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[indent]The [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8XaV1yjabk]classic electric guitar riff[/url] of one of AWE’s finest veterans blared through the speakers, and a large mix of cheers and boos surrounded Zachary Wake as he stepped onto the entrance ramp, though it was clear that the boos were far more prominent. Zack smiled that glorious smile of his and proceeded down the ramp, purposely timing the walk out to match it with his music. Clothed in his favourite burgundy trunks adorned with the name “WAKE” in golden lettering on the back, Zachary made his way down the metal ramp with his chest held high. Many fans stuck their hands out for high-fives, and Zachary leaned towards them, even extending his hand, but as the fans swung towards Zack, he pulled his hand back close then pointed at the few who went for the high-fives and laughed at them. Their expressions turned sour, and Zack couldn’t get enough of it. Even after being in the business for a full decade, getting heat was still so fun, and the little things like that were the best bits.

Zachary rolled into the ring, and as the music hit 52 seconds, Zack closed his eyes, spread his arms wide and laughed, taking in anything and everything the crowd sent his way. After basking in the noise for a good ten seconds, and as the music faded, he faced the hard cam and flexed his muscles.

[color=1f71dd][b]“Well, the fans are happy to say how they feel about Zachary Wake, and it isn’t positive. And, I’ve got some good news for those watching at home: we had our last commercial break before this match began, so you’ll be enjoying this one without any further interruptions.”[/b][/color] Truth be told, Wade was just as hype as the raucous, on fire crowd was. There wasn’t a damn thing they could mess up with this match; Caiden Winters always had brilliant matches, and Zachary Wake was nothing to sneeze at.

As Zachary Wake’s music came to a close, Caiden Winters did not immediately start. Instead there was a brief pause, as the crowd got hot for the person the desperately wanted to see. Yes, they loved him, despite what he said when he was on the mic, despite how much he claimed to hate the fans, they adored Caiden. And it was hard not to! He was fantastically skilled, and whether the people backstage liked it or not, in this business, in ring ability and psychology got people to love you.[/indent]

[center]'CAI-DEN WIN-TERS’ 
‘CAI-DEN WIN-TERS’[/center]

[indent]Oh, it felt good. Caiden loved it, even if his character didn’t. That didn’t stop him from playing to the fans, at least a little bit. Working this match, he had been told to play it face; so face he would play. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvzL1S59i6o]The music hit[/url], and the man himself stepped to the top of the stage. [color=0f4891][b]“Is this what you came to see? You come to see me!?”[/b][/color] Ooh, felt good.

[color=1f71dd][b]“You hear the roar of the crowd? They’re answering Caiden Winter’s questions. And that answer is a heartfelt ‘yes.’ Don’t let them down.”[/b][/color]

Caiden’s stroll down to the ring continued, and by the time the music got to the chorus, Caiden had rolled into the ring, and was facing Zack; a certain air of confidence about him. He wasn’t going to lose this, no way. This was his time.

Zack met face to face with his opponent, and grinned at him. [color=FF0000][b]“You ready, boy?”[/b][/color] Each superstar radiated an immense amount of confidence, and the crowd was feeling it smack them in the face. It had been quite a while since these two last met, and now, only one of them would be progressing towards the AWE Championship.

Caiden smirked at his opponent, and nodded. The ring announcer stepped out of the ring, and the referee gestured for the bell to ring… and Caiden opened the match with a quick maneuver, running up to Zachary and jumping up for a dropkick, fluidly bending his body. High energy. The move connected beautifully, and Zack bounced backwards, dropping onto his backside and resting against the ring ropes. He looked up at the man now standing over him with a slight look of shock. The crowd accepted the move, and started up their chanting for Caiden once more.

Caiden grinned at his opponent on the floor after rolling up to his feet. Caiden put a hand up to the side of his head and flicked it out at Zack, firing a finger gun at him. [color=0f4891][b]“I know you got better than that in you.”[/b][/color] He said, gesturing for Zack to get up and bring it better than that.

[color=1f71dd][b]“Winters, showing a little bit of confidence here in the beginning of this match! What an explosive way to begin a match that’s sure to be a clinic.”[/b][/color]

Zachary happily obliged, and stood up. He then held his arms out and locked them in with Caiden. After a short back and forth struggle for power, Zack gained the upper hand, pushing his opponent up into the corner. The referee broke the hold after a few seconds, but as Zack began to turn away from Caiden, he quickly doubled back and sucker punched him right in the jaw. The crowd booed the action, as they should have, but Zack didn’t stop there. He grabbed Caiden’s head with both hands, then drove a knee into the man’s abdomen. [color=FF0000][b]“You wanted to see better? Well you’re gonna get better!”[/b][/color] After another punch, Zack grabbed Caiden’s arm with both hands, and dragged him away from the turnbuckles, attempting to throw him into the opposite corner.

Caiden was caught slightly off guard by the attack, but he was ready by the time Zack tried to throw him into the corner, countering and spinning around. He threw Zack into the corner himself but was quick to follow, ready to hit a corner kick and end this quick and clean. Zack expected the skilled Caiden to go for some big, flashy moves, so when he saw a big kick coming his way, Zack quickly ducked down and rolled out of the corner, allowing him some space. Zack turned to the crowd, and with a stern look on his face, shouted. [color=FF0000][b]“I AM THE BEST!”[/b][/color] This only made the crowd more aggressive towards Wake, but he didn’t care. This match existed to prove that exact point.

Caiden’s response was in the form of a move. Quickly turning out of the corner and running toward the ropes in front of Zack as he struck a pose. He jumped up onto the ropes, and put his feet on the second rope, launching himself into a backflip in the air. He flew backwards and smoothly grabbed Zack’s neck as he landed, dropping him down to the floor in a reverse neckbreaker. Caiden then hopped up to his feet and mimicked Zack’s pose, [color=0f4891][b]“I’M BETTER THAN THE BEST![/b][/color]

[color=1f71dd][b]“This is their chance to prove it! After all, the winner of this match advances in the tournament to crown the next AWE World Champion, an accolade held only by the best in the business.”[/b][/color]

Zack held his neck in pain (faking, of course), and slowly crawled over to the ropes, pulling himself back to his feet with his spare hand. Once he got to his feet he tilted his head back and forth, allowing it to create several cracking sounds, and it was fine once more.

Zack took no time waiting for his opponent, and bounced off the ropes behind him, then sprinted towards Caiden, giving the man no time to react, turning around as Wake connected a stiff clothesline, knocking Winters to the ground. Wasting no time, Zack grabbed the downed Caiden’s legs, and mouthed [color=FF0000][b]“[i]Liontamer.[/i]”[/b][/color] Zack then proceeded to lift Winters ever so slightly off the ground, letting him bend his body to get into position.

Caiden’s face contorted in pain and he screamed as he stared into the camera, his face contorted into total agony as Zack twisted him. The referee came near him and yelled, [color=black][b]“Do you want to quit?!”[/b][/color] The ref demanded, and Caiden shook his head valiantly, lifting himself up on his forearms and crawling toward the ropes in an act of defiance. He would not give up! He had to win the title. Unfortunately for Caiden, the roadblock named Zachary Wake stood in his way. Soon after he began crawling, he was forcefully stopped with a stomp to the head. Zack pulled Caiden back to the centre of the ring, and re-applied the submission.

[color=1f71dd][b]”WInters has to break this hold! He has to find a way to get new life, new energy, new power to pull himself to the bottom rope! We’ve seen this move put away so many other competitors in the past!”[/b][/color]

Caiden was stunned now, and it showed in his face, eyes seemingly dead and empty. At this point, Zachary was laughing out loud, and every now and again turned his head to Caiden, shouting [color=FF0000][b]“Come on, give up!”[/b][/color] And Caiden was met with supportive cheers from the crowd.

[color=1f71dd][b]“Look at the life drain out of Winters’s eyes! The pull of Wake on the hold is clearly getting to him, he can’t take much more of this… but listen to the fans, rallying behind a man they love despite his sometimes blatant disregard for them!”[/b][/color][/indent]

[center]'Caiden’s gonna kill you!’
‘Caiden’s gonna kill you!’[/center]

[indent]Maybe Caiden could win this match, but not if he was stuck on the ground. Zack noticed the chants, as it was impossible not to, and replied to them with a sour expression. [color=FF0000][b]“HE CAN’T WIN!”[/b][/color] Caiden was feeling the power of the crowd though, and in a sudden burst of energy, he pulled himself toward the ropes and snatched the bottom one in his hand, and the ref was on it in an instant.

[color=black][b]“Break the damn hold, Wake!”[/b][/color]

[color=1f71dd][b]“And Winters got ahold of the rope! Freedom for Caiden! The match rolls on.”[/b][/color]

Wake was stunned by the quick movements of his opponent, but when the referee demanded he break it up, Zack didn’t. The ref began counting towards five, and Zack deliberately held onto the move until the count of four. At that point, he let go of Caiden’s legs, and stood up proud. He grabbed Caiden by the hair, and lifted him to his feet, letting Winters use the ropes to pull himself up. As soon as Caiden was on his feet, Wake spun his around and put him in position for his signature stalled suplex. As Wake held Caiden’s head close to his, he spoke in a low voice. [color=FF0000][b]“Flip backwards out of the suplex, then you can start your comeback from there.”[/b][/color]

Caiden gave Zack a bit of a nod and let himself hover in the air for a while, planking his body stiff into the air, before he let himself roll backwards and out of the suplex. He planted his feet expertly, now behind Zachary. He twisted out of the hold and threw Zachary into the corner. This time, he sped at the opponent and lifted his foot up for the high speed, high energy, powerful kick in the corner that he’d done hundreds of times before. The crowd popped for Caiden finally hitting the move he missed earlier, and Zack put on a stunned expression dropping to the ground in front of him.

[color=1f71dd][b]“Look at the force on that kick, it damn near knocked Wake’s head off! If he doesn’t show up at the next show, it’s because that kick made him lose his damn memory.”[/b][/color]

Caiden rested in the corner for a second, before climbing up to the top ropes. Once he stood atop them, he held his hands out in front of himself, and spun them, [color=0f4891][b]“You wanna see it?!”[/b][/color] He shouted, and the crowd loudly cheered, and without a second thought, the massive man was in the air, way higher than he had any business being, spinning around 450 degrees, before splashing down onto Zack’s body. Caiden rolled off of his opponent and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him back up to his feet so he could set Wake up for the Solstice, and bring this match to an end.

[color=1f71dd][b]“Winters hitting a beautiful four fifty splash, something a man his size shouldn’t be able to do. What a physical specimen he is.”[/b][/color]

Zachary was quickly elevated onto Caiden’s shoulders wide-eyed and shocked. Zachary then belted Winters with a few short forearms, before putting his hand over his opponent’s eye and pretending to gouge at it. Caiden quickly dropped down, and Zack easily stepped off of Caiden’s shoulders. The crowd ate it up, and once again booed the dirty tactics Wake employed. While Caiden grasped his eye in pain, Zachary walked calmly over to one of the corners, and began untying the top turnbuckle. The ref was down next to Caiden, asking him if he was okay and if the injury was serious. Zack dropped the cover to the floor, then turned back to Caiden.

[color=1f71dd][b]“Winters almost had the WInter Solstice in position; if he hits that move the match is surely over. You might not agree with Zack’s tactics there, but you can’t ignore that they were damn effective. Look at the time he’s getting now to remove the turnbuckle; who knows what he has planned with that?”[/b][/color]

Caiden pushed himself up to his feet, shoving the ref away. [color=0f4891][b]”I’m fine, I’m fine.”[/b][/color] He spat out, and then quickly moved toward Zack. This match was going well; they worked together smoothly, but time was of the essence. Caiden locked up with Zack and spoke under his breath. [color=0f4891][b]“Finish soon. I’ll hit you with the Enzuigiri, ref looks away, you lowblow me from the ground, then roll up. Feet on the ropes, remember? Make it good.”[/b][/color]

[color=FF0000][b]“You think I won’t make it look good?”[/b][/color] Zack replied.

He then grabbed one of Caiden’s arms and pulled it towards the corner with the exposed turnbuckle, but Caiden quickly turned the Irish Whip around once more so that Wake would be on the receiving end of the exposed steel. Wake ran towards the turnbuckle, but as he got closer, he stuck his hands out and grabbed the ropes beside the corner, stopping his momentum. He stared at the steel, then spun around to see one of Caiden’s forearms flying towards his face. Zack scrunched his face up and took the blow, falling backwards and letting his raw flesh meet the cold steel. He screamed in pain, only to be shut up by an uppercut from Winters.

[color=1f71dd][b]“An oversight from Wake! Caiden counters the Irish Whip and Zack nearly falls victim to his own trap! Now look at Winters, getting ready to end this for certain.”[/b][/color]

After the uppercut, Caiden pulled Zack back closer to him and jumped up into the air, driving a kick into the side of his opponent’s skull, hitting his trademark enzuigiri, watching as Zack crumpled down to the ground. Caiden knew at that point that he had the match on lock, jumping back up to his feet as the referee turned around to deal with the uncovered turnbuckle.

[color=1f71dd][b]“The Enzuigiri was picture perfect, but Caiden has to wait for the referee, to finish dealing with the turnbuckle to count the pin…”[/b][/color]

The kick delivered from Caiden rattled Zack’s brain, sure, but it wasn’t enough to end him. Caiden was waiting for the referee to be done fixing the turnbuckle so he could put Zachary behind him and come that step closer to the AWE Championship. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen. As the referee finished up tying the turnbuckle back on, Zack got up to his knees and drove an unforgiving fist into Caiden’s groin, and his face said it all.

[color=1f71dd][b]“A lowblow! Zachary Wake is going to steal a win in the AWE World Title tournament! Not like this!”[/b][/color]

With the hand that had delivered the low blow, Wake pulled Winters over him and down to the ground, performing a roll up pin. The referee turned around to this, and immediately got down to begin the pinfall. While the ref was distracted with numbers, Zack hoisted his feet up on the middle ropes, adding some leverage to his pin.

[color=1f71dd][b]“Wake’s feet are on the ropes, elevating the pressure on the pin! That bastard is stealing the damn match right out from under Winters! Winters had him, and Wake used the ref’s distraction to his advantage and hit the damn lowblow!”[/b][/color]

[color=black][b]“One, two, three! That’s it, ring the bell!”[/b][/color]

And with that, Wake had won, and was now a step further towards the World Championship. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8XaV1yjabk]Zachary’s theme[/url] started up once more, and it was official. The crowd didn’t like it, and Caiden [i]sure as hell[/i] hated it, but Zachary Wake couldn’t be happier. Caiden was laying there, sitting up in disbelief as Zack basked in the heat before heading to the back. After he went backstage, the music was cut, but Caiden still sat there, the same look in his eye.

[color=1f71dd][b]“And you have to feel for Winters right now. He was going to win the match fair and square, but like he’s done so many times before… Zachary Wake cheated to improve his own standing here in the AWE… Just downright [i]despicable[/i].”[/b][/color]

He stood up and slowly walked over to the referee, reaching outside of the ropes and asking for a mic, which was handed to him. [color=0f4891][b]“Do you know what you just did? Do you understand?”[/b][/color] He demanded, and the smaller man slapped his hands together three times. One two three. [color=0f4891][b]“You didn’t see him hit that lowblow on me?! You… you…”[/b][/color] Caiden stepped closer to the referee.

[color=1f71dd][b]“The ref didn’t see it, he just called the match down the middle as best he could. It wasn’t his fault.”[/b][/color]

[color=0f4891][b]“You’re dead.”[/b][/color] The mic was dropped and the crowd exploded as Caiden laid his hands on the referee, punching him in the face again and again before lifting him up onto his shoulders, and dropping him down to the mat with a vicious Winter Solstice. Then, Caiden picked him up again… another Winter Solstice. He picked him up again… one more. This time, Caiden left the ref’s limp body in the middle of the ring, picking up the mic. [color=0f4891][b]”It isn’t going to end like that. Roddy… I got a bone to pick with you…”[/b][/color] He growled into the microphone before sliding through the ring ropes and heading up toward the backstage, his music now playing over the speakers, the last shot the camera showed being the ref, seemingly as dead as Caiden had promised, laying in a lump in the middle of the ring, ring doctors sprinting past Winters to check on him.

[color=1f71dd][b] “What did we just see? Caiden Winters laid his hands on an official, left him broken and battered in the ring, and left a message for Roderick Quinn. Luckily for you, in ten minutes, on AWE After Hours, Joy Ryder and mine first guest will be none other than Caiden Winters. Stay tuned on AWE,com to see if we can shed some light on this.”[/b][/color]

The lights dimmed, and the cameras shut off. Show’s over.[/indent]