There were no signs of moonlight tonight in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada as thick clouds hung over the land. Snow had piled up all over the city, only the roads being clear thanks to plows. The city was used to snow, to say the least. Even in the frigid temperature of 2 degrees Fahrenheit, it wasn't uncommon to the Canadians.
Outside of the MTS Centre in the heart of Winnipeg, it looked like a party was being thrown. The parking lot was filled with crowds of people, all gathered around barricades and pushing themselves into temporary bleachers just to watch tonight's festivities: Bad Blood Wrestling's Winter Warfare. Some cars were located on the outskirts of the area, but other than that, the parking lot was going to be used as a war-zone tonight.
The fans marveled at the set-up, mainly because it was good step-up from the last outdoor pay-per-view. The ring was in mint condition, despite the clear slickness to the mat, thanks to the snow falling on it occasionally; the stage-hands were always quick to clean it out. The outside area of the ring was surrounded by thin mats, barely visible under a faint sheet of snow. The ramp and titantron set-up itself looked like it had been taken directly from a typical arena show, so at least some big entrances would be possible. Behind it lay the MTS Centre and a few trailers. The fans figured the roster would be residing within the Centre tonight, instead of some rented trailers.
They were right, Matt had to cut costs somewhere. He wasn't getting a trailer for everyone at this point.
The fans bustled about to get their snacks and Hot-Hands, the sound of Avenged Sevenfold's "This Means War" resonating through the area as they did. Bright lights overhead illuminated the entire parking, making sure no one would have issues with visibility tonight. The show start time was scheduled for 6pm on the clock, and on queue...
"Crash and Burn" by Hell or Highwater replaced the theme song to tonight's big show, letting all the fans know that the show was underway. When that song played, typically a certain general manager followed.
Life is a long, long road I know,
Take it one day at a time!
But days are wasted,
I cant replace 'em.
If I'm not mistaken,
I don't have time for this!
The nights are getting longer and longer,
I swear that I used to be stronger.
But I wont forget that I cant regret where I've been,
So until then I'll say...
Right before the chorus struck, a tall, muscular figure ran out on stage. The moment he pushed through the curtain, the fans screamed his name to greet him. Wearing his black jeans, a leather jacket, his typical black muscle shirt, and his signature aviators to hide his eyes, it was none other than the General Manager himself, Matt Shanahan. A wide grin etched his features as he gazed around the parking lot from the top of the stage, that feeling of adrenaline pumping through him. He ran his gloved hands through his slicked back locks, staring at the crowd in amazement. It wasn't a pack-arena kind of show, but he could tell it was a massive turn-out for such a cold show. These fans were dedicated, and it dared to tug at his heart-strings.
Crash and burn, my friend!
I'll see you at the bottom of the
Deep, dark blue descend!
This is the end!
Begin again!
Right behind The God of Punks followed one of BBW's favorite assistants, as of late: Mindy. Her facial expression made it clear that she was already overwhelmed by the size of the crowd in front of her, and that she wasn't exactly willing to follow her boss down to the ring. With a big, puffy jacket hiding most of her from view though, he felt more at ease in front of the crowd. But once Matt began his jog down the miniature ramp, she was shuffling after him; along the way, Shanahan slapped high-fives to reaching fans, a rarity in itself. Half way through the second verse, Matt grabbed onto the top rope and climbed into the ring by stepping right over the same rope. Mindy took to the stairs and ducked under the second rope to follow behind her employer.
Live for the chase, survive by the thrill;
If you want me to take this step,
I will!
No longer afraid, no longer at bay;
Longing to face my fears but still!
A promise is made to change who I am,
No looking back,
We'll fight 'til the end!
A promise in vain is a promise to break;
Your life is only yours to make!
The music began to fade once the General Manager was in the center of the ring, just as the chorus was about to kick off. He pulled a microphone out of his jacket's pocket and clicked it on, letting out a loud, "HELLOOOOOOOOO WINNIPEG!" He got a cheap, boisterous pop from the hometown crowd, giving Matt a good chuckle. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Bad Blood fans! Welcome to the first ever WINTER!... WARFARE!"
Another cry of approval came from the surrounding masses after the announcement that the had begun. "And goddamn, I couldn't think of a better place to hold our first Winter event, personally. The coldest city in Canada! All of you out here tonight, whether you're from Winnipeg or elsewhere, you guys are ********' unbelievable. Do you realize how cold it is?! It's two degrees Fahrenheit tonight! That's uh... What's that in Celsius, Mindy?"
The young assistant look up from her feet to stare at her boss, who had turned his head to look at her. She wanted to say 'it's ******** cold, sir', but no part of her would let her say such a retort. "I-i-it's n-negative... s-s-sixteen degre-re-rees, s-s-sir... c-c-can I go b-back inside?" Mindy stammered out as she shivered heavily, trying her best to speak through the cold that plagued her.
"Only negative sixteen! Bah! Well, if you can't handle it, go on."
Without a word to her boss in thanks, the young girl walked to the ropes in a hurried motion. In her attempts to get out of the ring, she slipped on mat, thanks to the frozen slickness of the ring in the current weather. Two stage hands immediately came to her aid and helped her roll out of the ring after taking such a fall, then helping her scurry to the MTS Centre without slipping.
It took every ounce of his strength not to burst out laughing at the sight of Mindy falling, but Matt succeeded. Once she was gone, he tried to compose himself and went back to addressing the audience. "I suppose some of us can't handle this weather, ya' know? Below freezing temperatures, ********' snow! Tonight may be the hardest night any of our competitors have had. Lemme tell ya, this ring is slick as hell right now; I almost busted my a** like Mindy just did. We're trying to keep it under control, but with the snow being as unpredictable as it is, we can't do much right now except brush it off. But that's what I promised you guys, and the guys in the back! And here we are! The fiercest roster in existence, with one of the best crowds in the industry, surviving the harshest of elements together! It doesn't get much better than this, folks!"
"So, you may be asking, what can we expect tonight? Let's cover some of the bases, shall we? First off, there will NOT be any Sanguine Invitational matches tonight. I'm giving the current six competitors a night off to simply do what they do best: beat the s**t outta people. No worries, nothing on the line for them, just some good competition. The next round in the tournament will take place on our next show, I guarantee it. That's about all the bad news I got for you guys tonight! Now how about some good news!?"
The fans roared back at Shanahan, demanding the good news he was teasing them with, "Alright, alright! What else can you expect tonight? We got some MORE new blood making their live debut tonight, right here at Winter Warfare! What else?! Title matches, people! Starting with a favorite of mine, the OECW Seasons Championship. In his first defense in 2014, Shadow's gonna be going toe-to-toe with Matt Draven, in this goddamn frigid weather. After both of them brutally assaulting Mr. Shin-Mozas before the match even began last card, it would seem these two are more than ready to see which of them is the dirtiest in the ring. After that, we've got the re-crowning of the Crimson City Championship! Vaseline Man and Cyrus Leone both earned their contendership for the vacated belt at our last show, and I'm sure both of them are than capable of being one of the best champions in BBW history! But, only one can walk away... Well, slip away, if it's Vaseline Man..."
"And then... the final championship. The main event of the evening. The BBW World Championship... the coveted title that Salem Croft won waaaaaaaaaaay back at Hardcore Harvest. In his debut match, he beat Jarel Damone and claimed himself the champion of this company! Of course, Jarel didn't like that; The Dragon never likes when he's robbed of gold. So tonight, we'll see them clash once more, in a match type that I probably should've banned, the Last Ride match. Copperhead versus Dragon. Rookie versus Legend. SALEM CROFT... VERSUS JAREL DAMONE!"
Matt took a moment to pause and pace around the ring, letting the fans show their support for either Croft or Damone. Once the cheering died down a good deal, the General Manager went back to speaking, "That match was one of three factors that made the Board and I decide on the name for this event. Winter Warfare. Two men that have been waging war on eachother for months now; hopefully, we see that war end tonight. I'm sure you guys know what the second reason is, right?... Yeah, that's right. The ********' brats that have waged war on BBW since our last pay-per-view. The House. The three spawns of Kelly King. The most annoying brats in the history of brats. They've won battle after battle here, that was until last show, right?!"
"After assaulting four men, and taking two out of commission, they got a taste of their own medicine. They were lured out by their own prey, and then they met their match! The Conqueror, the man who's gonna end this ********' war, DION NECURAT! But he's not ending it alone, ladies and gentlemen, oh no. Tonight, The House -is- booked, all three of them. For the first time ever, we've got ourselves a tag team match tonight. The House, against the man that'll bring them to their knees. The Conqueror, and with him, two men that I know are just dying to rip them to shreds. Two of their first victims, I think that should be enough of a hint for ya'! The odds are evened, and tonight we will see the limit of The House's strength! Tonight is their Wreckoning!"
The amount of disdain and hatred Matt held for The House was quite evident in his tone. Despite one-upping them at the last show, he hadn't let go of anything they've done. "Tonight... sweet vengeance, ladies and gentlemen. However... I'm getting off topic. I didn't come out here to hype up the title matches or talk about how badly Dion's gonna beat the s**t outta some kids tonight. No... I came out to address the first match of our show."
"As some of you may know, there are currently 6 people in the semi-finals for the Sanguine Invitational. That would boil it down to three men in the finals, and I don't like that. So tonight, I'm giving the roster a chance to even the numbers for me. How many of you remember the company Free For All?"
A louder pop than he expected. Apparently the once great federation was still on the minds of some.
"Oh wow, awesome. Well, as some of you may know, a good portion of my career happened there, in the first ever Backstage War. It was by-far one of the company's many crowning achievements. Lemme explain what the Backstage War is, for those of you that don't know. Essentially, the entire backstage area," Matt paused to point to the MTS Centre, suggesting the entire arena would be the backstage area tonight, "is a warzone. Every competitor has been assigned a referee to follow them during the War, and their only goal is to get a pinfall on another competitor. Knock 'em out, beat 'em down, do whatever you want besides killing them. Once someone has a pinfall or a submission, they're officially one of the two winners. After two pinfalls have occurred, the war will be concluded. Now, while we could let it waste away in history... Kelly King and I came to an agreement, and we will be making it tonight's first contest! For the first time in nearly six years, we will see a Backstage War, and it's here at Winter Warfare! The prize, you may be asking? Two spots in the Sanguine Invitational! That's right, the two winners of this contest will earn a spot in the next round of the Sanguine Invitational! Once a win is secured, you'll be handed an envelop by the referee assigned to you, you'll come out to this ring afterwards and hand me the envelop, confirming your spot in the Invitational at the next show!"
"But before we begin, I must address a certain select few. This is where Mindy was supposed to come in, but she can't handle the cold... so, allow me. The following competitors are excluded from the upcoming contest: Jarel Damone, Salem Croft, Shadow, Matt Draven, Vaseline Man, Cyrus Leone, Blackjack, Ryuu Sakamoto, The Man Called Boom, Brody Robinson, Trent, and Pantera. Just so we're clear, let's put those names up on the titantron."
Sure enough, a list of names was displayed on the titantron at Matt's request.
JAREL DAMONE
SALEM CROFT
SHADOW
MATT DRAVEN
VASELINE MAN
CYRUS LEONE
BLACKJACK
RYUU SAKAMOTO
THE MAN CALLED BOOM
BRODY ROBINSON
TRENT
PANTERA
"I'd advise the twelve of you stay in your locker rooms until told otherwise, or find somewhere safe to chill. You are ineligible for the Backstage War, because you're either a champion, a contender, or you're already in the Invitational. If your name is not on that list, then you are cleared to compete! Whether you were in the tournament and lost in the first or second round or you missed your chance to get into the tournament, as long as you have a contract with this company as of THIS moment, you are eligible! I suggest you all get prepared and watch your backs, because the Backstage War..."
The General Manager took his time to look at the ring-side assistance area, signalling a man to ring the opening bell.
-DING-DING!-
"BEGINS NOW!" Matt roared in the microphone, signalling the first Backstage War in BBW history to commence!
Outside of the MTS Centre in the heart of Winnipeg, it looked like a party was being thrown. The parking lot was filled with crowds of people, all gathered around barricades and pushing themselves into temporary bleachers just to watch tonight's festivities: Bad Blood Wrestling's Winter Warfare. Some cars were located on the outskirts of the area, but other than that, the parking lot was going to be used as a war-zone tonight.
The fans marveled at the set-up, mainly because it was good step-up from the last outdoor pay-per-view. The ring was in mint condition, despite the clear slickness to the mat, thanks to the snow falling on it occasionally; the stage-hands were always quick to clean it out. The outside area of the ring was surrounded by thin mats, barely visible under a faint sheet of snow. The ramp and titantron set-up itself looked like it had been taken directly from a typical arena show, so at least some big entrances would be possible. Behind it lay the MTS Centre and a few trailers. The fans figured the roster would be residing within the Centre tonight, instead of some rented trailers.
They were right, Matt had to cut costs somewhere. He wasn't getting a trailer for everyone at this point.
The fans bustled about to get their snacks and Hot-Hands, the sound of Avenged Sevenfold's "This Means War" resonating through the area as they did. Bright lights overhead illuminated the entire parking, making sure no one would have issues with visibility tonight. The show start time was scheduled for 6pm on the clock, and on queue...
"Crash and Burn" by Hell or Highwater replaced the theme song to tonight's big show, letting all the fans know that the show was underway. When that song played, typically a certain general manager followed.
Life is a long, long road I know,
Take it one day at a time!
But days are wasted,
I cant replace 'em.
If I'm not mistaken,
I don't have time for this!
The nights are getting longer and longer,
I swear that I used to be stronger.
But I wont forget that I cant regret where I've been,
So until then I'll say...
Right before the chorus struck, a tall, muscular figure ran out on stage. The moment he pushed through the curtain, the fans screamed his name to greet him. Wearing his black jeans, a leather jacket, his typical black muscle shirt, and his signature aviators to hide his eyes, it was none other than the General Manager himself, Matt Shanahan. A wide grin etched his features as he gazed around the parking lot from the top of the stage, that feeling of adrenaline pumping through him. He ran his gloved hands through his slicked back locks, staring at the crowd in amazement. It wasn't a pack-arena kind of show, but he could tell it was a massive turn-out for such a cold show. These fans were dedicated, and it dared to tug at his heart-strings.
Crash and burn, my friend!
I'll see you at the bottom of the
Deep, dark blue descend!
This is the end!
Begin again!
Right behind The God of Punks followed one of BBW's favorite assistants, as of late: Mindy. Her facial expression made it clear that she was already overwhelmed by the size of the crowd in front of her, and that she wasn't exactly willing to follow her boss down to the ring. With a big, puffy jacket hiding most of her from view though, he felt more at ease in front of the crowd. But once Matt began his jog down the miniature ramp, she was shuffling after him; along the way, Shanahan slapped high-fives to reaching fans, a rarity in itself. Half way through the second verse, Matt grabbed onto the top rope and climbed into the ring by stepping right over the same rope. Mindy took to the stairs and ducked under the second rope to follow behind her employer.
Live for the chase, survive by the thrill;
If you want me to take this step,
I will!
No longer afraid, no longer at bay;
Longing to face my fears but still!
A promise is made to change who I am,
No looking back,
We'll fight 'til the end!
A promise in vain is a promise to break;
Your life is only yours to make!
The music began to fade once the General Manager was in the center of the ring, just as the chorus was about to kick off. He pulled a microphone out of his jacket's pocket and clicked it on, letting out a loud, "HELLOOOOOOOOO WINNIPEG!" He got a cheap, boisterous pop from the hometown crowd, giving Matt a good chuckle. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Bad Blood fans! Welcome to the first ever WINTER!... WARFARE!"
Another cry of approval came from the surrounding masses after the announcement that the had begun. "And goddamn, I couldn't think of a better place to hold our first Winter event, personally. The coldest city in Canada! All of you out here tonight, whether you're from Winnipeg or elsewhere, you guys are ********' unbelievable. Do you realize how cold it is?! It's two degrees Fahrenheit tonight! That's uh... What's that in Celsius, Mindy?"
The young assistant look up from her feet to stare at her boss, who had turned his head to look at her. She wanted to say 'it's ******** cold, sir', but no part of her would let her say such a retort. "I-i-it's n-negative... s-s-sixteen degre-re-rees, s-s-sir... c-c-can I go b-back inside?" Mindy stammered out as she shivered heavily, trying her best to speak through the cold that plagued her.
"Only negative sixteen! Bah! Well, if you can't handle it, go on."
Without a word to her boss in thanks, the young girl walked to the ropes in a hurried motion. In her attempts to get out of the ring, she slipped on mat, thanks to the frozen slickness of the ring in the current weather. Two stage hands immediately came to her aid and helped her roll out of the ring after taking such a fall, then helping her scurry to the MTS Centre without slipping.
It took every ounce of his strength not to burst out laughing at the sight of Mindy falling, but Matt succeeded. Once she was gone, he tried to compose himself and went back to addressing the audience. "I suppose some of us can't handle this weather, ya' know? Below freezing temperatures, ********' snow! Tonight may be the hardest night any of our competitors have had. Lemme tell ya, this ring is slick as hell right now; I almost busted my a** like Mindy just did. We're trying to keep it under control, but with the snow being as unpredictable as it is, we can't do much right now except brush it off. But that's what I promised you guys, and the guys in the back! And here we are! The fiercest roster in existence, with one of the best crowds in the industry, surviving the harshest of elements together! It doesn't get much better than this, folks!"
"So, you may be asking, what can we expect tonight? Let's cover some of the bases, shall we? First off, there will NOT be any Sanguine Invitational matches tonight. I'm giving the current six competitors a night off to simply do what they do best: beat the s**t outta people. No worries, nothing on the line for them, just some good competition. The next round in the tournament will take place on our next show, I guarantee it. That's about all the bad news I got for you guys tonight! Now how about some good news!?"
The fans roared back at Shanahan, demanding the good news he was teasing them with, "Alright, alright! What else can you expect tonight? We got some MORE new blood making their live debut tonight, right here at Winter Warfare! What else?! Title matches, people! Starting with a favorite of mine, the OECW Seasons Championship. In his first defense in 2014, Shadow's gonna be going toe-to-toe with Matt Draven, in this goddamn frigid weather. After both of them brutally assaulting Mr. Shin-Mozas before the match even began last card, it would seem these two are more than ready to see which of them is the dirtiest in the ring. After that, we've got the re-crowning of the Crimson City Championship! Vaseline Man and Cyrus Leone both earned their contendership for the vacated belt at our last show, and I'm sure both of them are than capable of being one of the best champions in BBW history! But, only one can walk away... Well, slip away, if it's Vaseline Man..."
"And then... the final championship. The main event of the evening. The BBW World Championship... the coveted title that Salem Croft won waaaaaaaaaaay back at Hardcore Harvest. In his debut match, he beat Jarel Damone and claimed himself the champion of this company! Of course, Jarel didn't like that; The Dragon never likes when he's robbed of gold. So tonight, we'll see them clash once more, in a match type that I probably should've banned, the Last Ride match. Copperhead versus Dragon. Rookie versus Legend. SALEM CROFT... VERSUS JAREL DAMONE!"
Matt took a moment to pause and pace around the ring, letting the fans show their support for either Croft or Damone. Once the cheering died down a good deal, the General Manager went back to speaking, "That match was one of three factors that made the Board and I decide on the name for this event. Winter Warfare. Two men that have been waging war on eachother for months now; hopefully, we see that war end tonight. I'm sure you guys know what the second reason is, right?... Yeah, that's right. The ********' brats that have waged war on BBW since our last pay-per-view. The House. The three spawns of Kelly King. The most annoying brats in the history of brats. They've won battle after battle here, that was until last show, right?!"
"After assaulting four men, and taking two out of commission, they got a taste of their own medicine. They were lured out by their own prey, and then they met their match! The Conqueror, the man who's gonna end this ********' war, DION NECURAT! But he's not ending it alone, ladies and gentlemen, oh no. Tonight, The House -is- booked, all three of them. For the first time ever, we've got ourselves a tag team match tonight. The House, against the man that'll bring them to their knees. The Conqueror, and with him, two men that I know are just dying to rip them to shreds. Two of their first victims, I think that should be enough of a hint for ya'! The odds are evened, and tonight we will see the limit of The House's strength! Tonight is their Wreckoning!"
The amount of disdain and hatred Matt held for The House was quite evident in his tone. Despite one-upping them at the last show, he hadn't let go of anything they've done. "Tonight... sweet vengeance, ladies and gentlemen. However... I'm getting off topic. I didn't come out here to hype up the title matches or talk about how badly Dion's gonna beat the s**t outta some kids tonight. No... I came out to address the first match of our show."
"As some of you may know, there are currently 6 people in the semi-finals for the Sanguine Invitational. That would boil it down to three men in the finals, and I don't like that. So tonight, I'm giving the roster a chance to even the numbers for me. How many of you remember the company Free For All?"
A louder pop than he expected. Apparently the once great federation was still on the minds of some.
"Oh wow, awesome. Well, as some of you may know, a good portion of my career happened there, in the first ever Backstage War. It was by-far one of the company's many crowning achievements. Lemme explain what the Backstage War is, for those of you that don't know. Essentially, the entire backstage area," Matt paused to point to the MTS Centre, suggesting the entire arena would be the backstage area tonight, "is a warzone. Every competitor has been assigned a referee to follow them during the War, and their only goal is to get a pinfall on another competitor. Knock 'em out, beat 'em down, do whatever you want besides killing them. Once someone has a pinfall or a submission, they're officially one of the two winners. After two pinfalls have occurred, the war will be concluded. Now, while we could let it waste away in history... Kelly King and I came to an agreement, and we will be making it tonight's first contest! For the first time in nearly six years, we will see a Backstage War, and it's here at Winter Warfare! The prize, you may be asking? Two spots in the Sanguine Invitational! That's right, the two winners of this contest will earn a spot in the next round of the Sanguine Invitational! Once a win is secured, you'll be handed an envelop by the referee assigned to you, you'll come out to this ring afterwards and hand me the envelop, confirming your spot in the Invitational at the next show!"
"But before we begin, I must address a certain select few. This is where Mindy was supposed to come in, but she can't handle the cold... so, allow me. The following competitors are excluded from the upcoming contest: Jarel Damone, Salem Croft, Shadow, Matt Draven, Vaseline Man, Cyrus Leone, Blackjack, Ryuu Sakamoto, The Man Called Boom, Brody Robinson, Trent, and Pantera. Just so we're clear, let's put those names up on the titantron."
Sure enough, a list of names was displayed on the titantron at Matt's request.
JAREL DAMONE
SALEM CROFT
SHADOW
MATT DRAVEN
VASELINE MAN
CYRUS LEONE
BLACKJACK
RYUU SAKAMOTO
THE MAN CALLED BOOM
BRODY ROBINSON
TRENT
PANTERA
"I'd advise the twelve of you stay in your locker rooms until told otherwise, or find somewhere safe to chill. You are ineligible for the Backstage War, because you're either a champion, a contender, or you're already in the Invitational. If your name is not on that list, then you are cleared to compete! Whether you were in the tournament and lost in the first or second round or you missed your chance to get into the tournament, as long as you have a contract with this company as of THIS moment, you are eligible! I suggest you all get prepared and watch your backs, because the Backstage War..."
The General Manager took his time to look at the ring-side assistance area, signalling a man to ring the opening bell.
-DING-DING!-
"BEGINS NOW!" Matt roared in the microphone, signalling the first Backstage War in BBW history to commence!
