Michael Thunder vs La Hormiga Verde

[Alex Smiley]

Reminder:

- Word limit for Group Stage matches is 1500.
- 1 RP per wrestler per match.
- Deadline: January 20, 2019, at 11:59PM Pacific.

[Russ]

One Day More

"CUNTS!"

A loud crash echoes around the backstage atrium of the Tokyo Dome as a vending machine smashes into the ground, with an irate MDK standing over it, veins bulging in his neck, a fearsome look in his eyes. Many of the Japanese crew members, roadies, and fans alike are sent scattering at the sight of an enraged MDK, as Michael Thunder walks onto the scene. The Living Legend has a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand, the other nursing an aggravated neck injury. He swigs from the bottle and points it towards MDK, a grin on his face.

Michael Thunder: "What the foul-mouthed Limey said!"

He steps towards his teammate, handing him the bottle, and without a word between them MDK takes a swig from it. Immediately he spits the amber liquid out onto the floor, thrusting the bottle back into Thunder's hands.

MDK: "Jack Daniels? You trying to fucking poison me or something?"

Michael Thunder: "Some of the best damn whiskey ever ma—"

MDK: "Oh do one old man, it's cat piss left in smoky barrels at best."

Thunder raises his eyebrows and casts both arms out, giving a 'whatever you say' expression, before swigging back some of the Jack Daniels himself. Slowly but surely MDK begins to calm as he looks around the practically abandoned area, nobody fancying getting in the way of the One Ring Circus ready to raise hell off the back of the jump-attack from Robina Hood and The Eternal Circle. Thunder sits himself down on the over-turned vending machine as MDK continues pacing.

Michael Thunder: "Tenegra... listen... I uh..."

MDK stops briefly, turning to Thunder, who looks up at him. An awkward silence passes between them both, the kind that can only come from two macho grown men on the brink of an emotional conversation.

Michael Thunder: "... I know full well ya could'a taken that one with a count-out. What ya did out there... it was a classy move... 'preciate it."

MDK: "Clearly not enough to lie your arse back for three seconds, eh?"

Michael Thunder: "I'm serious, man. Not lettin' it end that way, never thought I'd see it from the great Danny Tenegra...."

Thunder places the bottle of JD on the floor and holds both his hands up, as if cornered by the police.

Michael Thunder: "When the whole One Ring Circus resurgence happened I had my doubts, thought you were playin' us to get yourself one step closer to the title. I admit it Tenegra, I was wrong. I'm sorry."

MDK looks taken aback for a second, before he steps forward and picks up the Jack Daniels.

MDK: "Well fuck me, Thunder reaches the age of 87 and ends up as soft as Scorpio, never thought I'd hear such a thing. Guess I'll drink to that."

He takes a swig of the whiskey and his face screws up slightly.

Michael Thunder: "I thought it was cat piss?"

MDK: "You know what I say – bad whiskey is better than no whiskey."

Michael Thunder: "I thought your catchphrase was 'fuck-knuckle'? Or something about pissants?"

Tenegra shrugs as he takes a swig of the whiskey, not quite hating the taste as much on the second go, before he sits down next to The Living Legend. He turns to Thunder and offers him the bottle back.

MDK: "Looks like it's just a pissant between you and the chamber then. Word of warning, he might be an annoying twat with enough mental health issues to fill five tumblr blogs, but the guy's weirdly talented. I can't quite work whether it's not living in this dimension that means he's lost all awareness of danger or something, or whether there's a half-decent wrestler somewhere under that mask. Either way, fucker gave me a run for my money at times, and he took Smitty to task tonight. Do your homework old man... I ain't having you beating me then not making it 'cause some fucking kid with a unique fetish got the better of you."

For a few seconds Thunder ponders the advice and nods his head, clapping a hand onto MDK's shoulder. He takes a sip of the whiskey and offers the bottle to MDK, who shakes his head. Thunder places it to the ground and sighs, looking pensively into the middle-distance.

Michael Thunder: "'Preciate it, man. I reckon I'll be fine. After all... MDK... LHV... I've got a fuckin' monopoly on beating three-lettered wrestlers, right?"

MDK's eyes narrow as he stares back at his new-found friend.

"Don't make me break your neck old man, it'd be an awful fucking waste of the last month's work."

* * * * *

"Two down... one to go..."

Our scene opens upon The Living Legend himself, Michael Thunder, sat in his dressing room backstage at the Tokyo Dome, shortly before the start of the final week of The Extreme Tournament. Thunder is dressed in his wrestling tights and a 'One Ring Circus' t-shirt, his hands taped up, his hair slicked back, ready to take on his final opponent in the quest to make it into the Elimination Chamber. The Living Legend has a sports bottle of water in his hands and is leant forward, forearms resting on his knees as he stares intently at the camera.

Michael Thunder: "La Hormiga Verde... the Green Ant... quite possibly one of the most unusual sons of bitches I've seen step into the squared circle, and trust me, when you've been doin' this quite as long as me you've seen ya fair share of freaks and weirdos."

He sits up, leaning back in the chair, before holding both hands up in apology.

Michael Thunder: "I'm sorry man, I don't mean to call you either of those things. You've got ya thing and hey, you ain't doin' anybody any harm, I can't complain. You fought a hard fuckin' battle against MDK, and damn it, last round you pinned one of the best of all time, the first ever True Expert. You're makin' your name in this sport, exactly what the Experts is for... showin' the world the kinda talent folks out there have, puttin' 'em against each other in dream matches. Who'd have ever thought La Hormiga Verde and Smitty would stand across from one another, let alone Verde scorin' the win? This is precisely what I wanna see happenin' forever more... this is exactly why I'm fightin' hard against The Eternal Circle, Jack Benevolence, TitanCorps, and any other asshole who wants to get involved. It warms my old, broken heart to see fresh young faces like you battlin' against the old school and comin' out on top. Ya did good kid."

Thunder sighs loudly.

Michael Thunder: "Fact is though you're my last roadblock. See I'm practically guaranteed to get into the Elimination Chamber, to battle for the chance to win The Extreme Tournament, maybe even take the True Expert Championship for myself... but a loss to you? That's the only thing threatenin' me doin' just that. Kid... I simply can't let that happen. I hope you understand it ain't nothin' personal, you seem a nice guy, you're impressin' all sorts with your in-ring performances. But this tournament is personal for me. I'm here to take back my Experts, I'm here to cut out the fuckin' cancer that's bringin' it down, and the only way I can do that is takin' on the Elimination Chamber and comin' out on top. I'm goin' out there tonight with the sole intenion of winnin' the Tokyo group, and that means doin' whatever it takes to put you down."

The Living Legend takes a sip of his water and stares deeper into the camera, pausing for a few seconds before he continues.

Michael Thunder: "Verde you're clearly a talented guy, you're carvin' out your legacy exactly as you should be. Me? I'm an old fucker in this sport whose legacy is practically finished. I've got two more things to add to it... the Extreme Tournament... and savin' this place. I'm so fuckin' close to both of those things, and there ain't no way in hell I'm lettin' you derail that!. You have the respect of a legend of this sport, and one day I'm sure you'll have your own day in the sun. But where you sneaked a win off of Smitty I made him tap the fuck out. Where you were beaten by MDK, I pinned that hardy fucker for three. You've met your match tonight son... you're up against one of the best of all time..."

He smirks slightly, nodding to himself.

"Tonight Verde... tonight's the night you get Thunderstruck."

Fin.

* * * * *

WC: 4411

[LHV]

LHV is lying flat out on top of a bench in his locker room. This was not exactly the position he thought he'd be in right about now. Well, lying flat on his back, maybe. But just a month ago, he was thinking he would be having adventures in Japanese grocery stores, having a fun time trying to buy whatever food would be required for his healthy diet and being misunderstood every step of the way, and perhaps have a visit into Akihabara because goodness knows what sort of wacky hijinks he could have done there.

But he's now on one win, one loss, with an actual shot at making it through to the final round. It was within his grasp now, and something about this scenario was definitely... exciting? Yeah. Thrilling? Absolutely. Worrying? Without a shadow of a doubt. A whole array of emotions was flooding his poor little head and he wasn't sure what to make of or how to process any of them right now.

Tonight was the night that this once in a lifetime opportunity could potentially end for him. And who knows when he'll be able to do something like this again. Tonight could also be the beginning of something special. And all that potential is really messing with his head right now.

"Need someone to talk to about this." Verde reaffirms to himself aloud. "Usually do. Confidence should be all time high, but feeling pressure instead." That's how he's stretched all of his promos out in the past. He'd have a Dragon Demonico or a Johnny Ratson to bounce his shenanigans out of for long periods of time and allow me to reach the word limit with ease, but this was a whole new ball game. This is still unfamiliar territory. And not having someone to bounce everything off of right now before the biggest match of his life? Terrifying. Maybe... maybe he should try talking to himself? That feels like a safe bet

"Still not set in that I managed to beat Smitty." he begins. "Told myself I could. Told the world I could. Knew what I was saying was true. Still didn't fully believe it myself. The odds of being able to sneak the victory the way that I did was astronomical. But it happened. And rather than be in a position where I can celebrate what is probably the biggest victory of my career, I have to try and focus on an even bigger match almost immediately."

"Michael Thunder."

Just mentioning the name sends a shiver down his spine.

Wait, he didn't say that. He thinks he didn't say that, anyway. Verde sits himself up, and takes a glance over to the door.

"Demonico?"

"In the flesh."

Verde nods to acknowledge his presence, and for a while, that was all. After a brief silent interlude, he slowly gets up to his feet, and then quickly changes his pace by rushing over and hugging him. Not for too long. But just a quick one. He lets go and sits back down almost immediately afterwards.

"Very happy you're here. Needed that. But how? And why?" Verde is confused, and like any confused person he begins rapid firing questions rather than allow any of them to be answered.

"Thanks for the uh... welcome." Demonico awkwardly shuffles away to sit down on a bench, potentially already regretting coming to Japan to surprise his good friend and to help him out however he could. He knew somebody had to, and it wasn't going to be Johnny Ratson. Not after what he'd done.

"Let's not worry about the how and why, and let's just focus on you." Demonico states, knowing that we have less than 900 words to work with and is a team player so he's getting ready to listen. "I saw your first two matches, and you've genuinely done pretty well for yourself. I can't lie, when I saw who you were up against, I thought you were going to finish your group zero and three."

"Same." Verde agrees, sitting down on the same bench as Demonico, but not too close to him. "Did my research. Knew they were top level contenders. Potentially got fluke victory that would be impossible to replicate if ran again."

"Potentially." Demonico confirms. He's here to support but he's not here to spread myth. "And next up you have Michael Thunder..."

"The Living Legend." Verde adds on.

"Correct. The Living Legend who will stop at absolutely nothing to achieve what he wants. And what he wants is to win this whole thing. And right now, you're in the way of exactly that. And THAT, my friend, is not painting a very pretty picture for you."

"No Mona Lisa." Verde confirms once again, hoping to impress Demonico with his knowledge of a single art piece. It did not appear to have any sort of effect.

"But that doesn't mean it's impossible. Just because the odds are stacked well up against you, it doesn't mean that you are suddenly donezo." Demonico eloquently puts it as he spins around to look at Verde while he's talking now. "Your chances of winning aren't the best, but they aren't zero."

"They aren't zero..." Verde repeats back, looking away from Demonico and to the palms of his own hands, trying to process this information. "So they're one then?"

"Maybe." Demonico can't lie. "But I'd have put you around similar odds when you were fighting Smitty too, so it's not like odds have any sort of effect on you anyway. You're a goofy motherfucker, but you have a hell of a lot of tenacity and a hell of a lot of heart. And that's why that, despite everything, I actually believe in you."

He places one hand on Verde's shoulder, a very reassuring shoulder touch. "And if you don't believe in yourself, then at least believe in the me that believes in you." Demonico concludes. Verde isn't fully convinced, but this. This is better than nothing.

"Besides, you miiight have a better chance than you think..." Demonico adds. The antennae on Verde's mask twitch. Wait no that might just be an after effect of his overall movement.

* * * * *

"Michael Thunder." La Hormiga Verde begins his pre-match promo. We have hard cut entirely to him standing in the backstage area sometime later, presumably just before his match. "You are the Living Legend. Respect you greatly. If not for you, Smitty and MDK, there'd likely be no La Hormiga Verde. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and very grateful to have it. Should you win, I have no regrets. Won't lie: You probably will. This is not a shaken confidence statement. This is simply fact. There is a reason you are the odds on favourite and I am simply the final opponent you have to face."

Verde puts his arms to his side, and continues. "You have authored your entire story. The ink has dried on the beginning, the ending has been planned long before this all began, and you're presently on the correct path towards it. Almost like you control your own destiny, because whatever you set your mind to doing you accomplish, and you have set your mind to winning this entire tournament."

"But!" he raises a finger up to the camera. "Win or lose, can guarantee that I will be your hardest opponent so far. And not just talking about the toughness of my exoskeleton, either." Sorry. Had to get one ant thing in.

"You are so focused on what lies beyond me. The winners of the other groups... The Eternal Circle... TitanCorps... It's hard to ignore them, especially when you're certain your paths will cross. But a mind-set like that just means there's plenty of room for a bump in the road sooner than you'd expect. All of them, they're just on the horizon. Don't miss the threat that is in front of you."

"This is not a situation where you can allow yourself to be distracted by the bigger picture. It took a good talk with a good friend for me to realise that myself, so I know it's not something that you need an ant to tell you, but there is potential that your blind focus may cause you to miss your goal entirely. I am good at this wrestling thing. I realise that I'm not a regular opponent, or some high level worldly threat, but I can definitely defeat you. Please don't forget this. It only takes three seconds." He states, holding up three fingers now.

Verde lowers his arm back down to his side. "My chances are slim, but they aren't zero. And as long as they remain that way, I will wrestle my very heart out. I won't leave with any regrets. Whatever happens, happens. But the pressure to win is on you."

"The odds are heavily in your favour because nobody ever bets on the ants." Verde wraps up and exits stage left.