Dennis: What the hell is this bull crap? He’s fired!

The bell rings, and Kanimaniac and David Michaels stand across the ring from each other. Michaels, wearing a shocked expression on his face, weighs up his former tag team partner and current adversary. 6 months ago, the two were tag team champions, but now they stand as opponents. Michaels approaches Kanimaniac and attempts to engage with him, perhaps in an attempt to ask him why he came back the way he did. Kanimaniac, on the other hand, will have none of it. Not so much out of a lack of respect but more of a determination. Kanimaniac is clearly here to wrestle, and Michaels is going to have to leave pleasantries until later.

Cedar: Well! Here we go, ladies and gentlemen! We are about to see these two former champions and partners lock up in The Dragon Tamer’s return match. He’s been gone for a while, and David Michaels is fresh off a win at Vendetta. You have to favour him in this match.

Dennis: That might be true. Personally, I hope that they take each other apart, but I hope that Michaels makes sure that this guy stays in the unemployment line!

Kanimaniac stands and adjusts his mask and his wrist tape, his motions hurried, but also measured; the eagerness of the masked man bleeding through his black and gold attire. Michaels, sporting his classic red attire, shifts from foot to foot nervously. Still unsure of how to handle the situation, Michaels is going to bring his best in the situation. The fans in the arena begin to duel with chants, with just a fraction more for the returning Kanimaniac; the sudden exit and the mysterious return causing a buzz throughout the XWA faithful. Finally, after a period of the two standing in silent conflict, it’s time to have the two men face-off and see who will come up victorious.

Michaels makes the first move, extending a hand out to Kanimaniac as a sign of respect. Kanimaniac looks Michaels in the eye for a moment, and then walks forward to greet the handshake. As he extends his hand, however, Michaels grabs his wrist and attempts to pull Kanimaniac in to a wristlock. As Michaels spins under Kanimaniac’s arm, though, Kanimaniac rolls through with Michaels immediately, getting to his feet and standing in front of HBK, not even allowing him to get the hold on. Michaels smirks and shrugs, figuring it’d be worth getting the jump on Kanimaniac. The Dragon Tamer simply stands there, emotionless. The Heartbreak Kid then slaps his arms, looking to attempt a collar and elbow tie up. Just as Kanimaniac looks to lunge to meet the tie up, he ducks under Michaels’ arms and attempts a rear waistlock. However, just as Kanimaniac had done before him, Michaels drops down and rolls on to his back to escape. Michaels then hooks his legs up under Kanimaniac’s arms and rolls him up for an early pin attempt.

Cedar: Michaels was quick as a cat with that one! Look a this pin attempt already.

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Kanimaniac quickly rolls through the hold, however, getting back to his feet. The two men are clearly showing the other that they can match the other’s crafty ways. Kanimaniac spins around, still very focused on the match, not letting any emotion crack through. Michaels rolls back on to his feet and then taps his temple, perhaps firing the first psychological shot on Kanimaniac. The Dragon Tamer then suddenly rushes towards The Showstealer and spins around with a heel kick, which is ducked by Michaels. HBK replies with an attempted dropkick, which, too, misses it’s mark. Kanimaniac parries the attack, sending Michaels to his belly, then attempts to connect with a double footed stomp on to the back of Michaels. HBK rolls out of the way, seeing Kanimaniac miss his target, then immediately have to jump to avoid a low sweeping kick from Michaels, who is still on the ground. Michaels attempts to get to his feet, only to have Kanimaniac attempt to clobber him with a snapping roundhouse kick, prompting his worthy adversary to get down to his back and kip up to his feet, just as The Dragon Tamer turns around to face him, the momentum of the roundhouse turning his body. HBK swings with a right hand, but The Dragon Tamer ducks out of the way, and attempts a spinning wheel kick to Michaels. He misses, as Michaels rolls under it, and Kanimaniac manages to land on his feet, just in time for Michaels to run at him with a clothesline. Kanimaniac rolls underneath the attempt, and as Michaels turns, he parries a quick dropkick from his opponent. Kanimaniac drops to the floor, but is quick to his feet again, in time for him to return the favour for Michaels, pushing a dropkick out of his path and sending HBK to his stomach. HBK doesn’t have time to rest, though, as the former King of Xtreme bears down with him with fierce stomps. HBK dodges one. Two. A third one is caught, and Michaels pushes Kanimaniac back to get some breathing room. HBK quickly kips up and tries to snap off a sudden Sweet Chin Music, just missing Kanimaniac by a fraction! The Dragon Tamer catches the foot of Michaels and spins him around, then attempts to hit a Shining Wizard! Michaels frantically ducks the attempt, in effect making Kanimaniac leap frog him. Suddenly, Michaels spins back again and fires off another Sweet Chin Music, but finds Kanimaniac rolling under it! The Dragon Tamer springs to his feet and leaps back for an attempted Pele-style kick, but finds nothing but mat. Winded slightly, Kanimaniac stays on the mat, and Michaels takes the opportunity to snap off an uncharacteristic standing moonsault on Kanimaiac! Only, he catches Kanimaniac rolling away at the last second, causing him to land on his feet. Michaels spins around again to see Kanimaniac on one knee, staring a hole right through him. The crowd absolutely explodes.

Cedar: Oh my goodness, look at the speed of these two men! We’re in for a good one tonight, folks!

Fuelled by the energy kicked off by the crowd, the two men charge at each other in a furious lock up. HBK manages to get the early advantage, putting Kanimaniac in to a wristlock. Michaels then manages to get Kanimaniac in a headlock, squeezing him tightly in an attempt to stop the wild strikes from the masked man. Michaels drops to a knee, putting more leverage on the hold, and trying to wear down his opponent. Kanimaniac briefly struggles with the hold, but then manages to feed his hands through on to Michaels and turn the headlock in to a hammerlock by breaking HBK’s hands apart, positioning Kanimaniac behind Michaels. HBK swings his free arm back to distract Kanimaniac, and while he makes him flinch slightly from the elbow, he reaches between his legs and sweeps one of his opponent’s, putting Kanimaniac on his back. Not wasting any time, Michaels then turns to get down on Kanimaniac and puts him in another headlock, this time tucking Kanimaniac’s chin into his armpit. The change in leverage makes the hold more effective on the ground, as Michaels can put his weight on Kanimaniac’s head. The Dragon Tamer struggles against the hold, but realises that it is pointless to try to push out with his arms. Instead, he swings his hips up, which allows him to wrap his legs around HBK’s neck, pulling him back and into a neck lock, releasing himself from the headlock. Michaels knows he can’t stay here too long. If there’s one thing he has learned over the years, it’s that those strong legs of Kanimaniac aren’t only good for the Shining Wizard. They can choke a man out quickly. The Showstealer then quickly gets into a headstand position and kicks his way out of the hold before Kanimaniac can get it in too tight. Back on his feet now, Michaels jumps at the opportunity to connect with a lightning fast dropkick to the chest of his seated opponent.

Dennis: OK, I’ll admit, that was pretty cool.

Cedar: I think ‘pretty cool’ is probably doing a disservice to these two fantastic atheletes.

Kanimaniac briefly rolls on the mat, holding his chest from the sudden impact, the wind almost being knocked out of him. Michaels stands up and absorbs the applause from the audience, who are very impressed by his prowess. The Dragon Tamer gets up to his knee and holds on to the second rope, almost leaning on it, and looks into Michaels’ eyes from across the ring. HBK flashes a cocky grin, holding his arms out to his sides nonchalantly. The masked warrior springs up to his feet and meets Michaels in the centre of the ring in another lock up. The two competitors jostle for position, pushing and pulling against each other. Kanimaniac manages to get a bit of an advantage, pushing HBK into the corner. The Dragon Tamer pushes Michaels against the turnbuckle, prompting the referee to order him to break the hold. However, just as both men break the hold, raising their hands to signify this, Kanimaniac takes Michaels down with a quick arm drag in to an arm bar, wrenching against the joint and planting his knee into Michaels’ ribs for better leverage. The Dragon Tamer pulls Michaels’ arm, working on the elbow joint and the bicep, stretching the ligament and muscle tissue in an attempt to weaken it and wear down The Showstealer. Michaels struggles against the hold, The Dragon Tamer’s knee somewhat restricting his breathing as well, making the hold more uncomfortable than it already is. The arm bends more and more in an unnatural direction, causing Michaels to curse and grit his teeth through the pain, and causing him to reach up to The Dragon Tamer and attempt to strike to free himself from the hold.

After about 20 seconds in the hold, HBK manages to connect with a strike to the face of his opponent, relieving the pressure on the hold and allowing Michaels to get to his feet and afford him some time to hit Kanimaniac in the face with an elbow strike, then a swift snapmare takedown in to a rear chin lock, Michaels now in control of his opponent. With a slightly worn down arm, The Showstealer attempts to wear down the neck of Kanimaniac, a very delicate situation for him to be in, as Michaels has his knee planted into the upper spine of his opponent and uses it as a fulcrum to apply an uncomfortable amount of pressure on the neck. The Dragon Tamer writhes in discomfort under the hold, perhaps thankful that he worked on Michaels’ arm shortly before, ensuring that Michaels couldn’t get his full strength behind it. Kanimaniac tries to shift himself to escape the hold, but the veteran Michaels ensures that he stays exactly where he is, much like what The Dragon Tamer did to him. Kanimaniac is going to have to find a way to break this hold before Michaels breaks his neck.

The masked marvel looks around to see how close he is to the ring ropes, and evaluate whether he can reach a foot out to it. He attempts to wave his foot towards it, but it is to no avail, as Michaels pulls Kanimaniac back and puts him on his stomach. The Showstealer plants his knee in to The Dragon Tamer’s back again and locks him in another chinlock, this time getting a lot more leverage on his opponent. Kanimaniac groans under the stress of the hold, feeling the tight pull of his neck restricting his breathing slightly. The fans in the arena begin to chant for Kanimaniac to power out of the hold. This seems to help Kanimaniac somewhat, as he begins to push up against Michaels, trying to alleviate the pressure. Somehow, he manages to get some space between the mat and himself, and rolls to his side to escape the hold, HBK letting go and rolling to the side as well, choosing not to attempt to keep the hold on. Kanimaniac gets to his feet somewhat groggily and holding his neck from the hold. He can’t afford to let his guard down, though. HBK comes at him again, and this time locks in a cravat, wrenching the head again and attempting to blight The Dragon Tamer further. Michaels attempts to force his opponent to a knee, but this time Kanimaniac connects with a massive forearm strike to the kidney of HBK, sending a blinding jolt of pain through Michaels’ body as a result of the strike on the sensitive organ. The Dragon Tamer holds his neck again, trying to shake off the weakness that resulted from the hold. Nevertheless, Kanimaniac does his best to refocus, in time to be dropped by a clothesline from Michaels, followed quickly by HBK grabbing The Dragon Tamer by the head and pulling him to his feet. Michaels wrings Kanimaniac’s arm and drops him with a stiff short arm clothesline, looking to take advantage of the neck of his masked opponent. Kanimaniac falls to his back and immediately goes back to his neck, feeling the effects of the brutal shot.

HBK shakes his arm out from the strike, still feeling some residual effects of Kanimaniac’s handy work from before. Unlike Kanimaniac, Michaels won’t take his time to recover, as he goes straight back to The Dragon Tamer and picks him up again. Without missing a beat, Michaels hooks Kanimaniac into a snap suplex, attempting to drive the air out of The Dragon Tamer, then floats over and covers Kanimaniac.

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Kickout!

Dennis: So close for Michaels, but not close enough!

Michaels sits up and brushes his hair back in to a ponytail, before letting it fall back. He looks over at Kanimaniac, who is stirring on the mat holding his neck with one hand. He shifts himself to the ropes and uses them to pull him up, but is met by Michaels who plants a kick right into his side, making him double over from the quick jolt of pain. Michaels pushes Kanimaniac up against the ropes and chops his chest, sending a resounding clap through the air, followed by a chorus of ‘Woo!’ from the audience. The Dragon Tamer clutches his chest and grits his teeth from the stinging pain of the knife-edge chop. HBK doesn’t stop there, though. He pushes Kanimaniac back up so he has a clear shot at his chest and connects with another lightning fast chop to the chest, this one seemingly more venomous than the last. As Kanimaniac doubles over again from the shot, Michaels pushes him up yet again and whips him from one side of the ring to the other side. The Dragon Tamer runs to the ropes, still feeing some residual pain from the chops. He returns to find Michaels now in the centre of the ring waiting for him, and in one quick motion, Michaels drops to the mat, attempting a drop toe hold. As Michaels hooks Kanimaniac’s leg, The Dragon Tamer manages to stop his momentum on the head of a needle, dropping to a knee and blocking the drop toehold with his arms. He then quickly stands up and drop down on top of the legs of Michaels in an improvised leg breaker. HBK, now lying on his stomach, is clutching his right leg after the sudden application of Kanimaniac’s dead weight on his knee. Kanimaniac takes the opportunity to kick the knee swiftly and thoroughly, taking advantage of his opponent’s downed state. Michaels balls up slightly, trying to protect the leg. Seemingly knowing Kanimaniac’s plan, he tries to shift his leg out of the way of the attacks, attempting to prevent any damage to his leg that may prevent him from executing the Sweet Chin Music. Kanimaniac grabs HBK’s leg and tugs at it, pulling his downed opponent to the centre of the ring. The Dragon Tamer then puts Michaels in a spinning toe hold, attempting to do further damage to the knee. Kanimaniac wrenches at the knee joint, even jumping up and down a little when he locks it in, really ripping at the ligaments in Michaels’ knee. HBK lets out a cry through the pain of the hold, and Kanimaniac begins to turn again and again, breaking down the resolve of HBK.

Just as it starts to look bad for The Showstealer, Michaels manages to plant a foot on the behind of The Dragon Tamer as he turns to reapply the submission hold. HBK then uses all of the strength in his left leg to push his aggressor off him, sending Kanimaniac to the ropes. The Dragon Tamer rebounds from the ropes, and just as he turns around to face Michaels, he has his leg pulled from under him. The wily former world champion David Michaels rolls backwards, while holding on to The Dragon Tamer’s leg, then shakily manages to lock his foe in a haphazard half Boston crab, only managing to use his good leg to try to get some leverage on the hold. HBK pulls at the leg of Kanimaniac, bending him back in an unnatural angle, as Kanimaniac tries to squirm out of the hold. This is to no avail, though, as Michaels sits down on his hips in an attempt to stop the masked man from crawling to the ropes. HBK wrenches the hold tight, looking to deal the same damage that his opponent just dealt to him. At this point in the match, these holds are going to be so important. The man who gets the biggest advantage here will undoubtedly gain a massive advantage through to the very end of the match. Kanimaniac claws at the mat, trying his best to crawl to the ropes, but he can’t quite get there, with HBK not allowing Kanimaniac to have any room to manoeuvre. The fans begin another duelling chant for both of these valiant athletes trying to get an advantage with these submissions.

After a while of being worn down in the single leg crab, The Dragon Tamer attempts to shift himself into a position where he can escape. Kanimaniac uses all of his leg strength to try to loosen himself from the hold, struggling against the grip of Michaels. With every attempt, the pain seems to cut him down, causing Kanimaniac to succumb to the grip of Michaels once again, who attempts to do even more damage to the knee. However, Kanimaniac manages to turn himself on to his shoulder and manages to force Michaels to his feet by stretching his leg against HBK’s hold, even though it causes him considerable pain. With one swift turn, Kanimaniac manages to get on to his back, with The Showstealer still holding his leg. Not one to be defeated on this, Michaels then takes advantage and attempts to lock Kanimaniac in to the figure four leg lock, while he’s still on his back! The Dragon Tamer kicks at Michaels with his free leg, dislodging Michaels as he steps over his leg. HBK stumbles away from Kanimaniac and jars his knee as he stumbles, sending him to the ropes to rest. The wounded Michaels takes a moment to hold his knee, stealing a quick moment while Kanimaniac has to deal with his own pain in his leg. The referee begins to count both men out as the struggle to get to their feet, but only manages to get to 3 before The Dragon Tamer is back on his feet, hobbling a bit. He makes his way over to a rising David Michaels, who looks to be plotting something. Dropping down to a knee again, Michaels watches Kanimaniac approach him, waiting for a moment to pop up and strike with an inverted atomic drop, shocking his opponent with his swiftness. Slightly winded after having his tailbone connect with HBK’s knee, Kanimaniac stumbles away with a grimace of pain evidenced by his eyes and his gritted teeth, as Michaels feels a surge of momentum flow through him, knowing that he may be in the process of regaining control of the match.

Cedar: These men are really showing their technical prowess tonight. Some amazing exchanges here, with neither man wanting to relent.

The Dragon Tamer turns around and is dropped with a hard right hand to the face, flattening him, but for only a little while. The former King of Xtreme surprisingly gets back up to his feet relatively quickly…only to be tagged with another right hand. Kanimaniac drops again, but once more, returns to his feet relatively quickly. This time, however, Michaels scoops him up and slams him with a rib trembling scoop slam! The fans cheer loudly, recognising this as part of David Michael’s prelude to the flying elbow drop! Michaels, bad wheel and all, looks to the crowd to gain some energy and motivation as jumping around the ring on practically one leg, trying to hype them up. As Kanimaniac lays on the mat holding his lower back, then his neck, Michaels looks to the corner and begins to ascend to the heavens. With laboured steps, The Showstealer makes his way to centre stage up on his podium, perhaps looking to place an elbow into the dragon heart of the Dragon Tamer.

Michaels shakily makes his way to the top rope, using his left leg for main support, while his right leg perches on the top turnbuckle. Just as Michaels tries to step to the top, his knee won’t let him, and he buckles slightly. This momentary fault in his strategy allows Kanimaniac to formulate a plan. While HBK repositions himself, focusing on the ropes, his former partner gets up to his feet and breaks out into a little sprint to close down the space between himself and Michaels. Kanimaniac hops to the second rope with his own bad leg and delivers a European uppercut to Michaels. The blow is not as effective as Kanimaniac hoped for, as he loses impact while trying to balance on the rope and attack at the same time. Nevertheless, it gives Michaels something to think about, as he slumps down to the turnbuckle to perch. The Dragon Tamer holds on to Michaels to regain balance, then grabs him in a front face lock. Sensing that he may be in for some pain, HBK clings on to the top rope with one hand, and Kanimaniac’s attire with the other. He makes it very clear that he will not leave the top rope without a fight, and Kanimaniac would expect nothing less. Rather than attempt a move from the top rope, The Dragon Tamer rains down on Michaels with open forearm shots to the back, attempting to cause Michaels to let go. HBK responds in kind by hammering away at Kanimaniac’s midsection, causing him to bend double as Michaels tags his exposed midsection. Kanimaniac’s grip relents somewhat, as he decides to try another tactic to rid Michaels of his current advantage. However, this little misstep proves to be a crucial mistake, as he receives a quick chop to the chest, causing him to grab on to the top rope with one hand and swing backwards, almost dropping to the mat. The masked man grips on to the rope, which allows him to swing back at Michaels with an overhand chop to the chest, in reply to HBK’s shot. Michaels reels back, almost tumbling over the ring post and on to the ring steps. HBK manages to keep his position by hooking his leg over the top rope, with his foot hooked on the middle one. Michaels then fires back with another chop of his own, which again almost sends Kanimaniac to the mat. Somewhat slower than before, though, The Dragon Tamer returns the favour with another openhanded chop to the chest. Michaels, once again, replies with a chop of his own! The two warriors continue their chop battle, as the fans cheer wildly and ‘Woo!’ with every skin blistering strike and near tumble from the top.

Blow after blow, the two men get more and more worn down from their battle, until finally, one last, hard chop from Michaels sends Kanimaniac falling to the mat with a thud, prompting a cheer from the Michaels fans and grimaces from the fans of The Dragon Tamer. Then, spurred by a ‘H-B-K!’ chant, Michaels pulls himself to the top rope one more time. He winces in pain, but pushes through nevertheless. Michaels sizes up his downed opponent, and then takes to the air for a flying elbow drop attempt. Half way through his descent, Michaels sees the bottom of Kanimaniac’s feet as they swing up and connect with Michaels’ legs, sending him flipping on to his back just to the side of Kanimaniac, and causing him to bark out in pain as he’s electrified by the sharp double footed obstruction in his flight path. Michaels curses through gritted teeth as he clutches his leg, masterfully targeted by his downed opponent. The fans cry out in shock upon seeing Michaels flip almost on to his head from the counter by Kanimaniac. Michaels, perhaps more startled than hurt by his head meeting the mat, pushes himself up to his feet, hobbling with pain from the kick from The Dragon Tamer. He doesn’t stay on his feet for long, though, as Kanimaniac takes him down with an explosive spinebuster, knocking the air out of HBK! The crowd explodes out of the sheer surprise from the sudden move, then the subsequent pin attempt.

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Michaels kicks out!

Cedar: Another close fall!

The crowd cheers wildly for the kickout from Michaels, obviously not sharing the surprise that Kanimaniac has right now. It takes a moment for him to remember who he’s fighting exactly, then the surprise turns to mild frustration that he’ll have to fight through the pain in his leg for a bit longer. The Dragon Tamer then grabs Michaels by the hair and hoists him up and collects him up in a quick T-bone suplex, floating over with a cover again.

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Michaels kicks out again.

Another roar from the crowd, appreciating the determination of Michaels to kick out and survive another move. Kanimaniac grabs Michaels one more time and picks him up again, attempting to administer more pain to HBK and gain some momentum in his return to the ring. The Dragon Tamer lifts his opponent up once more, bad knee and all, then spins him around to deliver a devastating bridging Dragon suplex! Kanimaniac tries to keep the bridge up with his one good leg, but can’t quite manage it, letting go as the referee comes to count the pin and leaving Michaels in a pile. The crowd reacts with a loud ‘Ooooh!’, almost as though they feel the impact that Michaels just felt across the back of his head and shoulders from the suplex. Michaels simply flops back on to his stomach, his feet hanging on the bottom rope from the way he fell. The Dragon Tamer turns back to look at Michaels, then leans over to grab one of his arms and attempts to drag him away from the ropes. This proves to be harder than he’d imagined, as Michaels still has his feet snagged on the bottom rope. This means, of course, that Kanimaniac has to exert more energy and pull The Showstealer towards him, and even more to push him over on to his back for the pin.

Dennis: Oh, tough break for The Dragon Tamer there. Michaels got himself snagged on the ropes, which caused Kanimaniac to have to pull a dead weight away from the safe zone. You’ve gotta wonder if that’s veteran instinct from Michaels, making sure that some how, he was near the ropes.

Cedar: It may be no good, here comes the pin!

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Kickout!

Michaels bravely powers out of the pin, perhaps having some time afforded to him by the happenstance of him being caught on the rope. Kanimaniac, on the other hand, is not so lucky. He kneels down next to HBK, looking up at the ceiling, wondering what the hell he has to do to put Michaels away. The Dragon Tamer pushes himself up on to his feet, favouring his leg from the submission battle with HBK. Michaels is looking pretty worse for wear at the moment, but he is at least stirring. Michaels pushes himself up with his arms, slowly, trying not to move his head too much because of the dull pain he’s experiencing. Kanimaniac has other plans, however. He grabs Michaels by the head and hoists him up again, and this time, hooks him up for a Samoan drop. Just as Michaels is on his shoulder, Kanimaniac suddenly feels a hard elbow to the side of his head, followed by another, and then another, which sees Michaels get back on to his feet and out of trouble. Then, suddenly, HBK runs at Kanimaniac and whips him towards the far ropes, then stands prepared for his return. As Kanimaniac runs towards him, Michaels launches himself towards his opponent and connects with a beautiful cross body block, dropping Kanimaniac quickly. The Dragon Tamer rolls around for a brief moment, after the uncomfortable collision with his midsection, putting all of Michaels’ bodyweight against his ribs and putting a stone cold stop to Kanimaniac’s momentum. HBK then gets up to his feet again, and yells out ‘COME ON!’ at the top of his voice, attempting to get the fans behind him to fire back at Kanimaniac. He then walks over to Kanimaniac, who is now on one knee. Instead of picking him up, though, he walks right past him and to the ropes. Michaels grips the top rope and glances back over his shoulder to see Kanimaniac getting up to his feet. The moment that The Dragon Tamer gets to his feet and attempts to turn around, Michaels springs off the ropes and hits a beautiful Asai moonsault, catching Kanimaniac perfectly and knocking him to the mat! The crowd cheer loudly as Michaels hooks the legs of his opponent.

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Kickout!

Kanimaniac kicks out of the beautiful Asai moonsault, but it’s not over yet for him. Michaels doesn’t waste any time in continuing his attack, though. He strikes his downed opponent with right hands as he lies on his back, trying his best to make sure he can’t respond to the moonsault. HBK then picks him up by his arm and whips him into the corner of the ring, damn near knocking the wind out of him. Michaels then charges in after Kanimaniac, looking for a body splash, but doesn’t find his mark, instead landing on the ropes like a cat, perched on the second rope. Kanimaniac manages to move his body out of the way and to safety, but not for long! Just as he turns back around, he sees The Showstealer jumping back on to him with a springboard cross body, causing both men to crash to the mat! Michaels rolls Kanimaniac up for the pin attempt!

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Kanimaniac JUST manages to kick out!

Michaels holds his head in his hands, thinking that he could have had the win there. Frustration briefly sparks in his eyes as he looks over to the referee, and is greeted by two fingers, indicating that it was only a near fall. Nevertheless, though, Michaels forces himself up and to his feet, determination painting his face. He looks down at Kanimaniac and grabs him by the mask, forcing The Dragon Tamer up under the fear of having it ripped from his head. With an agonising groan, he rises to his feet then gets pushed back in to the corner aggressively. HBK quickly follows up with a round of knife-edge chops, echoing through the arena once again, sending a jolt of pain through his chest. Michaels then drives his shoulder into Kanimaniac’s midsection, then scoops him up to the top rope, where The Dragon Tamer slouches groggily. The wear and tear that both men have faced from the match is becoming all too evident, as Michaels, too, takes a moment to stop and gather his bearings and take a breather from the intense match. He knows he can’t afford to let his opponent have too much time, however. If he does, then he’ll lose all the good ground he has gained on Kanimaniac, and he might end up getting caught off guard. Perhaps over cautious thinking from HBK, but he didn’t win all those world titles by being reckless. HBK then tags The Dragon Tamer with a big right handed slap, almost knocking the mask right off his face! And it looked as though it dazed him too, because his arms aimlessly float about as he tries to keep his balance. Michaels then begins to climb up to meet his masked opponent on the top rope, but strangely, he hooks his arms under one of Kanimaniac’s legs.

Cedar: What’s he got planned here?

Dennis: Is he giving him a medical examination? Where are his hands going, Ted?
Cedar: Oh come off it. How old are you?

Michaels hoists Kanimaniac up a little bit…stalls for a moment…then launches off the top rope with The Dragon Tamer in an avalanche teardrop suplex, making Kanimaniac crash in to the mat hard! Both men bounce slightly from impact, with The Dragon Tamer immediately rolling on to his stomach and holding on to his neck after the jarring impact! The crowd chant ‘holy shit’ at seeing the impressive feat of strength and risk taking from Michaels, the teardrop suplex not being like a straight forward suplex, because Michaels kept those hands hooked around Kanimaniac’s leg, meaning he was just as vulnerable as Kanimaniac was to that impact.

Cedar: Oh my goodness, Michaels just threw caution to the wind as he threw Kanimaniac to the mat! That has to have caused some problems in Kanimaniac’s neck, as we see him clutching it. Bear in mind, folks, we saw Michaels work on the neck earlier, and any subsequent move that causes a shock to the neck has GOT to leave him hurting for certain.

Dennis: I’ll admit, that was pretty ballsy from HBK, but look where it got him. He’s in no better state than Kanimaniac.

Be that as it may, Michaels manages to crawl to the ropes and hoist himself to his knee, then stop to take in the crowd reaction from the move. If there was ever a chance to put Kanimaniac away, this is it. Michaels, surging with adrenaline, pulls himself to his feet, and then begins nodding his head rapidly, as if he’s being possessed. The fans can feel it coming. Michaels can feel it coming! He starts to shake his arms, the universal sign for ‘powering up’, then starts to half-skip and half-hobble over to the corner. “H-B-K! H-B-K! H-B-K!”

“OOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHHH! BOOM!”

Michaels slams his foot down once, signalling that he’s tuning up the band for some Sweet Chin Music.

“BOOM!”

Gritting his teeth through the pain in his leg, Michaels powers through, with the end of the match in sight.

“BOOM!”

The third fall of his foot causes Kanimaniac to groggily get up to a knee. Michaels can’t wait any longer. Seizing the moment, HBK swoops in for some Sweet Chin Music. He takes a few steps, and the crowd grows silent with anticipation. One kick and this is done! Here it comes!

“YEAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

NO! Kanimaniac ducks out of the way and now he’s up to his feet! He grabs Michaels in a torture rack, looking for the Burning Hammer that he calls the Year of the Dragon! The fans supporting Kanimaniac are duelling with the HBK fans, as they cheer with excitement over the prospect that Kanimaniac might have pulled off a big come back!

Cedar: NO! Sweet Chin Music has missed the mark, and now Kanimaniac has turned things in his favour again.

HBK kicks wildly, trying to dislodge himself from Kanimaniac, but it may be too late! The Dragon Tamer spins Michaels around and drops him…

NO!

Just as The Dragon Tamer attempts to make that final, sudden drop, The Showstealer slips out from his shoulders! Michaels is free, and Kanimaniac has his back to him. Michaels trembles with anticipation.

Kanimaniac turns around quickly, just in time to catch a Sweet Chin Music!

With his hands!

HBK is hopping on his good leg, at Kanimaniac’s mercy for the time being. The Dragon Tamer throws Michaels’ leg down so his foot hits the mat, and he feels a shooting pain through his knee.

Dennis: Michaels has dropped to a knee! Kanimaniac slammed that foot down so he hurt Michaels’ knee and-

Cedar: SHINING WIZARD! SHINING WIZARD! SHINING WIZARD!

The arena erupts as Kanimaniac snaps off a devastating Shining Wizard, pushing himself to the limit and connecting with his right knee to the jaw of Michaels. HBK’s head snaps back and he crumbles to the floor! Kanimaniac desperately crawls to the cover.

1
2
3!

Michaels shoulder rifles off the mat, but he is JUST too late! Kanimaniac pins Michaels!

DING DING DING!

Cedar: What a match! Straight up, tooth and nail fighting. No funny business, no controversy, just two men throwing all they had at one another and giving these fans a hell of a show!

As the audience erupts in cheers, Kanimaniac slowly pushes himself off HBK, then lies next to him, on the mat. The camera shows both men breathing heavily, and Michaels holding his head like someone just set off a hand grenade in it. Kanimaniac slowly sits up and mouthes something to Michaels, before pushing himself up to his feet and walking to the corner of the ring to rest his head on the top turnbuckle. Kanimaniac takes a quick moment to look back to Michaels, then to look out at the crowd and nod once.