Sometimes shit happens...

...sometimes it doesn't

"Who the hell is this? And why is everybody cheering for him?"

"That, my friend, is Tyler Lawson, former Impact Division Champion...and International Champion for that matter!"

"International? Who cares? That title doesn't exist anymore!"

"Well back then It was a big deal, I suppose.

"Wait...wasn't he that guy at Vendetta 50 that was yelling at David Michaels about Twitter and shit?"

"I...can't say I remember that, honestly...Anyway, I haven't a clue why Lawson's come back here so abruptly, but apparently he's been entered in the King of Xtreme tournament!"

The ovation for Tyler Lawson, all though not nearly as tremendous as his glory days, is still pretty impressive as he walks down the ramp, huge grin on his face. It's good to be back. His entrance was a nice touch, as the smoke that now rises to the ceiling had covered the stage as the intro to his new theme song, the aptly named "Coming Home", rang throughout the arena. The crowd had been in confusion until the guitars all kicked in, at which point his name finally flashed up from the Tron. He had come out then, the first rush of adrenaline kicking in at that very moment; he was reminded of why this is what he lived for.


The bell rings. Lawson is on the ground. He might even be unconscious. Brought back down to Earth by a steel chair. He had entered the ring unarmed, his first mistake, and then went to pose for the fans. Xtreme rules doesn't work like that, never has, never will. Riley Daniels, a little surprised about how easy that was, raises said chair into the air, his other arm making a fist to gloat about this, which prompts a chorus of boos from the thousands in attendance. He smirks and lowers his arms, before dropping the chair and nonchalantly bending down to drag Lawson to the middle of the ring. He then falls on top of him, hooking the leg and finishing off the match before it even got started [.....1.....2.....] No! Lawson kicks out! The crowd goes wild in a huge show of relief. Riley grins. I mean, what's the fun in humiliating your opponent if there isn't any challenge? I mean, he is the "best", he should have no trouble now that Lawson's nearly concussed, right?


Daniels stands up slowly, he's pretty sure he can take all the time he wants. He reaches down and grabs Lawson under the shoulders. Tyler is stirring a little, but still goes with the flow as he is brought to his feet. Riley wraps his arm around Lawson's head and left arm, then bends forward, taking his opponent back, way off of his balance. It looks like we're about to see his Derailed maneuver here....but wait, Lawson quickly and stealthily bends his left knee and wraps his foot around his opponent's ankle. Just as Riley goes to execute the move, Tyler straightens out both of his legs, tripping up his opponent. Riley falls straight forward and plants his face into the canvas as Lawson pulls off a fantastic counter into some sort of improvised Facebuster-type move.


Lawson starts to sit up, still rubbing at the large lump on his head. The crowd cheers him on as Daniels stirs as well, his face in his hands. Lawson reaches a sitting position. The time to take advantage is now or never. Tyler struggles a bit, but he pushes off the mat and stands up, starting to walk toward his opponent. Riley is to his knees at this point, and stands up just as Tyler gets to him. Lawson makes the quick move, rearing back and driving a right fist into his opponent's forehead. Daniels goes reeling backwards, and Lawson lands a second shot, sending him into the ropes. After a bit of a delay, another hard right almost sends Riley over the top rope, but he stays in the ring, and Tyler grabs his right wrist to set up an Irish Whip. He pushes the dazed Daniels back against the ropes, and then yanks him back, shooting him off across the ring. Riley bends the far ropes as he hits them, and they send him straight back toward Lawson, who is waiting for him with one of the staples of his moveset. Once his opponent reaches him, Tyler scoops up the smaller man and quickly flips him over, dropping him squarely back-first on his knee with a Tilt-A-Whirl Backbreaker. Daniels arches his back in pain, but Lawson doesn't give him time to writhe. He spins him on the point of his knee brace, turning Riley's back toward him, able to now grab him around the waist. He plants his toes back onto the mat, lifts his left knee, and sharply leans back, pulling back and lifting his opponent up over his shoulder. Tyler turns off to the right before falling to his back, dumping Daniels over his right shoulder with a Belly-To-Back Suplex. Riley lands hard, flat on his back, letting out a pained grunt upon impact. Furthermore, the momentum of the throw sends him rolling along sideways, and as he had landed near the ropes, this sends him under then and falling off the apron. He does manage to catch the edge of the ring before he splats onto the concrete, but still drops down onto his knees on the outside.


Lawson rolls over and pushes himself back up, seemingly fully back to his senses after that shaky opening. He follows to the ropes and then hops through the middle rope out to the apron, then quickly drops down to the floor. Daniels is seen with a hand on his lower back before Lawson reaches down to grab him. Tyler gets him by the back of the head and pulls him up. He looks out to the crowd as he points at the corner of the ring, or rather, the steel steps situated there. The crowd roars in approval, but this badly telegraphs where Lawson's going next. He pulls Riley around to angle him correctly, but as he starts to drag him forward, Daniels counters out of nowhere, swinging around in front of him. He grabs Tyler by the left elbow and the back of the head and with a burst of energy, flings him off, sending the Instant Classic shoulder-first into the steps. A loud clanging echoes through the arena as Lawson careens off the steps and over toward the barricade, a hand firmly clenched to his shoulder. This clanging is replaced by a collective "Oooooooh" from the crowd, in sympathy. Riley had dropped to one knee; he shakes his head. He should have won by now. He's better than this. Lawson grimaces and rolls his arm around in its socket, while Daniels puts his hands on the steps and pushes himself back up to his feet. He walks over to Lawson, sizing him up, and lifts up his leg, somewhat dramatically, but it's fully effective when he brings it down for a hard stomp on the same shoulder. Lawson shudders as Riley bends down and reaches for his face. He grabs his opponent by the jaw and begins to coax him up again.


Daniels brings Lawson to his feet, and pulls back his right arm for some more brawling to ensue. He smashes his fist into Tyler's mouth, sending spit flying, and doesn't let up there. He lands another punch...and another, as Lawson reels back toward the commentary area. After a fourth shot connects, Tyler nearly falls over, toppling his upper body onto the announce table. He uses his arms to cover his head, to protect himself from the onslaught, but Riley gets a better idea. The aggressor uses both hands to grab his opponent's head. He pulls Lawson's head up into the air...and slams it back down onto the table. Lawson's hands immediately shoot to his nose, which took the brunt of that impact. However, Riley doesn't let him cover up for very long, as he goes right back for his head. He tries to slam it back into the table, but at the top of the arc, Lawson throws his left arm back, catching Daniels in the midsection with an elbow. Riley doubles over as Lawson puts his hands back on the table, regaining his bearings. After a few seconds, Lawson turns around, and Riley stands back up, and they both go for a punch. Lawson gains the advantage, though, blocking Daniels's shot with his forearm and railing on him with another right hand. Daniels goes stumbling back toward the ring, and Lawson surprisingly stumbles back himself. On one knee, Tyler kinda shimmies over to the timekeeper's area and just nonchalantly grabs the ring bell. Meanwhile, Daniels backs into the ring and slumps over, trying to regain himself as Lawson did moments ago. After standing up, Lawson raises the bell up in the air and slowly walks toward his opponent, looking to strike. Riley takes a step forward and looks up. Lawson's nearly on top of him. Instinct kicks in; Daniels's brain autopilots to the best thing he can think of. He drops down, leaning to his right, and hooks his leg behind Lawson's, then twists back, taking Tyler down with a Drop Toe Hold. The bell goes flying off toward the barricade, and Lawson's face smacks off the thin padding, leading him to again cover his face with his hands and convulse in pain. Daniels, who ended up on his hands and knees, can get up without reasonable trouble, but he still grimaces a bit and grabs his lower back on the way up. He seems to have tweaked it upon hitting the side of the ring. However, it doesn't cause quite enough pain to slow him down, because he's able to reach down and grab Lawson once again, hoisting his opponent up to a sort-of-kneeling position and rolling him into the ring. As Daniels rolls into the ring himself, Lawson stumbles up to his feet, still rubbing his face, and circles around, unable to do anything at the given moment. This gives Daniels the opening to stand up and lunge at him, taking him down with a hard Clothesline. Lawson's head smacks hard off the canvas as Riley scoots down and hooks his leg for, surprisingly, only the second pin attempt of the match. [.....1.....2...] Kickout at two and a half by Lawson! The crowd exhales a sigh of relief, even though that didn't seem much like a finish.


Daniels sits up in his kneeling position and begins to wipe his face with his hands. He wants to finish this now. The self-professed "best wrestler in the world" slides over to the chair that he had used earlier in the match. Upon grabbing it, he pulls it over toward the middle of the ring, and puts it in a preferable place for Lawson to be dropped on. After this, he pushes himself back to his feet, and takes a step toward Lawson, reaching down to hoist his opponent back to a vertical base yet again. The crowd starts a "Let's go Lawson!" chant as Daniels spins him around. He then hops back with a hold on Tyler's wrist, pulling their arms taught. He pulls the Instant Classic past him and Irish Whips him toward the ropes. Tyler gets there, but instead of bouncing off, he throws his arms over the top rope and catches himself. He swings forward and back as the rope oscillates due to his momentum. As he turns around, Daniels, seeing that his opponent isn't coming back to him, charges. However, Lawson is ready for this, and he bends down, lifting up Riley as he gets to him and throwing him back over his head with a Back Body Drop. This also sends Daniels over the ropes to the outside, and while he didn't flip and lands feet-first, still collapses in a heap on the floor as the crowd cheers for Lawson.

Lawson then ducks down to the outside and smashes Daniels back-first into the steel steps. He then takes him back into the ring and puts him in the Sharpshooter. Riley taps out. The end. Why, that was abrupt; It's almost like the match got an improvised finish because one of the competitors was injured...oh, Riley's grabbing his ankle. That explains that.


Tyler celebrates as he goes back up the ramp, one victory closer to the King of Xtreme finals. It was a happy ending here for the Instant Classic, but dark times were sure to be in his future. They always are, aren't they?

...