DING DING DING
With the bell ringing, Azrael and Paine slowly walk towards the center of the ring, staring at each other with tension building up. Eric Goodman, Paine’s manager, is at ringside, wearing his usual colorful undershirt under his blazer, matched with a similarly colored tie. Sly looks to his client, confident that the Former World Champion will have no qualms against the psychotic rookie in the opposite side of the ring. The Masked Man looks up at Maddox, who towers over him. While most men would be intimidated by The Titan’s frame alone, all Azrael does is to don a crazed smile, staring right into his opponent’s eyes. Paine, unamused, attempts to go for a collar and elbow tie-up, reaching his arms out. Things don’t go according to plan however, as Azrael quickly clocks The Toughest of the Tough on the jaw, stunning the bigger man in this match. Azrael follows it up by driving a knee into Maddox’s gut, prompting him to bend over. Having the upper hand, the crazed tag team champion grabs onto Paine’s hand, and irish whips him towards the ropes. This ultimately backfires, however, as Paine rushes back at his aggresor with a Powerful Shoulder Block which drops The Masked Man down very quickly. The God Amongst Men lets out a howl of momentum, looking on at his opponent who gets to his feet just as briskly as he went down. As Azrael gets back up to his feet with a hand on his chest, Maddox raises his arm and puts it around his opponent’s neck, finally locking the collar-and-elbow tie up in place. Maddox then uses his superior strength to try and push The Masked Man towards the nearest corner. Azrael attempts to hold his ground, firmly planting his feet onto the mat; but this doesn’t help him for long, as Maddox finally pins him down onto the corner after using a little more power. Azrael stretches his arms back due to his spine being shoved onto the turnbuckle, which proves to be a bad thing to do; because The Titan quickly closes in on him and starts dropping bombs onto his opponent’s temple, not wasting his time. One, two, three, four, five; each strike making Azrael jerk his head from the impact . At this point, The Hopeful member desperately tries to block Paine’s hammer-like fists, putting his arms over his head; as he starts being worn down, legs wobbly. After a few more hits, Paine wraps his arms around his opponent’s body and bends back, throwing The Masked Man onto the center of the ring with a belly-to-belly suplex, Azrael tossed like a rag doll. Goodman nods at ringside, happy to see his client dominant, who is waiting for his opponent to get up in the ring.
|Cedar| “Maddox Paine isn’t showing any sign of weakness here tonight! He’s dominating Azrael even after the vicious beating he took last week courtesy of Vladimir Strife.”
|Miles| “Gah, boring! This fucking Maddox better be careful, else he end up how Jerusalem did at the Big Ass American Bash.”
The Masked Man gets to his feet, but this isn’t for long as Maddox comes charging at him, foot raised at the last second, dropping his opponent with a Big Boot that almost decapitates him. Azrael grips his head in pain on the mat, flailing his legs, but The Toughest of the Tough continues with the assault, stomping on his opponent repeatedly, who tries rolling away but is only met with even more stomps on different parts of his body. The Masked Man rolls flat on his back, a hand on his chest, being beaten by this Titan in the ring with him. Paine isn’t done yet, however, as he runs up to the ropes and ricochets back, jumping up and lifting his legs at the last second, crashing down onto Azrael’s neck with his log sized limb in a devastating leg drop. The Hopeful Member’s legs flail upward from the impact, while Maddox gets off of him, allowing Azrael to nurse his neck while Maddox hooks his leg, going for the pin.
|Referee| 1! 2!
Azrael is able to kick out at the last second, much to Eric Goodman and the fans’ dismay. Maddox then gets to his feet, followed by grabbing Azrael’s arm and pulling him up to a vertical base. The Titan proceeds to wrap his arm around Azrael’s waist and lift him up, having him hanging horizontally in front of him. The Mad Titan walks around the ring, carrying his opponent, making the crowd cheer as their hero is in control. After a while, Paine drops his opponent onto his knee, back first, making Azrael groan in pain and roll off of his opponent’s knee like a ragdoll, rolling to the outside of the ring and dropping to the floor. Paine quickly follows, like a predator eyeing it’s prey, as he goes through the top and middle ropes and drops to his feet onto the floor. The Toughest of the Tough approaches his opponent, who is now on one knee and leaning on the barricade for support. Before Paine can get his hands on Azrael however, The Masked Man suddenly lunges at him, hooking both Maddox’s legs and dropping him down to the floor with a double leg takedown. Maddox tries to get to his feet, but Azrael is quick to get into a mount position to pin down the former champion. Almost immediately, Azrael proceeds to drop bombs onto his opponent’s chest, shot after shot taking the air out of The Titan’s lungs. The Masked Man continues the assault by aiming for Maddox’s temple now, throwing numerous savage-like hammer fists with authority, making the God Amongst Men try to block the strikes with hands on his face, but to no avail. A few more shots later, Paine is out cold, and Azrael gets out of the mount and leans onto the apron, catching his breath, tired from the shots he’s given to the big man; before grabbing Maddox’s arm and pulling him up to a vertical base. Azrael then spins Maddox around and irish whips him towards the steel steps. Paine comes crashing into the metal, shoulder first, knocking the top part of the steps over. Wanting to take Paine out, and with the referee’s count at 4, Azrael charges at The Titan, then leaps at the last second, legs out, colliding with Maddox’s legs with a swift dropkick which sandwhiches The Toughest of the Tough’s legs with Azrael’s foot and the steps. Maddox lets out a groan of pain, holding onto his shins and rolling on the floor. Not wanting to have this match end in a double countout, Azrael quickly slides into the ring, the referee’s count being at 5. Azrael gets up to his feet, eyeing Paine who’s still down on the mat. With the referee’s count at 6, Eric Goodman quickly tends to his friend and tells him to get up and get into the ring in a very encouraging way. This seems to work, as Paine gets on one knee, then onto his feet. He walks towards the ring slowly, his shin still hurting. Maddox reaches the apron and slides into the ring, but before he can get back to a vertical base, Azrael quickly runs up to him and starts stomping onto his back like a rabid dog, laughing as he does it. Maddox tries rolling away, but Azrael switches his target and starts stomping onto his right knee. Maddox starts rolling around, his knee up and his hands grabbing it. Azrael backs up to the ropes, outstretching his arms and leaning back, watching Maddox trying to pull himself up to his feet, grabbing onto the ropes on the opposite side of the ring.
|Azrael| “What’s wrong, Cronus!? Having trouble walking!?”
|Miles| “Fuckin told you Maddox won’t last.”
|Cedar| ”Let’s not jump to conclusions”
|Miles| “Oh so nooooow you’re like that. You really are biased.”
The Titan simply looks at his aggressor with a cold stare, now on his feet, his arm slung over the top rope. Azrael has his head tilted, awaiting his opponent’s next move. All of a sudden, Maddox runs at Azrael, albeit slowly, due to the beating his knee’s received. Azrael quickly reacts by leaping up, raising his knee and drilling it square into Maddox’s jaw. Paine holds onto his face, while The Masked Man laughs to himself. The Tag Team Champion proceeds to drag Maddox towards the nearest corner by his legs slowly, Maddox’s weight being taken into account. As he reaches the turnbuckle, Azrael slides out of the ring and goes behind the ring post, then grabs both of Maddox’s legs. He pulls Maddox nearer, and releases one leg. Azrael quickly swings Maddox’s right leg out, then slams it onto the ring post, knee first. Maddox sits up from the pain, but Azrael isn’t done yet, as he swings the leg out again and rams it into the post for a second time. The Titan groans from the pain, and quickly pulls his leg up as Azrael releases his grip. The Masked Man gets back into the ring again, quickly covering Maddox for the pin.
|Referee|1! 2!
Even with the pain he’s going through, Paine manages to kick out. Azrael gets to his feet, pulling at his long messy hair in disappointment. Azrael proceeds to grab Paine and pull him up to a vertical base, only for him to kick Paine in the gut and tuck his head under his arms, falling back and quickly driving Paine’s skill with a Snap DDT. Maddox holds on to the top of his skull in pain, sitting up; which prompts Azrael to wrap his arm around The Titan’s neck, synching in a tight amateur headlock. Maddox desperately tries to throw elbows back at his opponent, but Azrael keeps stepping to the side, all while continuing to tighten his grip. Referee Ryu Sanu goes up to Paine, asking if he wants to give up, while Paine’s movements start to grow slower and slower as he starts to lose consciousness. The crowd starts to chant The Titan’s name, and Goodman taps on the apron repeatedly, shouting out words of encouragement in hopes that his friend gets out of the hold. The referee then lifts Maddox’s arm up, checking if he can still compete. Sanu releases it, and Maddox’s arm simply drops. The official tries this again, with the same result of Maddox’s arm simply dropping. The audience’s cheers grow louder and louder, not wanting Maddox to lose. As the referee checks it one more time, Maddox somehow is able to regain consciousness and holds his arm up with a closed fist. Goodman lets out a sigh of relief, while the crowd cheers loudly as their hero back into the game. Azrael’s jaw drops in disbelief, as Maddox is now slowly getting to his feet now on one knee. The Masked Man tries to lock his grip in tighter, but this does nothing as The Titan gets to his feet, then pushes Azrael towards the ropes, prompting The Hopeful member to run towards the ropes. Azrael bounces back and gets near The God Amongst Men, as Maddox steps to the side and wraps his arm around Azrael’s waist, lifting him up. The Masked Man flails his limbs around like a rodent caught by a mouse trap, but this doesn’t get him anywhere, as The Toughest of the Tough forcefully sits down, slamming his opponent’s spine onto the mat in the process. Azrael grips his back and rolls away from his opponent, while Maddox lies on the floor, trying to rest for a bit, catching his breath. The referee proceeds to count out both men, as both are down.
|Referee| 1!
Both men try to get themselves up to their feet, using the ropes for support.
|Referee| 2!
Both are now on one knee, trying to pull themselves up with the ropes.
|Referee| 3!
Before Azrael can get to his feet, Maddox briskly runs up behind him, wrapping his arms around Azrael’s waist and throwing him back with an athletic Bridging German Suplex, pinning The Masked Man.
|Referee| 1! 2!
Azrael manages to kick out and save himself from losing the match. As Maddox releases him, he holds onto the back of his neck from the pain of the suplex, while The Titan gets back to his feet. Looking to wear his crazed opponent down, Paine grabs his opponent’s arm and pulls him up to a vertical base, only to irish whip him towards the turnbuckles. Azrael bends down from the impact, but Paine doesn’t stop there as he too lowers his head, grabbing the middle rope with both hands, and rams his shoulder onto the Masked Man’s stomach, making Azrael bend back from the pain, but The Titan withdraws for a second and delivers another thrust. Azrael lets out a groan of pain, but it’s cut short once Maddox simply goes to town and starts ramming him over and over and over, the crowd counting each thrust. A few more thrusts later, The Toughest of the Tough steps away from his opponent, who simply crashes to the floor, damaged. The God Amongst Men takes a moment to showboat to the crowd; outstretching his arms and crying out in a fit of adrenaline, making the crowd’s cheers grow louder. Maddox catches his breath, resting against the corner while his opponent lies on the mat, grabbing his abdomen. As Azrael gets to one knee, The Titan forcefully pulls The Masked Man by his hair, getting him to his feet. Maddox uses his other hand to grab Azrael’s jump suit, then runs across the ring to the opposite ring post, throwing his opponent into the unforgiving steel shoulder first. The crowd gives out a loud “oooh!” sound from the impact, as Azrael slowly removes himself from between the top and middle rope, grabbing onto his shoulder. As turns back to face his opponent, the first thing he sees is Maddox ricocheting from the ropes, only to quickly leap up and outstretch his arm, hitting The Masked Man with a quick Flying Clothesline across his neck. Azrael immediately drops down to the floor from the move, holding onto his neck and flailing from side to side. Maddox then walks over to the opposite corner, as he reaches his destination, he outstretches his arms and looks up to the heavens, unleashing a wolf-like howl, followed by bending his knees, staring at his opponent and awaiting for him to get himself back to his feet. The crowd goes electric, knowing that Maddox is about to spear the life out of The Tag Team Champion. As Azrael gets to his feet, The Titan quickly charges like a Rhino; but things don’t go according to plan as Azrael somehow has enough attentiveness to be able to sidestep and clasp his hands together, striking Paine from below his jaw with a sudden double axe handle strike. Maddox’s head snaps back, but this doesn’t bring the big man down. Observing this, Azrael kicks Maddox in the gut, making him bend over, and then grabs a handful of his opponent’s long hair. The Masked Man proceeds to shove Maddox to the ground, The Titan lands on all fours; but as he attempts to get up, Azrael quickly starts dropping hammer fists onto Maddox’s back, each shot making The God Amongst Men’s limbs shake, eventually wearing him down, dropping down onto the mat.
|Cedar| ”Somehow, Azrael was able to save himself from being speared, and successfully capitalized!”
|Miles| “Hah, Maddox really seems like he’s having some fucking trouble with the god damn new comers”
Azrael proceeds to grapevine The Titan’s legs around his right foot, following it up by kicking at Paine’s sides with his left. The Toughest of the Tough tries to crawl away, but Azrael quickly grabs both of Paine’s arms and pulls up, making Paine’s head raise. The Masked Man maintains this hold for a moment, looking side to side at the crowd, who are now silent as Azrael seems to have regained control of the match. Suddenly, Azrael drives Maddox’s head into the mat with a sickening curb stomp. Azrael releases the hold, which prompts Paine to hold onto his forehead and roll to his side, kicking his legs from the impact. The Masked Man backs up to the ropes, catching his breath. He doesn’t get much time to; however, as upon seeing Maddox back on one knee, Azrael quickly charges at him and steps on said knee, then drives his own knee into Maddox’s chin. The Titan comes crashing down onto the mat, out cold from the Shining Wizard, while Azrael simply looks at him with childlike wonder. The Masked Man then begins to taunt The Toughest of the Tough, all while backing up to the turnbuckles.
|Azrael| “Is this The Titan? HAH! No wonder that man named Strife had no qualms going against you. Where is The Titan people speak of, Maddox!? Where is he!?”
Maddox struggles to get to his feet, his right leg wobbling as he gets back to one knee. Azrael doesn’t do anything, however, as he simply looks at his opponent with a crazed smile, bent down.
|Azrael| “Come now, is this really it!? No wonder Hitman Alex made quick work of you, TWICE!”
|Cedar| ”Azrael playing some mind games here, though this may come back to bite him, an angry titan would be hard to face.”
|Miles| “Heh, please. Vladimir Strife kicked the living shit out of Maddox, and he’s only had one match here in the XWA. Azrael won’t have problems with this guy.”
Maddox has had enough, as he suddenly explodes and charges at his opponent, who gets caught off guard. Maddox drives his knee onto the bent over Azrael’s face with his signature Knee Lift. Azrael drops down to the mat as if he just got hit by a bat, holding his face in pain. Eric Goodman lets out a sigh of relief at ringside, while the crowd simply goes wild as Maddox is back in the game. Azrael briskly gets himself back to a vertical base, but he isn’t on the ground for long, as Maddox quickly grabs The Masked Man by the waist and lifts him up onto his shoulder. The Masked Man flails his legs, trying to get out of The Titan’s grip, but to no avail. Maddox then uses his strength to charge towards the turnbuckles furiously, Azrael in hand, and rams his opponent onto the turnbuckles. The God Amongst Men isn’t done yet, however, as he turns around and stampedes towards the opposite corner, slamming The Masked Man into the turnbuckles once again. Finally, Paine turns around and runs to the center of the ring, only to slam Azrael one last time into the mat with a fierce Oklahoma Powerslam. Paine gets back up to his feet, while the Tag Team Champion arches his back from the vicious attack his spine has went through. The Toughest of The Tough, now in complete control, is looking to end this; as he outstretches his arms and chest and looks up, giving out an animalistic roar. The crowd’s cheers grow louder, as Maddox backs up to the turnbuckles and bends down, eyeing his opponent and looking to spear him to oblivion.
|Cedar| ”Maddox is going to end this!”
|Miles| “No! No! Fuck no!”
As Azrael gets to his feet, he turns to face his opponent, who comes zooming at him, looking to take him out. Unfortunately for Maddox, Azrael manages to roll out of the way before the spear connects, and Maddox ends up tackling the referee in half. Referee Ryu Sanu is out cold, while Maddox combs his hair up and looks at the poor official.
|Cedar| ”No! This can’t be!”
|Miles| “This psychotic motherfucker sure has some quick reflexes.”
As he turns back though, he sees The Masked Man taking the opportunity, ricocheting from the ropes and stretching his arm out at the last second, bringing The Titan down with a Here’s Johnny Clothesline From Hell that almost decapitates him. Maddox drops down to the ground along with Azrael. With all three people in the ring down on the ground, the Oklahoman crowd cheers for Maddox to get up, not wanting the Tag Team Champion to win this match. Sly also looks weary at ringside as he looks on to his friend with anticipation; the crowd’s cheers soon turn to a chorus of boos, however, as Azrael is the first to his feet. In fear of Paine not getting the win, Eric Goodman slides into the ring behind The Masked Menace, his right hand clad in brass knuckles.
|Cedar| ”Look at Goodman!”
|Miles| “Someone get that rat out of the ring! This is illegal!”
|Cedar| ”Referee’s down, Joey! Anything’s legal!”
|Miles| ”FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!”
The crowd cheers for Sneeky, as he awaits Azrael to turn to face him. The Masked Man turns back, and immediately Sly throws his fist at Azrael’s temple. Unfortunately, Azrael manages to catch the manager’s fist. Goodman looks onto The Tag Team Champion in shock, and even The Masked Man himself looks surprised that he was able to catch the strike. Azrael’s shock quickly turns to satisfaction, as a mischievous grin forms across his face. The crowd boos their hearts out, while Azrael uses his grip of Rat’s hand to spin Goodman around. Azrael proceeds to sling the manager’s arm around his neck and hoists him up, rotating him in midair and planting him head-first with a devastating Omega Driver he calls Hush. Sly looks out cold, while Azrael eyes the knuckle duster in Goodman’s hand.
|Azrael| “Oooh, SHINY!”
Azrael removes the brass knuckles off of Sly’s hand, and places it into one of the pockets in his jumpsuit. The Masked Man then gets up to his feet and back up, only to rush at the manager and deliver a low dropkick which launches the poor Rat out of the ring, still out cold. Azrael gets up to his feet and turns back to face his opponent. His little endeavor with Goodman proves to be a mistake, however, as the first thing he sees is Maddox stampeding towards him, leaping up at the last second and connecting with a beast-like Spear. The crowd goes nuts, and Maddox tiredly lays his arm over The Masked Man’s chest, going for the pin. However, Referee Ryu Sanu is still out cold. Upon noticing this, The Titan gets back up to his feet and shakes the referee, which seems to work, as Ryu Sanu tries to get back to his feet with the support of the ropes. Paine looks back at his opponent and grabs him by his hair, shoving his head between his legs. Looking to seal the deal with the Titan bomb, he wraps his arms around Azrael’s abdomen and lifts him up upon his shoulders. He isn’t able to complete the move, however, as Azrael starts flailing around, trying to be released. The Masked Man eventually escapes The Titan’s grip, landing on his feet behind Maddox. Seeing that the referee is still facing the turnbuckles, Azrael quickly rummages for the brass knuckles in his pocket, sliding it into his fingers; then blindly throws a punch as he turns back to face The Toughest of The Tough. Fortunately for him, and unfortunately for Maddox, Goodman, and the fans, Azrael’s blind punch manages to connect, hitting Maddox square in the cheek bone from behind. The Masked Man quickly removes the knuckle dusters and and kicks it away, knocking it out of the ring. As Maddox falls to the ground, Azrael quickly takes Maddox’s arm and pulls it, having it in front of The Titan’s neck. He then puts his other arm behind Maddox’s head and pushes at him, locking in the Cobra Clutch which he calls Devil’s Knot. Referee Ryu Sanu finally faces both wrestlers, and quickly walks up to them, checking if Maddox wants to tap. This submission maneuver is simply a facade, though, as Azrael is barely exerting as much strength as he would in the move, and Maddox is simply out cold and unmoving.
|Azrael| “Come on, Ref! Just lift his arm up three times and watch it drop, LOOK AT HIM! HE BARELY KNOWS WHERE HE IS!”
|Miles| “Hah! It’s over! ”
|Cedar| ”This isn’t right! Referee didn’t see the foreign object!”
Despite Ted Cedar’s complaints, Referee Ryu Sanu can’t call anything he didn’t see. The official proceeds to lift Maddox’s arm, only to watch it drop back down. He does this two more times to confirm The Titan’s unconsciousness, and then rings the bell.
DING DING DING!
|Watts| ”Here is your winner as a result of a submission, Azrael!”
Ryu Sanu lifts Azrael’s arm up, as he is announced as the winner. The Masked Man grins at the frenzied crowd, as he gets away with his crime. The referee gives Azrael his Tag Title, and Azrael slides out of the ring, gripping his head and abdomen, mending the damage he has received from The Titan as he walks up the ramp, his theme playing through the PA system.
|Cedar| ”Azrael manages to steal a win from Maddox Paine!”
|Miles| “AHAHAHHAH! Well, commercial time. PISS BREAK!”
A graphic for Travis Levitt vs the returning Xtreme Icon is shown as the commentators hype the match, then XWA cuts to one of many commercial breaks.
Subject: M7. Azrael vs. Maddox Paine 
