LAST MAN STANDING: DUSK vs. LARRY TACT
We cut back to the arena, totally blacked out.
“Pieces of Man” by Drown plays over the sound system and Royal blue lights flicker on the stage while golden spotlights scan the crowd. They settle on the center stage where Larry Tact stands.
Vince Howard: This match is a LAST MAN STANDING MATCH! Coming to the ring first, standing at six feet and six inches tall, weighing in at 260 pounds, he is LARRRRRRRRRRRRRY TAAAAAAAAAAACT!
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. Larry walks down the aisle, jawing with some fans holding baby Dusk dolls.
Nick Stuart: This has been heating up since ReVival 11, and hasn’t stopped the entire way.
Richard Parker: He wants to end the old man’s career!
Nick Stuart: That happens either way Richard.
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.
Richard Parker: You know what I mean Nick.
The lights dim again, there is a long pause. Just as the crowd grows restless.
Fireworks explode all around the MGM-Grand Arena and “Death Grip” by Watt White engulfs the arena in sound.
I’m awoken
And I’m fire
I’m unbroken
And rewired
From the backstage area emerges “The Lost Soul” Dusk, who looks ready for a fight. He stands at the top of the ramp and looks out at the fans, many of whom are on their feet and chanting his name.
DUSK! DUSK! DUSK! DUSK!
He’s not wearing his usual ring gear, instead opting for a pair of light blue jeans and wrestling boots. His hair is perfectly coifed as he looks around the arena for his final entrance.
Vince Howard: And his opponent… standing at six feet and four inches tall, weighing in at 225 pounds, he is THE LOST SOUL! DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSK!
Dusk then looks down the ramp into the ring where Larry Tact is standing. His eyes narrow as he begins to make his way down the ramp, extending his arms, and high fiving the fans who are wanting one, but his eyes never lose track of Tact. As he reaches the bottom of the ramp, he reaches underneath the ring, and produces a steel pipe.
Nick Stuart: Well, I guess we are in for a fight.
Richard Parker: I figured when Dusk came out in jeans and not his Beetlejuice pants, that he was looking to knock Tact out in his final match.
Nick Stuart: His final match.
Richard Parker: Don’t go getting teary-eyed! We’re about to watch two men beat the hell out of each other. This is going to be amazing!
Dusk stomps up the ring steps and enters the ring. Elvis Nixon cuts off the ring and orders Dusk to his corner, who smacks the lead pipe into his opposite hand. Tact mouths off at Dusk, but Nixon shoots him a look and orders him to his corner.
Nick Stuart: Nixon knows how brutal this match is about to be and is trying to have some order before we get underway here.
Richard Parker: Don’t care, let them FIGHT!
Nixon agrees and calls for the bell.
DING DING
The two men collide in the center of the ring immediately. Tact and Dusk both throwing right hands. Hands are flying all over the place, and finally Tact takes the upper hand with a kick to the stomach. Dusk tries to fire back again, but Tact delivers another boot to the midsection followed by a right hand across the eye.
Nick Stuart: Starting fast in this one tonight
Richard Parker: Yeah, for some reason one match on every show starts off with people dancing around going for single legs. Nice to see a change of pace.
Dusk stumbles into the ropes but Tact follows. He smashes Dusk with a right jab, stunning him and then irish whipping him across the ring. Tact follows and just as Dusk comes off the rope Tact levels him with a lariat. Dusk stumbles backwards and spills between the ropes while Tact is all over him.
Nick Stuart: Tact is relentless!
Tact steps through the ropes and brings Dusk up to his feet. Tact grabs Dusk in a front face lock and throws Dusk’s arm behind his head. He tries to lift Dusk up for a suplex on the apron, but Dusk kicks his legs furiously and Tact has to set him down. Tact tries to elbow Dusk in the stomach, but Dusk delivers a quick short right hand to Tact’s to stop his elbows’ momentum.
Nick Stuart: Great dirty boxing by Dusk.
Richard Parker: He’s like as old as me, of course he has good dirty boxing. They actually boxed when we were kids.
Dusk reverses the front face lock and tries to pick Tact up in a suplex of his own, but Tact grabs ahold of the top rope forcing Dusk to put him back down. Dusk delivers a knee to Tact’s midsection and immediately drives Tact’s had into the apron with a DDT.
Nick Stuart: OOOF! That was a brutal DDT on the apron!
Richard Parker: Hardest part of the ring yadda yadda yadda etc… Woo go Dusk. That was sarcasm in case you were worried.
Dusk pulls himself back up onto the apron from the floor, he runs the length of the apron and jumps off dropping a huge elbow into Larry Tact’s sternum. Tact cringes and grabs his chest, but Dusk, landing on his feet, isn’t done. He runs over back onto the apron and starts climbing the ropes. Tact rolls off the apron holding his chest. He stumbles towards Dusk who made it to the top rope, Dusk leaps.
Richard Parker: YOU ARE A GRANDFATHER! DO NOT DO THIS!
Nick Stuart: HERE COMES DUSK!
Dusk leaps with a cross body but Larry Tact catches the 225 pound Dusk out of midair. Tact stumbles backwards a few steps, but with the momentum he spins and slams Dusk to the ground with a powerslam.
Richard Parker: CANCEL TAKE YOUR PAPPY TO SCHOOL DAY! DUSK IS DEAD!
Nick Stuart: What a powerslam from Larry Tact. Dusk is down.
Nixon steps out onto the apron and goes to start counting, but Tact is far from finished. He marches to the timekeeper’s table grabbing the ring bell. He comes back and swings the bell down onto the still grounded Dusk.
Richard Parker: DING DING DING! That’s the end of Dusk’s career!
Nick Stuart: Violent men do have violent endings.
Tact stops after the first bell shot, grabbing the hammer and driving it into Dusk’s scalp. He grabs the back of Dusk’s head and presses into him as hard as he can. Dusk screams out in pain while kicking and screaming. Finally satisfied with the damage of the hammer, Tact pulls back the old man’s gray hair to reveal a cut just below the hairline. Tact fires off a series of right hands into the cut. He gets to his feet, and stomps the cut twice just to make sure Dusk was down before looking to Elvis Nixon.
Richard Parker: He wanted to make sure he left a bloody mess! What a monster Larry Tact is. I love it.
Nick Stuart: Tact is really motivated here.
ONE!
TWO!
Tact grins ear to ear as Dusk struggles to make his way over to the barricade.
THREE!
FOUR!
Richard Parker: That does it right? That’s a three count?
Nick Stuart: It’s a last man standing match, it’s a ten count.
Richard Parker: Damn.
We see Dusk’s head busted wide open as he slowly gets to his feet. Tact rushes to him and whips him into the ring apron. Dusk turns around cringing as Tact unloads more right hands into his forehead. Tact turns towards the camera showing a bloodied Dusk and snarls, sending Dusk into the ring post. Larry grabs Dusk and goes to slam his head off the steel steps but Dusk manages to put his foot down and stop the momentum.
Nick Stuart: Dusk stopped Tact in his tracks!
Richard Parker: That tracks.
Nick Stuart: I hate you.
Dusk grabs Tact by the neck and rolls him into the ring. The bloodied Dusk climbs to the top rope.
Richard Parker: Hasn’t he learned?
Nick Stuart: Dusk will do anything to beat Larry Tact tonight!
Dusk leaps off the top rope and Tact gets hammered by the cross body this time. Both men take their time to get to their feet. Dusk makes it first, and runs at Tact hammering him with a running knee. Tact doesn’t go down though and Dusk comes running in with a second knee strike, but Tact comes out of the corner and flips Dusk with a lariat.
Richard Parker: He turned him inside out!
Nick Stuart: What a clothesline from Tact!
Both men go to the canvas, the hard hitting confrontation has taken its toll. The two get to their feet at close to the same time. They lock up with a collar and elbow tie-up. It’s over quickly as Tact reverses and sends Dusk into the ropes.
Richard Parker: Let’s end it here Larry!
Nick Stuart: Dusk off the ropes and here comes Larry.
Tact swings with a lariat but Dusk ducks under. Tact continues to the ropes but Dusk slams on the brakes, Tact comes back off the ropes and starts to dive for a spear but Dusk absolutely crushes him with a superkick. Tact explodes backwards like he was shot out of a cannon, and slams into the canvas. Dusk drags himself over to the ropes and leans against them. He looks back towards Tact while Nixon starts to count.
Nick Stuart: What a superkick from Dusk there.
Richard Parker: I can’t believe he can get his leg that high still.
ONE!
TWO!
Tact sits up, shaking his head. He gets to his feet quickly, but Dusk doesn’t even let him finish getting up. He fires off another superkick to the side of Tact’s head this time. Dusk stumbles off to the corner, his face still covered in blood. He leans against the top rope, and pulls it down to the canvas.
ONE!
Nick Stuart: That superkick from Dusk was brutal.
TWO!
Richard Parker: COME ON TACT!
Larry Tact sits up.
THREE!
He’s still groggy, rubbing his head.
FOUR!
Nick Stuart: Why can’t you just let other people be happy?
FIVE!
Richard Parker: Cancer Jiles is in the main event Nick. There is no joy in this world.
Larry Tact gets to a knee.
SIX!
Dusk is still in the corner crouched down, he’s screaming for Tact to get to his feet. The blood from his forehead is pouring all over the canvas. Tears have welled up and are streaming down his cheeks. He’s waving and beckoning Tact back to his feet.
Nick Stuart: Dusk wants this bad! He’s begging for Tact to stand.
SEVEN!
Tact gets to his feet, and Dusk takes a hop step and hits a picture perfect super kick for the third time. This one once again, absolutely crushes Tact across the jaw. Tact falls over almost like a cartoon, as if he was shot. Dusk falls to his knees before slowly getting back to his feet. He stumbles to the corner again and holds himself up.
ONE!
TWO!
Nick Stuart: Tact is out.
THREE!
Richard Parker: Of course he’s out Nick, the man’s had his brain kicked out through his ears.
FOUR!
FIVE!
SIX!
SEVEN!
EIGHT!
Tact starts to sit up again.
Richard Parker: C’MON LARRY!
NINE!
TEN!
Nick Stuart: THAT’S IT! THAT’S ALL! DUSK DID IT! DUSK DID IT!
Dusk collapses into the center of the ring with his head in his hands as Vince Howard comes into the ring.
Vince Howard: The winner of this match… and a PRIME legend… DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSK!
RAAAAAAAAAAH!
DUSK! DUSK! DUSK! DUSK!
Nick Stuart: I can’t hear myself think in here Richard.
Richard Parker: This is incredible.
Elvis Nixon bends down checking on Dusk as Tact crawls out of the ring and makes his way to the back. Nixon helps Dusk to his feet, Dusk, no longer looks like an athlete going for the kill, with the adrenaline gone he looks like a bloodied fifty-year old grandfather.