"The road to this place has been long and fraught with peril."

[We see intercut shots of Cameron Cruise, Troy Douglas, Jonathan Marx, and finally Rocko Daymon, insanity burning in his eyes.]

"Only the strongest survive to make it here."

[Shots of Karl Brown and Adam Benjamin are shown, most of them from their Mayhem Mountain match in MCW.]

"Some of those who have survived the journey have met."

[Images of Tyrone Walker, Cliff Young, and Brien Cage are shown, followed by shots of John Doe and Kevin Watson.]

"Others are meeting for the first time."

[We see a montage of images, this time of the Crimson Calling, Covert Ops, Blitz, and the Assassins.]

"But all who have gathered here know one thing."

[Several silhouetted figures are seen, their forms highlighted in white as the screen behind them ripples black.]

"They know that they have come to witness the dawn of a new day."

"A day heralded by... a Black Dawn."

[The chorus hits, and the screen shifts through a number of rapid action shots. We see various clips of Beast, Christian Sands, Adam Benjamin, Karl Brown, Cameron Cruise, Rocko Daymon, Troy Douglas, and others, intercut with the eerie white-silhouettes-on-black from earlier. Finally, the lyric "THE SHADOWS ON THE SUUUUUUUN" echoes across the soundtrack, and gold-black flame rips away the image on the screen to reveal a throbbing logo behind it.]

[Cut to a shot of the stage. The riff of the chorus plays as burning gold and black pyro rise from a point in the center of the stage in rotating arcs, exploding around the screen and across the stage itself. Finally, several bomblike golden detonations go off around the ramp. The camera zooms in on the Empiretron and pans throughout the roaring crowd. Several signs are visible in the crowd: "BEAST IS A BEAST!!!", "I Came To See Karl Brown", "Hey Cam, Take A Long Cruise Off A Short Cliff!" "ENTER SANDMAN", "Throw Your Lighters Up For The Steel City Icon", "All Hail Emperor Marx!", "IVAN DALKICHEV STOLE MY CHEESEBURGER", "Be My Queen, Lindsay!", and finally, "DAN RYAN VS. THE INCREDIBLE HULK: BLACK DAWN 2005 MAIN EVENT".]

[Cut to ringside, where announcers Dave Thomas and Mike Neely sit. Thomas has traded in his EPW polo shirt for a more formal dress shirt and tie, while Neely has retained the polo shirt, but in typical fun-lover fashion he wears a Hawaiian shirt over it.]

DT: Madison Square Garden is on its feet! Welcome, everybody! Welcome to the Garden! Welcome to Black Dawn, live on DirectTV Pay-Per-View! I'm Dave Thomas, and with me as always is Mike Neely!

MN: I'm still waiting on my Biggie fries, bitch.

DT: FAMILY SHOW-

MN: NOPE! We're on Pay-Per-View, so I can curse all I want, bitch!

DT: Oh, brother. Folks, we've got a great card for you tonight, one that in my opinion is absolutely STACKED!

MN: Man, this lineup is the shiznit, dawg!

DT: We're going to see a cage match later tonight as John Doe and Kevin Watson have it out in a rematch of Doe's devising!

MN: I dunno about that Doe kid. He's insane! I heard he was in a mental institution 'cause he went nuts and killed someone. I sure as hell don't wanna be near him, man.

DT: We're also going to see four tag-teams go at it in a single-elimination match as Blitz, Covert Ops, the Crimson Calling, and the Assassins battle it out for tag-team gold!

MN: Now THAT oughta be pretty frickin' fun.

DT: In a rematch of a classic encounter from Major Championship Wrestling, Karl Brown takes on the only MCW Champion in history, Adam Benjamin, for our Intercontinental Title!

MN: Those two tore it up last time they had a match. This one should be pretty damn good, yo.

DT: We've got more four-way madness for you as Rocko Daymon, Cameron Cruise, Troy Douglas, and Jonathan Marx go head-to-head! The last man in the match wins a World Title shot, and the runner-up scores an Intercontinental title shot!

MN: Daymon's takin' that crap home, man. He's gonna go OFF on those guys, 'cause he's a maniac.

DT: And finally, in the main event, the World Title will be on the line for the very first time in a highly anticipated match, as Christian Sands and Beast go to war to determine who really is the best in the federation!

MN: Beast's been all big and dominant, yo, and Sands has been like a little bitch, but he says he was foolin' about it. I dunno. That one's gonna rock ass either way.

DT: It certainly is - but let's kick things off with our first match of the evening!

TF: Ladies and Gentleman, this is the first match of the evening, and it is a triple threat match.

[The image of blood drips over the live feed of the entranceway on the 'Tron for those live in attendance, and over the live view of the entranceway for those at home watching on television. The opening drumbeats of Black Label Society's "We Live No More" begin playing, and mist pours out from behind the entrance curtain. About 40 seconds into the song, when the vocals enter over the guitars, Cliff Young walks out from behind the curtain with Jesse White in tow. Cliff, sporting his black leather biker jacket over his tights, walks slowly down the ramp towards the ring while Jesse follows suit. Cliff rolls into the ring, and Jesse hops up onto the apron. Jesse steps over the top rope and into the ring while Cliff runs the ropes for a few seconds. The two meet in the middle of the ring, and then Cliff turns his back to his friend, dropping to a knee while his extends his arms out to the side. Jesse raises his fists into the air, and the two pose as flashbulbs go off all through the crowd. "We Live No More" begins dying down, and Cliff gets to his feet, sliding his jacket off and handing it to Jesse. Jesse steps over the top rope and to the ringside floor as Cliff is checked out by the referee for foreign objects.]

TF: Introducing first, accompanied to the ring by Jesse Wight, he weighs in at two hundred and fifty pounds, and hailing from Boston Massachusetts, "YOUNGBLOOD" CLLLLLIIIIIFFFFF YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DT: Looks like Young's confident for this match. Should be an interesting one, with three of Empire's newer additions kicking off this event in a triple threat match.

MN: Man, this is gonna be great.

[As "We Live No More" fades out, the lights dim as the voice of Jamie Madrox booms over the PA and the beats kick in beginning Twiztid's "Where It's Goin Down." A single spot light shining down at the entrance way shows Tyrone Walker walking from behind the curtains and to the edge of the entrance way where he stops to scan the building, taking in the entire view for a moment. As the moment passes he turns his attention back to the ring and begins to casually stride to the ring making sure to take his time before he reaches the ringside area. Taking a few quick steps he leaps from the floor to the ring and hurls himself over the top rope and landing on his feet. Taking a few steps into the ring he shuffles over to the farside corner and leans casually into the turnbuckles as he waits...]

TF: Introducing, from Detroit, Michigan, weighing in at two hundred thirty pounds, TYRRRRRROOOOOOOOOONNNNNNEEEE WAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLKKKKEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!!

DT: Walker had an impressive outing last Aggression, defeating Mike Gettis with the Broken Arrow. But I wonder what role if any Dean Matthews is going to play.

MN: That moment was great. Anything to see Matthews shut up for a few minutes has gotta be good, right?

[A heart with a knife through it appears on the Globe-a-tron. The words "Silent Assassin" surround the heart. Requiem (the fifth) by Trans Siberian Orchestra blasts through the speakers. Brien Cage emerges from behind the curtain. With eyes of a hungry tiger and a look of intensity on his face, he shakes loose his muscles before walking down the ramp towards the ring. After entering the ring he stands in the middle of the ring and holds up fist in the air]

TF: And their opponent, weighing in at two hundred and thirty nine pounds, and hailing from Washington DC, this is "THE SILENT ASSASSIN", BRIIIIIIIIIEEEEENNNNN...CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DT: Brien had a good outing at Aggression in his debut against Adam Benjamin, and he looks focused.

MN: I can't see which way this one's going to go, Dave. All of them are pretty similar.

[The bell rings, with all three men standing warily, not knowing who's going to go after who first. They all move slowly towards the centre of the ring, Walker nodding towards Young. Cage, nodding himself, turns to attack Young, connecting with three straight right hands, as Walker backs away, keeping out of the action as Young gets his own back, reversing an irish whip]

DT: Cage and Young look to be going at it, with Walker taking the smarter option of letting them wear each other down.

MN: Nice back body drop there, and Walker's still staying out of it. Cage looks to be hurting after that one.

[Indeed, Cage is hurting, holding his back as Young stomps on it a few times. Walker comes over to join him, but Young is having none of it, kicking Walker squarely in the gut, doubling him over and hooking his head. Turning away from the downed Cage, he connects with a vicious DDT on Walker. Rising, Young leaps into the air, landing with an elbow drop onto Cage's ribs]

MN: Ouch... Young really looking to make a name for himself, taking it to both Walker and Cage. Maybe that's why he was so quiet in the build-up?

DT: Could be. Young lifting Walker up now... knee to the gut by Walker. He whips him off the ropes... nice spinning elbow.

[Walker shakes his arm out from the impact, lifting Young from his new found place on the mat. He whips Young into the corner, following in with a running clothesline. He holds his opponent in the corner as he notices Cage rising, and signals to him to charge Young. Cage flies in with a splash in the corner, and both he and Walker set their respective foe up for a double vertical suplex]

MN: Oh man, nice teamwork here from these guys.

DT: Looks like neither man appreciated Young's offence, as they both stomp him while he's down. Cage now lifting him up...VICIOUS T-bone there.

MN: T-bone? You never told me you were ordering steak.

DT: ...

[Oblivious to Neely's remarks, Cage locks in an armbar on Young, keeping his eye on Walker all the while. Walker holds his arms up innocently, as he walks over to Young, stomping on his shoulder to further injure it. Walker then takes off to the far ropes, sprinting back in, before dropping an elbow...right on Cages ribs]

DT: So much for teamwork, eh Mike?

MN: I don't know how smart this is from Walker. He'd be better letting those two go at it and picking up the pieces.

DT: Good point.

MN: Yeah. And when's that steak gonna be here?

DT: Oh be quiet.

[Walker lifts Cage up, connecting with some snap half-turning kicks to his ribs. He hurls Cage over the top rope as Young recovers. Walker then whips Young into the corner, waiting for him to stagger to the centre of the ring, hitting a stiff super kick, before scoring with a somersault leg drop. Meanwhile, Cage has had time to recover, sliding back into the ring and driving an elbow to the back of the rising Walker. He hooks him from behind, signalling to Young, who rises groggily before planting a boot squarely in the gut of Walker, backing away a couple of steps, looking to connect with the Roaring Elbow]

DT: Walker's trapped.

MN: Young takes aim and...

[Walker escapes, ducking away and letting Young catch Cage right in the mouth with it instead. Cage stumbles back into the corner. Walker quickly stomps on Young behind the knee, then a hard kick to the midsection and an elbow smash to the face stun Young]

DT: Walker gets away and he just busted Young with a series of strikes.

MN: Vicious, but he's not done.

[Walker whips Young hard into the corner opposite of the one Cage is in. Walker follows up quickly crushing Young between himself and the turnbuckles with a Handspring Back Elbow.]

DT: Walker with shades of the Great Muta right there.

MN: Does that make him the Pearl of the Ghetto?

DT: ...

MN: What?

DT: Oy vey.

[Walker rebounds off Young's body and sprints to the other corner and caves in Cage's chest with a running dropkick, causing the fans to pop huge for the sheer impact. Cage crumbles to the mat and rolls to the outside where he clutches at his chest in pain]

MN: OOH MY GOD!!

DT: Walker damn near killed Cage with that dropkick!

[Not merely content with that, Walker gets up again, charging Young again. Unfortunately, he meets nothing but turnbuckle, as Young slips away, falling on all fours near the corner. Walker hits the corner hard, bouncing almost to the centre of the ring from the impact, clutching his chest. The referee looks around puzzled as all three men stay on the mat]

DT: All three men down. Some innovative offence there from Walker, but it caught up with him.

MN: That's what you get for trying too much I guess.

DT: My word.

MN: What?

DT: You've forgotten the steak already?

MN: Oh yeah...

DT: HA!!

[Cage is the first to rise, clearly winded from the impact. He kicks Walker in the head, before moving over to Young, connecting with a stalling suplex. Seeing Walker start to rise, and feeling generous, he gives Walker the same treatment, the crowd popping for the display of strength. Cage lifts Walker up again, whipping him to the ropes, catching him on the rebound with a spinning spine buster, floating over for the cover]

DT: That's the first cover of the match... two... Young breaks it up. Cage looks angry with him.

MN: Yeah, but that’s the thing with triple threats, you’ve got to keep two guys down.

[Cage rises quickly, hitting Young with a forearm to the face, followed by a knee to the gut, and a snap suplex. He lifts Young up again, whipping him to the ropes and following straight in with a shoulder block, knocking Young back onto the ropes. Cage steps back, charging in with a clothesline, knocking Young over the ropes to the outside, Young landing hard on the floor, clutching his knee]

DT: Cage dumps Young over the top.

[Walker, having had a few moments to recover, charges behind Cage, who ducks an attempted lariat and goes behind Walker pushing him into the ropes and rolls back with a rolling back cradle.]

DT: Cage rolling Walker up here.

MN: Swerve.

[Cage continues rolling so that he and Walker both roll back on to their feet. Cage waistlocks Walker and takes him over with a German Suplex, holds and rolls with it taking Walker over with a second.]

DT: Cage with a pair of Germans.

MN: And he's rolling with it again.

[Cage keeps his hold on Walker and rolls with it. Walker starts to fight out of it instinctively but that's put to a stop when Cage hammers him with a forearm to the shoulders and Walker stumbles forward a little. Cage quickly waistlocks Walker again draping an arm over his head. He lifts him up and Walker again tries fighting out of it punching him on the head.]

DT: Walker desperately trying to escape another suplex.

[Cage stumbles a bit and drops Walker forward letting his legs bounce off the ropes and tries slingshotting him over. Walker manages to roll back landing behind Cage and blasts him with an elbow smash to the back of the head.]

MN: Walker just pummels Cage with a hard shot to the head.

DT: Yeah but those two Germans have done a bit of damage as well.

[Walker tries to shake the cobwebs, shuffling after Cage, who is draped over the top rope trying to clear his head. Walker waistlocks Cage with one of his arms draped over his neck.]

DT: Walker now going for a suplex of his own.

MN: Wait this isn't a suplex Thomas...

[Walker pushes at Cage's leg and turns him in mid-air and hits a release Blue Thunder but Walker still being a little groggy just drops him over the top rope instead.]

[HUGE POP!]

DT: HOLY…

MN: I think everyone here agrees with you Thomas.

DT: Cage is dead, he's has to be after that!

[Walker slumps down on to the ropes and regains his wits. Meanwhile, Young has managed to recover somewhat. He rolls under the bottom rope, using the ropes to help him get to his feet, before walking slowly over to Walker. Hooking in a front face lock, Young tries to suplex Walker, who fights back with a couple of shots to the gut]

DT: Young now back on the attack, looking for the suplex.

MN: Walker’s having none of it though, fighting back…Young lifts him up…

[As Young lifts Walker up, Walker manages to push himself up and over his foe, landing behind him. He hits an elbow to the back of Young’s head, before spinning him round and hitting him with an inverted brain buster. Aka, the Broken Arrow]

DT: BROKEN ARROW…Walker covers….

ONE…

TWO…

THR…NO, Cage with the save. He lifts Walker, looking to put him away now… whip to the ropes… NICE flying forearm there by Walker.

[Cage tries to get up, but is met with a kick to the face from Walker, who lifts Cage up, setting him up for the Broken Arrow. Cage fights free, hooking Walker for a T-bone suplex, but Walker fights out of that, hooking the Broken Arrow again. Meanwhile, Young has moved up behind Walker, hitting him squarely in the back, hooking him in a full nelson before lifting him up and over for the dragon suplex, planting Walker on the back of his head]

MN: And Young’s back in it. I swear, this one’s too close to call.

[Young looks over towards Walker, seeing him on the mat holding the back of his head. Before he can look again, however, Brien Cage floors him with a clothesline. Cage then lifts him, locking in a hammerlock, before lifting Young up and dropping him on his arm. Not content, or perhaps wanting to end the match quickly, Cage runs the ropes, scoring a drop kick to Young’s face. Lifting Young up, he takes him over to the corner, lifting him onto the top rope, hitting him a couple of times across the chest before moving up to the second rope, setting him up for the T-bone suplex]

DT: Looks like a T-bone coming from the top rope.

MN: So THAT’S where you ordered it?

DT: …You’re annoying sometimes, you know that?

MN: So’s Walker, just ask Cage.

[Before Cage could suplex Young, Walker manages to hit a couple of forearms to his kidneys. Walker dumps Cage over the rope onto the floor, the smack as Cage hits the mats eliciting a mild pop from the front row fans. Walker slowly climbs the ropes, head butting Young]

MN: Walker setting up…something…

DT: Very astute there Mike. But this looks bad for Young, whatever it is.

MN: Now who’s being astute?

Young, almost sitting on his shoulders, before spinning round, connecting with a hurricanrana with high impact. He sits it out, hooking Young’s legs as the referee makes the count]

DT: HURRICANRANA FROM THE TOP… ONE…TWO….THREE!!! WALKER WINS IT!!

MN: Good win there for Walker…now, where’s my steak?

TONY FATORA: Here is your winner... TYROOOOOOOOOOOOONE... WAAAAAALKEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRR!!!

DT: What an effort from these three young lions, but in the end it's Tyrone Walker who comes out on top!

MN: That kid's been impressive, yo. What's that thing he does, the Luke Skywalker? That's crazy shiz, yo!

DT: He certainly had made quite an impact here in Empire Pro Wrestling, Mike. Don't go away, fans! Up next, it's John Doe and Kevin Watson in a steel cage match!

MN: It's gonna be a madhouse, Wendy's Man. Now WHERE'S MY DAMN STEAK?!

DT: *sigh*