Arrow vs Crossbow
by
The Mangler
Miller: "Welcome to tonight's main event. We're introducing a new wrestler to our roster—very unusual for a newcomer to headline with so little known about him, but our commissioner does things his own way."
Wrestlebard: "I do things the CORRECT way, and yes,
we need to mix things up and get some fresh victi—I mean, blood in here."
Miller: "I don't know much about our new guy. What
can you tell us, Wrestlebard?"
Wrestlebard: "Now what would be the fun in that?
Think of this as Christmas morning, and you're unwrapping a new present.
Anticipate the surprise."
Miller: "For tonight’s match, we have one of our veteran refs, known for being no-nonsense. Oh, yeah, and fair. He is entering the ring now."
Tonight’s Referee
Wrestlebard: "All of our refs are fair, or I
wouldn't keep them around."
Miller: "In your personal word, I’m sure you think that is true. And now our first grappler, very well known to our league, is coming down the aisle. Wow, that singlet sure accentuates Arrow’s 6’, 204-pound. All those muscles are well delineated. You sure, can't miss him."
Arrow
Wrestlebard: "He's the height of fashion. And very
good at keeping the riff-raff out of the league along with his teammates in
Team Hunter."
Miller: "He slides into the ring under the bottom
rope and is approached by the ref. Arrow is giving him sass instead of simply
submitting to a foreign body check."
Wrestlebard: "Well, it's absurd to ask him to do
that. He fights fair and would never use a foreign body, and he's been in this
federation for years. He shouldn't be subjected to this indignity."
Miller: "The curtains part, and his opponent, known as Crossbow, enters the arena. He's dressed in a camouflage singlet and a matching mask. He stands at 6’ and weighs in at 210 pounds. The crowd reaction is equivocal as no one knows who he is."
Crossbow
Wrestlebard: "They'll figure out what a puss he is
soon enough."
Crossbow ignores the crowd as he's laser-focused on his
opponent standing in the ring. He jogs down to the ring and hops onto the
apron, keeping a careful eye on Arrow as he bends over to enter under the top
rope.
Arrow sidesteps the referee and charges across the ring,
driving a knee into the side of Crossbow's head. Crossbow feels like he's been
hit with a baseball bat, but manages to grab the ropes and not fall off the
apron.
Arrow grabs a handful of mask and pulls him back-first
into the ropes. He pulls his head over the top rope, causing Crossbow to arch
his back, then delivers two forearms across the chest before backing up at the
ref's insistence. Crossbow coughs as his hand goes to his chest.
As he steps back, Arrow pulls the singlet straps free,
letting them fall to his waist. Once the straps are down, he steps back up to
the rope, grabs a handful of the mask again, and pulls backward. He quickly
grabs one of his singlet straps and loops it over Crossbow's head, cinching it
around the throat. He grabs the two ends of the strap with both hands, pulling
them tight around the throat. He drops to his knees and pulls downward, now
having Crossbow locked in a serious choke hold, arching his back across the
rope. Crossbow’s hands fly to his throat,
vainly trying to free the strap.
"Release the hold, stop the choke," the ref
demands.
"What if I don't?"
"I'll dq your worthless ass."
Wrestlebard: "Okay, the ref is already showing
animosity toward Arrow. That doesn't bode well for a fair match."
"Yeah, but the match hasn't started yet, so there
isn't shit you can do about it," Arrow laughs.
Crossbow, realizing he's in trouble, extends his arms
along the top rope. He braces himself, then kicks upward with both feet,
causing him to flip over the top rope, pulling Arrow's hands up and closer to
the rope. As he comes down inside the ring, his knees slam into the upper back
of Arrow, causing him to fall forward. As he continues, Crossbow's head slips
out of the singlet strap.
Arrow drops forward into the ropes. Crossbow backs across the ring, taking in some deep breaths. Arrow struggles up from the ropes while slipping his arms back through the singlet straps. The two wrestlers assume fighting stances, facing each other.
The Combatant’s
Square Up
Miller: "Arrow's attempt to get an early advantage
doesn't seem to have panned out."
Wrestlebard: "The match is early yet, so don't count
him out."
The ref, giving both wrestlers the “evil” eye, steps
between the two wrestlers before signaling for the bell and backing up. The
match is now officially underway.
The two wrestlers slowly approach each other, looking
like they're going to lock up in a collar and elbow. At the last second,
Crossbow drops his shoulder and dives in, going for a spear. Arrow, being the
veteran that he is, was expecting something of this sort, so he manages to
sidestep and drive a glancing forearm across his opponent’s back as he goes by,
dropping Crossbow to his knees.
Not wanting to give his opponent any chance to recover,
Arrow attempts to deliver a spinning kick to the head, but Crossbow manages to
duck just enough that he only receives a light blow, which he's able to shake
off. He's quickly back on his feet.
As the two approach each other, Crossbow leaps in the air
for a standing drop kick, but Arrow is able to twist out of the way, and
Crossbow drops to the mat on his back. Arrow attempts an elbow smash to the
chest, but Crossbow rolls out of the way.
Miller: "We're seeing a lot of motion, but not much
contact at this point. But Arrow does seem to be able to anticipate Crossbow,
even though he's never seen him wrestle before."
Wrestlebard: "That's because he's a pro with many
years of experience. Based on his actions, I suspect Crossbow is more of a
newbie, and, of course, that will hurt him in this match."
Both wrestlers get back to their feet and begin circling
each other. The crowd is yelling at the two to "get it on." They want
to see some action. This time, the two do lock up in a collar-and-elbow and
begin feeling each other out, looking for weaknesses. Suddenly, Arrow twists to
the left, brings his arm over Crossbow's neck, and secures a side headlock.
He's squeezing as hard as he can. He turns so that the ref is at his back and
drives a fist into the throat. Crossbow jerks at the blow and begins to struggle,
but Arrow is able to hold on long enough to do a hip toss, taking them both
down to the mat. He hangs on to the headlock, continuing to squeeze.
Crossbow places his two hands on Arrow's side and tries
to push away so that he can slip his head out, but Arrow counters that. Taking
another tack, Crossbow twists his head so that he's looking down at the mat and
pushes Arrow's biceps and lats in one direction while he pulls in the other.
His head slips out between the sweaty bicep and chest wall, but he feels it as
a sharp pain as both ears are bent backward.
Both wrestlers quickly regain their feet and, while
stepping away, keep a close eye on one another. They begin to circle one
another slowly. A loud ruckus arises from the back of the auditorium.
Miller: "What is that racket? Oh, it looks like
Hunter, Arrow's teammate, is yelling at one of the league officials."
Wrestlebard: "I'm sure he's just trying to get the
league to keep a close eye on this newcomer. No idea what sort of dirty,
underhanded things he might try."
Miller: "Whatever the reason, it caused a
distraction to the men in the ring, and Arrow has taken advantage. I'm sure
that's what this was really all about."
As the racket occurred, the ref and Crossbow glanced
toward the back of the arena. Arrow, however, kept his eye on his opponent and
brought a kick between Crossbow's legs, slamming his balls up and into his
pelvic bone.
The ref turned when he heard Crossbow scream. Crossbow's
hands dropped to his crotch, and he bent forward. The ref knew what had
occurred, but as he hadn't witnessed it, he couldn't do anything about it.
Therefore, he simply watched as Arrow hooked Crossbow's head under his arm and
dropped backward, slamming his opponent's head into the mat.
Not wanting to give up his advantage, Arrow quickly
resumes his feet, grabs Crossbow by the hair, pulling him to his feet. He locks
his hand behind the head and charges into the nearest corner, slamming
Crossbow's head into the turnbuckle. He doesn't release his hold and repeats
the move several times. Finally, heeding the ref's warnings, he steps back.
When his head is released, Crossbow staggers backward in
the ring, shaking his head. His arm is grabbed, and he's flung across the ring,
slamming back-first into the corner turnbuckle. Arrow charges across the ring,
dropping his shoulder at the last minute to slam it into Crossbow's abdomen.
Unfortunately for him, Crossbow grabs the rope to his left and rolls along it,
leaving nothing for Arrow's shoulder to impact. Thus, it slides over the middle
turnbuckle and slams full speed into the unpadded ring post. A loud grunt can
be heard from Arrow. He just lies there.
Crossbow cautiously approaches his opponent. Sensing no
danger, he grabs Arrow by
his wrestling singlet and pulls him backward. He stands
Arrow upright, locks his arms around his waist, and lifts and drops backward,
slamming his opponent to the ring floor in a textbook suplex. Although stunned,
Arrow has the ring sense to roll under the bottom rope and onto the arena
floor. When Crossbow goes to follow, the ref steps in front of him and prevents
him from exiting the ring.
The screaming at the back of the arena has subsided as
the league official has left. Hunter has continued down the aisle and stopped
at the metal barriers near the ring to continue observing the action. He
ignores the boos and shouts from the crowd. He's closely following the action
in the ring.
Arrow stands to his feet and begins walking up and down
while shaking his head and waving his arms about to stretch things out. He
reaches out, grabs the middle rope, and pulls himself onto the ring apron. Just
before he grabs the rope, Crossbow charges across the ring and, with impeccable
timing, launches a standing drop kick. As Arrow is gaining the ring apron,
Crossbow's feet slam into his pecs, knocking him backward from the apron. He
staggers, off balance, before losing his balance and dropping to the floor,
where his back slams into the metal barriers, driving the air from his lungs.
"Hey, keep the action within the ring," the ref
admonishes.
"I AM in the ring and have never left,"
Crossbow responds.
"You know what the hell I mean," the ref
snarks.
Sensing that Arrow is in trouble, Hunter yells at the ref, "Watch the illegal holds," as he jumps up onto the ring apron.
Hunter on The Ring
Apron
Miller: "Once again, Hunter is trying to interfere
in the match to help his man."
Wrestlebard: "Nonsense, Miller. He's simply trying
to alert the ref to Crossbow's illegal actions."
Miller: "Whatever he's trying to do, he's not doing
anymore, as a masked wrestler has materialized out of the crowd and pulled him
from the apron."
Wrestlebard: "This is an outrage! The unknown masked
wrestler is obviously aiding Crossbow, and I will not stand for it."
Miller: "Oh, sit down, Wrestlebard, and let it play
out."
As he makes this statement, Miller reaches out and pushes
Wrestlebard back into his seat as he tries to stand.
Wrestlebard: "How DARE you, Miller."
The ref turns toward Hunter and says, "You need to get off…" Before he can finish the statement, Hunter is yanked off the ring apron by the hands of a masked wrestler. Seeing Hunter pulled off the apron, the ref returns his attention to the wrestler in the match, although he does keep a side eye on the outside action in case they decide to interfere.
Masked Wrestler
Grabs Hunter
As Hunter falls, he slams his chin on the edge of the
ring, knocking his head backward. As his head flies backward, he's grabbed by
the hair at the back, turned, and his forehead is slammed headfirst into the
nearest ring post. He's pulled back, and his head is slammed again. The masked
wrestler delivers a suplex, slamming him onto the thin mats around the ring.
He sits Hunter up, drops behind him, locks on a sleeper
hold, while locking his thighs around Hunter's waist to immobilize him. Even in
his dazed condition, Hunter knew what was happening and began to struggle,
trying to pry the hold off him. His struggles slowly decrease until he drops
into slumber. The masked wrestler continues the hold until he's sure Hunter is
not faking it. He releases both holds and drops Hunter to the floor. The masked
wrestler stands up, lifts Hunter into a fireman's carry, and exits the arena
with him slung over his shoulder.
Using the ref's distraction, Crossbow slides out of the
ring and approaches Arrow, who's still sitting with his back to the metal
barrier, drawing in deep breaths. When he's in range, Arrow, not as out of it
as his opponent believes, draws a leg up and kicks out, hitting an unsuspecting
Crossbow in the lower abs. The force of the blow drives him backward, where his
lower back impacts the ring edge.
Arrow forces himself to his feet, grabs Crossbow around
the waist, and lifts him in the air. He turns and walks toward the crowd.
Crossbow starts raining blows down onto Arrow's head, but doesn't free himself
before he's lifted higher and then dropped down with one leg on each side of
the metal barrier. His balls take the full impact of the blow. Arrow receives a
face full of spittle as his opponent impacts the barrier. Arrow steps back to
watch the look of horror and pain on Crossbow's face as he slowly slips to the
side and drops to the arena floor.
The ref turns back to the action in the ring only to
realize that both wrestlers are outside the ropes. He turns just in time to see
Crossbow sliding off the metal barrier. As Arrow grabs his opponent by the hair
and pulls him up, the ref starts admonishing him for being outside the ring and
his actions. Arrow drops Crossbow with a DDT, before, once again, assisting him
to his feet and sliding him under the bottom rope. Arrow quickly re-enters the
ring to continue his assault.
Arrow cannot immediately go to Crossbow, as the ref gets
in his way and berates him for his actions. Arrow gently pushes the ref aside
so he can approach Crossbow. As soon as he turns back toward his opponent, he's
met with a spear as Crossbow launches himself from his knee. Arrow is forced to
the ring floor with Crossbow landing on him. Crossbow rolls to the side and
slowly sits up. He had used the spear in order to buy himself a little time to
recover from the vicious ball abuse.
Miller: "Well, both contestants are looking a little
battered, but neither seems to have gotten the upper hand yet."
Wrestlebard: "I'm sure that Arrow would have this
match in hand, except for the ref's incompetence. He should never have allowed
that masked cretin to attack Hunter, who was only looking out for his friend. I
see I have much to do in order to get the reffing staff up to par."
Miller: "Hunter was trying to seed chaos. And he got
it, but not in the way he expected. It looks like our two gladiators are about
to begin fighting again."
The two wrestlers are warily eyeing each other up as they
circle the ring. Arrow makes a feint to the right, but Crossbow does not bite.
Crossbow throws one hand up in the air and spreads his fingers, challenging for
a test of strength. Arrow considers it before responding in kind. Soon they
have their fingers intertwined, and the second hand goes up into the air.
Once all fingers have been intertwined, the two begin
trying to assert dominance. It looks as if Crossbow is starting to get the
advantage when suddenly Arrow drops all resistance and drops to his knees with
his head slamming forward, impacting Crossbow in the abs. He draws back and
repeats the move a second time. The contestants' hands free themselves, and
Crossbow steps backward from the blow, trying to regain control.
As Crossbow steps backward, Arrow drops his hands to his
ankles. He yanks his hands forward while pushing his upper body forward, again
impacting Crossbow's trunk. The combined maneuvers drive him to his back on the
mat. Arrow quickly sits across the hips and begins raining blows down into the
newcomer's abs. The ref immediately tells him to stop and begins a five-count.
At the count of four, Arrow rises, flips Crossbow onto
his front, drops down and applies a Boston crab. He pulls as hard as he can,
trying to stretch out the back at the same time. He bounces up and down to
increase the pain and pressure. By his body language, it's obvious Crossbow is
feeling the move. When possible, Arrow would deliver a blow to the groin to
increase the pain. Crossbow manages to
break the hold by manauvering himself so that he can grab the bottom rope.
Miller: "Good ring awareness from Crossbow as he
grabs the rope to force a break of the hold."
Wrestlebard: "A desperate move from a wrestler who
is outclassed. Nothing a real man would do."
"He's in the ropes, so break the hold," the ref
says. He repeats his instruction with more force when Arrow makes no effort to
comply. Only when the ref begins counting does he oblige, dropping the hold at
the count of 4. He stands up and reaches down to grab an ankle, but Crossbow
kicks his other leg backward, hitting Arrow in the side of the knee and causing
his leg to buckle. He quickly regains his feet but backs off.
After delivering the kick, Crossbow rolls to his back
before using the ropes to assist him back to his feet. In a moment of surprise,
Crossbow charges off the ropes to slam a clothesline across Arrow's chest,
knocking him back into the ropes. His arm is grabbed, and he's tossed across
the ring, where he rebounds from the ropes only to be met by Crossbow's foot
jamming deep into his abs. As Arrow bends forward, Crossbow turns and locks the
head under his arms and drops down with a bulldog, stunning Arrow.
Having gotten an edge, Crossbow is determined to keep it.
He performs a leg drop across the back of Arrow's head, further stunning him.
Crossbow pulls his opponent to his feet with a little difficulty and throws him
into the ropes. As he rebounds off the ropes, Arrow is met with a forearm
across the upper chest, changing his direction, where he hangs against the
ropes. In the next second, he flips over the ropes onto the floor, the result
of another clothesline. As he passes the edge of the ring, his forehead makes
solid contact. He stands briefly before crumbling to the floor.
Ignoring the ref, Crossbow, using the ropes for leverage,
leaps over the rope and drops to the floor beside Arrow. He picks him up,
deposits him on the ring apron, and pushes him under the ropes back into the
ring. He slides under to follow him. He pulls Arrow to his feet. Crossbow
delivers another DDT to Arrow, making sure they're in the middle of the ring.
He sits on his back and drags his arms up over his knees.
Miller: "Crossbow is going for a Camel Clutch. Can
that be a submission hold with as much abuse as Arrow has taken?"
Wrestlebard: "He's made of sterner stuff than that.
But the ref needs to make sure the hold is legal."
Miller: "How could it possibly be… Wait a minute. What is Crossbow doing? He's not locking the chin. Instead, he's bringing his ankles across and over to each side of the neck. It's like a sitting full nelson, but using his legs. Now he's lying flat, grabbing Arrow's shins and pulling upward. He essentially has a one-person Boston Crab/Camel clutch applied. He's flexing his abs, pulling Arrow up into a tight bow. It resembles a bow and arrow—how appropriate."
The Bow and Arrow
Wrestlebard: "But the ref needs to make sure the
hold is legal because I've never seen anything like that, and Crossbow is
obviously a cheater."
Miller: "How could it possibly be illeg… Wait a minute. Who is that? Someone is charging down the aisle toward the ring."
Gunn Coming to
Assist
Wrestlebard: "It looks like Gunn is coming down to
alert the ref to the illegality of the hold."
Miller: "More like interfere. Whoa, whoa. Whoever that was should be signed by the NFL. That was one hell of a tackle."
Masked Wrestler
Confronts Gun
As Gunn neared the ring, a figure burst into the aisle
and tackled him. They both slam to the arena floor, and the unknown masked man
begins pounding fists into Gunn's head and upper body. Gunn manages to throw
him off, but before he can get away, the wrestler is stomping away at any part
of the body he can reach.
Miller: "While those two go at it at ringside,
Crossbow maintains this unique hold. Wait, wait, the ref is signaling for the
bell as Arrow is screaming his submission."
Wrestlebard: "He isn't tapping out."
Miller: "He can't tap out. His hands and arms are
occupied."
"Are you submitting?" the ref asks as Crossbow
loosens the hold but doesn't release it.
"Yes, yes, I'm submitting," he yells loud and
clear.
Miller: "Sounds like a submission to me."
Wrestlebard: "As the commissioner, I have to look
into this."
Crossbow stands up and throws his hands into the air in a
victory stance. The cheers of approval are overwhelming. He turns, pulls Arrow
to his feet, charges him across the ring, and throws him over the top rope,
where he slams into Gunn, who has just gotten to his feet. Security pushes the
masked wrestler back from the ring to keep him out of the action.
Wrestlebard: "Now that was totally uncalled for. I'm
going to have to review all this very carefully."
Miller: "For Christ's sake. Just leave it alone.
Crossbow beat him fair and square, and the fans loved it. Don't be a
dick."
Wrestlebard: "Definitely need to review YOUR
contract."
Standing in the middle of the ring, Crossbow reaches up
and behind his mask, where he slowly unties the laces. He loosens the laces,
causing the mask to loosen on his face. He reaches up with his right hand and
grasps the mask on top. He slowly starts pulling up. With the other hand, he
pulls the mask over his chin. He stops when the mask is at his nose.
The crowd screams encouragement for him to remove it.
They want to know who their new hero is, as he's the first person to defeat one
of the heels in a while. Crossbow lowers his right hand until it's sitting on
the top of his head, and then, in one violent thrust, pulls the mask off
completely.
The crowd is stunned as they realize who Crossbow is. Many in the crowd continue cheering and screaming, while a minority boo, and many are silent. For standing in the middle of the ring is the wrestler known as…
Crossbow Reveal
Miller: "Wait a minute, guys. That's Bear. The same
Bear who was abused and humiliated several weeks ago."
Wrestlebard: "I don't remember allowing him to have
a match!"
Miller: "But you did sign off on Crossbow having a
match. You just didn't do your due diligence. And most of the crowd is loving
it."
Wrestlebard: "What the crowd loves or doesn't love
isn't how I run this league."
Shortly thereafter, the masked wrestler who assaulted
Gunn and the one who removed Hunter from ringside enter the ring to stand next
to Bear.
Miller: "I know those bodies. That is Elk and
Moose."
The two wrestlers rip off their masks, showing it is indeed those two.
Elk, Bear, Moose
Wrestlebard: "Can't be, I suspended those two for
indecency."
Miller: "Looks like it didn't take."
Wrestlebard slams his headset to the table and screams
and curses as he stands. He starts to approach the ring, but instead, he stomps
off to the backstage area when he sees Bear waving him forward with a savage look
on his face.
In the ring, the three wrestlers take another victory
pose. Now, a majority of the crowd is cheering and applauding. Arrow and Hunter have regained their feet and
are hobbling up the aisle. By the look
on their faces, this feud is not over.
It is just beginning.
Miller: "Well, folks, looks like Team Bear is back
and, pardon the pun, gunning for Team Hunter. And if this match is any
indication, they aren't necessarily going to play nice about it. And then there
is the unknown element: a very embarrassed and pissed-off commissioner. And
that doesn't portend anything good. Things just got very interesting around
here."