two men wearing name tags “Andrade Alma’s and Curt Hawkins. The two men argue and eventually begin to brawl before security must come and break them up. The man looks on laughing as he just continues to walk through. He eventually makes it to another doorway leading into a hall. He proceeds down the hall until eventually entering the final door at the end, revealing a VERY luxurious office. He takes a seat at the desk, propping his feet up and grabbing the lighter and cigar from the tabletop, his cowboy hat shielding his face all the while. He begins to light it and puff before slowly looking up. Revealing.....

$JBL$
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Aiden English’s Final Stand......

Following a fitting start to Final Stand in the form of a promotional video package highlighting some of the biggest feuds heading into the eleventh annual Pay-Per-View, an array of colorful pyrotechnics firing in a predetermined pattern high above the Metlife Stadium in New Jersey, much to the approval of the sold out arena below the aforementioned pyrotechnics. With the light show of various colors and differing intensities reaching its penultimate crescendo, one final explosion of a rainbow of colors fills the night sky, momentarily lighting it up before we cut to the arena below, a large panning shot showing the sold out arena in all its glory. Various signs litter the hyped up crowd, ready for the long night of action that awaits them, Championship matches and grudges alike are on the docket tonight. After a few more moments of showcasing the crowd ensue before we cut towards the commentary trio known as Mauro Ranallo, Renee Young and Corey Graves.

[Mauro Ranallo]
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the biggest night in all of Professional Wrestling...welcome to Final Stand!

[Renee Young]
This night is unlike any other because this is the night where our Superstars cement their legacies and here on The 11th Anniversary of this spectacle we have a stacked card from top to bottom.

[Corey Graves]
Last year infamously saw its first FEMALE headlined event, where then Women’s Champion Natalya defeated long time rival Sasha Banks to retain her title, and here is what is incredible about tonight, The Queen of Harts is STILL Champion!

[Mauro Ranallo]
An unbelievable 10 Pay-Per-View win streak, a reign that has now cemented her place as The Longest Reigning Women’s Champion in XWL history.

[Renee Young]
The most dominant female in the division today but we won’t dare discount her challengers tonight because on their own they bring something dangerous to The Women’s Championship Match and collectively it could threaten the reign that was 2,945 days in the making.  

[Corey Graves]
Tessa Blanchard, like Natalya has wrestling flowing through her veins, genetically gifted and prepared to make the most of a stage like this. She’s been clamoring for an opportunity at Natalya since last year’s Final Stand and after defeating Liv Morgan several weeks ago to win her way into this match making it a Triple Threat...she could arguably be the darkhorse that you’ll wanna bet all your money on.

[Mauro Ranallo]
A DDT onto the base of a sledge hammer earned her this match tonight, which was on the other challenger Liv Morgan who has seemingly been unhinged after that devastating move. Unlocking a much more sinister side of her usually childlike devious nature.

[Renee Young]
This is the second time Liv’s original one on one title match has been turned into a Triple Threat, and with another body in the way of what she wants once again, she’s no doubt determined to ensure it doesn’t end the same way.

[Corey Graves]
One could argue if not for the antics one seriously genius plan by JBL The Women could have closed out the night again, but the now former General Manager signed himself a ticket to that spot when he laid out his protege The World Champion Aiden English.

[Mauro Ranallo]
Aiden was the protege of JBL, the man that through thick and thin stuck by The Wrestling God...and unfortunately unbeknownst to him and everyone else, JBL was not in fact paralyzed at last year’s Final Stand as he had led everyone to believe...no, he faked that injury, forced Mr. McMahon’s hand to make him The General Manager...and when the time was right he revealed that shattering news in the form of an announcement where he announced he’d be Aiden’s challenger in The Main-Event of Final Stand.

[Renee Young]
It’s been a story of betrayal, a war within what used to be The Cabinet...and tonight all their bad blood comes to a head in an I Quit Match.

[Corey Graves]
JBL’s taken a beating, taken numerous rounds of punishment since returning to in ring competition, but in spite of all of that this past week on Anarchy he fought one man who had been a thorn in his side in Eli Drake in a 2 out of 3 falls match...where The Number One Contender to The World Heavyweight Championship scored his first victory in nearly a year proving everything up until that point only strengthened him.

[Mauro Ranallo]
While JBL may be at the top of his game having toppled “The Elite” Aiden English our World Heavyweight Champion has been tested by the many guest General Managers throughout his road to Final Stand and succeeded at every single one. Aiden may have gotten his big break as The Cabinet’s breakout Superstar...but he’s shown in the last 7 weeks that his success was not because of The Cabinet but because of his talent and heart to be the best no matter what it takes.

[Renee Young]
When you take everything into account, tonight’s Main-Event is mentor vs protege, betrayer vs the betrayed, challenger vs champion, and in the end...all it is going to take is two words to decide it all. Can Aiden retain in his first defense as Champion after overcoming every test of his Championship caliber? Or will JBL’s diabolical scheme succeed?

[Corey Graves]
Andrade Cien Almas & Curt Hawkins have been embroiled in a best of 7 series for the past 6 weeks, and tonight with the score tied at 3 victories a piece, their clash tonight will prove to be the biggest of them all as The World Television Championship is on the line. Will Andrade potentially face “The Fact” that he may not be Champion when the night is over? Or will Almas defeat Hawkins just as he did in the first match of this long standing series?

[Mauro Ranallo]
Speaking of Champions, Shayna Baszler has been successful in her efforts of retaining The North American Championship thus far, and tonight with no competition stepping up to face her, she is issuing an Open Challenge to any Woman to face her for her title. This will be the first time The North American Championship is defended on the grand stage so who will step up and will they be able to combat The Ace Of Spades?

[Renee Young]
One Champion that has dominated the competition is no stranger to the game, Matt Sydal of course won The Intercontinental Championship back at Roulette when he overcame the odds of a Fatal Four Way Elimination Match to become Champion. And thus far in his short reign he has defended it in a Triple Threat Iron Man Match in dominant fashion, he has defeated Jimmy Havoc, Tyler Breeze, and Ricochet on separate occasions, and now in his fifth defense he’s challenged himself to overcome the odds that saw him become Champion in the first place by defending in a Fatal Five Way Falls Count Anywhere ELIMINATION Match against Jimmy Havoc, Tyler Breeze, Ricochet, and Daniel Bryan. Can Iron Man rise above the competition or has he bitten off more than he can chew?

[Corey Graves]
As we’ve discussed Champions tonight will have a tall order ahead of themselves if they want to ensure that this isn’t their “Final Stand” as Champion...and tonight’s show is going to kickoff with a title match that was merely a figment of our wild imaginations

[Mauro Ranallo]
Last year at this very event Chad Gable & Chris Sabin were enemies, bitter rivals hellbent of hurting one another...but tonight, their journey from enemies to TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS...has led us now to this moment, the very stage in which they opposed one another, they will now stand united against a team of challengers that could threaten the very partnership they’ve built up over the past year.

[Renee Young]
Tag-Team Titles were always the biggest “what if” in XWL...and what a momentous occasion it is to see the titles reach a stage like this, with Champions who truly define what it means to be a Tag-Team. They’ve seen the worst of each other and now they bring out the best of one another as The Longest Reigning Tag-Team Champions entering their 169th day as Champions.

[Corey Graves]
But while they may be on the same page now...they’re up against a Tag-Team that not only exemplifies what it means to be a “Tag-Team” but what happens when two great wrestlers band together to become a dangerous duo. The Golden Lovers Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega have entered into The Tag-Team Division taking their experience in Japan as a team to here in XWL where they look to show TCSI why they call themselves “The Golden Lovers.”

[Mauro Ranallo]
4 talented Superstars, two immensely talented teams,  all set to square off in the first Tag-Team Title Match to take place here at Final Stand.

[Renee Young]
I couldn’t think of a better way to set the tone for the night ahead than with a showcase of why Tag-Team Wrestling has NEVER been better than it is right now.

[Corey Graves]
I’ll admit TCSI have been a surprisingly successful team, but this stage is unlike any other...and I’m not so sure if they’re going to be able to survive the serious threat that The Golden Lovers bring to their reign as Tag-Team Champions.

[Mauro Ranallo]
I guarantee you none of us saw them becoming friends, let alone Tag-Team Champions a year ago, so I’d argue they’ve proven anything is possible and I’m not sure which team leaves tonight with the titles...but I do know one thing, this is going to be one of the greatest matches to ever kickoff Final Stand and it starts right now


   


The theme of the Golden Lovers echoing through the skies brings most fans within Metlife Stadium out of their seats and up to their feet in joy. The trons set along the stage were illuminated with blue and gold color patterns, the trons to the left of the stage featured the blue and gold dynamic color pattern along with Kenny Omega's trademark Omega symbol, where as the trons to the right of the stage featured that same color pattern along with Kota Ibushi's trademark Phoenix logo, but It all came to a head where the main titantron and minitron where on display, a different setup then usual obviously as this is the grandest stage of them all after all. The minitron displays a combination of both men's trademark logos colored in gold with an almost blue fire like dynamic background in the backdrop of the image.

The wing of an angel dons the left side of the logo and the wing of a Phoenix dons the right side of the logo, in the middle? Kenny's Omega symbol with Ibushi's Golden Star logo placed right in the center of it, when you take all of those factors into account, the shape of the complete logo is also in the shape of a heart with gears and levers throughout to signify Omega's days as the "Cleaner", the attention to detail there is absolutely incredible. Above the minitron, the titantron displays a set of text which flashes between itself every few seconds, "Golden*Lovers", "The Best Bout Machine Kenny Omega", "The Golden Star Kota Ibushi", the text ensures that everyone fan in this stadium tonight knows exactly who the Golden Lovers are, and we're sure their in ring performance tonight will leave no doubt in the XWL universe's minds just how world class these two wrestlers truly are.

As the song hits the 23 second mark, Ibushi and Omega come bursting through the curtain to a massive reaction from this Final Stand crowd. The feeling in this stadium right now is absolutely electric, it's as if the whole world knows something truly spectacular is about to occur and they're just waiting for the sparks to fly to ignite what it sure to be a remarkable contest and a likely show stealing contest between Golden Lovers and TCSI here tonight.

The two men stand atop the stage and proceed to take in the sheer magnitude of this moment, Ibushi's rocking some 1st time ever gear here tonight, a black leather jacket with custom Golden Lovers writing and logos subtly placed on the back, and let's not forget arguably the biggest change, he's wearing TIGHTS!!! Metallic green and black tights with gold throughout and featuring the detailed combination logo from their minitron on prominent display on the back of the tights in the center, and it's anyone's guess as to the meaning of the color pattern, but if we know Ibushi, we know that alot of things he does has great meaning to him, and if we had to guess? this color pattern he's donning tonight is some sort of tribute/throwback to the gear Kenny Omega used to wear back in the day when they 1st began tagging, mind you, the style is different, Omega's original golden lovers gear was trunks based like Ibushi's gear always has been, but perhaps Ibushi decided to modernize that look just a tad and replicate Omega's gear base, being tights, for a change.

Omega dons his traditional dark shades and black leather jacket, his gear is also noticeably not even close to matching his partner's look, the camera goes in for a close up and the camera's mic manages to catch the possible reason for this "Stupid UPS! Those idiots lost my custom made gear from Haoming Mask in Japan! Good thing the Best Bout Machine always has a spare set of gear with him, shame for Ibushi-San however, he went all out with this special look, UPS will PAY!" There you have it, UPS lost Kenny's custom made gear for the evening, what a shame, but Kenny's gonna have to put this fashion mishap behind him as the Tag Team Titles are at stake on the grandest stage of them all tonight!

Ibushi calms the semi-frustrated Omega down with a few pats to the back, the two men then take position in the center of the stage and place an arm over each others shoulder, they then lean in towards each other a tad and then forwards with a gun taunt from each aimed at the ring with their free hands as pyro begins to erupt from the stage and outskirts of the stadium. Massive aerial displays of blue, gold, and green fireworks illuminate the New York/New Jersey skyline on this picture perfect evening as the photographers scramble to get snapshots of this once in a lifetime moment. Once the pyro has ended, Omega and Ibushi begin their journey down the massive ramp and towards the ring. After almost a full 30 seconds of walking, they finally reach the steps, both men climb the steps, Ibushi then climbs to the top of the nearest turnbuckle as Omega takes the far turnbuckle, they pose for the fans momentarily and take in their cheers before hopping down from the turnbuckles and entering the ring. Ibushi and Omega replicate their pose on the stage once again to create one more picture perfect moment for the international photography teams in attendance this evening, after a few more moments they break the pose once again and begin to loosen up in the ring with some stretches on the ropes and jumps in place as they await their opponents and subsequently, the biggest match of their tag team career.


As the crowd is deep into their Golden Lovers chants in support for the challengers to the Trash City Stupid Idiots' Tag Team Championships, the lights in the arena begin to dim until the ring and, by extension, the rest of the arena are consumed in darkness. The only light emanating from anywhere are the scattered sources within the live audience in attendance, those that have their phones out with the brightness turned to its highest setting in an attempt to pierce the darkness soon learn that despite the technological advances their smartphones have made in the past handful of years, they're still no match for the simple allure of darkness. Just when it seemed all hope was lost and that the light would never again return to the arena, the sound of rain begins to find its way into every crevice, every nook and cranny it could find as the image of a silhouetted skyline of an unknown city finds its way onto the Titantron, the location of the rain being revealed to be said city. The moonlight barely manages to illuminate the outlines of the buildings that dot the landscape of this dark and dreary city due to the heavy rainfall proving to be quite the detriment.

The sound of a car screeching down the road is quickly followed by an alarm going off at an annoyingly loud volume and the sound of police sirens filling the air alongside it, the infamous red and blue lights alternating between one another and adding color to an otherwise monotone colored skyline, the red and blue ricocheting off the buildings as the lights rapidly change colors. A flash illuminates both the sky and the city as if it were day courtesy of a bolt of thunder colliding with an unseen area on the scene, its only sign of existence being the aforementioned flash. The sirens slowly begin to lessen in volume as they find themselves deeper into the city, the flashing lights being nothing more than an afterthought, a memory that has begun to fade, at least from our point of view. With the loss of that, we return back to the initial view, one of a darkened skyline only subtly lit up by the moon high above it. That only lasts a handful of moments before the sound of a rather large spotlight turning on fills the air that is replaced with a piercing light tearing through the darkness like butter, causing an image to appear imprinted onto the clouds: The sight of a trash bag.

A second bolt of thunder crashes out of view, causing a flash of light to illuminate the dark sky before returning back to its former glory, revealing two silhouettes on a nearby building to appear seemingly out of nowhere. The view we have makes it seem like they're looking at the spotlight's image but it's all speculation at this point. The two heads of the figures look to the other, a single nod is all that's exchanged before the duo climbs onto the edge of the building and leaps off its side without warning or hesitation. The video ends on that before we return to the still darkness consumed arena, unsure of what was just witnessed. While we were wondering what all this means, the sound of a spotlight powering up is heard for a moment before the sudden emergence of light fires through the air, the image of a trash bag hovering over the ring, could it be the same from the video? Before we can fully answer the question, music begins to fill the air...





A surge of cheers fill the air from those who remember this particular introduction from the previous Final Stand, and begin to grow gleeful in their anticipation for the arrival of what could only be the Trash City Stupid Idiots, if having the Golden Lovers in the ring wasn't enough of an indicator at this point. When the extended introduction of the theme comes to an end and the theme itself begins to play, lights around the arena begin flashing in a rainbow of colors, in unison with the beat. When the vocals kick in, a spotlight falls over the defending Champions and a comic like filter to fill the camera as if they were in the video for the song that has become their entrance theme, showing both standing back to back, their arms extended towards the ring in the shape of guns, paying homage to The Motor City Machine Guns, as they wear the XWL Tag Team Championships proudly around their waists. And to think, at last year's Final Stand, they were bitter rivals and now here they stand as Tag Team Championships. With their new attires now unveiled following their seemingly life changing trip to Japan, the “Stupid Idiots” from “Trash City” fire off their “guns” in unison, a wave of pyrotechnics going off both behind and on either side of them, before beginning their descent down the entrance ramp.


TAKE ON ME


Uncharacteristically, Gable doesn't sing along to his usual verse, instead opting the live audience in attendance to do it for him, his expression reads one of pure focus and determination, ready to not only defend the Tag Team Championships but keep the longest reign as Tag Team Champions alive.


TAKE ME ON


Again, like his partner and best friend, Sabin doesn't sing along to his verse, a similar expression appearing on his face, the duo apparently ready both physically and mentally for their biggest challenge for the Tag Team Championships to date.


I'LL BE GONE


By the time the song reaches its high point as far as the entrance is concerned, Gable and Sabin are already at the ringside area, not wanting to waste a single moment getting this contest underway. Gable rolls into the ring and climbs up to the middle rope while Sabin climbs up onto the apron then scales his way up to the middle turnbuckle from the outside, the duo now standing side by side before to undo the Tag Team Championships from around their waist, Gable lifting his half of the Championships into the air while Sabin holds his in his left hand and lifts his right hand towards the crowd, placing his left index finger on his palm. A few moments of this follow before Gable hops off the middle rope and lands firmly on the mat, giving Sabin his opening to leap over the top rope and land safely on the canvas. With both teams now in the ring on opposite corners, JoJo takes her place in the center and raises a microphone up to her lips.

JoJo
The following contest is scheduled for one fall, and is for the XWL Tag Team Championships! Introducing first, the challengers, weighing in at a combined weight of four hundred and thirty four pounds, the team of Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi: The Golden Lovers!

As if on cue, Omega and Ibushi throw their arms into the air in unison, causing the immediate ringside area and the ring itself to begin filling up with streamers thrown by members of the XWL Universe. A few moments are all that pass before the ring is littered with the aforementioned item, drastically reducing maneuverability from the people within the confines of the ring. As a couple of ringside personnel begin reaching into the ring in their best attempt to clear the debris, JoJo returns to the task at hand.


JoJo
And their opponents, weighing in at a combined weight of four hundred and eight pounds, they are the current XWL Tag Team Champions, the team of Chad Gable and Chris Sabin: The Trash City Stupid Idiots!

With that said, Gable and Sabin collectively remove the Championships from around their respective waists and hold them up into the air, locking eyes with their opponents for the evening. The Golden Lovers take this opportunity to stand face to face with the men that are in possession of the Tag Team Championships that they believe belongs to them. But believing means nothing when you can't back it up and The Golden Lovers are in prime position to make believers out of The Trash City Stupid Idiots. The referee separates both teams, causing them to make their way to opposite ends of the ring, discussing any last second changes to their respective strategies before the referee calls for the bell, signaling the start of this contest.





The bell’s ringing echoes through the arena as Chris Sabin stares across the ring at one Kota Ibushi. The crowd comes to a chilling silence as the two begin to circle, the match coming under way. Sabin steps forward first, Ibushi following as the two lock up. Chris takes control of the wrist, which is followed by a flowing counter from Kota who takes the wrist for himself. Sabin finds his footing after a moment of struggling and does a handstand roll. This allows him to then take the wrist back from Kota and locks it in. Chris smiles as he thinks he has Kota until  Ibushi slips behind Sabin and rushes forward, hitting the ropes and rolling backwards. As he does, Chris latches onto the ropes, not letting Ibushi take him. The two turn to each other, pausing as they meet the gaze of one another. The crowd goes nuts, breaking the silence.

Sabin turns to find Chad with a hand held high, asking for a tag. His eyes narrow and his newly dyed hair billowing behind him like something from a movie. Sabin gives him the tag and Gable enters the ring, looking down the opposition. Opposite Gable, Ibushi tags in Kenny Omega who enters the ring slowly, enjoying taking his time. Omega walks to the center of the ring, Gable following his lead as the two step up to one another. Omega can be heard yelling at Gable, “Japan huh?” to which Gable nods. Kenny then smirks, laughing to himself which is cut off by Gable shoving him back. Kenny stops, turning back to Gable and swinging. Gable ducks it, spinning right into an elbow strike which lands on Kenny’s jaw. Kenny barrels backwards into his corner, taken by surprise. “How’s that for strong style?” Gable yells out to him, smirking. Kenny rubs his jaw and nods, walking back out to Gable and locking up with him.

The two struggle for a minute to find the offensive, which is eventually taken by Omega. He locks in a headlock, which is then reversed by Gable. Chad takes control of the head, flipping Omega to the ground. Kenny uses his legs to lock onto Chad’s head, reversing the pressure. Gable flips over, pulling out a headstand, then leaps up, kicking Kenny right in the chest. Gable takes off, hitting the ropes as Kenny ducks under him. On the backswing, Kenny is on his feet, going for the hip toss which Gable reverses, which Kenny reverses and sends Gable over the top with. Gable holds on, unknown to Omega who walks away, taunting for a moment. Gable flips back into the ring having skinned the cat, which catches the eye of Omega. Omega comes darting, Gable sidestepping him and sending him to the apron. Kenny turns back, going to make a move but before he can Gable grabs hold of his arms and throws his legs up onto Kenny’s chest, jumping into an armbar, using the ropes as leverage. The ref begins his count

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Before he can reach four, Gable lets go, breaking the count. Omega hits the floor on the outside, grabbing hold of his arm, trying to work out the stress that was just put onto it. Gable kneels, then backs to a corner, waiting for Omega to reenter the ring. Omega slides back in, not thrilled over what's just occurred he charges at Gable, Gable sidesteps sending Kenny flying back first into the corner as it looks like he was trying for a flying back elbow into the corner. Gable rifles off a stiff knife edge chop to Omega's chest which almost brings him to his knees, Gable attempts a 2nd knife edge chop but this time Omega catches it and is able to swing Gable around in quick fashion into the turnbuckle back 1st. Omega lets out a stiff chop of his own, this chop however? it drops Gable to a seated position in the corner, the look on Kenny's face signals that a lightbulb has just lit up in that cranium of his, he takes off towards the ropes, bounces off them and looks to take Gable's head off with a seated corner V-Trigger, Gable is able to evade it at the last possible second however sending knee crashing into the bottom turnbuckle, he grasps at it in pain as Gable himself takes off and bounces off the same set of ropes that Omega just used and is looking to land some sort of move, we're not quite sure what that move was gonna be however as Omega was somehow able to launch himself into the air and counter Gable's running offense with a quick snap hurricanrana.

Omega jumps over to Ibushi's corner and makes the tag, Gable looks to recover off the hurricanrana quickly and immediately turns towards the direction he last saw Omega just in time to see Ibushi flying through the sky towards him and connecting with his trademark springboard dropkick. Ibushi immediately covers.

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KICK OUT

Ibushi looks to give no time for Gable to recover, he wants to stay on the offensive and it appears as though he's already eyeing his next move, he takes position behind Gable and grips him in a german suplex hold, he lifts Gable off the ground and rather than let his feet touch the mat, he attempts to send Gable crashing down neck 1st with the deadlift german suplex, Gable has other ideas however and is able to grab hold of Ibushi's head mid move and deliver a snapmare successfully averting disaster, the snapmare in itself does no damage to Ibushi as it was purely a defensive move on Gable's part, as such Ibushi springs to his feet and turns towards Gable almost instantaneously, he is met with a sweet combination from Gable, a sitout jawbreaker into an exploder suplex which buys Gable just enough time to make it to his corner and make a much needed tag to Sabin.

Sabin comes in like a ball of fire and is sizing up Ibushi who's almost to his feet across the ring, he charges forward looking for a big boot but Ibushi is able to duck under it and hook Sabin from behind in the dragon suplex clutch, Ibushi's clearly trying to get the move off and spike Sabin on the back of his neck but it's just not happening, Sabin and Ibushi struggle for leverage until it appears as though Ibushi's peak physical shape begins to turn this battle in his favor, he's slowly wearing Sabin out here, suddenly, Ibushi uses all of strength and snaps back with dragon suplex, BUT SABIN ROLLS ALL THE WAY THROUGH AND LANDS ON HIS FEET!!!

Sabin uses the arm control Ibushi just has against him as he pulls him in and executes a BRUTAL clothesline that turns Ibushi inside out BUT IBUSHI DOES A FULL FLIP FROM THE CLOTHESLINE, LANDS ON HIS FEET AND SEAMLESSLY TRANSITIONS INTO A STANDING SPANISH FLY!!!! The crowd cannot believe how seamless and incredible that whole sequence just looked as Ibushi covers.

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KICK OUT


Sabin's shoulder comes flying off the canvas in a successful attempt to keep the match alive for his team, throwing in a few stray punches into the air for good measure, as if he was quite literally fighting out of the pinfall predicament. With his opponent still shaking out the proverbial cobwebs, Ibushi takes a hold of Sabin's head, wrapping his arm around it in a side headlock and begins forcefully dragging him towards his corner in an attempt to keep the momentum in his teams corner. Sabin, noticing this, puts a halt to those plans by attempting to lift Ibushi off the canvas, successfully pulling off the maneuver, or at least the initial motion. Ibushi pulls his weight forward, allowing him to return to the canvas safely, the hold still expertly applied. Sabin decides to try a second attempt at getting out, wrapping his arms around Ibushi's waist and pulling them both backwards into the nearest set of ring ropes, attempting to use the momentum to his advantage but once again, Ibushi's grip proves the victor in this battle. Quickly running out of options, Sabin returns to the initial attempt, lifting Ibushi once again and yielding the same result, however, this time there was a different factor in play: Sabin's knee.

With the maneuver being little more than a formality at this point, Sabin manages to put himself one step ahead of his opponent, and by using Ibushi's weight against him, it gives him his opening to break the hold when Ibushi shifts his hands from Sabin's neck to his own coccyx after the impromptu Atomic Drop. Sabin, now regaining control of the match, spins Ibushi around, lifting him up into the air once again and dropping him down with an Inverted Atomic Drop, a maneuver so nice that he did it twice. With Ibushi right where he wants him, Sabin takes a quick step back and delivers a kick to the side of his leg, sending him down to the canvas in a kneeling position. This leaves him in perfect position for Sabin to throw his foot towards his challenger for a Superkick but Ibushi ducks under it, narrowly avoid contact and nearly sending Sabin into the Golden Lovers' corner with the amount of force that was put behind it. Ibushi rises to his feet and charges at Sabin, ready to knock his head off his shoulders with an forearm but just like Ibushi before him, Sabin ducks under it, causing the aggressor to run into the ropes and turn into a kick to his gut, doubling him over and allowing Sabin to wrap his arm around his head for what looks like a DDT or Suplex attempt of sorts.

Opting to go beyond the typical maneuver, Sabin leaps onto the middle rope, causing Ibushi to inadvertently be used as an anchor point to keep him above the canvas as he runs along the ropes, managing to catch an unsuspecting Kenny Omega with an Enzuigiri that sends him off the apron and onto the thinly layered padding on the outside. Back in the ring, Sabin is still partaking in assisted flight thanks to Ibushi as he continues a second rotation running along the ropes before he decides that he's had enough of this and shifts his weight downwards, planting a now semi disoriented Kota Ibushi into the canvas with an impressive variation of the Tornado DDT. With Omega momentarily neutralized and Ibushi seeing stars, Sabin quickly transitions into the cover.


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Kickout!


Ibushi's shoulder comes flying off the canvas, refusing to end the match like that. Sabin quickly wraps his arms around the waist of a seated Ibushi before beginning to slowly force him to his knee and ultimately onto his feet. Attempting to regain the momentum that he lost, Ibushi throws a stray elbow backwards, catching Sabin cleanly on the jaw and nearly knocking him out in the process, if his expression is anything to go by. A second, more calculated elbow connects in the exact same placing, forcing Sabin to shove Ibushi away from him from the fear of getting knocked out by a third. Ibushi finds himself running chest first into the Trash City Stupid Idiots turnbuckle and before he could react, Sabin gives him a receipt for the elbows in the form of a Yakuza Kick to the back of the head. Sabin, with his foot freshly imprinted on the back of Ibushi's skull, tags out and exits out onto the apron, causing Gable to do the opposite and enter the ring. Sabin isn't done yet however, instead of remaining on the apron, he begins scaling the turnbuckle, causing Gable to place his head between Ibushi's legs and lift him up into the air for an Electric Chair. Gable takes a few steps back as Sabin positions himself on the top rope, motioning towards Ibushi with his hand in the shape of a gun. He fires it off as an indicator of taking flight, soaring through the air in a crisp Crossbody that seemingly connects with Ibushi. That is, until Ibushi, who had simply fallen backwards, pulls himself back up to Gable's shoulders, his legs being wrapped around Gable's head. In one swift motion, Ibushi throws his weight backwards and spikes Gable's head into the canvas with a Reverse Hurricanrana, quickly transitioning into the cover.


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Gable's shoulder is forced off the canvas as Sabin, who is now revealed to have crashed and burned spectacularly moments prior, throws his body into the cover in an attempt to break it. With the match kept alive on both fronts, Sabin rolls out onto the apron under the bottom rope, slowly finding his way to his corner, still reeling from his meeting with the canvas. On the other side of the ring, Omega comes back into view, using the steel steps for assistance to return to a vertical base before he places a hand on the bottom rope and pulls himself up onto the apron, slowly but surely returning to his corner.

Ibushi looks over to his corner and realizes that Omega is not in a condition to be tagged in just yet, so Ibushi looks to capitalize on the damage done to Gable via that inverted hurricanrana moments ago, he lifts Gable to his knees and places him in powerbomb position, the crowd's excitement begins to build as they realize that they could be moments away from seeing Ibushi's famous Golden Star Powerbomb that would absolutely bring an end to this thrilling classic that we've witnessed so far.

Ibushi signals to the crowd that the Golden Star Powerbomb is exactly what he's looking for, he goes for it, he hoists Gable up and grips his gear for leverage before adding on that extra last ride lift and dro--- NO GABLE'S COUNTERED WITH A HURRICANRANA THAT'S SENT IBUSHI FLYING ACROSS THE RING AND HEADFIRST INTO A TURNBUCKLE PAD!!!

Gable immediately looks to capitalize and charges at Ibushi, ramming his full weight into him in the corner whilst applying the german suplex hold grip, the crowd are once again on their feet as they can feel that Gable's about to attempt the Choas Theory german suplex out of the corner, Gable rolls through with Ibushi in tow as planned for one full rotation, all that's left to be done is land Ibushi on the back of his head in a bridging predicament, Gable attempts to do just that but Ibushi has countered by backflipping out of the hold completely and landing on his feet much to the crowd's amazement, Gable attempts to remedy this by turning towards Ibushi quickly and getting the jump on him but it's too late, Ibushi's sole has already connected with his head and dropped him to the mat, a beautiful roundhouse kick that hit with a THUD has dropped Gable back 1st onto the mat, Ibushi follows up by leaping into the air with an insane corkscrew rotation and connecting with a standing corkscrew moonsault on one half of the tag team champions, but that's not all, Ibushi does a forward role over the grounded Gable and springs to his feet once more, this time he leaps into the air for a standing moonsault but comes down KNEES FIRST onto Gable's chest, sucking whatever air was left in his lungs completely out of it, Ibushi hooks both legs for this cover as that fantastic sequence might be the end right here.

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KICK OUT

Somehow, Gable is able to find enough energy to force his shoulder off the mat before the ref's hand could come down for a 3rd time, and just like that the tag titles are still up for grabs for both teams here. Omega has finally reached a position where he's ready to be tagged in once more, Ibushi uses this chance to get more tandem offense in, he drags Gable over to their corner before slapping Omega's hand and tagging him back into this match. Ibushi places Gable between his legs once again and hoists him up in powerbomb position, Omega enters the ring and nods to Ibushi, at that point? Ibushi launches Gable at Omega who receives him out of mid air and drops him on the back of his head with a german suplex seamlessly, Omega keeps the bridge in tact and the ref gets down to make a count once again.

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SABIN BREAKS IT UP


“That's not your move!” Sabin shouts towards the dumbfounded Kenny Omega as the referee tries to pull the illegal man away from the action and return him to his rightful corner. He eventually complies to the referee's wishes, causing a lightbulb to go off over the challengers head and a smirk appears on his face. With Chad Gable still in a downed state, Omega takes this opportunity to wrap his arms around his waist and begin slowly lifting up the former while keeping eye contact with Sabin, who is almost chomping at the bit to reenter this contest. Now at a vertical base, Omega lifts Gable into the air and slams him into the canvas with a German Suplex but instead of bridging like the previous time, he rolls through, returning them both to their former glory that is a standing position. Omega goes for it again but adds a bit more theatrics to it, hovering Gable over the canvas and walking around the ring, visiting various of the locations within, such as the turnbuckle and the rope and ultimately the canvas after he decides to slam him into it with a second German Suplex. Omega once again rolls through it and stands with the now hurting Chad Gable in front of him, taking a hold of his opponents wrist before ripcording him as if he was trying to start a lawnmower and lifting his knee into the air to put the finishing touches on his masterpiece.

Shock fills Omega's face when Gable, using his free arm, catches his knee and shoves him away, fully extending his leg for all of a single moment before he drops down to the canvas, sending Omega over him with a Dragon Screw, Omega shouting out in pain as his hurt knee has become the unintended focus of the match. Gable makes it to his feet, still in possession of Omega's leg and not being one to be gentle, Gable forcefully turns Omega over to his stomach, quickly locking in the dreaded Ankle Lock. The pain in Omega's face tells a story of regret and desperation to tag out to his partner, who has his arm extended to its fullest length in an attempt to soothe the pain that Omega's in. But it doesn't seem like that sigh of relief will come soon as Omega is dragged further and further away from his corner and into the corner of his opponents, allowing Sabin to tag himself back into the contest and Gable to pull Omega away from the ropes he was inches away from touching after the temporary detour. Sabin takes a hold of Omega's free leg, causing a double Ankle Lock to be applied, amplifying and multiplying the pain Omega now has to endure. The referee, knowing full well what the rules are, begins to count Gable, the now illegal man, and makes it to a count of three before he lets go and rolls out of the ring, leaving Sabin in prime position to win this match.

Sabin, having Omega right where he wants him, opts to do a risky maneuver of sorts: Switching to Omega's hurt leg. He does this by having Omega be nearly upside down while keeping the hold applied and for an added bit of leverage, throws Omega's foot into the air and catches the opposite foot, applying the hold on the hurt leg. This uncharacteristically goes off without a hitch causing Sabin to keep the hold applied, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It does shortly after in the form of Omega using the momentum Sabin just used to flip himself forward and send the unsuspecting Detroit native into the middle turnbuckle and giving Omega a few moments to gather his breath and allow the pain to subside. After the momentary break, Omega spots Sabin shaking off the cobwebs on the far end of the ring and backs himself up to the opposite turnbuckle. He begins sizing up his prey and lowers his kneepad down to his boot for good measure, not wanting to take any chances on whatever he has in mind. The high risk, high reward play Omega has in mind picks up steam when he charges out of the corner, using the turnbuckle as a launching pad, and quickly comes within range of his target. But before he throws out his knee for what could only be the V-Trigger, Omega's knee gives out of him, causing him to crash and burn just a bit past the center of the ring, falling down in a heap as he holds his knee. Sabin, who has just come to, only sees a downed Omega, unsure of what happened while he was face deep into the turnbuckle.

Not wanting to lose an opportunity that presented itself, Sabin takes a hold of Omega's arm and drags him towards his corner, tagging out to Gable, who quickly enters the ring and lifts Omega up to his feet. He throws Omega's arm over his own neck and lifts him into the air, readjusting his position at the center before dropping him down with a Reverse Atomic Drop, leaving a barely standing Omega in the center of the ring before Sabin, who had just ricocheted from the ropes behind Gable, delivers a low dropkick to Omega's hurt knee, sending the challenger face first down onto the canvas. This gives Gable his cue to run at the adjacent set of ring ropes and throw himself at a downed Omega, rolling through the maneuver and wrapping his arms around his targets waist, deadlifting him up into the air besides him. Ibushi does his best to end this onslaught by tagging himself in but The Trash City Stupid Idiots' perfect spacing prevents him from doing so, forcing him to watch from the sidelines as his friend and tag team partner is torn apart right before his very eyes. Sabin charges the same ropes that Gable just uses and delivers a second low dropkick, this time to the now upside down Kenny Omega's face. Using the force behind the dropkick to his advantage, Gable swings Omega back around and places him on his shoulders for a single moment before sending him into the canvas with a variation of the Gutwrench Sitout Powerbomb, easily transitioning it into a cover.


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Before the referee's hand collides with the mat for the third consecutive time, Ibushi dives into the ring, just like Sabin did before him, and breaks up the pinfall attempt, keeping the match alive for himself and Omega.

Ibushi is quickly grabbed by the ref who demands he leave the ring. Ibushi puts up little fight, more concerned with Kenny getting to the corner to tag him in. Meanwhile Kenny is trying to do just that. Slowly he starts to crawl towards his friend to make a much needed tag but Gable doesn’t let him. He drags him back to the center of the ring where he starts to set up for what looks like a sharpshooter. Kenny however manages to push him off, even though it causes him much pain. Deciding not to take anymore time Kenny rolls to his feet just in time to see Gable charging at him. On instinct Kenny pulls his hands back past his stomach and sends them flying forward in a double open palm strike right into the chest and the stomach on Chad Gable, knocking the air out of him! The force of the blow sends Gable reeling backwards right into his corner where Sabin quickly tags himself in.

Sabin waste little time advancing onto Kenny who can’t make it to Ibushi in time. Right as Sabin gets within range Kenny lashes out with a slap that draws a wince even from the ref. Sabin holds his face as Kenny as best he can, hobbles to the ropes, bounces off and comes back to Sabin who counters with an elbow to the face. The force of the blow dazes Kenny but he doesn’t fall. Sabin seeing this hits another big elbow to the side of Kenny’s head. Once again Kenny teeters but doesn’t fall. Finally Sabin starts to run off towards the opposite ropes, not seeing Kenny lifting his finger in a gun motion and firing. As Sabin rebounds and comes back he is ill prepared for the V Trigger that lands not on his jaw but his chest. Kenny despite the adrenaline and momentum in his body could not summon the strength to jump high enough and land it on the chin like he wanted to.

With a sound shattering knee heard around the arena and possibly the world, Sabin staggers backwards a handful of steps before succumbing to gravity, falling down onto the canvas in a seated position, the only thing stopping any further descent being the turnbuckle. On the other side of the ring, Omega falls down to the canvas, holding his knee in pain, and manages to overpower the pain long enough to crawl over to his corner, extending his arm out to collide with Ibushi's, the referee clapping his hands to make the tag official. Omega rolls out under the bottom rope and find himself seated on the apron, tending to his knee and Ibushi leaps over the top rope and lands in the ring, quickly noticing that Omega didn't fully connect with his knee, which is probably better in the long run, as Sabin has now transitioned to a kneeling position with his back still on the turnbuckle. Sabin shifts his focus towards an awaiting Chad Gable, causing Ibushi's eyes to follow him to his impending destination. The two legal men return their gaze towards one another, both with the same idea in mind: Sabin tagging out to Gable and Ibushi putting a stop to those plans.

As if an imaginary gun was fired into the air, both men charge towards the awaiting Gable, one wanting to tag out of this match to the fresher man while the other is doing everything within his power to prevent it. The photo finish of the century shortly follows as Sabin leaps into the air, his arm extended to its painful limits while Ibushi, taking flight a split second before Sabin, throws his feet in front of him, a dropkick clearly on his mind. The referee having the best seat in the house prepares for the rapidly approaching decision, one that could change the trajectory of this match as we head into the endgame. Sabin's hand is mere millimeters from his destination, his and Gable's hands literally being fingertips apart, but Ibushi, using his speed and his reach to its full advantage, strikes first, catching Gable's shoulder with enough force to send him off the apron and onto the outside, leaving a kneeling Sabin almost in a state of disbelief. He was right there, by all accounts, his mission should have been a success, but the downed Chad Gable on the outside tells a different story.

Ibushi places a hand on his knee and begins to pull himself up off the canvas, not noticing the change of demeanor etched on Sabin's face, his expression reading one that's mixed with anger that he was bested by his opponent and disappointment of the events he just had to live through. While Ibushi is rising to his feet, Sabin take hold of the middle rope in front of him, using his impressive athleticism to traverse through the ropes with ease, and find his way onto the apron. He pulls himself back to give himself enough momentum to leap onto the top rope but before he can execute his plan, Ibushi, from a standing position, leaps into the air and doing a picture perfect back, allows his foot to connect with Sabin's skull, staggering and more importantly, putting a stop to his offense for the time being. Sabin's exceptional balance is put on display, despite being sent for a loop, he remains on the top rope, defying gravity with relative ease. Ibushi, not impressed with the scene before him, places a foot on the bottom rope to springboard himself high enough into the air to wrap his legs around Sabin's dazed head, using his weight to send Sabin toppling forward with a Hurricanrana.

Sabin flips through the air, the canvas being his ultimate resting place after such a maneuver. Or that would be his fate if he didn't complete the rotation and land perfectly on his feet, causing the live audience in attendance to roar out in cheers and adulation for the feat they just witnessed. Ibushi, with his back turned to the events that just went down behind him, thinks that the reaction was for his maneuver, causing a smile to form on his face, a smile that slowly disappears when he begins to turn his head and see the still standing Sabin before him. Sabin, with his back turned to Ibushi, begins to turn his head, locking eyes with the man that stopped him from not only tagging out but tried to make him look like a fool just mere moments ago. Ibushi finishes pulling himself up to a vertical base as Sabin turns his body to face his opponent, audibly mouthing out, “You chose this, remember that.” before he charges forward, lifting his foot up and hitting a still stunned Kota Ibushi with a Yakuza Kick, damn near going a step further than knocking his lights out and going after the bulb itself.

With Ibushi right where he wants him, Sabin pulls his foot away from Ibushi's face and takes a hold of his arm, whipping him into the opposite corner. As Ibushi is closing the gap between turnbuckles, Sabin follows close behind, and as Ibushi turns to avoid colliding with said turnbuckle using his chest, he's greeted with a second Yakuza Kick, the aforementioned lightbulb beginning to show cracks. Sabin repeats the gesture a third time, sending Ibushi back to the turnbuckle that started it all but as if each strike was sending him back to reality, Ibushi ducks under the third, breaking the combo that Sabin was building up and sending him over the top rope, landing in the arms of a slowly rising Chad Gable. With Sabin momentarily disposed of, Ibushi uses the separation to his advantage and charges at the opposite turnbuckle. When he comes within range, he leaps up into the air, placing a foot onto the middle one, allowing Omega to tap his shoulder when he's close enough and tags himself into the match, before Ibushi uses the turnbuckle as a launching pad and makes a beeline to the one he just ran from. He gets close to the turnbuckle that started the events leading to this moment and leaps over it, landing on the middle bar connecting the turnbuckle and the ring post, using it to flip through the air and land on the Trash City Stupid Idiots.

Gable, seeing Ibushi soaring through the air, shoves Sabin away from him in a selfless move and sends him rolling into the ring before catching the rapidly approaching Kota Ibushi in his arms mid Moonsault. With his iron like grip around the waist of Ibushi, Gable repositions himself in front of the announcer's table as Sabin, almost instinctively, runs to the set of ring ropes closest to the entrance ramp, using them to build speed as he ricochets off them and charges forward towards his destination: Gable and Ibushi. Gable, seeing Sabin rapidly approaching and closing the gap, begins to lift his opponent into the air as Sabin dives through the middle rope, soaring through the air and connecting with the elevated Kota Ibushi with a Suicide Dive, sending both men crashing through the announcer's table as Gable somehow manages to avoid becoming a casualty by the end of it. Knowing that Sabin is in no position to continue this match but is the legal man, Gable carefully lifts Sabin from the sheer destruction and begins to make his way towards the ring with his partner and best friend in tow. Gable places Sabin on the apron before he himself climbs up onto it, lifting Sabin's seemingly lifeless arm up and tagging himself in, the referee acknowledging the tag as official. The now legal man hops off the apron and once again takes a hold of Sabin, moving him to a much safer location further away from the immediate ringside area before he makes his way back into the confines of the ring, this tag team match becoming a singles match.

The crowd are on their feet as Gable hits the ring, finding himself face to face with one Kenny Omega. The two have a moment of stare down, the crowd lighting up with excitement for either men before the duo begin to just tee off on one another. Strike after strike, the duo swing until they begin to slow.Omega is hit with a huge elbow to the face by Gable, but comes back with an even bigger enziguri. The move spins Gable on the spot, turning his back to Kenny who sees this as his chance. On his way back to his feet he slides in between the legs of Gable, lifting him up onto his shoulders. Gable is lifted into the air, being set up for the One Winged Angel. Kenny reaches up to hook the head but before he can, Gable rolls off his back.

In doing so, he grabs hold of the waist of Kenny Omega, taking him and sprinting forward right into the turnbuckle where Sabin has appeared stands on the apron. As Gable slams Omega into the corner, Sabin comes flying in with a Yazuka Kick from the outside into the face of Omega. Gable rolls backwards, dragging Omega with him as Sabin climbs the turnbuckle, flipping into a moonsault onto Kota Ibushi, eliminating them both from the equation fully. Gable comes out of his backwards roll, lifting Omega over his head and planting him with the O’Conner Roll German Suplex. He holds in his lock on Kenny’s waist as the ref drops for a pin.

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3!

Spoiler:

After the match the cameras are pointed at the announce table.


Mauro Ranallo
Ladies and Gentleman before our next contest of the night, we wanted to bring you up to speed on a situation that happened earlier this afternoon.

The video begins playing showing the entrance to the arena from the superstar parking area. From there we see none other than Cody walking up suitcase in hand with his wife Brandi Rhodes at his arm.

Cameraman
Cody, Cody can we get your feelings on not being a part of Final Stand XI this year?

Cody and Brandi continue walking into the arena seemingly ignoring the cameraman

Cameraman
Cody please, just a minute of your time, The XWL Universe wants to know how you’re feeling not being a part of the biggest night of the year.

At that moment Cody and Brandi stop, Cody sighs pulling off his sunglasses stopping Brandi from speaking before she could utter a word telling her “I got it”

Cody walks up to the camera man smiling offering to shake the camera man’s hand. When the camera man extends his hand to meet with Cody’s the next thing that is seen is the camera falling to the floor with the camera man lying on the ground. Cody walks up to the camera man in the ribs then flips him off and walks away when the video cuts off.


Corey Graves
Man, a lot of obvious frustration coming from Cody not being a part of Final Stand


Renee Young
I understand that, but was it really necessary to sucker punch the camera man and then kick him while he was down?


Mauro Ranallo
Needless to say regardless of the situation Cody is going to have to answer for his actions on the next Anarchy.

The camera cuts to a man standing in a dark room with his face hidden from view. All that is seen is the man's body. He stands there in ring gear with cuts, bruises and burn marks from head to toe. Eerie screams echo from the background. Whips crack as the unknown voices continue to scream out for help but no one is there to answer their call. The unknown man begins to pace around the room before beginning to speak.

???:
You thought my power was gone. You all thought that I was merely just a man but you see me standing here now, flesh and blood. I may fight for the people but my soul is as dark as night. I stand before you not as your savior but as your damnation. I wreak the havoc of hell upon my enemies but tonight one target stands before me in the name of…

The unknown figure walks forward into the light and as his face reveals the screams get louder revealing not a man.. but a demon. Finn Balor.

Finn Balor:
Chris Jericho. Tonight you will not see a man looking for love and admiration, but rather a man looking to create fear in the hearts of all who stand in his way. Today is judgement day. Chris Jericho will stand before me and proceed to be sent to hell by the hands of The Executioner. Tonight is the beginning of my path to gold. I will go through anyone and everyone who stand in my way for Finn Balor the man is no more. Face paint or not, the demon is now in complete control of this body. Chris Jericho, you are my first victim, and you will fear the name Balor.

Balor finishes speaking and the room darkens once more. Evil laughs and screams can be heard but Balor continues to stand there as everything turns red. Balor lifts his arms and a single horse rides forward from the darkness. The horse is white and Balor proceeds to get on the horse.

Finn Balor:
The apocalypse is coming. Prepare to fall victim to the end of XWL. Bodies will burn and my minions will plague the lands. It’s time to Conquest the lands of XWL.

Balor begins to slowly ride away until all that is seen is complete darkness. All that is heard is demons chanting in praise to the King of all Demons. Balor has arrived. The camera then cuts to the next scene.

The camera cuts to the arena as a familiar music begins to play.



As Chris Jericho's music hits the crowd instantly starts booing. Chris walks from the curtain with his scarf and his list taking in all the hate that he loves from the crowd. Chris looks into the crowd and proceeds to write down names.

Mauro Ranallo:
This man right here has much to prove after he lost his title at Breakthrough. He wants to show everyone that nothing has changed and he is just as good as he was when he was world champion.

Corey Graves:
Yeah, but he has a long night ahead of him because tonight we saw something in Finn Balor I’ve never seen before. It’s like something has woken up inside of him and it’s stronger than ever. I expect to see and grueling battle between these two men.

Chris Jericho proceeds to enter the ring and continues to write down names on his list and call people stupid idiots. Jericho then takes his jacket off and waits for his opponent to make his entrance.


The lights go out in the arena and the crowd goes silent. The sound of lightning storms and horses trotting fill the arena as fog fills the arena floor. A song begins to play over the titantron as a video also begins to play.



The video show clouds in the sky as they open up and four men are seen riding horses. These men are the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The first horsemen, Conquest, riding a white horse had a bow upon his back and rode out to conquer the world. The sounds of air raid sirens fill the arena as another rider comes from behind the clouds. The second horseman, War, riding a red horse and holding a long sword emerges and goes out to take the peace away from the world. Scenes of starving men, women and children appear on the screen. Beggars fill the streets begging for food that can’t be spared. Once again another rider emerges from the clouds. The third horseman, Famine, rides forth on a black horse carrying a pair of scales. After the third horseman rides off another scene appears on the titantron. Along the streets bodies of the deceased lie upon every corner. Too many bodies to bury can be seen piled up along every road. The people still living are seen burning thousands of the deceased as their families stand by crying over their dead loved ones. The final horseman emerges from the clouds and his name is death. Death is seen riding a pale horse and he was followed by hades himself. Finally a voice can be heard that echoed loud throughout the arena and that voice said…

???:
The apocalypse has come. Repent for your sins or fall victim to The Demon King. Balor has risen.



Heartbeats begin to echo throughout the arena as the crowd is left speechless. The lights go dark and the only lights that remain land upon the stage. One heartbeat sounds as the first horseman is seen. The next heartbeat sounds and the next horseman makes his way upon the stage next to the other. After the next two heartbeats the last two horseman make their way upon the stage and all at once the heartbeats stop and the entire arena goes dark. As the music hits the horses part and Demon Balor emerges from the smoke as if he was Hades himself. The crowd is in awe of the bone chilling entrance of the Demon King.

Corey Graves:
This man right here is out to prove a point. After being set back for years, he’s ready to take over XWL.

Renee Young:
That’s no man, Corey. That’s a Demon. I have chill bumps just watching him slither his way down the ramp.

Mauro Ranallo:
Time and time again, he has amazed the crowd with his death defying stunts but I don’t think we’re gonna see that tonight. Tonight this “demon” is out to send a message to everyone in the locker room. This is his moment.

Balor makes his way up the steps with a cold stare out into the audience as an evil grin emerges from his face. Balor then steps in between the ropes and throws his arms up as the crowd follows and then crawls his way towards the corner waiting for the start of the match.





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And the winner is..
.

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.


.


.




Winner:Finn Balor

In the hallway we see a limping form of a person. With every step they take you can hear the sharp intake of breath as if moving is the greatest struggle they have. It's none other than Kenny Omega. He leans on a wall for support and he runs his hands through his hair. The utter frustration is coming off of him in waves and as the camera zeroes in on him Kenny notices that he's not alone. He looks up to see the camera fixed on his and lets out an annoyed sigh

[Kenny Omega]
You want something from me? I don't see an interviewer or anything. You just want a shot? A nice Final Stand shot to remind future fans that not everyone can be a winner at the biggest show of the year?

Kenny stops leaning on the wall though the sudden movement makes him grimace. He slowly limps closer to the camera man. He moves some of his matted hair out of his face as he stares into the camera

[Kenny Omega]
You want me to give you speech about how disappointed I am? About how my friend came to my defense, how he came to XWL to be champions with me and at Final Stand I did what I've done my whole XWL career?!

Omega's head hangs low as the words leave his mouth. It looks almost like it physically hurt him to say that sentence. A unconfident Kenny Omega is a rare sight indeed

[Kenny Omega]
Yeah that's right, I said it. I choke. I choke! I hit rock bottom, and let me tell you here in XWL Rock bottom is a far way dow, I hit rock bottom and I claw my way out. I struggle, I scrape, I push, I pull myself back to a place where I think i deserve. Where I think Kenny Omega deserves to be! But...

Kenny's head once again faces the floor. He eyes look tired and his shoulders are slumped as he continues on

[Kenny Omega]
But life doesn't always work out like you want it to. Sometimes life decides it wants to knock you around. I gained so much in life through wrestling but I've lost a lot to. And sometimes it gets to me. Aiden English is main eventing through Money in the Bank. A match I should have been in but got screwed out of by Aiden's opponent, JBL. Maybe I should have won the elimination chamber last year? But I didn't. Maybe after a hard night like tonight I should be being comforted by my brothers Evil, Naito, and Nakamura. But they're gone. Because life likes to knock me around

The mention of Omega's former group The Kyohi really gets to Kenny who shakes his head in almost mourning over the end of something he helped build. Something he helped create

[Kenny Omega]
Sometimes quitting looks so nice. It feels so right. Even a man with the greatest resolve can feel hopeless eventually. Why keep putting up that effort, being away from my family, putting my body through the pain and agony that I will carry with me forever just to keep coming up short time after time after time after time! Why should I give a damn anymore huh? Would you give a damn? Would another man keep trying to pull himself out of failure? No! They wouldn't would they?

Kenny's face is read from screaming and the look in his eyes and that of a hopeless one. Kenny rubs his injured leg slowly before moving hair out of his face and staring at the camera. Astonishingly you see something of a small grin

[Kenny Omega]
But none of those men would be Kenny Omega!

What was a little smirk is a broad smile as he points to his injured leg

[Kenny Omega]
On one leg Ibushi and I took the tag team champions to the limit! One on leg I went out there and helped and give TCSI all that they could handle. When the three count happened I was on the wrong side of the results. I failed. But failure has never stopped me from moving forward. From improving, getting better, ascending up to my potential. This is not the end of The Golden Lovers, this is not the end of Kenny Omega, and this is not the end of out fight against TCSI! We are gonna fight and I will heal. If you wanna know where we go from here then I guess you'll just have to watch us on Anarchy. So to everyone here at Final Stand I simply say goodbye!....

Kenny has trouble doing it but he manages to grin and bear it as he bows

[Kenny Omega]
....Good Night!

Kenny determined stare draws this segment to a close

So, I got The FLU literally the day after we did The I.C Match on 3/7/19  well I probably had it that day but it worsened every day after and I wasn't really myself until this past Monday. Which is when I went back to work, and I had some heavy work conversations this week that saw me kind of focus on all of that and then I had to be up early AF yesterday so I'm like "Okay I'm off Friday/Saturday/Sunday I can cut all my videos and type stuff those days no problem.

Problem

As I go to cut The Women's Match because we're not basic bitches and we make endings exciting in ways the game never could...I'm like "oh that's funny it expires in 5 days..."

"WAIT...."

OH LOOK
THE I.C MATCH EXPIRED YESTERDAY APPARENTLY

GREAT, THERE'S NO VOD NOW


So I deeply apologize for the truly not up to "Final Stand" standard you're about to read, but getting the flu for the first week of the PPV, really before that...kind of has that effect.

First Elimination:  Tyler Breeze is driven into the outside floor with The T-Bag Driver by Jimmy Havoc and eliminated.

Second Elimination:  Jimmy Havoc attempts to deliver The T-Bag Driver to Matt Sydal, but Matt reverses it and quickly delivers The Here It Is Driver to eliminate Jimmy Havoc.

Third Elimination:  Ricochet attempts to go for The 630 Splash on Daniel Bryan, but Bryan moves out of the way and immediately locks in The Yes Lock. Ricochet struggles but ultimately succumbs to the pressure and taps out.

Fourth and FINAL Elimination:


[Mauro Ranallo]
It is now down to Daniel Bryan AND The Defending Intercontinental Champion Matt Sydal!

[Corey Graves]
Matt only has one more challenger to outlast in order to retain his title, but Bryan perhaps is the most difficult one of all because, throughout the last 7 weeks, Daniel Bryan is the ONLY Superstar in this match that holds a victory over Matt Sydal.

[Renee Young]
And what does that to do the usually confident Champion? Just last week Daniel Bryan delivered not one, not two, not three, but FOUR Running High Knees to Matt, one by one from each corner of the ring in order to defeat him and score a crucial non-title victory.

[Mauro Ranallo]
I guess perhaps a counter to that is it took FOUR of those knees before Bryan was confident he was done for.

While Ricochet was rolling out of the ring trying to shake off the pain of defeat, and the agony that came from The Yes Lock...The Intercontinental Champion was outside the ring recovering from the effects of this match slowly rising to his feet, and trying to get back into this match. But Daniel Bryan seeing this, knows he can't take a second for granted, he needs to get on The Champion and capitalize before he has a chance to recover because this is a man that's overcome a lot already in his reign, and they don't call him The Iron Man Of XWL for nothing. So as Bryan looks at Matt, he starts to take a couple of steps back, the audience catches on to what might be in his mind, as he runs to the opposing ropes bouncing off of them with a rush of momentum that propels him THROUGH the ropes with a suicide dive that connects on its mark crashing into Matt Sydal, sending him back first against the announce table with a sickening impact.

[Corey Graves]
Good god, his back smacked off the edge of the table, that's gonna leave a mark.

[Mauro Ranallo]
Daniel Bryan trying to leave his mark on this match and attain his first Championship in XWL!

[Renee Young]
This audience is split right down to the middle, chants for Matt Sydal, followed by chants for Daniel Bryan the question is who is going to leave this match as Intercontinental Champion?

Matt winces from his unceremonious meeting with the announce table but despite his rough landing, Bryan knows better than to go for a cover right now. Maybe it might be enough after the hell both of them have been through in this match, but he's not betting on maybes, he wants to guarantee it is him that gets to raise The Intercontinental Championship above his head when the bell sounds for the final time. So he sees Matt fall to his knees, and immediately The "Yes!" chants fill the air before the thought even fully entered his head. But per their guidance, he starts to pull his leg back, aiming at Matt's chest delivering a stiff kick that rocks him backward, and forward ready for the next that follows. "YES!" follows each kick, as he connects again, then again...delivering FIVE kicks that see Matt Sydal become one of those toys on the playground that rocks backward and forward. But as Matt comes back around following that fifth kick, the audience echoes a resounding "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH." Anticipating what comes next, ready to fire back with that final "YES!" Bryan pulls his foot back, making sure his upcoming roundhouse perhaps seals the deal...but as he goes for it, Matt perhaps out of desperation, or perhaps having lured Bryan into a false sense of "superiority" ducks the kick, and Bryan's foot collides with the announce table, audibly shouting as he kicks the table with all of his might and stumbles back, wiggling his foot as he tries to shake off the potential that he may have just broken a toe.

[Mauro Ranallo]
Matt avoiding that kick, and allowing Bryan to have an unceremonious introduction with our announce table himself.

[Corey Graves]
If that connected Matt's lights would be out, but instead this may be the opening he needs to turn things around.

[Renee Young]
Matt's eyeing our table a little too much for my liking...we may need to take a step back.

Matt having avoided his head being kicked clear off, looks to the announce table and starts to rip it apart as if he were picking it for scraps. He tosses the covering aside, making a point to toss it in the direction of Bryan, not with much force but enough to have it bounce off of Bryan's shoulder as he kneeled to tend to his foot. It doesn't really knock him down but it's more so an act of annoyance, one that surely is igniting a fire within him so Matt needs to act fast. He rips off the monitors, and rather than trying to use them as weapons he tosses them aside, then glides his hand across the table clearing it of any pens, papers, or drinks that could get in the way of what he has in mind. The audience is still split, some rooting for Bryan to get up, others excited at what Matt may have in mind. Once satisfied with his workspace he leaps off the floor with a dropkick that sends Bryan colliding into the side of the ring. Again, not really offense that will drop him, but having your back smack off the side of the ring is surely a receipt for that suicide dive that sent Matt's back against the announce table.

The commentary team takes their cue and scatters away from the incoming disaster that's about to take place. As Bryan had bounce off the side of the ring he came forward at Matt who meets him with a kick to the gut, then begins to reel him in forward, tossing his arm over his shoulder, seemingly for a suplex. We're not sure whether he's aiming to deliver a traditional one or perhaps a gourdbuster but as he lifts Bryan up...Bryan shifts his weight at the best possible time and manages to land behind Sydal, immediately wrapping both arms around his waist...IS HE LOOKING FOR A GERMAN SUPLEX INTO THE TABLE? With his efforts being exhausted as he tries to pump the hips and launch Matt up, Matt goes into fight mode once his feet leave the floor, delivering a back elbow right into Bryan's jaw, but it's not enough to break Bryan's grasp, so Matt goes flying backward....but not giving up there he does his best to shift his weight and instead of being driven against the table he flies over Bryan landing on top of it instead. He lands on his knees but quickly pops to his feet to meet Bryan who turns around expecting to hear the sounds of agony, but instead, the only thing that rings through his ears is the sound of Matt's foot firing forward with a light roundhouse that sends Bryan stumbling back.  

[Mauro Ranallo]
It's a game of cat and mouse right now, each going for something that the other seems to have scouted, and our announce table is being used as the tool that could turn this match in either of their favors.

[Renee Young]
Matt's standing on top of our table, I know he's no stranger to diving off of things, but what on Earth could he have in mind now?

[Corey Graves]
Whatever it is Bryan better shake off the cobwebs fast or he'll be defenseless to it.

The audience is on their feet, waiting for what comes next...and it comes sooner rather than later, with Bryan getting back to his senses, Matt leaps off the announce table, seemingly for a hurricanrana, that could send Bryan into a number of the things, the floor, the steps, who really knows with a man as skilled as Matt in the driver's seat. But as he lands on Bryan's shoulders....HE'S CAUGHT! Matt flails his arms panicking as only you can in this position before Bryan wastes no time in keeping to the theme of their fight by delivering his interpretation of a "buckle bomb" into the announce table, causing Matt's spine to ricochet off of it immediately collapsing in a heap as he seems to be in a very bad way.

[Mauro Ranallo]
MAMA MIA! His back could be broken in half after that very uncharacteristic powerbomb from Daniel Bryan.

[Corey Graves]
Sometimes you have to dig deep in your arsenal in a match like this, and while he's not always the biggest dog in a fight tonight he finds himself perhaps with the power advantage, or at least it's more in his favor so he's able to catch a Champion like Matt off guard with something you don't typically see from him.

[Renee Young]
It's Final Stand, you know what they say...go big or go home, and Bryan doesn't wanna go home as anything other than The NEW Intercontinental Champion.

With Matt in a world of hurt right now, Bryan starts to take a step back, moving past the steel steps, backing himself against the barricade as fans gather around him patting him on the back, cheering for him, and what comes next is something that signals this may indeed be over. Bryan looks to his left, his right, seeing the support, then with an intense look in his eyes...he raises both arms up high, each index finger pointed up...and the audience responds with a "YES!" He repeats his motion again, garnering a similar reaction, you can hear a minority shouting "NO!" the second time, but for most everyone, they're kind of rooting for both men so it's not necessarily picking sides but just investing themselves into the match and the emotions that come with it. He raises his arms up again as they again echo "YES!" Matt starts to pull himself up to his feet very shaken by that powerbomb but he knows he can't stay down for long because that's how you lose. So he starts to stand up but then staggers forward, falling to a knee as his hand rests on the top of the announce table, trying to use it as his ally at this moment. Bryan emphatically raises his arms up once more..."YES!" again is shouted throughout the sold-out Metlife Stadium as he readies himself to deliver the final blow that will bring Matt's reign to an end. Once Matt steadies himself and rises fully to his feet, Bryan comes charging with a head of steam at Iron Man ready to deliver the very knee that defeated him the week prior. Matt not knowing what's about to come slowly looks up and sees Bryan's knee within inches from his head... and as his life flashes before him, as the moments of his reign from the beginning until now playback in his head, he does the only thing you can do in this situation...HE SIDE STEPS IT! Bryan having launched himself into the air, has no way to stop himself as he flies ONTO THE ANNOUNCE TABLE!

[Corey Graves]
Good god, I'm glad I moved he would have kicked my head in.

[Mauro Ranallo]
Matt's ring awareness has spread to our outside in this Falls Count Anywhere Match and allowed him to have the wherewithal to avoid his reign coming to an end right there.

Bryan doesn't crash through the table, no he merely launches himself onto the table itself, he starts to pull himself to a seated position not wanting to keep his back against the table for long. But Matt didn't just dive out of the way and try to lick his wounds, no...he springs off the floor launching himself toward the seated Bryan sliding right THROUGH him with a variation of a Meteora that not only drops Bryan back down to the table. But as he delivers the knees to the face he slides past him off of the table rolling back down to the floor on his feet with an effortless show of his athleticism...and then has the audacity to take a brief moment to flash a smile and throw his arms up in admiration of his own ability. The audience isn't turned off by this though, because we've over the years have grown to love this streak of arrogance because he backs it up. But he doesn't showboat for long, maybe a second or two before his sights shift away from the admiration of his handiwork, and go higher...as he sees the top rope. His home away from home, the place where his body naturally gravitates towards. He quickly pulls himself up onto the apron and starts to climb the turnbuckle, the audience cheering louder and louder as they realize what he's about to attempt.

[Renee Young]
Daniel Bryan is laid out on our table, and Matt Sydal is climbing to the top rope...are we about to see him risk it all here?

[Mauro Ranallo]
With high risk comes high reward, but it could also backfire. Let's not forget Matt's lost titles on the grand stage before, most notably 2 years ago when he soared to the ropes for a dive, but AJ Styles rocked him with an elbow before connecting with a Phenomenal Forearm to end his reign.

[Corey Graves]
Bryans seemingly down for the count...but the same way Matt played possum in this match, Bryan could be ready to do the same. Whatever The Intercontinental Champion has in mind...he better not miss or his time as Champion is done.

The Iron Man Of XWL starts to stabilize himself on the top turnbuckle, making sure his footing is secure and exact because as he stares to rise to a standing position his body is turned at an angle, staring all the way at the outside of the ring where Daniel Bryan lays across the announce table. This is the final challenger that needs to be eliminated before he'll once again retain his title when the odds were stacked against him. He stands tall now, taking a deep breath, anticipation pouring out from nearly every person in the audience as they stand up screaming and cheering him on. Matt locks his eyes on his target, then with one final inhale...he exhales and launches himself into the air...following the motion of his infamous Golden Star Press this time unlike normally he's accounting for the extra distance he'll need to make it to the commentary table. The height he gets is breathtaking, and the fluid motion as he contorts his body perfectly is almost like watching a shooting star in the night's sky. We feel like we're watching it in slow motion as he finally crashes down...LANDING ON DANIEL BRYAN AS THE TABLE COLLAPSES AND THE AUDIENCE ERUPTS WITH GLEE!

[Mauro Ranallo]
IN THE IMMORTAL WORDS OF JOEY STYLES, OH MY GODDDD!!!

[Renee Young]
THAT HAS TO BE IT!


Matt's ribs took a major impact from that move, as the two Superstars lie on the remains of what was once a proudly standing announce table, he collapses on top of Bryan with a makeshift cover that could only come from someone as experienced as himself, unable to hook the leg but as the referee gets into position...we struggle to believe that's even necessary after the brutal impact Daniel Bryan suffered.

1....



2.....











3!!!!!

[Corey Graves]
And with that, Matt Sydal has successfully defended his title here tonight in a Fatal 5 Way Falls Count Anywhere Elimination Match.




A thunderous ovation follows from The Metlife Stadium as Matt's infectious tune fills the air, signaling that he has survived the challenge in front of him tonight and still reigns as Intercontinental Champion. He's not able to immediately celebrate though, he lies not far away from Daniel Bryan, physically spent as the referee leaves his side momentarily to retrieve his title from the time keeper, passing by a stunned commentary team that have taken refuge by the back barricade.

[Mauro Ranallo]
An absolutely incredible match from all 5 Superstars involved, but in the end...there's a reason why he's lately been referred to as The Iron Man Of XWL.

[Renee Young]
Just incredible, he volunteered himself to compete in this match, saw he had 4 willing challengers and said let's make a 5 way, but let's not stop there...let's make it Falls Count Anywhere....but not just that, LET'S MAKE IT ELIMINATION! The fact that he set himself up for failure, and succeeded is one of the many reasons why Matt Sydal has been a pivotal force in XWL.

[Corey Graves]
It's hard to deny how talented this man is, or how hard he works to stay on top. He won this title in a Fatal 4 Way Elimination Match, and as if he saw that and wanted to overcome the very match that brought him this reign when he was challenger at the time, and and said yeah let's do that and add one more guy he signed himself up for the end but instead has proven his reign is far from over.

[Mauro Ranallo]
This marks his 5th defense as Intercontinental Champion, and his comeback year rages on.

[Renee Young]
He won his freedom back at Final Stand last year, defeating JBL in a TLC Match which saw The Cabinet & The Undisputed Era interfere on both of their behalf, and you've gotta believe returning here now as Champion, and then being able to LEAVE here STILL Champion is an incredible feeling for Matt Sydal.

With the assistance of the official Matt's hoisted up to his feet, wincing as he grabs holds his ribs with one hand, but any pain he feels almost is numbed the second his eyes look at where his other hand is. It's clutching The Intercontinental Championship presented to him by the referee and it's a symbol that he did it, he survived, he thrived off the pressure, and HE IS STILL INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION! The official raises his arm in celebration as the audience echoes their own praise for him, some chanting his name, some shouting "IRON MAN!" and others just opting to cheer commending him for his efforts tonight and what he was willing to go through to still be able to call himself Champion.

[Mauro Ranallo]
Matt Sydal is a man that truly lives to be Champion. He appreciates the lineage, the honor, and the opportunity it brings to add a piece of himself to every title he holds.

[Renee Young]
He holds the record for Longest Reign as World Heavyweight Champion at 197 days a record that's stood the test of time for 8 years now. But you've gotta believe as his reign furthers, he's eyeing another record...one that many men have tried, but failed to claim as their own. Shawn Michaels of course had a historic 416 day reign as Champion, and at this point...while he's a good 300 days away from breaking it...I'd say if anyone on the roster today holds the potential to do that? It's Matt Sydal.

[Corey Graves]
A little presumptuous to look that far ahead, but I get what you're saying. Matt likes to attach himself to a goal, and achieve it. So if he can keep this up, and if he can manage to overcome every obstacle that stands his way from now onward...then hey, maybe that could be where this ends. But I think one detriment is also his biggest claim to fame. He's too risky, he's willing to just defend his title whenever, against whoever, he's not resting on his last defense, he's continuing to push himself further...and not that it isn't impressive...but how long can someone keep that pace up before it all catches up to them? For his sake, I hope he realizes how big this victory is, and he lets the process play out to determine his next challenger while getting some much needed rest.

[Mauro Ranallo]
I see your point, but I seriously doubt that's going to happen. He believes a Champion needs to be present and carry their title with the mission to make it the best title in the entire business...and a man like that doesn't ask for a night off, he asks for the opportunity to keep doing just that.

[Renee Young]
I don't know who will step up to the plate next, but it's fair to say they better be ready because this tonight was a man that will give every piece of himself to that title, every drop of blood, sweat, or tears will all go into remaining Champion, and keeping it as a center piece in XWL.

Matt's not exactly in the condition to celebrate much, he pulls away from the official and stumbles to the barricade, almost falling but is able to catch himself on it as he turns around with a sea of fans behind him. He flashes his classic smirk, then expends the last of his energy to raise The Intercontinental Championship up with both hands as fans pat him on the back and shout "IRON MAN!" around him. The chant begins to pick up more steam as the scene fades out, and we wonder...with another huge defense under his belt, what is next for Matt Sydal after defending here tonight at the biggest show of the year?

We cut to the backstage area where we find Charley Caruso standing with a smile on her face. She holds a mic in her hand, pulling it up to her lip as she's given the signal that she is live. She speaks, looking directly at the camera.

[Charley Caruso]
Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome my guests at this time, TCSI!

The crowd can be heard yelling from the ringside area as TCSI, sweaty and exhausted step into frame. Chad on her left and Chris on her right, with either holding their titles across their shoulders. Chad Gable dawning his newly dyed hair throws it back as Charley speaks to them.

[Charley Caruso]
First off, congratulations on your victory tonight and retaining the Tag Team Championships, and everyone is interested as to what is next for the team of TCSI?

Charley holds out the mic as Gable steps up, he grips his title for dear life as he speaks, out of breath.

[Chad Gable]
When people think of TCSI, they think of the comedy act of XWL. The fun loving duo from Anarchy. The bits, the jokes, the laughs. Tonight, TCSI proved they are more than just some fun loving guys on a roster. Tonight, TCSI proved that they can go toe to toe with any team, in this locker room, across the world, and hold their own against them. People always want to know what we have in store. What is next, for TCSI? Let me tell you the facts about us first. Fact: TCSI is the best tag team that XWL has to offer. Fact: TCSI are the longest reigning Tag Team Champions. Fact: TCSI, is more than a joke, we are a wrestling machine. Tonight, we had the match of our lives. Did you see that? DID YOU SEE THAT!?

Sabin, taking the past few precious moments to not only gather his breath but also his thoughts, nods along to Gable's facts, showing that they are indisputable.

Chris Sabin
It is said that seeing is believing, and if one thing was seen tonight it's that Chad and myself, we aren't to be trifled with. We said we were not only walking into Final Stand as Tag Team Champions, but we were walking out of Final Stand STILL with these Championships around our waists, over our shoulders, in our hands and in our bags. Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi have nothing to be ashamed of, they put up a valiant effort, they fired their best shot and what a shot it was but we're still standing. They were the biggest threat we've had to face since winning these Championships, there was talk amongst the locker room that they would be the ones to end this so called Cinderella story, that they would be the ones to walk out with our Championships in their possession. And guess what, Charley? The clock has struck midnight, I don't see Gable turning back into a pumpkin, do you? Physics aside, do you want to know the reason for that? It's because this isn't a Cinderella story, this is reality. Take nothing away from the Golden Lovers, they're in a level all on their own but so are we. Tonight, we showed the world that love does in fact not conquer all, we showed that blood is thicker than water. We are more than a team, Chad Gable is more than a partner. We've been through hell and back together and through those struggles, our bond has strengthened beyond compare and because of that, I consider him the brother I never had. And that is why we are untouchable in that ring.

[Chad Gable]
Let me put it straight to you. Call up your favorite teams. Go ahead. Call the Young Bucks, the Usos, the Lucha Bros. It doesn't matter. Because currently we are on top of our game, physically and mentally and there is no team that can stand to us. This tag division isn't a fire that's burning out, it's lightning in the bottle and we're the reason that it got caught in the first place. We are the heart and souls of this division, of this company! We put this division on our backs and built it from the ground up. We just put on a five star classic that a renowned wrestling critic would mark as match of the year candidate. We are not just "Stupid Idiots" we are WRESTLERS. We are THE, guys to beat! We are TCSI and, damn it, that means something!

Chris Sabin
Ask any team, any real team, what it means to be a tag team. It's not about the name you use, it's not about the Championships you win, it's not about the struggles you had to endure to get to where you are. The thing that makes a team just that is real simple: It's the bond you share with one another. And while we got off to a rocky start, our actions led us to where we are now. When you see us do what we do best, there's no clash of egos, there's no desire to upstage the other, there's no arguing about who gets the spotlight on any given night. The only thing you see is two men who are in this sport to prove they are the best, two men that night in and night out prove that they deserve the spot they have as Champions. This wasn't given to us, this wasn't owed to us, this was earned. Tonight we proved that it's going to take a lot more that bright lights, a sold out crowd, the grandest stage of them all and a competent team to take these Tag Team Championships away from us. And to the team that thinks they have what it takes to remove these Championships from our possession, allow me to give you a bit of advice: If you come at the Kings, you best not miss.

[Chad Gable]
Being on top of the mountain is about two things. Two very important things. It's about taking your shot, and being confident enough to score when you shoot. That's what I've been preaching from day one. That's all I want is to prove that we can do this! We have, done this! It's time to shoot and shoot and just keep on scoring! Whoo!

About that time, Gable swings away, the energy and adrenaline taking over. As he does, he bumps right into a blonde haired figure who turns around right into Chad Gable. Mandy Rose, who looks insulted that someone would dare bump into her, sees who her annoyance is and cocks an eyebrow, confused as to why she keeps running into these morons.


Excuse you, what the hell is your pro-

Chad Gable grabs Mandy by either side of her face, planting a kiss right on her. They hold this for a moment, before Chad breaks, storming off, yelling at the top of his lungs about how he's a "freaking champion."

Chris Sabin walks up to Mandy Rose, who is taken aback by this whole situation. Sabin goes to open his mouth but before he can, Rose slaps him across the face. He pauses, holding his head turned to the side. He nods and turns back to her, only to get a second slap across the face. She storms off in a huff as Sabin sits there, rubbing his cheek. Chad Gable walks back into the scene, stepping up to Sabin who is rubbing his cheek.

[Chad Gable]
You coming?

Sabin swings, slapping Gable across the cheek who reels backwards.

[Chad Gable]
What was that for!?

Chris Sabin
It was from your girlfriend.

Sabin, who is obviously frustrated, grabs Gable by the shoulder, dragging him out of frame and down the hallway as the camera cuts to another segment within the arena.

We cut to the ring with a raucousness crowd when suddenly



The crowd pops as Cesaro makes his way out in his ring gear

GRAVES
Oh my! The Swiss Superman is back in XWL!

RANALO
Mama Mia!

RENEE
Returning at the biggest event of the year too. I wonder what he has in store for the XWL universe

Cesaro gets into the ring and soaks up the fans reaction before asking for a mic.


CESARO
Well, Im back.
(crowd pops "welcome back")
a few years ago I was here wanting to prove I was the best, wanting to prove I belonged with the Elite of XWL. As we know that didn't really pan out. So i decided to show more of personality with my love of super heroes through my attire colors. As we know, THAT did not pan out. Then, I feuded with a man who had no business being here in R-Truth. Street fights, Death matches, even interfering in his MITB match. That Also, did not pan out. Then I kinda just got lost in the shuffle coming and going here and there.

RENEE
Cesaro getting serious

CESARO
You may be asking, then why am I back here in XWL? Because I've been wrestling for more then a decade and I still have something to prove! No more gimmics, no more colorful outfits, no more super heroes. The Swiss Superman is dead!There is only Cesaro standing in this ring at the greatest event in our sport, Final Stand! And Im here to make a statement, to make my final stand! So lets have at it, who wants to go! Who wants a piece of Cesaro, the man!





*The camera pans out revealing Roman Stepping out on to the stage and making his way to the ring prepared for a fight*


Roman Reigns - There is a lot of other competitors but when it comes to Roman Reigns. Cesaro, can't hold a candle and is a failure who continues to project his insecurities onto us rather than look at himself in the mirror. do you live in a fantasy land?

*Roman Reigns takes a brief pause to collect his thoughts, the crowd in attendance cheering for Super Roman Reigns*

Roman Reigns - Cesaro you seem like the type to has fail constantly not just in this company but outside of it. And you know? you suck!  

*The crowd is Cheering, as they look towards the stage area unsure of what's about to happen Before Roman Reigns can continue he's interrupted by none other than...*


The lights go out bring a hush to the crowd. When they appear there is but one spotlight. And a single strum of a guitar. Elias stands at the top of the stage, looking down at the ring and throughout the crowd.

[Elias]
Now now, as much as I would like to not interrupt a legendary moment for Final Stand, this is not a legendary "Moment". Actually, this isn't even good. This is filler in what is to be the greatest Final Stand in this history of this company and do you know why that is New York? That is, because this is Elias first Final Stand. Which by default would make it the best

The crowd boo the arrogance of Elias who walks slowly down the ramp and towards the ring

[Elias]
Keep booing me. You should get your practice in for when you boo your sorry excuse for sports teams that you call the Knicks and the Giants

If the crowd didn't like Elias before, they surely don't like him now. But Elias grin shows he doesn't seem to care much and he wearily steps around Roman and up the steps into the ring

[Elias]
In a show that lacks star power I have come. See, I was planning the concert later in the show seeing what's happening now I see I am needed more than ever. So...

Elias turns his attention to Cesaro who seems mildy amused by Elias and Roman reigns

[Elias]
If you two go on with returns in a more quiet environment so I can provide some great music to all these New Yorkers who desperately need I would appreciate that. Now....Who...Wants to Walk With Eli-

*Roman looks at Cesaro as he snitches the microphone back*

Roman Reigns: I can't say I'm surprised with that come back. I agree with you on one thing though Cesaro, Elias can't carry a tune in a damn bucket.


Roman Reigns:  I've said it before and I'll say it again: for me, it always has been and it always will be One Versus All.  And it seems people are starting to understand what that means and what I'm capable of.  

*Reigns is speaking in his usual calm, cool yet confident tone.  There does however seem to be an element of Sarcaism in his voice tonight.*


Roman Reigns:i have a Spear ready and waiting for both of you here tonight I don't have time just talking i'm ready to throw down.

*The very same fans who were chanting Cesaros' name just moments ago suddenly shift gears and erupt into even louder chants of "ROMAN REIGNS!".*



*Reigns is amused by this and smirks, but there's no doubt that deep down this isn't amusing to him at all. he doesn't let this show and again, speaks over the fans.*



Roman Reign: The way I see it, it all comes down to this, Tonight, I get the opportunity to prove that injustice is needed for Punishment.

*Reigns is all fired up at this point and talks with complete confidence and purpose.*



Roman Reigns: Tonight Cesaro and Elias, you won't just be stepping inside this ring with Roman Reigns.  You will be stepping inside this ring with a man hell-bent on kicking your asses and proving a point!  I won't be taking any prisoners, and I don't expect you to either, but guys... don't underestimate me.  If you do, it'll only be that much worse for you when my hand is raised in victory and you're left embarrassed and humiliated with a couple of broken ribs and a bruised jaw.  Bring your best... be ready...

*With that, Reigns slams his microphone down and a determined look comes over his face...*



[/color]

The tense situation is stopped by Elias who holds up a hand before things can go any further

[Elias]
Hey wait a minute slow down! Now, you two meat heads might be ready for a fight but I'm not!

The crowd boo Elias who starts to talk again quickly before they can drown him out

[Elias]
Boo all you want that won't change a thing. I came out to perform not to fight! So...I'll just see my way ou-

As Elias turns his world is rocked by a Superman Punch! The force of the punch from Roman spins Elias around into a European Uppercut that knocks him flat on his back. Meanwhile, while Elias holds his jaw in agony, a ref runs down to the ring, intent on starting this chaotic open challenge that Elias cannot run from now

















With Elias on the ground Roman turns his attention to Cesaro. Standing across the ring from him Roman Reigns sizes up his prey as Cesaro slowly climbs to his feet. Once Cesaro starts to turn around Roman charges with a head full of steam. Until Cesaro steps forward and connects with a brutal European uppercut that sends Roman teetering backwards. Roman stumbles backwards bouncing off the ropes and coming back with a lightning quick Superman Punch that puts Cesaro out! The crowd are off their feet for that exchange but before Roman can take a breather or even go for the win he's rolled up by Elias! Elias grips on to the tights for dear life!


1!


2!










3!





Elias quickly rolls out of the ring and scrambles up the ramp while the ref explains to Roman what happened. Roman's head snaps up the ramp to Elias who simply grins and shrugs his shoulder as the crowd jeer him from every angle. In a night where three new men wanted to make their mark, Elias stole it!

The camera turns on, and what we see is a black background, but no one can be seen. A few moments goes by, and finally heavy foots can now be heard coming closer, and closer. Until the footsteps come to an abrupt stop. A hand grabs the camera, and with forceful power turns toward the camera towards them revealing the person to be Rosemary.

["The Queen of Hell" Rosemary]
Do you feel the air? Something about it is different?

Rosemary itches the back of her head as if she is in thought, and she slightly twitches.

["The Queen of Hell" Rosemary]
It seems electricity flows through the air charging these meat sacks to limits they can only achieve once a year, but it doesn't make a difference to me or my followers. We will prevail in all of our festivities. Now I was brought with sad news that we sent dear little Ronda packing as we scared nearly TO DEATH!

Rosemary chuckles to herself thinking about what she has done.

["The Queen of Hell" Rosemary]
But fear not dirty meat sacks. There has been a replacement for a sacrifice tonight. Her name is Ember Moon. We have run across the Goddess of War once before, and no it did not end well in our favor, but that is because we took her to lightly. Tonight Ember meets The Queen of Hell, and we promise you that it won't end well for dear little Ember, but that isn't all what we have in store for you..

However before Rosemary can continue speaking, the feed begins to crackle and shift, as we are suddenly brought to a different view. Just like earlier, it is a black background, nothing to be seen. However, this time the person walking toward the camera has a source of light with them. A lantern. As Bray Wyatt walks into frame, he smiles softly and begins to speak.

[Bray Wyatt]
Tonight is a most special night indeed. Oh yes. Tonight is the night that the XWL Universe finally bares witness to the full power of the Celestial One. As I, it’s vessel, and the Key, Braun Strowman, take down Aleister Black and the Undertaker, along with their false idol, the “Queen of Hell”. Now as you saw earlier tonight, Finn Balor has reclaimed the Demon, but that is of no matter. Its power was never truly needed to carry out tonight’s task.

The screen crackles and shifts yet again, back to Rosemary, beginning a trend that will continue for the rest of this segment.

["The Queen of Hell" Rosemary]
My followers will go to war with Bray Wyatt, and Braun Strowman. Who pray to a higher being that is nothing but a sham.

[Bray Wyatt]
Rosemary has tricked these men into believing in her, when her powers are nothing but an illusion, a trick.

["The Queen of Hell" Rosemary]
Tonight it is where they realize who has the superior power, and trust us when we say this we will prevail.

[Bray Wyatt]
When I and Braun Strowman emerge victorious in tonight’s proceedings, let the whole Earth bear witness to its future, the forces that will control the rest of their lives.

["The Queen of Hell" Rosemary]
There is no fail tonight.

[Bray Wyatt]
This is for certain.

["The Queen of Hell" Rosemary]
Welcome to the beginning of hell rising over, and you see it doesn't stop there.

[Bray Wyatt]
For what do you all think will happen after tonight, hm? Will the Celestial One be pleased with simply defeating two husks and their messiah?

["The Queen of Hell" Rosemary]
We are looking for a company wide takeover.

[Bray Wyatt]
No no no. Tonight is just another step in the eventual reckoning of XWL, one where all but those on the Celestial’s path have been wiped away.

["The Queen of Hell" Rosemary]
These meat sacks will learn to bow before The Queen of Hell, and her rejects of society.

[Bray Wyatt]
Just as I have been telling all of you, you can still save yourself. Devote yourselves. For if you don’t…..

["The Queen of Hell" Rosemary]
I will remind all of you... this is your doing, and we will take what is ours.

[Bray Wyatt]
….. then you are doomed.

With both finished speaking, the camera suddenly shows both Bray Wyatt and Rosemary, each occupying half of the screen. The two of them both let loose a smirk, confident in the outcomes of tonight’s match, as Final Stand continues.

Brian Pillman walks out onto the stage with a smile on his face, and a pop from the crowd.

[Renee Young]
Tonight is a match that we are excited for! Last week Brian Pillman seeked out Eli Drake, and challenged him to a match at Final Stand! Which if you haven't guessed already Eli accepted his challenge.

Brian Pillman begins his way down the ramp.

[Mauro Ranallo]
These two should put on an incredible match! These two have grown to know each other for the past month or two. They know what each other are capable, and this will be a test for Brian Pillman to see what he has learned.

[Corey Graves]
This kid hasn't learned anything Mauro. Look at him he is a dweeb! This loser hasn't won a match in XWL yet! What are the odds he is gonna win against The Elite Superstar of XWL? Eli is a great talent, and he is gonna stomp this kid into the ground.

Brian Pillman steps into the ring, and looks around nodding his head smiling as he goes to his corner and now awaits for The Elite Superstar of XWL.

Eli's voice echoes through the arena over the loud speaker

"I AM ELITE"



The crowd stands to their feet as one of the top superstars in XWL steps out from behind the curtain.

[Corey Graves]
Here he is ladies, and gentlemen! My pick for the winner of this match Eli Drake!

[Mauro Ranallo]
Corey you need to calm down these are very likable people. Just know these two are gonna put on something incredible!

[Renee Young]
I couldn't agree more!

Eli stops at the top of the ramp looks out into the sea of the XWL universe, and slowly raises his right hand, and points out to his left, and the fans join in chanting.

["The Elite Wrestler of XWL" Eli Drake]
E

Eli points straight out in front of him.

["The Elite Wrestler of XWL" Eli Drake]
Li

Then points to his right

["The Elite Wrestler of XWL" Eli Drake]
Drake!



Eli begins walking down the ramp, and high fiving all the fans on his left side. He continues toward the ring, and now he stands in front of the ring. He jumps onto the apron, and climbs into the ring. Eli now stands in his corner awaiting for the bell to ring.

























Eli stands up, and uses his fist to wipe his mouth. He celebrates his victory, and the ref walks over then raises Eli hand into the air. Eli turns around to see Brian pulling himself up on the ropes. The two men lock eyes. It is at this point Brian is now standing under his own power. Eli is standing in the middle of the ring his eyes on Brian Pillman jr who is walking over to him, and offers him a handshake. Eli smiles, and shakes his then pulls him in then kicks him right between the legs dropping Brian to the ground. The crowd goes silent as they are stunned. Eli laughs to himself as he exits out of the ring, and the last thing we see is Eli seeming to pretty happy with his handy work.

 AJ & DAVID BREAK THE WORD LIMIT PART 1



The energy as with every match on a stage like Final Stand is electric, it's unlike anything else any other time of the year, and for these four Women as they stare down in the center of the ring, it is the culmination of a lot of trials and tribulations that paved the road to this year's Final Stand. This time last year Alexa Bliss was The Wicked Witch of XWL, alongside her best friend Nia Jax as The Irre-Blissitible Force. A bond that seemed indestructible, but a lot can change in a year. Tonight they don't stand on the same side of the ring, they stand on opposite ends after an untimely betrayal by Nia Jax. But what caused that betrayal? The Woman who stands beside her, smirking as she sees Alexa seething with rage bubbling within. Ruby Riott is the piece of the puzzle that saw this entire match take its current form. Because 3 and a half months ago at Roulette, she did something so unthinkable, we never ever saw it coming. Alexa had just beaten her budding rival Kairi Sane in a Trading Places Match. She was taking her victory lap backstage in true Alexa fashion, bragging in an interview, that is until suddenly Ruby Riott interjected herself, and assaulted Little Miss Bliss.

But her assault was not just a shot to the ribs to double her over, it was not just a simple ambush...it was calculated, and what followed was something so heinous, that XWL did something up until then it never has had to do...it cut away and called an immediate cease of what was being broadcasted. Ruby Riott had shoved her fingers in Alexa's mouth, and essentially was forcing her to purge. Our eyes may have been spared the horrors...but our ears heard enough to realize what was happening to a Woman up until then...we thought was the worst of the worst. Alexa Bliss was a Woman that when she was younger battled with something very real, an eating disorder that she hid from everyone in XWL because she didn't want it to define her, she would rather be hated than to be loved for something like that. But as awful as Ruby's "disorderly conduct" was...it seemingly breathed a new life into Alexa Bliss.

An enemy became her biggest ally as she was spared a repeat of Ruby's attack, saved by Kairi Sane...she was going through hell, trying to even figure out who she was anymore because for so long she hid behind this "character" The Wicked Witch of XWL, who would never have to relive the darkest time in her life again because she would be so hated no one would find out her troubling past. But Kairi saw someone in need, she saw someone who needed a friend...someone to stick up for her regardless of what terrible things she had done in the past. With that new bond building between what started out as enemies...sparked a fit of jealousy in Nia Jax. She felt that Kairi was coming between her and Alexa, that Alexa was choosing Kairi over her...that Alexa was so busy worried about her own problems that she stopped being there for Nia.

And for someone as despicable as Ruby Riott, a seed of jealousy is all she needed to sprout another crushing blow to Alexa Bliss. She vowed to be the bully Alexa always cried about....and show her what a REAL Bully was. A Bully made you relive your worst day, a bully...takes everything you hold dear, and turns your best friend against you. Ruby Riott placed each piece of this match where they are right now. Her actions, her manipulation, brought Alexa and Kairi together, it broke Alexa & Nia apart...and it is why tonight emotions are high on all ends, and tonight they face in a last TEAM Standing Match.

After shifting glances between all four Women, this match takes a sudden turn when The Irresistible Force lets out a banshee like scream as she barrels toward her smaller opposition, but showing how insync they are, Alexa & Kairi both back toward the ropes, and with all their might pull the top rope down, causing the freight train of a Woman to go toppling over the rope and crashing to the outside. Alexa & Kairi share a “high-five” before shifting their gaze to Ruby Riott, and make a point to motion at the two of them, and then the singular being that is Ruby, she’s outnumbered. Already the match just began, and they’ve dealt with the threat of Nia and now they’re going to enjoy every upcoming second where they unleash all five feet of THEIR fury. But, as they ready to pounce on Riott, The Pirate Princess launches herself forward, expecting Little Miss Bliss to follow, but instead what happens is Alexa tries to sprint forward and falls flat on her face, suddenly being dragged from the depths of hell as she looks back to see a furious Nia Jax effortlessly yanking her through the bottom rope and to the floor.

Kairi can’t help but stop in her tracks, concerned for her partner, but this hesitation is all Ruby needs to yank her by her hair and slam her backward against her knee with a hair assisted hair backbreaker. The official already readies himself to begin the count but rather than allow that chance Kairi instinctively rolls herself to the ropes, escaping to the opposite side of the ring of where Nia has trapped Alexa. Ruby takes a moment to bark orders at Nia “RIP HER IN HALF!” before stepping out onto the apron and stalking The Pirate Princess for a follow up assault. Nia towers over Bliss, as Alexa looks up unable to hide the fear that comes from the tremendous size difference of the two. As friends it was cool to have someone the size of Nia in your corner, but as an enemy? It’s literally someone that’s more than twice your size, power, and reach the likes of which you can’t exactly match. Still, this is the Woman who betrayed her, who sided with Ruby after all the horrible things she’s done. So Alexa rather than sitting there cowering for long, stands up tall, and does her best to “shove” Nia as she shouts “COME ON, NIA! LET’S SEE IF THIS WAS ALL WORTH IT! LET’S SEE IF ABANDONING OUR FRIENDSHIP WAS WORTH IT!” Again, she shoves her with all her might...but Nia doesn’t budge, not even an inch, not even a slight stumble...she remains tall and firm...laughing at Alexa’s pathetic attempt at shoving her. “Oh Alexa, you don’t wanna get into a shoving match with me.” She calmly says this, then with all of her brute force she shoves Alexa with such power that Alexa literally almost performs a perfect back flip as she collapses to the floor visibly shaken.


Back on the other side of the ring, by the commentary table we see Kairi pulling herself up using it, but Ruby’s right on her heels, grabbing her once again by her hair and attempting to bash her face off the desk. But Kairi isn’t her defenseless little victim, no she puts both hands forward blocking her head from hitting the desk, then drives her elbow into the side of Ruby, once...then twice...Ruby’s grasp is broken, and Kairi then decides turnabout is fair play, grabbing Ruby by her head and bouncing her face off of the announce table. Ruby tries to stagger away but she’s prevented from doing so by Kairi repeating her movements, slamming Riott’s face off the table a second time before allowing Ruby to collapse to her knees, and setting her sights on the desk in front of her. She starts to rip off the covering of the announce table, the match literally just began and already the aggression is so high that Kairi’s not wasting any time in going for something big this early. She knows how much of a thorn Ruby’s been in her side, but especially Alexa’s...and if she can eliminate her sooner rather than later? Then it’ll be down to the two of them versus Nia. She starts to pull away the monitors, but as she tosses one to the floor...Ruby sees her opportunity, grabbing ahold of it unbeknownst to Kairi, and bouncing it off the small of Kairi’s back, shell shocking her from the unexpected assault. Kairi collapses against the front of the table, and Ruby tosses the monitor back down, seeing the exposed wires that the monitor was attached to, ripping them further out of their position and starts to wrap them around Kairi’s throat, seemingly having a similar thought in mind. If she can choke the life out of Kairi, then she will be eliminated, and she won’t be able to get in her way or play hero to Alexa Bliss. No, it’ll be Alexa versus Nia & Ruby...and that’s obviously their goal. As she starts to pull the wires against The Pirate’s wind pipes, Kairi goes into fight mode, grabbing Ruby and throwing her overhead, not with force the likes of which only Nia could possess. But more so a chuck of desperation, that sends Ruby rolling over her and onto the announce table itself.

Ruby holds her lower back, clearly feeling the effects of being unceremoniously thrown onto the table against her will. Kairi sees this as an opportunity to kill two proverbial birds with a single stone: Eliminating Ruby Riott early on to hurt Nia's morale as well as turning this tag match into a handicap match in one fell swoop. With this in mind, Kairi places her hands on the edge of the announcers table and leaps into the air, her feet landing on said table and next to a now seated Ruby Riott. The former takes a hold of the latter's head, forcing her up to a momentarily kneeling position before transitioning into a doubled over one. The Pirate Princess looks to make lightning strike twice as she wraps her arm over her aforementioned doubled over opponent, using her free arm to take a hold of Ruby's hanging right arm and dragging it over her own back, her intent more than clear as she has the women that is the reason for this match happening in the first place in a Hammerlock DDT. And what history Kairi has with this maneuver, being on both ends of it weeks apart. First, being on the receiving end of it courtesy of Tessa Blanchard to using it against her multiple weeks later, to now here, on the grandest stage of them off, using it as a means to an end. Kairi begins to shift her weight, ready to avenge her friend's tragic history with Ruby but the vile one has other plans and they don't involve her being eliminated so early on in this heated contest.

Ruby shoves Kairi away, causing the Japanese native to leap off the table to keep herself from crashing onto the thinly layered padding on the outside and instead land on her feet, giving Riott some much needed breathing room. But this doesn't last long, however, as Sane recovers from this much faster than Ruby anticipated, wrapping her arms around her rival's leg and pulling it out from under her, causing the latter to fall back first onto the table below. As Ruby's back is arched in excruciating pain, Kairi reaches over her hurting opponent and takes a hold of her right hand, flipping her over and placing her on her shoulders in a Fireman's Carry. She quickly and flawlessly transitions this position into having Ruby's legs on either side of her head, with the remainder of Riott's now upside down body being parallel to her back. Sane takes a step back and begins lining herself up with the table in front of her, causing her to pull the proverbial trigger when she finds the perfect spot in the form of catapulting Ruby forward and causing her to collide with the announcers table with a beautiful Alabama Slam, resulting in the opposite sight. Miraculously, the table doesn't give way and remains standing, allowing Ruby to avoid dealing with the count for the foreseeable future. While Ruby clearly got the worst of that exchange, Kairi isn't left unscathed, the force behind the impact causing her to stumble backwards, the ring apron stopping her eventual descent to the floor and allowing her to regain her breath.

On the opposite side of the ringside area, a slowly rising Alexa Bliss is intently looking at a seemingly overconfident Nia Jax, who has been running her mouth this entire time, momentarily bringing her verbal assault to an end when she mouths out, “Come on, Lexi, get up so I can finish this. The much smaller woman cautiously pulls herself up, giving Nia her cue to charge forward, attempting a grab of some sort to which Alexa easily ducks under it, delivering a swift kick to Jax's leg, showing that there's still fight left in her. “Cute” is all that escapes Nia's lips before she attempts it again, yielding not only the same result but another kick to her leg, almost as if she's trying to cut down the tree that is Nia Jax down with her bare hands, or legs in this case. Nia is more visibly annoyed this time around and tries once more, this time, lowering the angle of her attempt, allowing her to wrap her arms around Bliss with ease. Having her former best friend in her grasp, Nia takes a hold of the waistline of Alexa's trunks and places her free hand on her opponent's shoulder for good measure, shoving the smaller woman with as much force as she can muster with the destination being the steel ring steps. Before coming in contact with the steps in question, Bliss is able to leap into the air and land on the top step, placing a hand on the ring post to divert any objection from gravity.

A visibly furious Nia charges forward, causing Alexa's spider senses to begin tingling, instinctively leaping off the steps with a visually pleasing and virtually perfect backflip, landing on the floor with ease. But this was all part of the plan, or so it would seem, as Nia quickly does a one eighty and picks up a head of steam in record time, using her size difference to its fullest potential when she runs over Alexa Bliss, putting an end to her athletic display in an instant. “THIS ISNT GYMNASTICS CLASS, LITTLE GIRL! THIS IS YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!!!” leaves Nia's diaphragm as she stands over her former best friend, showing her first hand that strength is superior to speed, boos raining down into the ringside area for the display happening before the live audience in attendance. As Bliss writhes in pain on the thinly layered padding on the outside, Nia bends down to take a hold of Alexa's head, slowly pulling her up to her feet while mouthing, “We're just getting started, Princess.” causing the sound of wood meeting flesh to reverberate throughout the immediate area. This doesn't seem to faze Nia, however, as a quick camera change reveals that The Pirate Princess has once again come to her friend's aid, using a Kendo Stick to her advantage. Nia slowly begins to turn her head, shortly followed by her body, towards the person that would dare interrupt her apparent fun. The slow movement is quickly exploited by Kairi Sane, who is shown to be in possession of two Kendo Sticks instead of the previously believed sole one. She tosses the second towards Alexa behind Nia's back and takes a step back, both creating separation between them and winding up her weapon for the impending conflict.

Nia, now having her attention turned towards Kairi, takes a single step before she's stopped in her tracks by another shot to her back. There doesn't seem to be any real pain shown, it's more of annoyance that becomes etched on her face, this time, rapidly turning around to see that Alexa is the culprit. Before she can return the favor, Kairi steps forward, hitting Nia's back a second time, causing the unified offense to be underway with Bliss and Sane each alternating their shots, targeting a different part of Nia's body to keep the larger woman from telegraphing their attacks. This works for a few blissful moments, much to the crowds approval, but like all good things, this too comes to an end when Nia extends her left hand, catching the Kendo Stick wielded by Kairi. She quickly does the same with her right hand, catching Alexa's weapon in one fluid motion, a tug of war of sorts ensuing shortly after. Just when it seemed that Nia would lose her grip of the weapons used against her, she brings her arms together, forcing both of her opponents to move forward against their will and inadvertently collide with one another, allowing Nia to confiscate their weapons with ease and send them both to the floor with a double clothesline. With her nuisances momentarily dealt with, Nia brings both of the weapons that were used against her, a smile forming on her face before she stacks them up and breaks them over her knee with relative ease, letting out a roar to show her dominance.


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1!


She throws the now dismantled Kendo Sticks aside, disposing of them like she plans to do to both Alexa and Kairi, lifting her arms into the air, reveling in the moment. Behind her, we see a now recovered Ruby Riott scavenging items from under the ring, pulling out a steel chair and sliding it into the ring through the bottom rope.


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2!


She does this a second time, pulling out another chair and sliding it next to the initial one. The gesture is repeated two more times, a total of four chairs now being in the ring but it doesn't seem like Riott is satisfied with just chairs, pulling out a ladder from the confines under the ring and joining its chair brethren within it.


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3!


She pulls out a second ladder, evil intentions clearly on her mind and with the shopping list reading four chairs and two ladders, she rolls into the ring through the bottom rope and trades in her wrestling cap for a building one for the time being, opening a chair and sitting it diagonally in front of the turnbuckle facing the ramp opposite of the stairs. She opens a second chair, placing it next to the first then takes the remaining two chairs and sits them next to each other across the initial two, leaving a curious gap between them.


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4!


That gap becomes visibly intentional when she takes the first ladder and systematically places it over the first row of chairs, the second and final ladder following suit when its placed right next to the first. With her Bob the Builder impression reaching its end, she mouths out to Nia, gaining her attention before motioning for Kairi to be thrown into the ring, the target for this contraption of steel couldn't be more clearer if she spray painted Kairi's name onto it. A sick smile appears on Nia's face, quickly taking a hold of the downed Pirate Princess and tossing her into the ring, following suit shortly after.


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5!


Ruby wastes little time wrapping her hand around Kairi's head, taking a hold of her hair and yanking her up to a kneeling position, potentially ripping some strands of hair from their roots in the process. She forcefully drags The Pirate Princess towards her newly created “playhouse” in the form of this steel on steel orgy near the corner of the ring, delivering a stiff slap towards the woman that stopped her from inflicting irreversible emotional damage to one Alexa Bliss, the moment that kicked off this entire rivalry to begin with. With a faint imprint of Ruby's hand on Kairi's cheek, the former tosses the latter onto the steel contraption without much, or any, regard for safety, her only intention is ensuring that the Japanese Superstar doesn't answer the dreaded ten count. While this was happening, Nia has been standing on the opposite end of the ring, her arms thrown into the air as a booing crowd is nothing more than music to her ears, clearly reveling in the negative reaction. With Kairi Sane placed perfectly in position for whatever vile thing she has in mind, Ruby begins to scale the turnbuckle from within the ring, placing a foot on the bottom one and using that as a stepping stone to allow her to reach the second before ultimately positioning herself onto the top one, her back towards her intended target in The Pirate Princess.

She looks over her left shoulder one last time to see with her own eyes that Kairi is still in position. Upon seeing this, a sick smirk appears on her face, causing her to throw herself backwards off the top rope, almost as if she were stage diving in some convoluted trust exercise, bringing her knees close to her chest and turning herself into a tattooed cannonball of sorts. She rips through the air with maximum efficiency, allowing the laws of gravity to lead her towards her destination, but not even XWL's former Gatekeeper could have predicted this: Collision with the unbridled steel ladders across her unprotected back, causing her to bounce off said ladders as if she were a human moonball. Her trajectory takes an almost justified tragic turn when she lands on the canvas following her crash and burn, using the height of the turnbuckle to your advantage is high risk versus high reward after all. But where did it all go wrong for Ruby Riott? Barring a tragic backstory, we're greeted to a reply of the moment that just went down, showing a different angle where Alexa Bliss had managed to put an end to the referee's ten count by returning to a vertical base and while Ruby was making some last second calculations, Bliss was able to pull Kairi out of harm's way, causing the vile one to get her comeuppance at the hands of her own creation. Ruby writhes on the canvas for a few moments before ultimately rolling out of the ring to momentary safety, causing the referee to shift his attention to the downed woman, Alexa slides into the ring, ready to take advantage of the situation she created for her team, but can it really be called an “advantage” when the person you're facing is Nia Jax?


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1!


A fearless Alexa Bliss charges forward, ready to take the fight to the much larger Nia Jax, but the wall of a woman stops Bliss in her tracks, wrapping her arms around the smaller frame of her opponent but this appears to have been all part of the plan as now Nia's unprotected abdomen is the recipient of rapid fire elbow shots from the smaller woman, causing Jax to shove her away to put a stop to the calculated assault.


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2!


Alexa uses the ropes to stop her momentum and keep herself stationary, forcing Nia to put herself in the proverbial drivers seat and shift her weight forward, getting a running start as she runs towards her former best friend.


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3!



But she unknowingly walks into another one of Bliss' premeditated plans in the form of Alexa places both her hands on the top rope and pulling it down with the intention of sending Nia over onto the outside, similar to how this match started.


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4!


Ever the evolving Superstar, Nia stops in her tracks just inches shy of the plan going off without a hitch but the hitch known as Nia Jax takes exception to this by wrapping her arms around Alexa's throat, showing that “Fool me once” is very much still alive. Following up on her death grip, Nia tosses Alexa clear across the ring with the greatest of ease, causing the self proclaimed “Five Feet of Fury” to bounce at least three times that distance before being sent out of the ring.


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5!


With Nia's impressive strength on display, she stands in the ring shouting, “Is that all you got, Lexi?” before being spun around by Kairi, who is now in avenging mode after watching her friend be tossed out of the ring like a rag doll. Sane fires a forearm shot towards the much larger Nia Jax, who brushes it off as if it were a bug bite, motioning for The Pirate Princess to try her luck again. Kairi throws a second forearm, yielding the same result, causing her to run towards the ropes behind her. She ricochets off them and runs towards her target in Nia Jax, using every bit of momentum to its full advantage, landing a calculated and precise shot to Nia's jaw, a shot that is heard around the world and a shot that staggers the larger woman. This gives Kairi the opening she needs to begin unloading alternating rapid fire shots towards the broken defenses of her larger adversary.


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6!


Against her will, Nia finds herself backed towards the adjacent turnbuckle from Ruby's steel contraption, giving Kairi an opening to run towards the turnbuckle on the opposite end of the ring, leaping into the air when she comes within range of it and using it as a springboard of sorts to push herself back towards Nia. This plan would have merit to it if it was actually pulled off, but Nia unleashes her will upon Kairi's plan, forcing it to crumble when Jax runs into Sane, bulldozing the smaller woman without much resistance. Nia lets out a roar to end all roars, showing her clear dominance in a verbal form, before she rolls under the bottom rope closest to the announcers table and wraps her arms around the steel ring steps, opting to keep both halves as one and only separating them from the ring post. She drags the heavy steps with relative ease, showing them their new resting place in front of the announcers table. A sick smile appears on her face before she returns her attention towards the ring and reaches into it, her impressive reach allowing her to take a hold of the downed Kairi Sane, her foot specifically, and drags her out onto the apron. In one swift motion, Nia throws Kairi onto her shoulders before beginning to scale the ring steps, one by one, until she reaches to top. Keeping one hand on her much smaller opponent, Nia uses her left hand to point to the table for a single moment before bringing her hand to her own neck, a slow cut throat taunt ensuing shortly after, her intentions couldn't be clearer if she verbally announced her plan.

Before she can throw Kairi back through the table however, a loud crack echoes around the arena as Alexa Bliss stands at the feet of Nia, swinging her Bliss Stick wildly. Nia staggers at the second swing and at the third she drops down to one knee. Kairi slides off her shoulders, rolling onto the table and behind it as Alexa swings again and again. Nia throws up an arm to defend herself which drops after the fourth or fifth blow to it. She looks at Alexa who swings once more to which Nia catches. She goes to stand up but before she can Kairi appears again, whether on adrenaline or instinct, kicks the arm of Jax releasing the stick. Bliss swings, clocking Nia who rolls off the table and out onto the floor. The duo share a look and a nod as Kairi pats her elbow and dives onto the monster among woman, hitting a mini inSane elbow drop.

The crowd goes wild as Sane and Alexa stand over the downed Nia, Bliss having helped Sane up before the ref restarts his count. The two having a moment before it clicks to them that the ref had stopped counting some time ago for the other member of this match. Another loud crack is heard as Alexa crashes onto Nia, having been hit in the back by a steel chair from Ruby Riott. She then takes it and hits Sane in the gut, doubling her over. Ruby drops the chair to the ground, grabbing hold of Sane’s head and ddt-ing her right onto the chair. The sound echoes, sending chills across the arena as Ruby sits up, smirking at the response.

Ruby then attempts to drag Nia to her feet, or at least to a position she won’t be counted. Eventually she reaches this, leaning Nia back against the table she so desperately was trying to break. Riott then turns her attention to Alexa who is attempting to crawl to safety. Riott strolls over, taking a foot and placing it on Bliss’ ankle, pressing down and causing her to cry out in pain. Riott simply applies more pressure, which continues the screeching of Bliss before Riott stomps one good time. The villainous Riott then picks Alexa up, dragging her to the apron and lifting her onto it. She then spins Bliss around, grabbing the head of Bliss and pulling her off the apron. She is now set up for a hangman DDT, but from the apron. Riott seems to be fairly pleased with herself, looking to put Bliss down for the count.

Once more, from out of nowhere comes Sane, diving off the apron and kicking Riott in the face. This causes the villain to stagger, Bliss jumping off the apron and running forward, sending Riott right into the barricade. Sane then kicks her in the gut, causing Riott to drop to her hands and knees. Sane looks at Alexa and yells in Japanese, Alexa taking that as “finish this already!” to which she nods. She takes a few steps back and takes off running. She jumps into the air, getting pretty good height, looking to curb stomp Riott out of this match. However, mid-air, she is caught by Nia Jax who had rounded the ring and waited her turn. Jax simply shoves Alexa back, sending her flying into Sane. The two collide nastily, tangled up in each other as Jax takes a moment to drag Riott back to her feet, setting her on the apron in a seated position. She turns her attention back to the duo who are working to their feet slowly but surely.

With Nia in complete control of the situation, she begins to window shop: Does she want to eliminate “Five Feet of Fury” from this match, or perhaps she's feeling more exotic and wants to target “The Pirate Princess?” Her decision is made when she places a foot on a slowly rising Alexa Bliss, shoving her into the side of the ring as a way to clear the path to her intended target. She takes a hold of Kairi's hair, causing the smaller woman to begin unloading back elbows in an attempt to break Nia's grip, but all that she sees in her immediate future are a number of clubbing blows to her exposed back, bringing a halt to her escape. Jax lifts Sane from her kneeling position to a standing one, finding herself behind The Pirate Princess, wrapping her left arm around her opponents waist with just enough pressure to keep her vertical, placing her right on her shoulder to keep her locked firmly in position. Uncharacteristically, Nia begins direction traffic, motioning to Ruby that it's time to turn this tag team match into a handicap match at the expense of Kairi Sane. Riott simply nods her head and hops off the apron, seemingly not recovered from her crash and burn earlier in this contest. Nia notices Alexa try to intervene, simply opting to put a foot on her shoulder to keep her down, a smirk forming on her face as she knows Bliss has to watch the woman that has saved her time and time again be double teamed as she helplessly looks on.

Ruby eventually stumbles onto the scene, taking a hold of Kairi's arm and twisting it into position, setting up what could only be known as one of the deadliest strikes in the game: The Riott Kick. She takes a deep breath before throwing herself backwards and kicking her foot into the air, more than ready to cause the first elimination of this contest. The strike connects as planned but it isn't on her intended target. As Ruby fights through the pain of willingly landing on her back on the thinly layered padding on the outside, she looks up with an expression of shock etched on her face: Her very own ally in Nia Jax is stumbling backwards as Bliss and Kairi are seated next to one another. One replay and a different angle later show that the full extension of Alexa's reach was annoyingly close to Kairi, who noticed her friend's attempt and moved her hand to close the gap between them, interlocking them with one another. Bliss' eyes would shift towards Ruby, waiting for the perfect time to execute her last second save. Nia Jax, after being the unintentional recipient of the Riott Kick, finds herself back first on the barricade, unsure of just what the hell happened and where the plan went wrong. Not about to let this opportune moment go to waste, Kairi pulls herself up to her feet and charges past a seated Ruby Riott, throwing her short yet deadly stature into the air in a perfectly horizontal position, the deadly Interceptor spear clearly in her mind. She connects the maneuver but instead of the barricade giving way, it remains true to its purpose and refuses to give in to the demands of mortals. Ruby makes it to her feet as quickly as she could to attempt her own rescue mission but before she could put that plan into action, Bliss, taking the months of verbal, physical and emotional anguish, takes a few steps forward and shoves her over the announcer's table, sending her over it and crashing into the floor on the opposite side.

Alexa shifts her attention towards her former best friend, the only thing keeping her upright is the seemingly unbreakable barricade, her body slumped over the top part of it. Whether it was intended or through sheer instinct to keep herself from being on the receiving end of the referee's count, Nia Jax remains vertical and manages to keep the dreaded count at bay, for the time being at least. An expression of somberness fills Bliss' face for a few fleeting moments, this was her best friend once upon a time after all, and now here they are, on the grandest stage of them all as enemies. Was this all really worth it? All that time as best friends, wasted and tossed out the window by a single life altering moment, surely they could go back, right? Forgive and forget so they could return to a time where they were two of the most dominant women on the roster, side by side as friends? The thought tickles Alexa's fancy for a few moments, internally entertaining the idea of an Irre-Blisstible Force reunion but where would that leave the woman she has now aligned herself with? The woman that despite being on opposite ends of the ring the night prior, went out of her way to save her in one of her darkest times? And just like that, Alexa snaps out of it and returns to reality and the situation at hand. Her alliance with Nia had its time in the sun, it flourished and now it's over due to the selfishness of the woman that not only stands across from her but joined forces with her greatest enemy in Ruby Riott.

What must have felt like an eternity to Bliss is only a handful of seconds to the live audience in attendance, who look on in anticipation as Alexa scales the ring steps and places a foot on the announcer's table, and for good reason. It has been used repeatedly in this contest and one doesn't blame her for testing its durability after the bodies that have bounced off it with ease. When she feels like the table won't betray her like Nia Jax did, she applies her full weight to the table and begins sizing up her unsuspecting target, the proverbial biggest dog in this fight. A rapid fire of memories fill Alexa's mind, from their time together as best friends to her being chased around the ring by Ruby while Nia mercilessly drops her leg across Kairi's neck to the most recent being the calculated assault administered by Riott and Jax on herself and Kairi following their victory in their first ever match as a team. Alexa's regret instantly turns to anger, causing her to gain a running start, as much of a running start as you can get from a table, before she leaps into the air, planting one foot on the barricade to keep her balance upon landing and the other into the back of Nia's skull, sending her face first into the top part of the barricade. Bliss remains standing on the barricade for a moment, her anger turning to slight confusion, surely this would have broken the barricade, right?

Bliss lets out a sigh before hopping off the barricade and landing on the thinly layered padding below, while her plan may not have gone as she might have expected, the damage was still inflicted on her former best friend. She makes her way towards her partner and friend, checking on her as she catches her breath while she leans on the ring apron, like Nia, avoiding the referee's count. A few words are exchanged between the duo that's currently in control of the match, mainly Bliss mouthing words to Kairi that aren't picked up by the microphones on the ringside cameras, to which Sane simply nods. With that, they break apart, Alexa walking towards Nia while Kairi finds herself climbing onto the ring apron before beginning to scale the turnbuckle, slowly but surely reaching the top. Like a Japanese Gargoyle, Kairi adjusts her balance momentarily before perching herself on the top turnbuckle, awaiting her partner's cue to take apparent flight. Alexa looks towards her fearless partner, almost as if there's a hint of doubt in her eyes before an idea hatches in her head, if you look closely enough, you could see the light bulb above her head light up. She raises a hand towards Sane, who delays her scheduled flight, looking on as Alexa walks towards the side of the ring, throwing the ring skirt up onto the apron and begins searching under the ring while a curious Kairi Sane looks on. A few suspenseful moments pass before Bliss begins to pull out what looks to be a ladder, but just when it would seem like it would be a normal everyday ladder, she adjusts her angle to pull the full length out from under the ring to avoid being stopped by the barricade. She leans the ladder on the ring, showing its size in all its steel glory: A ladder that is over twice the size of Little Miss Bliss, “Five Feet of Fury” herself.

This monstrous ladder rivals Kairi's height, who is still on the top rope, before she's motioned over by Alexa for her assistance in getting this godly ladder into the confines of the ring. She hops off the turnbuckle and takes a few steps towards this mastodon of steel, managing to get it into the ring after some clever maneuvering. Kairi begins to slowly open this ladder, positioning it next to the turnbuckle she was just on, just opposite of the steel contraption Ruby Riott had assembled earlier in the match, it's reach extending towards the ring's most center point. Sane takes a deep breath before she begins scaling the rungs one by one, Bliss returning towards her former location to ensure that Nia Jax remains in place. With each step she ascends, the anticipation slowly begins to build within the live audience in attendance, will she go through with this and throw caution into the wind like she's done before to ensure that they'll emerge victorious in this match? With the lights at their brightest and a global stage the size of Final Stand eagerly looking on, after everything that Nia Jax has put her through, the months of calculated assaults and verbal, as well as physical, beat downs, this is do or die time for Kairi Sane. She reaches about the halfway mark on the ladder, which is much higher than her previous position of the turnbuckle, locking eyes with Alexa one final time, a nod exchanged between them before Kairi throws her hands into the air and with as much force as she could, launches herself off the ladder, soaring through the air with the majesty befitting of someone that calls themselves “The Pirate Princess.” She prepares for impact as she rapidly reaches her destination thanks to gravity, driving not only her elbow but her entire body into the unsuspecting Nia Jax, sending them both crashing through the barricade in one spectacular motion.

The referee immediately springs into action he’s concerned for their well being but his job is to count whenever someone goes down and after that barricade shattering elbow drop? It’s fair to say Kairi Sane AND Nia Jax both might be down for the count.


Referee
1!


Alexa approaches Kairi to try and help her up but from the corner of her eye, she sees something that could threaten this very leap of faith. Ruby Riott saw and likely heard what had happened and she’s rushing to the scene in hopes of helping Nia up, even though that’s not exactly a task for someone of her size. So Alexa has a choice, does she use this time to pick up Kairi and risk Ruby being able to potentially do the same? Or does she focus her efforts on keeping Ruby away from this count and hope that her Pirate pal is able to break the count herself?


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2!


She shakes her head, knowing that they expended all their efforts to get the larger opponent down, and she needs to do her part now and believe in her partner, she needs to subdue Ruby so that she can’t make all of that be for nothing.


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3!


She rushes over to Ruby seeing her Bliss Stick still by the announce table, grabs it as quick as she can, then before Ruby can know what’s coming as she spins around...CRACK! Alexa strikes Ruby in the mid section doubling her over, then delivers a swift shot to her back momentarily knocking her down to the floor.


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4!


Alexa doesn’t stop there though, she starts to maneuver herself on the floor beside her, in prime location where they’re able to see the referee counting Jax & Sane then with The Bliss Stick still in her position she starts to use it to apply a makeshift submission. It’s as if she’s executing a cross face submission, but instead of her hands clasping together and pressing against Ruby’s face she’s using The Bliss Stick to make her REALLY suffer.


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5!


“LOOK AT HER RUBY! THAT WAS MY BEST FRIEND! YOU TOOK THAT FROM ME! YOU TRIED TO TAKE EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!” You hear the raw emotion in Alexa’s voice as she screams at Ruby, ramping up the pressure of this torture device submission.


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6!


Ruby is the reason this match is happening, she set the pieces in motion, and now Ruby is having to watch the consequences of that. This isn’t an easy breezy show of superiority like she thought it would be...no Alexa & Kairi have brought the fight like never before, and you have to wonder if in this moment, as she writhes in agony as this bedazzled reinforced Kendo Stick grates into her face, if she maybe regrets what she did? Now in hindsight, seeing how the match is playing out, how her insurance policy Nia Jax is just seconds away from being eliminated.


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7!


Of course while trying to maintain pressure, you see Alexa look to Kairi growing concerned that she might not make the count. But as you see the concern grow stronger, we and Alexa for that matter see something that perhaps settles that feeling...Kairi Sane much like Nia Jax had lied motionless for the duration of this 7 count but as if she heard the official’s count finally you see her arm lift off the debris of what was once a barricade and it starts to dig in to the side of a connecting barricade, seemingly as if it’s being used to gain support.


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8!


Kairi’s absolutely destroyed after that aptly dubbed “INSANE” Elbow but Nia clearly got the worst of it. Sane starts to crawl forward, trying to just pklant her feet, because if she can do that then she’ll get up in time and the count will solely be for Jax. You hear Alexa shout out in support of her friend “COME ON, KAIRI! YOU CAN DO IT!”


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9!


The words of encouragement from her friend help her pull herself up, and the referee waves it off signaling that she’s gotten up. The audience roars with cheers happy to see The Pirate Princess still in this match, as the official takes one last look at The Irresistible Force that was taken down by an Interceptor against the barricade, then a Curb Stomp into said barricade, and lastly put THROUGH said barricade with an INSANE ELBOW DROP from the top of a ladder. She’s not moved, she’s not even so much as twitched, Nia Jax was destroyed...and with that the referee concludes his count.


Referee
10!

Spoiler:

AJ & DAVID BREAK THE WORD LIMIT PART 2



Upon hearing the official’s 10 count, Alexa jumps off of Ruby and dashes over to Kairi, tending to her as she helps her gain further stability as the official notices that Ruby’s now down as well so he motions for some referees to come tend to Nia as he goes over to Ruby and begins his count.


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1!


Alexa brings Kair in a huddle, in a perfect world Ruby would be done for and this match would be over...but the look on Alexa’s face as she and Kari have a quick discussion seems to lean in the direction that she doesn’t think Ruby’s down just yet. That or maybe it’s wishful thinking because after having her past eating disorder brought up and used against her in a truly disgusting bullying display, Alexa wants to make Ruby suffer for everything she’s done.


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2!


So with a nod exchange between the two, Kairi heads toward the ring apron and tosses it up, searching for something. While Alexa runs right up to Ruby who was starting to pull herself up on her hands and knees and delivers a punt to the side of her ribs that sends her rolling and breaks up the referee’s count. He asks her what she’s doing but Little Miss Bliss ignores him and instead grabs Ruby by her hair, dragging her over to the ring and rolling her inside of it. Kairi returns from under the ring...with a table! The audience pops loudly chanting “WE WANT TABLES!” as if saying they approve of this plan being set in motion. But Kairi soon puts the table to the side and goes back searching as if she’s looking for buried treasure...treasure that seemed to be not just the one table, but TWO. Bliss pulls up the ring skirt from her side of the outside of the ring and pulls out something of her own. It’s not a traditional weapon, no...it’s something that’s again a callback of sorts to this rivalry and the journey that led to this match. It’s a dazzled bucket, the very bucket that Ruby introduced in a mocking manner so that Alexa would have some use for it when she vomits her guts out. But Alexa tonight has chosen this will not be an item that brings back bad memories, but forges one spectacular one. Alexa slides into the ring after Ruby, bucket in hand looking up the ladder in the ring, at the steel chair and ladder contraption that Ruby & Nia put together. It’s an intimidating sight, hell the entire ring essentially is one giant house of horrors with that, and then the ladder Kairi setup for her harrowing dive that eliminated Nia.

Kairi begins to assemble something of her own outside the ring having retrieve two tables. She pulls the first one up, locking the hinges into place before turning it over and resting it in its natural position against the barricade. It’s directly in front of the hard camera side of things. The Pirate Princess grabs the second table and repeats the same motion, locking the hinges and turning it over, moving it into position right beside the other table so that they’ve formed one giant area of table that takes up most of the ringside space that was between the apron and the barricade where the audience was excitedly cheering very eager to find out what they’ve got in mind. Alexa raises the bucket up high then starts to put it over Ruby’s head but The Riot causing Superstar took this valuable time she had to recover and waited for this exact moment, she catches Alexa with a raised kick, stumbles to her feet then sees Kairi climbing the apron to enter the ring, slides into action with a basement drop kick kicking the legs out from under Kairi as she takes a minor spill to the floor, thankfully avoiding the tables she set up.

Ruby knows that now it’s 2 on 1, she has to make every single moment count, and that means there’s no time to waste. She tackles Bliss forward, shoving her against the corner, looks back to see her earlier contraption and smiles. She knows if put Alexa through that? Her victim will at last be done for. She hastily pulls Bliss off of her feet, lifting her and seating her onto the top rope then adds insult to injury in a mocking sense by grabbing the bucket Bliss brought in and places it over Alexa’s head patting it with a devilish grin as she can’t help but laugh. “WE KNEW YOU’D HAVE YOUR HEAD IN A BUCKET AFTER THIS MATCH ANYWAYS, THINK OF IT AS YOUR PAL RUBY SAVING YOU THE TROUBLE!” She starts to climb onto the second rope seemingly setting up for a superplex. But Kairi Sane rushes into the ring and quickly grabs a hold of Ruby for a powerbomb. Typically this is the all too classic “tower of doom” spot. But her partner is in Ruby’s clutches, is this another moment where they’re calling an audible and looking for a sacrifice moment to end the match?


No! As if Kairi and Alexa telepathically spoke, Alexa as soon as Ruby is grabbed by Kairi, removes the bucket from her head, then smacks the “vile bitch” as she has referred to her throughout this rivalry and the bucket falls to the mat as Alexa performs a picture perfect sunset flip over Ruby, her feet landing on the mat beside Kairi, as the two now have Ruby primed for a DOUBLE powerbomb. The two share a glance at each other before pulling Ruby away from the corner as she helplessly dangles in the air within their grasp, then start to run for the ropes, ARE THEY ATTEMPTING TO POWERBOMB RUBY FROM THE RING TO THE TABLES ON THE OUTSIDE? Ruby’s life flashes before her eyes as she’s quickly taken against her will. She looks back to see the tables and goes into panic mode, punching, clawing, wiggling, she reaches down digging her nails into Kairi’s eyes an act that forces Kairi’s grip to loosen as the sting of nails being dug into her eyes is too much to keep focus, and that is all Ruby needed. Alexa’s trying to will Kairi on, as they’re so close to the ropes now but Ruby yanks on her hair playing as dirty as it takes to survive, and the combination of her efforts allow her the opportunity she needs to slip out of their grasp and roll back down to her feet.

Alexa & Kairi try to prevent her from getting away, but one perfectly timed super kick to Kairi later, and Kairi falls to the mat, rolling out under the rope and to the floor as the referee springs into action to begin his count. Alexa refusing to let her gain any traction kicks her in the gut doubling her over, then reels her in and delivers a DDT.


Referee
1!


Alexa saw Kairi go down and she decides Ruby’s taken care of, she can go help up her friend so the two of them can finish this once and for all. She steps out onto the apron eyeing the tables that they tried to powerbomb Ruby through with their combined efforts, knowing that could very well be the way they eliminate her. She shouts out “Come on, Kairi! We’re so close now!”


Referee
2!


She can see Kairi’s not unconscious, she’s just briefly shaken. She reaches her arm forward, maintaining her grip of the top rope with the other and offers Kairi her hand. But with her back to the ring, the DDT she just delivered that she hoped would keep Ruby down long enough to tend to her other half of her team in this match...she finds out she was very mistaken when suddenly a boot connects off the back of her head, and she rocks forward, avoiding utter disaster due to her hand being on the top rope. She’s stunned, completely dazed, she turns swaying in her precarious position, and that’s when Ruby suddenly shoves her hand forward, INTO ALEXA’S MOUTH! This is how all of this began! The night Ruby suddenly targeted Alexa backstage and went so far with her actions, with the vulgarity of something so serious that XWL programming had to cut away.


Referee
3!


You see a similar expression appear on Alexa’s face as her eyes widen, and she starts to gag, struggling, panicking, tears starting to appear in the corners of her eyes as she’s utterly helpless. No, not again...SHE CAN’T DO THIS AGAIN, NOT HERE, NOT IN FRONT OF ALL OF THESE PEOPLE. Maybe we can cut away but the live audience can’t exactly turn their screens off, Ruby can’t be doing this? Boos on top of more boos on top of even more boos echo, but Ruby simply laughs, shouting “Aw, Alexa...don’t worry, I’m not going to embarass you in front of all of these people...I’M GOING TO END YOU AND YOUR SOB STORY ONCE AND FOR ALL! Her fingers return from out of Alexa’s mouth just before her gag reflex could trigger, then suddenly grabs her arm, and twists it around...IS SHE LOOKING FOR THE RIOTT KICK?

The audience boos, Alexa’s face showcases immediate terror as she tries to pull away from Ruby but her arm is literally being twisted out of its natural state. She’s completely a wreck after Ruby’s mental warfare debilitated her. Alexa Bliss is in a bad way right now, and as her arm is being twisted out of its socket, turned nearly completely around from typical arm. Ruby lets out one final message for her doomed foe. “NIGHTY NIGHT, LEXI!” She kicks her feet off the mat, ready to swiftly bring Little Miss Bliss to her demise….but suddenly Alexa’s thrust forward with a shove as a Kairi slides onto the apron pushing Alexa out of harm’s way! Fans start to rejoice within that split second, but are brought to utter silence as Ruby’s kick still finds a target, catching Kairi with it as she sprung directly into its line of fire in her effort to save Alexa...and in one fell swoop Kairi’s sent flying off the apron and CRASHING THROUGH BOTH TABLES!
Kairi Sane just sacrificed herself to spare her best friend that fate, while Ruby didn’t plan it this way she simply shrugs and shouts “AW, ISN’T THEIR FRIENDSHIP PRECIOUS” cackling as the official concerned by the utter decimation of Kairi has to quickly get over that and begin his count.


Referee
1!


We see Alexa resting against the ring post, what we didn’t see was when Kairi shoved her, it may have prevented Bliss from the demise Kairi potentially suffered but it sent her smacks dab into the ring post, and her body is slowly sliding down the post, ultimately collapsing to the floor.


Referee
2!


Alexa is lying on the floor not exactly aware of what happened, but in a match like this you’re pushed to supersede your body’s natural response to pain. And as she hears the referee counting, she slowly sits up and what she sees utterly shatters her. It’s her best friend lying motionless in the shattered remains of the two tables.


Referee
3!


She realizes that Kairi in an act of valor took that bullet of a kick to protect her, because Alexa’s gone through enough throughout the last 3 months, and she wanted to spare her one more second of agony whether that be mental or physical. Alexa’s shaky but she knows she has to try to help Kairi up, she saved her, so now isn’t the time to lick her wounds.


Referee
4!


On spaghetti legs Alexa stumbles to her feet, walking forward only to abruptly be grabbed from behind as Ruby gets a handful of her hair and shouts “WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING? YOU HAVE THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE, LET’S WATCH THIS TOGETHER!” Alexa’s legs are swept from under her feet, and she falls into a seated position, as Ruby now applies a bit of a headlock chokehold. It’s not to make her pass out, no...she wants her to see her partner get counted out and eliminated from this match just like Alexa made her watch as Nia was.


Referee
5!


There’s no a single movement from The Pirate Princess, fans try to rally her, to chant “KAIRI!” as loud as they can, pounding on barricades, stomping the floor...but this Woman was forced to walk the plank into the unforgiving sea of tables and now she lies there drowning in the debris shards of the table digging into all parts of her.


Referee
6!


“KAIRI!” Alexa shouts in an emotional tone, reaching out as she helplessly is being forced to sit there unable to stop this, all as Ruby’s laughter echoes through her ears.


Referee
7!


“Don’t fret, Lexi...soon I’ll have you all to myself...and then the REAL fun begins!” Ruby wrenches her headlock, shaking Bliss around licking her lips as she salivates over this moment. The savior that protected Alexa when this all began, the hero who sprung into action to spare Alexa the fate that befell her...now is moments away from being taken out of this equation.


Referee
8!


Alexa tries to jam her elbow back to fight out of Ruby’s grasp, but her shots prove ineffective, she struggles to lean forward in hopes she can slip out of her clutches...but Ruby’s got her perfectly secured, despite her best efforts to save Kairi, they’re proving futile.


Referee
9!


Suddenly Ruby releases Alexa, and mockingly points “GO ON, BE HER HERO!” Alexa jumps to her feet leaping into action, but Ruby’s antics weren’t a sudden change of heart...they were riddled with a sick twisted enjoyment as she sees Alexa desperately try to make it to Kairi in time, only for the official to finish his count just as she got within reach.


Referee
10!


KAIRI SANE HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!


Alexa falls to the floor beside Kairi, frustrated that she didn’t make it in time, fans are booing upset with The Pirate Princess now being taken out of this match. But one sound in particular overtakes any other. The maniacal laughter from Ruby Riott as she clutches her ribs clearly enjoying this way too much. Alexa turns back toward her, on her knees, hearing the laughter and her teeth begin to grind together, her eyes start to squint, and you see the look of pure hatred reappear stronger than ever on face. “YOU BITCH!” Alexa screeches out, making a beeline for the cackling  Riott who sees this and ceases her laughter realizing maybe she pushed Alexa too far, and starts to run away, circling around the ring with Alexa hot on her heels. “GET BACK HERE! YOU WANTED ME ALL TO YOURSELF WELL NOW YOU’VE GOT ME AND I AM GOING TO END YOU!!” Screaming like a banshee Alexa turns the corner in pursuit of Riott, who opts to slide into the ring. Alexa in her blind rage follows not far behind in sliding into the ring, where immediately Ruby goes back to old faithful, and tries to shove her fingers in Alexa’s mouth!

But this isn’t going to work the second time, Alexa doesn’t fall into a puddle of weakness and terror like previously...no, without hesitation, with no less of rage burning in her eyes, she chomps down on Ruby’s hand, biting it causing Ruby to instantly yank her hand back clutching it with a look of “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU” Alexa wipes her lip of a stray strand of blood, whether that’s from Ruby’s hand or from biting down too hard of herself we’re not sure just yet...but one thing is very clear. She has had enough of Ruby, every moment up until now, including that final stunt that saw Kairi Sane be eliminated from this match? Has her emotions running wild, and the most prominent of those emotions is anger. Her hand reaches forward, grabbing Ruby by the throat, her nails digging in as Riott struggles. Her eyes bulge out, and she panics...similar to the reaction Alexa’s had in the past with Ruby. Typically Alexa would follow this with a leg sweep, and it wouldn’t last that long because it’s merely a way to trip an opponent up. But with Ruby? She’s literally choking her, backing her up as she struggles in the choke. Ruby’s spine collides with the standing ladder, which gives Alexa an idea.

She starts to pull Ruby forward, then drives her back against the ladder causing her back to meet the steel of it with more force this time. Ruby knowing she can’t just let this happen uses her best offense tool to try and shift the course of this final stretch of the match. She kicks her foot up, thrusting it into the midsection of Alexa, an immediate response follows as Bliss stumbles back, releasing Ruby’s throat. Both take a second to try to get their bearings, because we can see, this ring is one giant accident waiting to happen with one wrong move. There’s the ladder that’s standing, the 4 chairs that were set up by Ruby and the two ladders that were laid across them. Ruby seems to hatch an evil plan, smiling for a second before fading into an angry pout of her lips. She grabs Alexa by her hair, then tries to lead her over to the contraption. She starts to try to set up what appears to be a Suplex of sorts but Alexa isn’t about to let this happen. She stomps Ruby’s foot then as she’s freed from her grasp, she sees what Ruby had in mind and fires back with a wicked right hand! Ruby nearly collapses immediately but before she can Alexa grabs a hold of her, then using gravity to her advantage, places Ruby onto the steel contraption, landing a few calculated shots for good measure.

With Ruby being in proverbial “No Woman's Land,” Alexa looks down at her dazed tormentor, a look of disdain etched all over her face directed at the woman that has caused her physical and emotional torture for the better part of three months. Looking to return the favor in one fell swoop, Bliss turns her attention to the mastodon of a ladder that consumes over a quarter of the ring, shifting her attention back towards her target for a single moment, before beginning to scale the Mount Everest of the ladder world. She makes it about a fifth of the way up, being stopped in her tracks as Ruby springs into life as her defensive mechanism to ensure her survival. A stray clubbing blow to Alexa's back is all it takes to stop her ascent, and after a match she's just endured, that's to be expected. In a questionable decision, Ruby begins to scale the lower rungs, putting herself on level with her “victim,” taking a hold of the back of Bliss' head, driving it into the steel rung in front of her, causing Little Miss Bliss to descend a rung. Ruby now has the high ground and takes advantage of it, wrenching the arm of her opponent and altering her position to avoid the contraption as she has another Riott Kick in mind, this time there isn't anybody to save Bliss from what she has coming to her, in Ruby's mind at least. Before Ruby can make her dream into a reality, Alexa's free hand fires a straight shot towards Ruby's unprotected face, using Ruby's grip on the ladder to her advantage. Riott releases her grip on Bliss' arm to instead grab the rung of the ladder in an attempt to avoid putting herself in harm's way. This, however, gives Alexa the opening she needed to deliver a precise elbow shot to the side of Ruby's face, causing her to slide down a single rung, allowing Bliss to leap off the ladder and plant her feet on the canvas below, pulling Ruby off the ladder with a modified Sunset Flip and sending the woman that has caused her nothing but pain and misery to feel the same in return, courtesy of being forced onto the steel contraption she created.

Instead of causing the steel to collapse, it chooses to bend ever so slightly, despite the immense force behind the maneuver, it remains true. Before Alexa sits a golden opportunity and a well deserved opening, a moment to show that all this wasn't for nothing, a Final Stand moment waiting to be captured, a Moment of Bliss. Returning to her initial plan, Bliss begins to scale the ladder at a quickened pace, not wanting a repeat of history to stop her in her tracks once more. Each step has purpose behind it, each rung being used to reach the next, every passing second is one that allows Ruby to recover and gives her a chance to prove that this isn't some fairy tale, it's reality. She makes it halfway up the ladder, carefully shifting her body one hundred and eighty degrees to see Ruby still laid out across the steel contraption. She beings to psych herself up and increases the speed of her breathing, ready to shift her weight and unleash her own brand of Twisted Bliss upon Ruby Riott. Just before she throws herself off the ladder, an idea sparks in her head, a momentary hesitation, has she gotten cold feet and had second thoughts about her decision? The question quickly finds its answer and it's a resounding no. Alexa raises her right hand to her forehead, saluting her fallen comrade in The Pirate Princess, before lifting her hands into the air and swinging them downwards before leaping off the ladder. Bliss falls through the air as the sight of rapid firing cameras flashing in the background as she reaches her destination with her own version of the InSane Elbow, causing the steel contraption to give way and break under the force of the collision of bodies on top of it.

Referee
1!

Jumping straight into the count following that incredible display of risk from Alexa Bliss it’s quickly drowned out by the massive echoes that come from literally an entire audience audibly chanting “HOLY SHIT!”




Referee
2!


The chant rages on as Men, Women, and Children are on their feet screaming at the top of their lungs unable to believe what they just witnessed. Alexa Bliss has been a strong supporting act in The Women’s Division, but this match especially? This is her aptly dubbed “Moment Of Bliss.” This is the night that changes how we saw her because first and foremost what we have seen is HEART.




Referee
3!


A comradery for someone that over the past 3 months has become her best friend, a mutual support that changed the ways of The Wicked Witch and didn’t necessarily “soften” her but more so allowed her to form a genuine bond with someone that didn’t need to come to her aid, she didn’t need to be the bigger person and be there for Alexa. But because of Kairi’s act of kindness we’ve seen Little Miss Bliss’ heart grow three times it’s size.




Referee
4!


That love and respect gave her the courage she needed to head into this fight, to overcome the shattered emotions that Ruby Riott caused her, and stand TALL even if not in actuality. Her final act in this match, as the referee’s count for both Women draws it’s halfway point, was not a stroke of her ego...it was not an act of going deep within the well for herself...it was for the very Woman that has saved her several times now, including in this match.




Referee
5!


She delivered not a “Twisted Bliss” but in homage of The Pirate Princess she did her best to deliver an “INSANE ELBOW” because even if Kairi isn’t in this match anymore, she was with her in spirit, she knows that while Kairi may be in the back now being tended to by the medics who quickly ushered her off the scene...Kairi is watching on a monitor somewhere cheering her on, knowing that her sacrifice was not in vein, no that thought never crosses Kairi’s mind because throughout this entire rivalry and journey? Kairi has shown a support for Bliss that reaches far beyond the support of her former best friend Nia Jax.




Referee
6!


The count is up to 6 now, and both Women lie in a pile of broken chairs, split ladders, and haven’t really moved even a finger since crashing into the beautiful disaster that those weapons made up. The “Holy Shit” chant has died down a bit, and been replaced by a chant that truly encapsulates the massive shift in perception of Alexa Bliss. For a loud “LET’S GO ALEXA!” overtakes any other sound, picking up more traction by the second. The audience is trying to root Alexa to her feet so that she is able to stand victorious over Ruby Riott once and for all.




Referee
7!


Their words continue, getting more passionate with each time it’s chanted. Alexa this time last year was one of the most despised people on the roster, but now nearly one year later...she is being rallied by the very audience that have seen how far she’s come in this last year. She was broken mentally and physically, ripped apart by Ruby Riott’s words, and her actions. But through their support, through the second chance she’s been given as sick and twisted as all of this has been...she is a new Woman with a new purpose. And that all truly starts with putting her bully behind her and moving on.




Referee
8!


With the chant raging on, you see a slight twitch in Alexa, her arm being clutched as it’s pulled against her, no doubt feeling the effects of that elbow. That isn’t something she does every night, monthly, or even yearly...Kairi’s had years of getting accustomed to that move and it’s incredible movement and impact. But Alexa is hurting, she’s hurting from going through the chairs and ladders even if Ruby ate the brunt of it she didn’t exactly land in a sea of pillows. You see her movements get more and more consistent, hearing her name chanted within the sold out Metlife Stadium is a rush of adrenaline, but as the official reaches NINE in his count of both Women...can she beat the count in time?




Referee
9!


The official looks intently at both Women, realizing they’re both about to be eliminated, the fans still try one last time to give Alexa the strength to jump to her feet, but it’s too late...the official raises his arm up with both hands in the form of the 9 count he just delivered...he starts to raise that last 10th finger...BUT ALEXA ROLLS WITH URGENCY UNDER THE BOTTOM ROPE AND PLANTS HER FEET AGAINST THE FLOOR. The audience erupts with louder and louder cheers as the official makes sure her feet are indeed planted, and once he sees they are he finishes his count.




Referee
10!



RUBY RIOTT HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!

Immediately after hearing the referee finish his count, Alexa who was only held up by the edge of the ring as she leaned against it, her legs wobble and she collapses forward, falling to the floor in utter exhaustion, mixed with a very emotional happiness as she has done it, she is The Last Woman Standing and has BEATEN RUBY RIOTT!




[Mauro Ranallo]
I am in AWE of the performance by Alexa Bliss tonight, that last count couldn't have gotten any closer!

[Renee Young]
How about that tribute to her best friend Kairi Sane in that final moment when she leaped off the top of that ladder with a BLISSFULLY INSANE ELBOW!

[Corey Graves]
Ruby Riott unleashed all Five Feet of Alexa's fury tonight and I'm with our audience, when she dove off that ladder and put herself and Ruby through that unholy contraption of ladders and chairs? That was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen.

[Mauro Ranallo]
This match was deeply personal tonight, and it's only appropriate that it came down to the two of them in the end, and Alexa Bliss put her bully down once and for all.

With the audience cheering her victory tonight, Alexa lies on the floor emotionally and physically spent. She's crying, but not in sadness or anger, or frustration..it's a moment where finally she's able to take a breath without the monkey Ruby Riott on her back at every point. She knows there's no way Ruby's going to be here next week on Anarchy, she knows that with this match she has freed herself from the emotional jail Ruby had sentenced her to the moment her hand went down her throat and started this disgusting ordeal. She's not able to stand up and run circles around our ringside area, high-fiving fans and enjoying a victory lap. But although the referee doesn't raise her hand, although she's not able to stand under her own volition right now. She is victorious, she is free, and she did this for her, for Kairi, and for anyone that's ever identified with what she went through.

[Renee Young]
One huge takeaway from this incredible match we just witnessed? Kairi Sane & Alexa Bliss are FRIENDSHIP GOALS! We should all want someone that's gonna take a kick for us so we don't go through two tables.

[Mauro Ranallo]
Alexa may have lost Nia Jax as her best friend from this situation, but she gained arguably a far superior replacement in Kairi Sane. They had each other's back from the get go of this match. You felt like with every moment they fought that it was not for a singular benefit but rather a joint benefit.

[Corey Graves]
All I have left to say is, whoever dares to get on the bad side of Kairi Sane or Alexa Bliss next? Look back on this match, see Kairi Sane dive from a ladder to Nia Jax with an Insane Elbow to the outside of the ring shattering what used to be a barricade. Look back on the final moment of this match where Alexa Bliss delivered an Insane Elbow from the top of the ladder as Ruby lied on top of her own creation of chairs and ladders bridged on top of each other. These are two Women to watch starting right here tonight.

[Renee Young]
Undoubtedly so, what a hell of a match and congratulations to Alexa Bliss for a star making performance.

Alexa now lies with her back to the floor, staring up at the ceiling with the biggest smile on her face and tears streaming down. She's been through hell the past 3 months...but it's all over now. She'll be feeling the aches and pains of this match well beyond tomorrow...but the feeling of pride, the feeling of revenge, the sweet satisfaction of knowing Ruby Riott will no longer be a problem for her, Kairi or anyone else? Is enough to make all of that worth it. Little Miss Bliss continues smiling as the camera pans in on her pure joy and we at last fade to an advertisement promoting next month's Pay-Per-View, International Incident.

[Corey Graves]
There is a woman with a lot riding on this match here tonight

And Corey Graves is right. Asuka must know it too because as she comes through that curtain her demeanor is different. There isn't as much sway in her walk. Instead of being loose and controlled her fist are balled up tightly and of course...

[Renee Young]
When is the last time you saw Asuka with black hair?

Sure enough she is right. Asuka's dyed hair is gone, replaced with jet black natural hair. It's almost as if she's undergone some mental transformation in the weeks leading up to what can only be called a grudge match between her and Becky

[Mauro Ranallo]
What should have been a friendly but competitive match has turned into something ugly. Asuka and Becky just plain don't like each other and tonight they are gonna have the chance to settle it in the middle of the ring

As Asuka approaches the ring she snatches the mask off her face. Those black eyes hold anger, fury, and some nervousness to the trained eye. Asuka slides into the ring and simply turns around staring up ahead at the ramp. Waiting. For her newfound enemy

[Renee Young]
there is no love loss for these two and in a match where the point is to make someone quit, you have to wonder just how far these two are gonna push each other

[Corey Graves]
No matter the outcome every is in store for a treat tonight!

The arena grows dark, the fans excitement builds as we hear a voice echo through the darkness...

There's a man goin' round' takin' names...

and She decides who to free, and who to blame...

Everybody won't be treated all the same...

There'll be a golden ladder reachin' down...

When THE MAN comes around!

The lights in the arena spring on as...



[Corey Graves]
and here's the woman who will not stop till she breaks Asuka's arm here tonight!

[Renee Young]
Yeah, there's absolutely no remorse in either woman's eyes here tonight, it'll be a miracle if either one can walks out of the arena on their own power.

Becky Lynch walks onto the grandest stage XWL has to offer to the showering of thousands of fans in attendance cheers, she can't help but smile at the overwhelming response. She turns her head as her and Asuka's eyes meet, her smile fades...She knows this is going to be the hardest match of her entire career, maybe even her life.

[Mauro Ranallo]
The last time this woman was at Final Stand she did not leave victorious. The same goes for Asuka so both of these women have a lot to prove here tonight.

Becky walks down the ramp keeping her eyes locked on Asuka, she slides into the ring and instantly gets into Asuka's face! Neither woman is backing down and it looks like this fight is going to start early so the ref intervenes and directs each woman to their respective corners.





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Becky looks to have Asuka right where she wants her, she grabs Asuka's arm looking to lock in the Dis-Arm-Her but Asuka being the talented submission artist she reverses the armbar and pushes Becky off of her, Becky fly's through the ropes and lands hard on the outside!

[Corey Graves]
Asuka has had the Dis-Arm-Her scouted this entire match! She's to skilled of a submission artist for Becky and tonight is showing who has the better skills!

[Renee Young]
Skills mean nothing if you have more resolve than your opponent! Becky is the type who'll never tap out!

Asuka sees Becky getting to her feet and she wastes no time taking advantage! Asuka runs off the ropes gaining speed, she flings herself through the top and middle of the ropes as her body flew at Becky!

[Mauro Ranallo]
Suicide Di-NO Wait!

BECKY JUST CAUGHT ASUKA! Becky transitions Asuka into a Bex-sploder and slams her straight into the barricade!

[Mauro Ranallo]
WHAT A DEVASTATING MOVE! MAMA MIA!

[Renee Young]
The strength of Becky to be able to catch Asuka!

Becky Lynch is fired up now as she pumps herself up, the crowd is feeling what she's putting out. Becky isn't done yet though, all the weeks of frustration have been building up and it seems it has overflown at this point as Becky picks Asuka up and stares her in the eyes, "You think You're better than me huh!?" Becky then with all her force hurls Asuka into the steel steps! A loud THUD can be heard as the top piece of the steps falls from its position Asuka was driven arm first into the steel steps, she clutches her shoulder and screams in...not pain but...anger? Asuka is almost immediately back to her feet as both women stare into each other's eyes. They both get in each other face yelling words that have become inaudible through the crowd chants, within seconds both women start hammering elbows into the opposites head.

[Corey Graves]
These two are doing everything in their power win here tonight!

Becky charges a bigger elbow strike looking to take Asuka down with one shot, Becky tries to unleash the elbow only for Asuka to duck it and deliver a back kick to Becky's gut. Becky is down on one knee and looks up at Asuka only to be met with a swift roundhouse kick to Becky's temple. Becky falls limp at Asuka's feet as the Empress realizes that this is her chance!

[Corey Graves]
I think the wheels are turning in Asuka's head!

Asuka grabs Becky by her hair and with all her might drags Lynch to her feet. The match has made Asuka fatigued but she somehow manages to roll Becky's dead weight inside the ring. Asuka slides in slowly, almost snake like, stalking towards Becky as the crowd tries to rally around the Lass kicker

[Renee Young]
I don't like this scene. Becky needs to get up or she's done

Asuka stands over Becky who lays facedown and motionless in the middle of the ring. Methodically Asuka bends down and wrap her arms around the neck of Lynch with a sadist smile on her face. The crowd boo as Asuka begins to lift Becky up, her arms never leaving the throat of Lynch. All seems loss until Becky springs to life, surprising Asuka and just about everyone in the crowd, and pulls forwards throwing Asuka over her head! The Empress quickly scrambles to her feet and goes for a wild clothesline that Becky ducks. When Asuka spins around Becky quickly grabs her, looking for an exploder suplex. But Asuka has studied Becky and sees it coming and manages to wiggle out of it and behind her

Before Becky can react Asuka grabs her arms and with all her strength begins to lift Becky up for a German suplex!

[Mauro Ranallo]
If Asuka hits this it could spell the end for Becky Lynch!

Mauro was half right because right as Asuka lifted Becky into the air the Irish Lass Kicker was able to wriggle out fo the hold and grab onto Asuka's arm! Both women slam to the mat with impact as Becky has Asuka in the Dis-Arm-Her!

[Corey Graves]
The force of Becky landing on Asuka's arm may have just dislocated it!

Corey wasn't wrong! Asuka's arm is bending in unnatural ways and it looks as if Becky is trying to rip it clean off!

[Renee Young]
Asuka isn't giving in! She isn't going to tap so easily!

Becky is getting more and more frustrated, she yells out "I TOLD YA! IF YOU DON'T TAP I'M TAKIN' YOUR ARM!" Becky's back now lays on Asuka's as her arm follows Becky's movements, a loud POP can be heard as Asuka screams out in pain!

[Renee Young]
BECKY LYNCH JUST DISLOCATED ASUKA'S ARM!

Asuka immediately taps out and clutches her arm unable to move it.

[Mauro Ranallo]
Did you hear the sound?! Asuka is going to need a sling!



Becky sinks off of Asuka, unable to believe this match is finally over...

[Renee Young]
These two Women just put on one hell of a show here tonight! This is what makes women's wrestling great! Two women going out there with nothing but they're skills and proving who the better woman is!

[Corey Graves]
I couldn't agree more, Renee! These two absolutely killed it tonight and neither woman should feel ashamed oh here tonight

Becky Lynch gets to her knee as the ring announce starts to declare her the victor, "Here's your winner by way of submission, BECKY LYN-

[Mauro Ranallo]
Becky look out!

ASUKA IS BACK ON HER FEET! ASUKA LITERALLY JUST POPPED HER SHOULDER BACK INTO PLACE AND IS LOOKING FOR MORE OF A FIGHT UNSUSPECTING TO BECKY LYNCH! Before Becky can react Asuka wraps her good arm around the throat of Becky like the snake she is and uses her bad arm to clutch Becky's!

[Corey Graves]
ASUKA LOCK! The match is over Asuka! You tapped let it go!

[Renee Young]
Becky is fighting! She isn't quitting that easily either!

That's when Asuka ramps it up, Asuka flips her body into a bridging position and ramps up the pressure on Becky!

[Mauro Ranallo]
Just stop already! You lost the match let her go!

Becky is fighting and scratching to not let Asuka have the satisfaction, Becky with all her might tries to relieve the pressure...but it's too late...Becky's vision goes black and she's out cold. Asuka gets up to the thousands of people booing her out of the building, but she smirks and grabs her shoulder, licking her lips. She screams "STILL. NOT. READY. FOR. ASUKA!"
Asuka leaves Lynch out cold in the ring and makes her leave...

[Renee Young]
Well, Becky Lynch is your winner here tonight ladies and gentlemen...

[Corey Graves]
Yeah, but. I don't think her night is going to be as good as she thought it was.

Final Stand rolls on

Ember now awaits in her corner for The Queen of Hell.



The screams echoes throughout the arena. The camera focuses on Ember Moon who looks completely focused, but what emerges from behind the curtain catches Ember off guard.



[Renee Young]
Oh my god.. that is creepy.

[Corey Graves]
This is Rosemary in her element. She is ready for anything tonight!

[Mauro Ranallo]
She has already sent Ronda packing. Will she do the same to Ember?

Rosemary begins her walk down the ramp. She tilts her head to the right and it appears her gaze is casted upon Ember. Rosemary reaches her right hand outward shaking as she gazes upon Ember. She now stands before the ring. The cameraman is kneeling down, and has the camera pointed upward toward Rosemary this catches her eye, and she looks down still wearing the mask. Rosemary then quickly throws off her jacket.



Rosemary climbs onto the apron her gazes turns quickly back into Ember. Shes rips off the mask, and steps between the ropes. Now her eyes are fixed upon her sacrifice Ember Moon.

EMBER MOON VS ROSEMARY  



The camera switches point of views facing Rosemary after she pinned Ember. She crawls backwards with a smile on her face. She stands to her feet, and laughs to herself as she gazes upon the beaten body of Ember Moon. She then makes her exit of the ring, and begins walking up the ramp laughing madly to herself. We focus in on Ember who still hasn't moved and in the distance we see Rosemary posed at the top of the ramp sticking her tongue out with her arms extended behind her as she bends down.

Cameras cut backstage to Charly Caruso with a mic walking up to Brian Pillman Jr. who is  sitting backstage holding his ribs.

Charly Caruso
Brian Brian

Brian Pillman Jr still nursing his ribs too busy to react to her.

Charly Caruso
I think the XWL Universe is shocked at what just transpired in that very ring.  Your former partner, and I would say former at this point, Eli Drake, viscously attacked you after the match, a match many thought was going to be a gentlemanly match between two friends.

Pillman Jr gets up and snatches the microphone right out of the hands of Charly as she steps back as she’s startled by him. Pillman Jr holds his head down and starts talking in a raspy voice while nursing his ribs still.

Pillman Jr
You may think im a loser… Eli Drake… certainly thinks Im a loser.

There is a long pause as Pillman Jr nurses his ribs in pain. Pillman Jr finally looks into the camera.

Pillman Jr
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT,

Another pause happens as he makes a grunting sound as he nurses his ribs again.  He then begins to start flapping his arms like some sort of bird.  He starts singing with a slightly deranged crazed look in his face.


Pillman Jr
I believe I can fly…. I believe I can touch the sky….

Pillman Jr eyes change quickly to a stern look.  Composing himself, pointing at the sky and says in a somber tone.

Pillman Jr
Just like my daddy. . . . Flyin Brian…

He then goes back to nursing his ribs, he then continues to speak.

Pillman Jr
Eli Drake you may think this is over but this is far from over. As a wise man once said, this is not the end, not even the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.

He looks at Charly who is still shocked a little bit.  Pillman Jr gives the mic back to Charly as he noticed that she is shocked by him.

Pillman Jr.
Sorry Charly now is not the time.

Pillman Jr walks off clearly hurt from the attack from Eli Drake earlier tonight as Final Stand continues.

As the lights cut out in Metlife Stadium, a booming voice comes over the loud-speaker, talking to the crowd.

{Velveteen Dream}
Ladies and gentlemen I hope you are all ready to witness The Velveteen Dream Experience. Because it will be a night that you will never forget. You will be able to say that you were present for the birth of The Velveteen Dream, and the ultimate demise of “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. Tonight, The Dream becomes Extreme, and there is not a damn thing you can do about it.

Velveteen Dream’s music begins to play, and out walks the new superstar, ready for his debut match.



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HERE IS YOUR WINNER OF THE MATCH…..
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SPOILER ALERT AHEAD



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THE VELVETEEN DREAM

[Mauro Ranallo]
Well we know what it is time for now ladies, and gentlemen. The Undertaker, and Alister Black with Rosemary vs Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman.

[Corey Graves]
I have no idea who is gonna win this guys, but it is gonna be a hell of a fight between these teams.

[Renee Young]
Especially with Rosemary at the helm of her team.

At the mere mention of her name Rosemary walks out with a smile on her face feeling accomplished for what she did to Ember. Smoke fills the stage as The Undertaker, and Aleister Black walk out onto the stage behind Rosemary. She looks behind her to left at Undertaker the both nod at each other. Then Rosemary looks behind her to the right at Aleister Black, and they also engage in a nod. All three together all start walking their way to the ring.

[Corey Graves]
Look at this team together.. It's just pure power. I am excited to see exactly what Bray Wyatt, and Braun Strowman have up their sleeve to stop Undertaker, and Aleister Black!

It is at the point the trio have made it to the ring. Rosemary stays on the out, but moves to her teams corner. Undertaker, and Aleister Black enter the ring to wait for their opponents.



With one half of this match now in the ring, religious chanting begins to play out of the PA system. As it begins to play, two rows of hooded figures emerge from behind the curtain, slowly making their way toward the ring. They almost resemble the famous servants of one of Wyatt and Strowman’s opponents tonight, the Undertaker. Except for one crucial difference. As the men begin to lift their heads up in unison, it becomes clear that they all adorned with plague masks on their faces. Every singles one of them. As they slowly make their way to the ring, the continue this pattern of lowering and raising their heads in total unison. While some fans ringside attempt to jeer them or physically grab them, something to make these figures lose their focus, nothing works. They all simply continue marching to the ring. Heads up, heads down. Eventually they make it to ringside, and begin forming a circle around the ring, all while continuing their pattern of raising and lowering their heads. The moment the circle is complete however, they all quickly snap into places, simply looking straight to the ring in front of them, awaiting something. After the religious chanting stops, these men are simply standing outside the ring for quite some time, that is, until the lights in the arena go out, and a familiar theme finally begins to play.



With the lights in the arena off, the only thing visible is the glow of cellphones in the crowd, the skies above the stadium, as well as one lantern making its way from outside the back. The lantern's glow allows the camera to pick up vision on both Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman, as they begins to make their way toward the ring. Are these hooded figures their followers? Followers of the Celestial One like them? Either wa, this question doesn’t seem to weigh on the mins of either men particularly closely, as they continue down the ring just as they usually would. But it’s clear by the look on their faces they know how important tonight is/. Tonight they show the world the true power of the Celestial One, and attempt to discredit the “false idol” Rosemary by beating her two servants. As both men make their way to ring, rather than their traditional ringstep entrance, Wyatt instead first hands the lantern to Braun. Braun then continues to the ring steps in traditional fashion, while Wyatt instead makes his way to the hooded figure closer to the ring, as the two appear to have an interaction of some sort that we can not make out in the darkness. Once this exchange is over, Wyatt makes his way to the ringsteps and enters, following Strowman. Once inside the ring, Strowman hands the lantern into the hands of Wyatt, who paces back and forth for a few moments before blowing the lantern out. Once the lantern is blown out and the lights are back on, there is now a visible marking on his forehead of a small star, left in ash. Once the lights are back on, Strowman takes a few steps behind Wyatt, who takes the same amount of steps forward, as if preparing for a ritual of some kind. Once has has walked forward, Wyatt drops down to his signature kneeling position, with arms outstretched. However, unlike when he usually assumes this position, Wyatt is not laughing or showing any emotion whatsoever, he is simply looking directly at the lights above him. In this position it seems the star on his forehead is almost glowing because of all the lights in MetLife Stadium. As Wyatt drops to this position, all the hooded figures surrounding the ring all drop to their knees in unison. After these positions are held for quite some time, the light shuts off once again, as Wyatt looks up upon the starry sky of the New Jersey sky. Once the lights come back on, not only are all the figures surrounding the ring gone, the star symbol no longer adorns the forehead of Wyatt, leaving no trace of the existence of these figures. Wyatt slowly makes his way to his feet and glares intently in the direction of Rosemary. However, this glare soon turns from a menace to one of confusion, as it seems Wyatt has noticed something about the Queen of Hell that he had not before. In response to this, Rosemary simply smirks and begins to bark orders to the Undertaker and Aleister Black, who quickly make their way onto the apron, as Undertaker steps into the ring, ready to start this match off. Wyatt, continuing to occasionally glance back at Rosemary, makes his way into the corner, allowing Braun Strowman to start the match off against the Dead Man. With both men in their respective corners, the referee rings the bell, signalling the beginning of this contest.

[Renee Young]
Well now we’re finally going to see the end of this… unusual dispute between these four men here at Final Stand. Who do you two think is going to come out the winner here?

[Mauro Ranallo]
Well Renee, to be honest, I have to give it to Wyatt and Strowman here. They have proven themselves in the recent weeks to be a very capable tag team. Add on to that their desire to satisfy this “Celestial One”, whatever or whoever that may be.

[Corey Graves]
It’s nothing Mauro! There is no Celestial One! I swear everyone in this company besides me has gone absolutely crazy! You’re feeding into a delusion! Yes, Rosemary be rather unique, but the fact of the matter here is that the Undertaker is a legend, and Aleister Black is an extremely impressive talent. Asking me, the answer is clear.



Strowman and Undertaker begin to circle the ring, both trying to psyche each other out. No matter what the XWL Universe may think of how both of these teams have acted recently, they can’t help but begin cheering on the clash between these two colossal men. As the two continue to walk around the ring, staring each other down, Wyatt continues to glare at Rosemary, as if he’s trying to mentally interrogate her. However, out of nowhere, Wyatt’s eyes grow large, and for what may be the first time, Wyatt seems genuinely shocked by something. Quickly, Wyatt begins shouting at Strowman to come back to their corner. While he seems perplexed by the instructions, Strowman obliges, making his way to Wyatt, expecting to be tagged out. Instead, Wyatt instructs Strowman to get in the very corner, allowing Wyatt to begin whispering into his ear. Again, Strowman obliges, as Wyatt begins to aggressively whisper instructions into the ear of Strowman, while pointing at the Queen of Hell herself. As the whispering continues, Strowman seems to grow more and more shocked, seeming to question Wyatt a few times on what he’s hearing. Each time this happens however, Wyatt simply nods his head, confident in his decision, whatever it may be. Eventually the two men simply look at each other and nod, with a plan apparently set in stone. Strowman makes his in front of the Undertaker, who prepares himself for this match to finally truly begin. However, much to his surprise, Strowman instead drops himself to the mat, putting himself in position to be pinned. Not knowing what to do at first, Undertaker looks back at Rosemary, who simply smirks and nods. Following the non-verbal commands of his queen, Undertaker makes the cover on Strowman.




One














Two


















Three!








Undertaker stands up looking confused at Aleister Black, and then at Rosemary. She seems very happy nodding looking at The Undertaker as if she knew this would happen. Rosemary climbs onto the apron, and then into the ring. Bray Wyatt now steps into the ring his eyes have not been taken off of Rosemary. She walks closer to Bray with a smile on her face. She reaches her with her right hand, and grabs Wyatt by his beard then pulls him in. She shot lime green mist to the face of Bray Wyatt, and He grabs his face yelling in pain, but slight chuckles can also be heard from Wyatt. What is strange Strowman doesn't not make any moves of aggression. Rosemary wipes her mouth of the lime green mist. She then turn her attention to Braun Strowman, and motions him to come closer. Without hesitation he walks to Rosemary she laughs to see Strowman obeying her commands. Now they are a few feet apart from each other Rosemary tilts her, and points at the ground with a slight smirk on her face. Braun Strowman looks down, and then back to her. He goes down on his knees. This places a smile on the face of Rosemary runs her hands through Braun's hair. She then yanks his hair back, and spits that same mist directly into the face Braun Strowman. Braun then yells grabbing at his face, but chuckles start to arise out of Braun as well.

[Mauro Ranallo]
What are seeing right now?

[Corey Graves]
Is that... Rosemary's mist of transformation?

[Mauro Ranallo]
What the heck is that?

[Corey Graves]
Well last time she used it. She turned enemies into allies. Question is now was it enough?

Braun, and Bray now stand up along side wiping the mist from their eyes. They all now stand together with Rosemary standing in the front looking directly into the camera.