This blockbuster of an Intercontinental Title match is the result of almost non-stop war contested over the last thirty or so days. It comes to a head tonight; of everybody who has battled over the course of the last month, these three have stood tall over the competition. Only The Pirate sports a significant loss, and it's against the man who stands in the corner across the ring from him: the Silent Protagonist, Rob Chapman. A man who has said an awful lot without words since his return just over two months ago. In the corner adjacent to both his opponents is Akira Kobayashi; a fierce strong-style competitor who has decimated his opponents since the tournament began on the episode of Vendetta following The Big Ass American Bash. Three very different, and yet, somehow, very similar competitors with a smash-mouth style of offence. One a little more graceful, one a little more visceral, and one a little more unpredictable. Tonight, the final battle of this revolutionary war will be contested. And it begins now.

DING DING DING

There is very little that could be personal between these three combatants as they begin to pace about the ring. Tonight, it's all business. Eyes dart from man to man as Chapman, Akira, and Pirate begin to size each other up; scanning for an opening. An initial mistake. Actually finding one is a different story; all three of these men are high caliber athletes, and experienced fighters. None of them are going to slip so early in this bout. As they inch toward the ring's center, rather than break apart, the three of them cautiously engage in a surprising, unanticipated three-way tie-up! Muscles ripple; the amount of ferocity and physicality that is to take place in the ring becomes physically apparent as each man begins to focus on trying to overpower both of their opponents! A monumental task, to be sure! No man seems to be able to get the advantage in this tumultuous test of strength. Who will be the first to look for a way out of this predicament? The crowd gets their answer in record time, as Chapman, ever-the-opportunist, puts his agility and athleticism on display for all to see and executes a "split" jump to kick both of his opponents square in the face! Both Pirate and Akira release their grip on Chapman and each other, clutching at their faces as they stumble backwards from the quick strike by their Canadian contemporary. Robert's smug expression as he lands seems to be all Akira and Pirate need to form a momentary truce in spite of their pure dissonance, as they charge toward the cocky competitor, looking to floor him, only for the both of them to be caught underneath the arm, hooked, and sent overhead by Chapman with a graceful Japanese Arm Drag! Kobayashi and the man formerly known as Tyler Lawson both land square on their backs, quick to sit up from the maneuver as the former 2WWF Champion takes off into the ropes behind them. Almost surprisingly, The Pirate is the first one to bound back to his feet, but his advance is halted in stunned surprise as Chapman returns and swings around his body in a Crucifix float-over, extending his legs, but instead of latching onto Lawson's arm, he kicks the rising Kobayashi in the back of the head! Thinking quickly, The Pirate reaches back and grabs his leg before Chapman can land behind him, forcing him into the Crucifix position without the momentum to pull off the pin that would normally follow. As The Silent Protagonist begins to panic and throw elbows to try and break himself free of the "Captain's" grip, he's dropped, plain and simple as The Pirate throws himself backwards to flatten his opponent with a Samoan Drop!  The Pirate keeps his opponent's leg hooked, draped over his chest back-first as the referee drops to count the pin, but it only garners a count of one as Rob gets his shoulder up.

As the fan favourite executes a surprisingly technical counter, the crowd cheers excitedly!

Ted
"And that's a nice counter by The Pirate, taking Rob down with a Samoan Drop!"

Joey
"Y'know, I don't get what the fuck Rob planned to do after kicking Takumi, there. He set himself up for that."

Ted
"... Joey, that's not Takumi Sanu..."

The Pirate shakes his head, surprised at how quickly his opponent was able to kick out after such a powerful Samoan Drop, but he stops dwelling on it really, really quickly, as a palm cracks against the base of his skull and almost drops him face-first! He whirls around with a haymaker, cracking an aggressive Kobayashi across the jaw! The strike only incenses the visceral competitor more, as he lashes back with another, harder palm strike! An exchange of blows ensues between the pair of them, slugging it out like the fighters they are. Seemingly failing to notice Rob Chapman rising back to his feet beside them. Crawling away from the growing maelstrom, Chapman regains his bearings in closer proximity to the ring ropes, before using them for momentum as he catapults himself towards his opponents at high speed. Extending both of his arms, he looks to clothesline them, but at the last moment they turn away from their brawl- a feint?- and raise their knees, striking Chapman's midsection in brutal fashion and flipping him to the canvas below! The attention of both competitors has been firmly re-directed as Akira wraps both arms around that freshly-bruised rib cage and yanks Chapman back to his feet, getting his own feet firmly beneath him. As he attempts to take Chapman up and over, the two-hundred and forty-pounder visibly goes limp, sandbagging and throwing the Japanese warrior off guard, as he quickly shifts to keep his footing. The Pirate exchanges a quick nod with his temporary ally and takes off into the ropes in front of them. As he bounds back, looking to assist Kobayashi via clothesline, the Straight Edge Outlaw decides to take himself over, leaping up to dropkick Tyler Lawson right in delusional skull, dropping the swashbuckler to the canvas, while at the same time sending Akira off balance and falling over backwards onto his opponent's head! As Akira's skull is crushed beneath the might of bulky Canadian ass cheeks combined with gravity, Chapman rolls back to a footed base just in time to see a very angry Pirate charging his way. With a sneer, he visibly stiffens his arm, preparing to meet his opponent with a Lariat. The Pirate won't allow that to happen; he quickens his advance and takes a hold of the outstretched arm, using it to wrap his body around Chapman's, securing Rob's other arm with his leg and pulling the Haligonian down with a successful Crucifix Pin! The referee drops to count the pin! "One! T-" the count ends right at two as a rattled Kobayashi has enough cognitive process to stop his opponent from getting the early pin, kicking The Pirate square in the face!

Though it's unlikely Rob would have gone down for the full three count, they still cheer as the pin is broken up by Akira.

Ted
"And Akira breaks up the pin in a hurry! That's what you've gotta be on the lookout for in a Triple Threat match!"

Joey
"Uh, you gotta be on the lookout for pretty much anything in a Triple Threat match. There's no fucking disqualifications or count-outs."

With Pirate momentarily incapacitated and clutching at his throbbing mandible, Akira turns his attention on the recuperating Chapman, yanking him up from all fours, hooking the Canadian's arm around his neck, and taking him overhead with a quick and powerful Vertical Suplex! Akira hoists Rob up with so much force that they both leave the canvas before impacting it hard enough to knock the breath out of LionHeart! As Kobayashi prepares to continue his assault, he sees Pirate charging angrily toward him. His bravado earns him a swift kick to the gut, doubling the sea dog over. Straightening him back up, "The Black Heart Warrior" hooks Lawson's arm and leg on opposite ends before tossing The Pirate across the ring with an Exploder Suplex! If this was the best this company could throw at him, the Intercontinental was little more than a stone's throw away. As he reaches his feet, he's suddenly stricken across the back by a hard kick, but it fails to have much of an effect on the Osaka native. He turns around to be blasted in the abdomen by another round kick, which, like the first, has shockingly little effect on the now angry competitor. Kobayashi roars and dares Chapman to hit him. Rob obliges, hitting Akira harder, and multiple times as he begins to rain kicks across Akira's chest, thigh, and abdomen from either side, succeeding at nothing except battering Kobayashi's temper.   One more kick is all it takes for Akira to snap, catching Chapman's leg and beginning to strike his face using his free hand, knocking his head from side to side with palm and backhand blows! Infuriated, Chapman swings his free leg up, cracking it across the back of Akira's head with an Enzuigiri that frees up his other leg as Akira stumbles away. As Rob begins to rise to his feet in a doubled over position, The Pirate emerges from seemingly nowhere, flying off the top rope to land right across Rob's spine with both boots in a Mule Kick, using Chapman's body as a platform to launch himself at Akira! Lawson lands seated across the back of his opponent whilst bringing his hands down in a Double Axe Handle right on top of Kobayashi's head! The Flying Pirate finally brings the shooter down, and Pirate rolls up to his feet as Akira hits the mat face first, coming to a halt in the opposite corner of the ring, where he grabs the ropes and braces himself to go yet again. This time, Chapman's the wobbly one. As Akira gets up onto all fours, shaking his head repeatedly, The Pirate takes off yet again, stepping up onto Kobayashi's back and using the two-hundred-and-thirty pound combatant as a step to launch himself at Chapman, swinging his hands down as he lands seated across Rob's chest in a Double Axe Handle / Thesz Press combination! The move brings Chapman down as well, and The Pirate covers him quickly, but forgets to hook Rob's leg, allowing him to kick out right on the count of two!

The crowd cheers rampantly for The Pirate as he takes down both of his adversaries with creative interpretations of his signature 'Flying Pirate' maneuver!

Ted
"And a Flying Pirate for Rob, too! The Pirate using both Chapman and Kobayashi as a platform to launch himself at each of them! What a maneuver!"

Joey
"Remind me to get "This Is Not A Step" tattooed in big fucking letters on my back if I'm ever near this headcase!"

As The Pirate rises to his feet, he once again sees Kobayashi charging at him out of the corner of his eye; for once he has enough time to act on his findings and quickly catches the outstretched arm of the Osaka native, preventing him from executing a debilitating Shouda (running upward palm strike) and using that same arm to feed Akira right through the ropes, sending him out of the ring and down to the floor! Two men are isolated for the first time in this match, and this time it's The Pirate standing tall! "Ya-arrr mateys! The gold's as good as mine!" Oozing with confidence, The Pirate gets right back to work with a smile on his face and lifts the Halifax native up off of the canvas, scooping him up and then planting him once again with a good ol' Bodyslam. Disenchanted, Rob looks up at the lights, maybe looking for a way to rid himself of the pain in his skull as his opponent begins to climb to the top rope with his back turned on the ring. It's quite possible that The Pirate is thinking: 'Moonsault' as he scales the ropes, but unfortunately for the optimistic contender, Akira Kobayashi is thinking: 'Kill' as he bounds up onto the apron and begins to batter The Pirate with clubbing forearm shots, chopping away at him like a piece of firewood. It's miraculous that The Pirate is even able to hold onto the ropes as Kobayashi strikes away at him, but even more astonishing that he begins to fire back at Akira, clubbing 'The Black Heart Warrior' with closed fist shots that the Osaka native himself won't use, dazing him momentarily, and allowing the former Tyler Lawson to score big with a headbutt that almost knocks Kobayashi off the apron. Sensing his opportunity to lay the dangerous man out for good, 'Captain Bartholomew Bloom', as he now believes himself, begins to dismount the turnbuckle, but before he reaches the mat, he stops on the second rope. Holding onto the top rope with one hand, he grabs a handful of Akira's matted ebony hair with the other, and delivers another headbutt for good measure to keep him dazed. He quickly positions his arm around the neck of Kobayashi, applying a front facelock before vaulting up and over the top rope, falling out of the ring and driving Akira's skull straight into the ring apron with a vicious swinging DDT!

The crowd explodes for the huge DDT, and what starts as a small chant breaks out infectiously: "Holy Shit!"

Ted
"Tornado DDT into the apron! The Pirate just dropped Akira on the apron! And he's busted open, Joey!"

Joey
"Jesus fuck! Don't let it touch me, I don't want fucking Swine Flu!"

All three competitors are down now; The Pirate, splattered on the padded floor after a self-inflicted fall to bring down the man currently laying next to him, Akira Kobayashi. A trickle of blood is visible on the Japanese warrior's forehead; the point of impact with the ring's edge, widely considered the hardest part of the ring to come into contact with. And of course, there's Rob Chapman, laying in the ring. Still hurt, but quite possibly the least injured. Even so; he shows about as many signs of life as either of his opponents, and if it weren't for the fact that there are no count-out rules under the traditional Triple Threat stipulation, he'd likely be the Intercontinental Champion in a matter of seconds. It's almost unsurprising when Kobayashi winds up being the first to rise; despite taking unarguably the worst landing, the man also seems to be a damn Terminator, sent from the future to make Tyler Lawson stop being a delusional motherfucker in guyliner. Oh, and also to beat the living shit out of everything that qualifies as an opponent. The Pirate isn't far behind him; literally smelling blood in the water, the self-proclaimed Captain's shark-like attributes resuscitate him from near unconsciousness, allowing him to block the clubbing shot that comes his way and fire back with a knife-edged chop; payback for Akira's slicing blows moments before (as if the DDT wasn't enough)! The Pirate begins to dole out a large serving of these chops, hacking away at his opponent's chest like a Minecraft player with OCD and turning his chest redder than a boiled lobster! Finally, The Pirate unloads on Kobayashi with another headbutt, this one harder than even the previous two. He stumbles back for a moment, bracing off of the ring apron, before straightening up and bearing down on his opponent with another headbutt. This time... the result is much like Rob's attempted kicks to Akira's midsection. The strike does little to affect Akira's standing base... it only seems to make him angry. Pirate quickly dishes out another headbutt, dizzying only himself. Before he has a chance to react, the Osaka native has him by the head, and he absolutely slams his bloody forehead into The Pirate's, causing blood to spill from his own wound as a dazed Lawson stumbles back into the ring apron and barely hangs on. Startled by seeing blood on his opponent's face, Akira reaches up and discovers his own bleeding incision. He seems stunned by this revelation, but his shocked expression quickly turns into a snarl as he prepares to blast The Pirate with another palm strike. As Tyler snaps back to reality, he pushes off of the ring apron to strike his opponent again, but out of nowhere, Rob Chapman comes flying out from between the top and middle rope; his outstretched hands make contact with The Pirate's skull, and Rob braces off of it, leapfrogging over The Pirate's bandanna-covered head, as his now-outstretched legs land across Akira's shoulders. As he lands on Akira's shoulders, the sudden force and momentum causes the Osaka native to turn, barely supporting the weight. He doesn't support it for very long as Chapman begins to flip backwards, keeping his legs wrapped around Akira's head; Kobayashi is thrown into the floor face-first, leaving a bloody mess as he more or less lands on top of the Straight Edge Outlaw. A nasty fall, to be sure!

For the second time, and not far removed from the first, the crowd delivers a well-deserved chant of "Holy Shit!" Even Rob Chapman could still surprise them pleasantly with moves like that.

Ted
"Good lord what a maneuver! Akira got even more of that Frankensteiner that Rob was probably intending! Someone better check on him and make sure that wound didn't just rip wide open!"

Joey
"Meh, he can just get a face transplant like that movie Face/Off after this match is over. I don't think anyone would notice if he had a different Asian guy's face next week anyway, they all look the fucking same."

Crawling out from underneath Akira's bleeding frame, Chapman doesn't even spare his opponent a glance as he sets his sights immediately on the much more able-bodied Pirate. Narrowing his eyes at the man who is now propped up against the ring steps, Chapman takes off at a dead run towards his opponent; you'd think by now, at least one of these three would learn that charging at any of the others blindly is a mistake. If Rob hasn't learned yet, he may well do so here as his adversary steps forward to meet him and catches his opponent by the forearm, hurling Chapman straight into the side of the steel steps with an Arm Drag! The Silent Protagonist sails through the air before stopping dead as he impacts the steel steps; the kinetic force of motion transferred to the steps themselves as the top half of them is knocked loose from the bottom half, causing the top half to slide back, hanging over the edge. With a wicked gleam in his eye, The Pirate leans over, hastily pulling Chapman up to his knees and securing a front facelock on the Haligonian. "Alright, break yer face, lad! Captain's orders!" hollers the strained voice of Tyler Lawson; The Pirate immediately falls backwards, driving Rob's face straight into the exposed section of the lower steps with a Snap DDT! This could be it! This could be his moment, as Rob slips down the steps and falls to the floor with a heavy THUD. This could be The Pirate's moment, if he can just get Chapman into the r- A sudden and hard slap across the back of his head rips Lawson from his optimistic desires and prompts him to turn around, where he immediately eats a forearm from Akira Kobayashi! The blood streaming down Akira's face has left a single, shapeless line from his forehead, over his eye, and down to his jaw, giving him a strong resemblance to Kratos. And to something The Pirate will likely be seeing in his future nightmares, as he's once again stricken between the eyes by his opponent's bloody skull. The hard headbutt takes the salty sea dog down, and he lands next to Chapman's injured body in a gnarly heap. Though he's not much of one for weaponry... it seemed that it was going to take more than normal to keep either of these fierce combatants down. And with the bottom half of the steps being a flat surface, they would be pretty easy to work with. A mighty and frightening kick from Kobayashi knocks the top half of the steps the rest of the way off, as the fall to the floor with a clatter. Turning his head, he watches as The Pirate climbs wearily to a vertical base using the ring apron. Before he has any idea what's going on, his arm is suddenly hooked around the back of Akira's neck. "The Black Heart Warrior" hooks the leg of Captain Bartholomew Bloom and hoists him up into the air; with a mighty roar, Kobayashi falls backwards, annihilating The Pirate as he sends him crashing neck and spine-first into the top of the lower steps with a Backdrop Driver!

There's an enormous POP as Akira delivers a sickening Backdrop Driver onto the steps, and a small chant does in fact start up near where the Japanese competitor stands: "Akira's gonna kill you!"

Ted
"Good god almighty! He could have just broken The Pirate's neck with that Backdrop Driver!

Joey
"TYLER LAWSON'S WRASSLIN' WITH A BROKEN FUCKIN' NECK! BAH GAWD!"

The Pirate lays spread eagle across the ring steps, his body defeated for the moment as it tries to process just how much damage has actually been done. Tyler- the man himself, is stunned, staring vacantly at the ceiling and just blinking several times in order to prove to himself that he's alive and conscious. Akira is no worse for wear as he stands up and admires his handiwork. The Intercontinental Title is close. Closer than it's been throughout this entire title hunt. With The Pirate's flame diminished, he turns his sights on the silent light still burning. Leaned exhausted against the apron, the ragged Haligonian can't even make himself look up from the floor as Kobayashi approaches him. Lioneheart sported a freshly forming welt just above his right eye from the point of impact with the steps, and seemed to be having great difficulty in getting his bearings. Easy pickings. A palm strike just above that very eye nearly knocks Rob straight over the barricade! Akira catches Rob before he can fall to the side and delivers a forearm club to the back, doubling Chapman over as he walks him towards the steps and the body of their fallen adversary. With Rob's back parallel to the steps, Akira proceeds to double Chapman over with a heavy knee strike to the sternum, before thrusting the Canadian's head between his legs and wrapping both of his arms around Rob's midsection. The crowd begins to cheer as Kobayashi hoists Rob up in a Powerbomb lift before falling, bringing him down right on top of The Pirate's body, shattering LionHeart with a Powerbomb that sandwiches Pirate between Chapman's own body and the steps![/b]

Once again, the crowd POPs for the surprisingly brutal maneuver. At least by Kobayashi's standards. It was still more about the physicality than anything. He could be brutal as all hell without any weaponry, and generally was so.

Joey
"Well, it looks like we got ourselves a shit sandwich here, Theodore."

Ted
"What a sickening Powerbomb by Kobayashi! That move is painful enough when you're taking it on the mat! He just collided with flesh, bone, and steel! And The Pirate has got to be out of it!"

Akira is a little bit slow to rise, possibly showing signs of slowing down... it's no wonder, given the sheer number of headbutts he's given and taken... combined with the blood loss, and the number of powerful moves he's pulled on his opponents with little time to rest. He had hoped to end this match before he found himself gassed. To win the Intercontinental Title in a blowout, but now that plan was in jeopardy. He begins to pull himself to his feet with the assistance of the bottom ring rope, panting heavily to regain lost breath, and what could soon be lost time. As he catches a glimpse of his opponents', still sprawled out atop the ring steps, it gives him another wicked idea. He continues to climb using the bottom rope to pull himself up onto the ring apron, before stepping back to be a couple of feet away from both Chapman and Lawson's battered bodies. He looks at the both of them, measuring off the distance. Hoping this worked. If it did, that could well be it for the pair of them. Now or nothing. Taking off, Kobayashi runs across the ring apron and leaps at the last minute to come crashing down with a flying Double Stomp! Rob falls off of the steps just before the moment of impact, leaving Pirate to take the whole of the impact, and watching as Akira falls forward onto the floor below. For the third straight time this evening, the crowd begins to chant the words "Holy Shit" as The Black Heart Warrior slowly rises to his feet on the arena floor. Sauntering over to the broken body of The Pirate, he pulls the sea dog off of the lower steps and lifts him by the head, walking him to the ring's edge and tossing him into the ring beneath the bottom rope. But Lawson wouldn't be getting a burial at sea just yet. Turning his head, Akira spies Rob still laying at the base of the steps and seeks to return him to the ring as well. As he takes a step toward The Silent Protagonist, the arena lights suddenly go out.

Murmurs fill the air, along with a mixture of jeers and cheers. Nobody really knows what to expect when the lights go out in XWA.

Joey
d"The fuck? Are we really doing this shit again already?"

Ted
"What the heck?"

As the seconds pass, pitch black is replaced by an even more worrisome blood red. Shock and suspense among the crowd change almost instantaneously and the stage is showered with intense boos. Cerberus emerges from behind the curtain! The Hound of Hell begins to walk menacingly towards the ramp! Just what could Cerberus possibly want with an Intercontinental Title match?! And moreover, is he here on the whim of Robert Hope, or is he here of his own twisted agenda? Akira stands dead still, staring a hole through Cerberus as he continues to walk down the entrance ramp. The Black Heart Warrior is visibly torn between pursuing victory, and dealing with this intruder himself as the lights return to normal.

Ted
"Good God it's Cerberus! What on earth does The Hound of Hell want with an Intercontinental Title match?!"

Joey
"To fuck shit up, Ted. To give us Hope."

Meanwhile, in the ring, Chapman manages to slide in beneath the bottom rope. He covers The Pirate with a Lateral Press, hooking Lawson's limp leg as the official drops to count what is surprisingly only the third pin attempt in this back and forth contest. "One! Two! Thr-" A kickout! The Pirate somehow kicks out after all the punishment he'd sustained courtesy of Kobayashi! Akira almost misses the pin attempt, but as The Pirate kicks out of Rob's cover attempt, he turns his sights back on the entrance way. And for that matter, so does Chapman as he rises up to his knees. Staring in shock and quite possibly fear as The Hound Of Hell continues to make his way toward them. As Cerberus inches closer to the foot of the stage, the honour-driven warrior's choice is made for him. Kobayashi takes off at a dead run towards Cerberus... quite possibly the worst move Akira could make in his quest for glory, as the crimson-clad monster reaches out and catches Kobayashi by the head, throwing him as hard as he can and sending him flying over the barricade! By now, The Pirate has somewhat come to, and seeing his opponent so horrifyingly mesmerized with the scene taking place on the stage, he slowly begins to work his way up onto all fours, before seeing exactly what Rob sees. The big red monster staring at the two of them from the entryway. He shakes his head in disbelief as Cerberus begins to approach the ring again. The two tired combatants slowly make their way up to a wobbly base as the intruder reaches the edge of the ring and slowly begins to climb up onto the apron. Exchanging glances, Chapman and Lawson seal the deal with an affirmative nod, before rushing at The Hound of Hell to begin battering him with repeated fists, much to the crowd's delight! Or... At least The Pirate, anyway. Chapman seems to have stopped halfway, immobilized with... glee. His mouth forms into a sickening smirk as Cerberus walks straight through The Pirate's glancing blows and unloads with an open-handed shot to the throat! The Captain goes down hard, clutching at his throat in breathless agony as the crowd begins to jeer intensely. They didn't want to be surprised, and yet... as The Pirate stumbles to his feet, throwing blind punches in an attempt to hit something; Chapman, Cerberus- ANYTHING, the near-seven-footer reaches out with that enormous claw-like hand and wraps it around Lawson's shrieking neck! Shoving The Pirate's arm aside with his free hand, he powers the scurvy dog up for a Chokeslam, just as Rob dashes at them, leaping into the air and latching onto his opponent's back! Chapman draws up his knees to deliver a near-fatal Lungblower as Cerberus delivers the Chokeslam, forcing all of the air out of The Pirate's lungs!

The crowd showers Chapman with voracious boos as he proves himself to be taking the easiest possible way out.

Ted
"Aw, come on! No! Damnit! Does this mean that Rob Chapman has joined forces with The Hopeful?!"

Joey
"I... I don't know how to feel about the idea of that. I... I don't know if I like how I feel about that..."

The Pirate's broken body topples off of Chapman's bent knees after simply being suspended there for a moment. Grinning as the crowd showers them with a sea of hatred, Chapman rises back to his feet. Feeling... reinvigorated. Dragging the body of Tyler Lawson to a vertical base, he wraps one arm around his defeated opponent's neck, and the other around his waist. Pointlessly, he hoists The Pirate up and delivers him head-first into the canvas with an Inverted Northern Lights Bomb! The Caesura connects! And finally, Rob kneels and presses his hands against his opponent's chest. Terrified of the man currently standing behind Rob, the official does his job without question and drops to count the pin. "One... two... three." He signals for the timekeeper to ring the bell... and to give him the championship. To give it to this... husk of a human being. The Silent Protagonist.



Laura Watts
"Ladies and gentlemen... your winner, and NEW Intercontinental Champion... The Silent Protagonist... Rob Chapman!"

Ted
"Damn you Rob Chapman, and damn you Cerberus! Akira Kobayashi had this won!"

Joey
"Nobody has a match won until that match is fucking over, Theodore. The Intercontinental Title belongs to Rob Chapman right now, like it or not. And it may just belong to someone else, so you might wanna watch what comes out of your fat fucking mouth from now on!"

As the timekeeper passes the Intercontinental Title to the official, Rob is right behind him to accept it with a callous smirk. "Motherless Child" by Danny Farrant and Paul Rawson is drowned out by the sea of boos currently washing over the ring. Chapman and Cerberus don't just flounder; they thrive, as they make their way out of the ring and into the depths, beginning to walk back up the entrance ramp as the camera gives us shots of Akira, bloody and draped over the barricade, and The Pirate, unconscious in the center of the ring. His crew emerging from the crowd to check on their captain. The final shot before the scene fades is Chapman walking with Cerberus, with the Intercontinental Title draped over his shoulder. What does it mean? Are Chapman and Cerberus allied now? Is Chapman allied with The Hopeful?!

Time will tell.

His moment is here.