GilmourGuy

<p>After Way of the Tengu</p><p> </p><p> Time Recovery Gold Mission Team 6 and Koin Momotani sat in an office, eating ramen. It was some time after the show. Kawagishi and Avatar still wear their wrestling gear. Naizen was telling them about his meeting with B33-T13.</p><p> </p><p> “And then he walked past me. A real robot!”</p><p> </p><p> “A robot or a cyborg?”</p><p> </p><p> “He was a pretty human looking robot. Not quite Terminator, but more RoboCop than R2-D2.”</p><p> </p><p> “Of course it wasn’t R2-D2; that would have been a roomba,” Kawagishi said. “Does it want to fight?”</p><p> </p><p> “Yes.”</p><p> </p><p> “Will that be fair?”</p><p> </p><p> “Maybe.”</p><p> </p><p> There’s a pause as they all ate some ramen. Naizen made a satisfied noise. Koin perked up. “Good, yes? Sendai has the best ramen!”</p><p> </p><p> Suddenly, Naizen’s Tear Detection Device began beeping again. This beeping was a faster pace than before, sounding way more desperate. He looked concerned, fumbling for the machine. “Oh no.”</p><p> </p><p> “What is-”</p><p> </p><p> The now recognizable tearing noise ripped through the room, sending papers and wrestlers flying. The wind howled around, drowning out their yells as they sought cover.</p><p> </p><p> “Naizen! What is happening!”</p><p> </p><p> “This isn’t like the other tears!” Naizen yelled. “It doesn’t have a point of origin!”</p><p> </p><p> “How is that possible?”</p><p> </p><p> The tear exploded in a burst of light, disappearing as quickly as it appeared. In it’s place, a man dressed in torn green clothes huddles on the ground. Kawagishi and the others slowly rose to their feet, wary. The man looked up at them, his eyes wide. “It is coming. It is coming.”</p><p> </p><p> “What is coming? Who are you?”</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="QOR8Fzc.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/QOR8Fzc.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> “It is coming… back.”</p>

<p>Way of the Tengu</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="font-size:18px;">ZEN : JAPAN</span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="font-size:18px;"> </span></strong><img alt="1cftOzL.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/1cftOzL.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong><span style="font-size:18px;"> Way of the Tengu</span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="font-size:18px;"> or</span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="font-size:18px;"> The Saga Begins</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:12px;">Friday, Week 3, March 2016</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12px;"> Attendance: 708</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12px;"> Hosted by Utemaro Nakatoni and Yuko Okui</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12px;"> From The Ark, Sendai, Japan</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12px;"> Streamed on ZEN WorldWide</span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46785" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>Previously, on ZEN</strong><p> <em>Super Zero and Vertigo arrived in Sendai, Japan, on the trail of the Master Belt shards. They were attacked by a mysterious Stranger, then met by the heroic Time Recovery Gold Mission Team 6! The recap ends with Commander Kawagishi, the Great Avatar and Naizen Uboshita creating ZEN Japan.</em></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> The video scratches into static and slowly comes into focus. Two guys are standing in a dark room, dressed in dark clothing that made them look like mercenaries from a fan-made Star Wars movie. “We didn’t want to come here. We didn’t ask to be dragged to this backwater planet.”</p><p> </p><p> “Instead we were ripped out of our time by these so called ‘accidental tears’. We were gods in our time. On top of the world.”</p><p> </p><p> “Nothing could stop us. We ran our world.”</p><p> </p><p> “And we’ll run this one. And we don’t care who gets in our way.” He motioned to himself and his partner. “Blade Kimiyama. Rusher Kogo.”</p><p> </p><p> “Watch out ZEN. Watch out Japan. We won’t stop for anything.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="t5Z0kg7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/t5Z0kg7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> The Ark, the renovated warehouse in Sendai, is the home base for ZEN Japan. The crowd gives a friendly, welcoming cheer to Naizen Uboshita, the man making all the matches at ZEN: J. While the entire team of Time Recovery Gold Mission Team 6 were set to become major focal points of the new promotion, Naizen is not a fighter. Thus, it had been decided that he would run and book the company. When concerns were raised over Naizen’s ability to be impartial, he responded with “Of course I can be impartial. I mean, is the Space Pope reptilian?” and everyone just left it at that.</p><p> </p><p> “Welcome, wrestling fans, to the Way of the Tengu! Welcome to ZEN Japan!”</p><p> </p><p> He pauses for some polite applause.</p><p> </p><p> “They say that a wrestling promotion is only as good as it’s champion. As a new promotion, of course, we don’t have a champion. But we will have one soon. A one night tournament, on our 4th show in June. The opening round will feature four separate 4 Way matches. The winners will meet in an elimination main event match that night to name our champion. And who will be in those first round matches? To earn a spot, you have to impress me and the ZEN Japan board. You have three shows to do so. Win matches, win the crowd, win the spot. And to make our decisions as transparent as possible, I will offer guaranteed spots to the winners of tonight’s Main Event tag match. And so, without any further ado-”</p><p> </p><p> Dramatic symphony music plays over the speakers. A well built man with a magnificent moustache comes out from the back, accompanied by a smaller Japanese man. The smaller man holds a microphone. “My name is Munenori Umari and this- this is the incomparable, the indomitable, the unbeatable Pavel Vanzycha. He deserves a spot in your tournament.”</p><p> </p><p> Pavel leans into the mic. He speaks in broken Japanese. “I want… Fight.”</p><p> </p><p> “Uh, yes. Eloquently put, Pavel.”</p><p> </p><p> “I fight… for pants?” Vanzycha makes a belt motion.</p><p> </p><p> "We're still learning Japanese," Umari says.</p><p> </p><p> “Guys,” Naizen calls their attention back to the ring. “I’m only ready to award the two tournament spots I mentioned tonight. But Pavel could take a step in the right direction by winning his fight right now.”</p><p> </p><p> “Fight! I understood that word!” Pavel yells in Polish.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="IlJ9v4Q.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/IlJ9v4Q.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ENvK0nU.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ENvK0nU.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ik7ZmvD.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ik7ZmvD.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong> W/ </strong></span><img alt="ZAV8soL.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ZAV8soL.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong> Fuyuhiko Wakabayashi VS Pavel Vanzycha (w/ Munenori Umari)</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> Fuyuhiko wears a Bane style face mask, but it doesn’t seem to impact his ability in the early going. He takes the fight right to Pavel before the polish grappler is even ready. It doesn’t take long before Pavel gets his feet under him and turns the match around, taking control with his high impact technical moves. Fuyuhiko makes a little comeback, but makes the mistake of trying to get into Pavel’s head by messing with his moustache. Pavel takes him down with a vicious looking Cross Armlock.</p><p> <strong>Pavel Vanzycha defeats Fuyuhiko Wakabayashi. Rating: 45</strong></p></div><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Backstage, a man in a mask sits in a small hallway. He pulls out a long rock that looks slightly space-y, but glows a light blue colour. His mask is recognizable to wrestling fans as Mercury, the former WLW wrestler.</p><p> </p><p> “We’ve been taken far from our home on the edge of the universe. We’re here to take over. Tonight, we have-”</p><p> </p><p> Mercury stops. He holds the rock close to his ear, as though listening to it.</p><p> </p><p> “No, you’re right. We have only a tag team match tonight. We may be limited by our partner. Do you know who it is?”</p><p> </p><p> Mercury stops, listening to the rock again.</p><p> </p><p> “Who did you say?”</p><p> </p><p> A man dressed like a warrior monk walks up to Mercury. “I am your partner. Brother Yoshitaka. Peace be with your soul.” Brother Yoshitaka nods at Mercury and then heads off.</p><p> </p><p> Mercury watches him, slowly bringing the rock back up to his ear and shaking his head. "I hope you're wrong about all monks being pacifists."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="5Iw20RI.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/5Iw20RI.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="n7QhAoa.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/n7QhAoa.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ENvK0nU.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ENvK0nU.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="grThIPK.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/grThIPK.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qmDbM1M.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qmDbM1M.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p><strong><span style="font-size:12px;"> Brother Yoshitaka and Mercury VS Gidayu Katou and Hana Ajibana</span></strong></p><p> </p><p> Gidayu and Hana enter separately. Katou’s gear looks vaguely futuristic. He smiles and waves to the crowd. Hana wears cat ears and is a lot more serious than Katou. This is a bit disjointed and, in retrospect, probably would have done better as a four way instead of a tag match. Hana and Katou especially look rough as a team. Their timing is all over the place. Mercury and Yoshitaka work better as a team, although they play almost polar opposites as wrestlers. Mercury bounces around, while the warrior monk Brother Yoshitaka keeps trying to slow things down. Gidayu Katou did end it after hitting Yoshitaka with the Katou Lariat.</p><p> <strong>Gidayu Katou and Hana Ajibana defeated Brother Yoshitaka and Mercury. Rating: 42</strong></p><p> </p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Backstage, Commander Kawagishi and the Great Avatar are examining a device that resembles an iPad soldered to a bunch of random electronic parts, because Cyberpunk. Naizen Uboshita is showing them how to use it. “This is will detect the spatial tears when they happen. It will allow us to respond quicker. Also, we can scan a spatial tear and have glean some information on what, or when, is on the other side.”</p><p> </p><p> “Good work, compatriot,” Kawagishi says, clapping Naizen on the back. “Things are getting a little out of control here. Kimiyama and Kogo, for instance. Where are they from? And what about that Mercury or Katou?”</p><p> </p><p> “Kimiyama and Kogo,” Naizen takes the iPad thing back and hits a few buttons on his screen. He pulls up an image of the two. “I did some digging. Despite their claims to the contrary, the two are nothing more than criminals. Dangerous criminals, yes. From this time’s future, yes. But criminals. Treat them with caution.”</p><p> </p><p> “And the others?” Avatar asks. “Katou or Mercury or that… uh… Yu Hashimoto. What is her story?”</p><p> </p><p> “I’m still searching. I haven’t found any sign of them, but it turns out that Brother Yoshitaka is from earth, several hundred years before this time. Hana Ajibana is contemporary, but not from this earth.”</p><p> </p><p> “Yes, she appears to be half cat.”</p><p> </p><p> “Half a cat? That is gnarly, dude.”</p><p> </p><p> The voice, speaking English, came from behind them. The three men turned to see Surfer Dude Lucas leaning up against a wall. They look at each other, then back at Lucas.</p><p> </p><p> “Uh…”</p><p> </p><p> “What? Sorry, didn’t realize this convo was for squares only. Nah, I’m just joshing. You guys are alright.” There’s another long pause as they all stare at each other awkwardly. “So… does Sendai have any good surfing spots?”</p><p> </p><p> “You should probably ask Koin,” Kawagishi says. “He’s the ref.”</p><p> </p><p> “Ten four, good buddy, ten four. Keep it real, boys,” Lucas puts out a fist. After a beat, Avatar reluctantly pounds it. Lucas grins and saunters off.</p><p> </p><p> “And where is he from?”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="au4g5he.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/au4g5he.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ENvK0nU.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ENvK0nU.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="RqJbRb7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/RqJbRb7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <strong><span style="font-size:12px;">Conner Threepwood VS Yu Hashimoto</span></strong></p><p> </p><p> Conner’s gear looks dirty and well worn. Yu comes out dressed like she was at Way of the Healer, complete with mask and some facepaint underneath. She has quite the unique feel to her entrance. A cool vibe. And she looks ready to go. But Conner is no slouch either and meets the challenge head on to create a fantastic match, especially for the level ZEN is at. Yu is a little bigger than the average female wrestler, coming in at Lightweight, and uses more of a brawler style in the ring. She’s about the same size as Conner. She has great presence in the ring. She finishes this one with the End Game, a vicious spinning back fist that Conner sells like death.</p><p> <strong>Yu Hashimoto defeated Conner Threepwood. Rating: 57</strong></p><p> </p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Post match, Yu doesn’t hang around. After briefly acknowledging the crowd, she grabs her mask and bails. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="t5Z0kg7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/t5Z0kg7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> We go backstage again, to a dark room. Commander Kawagishi stands before a cell. Locked inside is Stranger, the masked man who attacked the group in Sendai. Kawagishi stands impassively, but Stranger yells at him in gibberish, trying to shake the bars and rattle the Commander.</p><p> </p><p> “Calm yourself, Stranger,” Kawagishi says, “This home is only temporary. I hope.”</p><p> </p><p> This does little to pacify the Stranger, who yells even louder.</p><p> </p><p> Kawagishi laughs. “I guess one cell is not much different than another. An unfortunate choice you made, friend, and now you must live with the consequences.” Kawagishi pats the bars. Stranger yells and tries to grab him, but he steps back. “I have a match. Have a good night. Don’t stay up too late.” Kawagishi chuckles and saunters out of the room.</p><p> </p><p> Stranger watches him go, panting and glaring behind the mask. Some smoke billows out of a dark corner in the room. Stranger starts, looking up.</p><p> </p><p> “It seems as though you have nowhere to go.” The voice calls from the corner. Lothar Prellingar steps out into the light. “Perhaps we can make a deal.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="t5Z0kg7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/t5Z0kg7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Yu Hashimoto, panting and still showing the signs of her match, stumbles out the main doors. She takes in a few deep breaths, quickly able to slow her breathing and calm down. She looks up at the moon, hanging almost full in night’s sky, and takes another deep breath. She looks almost completely restored.</p><p> </p><p> She’s distracted by a loud ripping noise, the same noise associated with a spatial tear opening. Yu looks beside her. Sitting in a recently empty parking spot is now an unusual vehicle. It looks like a RV home, with plywood and PVC attached in odd spots and everything painted over in shades of grey. A skull and crossbones is graffiteed on the side.</p><p> </p><p> As Yu watches, the door opens and two men stumble out. Their look is best described as ‘Space Pirate Chic’.</p><p> </p><p> “Is that a spaceship?” Yu asks.</p><p> </p><p> “What? No, no, no,” the first man answers in English. “It’s not big enough to be a ship. It’s more a space boat.”</p><p> </p><p> “Space dinghy.”</p><p> </p><p> “Quiet you.” He slaps his companion and turns back to Yu. “Captain Hugh de Aske, at your service,” he gives an elaborate bow. “And this is my second, Jayson. Tell me, good maiden, where be-ist I? What exotic world produces such exotic beauties, as yourself?”</p><p> </p><p> Yu glares at him and then simply turns and walks away. </p><p> </p><p> Hugh is not deterred. He calls after her. “Perhaps I can show you what we do for fun where I am from? Or demonstrate? Aw, bloody hell.” </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="wpTV3MR.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/wpTV3MR.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ENvK0nU.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ENvK0nU.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="dpXOW4K.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/dpXOW4K.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <strong><span style="font-size:12px;">Romi Yamato VS The Templar</span></strong></p><p> </p><p> While the Templar does come down to the ring wearing knight gear, he rather obviously does not wrestle in it. Also, contrary to his photo, the Templar is clearly played by a Japanese man, not a Caucasian. Romi plays up her tag of ‘unhinged’ very well. Her style compliments it. She attacks with speed and wild, vicious kicks and strikes. The Templar, perhaps surprisingly, is also more a Junior than a brawler. He weathers Romi’s initial attacks and takes control. Only to lose the advantage when he stops to pray or recite vows or something, in the middle of the ring. Romi almost takes his head off with a nasty kick. From there, the match is rather even - a big move met by a big move - until Romi dodges a charge and hits the Yamatotal, a cross arm bridging german. This one is done.</p><p> <strong>Romi Yamato defeats The Templar. Rating: 45</strong></p></div><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="t5Z0kg7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/t5Z0kg7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> </p><p> </p><p> <img alt="wYIeaSS.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/wYIeaSS.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="1CV9FD4.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/1CV9FD4.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ENvK0nU.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ENvK0nU.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="K98kWSl.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/K98kWSl.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="bZcvz5E.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/bZcvz5E.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong><span style="font-size:12px;">Hugh de Aske and Jayson VS The Night Terrors</span></strong></p><p> </p><p> After Romi and the Templar clear the ring, we go straight into the next match, a tag match of very clashing characters. The pirates, Hugh and Jayson, practically dance to the ring, ready for a party. The Night Terrors - Babau and Moroi - stalk down to the ring. It’s unclear if they are demons, space monsters or some sort of nightmare creatures that would hang out with Hallowe’en Knight. Regardless, they are effective. Hugh is the clear standout in the match, but Jayson and him can’t compete with the experienced teamwork of the Terrors. It’s an even match that never really gets out of first gear, but the Terrors definitely have the upperhand the deeper the match goes. At least, until a desperate Hugh lowblows Moroi right in front of the ref, getting himself DQ’ed.</p><p> <strong>The Night Terrors defeat Hugh de Aske and Jayson. Rating: 45</strong></p><p> </p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Babau tends to his partner, while Hugh and Jayson celebrate like they’ve just won the match. As the four combatants clear the ring area, colour commentator Yuko Okui enters the ring.</p><p> </p><p> “Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention. Interdimensional music icon Hitomaro Suzuki requests that you all stand for his entrance. Please hold your applause until he is done.”</p><p> </p><p> The crowd boos unhappily. The lights dim. Spotlights centre near the exit to the back, revealing Hitomaro Suzuki. He carries a mic on a stand. Blaring kpop music plays and Hitomaro sings along to his entrance music as he struts to the ring. He’s not a great singer, but his cocky stage presence more than makes up for it. As the first verse ends, Hitomaro motions to cut the music. “You have not been quiet! You will not be gifted with the rest of my song! Bring out my opponent!”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="NM4KDtJ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/NM4KDtJ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ENvK0nU.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ENvK0nU.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="1wYWHm2.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/1wYWHm2.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <strong><span style="font-size:12px;">Hitomaro Suzuki VS Japanese Phoenix</span></strong></p><p> </p><p> Phoenix looks like a samurai from the future. Hitomaro sits on the top turnbuckle, unimpressed, as Phoenix removes his entrance gear. But the music star gets tired of waiting and jumps him from behind.</p><p> This match is even and a good solid contest. Hitomaro just reeks of arrogance, taking every opportunity to pose and preen for the crowd. He brings some great comedic moments with this. At one point drilling Phoenix with a smooth looking Ace Crusher, but instead of following up on his fallen foe, decides to pose for photos over him instead. Phoenix gives as good as he gets, using his great combination of speed and technical skills to keep the arrogant music star at bay. Phoenix looks to have this one after escaping from Hitomaro’s Suzuki Lock submission and scoring with a running STO. He struggles up the turnbuckle, his leg bothering him after being in the Lock. It gives Hitomaro too much time to recover, as he rolls out of the way and Phoenix crashes on the Phoenix Splash. Hitomaro gets the Suzuki Lock applied again and, this time, there’s no escape.</p><p> <strong>Hitomaro Suzuki defeats Japanese Phoenix. Rating: 51</strong></p></div><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Backstage, Naizen Uboshita is wishing goodluck to his compatriots Commander Kawagishi and the Great Avatar as they head toward gorilla position. They’ve just disappeared around a corner when Naizen’s Tear Detection Device starts to beep. He looks down at it, worried. “Uh, guys?” But no one responds. No one can hear him. Naizen furrows his brow, looking around. “I guess it’s up to me.”</p><p> </p><p> Naizen follows his beeping TDD down the hall, deeper into the Ark facility. The roar of the crowd grows distance. There is no one else in this area of the building; Naizen appears to be completely alone. He turns a corner, finding a dead end with one door. The TDD falls silent.</p><p> </p><p> Concerned, Naizen slaps his device, trying to bring it back to life. The TDD beeps once. “The year 3999? But that’s impossible. There are no-”</p><p> </p><p> The door before blows open. Beside it, a bright, blinding light. And emerging from that light - a robot.</p><p> </p><p> “Query: Where is this?”</p><p> </p><p> Naizen seems to realize for the first time that he is completely alone, except for the robot before him. He takes a step back. “Uh, Sendai.”</p><p> </p><p> “Observation: Uh Sendai is dirty and lacking in technology. Query: How far is this from Concord Dawn?”</p><p> </p><p> “Really far. Like, too far. What’s your name and mission?”</p><p> </p><p> “Explanation: This unit does not have a name, but rather a designation. Answer: Designation B33-T13 in service of the Promotheum.” The robot raises an arm, apparently scanning the area. "Scanning... Scanning..."</p><p> </p><p> “And your mission?” Naizen asks. When B33-T13 doesn’t answer, he repeats himself, a little more anxious. “What’s your mission?”</p><p> </p><p> The robot looks up from his scanner. “Statement: Classified.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="6QxvrFf.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/6QxvrFf.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="GnlVq7U.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/GnlVq7U.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ENvK0nU.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ENvK0nU.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="GX4yD0r.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/GX4yD0r.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="Euytmyb.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Euytmyb.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <strong><span style="font-size:12px;">Blade Kimiyama and Rusher Kogo VS Commander Kawagishi and the Great Avatar</span></strong></p><p> </p><p> There has been a lot of action tonight, but this is the main event of the evening. The criminal duo of Kimiyama and Kogo up against Time Recovery Gold Mission Team 6. While technically a regular tag match, this was chaos from the start. Referee and Number One Sendai Tour Guide, Koin Momotani, had almost no control, as double teams ruled the day. Perhaps he should have done more than just give out unlimited warnings, but did anyone really want the first main event in ZEN:J history to end that way?</p><p> A side product of the constant rule bending from both teams was that neither managed any long periods of control. It went back and forth. All four men are classed as juniors, with Kawagishi, the largest of the four, still just a lightweight. They were true to their style, hitting slick, high impact technical moves and none showing any fear of flying. Kimiyama and Kogo are ruthless, appearing to enjoy the pain they inflict on the Time Recovery Team. But Kawagishi and Avatar are resilient, refusing to go down for a three count.</p><p> The end comes with Kawagishi fighting Kogo inside the ring, while Blade drops Avatar on the outside. Kawagishi gets the upper hand and backs Kogo into the corner. Kawagishi is up and scores with a Diamond Dust, driving Kogo’s face into his knee. He goes for the pin, but Blade is there to break it up. Blade grabs ref Koin and pushes him into Kawagishi. During the confusion, he slips on a pair of brass knuckles. Kawagishi turns around and Blade drills him then drops the weapon before Koin can see. The Commander is out cold. 1, 2, 3.</p><p> <strong>Kimiyama and Kogo defeat Kawagishi and Avatar. Rating: 58</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Show Rating: 55</strong></span></p></div><p></p><p></p>

After Way of the Healer Element, thank you so much for predicting, even if it was just for fun and even if you did predict two winners in the Fatal FourWay. Unless you did that on purpose. I guess a tie is possible in a Fatal FourWay. Didn't that just happen a few months ago on 205 Live? Anyways, as a reward, you get to read this post show happening before any one else! Did you see that, everyone?? Don't read the rest of this post until Element has replied that he has read it. Cyanide stormed into a locker room, slamming the door behind him. Even though his mask was always stuck in that twisted grin, Cyanide’s anger could be felt coming off him in waves. He was furious. He hurled a duffel bag down on the ground and then cleared a bench with an angry yell, sending more items flying. Emotion spent for the moment, Cyanide slumped on the bench. He took a few deep breaths, seeming to calm down even more. Then, another grunt, a guttural yell and Cyanide was back on his feet. He stomped over to his locker and threw it open. “Perhaps now we can make a deal.” Cyanide turned to see Lothar Prellinger emerge from a dark corner in cloud of vape smoke. He took another puff from his e-cigarette and stepped into the light. “Tough loss tonight.” “You should watch your words or you’ll end up eating that pipe.” “Fair enough.” Lothar tucked it into a pocket. “Instead, let me show you this. The deal I spoke of. I can give you almost unlimited power.” “What’s the catch?” “No catch.” Lothar pulled out a small, ornate wood box. He put it down on the bench, motioning Cyanide in closer. He slowly lifted the lid, revealing a pale white glow. “How… How do I use it?” “I can show you everything…” Cyanide reached out tentatively, then slowly pulled out a long, glowing shard from the ZEN Master Belt.

Way of the Healer ZEN : NZ Way of the Healer or A Sabbatical to Timor Leste Saturday, Week 2, March 2016 Attendance: 863 Hosted by Sparky Sparks and Dustin Thane From The Reliquary of Scale, New Zealand Streamed on ZEN WorldWide Way of the Healer opens with Kalliope Woodchuck backstage. She is standing in front of a white board, covered in statistics about two subjects; Bruce Strange and Mister Hyde. “Hyde’s bigger, he hits harder, but he’s much slower than Bruce. As well, Bruce is clearly the brains of the operation. My sister-in-law is cousins with the receptionist of Hyde’s optometrist, and forwarded me tests from his latest eye test.” She pauses for a split second to take a drink from a green smoothie. “His peripheral vision isn’t strong, so we can surround him and conquer. If you come from the left and I… sir? Are you listening?” The camera pans over to show she is talking to Devilfish, who is just staring blankly into the distance. He blinks. “Uh… yeah. Sure. Hyde is bigger.” “Exactly!” Kalliope grins. “I’m just really excited to have this opportunity, sir. Aren’t you?” Devilfish looks over at her. “Positively thrilled,” he deadpans. Sparks and Thane welcome us to the show properly. The crowd is loud and lively, primarily cheering for the man standing in the ring; Classy Paul Massey. Paul stands around as the fans cheer, looking confused. He holds up a mic, opens his mouth to speak and then stops. Paul holds up a finger, then pulls out a set of cue cards. He begins to read. “Welcome. My. Name. Is. Paul. Massey. Pause for cheers.” The crowd complies. Paul reads a second card. “You are all excited. For our Main Event. Cyanide vs Super Zero vs Shaolin vs Man O’ War. Unfortunately, I have some bad. News for you. As of,” Paul checks his watch, “7:07 local time, Man O’ War has not arrived at the venue. ZEN bylaws stipulate that workers must arrive by the start of the show to be eligible to compete. As such, I have no choice. But to remove Man O’ War-” Paul is interrupted by the theme music of Damian Dastardly. The Conceptual Champion comes out, basking in the condemnation of the crowd. He saunters his way to the ring. Paul keeps trying to read his cards over Damian’s music. Damian hits the ring and Paul still hasn’t noticed. “Will continue. The ninja. Shaolin. And the hero. Super Zero-" Damian smacks the cards out of Paul’s hands. More boos. “Look, Paul, I’m here to help you out. The way I see it, is you promised these people a Fatal FourWay. Man O’ War isn’t here, and even more than that, no one has seen or heard from him in over a week.” “That’s… that’s true,” Paul says, literally sucking the charisma from Damian. “Then you need a new worker for that Fatal Fourway. Me.” The crowd pops at this. Paul does his best to look shocked. “Last month, you said you didn’t care about this…” he checks his cards, “match.” “I know what I said! And I stand by it!” Damian raises his hand, as though brandishing the Conceptual Belt. “This is the most important belt in ZEN. But what’s better than having one belt? Having two! Put me in that Fatal FourWay tonight. I will win that belt, go on to defeat Pumpkin Jack and unify the top two titles in pro wrestling, within the country of New Zealand.” “You haven’t earned it.” “Baloney,” Damian says. “You can’t give that spot to anyone who lost a preliminary match last month. I wasn’t even in the tournament, but I did successful defend this beauty.” He pats the belt. “Not only have I earned it; I’m the only one who has.” There’s a pause as Massey considers it. The crowd seems split between wanting to see Damian in that match and just hating on him. Some chant for Halloween Knight. Finally, Massey nods. “You’re in.” The Ghost Hunters (Bruce Strange and Mister Hyde) VS Devilfish and Kalliope Woodchuck This is a fun, goofy opener. Kalliope Woodchuck is overly excited to be tagging with Devilfish. She bounces around the veteran like a ten year old on a sugar high. Strange and Hyde spend time examining a huge, old hardcover book entitled “Mystical Creatures and How To Defeat Them”. They finally find Devilfish, only freak out over his “Attack Type J”. Devilfish, not surprising, looks great compared to the others and carries the match. The Ghost Hunters struggle. Kal bounces around and is a blast to watch, but she needs a lot of polish. Kal takes the heat from the Hunters; leading to a great Devilfish hot tag. Devilfish hits the Fish Finger Shuffle on Strange, then ascends the turnbuckles. Mister Hyde is back in the ring, but Kalliope Woodchuck cuts him off with a WoodChipper Charging Knee. Devilfish flies in with a Flying Fish Press and scores the win. Devilfish and Woodchuck defeat the Ghost Hunters. Rating: 44 A video plays highlighting the three remaining original entrants in the night’s main event; Shaolin, Super Zero and Cyanide. We see clips from their time in ZEN. The video shows Super Zero winning his only Master Belt, pining Necromancer back in 2013. We see Cyanide tapping out Zero to take the title for himself the next year. Cyanide: “Even though I’m a former Champion, people still see me as just Halloween Knight’s sidekick. Tonight, I emerge from my mentor’s shadow and the ZEN Army will see just how dangerous I really am.” Super Zero: “….” He holds up five fingers. Shaolin: “My ninja training teaches me peace and control. I wait for the perfect moment to strike. My career in ZEN has been the same, waiting for my moment… always waiting. And the time to strike is now.” Cyanide: “Knight wasn’t helping me; he was holding me back. I’ve beaten Zero and Shaolin many times before. Tonight, I’ll do it again.” Super Zero: “….” He holds up three fingers. Shaolin: “The will of the ninja can not and will not be deterred. I am the power of the shadows and tonight, their chances disappear.” Super Zero: He holds up two fingers. One. “…. Zero.” Booster Boy VS Dazzler This match was set up last week. Dazzler is a new arrival in ZEN and, well, he looks pretty rusty. Not that he’s even been that great of a worker to begin with. The match is sloppy and the crowd just isn’t into either of these guys, especially not after the hot opener and preceding promo video. Booster and Dazzler go right at each other, trying to get the crowd into their game of ‘One Up Man’s Ship’. It doesn’t work. The match heads outside the ring and the two continue to exchange blows, ignoring Lucy Avatar as she implores them to bring it back into the ring. They brawl through down through the audience and straight to the back. Lucy counts them both out after only 15 (ZEN has a 20 count). Booster Boy and Dazzler ends in a double countout. Rating: 29 W/ Ferdy Lloyd VS Vertigo (w/ Molly Cuddle) An exciting little sprint to wash out the taste of the last match. Vertigo is always fun to watch and Lloyd is flashy enough to sort of keep up, at least in short matches like this. Although, at this point, Lloyd’s character is nothing more than ‘quick youngster’. He has a few brief moments to shine, but this match is mostly Vertigo looking good, getting in his greatest hits before the pin. Vertigo defeats Ferdy Lloyd. Rating: 35 Vertigo helps Lloyd up after the match in a great show of respect for the youngster, before heading to the back. Vertigo and Molly Cuddle go through the curtain, only to run into Pink Spider and Trevor Feather. The Pinkie and the Vane slow clap. “Sar - cas - tic claps,” Spider says, as he slowly approaches Vertigo. “We were…” Feather hasn’t stopped clapping. Spider slaps his hands. “We were watching your match, Vert. Not bad, but that sure isn’t the main event that your partner is in.” “You aren’t in the main event, either, Pinkie.” “True, true, but at least I’m not in danger of becoming the Powell of my tag team.” “Yeah! Wait - what?” Feather looks confused. “Don’t worry about it too much, you’ll hurt yourself.” Pinkie turns back to Vertigo. “In fact, I believe our team works better than yours, now.” Vertigo eyes the two of them. “Yeah, right.” “Watch and learn tonight, as we earn a title shot after defeating the Knights Temple. P&V? Out!” Pink Spider snaps his fingers, doing an elaborate turn on his heel to stalk off. Feather again doesn’t get the hint, and just stares at Vertigo. “Uh… did you crash or something?” “I can call tech support,” Molly says. A video plays showing a calm street in Wellington. It’s early evening and patrons sit on streetside patios, sipping tea and making light conversation. Dazzler and Booster Boy brawl their way across the shot, just throwing terrible punches at each other. The diners barely look up as the two pass by and disappear out of frame. Back to the Reliquary of Scale and Dustin Thane is in the ring to do some special in-ring introductions for the Triple Trios Inter-Promotional Match. “Ladies and Gentlemen… it is my pleasure to welcome you to the ZEN Worldwide Inter-Promotional Trios Match of Awesomeness. Introducing first…. From ZEN Japan in Sendai, Japanese Phoenix, Yu Hashimoto and Commander Kawagishi!” Phoenix is the first out, wearing his recognizable white and red mask, as well as what appears to be a futuristic samurai kit. Yu comes out in a sleeveless gi, wearing a simple white, horned mask. Kawagishi is last out. His gear looks like a trendy Power Ranger homage. Phoenix marches to the ring as Yu stalks beside him, her hands twitching in anticipation. Kawagishi saunters down behind them, playing to the crowd and slapping hands. Yu takes her mask off on the turnbuckle, glaring at the crowd. “Their opponents, from ZEN Mexico in Mazatlan, the team of Amazing FireFly, El Serpiente and Tiburon!” Three luchadors exit from the back and at least two of them are having a good time. FireFly jumps around, trying to rouse the crowd and get them up. He slaps hands and even poses for a selfie. Tiburon as well seems fairly relaxed, albeit not as energetic as FireFly. El Serpiente, wearing his long cloak, looks more annoyed to be here than anything, walking slowly to the ring behind his teammates. “And their opponents, from ZEN New Zealand and right here in Wellington… the team of ZEN Harmony Champions WarpJump and ZEN Master… PUMPKIN JACK!” The crowd goes wild for the hometown boys. And they at least seem to trying to work together, coming out as a trio, or quartet, rather, with Guru Vishni. W/ Team Japan : Commander Kawagishi, Japanese Phoenix, and Yu Hashimoto VS Team Mexico : Amazing FireFly, El Serpiente, and Tiburon VS Team New Zealand : Pumpkin Jack and WarpJump (w/ Guru Vishni) Sparks and Thane, back at the commentary desk, explain that this is a team elimination match, with two wrestlers legal at time. The resulting match is a crazy mess in all the best ways. It’s colourful, chaotic and fun. Team NZ takes control early, with the teamwork of the tag champs giving them the edge. It doesn’t last, as all nine workers get a chance to shine. FireFly shows off his smooth skills, flying around with ease. Serpiente takes a cheap shot at one point, only for Tiburon to lecture him on honour. Steven Yale loses control almost immediately. Team Japan seems to have the most trouble working together. Kawagishi tries to run things, but Phoenix doesn’t listen and Yu barely seems to realize she has teammates. Yu hits her finisher, the End Game (Spinning Back Fist) on Toady, but instead of going for the pin, dives out of the ring onto Serpiente and Tiburon. Kawagishi yells at her, while Phoenix ascends the turnbuckle for a Phoenix Splash. Vishni pulls Toady out of the way. Phoenix crashes and burns. HalloWarped is right in there, striking with a Warp Speed (Glittering Magician’s Knee) and pins Phoenix. Team Japan has been eliminated. Kawagishi starts to go off. Yu snaps, nailing anyone she can reach with kicks, including Tiburon, Serpiente, Toady, Jack, FireFly and even Japanese Phoenix. Firefly and HalloWarped square off, working well together. Things break down again, into a big move brigade. It ends with Pumpkin Jack and El Serpiente in the ring. Jack hits the Orange Bowl (Muscle Buster) and plays to the crowd. The lights go out. The crowd goes nuts, as a blackout is known as the beginning of Halloween Knight’s entrance. No music plays, only the noise of the crowd is heard. Cell phone lights flick on. Suddenly, the arena is lit again. Pumpkin Jack and El Serpiente both lie, motionless in the ring. The others struggle to their feet ringside. There is no sign of Halloween Knight, if he was ever even there. Jack begins to stir, but before he can do anything, Toady slides back into the ring. He pins the still motionless Serpiente and gets the 1, 2, 3, before the rest of Team Mexico can react. Team New Zealand defeats Team Mexico and Team Japan. Rating: 49 Guru Vishni and Team WarpJump celebrate in the ring, pointedly ignoring Pumpkin Jack who is very slow to get to his feet. As the wrestlers all clear to the back, the commentators discuss what just happened. “I think that was Halloween Knight!” Sparks exclaims. “That crazy ghoul is still after Jack!” “He can’t challenge for the Master Title anymore,” Thane says. “Besides, Knight isn’t here, he’s on sabbatical to Timor Leste.” “Are you serious?” Further conversation between the two is postponed by the entrance of Pinkie and the Vane. Tag team action is coming up next! The Knights Temple VS Pinkie and the Vane This is a fun, fast paced sprint, a good change from the longer nine man tag that came before. The Knights blend smooth tag team manoeuvres with a healthy dose of charisma. Pink Spider and Trevor Feather have a much different dynamic; they are certainly not equals. Spider orders Trevor around, but enjoys tagging in to get some offence in. Pinkie and the Vane are not above cheating, either. Spider distracts ref Steven Yale, while Trevor stands around looking confused behind his back. This leads to a fun moment where Spider tries to give Trevor a cheating lesson in the middle of the match. Tonight is not their night, as the Knights never really seem that threatened by P&V. SubUrban Legend hits a Legend Killer (Springboard Cross Body Press) on Trevor Feather after Killer B takes out Spider. The Knights Temple defeat Pinkie and the Vane. Rating: 44 Killer B rolls back into the ring to congratulate his partner, but another figure rushes the ring. It’s one of the tattooed attackers from last month. B turns around, reacting to the noise of the crowd, only to get drilled by a nasty kick. “He might be dead!” Thane yells. Legend comes to his partner’s aid, throwing strikes at the attacker. Pink Spider, meanwhile, is trying to retreat up to the back. He backs right into the other tattooed attacker, slowly exiting from the back. Kick to the stomach and Snap Samoan Drop onto the concrete. With Spider dealt with, the newcomer joins his partner in the ring and the two quickly overpower SubUrban Legend. An Asian Thumb Spike is in store for Legend for the second month in a row. Trevor Feather, who is still slowly recovering from the Legend Killer, receives a Double Splash for not moving fast enough. For a second month in a row, these dangerous looking newcomers have left tag teams lying in their wake. Backstage, a monitor is showing the two Samoans leaving The Knights Temple lying in the ring. A figure is watching the screen, intently, but we can only see their cloaked back. The figure nods. "Excelente." Cyanide VS Damian Dastardly VS Shaolin VS Super Zero For a shot at the ZEN Master Title Sparks and Thane remind the audience that this is a Fatal Four Way, the first pin or submission wins. This starts slow, with all four competitors staring each other down. Then Damian Dastardly, the other one who didn’t have to earn his place via victory, starts talking smack and the other three gang up on him. Kicks and punches and Damian is thrown from the ring. From then on, it’s every man for themselves. It’s a pretty good match, although Damian seems a little off his game tonight. His timing is just all over the place. Cyanide does a great job; he’s pretty much incapable of having a bad match at this level. He plays up his desperation, looking for submissions whenever legal. But FourWays are not a great environment for a submission expert. There’s a great spot later in the match, where Cyanide has Shaolin in a Figure Four and the ninja just refused to give up. Zero comes back in to break it up. All four combatants get a chance to shine over the course of the match. The end comes with Super Zero taking out Cyanide with a gorgeous tope. Damian slides back into the ring and looks as though he is thinking about following him, when Shaolin hits the Death Touch (Running Thumb Spike) out of nowhere. The ninja half limps and half falls into a cover. 1, 2, 3. Shaolin defeats Cyanide, Damian Dastardly and Super Zero. Rating: 55 Shaolin falls to his knees, overcome with emotion. Damian looks like he is out cold. Outside of the ring, Cyanide glares at the ninja, quietly seething. “The dream has come true!” Sparks exclaims on commentary. “Shaolin, the long time ZEN veteran, will finally get his first ever one on one chance at the ZEN Master Belt!” Show Rating: 52

Events have shaken ZEN to its very core and the company will never be the same again, because the company will never be alone again. The investigation of the ZEN Master shards has led to the formation of a worldwide ZEN alliance, with sister companies launching monthly shows this very month. Based out of Sendai, ZEN Japan is run by time travelling cops Commander Kawagishi and Naizen Uboshita, with help from local tour guide Koin Momotami. They are focused on searching for title fragments that have gotten lost in time itself. The promotion is already attracting workers from across the timestream. Along with Kawagishi and his partner, The Great Avatar, ZEN-J has recruited intergalactic music superstar Hitomaro Suzuki; Polish grappler Pavel Vanzycha; the unhinged Romi Yamato; a knight templar from the Medieval Ages; and Yu Hashimoto, a high priestess from the late 2500s. Many more colourful characters are starting to call ZEN-J home. On the other side of the world, the shards have had a different effect on the population of Mazatlan, Mexico. ZEN-M is based in the court of the enigmatic, self styled queen, Xochiquetzal, but the ZEN contact is Gabriela Ortega. ZEN-M’s lawless court of combat has attracted workers from across the country, including the queens agents, El Serpiente and Aztec Prince. The company has also retained the talents of the mysterious Blue Phantom, the charismatic Boriken Love Machine Jr, the flashy Amazing Fire Fly and top tag team, the Puerto Rican Boys. The shows of all three companies will be available to stream on ZEN Worldwide online service, available wherever there is the interwebs. In celebration of the launch of ZEN Worldwide, ZEN-NZ will host a cross-promotional trios match. The Board has named what they call an ‘All Star Team’, with three champions representing their home promotion. ZEN Master Pumpkin Jack will team with ZEN Harmony champions Warp-Jump for the first time ever. But there’s more than even that major trios match happening at Way of the Healer. The Fatal Four Way Final of the tournament to name Pumpkin Jack’s next opponent for the ZEN Master Belt is tonight. An unique combination of finalists, with two former Masters in Cyanide and Super Zero, and two veterans who have waited for their moment, in Shaolin and Man O’ War. Who will come out on top and become the next challenger for Pumpkin Jack? At Way of the Scholar, the Knights Temple had their attempt at a record breaking 4th Harmony Title reign demolished by a team of Samoans. The Knights are in action this month against Pinkie and the Vane, but will we get some answers regarding the mystery team or the title picture? All this, plus Damian Dastardly, Vertigo, Devilfish, Booster Boy and more! Come! See! ZEN! (I'm not going to have a formal prediction contest yet; maybe next month. I imagine the Mexican and Japanese versions of ZEN might be a little hard to predict at the start, since they are just getting started. But if you want to predict the ZEN card for fun, here it is!) The Ghost Hunters vs Devilfish and Kalliope Woodchuck Booster Boy vs Dazzler Ferdy Lloyd vs Vertigo Team Japan vs Team Mexico vs Team New Zealand (Jack and Warp Jump) The Knights Temple vs Pinkie and the Vane Cyanide vs Man O' War vs Shaolin vs Super Zero

<p>South of the border, down Mexico Way</p><p> </p><p> <em>Mazatlan, Mexico</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="mXvo2mG.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/mXvo2mG.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="dLnULl2.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/dLnULl2.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> The Malecon, the official name of the Mazatlan Boardwalk, stretched along the city, lining the miles of beaches that shored the Pacific Ocean. Condo and hotels reached into the light blue sky. Families played in the sand while couples strolled along, arm in arm.</p><p> </p><p> Then Devilfish and Man O’ War walked out of the ocean.</p><p> </p><p> “By Neptune’s Beard, that was a long swim.”</p><p> </p><p> “Agreed. We should really get back to the hotel, though.” The two crossed the beach, heading toward a fancy looking hotel. “We must thank Bruce Strange for allowing us to borrow his credit card.”</p><p> </p><p> A dark town car with tinted windows was parked in the road on the other side of the boardwalk, blocking their way. An attractive brunette, dressed in a tight fitting chauffeur’s uniform complete with hat, leaned up against it. She nodded her head at them. “You two the fish from New Zealand?”</p><p> </p><p> “You speak the language of the Britons?” Man O’ War asked.</p><p> </p><p> “English. Yeah. Anyways, you’re late. My boss-”</p><p> </p><p> “We just got here,” Devilfish blurted. He quickly hid a hotel towel behind his back.</p><p> </p><p> The chauffeur looked at him, very obviously noting the towel. “Right… Look, my boss is the car. She’s waiting for you.”</p><p> </p><p> The interior of the car was surprisingly roomy, like a short limo. Rich, dark leather seats and tinted windows; with elevator muzak playing softly over hidden speakers. In the middle of the car sat it’s only occupant; a gorgeous latina. She motioned for Devilfish and Man O’ War to sit down. The chauffeur slipped into the front seat and the car pulled out.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="lNnkhgH.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/lNnkhgH.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> “Devilfish. Man O’ War. I am your contact here in Mazatlan. Gabriela Ortega.” She smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, both.”</p><p> </p><p> “You know why we’re here,” Devilfish said. He pulled out the map and handed it to Ortega. “The shards of the ZEN Master Belt.”</p><p> </p><p> Ortega tapped the map. “This area you have circled? I know this well. This is El Faro Lighthouse, located on a hill south of Mazatlan. My assistant is taking us there. But there is a complication.”</p><p> </p><p> “Of course there is.”</p><p> </p><p> “El Faro sits on top of an uninhabited hill. And since the destruction of the Master Belt, that hill - Cerro del Creston - has gotten… twisted. Tainted. There have been reports of mysterious sightings, unexplained sounds and noises. There have even been some disappearances. It’s not good news. Something is very wrong.”</p><p> </p><p> Devilfish was about to respond when Man O’ War cried out in pain. He glanced at his friend. Manny was pinching his nose, wincing in pain. “By Neptune’s… Beard. By the Cook Straight. This pressure… I feel like I’m hundreds of fathoms below.”</p><p> </p><p> “What’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p> “A sudden pressure in my skull. I have not the words to explain.”</p><p> </p><p> “I know what it is,” Ortega said, quietly. Devilfish was suddenly aware that the music had stopped. Ortega looked outside. “We’ve crossed over onto Cerro del Creston.”</p><p> </p><p> “I think it’s getting better,” Man O’ War said, looking up.</p><p> </p><p> Then the car came to a screeching halt. Ortega banged on the divider between them and the driver’s seat. “What’s going on?”</p><p> </p><p> “I think this is as far as we go, ma’am,” came the reply. Grumbling and cursing in Spanish, Ortega led the way out of the car. The ZEN fighters followed warily.</p><p> </p><p> After the darkness of the car, the light outside was initially blinding. Devilfish shaded his eyes as he studied their location. They were stopped on a narrow road that wound up the side of the hill, cutting through dark jungle to do so. Behind them, the city of Mazatlan nestled the Pacific Ocean, glittering in the sun like a million jewels. Ahead, the top of the lighthouse was just visible over the jungle trees.</p><p> </p><p> Ortega had already joined her chauffeur/assistant at the front of the car. They were in arguing in Spanish with a group of men dressed in two tone luchador masks and simple clothes, who were blocking the road. Many of the men were armed with weapons; clubs, axes, swords, etc. Their leader, who appeared the calmest and most assured of the group, wore a mask that resembled snake skin, and a long cloak.</p><p> </p><p> “Cerro del Creston belongs to our goddess,” the leader said. “You do not belong here.”</p><p> </p><p> “Like hell we don’t!” Ortega returned, leading to more arguing and gesturing from the gang. Their yells drowned out further argument from her. Devilfish and Manny tensed up; things were ready to explode at any second. Ortega just nodded at her assistant. “Jaime.”</p><p> </p><p> In one smooth motion, her assistant reached into her jacket and drew a small handgun. She fired three shots into the the air. The men immediately scattered. “I’m too young to die!” “We didn’t mean it!” “Run away! Run away!” In seconds, the road was clear, except for their leader, the man in the snake mask.</p><p> </p><p> He pinched his nose. “It’s so hard to find decent flunkies these days. I was serious, though. Anyone trespassing on Cerro del Creston is to be brought to El Ataúd; her court. Follow me, please.” He turned and continued to stroll down the road. Devilfish shrugged and followed, with Manny close behind.</p><p> </p><p> “’Ataúd’ does not translate to ‘court’,” Ortega whispered, but she still followed them.</p><p> </p><p> “Call me Serpiente,” the man called over his shoulder.</p><p> </p><p> Serpiente wasn’t taking them to the Lighthouse. A few metres down the road, he turned onto a narrow dirt path. He followed the path without a word, taking them deeper into the jungle. They walked for several minutes in silence, until Serpiente turned a corner and a structure appeared before them. It was a small, stone building, looking almost like the entrance to a Mayan bomb shelter. Two guards were outside the door and nodded as they passed through.</p><p> </p><p> The building was cool inside. And quiet. A long stone hallway stretched out before them. Serpiente continued along, again without a pause. The others followed.</p><p> </p><p> “What’s that noise?” Ortega asked. At first, it was just faint. A crowd; cheering. As they continued down the hall, the crowd noise grew louder and closer.</p><p> </p><p> Serpiente reached a junction in the hall and turned down it. It was like the underworld itself opened up before them. </p><p> </p><p> It was an arena, built into the stone itself. Square tiers descended down, directed toward a crude ring in the centre. The space was almost an inverted Mayan pyramid. The tiers, or stands, were full of people. Some wore masks, made of wood, feather or luchador style. They wore bright robes, mosaiced dresses and shirts. Two luchadors were fighting in the ring. Directly across the ring from them, the top tiers had been closed off from the public in favour of an ornate throne. Guards, servants, dancers; the area was packed. They were all there to serve one person.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="nFpAnmJ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nFpAnmJ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Upon the throne lounged a woman, dressed in all the Aztec inspired finery one could imagine. A massive feathery crown sat on her head. And in the middle of the crown - a belt shard.</p><p> </p><p> “Xochiquetzal,” Serpiente said, nodding to her, before continuing on down toward the ring. The others watched him go.</p><p> </p><p> “Now this is more familiar,” Devilfish said with a grin.</p><p> </p><p> “Behold her crown, chum,” Man O’ War pointed. “A Master Shard.”</p><p> </p><p> “So what do we do? Just walk over and take it?”</p><p> </p><p> “Have some finesse, boys,” Ortega said. “Even with Jaime’s gun, you’ll never get close enough. Besides, you told me a whole third of the belt landed in Mexico. That is not a third. You try to steal that shard, you’ll never find the rest. They’ll kick you out faster than you can spell ‘Mazatlan’.”</p><p> </p><p> “That would take me awhile.”</p><p> </p><p> “This is my element, boys,” Ortega said, dropping her voice. “Let me ingratiate with the locals, become a part of their games here. With some ZEN connections, I could make myself indispensable to the queen. And when the moment comes… I strike.”</p><p> </p><p> Devilfish and Man O’ War looked at her. There was no mistaking the steely determination in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p> “Deal.”</p>

<p>I'm turning Japanese, I really think so...</p><p> </p><p> <em>Sendai, Japan</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="msi315p.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/msi315p.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="NKU99Qy.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/NKU99Qy.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> A day later, and Super Zero’s flawless Japanese language skills had led him and Vertigo to their contact in Sendai; a young man named Koin Momotani. Koin, an energetic presence, had consulted the map provided by Bruce Strange and taken them to an abandoned warehouse near the docks. It was a mess; papers and refuse scattered everywhere. The space was large, full of potential and little else. Except the garbage, of course.</p><p> </p><p> “Nice, yes? Sendai has the nicest abandoned warehouses in the world, don’t you think?” Koin spread his arms wide and took in a deep breath. “Smell the sea air. Nice, yes?”</p><p> </p><p> “It’s… great.” Vertigo said. He tapped a dirty old trash bag with a foot. “This is the place? Are you sure?”</p><p> </p><p> “No, but this is where your map leads - 100%.”</p><p> </p><p> Super Zero picked up a bag of garbage. Even through the mask, he gave off an air of disgust. He shook his head, tossing the garbage away.</p><p> </p><p> “Zero is right,” Vertigo said. “There’s no belt fragments here. Just a bunch of junk.”</p><p> </p><p> “Nice junk, yes?” Koin said. “We could go through it. Maybe separate trash from recyclables?”</p><p> </p><p> “Go ahead,” Vertigo said. He turned to Super Zero. “This is a waste of time. We should head back to Wellington-”</p><p> </p><p> Any further conversation was interrupted by a high pitched screech. It sounded like an animal being killed by a rogue robot. A man burst through a door. His clothes were rags, ripped to shreds. The only item of clothing he wore that was still in good condition was a dark mask. The screeching noise was coming from him.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="X5U88TE.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/X5U88TE.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> The stranger charged at the heroes, as Koin screamed. “This never happens in Sendai!” he yelled, followed by a burst of Japanese. Vertigo and Super Zero took up defensive positions. The film slowed as the three enter a heavily choreographed fight scene. Vertigo and Zero throw kicks and punches at the crazed intruder. He dodged most of them, until the two heroes managed to position him inbetween them. The stranger whirled around; surrounded. Vertigo and Super Zero struck with simultaneous superkicks. The attacker crumpled in a heap at their feet.</p><p> </p><p> “What was that?” Vertigo asked. “Is it dead?” Super Zero shook his head as an answer.</p><p> </p><p> “That never happens in Sendai!” Koin screamed for a second time. He waved his hands, giving himself a crazy air. “Who was that?”</p><p> </p><p> “How would we know? You’re the one from here!”</p><p> </p><p> “I have never seen this man; he must have followed you!”</p><p> </p><p> “What? That doesn’t make any sense.”</p><p> </p><p> There was a loud ripping sound, as though the universe itself wass ripping its pants. In the corner of the warehouse, a tear appeared in the very air itself. A black, jagged rip through space. A pale light emanated from beyond. Koin, Vertigo and Super Zero could only stare. The rip grew, getting wider and wider, until it was large enough for three figures to step through and into the warehouse. As quickly as the rip appeared, it disappeared, and the light with it.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="GX4yD0r.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/GX4yD0r.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="Euytmyb.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Euytmyb.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="rYmZy8W.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/rYmZy8W.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> The three newcomers were quite the trio. The man in the middle was handsome, with a chin and figure any man would be jealous of, stuffed inside an odd white uniform. His long hair was dyed purple. On one side, another well built man, this one wearing a tight fitting mask. The third member of the trio was lean, with messy hair and thick glasses. He was staring at a device that looked like a tablet.</p><p> </p><p> “My calculations say that we’re in the right place and…” the man with glasses trailed off as he looked up. There was a long pause as the two trios stared at each other. “That appears to be our fugitive,” he pointed at the stranger on the ground.</p><p> </p><p> The purple haired leader pointed to the stranger. “You captured this villain? Then you have our thanks.”</p><p> </p><p> “Uh, who are you?”</p><p> </p><p> “Welcome to Sendai!” Koin called from behind the protection of Vertigo and Super Zero.</p><p> </p><p> “Who are we? We are the world famous Time Recovery Gold Mission Team 6!” The newcomers strike a Charlie’s Angels-esque pose, as though they expected applause. “I am Commander Kawagishi and these are my colleagues, the Great Avatar and Naizen Uboshita. Thank you for apprehending this dangerous fugitive. We have chased him through time itself.”</p><p> </p><p> “The name’s Vertigo. This is Super Zero. And Koin, our guide and driver.”</p><p> </p><p> “Sendai is nice, yes? Do you need a drive anywhere?”</p><p> </p><p> “Actually, we could use some help,” Naizen said, studying his electronic device. Meanwhile, Avatar was restraining the fallen Stranger, jabbering at him in what sounds like Japanese, but clearly isn’t. “Our ETJD - Eccleston Time Jump Device - is out of power. We require a new power source. Commander? We could use that unusual strong power source we detected.”</p><p> </p><p> “Yes, of course!” Kawagishi turned back to Vertigo and Zero. “We are looking for shards. Jewel shards might be the best way to explain it.”</p><p> </p><p> “The shards from the Master Belt,” Vertigo said. Zero nodded in agreement with him. “We are looking for those as well. They are shards from our championship belt that… exploded. They are supposed to be here.”</p><p> </p><p> “My scans agree,” Naizen said, “but it’s not that simple. The shards are in this place, but not this time.”</p><p> </p><p> “The belt did explode a month ago.”</p><p> </p><p> “That’s not it. The shards are full of strong, unpredictable energy. When they were blasted here, they must have fallen through the timestream as well. Stranger had recently jumped through time. It’s possible the weakness in the space time continuum caused by Stranger attracted your shards and allowed them breach it as well. Like putting too much air into a balloon.”</p><p> </p><p> “Sendai has the best balloons!”</p><p> </p><p> “Then how do we get the shards?” Vertigo asked. “Just sit here and wait?”</p><p> </p><p> “Not necessarily,” Commander Kawagishi said. “It came from your Championship belt, yes? From a combat sport? The energy must have been harvested by the combat over it. More combat would call the shards. But be warned, more combat would also likely attract more combatants through the timestream.”</p><p> </p><p> Vertigo exchanged looks with Zero. “More combat? Like, perhaps, a ZEN based here, in Sendai?” He held out a hand to Commander Kawagishi. “Gentlemen. Now you are in our area of expertise.”</p>

After Way of the Scholar “Well… There you have it.” Back in the now empty Reliquary of Scale main hall, Bruce Strange and Mister Hyde were standing behind a merch table. But instead of being covered in glorious ZEN Merch, Strange and Hyde have spread out two maps. Bruce, in particular, looked unhappy. Hyde looked merely indifferent. On the other side of the table were Pumpkin Jack, Vertigo, Super Zero, Man O’ War, Devilfish and Molly Cuddle. Classy Paul Massey stood apart from the wrestlers, picking his teeth. Jack tapped one of the maps. “This will lead us to the missing shards? There’s only two maps here.” “Look, ‘Champ’,” Bruce sneered, “We dirtied ourselves with magical devices to find you this information. It’s accurate. I made sure. After all, the Karma for using magic already cost me my title opportunity.” “Wait - You think you lost only because of karma?” “From what we can tell, the belt broke into three main pieces, which may have shattered into more after that initial explosion. One of the thirds stayed here, around Wellington. That one definitely blew into smaller pieces and we couldn’t track it.” Bruce motioned at the maps. “The other pieces flew to Mazatlan, Mexico, and Sendai, Japan.” “Mexico?” Man O’ War suddenly looked very interested. “Really?” Bruce shrugged. “We held up our end of the bargain. These maps will take you as close to the belt shards as we can safely track them. Come on, Hyde.” “It’s tea time!” Mister Hyde grunted at Jack. Jack watched the Ghost Hunters leave, before turning to his friends. “We need to find those belt shards. I can start the search here. Vertigo and Super Zero, I’m going to ask you to head to Sendai. Super Zero has told me on multiple occasions, about how he is fluent in Japanese.” “Really? Fluent, you say?” Vertigo turned to Zero in surprise. Zero nodded, wordlessly. “Man O’ War and I will check out Mazatlan,” Devilfish said, taking a map. “Fish is a major industry there, so we should fit in just fine.” “Then Godspeed, and the best of luck. I will see you all back here in a month.” They exchanged handshakes all around, moving to the exit. Pumpkin Jack escorted them to main doors of the Reliquary. Outside, the entire ZEN locker room has gathered to see them off. The bigger names stood near the door; Shaolin, Damian Dastardly, Pink Spider and the Knights Temple. Team Warp-Jump, Harmony Belts on their shoulders, bowed their heads in respect. Kalliope Woodchuck, Booster Boy, Blue Flea, Dazzler, even Rob Edwards and Lilian O’Donahue. Across the parking lot, alone, was Cyanide, leaning against the hood of his car. Conspicuous by his absence was Halloween Knight. As Super Zero, Vertigo, Devilfish and Man O’ War walked to their cars, the first steps toward ZEN World Wide were taken.

Way of the Scholar ZEN : NZ Way of the Scholar or Master with an I Saturday, Week 2, February 2016 Attendance: 895 Hosted by Sparky Sparks and Dustin Thane The Reliquary of Scale, New Zealand The show opened with the music of Damian Dastardly. The ‘Diabolical One’ of ZEN came strutting down the ramp, Conceptual Title slung over one shoulder. He does a few little dance moves and flirts with any attractive members of the audience he passes. Damian grabbed a mic as he enters the ring. “So, I know what most of you are thinking. You are severely disappointed that I, Damian Dastardly, the Shining Star of ZEN, is not in the tournament to name the next number one contender for the ZEN Master Belt. I saw the ticket sales. They skyrocketed - and I mean, skyrocketed - after the tournament was announced. Why? Because all the Damiacs were beside themselves excited. ‘Is this the moment Damian ascends the mountain?’ They tweeted. Hashtag Dastardly Champ.” “But then people were screaming in anger after it was announced that I wasn’t in the tournament. But here’s the deal: I don’t need the Master Belt while I have this gorgeous piece of hardware.” He thrusts the Conceptual Belt in the air. Or, rather obviously, mimes it. “Did you see what happened to the ZEN Master Belt? Blown to pieces. This is now the most important piece of hardware in the company. And, since I hold it, I’m the most important worker in the company. So…. Who is challenging for my belt?” The music of Trevor Feather hits. Damian really no-sells his appearance, looking around to say ‘Seriously’? But the ‘The Peacock’ looked unusually serious. Damian Dastardly © vs Trevor Feather For the ZEN Conceptual Belt Feather lands a stiff punch to Damian’s chin to start the match, rocking the champ and showing him he means business. Feather takes the fight right to him, keeping control through both aggression and cheap shots. But Damian isn’t a two time champ for a reason and he certainly isn’t afraid to take a few short cuts himself, such as an eye poke to change the momentum to his favour. Feather gets some hope moments, but Damian will end it with a Dastardly Cunning (which is a small package according to Wrestling Spirit, but I will interpret it as a DDT). Damian Dastardly defeated Trevor Feather to retain the ZEN Conceptual Title. Rating: 39 The music of Rob Edwards hits and the prize fighter came out, shadowing boxing on the ramp. Lillian O’Donahue is at his shoulder. She berates the crowd as he poses. “Last week,” O’Donahue says, after reaching the ring, “you all were privy to the most exciting and dominating debut in ZEN history - the Prize Fighter, Rob Edwards!” Edwards did some more posing as the crowd didn’t really care. “My clients march to becoming the most dominate and impressive wrestler in the southern hemisphere continues… tonight! It might be the second match of the night, but with Rob Edwards, it is always the Main Event of the evening. Tonight, he faces off against-” Punk rock cuts off Lillian. Out comes Blue Flea. He walks down the ramp to the ring. “Dude! You’ve been here for five seconds! Your taxi hasn’t even pulled away yet. Your locker is labelled by a piece of masking tape and pencil that reads ‘Bob Redwards’. Last week you embarrassed my friend, Azazel. This week, you are going to Flea For Your Life, as I-” Edwards clocks him. W/ Blue Flea vs Rob Edwards (w/ Lillian O’Donahue) This is a squash match. Flea doesn’t exactly sell well - to be fair, he doesn’t really do anything well - but his small frame looks good being thrown around. Rob drills Flea with a nasty looking brainbuster suplex. He measures Flea, then nails him with the Roundhouse Kick finisher. Rob Edwards defeated Blue Flea. Rating 22 W/ Man O’ War vs Bruce Strange (w/ Mister Hyde) Number One Contender Tournament Well… rats. Perhaps it was following the underwhelming squash, but Strange did not look good out there tonight. I do have some high hopes for the Ghost Hunters - and they held their own last month - but this outing was rough. Man O’ War carried this match, his technical skills outshining those of Bruce and his speed giving him even more of an edge. Mister Hyde keeps trying to insert himself in the match, until Manny tricks him by pretending to throw a ball into the audience. Not long after that, Strange falls victim to a Neptune’s Trident (Double Underhook Facebuster). Man O’ War defeats Bruce Strange. Rating: 35 We go backstage. Pumpkin Jack is sitting at a desk, with Paul Massey on the other side. Massey dramatically opens a briefcase, swinging it over to show Jack. “Ta dah! Here it is. The temporary, but maybe permanent, new ZEN Master Belt!” Jack does not look impressed. “This is made from old, dirty cardboard. And you’ve spelled Master with an ‘I’.” He held it up. Massey has, indeed, poorly cut a rough belt shape out of what appears to be an used pizza box. “Can’t I just wear the old broken one?” There’s a pause. “Oh, yeah, I guess that would make sense.” Paul grabs the cardboard belt, rips it in two and tosses the pieces behind him. “Great.” Jack nods his head. “Well… okay then.” Jack stands, grabbing his less than impressive title belt, and rather aimlessly wanders off. Massey was almost immediately surrounded by two other workers - Booster Boy and Dazzler. Booster is dressed in a football jersey and wearing his ever present shades. Dazzler somehow makes a hoodie look rather promiscuous “Mass-Man!” Booster Boy exclaimed, “Why don’t I have a match? You keep yo MVP on yo bench, ain’t no one who does that. Don’t play me.” “But I thought you wanted to play. Ie, wrestle.” “Nah, I meant play, like not play play, but play play play, eh?” Paul blinks twice. “I don’t follow.” Dazzler steps forward. “He wants a match, Paul. And so do I.” “Urgh. Fine. You can fight each other next month. Just get out of my face.” The video changes to a shot of a fish tank, with the rather creepy image of Devilfish’s mask. Tropical fish swim around as Devilfish watchs them. “Did you know that the manta ray can live up to 20 years? It feels like it’s been that long since Devilfish was able to hold the ZEN Master Belt high. It’s been too long since Devilfish was able to swim the oceans with championship gold. But this is my chance. I feel it. This is my moment. Have no fear, my school of Fish Fin Fanatics. I will rise with the tide, vanquish the evil Cyanide, and take one step forward to regaining my missing glory.” “Be careful. This fish has bite.” W/ Pink Spider (w/ Trevor Feather) VS Shaolin Number One Contender Tournament As usual, Pink Spider spends most of his entrance playing to the crowd, insulting people in the front room or flirting with his supporters. Feather follows him, but he clearly is still depressed over his loss to Damian Dastardly earlier in the night. Thane and Sparks openly comment on just how much impact Feather might have in the match. Shaolin is more serious and focused than usual. The match is what should be expected from these two; a solid upper card affair. Back and forth, but, unfortunately, a little dull. Trevor Feather gets the pop of the match when he slumps down into a seat in the front row and helps himself to someone’s popcorn. Spider looks to have control late, but misses on a charge and is dropped by Shaolin’s Death Touch (Running Thumb Spike). Shaolin defeats Pink Spider. Rating: 44 W/ The Knights Temple VS Warp-Jump (w/ Guru Vishni) © For the ZEN Harmony Belts We go straight into the next match, for the Tag Team Championships! With a win, the Knights Temple would grab their record breaking 4th Harmony Title reign. They are currently tied with Goatee With Attitude and X-War at three total reigns. These two teams are long time rivals and this match shows it, with the action coming fast and furious in the early going. Rookie ref Lucy Avatar (don’t worry, Yale is still there, too) has a hard time keeping order. Warp-Jump springs a quick attack, but the Knights send them to the outside, then attack with duelling suicide dives. Killer B squares off with Toady, sending him into the ring post a few times, before Vishni takes him out with a cheap shot. Lucy misses it because she’s too busy trying to convince Legend and HalloWarped to get back into the ring. The match is several minutes old before it starts ‘proper’, with Toady and Killer B in the ring, their partners on the apron. “This is an absolute tragedy. A disgrace!” Thane screams on commentary. “Maybe now we can have an actual match!” Thane spoke too soon. A bestial scream cuts through the noise of the arena, accompanied by beating drums. Two men, looking like they were sculpted by stone then drawn all over with tattoos, come charging out of the back. They hit the ring like a freight train, the larger of the two simply bowling over Toady with pure power. The other one takes out Killer B with a nasty thrust kick. SubUrban Legend is in to defend his partner, but quickly falls victim to kicks, headbutts and a Samoan Drop. HalloWarped pulls Toady from the ring, while Vishni grabs the belts. While the champs retreat, the newcomers continue to assault the Knights. Killer B is dropped by an Asian Thumb Spike, then squashed by a top rope splash. The attackers pose and roar at the audience. Draw, due to outside interference. Rating: 40 Man O’ War is outside. The city of Wellington stands behind him, lighting up the darkening night. The usually stoic and melodramatic Man O’ War allows himself a relieved smile and chuckle. He spreads his arms wide. “Finally. I’ve fought for so long, I’ve fought so hard. And now… my chance is almost here. One match away from a ZEN Master shot.” He clears his throat, recovering his character. “Verily, destiny shines on me like the setting sun shines on the calm, welcoming sea.” He looks off toward the sunset. “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.” Manny pauses as a tanned, blond man wanders by with a surfboard. He waves at Man O’ War. “Totally awesome victory tonight, Manny. I was speechless, bro.” “Lucas. Are you going surfing now? It’s 9 in the evening.” “Waves never sleep, bro. Waves never sleep.” He reaches into a pocket on his swim trunks. “Hey. Some weird dude in a suit was looking for you earlier. He asked me to give you this.” Lucas tosses something shiny to Man O’ War. The Avenger of the Ocean snatches it out of the air. “By Neptune’s Beard. Lucas, this is an Aztec coin. Do you understand what this is?” “Yeah, right,” Lucas chuckles as he wanders off, leaving Man O’ War to study the coin in his hand. Back in the arena proper and the music of Vertigo hits. There’s a record scratch, cutting the music out, only to replace it with the music of the Sky Kings. Super Zero, Vertigo and Molly Cuddle appear on the top of the ramp together. The heroes are an unique case in ZEN. Their alliance is the oldest in ZEN, but most of their time in ZEN has seen them compete in singles. Interesting stat: Their one and only Harmony reign was before any of the current ZEN tag teams were even formed. Vertigo has the mic. “I am honoured to stand in this ring with my best friend and the first ever ZEN Triple Crown winner, Super Zero. For years, we have fought together to defend our great company from the evil that would ruin it. But tonight, we fight each other.” He pauses as the crowd reacts, some with boos and some with cheers. “The ZEN board has decided that a Fatal FourWay with two allies would not be fair to the other competitors, so they have decided that we should face each other in the first round. Super Zero and I have discussed it and we have decided that we will bring the house down!” He hands the mic to Molly Cuddle, who does fun, special introductions for the pair. Super Zero VS Vertigo Number One Contender Tournament Molly sticks around at ringside. Even though she’s technically Vertigo’s valet, she’s obviously cheering for both men in this match, her phone forgotten. The heroes start with a handshake and then they’re off. Another match with a quick pace, they trade moves and counters fast and furious in the opening minutes. It’s clear that, even more than Warp-Jump and the Knights Temple, these two know each other like brothers. There’s an obvious theme of respect during the match, which is usually a lot more subtle in ZEN, but both men clearly want the win. They get pretty close to Vertigo’s promise of bringing down the house, with plenty of slick moves, some innovative spots and tension building nearfalls. The end comes when Super Zero proves he can predict Vertigo better than the opposite, when he rolls out of the way of Vertigo’s Radar Legrop finisher. A snap rana drives Vertigo’s mask into the mat and Super Zero locks in Holding Out For A Zero (Surfboard Bow And Arrow). Vertigo taps. Super Zero defeats Vertigo. Rating: 49 Post match, Super Zero offers a hand to his friend. There’s a moment’s pause, before Vertigo grins and takes it, raising Zero’s hand in victory. Somewhere backstage, Pumpkin Jack is working on a laptop. The camera moves over his shoulder and we see that he is online shopping. Specifically, he is on SWF Shop.com, browsing their selection of replica title belts. “Jack!” The champ jerks up to see Cyanide watching him. “Ah! Cyanide! You startled me. I thought you were someone worth worrying about!” “I am worth worrying about, Jack! I’m going to win my match tonight and then I’m coming for your title.” Jack shakes his head. “Look, Cy, last month I finally finished with your creepy boss, Halloween Knight. There’s little you can do to frighten me that he was unable to do.” Cyanide advances, slowly. “Don’t be so cocky. I’m unshackled now. I’m free. There’s no telling what I might do.” Jack shrugs. “Good for you, I guess. I’m not cocky, I’m just not scared of you. I’m the ZEN Master, Cy. Nothing scares me. Except maybe a more committed, adult relationship with my girlfriend, Becca. She wants to get a cat as a couple. What does that even mean?” “I think it means she loves you.” Cyanide shakes his head and grunts. “Look, I’m not here to talk about Becca. I’m here to warn you that I’m coming. For that.” He points dramatically at the busted Master Belt sitting beside Jack. “Ok. Well, good luck tonight. Against Devilfish, you’re going to need it. I mean, the word ‘Devil’ is right in his name. Plus, some fish are poisonous.” “All Cyanide is poisonous!” Cyanide yells as he storms out of the room. The camera follows Cyanide as he stalks down a dark hallway, grumbling to himself. In fact, Cyanide doesn’t even notice when he passes a shadowy figure leaning against the wall, cloaked in shadows. “Cyanide.” He whirls around, ready to give this new interloper a piece of his mind. But he stops himself as the stranger steps forward. He wears a nice, if old fashioned, suit, and a wide-brimmed purple hat that shadows his face. He appears to be vaping. He removes his hat, revealing a young face with maybe a little too much eyeliner. “The name’s Lothar Prellinger. And I have an offer you simply can’t refuse.” Cyanide VS Devilfish Number One Contender Tournament The final opening round match and the main event of the evening features two of ZEN’s most reliable and steady workers. These two play their roles to near perfection tonight. Devilfish is the quick, plucky babyface. He never gives up and all he needs is just a little space to pull off a quick rana or kick. Cyanide is a ruthless technician. He doesn’t cheat or waste time taunting Devilfish; he doesn’t need to. He just systematically attacks the fish’s legs. The match goes everywhere. Devilfish even manages to score with a beautiful springboard dive. As the match drags on, it becomes clear that Cyanide’s legwork is having an effect, hobbling Devilfish. He gamely fights on, slipping out of Cyanide’s Skull Splitter (Brainbuster) a few times, but his leg finally gives out when ascending the turnbuckle for a big move. Cyanide makes him pay, scoring instead with a superplex. Both are slow to get up, but Cyanide is first and this time, makes no mistake. Skull Splitter and Cyanide is moving on! Cyanide defeats Devilfish. Rating: 54 Cyanide celebrates in the ring as the show fades to black. Show Rating: 51

After After Way of the Dreamer “Well, that’s interesting,” Vertigo was saying. “Now I’m at a second wrestler’s nan’s house twice in the same month.” “This isn’t my nan’s house - this is my house!” He smiled, under his mask, at his unlikely host - Bruce Strange. Vertigo wasn’t wrong, though. The room did look like a rich grandmother’s sitting room. Everything reeked of luxury, from antique, mahogany furniture, to rich leather chairs. Bookshelves lined the walls, with very few visible of either Dan Brown or James Patterson. Several marble busts dotted the end tables. And, randomly, one of a peacock. Vertigo, Pumpkin Jack, Super Zero, Molly Cuddle and Mister Hyde sat around a rich looking table, drinking tea. Strange lounged near a fireplace. Strange and Hyde both wore fancy Victorian style clothes. Hyde, in particular, was stuffed into his dress shirt and vest. He looked like someone dressed up a gorilla and taught it to drink tea. Strange had a habit of posing whenever he talked, as though a Renaissance Master was painting his portrait every few minutes. “My apologies,” Vertigo said. “It’s just... your decor reminds me of an old lady. But thank you for inviting us.” “You have so many bars…” Molly gaped, staring at her phone. “But of course, you are in Strange Manor now, the home of All The Bars,” Strange said. “You might think of rephrasing that…” Jack glanced at Hyde, who wasn’t drinking tea, but also wasn’t putting down the cup. “Is your servant okay?” “The tea cup is stuck on my large hands,” Hyde’s voice was like sandpaper on gravel. “Look, Bruce,” Jack said. “You know why we’re here. We’re not going to recap everything, because it was just explained in the last post.We need help to track the pieces of the Master Belt.” “We came to you because you have knowledge of supernatural methods and devices. We hoped you might know of a device to help track their energy,” Vertigo continued. “That would be a very helpful plot device.” “Also, you’re flipping rich,” Molly waved her phone. “I Googled it.” “An interesting proposition,” Strange allowed. He took a deep breath. “I shall consider it.” He stared dramatically off into the middle distance, stroking his chin. There’s a long pause. Super Zero struggled to drink tea with his mask on. Pumpkin Jack slipped some tea biscuits into a pocket. Mister Hyde gave them all the evil eye. Molly’s phone vibrated, almost continuously. Vertigo cleared his throat. “So… uh… how long are you going to take-” “I have decided!” Bruce Strange yelled, raising a hand. “As you may know, in our crusade against magical and supernatural beings, Mister Hyde and I have recovered many supernatural artifacts. We don’t use them, of course. Because they are evil.” “We don’t use any of them,” Hyde added. “None of them! Not a one.” “One of them may be able to track the energy you seek. But it will come at a price. We want… a TITLE SHOT.” “Well, there’s a tournament to name the next contender for my Master Title,” Jack said. “I can get you or Mister Hyde a spot in the tournament.” Strange scowled. “That’s hardly an equal dea-” “WE’LL TAKE IT!” Hyde yelled, jumping into the air, his teacup flying off his hand and smashing into the ceiling. There’s a pause, as everyone watched him. Then Molly spoke up. “I lost a bar.”

Housekeeping and Info Wow. Thanks for all the great responses, especially considering I haven't really done much. Hopefully, the rest of the dynasty won't disappoint. Dynasty Info This is going to be a ZEN Worldwide diary; I will be booking three different ZENs, including the original, obviously. I tried this and failed about a year ago. That diary's problem was that I didn't plan ahead enough, I simply created two additional versions of ZEN and started booking. In addition, I've already written up four shows and several misc inbetweeners. My version of ZEN will try to keep a lot of the comedy and lighthearted fun the promotion is known for, but I will have more serious moments. I doubt I will be as funny as some of the great ZEN diaries I've read on here in the past. My version of ZEN I really like ZEN. I see it as the C-Verse version of CHIKARA, which I absolutely love, and I want to do it justice. However, I did fiddle with the ZEN product. First of all, I got rid of the face/heel divide. I don't like a strong face/heel divide when watching wrestling and don't enjoy booking with it. Secondly, I've modified the product slightly to balance out popularity and performance. This is because the three ZENs are in different areas and I'm planning some Cross-Promotional events. I don't want a character heavily penalized for not being none in a new area. Perhaps eventually I will just cheat and create a small network covering the home areas only. Finally, after the first event, all subsequent events have been increased to 2 hours. I will start posting prediction keys once the dynasty gets going. That's about it for now. I hope you all enjoy "ZEN Around The World"

Absolutely phenomenal renders, as usual. The only bad thing with these is they never look as good in game after having to shrink them down to TEW size. Great, great renders.

<p>After Way of the Dreamer</p><p> </p><p> The following video was posted on the ZEN website, post Way of the Dreamer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="uebs8Gc.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/uebs8Gc.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> Pumpkin Jack sat alone in the ring. Around him, the Reliquary of Scale was empty and deserted, lights turned low and trash still littering the stands. Every once in awhile, Blue Flea could be seen in the background, sweeping up garbage.</p><p> </p><p> Lying on the mat before Pumpkin Jack was the ZEN Master Belt. Or at least, what was left of it.</p><p> </p><p> The gold decoration on the front of the belt had shattered. Despite being highly unlikely, all that remained was the word ‘Master.’ The rest of the belt was an empty leather placeholder.</p><p> </p><p> “You broke it, you moron.”</p><p> </p><p> Jack looked up to see Australian wrestling legend Classy Paul Massey standing before him, dramatically lit from above.</p><p> </p><p> “Paul? What is happening? Am I… Am I dead?”</p><p> </p><p> “What the heck? Why would seeing me mean that you’re dead?”</p><p> </p><p> “Well, you’re glowing. I’m sure I would remember if you had done that before.”</p><p> </p><p> “Oh, right,” Paul said, laying the sarcasm on heavy, “if old Paul gets a little bit of cool effects, he must be dead. Just because I’m old and I drink like a fish and I nap a lot and I stop breathing when I nap, I might be close to death. Well, thanks a lot.”</p><p> </p><p> “Sorry.”</p><p> </p><p> “Apology not accepted. You’re not dead, you’re in the Reliquary. And you broke my gorgeous title belt! I knew I should have kept it locked up at home like the real Conceptual Belt.”</p><p> </p><p> “Peace, friend Paul.” Vertigo, Super Zero, Devilfish and Man O’ War appeared around the ring. Vertigo slid into the ring and clapped Paul on the shoulder. “What has been split asunder shall one day be restored.”</p><p> </p><p> “Well, I guess I could get some super glue. If you had the pieces.” Paul looked at them all, rather accusingly.</p><p> </p><p> “I still don’t understand what happened,” Devilfish said. “All Jack did was superkick the belt. His kicks are not that strong.”</p><p> </p><p> “They are a thing of beauty!” Jack yelled. Super Zero shook his head, wordlessly.</p><p> </p><p> “My point is, is that belt has been through a lot worse. Hell, Necromancer used the damn thing as a weapon all the time when he held it.”</p><p> </p><p> “Your words are as true as the waves, my old chum. I have taken many shots from that belt, as painful as the bite of a great white.”</p><p> </p><p> “The belt is different now,” Paul said. The others looked at him. The old road agent shrugged. “Well, for almost a decade,the ZEN Master Belt has fed. People have fought over it, suffered for it, bled for it. Hell, gone to war for it. The Belt has absorbed that energy. The kick was just the final straw that broke it. The kick led to the release of all that energy. Catastrophic release, I should say.”</p><p> </p><p> The others just stared at him, speechless. Finally, Vertigo spoke up. “You said you found that belt in the bargain bin of a second hand store. It’s eating our energy??”</p><p> </p><p> “No, don’t be stupid. It <em>was</em> eating your energy. Until you broke it.”</p><p> </p><p> “Well, we can get a new title, can we not?”</p><p> </p><p> “Don’t be ridiculous!” Paul yelled. “The Master Belt shattered, releasing Chaotic energy into the world. Sure, we can get a placeholder; you can fight over the belt I’m wearing right now if you want, but we still need to recover the pieces and stitch them back together. You can’t just leave chaotic energy floating around. Don’t you watch TV?”</p><p> </p><p> “Where are the pieces?”</p><p> </p><p> “I don’t know everything. I’m not the Encyclopedia.”</p><p> </p><p> “That’s like an early Wikipedia,” Devilfish explained to no one in particular.</p><p> </p><p> “The pieces aren’t here. You have to find someway to track and find them.” Paul exited the ring, leaving Jack and the others staring in silence, looking at the broken belt lying between them. His last words echoed through the empty arena.</p><p> </p><p> “If you don’t, the world is doomed. Probably.”</p>

ZEN : NZ Way of the Dreamer or The ZEN Master Belt is not a Coaster Saturday, Week 2, January 2016 Attendance: 861 Hosted by Sparky Sparks and Dustin Thane We open on a blank screen. White text reads “Yesterday. At an undisclosed location.” It slowly fades into Pumpkin Jack’s mask. “Gentlemen. Molly. Thank you for joining me.” Jack’s face is replaced by the well known visages of his ZEN compatriots, their names as famous as their deeds; Man O’ War, Vertigo, Super Zero, Devilfish. And also Molly Cuddle is there. “It means a lot that I can call on you in this difficult time,” Jack says. “And, of course, welcome to my Nan’s house.” The camera zooms out. Molly and the wrestlers, in their complete gear, sit in what appears to be a senior’s living room. Flower print furniture, ornate wood tables and knick knack shelves filled with absolute crap. The ZEN workers sit around a long coffee table, drinking tea. Jack’s ZEN Master Belt lies across the table. Jack’s Nan - who looks like everyone’s grandma - bustles around, often aimlessly. “Thank you,” Vertigo says. “I do believe you are the first wrestler to invite me to his nan’s house.” Molly is tapping at her phone. “There’s no WiFi signal here.” “Try the back office; that’s where I keep my computer,” Nan offers. Molly grumbles and gets up. “We’re here because of this,” Jack continues, patting the Master Title on the table before him. He notices a tea mug sitting on the belt. “Nan! I told you, the ZEN Master Belt is not a coaster!” “Well, you should learn to use one!” “I don’t really care that you have the Master Belt,” Vertigo says. “I mean, I’d rather see you with the belt than Hallowe’en Knight, but I’d rather myself than either.” “The hero speaks the truth,” Man O’ War adds. “Verily, I am not your seamate. My only ally is the sea.” Super Zero nods, wordlessly. “Great.” Jacks sighs. “Look, I have a big title match against Knight tonight. Heh heh. Get it? Nevermind. We can’t let Knight steal this belt. All I’m asking is that you help me occupy his buddy, Cyanide.” Vertigo, Zero and ‘O War exchange looks. Molly calls from the back room. “OMG! This computer has a floppy disc drive!” Vertigo finally nods. “We have a deal. As long as your Nan gives us her blueberry scone recipe. Seriously, these are delicious.” The video feed goes live to New Zealand and the home of ZEN, the Reliquary of Scale. Sparky Sparks and Dustin Thane welcome us to the show and quickly run through the card. They finish by building up the huge main event, a 2/3 Falls Match for the ZEN Master Belt. Thane mentions how, if Halloween Knight loses, he cannot challenge Pumpkin Jack, again. “But let’s start the action with some our promising youngsters!” Buckminster Snark VS Kalliope Woodchuck Sparks mentions how Kalliope is the only female wrestler currently working on the continent of Australia, leading Dustin Thane to argue that Molly Cuddle counts too because she once slapped him. Anyways, this match drags too long, even at only 8 minutes long. The lack of psychology hurt them. Kalliope wins with the Woodchipper (Charging Knee). Kalliope Woodchuck defeats Buckminster Snark. Rating: 29 In the corner of the room, ninja Shaolin can be seen hiding in the shadows, studying the two combatants closely, as Kalliope offers a handshake to Snark. The Reliquary of Scale isn’t large enough to really hide Shaolin and people start to notice him. Shaolin pulls a blanket up, then tries to sneak away as it falls to the ground. Some new music hits. Out of the back comes Rob Edwards, dressed in robes like a big match boxer on his way to the ring. Walking beside him is the snappily dressed Lillian O’Donahue. She’s dressed like a secretary and carries a stylish briefcase. Edwards holds the ropes for her as they both get into the ring. “My name is Lillian O’Donahue and I have an important announcement to make. This is my client, the Human Weapon, Rob Edwards. And I’m excited to announce that he is your next ZEN Master Champion!” She pauses and applauds, while Edwards flexes and poses. The crowd boos. She lifts the microphone up to continue, but he’s cut off by Braveheart music. Azazel comes running out, swinging a broadsword and yelling gibberish. W/ Azazel vs Rob Edwards (w/ Lillian O’Donahue) Short and kind of sweet. Edwards runs through Azazel and looks good doing it. Well, not necessarily good, but hardly bad. He levels Azazel with kicks and punches, before scoring with a brutal Roundhouse Kick finisher. Rob Edwards defeats Azazel. Rating: 25 W/ Pinkie and the Vane vs Warp-Jump (w/ Guru Vishni) © For the ZEN Harmony Titles This was a nice surprise. These two teams meshed well, despite the fact that both are kind of heels (reminder that the new ZEN has eliminated the hard heel-face split). There is some good fun shenanigans. Pink Spider orders Trevor Feather around. Feather and Toady have a fun dance competition at one point, driving their more serious partners crazy. A solid, even contest ends with Guru Vishni distracting the ref, allowing Warp-Jump to double team Trevor Feather and retain. Warp-Jump defeats Pinkie and the Vane to retain the ZEN Harmony Titles. Rating: 42 Toady, HalloWarped and Guru Vishni celebrate their victory in the ring, until a video game sound effect plays, transitioning into the rock music of the Knights Temple. The tag team of SubUrban Legend and Killer B come out to the ramp. They applaud Warp-Jump. “Another impressive defense, boys. Congratulations,” Legend says. “You continue to be the team to beat in ZEN.” “The premiere tag team,” Killer B adds. “Best in the biz.” “The best team in the company should have the best competition, right? And that would be… us.” “My clients have defeated you many, many times,” Guru Vishni points out. “And we have defeated them, many, many times. By our count, the all time record sits at Warp-Jump, 100 wins; Knights Temple, 101 wins.” The Guru’s face gets all red. “That’s not true! That’s a lie!” “Well, here’s your chance to even the score,” says Killer B. “Next month. Put the titles on the line and we’ll give you a chance.” “Then you have a deal!” Guru yells. Toady and HalloWarped don’t look too thrilled. Backstage, in a locker room. Cyanide, in his full ring gear, is finishing tying up his boots. The lights flicker. Cyanide sighs. He knows well that this heralds the arrival of Halloween Knight. Sure enough, after the lights fully come back up, Halloween Knight is standing behind Cyanide. “Cyanide…” “Knock it off, Knight. I don’t have the time.” “Fine.” Halloween Knight lowers his hood and drops his gravelly voice for a more regular tone. “I want you in my corner for the Master Title fight tonight. I need to regain that belt.” “I have a match of my own, Knight.” “What happened to us, Cyanide? We used to be FEAR. We used to run this company! And now… you’ve deserted me when I need you the most.” Cyanide turns to face him, angry. “I deserted you? I was never more than an errand boy to you and Necromancer! I’m through getting beat up on your behalf, Knight. I’m going to win that title back for myself and I don’t care if I’m coming after you or if I’m coming after Jack. I’m coming.” Knight stops him with a hand. “Cyanide. You don’t understand the power the Master Title has. I need that belt back.” “I understand the power that being champion has. Get out of my way.” Cyanide pushes past Halloween Knight, leaving the Grandfather of Ghouls alone in the locker room. W/ Cyanide and the Ghost Hunters VS Man O’ War and the Sky Kings (w/ Molly Cuddle) This was a fun, frenetic match. The Hunters were the weak link, with Mister Hyde especially struggling to keep up with the heroes. The Sky Kings look great, seamlessly blending their high risk, fast paced offence with each other, and Man O’ War. The Hunters and Cyanide take control with a number of cheap shots and shortcuts. Cyanide looks great when he’s the ring, but more and more frustrated with his teammates when on the apron. The match ends with the Sky Kings dumping Bruce Strange and hitting some smooth double teams on Hyde. Man O’ War looks to run interference on Cyanide, but Cy just walks away. Man O’ War and the Sky Kings defeat Cyanide and the Ghost Hunters. Rating: 49 A quick video plays on the big screen while the ring clears. Damian Dastardly is on the screen, proudly “displaying” the ZEN Conceptual Belt. He gives a fairly standard, but fun, egomaniac promo. He complains about how leaving him off the show is a tragedy and how, next month, Damian will be opening the show with a very special ‘ZEN Conceptual Open Challenge’. “It will change professional wrestling forever.” Damian promises as the video ends. “I’m pretty sure the Open Challenge is not a new concept in professional wrestling,” Sparky Sparks ruminates on commentary And it’s time for the Main Event of the evening! A massive, best 2 of 3 falls match for the ZEN Master Title! Halloween Knight vs Pumpkin Jack © Best 2 of 3 Falls For the ZEN Master Title This is a good match, but not the great, epic encounter it was built to be. The build is slow to start, while Sparky Sparks and Dustin Thane discuss the history between the two (Jack won the title from Knight). The added stipulation is that if Halloween Knight loses, he will be unable to challenge for the Master Title again, while Jack holds it. There’s a lot of bad blood, but neither man wants to make the first mistake. Jack makes the first real mistake, as Knight counters a DDT into the Pumpkin Patch submission hold. Jack taps very quickly, giving up a fall in order to avoid extra damage to his arms. Knight refuses to release the hold until the ref forces him to. Knight goes back on attack quickly, but Jack manages to fight him off. Still, he can’t keep Knight down for the three count. After a lot of back and forth, Jack scores with the PumpkinHandle Slam. Tie game. The two spend the next few minutes fighting desperately for that final, winning pinfall, pulling out bigger and bigger moves. Perhaps surprisingly, the match ends on a quick fall. Knight tries to steal Jack’s finisher, but Jack rolls through with a small package. 1, 2, 3. Pumpkin Jack defeats Halloween Knight to retain the ZEN Master Belt. Rating: 52 Ref Steven Yale raises Jack’s hand in victory, but Knight isn’t done yet. In a rage, he attacks from behind, throwing Jack to the mat and laying the boots to him. He grabs the ZEN Master Title and, raising it up, he sizes up Jack, preparing to strike. Yale actually gets in Knight’s face, trying to ward him. Knight throws the ref to the side, getting some serious boos. Yale’s interference has given Jack enough time to recover, though. Knight charges in with the belt, but Jack meets it with a superkick. There’s a loud bang as Jack’s foot hits the belt. The two men fly backward onto the map and everything fades to white. Overall Rating: 47

King Bison: I just started a diary on the board with Masked Stranger in it. Love that render. Can I use it?