[center][img]https://i.ibb.co/39QGrgVN/IMG-7734.jpg[/img][/center]

“Ladies and gentlemen…” Antonio Deguara Sr.’s hoarse voice trailed off as the crowd immediately erupted, the General Manager of No Mercy Wrestling pausing on the main stage beneath the Titantron, smiling wide as he let the energy of the capacity audience wash over him. After about a minute, he raised the microphone back to his mouth, ready to continue as the noise slowly began to settle. Mark Trenton’s business partner and head of the Deguara family was the spitting image of the word “elegant,” dressed in a gray and white pinstripe suit with Stefano Ricci shoes on his feet and a glimmering Rolex on his wrist accenting his look. His gray hair was gelled and slicked back, and a very thin layer of makeup gave his aging face a youthful flush.

“Tonight is the night you have been waiting all week for,” Antonio continued. “Tonight, in a special showing, we are having our first ever No Mercy Wrestling [i]steel cage matches[/i].”

As the crowd stirred again the arena lights dimmed and were replaced by stark white beams that illuminated the massive steel cage suspended ominously above the wrestling ring. The cold metal structure glistened under the lights, each chain link casting jagged shadows that stretched across the canvas like a warning. Antonio looked up at the cage, his expression tightening for just a moment before he turned back toward the audience, feeding off their energy. He raised a hand, silently asking for the moment back, giving the crowd another few seconds to take it all in before bringing the microphone back up, ready to speak once more.

“Tonight… three women and three men will enter this ring. These steel cage matches will decide which two from each division go on to Las Vegas next week for the golden opportunity of claiming the championships.”

The brief lull broke as the audience surged to life for the third time. Cheers and shouts overlapped in a chaotic chorus, the sound rising higher and higher as more fans joined in, unable to contain themselves. What started as scattered noise quickly built into a roar, the kind that sundered the very air.

“It has been a long few weeks,” Antonio did not wait for the crowd to quiet down this time, instead continuing over the noise, “and the six competitors we have here tonight fought hard to get here. The final obstacle in their path before reaching… [i]Caesar’s Palace[/i]. And after the final fight at Caesar’s Palace next weekend we - [i]you[/i] - will have your first No Mercy men’s and women’s champions in the history of the brand!”