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Hiro wasn't thinking straight: as it turned out, tapping was a good way of getting out of the hold, but not at ending the match. Salem let him go and he lay on the ground, only for a moment though as Salem hoisted him up and into the ring once again. What was on Hiro's mind was the fact that he nearly broke a long standing tradition of never tapping out. The Ethnic Enigma was unmoving but breathing, his eyes clenched shut, and his mind ran a million miles a breath -- and considering the fact that his breathing was starting to stabilize again there definitely meant he was thinking at the speed of light. Hiro began to move his limbs and slowly turn on on his back, completely oblivious to whatever Salem was plannig at ringside.

The time given to Hiro was invaluable, allowing him to start pushing himself to his feet as a disgusting display of smeared blood and wounds were left in full view of all. It truly was a despicable moment, but it served as the paint Salem Croft had chosen for the canvas that was Hiro: abstract, but angry. Hiro noticed, very close by, the microphone on the ground for the match -- throwing back into the ring by Salem earlier on after he'd made the match up an Extreme Rules one. He took hold of it and quickly held it in close, obscuring it as "Showtime" re-entered the ring and started to draw near. He would take a handful of Hiro's unkempt hair and lifted him to his feet, but for his trouble he'd have a booming hit with the microphone aimed for his head! It wasn't intended to put Salem down, just stagger him back...but a second one would be attempted again letting out a loud noise to try and send him towards corner nearest the table!

Hiro's microphone shots worked, that much was for sure. He let it drop to create a third powerful thud against the ground which shook the crowd with the bass of the PA system. Hiro tried to chop Salem across the chest once before lifting him up, wanting to get him into a seated position on the top turnbuckle. Hiro would attempt a second knife-edge chop to Croft's chest before slowly climbing the turnbuckles as well, his head sloshing around as the wounds on his body would start to ache just a bit more. This was a last ditch effort now for the Ethnic Enigma, he was clearly thinking of doing something big -- potentially turning Salem's own table set-up against him.

Hiro nearly fell right from the ropes as he was punched by Salem, but grabbed hold of the "Copperhead" to prevent himself from falling down. He responded with an attempted slap to the stomach, but if that even made a difference was far from seen. Salem and Hiro, years apart and yet they found themselves in as violent and dangerous a battle as they had all the years prior. Teetering atop the turnbuckles, Hiro had a foot on the top rope and a second on the middle, and Salem was all sorts of set up. How would this play out? What would become of the two now?

Hiro felt himself start to leave his feet after Salem's slap almost knocked him down for the count. The Ethnic Enigma was, himself, shocked through the stun of the slap that Salem was in a good enough position to lift Hiro up at least a little bit -- and ring awarness told him the intentions were far short of good. Salem was thinking suplex, but Hiro began to shake his legs lightly, enough to force Salem to bring him back down -- enough for Hiro to plant his feet on the two top ropes and maintain his balance. He again drilled a slap across the ribs of Salem looking to double him over and get out of his grip. Using every muscle in his body, Hiro would maintain his balance and try to wrap arms around "Showtime", trying to lift him up and leap from the top rope to send the two through the table at ringside with a Gut Wrench Powerbomb!

Both men landed like the aliens in War of the Worlds as they formed a metaphorical crater where the table used to be, "HOLY s**t!" chants breaking out in major supply. The two men had went through the table and were unmoving in the moment, and Cartwright was without a doubt backstage all smiles as he had gotten the ultimate prize for the match he'd thrown these two into. Hiro rolled away from Salem slightly, taking a small fraction of the blow compared to the Copperhead but he was just as worse for ware. The ref had left the ring now, checking on both men but calling down a stretcher for Salem in particular who wasn't immediately responding.

Hiro had crawled to the disturbed stairs from earlier, pulling himself up the steps slowly before he stationed himself to sit upon them. He watched as several doctors and other refs would rush out from the back, moving away pieces of broken table to get to Salem. It wasn't long before a stretcher would come out as well, the crowd growing silent. Hiro began to feel sympathy for Salem, an old friend that he now put through such a harrowing moment in his career for a second time. He looked over at his daughter at ringside, surrounded by her pillars, upset and angry with what he'd done. A flow of guilt overtook the Ethnic Enigma and caused him to regret doing what he'd just had, however deep down insider he was worried for an entirely different reason.

He couldn't believe he'd dared go so deep as to hurt someone like this when he didn't have to. The match was Extreme Rules, he wouldn't even be able to pin Salem after that...why did he do such a thing? Hiro tried to justify it by saying it's what Salem would have expected him to do, almost wanted...and yet, the fear that he had lost control for even a moment was present in Hiro's mind. That wasn't the only dark thought though, one of Blackjack overtook him if only for a second. It made Hiro cringe, yet he snapped back when the stretcher arrived. He had a thought. This match needed to end before anything worse could happen...so he slowly stood and walked to the ring, where the microphone lay close to the ropes.

Hiro had grabbed hold of the microphone and slowly made his way back to the group that had just finished loading Salem onto the stretcher. The fans weren't feeling big on Hiro right now, Salem was just too beloved -- it didn't matter that Hiro was just as beloved or long gone or anything...he was a loser and was coming for their guy. He wouldn't take it personally, but he wouldn't forget this sort of reaction either. The Ethnic Enigma gained the attention of a refs who tried to stop him from getting close to Salem, but Hiro pushed passed them and screamed into the microphone as he did so.


Hiro would toss the mic over his head, it landing back into the ring as he shoved a few doctors away and began to push the stretcher up to the ramp, needing to get Salem up to the stage while on the gurney to end the match here. There were some that cheered the cleverness of Hiro's decision to make this the match, but many more booed the display, thinking Hiro was better than this. That he was better than doing something so dirty.