Tower of London: Round One

[Public Enemies]

One by one, you all enter through a conventional steel mesh doorway. The four walls make you a little uneasy as you make your way up the steel ring steps. Across from you are three competitors, with two others to your near side. Charlie Coors enters the ring from the right side, dressed formally with a microphone in his hand.

"Ladies & Gentleman, the following is a TOWER OF LONDON MATCH!...And is for the King of the Deathmatch Championship!"

The GHW faithful cheer with utter delight as the most anticipated match of 2012 thus far is about to begin. A few of the flags give a slight flutter as the air vents kick on.

"Each combatant will strive to climb to the top of the cage and retrieve one of four flags. The first four Fighty fighty persons to retrieve a flag will move onto the championship round. Two of you will fail."

You hear the fans give a round of cheers once more before you gaze up at the ceiling of the arena at each of the four Union Jacks.

Charlie Coors turns as introduces each combatant, ending with the champion, Nicholas Carson.

Chuck leaves the ring and out the steel mesh door to join the likes of the commentators of this match: "Big" Al Mulligan, Colin "The Fuzz" Jennings, and "The Hardcore Genius" Matthew Oliveira.

---

ROUND ONE RULES:

• Post reservations last six hours.
  
• There's no limit on how many match posts, as well as no limits on character or word count.
  
• There are no match rules for this round. Your goal is to climb to the top and attempt to retrieve a flag.
  

Rules and information regarding the ToL match can be found >HERE<.
Weapon reservations can be found >HERE<.

Round one will end next Sunday, the 12th. This round will be judged on a Strong-Foot Forward basis, which means no matter how many posts you submit, only your best will be used to judge your competitors post.

---

The world is watching. BEGIN!

[Dustin Delta]

The bell rings, and the mesh door is closed. Six of the most talented competitors on the GHW Roster today stand in the 20' x 20' ring, their eyes shifting from one foe to another. Some shake their hands and twist their wrists, loosening up for the long untrodden road of combat that lay paved before them. In the interest of their own safety, it seems that nobody wants to make the first move--no man or woman would ever willingly step into a cage full of feral dogs, and it seemed to be the same case in this scenario. The night that every member of the GHW Faithful has been awaiting has finally arrived--Dawn of Destruction. And the time had finally come for the potential Match of the Night. An event excogitated by nothing less of an evil genius, meant to steal the show. The Tower of London Deathmatch. Every superstar participating in the match was anxious to get their hands on a Union Jack, four of which rest atop the cage. And soon after that, if they are fortunate enough to advance, lay claim to the King of the Deathmatch Championship. Yet who of these six would be the first to fall? Suddenly, it seemed that five sets of eyes gazed coldly at the man currently holding the Deathmatch Championship, Nicholas Carson, who unnervingly took note of this. Carson abandoned his stance of battle and stood upright, cracking his knuckles, awaiting the first attack. Jack Tracks sets up to the plate, wrapping the chain he brought in with him around his right arm. Taking a deep breath, the Red Flag Venturer makes the dash towards Carson, who attempts to hit a High Impact Spear, running to meet Jack halfway. Fortunately for him, the Indianapolis Native leapfrogs over the Asylum Patient and turns around to strike Carson in the temple twice with the chain-wrapped elbow. That moment acts as the spark, lighting a fire in the match. The other four combatants begin to dissect Nicholas Carson, striking him with full force. The idea? Eradicate the current champion and everybody else will have better chances. Nate and Kahlan unload a flurry of knees to the pectoral region of Carson, who now finds himself on his knees. Mighty Man delivers alternating elbows in a series of blows to the shoulder, which Delta joins in on. The pack does their best to wear down Carson, but the Awesome Athlete, Jack Tracks, signals for space. They oblige in a pact of coexistence, bringing Nicky to his feet and taking several steps back. Jack strides forward quickly, moving in to hit a running dropkick to the back, forcing the King of the Deathmatch to stagger forward into the corner. Collectively, his five opponents close in on him, teaming together to toss the Heavyweight over the ropes and to the concrete floor at ringside, enticing a huge pop from the audience who watches eagerly on the TitanTron. The remaining five in the ring take a step back to appreciate their accomplishment, then turn to each other. In no time at all, multiple fights break out. Millson and Clarkson lock up in a collar and elbow tie up, Triple M pushing Kahlan into the corner. Nate delivers a clothesline to both Jack and Dustin, who team up to take out the Metal Meathead. Kipping up after the fall, Delta runs at Nate and performs a float-over, getting behind the Omaha Opportunist and hooking both arms in a double chickenwing submission maneuver, leaving the front of the body wide open for Tracks to go on the offensive.

"I couldn't ask for a more picture-perfect way to kick off this match, guys! This is what the Tower of London Deathmatch is all about. This just goes to show that the guys helping you in one instant could be your archenemy the next! The word 'trust' is null and void inside that sadistic structure."

"Let's look over the Tale of the Tape here, Matt. We have Nicholas Carson, who's trying to restore his well-being outside of the ring, and he is the current champion. We have Dustin Delta, the only man is this match to have held the King of the Deathmatch prior to this, and the 6th longest holder at that--you're one of the five men to surpass him, Matt. Jerry, Millson, Kahlan, and Jack have all been Television Champions, and Millson is one half of the current Tag Team Champions."

"Well based on those odds, you have to give the advantage to Carson and Delta--they're the only two with a surplus of deathmatch experience in GHW and the only two to have won the title before. And I am a firm believer that lightning strikes twice and history repeats itself!"

"Speaking of Delta, he's been in the top spot of GHW.com's Power 10 for the past two weeks, followed by Millson and Tracks, so they also have a high ride of momentum bringing them into this match. Bring those into account, and Millson has a tactical advantage, being a champion now and having a good amount of momentum, but more so, Dustin does, as he's #1 in GHW right now and he has held the Deathmatch Championship before."

"The numbers don't lie, guys, but you never know what to expect in a match like this! Statistics may tell us one thing, but reality will prove to us another! I can hardly wait for the action in this!"

Delta keeps the arms of Nate locked behind his back, and the 230-pounder goes on the offensive, showcasing his martial arts expertise, hitting the Nebraskan with various kicks to the gut. Jerry struggles, but the former Deathmatch Champion in Delta keeps him locked in place. The Indianapolis Kid locks the head of Corn Husker Conman for a bulldog, and Delta drops to the mat with his knees up. Tracks leaps and drops the torso of Jerry Nate onto Double D's knees, successfully executing a cooperative gutbuster. Nate rolls a few feet away, holding his abdomen in pain. Grinning, Dustin stands and shouts at the fallen body of Jerry Nate but is cut off by the Indianan, who goes for a German Suplex. Acting on instinct, the Thane of Slumberland adds to his rotation and lands on his feet. Tracks turns to face him and goes for a high angle kick, but Double D ducks under the swinging leg. Delta too attempts to hit a kick to the temple, but the former Television Champion dodges. Both superstars go for a lariat at the same time, knocking each other down to the canvas simultaneously. Meanwhile, Triple M has the Ladder Queen cornered, completing his sixth consecutive chop to Kahlan. Mighty Man catches a three-quarters headlock, snagging the head of Ms. Clarkson. She tries to remove his grip by pushing him forward, but he brings her as well so that he may hit a Cutter, which connects with impact. Kahlan impulsively reaches for her face, searing with pain, but such does not stop the Tag Team Champion. Millson drops two rolling elbows on Kahlan, and runs the ropes, jumping up to land on Kahlan's upper body in a knee drop. The Egotistical Englishman snaps the Demonized Angel into a surfboard stretch, and drives repeated knees into the vertebrae of Little K before pushing her back down to the mat. Taking a moment to review his surroundings, Millson comes to a surprising realization--he's the only one standing.

Making the most of the opportunity at hand, Millson rolls under the ropes and makes a B-Line towards the door of the 'Tower'. If he is able to reach the outside, he can claim where nobody else would know of his whereabouts, as all the other combatants have found themselves downed. He'd be able to soundly reach the top, retrieve his Union Jack, and await to advance. Just as opens the door, the vengeful Nicholas Carson locks his hands around the ankle of the Brit, dragging him down so that his face hits the concrete floor. Nicky rises to his feet slowly, holding his head as he scans the fallen before him. He takes note that Triple M's head lay in the doorway, and so he grasps the door tightly with both hands, and opens it slowly, methodically--but quickly lashes his arms in, slamming the door at full velocity into the back of Millson's head, potentially damaging the medulla. Carson screams, letting the rage seep out of his lungs, while the Northern Narcissist bellows in disheveled agony. The Asylum Patient forcefully brings Mighty Man to his feet, and grabs him by the bicep and wrist. He looks behind him, making sure that the two trash cans--selected by Jerry Nate--and the shopping cart of light tubes--supplied by Double D--are where they were when the match began. Releasing a primal yell, the Apocalyptic One sends Millson running into them, tipping over and the cans and sending the shopping cart back into the cage wall. Though the light tubes inside remain intact.

"Nicholas Carson may have been down, but he was not down for long! What a display of resiliency from the King of the Deathmatch Champion. I mean, look at what he just did to Millson--targeted the head and the shoulder, smashing them both with all of his might. That's the kind of action this match needs--and we've only just begun."

"Matt, you say that you're the Hardcore Genius, and you really are. So I have to ask, what should these superstars be looking to do to just SURVIVE in an environment such as this?"

"Al, I'd love to answer your question, but truth be told, I can't. The Tower of London is a new mode of carnage and danger, I've never even seen this massive complex. But if I was able to give these young guys any advise whatsoever, it'd be exactly what you said--Survive. That, and climb for their lives, like they're about to be dragged to hell by Satan himself."

"Hey, Carson's in this, they might as well be dragged straight to the Underworld."

"Speaking of Carson--LOOK AT THIS!"

What the commentators are referring to is the vicious Fall Away Slam that Nicholas gives to Millson, who falls torso-first on the concrete floor--possibly breaking a rib. Nicky laughs sadistically and re-enters the ring, his eyes glancing from Delta, to Tracks...and then, to his beloved Kahlan. Ms. Clarkson glares at her cold-blooded adversary, who approaches slowly, eyes widened like a psychopath. The Ladder Queen bravely steps up to the monstrosity of a man who stands in front of her, but her courage is only forwarded with his hand tightly gripped around her throat. The Brit Blitz cries for help, and receives it in the form of Dustin Delta, who hammers at the back of Nicky-Boy with an axe handle. Nicholas drops Kahlan, slowly turning his attention to the middleweight behind him. Double D improvises, realizing he cannot uses many moves in his repertoire, as he is not strong enough to lift the heavyweight. Delta strikes with a spinning back kick to the abdomen of Carson, and runs the ropes, rebounding with hopes of connecting with an elbow. Unfortunately, Nicholas is not shaken much by the kick, as he catches the KIngship Courier and slams him supine with his signature Double-A Spinebuster. The Deathmatch Champion wipes the sweat off of his brow and shakes the wetness of his hand off on Delta. The Sadist steps back, towards Kahlan, who hopes she'll not be noticed, but the Apocalyptic One turns around and immediately locks his hand around the throat of the Strife Slayer again. "Fire Cracker" makes another desperate plea for help, but with most other superstars downed, hope seems lost.



The arena pops huge as the theme song of the five-time NeXuS finalist hits the P/A system, and Carson's eyes widen in panic. He pushes Kahlan away, and the Ladder Queen evasively rolls out of the ring, holding her throat in pain. Nicholas locks his eyes on the small mesh door that allows entry to the Tower of London, but Desperado rolls out from under the ring apron, passing by the Cutting Chick and entering the ring behind Carson. The music is still blaring, so Nicky does not expect it at all when a hand taps his shoulder and he twist his body around just to eat a gruesome DKO, making the crowd go wild. The guitar solo of "Voices" by Rev Theory plays as the Brooklynite smirks and exits the ring, rolling back to the world under the squared circle, where he lies in wait to act as the karmic force in this bout. The audience screams in unison, chanting:

"DESPERADO!
DESPERADO!
DESPERADO!"

The music cuts out, and Kahlan brushes herself off and re-enters the ring, ready to feed on the downed body of the current champion, but she is stopped by Jerry Nate, who rams his shoulder into her gullet with a spear! Nate locks his arms around Kahlan's collar and brings her to her feet again, lifting her up and dropping her head-first with a Brainbuster. Nate scans the ring--downed are Carson, Kahlan, and Dustin. Outside the ring to his left, Millson does his best to fend off the attacking Jack Tracks--seeing it as the perfect time, Jerry rolls out of the ring and runs over to latch onto the mesh wall, trying his hardest to begin a long, sixty-foot climb.

[Nicholas Carson]

Nasty Nate continues his advance up the wall with nobody nipping at his heels, while down below Tracks speeds into the protruding elbow of the Mightiest of all the Millsons, staggering him back a few feet. Seizing the moment, Millson opens up with a volley of strikes to his adversary, rocking him with the assortment of punches, knees and kicks. Jack does his best to block but Ole Milly grabs him by the wrist and Irish Whips toward the mesh wall, but mid way through Tracks puts on the brakes and turns around. Alarmed, the one half Tag Champ steams ahead to put another pounding on the American, but is cut off abruptly by the Indianan dipping low and heaving him up and over, high and hard with a Back Body Drop. Triple M flips head over ass and plummets painfully into the shopping cart full of light tubes, shattering most of them and causing a small cloud of white to form around him. The crowd roars in blood lusty delight at the sight, although the wails of agony from MMM are more than a little unsettling.

Somehow the cart remains upright, albeit a little lop sided, which eggs Jack on even more. The Race Car Guru grabs hold of it at the handles and pushes powerfully toward the mesh wall in hopes of pulling off a move that would make Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the Jackass crew jealous. Stumbling into his way, though, is Kahlan, but all the better he'll just run her over in the process. Or so he thought. The Future Mrs. Carson gains her bearings in time to put the picture together, and turns toward the wall at the last moment, jumping onto it. She then launches herself from it and turns in mid air, facing the cart pushing Tracks. As she soars toward and over him in a Forward Somersault, she secures him by the head and neck, snapping him down with her as she drops hard to the unforgiving floor. The scintillating modified Flying Neck Breaker elicits a huge pop from the spectators, but their favor toward the Brit Blitz does her no good, as she suffered too from her Devil-may-care maneuver.

"What a move by the Cutting Queen. That came out of nowhere."
"Innovative. I like it."
"The girl knows how to fly, and for once I'm not talking about her drug habits. But she hurt herself in the process so where's the gain?"

The sexiest woman in the world, at least in Carson's mind, surveys the scene and realizes she had just killed two birds with one stone so to speak, leaving her the lone person standing. She looks around and spots Jerry climbing, but makes no rush to prevent his ascension. Feeling confident she can take any man in the bout, especially Jerry Nate, the Cutting Cutie sucks up the pain better than she does a nice hard cock, and begins a climb of her own. On the other end of the spectrum, the discombobulated Carson finds his footing with aide from the apron and shakes out the cob webs from that DKO, before ascertaining the whereabouts of all parties. He wanted Desperado, but the Lord of Lunacy spies Jerry Nate instead and, just to be a dickhead, snags a hockey stick stick from one of the trash cans full of goodies. The Artist of Atrocities waves it tauntingly at Mattie O before positioning himself directly under the clue-less Nebraskan and thrusting it upward numerous times, violently ramming it all up in Nate's sack, taint, and anal crevice. It doesn't take long for the Shotgun Kid's grip to loosen, causing him to drop down to his feet.

The momentum of the fall makes him drop to his knees and eat a mouth full of concrete, and to add onto this Nicky-Boy wallops him one good time across the back for shits and giggles. The crowd winces and "ooohs" in sympathy of what had befell the man with the kick ass belt buckle, then kick up plenty of hateful jeers at the most evil entity in GHW's storied history. The Maniac Mauler pays them no mind as he busies himself with Jerry, picking him up and squeezing him at the throat, seeking out a Choke Slam for the ages. Undetected through all of this, Dustin Delta thunders across the ring with a trash can in one hand and a bag of brown sugar in the other. The former Outcast hurls the bag of sugar at Carson, the bag splitting upon contact and forming a plume of brown powder-ness around his gigantic head. The tactic also blinds the behemoth, but the KOTDM Champion does not relinquish his prey. Not that Delta cares. Throwing caution into the face of wind, the Courier of Controversy traverses the top pad expertly and leaps off, bringing the steel can across Nicholas's brain case with all his might, severely denting it. The Big Man drops to a knee and releases his victim, allowing the scrambling shotgun fanatic to grasp the same hockey stick used against him. Another brutal can-shot crumbles the giant, giving Dustin a sliver of glory before Jerry Nate pisses all over it by deciding to test the integrity of the stick on the Floridian's tummy.

"He broke it on his fucking stomach! The damn thing broke, holy shit."
"I know my hockey sticks and they are TOUGH. Delta either has steel abs or we need to draft Jerry to our hokey team!"
"I don't think Dustin's abs are steel. He's doubled over in a world of hurt and.. oh geez... there goes his lunch."
"Ah. Uh huh. Looks like he ate at Olive Garden before the show, I recognize that platter even in vomit form."
"Just delivering that blow took the energy out of Nate. He can't exploit his advantage."

With Carson, Jerry and Dustin incapacitated the fans turn heads to Triple M, who had managed to climb out of the cart, and Jack Tracks, who had finally found his vertical base. Never one to use a weapon because he is too good for it, Millson charges headlong at the rookie empty handed and almost gets decapitated by a wildy thrown Lariat. Triple M ducks under it though, and never misses a beat as he hops onto the ring steps and jumps into the air. Spinning around to face his objective, Mighty Man swings his leg at Jack's head like it's a Louisville Slugger baseball bat, and hits a Home Run to Jack's temple. The sound of the collision is just as sickening as the impact itself, casting the crowd into a frenzy and sending the Indianapolis native to the floor in a heap.

Pressing his advantage, Mighty Man hastily grabs the man by his long hair and pulls his near unconscious body close to the cage, where he swiftly uses his opponent's outlandishly long hair length to his advantage by tying it in multiple knots through and around the meshing of the structure. Once completed, MMM smugly points to his head, indicating that he is indeed pretty intelligent for doing such a clever thing, then turns away to plot his next course of action. What he finds is everyone except Kahlan down and out. This pleases him. The Tag Champ mulls over attacking the Ladder Queen but decides against it, time is of the essence, and he could always just beat her down in the next stage. No problem. With a shrug, Millson, bleeding from his back, commences to a climb as well.

"It takes a helluva man to walk into something like this and not bother to use a weapon. Millson is proving something here tonight. If you can't respect that, you don't know what respect is."
"I never would have expected that. What a brilliant move by the Tag Champ."
"And it was brought on by athleticism and a skull shattering kick, not a weapon."
"I think we can now call Millson's leg a weapon."

In the vector of violence where Carson and company lie, every man stirs, but it's Nicholas who begins to crawl away from them on his elbows, the voices inside his head directing him to locate and kill the Deadly and Dangerous One for his earlier transgression. Along the way, the sluggish Champion rummages the apron near a corner post, attaining a steel chair and his dearly beloved nailgun. He places the nailgun at the edge of the squared hell as he stands and thinks. Desperado had come to protect Kahlan, he's her weapon so to speak, yet the Brit Blitz was not in harms way now, and Carson didn't feel like going through the effort to harm her just to get to Despy. Nicky Pooh had a much simpler plan. He punches himself a few times, hard enough to send a loud sound out.

"Yeah, bitch, I'm gonna kill you Kahlan. I was going to fuck your brains out, but now I think I'll just beat your brains out with this FUCKING CHAIR!!!"

Carson hit himself one good time with the chair, drawing the Knight in Shining Armor out from under the ring, conveniently enough right next to Nicky, to play hero once more. The scheme had worked; hook, line, and sinker. The Narcotic Necromancer swung the chair with nothing but malice in his heart, every fiber of his being was put behind it. The shot connects flush with Desperado's face, the sound of it rivaling a small bomb explosion. The single most horrifying chair-shot in history silences the fans, plunging them into a state of perilous fright. Despy drops cold to the floor, his inertia inert, crimson streams racing one another along his face from his busted forehead and nose. Nicky smoothly dangles the chair at his side, the camera getting a close up of it to show that for the first time in wrestling history a chair-shot receiver's facial features had truly been indented into a chair. Non-chalantly, Big Nicky discards the chair and rolls the New Yorker into the squared hell to give him the same special treatment he once gave Strife and Jake Diamond.

"Leave it to Carson to make this a clusterfuck! He's got that nailgun in hand now!"
"He homicided Desperado! I knew something like this would happen. I just knew it."
"Parents if your kids are still up watching this, which they shouldn't be if you were good parents and made them go to bed, please cover their eyes! The shit, and blood, is about to hit the fan."
"He's got that look in his eyes, guys. He only reserves this treatment for his most hated adversaries. It's gonna happen whether we like it or not!"

Nicholas stands over him, boot on his chest, nailgun aimed at his face. This was it. Suddenly, the crowd erupts into roof blowing cheers again, as Dustin and Jerry come into view with weapons. Dustin, carrying a Kendo stick, lays into the Lord of Lunacy with a series of savage shots to his legs, kidneys and liver areas while Jerry quickly wraps his belt and special belt buckle around his fist and darts toward the ropes. Carson drops the nailgun during the barrage and tries to fight through it, but Nate's explosive "Shot Gun Punch" careens into his sternum with enough impetus to kill an elephant. Not even the likes of the beastly Carson can withstand it, and he timbers over like a freshly cut tree. Delta gives him a few more complimentary whacks with the stick before discussing a quick plan with Jerry. The two combatants turned allies for the moment put that plan into action.

Jerry grabs the nailgun and forces Nicky's hand against the mat, palm opened. Carson instinctively resists, but Delta is there to hammer away on him, quelling the rebuttal as Nate places the barrell of the gun to the monster's hand and pulls the trigger, sending a five inch round drive nail into it and lodging in the pine under the canvas. Nicholas belts out a cry that could wake the dead, never before had the Lord of Lunacy been hurt this badly. His torment was not done. The Nebraskan switches to the other hand and does the same, effectively crucifying the reigning KOTDM Champion. Nicky-Boy yells out madly, cussing and spitting and screaming in unbearable pain. Little did Jerry know, however, that his time in the lime light was about over.

CRAAAACK![/color]

The Kendo stick strike to the head tips the Nebraskan over, leaving the Delta-meister in the driver's seat to run amok.

TBCB I have no clue.

Dispositions:
Jack Tracks: Hair-Cuffed to the cage.
Triple M: Climbing the cage.
Kahlan: Still climbing the cage, taking her sweet ass time because she's sexy and she knows it and nobody will catch her.
Carson: Literally crucified in the ring.
Jerry: Laid out by Kendo stick cheap shot from Delta.
Dustin: Standing tall in the ring.
Desperado (for what it's worth lol): Obliterated in the ring after getting treated to the most murderous chair shot in GHW history. No, in all of wrestling history.

[Millson and Simpson]

Delta stares down at the fallen Nebraskan, admiring his kendological skills, knowing that with Carson and the Race Car Guru unable to move from the shackles imposed on them and Nate hearing a loud whistle in his already demented mind, the opposition numbers are quickly dwindling. The Floridian Falcon escapes the confines of the squared circle and begins to climb for a vacant Union Jack, only to realise that the man he's shared so much history with, the Daddy's Boy, is about to steal a march on the remaining competitors by clutching a flag. Double D hops down from his perch and runs over to the entrapped Red Flag Venturer, placing his feet on the shoulders of Tracks and using JT as a primitive step-ladder, using his heightened position to clutch the ankle of the Mighty Man and halt the ascent of the Tag Team champion. Millson attempts to wriggle free of the Aerodynamic Blitz's grasp, but seeing a chance to avenge the earlier attacks of the Brit, Tracks passes Delta his steel chain and without remorse, Double D throws right fists at Millson's calf, the Ultimate Ego letting out multiple screams of pain as steel meets skin, muscle and bone. Having halted the ascent of the Daddy's Boy, Delta grabs the now injured ankle and yanks with downward velocity, gravity loosening the grip of Triple M and dragging the Brit to the concrete floor below, where Millson crumples. As Delta admires his handiwork once again, his equilibrium is eradicated by a blow to the nether regions from the opportunistic Tracks, who throws the doubled over Deathmatch Majesty to the concrete back-first, Double D writhing in pain on the floor.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hellacious structure, the Shotgun Kid awakens from his slumber and sees Krazy K taking her time to climb the short distance between her and the next round of the match, quickly regaining his conciousness to a level enabling him to roll out of the ring and hurry over to the wall Mrs. Clarkson's scaling. Nate tries to reach the Geordie, but finds the distance too much and instead ducks underneath the ring canvas, bringing out a hammer, much to the sick Bostonian crowd's delight. Acting as quickly as his pain-addled mind can, the Cornhusker throws the hammer at the spine of Kahlan and with the accuracy of a baseball pitcher, the implement finds it's target, hitting the only female in the contest and forcing a scream to emanate from the make-up riddled lips of Clarkson. As if bringing out a hammer wasn't a large enough show of Nate's DIY skills, the Shotgun Kid delves deep into the seemingly bottomless ring apron and pulls out a cloth bag containing thumbtacks, laying them out on the floor directly underneath the Ladder Queen. With thoughts only his malicious mind could come up with, Jerry begins to violently shake the 60 foot wall of the structure, Clarkson's already damaged grip slowly giving way, the Geordie giving out another scream as she realises her impending plight. Without a hint of mercy, the Cornhusking Metalhead continues to shake the wall like a metallic leaf, the inevitable fall taking only mere seconds as the grip of the British Bombshell loosens completely, Kahlan falling from the wall and down to the unforgiving concrete floor, but more importantly and painfully, the thumbtakcs laid out by the devious Jerry Nate. The crowd go silent as Clarkson joins Carson, Millson and Delta in unconciousness, with the Shotgun Kid merely delivering a malicious grin and sliding back inside the squared circle.

What? I-I'm speechlees. Kahlan just fell from about 50 feet into steel thumbtacks. Her career could very well be over.

And look at Nate, just smiling and laughing. I know you have to do what you can to get the win in GHW, but that was deplorable.

You just summed up Jerry Nate there, Matt. But on the bright side, at least Carson's not going anywhere.

With the rest of the field either entrapped or unconcious, Nate surveys the situation and decides to focus his attentions on the reigning King of the Deathmatch, walking over to Nicky Boy and placing his foot on the throat of the Asylum Inmate, pressing down to limit the oxygen reaching the demented cerebral cortex, knowing that the chance to end the life of the most hated man in the company doesn't come too many times in a lifetime. However, Nate soon finds out that Carson's place in hell is reserved for a certain Desperado to send him there, with the Cornhusker's senses once again dashed, this time from a steel chair shot to the back of the skull at the hands of the DKO specialist. Despy kicks the carcass of the Shotgun Kid away and stares down at the Asylum Inmate, only to shock the fans in attendance by grabbing the nail etched in Carson's right arm and ripping it out of the almost severed flesh, Carson letting out a squeal as the blood begins to flow out of his body from the wound. Desperado throws the nail away and does the same to Nicky Boy's left arm, before dragging the almost unconcious champion to his feet and planting another earth-rending DKO on the Nailgun Innovator. Despy shakes his head, not quite believing the mercy he showed to the Kahlan Clarkson Lover, before escaping the squared circle and attempting to leave the Tower of London structure, only for Jack Tracks to appeal to the decency of the veteran and ask for Desperado's help in untangling his hair from the steel mesh. Despy smiles and nods his head, before throwing a right hand at the Race Car Guru with enough force to dislodge JT from the wall. As Tracks stands up and feels his cheek, he begins to shout at the veteran, only for the fuse of the DKO specialist to reach it's end, with Despy throwing his hands into the air and locking them around the neck of the Red Flag Venturer, delivering one more DKO for luck. With a riase of his hands, the veteran leaves the structure and heads backstage, every member of the match now down and out on the floor.

What an impact from Desperado, who has really turned this match on it's head.

Yeah, and unfortunately for Jack Tracks, that DKO might just have cost him his spot in the next round of the Tower of London match.

Who's going to get up first and steal all the momentum of this contest?

TBC-

[Dustin Delta]

In the wake of Desperado's homemade carnage, the crowd falls silent as they await to see signs of life from the six downed combatants within the confines of the square circle. Many of the superstars could very well be unconscious, fallen in the fields of battle. One man who is aware of his surroundings is Dustin Delta, who snags the ring apron and utilizes it to pull himself along. His back stiff and still in a seething pain, Double D rolls onto the apron and into the ring, leaning back on the ropes while he studies his environment to adjust his perspective accordingly. His blurred vision fixed itself and he observes his five foes are down and out in the ring--the only other superstar with the ability to move being Nicky Carson. The Apocalyptic One reaches for the ropes, in a half-awake state of being, not quite sure where he is in relation to the ropes. Delta extends his wingspan up and locks his fingers around the uppermost rope so that he may pull himself up to a vertical base. His eyes are dead set on the half-life form of the current King of the Deathmatch, and Dustin approaches slowly. Methodically tinkering with the possibilities in his mind, the Deep Sleepwalker latches onto the collar and uses all of his strength to bring Nicholas to his feet, although Carson is still essentially deadweight. The Dark Herald runs past Nicky and bounces of the ropes--he bends on knee and slides towards the Asylum Patient, driving the point of his knee into the back of the joint of Nicky, who responsively falls to a kneeling position. Delta floats over the champion and side steps away. He takes a step closer and drives the heel of his foot into the jaw of the Inmate, connecting with his signature Superhero Slayer. Though they are not very fond of Double D, the GHW Faithful retain a strong hatred towards Nicky Boy, so the superkick variation does receive a reasonable pop from the audience. Slumberland's Thane raises his right arm in a victorious pose, with itself draws a mixed reaction for the crowd, but it is enough to encourage Dustin to make the climb and take a run at one of the four Union Jacks, which now wait at their perches a top the sixty-foot hellacious complex. Double D, breathing deeply, exits the sacred squared circle through the second and third ropes, stepping off the ring apron and to the concrete floor at ringside. He sprints to the steel mesh wall and latches onto it, begin a slow ascension in an attempt to reach the flag that will entitle his progression, which ultimately brings him a step closer to the King of the Deathmatch Championship.

Delta is one with intensive experience with the cage match. Within the first few months of his debut, the Thane of Slumberland had taken part in two classic cage bouts against the then-Television Champion, Reeves. One was a standard Steel Cage, one was a Liberate to Live match. He also took place in the fifth-annual NeXuS Deathmatch. And although Double D has participated in his fair share of Cage matches, he had never taken part in anything of this stature or this caliber. After a solid minute of climbing, Double D had hardly even scratched the ice. While he did his best to progress, Jerry Nate came to in the ring, groggily rising to his own two feet. Holding his left temple, the Cornhusker shakes off the dizziness and the first thing his eyes set themselves on is Double D, who is now roughly 15 feet above the ring. The Metal Mastermind slides out of the ring and waveringly throws the ring apron up--he seems to not have realized that the Karmic Gunslinger, Desperado, has returned to the locker room. Assuming that Desperado is not present, Jerry reaches under the squared circle's steel frame and extracts a twenty-foot tall ladder, with his intentions pretty clear. Jerry heads around the corner of the ring and stands now approximately eighteen feet under the escalating Dustin Delta. Nate leans the ladder against the mesh of the cage, and quickly climbs the rungs, pursuing the Sleepwalker with all the speed he can get. Now, with the ladder set up an angle, it isn't precisely twenty feet, so Jerry naturally ends up a foot or two behind Delta, but with the speed of his climb, he makes it up with no haste. He acknowledges the presence of the Nebraskan, but Double D does his best to keep his focus on the upward path before him, reaching up so that he can continue his climb.

"At this point, Jerry Nate only has so many options. He could attack Delta and try to knock him off that mesh wall, which could potentially injure Dustin and keep him from advancing. Alternatively, he could ally himself with the former King of the Deathmatch Champion and they can both climb the remaining forty-or-so feet and each claim a Union Jack so that they may advance."

"That's assuming, of course, that no other superstar comes and brings them both back down out of orbit and to the hard-concrete ground. That's the thing about hardcore matches--literally anything can happen. Delta has been one to prove that--look at his Extreme Elevation with Hayden, his cage match with Reeves, his TLC match with Millson...Dustin has pushed the limits of every superstar, including himself."

"Well, look at Kahlan. She's had her fair share of great matches, but after that fall onto thumbtacks, she may be out cold for the rest of the match. The unpredictability of hardcore matches makes them enjoyable to watch, but lethal for those who take part in it."

Jerry considers his options again, and it doesn't seem to take him very long to make up his mind. The Nebraskan bends his right arm at a right angle, making his bicep and forearm perpendicular, so that he can drive the edge of his elbow into the gullet of Double D, who although in pain, holds onto the mesh. Aggrivated by Nate, Dustin swings his left foot up and up into the back, kicking the Cornhusker as the two engage in a melee twenty feet above the floor. Whilst this takes place, Jack Tracks rolls out of the ring, the effects of the ravenous DKO he ate earlier still apparent. The hands of the Indianan instinctively clutch the head in an attempt of restoration, but he cannot take too much time, because something has to be done--either Tracks starts his ascent, or he prevents Nate's and Delta's from continuing. Jack darts towards the western side of the asylum, and picks up the ladder which the Shotgun Kid used to catch up with the Thane of Slumberland, but both Jerry and Dustin are too busy in their high-altitude brawl to notice. The Indianapolis native drops the ladder and reaches under the ring, pulling out a black steel chair and setting it up at ringside. To his right, he grabs Delta's shopping cart which is stocked up with light tubes and brings it closer. Hoisting it up, Tracks tightens his grip on the rungs of the ladder, and slams the head of the ladder into the cage wall, causing it to tremble and for Delta and Nate to loosen their grasp on the wall. Jack extends the ladder up, holding the bottom, and hitting both superstars with the ladder--their legs come off the wall, both superstars now hanging only by their hands. This is a dangerous situation for both Nate and Double D, but the Red Flag Venturer hardly seems to care. He rams the ladder into the wall again, and the two superstars lose their grip, and possibly their chances at victory. The Metal Mastermind plummets, landing on the opened chair--his face bounces off and then rests on the seat of the chair, but Jerry becomes stilled, face on the chair, possibly busted open. But the man who may have it worse is Delta--who ironically falls into his own shopping cart back-first, creating a conglomerate of broken lighttubes and his own human flesh after falling twenty feet. The thousands in attendance simultaneously shout-- "OH SHIT!" Which fades into a pop for the young Jack Tracks, the one man who stands dominant after all of this.

"LET'S GO JACK!
LET'S GO JACK!
LET'S GO TRACKS!
LET'S GO TRACKS!
JACK FUCKING TRACKS!
JACK FUCKING TRACKS!
JACK FUCKING TRACKS!

"The GHW Faithful are absolutely loving this match-up here tonight and with good reason! Not a dull moment or a safe person in it! I can feel the rush of adrenaline from all the way out here, guys, and I love it. With every motion they make, you can see the dedication and determination in each of these competitors."

"On most ocassions, I wouldn't be one to advocate unsanctioned violence, especially in a setting such as this, but I don't think I could ask for a better main event for tonight's Dawn of Destruction pay-per-view! The superstars love it, the fans love it, hell, even I'm eating it up! This is great!"

"And it's not over yet! Four of these superstars will retrieve the Union Jacks atop this colossal complex and that means they'll advance to the second round of the Tower of London Deathmatch, where we will crown our King of the Deathmatch Champion; whether Carson retains or a new champion is crowned!"

The superstar who has been ranked No. 3 in the GHW Power 10, Jack Tracks, is absolutely on fire right now. The adrenaline can be seen in each drop of sweat as it rains down off of his brow, and the hype is running rampant in the young Indianan. While he may have the perfect opportunity to escalate himself and claim a Union Jack on behalf of Team Tracks, party of one, he decides to reinstate his dominance and add insult to injury. The Middleweight locks his hands around the cranium of Nate, pulling the deadweight metalhead up and Irish Whipping him shoulder-first into the shopping cart, knocking down Nate and wheeling the cart and Delta's mangled body into the cage wall. But Jack still wants to cause more carnage. He rolls into the ring, looking from the kneeling Millson to the downed bodies of Carson and Kahlan. The Red Flag Venturer runs at Millson, delivering a dropkick to the shoulder, which makes Triple M stagger back into the corner. Grinning, Tracks runs towards the corner and does a three-hundred and sixty degree rotation, hitting his signature Discus Elbow on one half of the Tag Team Champions. The crowd cheers even more as Jack locks the head of the former Television Champion under his arm and makes two strides forward, jumping so that he may drive the head of Millson into the canvas with a running bulldog. Jack taunts for the benefit of those with flash photography, proud of himself and feeling like a million bucks. What he doesn't expect, is a slow comeback by the Brit Blitz herself! Kahlan is unbelievably able to stand, and slowly sneaks up behind Jack, sleuthing with silent footsteps. She locks his head in a fashion similar to the way he just caught Triple M, and slams him down from behind with a Reverse DDT! Off the impact, Jack rolls over to a prone position, which allows the Ladder Queen to lock the young rising star in her patented Cutting Clutch, which draws a good reaction from the audience as well. "THIS IS AWESOME!" The capacity crowd chants, following it with a series of claps, as thousands of camera flashes go off from every corner of the complex.

[Brad Windsor]

With his neck entangled in all of Kahlan’s four limbs, Jack learns first hand, a young man’s lesson in life that it is not always nice to be in-between a woman’s legs. This is especially true if the girl is determined to torture, snap then rip your head straight off of your shoulders. Now add to this the fact that the said girl is now far from the pretty thing she once was. A mess would not describe her. From what is in view, the army of stinging little thumbtacks stuck all over her upper back is a horrendous sight on itself, never mind the rest. Not a sadist by far, Jack, her unfortunate opponent does what is expected of anyone else suffering from the exact same predicament. He taps. He taps really, really hard.

“Why the fuck are you tapping you idiot!” Kahlan’s enraged voice is just picked off by the microphone implanted inside a hovering camera within the cage. “I won’t let go because you can’t lose this way!”

Millson meanwhile, is the closest stirring soul to the suffering being bestowed upon Jay-T. He roughly shakes the cobwebs away and pushes out of his cornered spot. The proud Englishman looks down at the spectacle before him. His hand comes up to scratch the back of his head while he visibly ponders his next move. Eventually a shrug arises and Millson decides to ignore the fact that there is a little boy-girl physicality is happening. After all, what is this got to do with him and his “Mighty” chance of progressing to the next stage? Therefore, while nurturing his sore spots, he turns and slips out of the ring in peruse of a Union Jack flag.

Al: That is smart. Millson is very, very smart. He is doing the right thing by staying away from what he does not believe to be his fight and instead he goes after the prize. Leave the others to their squabbling and climb the cage as fast as you can. Lord knows it’s going to take a long time to climb it.
MO: Tell me again whose idea was it to make the cage stand over fifty-feet tall. They’re either a genius or a complete lunatic! Genius because I can spot a genius idea whenever I see one, and let me tell you this is epically genius. At the same time however, they could be a lunatic because somehow they’ve found a way to squeeze the best the GHW could afford talent wise and somehow force them into a situation where it is sure to result into a couple of careers ending prematurely.
Colin: I would go with lunacy.
Al: You bloody wuss. Listen to the crowd! They’re getting their money’s worth and they know it!

And then Nicholas Carson sits up in one quick motion.

Colin: DAMN!
MO: Back in the day I thought I was the epitome of hard-core. With all of that blood loss… with all of the blood still being lost… there is just so much… blood-
Al: And Nicholas Carson just sits up!

Kahlan’s viscous hold on Jack’s almost unconscious carcass wilts away. She had seen the scene out of the corner of her eyes, and the strong mood shift that came about from the unanimous gasping from the audience had affected her. She lets go of Jack and kicks him off to untangle herself. Some of the thumbtacks still stuck in her fall off as she stands and turns to Nicholas. Her wince however, is enough of a sign to indicate that she is too late. The bloody hand of the sickest bastard child of GHW comes up to grab at her exposed throat. Kahlan’s wide eyes, her opened mouth, her feeble attempt at drawing a breath, these are all in contrast to the merciless, untamed features of her maniac foe. The fans are all on their feet now. The past meetings between the two have brought them to this moment where the relationship has degenerated to a simple prey-predatory face off. The bulging of Kahlan’s eyes get bigger as Carson’s clutch gets tighter. The climax of the moment is at its highest. As easy as picking up a rag doll, Nicky picks Kahlan up and unceremoniously slams her down so hard she punches through the canvas, straight down through the boarding covering the surface of the ring and into the unknown darkness underneath.

Colin: Jesus-fucking-Christ!

The commentary team lapse into a rare moment of complete silence with everyone else as the bewildering moment registers in. The silent second passes and then… “HOLY SHIT!” The fans exclamation is released. Still bleeding and looking completely insane, Carson looks up to see Millson has stopped someway up the cage wall peering back, down at him. The “Mighty” man swallows on making eye contact, then turns to start climbing with a newfound vigour. Next, Nicky’s head turns to find Dustin struggling to brush the shreds of glass off of his bloodied back. On his knees amongst the spilled contents of the toppled cart he is in a very sorry state. Not far from him, Jerry is alarmingly still blacked out. The dent into the steel chair a few feet away, acts as a reminder of his horrible fall a few minutes ago. With blood pouring down his fingertips, Nicholas smiles at last.

TBC

[Jack Tracks]

Carson, in a euphoric, blood-lusting state, basks in the destruction that the Tower has caused thus far. With almost every competitor passed out, choked out, or having taken some damn nasty fall, he couldn't find himself in a more suitable environment. However, he's not the one closest to the big win. Even in his practically intoxicated state, he realizes that, as much as he's enjoying himself, it's Millson who's closest to their major checkpoint. Reluctantly, he forces himself to tear away from the might-as-well-be-dead body he just left through the right, and rushes out of the ring, his steps just a bit uneven as he throws himself through the ropes, and begins to make his way up the cage.

The Mighty One, for his part, was doing his damnedest to get up that steel as quickly as his arms could carry him. He'd already made it more than halfway up, but the toll this match has had shows even on him, ashe can't keep up the pace for long. Although he tries to force his body to blast up the cell wall, it tells him to hold on a second, and locks up three quarters of the way, demanding a breath. But below him, shaking the cage with each hand he lays on it, comes Carson, a wicked grin on his deranged face as he hauls his massive form up the cage. With each rung he moves, the section of the cage that Millson was climbing sags just a bit under the accumulated weight, causing him to have to shift to stay on. In Millson's favor, however, is that the very same weight that's throwing him off makes it tough for Carson to get up the cage. He makes it about halfway to Millson, but gives enough time for his prey to get another breath of air. With that in his lungs, Millson starts up again, trying to scramble up the cage.

"We've got a chase going here for the first spot in the next round! After that horrendous....I don't even know what to call it....that horrible THING he did to Kahlan, you can't blame Millson for trying to get out of dodge as quickly as his body will take him!"

"If he did something like that to a person actually on his side,imagine what he'd do to a guy like Millson, especially from that massive height they're reaching."

Indeed,the two men have gotten VERY high up, as Millson's hand is about 10 feet away from the top of the 60 foot cage. The behemoth after him, given enough time to catch up during that wind the Mighty One had to take, catches up, reaching a hand up to his prey's ankle. At first, he hand manages to just graze the appendage, his fingers slipping right off due to the blood they've been coated in. The impact of the hand even smacking his foot, however, was enough to throw off Millson's balance on the already hard-to-climb structure. His weight betrays him, and he begins to slip down a few rungs. The crowd "Ooooohs" in anticipation of a fall, people getting to their feet for a better view, but are denied their moment as he catches himself just short of falling. But this new position is exactly what Carson was hoping for. In a desperate attempt, the reigning King of the Deathmatch lunges up, and finally gets his big paw around his target's ankle. The grip puts a sign of clear panic on Millson's face, his fingers wrapping around the mesh so tightly his knuckles start to turn white from the pressure. But all it does is hold him in place, exactly where he doesn't want to be. Like a spider with a fly in his web, Nicky savors the further climb, using hismassive hands to take hold of Millson's back to climb up on him.

"Oh god....this could be the end of Mighty Man Millson right here... The height these two are at, getting thrown down by a monster like the champion is a death sentence."

"He signed the waiver. He knew something like this could happen."

"We all knew it could, and hell, it already has. Just look at poor Jerry down there! If he ever gets up, I have no idea what the hell he's made of."

The struggle high above the ground continues, as Carson tries to pry Millson off of the cage, to become the first to qualify for the next round, and try to keep his title. The mesh where Millson was hold on was beginning to give way with the weight all concentrated onto a single spot, and was starting to even begin to tear at one part above both men's heads! But as strong as Carson was, with one arm now around Millson's waist and pulling hard, he refuses to let go, all too aware of the fate that awaits him at the bottom. It seemed a futile struggle, however, as there's only so much one can do to fight that kind of power and still keep that level of grip.

But as all seemed lost for the Mighty One, a sudden jerking from below tugged down at his pursuer! Nicky's eyes bulge in surprise as his body gets pulled down, nearly taking him off the cage entirely with one tug! He manages to catch himself just in time, wrapping an arm around Millson's waist, using his other hand to grasp the cage. He looks down to see what was happening, and lo and behold, he finds a very familiar steel gleam wrapping around his ankle! His eyes trace the chain, and down at the bottom was his repeated foe, Jack Tracks! Kahlan's choking out earlier didn't get the chance to finish the job, having been cut off early, and the King of the Road was given just enough strength in his lungs to allow a recovery! He stands at the bottom of the structure, the chain having just enough length to reach the tall monster's foot as a makeshift lasso!

"Jack Tracks is back on his feet, and it looks like he's found quite a use for that chain! He may just be able to block any chance of being in the bottom two right here!"

"Did he actually turn that thing into a lasso? Where the hell did he learn to throw one of those at such a small target?!"

"Hell if I know, but it looks like GHW's got something of a real cowboy around! Not like that guy with the cast, either!"

Using the strength built up from training his arms to throw arguably the best elbows in the federation, Tracks has stopped the ascension of Carson in its....well....tracks. However, it was still a lot of weight to pull, and it seemed that there was a stalemate reached....

The cage continues to tear at the same spot, as Millson's body was struggling against the grip, trying not to go down with the champion. Taking a risk, the englishman lets go of the cage with one hand, and brings it back to try and land a few blows on the monster. The angle makes it difficult, but a few glancing his smack the very large dome at his back. But even with that, the mad clown wouldn't let go, even being assaulted from both sides....

The struggle both above and below reach a fever pitch, as all three men know this could be their big chance to secure themselves a spot. The tearing mesh was a foreboding sign,as well. But the struggle would soon end, as one last bit of backup appears! Dustin Delta,having finally had enough time to recover, raced over to Jack Tracks, and without a word, took hold of part of the chain. With both men pulling, the crowd knew that there was a real inevitability of someone getting hurt BAD! Carson's strength existed still, and he was going to use all of it to make sure he wasn't going down alone. His big, bear-like arms wrap around the Englishman's waist, trapping them both together. The position made it even harder to land any hits, so the former TV champ could only do one thing: Hold on to that cage.

But it would be his undoing. Between the weight up top and the strength below, the cage had finally given up. The tearing in the mesh had reached the critical point, and with a horrible sound,the entire section Millson was holding on to pulls right out of the cage! Everyone in the arena shoots to their feet, as the unreal sight of the two men hurtling down towards the ring was a once-in-a-lifetime chance! It seemed to take forever for the fall to finish, but whether it's due to the height of the drama of the moment, no one could be sure. But fall they did, screaming the whole way. Screams which are drowned out by those of the GHW fans! And is only cut off by the horrible crash they make as they land in the ring, causing another hole right next to Kahlan's!

The crowd stood in awe at the horrible sight, not sure whether to cheer or not. For all they knew, two men have just died....

"Oh my god......"

"We're gonna need doctors in there! Now!"

"That's it. We're gonna get shut down. There's no way we're not....|"

It seemed the entire world froze at the moment of impact, the normally-rabid crowd in stunned silence. It wasn't the first time they had seen something horrible like that in this match alone, but this could really be the end. Everyone was silent, not knowing what to do.

Except for two men. As they view the sight they caused, and look back up to the hole they made in the massive cage, Jack Tracks and Dustin Delta know exactly what needed to be done. They look back to each other, and, for one brief moment, they both give a horrible, vicious smile. Jack tracks breaks the silence of the arena, with two words.

"Race ya."

A nod between the two, and they both shoot up, beginning their own dual ascents, blasting up the damaged cage with speed and purpose! With everyone else fallen and broken, it seemed that two of the spots in the next round were locked in. The question is....are any of the rest even alive to take part in the rest of this match...?

[Public Enemies]

Time's up, ladies.