DT: Well fellas, up next we’ve got the Intercontinental Title match. Sebastian Dodd has been very silent all week and in fact I haven’t seen him at the arena…but I’m told…..

[Cue up "Eat the Rich."]

DT: What the hell?

MN: That's not Sebastian Dodd's music!

DM: How astute of you to notice, Neels.

[Enter JA, mic in hand.]

MN: What's HE doing out here?

DM: Shut up and you'll find out.

JA: Well, it seems that Promo-bot 7500X has taken too much of a shine to his New York apartment that he seems to set every one of his segments in. Either that, or the crosstown traffic was too much for him, because he's not here tonight. Now, Dragonite, I know you were scheduled to face off against our special little robot, and I'm guessing you probably are expecting to win the Eye-See Title by default, which are, according to Homer Simpson, the two sweetest words in the English language.

But because I know that you're a proud competitor, and because Danny Boy doesn't want this Championship to lose any luster by another exchange of it out of the ring, well, I'm gonna step in and take El Botador's spot. You might be wondering why... well, seeing that the last holder of this belt is locked up in a tight battle with the Midget Whupper, and the last holder before him got stuck on the subway between John Rocker and a homosexual single mother with pink hair, well, I guess the line of succession comes to me.

Yeah, that's right, and besides, I never quite liked the way I lost that strap anyway...

[JA throws the mic and heads towards the ring.]

DT: I’m in shock… JA is facing Karl Brown for the Intercontinental championship?

DM: He’s a former champion, and he’s definitely a fitting replacement for Sebastian Dodd. It’s going to test how Brown can think in the ring – he’ll have planned for a mat-based match against Dodd, not for a high-flyer like JA.

DT: That’s what I’m worried about – is this going to throw the number one contender off his game-plan?

DM: We’ll find out. Brown is asking the ref if this is OK, but if the boss has signed it it’s OK. Brown did used to say he’d fight whoever Ryan booked him against in whatever match.

MN: That’s how we got the first ever chain match here!!

DT: JA is calling across the ring to Brown to get the match started. Brown now moving to the middle of the ring, and JA now joining him.

[Tentatively, both men tease a lock-up. Just before they engage, Brown stands up, backing away and rolling his neck. Again, the two men go for each other, tentatively, but before they lock-up, JA backs away, taunting Brown with an exaggerated rolling of the neck. Rather than letting it get to him, Brown chuckles to himself, waiting for JA to finish. The two start to inch closer, going for another attempted lock-up]

DT: Both men lock up, but neither seems to have an advantage.

DM: I’m surprised at JA. He’s got the speed advantage and he’s not starting out by making good of it.

DT: Brown now starting to push up, forcing JA onto the back foot. Into the ropes, and the breaks clean… NO!! JA turns Brown into the ropes and hammers him with three hard right hands!!

DM: Brown’s trying to get the hands up, but JA backs away and charges in with a clothesline over the top!! This is where the speed advantage comes in, but Brown’s done a smart thing there by rolling against the apron.

DT: The Anglo Luchador must have caught Brown off-guard there.

MN: Not too difficult that, even for someone like JA. My Hero would’ve slaughtered both these jokers.

DT: The referee telling Brown to get back into the ring, and JA’s holding the ropes open for him!

DM: I’ve known Brown since his career started – you can play around with him outside the ring, but he doesn’t suffer fools when the bell rings. You saw what he did to Hiroshi all those months ago, and he wasn’t in that bad a mood that night.

DT: I’ll agree, Brown’s a talent, but JA’s got to have all the advantages here tonight. Brown was working towards a match with Dodd, and JA’s got a slight weight and major experience advantage.

DM: But Brown’s being smart here, making the ref force JA away from the ropes. So long as Brown doesn’t let JA get into his head he should be fine.

DT: Brown now sliding in on his belly, keeping his eyes on JA, and both men are now standing in centre ring again. Brown asking JA if he wants to try another lock-up by the looks of things.

MN: Snap.

DT: JA backed away there and Brown just slapped the taste out of his mouth!!

DM: Look at his face though, he’s not looking angry. JA’s holding his jaw, and fires back with a slap of his own!

DT: Brown shakes his head and… he’s smiling?

DM: Things look ready to heat up.

[And they do. Brown comes in with a hard right hand, rocking JA and forcing him against the ropes. Brown whips JA off the ropes, catching him on the rebound with a spinning back elbow. JA quickly rolls to his feet, but Brown catches him with a standing drop-kick to the face. JA tries to get up again, but is met with a kick to the gut followed by a side Russian leg-sweep]

DT: Brown with the cover… kickout just after one there, and JA wisely rolling to the ropes. I don’t think he expected that from Brown.

DM: Brown’s more known for his technical game, and I thought he’d look to employ that tonight, but I think he just turned it up a notch to show JA that the luchador isn’t the only one who can go at a higher pace.

MN: Dodd’s faster.

DT: Dodd’s not here, Mike. The fans showing some appreciation for that exchange as JA now seems to be moving with some trepidation, or at least respect.

DM: JA now moving back to the centre of the ring, but Brown cuts him off with a knee to the gut. Following it up with a headlock takedown, he’s got JA almost square on his back!!

MN: Very technical that knee.

DT: Brown synching in the hold. One.. TWO… JA gets the shoulder up there after letting it just sink.

DM: He’s going to have to be careful in this position – one quick lapse of concentration and he could lose the match before it even really begins.

[Referee David Rosenkrantz asks JA if he wants to call it quits, but the masked-man shakes his head as best he can. Starting to rock, he tries to pull Karl’s hair to lock in a headscissors, but the ref calls him on it and the headlock stays on. Finally, though, JA manages to get his leg up high enough to catch Brown across the throat, pushing him down into a headscissors and breaking the headlock. Brown is quick to react, nipping up and out, but JA swings his legs round and sweeps the Englishman to the mat]

DT: One...

TWO…

Kickout by Brown!! JA now scoring with a kick to the head, and a hard elbow to the top of the head there. JA looking to slow Brown down.

DM: Nice somersault neckbreaker from behind there, another quick cover but nowhere near. Smart move from JA, switching the pacing and taking the fight to Brown. A lot of people have discovered to their peril the dangers of underestimating Brown or letting him control the pace.

[Unperturbed, JA picks Brown up, whipping him into the corner, following up quickly with a clothesline. He then staggers the Englishman with a hard right hand, followed by a series of kicks, starting at the thighs before working his way to the gut, chest, and finally with one extra hard shot, the head of Brown. JA then vaults quickly to the outside, before vaulting back in with a hard elbow drop. Sensing he has the advantage, he picks Brown up by the hair, catching him in the throat with a fingertip-strike. Whipping Brown off the ropes, he takes him down on the rebound with a leg-lariat, followed by a somersault legdrop and a cover]

DT: One…

TWO!!

Kickout there by Brown. JA really has Brown on the back-foot here, not letting him guess what speed or from where an attack is coming, as he now twists the neck of Brown.

MN: He’s almost Dodd like.

DM: It’s a smart move, too, going for all these covers. Each time he kicks-out, Brown is using more and more energy. I’ve seen him train, but no amount of stamina will keep you going indefinitely, and JA’s as fit as Brown.

DT: Brown shouting at Rosenkrantz that he has no intention of giving up, and JA picks him up now, applying a side-headlock. Brown though trying to pry his way out of it… and a shot to the kidneys there by Brown, as he’s trying to mount some offence now.

[Brown manages to ease the pressure on his neck, and goes to lift JA up for a suplex, but the veteran lands on his feet before jumping forward and reapplying the headlock. Brown tries to push JA off using the ropes, but JA’s grip remains too strong. Finally, Brown turns, reaching up for the mask of the luchador. Pulling back on the chin of the masked man, he manages to get out of the hold, dropping JA down with a reverse DDT. Both men lay on the mat for a few seconds, before Brown gets to his knees, shaking the cobwebs, as JA rolls to his feet, shaken by the sudden impact but in better shape than his opponent]

DT: JA coming in, but he’s met with a right hand by Brown there, straight to the gut. Brown pushing JA back with one hand, but

MN: SNAP!!

DT: Karl Brown just took JA down with a standing hurricanrana!!

DM: But notice he’s not going for the cover? He’s taking his time to get his breath back, and he’s up before JA. He takes JA down, and he’s grabbed hold of the leg of JA.

DT: Brown now stamping on the back of the hamstring.

MN: Smart move. Keep the man at a crawl.

DM: Brown now going for a standing leg-lock, twisting the leg round and leaning over JA’s body to put more pressure on the knee and hamstring there. JA’s no stranger to methodical wrestling, but he does prefer to fly.

[Still holding onto the leg, Brown performs a somersault over JA, who promptly lets out a cry that can be heard across the arena. Holding his hamstring, JA rolls on the mat, as Brown plants a knee in the ribs of the masked wrestler. Rolling him onto his back, he manages a two count. Unfazed by his opponents resilience, he grabs the leg of JA and performs another somersault, this time holding onto the leg as he gets to his feet. He drags JA over to the ropes, placing the injured leg on the bottom rope, before jumping up and sitting down on the inside of the veterans knee]

DM: This is what Brown’s needed to do all match. He’s found an advantage, and he’s also changed his style to take into account the new opponent.

MN: Wonder how his girl’s going to feel about this? Cheating.

DT: I thought Brown was single?

MN: That’s not what I’ve heard.

DT: Leaving his personal life to one side, Brown comes down again on the knee of JA. It’s a smart move but despicable, and David Rosenkrantz is letting him know it.

MN: My Messiah would still be kicking both their asses.

[Ignoring the admonishments of the referee, Brown steps through the ropes, vaulting over the ropes and coming down with his elbow straight onto the inside of JA’s leg. Rather than going for the cover, Brown rolls to the outside, wrapping his opponents leg across the apron before pulling him out onto the floor]

DT: What’s Brown doing?

DM: Whatever it is I’m sure it’s not going to be fun for JA.

DT: Brown now with JA up by the mask, and a hard chop across the chest. Brown now with a hard slam on the outside.

MN: Not very Doddly.

DM: Careful how you say that, you might get a lawsuit.

MN: Huh?

DM: Never mind.

DT: Someone who should mind is the Anglo luchador, as The Dragon now whipping him back first into the guardrail. Another chop across the chest, and Brown’s certainly slowed down from his first offence tonight.

MN: Walking through to door of the arena?

DM: Someone is so going to hurt you some day, Mike.

MN: Dodd will protect me.

DT: I doubt it. Brown now whipping JA into the barrier down the length of the ring. Charging in… OH MY GOD!!

[Dave’s sentiments are echoed as a “HOLY-SH[beep]!!” chant starts as soon as JA drops down, and somehow manages to back body drop Brown over the barrier, and straight onto chairs that moments before, security, thinking Brown would connect with a clothesline, cleared to protect the fans. Several fans start trying to touch Brown on the shoulders and arms as security restrains them]

DT: Referee Dave Rosenkrantz is coming over, and I don’t believe what we’ve just seen!!

DM: JA’s holding his leg after those shots to the knee and hamstring in the ring, and Brown’s looking in bad shape over the barrier… can we get a replay?

[The screen cuts in two. The live image shows the referee trying to see if Brown’s in any fit state to continue. In the replay, we see the last few steps of Brown charging in, this time on a side-on view. In slow motion, we see JA dip down and force The Dragon into the air. Brown lands squarely, back first, on the backrest of a chair, causing it to topple backwards as a fan was being pulled out of the way. The image repeats, as JA starts to get to his feet on the live shot]

DT: Brown landed on his back on the chairs. Dave Rosenkrantz is talking to him, and he hasn’t raised his arms yet, thank god.

DM: One thing I’d hate to happen is another neck injury like the one Tyrone Walker suffered at Unleashed.

MN: Brown took a chance and it didn’t pay off.

DT: Brown is finally starting to try for his feet, pulling himself up using the referee.

DM: JA on his feet as well now, and he’s got Brown by the head. Rosenkrantz is trying to get JA to back off, though after a few of the tricks Brown’s pulled I don’t think he’s going to have much success.

DT: JA with a shot to the jaw of Brown, hooking the head…SUPLEX TO THE FLOOR!!

DM: I don’t know if that was a smart or dumb move. On the one hand, it does more damage to Brown’s neck and back after going into the chairs. On the other, it takes a lot of length strength to pull a suplex that tightly, and it also takes JA onto the very thin padding out there.

MN: It’s JA and Brown. Whoever’d done something it wouldn’t have been as smart as something Dodd would’ve done.

DT: These two are going at it tooth and nail here tonight. I can’t believe two men could hit each other so hard and not even have been feuding before tonight.

DM: JA’s looking to win another title, and Brown’s looking to win his first. I can understand how this would be a heavy hitting contest. JA now back up to his feet, picking Brown up, and he’s trying to roll him back into the ring.

DT: Cover…

TWO!!

THRNO!!! Brown manages to get the shoulder up at the last minute there. That had to be instinct.

DM: No doubt about it – he’ll be groggy for a while. In the Natural Selection Summer Solstice match, he was eliminated because he couldn’t get his bearings back after a suplex onto a ladder, which allowed the Worlds champion to get the fall.

[In the ring, JA shakes out his leg, holding onto the second rope for support. Picking Brown up by the hair, he executes a backbreaker, letting The Dragon slump onto the canvas before stomping on the chest of the Englishman. Picking him up again, he Irish Whips him across the ring, rolling through and springing up [clearly on his good leg] to take Brown down with a flying shoulder. He looks like he’s going to go for a cover, but instead pulls Brown up and throws him through the middle ropes to the outside on the side closest the ramp]

DT: And now it looks like JA’s got some plans for Brown on the outside!

DM: JA measuring Brown, but I do not recommend this… he hits it!! Vaulting over the ropes with a plancha there, not a smart move this stage in the match, but a risk JA obviously thought worth taking.

DT: I don’t understand how two people could go at it like this for a title.

DM: That’s why you’re this side of the announce booth. Titles mean a lot to a wrestler, especially if you’ve been close to winning them on so many occasions as these two men have.

DT: JA now, trying to pull Brown up, but Brown scores with a shot to the ribs!! Brown now trying to fire back with a right hand, but JA cuts him off with a knee to the gut.

[Following the knee, JA lands a hard elbow to the back of the Englishman’s neck. Brown falls to the floor, rolling away from the ring towards the ramp, and starts to claw his way back up the ramp as the referee joins the two combatants on the outside. JA gives Brown a quick kick to the back, then tries to pick him up again, but Brown connects with a shot to the bridge of the masked mans nose, causing him to tear-up and take a few steps back to try and compose himself. As JA comes back in, Brown is waiting with a forearm smash, which he follows with two hard right hands. David Rosenkrantz tries to get the two men back into the ring, but Brown scoops the masked man up, slamming him hard onto the rampway]

DT: Brown now looking to be back in control, though he’s holding his back a little from that trip into the chairs.

DM: Both these men have been going at it hard, and they’re really feeling it. Brown now rolling JA back into the ring.

DT: Picking him up… hard snap suplex there. Floatover

One…

TWO!

THRNO!! JA just BARELY manages to get the shoulder up. Karl Brown looks annoyed he couldn’t get the three there, as he locks in a reverse chin-lock, forcing JA to carry his weight as well!!

MN: Wake me up when it’s over, you know I hate technical bores.

DM: This has been anything but a clinical technician match, Mike. JA trying to fight, but Brown’s got the hold locked in pretty tight.

DT: And the crowd are starting to clap for the luchador!!

DM: They’ve been pretty split most of the match – I’m thinking they just want this match to go on as long as possible.

DT: Nevertheless, if JA can’t break this hold, the match is going to be over very soon.

MN: Dodd be praised.

DT: JA fading, and he looks out of it. The ref’s going and checking the arm. It goes down once.

Down twice…

Down AND BACK UP!! JA JUST LIFTED HIS ARM AGAIN BEFORE THE REFEREE COULD RING THE BELL!!

[The fans really start to cheer as JA, somehow, manages to clip Brown round the back of the head with a flimsy shot. JA tries a second time, with little effect. A third lands squarer, and a forth lands squarely on the Englishman’s jaw, forcing him to loosen his grip. JA uses this to roll sideways, getting to his feet as quickly as he can, and hitting Brown in the face with a dropkick which leaves both men flat on the canvas]

DT: Both men down now, as JA looks like he’s used the last of any energy he had!!

DM: Referee Dave Rosenkrantz is checking both men, and they’ve done just about all they can to try and keep up with each other in this match. I don’t know how smart that was on the part of JA to try something like a dropkick at this stage in the match, but sometimes when you’re in there, adrenaline kicks in and you don’t always think ahead.

MN: He never does.

DT: The referee now up to three on his count.

Four

Five…

Six… Brown’s starting to stir…

Seven…

Eight… Brown to his knees, trying to get up…

Nine…

JA NIPPED UP!!

[Indeed, the masked man has nipped up, running into Brown with a clothesline as the Englishman just gets to his feet. JA follows the move up quickly with an elbow to the face, before catching Brown before he can get fully to his feet with a belly-to-back suplex. Going to the outside, he signals it’s all about to end]

DT: JA going to the outside, to the top rope.

DM: Bad idea.

DT: Measuring Brown…

DM: Bad idea…

DT: FOURFIFTY NO!!! BROWN MOVED OUT OF THE WAY BUT JA LANDS ON HIS FEET PREMATURELY!!

DM: And Brown thinks he avoided the move!!

DT: JA now springing into Brown in the corner!! Whipping Brown across the ring, catching him with a bulldog in the rebound. Measuring Brown now… LIONSAULT!!

One…

TWO!!

NO!! Brown gets the shoulder up AGAIN!! JA signalling for the end here though.

DM: He’s hooking him around the waist in the gut-wrench position, but he’s having trouble getting him up.

MN: He always does.

DT: Brown’s holding JA’s leg!! The luchador trying to get Brown to release the hold, but Brown won’t budge!! JA releasing the gut wrench, he pushes Brown away.

DM: Brown with a backwards roll, JA charging in, but he misses with the clothesline!! Brown catches him in a waistlock, running to the ropes… CHAOS THEORY!! I NEVER thought I’d see that backwards-roll into a German Suplex performed here!!

DT: One…

TWO…

THRNO!! JA JUST gets the shoulder up at the last possible second there!! What an incredible maneouver!!

DM: That move was made famous by The Anarchist, Doug Williams, from Britain. Fitting that Brown pulls it out here to try and win the IC title.

DT: Brown now telling the ref it was three, but Rosenkrantz is having none of it!! JA trying to get to his feet, and Brown’s arguing with the ref instead of pressing the advantage!! JA now coming up behind Brown, spins him around and a kick to the gut… KARELIN NO!!

DM: Nice counter by Brown, JUST grabbing the leg as JA pulled him up, causing him to lose balance. Both men are down now, and it looks like JA’s leg is hurting from the work Brown did on it earlier.

DT: Both men trying with all they’ve got to get to their feet. Brown up first, waiting on JA… DRAGON’S BITE!! DRAGON’S BITE!!

ONE!!

TWO!!

THREE!!! HE’S DONE IT!!! HE’S WON THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!

[sfx: dingdingdingding]

TONY FATORA: Th’ winner of the match… and NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW Empire Pro Wrestling INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION… Karl… THE DRAGON… BBBBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNN!!!

DT: The Dragon is the new Intercontinental Champion and JA.....JA is just as much a class act as there is....just getting to his feet and shaking the hand of the champion....

[Brown climbs a turnbuckle and holds the belt up high for the crowd as flashbulbs go off all over the arena.]

DT: What a great night of action so far.... the Television Title Final is up NEXT!!!!

NEXT