The first to step in and attempt to fall the Russian bruiser was the Monster Hunter, who attempts to employ the same move she floored Donkey Kong earlier, upon her arrival, but the rear waistlock is halted immediately, as Zangief throws her back over his shoulder.
Next was Tracer, who hops in immediately after for a hurricanrana of sorts, and is stopped before even managing the drop-down. Zangief simply rotates her around and uses her as a shield for Orchid incoming, who jumps for a high kick and has the Overwatch operative thrown into her arms as they are both sent crashing down!
"Ooof!" Woolie winces "Zangief is wiping the floor with these guys! Making them look like total scrubs, almost!"
"Well, he's the freshest out into this Rumble thus far," Max responds. "It's quite the advantage after all, and combine that with his strength compared to the rest... well, you just get someone rampaging over everyone until the next big threat comes around!"
"I mean, I would not want to mess with this guy – ohh, but he might..." Dino mentions, fearing his own safety, but not so much Mr. Karate's once he sees the Tengu-masked fighter step up fearlessly against the Red Cyclone.
From one interesting Capcom vs. SNK encounter to another over the course of the past few minutes, the Video Game Rumble looks about set to welcome its eleventh entrant in just a moment.
As Zangief and Mr. Karate slowly agree to a test of strength in the middle of the ring, the countdown clock soon after re-emerges on the titantron...
10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! BRRRRRrrrr!
Cue the next song [/watch?v=WQ36uiRyPMc] to ring in entrant #11, who emerges as an intriguing-looking samurai under light armor, a skeleton-esque mask (at least, we can assume it's probably a mask, you never know...) and a green glowing samurai sword.
Max announces, "Well, we just had one Tekken fighter get eliminated moments ago, but in comes another, and in a way, a much more unusual competitor also from the Iron Fist tourneys – Yoshimitsu, ladies and gentlemen!"
"Best design he's ever had – and ever will have," Woolie states his personal opinion.
Entrant #11: Yoshimitsu [Tekken]
Sliding in under the ropes, Yoshimitsu assumes a fighting stance, beckoning to the challengers based only by the handling of his sword.
While in the middle of her recovery period after a failed attempt at battling Zangief, the Monster Hunter realizes she is no longer alone in the ring as a weapon user, and reaches out to ringside and brings in her heavy great-sword.
Meanwhile, Tracer and B. Orchid have sort of partly rolled out of the ring to recover, as Mr. Karate escapes a backbreaker attempt from Zangief, and Yoshimitsu / MonHun have just now locked on to each other, both grasping their respective weapons.
Dino notices first, "Hey, check out what's going on in the ring...!"
Woolie gets hype, "Ohhh, we gonna go Soul Calibur on this bitch!"
Despite the clear size difference between swords, Yoshimitsu manages to keep an even battle against his human opponent.
It's at this point that a generic-looking sign that says "THIS IS WRESTLING" comes up on hard-cam from someone a few rows away from the front – it's hard to say whether it's being ironically brought up in the midst of this impromptu sword fight or if it's a nod towards the Zangief / Mr. Karate bout simultaneously occurring alongside it.
Dino points out the sign "Probably gonna need to put a question mark on that sign, kid..."
"Well, this is something, alright!" Maximilian notes.
Soon enough, Zangief and Karate finally take notice to what's going on around them, joining Tracer and Orchid in looking on at the clash of swords in the center.
MonHun shoves off Yoshimitsu from one more grinding clash before they stop and stare each other down. From one corner to the other across the ring, Yoshimitsu animatedly taunts the Monster Hunter, in his regularly-eccentric manner, but the huntress with the giant boney broadsword has none of it.
Behind the alien samurai, Tracer jumps in and suddenly knocks Yoshimitsu off his feet with a chop-block dropkick; he springs back up, not taking kindly to the sneak attack as he points his saber at Tracer. All it does is pretty much provoke Lena and B. Orchid out of the bottom left corner as they dare 'Mitsu to challenge the odds.
Yoshimitsu retaliates by bringing the sword up with the blade pointed right at Orchid, complete with a weird-sounding, straight alien battle cry and attempting to stab down at her, only for her to evade, and the sword to dive and bury the tip a couple inches into the top turnbuckle.
Woolie is a bit startled by "Whoawhoawhoa, calm down, Yosh'!"
Max says, a bit panicked, "This is a Royal Rumble match, not a battle to the death! You can't just go stabbing a bitch!"
Woolie notes, "I don't think he has a complete grasp on how this match goes – that's saying a lot considering a lot of these characters aren't really wrestlers!"
As the commentators went on in this moment, and as Mr. Karate and Zangief decide to team up against the Monster Hunter without a proper name, Orchid went up behind Yoshimitsu with a barrel of kicks, only for him to kick back a few times himself.
'Mitsu climbs up the turnbuckles at the bottom left, keeping the agents behind him at bay as he jumps off... and then gets one over his opponents in Tracer and Orchid with a crossbody that splashes over both of them!
Dino corrects his fellow commentators from seconds earlier, "Well, he knows how to maneuver well around the ring, you gotta admit that!"
Back to his feet, and after pulling his sword out of the turnbuckle it was just stabbed into – ain't no Excalibur out of the stone, can say for certain – and strikes one of his notable victory poses to sound off this 90-second period heading into the next entrant.
Max proclaims, "Well, entrant #12 will be here in just a second; you bet this could potentially be a game-changer!"
9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! BRRRRRrrrr!
This song [/watch?v=IgNGfoCllGY] wouldn't sound out of place at a jammin' dance party – and even with it's cool, happy vibe, it's safe to say it's nowhere as upbeat as the loudly pink hair of the next participant coming in, excitably springing into the center focus of the stage with a "Tweedle-deedly-dee!"
Entrant #12: Mignon Beart [King of Fighters: Maximum Impact]
Dino asks, a bit of a ribbing joke on the most recent entrant, upon one look at her. "Tell me, does anyone else taste a bit of anime on their tongue all of a sudden?"
Max retorts, "Oh, you'd wish she was from an anime – this is a 'Video Game Rumble', and unfortunately for some, Mignon Beart qualifies!"
Woolie additionally notes, "And you wouldn't know it, but she's in the same pile as Mr. Karate in being a King of Fighters participant! And of all people to represent the 'Maximum Impact' characters. Fun fact: she practices in the 'white magic'."
Dino laments, "Man, I really need to do my research, do I?"
Woolie responds, "All you need to know is Falcoon was a man with needs. Probably still is."
From the beginning of her entrance, Mignon spends a good 15 seconds slapping hands with the fans at the front row – at least, those few who were willing to not leave her hanging. She didn't exactly get the biggest cheers, or even jeers, she's a bit of an unknown to a bunch of people who are here live at Hammerstein.
Upon entering the ring, she takes on a heroic pose, a la Hurricane Helms, and points straight at the first person in her sights, that being the equally odd Yoshimitsu.
The alien samurai itches the back of his head with his sword (please don't question it) when Mignon accuses him of being a 'villainous demon', snapping back with words within his own language, rather undecipherable by human ears, and confusing the
Almost everyone else (sans the Monster Hunter and Mr. Karate still trying to heave-ho each other over the top rope) has stopped and started staring at the confrontation in the middle of the ring, Zangief the most intrigued by the battle of the oddballs brewing.
Dino gives his simply-put comment to what's going on. "Hey, you guys wanna clown out against each other, you might wanna do it at a better time..."
Max notes on Miss Beart's look, completely deadpan towards her, "She looks like someone who tried too hard setting a balance between 'fancy' and 'cute'."
Eventually, Mignon looks to be getting impatient with her newfound opponent, stomping her foot down with enough power to lightly quake the whole ring mat. She looks to brawl with Yoshimitsu, taking a stance akin to a kitty-cat who's taken up Chinese boxing.
However, her attempts to duel are halted by the approaching Zangief, who calmly walks over and has her lower her arms, getting into a bit of a discussion that goes along the lines of him calmly questioning her fighting ability. She clearly doesn't like being 'insulted', surprisingly not intimidated by the Red Cyclone's much heavier stature, but he doesn't seem to need to raise his voice at her as he simply tries to reason with her...
...before he suddenly scoops her up in his arms like a wedding bride but not in a lovingly sort of way, more of a 'take out the trash' sort of way. She flails and kicks at him, but to no effect as despite those strikes looking pretty fierce, Zangief gives none towards them...
...before tossing her over the top rope, an easy elimination resulting from her getting dropped flat on her ass at ringside.
Dino snarks happily at her elimination, chuckling to himself. "Well, so much for that; better luck next time, sweetheart!"
6TH ELIMINATION: Mignon Beart [by Zangief]
Time: 0:50
Max notes, "Shortest run in the Video Game Rumble so far, knocking Reptile right out of the running – I'd be confident knowing that if I were him."
Landing at ringside surely hasn't done well to 's rear considering how she landed, as she rolls around a bit on the floor rubbing at her butt in pain.
Woolie recalls something Max said right before #12 showed up. "Hey Max, you remember when you said this was probably a game-changer?"
"Yeah, have me eat my words – thanks for that," Maximilian sarcastically retorts.
As Zangief dusts off his hands and gets back to Mr. Karate and MonHun at the top right corner, Mignon finally sits up at the bottom of the ramp, resting her knees in front of her self as she starts frustratingly bonking herself on the head for not preparing herself enough for the Rumble.
How fitting that the countdown looms over Mignon's head – regardless of the entrant, she's probably gonna get further clobbered, more than she deserves despite her efforts.
10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! BRRRRRrrrr!
Somehow, the song of the next entrant [/watch?v=JVY8jH8Lm2I] manages to be even more of a jammer than Mignon's song. However, a definite sound-off of boos coming from more than a handful of audience members ring through as the next entrant reveals herself, in her cat-ear headphones and ready to dance the night away.
Entrant #13: Lucky Chloe [Tekken]
Dino groans, "Well, just when we were starting to get rid of the oddjobs in this place..."
Max immediately goes into assurance towards a friend of his who's most likely watching. "Kenny, if you're watching, I can assure you she'll probably be eliminated just as quickly, if not quicker. Do not let that grudge get to your head!"
Woolie is surprisingly amused, "Is it bad I really wanna see how this goes?"
As she trots on down the ramp, Lucky Chloe briefly power-slides Naomi-style, sliding down a fair bit before getting back up continuing her dancing strut...
...only to suddenly get tripped up on something, and fall face-first right into the ring apron! The boos evaporate into groans and then into cheers upon her sudden flop.
Dino laughs at her misfortune. "Well, nice job eating shit there, dipshit!"
Max attempts to make into words what just happen, "Okay, it's hard to see what happened, but I think she may gotten tripped by... wait... Mignon?"
Everybody in the ring stops for a moment to look over at what just happened, as the camera gets a good view of a visibly upset looming over Lucky Chloe's body after causing her... well, 'unlucky' prat fall. The magic-practiced girl must be feeling mighty disrespected by the dancer's presence, given that she soon enough climbs over on top of and starts going to town on her with some reckless slaps and punches.
Surprised by what he's seeing, Max tries to call for some assistance from the referees or whomever is willing to break this up. "Okay, uhh, I think we may need someone here at ringside
Woolie states,"You know it's bad when even she finds offense in that girl!"
Mignon yanks the headphones (which were already halfway off Chloe's head due to smashing herself on the apron) off her victim, steps back a bit while looking at it, and as the Japanese dance slowly climbs back up, still overpowered by her grogginess...
…Mignon smashes her in the face with the headphones, knocking her back down!
Dino is amazed at the aggression, "Holy crap! Well, she's won me over already! Now if only she can un-eliminate herself and use that to her advantage..."
"Now this is RUTHLESS AGGRESSION!" Woolie proclaims, doing his best (but still hilarious) Vince McMahon impression.
It's at this point that the referees and some security make it to ringside to force Mignon to hold off on further damage. She doesn't exactly fight back against it, instead marching off in a huff. The assistance at ringside departs soon after, leaving Lucky Chloe be on the ground.
Woolie says, "Man, for entering at lucky #13, even with a name like that, this has not been a good night for her."
Asking the big questions, Max speaks up, "She hasn't even made it to the ring - is she technically still in?"
Dino assumes, "I think we might have another Scotty 2 Hotty moment over here. At best, it'll lead to another Axelmania angle if we get back next year."
Back to usual business, with Tracer and Orchid against Yoshimitsu, alongside Mr. Karate, Zangief and the Monster Hunter going against each other in the ring.
Already, it feels like we are creeping close to entrant #14, 20 seconds on the countdown clock heading in.
Dino realizes this... "I just noticed we're right about to see #14 – me and newLEGACYinc, we call that the unlucky number since most people who enter have bad things happen to them eventually..."
Max looks to debunk the number's bad-luck carryover. "I don't think that's how it'll work in this Rumble..."
10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! BRRRRRrrrr!
The next song up [/watch?v=Utt5XIHwbqA] rings in the supposed 'unlucky' entrant – a casually-dressed man with a camera corded around his neck, and a shopping cart full of odd makeshift weaponry.
The first thing Dino notices is the cart of plunder. "Whoa shit, he's come prepared!"
Max announces the next entrant to the ring, "Ladies and gents, let us introduce to you, Dead Rising's own Frank West; you oughta know, he's covered wars... and I think we all have a feeling he's gonna be covering another one tonight!"
Entrant #14: Frank West [Dead Rising]
Dino pauses for a bit before speaking up again, as Frank parks his shopping cart at ringside. "...Is it bad I just now noticed the zombie in that cart?"
Well, he isn't lying – a decomposing corpse of a man seems to have been stuffed into the cart, and it's somewhat hard to notice, but that corpse is still twitching. Some fear it'll try to get involved.
Max notes back to Dino, "Well, Frank's survived through a lot of zombies – I'm surprised that you're surprised about that."
Dino tries to justify, "It's been a while since I've even heard about Dead Rising – plus, there's a legit zombie at ringside; it's probably only a matter of time before that thing tries to get out of there."
Frank doesn't look to be in a hurry, as he circles around his cart for a brief minute, looking in at the six in the ring, before rummaging into the cart (while making sure not to disturb the zombie parked on top), and after a moment, coming up with... what seems to be a helmet modeled after a Servbot (from the Mega Man series, to the confused).
In the ring, Zangief has just managed to force Mr. Karate over the top rope and onto the apron, and is about to try the same on the Monster Hunter, after disarming her of her sword...
...only for his sight to suddenly be obstructed by the Servbot helmet that plops onto his head. As the Russian grappler starts rotating around to try and sense the hooligan trying to mess with him, Frank West chuckles to himself (and so does the crowd) and adds the insult-to-injury cherry on top by getting his camera ready and taking a humoring little snapshot.
Max quips, "Well, that's one for the scrap-book!"
Spending too much time taking the Servbot head off his own to regain his sight, Zangief doesn't see the Monster Hunter hopping up on his back in an attempted sleeper hold.
Frank steps back and reaches through the ropes to the shopping cart at ringside, bringing in another weapon for the using – this time, a rusty steel pipe, which he immediately swings into the gut of the occupied Zangief. Orchid zips past Frank as she dashes forward with a knee right to the side of Zangief's head – another strike to the big man in the ring to try and stagger him further.
Dino states, "The Red Cyclone's experiencing some turbulence!"
Finally, Zangief manages to knock the Monster Hunter off his back by running backwards into the top left corner and slamming her into the turnbuckles. At the same time, Mr. Karate has gotten up on the apron, and with a running palm strike, smashes Zangief across the mouth to stagger him.
However, not paying attention to everything around him means a price to pay for the Tengu-mask warrior, as Black Orchid charges in with a superkick to the face, which manages to turn the Tengu mask almost 90 degrees sideway and come close to unmasking the legendary Mr. Karate. As if that wasn't enough of a knock that endangers his spot in the Rumble, Zangief makes his retaliation clear, with a clothesline that knocks Mr. Karate for a loop, into a backflip, and out to the outside, sparking a reaction from the crowd.
Dino gasps, "Whoa! He's out!"
Maximilian announces, "Mark off elimination #4 for the Red Cyclone!"
7TH ELIMINATION: Mr. Karate [by Zangief]
Time: 12:59
"Came close to 13 minutes, from what I'm hearing, from entry to elimination," Woolie notes. "That leaves Black Orchid and Tracer as the workhorse candidates, the ones to have lasted the longest overall."
"A thick gap between entries, from the first and second, Orchid and Tracer respectively, to #9, the Monster Hunter," Max adds. "Ain't that interesting?"
Zangief is now going against the #1 / #2 workhorses right now, as he grapples up with Orchid, while Tracer attempts to get a handle of him as well; meanwhile, Frank West has entered a showdown with Yoshimitsu, who has just noticed Frank's pipe and offered up a proper duel between a sword and a pipe. May I repeat that again? What a Rumble...
Some may not realize the Video Game Rumble is reaching its halfway point (probably because they lost count of the entrant numbers somehow), as the fifteenth entrant is on the way!
10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! BRRRRRrrrr!
...Did it just start snowing?
No, that actually seems to be artificial snow of some sorts, as the lights go blue and a new song [/watch?v=uKAtUeWCfrE] chills over the speakers...
Whoa... Chinese ninja warrior...
With your heart so cold...
Sub-zero...
Entrant #15: Sub-Zero [Mortal Kombat]
Dino does his best WWE-commentator impression, "Can it be? … It is!"
The ice-powered Lin Kuei warrior stands on the stage, staring right down to the ring, before starting his walk down the aisle among a great reception, perhaps one of the biggest next to Zangief's arrival earlier and Lucky Chloe getting her ass kicked.
"Business is only picking up from here!" Max proclaims as Sub-Zero steps ever so closer to the ring, heading into the second half of the Video Game Rumble!
Statistics
Current participants: Black Orchid, Tracer, Monster Hunter, Zangief, Yoshimitsu, Lucky Chloe (?), Frank West, Sub-Zero
Eliminated: Reptile, Crash Bandicoot, Paul Phoenix, Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, Mignon Beart, Mr. Karate
Longest lasting: Black Orchid / Tracer (tied since start)
Shortest lasting: Mignon Beart (0:50)
Most eliminations: 4 (Zangief)
