MIDNIGHT EST (-5 UTC)

Reserved

The bell rings and the two competitors face off in the centre of the ring, staring each other down. Akira holds his arms up in a beckoning motion, welcoming Drake to take the first shot of the match. Drake responds by kicking Akira across the chest, starting a slow, back and forth kick battle. The crowd cheers with each kick the two lay into each other, more trying to prove how tough they are than actually trying to hurt their opponent. The kicks connect with such force that the sound of kickpad on flesh echoes throughout the arena as the two men try to make the other back-down. After about a dozen traded kicks Drake Dysfunction is first to flinch and step back, causing Akira to pounce in and slam more kicks into Drake's chest until Drake is doubled over. Showing no mercy to his opponent, Akira drags him to the corner and puts the boots to him, quickly turning Drake's chest a nasty shade of red. Eventually the ref steps in and breaks them up, allowing Drake to stumble froward out of the corner clutching his chest in pain. Looking to take advantage Akira swiftly goes behind and attempts to German suplex Drake, but his more agile opponent manages to flip over behind him, much to the amusement of the crowd. Akira turns and responds to being outmanoeuvred with a hard open handed chop to Drake's chest, knocking him back towards the ropes. Drake looks up at Akira and smirks defiantly, fighting through the pain to stand up straight and point back to his chest, like he's asking for more. Drake's cockiness is rewarded with a series of machine gun chops that sound like a jackhammer, finally forcing Drake to drop down to one knee, at which point Akira volleys his boot into Drake's chest. Drake drops to the mat and gets covered for a short one count.

Miles: Jesus this kid's mad, who stole his sushi?

Cedar: Oh good, glad the network's memo about the Asian jokes got to your desk.

Miles: I have a desk?

Cedar: It's that thing you pay strippers to dance on.

Miles: Ah.

Akira drags Drake up and whips him against the ropes, going for another chop as he rebounds. Drake ducks under the chop and leaps over the ropes behind Akira to the apron, allowing him to springboard up and nail Akira with a dropkick as he turns. Drake tries to follow up with a savate kick as Akira gets up, but Akira catches it down by his side, tosses the leg away and throws a lariat. Seeing the strike coming Drake drops down to his back and kips up behind Akira, before dropping back and throwing a pele kick which nails Akira in the back of his neck. Drake jumps to his feet and runs back at Akira, but his over eagerness costs him as Akira shoots and takes him down, ending up in his guard. Drake instinctively throws up his hands and Akira takes advantage by slapping him hard in his already bruised chest. Drake yelps in pain, signalling to Akira that his strategy is working. Drake puts his feet up to try and kick Akira away, allowing Akira to grab his left leg in both hands and lean back looking for a kneebar. Remembering what Akira did to C5 Ion last week Drake quickly pulls away, rolling back and out of the ring. Drake points to his brain then shakes his head with a cocky grin, smugly telling Akira that he won't fall for the same trick as Ion. Akira charges out of the ring after Drake, who slides back in and taunts Akira to follow. Akira rolls back in after Drake, letting Drake stomp him as he gets up. Drake grabs Akira and drives his knee into his chest, allowing him to slam Akira down with a t-bone suplex to get a one count. The two get up at the same time and again Akira returns to the chest, chopping Drake so hard it makes him wince slightly from the pain in his hand. With Drake stunned, Akira nails him with a northern lights suplex. Instead of holding the bridge for a pin Akira rolls over onto Drake, who tries to roll out and ends up in a side headlock. The two climb up to their feet, Drake still trapped in the side head lock, and Drake starts trying to lift Akira for a backdrop. With Drake struggling to lift Akira, Akira swings his bodyweight down and takes Drake down again, landing with all his chest on Drake's already hurt chest. With Drake now face-up, Akira drives his free hand down into the side of his face with vicious palm strikes that serve to further hurt XWA's Gatekeeper. In an effort to escape Drake throws his legs up, managing to wrap them around Akira's head and neck. Instead of fighting and potentially getting choked out Akira rolls out, ending down at Drake's legs. Lifting Drake's legs up and clutching them at the ankles, Akira turns it into a prawn hold pin, getting a one count before Drake manages to kick Akira away. Akira takes the momentum of being kicked away with him as he steps back, hits the ropes and comes back running, jumping and landing with a double stomp which Drake barely manages to get out of the way of.

Cedar: This is about respect! Akira wants to earn the XWA's gatekeeper's respect, and he's earning it the only way he knows how - by hurting Drake until he has no choice but to give it to him.

Akira goes for a soccer kick, and again Drake rolls out of the way back outside. Instead of giving Drake a chance to recover Akira follows, to the cheers of the many fans who're enjoying Akira slowly torturing Drake's chest. Drake tries to walk away so Akira spins him around and resumes using his chest as a speed bag, leaving a thick red hand print on Drake's pecs after a series of machine gun chops. Drake tries to stop the barrage by locking up, and Akira responds by shoving him back first into the barricade as the ref starts his count. While on the ring ropes the ref would split them up, Drake has nobody to defend him as Akira fires off slaps, chops, kick and knees to his midsection, to the joy of the front row. The ref's count hits three as Akira grabs Drake and whips him across to the other side of the aisle before following him over, shaking off his hand to get rid of the numbness from chopping Drake so hard. With Drake again leant against the barricade, Akira fires off more chops, leaving Drake's chest a deep purple colour and sending his screams of agony around the arena. Akira yells at him to give up, causing Drake to throw a boot up and kick Akira in the face. With Akira reeling back Drake grabs him in a t-bone and suplexes him, sending Akira spine first into the barricade with a sickening thud. With Akira laid upside down propped up on the barricade and the count at five Drake backs away and gets a run-up, dropkicking Akira in the stomach and making him fall back down onto his side. After a few boots Drake drags Akira up and slide him into the ring before following himself, getting a one count.

Cedar: Drake's chest looks like...I don't even know what!

Miles: He needs to beat that Jap bastard, for America!

Drake waits for Akira to get up and powerslams him back down, taking control of the match. Akira tries getting up again, and for a second time Drake slams him down before ascending to the top rope. Drake stands up tall and then comes off the top turnbuckle with a shooting star press, landing on Akira so hard he bounces off slightly and Akira rolls over onto his front while clutching his chest. Instead of going for the cover Drake sits up and stays stationary, clutching his own chest and cursing loudly in pain. By the time he's recovered, Akira has already started getting up, clearly in much better condition than Drake. Drake jumps at Akira and grabs him around the waist, looking to lift him up for a German suplex bur Akira muscles out of harms way, throwing an arm back around Drake's head and pulling him down into a headlock. With Drake in his control Akira goes behind and catches him in a rear waist lock, looking to hit a German of his own. On his tiptoes Drake leans forward, elbows Akira and goes forward chest first into the corner, grabbing the top rope. Akira attempts an O'Conner roll, but with Drake holding onto the top rope he ends up just rolling away from his opponent. With Akira off balance, Drake jumps up onto the top rope and flies off backwards with a corkscrew moonsault, hitting the standing Akira and taking him down hard. Drake quickly hooks the leg and gets a two count. Drake climbs up to his feet while rubbing his chest and lays a hard kick into Akira's shoulder, sending him rolling away to the outside. With Akira recovering in the aisle, Drake gets some speed, pulls out a handspring and then moonsaults over the ropes to the outside, flattening Akira with a Sasuke special. Landing on his feet, Drake yells out "DID YOU MOTHER FUCKERS SEE THAT?!" before leaning against the barricade, catching his breath and nursing his wounded chest.

Cedar: Can't keep a high flier on the ground forever, and Drake Dysfunction made it count!

Raising one hand up to gloat, Drake uses his other hand to pull Akira up to his feet and knees him in the gut. With Akira struggling to stand, Drake shoves him into the barricade and returns the favour from earlier by driving hard kicks into his chest. Akira slumps down slightly but stays standing, refusing to give Drake the satisfaction of taking him down. The ref's count hits three as Drake climbs up onto the apron, pointing at Akira and yelling at him. Drake runs along the apron and comes flying off with a missile dropkick, finally taking Akira off his feet by driving his feet into the side of Akira's jaw. The two lie on the hard floor as duelling chants echo around the arena, and in the front row fans heckle and cheer on both men. Drake gets up at six and rolls into the ring, followed by Akira at eight. With Akira down Drake rolls him over and covers, getting a close two count. Drake cockily pulls Akira up to his feet while verbally taunting him, causing Akira to throw up his hands, push Drake's arms away to break the grip, then lay a vicious headbutt into Drake. Drake drops to the mat clutching his skull as Akira backs up, roaring angrily and waiting for his opponent to get up. As Drake gets to his knees Akira runs in looking for a clothesline, which Drake ducks under. Drake hits the ropes and comes back with a dropkick to Akira's knee followed by a quick roll-up, getting a two count before Akira escapes. With Akira on the back foot Drake fires off with a combo of body kicks, ending with a roundhouse across Akira's back. Akira barely reacts to the flurry, instead nailing Drake with a backhand chop that knocks him off his feet. Drake stands up again, and for a second time gets chopped down. The third time Drake gets up Akira whips him at the ropes, setting up for a back-body drop. Akira ducks down but Drake leaps frogs over, waits for Akira to turn, then blasts him with Drake's Dysfunction (super kick). Akira drops like a sack of bricks as Drake climbs the turnbuckle, facing away from Akira. The crowd are firmly behind Drake, thanks to his highlight reel style offence.

Cedar: Drake's getting back into this, but another splash might really mess up his chest here.

Drake goes for a moonsault, which Akira rolls away from towards the other side of the ring. Seeing his opponent rolling away Drake adjusts, lands on his feet, then flips over again to nail a standing moonsault, crashing down onto Akira. The crowd goes crazy as the two lie on the ground, clutching their chests in pain. Drake manages to crawl onto Akira but the few seconds delay give Akira the chance to regain his strength and kick out. A frustrated Drake pulls Akira up and goes for another Drake's Dysfunction, which Akira ducks. Drake turns and gets blasted with a jumping knee to the chin, knocking him silly and halting his momentum like a brick wall. With Drake dazed Akira throws a trio of quick leg kicks in followed by a rolling elbow which connects directly with Drake's jaw, putting him down. Akira drops onto Drake and covers, getting a close two count. Akira drags Drake to his knees and once again goes back to works over the chest with hard kicks, knocking Drake onto his back after half a dozen or so. Akira takes both legs and turns Drake over into an elevated Boston crab but quickly releases one leg, allowing him to better drive his right knee into Drake's back. Drake yells out in pain and struggles under Akira's weight, edging closer to the ropes bit by bit, his already sore chest now being driven into the hard canvass. The ref asks Drake to quit, but Drake is too busy trying to claw his way to the ropes to reply. With Drake just a few feet from the ropes Akira takes his knee out of his back and viciously starts stomping on the back of Drake's head and neck. The heavy boots rain down on Drake's head, and when he throws his hands up and turns his head to protect himself Akira starts to soccer kick him instead, nailing him just above his right eye multiple times with the points of his boot. The sheer brutality of this gets both cheers and boos from the crowd, but almost everybody in the arena is on their feet and cheering one of the two men on. Drake throws his hands out and crawls forward, taking some hard boots as he manages to grasp the rope and force a break. Akira tosses Drake's leg down and walks away as Drake rolls over, a small cut now formed just above his eye.

Cedar: Akira Kobayashi's like a man possessed!

Miles: That's what Drake gets for trying all that flippy bullshit!                                              

Drake sits against the bottom rope, wiping the trickle of blood away from above his eye as Akira yells at him in Japanese and motions for him to get up. Drake eventually obliges, but instead of running straight at Akira jumps up, springboards off the second ropes and clotheslines him. Akira rolls back to his feet as Drake rushes him, his head full of steam from adrenaline and anger. Drake knees Akira in the ribs then grabs him around his neck and shoulder, tossing Akira back with an exploder suplex. Akira's body slams off the mat, but instead of staying down he pulls himself back up and runs back at Drake. Caught off guard, Drake can do nothing as Akira grabs him and hits an exploder suplex of his own, but wanting to show he's just as tough as Kobayashi Drake too pops up back to his feet. The crowd cheer as the two square up to each other nose to nose, clearly talking trash but it's drowned out by the crowd. The words come to blows as Akira slaps Drake across the face, prompting Drake to slap him back. Akira goes for an elbow but Drake side-steps, giving him good position to knee Akira in the liver. Drake grabs an arm and tries to whip Akira into the corner but Akira counters into a whip of his own to send Drake into the corner before winding up for a rolling elbow. At the last possible moment Drake drops down and rolls through behind Akira, pops back up, then sprints past Akira and nails him with the Dysfunctional Hell (RKO)! The crowd explodes as both men lie in the centre of the ring, exhausted and battered. Drake climbs onto Akira, forgetting to even consider hooking the leg, and gets a very close two count before Akira gets a shoulder up.

Drake pulls up Akira and tries to lift him up in a firemans carry for the D-5 but Akira slowly elbows his way out, fighting his way free and dropping behind Drake. Akira grabs Drake in a rear waist lock and nails a German suplex with a bridge. 1...2...thr-Drake gets a shoulder up, but can't break the hold around his waist. Drake's eyebrow is still bleeding slightly, the trickle of crimson going just past his eye itself. The two get up again, but Drake stomps on Akira's feet before getting behind him and hitting a German with a bridge of his own! 1...2..thr-Akira kicks out. Drake gets up first and starts laying kicks into Akira's chest when Akira reaches his knees, replicating what Akira did to Drake earlier. Akira manages to grab Drake's leg and take him down after eating a few kicks, leaving him stood over Drake while controlling his legs. Akira tries to lock in an elevated Boston crab again, but Drake manages to yank a leg free and boot Akira in the throat, knocking him away. Drake kips up, full of adrenaline and trying to fight through the pain, then charges at Akira, taking him down with a clothesline. Akira pops up and avoids a gore, sending Drake towards the ropes. Drake comes back straight into a hard kick to the chest, flooring him and sending a shooting pain across his chest. Akira drops an elbow down onto Drake's chest then grabs his arm, trying to work towards an armbar style move. Drake swivels around on his back, throwing his legs up to fight his way out and landing a boot into Akira's lip. Akira gets up, wiping a bit of blood away from his lip as both men regroup.

Cedar: This one's slowly turning into a battle of attrition.

Miles: That's just a fancy way of saying they're beating the shit out of each other!

Akira goes towards Drake and locks up, using the clinch to throw a series of palm strikes at Drake's cut eyebrow and further open the wound. Realizing what's happening Drake jumps up and turns the clinch into a monkey flip, creating some distance between the two as the cut opens up. The ref tries to check on the cut but Drake quickly steps away to carry on fighting, hitting Akira with a big swinging neckbreaker to get a two count. Drake pulls Akira up and tries hooking him up for a piledriver set-up, possibly looking for the D-2, but finds himself struggling to get Akira off the ground. The two stay stuck in stalemate for a few seconds, the blood from Drake's cut now running down his cheek. Akira manages to win the stalemate, but Drake flips all the way over as he gets back body dropped and lands on his feet. He quickly turns and jumps, hitting an enziguri on Akira which sends him down to one knee. Drake finishes up by hitting a step-up enziguri, dropping Akira onto his chest. Instead of going for a cover Drake pulls Akira up again, pulling him to the centre of the ring. "HE AIN'T GETTING UP FROM THIS ONE!" Drake yells as he lifts Akira up onto his shoulders in a firemans carry. Drake carries Akira to the centre of the ring before tossing him back into the D-5 (Firemans carry facebuster), driving Akira face first into the mat. Drake rolls over Akira and covers, but again can only get a two count.

Cedar: Drake's pulling out all the stops here, he knows that if that cut gets any worse he's not going to be able to finish this.

Drake looks up at the top turnuckle, then down at his own chest. Any splash he pulls out would hurt himself just as much as Akira thanks to the beating that he's taken, leaving him with no choice but to try and finish it on the mat. Drake drags Akira up and hooks his leg for a fisherman suplex. He lifts Akira up, but while in the air Akira manages to kick a leg free, twist, and land behind Drake in a sleeper hold. Drake immediately starts to writhe around, throwing his elbows back, but Akira keeps it latched on, cutting off the blood flow to Drake's head. Between this and the cut, Drake very quickly starts to become dizzy, making his attempts to shimmy closer to the ropes even more difficult. Each step makes Drake feel like there's three men holding him back instead of one, and his vision starts to blur. Finally he manages to flail an arm out and grab the top rope to force a break. Instead of simply releasing Drake, Akira transitions into a rear waist lock and lifts Drake off his feet, planting him right on his neck with a German suplex. Both men lie on the mat for a few seconds, trying to gather strength to carry on fighting. Akira gets up first and waits for Drake to reach a knee, at which point he grabs his hair with both hands and starts using his left knee as a battering ram, driving it directly into the cut above Drake's right eye. Each knee seems to take a bit more out of Drake, who on instinct alone eventually wraps his arms around Akira's leg, stands up, and takes him down with a dragon screw. His face now a bloody mess Drake rolls out of the ring, heads to the front row and yells for one of his Drake-a-holics to help him out. A teenager obliges, handing Drake his white t-shirt so Drake can clean up his face as the ref starts counting and Akira follows Drake out. Akira goes behind Drake and spins him around, but the following roaring elbow is ducked and Drake takes advantage with a dropkick that flips Akira over into the first row. Drake rolls back into the ring as the count hits three and climbs to the top rope, waiting for Akira to stand up.

Cedar: He can't be thinking of doing this! He'll die!

Miles: DO A FLIP!

At the five count Drake leaps from the top turnbuckle into the first row with a diving clothesline, hitting Akira directly in the throat and leaving both men sprawled on the concrete floor as he manages to land somewhat on his feet before tumbling head over heels. Chants of "Drake, Drake, Drake" boom throughout the arena as fans help both men up, the two wrestlers now more focused on simply getting back to the ring than hurting the other. At the count of eight Drake slides in, and just after the nine count Akira dives in after him, lying face down on the mat trying to gather his senses. Drake crawls over, his right eye now closed as he tries to avoid getting blood in it, and lifts Akira up in position for a swinging neck breaker. As Drake goes to hit the move Akira pulls back and pushes Drake away, knocking him to one knee. Letting out a war cry Akira steps up and soccer kicks Drake in his chest, pushing him down onto his back. With Drake prone Akira hits the ropes and on the rebound plants a huge double stomp on Drake's face, further aggravating the cut and making much of the ground wince. Akira holds Drake by the hair with his right hand and throws a series of palm strikes to the injured eye with his left from the mount position, bringing out a loud negative reaction from the crowd., especially the Drake-a-holics. Akira stops for a second, looking down at the crimson streak forming beneath his opponents eye, giving Drake a window to throw an uppercut up at Akira. Caught off guard, Akira falls back off of Drake and gets back to his feet as Drake regroups by the ropes, clearly struggling now thanks to the cut above his eye and the damage to his chest taking away so much of his offence. Drake stumbles around the ring like a drunken monkey, his cut now at the point where if it were a boxing or MMA match the fight would immediately be stopped. Drake runs back at Akira, swinging wildly with a series of punches followed by a roundhouse kick that connects with such force Akira's mouthguard goes flying across the ring.

Cedar: That was his mouth guard!

Miles: Go on Drake, knock out some of those bucky beaver teeth!

Drake leans on the ropes for a second then climbs out onto the apron. Drake slowly ascends the turn-buckle, stopping at the top to try and clear his vision. With Akira still down Drake stands up and leaps off the turnbuckle, going for the Dying Wish (Spiral tap). At the last second Akira manages to roll out of the way, causing Drake to slam back first into the mat with a sickening thud. Akira takes advantage and crawls back onto his opponent, getting a two count. Akira slaps his hands into the mat, trying to force himself to keep going as Drake pulls himself to the corner. After picking his mouth guard off the canvas and putting it back in Akira gets up, sees Drake in the corner, and charges in, landing a hard kick to Drake's face. Akira follows up by running back to the opposite corner and running back looking for a second boot, but this time Drake manages to get away. With space between them Drake throws a big dropkick, knocking Akira down and into the ropes. Drake looks out to the crowd and shouts something unintelligible at them, but it's enough to incite more "Drake" chants. Drake bounces up and down on the spot to warm up then charges, launching another dropkick at the seated Akira which catches him right in the throat. Running purely on fighting spirit and barely able to see out of one eye Drake picks Akira up, ready to start setting him up for the D-2. Drake lifts Akira up into the Canadian backbreaker rack, but his exhaustion makes his grip weak and Akira manages to slip over behind. Drake turns to try and face Akira but walks straight into a headbutt to the eye, leaving specks of Drake's blood on Akira's forehead. With Drake out on his feet Akira turns him around, hooks him around the waist and plants him head first into the mat with a backdrop driver. Drake's lifeless body bounces off the mat, XWA's Gatekeeper now barely concious. Unceremoniously Akira lifts his opponent up to his feet, hooks him in a front facelock, and finishes him off with a brainbuster. Drake sprawls out onto the mat, leaving Akira to cover him and hook both legs. 1...2...3!