COLD OPEN
Two Steps From Hell.
Protectors Of The Earth.
The chyron reads ReVival 27. In a wash of darkened colors, two gladiators approach each other. Their names are synonymous with PRIME. The OId and The New. They’re bonded in shared ascendance. Universal Champions both. One set the torch. The other has taken it for their own.
Hayes Hanlon, the defending Champion.
Brandon Youngblood, his challenger.
Event Horizon against The Diamond.
The Comeback Kid against The Tower of Babel.
They step towards one another in slow motion, their fists bumping.
Locking up. Wrestling around. Hammerlock. Back elbow. Knife edge chops. Each strike is vicious. There is no quarter given. Tree of woe. Sweat pouring from each. And as the percussion elevates, Youngblood’s strikes only bring out the dog in Hanlon, the Event Horizon demanding more.
Needing more.
Running powerslam.
The momentum shifts on a backdrop driver.
You’re going to let this continue?
Yes…for Hayes Hanlon has the heart of a Champion. He fights back with all he has. Despite the half nelson suplex. He hits a snap dragon of his own into the corner. An Epoch leads to a survival DDT. We are drawing near. To the end. To the climax. A Karelin Lift. The Epoch. Feet touching ropes to stave off defeat. The Death Valley Driver. So many moments. Everything laid out on the line.
Hayes goes for the Super Massive off the second rope.
Youngblood devastates him with elbows to the skull before driving him into the canvas with a second rope Randallplex. The count.
The Universal Championship has changed hands.
After nine months, Brandon Youngblood is once again the Universal Champion.
“What is this? A rerun?”
The voice of Tyler Adrian Best drains all sound. The screen filters to black and white. Cecilworth Farthington and FLAMBERGE have entered the ring.
“I don’t think you understand how sticky of a situation you’re in.”
The new Universal Champion, drained of his strength, is viciously assaulted, as is Hanlon.
And then, the knee.
I Kneed A Hero.
Hugs all around. Coral Avalon and Nate Colton chase them off. Pieces of Youngblood’s teeth lie in a puddle of blood on the canvas.
“Who exactly… is going to protect you, and everyone you care so much about?”
Welcome…to the ReVival.