Show VIII: Evil Unleashed

[Dustin Smith]

The fire burns as Shaman watches over it, the lights dancing in his eyes as he's lost in thought looking at the flames.

INDEPENDENT CROWN TOURNAMENT MATCH
Overdose w/ KAMI vs. Claw

Usually when someone stands across the ring from Claw, they don't look so confident. Overdose had a plan in this match and struck quickly, avoiding the massive hands of the monster he was pitted against. KAMI was on the outside guarding the scroll that's only two locks away from revealing his secrets to the warlock in the ring. The moment Claw put his hands around the neck of Overdose, he would recieve a face full of yellow mist. Claw would shake a bit and Overdose would easily escape Claw's grasp, pushing the monster over getting the three count. The yellow mist paralyzed the behemoth allowing Overdose to advance to the finals. KAMI would deliever the scroll to his summoner allowing him to release another lock leaving only one remaining...

INDEPENDENT CROWN TOURNAMENT MATCH
"The Wild Man" Dakota vs. Dragon King

In a clash of styles the giant powerhouse, Dakota went to war with the Dragon King. Dakota absorbs punishment like no other, feeding off the pain and returning in kind. Dakota's move set isn't deep but everything he hits you with feels like being hit with a concrete slab. DK nearly got his head taken off by a big boot from Dakota before the Wild Man would stomp around the ring waving his fist in the air! Dakota looked to hit a lariat that would finish the match but DK would roll under and pop back up with a leaping enziguri dropping Dakota to his knees. The Dragon King would hit off the ropes and score with a dropkick making Dakota wobble but it still wasn't enough! The crowd watched on as Dragon King would strike Dakota over and over with blistering chops, until Dakota in a flash would grasp the throat of DK, getting to his feet. Dakota would absorb more kicks and chops from DK, signalling for the lariat again, still having a hold of the throat of Dragon King. The lariat would connect this time but Dragon King would roll his shoulder off the mat to the shock of Dakota who decided he'd have to use the powerbomb to finish this match. Dragon King would fight like a wounded animal to escape, coming back fighting hard! Dakota was rocked by the rush of kicks and karate chops eventually getting brought back to a knee! Dragon King was relentless as he continued to blast Dakota with kicks until finally going behind and applying the Dragon Sleeper! Dragon King would scream with blood running out of the corner of this mouth, cranking back on the hold until even someone like Dakota was forced to submit! The stage was set for Overdose vs. Dragon King for the Independent Crown![/i]

SINGLES MATCH
Mizuchi vs. Thunder Horse

There are a lot of strange things in the Independent Union, but Mizuchi is one of the oddest. The beast from below is extremely unorthodox but is very lethal. Mizuchi is a master of counter wrestling making him hard to control. It would eventually frustrate TH, Mizuchi would slither out of a hold and TH made him pay by nearly kicking his teeth out! The crowd would groan in at what looked like a knock out kick but somehow Mizuchi would kick out. Mizuchi looked woozey for quite some time after the brutal kick but was a lot smarter about his counters, Mizuchi has a background in capoeira fighting. The unothodox kicks would strike from different angles that would stun Thunder Horse! Mizuchi kept up this assault finding his way back from nearly getting KO'd in the opening of the match. Mizuchi tried for a springboard cartwheel back elbow but TH would counter with a high angle belly to back suplex nearly dumping Mizuchi on the top of his head! Thunder Horse would come off the top with the diving headbutt but Mizuchi would roll out of the way, the annoying expert of evasion that he is. Thunder Horse would dodge a handstand kick from Mizuchi and blast him with a hooking clothesline for it, following up with a pin holding the leg of Mizuchi. The second that Mizuchi kicked out Thunder Horse would keep hold of the leg transitioning into the STF making the beast from below the sea screech in torture. Thunder Horse would crank on the hold but Mizuchi was to close to the ropes allowing himself the chance to get the rope break. Mizuchi would try for the ocean cyclone suplex but Thunder Horse would slip free and hit a brutal european uppercut! TH was immediatly in the face of Mizuchi again blasting him with another stiff uppercut, unrelenting as he followed up with a spinning tombstone piledriver to finish him off!

TAG TEAM MATCH
BLUNDERBUSS(Ryozo & MINORI) vs. DoA(Heretic & Scourge) w/ Black Widow

BLUNDERBUSS have been teaming around the Japanese Independents for a few years now, so they know each other pretty well. DoA have become a lot more cohesieve as a unit since Black Heart has been a factor. Their new mentor was no where to be seen for this match, but Black Widow was there to help her team. Ryozo started the match off for his team against Scourge, with Heretic feeding him words of encouragement from their corner. Scouge is a blood thirsty anarchist, aside from Heretic he doesn't give a damn about human life. The ref would have to repremand Scourge threatening to DQ him after he tried to take a chunk out of Ryozo's arm leaving teeth marks! Ryozo looked pissed, usually showing no emotion, but the bite actually pissed him off! Ryozo would nail a combination of roundhouse kicks, a spinning backfist followed up by an exploder suplex before hopping up and giving Heretic a piece of his mind! Ryozo took his eye off of Scourge a little to long and Scourge came literally roaring back with a knee to the gut before windmill punching Ryozo in the back violently, you could hear his fists smacking off the flesh of Ryozo! Scourge would fish hook the mouth of Ryozo putting a foot in his back as he gouged at the face of his opponent. MINORI would try to get involved but it only allowed for Black Widow to skitter onto the apron and apply the tarantula on Ryozo, opening him up to a dropkick from Scourge that almost got DoA the victory! Ryozo looked in bad shape but was able to dig deep hitting a springboard thrust kick on Scourge sending the punk rolling out of the ring through the ropes, giving him the chance to tag out! Heretic attended to Scourge on the outside to make sure he didn't get seriously hurt but this just gave MINORI the chance to get a running start with a suicide dive through the ropes! MINORI would face wash Scourge against theguard rail at ringside brutally, before turning his attention to Heretic who would back pedal and buy time for Black Widow to roundhouse kick MINORI in the back of the head! This is the point that Black Heart would step out in his black shades and suit, actually coming to the ring! MINORI had the heart of a lion trying to fight back against DoA on the outside one on two, this was until Ryozo took to the sky with a moonsault off the top rope to the outside! Black Heart would stand over what looked like a car wreck on the outside, watching as Heretic and Scourge finally realized their mentor was watching. Black Widow would destract the ref as Black Heart would snap off a yakuza kick on MINORI! Black Heart would throw MINORI back in the ring and help up Heretic sending him back into the ring where he could finish off BLUNDERBUSS with the schwein for the extremely hard fought win.

INDEPENDENT CROWN MATCH
Overdose w/ KAMI vs. Dragon King
]

If Overdose wins this match not only will be claim the Independent Crown, but the last lock will break and the scroll's secrets will be revealed! Dragon King is the only person left in the Union that can stop this evil sorceror! Jaguar would come to ringside cheering on his off again on again friend and rival, this would give DK a boost in this match. Overdose and Dragon King put on a great opening exchange with Overdose teasing a spray of mist but DK would duck out of the ring to avoid it as Overdose would grin sadistically. KAMI would watch on holding his summoners scroll as DK would cautiously get back into the ring to continue the match. The next round of move exchanging would go to Dragon King, with him barely missing a roundhouse kick to Overdose's head sending the warlock scurrying from the ring! Dragon King would try for an asai moonsault but Overdose would kick him in the mid section dubbling up DK. Overdose would find a broom at rinside snapping the wooden handle in half using the jagged piece to gouge at the stomach of Dragon King! Overdose would keep an eye on Jaguar while on the outside threating to spew his mist if the hot head came to close! The match eventually went back into the ring where Overdose continued to demonstrate his power, knowing that he had to focus in order to recieve the power of the scroll! Dragon King was able to block a few karate chops from Overdose coming back with a leaping spin kickm, stunning Overdose long enough to come off the ropes with a cartwheel enziguri. Dragon King looked to finish the match with the Asai DDT but Overdose would shove him off, quickly hitting the glimmering warlock on DK! Overdose would get a long two count and nothing more sending him into a rage. The match brought more attention as the locker room spilled out at the entrance ramp watching on as Dragon King continued going to war with Overdose. Jaguar was slapping the mat trying to fire up Dragon King who was starting to feed off of everything hitting a flurry of offense on Overdose, hitting the Asai DDT this time but only getting a two count! Dragon King was poised to slap on the dragon sleeper but Overdose had it scouted as he frantically got to a corner where DK would punish him with a knee to the head! The paint was starting to smear off of Overdose as the warlock looked to be crumbling from Dragon Kings assault. The dark sorceror had another trick up his sleeve, stunning the crowd as he launched a fireball into the face of Dragon King! This was the moment that Overdose struck with a rush of palm strikes, dropping DK down and finishing him off with the glimmering warlock...

KAMI handed his master the scroll, with the final lock dropping to the mat as Overdose completed his ritual of capturing the power from his fallen opponent. Overdose looked over the scroll's content with a wicked grin.

The wrestlers on stage would part as Black Ninja would make his return after being blinded by the black mist! The crowd went crazy! Overdose was stunned but ordered his minion to attack, only to have KAMI washed away in the sea of wrestlers from the Union. This had to be the turning point where good could triumph. Out of the crowd Black Ninja would climb into the ring for the confrontation against his nemesis, the man that took the Crown from him!

Overdose would spew the black mist again but this time Ninja would duck the toxic cloud and would retalitate by pulling up the bottom of his mask and spewing a white mist into the face of Overdose, making the warlock shriek in pain! Black Ninja would stand triumphant as Overdose would cower in pain.

[Deleted]

So much stellar action here. The Dakota/DK match was nice, as I like that kind of clash of styles. Mizuchi and Thunder Horse just seemed like a match right out of an old Super Juniors tournament, which is awesome, too. Both guys looked good there, as Mizuchi is elusive, but TH is just relentless and vicious and came out with a big win. I think the right team won in the tag team match, as BLUNDERBUSS are great but still need to get a bit more experience, but I just loved the back and forth and the story there. Ryozo really seemed to get tested, and showed advances in his persona, so that alone was worth the investment in that match. Black Heart making his mark was brilliant booking, though, as DoA could've won clean and everything would have been fine, but that just makes BLUNDERBUSS look stronger but also makes the team of DoA seem more dangerous, as the numbers are only building up their presence as a force in IU.

The story here in the main event is very rich, and the scroll angle is one that has had me very interested since it was first introduced. I want to know what it is all about, and it seems like the answers are looming. The first match of the show only had me wanting to find out more, and now with Dragon King as the last bastion of hope against Overdose, I'm torn. I want him to win, as Overdose is such a heel that I actually don't want him to win and actually, truly do not like him, and I actually do like Dragon King and the fighting spirit he represents, but then I'm torn because I know if Overdose wins, the scroll will be opened, and my curiosity actually overwhelms my allegiance, I think. So, going into this, I'm at a bit of quagmire.

Jaguar coming to the ring only makes this even more interesting, as the match they had to end their feud was some emotional and blood soaked, and now he's backing Dragon King, so you know something big is happening. Black Ninja having been put on the shelf due to that mist is a great psychological tool for Overdose, as he keeps DK on pins and needles, not wanting to suffer the agony that Black Ninja has gone through, so that makes for a very rich story and is a big reason why Overdose is so vile. He has no honor, and he's not really of our DNA, as his human side is just so dormant within him. He is truly sinister. Oh, and just when DK seems to be getting things going and getting the energy up in this thing, Overdose curbs it and starts grinding a broken broom handle into his gut. Overdose just grinding and punishing DK just makes the tension swell, making this story even more compelling, as it has the fans ready to burst when DK finally catches him with some offense, and what a nice flurry it was, only to get cut off again and answered with the devastating Glimmering Warlock.

I like it when the lockerroom comes out during a match like this. It's something I've done before, and I feel it always makes a match feel truly important, and this match is certainly that. The ending flurry was great, as Dragon King looked truly desperate to try and finish him, but Overdose proved to be even more desperate, unleashing fire now, going a step even further than the must to get the job done, and giving everyone in the arena what they really wanted. Dragon King loses, but Overdose had to dig way deep down into his bag of tricks to do so, so Dragon King really didn't lose any credibility and looked like he could have won it if Overdose didn't use the fire; Overdose wins, so we get to see the scroll opened, and that's where the real intrigue was. This match was read hot, had a great story, really good pacing and execution, as the tension was great.

So, Overdose opens the scroll and begins to attempt to use the conjuring to take Dragon King's soul or powers, or whatever, and that's a big deal. I mean, it is obvious now that the title was not even truly what he hoped to gain here. That was just a sidebar. He wanted to earn this win and enslave the other strongest member of the roster, but out comes Black Ninja! And that whole showdown was great, as IU actually stood up to the man who has terrorized them and the good guys actually came out with a moral victory after all.

Storyline, match, everything, I'm giving that main event five stars. I'm putting that up there for match of the year, alongside Kana vs. Sara Del Rey at the Queen's Cup in JPP and Dickinson/Matthews II at Sacrifice as contenders. At least that's my opinion. Very enjoyable stuff.

[Dustin Smith]

Thanks putting over the main event as a MOTY candidate! I love writing this promotion, but I think that the less is more approach is best. This show is just the beginning of a lot of things. I think that these characters are really getting fleshed out and hopefully I can give created wrestlers some real traction.

[Deleted]

Hey, I enjoy reading it and I just call it how I see it. That main event was built up beautifully, and the match had great psychology and intrigue, and was one of the best I've seen all year. It had drama, solid action, violence, and a great story, which is what you want in great pro wrestling I'd say. The characters are being fleshed out very well, and I look forward to the next installment.