The Road To Hell In Three Acts (Jonny Punch, Stan)

[Sushi-X]

The camera pans out to a view of the sellout crowd at the United Center. For Sushi-X, this was a homecoming. A chance to turn around what has been a less than stellar season. On the last Overload, Sushi-X had an idea for a Three Stages of Hell match. The new Overload GM Stan O' Malley seemed to like it, but how would Jonny Punch react?

A video package plays of Sushi-X's two brutal matches against !!!JONNY PUNCH!!!, followed by the Three Stages of Hell challenge. A few moments later, attention turns to the ring as XWA's #1 sideline reporter Fabiola introduces the hometown ninja.

Fabiola: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Chicago's own... SUSHI-X!

"X Gon Get Away With Murder" plays over the loudspeakers to a loud ovation, perhaps the loudest Sushi has gotten since his XWA debut some 15 months ago. Sushi-X is wearing jeans and sneakers along with a Chicago Bears #51 Dick Butkus jersey. He stood on the ramp momentarily to soak up the reaction of the crowd. He walks into the ring and raises his arms to salute the screaming thousands.

WOOOOOOO!!! It's good to be home!

The crowd screams for Sushi-X.

Fabiola: And now, introducing...

Sushi-X motions for Fabiola's microphone and she hands it over to him.

I'll take it from here, Fab. I've been beaten with sledgehammers. Took a ladder to the face. I've been bloodied. I've been battered. I've taken some of the hardest shots I've taken in my career. And I even got powerbombed on a table. And that's just in the last month. And here I stand tonight.

The hometown crowd cheers in approval.

And tonight, Jonny Punch, you and I are going to take a little trip to hell. Three matches, Jonny! Win, lose or draw. I pick a fall, you pick a fall, and Stan O' Malley picks one. What do ya say, Punch?

The crowd cheers as he hands the mic back to Fabiola and awaits the arrival of Jonny Punch.

[punch]

Not long passes before Punch's entrance theme begins. Out to the stage steps the most controversial man in all of wrestling. With the usual props in hand (His trust Kendo stick and a cold beer of course) in hand, he starts the walk down to the ring.

Buzz: Here comes Jonny Punch. A man who needs no introduction. A man who in three years has provided some of the most lewd, obscene and controversial moments in the sport. A man...

Tony: ...Who's undefeated in the 2009 season. He's brought Hardcore wrestling back to XWA in a monumental way. It's not a fad with Punch, it's an artform.

Now in the ring with Sushi-X and Fabiola, he steps right up to the mic in Fab's hand and responds.

Ya' know, A few weeks ago I said you had to earn my respect on the fly. I said you had to prove that you were more then a flunkie. And you've done that. You're not a flunkie, you're a gluten for punishment. A real masochist. Because inviting me into a 3 Stages Of Hell match is not what I'd call a "smart career choice." Like Cao Ren on Dynasty Warriors 5 said, "You must not value your life so highly."

Punch pauses to crack open his beer. After taking a huge gulp of it dead center in the ring, he continues.

*BUUURRRRRP* We could stand here and go back and forth all night, but if there's one thing everyone knows about me, it's that I like to cut to the chase. So let's just get down to business. You choose a fall, I choose a fall, and the GM chooses a fall. So what's my match gonna be? Hmmm...let's see. A Punchy's Playground Match? NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! Already kicked your ass in one of those. A Table Match? Nope, I think you've probably seen enough tables for the year. *Heh heh heh*. So what the hell else can I kick your ass in? I'll tell ya what else. The one style of match I haven't wrestled in all year. The one style of match that'll leave absolutely no doubt in. And that is...

A NORMAL 1 on 1 match.

Tony: A normal match? What the hell???

A small chorus of boos come from the crowd in reaction.

Now, now, now, people. Hear me out. I've competed in nothing but Hardcore matches all year, and I've kicked the ass of everyone I've faced. So that leads me to the reality that there IS no one in XWA, hell...on the planet who can hold a candle to me in Hardcore. I'd say I defy anyone to prove me wrong, but let's face it? That ain;t happenin' for a long, LOOOOONG time. I'm bored kickin' chumps like his ass in Hardcore matches, because they run their mouth about how tough they are, then I ceremoniously open their skulls up like cantaloupes. Get's kinda boring after a while. So I figure maybe Sushi here can maybe make me break a sweat this time in something a little more his speed. So my choice is a normal 1 on 1. Maybe you can actually give me a challenge this time around.

[Sushi-X]

Even Sushi-X was shocked by that choice, even puzzled for a moment.

You? Haha, you wanna wrestle me straight up? I don't know if I should be impressed or amused. But I give you that. No one expected it.

But let's be honest. These people wanna see us tear each other apart.

The crowd cheers in approval.

And since I am a "gluten for punishment", as you like to call me, allow me to get masochistic. And challenge you to a FIRST BLOOD MATCH.

The crowd erupts at the masked man raising the stakes.

Buzz: Is he serious? He's been bloodied twice by Punch already!

Tony: A one on one match, then a first blood match! This is getting gruesome very quickly.

Which I guess leaves us with the final chapter.

What will that last fall be? Please welcome XWA Overload General Manager, Stan O' Malley!

The three await the final decision from the Overload boss.

[seifer]

And right on cue, Stan appears on the Jumbotron to the roar of the XWA fans. With a smile on his face ear to ear, he speaks in response to the two men in the ring.

Fellas, I have to say that things are shaping out pretty well for this lil' match. Kinda like a slow build up into something epic. We start with Punch's choice, a standard fair 1 on 1 match, then move right into Sushi's choice, 1st Blood. So in a way, you both have made choices that actually favor the other man, which is ironic and interesting all at once. Sushi's obviously the more tradition wrestler, so a match that has actual RULES plays more to his still, and you Punch are a classic brawler, so if it involved leaking the next guy open, you're always the favorite. So the way things stand right now, it's pretty balanced.

So now it's time for me to UNbalance it.

The world waits in baited anticipation for Stan's selection for the 3rd stage.

Like I said my 1st night on the job, my vision for Overload is a wrestling program that pushes the limits and not just breaks boundaries, but drops a nuke on them and stands with a kol-aid smile as it watches the mushroom cloud rise. And I also said that every man on Overload is going to have to earn their keep. There's gonna be no hand outs. And tonight? You two get to be XWA 1sts. The 1st men to ever compete in the match I'm selecting. A match that will settle things between you, one way or another. Last week, you both competed in a "Flaming Tables" match that didn't exactly get past 100 degrees. Granted Punchy won by putting you throw a table, Sushi...it didn't end how I and the rest of the Overload fans wanted. So tonight, we crank things up to be a lil' hotter. Say...500 degrees. Because in the final stage, the two of you will be duking it out surrounded by a wall of flames...

Buzz: D...dear god, no. Don't tell he's...

Willy: Oh it's about ta' git HOT up in this bitch, LITERALLY!!!

...that's right ladies and gents. For the 1st time ever in XWA, an INFERNO MATCH.

The roar and shock of the fans was so loud, the United Center began to literally shake.

With a satisfied grin, Stan waits for the reaction of both men.

[Sushi-X]

Sushi-X was shocked, but intrigued at the same time at the thought of the first Inferno Match in XWA history.

I'll say this, Stan. You're not afraid to bring the heat around here, are ya? I'll admit it scares me a bit. But I did say when I first got to XWA, I was going to make history. Before this night's over, Jonny, one of us will bleed. One of us will burn.

Sushi-X walks right up to Jonny and they stand face to face as the crowd reaches a fever pitch.

And... if I have my way, that man... WILL BE YOU!

The masked man puts out his right hand in hopes of a handshake as the Chicago crowd cheers shake the building.

Buzz: A wrestling match, followed by a first blood match, and an... an INFERNO MATCH, Tony?

Tony: One thing's fo' sho' brotha, it's gonna be history made in Chi-town TONIGHT!