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jOlt Intense 41

The lights went out and were replaced by flashing red, purple and green lights as "All Hail The New Flesh" began to blare. And then, after a series of rapid-fire explosions, the spotlights found Trey Vincent behind the smoke at the entryway. He walked through the fog and headed to the ring, looking smugly from side to side at the jOlt followers jeering the sports entertainment icon, the franchise player in waiting.

The lights returned to normal as Trey slowly circled the ring, starting at the fans from behind his sunglasses. He was dressed for sports entertainment action. During one of his laps around the inside of the ring, he grabbed a microphone from someone at ringside and waited for his music to stop.

"Last week, something happened that made everyone take notice. People's eyes were finally opened to the greatness of your TV champion, Trey Vincent. Your hero, the man who saves you from the boredom of your pathetic lives for a few minutes every week. The man who makes you stay glued to your TV set, just hoping for a glimpse of me!"

The fans boo. Trey soaks up the attention.

"Trey slayed the giant last week. Trey proved that no man, no matter how big, will fall when you lock up with the icon of sports entertainment. Hell, I heard even God was so impressed, he's thinking about rewriting the David vs. Goliath entry in the Bible and replacing it with Trey Vincent vs. John Mammoth. Why? Because while David needed a rock and a slingshot, all TV needed was...."

He pauses.

"This," he says, shaking his right fist. "Another fWo cast-off, destroyed by TV, destroyed by real entertainment. Another fWo failure destoryed by a jOlt superstar. And besides God being so impressed, some people out in Hollywood contacted by to lend my golden voice to a claymation show. Called 'Trey V. and Mammoth.' The premise of the show is that me and a talking, fat, smelly donkey walk around. I try to get rid of lousy sports entertainers and he tries to talk me out of it, doing his, (in a deep, Goliath the dog voice) 'Gee, I don't know Trey V.' (back to his normal voice) thing."

Some of the fans are amused, but he still gets more boos than cheers.

"So, then, Trey kicks his donkey ass all over the place and leaves him unconscious. Art imitating life," he says with a smile. "Of course, after he's unconscious, Trey V. realizes that it was actually Mammoth's face was kicked, not his ass. I know it's tought to tell them apart.

"So, tonight, to once again give all my fans the opportunity to see that I am the best this federation has to offer, I'm issuing an open challenge to anybody who would like to a chance to briefly share the spotlight with Trey Vincent. But whoever accepts, you better realize that I will teach you the sports entertainment lesson of a lifetime 'Cause I am the sports entertainment icon, goddam! And I-"

Special Challenge Match
Trey Vincent vs. Paxton Phoenix

Before Trey can continue, "Click Click Boom" begins playing. The spotlights find Paxton Phoenix slowly walk out. He's got a microphone.

"In case you forgot, you did not beat John Mammoth last week," Phoenix said. "I did. You may have got the 1, 2, 3, but I beat him. So tonight, you want a match, you got it. But when the match is over, you're gonna wish you got off as easy as Mammoth did last week."

Paxton had slowly been walking during his rant. He joined Trey in the ring. Trey took his sunglasses off and was ready to start talking trash, but instead met a fist, and the fight was on. The two exchanged solid punches as a referee made his way to the ring and the bell sounded.

Paxton whipped Trey to the corner, but Trey with a reversal. Trey charged and tried for a monkeyflip, but Paxton wasn't dazed enough and dropped Trey face first on the top turnbuckle.

Trey rolled outside for a break. Paxton followed. But Trey came back with a solid back kick to Paxton's midsection. Trey dragged Paxton and rammed him into the timekeeper's table. After a boot to the gut, Trey suplexed Paxton on the unforgiving floor with a splat.

Trey slid back into the ring and raised the back of his hand to the referee and then shoved the official toward the side of the ring where Paxton was on the floor. The official warned Trey to keep his hands off him and headed to start the count.

One.

Two.

Three.

Paxton rolled back in, way too early for him to be counted out. Trey hit a baseball slide dropkick to Paxton's face as he crawled under the bottom rope. Trey picked up Paxton by the throat and shoved him into a corner. Trey began ye olde mudhole stomping. Paxton managed to lift a leg and split Trey's uprights.

Trey grabbed his crotch and collapsed into a ball on the mat. Paxton waited on Trey, who eventually pushed himself to his feet....only to be taken back down with a belly to back double chickenwing suplex.

Cover.

One.

Two.

Trey kicked out.

Paxton glared at the referee, but puts the boots to Trey. He picked Trey up and lifts him onto the top turnbuckle. He pulled Trey's head forward and locked on a front face lock. He slowly dragged Trey forward until a sudden and violent snap brought Trey down on top of his head in a vicious DDT.

Trey was unmoving. Paxton, feeling victory within his grasp, covered Trey.

One.

Two.

Trey's foot on the rope.

Paxton's frustration grew, and he violently dragged Trey to his feet. Paxton ran to the opposite side of the ring, picking up a head of steam to deliver a move with maximum impact, but failed to notice Trey maneuvering backward. When Paxton met Trey, he found himself being backdropped over the top rope to the floor!

Splat.

Both men were down, but Trey grabbed the referee and tried to pull himself up using his belt. Instead, the ref fell on top of Trey. The ref is none too pleased and yelled at Trey to let him up. Trey was about to when he noticed the crowd erupt.

Something was happening.

Behind a dazed Paxton Phoenix.

He never saw it coming.

John Mammoth.

Mammoth, like a speeding 18-wheeler bearing down on a sedan, crashed his body into Paxton, driving Paxton ribs first into the apron. Perhaps crushing a rib or puncturing a lung. Paxton crumpled to the floor as Trey continued to argue with the referee about personal space.

With a giant hand, Mammoth lifted Paxton up and gorilla press slammed him back into the ring. With clutch timing, the referee turned around and saw the broken body of Paxton Phoenix. Trey tried to pick up Paxton, but he was not moving.

Trey smiled. He raised his right fist.

He bounced off one side of the ring.

The second side.

The third side of the ring.

Hopped over Paxton's body, off the fourth side, and delivered the most outrageous move in sports entertainment.

The Big Time Fist Drop.

Right to the ribs.

Cover and hook of the legs.

One.

Two.

Three!

Mammoth hadn't gone far. In fact, with the match over, he was coming back to the ring for more revenge. Trey saw him and rolled out of the ring, not looking for any more action. Mammoth stepped over the top rope and went for Paxton, who was finally showing signs of life. Mammoth picked up Paxton with his huge hands. Paxton escaped with a move that will hurt any man, regardless of size.

The eye poke. Paxton punched away on the big man, running mostly on instinct, still hurting from Mammoth's earlier attack. But a huge clothesline knocked Paxton down. Paxton spun around on the mat quickly and delivered a mule kick to Mammoth's groin. Mammoth fell to his knees and Paxton scrambled to the floor, looking for a dependable ally.

A steel chair.

He slid back in, ready to perform some deja vu all over Mammoth's thick skull, but instead Mammoth delivered a kick, impacting the chair into Paxton's face.

Mammoth picked up the chair. Then dropped it flat on the mat.

Mammoth picked up Paxton. He raises him far over his head, as if he's offering the body to the sky, and then sacrifices Paxton's limp body onto the chair with a gorilla press slam from near 10 feet high!

He's not done.

Paxton gets dragged up by a choke.

Chokeslam on the chair!

Mammoth is STILL not done.

The fans were going wild as the big man signaled more destruction for his top nemesis was about to be unleashed.

With a boot, Mammoth rolled Paxton over so he was face first on the mat. It was time for Ragnarok.

Picking up Paxton like a rag doll, Mammoth delivered his finisher with a crash on the chair.

Mammoth got to his feet, triumphant. Finally, the giant had gotten a victory over his top enemy.

Winner: Trey Vincent via pinfall

NEXT CHAPTER: The Man in the mirror >>

©2001 John Leary