#devil-devitt

[dmndvtt]

@biiigtime , visions.

the night air spills in through open window, and with it came the sounds of the japanese city life which carries on in the streets below. in the low apartment lighting, all which could be seen is the glint of the brass plates of their straps proudly displayed on nearby table. they had grown accustomed to the change in scenery, having made waves in the country's wrestling promotion. it's a far cry from competing in the european indies. in a way, he'd felt like they'd made it. they'd touched some semblance of success. here, prince devitt had been made to feel like a king, and the irishwoman a queen.

just hours ago, the iwgp junior heavyweight champion had been doing a devil's dance they'd done a thousand times over, but something about it had felt significantly different than times before. this felt momentous, an unknown, unspoken weight to it which he couldn't even come close to quantifying. the witching hour was upon them, and while becky slept peacefully beside him, his slumber had been anything but. heart pounds at an erratic rhythm, sweat begins to slick skin which had been freshly showered only hours prior. there's only one reason for this. the visions were back, and with a vengeance. like usual, they're choppy flashes like a poorly edited video.

an image of a baby he'd never seen before, bearing blue eyes that suddenly filled with red, merging to make an eerie violet hue. sudden jump to the dojo, small pale feet running around on the mats. static - like transition to a red sky, thunder almost drowning the screams of an anguished becky. a brief flicker of her reddened, sweaty face. a phantom pain of his hand being squeezed. another flash of lightning to see the symbol of wwe on a ring's apron, a small auburn - haired girl landing firmly upon it. again, another splice of memories yet to be had shows a little girl coming up to him with a bright red universal title belt. the concerned sound of a tiny irish cadence screaming for her father. was she talking to him?

no, no, it couldn't be.

a blip of an image of a teenaged version of the woman wrestling, begging for the chance to be trained. a flash of an image depicting the demon king, balor, in an image on book's page in what appeared to be the girl's grimoire. dad, wake up ... wake up ... dad!

with a sudden jolt and a grunted exclamation, the visions end, leaving him a drenched, panting mess in the bed. a familiar ache in his temple, one that's eluded him for some time. fingertips move to put pressure there, no relief. a slight turn of head reveals that his actions had roused his wife from her rest. an apologetic smile graces his face as he reaches towards her, brave expression in the wake of pure panic. all the while, questions plague distraught mind: why did this happen now? who was this child which seemed to haunt him? what did it all mean?

it would all become painfully obvious in the coming months, but until then he'd be experiencing flickers of his darling daughter finleigh in TORMENTING VISIONS he couldn't make sense of. he remains silent aside from slowly settling breaths. a singular digit reaches towards the pale cheek of becky. it's followed by a heavy sigh, hand moving to gently rake through fiery strands. " sorry, sweetheart ... " his voice comes in soft bravado, a slight tremble to it still. " didn't mean to wake ya. "

[allgoldenelite]

idk if this makes any sense, but.

so recently, i've seen the following interpretation floating around: whenever kenny talks about don being family in his promo and stuff, and whenever he makes it clear that BCC crossed a line now because they hurt somebody who can never reasonably consent to what the elite is used to, he is in reality not talking about don at all, or at least, the work is commenting on kenny lying or using don as a sort of mental scapegoat for the people he actually cares about [insert names here, in this case from most people i have seen it being hangman], because this is juxtaposed with kenny accepting the screwdriver from matt (who says "for hangman?").

and it made me think.

because a) there's precedent for this: especially as a heel (right now i'd say the elite are in the process of being faces again), kenny has a tendency to avoid (especially the names of) people close to him, or transpose the pain or caring he associates with those people onto something else (championships, matches, other responsibilities). everyone remembers "AJ styles, prince devitt, and who?" but there are a couple of other examples. notably, as the collector, he put so much emphasis on him and don; it was always "me and don, we are family", "don this, don that", instead of mentioning or talking what was really going on (his tensions with the bucks). later this would even spill onto other characters (saying that him and the good brothers make a really good trio/team, which is just explicit enough to pass as commentary on kenny's avoidance of the bucks at that point).

and b) i feel almost like if this were another medium, like a theater play or a book, there could very reasonably be a twist that don isn't real. that his existence is a product of kenny's psyche as he tries to avoid confronting reality (sort of like some apparitions in silent hill). that by focusing so much on don, it's easier for kenny to blend out the things that would cause him to otherwise shatter into a million pieces. he always styled himself as an "unstoppable android", and a machine needs a version of reality parsed through its OS that allows it to march on in spite of how frightening the actual happenings behind the veneer of said OS are. in a way, it could be said that don is kenny's OS rn. don is still his own person who does things kenny wouldn't do or doesn't do things he would do, but it would imo fit with kenny's arcs that often thematically feature isolation and self-hatred, to "invent" a companion who has totally always been your bestest buddy since you were 6 years old and played the invisible strings to help you be where you are now.

don entered the stage as a true character in the elite's story around the jericho feud back in new japan, but it wasn't until the collector that he was heavily cemented by kenny as an important existence, someone whom he had secretly plotted with "for years" in order to orchestrate his belt-hunting run (among other things), and by then he began interacting with other characters in way that deviated from our then current understanding of kenny's morals and ideas, despite how close the two claimed to be. i've written before about how to me, the collector is a paradoxical being and the final manifestation of all the ugly and dark parts inside kenny that he couldn't exorcise, "much, much worse" than the cleaner could ever be. think if the cleaner is a juvenile street thug, the collector is the boss in his penthouse making a fortune off of people's suffering.

but, it's important to remember that kenny isn't fundamentally evil. he has gone on record in character to state that it was his own fear of confronting his darker feelings about ibushi that pushed him towards joining bullet club and turning into the "pitch-black devil" he became. heartbreak makes a villain, etc. it's not that boilerplate simple, humans are complicated beings even (especially) in wrestling, and that is also true for kenny's story in AEW, which started to take a turn for the worse as soon as he started tagging with hangman. the collector is paradoxical because he both wants to and doesn't want to exist, because he thinks the things he's doing are necessary and cruel at the same time, because he desires what he fears and fears what he desires (finding true fulfillment in tagging, hangman becoming champion, corrupting the bucks, the list goes on). it would make sense to me if such a being required a mental shield to focus on and withstand the pressure of the two sides of the paradox constantly pulling at your psyche, threatening to destroy it. as it fits within his own machinations, don is the perfect candidate for that.

now, this isn't to say i think kenny is going to turn heel again because there is an increased emphasis on him and don "being family" again. it's just a piece of the text that i find interesting to analyze. even if kenny doesn't turn, in order to inflict upon BCC the brutality that they inflict on people you care about, you have to go to some pretty dark places. and every time kenny does go to such places, the past has shown that he pushes others away so that his true feelings—kindness, compassion, an arrogance that's more a beautiful sibling of pride than an ugly child of hurt—do not get in the way. it just depends on how he emerges on the other side once said brutality is inflicted.

either way, i have to imagine that under normal circumstances, when/if (?) the thing happens that finally tips the bucket over and causes kenny to shake off all that hair dye from 6 years ago and see don for the fucked up manipulator of himself and his friends that he is, it's going to deal a pretty heavy blow to him. it's not too dissimilar to an abusive relationship: from the outside it's so easy to see and go "oh this guy is a grade a asshole, they need to dump him already", but when you're in it, it's everything but easy.

i say normal circumstances because i have a feeling that the way this is actually going to be resolved in the work is going to involve some kind of hook that if not fully, at least partially avoids such shattering of the mind. that could be a number of things: the "betrayal" (really that's been going on for years, but see above) being so brutal and surprising that kenny's mind snaps right from heartbroken into justified, or the situation involving a bright light that makes it much easier to bear. i'll leave it up to you to decide who or what that's gonna be.

thanks for coming to my ted talk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[mayhemproduces]

MPW is known for it’s sometimes weird matches, and sometimes weird pairings, it maybe gets no weirder than when the annual draft tag comes along, where the two biggest adversaries in MPW at the time get to select absolutely anyone they want, to lead them into an eight on eight elimination tag team match. Our team captains this year, the MPW World Champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, joined tonight by several members of his crew, The Devil’s Trick, Solo Sikoa, Eric Taylor, & Swerve Strickland, as well as joined by several other MPW bastards, Bryan Danielson, Jade Suzuki, along with some real wildcards… Riley Ishimori and Roman Reigns, both of whom seem like they, frankly, really really don’t want to be here. 

Abigail’s team on the other hand, is a mish-mash of friends and foes, both old and new for her. Malakai Black, and, more here to aid Malakai than her, Prince Devitt. Joined by old friend Tiffany Lee Ray, locker room leader Samoa Joe, the all-world Will Ospreay, MPW newcomer and perennial thorn in the side of The Devil’s Trick, Phantom, and her student, the largest man on the MPW roster, big Sam Holloway. This one promised to be an absolute ripper, and it looks like we’re starting hot, Abigail and MJF seem both primed to start this one off for their teams!

That is, until the moment the bell rings… and MJF immediately tags himself out, and tags in Riley Ishimori. He’s met with a glare from Riley, but MJF doesn’t even spare her a look as he rolls out of the ring and to the outside. Riley rolls her eyes, but she does get into the ring, and, for the first time in awhile, but definitely not the first time in MPW, Riley Ishimori and Sister Abigail are face to face once again. 

The two circle each other, before Abigail launches a quickfire roundhouse to kick Riley's head right off with a vicious roundhouse, but Riley just barely finds the time to duck! Riley sides back, creating distance between her and Abigail, but Abigail charges right after her. Luckily Riley's prepared and turns whatever bad intentions Abigail had into her signature rocket kick! Abigail stays down for only a second, managing to get right back to her feet, shaking off the cobwebs, this time going for a bicycle knee strike to fire back at Riley, but Rikey dodges again and takes her down with a snap dragon suplex! This time Abigail stays down, laid flat against the canvas, and Riley takes the opportunity to go up top. She comes off the top with a meteora, and reaches back to hook a leg for the cover!

1… Kickout!

A quick kickout for Abigail, but Riley stays determined. Riley grabs Abigail and throws her to the outside, Swerve Strickland and Eric Taylor both moving to attack Abigail out side of the ring, but Riley is quick to shout back at them, stopping them in their tracks!

“Hey! None of that shit, if you want be to play ball, we’re not doing that bullshit you jerkoffs rely on. I don’t need any of you to help me kick her ass, I’ve been doing this for years. Stay. The Fuck. Back.” 

Swerve looks like he wants to go after Riley for such a comment, but it’s actually MJF who seems to talk Swerve down. Riley spares only one more glance back at her “tag partners” before bounding across the ring, using the ropes to gain momentum to dive out of them and onto Abigail, taking her out with a HUGE Suicide Dive! Riley gets up and lets out a war cry, trying to fire up the fans, but they don’t seem to be on her side like they are usually tonight- probably an effect of being on Team MJF for the evening. 

“C’mon, I don’t even like these wankers!” Riley responds to the crowds hesitation, which finally gets the pop she was waiting for out of them, even as many members of her own team tonight roll their eyes. Riley gets Abigail back in the ring, and jumps up onto the second rope, looking to push the offense… when she gets tagged out by Eric Taylor. The crowd boos, and Riley is left glaring over her shoulder as Eric Taylor charges into the ring, and starts mounting Abigail, hammering away at her with a couple of right hands, before Eric attempts to pick her back up, sending Abigail off the ropes… only to get dropped by a Big Boot! Taylor nearly gets his head taken off, and as Abigail sends Taylor off the ropes again, Eric Taylor is caught on the rebound and planted with Wrath of the Gods! Abigail hooks the leg, right into the cover, trying to take out the first member of Team MJF!

1….2.. Kickout!

Eric Taylor survives for the moment, but Abigail is quick to pick him back up, and send him into her team’s corner, making the tag to Malakai, who joins her in the ring, as the two both take an arm of Taylor’s and twist it around, double wrist locks that turn into double roundhouse kicks, dropping Taylor to the mat! Abigail vacates the ring, and Malakai picks Taylor up, shoving him into the corner, and blasting him with a quick chop to the chest, before making a tag to Prince Devitt. Malakai drops to his hands and knees as Devitt gets in the ring, charges, and uses Malakai’s back as a launch pad, crashing into Eric Taylor with a leaping forearm! Taylor stumbles out of the corner, as Devitt hits the ropes, charges back, and drops Eric Taylor with a Slingblade! Devitt into the cover, trying to take Taylor out of this match!

1….2… Kickout!

Eric Taylor survives again. Devitt gets back to his feet, and picks up Eric Taylor, sending him into the ropes, but Eric Taylor manages to stop himself, and make the tag to Solo Sikoa! Devitt looks primed to go face to face with MJF’s heavy, but instead, out of the corner of his eye, he seems a member of his team offer a tag. It’s the least-experienced but biggest man on the team, Sam Holloway, and he wants Solo Sikoa! Devitt, obliges, making the tag, and now it’s Big Sam vs Solo! he two men began to circle one another, before locking up in a collar and elbow tie up. Holloway quickly got the advantage and pulled Solo into a headlock, which Solo quickly got out of by sending Holloway off the ropes. Holloway came back and knocked Solo down with a shoulder tackle, being the larger of the two men, one would assume he would have the power advantage in this one. Holloway waited for Solo Sikoa to get back up again, and ran off the ropes, looking for another shoulder block, but Solo dropped down, and Holloway hit the ropes again, this time on the rebound Solo tried to leapfrog Holloway, but Holloway stopped short before he could, before attempting to throw a clothesline, which Solo ducked, before Solo ran off the ropes, and caught and dropped Holloway with a shoulder block! We were all even here in the early going! 

Solo ran off the ropes again, and this time it’s Holloway who drops down, mirroring what Solo did before. Solo stepped over and on the rebound, just like how Solo had done, Holloway tried to leapfrog, but rather than stop short, Solo caught Holloway in midair, before driving him to the mat with a powerslam! Holloway got up clutching his back, and Solo hit the ropes again, before charging Holloway and sending him over the top rope and to the outside with a clothesline! Solo didn’t stop his momentum, hitting the ropes again all without stopping, and dove underneath the middle rope, taking Holloway out with a low suicide dive to the outside! Solo Sikoa launched himself like a missile and took Holloway right into the guardrail! Solo was quick to get back to his feet, and grabbed Holloway by the hair, pulling him back up as well, before leaning him against the steel guardrail. “You asked for this, kid.” Solo taunted, before blasting Holloway with a chop to the chest, putting so much force behind it that he nearly knocked Holloway back over the guardrail and into the laps of our fans! Solo takes a second here to antagonize our fans sitting front row, as he’s got Sam Holloway exactly where he wants him at the moment!

Solo turned back to Holloway, but the momentary distraction cost him, as Holloway had recovered and blasted Solo with a chop to the chest of his own! Solo fired back with another chop, and Holloway answered back in earnest, and now we had these two men trading chops on the outside! The chop fest continued until Solo decided to break it up with a headbutt, sending Holloway stumbling backwards. Solo then grabbed Holloway and whipped him right into the steel guardrail again, Holloway’s spine connecting right with the solid steel bars! 

Solo Sikoa gets big Sam back into the ring, before sliding in himself, looking to lift Sam up and go for a big Samoan Drop, but Sam manages to slip off the back, and shove Solo into the ropes, before catching Solo on the rebound, and planting him with a Spinebuster! Both men down now, both men going for their corners… 

Solo Sikoa makes it to his corner, and tags in MJF… who immediately gets into the ring, and tags in Riley! Riley once again stares down MJF like “What the fuck?”, but MJF shouts at her, telling her to get into the ring. Sam manages to make it to his corner and tag in Malakai Black! Riley ignores MJF, and jumps over the top rope, as her and Malakai charge each other. Malakai looks for a Bicycle knee, but Riley sweeps the leg, Malakai fell on his ass, as Riley turned and hit the ropes, before crashing into Malakai with a seated dropkick, causing Malakai’s head to snap back! Riley gets back to her feet and hits the ropes again, as Malakai gets back up. Riley jumps up and catches him with a headscissors, throwing him out of the ring with a hurricanrana! Malakai slides to the outside, holding his back, as Riley jumps up onto the ropes, bouncing between the second and the third before leaping off, and taking out Malakai on the outside with a Corkscrew Moonsault, Lucha Style! 

Riley is quick to get back to her feet and slap a few hands with the fans sitting front row, before Riley jumps back up onto the apron, measuring Malakai as she does, before charging him, and trying to catch him with a punt kick, but Malakai catches the leg, before sweeping it, almost causing Riley to fall off the apron, but she manages to cartwheel and land on her feet! Malakai launches a roundhouse, but Riley ducks, and shoves Malakai into the ring post!

 

Malakai hits hard, and Riley throws him back into the ring, where Malakai rolls to his corner, quietly getting in a tag to Will Ospreay, which Riley doesn’t seem to notice. Riley springs up onto the ropes, and launches herself into Malakai with a big dropkick, knocking Malakai into the corner! 

Riley gets back to her feet, and charges at Malakai, crashing into him with her shoulder into the gut, before rolling back, charging again, and this time catching Malakai with a big european uppercut! Riley turns and hits the ropes as Malakai stumbles out of the corner, as Riley launches into him with a Rocket Kick! Riley nearly takes Malakai’s head off, and picks him up, looking for a Godkiller… ONLY TO GET DRILLED IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD WITH A HIDDEN BLADE FROM OSPREAY! 

Ospreay takes a moment to stand over Riley, after the entire crowd practically gasps with the impact of that Hidden Blade, Riley is out cold as Ospreay, staring dead at Team MJF, drops down and covers Riley!

1….2….3!

“Riley Ishimori has been eliminated!” 

Riley, being used as something of a sacrificial lamb by Team MJF here early, is the first person out of this match. Will Ospreay stands, waiting for one of the members of Team MJF to step up and face him. Swerve Strickland steps into the ring first, and the two lock up. Strickland quickly going low and wrapping his arms around Will’s waist, as Will counters it with a front facelock. Will drops down and immediately transitions to Strickland’s back, trapping the smaller man in another waistlock. Strickland manages to flip onto his butt, getting into a seated position to cut off some of Will’s leverage. Strickland pries Will’s hands apart with his fingers and an elbow, and manages to roll out of it, keeping control of Ospreay’s wrist. Strickland tries to trap him into an armbar, but Will rolls through that, before managing to take front control of Strickland, which Strickland quickly gets his legs up to block. 

Strickland manages to roll through, and wrap himself around one of Will’s legs, trapping Will in a leg bar! Will is quick to escape though, and immediately tries to take control of Strickland’s back again, before settling on a front facelock once more. Strickland gets his feet under him and manages to pick Ospreay’s leg, taking him down, Strickland now quickly trying to get front control on Ospreay. Strickland presses his forearm down onto Will’s face, and actually manages to get his shoulders down!

1… Kickout!

Will quickly lifts a shoulder up to break the pin. Strickland tries to trap Will in a headlock, but as Will powers out of it, Strickland instead elects for a front facelock, trying to keep Will grounded. Stricklandt then quickly floats over and traps Will in a sleeper, trying to choke the bigger man out! Strickland might not have it in all the way, but he’s got control of Will’s back, and is trying to tighten his arms around Will’s throat! Will manages to roll through though, and take control of Strickland’s arm down on the mat. Will torques Strickland’s arm, trying to soften it up, perhaps for an eventual arm bar or kimura lock. Strickland reaches his leg out and places it on the ropes, in order to get the referee to break Will’s hold. Will breaks and backs away from Strickland, allowing him to get back up. 

The two circle each other again, before locking up, Will quickly trapping Strickland into a headlock. Strickland backs into the ropes and tries to send Will off, but Will tightens down on the headlock, ensuring he wasn’t going anywhere. Stricklandt tries again but once again Will tightens the hold, ensuring Strickland can’t force him off. On the third try, Strickland finally gets it, but on the rebound, Ospreay takes Strickland down with a stiff shoulder block! Strickland, perhaps in frustration, is quick to get back to his feet, and shoves Will Ospreay back hard! Pissing Will Ospreay off may not be the best strategy, and Strickland pays for that shove with a stiff chop to the chest from Will! The sound echoing off Strickland’s chest like a shotgun went off here in the park, and Strickland dropping down to his knees, his face one of pure agony! Strickland’s face then turns to a look of malice, as he gets up and tries to respond with a chop of his own, one that doesn’t phase Will Ospreay in the slightest! Ospreay lines up and blasts Strickland with another stiff chop, which again drops Swerve Strickland down to his knees! Strickland has to roll out of the ring to collect himself afterwards! 

Will Ospreay looks over his shoulder, looking and seeing that Samoa Joe wants in on the action, and he obliges, tagging in Joe, as Swerve rolls back into the ring. The two meet in the middle of the ring, Joe shoved Strickland back and patted his own chest, telling Strickland to bring it, and Strickland gave Joe exactly what he wanted, rearing back and blasting Joe with a chop to the chest! Joe stumbled back, but didn’t back down, meeting Strickland with a chop of his own, as the two men began to trade chops in the middle of the ring!

Very quickly, both men’s chests seemed to be turning red, and Swerve Strickland quickly switched up his approach, instead grabbing Joe and tossing him overhead with a Release T-Bone suplex! Joe crashed down to the mat and quickly got back up, however, grabbing Strickland and throwing him overhead with a T-Bone of his own! Strickland quickly got back to his feet, and grabbed Joe again, tossing him overhead with another T-Bone! Joe quickly gets up, but instead of continuing to the cycle of T-Bone suplexes, he catches Strickland with an eye poke, stunning Swerve before sending Strickland into the ropes, and on the rebound popping Swerve up into the air and blasting him with a stiff headbutt, knocking Swerve Strickland down, with Strickland rolling to the outside to regain himself. Swerve rolls into the ring, and tells Joe to stay back, making the tag into Eric Taylor. Immediately, Phantom decides she wants some revenge for last week, and reaches out her hand for the tag. Joe obliges, and Phantom gets into the ring, the two opponents last week meeting face to face once again. 

Phantom pulls him into a headlock quickly, but Eric shoots her off the ropes, on the rebound, Phantom takes him down with a big shoulder tackle. Phantom gives him a mocking wave as she looks down at him, and hits the ropes again, Eric quickly up to his feet, leapfrog’s Phantom, and on the rebound, nails Phantom with a big dropkick! Follows it up with a big kip up back to his feet, and he takes the time to take a lap around the ring, showing just how unseriously he takes Phantom!

Eric gets back up and quickly traps Phantom in a wirstlock, trying to wear down on Phantom’s arm. Eric continues to wrench on Phantom’s arm, but Phantom manages to twist through again, and wrench Eric’s arm, before pulling him into a headlock. Phantom’s a world renowned grappler, and it’s showing so far tonight. Phantom wrenches in the side headlock, before Eric manages to back her into the ropes, shooting Phantom off the ropes, but on the rebound, Phantom drops Eric with a shoulder tackle! As Eric’s dropped to the mat, Phantom puts a finger to her ear, noting that Eric’s supporters have gone quiet here for a second. Phantom smirks to herself, before turning to hit the ropes, but Eric drops down in front of her, and then on the next rebound, Eric leapfrogs Phantom, before on the third rebound catching Phantom with a big arm drag! Phantom hits the mat, and Eric continues to wrench the arm bar, trying to weaken Phantom here. Phantom fights back up to her feet, and sends Eric off the ropes, but this time on the rebound, Eric takes Phantom down with the shoulder tackle! 

Eric takes a second to play to his small group of fans, before turning to hit the ropes, this time Phantom dropping down in front of him, forcing Eric to jump over her, and then leapfrogging Eric on the rebound, before catching Eric with a deep armdrag of her own, right into the armbar! Phantom showing the young, brash Taylor how its done here! Phantom continues to wrench the arm, as Eric tries to get his feet back under him, Phantom not letting go. Eric manages to get back to his feet, but Phantom is still wrenching the arm, Eric tries to forward roll to reverse pressure, and then gain control of Phantom’s arm, but as Eric gets back up, Phantom catches him with another armdrag, restablishing arm control as she once again has Eric down on the mat! Phantom with one hell of an experience advantage here, and she was showing it off. Phantom continues to wrench the arm as Eric gets back up once again, this time electing to back Ishimori into the corner. Eric then tries to send Phantom across the ring, but Phantom instead pulls Eric back in and nails him with a forearm shot! Eric shakes it off, and kicks Phantom in the gut a couple of times, before eventually trying again, but Phantom turns it around on him, sending Eric into the opposite corner, but Eric manages to go up and over on Phantom, before grabbing her and catching her with another deep armdrag here!

Eric continues to work over the arm, wrenching down on it. Phantom relies on her arms for so many of her powerful maneuvers, and it seems Eric knows that, and is targeting the shoulder and elbow to weaken Ishimori. Eric puts his knee on Phantom’s head to continue to add pressure to the joint, but Phantom is quickly able to escape and work back to her feet, forcing Eric back into the corner. Clemons tries to back Phantom off of Eric, but as she releases her hold on him, Phantom follows it up by kneeing Eric Taylor directly in the gut! Phantom follows it up with a big elbow right to the back of Eric’s head, before grabbing Eric and throwing him right into the turnbuckles, head first. 

Phantom goes to send Eric into the opposite corner with a whip, but Phantom goes up and over the top rope, landing on the outside apron. Eric tries to charge her, but a shoulder to the gut forces him to hunch over, as Phantom slingshots herself over the ropes and into a sunset flip, before pushing Eric through, getting backup, and nailing Eric with a superkick right to the jaw! Eric Taylor is stunned, as Phantom gets back up, and DRILLS Eric Taylor with the Last Watch! Taylor goes down, and Phantom rolls into the cover!

1….2…3!

“Eric Taylor has been eliminated!” 

Team MJF is now down two wrestlers before Abigail’s team has even lost a single one! And MJF is FUMING. On paper, both of these teams look like they’re unstoppable. High caliber, highly talented names all around, but either the clash of personalities on MJF’s side is putting a damper on that star power, or the collective hatred for MJF’s team is too powerful to overcome.

Or, maybe, Max isn’t the leader he thinks he is.

If nothing else, Max is going to attempt to gather his merry band of misfits, as he whispers something in the ear of Solo Sikoa, collecting his teammates on the outside of the ring, as Jade Suzuki slides inside, stepping up to Abigail’s representative, Prince Devitt. Devitt bounces from heel to heel, eyeing up the dangerous head of Death Row as she steps up to him, raising her hands. It’s no secret by now that Devitt and Malakai want those tag titles back, and eliminating Suzuki could go a long way to put them ahead of Bishop and Pandemonium in contention for a tag title shot. But that is going to be much easier said than done.

As Devitt and Suzuki circle each other, sharing the ring for the first time tonight, before Suzuki grabs him, feigning a collar and elbow to snap on a side headlock. Devitt places his foot on the back of her knee, pressing down as he forces Suzuki down to a knee. Devitt slips into a wristlock, turning her shoulder over before Suzuki gets back to her feet. Devitt kicks her feet out from under her, dropping to the mat with the wristlock still on, before swiveling into a front facelock. Suzuki, almost a bit frustrated, brings them up. Devitt switches into a side headlock, grinding down on her temples, before Suzuki grabs a handful of Devitt’s hair, bringing him back to the ropes, and shoving him off. Devitt rebounds, ducking under a clothesline. But as he goes to rebound again, Solo traps him on the ropes! He holds Devitt back as Suzuki immediately rushes him with an onslaught of forearms and chops, beating the hell out of a defenseless Devitt! Abigail and Malakai immediately jump into the ring, but Swerve ,Roman, Danielson, and MJF have already cut the ring in half, sending Abigail and Malakai out of the ring, before knocking Phantom, Sam, and Samoa Joe to the floor! Swerve and MJF move to the outside, making sure the rest of Abigail’s team stays out of the beatdown happening in the ring. Devitt finds himself out of Solo’s grasp, but he’s clinched by Suzuki as she batters him with brutal knees to the chest, driving the wind right out of his lungs, and leaving his chest purple and bruised. When he can’t stand anymore, Suzuki releases him, letting Devitt drop to his knees, and Danielson chops him down with a huge buzzsaw, nailing him right on the side of the head! Sikoa steps into the ring, picks Devitt up by the nape of the neck, and drills him with a vicious Samoan Spike! Sikoa slides out of the ring to ensure there won’t be anymore interruptions, as Suzuki lifts a limp Devitt upside down, and spikes him with the Gotch Style Piledriver! Danielson keeps watch as Suzuki stacks Devitt up, folding him up deep!

1… 2… 3!

“Prince Devitt has been eliminated.”

Team MJF scores their first elimination, but they’re still down one man. That’s about to be the least of their concerns, though! Here comes Samoa Joe!

Joe beelines directly for Danielson, but, as expected, Bryan dives out of the ring. While his ego has written checks his ass can't cash, Bryan isn’t ready to deal with that just yet. But Jade Suzuki is more than happy to step up to Samoa Joe. She spins him around, and nails him with a stiff chop to the chest! The echo of the back of her hand slapping against Joe’s thick chest creates an unmistakable reverberation throughout the arena, and the rest of Tampa heard that, too! As the crowd oohs and ahhs in appreciation of some meaty slaps, Samoa Joe looks a little impressed, but not too much, either. He delivers back a chop of his own, as the two hardest hitters of the match start trading chops back and forth, right in the middle of the ring! For a minute, there’s a “MEAT!” chant going on, but eventually, as Joe switches to just nailing Suzuki with right hands to the crook of the jaw, they switch to a much louder, almost unanimous, “JOE! JOE! JOE! JOE!” punctuating every punch. Once he’s got Suzuki backed up, Joe goes to whip her across the ring, but Suzuki reverses. She follows hit on Joe’s heels, and nails him with a big running uppercut! She twists, and clips him on the side of the head with an enzuigiri As Joe stumbles out of the corner, Suzuki lifts herself to the second rope, trying to bring down the big man with a jumping knee to the back of the head. But as she leaps, Joe… just moves out of her way, and Suzuki crashes and burns!

Unbeknownst to Joe, Roman Reigns has just slid into the ring behind him. And he finds out the hard way, as Reigns floors him with a leaping clothesline! Joe gets taken off his feet, and Reigns gets on top, straddling Joe and raining down right hands as Joe struggles to cover up. Eventually, Roman picks him up, throwing him into the corner, and kicking him down. Roman saunters to the other side of the ring, fixing his pants as the crowd starts to boo him. Roman puts his fingers to his lips, telling them to settle down before he charges back across the ring. But Joe catches him! Joe has Roman high in the air, and sends him down with an emphatic “SIT DOWN!” Planting Roman with a thunderous Uranage! The canvas rattles with the force of that one, but there’s no rest of the wicked - or, at least for Samoa Joe - as he’s met by a Superkick from Solo Sikoa! Joe not only gets knocked back into the corner, but he’s sent to his ass, leaning against the bottom turnbuckle as Sikoa lets out a battle cry. He charges, going for a hip attack, but Joe moves out of the way! Solo stops himself just before hitting the ropes, Danielson quickly tagging himself in, before Joe comes crashing in with a huge uppercut! He just about takes Solo’s head off with that one, and he knocks it back down with an enzuigiri! Solo starts to stumble out of the ropes, but Joe grabs him. Joe sets him on the second rope, tucking Solo’s head against his shoulders. Joe muscles Solo up, turning around. He marches towards the center of the ring, and finally plants him with a Muscle Buster! The crowd pops for it, as MJF’s team is about to be down yet another member! Joe has him stacked up!

But he’s not the legal man! Joe’s confused as he sits up, turning around - AND GETS BLASTED BY A BUSAIKU KNEE! Danielson quickly folds him up DEEP!

1… 2… 3!

“Samoa Joe has been eliminated.”

You’ve gotta be kidding.

After all that talk, all the insults, Danielson actually did it. Pinned Samoa Joe in the middle of an MPW ring. And he celebrates with the most obnoxious victory lap you can imagine - when we suddenly hear MJF yell out, “OH SHIT!” as Sam Holloway is moments away from throwing him onto a bunch of steel chairs with a military press! MJF narrowly slips out the back door, and tries to book it as far away from Sam as he can get! As people were being eliminated in the ring, the fight has since spilled out into the arena, as the ricochet of Tiffany slamming a chair across Swerve’s back echoes from the crowd! Phantom tries to run after Swerve to help Tiffany inflict some pain on her rival, but Danielson grabs her before she can, nailing her with a chop. They begin to trade shots, while somewhere on the other side of Amalie, Roman Reigns is being held back by Malakai, and Abigail nails him with a big boot! At ringside, Solo nails Will Ospreay with a huge shot to the ribs, before slamming him face first onto the barricade! Back in the crowd, Malakai nails Reigns with a huge roundhouse on the side of the head, knocking him down, and Abigail bashes his head into the concrete with a HUGE Starfall! Roman just had his head scrambled, and Phantom is getting her chest kicked in by Danielson, knocking her further back into the steel chair she’s sat in. MJF is somewhere deep in the arena now, and he’s resorted to biting Sam Holloway, trying to get the big man off his trail.

On the outside of the ring, Will Ospreay reverses a suplex from Solo Sikoa, bringing his neck snapping down with a Stundog Millionaire! Sikoa snaps back, stumbling on his feet, and Ospreay charges, nailing him with a big boot, and knocking Sikoa’s head right into the ring post! Back in the crowd, Phantom has had her head slotted through the metal handrail adorning the staircase, and Danielson wrenches back on it, curving her spine around the unforgiving steel! Danielson places his foot on the handrail, yanking back even further on this brutal hold, when we see that MJF has found a fucking scooter. And he’s trying to drive away from Sam now, but Sam grabs him by the throat! He puts MJF on his shoulders, gets on the electric scooter, and drives away! Where the hell are they going?! What’s even happening right now?! But there’s no time for answers, as Abigail has made her way back down to ringside to help Ospreay put the final nail in the coffin of Solo Sikoa. Ospreay charges him, and plants Sikoa with the Essex Destroyer, spiking him with the front flip DDT! Solo practically lands on top of his head, and he posts back up to his feet, but his eyes are crossed! He’s got no idea where he is, and Abigail knocks him down with a HUGE Psychosis! Ospreay has since moved to the top rope, where he leaps off, crushing Solo with a huge 630 Senton! Ospreay folds him up, going for the elimination!

1… 2… Kickout!

While Solo staves off elimination, we find Phantom has turned the tides on Bryan Danielson. They stand at the top of the bleachers now, and Phantom is beating the hell out of the Stardust Champion! So bad, that Jade Suzuki has to come to his rescue, coming from behind Phantom, and surprising her with a huge Chokeslam! Phantom gets planted right on the concrete floor! Her spine arches high off the ground as she rolls to the side, but she isn’t staying down. She punches the concrete as she holds her back, while Malakai starts with a body blow on Suzuki, punching her in the side before following up with two forearms to the jaw, then spinning into a backfist. He goes for another kick, this one to the head, but Suzuki ducks it, and Malakai eats a rolling elbow from Danielson! Suzuki nails Black with an uppercut! Malakai’s staggered, but he’s able to block the next shot from Suzuki, while Phantom spins Danielson around, and nails him with C’est La Vie! A wicked headshot from Phantom takes Danielson out, and they turn their attention to Suzuki, lighting her up with a series of shots, as our cameras move a bit further into the crowd, finding Tiffany choking Swerve Strickland out with the cord from the soundboard! The ruthless doctor from Hell is turning Swerve’s face deep shades of red, before Swerve is able to find the other end of the cord, and starts whipping her in the side with it. Tiffany releases her choke hold, and turns it in for punches instead, Tiffy and Swerve fighting all the way down the hallway, as we see that Suzuki and Malakai have started to brawl down the stairs, starting to mak their way back towards the ring. Danielson is much further ahead, having made his way back down to ground level - but from above! Danielson barely has any time to turn around, before Phantom leaves from the higher level, wiping out Danielson!

Back at ringside, Abigail holds Solo on her shoulders, dangling him precariously in an electric chair position. Ospreay stands on the apron, before he charges. He jumps, grabs Solo by the head, and brings him crashing down to the floor with a HUGE OsCutter! And a devastating landing for Solo, too! Abigail and Ospreay have been working surprisingly well together - but it may be short lived! As Abigail turns around, she gets Speared THROUGH the barricade by Roman Reigns! The guardrail buckles under Abigail’s weight, and if Roman can get her in the ring, he could eliminate the captain right now!

In the backstage area, Sam Holloway is punching MJF directly in the head, beating him into the door, unleashing weeks of pent-up frustration, weeks of grief. Syn was his mentor. His friend. And Sam is taking his pound of flesh with him tonight, match be damned. MJF can’t even defend himself. He gets even room to grab the handful of the door, pushing it open, as he grabs the waistband of Sam’s tights, throwing him out into the streets of Tampa! MJF quickly slams the door shut behind him, and makes sure it’s locked!

“Sam Holloway has been eliminated!”

Abigail’s team just went from having a two-man lead to being down one.

MJF’s team has successfully divided and conquered their opposition, and now, Team Abigail needs to refocus, bring the action back to the ring, and start working as a team once again. That’s what worked for them in the beginning, and we’re already starting to see that happened, as Tiffany Lee Ray and Swerve have found their way back to ringside. With the steel steps turned on its side, dangerously close to the apron, Tiffany has both of Swerve’s arms clasped… and she jumps off the apron, planting Swerve face first on the steps with the Viral Injection! A gruesome landing for Swerve Strickland! He melts to the floor, possibly unconscious, but as Tiffany sits on the steps, taking a moment to float, Roman suddenly comes from her blind spot, knocking her off the steps with the Drive By! No sooner than Roman plants his feet, Ospreay comes from the top rope, wiping him out with a beautiful Sky Twister Press! And to make it even better, Ospreay rolls through, sticking the landing! He grabs Roman by the hair, throwing him back into the ring, as we go back to the crowd, watching as Malakai nails Suzuki with some sickening strikes. But in the end, she ducks one, slipping behind Malakai and wrapping her arms around his throat, locking him in the Rear Naked Choke! Suzuki can’t get a submission elimination out here, but she can kill a man (death IS an elimination tactic, after all!) And she’s gonna try to, as she swings Malakai’s legs over the guardrail, hanging him over the guardrail, with nothing but a ten foot drop and concrete below him!

Back in the ring, Ospreay lands an elbow on Roman Reigns, following up with a forearm, and a chop. He runs the ropes, but Reigns tries to hit him with a back body drop, but Ospreay lands on his feet! He clips Roman with a hook kick, and sends him out of the ring with a back kick! Abigail charges Danielson and Swerve, cutting them both in half with a Spear! Danielson rolls out of the ring, joining Reigns on the outside, while Swerve struggles to his feet on the inside. Both Ospreay and Abigail runs the ropes, picking up steam, before they leap over the top rope, Ospreay nailing Danielson with the Sasuke Special, while Abigail takes out Reigns with a beautiful Corkscrew Moonsault! Inside the ring, Phantom plants Swerve with the Beyond Cutter! A thrilling sequence of flashy moves would be the perfect ending for Swerve’s night, at the hands of the End Walker, just to make it a little sweeter! She folds him up to get Swerve out of here!

1… 2… Kickout!

No dice! Phantom hasn’t put away Swerve just yet. Outside of the ring, Abigail doesn’t seem to care about actually eliminating people right now. She’s all about getting her revenge, as she chokes out Solo Sikoa with Hail the Reaper! She’s got it locked in tight, wrenching back on his neck, trying to make The Devil’s Enforcer pass out. While Danielson bashes her bestie, Tiffany, with brutal round kicks, crushing her into the steel guardrail. Jade Suzuki and Malakai have made their way back to ringside in a catastrophic way. They’re standing on top of the barricade, with Malakai on Jade’s shoulders! She drops, slamming Malakai directly across the steel guardrail with a BRUTAL Powerbomb! Holy shit! That’s a direct shot to the spine! Malakai might be out, if he’s even able to walk again after something like that!

But there’s no time to mourn the dead! Inside the ring, Phantom just got clobbered by a Superman Punch! She falls to the wayside, rolling out of the ring, as Ospreay comes from the skies, going for a little Pip Pip Cheerio, only to get SWATTED down by a thunderous Superman Punch! Roman cocks his fist as he hears someone enter the ring behind him, but Tiffany is a step faster than the Tribal Chief expects, as she spins him around, grabbing Roman by the throat! But as she lifts him for the Post-Mortem, Roman swings out, landing on his feet, and he drops Tiffany with a Superman Punch! Everyone falls to the power of the one, true Tribal Chief! And now, Roman is looking for his first elimination of the night! He backs into the corner, his nostrils flaring as his dark eyes zero in on his target. He takes a step forward, throwing back his long, luxurious hair, and yelling out,

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

When MJF plants Tiffany with a Brainbuster! MJF floats into the cover, folding her up!

1… 2… 3!

“Tiffany Lee Ray has been eliminated!”

MJF’s team just pulled ahead by two, having now scoured four straight eliminations. But the bigger story, at least in this moment, is the fact that MJF has stole Roman’s thunder, for no apparent reason. And Roman is clearly, very unhappy about that. He stares at Max with a perplexed expression, walking up to his team captain and asking him what that was about. As they start to argue, Phantom flips in over the top rope, turning MJF inside out with a HUGE slingshot Lariat! MJF gets sent head over heels, and goes back to the hole he crawled out of, as Phantom stares up at the Tribal Chief. Roman lowers his chin, staring into the lenses of her mask as Phantom rises. As chaotic and slightly heartbreaking that this has gotten, in the end, this is what these matches are about. Little moments like this, as one of the widely regarded best in the world steps up to one of the fastest rising stars in MPW today, a household name in Mayhem against a global superstar. It’s a huge, huge moment - and Swerve spoils it, as he attacks Phantom from behind! 

The charged electricity in the air turns into a chorus of boos, as the Tampa faithful are pissed we just missed out on a once in a lifetime opportunity. And now, Phantom’s time may be numbered. She’s as tough as nails, but she’s trapped in the ring with two world class athletes, and no back up. As Phantom throws Swerve off, she tries to get back to her feet, but Reigns knocks her down with a murderous Superman Punch! Phantom’s head whips to the side as she drops to her hands and knees, but she doesn’t go down. Phantom pushes herself up, getting to her knees, before Swerve slides in front of her, clocking her with the House Call. The audible thunk of Swerve’s boot slamming into her head just tells you how vicious that shot was. But yet, Phantom is getting back on her feet. She can barely stand, but as long as there is a breath in her body, she will fight. She will get up, and she will fight, and she won’t stop until her justice is complete.

Roman runs the ropes, and cuts her in half with a Spear. Phantom’s swept off her feet, and got divided in half. And yet.

Phantom.

Won’t.

Stay.

Down.

She rolls herself over, her palms pressed against the mat as she starts to push herself up. She sits up, rollin herself over, while Swerve sits on the second rope. He leaps off, and finally takes her down with the Swerve Stomp. Swerve reaches back, folding up both legs to score his first elimination!

1… 2… 3!

“Phantom has been eliminated!”

Ospreay dove into the ring to break it up, but Solo grabbed him by the legs, and now, MJF’s team holds a three man advantage, having eliminated five straight wrestlers from Abigail’s team. This is the fourth time we’ve done one of these matches, but this is, by far, the biggest turn around we’ve ever seen. MJF has managed to completely flip this match on its head, and now it’s up to the remaining survivors to put their heads together and start turning the tides back in their favor. If not, this is going to be a slow, painful end to an otherwise exciting match.

As Ospreay kicks Solo off, he meets up with Abigail and Malakai, and three of them come to the same realization.

This is it.

Will Ospreay.

Malakai Black.

Sister Abigail.

That’s all that’s left.

And they’re very quickly surrounded by their opposition - MJF, Roman Reigns, Swerve Strickland, Solo Sikoa, Jade Suzuki, and Bryan Danielson forming a wall around them. Abigail, Will, and Malakai put their backs together, in a silent agreement to watch out for each other. If this is all they have left. If this is the last fight against the all star team that stands across from them. Then even if they don’t win, they’re going to go down swinging until the very bitter end.

The trio rush their opponents, swinging wildly at anything and everything they can reach. The numbers advantage is too much, but Abigail and Malakai are able to get most of the people out of the ring before they’re thrown out themselves, leaving just Will Ospreay and Solo Sikoa as our legal contestants, and the only two left inside the ring. Solo lays into Ospreay with a wicked sharp chop, crushing him into the ropes. He grabs Ospreay by the wrist, trying to whip him across the ring, but Ospreay reverses! As Solo hits the ropes, Abigail grabs him by the feet, tripping him up. She pulls Solo out of the ring, dangling him in a reverse wheelbarrow hold, as Black jumps off the apron, piercing the middle of his back with a double stomp! Solo’s spine caves against the impact, and Abigail lets him drop to the floor in a rather unceremonious way, as all the beauty is happening on the other side of the ring, as Will Ospreay’s taking flight. He leaps off the top rope, taking out Swerve, Roman, and MJF on the floor with a beautiful Corkscrew Moonsault! 

Inside the ring, Abigail puts Solo in the corner, and Malakai nails him with a big boot! Abigail comes in hot behind him, nailing him with a big rising knee! She falls back, her and Malakai holding their arms open as Will comes charging in. They lift him up, sending him into Solo with a huge rocket launch Dropkick! Ospreay into the cover to eliminate Solo!

1… 2… Kickout!

Abigail and Malakai whip Sikoa off the ropes. Abigail follows shortly behind him, rebounding after Solo does, and nailing him with a big rolling elbow to the back of the head, while Malakai crushes him up front with a big boot! Solo gets absolutely pancaked! He drops to his ass, seeing stars as Malakai runs the ropes, and nails him with a PK! Abigail charges at Will, who scoops her up in a wheelbarrow, but Abigail flips inward, turning both of them over, and Will crushes Solo with a huge Splash! He hooks the far leg to send Solo to the back!

1… 2… Swerve breaks it up!

Strickland straddles Ospreay, hammering down elbow strikes as Danielson and Roman pull Abigail and Malakai out of the ring, throwing them hard into the barricade. As they take out the trash, Solo and Swerve look to punish Ospreay. Each men take hold of a wrist, dribbling Ospreay’s head between their forearms as they beat him down. Eventually, Ospreay ducks, and they hit each other! As both men try to shake the stinging out of their arms, Ospreay clasps hands with both of them. He heads to the ropes, jumps up to the rope. He flips back, letting go of their hands, and he brings both men crashing down with a backflip DDT! Holy shit! Ospreay’s agility is truly out of this world, but so is Jade Suzuki’s strength, as she just WALLOPS him with a downright nasty forearm! Ospreay never saw it coming, but he sure as hell felt it! That stiff shot sends him to the corner, and Suzuki tries to follow up, but Ospreay catches her with a boot! He floats to the apron in the process, sizing Suzuki up as she spins around. He leaps off the top rope, going for a springboard Forearm - but Jade grabs him! She snatches a whole ass mid right out of the air! She holds him up for a second, before tossing him right to Solo Sikoa, who NAILS him with a wicked Superkick! That could be lights out for Ospreay, Solo makes the cover!

1… 2… Malakai breaks it up!

While Malakai might’ve kept Ospreay alive, he’s unable to stay in the ring, as Suzuki chucks him right out. She goes after him, leaving Solo to deal with Ospreay, as the Enforcer and the Assassin start throwing hands in the middle of the ring. Trading forearms left and right. Ospreay’s on rollerskates, and Solo decides enough is enough, and thumbs him in the eye! Ospreay’s blinded! And Solo whips him across the ring. Solo charges after him, but Ospreay moves out of the way, lifts Solo up so he hangs upside down, and Ospreay nails him with a Superkick! Solo floats back down, his eyes rolling to the back of the head, when Danielson spins Ospreay around, nailing him with a big rolling elbow! Danielson turns the ropes, but Ospreay catches him with a dropsault off the rebound. Stopping Danielson dead in his tracks with a boot to the chest, Ospreay backflips, lands on his feet, going for an enzuigiri, but Danieelson ducks it. He lifts Ospreay up, and plants him with a big Tiger suplex - but Ospreay’s back on his feet! With a battle cry ripped straight from his heart, Ospreay pops back on his feet, and CLOBBERS Danielson with a hook kick! It’s nasty, it rocks Danielson, and Ospreay raises his hands to the sky. Bringing them into his head, it’s clear what he wants to do to Bryan. Ospreay jumps off the second rope, but Solo pushes Danielson out of the way of the OsCutter, but grabs Ospreay, picking him up, and planting him with a Samoan Drop! Solo isn’t done! He’s got Ospreay up again, letting out a guttural cry, but Ospreay ducks the Samoan Spike! He rushes to the ropes, jumps off, and brings Solo crashing down with the OsCutter! Ospreay’s got him folded up!

1… 2… 3!

“Solo Sikoa has been eliminated.”

Finally, The Devil’s Trick suffers another casualty! We’re still a long ways to go, but getting out such a dangerous threat like Solo Sikoa makes one breath a little easier.

Ospreay gets to his feet, stumbling to the ropes, and Swerve slides in off his feet. He rolls forward, pops up, and dropkicks Abigail and Malakai right off the apron! He stands up, charging Ospreay, but Osreapy catches him with a hurricanrana! But Swerve nips out of it, landing on his palms and flipping to his feet! He swivels, catching Ospreay with tijeras, but Ospreay cartwheels out of it! Ospreay ducks a kick thrown at his head, clasping both of Swerve’s arms for a Dragon suplex, but Swerve shrugs it off. Ospreay blocks a back elbow, Swerve ducks the hook kick, before grabbing Ospreay by the wrist and flinging him into the corner. Strickland finally lands one, hitting a big running uppercut in the corner. He flips Ospreay out with a snapmare, jumping to the second rope for that patented twisting back elbow, when Ospreay nips back, and kips to his feet! He turns, staring Swerve dead in the eye, reminding him just how well these two know each other. Strickland slides down off his perch, coming nose to nose with the Aerial Assassin, before they start throwing forearms! They don’t wait for a second, these are coming rapid-fire, full of hatred, and neither one of them plans on stopping! 

A particularly hard shot has Sweve on rollerskates, and Ospreay goes for a kick, but Swerve ducks! He holds onto Ospreay’s leg, using it to pick him up, trying to plant him with a backbreaker, but Ospreay flips out onto his feet! And he nails Swerve with a big enzuigiri, sending him right out of the ring! Ospreay goes after him with a slingshot crossbody, but Swerve moves out of the way! Ospreay’s able to stick the landing, saving himself from a nasty landing, but Swerve nails him with a big boot. He grabs Will by the nape of the neck, throwing him hard into the barricade - but Will jumps over it! He skids to a halt, whipping back around, and nailing Strickland with a forearm! As Swerve stumbles back, Ospreay grabs the railing of the guardrail, psyching himself up before jumping onto it, leaping off, going for an OsCutter on Swerve - BUT ROMAN SPEARS HIM! 

Roman leapt off the stairs, and Spears Ospreay out of mid-air! Ospreay just got divided into TWO! Thankfully Ospreay was able to get someone out first, as he’s about to join the rest of the team in the back! Swerve throws him into the ring, hooking both legs!

1… 2… ABIGAIL BREAKS IT UP!

Abigail keeps Ospreay in the match! That would’ve been the end of his night, for sure, but Abigail threw herself at Swerve to break it up, and Swerve shitcans her right back out of the ring. They got so far ahead by keeping the rest of the team out of the equation, and they plan on keeping it that way until Abigail is the last one standing. But Will ain’t out of the fight just yet. As Swerve turns around, Ospreay catches him with the dropsault. Swerve ducks the enzuigiri, and as Ospreay hits the mat, Swerve goes for the House Call! But Ospreay avoids it! He jumps to his feet before Swerve can get up, going for a Hidden Blade, but Swerve flattens himself to avoid it! He springs to his feet, and nails Ospreay with a huge Uppercut! He flings Ospreay across the ring, leaping up as Ospreay rebounds - but he’s caught! Ospreay slams him down with a HUGE Powerbomb! Ospreay picks Swerve straight up off the mat, and plants him with the Styles Clash! He rolls over, trying to hold Swerve down!

1… 2… Kickout!

But as Swerve kicks out, Ospreay hoists him straight up off the mat, and quickly plants him with the Stormbreaker! Ospreay’s got another one here! Deep cover on Swerve!

1… 2… 3!

“Swerve Strickland has been eliminated!”

Another one bites the dust, but as Swerve rolls out of the ring, Danielson slides in, coming face to face with a man he tore the house down with last year. There’s a tremble of trepidation in the crowd before they charge. Both men go for kicks, both men blocking. Will ducks a shot from the Dragon, but Danielson still lands a back elbow. He hits a couple of big chops to send Ospreay back to the ropes. Danielson whips him, sending Ospreay back to the cables, where he drops into a handspring. Danielson ducks, shrugging Ospreay off his shoulders, and Will lands right back on his feet. Danielson nails him with three uncontested uppercuts, knocking him into those coarse, black cables, before repeatedly nailing him with brutal round kicks, trying to cave his chest in. Danielson goes for another whip, but Ospreay holds onto the ropes instead of rebounding. Danielson tries to charge, but Ospreay hits him with a big boot ot the face, slingshotting over the top rope and landing on the apron in the process. He charges across the apron, and catches MJF with a huge running kick to the face, while MJF is on the floor! Ospreay readjusts his elbow pad before he takes flight, going for the springboard forearm - but Danielson catches him with a nasty kick to the stomach! Danielson takes out Ospreay, and he revels in the pain, in the boos from the crowd before going after him.

Danielson lands a firm kick to the spine, but it reawakens Ospreay as much as it hurts him. He gets to his feet, and nails Danielson with a blistering chop! Danielson throws one back, and they’re chopping each other in the middle of the ring! Danielson’s able to pull ahead, throwing in kicks and uppercuts until he pushes Ospreay across the ring. Trying to whip him into the corner, but Ospreay reverses, sending Bryan into the turnbuckles with Ospreay hot on his heels. Danielson climbs the turnbuckles and backflips over Will before he heads to the ropes. Ospreay ducks the clothesline, runs the ropes, and goes for a Hidden Blade, but Danielson just KICKS his arm away! He comes from behind with a Dragon suplex - BUT OSPREAY LANDS ON HIS FEET! HIDDEN BLADE! Hidden Blade CLOBBERS Danielson, and Ospreay stacks him up!

1… 2… 3!

“Bryan Danielson has been eliminated!”

HOLY SHIT

WILL OSPREAY TOOK OUT THREE OF MAX’S GUYS

AND GETS CLOBBERED BY THE MPW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

MJF quickly stacks him up, holding Ospreay down to send him packing!

1… 2… 3!

“Will Ospreay has been eliminated!”

Welp.

For a fleeting moment, things were evened up. They went from a six-on-three, to evening the score, all thanks to a spectacular performance by Will Ospreay. But MJF, the sneaky, sly snake that he is, struck at just the right moment, and now, Team Abigail is at a disadvantage again, with only two left standing.

Abigail slides into the ring, going right after MJF, itching for a chance to finally get her hands on him. But the coward dives out of the ring, tagging in Jade Suzuki in the process. These two have gotten very familiar with each other in a very fast amount of time. And they waste no time going right after each other, Suzuki decking Abigail with a vicious clothesline, turning her inside out! Suzuki grabs her back up, lifting her up with the Full Nelson Bomb, and slamming Abigail down on her tailbone. She flips her over, going for the Rings of Saturn, but Abigail blocks it. She fights it off until she gains control, straddling Suzuki and hammering down vicious, unrelenting forearms, until Jade isn’t moving. Her arms have long since gone limp, and now her eyes fall shut when Abigail finally stops. She sits up, eyes scanning the area for even a whiff of MJF - but Suzuki pulls her into a Triangle Choke! It’s a sudden attack, but Abigail is able to pick Suzuki up. She holds her up, hiking the tights, as Malakai jumps off the top rope, nailing her with a Meteora, as Abigail delivers the Last Hour! She’s got Suzuki stacked up to even the odds!

1… 2… Roman breaks it up!

Malakai drops Roman with a Slingblade! Malakai nails Suzuki with a thrusting knee to the stomach, following up with a kick to the chest, and he swings into a back elbow. He swings again, dropping Suzuki to her knees with a roundhouse kick, before Malakai lifts her up, and plants her with a Bloody Sunday! A little revenge for earlier, and now Malakai charges at MJF, riding him with a wheelbarrow. Malakai rolls inward, using MJF as a launching pad to throw himself at Roman, smashing into him with a brutal bicycle knee strike, taking out the Tribal Chief! He whips around, and NAILS Suzuki with The End! She’s out, and Malakai folds her up!

1… 2… 3!

“Jade Suzuki has been eliminated!”

MJF tries to blindside Malakai, but Black steps out of his way, letting Max’s own momentum bounce him off the ropes, and Malakai plants him with a German suplex! He tries to follow up with another, deadlifting Max off the mat, but MJF shoots forward. He clings onto the top rope for dear life, blocking the suplex attempt. And then, MJF swings his leg back, nailing Malakai right between the legs! Black stumbles back, holding his privates, as MJF cockily turns around.

 

“Looks like your little boyfriend is finally in his rightful place - on his knees, watching you fail next,” MJF says, smirking wide as Malakai shoots him a deadly glare. “At least, the both of you finally got to feel what it’s like to face a real man -” and Malakai’s heard enough! He shuts MJF up with several fists to the mouth, stuffing every word right back into his throat, before sending him to the ropes with a teep kick. MJF rebounds - but at the last second, he just crumbles to the side, almost like he passed out, and Malakai nails Abigail with a brutal bicycle knee strike! Malakai just took out his partner! But there’s no time to mourn, as Malakai gets cut in half by a thunderous spear from Reigns! Roman stacks him up to turn this into a handicap match!

1… 2… 3!

“Malakai Black has been eliminated!”

And there it is! We’re down to just Sister Abigail as the lone representative of her team, and MJF and Roman Reigns standing tall - 

“What the FUCK do you think you’re doing?!”

Max gets in Roman’s face, practically coming nose to nose with the Head of the Table. Roman just raises his eyebrows as MJF shouts in his face.

“You are NOT here to steal MY spotlight, you got that?! You need to learn to fall in the line like the rest of your pathetic family!”

Oh.

Oh no.

Roman’s expression turns from one that’s a little surprised, a little amused, to a look that could kill. The crowd senses it, too, and then, Roman shoves Max! Max starts to sputter, but before things can turn physical, Abigail nails Roman from behind with the Angel’s Fall, causing Roman to bump heads with Max! MJF goes down, and Abigail lifts him upside down, planting Roman with the Baptism by Fire! Abigail folds him up, staring at MJF as the referee makes the count!

1… 2… 3!

“Roman Reigns has been eliminated!”

And then, there were two.

MJF has made a monumental mistake leaving Sister Abigail for last. Because now, there’s no one - and I do mean no one - left to stand between her and MJF. And Max knows it. She has waited. All. Night. Long. To get her hands on Max’s neck. To rip his throat out with her bare hands. But Max avoided her, ducked her at every corner, at every cost. And there’s nowhere left to run.

You can see the fear in his eyes as he scoots back, trying to plead his case, but Abigail isn’t hearing a damn thing.

Including the rustling behind her.

Abigail is so zeroed in on MJF that she doesn’t notice Tiffany sliding into the ring behind her - UNTIL TIFFANY SCOOPS HER UP!

PROJECT DEVIATION ON ABIGAIL!

Abigail just got dropped on her face by her old friend, Tiffany Lee Ray! But why?!

Max doesn’t know what’s going on, nor does he care! He just dives onto Abigail, folding her up! Not like this!

1… 2… 3!

“Here is your winner… and the sole survivor of Team MJF… the MPW World Champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, MJF.”

You’ve gotta be fucking kidding.

Somehow, someway, MJF is the final man standing. 

You can feel the air get sucked out of the room as his hand is raised in victory. That should’ve been it, Abigail finally making Max pay. To get a taste of what’s to come at State of Emergency. But Tiffany ruined that. Whatever motivations she may have, we may never know, we may never truly understand. But at the end of the day, Maxwell Jacob Friedman just pinned Sister Abigail.

He collects his championship, cradling it to his chest, as he rolls out of the ring, celebrating his victory on the top of the ramp, far away from a pissed off, seething Abigail. MJF can continue to run, but in two weeks, there won’t be anywhere left for him to hide.

[magicmalcolm]

@earthtwojess​ replied to your post “I hate the fact that Sami is still Heel but have to also admit he’s...”

Hey malcolm did you know finn and sami had a match together last night? (Aka as me realizing i didnt even think to tell you good job me)

Better late than never!

@devil-devitt replied to your post “Wait, hang on…why is Sami wearing a pair of Chris Jericho’s tights?”

I like the neon blue rings on the knee but I don't like the knock-off Breakfast Club silhouette on the other leg. it's not very Sami. imo.

Between the new tights and jacket and the two promos across RAW and SmackDown it very much feels like somebody hit the factory reset button on Sami and reinstalled him with faulty hardware.  Alternatively, it’s like OG Star Trek Alternative Universe Sami, but instead of having an EFIL GOATEE he got a EFIL BUZZCUT instead.

@titaniumkitten replied to your photo “I don’t know where they are or what they might be doing now, but I can...”

*hugs* I'm sorry for your loss

@inkfishes​ replied to your photo “I don’t know where they are or what they might be doing now, but I can...”

❤️ love you, buddy

Thank you, it’s still really raw and I’m not quite ready to elaborate...but I kinda feel like I don’t know what I should be doing anymore?  This huge part of my life is just gone and everything’s so...silent.  I probably could do with ranting a bit but I think I’m doing okay.  So far.

[devittprinces]

hey boopie. i'm messaging you right now but it would be weird to randomly bust out a bunch of this crap in the messenger thing. just a few reminders and a thank you. reminders: you should smile every day like you make so many others smile. you are so extremely loved in your community. everyone who gets to interact with you irl is so super lucky and if they don't know it, I do. and a thank you: as you know, i'm working on a project that wouldn't exist without your influence & help. thank you. c:

mel...this is...so sweet and unexpected??

thank you? im so so happy to talk to you and i love exchanging ideas and headcanons and like...talking about tattoos and music and whatnot. im gonna try to keep these reminders in mind especially when i have a low day.

i love you, truly 💖 💖 💖

[balorsource]

finnbalor: With the amazing Michaylah of @wavesforchange , who through her amazing hard work in the community & inspiring story was awarded the #wweheroaward @sonyadevillewwe

[omg-im-such-a-masochist]

**slaps money on counter** I need more Judgement Day content please. Maybe SOEMTHING kinky??

It’s been a while since I wrote anything with these gorgeous, wicked devils so here it is 💋

P.S. HEAVILY UNEDITED

Tag: @theworldofotps , @writtingrose , @aerynscrichton , @daddyhausen , @damnnhausen , @unoficialy-married-to-ace-austin , @sophiewolfheart-blog , @sultryfandoms , @new-zealand-chic , @crowleysqueenofhell , @thealliasylum , @legit9thlunaticwarrior , @baysexuality , @josiewrites , @seeingstarks , @sldghmmr , @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch , @whenimakeitshine1234 , @blaquekittycat

The pastel pink and white clothes were definitely a silent statement that you belonged anywhere but here. The bar was crowded, and loud conversations could be heard from across the street. The motorcycles made a line at the bar’s sidewalk, precluding any passerby to walk through.

Taking one last breath - to gather up the currently lacking courage - you pushed the door open to reveal the inside of the old bar, filled with too many people wearing a combination of black and leather. Carefully making your way in, your eyes spotted the young man behind the bar counter. The name “Dominik” was sewed in bold letters at the back of his vest, his kind face and wide smile made him the least threatening among the crowd.

“Excuse me? Sir?” Your perfectly manicured fingers waved in his direction “Hello? Yes, hi” A welcoming smile was plastered on your lips the minute his eyes found you “How are you?”. He continued to stare at you with curious eyes without a proper answer to your previous question. “Silence treatment then, ok…Ummm, I’m looking for someone named Bálor?”

His brows furrowed at the name, as if he didn’t quite understand what you mean.

“Wait! Not Bálor. No, that’s not the name…Gosh, what’s his name again?” Your fingers twirled around a soft strand of your hair in an attempt to remember the man’s name. “Uh! Fergal! Wait, no…Finn! Yes, that’s the name! Finn…Well, Finn, Fergal, Bálor..they’re all the same, right?” An uncomfortable giggle left your lips “I mean, Irish people, what do we know, yeah?”

The young man kept staring at you, but this time, a subtle amused smile roamed his lips. He pointed with his chin towards a corner of the bar before turning around again.

“Am I supposed to find him alone? Hello?”. When only silence answered you back, you decided to say fuck it and squeeze your way through hundreds of leather vests towards the way Dominik indicated.

Three pairs of eyes easily spotted you among the crowd. I mean, how could they not? You were dressed in pastel pink for Christ’s sake! You stood out like a bleeding animal in the midst of a pack of lions.

“She’s a cute little thing, isn’t she?” Rhea chuckled, as she watched you struggle to walk through the crowd without touching them.

“We could have lots of fun with her” Damian spoke, already imagining you tied up in their dungeon.

“Yes, but we’ll have to take it slow” Finn’s blue eyes followed your every step, his mind raced with the thought of caressing every curve of your body “She’s a valuable prize, it was difficult to bring her here and if we want this to go how we planned, we’ll have to take our time. She’s naïve, yes. But she’s not dumb, so we’ll keep it cool for now and when the time’s right, we’ll play with her”. As soon as he finished his sentence you stopped in front of their table.

“Good Lord, people. Careful!” You mumbled before looking at the trio in front of you “Mr. Devitt?”

“Yes, sunshine” Finn’s grin looked warm and inviting to your eyes, when in reality they held a mischief you were yet unfamiliar with. “I’m so happy you could make it! Come take a sit” He patted his thigh as Damian and Rhea just smiled widely at his statement.

[wrestlinghasmelike-blog]

Monday Night Raw Review: April 2nd, 2018- First Half

Hey guys! It’s the Monday before Mania, and everyone is getting hyped! I know I’m feeling the Mania excitement now. It’s going to be a very packed show on Sunday for sure, but for now, we have to wait for Mania and watch a week full of wrestling. What. A. Buuummmerrrr. 

Please let me know what your thoughts on the show were, your predictions for Mania, and what you thought of this review! Any type of feedback is welcomed.

Opening: Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey and Stephanie McMahon/Triple H

The match for Sunday between these two teams is set. In a way, this still doesn’t sound real to me. When I think of Rousey, I still think of her career in the UFC. Not to say that this is a publicity stunt, but it just feels like that I guess. 

I also loved having Coachman be the announcer for this because I just love him.

Also, the fucking crowd was nuts tonight. It’s good to have a really hyped crowd going into Mania.

Triple H must’ve recently shaved his head because oooh boy is it shiny. Like it’s really shiny. It does not match the rest of his face.

Stephanie is taking all the heat tonight. She really knows how to hype the crowd and immediately bring them down. It’s great.

I think this was a really good segment to continue the build-up for this match. I don’t know how much interest I have in this match? I’m more interested in seeing Triple H wrestle again, but who knows how long Kurt can last in the ring anymore? I know he’s been in a few matches since his return, but can he still go at Mania?

Bayley vs. Sonya Deville

 Hey wow, another match we’ve been seeing forever...

I think the announcement we’re all kind of waiting for is the one to make Sasha vs. Bayley at Mania official. At this point, I don’t think it’ll be announced. The show is already super packed, and a match between these two needs the time it deserves. I think with the women’s battle royal, they’ll have Sasha and Bayley be the last ones standing, and from that, the rivalry will continue.

Sonya is fast to take control of the match with some swift kicks to Bayley’s legs in the beginning moments of the match. I do love seeing Sonya evolve every week. She’s slowly turning into one of my favorite wrestlers right now. She’s been so impressive lately, and I kinda hope she takes the trophy on Sunday.

The match continues at a more technical pace. I think Bayley prefers a slower pace in her matches against Sonya, which I don’t think works in her favor since Sonya comes from an MMA background. Sonya knocks Bayley down after escaping her hold and takes back control of the match. 

Bayley is trying to turn things around, but Sonya battles back with an awesome Spinebuster. The Spinebuster is one of my favorite moves, actually, and Sonya executes it well.

Bayley has finally picked herself back up and is fighting back against Deville. Goes for the cross body and a knee to the face, then Bayley tries a pin put Sonya kicks out at two. A small pinning sequence and Bayley comes out on top, but not without an attack from Absolution. 

The crowd starts to go nuts as Sasha comes down to the ring to save her friend, but of course they end up turning on each other. Will this turn into a singles match?

Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

I kind of thought this would be the main event? I’m kind of shocked it’s not honestly. These two have put on so many good matches in recent weeks which is why I’m so surprised this isn’t the main event.

Oh boy, both of these boys look good tonight. With triple threat matches, it’s always hard to predict a winner. I really hope it’s Finn, but I also hope it’s Seth, but I’d also be okay with Miz. That match is gonna be an emotional one for me for sure.

All three of these men are at the top of their games right now. Seth looks better than ever right now, Finn is in a title picture, and the Miz just celebrated the birth of his baby! It’s going to be a great match on Sunday with these three.

The match is intense from the start. There’s some great choreo with it, including all of the arm drags from Finn and the somersaults from Seth. These guys have fantastic chemistry in the ring, and it’s proven week after week that when these guys put on a clinic, you don’t want to miss it. 

The intensity of this match is insane and I’m loving it. Both of these men are proving tonight that they can hang with the best. It’s hard to look away from this action because of how exciting it is. This is already my match of the night, this is great!

Having Miz on commentary during this match is also great. I think when he retires he should do commentary.

This match continues to get more and more exciting! There have been missed frog splashes, superplexes, and knees to the face! This has been such a show tonight!

Seth almost buckle bombed Finn into the barricade like he did at Summerslam two years ago and I screamed at my tv. Thank god Finn got out of it.

After a really intense match, Rollins pulled out the curb stomp and got the victory. If this is just a preview of what Sunday has in store for us, I can’t wait to see this title match. Go Finn!

That’s gonna do it for the first half! It’s been a really good show so far in my opinion, and I can’t wait for the next half to see what’s up. 

Stay tuned!

Casey

[devittprinces]

you know what? i’m gonna say it...i really really love you and you are an amazing person!!

thank you for having my back always 💓

i’m already really emotionally tense tonight and if anyone wants to start shit with @devittprinces i am literally inviting them into my house for a nice educational discussion where we hear each other out and hopefully both leave better but if not, i’ll just drop kick y’alls ignorant heads off alright cool

[waywardwrestlewritingwaif]

The Guardian’s Oath, Part Eleven

So we ended the last part with the Demon Balor doing a three count... What did that mean? Well, there’s a little insight provided in this next chapter... Of course, if you don’t know what I’m talking about there, you can go back and read the previous chapters, all of which are linked in the Master List. 

Pairing: Feargal Devitt/ Finn Balor x OFC

Word count: 3,027

Content advisory: Nothing in particular; It’s a horror story that involves demons (well, a demon) and there are some discussions on the subject of childbearing that might be uncomfortable but that’s it. 

It was several weeks after I discovered the baby blanket and robe that I finally decided to confront Feargal about them. I had determined that I would say nothing apart from that I had found them in the cedar chest. I was not going to mention Sophia’s invocation of the name “Colin”. I was not going to say that Kate had told me the story of Sophia’s prior obsession with a younger brother of that name. I was certainly not going to mention any part of what Susan had heard from her aunt or the villagers. I was simply going to state the facts as I would have interpreted them without any information from others. 

“My love,” I began quietly when we were retired to our room for the night, “I found these when I was making space in the cedar chest. I know that you told me that there was nothing that you wished to keep there but these looked like they might have some sentimental meaning and so I thought that I would check with you.”

My hands shook as I held the pieces out to him, scanning his face to read his reaction. If he had ever seen these objects before, there was no evidence of it. He took the fabric from me with no more than mild curiosity and it wasn’t until he started to unfold them that there was any change in his expression. When he saw the embroidery, his hand moved over his heart, still clutching at the fabric, and I was afraid that his heart might give out. 

“I’m so sorry, sir, have I done something wrong?”

He took a few deep breaths before he gave me a pained smile. “I do hope that eventually you will entirely stop calling me sir.”

I smiled and blushed a little. 

“You’ve done nothing wrong at all, Helen and I’m sorry that my reaction alarmed you.” He took my hand in his and fixed me with his boundless, clear eyes. “Just before my former wife died, she thought that she was pregnant again. Based on the signs and her experience, she was certain that it was another boy. We planned to name the baby Colin, after my father.

“But as time wore on, things became confused. She became obsessed with the child she was carrying, one day believing that it was some kind of monster and the next that everyone was conspiring to do her and the baby some kind of harm. Again, I meant to have a doctor evaluate her but then…”

His shoulders slumped and his gaze fell to the floor. “In the end, I don’t even know if she wasn’t making the whole thing up. The child could have been one more delusion. But she died before I knew for certain.”

“Feargal, I am so sorry. I am sorry that you had to go through such things and I am sorry that I inadvertently made you think of them again.”

“I found out after Sarah was gone that she’d been talking to Sophia about the new brother she could expect. For months, Sophia seemed to have this idea that both her mother and the baby were out there, that they would come back.”

I wrapped my arms around him, unable to think of anything else I could do, and held him against my body, as close as possible. He responded, pressing me flat against him and burying his face in my neck. I thought I felt him shed a couple of tears but after a minute or two, his lips twitched and I could feel a slight smile form on them. 

“How God must smile on me to have sent you here,” he murmured, lifting his head so that his lips grazed my ear when he spoke. “A woman to whom I can speak about my darkest times and whose beauty reminds me of the fact that darkness passes into light.”

I gasped at the compliment. “Oh, my love, I cannot hope to thank you enough for saying that.”

He held my face in his hands and kissed me, lips soft and pliant and yet somehow demanding. 

“There is nothing I would keep from you,” he whispered, “but if I can ask you for this one favor, I would like this to be the only time we discuss this story. Get rid of the blanket and the robe, please. I would honestly feel better without them in the house, in our house.”

I nodded and laughed a little as he lifted me into his arms and carried me to the bed, to our bed. 

*

I kept my promise never to mention the subject of “Colin” again with my husband. Likewise, I never mentioned it with Kate and Susan or with Sophia. But that was not to say that I did not think of it. I fretted over whether my predecessor had told the truth. I fretted over how Sophia might have perceived the stories told to her by an unreliable mother. I fretted over what had transpired in the village between Susan’s Aunt Anne and Sarah Devitt. When I tried to rest, I found myself trapped, wondering what my beloved husband knew and did not know and wondering if and how my demon lover fit into the story. 

I tried not to let my worrying distract me from the beauty of my life. I had scarcely dared imagine that I could have a husband that I loved so much, that I could be mistress of such a fine home, or that I could feel as loved and wanted as I did. Everything else, I told myself, was my imagination, something conjured by the Devil to entrap me. 

When Feargal was at home, it was easy to ignore the darkness; we would spend time together with the children and when we would retire to our room, we would make love that was tender, romantic, and like a fantasy. 

When Feargal was on the road, Balor would come. He paced his visitations so that I could never be sure when he would arrive or what he would expect from me. He would never simply allow me to participate passively. He wanted me active in our encounters, whether it was by servicing him or by becoming so excited that I would aggressively seek my own climax. He seemed as aroused by my reluctance as my excitement, which made both feel shameful to me. 

My body felt worn down as the winter wore on. I slept too little because of my dark visitor and I was always flinching from the invisible welts and cuts he left over my body. It remained cold weeks longer than usual and the coast was frequently locked in a frozen fog that made it seem even drearier. I bore up as well as I could but I felt myself growing sickly, my body like some kind of sack I was forced to drag everywhere, but also like something that was angry at me, taking out that anger by inflicting pains whatever I did. 

Kate and Susan noticed what I was going through and did what they could to help me. Susan would take the children on her walks to the market so that I could stay indoors on days when I felt weak. Kate was always coming up with excuses for me to sit near the fire in the kitchen, the warmest place in the house. 

“You’re not sick, are you?” William fretted as he showed me some stones he’d picked up on his walk with Susan. 

“No, I’ll be fine soon enough. This is my first winter by the ocean, that’s all.”

Sophia took her coat and her brother’s to put them away and he skipped off to show his new rocks to Kate.

“If you’ll pardon me for saying so, ma’am,” Susan told me once the children were out of earshot, “I don’t think it’s the ocean that’s making you sick. I think you’re in the family way.”

I was a little shocked at her impertinence but I was more astonished that this hadn’t thought of this myself. I wasn’t terribly well-informed about the signs of pregnancy but when I reflected on it, I realized that there was a very good chance Susan was right. 

“My sister Ellen had three and she was always bad at the beginning. She was so sick at first with her youngest that the doctors thought there was a problem with it but they were both fine.”

I bit my lip, trying to imagine what it would be like to go through months of this. Seeing my concern, the girl continued. 

“And she wasn’t sick the whole time, either. Just the first bit. All her children came out healthy.”

“I hadn’t thought about it. We haven't talked about having another child, the Reverend and me.”

“It’s not the talking that does the job,” she quipped.

I couldn’t help but laugh a little at her joke, however coarse it was. She was right. Feargal and I had done what was necessary to conceive a child many times, even if we had never discussed it as a possibility. Did that mean he would want a child with me?

Susan leaned closer and whispered, “Has it been long since you’ve bled?”

I nodded dumbly. “Longer than usual, definitely.”

She nodded and was about to speak again when the children came back into the room. I turned my attention to them and Susan left us. As I read with them and helped them with their piano practice, I tried to imagine what it would be like to make such a thing, to have one of them grow in my body and emerge as its own soul. I thought about how such a child might look, a mix of my features and Feargal’s. And at the same time, I fought back the far worse possibility, that I was pregnant with something terrible, some monster that Balor had put into me. Surely, that couldn’t happen? But if I accepted that I had had communion with some sort of demon, why couldn’t it be true? Hadn’t I engaged in the same acts with him? 

Once Susan had put the idea in my head, it was all I could think about. I had no idea if I should tell Feargal right away or wait until I was certain. Then again, I didn’t know how long it would take for me to be absolutely certain. During the days, I was able to distract myself by spending time with the children and attending to matters of the house, but at night I lay frightened in my bed, wondering what was happening inside my body. 

After three or four nights of this, it was almost a relief when I saw Balor crawl out of the shadows and onto the bed. I sast up but he immediately pushed me back down, pinning my shoulders against the bed until he was sure I would remain still. He gave a little smile that was somehow more disturbing than his usual sneer and ran his hands down my body, roughly grabbing and pinching at my breasts and finally fanning them out over my stomach. As he did, I felt something like a spark, like a candle being lit deep inside me. 

“You can feel it now, can’t you?” he hissed. 

“Get your hands off me. It’s mine, mine and Feargal’s. You’ve had your favor repaid.”

“Is that what you think, my dear? You think that this is only about you repaying a small debt? Oh no. The third one is mine and I will not be cheated again.”

“The third one? What? And how can you say I’ve cheated you?”

He cocked his head slightly, waiting for me to catch up with his meaning. As the truth dawned on me, I wished only to go back to my state of ignorance. 

“You mean the third child is yours. His third child. You intend to take it from me!”

He nodded slowly. “Yes. I do and I will.”

“And if I try to stop you?”

“I hadn’t decided, but I was thinking I might take you to live with me as well,” he chuckled. “No need for more unpleasantness.”

“Unpleasantness?”

He kissed me gently, easing our lips together in a way that was more romantic than carnal, and for a moment it felt like I was embracing my beloved husband. As the kiss continued, I felt the air leaving my body and at the same time, I couldn’t force any back in. I struggled a little in his hold, growing frantic as I felt like I was suffocating or drowning until it was like something broke inside me, like I no longer needed to breathe, but that my body could simply draw what it needed with no action on my part. 

Balor pulled away slightly and I opened my eyes. We were no longer in my bed but in an ancient, overgrown forest, the tall trees eclipsing the sky above us. Looking back at me was not the seal-skinned demon but Feargal, pale and beautiful and otherworldly, exactly as he had seemed to me when I had first met him. As I stared at his face, however, I was increasingly troubled that something seemed off about him. The longer I looked, the more it became obvious that Feargal’s face was some kind of mask or disguise and as I struggled to comprehend what I was seeing, I realized that we were actually underwater, that the forest was submerged in the ocean. 

I opened my lips to scream and felt the briny water rush in, but then I was once again back in my bed, the Demon Balor perched over me with an inscrutable expression. 

“What did you mean when you said ‘more’ unpleasantness? And why did you say you wouldn’t be cheated again?” I mumbled, trying to get my bearings. 

The Demon wrinkled his nose and shot a derisive expression to the sky. “She cheated me of what was mine.”

“Colin,” I choked. 

“Mine. The third one was always to be mine.”

“But she wouldn’t let you have him.” I sat up, feeling like I was seeing something clearly for the first time. “She went to the village woman to get something to get rid of the baby. Then when that didn’t work, she ran away and drowned herself and the child she was carrying.”

He flashed his fangs at me and leapt back onto my chest, pinning my body between his thighs. A stream of hisses and snarls escaped him and small beads of spittle dropped from his lips to mine. 

I recoiled and a few tears escaped but I persisted with what I now felt was the truth. “She found a way to protect her son. But what did she owe you?”

“Silly girl. She never owed me anything. She never knew me. You’ve embraced me. You’ve given yourself over to me. You don’t have that pious reluctance in you because you know you’re ruined.”

“Get the hell out of here!” I cried at him, marveling that the sound of my voice when he was near never woke the others in the house. “I won’t let you take this child! I would let you hurt us! I pray I never see you again and if I do I shall make certain to send you back to Hell forever.”

Grinning, he withdrew from the bed and back into the shadows. 

“Soon enough,” he rasped in parting. “We shall meet again soon enough.”

*

When Feargal made it home at the end of his travels that week, he was shocked to find me awake and fully dressed, waiting for him with a pot of tea. 

“My love, you look distraught. Has something happened?”

I hardly knew where to begin but knowing his preference for the practical, I chose to start there. 

“The Church has been promising since before we were married that they would find someone to take on some of the work you’ve been doing, so that you could spend more time at home.”

“I know,” he responded sadly. “I should have followed up with them and asked what they’ve been doing about it. I didn’t mean to make you feel like I’ve avoided being here with you.”

“It’s not that I want you at home, Feargal,” I snapped, immediately feeling guilty when I saw his hurt expression. “I mean, it’s not just that I want you near me. If it were just me, I could find a way to bear it but I’m afraid… My love, I think I’m… I have a baby in me. Our baby. And I want to know that you’ll be here for us and that you want this.”

“Want this?” he repeated incredulously. “How could I not want this?”

He crossed the room and ran his hand over my stomach as if it were something magical. 

“Are you certain?” 

I took a deep breath. “I don’t know how to be certain. I have all the signs. My body feels different to me. I know we’ve… I know almost nothing about children but I believe that’s what’s happening.”

“Oh love,” he touched his lips to mine and took me in his arms. “Don’t fear. I shall write to the Church tomorrow and insist that they send someone right away.” He trailed kisses down the length of my neck, smiling at the soft mewls it elicited from me. “At the very worst, if you aren’t with child now, we could use the extra time to make sure we get you that way.”

I gasped at the implication, only for him to pull me into a passionate kiss. 

“You can’t imagine how much I miss you when I’m away,” he whispered, pushing himself flush against me. “I think of you all the time.”

He caught both of my arms in a firm grip and guided me upstairs to our bedroom, the wild, hungry glint in his eyes offering me a clear preview of what was in store. 

“I’m glad you stayed up,” he told me.

[mayhemproduces]

This ring is filling up with stars quickly, and it seems for the second year in a row, Los Ingobernables de Japon has joined the Clusterfuck, Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, and Yota Tsuji, the lattermost of which making his first official MPW appearance here tonight. The five take their time getting into the ring, The Bullet Club having ceased all activity in the ring to stop and wait for their fellow NJPW roster members, but something tells us it’s not a warm welcome they have in store. As soon as they get into the ring, the fight is on, as Natio and Prince Devitt make up for lost time by immediately starting to batter one another, Hiromu takes Tama Tonga, Bushi goes after Tanga Loa, and Shingo & Yota gang up to try and tackle the massive task head of them, that being Bad Luck Fale. 

Natio and Devitt trade forearms back and forth, before Naito blocks one, leaps up, and catches Devitt on the back of the head with an Enziguri, before turning, hitting the ropes, and dropping Devitt with a huge dropkick, knocking Devitt out of the ring! Natio gets back to his feet, turns and hits the ropes, and starts running off the ropes as if he’s going to dive, before rolling, setting up to pose, but before he can, Tama Tonga catches him with a boot to the face! There will be no showboating in the face of the Bullet Club tonight!  

This immediately paints a target on the back of Tama Tonga, who’s accosted from behind by a big forearm from Shingo, as those two begin to brawl. Outside of the ring, Riho and Io Shirai had found one another, with Io trying to choke Riho out against the guardrail, and a brawl between Syn and VIOLET had spilled out into the crowd! Currently VIOLET was laying into Syn with a series of forearm shots, knocking him down into a chair, and as Syn sat there, VIOLET picked up a chair and cracked it over his skull! Syn was stunned, and VIOLET then proceeds to throw the chair at hi, Syn catching it, before VIOLET kicks it into his skull with an End of Everything! VIOLET just about takes Syn’s head off! 

Max was trying to get to his impromptu partner for the evening, but Max currently found himself a little tied up by Pandemonium, who was delivering a series of european uppercuts to the Devil outside the ring, up against the guardrail! Two of the biggest dickheads in MPW were in pretty deep trouble! 

Back in the ring, Samoa Joe had Zach Wentz trapped in a corner, laying into him with a couple of stiff rights, and Riho was currently using her foot to choke Colin Delaney in the corner. The ring was in a state of absolute chaos as we await our next entrants.

10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…

[magicmalcolm]

Happy Birthday to @devil-devitt

Wishing you all the bestest stuff and things for this most important of days.

[devittprinces]

you’re one of my most precious... people... on the earth tbh?

i am the embodiment of the heart eyes emoji in this very moment……

and like…right back at you, just to be clear

[logicstates12]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: World Wrestling Entertainment Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Finn Balor | Prince Devitt/Kyle O'Reilly Characters: Finn Balor | Prince Devitt, Kyle O'Reilly, Roderick Strong, Adam Cole Additional Tags: One Night Stands, First Kiss, Boys Being Boys, Awkward Conversations, trying to figure it out, Tags Are Hard Summary:

Getting involved with The Prince could be a very bad idea. There's no real way to know what's going on in that head of his.

Yet, Kyle can't stay away.

@shes-a-voodoo-child- your recent fic definitely inspired this somehow! 

[myheartdemon]

Finn Balor!!!! 😍

[askauradonprep]

Wrestling Inspiration

As part of the wrestling AU, @scream-qween and I were talking about the different kids and wrestlers who could have served as inspiration for them. Let’s pretend for a second the WWE exists in this universe. Other wrestler suggestions are welcome, I’m just picking ones I’m familiar with (and I’m relatively new to wrestling - I’ve only watched for two years and only watched WWE).

Note: I am referring to the wrestlers as in their kayfabe personas. Any mention of them here should not be read as an endorsement of anything they may have said or done elsewhere. 

Mal = Paige, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, Undertaker, Kane, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan, Jody Threat, Molly McCoy, Maria Manic, Tamina and Nia Jax (as a heel). 

Uma = Kairi Sane, Io Shirai, Becky Lynch, Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre, Sasha Banks, Creatures of the Deep, Trish Stratus, Jordynne Grace, The Sea Stars, Chyna, Rhea Ripley, Shotzi Blackheart, Lita, Allie, Kofi Kingston, Nia Jax, Beth Phoenix, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Bianca Belair, and Ronda Rousey.

Freddie = Undertaker, Kane, Cameron, Carmella, Damian Priestly, Bray Wyatt, Ember Moon, AJ Lee, Paige, New Age Outlaws, Hawlee Cromwell, Elias, Sanity, Su Yung, Nikki Roxx, Aliyah, and Ruby Riott.

Celia = Undertaker, Bray Wyatt, New Age Outlaws, Ember Moon, Tamina, Aleister Black, Sting, Solo Darling, Nikki Roxx, Willow Nightingale, and Vivian St. John

Jay = Baron Corbin, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Miz, Natalya, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Dean Ambrose, Imperium, British Strong Style, Pete Dunne, Goldberg, Ember Moon, Big Show, Jericho, Bret Hart, Bullet Club, Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, Alex Zayne, Roman Reigns, Warhorse, The Rock, and the Undertaker

Evie = Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks, Cameron, Mandy Rose, Naomi (especially as a face), Scarlette Bordeaux, Velveteen Dream, Laynie Luck, Breezango, Kylie Rae, and Bayley (especially at the height of her ‘hugger’ days), Charlotte Flair and Ric Flair.

Carlos = Carmella, R-Truth, the Usos, New Day, Shield (as faces), Mark Henry, Big Show, Heath Slater, Undisputed Era, Jordynne Grace, Alex Ohlson, IFHY, Lana, Marko and Logan Stunt, No Way Jose, Lucha House Party, Xyberhawx 2000, and Naomi.

Harry = Nikki Cross, Drew McIntyre, Aleister Black, AJ Lee, Bray Wyatt, Kane, Kairi Sane, Shayna Baszler, Space Pirates, Becky Lynch, Jon Moxley, Jordynne Grace, The Sea Stars, Creatures of the Deep, Damian Priestly, Ember Moon, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, Mick Moretti, The Carnies, Undertaker, and Finn Balor (as the demon).

Gil = Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley, Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, New Day, Heavy Machinery, Space Pirates, the Viking Raiders, Oleg the Usurper, Creatures of the Deep, Warhorse, Mark Henry, Kane, Big Show, and Kairi Sane.

Ben = John Cena, Kurt Angle, Bruno Sanmartino, Bret Hart, Finn Balor, Diamond Dallas Page, Bayley, Naomi, Natalya, Boomer Hatfield, Levi Everett, Dynamite Dino Dude, and Roman Reigns (especially after he came back from leukaemia).

Chad = Baron Corbin, Randy Orton, Carmella (as a heel), the Miz (as a heel), the Shield (as heels), Kane, Sasha Banks (as a heel), Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon, Darin Corbin, GPA, Breezango, and the Usos. 

Lonnie = Asuka’s NXT heel run, Xia Li, Becky Lynch (especially as ‘the Man’), Sonya Deville, Gail Kim, Bianca Belair, Minerva, Velveteen Dream, Johnny Gargano, Jason Jordan, The Bar, Titus O’Neil Rhea Ripley, Shayna Baszler, Tamina, Lacey Lane, Mia Yim, and Natalya. 

Jane = Bayley, Asuka (as a face), Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Bobby Roode, Sara Del Ray, Summer Rae, Willow Nightingale, Solo Darling, Jordynne Grace, and Charlotte Flair

Audrey = SASHA BANKS, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, the Rock, AJ Lee (as a heel), Alexa Bliss, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Mercedes Martinez, Velveteen Dream, Renee Michelle, Roman Reigns, Princess Kimberlee, Mickie James, Lacey Evans and Tamina.

Jordan = Sasha Banks, Carmella, R-Truth, Cameron, Miz, Maryse, Nikki Bella, Nia Jax, Becky Lynch, Natalya, CM Punk, Roddy Piper, Tegan Nox, Santana Garrett, Kacy Catanzaro, D-Generation-X, Molly Holly, LuFisto, Lacey Lane, Ronda Rousey.

Ally = Harley Wonderland, Nikki Cross, Allison Wonderland, Alexa Bliss, Maria Kanellis, Rhea Ripley, Lita, Elias, Heavy Machinery, EFFY, AJ Lee, Bayley, and Lacey Evans, Nina Samuels, Jinny.

CJ = Kairi Sane and Io Shirai are all she cares about.

Aziz = Ricochet, Ali, AJ Styles (as a face), B-Team, Bayley, Dolph Ziggler, Jinder Mahal, Finn Balor, Kurt Angle, Dana Brooke, the New Day, Jordan Devlin, Sonny Daze, Goldust.

Herkie = Shinsuke Nakamura, Rusev, Kevin Owens, Brock Lesnar, Mark Henry, Samoa Joe, Bobby Lashley, Becky Lynch, Titus O’Neil, Shelton Benjamin, Kurt Angle, Mandy Rose, and Punishment Martinez.

Maddy = AJ Lee, Aksana, Ember Moon, CM Punk, Paige, Emma, Lita, Charlotte Flair, Rosa Mendes, Victoria, The Beautiful People, Ric Flair, The Ascension, Laycool, and Alexa Bliss, Jinny, Reina Gonzalez.

Ginny = Alexa Bliss, Alicia Fox, Candice LeRae, Mandy Rose, Charlotte Flair, Maryse, Zelina Vega, Lana, Randy Savage, Maria Kanellis, Dolph Ziggler, Laycool, The Iiconics, Candy Floss, Carmella.

Harriet = Kairi Sane, Io Shirai, Mia Yim, Shane Saber, Shelly Martinez, Shayna Baszler, Paul and Katie Lea Burchill, Rhea Ripley, Batista, Kay Lee Ray, Jazzy Gabert, Natalya, Becky Lynch, and Toni Storm.

Ruby = Bayley, Bobby Roode, Dolph Ziggler, Naomi, New Day, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Lucha House Party, Rey Mysterio, Bianca Belair, Jericho, No Way Jose, Dana Brooke, Xia Brookside, Carmella and R-Truth, Humberto Carrillo, Jurassic Express, Cain Velasquez, Andrade, Sin Cara, Zelina Vega, Sarah Stock, Catalina Garcia.

Anxelin = Baron Corbin, Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Charlotte Flair, Ember Moon, Sasha Banks, Paige, Eddie Guerrero, Apollo Crews, Cedric Alexander, Dana Brooke, Titus O’Neil, Shelton Benjamin.

Yi-Min = She’s mostly seen Chinese wrestling promotions, so Black Mamba, Ho Ho Lun, King of Man, Ash Silva, Slam, Hangwan, Voodoo, Candy Brother, Dalton Bragg, and Jason New are her inspirations from those promotions. She’s got a few wrestlers whose careers she follows in English though - Xia Li, Karen Q, Lin Byron, Kenny Li, Rocky, and Big Boa.

Arabella = Daniel Bryan, Rowan, Brie Bella, Asuka, Rusev, Lana, Natalya, Alexa Bliss, Braun Strowman, Becky Lynch, Sami Zayn, Sasha Banks, Finn Balor, Apollo Crews, The Miz, Mandy Rose, Goldust, Elias, Bayley, Bobby Roode, Charlotte Flair, Jimmy Uso, Naomi, Shinsuke Nakamura, Big E, Carmella, Ember Moon, Mickie James, Bobby Lashley, Jinder Mahal, Alicia Fox, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, R-Truth, and Nia Jax.

Jade = Aliyah, Jayme Hachey, Bianca Belair, Vanessa Borne, Abbey Laith, Ayesha Raymond, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Jazzy Gabert, Kairi Sane, Kavita Devi, Kay Lee Ray, Lacey Evans, Marti Belle, Mercedes Martinez, Mia Yim, Miranda Salinas, Nicole Savoy, Piper Niven, Princesa Sugehit, Rachel Evers, Reina Gonzalez, Renee Michelle, Rhea Ripley, Sage Beckett, Santana Garrett, Sarah Logan, Serena Deeb, Shayna Baszler, Taynara Conti, Tessa Blanchard, Toni Storm, Xia Li, Zeda, Tegan Nox, Barbi Hayden, Deonna Purrazzo, Jessica James, Lei’D Tapa, Nicole Matthews, Alundra Blayze, Lita, Triple H, Corey Graves, Aerial Monroe, Allysin Kay, Ashley Rayne, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Io Shirai, Isla Dawn, Jessica Elaban, Jinny, Kacy Catanzaro, Kaitlyn, Karen Q, Killer Kelly, Lacey Lane, Meiko Satomura, MJ Jenkins, Priscilla Kelly, Vanessa Kraven, Xia Brookside, Zatara, Zeuxis, Beth Pheonix

Zevon = Steve Austin, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Batista, Rey Mysterio, Undertaker, John Cena, Randy Orton, Edge, Sheamus, Roman Reigns, Shinsuke Nakamura, Asuka, Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Charlotte Flair,  Booker T, William Regal, Bad News Barrett, Baron Corbin, Christian, The Miz, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, MVP

Anthony = Steve Austin, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Brock Lesnar, Batista, John Cena, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, The Miz, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Ted DiBiase, Ric Flair, The Rock, William Regal, Prince Devitt, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Mustafa Ali, Prince Nana, Prince Puma, Awesome Kong, Mickie James, Michelle McCool, Madison Eagles, Gail Kim, Cheerleader Melissa, Paige, Nikki Bella, Asuka, Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch, Natalya, Jimmy Jacobs, Aliyah, Alexa Bliss, The Authority, Kairi Sane, Carmella, Toni Storm, Chrissy Rivera, Chelsea Green

Claudine = Michelle McCool, Kurt Angle, Roman Reigns, Rey Mysterio, AJ Styles, Quinn Ojinnaka, Eddie Guerrero, Pat Patterson, Shawn Michaels, Naomi, Nor Diana, Goldberg, Mustafa Ali, Kacy Catanzaro, Ricochet, Candice LeRae, Mandy Rose, Lacey Evans (as a face), Bayley (as a face), Becky Lynch (as The Lasskicker), Dana Brooke, Sami Zayn (as a face).

Diego = Elias, Street Profits, R-Truth, Carmella, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Shawn Michaels, Jericho, Cameron, Naomi, Marty Jannetty, Shayna Baszler, Drake Maverick, The Rockstar, John Cena, Lita, Mickie James, Jeff Jarrett, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Samoa Joe, Lio Rush, Braun Strowman, Rusev, The Rock, Aiden English, Bobby Roode, Hulk Hogan, Lana

Opal = Ricochet, Kota Ibushi, Rey Mysterio, Io Shirai, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Evan Bourne, Owen Hart, Jushin Thunder Liger, Kane, Randy Savage, Scott Steiner, Lita, Christian, Jamie Noble, Matt Hardy, Gail Kim, Daniel Bryan, Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, Tajiri, Zelina Vega, Ayako Hamada, Aliyah, Naomi, Mio Shirai

Ariana = Lady Apache, La Amapola, Marcela, Lioness Asuka, Dynamite Kansai, Chigusa Nagayo, Dump Matsumoto, Mae Young, Luna Vachon, Leilani Kai, Sarah Stock, Natalya, Cheerleader Melissa, Ayako Hamada, Beth Phoenix, Mariko Yoshida, Gail Kim, Mickie James, Sara Del Rey, Akira Hokuto, Alundra Blayze, Judy Grable, Wendi Richter, Bull Nakano, June Byers, Jaguar Yokota, Chyna, Sherri Martel, Awesome Kong, Lita, Mildred Burke, Aja Kong, Trish Stratus, Manami Toyota, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Paige, AJ Lee, Marie LaVerne, Joyce Grable, Ann Casey, Sue Green, Rachel Dubois, Debra, Stephanie McMahon, Victoria, Candice Michelle, MsChif, Sasha Banks, Asuka, Michelle McCool, Madison Eagles, Jazz, Jacqueline, Nikki Bella, Alicia Fox, Ivory, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins

Lil’ Shang = Edge, Christian, Rey Mysterio, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Brett Hart, Jim Neidhart, Undertaker, Kane, Finn Balor, Ho Ho Lun, Big Boa, Rocky, The Rock, Rikishi, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Jinder Mahal, Booker T, Fit Finlay, R-Truth, Trish Stratus, Lita, Victoria, Jazz, Molly Holly, Beth Phoenix, LuFisto, Lance Storm, Road Dogg, Umaga, The New Day, Bianca Belair, Street Profits

Artie = Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Pete Dunne, Jordan Devlin, Kenny Williams, Ligero, Nick Aldis, Drew McIntyre, Finn Balor, Sheamus, Becky Lynch, Nikki Cross, Paige, James Drake, Bea Priestley, Ayesha Raymond, Zoe Lucas, Tegan Nox, Layla, Lana Austin, Bad News Barrett, Drake Maverick, Isla Dawn, Priscilla Kelly, Joe and Mark Coffey, Finlay, Nadia Sapphire, Eddie Dennis, Mark Andrews, Morgan Webster

Carina = Andre the Giant, Tamina, Lana, Maryse, Taynara Conti, Gisele Shaw, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Trish Stratus, Rhea Ripley, Indi Hartwell, Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Liv Morgan, Natalya, Toni Storm, Kay Lee Ray, Nia Jax, Mortar, Tegan Nox, Chyna, Lita, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Io Shirai, Kagetsu, Melanie Cruise, Shotzi Blackheart, Dakota Kai, Mia Yim, Candice LeRae, Riho, Sarah Logan, Hikaru Shida, Aja Kong, Bull Nakano

Doug is a manager. As a manager, his inspirations are Paul Heyman, Zelina Vega, Lana, and Bobby Heenan. Smee kids and Elle are commentators. The boys tend to like Michael Cole, Beth Phoenix and Byron Saxton. Elle tends towards JR, Corey Graves and Renee Young. Dizzy is a reporter back stage, but her favourite wrestlers to watch are Bayley, Kylie Rae, Breezango, and Princess Kimberly as a face. She gets her professional inspiration from Renee Young, Gene Okerlund, Charly Caruso and Cathy Kelley.