“AS PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED”
Click.
Static covers the screen as a Play ► symbol appears in the bottom right-hand corner.
In the shadows of Deathrow, two figures meet.
We can’t see their faces and the voices we hear are but a whisper.
This meeting isn’t for our eyes.
“Did they find it?” One voice asks, probing for intelligence.
“They tried,” he admits. “I’ve watched from the shadows as they’ve tried but failed.”
// CJ Thorpe and The Red Hood shake hands. //
Both men begin chit chatting as we pan out to see the whites of someone’s eyes, watching from a distance, out of view and in the shadows.
“They’ve had no idea this entire time?”
“I’m nobody to these people,” he responds. “They don’t care about me. You can pull the trigger whenever you want as far as I can tell. There’s not a single person here who knows a damn thing about anything. Jiro has kept his mouth shut.”
“Good. Finish it tonight, old friend. I put you here to get me the location of that cache so that it didn’t fall into the wrong hands. If Jiro hasn’t shared that information, then we can take care of business without any concerns.”
“It’ll be my pleasure to handle it for you,” the person replies with a confidence. “And the other thing? Did you want that handled, also.”
There’s a slight pause.
A telling delay.
“No,” is the singular response.
“Will it be handled as previously discussed, or do you require an alternative method?”
Another pause.
“As previously discussed.”
There’s no more chatter – only footsteps, as both talkers exit the area abruptly, leaving their conversation where it was and us none the clearer as to who they are or what they intend to do.
All except Jiro.
He might very well be in trouble.
“NOW OR NEVER”
The Red Hood couldn’t feel more solemn.
Everything he’d worked for went up in smoke when Amataga Tuga killed Prometheus at Warforged. He sits in his office, masked head in his hands. What is he to do now? As thoughts run wildly through his head, the door opens and in walks Jiro.
“You’re going to put me in the ring with that monster to teach me a lesson?” The Weapons Expert asks with a sneer.
Red Hood looks up.
His altered voice cracks beneath his mask.
“Fuck… you,” he mutters.
Jiro whips the nearest seat around, and sits on it backwards, facing the warden.
“You can send Thorpe, Escher, Meadows or Tuga after me, but I’m not giving up the cache,” he says defiantly. “It’s my only leverage against Zeus. Fuck, it’s the only reason I’m still breathing.”
“For now,” Hood remarks softly.
“Heh, I’m not afraid of Amataga Tuga,” he says rather bravely – but for some reason, it doesn’t seem like he’s lying. In fact, it seems like he believes it wholeheartedly.
That surprises Red.
“And why is that?” He queries with a head tilt. “Why exactly wouldn’t you be afraid of a fucking monster who thinks you killed his brother?”
Jiro doesn’t say anything. He stands up and moves the chair aside.
“You can play your cards close to your chest, but tonight is now or never, Jiro,” The Red Hood assures him. “You either give up the cache, or else. If Tuga doesn’t kill you, I’ll put a fucking bullet in your head myself.”
The Arms Dealer smiles and nods, walking towards the door.
“Then I guess we’ll talk later,” he says confidently, before exiting.
The Red Hood angrily throws a mug against the door, shattering it across the room.
Cut.
Two prisoners meet for the final time here tonight as one man must die. Can Mr Nobody survive his second encounter with the Taxidermist or will he be preserved forever as another creation of Gustav Morgue?
The bell doesn’t even ring before both competitors rush forward, Attano ducking underneath a wild clothesline before he spikes Morgue into the mat with a spear like takedown, Mr Nobody mounting Gustav as he pounds down with heavy lefts and rights, busting Morgue wide open with a stiff hook just underneath the eye before Gustav finds the strength to throw Attano off him. Harold rolls to his feet, running forward with a bone crunching punt to the jaw that staggers Morgue back up to his feet as Harold sizes him up for a moment.
CACTUS CLOTHESLINE OVER THE ROPES TO THE CONCRETE FLOOR!
Both men collide hard on the floor, Gustav’s head crashing against the concrete as once again Attano is on him, gripping him by the sides of the head and trying to crack open his skull with repeated slams. He only manages a few though as Gustav reaches up, scraping his thumb across Attano’s right eye.
Mr Nobody quickly scrambles to his feet, not giving Morgue a chance at a possible blinding. Guv tries to get to his feet but Harold barely lets him get to a knee before he runs forward, nearly cracking his jaw once more with a brutal punt kick that stuns Morgue and leaves a trickling of blood pooling down his mouth. Harold backs up again, fury in his eyes as he’s looking for a knockout shot here
HEADSHOT….
GUSTAV CATCHES THE SUPERKICK!
Morgue gets to his feet, easily holding the struggling Attano with one hand while with the other, he wipes the blood from above his eye and his mouth, looking down at the blood drenched hand for a moment as he nods
BEFORE ALMOST CASUALLY FLIPPING ATTANO UPWARDS INTO THE AIR AS MR NOBODY CRASHES FACE FIRST ONTO THE CONCRETE!
Attano staggers to his feet, nose crushed, bleeding and looking near broken as Morgue sneers, spinning around
AND NEARLY BREAKS ATTANO’S FUCKING NECK WITH A BRUTAL LARIAT!
Morgue cracks his neck, watching Mr Nobody slowly rise to his feet before rearing back and drilling him with kick after kick to the stomach. Cries of pain and the crackling of bones are heard as Gustav brutally assaults Attano, drilling him with one last brutal kick before powering him up high over his head, as he runs forward
SCALPEL’S EDGE…INTO THE TURNBUCKLE POST! FLESH MEETS STEEL COURTESY OF A CRUCIFIX POWERBOMB AND ATTANO’S FLESH MAY WELL BE BROKEN IN HALF FROM THIS FORCED ENCOUNTER!
Morgue steps back, watching his handiwork as in any other Deathrow match, this may well have been it but this is a fight to the death and Gustav…
He’s going to savor every moment of it.
As he reaches inside his suit jacket and pulls out two pairs of shiny, gleaming brass knuckles.
One for each hand.
Attano slowly rises up to his feet, barely able to stand from that brutal powerbomb as he staggers right into a brutal right hook. Blood and teeth go clattering across the concrete, Attano nearly falling from that single shot but Morgue simply plops him down seated onto the nearby steps, cracks both knuckles and begins to go to town.
Rights, Lefts, Hooks, Uppercuts. Morgue unleashes a bevy of strikes upon the defenseless Attano, Harold’s face drenched in his own blood as Mr Nobody is a complete mess. Limp and barely able to breath let alone fight back, Morgue finally lets him collapse to the concrete floor. Easy pickings for a painful death but Morgue doesn’t follow up.
He simply sits down on the steps and watches Harold slowly struggle to his feet, savoring every single moment as Attano crawls to the nearest cell, slowly pulling himself up, barely able to see from the blood pouring down his face. Gustav gets to his feet, cracking his neck before he begins to slowly walk towards Attano, raising up one massive brass knuckled hand before swinging forward.
THE HOOK MEETS STEEL AS HAROLD DUCKS UNDERNEATH! Gustav rears back, hand radiating in pain as Harold grips his legs, flipping him face forward into the metal bars. Gustav is now the one stunned as he holds onto the bars, trying to shake the cobwebs, Harold managing to get to his feet
BEFORE DELIVERING A BONE SHATTERING KICK RIGHT AT THE GRIPPED HAND, FUCKING BREAKING IT!
Gustav drops to his knees in agony, the knuckles slipping off his ruined hand. Harold pulls open the door, wiping the blood from his eyes before pulling Gustav halfway through the open cell. Mr Nobody slides Gustav’s arm with the broken hand right at the opening of the cell.
AND BEGINS SLAMMING THE METAL DOOR ONTO IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN! Gustav’s screams echo throughout as his whole arm begins to radiate with pure, white hot pain. Attano delivers one final slam as Morgue turtles up on the ground, holding his busted arm in agony but Attano doesn’t let up for a second, kicking him square in the face
BEFORE LOCKING IN AN ARM BAR ON THE INJURED ARM!
The Taxidermist’s voice is cracking from the sheer volume of his screams, tapping out over and over with his good arm but that doesn’t mean shit as Attano just smiles a sick and twisted grin as he holds the arm aloft for a moment
BEFORE CRASHING BACK AND SNAPPING THE BONE COMPLETELY!
Gustav goes white, looking like he’s about to pass out from the shock and pain but swallows deep as he endures. With his good arm, he scrambles backwards, trying to get some distance between himself and Mr Nobody but Harold is immediately on him. Drilling him with a brutal knee to the jaw, Attano pulls him up by the hair, that same twisted grin still plastered on his face.
UPPERCUT TO THE BALLS!
Gustav almost in desperation lashes out to try and stop Attano who staggers back from the attack, looking to try and shake it off but Gustav lands a second, and then a third before rearing back and driving both boots as hard as he can into Harold’s nuts. Attano drops to his knees, heaving and coughing in pain which allows Gustav to slowly rise up to his feet.
Morgue looks at his arm, as he begins to shake with absolute rage. He looks down at Attano slowly rising up before reaching inside his jacket once more and pulling out a knife.
The same one he used to gut the Cleaner.
With a roar of purest rage, Gustav rushes at a kneeling Attano
VENOM
Attano bridges underneath the wild swipe before delivering a hard Scorpion Kick to the back of the head. Gustav staggers forward, holding onto the bars of the cell once more
LAST GASP OF A DYING MAN! ATTANO SHOTGUN DROPKICK’S GUSTAV’S FACE RIGHT INTO THE CELL BARS!
Gustav slumps down to his knees, eyes barely open as he’s just concious enough to feel the garrote wire wrap around his throat. Morgue struggles but he’s half broken, battered and beaten as blood begins to pool from how the wire is cutting into his throat. Gustav weakly reaches out for the bars with his good arm as Harold smiles before wrenching the wire
AND WITH AN ALMIGHTY CRACK, SNAPS GUSTAV’S FUCKING NECK!
GUSTAV MORGUE HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY SILENCED HERE TONIGHT!
The body collapses to the concrete as Attano drops back breathing heavily. He’s battered, bruised, lost nearly too much blood but he’s survived Deathrow’s very first death match.
WINNER: HAROLD ATTANO
“THE MONSTER MASH”
Harvey Escher sits in his cell, moments away from the long red mile walk to the Deathrow Wrestling ring.
Was it all in his head?
Was it a vision?
He killed Aster Grey and when he kills, people tend to stay dead.
“I’ve spoken to him, you know,” A voice softly says from the darkness. It belongs to Aster, who steps out with a smile.
Harvey quickly stands up.
“You ought to mind your business,” he growls back in reply.
Grey shrugs.
“The universe unravels. You don’t need me to unravel it for you. In due time, you’ll meet your maker. What do you think will happen when you do? You’re a petty little man, aren’t you? You kill to make yourself feel bigger. Did killing me make you feel bigger, Harvey?”
“I wanted to know what you were. You claim to be neither alive nor dead, and I wanted to test that theory,” he says folding his arms. “And now I know.”
Grey steps in, getting in his face.
“Was it worth it?” He sneers. “Because I have a way to end this, and you might not be the right man for the job.”
That perplexes Harvey.
“What’s that supposed to mean? End what?” He demands to know.
“Our stay on Deathrow, of course,” he retorts. “But first, let’s see what you’re actually capable of.”
Before Harvey can say another word, Grey strikes.
To be continued…
The Demon has awoken, and now it’s up to Jiro to see if he has the weapons that can put it down.
ULUULU!
TUGA JUST LEAPED ACROSS THE RING WITH A HEADBUTT THAT COULD KNOCK DOWN A GOD!
The match is underway and the Demon is awoken! He grips Jiro by his jacket and hauls him up before Biel tossing him across the ring into the turnbuckle! Tuga flies forwards with a thunderous clothesline that clobbers the Weapons Expert and leaves him reeling before cracking him in the jaw with a massive elbow. Jiro is already looking out on his feet as the Demon clobbers him with a chop to the chest.
Jiro stumbles out of the corner after a big right hand and Tuga runs for the big boot!
JIRO DUCKS AND TUGA GOES OVER! HE LANDS ON THE APRON!
SHOOT TO KILL! SPEAR! JIRO JUST SPEARED THROUGH THE FUCKING ROPES AND TUGA LANDS BACK FIRST AGAINST THE CELL WALL! IT FUCKING BENDS UNDER THE IMPACT!
Wounded as he is, Jiro knows its fight or die as he moves towards the ring and digs beneath it for something to help! He pulls out a baseball bat and turns around to catch a rising Tuga in the chest! The Demon refuses to go down even after eating the blow!
WHACK!
WHACK!
WHACK!
WHACK!
WHACK!
JIRO IS TEEING OFF AS EVERY BLOW LANDS FLUSH WITH THE MONSTER!
BUT TUGA CATCHES THE BAT!
He backhands Jiro and wraps the bat around his throat, hauling him up over his shoulder! He’s choking Jiro with the bat using his shoulder as leverage! The Revolutionary is fighting with all he has with Tuga threatening to asphyxiate him here and now!
Jiro is fading and Tuga whips his body back and forth as wildly and animalistically as he can! Jiro weakly reaches into his vest!
AND LASHES OUT! HE STABS A SCREWDRIVER INTO TUGA’S BACK! THE DEMON DROPS IN RETALIATION WITH A MASSIVE MODIFIED NECKBREAKER TO JIRO!
Amataga limps away from the downed Jiro with the screwdriver sticking out of his back! He wraps a hand around it and tries to yank it out of his side with all of his might! He braces against the side of the ring, yelling in wrath and agony!
PING!
JIRO IS UP! HE JUST SMACKED THAT SCREWDRIVER WITH THE FUCKING BASEBALL BAT!
Tuga yells out in pain and The Weapons Expert grabs the screwdriver, tearing it out of Tuga and stabbing him once, twice, thrice!
PISTOL WHIP! HE ENDS THE ASSAULT WITH A MASSIVE RIGHT HOOK TO THE JAW!
For the first time since the match has started, Tuga is finally down and Jiro has a second to breathe! He makes distance and begins searching for something new to use under the ring and pulls out a table wrapped in barbed wire! He sets it up at ringside and goes to grab the Demon!
This can’t be a smart idea! Jiro drags him to the table and tries to force him up! Is he going to powerbomb this man!? No! Tuga clocks him with a massive forearm to the face! He whips Jiro back first into the apron with a sickening thud before standing onto the apron! He grabs Jiro and deadlifts him up!
HE FORCES HIM UP! HE CAN’T BE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS CAN HE!?
THE LONG DROP!
LEAPING SITDOWN PILE DRIVER FROM THE APRON GOES RIGHT THROUGH THE FUCKING TABLE! BOTH MEN LAND IN A FUCKING HEAP!
The ringside is a mess of blood, splinters, and barbed wire with neither man rising to their feet! Everything is quiet for a moment with only the ragged sound of Tuga’s breathing in the air. Jiro begins to stir, his body tangled in barbed wire as he rolls over and begins to crawl away!
Tuga reaches out and wraps a big hand around his ankle! He flips Jiro over and wraps the wire around his neck before beginning to squeeze! The wire digs into his throat and blood seeps out! His eyes are bulging as Tuga tries his damndest to kill him!
JIRO IS GASPING FOR BREATH AND BEGGING FOR HIS LIFE!
BUT TUGA ISN’T A MERCIFUL GOD!
HE’S A FUCKING DEMON!
The Weapons Expert’s body is going limp as Tuga watches the life drain from his eyes! All we hear is the Revolutionary’s wheezing!
CRACK!
JIRO JUST GRABBED A BRICK FROM BENEATH THE RING AND BROUGHT IT RIGHT ACROSS THE DEMON’S FACE! BLOOD SPLATTERS AS HIS NOSE PRACTICALLY EXPLODES!
Amataga is forced back and Jiro slowly rises to his feet! He gingerly pulls the wire from his neck and drops it to the ground before advancing on Tuga as he rises!
PISTOL WHIP!
PISTOL WHIP!
PISTOL WHIP!
A TRIO OF TERRIFYING BRICK FILLED RIGHT HANDS SMACK TUGA AND THE BRICK TURNS TO FUCKING PIECES IN HIS HAND!
He grabs onto Tuga and lifts with all of his strength!
THE MOTHER OF ALL BOMBS! POWERBOMB ONTO THE RING APRON!
Jiro slowly gets to his feet, knowing full well Tuga isn’t out! The Demon is still breathing and still stirring as Jiro peels him up and rolls him back into the ring! He gets onto the turnbuckle and calls for the end!
DEATH FROM ABOVE! FROGSPLASH- NO! SAMOAN SPIKE! SUMMON THE FUCKING DEMON!
Tuga is back to his feet! Blood drips from his shredded skin as looks down at Jiro! He yells out a battle cry into the air!
AMATAGA TUGA!
AMATAGA TUGA!
AMATAGA TUGA!
DON’T STAND UP JIRO! STAY DOWN!
AVEA LA TEMONI!
TUGA FUCKING CRUSHES JIRO’S SKULL IN HIS HANDS! THE REVOLUTIONARY IS FIGHTING WITH ALL HE HAS BUT TUGA’S GRIP IS INESCAPABLE! HE KICKS AND PUNCHES AND CLAWS AT THE DEMON TO NO AVAIL!
HEADBUTT BY TUGA!
THE FIGHT IS LEAVING JIRO!
TUGA REELS BACK!
BELL CLAP! JIRO DROPS LIKE A TON OF BRICKS ONTO THE GROUND! HE CAN’T FIGHT! HE’S OUT!
The Demon stands over Jiro, his bloodied visage looking as demonic as ever as he claims his victory.
WINNER: AMATAGA TUGA
“NOW”
With the match over, Amataga Tuga pulls Jiro up by his throat with both hands, holding him violently off the ground, choking the life out of him.
“W-wait,” Jiro stammers, trying to get a word in before he’s choked to death. “I know who…”
The Demon eyes of Tuga refuse to relinquish.
“Killed…”
The grip tightens, almost snapping his head.
“Your sister…”
WHAM.
In an instant, the golden demon eyes of Amataga Tuga are gone – as if he instantly controlled them. Somehow, he pulled the demon back.
His eyes soften.
They’re human.
He looks towards Jiro who stumbles backwards, coughing and holding his throat. He wants answers.
“When I worked closely with Zeus, a man was committing a variety of murders across all levels of Arcadia. Your sister Amelia was one of his first victims,” he announces, much to the surprise of Tuga.
The Weapons Expert takes a deep breath.
“When Red Hood sent him in to torture me, I told him that I knew what he did to you and he lost his shit,” Jiro recalls.
Wait…
That means…
“Harvey Escher killed your sister, Amataga. I’d wager he killed your brother in hopes of weakening you, too.”
The Demon reaches out, grabbing him by the throat once again, his eyes slowly beginning to glow golden before they simmer.
“I promise,” Jiro reaffirms, terrified. “Harvey Escher has decimated your family and he’s here on Deathrow. He’s the one you want.”
Slowly, Amataga Tuga releases him.
He spares his life.
But for Harvey Escher, there will be hell to pay.
This explains everything.
Whatever peace was existing on Deathrow is shattered as the fight between Aster Gray and Harvey Escher prematurely…
The match begins with Aster Gray dragging Harvey from his cell by his black ascot, slamming his head off the edge of the cell door—
KLANG!
The Diorama Killer’s blood begins to coat his white smock, and Gray uses the ascot of Escher to pull him in and set Harvey up for a Double Arm DDT…
But Escher counters…
WA-BAM!
RIPCORD DISCUS BLOOD RED LARIAT SENDS ASTER ASS OVER FUCKING TEAKETTLE!
And with the sound of a shotgun blast as if signaling for a call to report for duty, the inmates abruptly gather around and begin cheering the bloody violence before them!
Escher gets a look of almost sheer madness in his eyes as he snatches a broken shard of glass from nearby and pulls Aster up by his hair…
HE DRAGS THE GLASS SHARD ACROSS THE LIFELESS’S FOREHEAD!
“GRAY BLEEDS RED!”
“GRAY BLEEDS RED!”
“GRAY BLEEDS RED!
The crowd of bloodthirsty inmates erupt in that chant as blood begins to pool under the head of The Deathless!
Escher reaches down and hauls Mr. Gray up by his hair—
CRUNCH!
ASTER TAKES ESCHER STRAIGHT TO DICK KICK CITY!
AND AGAIN!!
AND AGAIN!!
As all the male inmates in the crowd let out a collective groan of referred pain after Gray delivered three swift boots to the testicles, turning Escher 50 shades of purple!
And not missing a beat, Gray lifts The Diorama Killer up into a crucifix position, and gets a running start as the crowd of inmates part like the Red Sea—
RUNNING MALICE!
CRUCIFIX POWERBOMB ONTO THE RING APRON WITH A SICKENING THUD!
HARVEY CRUMBLES INTO A FUCKING HEAP BELOW!
The inmates erupted!
“D-R-DUB!”
“D-R-DUB!”
“D-R-DUB!”
Gray tosses Escher into the ring and follows closely behind as the bell rings and the match finally starts. Escher, sensing danger, is now pushing himself back into the corner as he’s stalked by Aster, whose once gray beard is now tinted crimson when…
ESCHER SUCKERS HIM IN WITH A DROP TOE HOLD INTO THE SECOND TURNBUCKLE!
IT’S BETTER THAN CHLOROFORM!
And Harvey stays on the Gray Man, spinning him around and jumping on to the second turnbuckle himself, locking in the Hanging Dragon Sleeper—
THE POSING!
But Gray is too tall, and his feet easily make contact with the mat, allowing him to drag Escher into a vertical suplex position before spiking him head first with a Brain Buster on his knee—
THAT’S DEATH ON ONE KNEE!
…
BUT IS THAT DEATH TO ESCHER?
…
NO, HE’S STILL BREATHING… IS HE STILL CONSCIOUS?
…
APPARENTLY, BECAUSE HE’S STILL MOVING!
Escher stirs and starts to get back to his feet. Aster goes to Irish whip Escher into the ropes, only Harvey collapses, and sensing the end is nigh Mr. Gray goozles the neck of The Diorama Killer, looking for the Chokeslam…
ALL GRA – RED!
ASTER GRAY IS SEEING NOTHING BUT RED!
HARVEY ESCHER JUST SUCKED BLOOD FROM HIS STILL FLOWING WOUND AND SPAT IT INTO GRAY’S EYES!
ESCHER FOLLOWS IT UP WITH A DESPERATION DDT!
Escher, knowing that Aster will not be put away by that, rolls out of the ring and starts tossing weapons from underneath it into it.
Foot Long Metal Pipe…
Telescoping Baton…
Brass Knuckles…
ESCHER ISN’T STOPPING!
He’s looking for something…
Finally Escher looks up with the visage only seen in the criminally insane…
He’s found it.
A very large, very full velvet sack, which Harvey slides into to the ring with. He clubs a recovering Aster over the head with it as we hear the sound of something shatter!
The collective gasp and cheer of recognition from the incarcerated crowd is in reaction to The Diorama Killer…
DUMPING NEAR THREE POUNDS OF BROKEN GLASS ON THE CANVAS!
Escher now looks to a still kneeling Aster Gray and tears his own shirt off before looking to set up Gray for the Vertebreaker…
But Gray doesn’t let him get that far, grabbing Harvey’s arm and shooting Escher into the ropes, and on the rebound he hits a Spinning Spinebuster—
LIFE CAST INTO THE GLASS!
THE DIORAMA KILLER TREMBLES IN PAIN!
HIS MIND!
HIS BACK!
THAT GLASS!
ALL FURTHER SCARED AND SHATTERED!
Gray once more senses that it’s time to close up shop…
GOOZLE—
ONLY TO HAVE ESCHER REACH DOWN DEEP, COUNTERING INTO A BRIDGING CATTLE MUTILATION!
BUT ONTOP OF THAT GLASS IT’S JUST PURE MUTILATION!
ASTER’S CHEST AND STOMACH ARE BEING GROUND INTO THE SHARDS!
WILL GRAY QUIT?
…
THE BLOOD IS POOLING UNDER HIM…
…
ASTER SCREAMS IN PAIN!
…
BUT HARVEY’S SLICED-UP BACK GIVES OUT FIRST, CAUSING BOTH MEN TO ATTEMPT TO ROLL OUT OF THE GLASS!
Aster’s chest and face are glistening red with blood.
Escher’s back and head are much the same.
The two men stare at each other from opposite corners.
And both men rush in!
Escher goes for the Discus Lariat—
BLOOD RED LARIAT—
DUCKED!
BIG BOOT FROM ASTER—
SIDE STEPPED!
Right hand by Escher rocks Gray!
Right hand by Aster sends blood flying off Harvey’s head!
Knee to the skull of Deathless by The Diorama Killer sends him staggering back into the corner!
Escher backs up to capture the mental snapshot before running in, looking for the vicious knee strike.
DIORAMA!
TO THE TOP TURNBUCKLE AS GRAY SLIPS OUT OF THE WAY AND BEHIND HARVEY!
Gray snatches The Diorama Killer into a Torture Rack Position, walking into the center of the ring above the glass pile…
AND DRIVES ESCHER FACE- AND SKULL-FIRST INTO THE BROKEN GLASS SHARDS WITH A BURNING FUCKING HAMMER!
PARADOX!
ASTER GREY JUST—
KILLED…
IT…
WITH…
FIRE!
IS IT FINALLY OVER?!
…
BOTH MEN ARE DOWN!
…
AND STILL BREATHING!
…
ASTER IS STIRRING!
…
HE SCREAMS AS HE ROLLS ON THE GLASS TO THE ROPES!
…
HE PULLS HIMSELF TO HIS FEET!
…
ESCHER IS STILL YET TO MOVE!
…
ESCHER IS OUT COLD IN A POOL OF HIS OWN BLOOD AND GLASS AS ASTER GRAY DRAGS HIMSELF AWAY FROM THE FIFTY SHADES OF BLOOD, GLASS, AND A BROKEN LIFELESS MAN IN THE RING, A TRAIL OF BLOOD FOLLOWING HIM!
Aster Gray exits the ring on his own accord as the victor of this blood-riddled grudge match!
WINNER: ASTER GREY
“NEVER”
Jiro walks down the cellblock hallway towards his cell, having somehow survived the encounter with Amataga Tuga. Only, by the time he reaches the cell itself, he quickly realizes that he’s being followed and he’s not alone.
“There’s no point in trying to kill me, Harvey,” he says, stopping dead in his tracks. He doesn’t look behind him, he just stares facing his cell.
But Harvey doesn’t respond.
“I’ve already told Tuga what you did; he’s coming for you,” Jiro continues. “I’d find a nice little fucking hole somewhere to climb into and never climb out again, Escher.”
Suddenly, metal bar wraps around the throat of Jiro, violently pulling him back and forth as the unknown assailant strangles him to death before our very eyes. He coughs and squeaks, but the pipe crushes into his windpipe, cracking it with every yank.
“Zeus sends his regards,” a voice says softly from behind as The Weapons Expert does everything in his power to try and stop his murder.
But to no avail.
Slowly but surely, as he gasps for air, the light in his eye’s fades.
The attacker releases the metal bar, watching as Jiro falls lifelessly to the floor in a heap, landing inside his cell.
Footsteps walk away, leaving us with nothing but the image of Jiro, dead.
Cut.
Thorpe versus Meadows. Who will claim victory in this grudge match?
There’re no fancy entrances in Deathrow.
“Blackest Hour” by Tombstone Three blares over the static muffled speakers and out from his cell walks none other than CJ Thorpe.
Thorpe has spent his time in Deathrow Wrestling closely aligned with The Red Hood, trying to find the weapon stash belonging to Jiro.
Now he’s in the ring with his lower back heavily taped up, awaiting the man who has been a massive thorn in his back.
“Man in the Box” by Alice In Chains blares from the rusty old speakers throughout the jailhouse, and speaking of the devil, here comes that smug fuck, Max Meadows.
The sea of inmates parts ways as Meadows slowly makes his way towards the ring, smirking and pointing at CJ—
SUICIDE DIVE!
CJ came in hot right out of the gate! He knocks Max backwards into a steel cell door with a clang, and a big roundhouse kick to the jaw throttles Max’s head to the right and knocks him onto his ass!
Thorpe takes a step back and looks around the swarm of inmates that have surrounded the action. Grimacing as he grabs at his lower back, Thorpe abruptly dashes at the seated Meadows just as the latter begins to get his wits about him—
TRUST!!
THE KNEE TREMBLER ROCKED MEADOWS’ HEAD INTO THE CELL BARS!!
Clearly dazed, Meadows starts to crawl around aimlessly. Inmates are hooting and hollering around him, a particularly amped up inmate gets right up in Meadows’ face and starts barking like a damn dog!
RUFF RUFF, MOTHERFUCKER!
Meadows shoves the inmate’s face away, seemingly awoken now, and rolls himself into the ring. Thorpe climbs up to the top rope in pursuit, stalking Meadows as he stands and turns…
THORPE LEAPS—
HURRICANE DDT!!
NO!!
MEADOWS CAUGHT HIM—
NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX!
Thorpe immediately grabs at his back and grimaces, and the sly grin slowly appears again on Meadows’ face. He knows he has the advantage here, but Thorpe is a resilient bastard, and as Meadows picks him up Thorpe parries his grapple and hits a combination of strikes to his chest before surprising him with a jab to the face!
Thorpe looks to the sky and howls—
”AWOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
AND FINISHES WITH A BIG UPPERCUT TO MEADOWS’ JAW!
Meadows staggers back and Thorpe runs to the opposite ropes, rebounding and leaping right at Max—
BIG FLYING FOREARM!
Meadows stumbles back into the ropes and Thorpe goes to the well once more, rebounding off the opposite ropes again and takes to the air again—
FLYING CROSSBODY!
CAUGHT BY MAX—
And there’s that grin again!
Uh oh.
…
BACKBREAKER!
Max dumped CJ back-first onto his knee, and now Thorpe lies on the mat screaming in excruciating pain!
Meadows scoops Thorpe up again across his chest—
AND DROPS HIM ONTO HIS KNEE AGAIN!
A SECOND BACKBREAKER!
Thorpe is in a bad way, and Max begins dropping elbows onto Thorpe’s lower back, followed by a few knees, and then just straight up stomps a mudhole into Thorpe’s back!
Meadows stops for a moment to watch Thorpe crawl in desperation, smiling, clearly pleased with himself at exploiting Thorpe’s weakness. As Thorpe barely manages to get to his feet, clutching his back in agony, Meadows locks in a guillotine choke!
THORPE CAN BARELY MOVE—
AND NOW HE CAN BARELY BREATHE!
Meadows laughs as he wrenches it in, taking in the hubbub from the inmates before dropping to the mat—
GUILLOTINE DDT!!
RED GIVES WAY TO BLACK!!
Thorpe can barely open his eyes, and Meadows takes a stand over in a corner as the ref checks in on Thorpe, who pushes the ref away as if he refuses to allow Meadows to keep him down, and he slowly, slooowwwlyyy gets to all fours as Meadows watches in jubilation.
Thorpe’s back barely allows him to get to a vertical base, spasming uncontrollably as Meadows rushes at him like a Lion about to ear a big, juicy piece of steak—
BIG BOOT TO THE FACE!
But Thorpe doesn’t go down!
Meadows runs the ropes and rebounds back at Thorpe—
ANOTHER BIG BOOT TO THE FACE!
AGAIN, THORPE STAYS VERTICAL!
There’s a snarl on his face, a mental toughness he’s bringing out from deep within that won’t let him quit. And he turns that angry face towards an oncoming Meadows—
CLAYMORE KICK!!
THREE STRIKES!!
AND THORPE’S OUT!!
OR IS HE??
…
….
…
….
…
….
…
NO!
THORPE IS STILL WITH US!
Meadows begins to simply toy with Thorpe, nudging his face with his boot and trash talking him as Thorpe barely manages to keep his body’s momentum moving, because if he stops, it’s all over.
After a final taunt, Meadows picks Thorpe up from behind and thrusts his arms under and around Thorpe’s—
FULL NELSON—
COUNTERED INTO A STUNNER!
Thorpe sits in shock after that desperation stunner created separation, but that may have done more damage to himself and his Jakked up lower back.
As they both get to their feet, Meadows rushes Thorpe—
LARIAT—
COUNTERED INTO A TAKEDOWN TO THE MAT—
RINGS OF SATURN!!
POLICE BRUTALITY!!
HE SUCKERED MAX IN!!
Thorpe screams as he rears back on Meadows’ arms! He’s giving it all he’s got, but Meadows is fighting back, and speaking of backs, it looks like Thorpe’s adrenaline is wearing off…
THORPE RELEASES THE HOLD—
HIS BACK GAVE OUT!
Meadows senses weakness, and with those now sore shoulders, peels Thorpe’s limp body off the mat…
LOW BLOW BY THORPE!
Meadows is bent over, and Thorpe uses Meadows’ body to pull himself up and whilst leaning on him hooks an arm—
DOUBLE UNDERHOOK—
PEDIGREE!!!
THORPE DID THE RIGHT THING!!!
But that didn’t finish Meadows off…
THIS MATCH AIN’T OVER YET!
Thorpe’s eyes nearly pop out of his head when he realizes the cheers aren’t for him, but for the stirring Meadows. With all his strength, he rolls out of the ring and flips the skirt up…
AND RETURNS, HOBBLING INTO THE RING WITH A LEAD PIPE!
He uses it as a cane to get to a vertical base, watching and waiting for Meadows to stand up, and desperately dives at him, aiming for the head—
SWING—
AND A MISS!
Meadows dodged it, and locks in a full nelson on Thorpe from behind—
LIFE SENTENCE!!!
Thorpe drops the lead pipe as Meadows absolutely ragdolls him around, but like a dog that sees a shiny object, Maxie Boy just can’t help himself.
He sees the lead pipe and drops Thorpe to the mat.
He picks up the pipe and grins…
He has a wicked idea!
Thorpe is getting to his knees, wondering what the hell is going on, and we see Max stand behind the kneeling Thorpe, slowly raising the pipe and taking aim at that injured lower back…
SWING AND A MISS!
AND ANOTHER LOW BLOW BY THORPE!
Thorpe grabs the lead pipe—
LEAD PIPE TO MEADOWS’ PIPE!!
Thorpe gets him in a double underhook again—
PEDIGREE!!!
HE DID THE RIGHT THING AGAIN!!!
AND THIS TIME MEADOWS IS FINISHED!!!
Meadows got greedy, and Thorpe survived this match to claim victory!
WINNER: CJ THORPE
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“SHUTDOWN”
Smoke suddenly fills the area.
It’s not just the ring, but the entire prison block is unloaded upon by tear gas cannister after tear gas cannister.
The sound of trundling footsteps, rushing forward into the chaos, is only accompanied by the thunderous claps of gun fire and violence.
We can’t see what’s going on.
No-one can.
Just then, a figure steps into frame wearing a gas mask. He’s a prisoner, as given away by the fact he’s topless, but we can’t quite see who he is.
The smoke finally dissipates and we’re able to see what’s happened. It’s the Arcadia Police Department, in full riot gear. They’ve stormed Deathrow!
Mick Gordon leads the charge, dragging The Red Hood out of his office by force and tossing him inside the ring. He falls to his knees, sitting there as officers put guns to the back of his head.
“Is this everyone?” Gordon demands to know, looking around the carnage of bodies – some shot, some bloodied and some injured.
The man in the gas mask removes it.
It’s Max fucking Meadows.
“Everyone who matters, boss. I have no idea where Jiro is or if the job was done, but we can take care of that if not,” he says with a stern nod, seemingly unaware that Jiro is dead.
“You did great work,” Gordon says, offering a handshake to the traitor. “Zeus says that he spoke with you earlier tonight and he’s impressed.”
Max Meadow beams from ear to ear.
“As for you,” Gordon says, kicking The Red Hood from a kneeling position to all fours. “You’re under arrest.”
The Red Hood looks up at him.
“For what?” He growls.
“Oh, let me think, shall we? Treason? Is that a good enough reason for you? I can refine it further thanks to our friend Mr. Meadows here. You see, he’s been spying on you and your little organisation. He’s been lurking in the shadows. Thanks to him, we know that you’re a leading member of the Uprising.”
Hood chuckles to himself, speaking through his continued altered voice, which cracks slightly.
His voice softer in those cracks.
“What you think you know could fill books, Gordon,” Hood says with a sneer. “But what you actually know, is not a fucking thing.”
Gordon looks at Max and they both laugh.
“I know you’re dead,” he sneers back.
“Zeus will fall,” Red Hood replies sternly, interrupting. “Viva la revolución.”
“Get his ass up,” Mick demands of the officers, who quickly pull him to his feet.
As Mick Gordon, Max Meadows and Red Hood leave – the latter in zip-tie restraints, Mick see’s something, or someone, out of the corner of his eye, unconscious on the floor.
CJ Thorpe.
“Is that…”
Supermax nods.
“It is.”
“Fuucccccccck!” Gordon says in a low tone whisper.
He shakes his head and they continue to make their exit.
What the fuck is left of Deathrow Wrestling? Without The Red Hood, does Deathrow even exist anymore?
Cut.
“NOT”
Somewhere Else.
There’s a calm and quiet ambiance to where we’re finishing Ring of Death. Unlike the carnage that preceded it, we’re now inside the home of Zeus.
The House of Sovereigns is an usual place to be during Deathrow, but here we are, looking at The Baron as he sits opposite a man we’ve yet to see.
“I’m glad your attack of conscience is over and frankly, it couldn’t have come at a better time for me,” Zeus admits, pouring some tea from a pot. “I needed Jiro dead. He was a liability, even if he had managed to keep his mouth shut.”
Zeus passes a cup of tea across the table to the figure, who picks it up.
“What happens to Deathrow now?” The man asks, taking a sip.
“Aren’t you more concerned with what happens to you?” He offers with a shrug. “I mean, you’re free.”
The person pops the teacup down on the table and picks up a flier that shows the Old School Wrestling logo. He places it back down and taps it with a finger.
“This,” he muses. “This is what happens to me.”
Zeus smiles.
“I told you that one last job would earn you the freedom you craved. If you want to work for me and fight, you can fight,” The Baron agrees. “I’ll get the contract drawn up first thing in the morning.”
The figure offers a hand that Zeus shakes gladly.
We pan out, finally revealing the person.
Harold Attano.
“Welcome to Old School Wrestling, Harold,” Zeus says with pleasure. “For the first time in your life, you’re not Nobody.”
Harold Attano is coming to Old School Wrestling, a free man.
Cut.