Clash of the gladiators

As the show went on, I was sitting in my locker room feeling anxious about my mystery opponent. I've been hearing about there being a fed war between us and this other group called WEW. It all started on Twitter with Corey and James Shark talking to some of the members there who attempted to demote IWF and said that their fed is the better of the two. After several exchanged between both members of the two feds, it's been set in stone: We are going to war.

However tonight I'm not thinking about the war or my friends Duke and Brian who are watching the show from the front seats eagerly awaiting my arrival. Tonight I'm thinking about who I plan to face in that ring, and after watching Brandon get off the phone with someone on my T.V set, I decided I've waited long enough. I walked up to Brandon's office just as my match was about to get underway.

(OOC: This is from last week's show, just edited on my end.)

Brandon Macdonald: Can I help you?

Steel Angel: Hello Brandon, so tell me who am I fighting tonight?

Brandon Macdonald: You know, I never congratulated you on becoming the 4th person to hold the Briefcase. And the first to hold it after not winning the Tournament. So congratulations Steel. Maybe if you cash it in, you’ll finally become a legend like you’ve always dreamed. Or you’ll lose and go down in history.

Steel Angel: Well I am destined to become a legend, winning this briefcase is just a step towards that road.

Brandon Macdonald: True, True, But you know, the thing about legends. They have a habit of either being great, or getting slayed.

Steel Angel: .....I don’t follow

Brandon Macdonald: You should get out there Steel, You’re about to find out who this mystery opponent is.

Well alot of help that did me, I guess I have no other option than to go out to that ring and find out myself. I had my gear on and my game face, I was ready and waiting to take on whoever Brandon has in store for me. My music would play as I emerged into the ramp and took a careful look around. I could just see Duke and Brian just a few feet from the middle of the ramp. I gave them a slight nod as I walked on by, entered the ring, did my pose, and then waited in the center. I stared out towards the entrance ramp, Brandon's words echoing in my head.....

"But you know the thing about legends, they have a habit of either being great, or getting slayed."

It only took me less than a minute to remember where I heard that phrase from.

Yuko: Wait........isn’t he referring t-

And as if to confirm my suspicions, out comes the man who should have stayed away from IWF, the self proclaimed "Legend Slayer" Ryan Apollos. I couldn’t help but shake my head and laugh; I mean I don't believe what I'm seeing. Ryan is my mystery opponent? Wow what a way to spoil my excitement there Brandon, I came into this fight expecting a warrior, instead what I got is a puppy.

Ryan didn't even last two minutes in that ring with me, he made the mistake of pissing me off with that weak sucker punch and just like that I was in berserk mode. I destroyed him in record time, nailing both a Skyward Breakdown and a Final Judgment just for good measure. However I was far from done as I kindly introduced my friend Death Angel who Ryan a nice welcome back in the form of a huge fist right into his jaw. If he wasn’t already knocked out from my onslaught, then that punch defiantly put him to sleep for good. I exited the ring, and headed backstage, I wasn’t satisfied with that match, and something had to be done.

That was when the main event came around; both Upper Limit and Team Swag took on each other for a chance to become legit tag champs. I waited until the right moment to strike and that moment coulden't have come at a better time, I moved in crowbar in hand and killed two birds with one stone. Getting rid of the trash first and then turned my attention to Shark, all that anger from those insults, all that frustration I took out on James. Then I saw the chance and attempted to cash in, but as expected Corey ran in to save the day. However little does Corey know that he is just playing right to my hands, that was when I made my announcement and in the end there was only two people who were standing strong: Me and Corey.

As the show started to end, I went back to my locker and got dressed, I made sure I had everything packed up before leaving the room. Once outside, it was cool and windy I would soon hear the voices of Brian and Duke calling out to me. I waited until they caught up to me before we all walked together, just the three of us.

Duke Dice: Man that awesome Yuko! Why didn't you tell me that you can do shit like that!? It was wicked as hell!

Brian Pitcher: Show off.

Duke just punched Brian on the arm and I simply smiled, it was nice to have pals like these two. Bringing them here to see me perform help out a lot. Perhaps in the future I can get them to watch me more often, it's always comforting to have some familiar faces around for a change.

Duke Dice: But really man that was just freaking awesome! I dropped my popcorn and my soda when I saw you do that double front flip thing, what was that exactly?

Brian Pitcher: Whatever it was, it looked really painful.

Yuko Isuma: Well it's a move that I learned back when I first started wresling, I call it the Final Judgment.

Duke Dice: Wow......I mean just wow dude, eheh I mean I'm just shocked right now, that was a great show.

Brian Pitcher: Yeah I agree, I actually like wrestling now.

We both stopped and turned to Brian; he could feel our gaze on him.

Brian Pitcher: What?

Yuko Isuma: You like wrestling? Now that's something I never thought I hear from you!

Brian Pitcher: Well it's true I mean when I watched football and stuff with my dad, I never liked it. That stuff you guys do though is something else.

Me and Duke exchanged glances with each other, Brian wasn’t really kidding. I put my hand over his forehead, trying to see if he was running a fever or something. He was perfectly fine, heh I suppose I did inspire someone, amazing what you can do.

Duke Dice: I take we gotta go home now right?

Yuko Isuma: Yeah we have to unfortunately; we have to get up early to catch the plane.

Duke Dice: Any chance you can take us next week?

Yuko Isuma: Unfortunately not this time boys, don't though I'll see to it that this won't the last time we travel together like this.

Brian Pitcher: Man I hope not, I really like to see more IWF now.

Yuko Isuma: Unbelievable........well we better get going.

We took a taxi back to the hotel and checked in for the last time. When morning arrived, I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and changed my clothes. We all took off with our luggage and made sure to check out of the hotel, saying our goodbyes to the people before we left. We boarded the plane and within a few moments we took off back to San Diego, the hours flew by like minutes and we on level ground once more. Our rides awaited us; we all drove back home, back to our normal lives, back to normal just like always. I was feeling the jet lag rushing through me, but at this point I was already used to it. Spending week after week traveling on plane going from place to place you get over the effects of the lag from travel. My internal clock is messed up slightly however I didn't mind if I over sleep during the week since I didn't have much to do anyway. However I had a press conference coming up as I get ready for my rematch against the new tag champ of Team Swag Cody Taylor. However there are so many days before that big event, I have to train even harder than ever before. I have to keep the pressure up; I need to keep attacking Shark on all sides and Corey at bay. So far the fruits of my efforts are already starting to show: Though Shark is still number one in the rankings, he's fallen in the top ten listing of all the best athletes right now. Plus I've heard from various news reports that all of James's personal trainers including Hanson Cottle who has always stayed with Shark through thick and thin. The guy doesn’t want to admit it, but he's losing his touch and his ego is breaking up bit by bit. Between dealing with me and Corey, this fed war and keeping his title while I'm hiding in the corners watching his every move. Shark is being hit hard and while he and Cody have gained some ground last week by winning the tag titles, they will have a hard time bouncing back in time for this show. With Corey and Shark, two bitter foes who will take on the IWF roster while I deal with the "warrior" himself in a revenge match.

I have so much to do, so much to prepare for, I could deal a huge blow in Team Swag's ego by handing Cody a 2nd loss. He is really tough opponent, there is no denying that, however I have to go into this fight with the same fire and determination that I had when I first fought this punk at Spring Fling, I have to prove that my win over him was no fluke.

It will be a battle alright, and they couldn’t have picked a more fitting place to settle this conflict: An arena where the gladiators of old have fought.
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Location: Arena di Verona, Verona, Italy.
Date: April 21st, 2012.
Time: Unknown.


I wondered into what appeared to be a forest of some kind, I didn't know where I was or how I got here, but I kept on going. I could see what looked to be some kind of structure but I didn't know what it was, I just walked in when suddenly the entrance was sealed up and I was blinded by the many lights that started shining through. I noticed my attire: I was wearing faded blue overalls and a red shirt on the inside, I also had brown shoes on. I looked around wondering what was going on when I suddenly heard laughter from behind me, I turned around and this was what I saw:



Corey Casey: Welcome Steelio to my arena of death!

I was going looking at the size difference between myself and Corey, but I soon smirked and tilted my head pretending to be amazed.

Steel Angel: Hello there bumbclot Corey, you look different, did you do something with your hair?

Corey Casey: Hey fuck you I'm sparkling bitch!

Steel Angel: Wow you never told me that you were related to Edward Cullen.

Corey Casey: Oh you done it now, I will show you some respect!

However before he could do anything, I was shaken aware by one of the stage heads who was sent to fetch me. I must have dozed off while I waiting for my press conference. I waved the guy away and dusted myself off, I walked past the curtain and was greeted by the sea of people who gathered just outside the walls of the arena where IWF will do battle. I nodded and smiled as I stood before the podium and tapped on the mic before I spoke.

Yuko Isuma: You'll have to forgive me as I've never done a press conference before, but hey first time for everything right?

Some the crowd laughed which made me relax some more, at least these guys are flexible.

Yuko Isuma: Alright you guys know the drill, I only have time for a few question so let's get it to it.

Just then a woman from the crowd raised her hand. I pointed to her and everyone got quiet as she spoke, being loud enough so that I could hear.

Reporter 1: Mr. Steel Angel sir, it's come to everyone's attention that you have Corey and Shark go up against the IWF roster. Might I ask what the reason behind your choice was?

Yuko Isuma: Well it's really simple really; see when I've heard from our GM Brandon Macdonald that we are going to war with another federation. I couldn’t help but notice that this place is lacking........motivation, we have all these new talents coming in, but most of them just break after the first two weeks. These guys have to understand that this is a tough business; you have to be strong and willing to be able to have any success. By pitting the whole roster against two of the best athletes IWF has right now, the news guys now have a chance to put their name on the spot, by being the ones who said that they took out both the number one contender and the Heavyweight champion. Corey seems to think that I'm hurting this federation, I'm not I'm merely just improving it.

Reporter 2: Tonight you are competing against Cody Taylor tonight in what everyone is calling Revenge of a warrior. What are your thoughts regarding Cody?

Yuko Isuma: Cody is a punk, that’s all there is to it, the guy came in here bad mouthing me, showing no respect for me, coming here with those two belts that he won from a fed that didn't even last a few months. At Spring Fling I have taken those words that he said to me I made sure he eat every single one of them. Tonight I aim to make it two for two in this match.

Reporter 3: Last question, are you going to cash in your briefcase at Bloody Sunday?

Yuko Isuma: No.

My response took everyone by surprise, but while the reporters had more questions for me, I just waved them away and left the scene. I could only hope Corey and Cody were watching and listening very carefully, because I am a man on a mission and I will see to the very end.

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*The Shoot*

Cody my friend welcome to the coliseum, this place was once founded by one of the most powerful forces the world has ever seen, the Roman Empire. Countless criminals, slaves and prisoners of war were taken to this very place, to fight each other in a battle to the death of the sake of entertainment. Today you and I relive that gory history in this ring, in this match.

You know what, you're right about alot of things Cody, you're right for thanking me for giving you the tag titles, because that's the only real belt that you'll ever get. When you first came here, you were all up in my face, filling out a petition just so you can get into the ladder match for the briefcase, you stood between me and my revenge as well my chance for redemption.

Now after losing to me you have the fucking nerve to call my win over you a fluke? Hah weak Cody, pathetic and predicable, and the funny thing was that I was hoping you would say that too

I mean let's face it, you just couldn’t accept the fact that I got a clean win over you, that after all the trash talking, all the hype that you were building going into that match at Spring Fling. I took every word, every insult, and stuffed in down your throat, I made you eat that trash talk and let me tell you, it was a bittersweet victory for me.

Now we have this "revenge of a warrior" thing going on, you wanna talk about warriors? Dude I am a warrior, I am a fighter and I proved that to you at Spring Fling. You came at me with everything you had, you used you best moves, you hit your hardest punches, and you used every weapon you could get your hands on. Hell you even hit me with brass knucks, brass freaking knucks which you had kept conceiled within your glove. I took a direct hit from your fist, and you thought I was down and out.

However you made the biggest mistake in your life, you underestimated me, you took me lightly, you thought I was just going to lie down for you just roll over and die. Well I didn't now did I? I came right back after everything you threw at me, I kicked your off that ladder, sent your ass falling many feet down the ground below. You were left staring up at the lights while I took what was always rightfully mine, the briefcase. Ever since I won that match, I've been outsmarting you and outdoing you in every way shape and form. When I booked you to fight Shark, I watched as you two threw baby punches at each other and spent most of the time just rolling on the mat hugging one another. I mean wow I didn't know you two really liked each that much but whatever I'm not going to judge. After that double countout, you and Shark got punked by Sean Libby. Then the following week you and Shark took on Upper Limit, and while you won the tag titles Cody there were two things you didn't take into consideration: 1. Your team pinned Robbie and not Corey and 2. Shark got the win for the team and not you. Afterwards I came out with one goal in mind, to do some major damage to the champ. You were just in my way; I had to take out the scum first before I could focus on the real deal.

So yeah I'm glad you’re taking this fight seriously Cody, because lighting will strike twice in this arena. Two gladiators will fight before tens of thousands of fans screaming for bloodshed. It will rain blood indeed, you and I will do battle in the thunder dome where two man enter, one man leaves the winner and the other leaves with his head hung in shame.

Believe this Cody, last time I've cracked your ego. This time I will shatter it completely, I will send you packing back to that shithole fed that you come from, the one that IWF will be fighting shortly.

Trust me when I say that I'll be doing WEW a favor, because after I defeat you, you might wanna consider joining their side because this place is not for worthless people like you.