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 Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2016 3:09 pm
 "THE FOLLOWING CONTEST IS SCHEDULED FOR ONE FALL! INTRODUCING FIRST..."
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 7:32 am
(Laptop is acting up, so I'll format the text on my phone later today. Apologies for the blank, bleak entrance.)
The coliseum was lit up in both the literal and metaphorical senses, fans bathed by the bright bulbs hanging overhead while cheering on the return of CWA's 'Friday Night Helios'. Shirts, wristbands, necklaces, all on display by members of the audience decked out in gear from their favorite performers. Some people were shuffling up and down the aisles, making trips towards the section exits for concessions, merch, or just a bathroom break, the journey made harder for those trudging along with kids in-tow. However, a hush went over the crowd as the lights suddenly went out, camera flashes and phone screens littering the darkness like manic fireflies. A brief wash of static tweaked across the Titantron, blinking into a feed from backstage. Standing there, somewhere amidst the production trailers that had crew buzzing about them like beehives, a man was standing with a personal camcorder, pointed at himself with one outstretched hand.
It was Salem Croft, and as the fans took notice they began to cheer and applaud, the sound trickling to the back where it brought a smile to the young man's face that was now plastered on the big screen for all to see. Wearing a sleeveless hoodie, unzipped and glossy to the eye, the odd throw-over caught some's attention with the bumpy, black, scale-like material that composed it. From the angle of the shot, Salem's pants could be seen as well, showing just enough from the hips to the knees to highlight the baggy, black-and-gray snakeskin that stretched down his legs. Despite the odd choice of attire, his hands were still wrapped in his traditional way, laced around his fingers and rolled around clear up to the elbows on either arm. Sporting a bit of five o'clock shadow, and more than a little shagginess to his unkempt ebony locks, Salem tilted his head and leaned in a little bit towards the camera.
"You know, I was excited to find out that I'd be getting a chance to come back here, to the CWA..." Salem said with a pause, fans instantly filling in the void of noise with a "CWA" chant from up and down the stands. At this, Salem started to walk through the backstage area, still keeping the camera in front of him and his eyes trained on the lens. "...but, I was even more excited to find out that someone had decided to challenge me. I don't know who it is, you don't know who it is, but they wanted a piece of 'The Copperhead', right? Wrong."Salem's tone stiffened with the finality of the word. Meanwhile, it had seemed that he had strolled towards a less-occupied area, the fans' cheering and applause starting to grow louder as a sign on the nearby wall behind Salem read 'Stage This Way' with an arrow pointing towards where the wrestler was walking. This made the fans grow louder and more excited, which once more translated as feedback on Salem's camera. Smirking, letting out a soft chuckle, Salem grabbed a hand rail that led up a set of stairs that ended in a black curtain at the top."You see...sorry about your luck, but I'm not 'The Copperhead' anymore, folks. That was a different time, I was a different person...but don't think for a second that means I'm not ready for a fight - far from it. In fact, I'm about to show you guys a side of Salem Croft you haven't seen before...it's time the snake shed his skin, and become something greater...something...'Drake'-r." he added, a little grin on his lips as he reached with his free hand towards something in his back pocket, still going up the stairs that led to the stage. Peeking out from behind the curtain, Salem whistled and turned his eyes back to the camera he was holding. "Hoo, boy...y'all look ready for some fun, tonight. So, you ready to see what I'm talking about?"
The audience popped at the prompt, but Salem shook his head and raised a silver flask up, the object in question he'd fished for a moment ago.
"Nuh-uh. I said, ARE YOU READY TO SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT?!" he repeated, this time to a much more deafening response from the crowd.
"Good. That's more like it. Hit my music!" he said, hearing the sound of Lil Wayne's "Burn This City" play, an instrumental version of the song. Outside in the arena, smoke had started to billow on the stage, and was now leaking through the curtain, signalling to Salem that it was his turn to deliver. "Let's do this." he said, taking a swig of the flask's contents before putting it away, then reaching back for the hood of his sleeveless jacket to pull it down over his eyes. The black, scaly molding was shaped across the hood to resemble a serpent's face, but much more menacing than a simple snake. This creature had horns, flared nostrils, and a more developed cranium that forecast powerful jaws and dinosaur-like teeth that went in a row around the brim of the hood. Hearing the beat about to drop, Salem cut off the feed to his camera, the stream replaced on the Titantron with two boldly written words as Salem stepped out onto the stage, flames erupting on each side of him like geysers.THE FIREDRAKE
While the song's sampled hook played out across the speakers, Salem spread his arms out wide and soaked in the crowd's warm reception, falling down to his knees in the smoke while the flames erupting around him acted as the only light besides those from the fans' phones. Getting up to a standing position once more, Salem continued down the ramp, a blue tint to the smoke he walked through to reach the ring.
Ascending the ring steps, Salem walked across the apron on the side facing the hard camera, hanging onto the top rope while looking out at the crowd with a star-struck glint to his eyes, barely peeking out from under his dragon-themed hood. Fishing something out from his pocket, Salem twisted and hung down from the top rope, bending backwards while raising something to his lips and spitting upward - a torrent of fire erupting from his mouth in a ball of flame that rose some six feet from the ring. The crowd cheered appreciatively, the hood having flung back from his head in the process to allow Salem an unobstructed view once he straightened back up, smirking and wiping something from his lips as he ducked the top rope and stepped onto the CWA canvas for the first time in years.
The house lights started to return to normal, smoke dissipating as Salem ran the ropes, testing the flexibility of the cables and firmness of the canvas. Once he was satisfied, Salem retreated to the top right corner of the ring, putting his back against it and stretching his arms out to either side while waiting for his mystery opponent to appear, fans still cheering for the 'hot' entrance they'd just seen.
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 4:04 pm
Now all that remained would be for the mystery opponent to reveal who they were, to see who had called out The Firedrake. Chants rose of "FIREDRAKE" roared through the Coliseum, as the reborn Croft looked to make a name for himself once again in a new arena. Immediately, the lights went out in the arena. For a brief period of time, random lights flashed in the arena with static flickers accompanying the brief flashes. Then suddenly, a crack of thunder surprised the crowd, as several screeches were let out. Soon after "The Terror Within" began to play.  An intimidating man stepped out from backstage, hood pulled over so his face was even more obscured. The crowd was unsure what to make of him, though some were attempting to get the crowd to boo. The name "Asimov" ran across the screen; well at least people would know the guy's name. Asimov offered no taunts or waves, no acknowledgment of any kind. Neither did Benny Jones make any announcement for his name; he was simply stunned. Asimov began to walk down the ramp toward the ring...only to pick up speed and slide under the ropes. He stood, standing directly in front of Salem Croft, once again offering no emotion of any kind. It was clear Asimov meant business.
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 5:01 pm
Salem was taken aback momentarily at the big guy descending the entrance ramp, being on the opposite end of Asimov's entrance for the first time in Salem's career. The fans, too, took notice of this - beginning a chant of "HOLY s**t" that rippled though the air until the two men were face to face.
Salem was giving up a couple inches and a hundred pounds to the silent psychopath, but it wasn't going to intimidate the "Hardcore Hellkite" into backing down. Nodding with a measure of respect and approval, Croft came out from the corner at the sound of the bell, trying to back Asimov up to the center canvas. Then, with a swift snap of his shoulders, would look to test the waters by delivering a knife edge chop to the big man's chest, the crowd wooing while Salem stood waiting for a response!
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 5:54 pm
Asimov graciously took the slap to the chest, flexed inward to absorb the sharpness of the chop...and stood his ground.
In response, Asimov fired back with a chop of his own.
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 6:23 am
The crowd 'oooh'ed as Asimov absorbed the chop and fired one back himself, causing Salem to stumble back a couple steps and rub his bare chest. Grinning, Salem stared into the brooding traveler's eyes and came forward once again, intent on keeping their game going a little more for the fans, if not for his own personal curiosity. Asimov was an unknown quantity to 'The Firedrake', and even Salem, himself, had to have some lingering thoughts of how much he could take, or what he'd have to do to put this bigger man down.
Once back in striking distance, Salem swung an arm forward viciously once again, chopping at Asimov's chest with a crack that reverberated through the arena, followed by a timely "WOO!" from those in attendance.
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 7:33 pm
An audible inhale came from Asimov, as again he flexed after the chop connected. Being hit in the same spot would naturally cause more discomfort...yet his face seemed too serene.
Asimov would unload with another chop.
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2016 5:00 pm
Salem took the cleaning chop in stride, over-exaggerating by shuffling backward before doing a little spin, clutching his chest with a theatrical expression of pain on his face. The fans 'oooh'ed once more, and once more Salem straightened up and aproached Asimov once more. Eying him up and down, "The Firedrake" would swing an arm out for another chop...only this time, the move was a feint, hand retracted at the last second to distract Asimov while carrying his speed and momentum into a crouched spin - the aim being to take his opponent by surprise with a low leg sweep!
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2016 5:31 pm
The sweep worked to bring Asimov to his knees. He hit the mat with a thud.
As Salem was resetting himself, Asimov would lash out with a strong elbow to his ribs.
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Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2016 3:52 am
The crowd got a little excited as Salem's sweep managed to make the big man fall to his knees, but before "The Firedrake" could take good advantage of it, Asimov was already throwing 'bows for Salem's sides! The first strike landed, but Croft's quick thinking kept him safe, stuttering back as he absorbed the impact to stay out of range, grasping at his abdomen. In a crouch, hanging against the middle rope, Salem looked surprised, but a smile quickly streaked across his face before he slung himself forward, looking to hit a running boot on his recovering combatant!
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Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2016 6:23 am
((Only one stroke anyway. XD. Also, not sure if I'll have time this weekend to post; if anything, I'll have one up Sunday.))
Asimov took time to recalculate his strategy while Salem staggered back. He did have a size advantage, although so far this was not playing to his favor. Perhaps he would turn the tide here as he watched Salem rebound from the ropes.
As the boot lashed out, Asimov would catch it with both hands. He would then attempt to push forward in order to cause Salem to topple.
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:54 am
Salem hadn't the speed or force to run through Asimov as anticipated, the bottom of his foot caught by the kneeling man's hands. The crowd let out a gasp at the sudden reaction from the quiet behemoth, watching as he shoved "The Firedrake" Back by his leg! Stumbling, reeling backward from the shove, Salem started to slip backward as he struggled to use his flailing arms to balance himself - looking like a panicked trapeze artist, in the act. However, he felt his back braced by the middle rope before he fell flat against the canvas, bouncing off the cables to right himself and rush forward even faster, even more furiously (Vin Diesel reference, fml) than before, aiming to big boot the big man in the face and run right through him to the opposite ropes!
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2016 1:07 am
(Sunday was three days ago. confused )
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2016 4:29 pm
(Apologies; had connection issues with my computer. Relocating to phone for now.)
Asimov dropped to the mat after the boot connected.
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2016 4:51 pm
(Well, next time just tell me something on Skype if you're having any delays. No biggie.)
Salem's boot smacked into Asimov's face with enough force to send him flat to his back with a pop that was immediately followed by one from the crowd! Croft didn't halt, however - instead, he raced to the ropes and sprung off the second rope to turn and splash the big guy, trying to go for a high-impact pin attempt while having the momentary edge!
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