Welcome to Gaia! ::

Salem was staggered but not completely senseless, showing some fire to bring himself and the audience back into the match! As Bison stumbled near the ropes, Salem showed off his ring awareness and bent to kick his feet off the top cable, hoping to float over and twist to come down with a sit-out variation of his stunning finishing move, the Copper Cutter!

Salem had managed to hit his finishing blow in Bison, but he knew better than to try going for a pin like last time! Instead, Croft scrambled soon as he recovered for the cage once again, the crowd cheering him on as he clumsily and quickly tried to claw his way up the side and escape!

Try as he might, Salem wasn't able to scale the side in time before Bison could recover, but instead of climbing after or shaking the side, the behemoth was ripping the chain link wall off the frame! Wide eyed and wobbly, up almost to the top edge of the cage, Salem struggled to reach the top bar of the frame as the wall moved like sand out from under him, falling back with the fencing to land hard on the canvas with concerned gasps from the audience heard about!

The fall back to Earth took the wind right out of Salem's sails and his fans, who could only watch as Bison took his frustration and fatigue out on "The Copperhead" with vicious stomps! Trying to cover up and shield himself, Salem only made it easier for Bison to bully him up into a Front Powerslam, hitting his finisher on Croft right against the canvas and partially fallen chain link! Wincing, Salem struggled to move his fingers and feet, the impact making him momentarily loopy and worried for his motor functions!

Salem was trying to conserve his strength, thinking he could maybe muster one more comeback and try to take the fight back to Bison, but his body had already been through a lot and, though shamed to admit it to himself, there wasn't much more he could endure no matter how loud the fans chanted!

Still, neither Croft nor the crowd could expect what was next, Bison pulling the cage up with an incredible feat of strength and sliding Salem's torso out underneath it, slamming hundreds of pounds of steel on the snake's spine! A pain unfamiliar to any other coursed like lightning from Salem's bones to his brain and back again, the referee standing shocked and approaching Bison, scorning him for such a heinous act!

Salem's eyes bulged as the steel bent the discs in his spine at unnatural angles, screaming as he kicked his legs and clawed at the apron! The fans ripped into Bison, medical personnel already appearing on the ramp while the referee pleaded with Bison, struggling to do his job and remain unbiased in the presence of such brutality!

Salem was in almost unbearable pain, his screams oddly the only comfort he had as they allowed him to vent the pain best he could, but he and the audience knew he couldn't handle much more of this! The medical personnel were now in his face, practically begging him to tap out or give up, do anything to end this match, but Salem shook his head and refused, using language not suitable for children as he winced and planted his hands on the apron!

Grimacing and straining with every ounce of his strength, Salem let out a roar of rage and defiance, pushing hard as he could to start slowly lifting up the cage on his back, blood dripping from his bottom lip as he bit into it and struggled to move the massive frame inch by inch, much to the excited shock of the audience that was now chanting and cheering his effort on!