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The crowd eagerly watched towards the stage, hungry for the mystery opponent to make themselves known. With baited breath, they waved signs and clapped hands, others whistling and whooping with anticipation. The main event was here, and Cartwright was ready for a fight. Would he get it?!



The triumphant trumpeting was accompanied by a word lighting up the titantron of the Las Vegas arena, a simple set of five letters that both stunned and delighted the fans, cheering uproariously as smoke started to build on the stage.



👀: "OH MY GOD! Is that who I THINK IT IS, COREY?!"

😎: "I think it might be...!"

As if on cue, a broad shouldered figure stepped through the curtain onto the stage, a patriotic red, white, and blue fighters' robe draped over his shoulders, obscuring his face. But the singlet and gold medal adoring the chest of it did enough to confirm the identity of the man for the crowd, roused to an audacious ovation as he lifted his fists to the air, knuckles up, sparking fireworks that matched the colors of his ring gear.

Stepping through the smoke, the hooded man tossed back his cowl, walking down towards the ring with his bald head exposed. Age showed in his eyes and face, but the former Olympian still had an impressive physique despite his veteran status and a youthful fire burned in his piercing blue eyes.

"And his opponent... Approaching the ring at 5'10 and 240 pounds... He is the 1996 Olympic gold medalist! He is the two time wrestling Hall of Famer! Ladies and gentlemen - KURT ANNNNNNGLE!"

The audience ate up the entrance as Kurt nimbly bounced towards the ring, looking spry on his toes as he slid onto the mat and pushed himself up, spreading his arms wide and spinning fast enough to make his robe flutter open behind him. Chants of "USA!" momentarily drowned out the arena, Kurt not in any rush to settle down the crowd or turn to face his opponent quite yet.

👀: "IT IS! The only gold medal Olympian to be a world champion is HERE! And the crowd is thankful for his arrival!"

😎: "As they should be, Joey! These people were expecting something BIG, but I don't think even CARTWRIGHT expected this! Call NATO cuz this just became an INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT!"

After a few moments of soaking in the reception, Kurt would finally turn to acknowledge his enemy for this evening, stepping closer so that he was eye to eye with the Englishman, proudly pushing his chest out to both bump against Cartwright while also giving him a feel of how solid his medal was. Just like that metal, his resolve spoke for itself, Kurt shaking his head slowly at the man before backing away to his corner to await the referee.

There was no way Kurt would lose to a foreigner - not in his home country, where he won his place in history - and certainly not in front of these fans! He was here to give them their money's worth! Taking off his medal, Kurt handed it to a ring hand through the ropes, taking a red mouthpiece from them and putting it in as he continued staring Cartwright down!

👀: "And the Olympian is confident tonight, ladies and gentlemen!

😎: "Of COURSE he is, Styles, you simpleton! THAT man won THAT medal with a BROKEN NECK! How many medals have YOU won at ALL, Joey?"

👀: "Well, I've won plenty of medals!"

😎: "The ones that say PARTICIPANT don't count!"

The bell was rung as Kurt stripped off his fighter's robe, crouched in the corner in preparation for the fight ahead. He'd seen the best of the industry, more than that, the whole world, and while Cartwright was still in diapers Kurt had been on the mat, learning his craft and fine-tuning the technical talents that would make even Brock Lesnar blush. So, as the Extraordinary Englishman offered a respectful handshake, Angle approached and extended his hand, shaking the chap's palm firmly.


👀: "Look at this! Angle wants a good clean fight, too! Just like this dream match SHOULD be!"

Before Corey could chime in, Angle would sidestep around and behind Cartwright, using his grip on Cartwright's hand to wrap him up in a strong-armed waistlock, trying to use his surprising quickness and superb grappling skills to get the better of Cartwright from the get-go with a German Suplex!

😎: "Clean or not, friendships go away once that bell rings, Styles! Cart's in a war with an OLYMPIAN now!"

The crowd popped loudly for the Olympian as his deft footwork and tricky grappling skills earned him the first strike of the night! As Cartwright's legs hung in the air, Angle rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up into a three-pronged stance, watching like a wolf at where and how his opponent had landed. Swiftly sliding over to Cartwright's prone body, Angle would roll the man onto his stomach and wrap him up in a waistlock from the lateral position, looking to wrench him up to his feet and over his head for another stunning German Suplex!

😎: "Ohhhhh, boy, Styles! The Olympian is lit up in Las Vegas!"

👀: "It's not just Angle, Corey! It's this crowd! It's the BSW faithful! It's WRESTLING, and I LOVE IT!"

ninja

As Cartwright was flung from the canvas, Angle sprung back up to his feet, looking fresh and fierce as ever! The crowd on their feet, a chant of "USA!" broke out among the audience while Kurt circled in the center ring with his hands up in praise of his fellow countrymen! Soaking in the patriotism for only a moment, though, the gold medalist would assume his crouched (amateur) wrestler's stance as he scoped Cartwright on the outside!

👀: "Wow! Angle just took the WIND out from Cartwright's sails!"

😎: "Cartwright will be FINE, Joey - you should listen to this CROWD! Kurt brings out the AMERICAN in people! This is like Rocky fighting Drago in Russia! Cartwright is in hostile territory against a true American HERO!"