El Rey sneered, insofar as a jaguar could, and allowed Xavier his silence. There would be time for banter later, when the roles of predator and prey had been established; but in the now, it was far more appropriate for the hunters to stalk one another in silence.

He practically slammed his palms into Xavier's when they were close enough. The force he generated in that small space was enough to release a resounding boom, followed by a wave so palpable that it could be felt across the system, if not through the billions of screens at home than through the roar of the fans watching them. Of course, it was mostly for show, any pain that resulted from the collision would be mutual and even the effect it had on the red cloud of power was intentionally negligible. And while the fans went wild El Rey was busy studying Xavier. Even with his sixth sense prowling through the man’s aura, taking stock of the fog around them and the blood running down his face in equal measure, there were some things that could only true be understood once they were felt. His strength, for example, was appreciable but also expected; it was instead Xavier’s increased body weight that drew the majority of El Rey's curiosity.

Overall there was still much for him to learn about this challenger, but the first impression sketched the image of a warrior who was at once stubborn and powerful.

Meanwhile, El Rey’s stance was a mirror of Xavier's, his feet spread three lengths apart with the right forward and the left back. El Rey's wrists refused to bend and instead used his height to descend upon Xavier’s wrists and return the favor. Whatever advantage Xavier's compact build gave him was met in equal measure by the first feral snarls of his waking god, and like this they were equally matched, maintaining a stalemate that caused the ring and air to quiver in terror. However, if they were to continue like this than the physiological differences would likely drive Xavier back, or force his hand. But, it was not to be, at the fifth beat passed El Rey’s left knee snapped up and into Xavier's abdomen, the force was more than enough to lift the miniature wall from his feet and would have killed a lesser man on impact. There would be a second knee incoming and a third one after that, each one stronger than the last with no signs of stopping until Xavier forced them to or El Rey grew bored of striking.

This however, was but a distant possibility, though the prospect of juggling Xavier on the cap of his knee was an amusing one, but the chances of his opponent being so weak after such an entrance were negligible. More interesting that would be seeing how the blood pooling around Xavier's abdomen reacted to the implacable armor that covered El Rey's entire body, how his opponent’s hyper density dealt to the prospect of enough blunt force trauma to bring down a building, and whether the warrior was planning some manner of trap with the building fog. Amid it all a second orifice emerged on El Rey’s armored flesh and his pooling power grew deeper with it.