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The crowd popped in surprise as Salem sprung up from behind Major, gracefully floating his body horizontally through the air while hooking Major's neck, bringing the world champ down to the canvas with a surprise Neckbreaker. Using the impact of the move to bounce himself back up to his feet, Salem's face grew a tad red as he took a second to beat his chest and inspire the crowd while Major rolled over to his side. After briefly reminding the fans he still had a dog in this fight, Salem turned back around, leaning up against the ropes to spring himself forward for a running punt to the front of Major's face, the fans cheering with greater enthusiasm as Salem fought to get some offense in against the bigger, more experienced veteran.

Salem felt only air as he swung his foot forward, Major having deftly maneuvered to the outside at the last possible second to recover and ridicule Salem for his efforts. The rookie glared outward at the world champion, mocking him despite having won the Asylum Championship. Salem huffed, but rather than wait for his opponent to return to the ring, however, Salem grasped the top rope and launched himself over the set of cables, attempting to bring the big man down with a high-flying crossbody, crowd lit up with excitement as they watched the Charismatic One spring into action.

An array of camera flashes rippled throughout the stands as Salem flung himself from the ring, a series of moments captured in photographs that led to Major being dropped to the arena floor. The crowd popped for the Asylum Champion, managing to gain a momentary edge over his seasoned adversary. The roar of the audience brought life to Salem's lungs, getting the rookie a much needed breath of air as he shambled up to his feet following the daring maneuver.

Raising one arm up, Salem roared triumphantly, offering the fans something back for their enthusiasm. Clenching his raised hand into a fist, Salem then spun his arm by the shoulder, making a full rotation while he fell down towards the floor, adding force to what was meant to be a flashy elbow drop into Major's bruised chest.

The official had started the count, Salem momentarily oblivious to the referee's voice as he fell down to earth, driving his elbow back into Major's sore sternum. The landing was a bit stiff, given that there was no support beneath them other than a thin mat and bare concrete, but the daredevil rookie got back up to his feet to a rousing reception of applause. Standing over Major with a menacing grin, Salem thrusted the toe of his boot into the back of the world champion's ribs, trying to roll him onto his stomach. The referee had already reached the count of four, but it had appeared that Salem was more concerned about dishing out a little bit more injury for Major's insults. If he were successful in turning Major over, the Charismatic Calamity would plant one knee down into the base of Major's lower back before grasping one of his ankles, looking to wrench it into a painful submission to hopefully wear down the big man's mobility.

Damn! It was proving harder to move Major onto his back than Salem had initially hoped, and the delay had provided just enough opportunity for the clever world champion to capitalize. Grasping at Salem's ankle, the rookie was caught off-guard by Major's sudden sit-up, the veteran's imposing strength enough to sweep the distracted Salem off his feet and backward to the floor, below. Landing against his shoulderblades, Croft reached up to cradle the back of his head and neck as the referee's count continued to chime, the stroke of seven having come and gone with the audience's gasp of Salem hitting the floor.

Eight!

Salem's head was aching from the sudden drop to the back of his skull, each pulse of lifeblood leaving a painful echo that rattled his brain. Major had played it very smart, leading to him getting up and in the ring sooner than Salem was able to manage. But, as the count reached nine, Salem was staggering up to his feet, holding his temple with one hand while looking over at the wounded world champion, still not making an effort to get back up. At the last possible second, Salem would slide back underneath the bottom rope, re-entering the ring to the tune of applause from the appreciative fans, glad to see the bout continue.

The crowd cheered at the sight of Salem getting back in the ring, sparing himself a count-out elimination and subsequent loss at the hands of Major. Still, the brave and daring rookie was scrambling to get up to his feet, struggling to get off his fours after sliding belly-first into the squared circle. Still, Salem could see that he wouldn't get upright in the time it'd take Major to get up, so to compensate the Charismatic Calamity did a nearly dog-like sprint following his slide, using his feet and hands to sprint forward and attempt to level Major by surprise with a 'Running Dog' Spear!

Salem's makeshift Spear appeared to be right on the mark, but the ever-enduring Major Devastation was quick-witted enough to bring a knee up to counter. Even though neither man had quite found their footing, the fans were cheering from the sight of two warriors who didn't hesitate to battle come to blows inside the ring once more. Thus, it was with a burst of excited applause that Salem's head would snap back from the impact against Major's knee, while his momentum would serve to carry forward while the world champ was momentarily on just one leg...the anticipated result, a double-collision between the two men at center ring!