LARRY TACT vs. THE ANGLO LUCHADOR
The arena darkens. The first dabs of the organ intro to “Oye Como Va” by Santana fill the arena as purple and green lights strobe while the telltale mask of the Anglo Luchador rotate on the PRIMEview behind. Smoke begins to waft across the entryway as the instrumental beginning of the song swells into its big climax. Right before the lyrics sound, The Anglo Luchador appears from the back, looking out at the crowd. He exhales and bows his head before he takes his final strides toward the ring.
Vince Howard: The following contest is scheduled for one fall! Introducing first, from Philadelphia, PA! Weighing in at 211 pounds…he is THE ANGLO LUCHADOR!
Nick Stuart: TAL and Larry Tact are not only two wily veterans of the squared circle, Rich, but they’re no strangers to each other. One upon a time they battled it out in the famed Empire Pro Wrestling, and if they can recreate that battle here tonight, then we’ll be in for a treat.
Richard Parker: Yeah but that’s going to require this idiot to focus on his opponent and not speak in tongues like he’s been doing on Jabber for two weeks, or start thinking ahead to his showdown with Ria Nightshade, which may or may not be for the Intense Championship.
“Pieces of Man” by Drown plays cues up next. Royal blue lights flicker on the stage while golden spotlights scan the crowd. They settle on center stage where Larry Tact stands. He opens his arms and puffs out his chest, soaking in the crowd’s reaction before bellowing and making his way down the ramp, the spotlight following him.
Vince Howard: And his opponent, from Manhattan, NY! Weighing in at 260 pounds…he is LARRY TACT!
As he walks, Larry critiques some fans at ringside with petty insults before arriving to the ring, glaring at his opposition. He pulls himself up using the ropes and walks slowly along the apron before wiping his boots and entering the ring. He stretches using the ropes before bouncing from side-to-side.
Referee Timo Bolamba excitedly rings the bell, and the bout begins with TAL and Larry Tact staring each other down! The PRIMEates hoot and holler as the tension builds between the two long-time rivals, kicking off another chapter of their rivalry!
Nick Stuart: This one’s going to be a scorcher, for sure!
The two adversaries start jawjacking at each other, before Larry Tact unloads with a hard right that knocks TAL silly and reeling towards the ropes. Tact hounds TAL, following up with a forearm to the mush, before whipping TAL into the ropes, and knocking him down with a clothesline on the rebound! Tact taunts the crowd, before pulling TAL back up and headbutting him back onto the ropes, and grabbing him in position to lay him out on the mat with a thunderous vertical suplex making him almost BOUNCE on impact!
Nick Stuart: Tact taking it to TAL early, looking to make a statement.
Richard Parker: As he should. Larry may not have the most impressive record here but he’s been getting better and better every single week, if I do say so myself. And if he were to, I don’t know, punt that old Luchador’s head off his neck, I for one wouldn’t be the least bit upset about it.
The boost from the mat actually helps the Old Luchador in getting back on his feet and in fighting condition, and he is able to telegraph Tact’s incoming clothesline and duck it, and catch him on the turnaround with a monkey flip! Tact manages to get back to his feet, only to be caught in a headlock that takes him up and over TAL, and the luchador manages to hold on and keep Tact on the mat! The crowd oohs and aahs at the deft display of technique and ring savvy, as he wrenches Larry Tact’s head, making the bigger man stamp his feet in pain.
TAL digs deep within himself and tries to do another long twist, but Tact manages to get his hands up on TAL’s face, and after a bit of feeling around, manages to get a handhold… in the form of a finger poking TAL’s eye, making him yelp in pain as he lets go of the hold and covers his eye! Timo Bolamba rushes to Tact and gives him a stern warning about rulebreaking, which Tact just shrugs off and laughs.
Nick Stuart: Senior official Timo Bolamba’s not about to let Larry Tact get away with any fast ones here tonight.
Richard Parker: I don’t know what Bolamba’s talking about, I didn’t see Larry do anything.
Nick Stuart: What are you talking about, Larry clearly poked TAL in the eye right there!
Richard Parker: I think you’re hallucinating. Are you sure you didn’t get into whatever stash that idiot Rezin hooked TAL up with this past week?
Nick Stuart: I can’t believe you sometimes…
As Tact chuckles to the crowd, TAL starts pulling himself up by the ropes, visibly frustrated but undaunted. Tact saunters over to his longtime rival, and lands a punch to TAL’s face, once again drawing flack from Timo, before following up with a kneelift to the gut, and taking TAL up and over with a gutwrench suplex that leaves TAL reeling, and the crowd booing even harder!
Tact confidently gets back to his feet, and plants some boots onto TALs back as he tries to get back up, before hooking his arms around TAL’s waist and dropping him down with ANOTHER gutwrench! Tact chuckles and drops an elbow, before leaning in as Timo Bolamba counts.
ONE!
TAL manages to kickout, but Tact is still on him, dragging him to his feet before whipping him into the ropes and driving him into the mat with a booming spinebuster! TAL is clearly struggling, holding his head in his hands as he writhes on the mat, as Larry Tact arrogantly towers over him. Beckoning for the luchador to rise up, Tact grins as TAL slowly rallies up, and swings right into Tact’s face, dazing him enough for TAL to grapple with him and try to pick him up. However, before TAL can really try to get a lift going, Tact manages to hook TAL’s legs and sweep him to the ground, mounting him and rolling him onto the mat, getting TAL’s arm in a rough “chicken-wing” position with his legs, and locking the wrist for a painful-looking jiu-jitsu classic.
TAL is clearly not having a good run of things, as he grits his teeth and tries to contain his pain. The crowd tries to rally for the luchador.
“T-A-L!”
“T-A-L!”
“T-A-L!”
It doesn’t seem to do much though, as any attempt to leverage himself out of the hold is met by Tact simply bearing down and keeping his adversary locked in place.
Nick Stuart: TAL is in a world of hurt right now, he’s got to try and get to the ropes and force a break here.
Richard Parker: Yeah, before Larry ends up breaking his arm, which he just might do!
Tact yells out in frustration as he tries to tighten up the lock on the Old Luchador’s arm, but TAL screams even louder; not in pain, but in determination and grit, as he manages to hyperextend his free arm and reach out for the ropes! Timo Bolamba forces a break of the omoplata, which Tact doesn’t give until Timo’s count reaches four. As Tact gets back onto his feet, TAL pushes himself back up, almost deliriously, favoring his shoulder. Tact reaches TAL, and gets a grip on him, but TAL manages to beg him off with an elbow to the ribs, followed by letting loose a salvo of fists to his face, to Timo Bolamba’s chagrin, as he admonishes The Anglo Luchador. TAL ignores it, as he rushes in with a HARD chop to Tact’s chest, followed by a hand on Tact’s head, driving him face first into the nearby turnbuckle! His second wind coming, TAL rallies the crowd up, as he tangles Tact up and whips him HARD into the opposite corner! Tact reels from the impact, as TAL starts pumping his fist, before RUSHING where Tact is, with a CRUSHING back elbow! The adrenaline overriding his pain, TAL hooks Larry Tact in and rolls him onto the mat with a small package!
ONE!
TWO!
Tact manages to kick out, but TAL is a step ahead of him. Tact manages to get onto his hands and knees, but falls prey to TAL’s mat wrestling skills, as he manages to hook Tact’s arms and roll him with a La Magistral cradle!
ONE!
TWO!
Tact kicks out again! TAL is a house of fire, and lines up his next attack as Tact gets back to his feet, lunging in and hooking Tact’s arms! After a dramatic pause, TAL drives with his feet to send Larry Tact crashing into the mat via a butterfly suplex. TAL takes a deep breath, before stomping down on the downed Tact, first onto his chest, then onto his arm, before grabbing Tact’s arm by the wrist and SLAMMING it to the mat with a hard snap. Tact manages to get back up to his knees, just in time to eat an enzuigiri by The Anglo Luchador, who makes a cover and makes sure to grind his elbow into Tact’s face as Timo drops in to make the count.
ONE!
TWO!
Tact manages to pop a shoulder up, visibly agitating TAL, to the point where he is starting to look at ringside absentmindedly before Tact lands a double axe handle onto his back, sending TAL stumbling to the ropes, where he is whipped across the ring. Tact goes for a Big Boot, which TAL avoids, and eats a leaping enzuigiri that sends him back to the mat! Without any delay, TAL rolls Tact face-down on the mat, and grapevines his legs onto Tact’s, before reaching over and pounding on the arm TAL was softening up, grabbing both wrists, and pulling Tact up into the classic Romero Special! Tact yelps in pain, as his muscles are stretched out by both the convoluted lucha submission TAL has on him, as well as good old gravity. TAL pushes on, his body starting to give from all the exertion in this battle.
Nick Stuart: Some quick and close pinfall attempts there; Larry Tact showing his grit and determination with those kick outs, and now he’s the one who’s caught in a submission attempt!
Richard Parker: Come on Larry, fight out of it now!
Timo asks Larry Tact if he gives up, and Tact responds by shaking his head and yelling “NO!” Before long, though, the strain of gravity and exertion forces TAL to relent, rolling over and releasing Tact from the Romero Special. With a shake of his head and a signal to the crowd, TAL looks over to the stumbling Tact, and leverages himself under his legs, in what appears to be an attempt at the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex!
The attempt is short-lived however, as Tact simply manages to hop onto his feet, sending his weight crashing down on TAL’s neck and upper back, before adding the pressure courtesy of the Tactilizer!
TAL struggles with the pain and agony, gripping at his mask and tensing up, as Tact leans into the hold, putting more pressure on TAL’s back! After a long struggle, and a mighty yelp, TAL manages to slip free of the hold, and pull himself under the bottom rope and onto the floor!
Tact can only look down at ringside and shake his head at TAL, as he slowly pulls himself up by the apron, and onto his feet. Using the edge of the ring as support, TAL eyes an unoccupied folding chair by the timekeeper, and trudges towards it. Larry nonchalantly steps out of the ring, towards TAL, who is now armed with the chair.
Richard Parker: Now THAT’S what I’m talking about, Nick! The Anglo Luchador is coming to his senses, tossing out the rulebook, and he’s gonna get NASTY if it means getting the duke here tonight!
The Anglo Luchador, with a gust of adrenaline, rushes towards Larry and swings the chair…
WHACK!
…only to hit the steel ringpost and clearly hurt his hands, while Timo calls out from inside the ring not to use foreign objects! Seeing an opportunity, Tact grabs TAL by the mask and rams his head into the ringpost, before hoisting him up onto his shoulders…
…and driving TAL into the mat with a nasty powerslam! The crowd vociferously boos Tact as he casually grabs TAL by the mask and throws him back into the ring, following suit and leaning in for a cover.
ONE!
TWO!
TAL just barely manages to kick out, but he is definitely worse for wear.
Sensing the end, Tact points at the fallen Anglo Luchador, while gesturing for the jeering crowd. He reaches down, grabbing TAL by his mask back up to his feet, before stuffing TAL’s head between his knees and signaling for the Starbreaker! Tact lifts TAL up, but before he can finish TAL perches himself on Tact’s shoulders and starts laying a salvo of fists onto his face as the crowd goes wild!
Seeing his opportunity to close the match fading fast, Tact looks for an easy out… and takes it, as Tact falls back-first to the mat, pulling TAL down with him, right onto Timo Bolamba!
Nick Stuart: Down goes head official Timo Bolamba, and it seems like that was a deliberate move on the part of Larry Tact!
Richard Parker: I don’t know how you can say that, Nick. Officials need to know where they are at all times. Timo should have gotten out of the way!
Bolamba and TAL collide head-first into each other, and Bolamba is knocked back hard into the turnbuckle, before faceplanting onto the mat! TAL is reeling, struggling to roll himself out of harm’s way, while Larry Tact is slowly, but surely, getting back to his feet.
Seeing TAL writhing on the mat and Timo laying motionless, Tact grins and steps out of the ring, digging under the apron to see what he can use for that “extra” dose of damage.
The crowd boos as Tact gleefully pulls out what appears to be a classic 2×4… wrapped in barbed wire. He slithers back into the ring, just as TAL is getting back into one knee, and lines up his swing to finish off his masked nemesis. TAL struggles, but manages to get back to his feet, and starts towards Tact, who swings his deadly new toy…
Richard Parker: Oh my Hoyt, what an idiot!
Nick Stuart: TAL might not feel that right now, but he sure will when that rush wears off!
…but TAL manages to catch it! Wincing in pain as the barbed wire digs into one of his hands, TAL nevertheless gets a good grip on the naked part of the plank, and give Tact a good old-fashioned Sparta kick to the midsection, deflecting the New Yorker back-first to the ropes, just as Timo starts to stir and picks his head up.
The camera focuses on TAL, panic in his eyes as he stares at the barbed-wire 2×4, before looking at Larry Tact and letting out a scream before swinging!
CRACK!
Larry Tact drops to the mat like a sack of bricks, after taking it right on the head! Just before Timo is able to open his eyes, TAL tosses the 2×4 out of the ring and onto the arena floor, out of sight and out of mind! As TAL makes the cover and calls out to Timo, blood can already be seen leaking from Tact’s forehead, as Timo crawls on his belly towards the pin and slowly counts!
ONE!
TWO!
…
…
THREEEEEEEEEEE!
DING DING DING
Vince Howard: The winner of this match…THE ANGLO LUCHADOR!
Richard Parker: Cheater! Scammer! This was highway robbery!
Nick Stuart: You were praising TAL for using a chair not even five minutes ago!
Richard Parker: That was outside the ring where anything goes, and he wasn’t using it to win the match! Larry Tact was robbed!
Nick Stuart: I can’t with you sometimes…
TAL rolls off Tact’s body, staring at the ceiling and raising his arm, as Timo slowly starts to climb back up to his feet, making sure to grab TAL’s wrist to officially declare him the victor. Tact starts to come-to and roll out of the ring, while a triumphant TAL looks at the camera with a slightly unsettling grin.
Richard Parker: If I’m Larry, I’m not going to let TAL get away with this. Not by a long shot.
Nick Stuart: We’ve got to take a commercial break but don’t go away folks, we’ve still got a lot more ReVival still to come!