Man Down

The Wild Kru arrived at the Philadelphia Spectrum in their tour van. Sentai Dragon Omega greeted them in their locker room with his friend Damien Lyonne.

'Hey, Big O. Do you have a match for the rest of the crew?' Sylvester asked. Omega turned to Damien and then turned back to Sylvester.

'Yeah. Eddy, Knuckles & Larry can face Smoke, Darth Maul & Reptile in a 6-man tag match with a Hardcore stipulation if you wish.' Omega offered. Sylvester looked back at Eddy, Knuckles & Larry, who smiled devilishly, almost as if they were salvating at the prospect of brutalising the Ninjas and their Sith comrade.

'Sounds good to them!' Sylvester responded. Omega nodded and left with Damien. Sylvester set his bags down and glanced at Eddy.

'After that injury back at the Superdome, are you fit for service?' Sylvester asked concerningly.

'I've got a minor headache and a tweaked ankle. I'll be fine, Master S.' Eddy insisted. Red Tiger & Homer laughed.

'What?' Sylvester said.

'Master S. That's fresh!' Homer replied. The Kru then traded jokes.

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'Ladies & Gentlemen from around the world on Pay-Per-View, welcome to the 30th Megaslam Wrestling Universe festival live from the Spectrum Arena in the most hostile city in America, Philadelpia! I am Joey Styles and have we got a card for you tonight! Sylvester The Cat, current co-holder of the HWF World Annihilation title, challenges the XLW World Heavyweight champion Panther Master for the XLW World title in the second-ever Thunderdome main event, which would be their first match against each other in three years! Yes, you heard it here: the rivals who battered each other to death in two XLW matches from 2003 will meet in what just may be their last encounter inside the squared circle. Also, Red Tiger, Sylvester's longtime friend and tag team partner, challenges Black Falcon for the HWF Unified Heavyweight championship. In the midst of the exciting main events booked for tonight, 'Pitbull' Homer Simpson teams with Daffy Duck to battle The Bikebrakers for the DCW Double Dragon tag team titles in an unhinged Hardcore Tag Team brawl. And the Wild Kru's streak of the night begins with the opening match: Eddy Green, Larry the Lion & Knuckles face off with Smoke, Reptile & Darth Maul in a Hardcore match! Let's go to the ring!' Styles introduced.

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Eddy went straight after Reptile once the bell rang while Knuckles got into a fistfight with Smoke at ringside and Larry battled Maul up the aisle with a kendo stick. Eddy went for the Culdesak Destroyer, but Reptile countered with the Acid Alabama Slam. Eddy kipped up and superkicked Reptile down. On the stage, Maul & Larry traded weapon shots until Larry picked up Maul and drove him through a stageside table with the Last Roar. Knuckles sent Smoke sailing into the guardrail, but was kicked in the gut by the ninja. Smoke let Knuckles have it with a barrage of martial arts-style kicks and topped it all off with a wheel kick. Reptile drilled Eddy with a DDT and went up top for a splash. Larry appeared out of nowhere and pushed Reptile off of the top rope. Smoke pulled down Larry and unloaded on the Lion with a second combination of kicks. Smoke missed the last kick as Larry ducked and ended up in the arms of the revived Knuckles, who slammed Smoke into the ringpost hard. Darth Maul rushed back down to ringside and smashed Larry over the head with a kendo stick. Knuckles in turn sent a chair flying into Maul's head and the chair hooked onto his neck like a noose. Eddy locked in a Dragon Sleeper on Reptile and waited a minute before executing the Inverted DDT. Eddy was ready to go for something big and put Reptile in the torture rack. Eddy tried to drive down Reptile, but Kevin Smith came from the guardrail and smashed Eddy in the face with a lead pipe. The leader of the Eds was now bleeding profusely and seeing stars. Knuckles & Larry took their fight with Smoke & Maul into the ring, but their plan of action was thwarted when Maul applied a double Sith Tap-Out, allowing Smoke to blast Larry with the Burning Hammer. Reptile dragged Eddy to his feet and executed the Lizard Driver. 1...2... No! Eddy kicked out of Reptile's finishing move! Frustrated in the crowd, Kevin came back and viscously attacked Eddy's legs with his lead pipe. The Bikebraker was quick as a cat in setting up a double stack of tables and sending a ladder into the ring. He lit the double stack on fire and collaborated with Reptile. Kevin sent Eddy up to Reptile on top of the ladder where Reptile hit a jaw-dropping Death Valley Driver on Eddy straight through the burning stack. But that couldn't keep Eddy down. The courageous kid fought back up to his feet and sent Maul, Kevin & Smoke over the top rope. Revived Knuckles & Larry battered Maul & Smoke at ringside. Eddy motioned to the crowd and popped them big time with the Cut-Throat Towerhacker E-Driver from the torture rack position for the win. His well-deserved cheers turned to boos when Kevin, Maul & Smoke, having dealt with Larry & Knuckles, blasted Eddy from behind. Kevin hit the Kevolution Edge, Smoke hit the Burning Hammer, Maul hit the Sith Choke STO and Reptile topped off the relentless assault on Eddy with another Lizard Driver. The boos were deafening and the ring was soon full of trash. The remaining Wild Kru members rushed out to check on their fallen friends and to get a measure of revenge on PM's cronies, but the bad guys were long gone. Red Tiger & Homer helped the shattered Eddy onto a stretcher.

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'How is he, doctor?' Red asked the doctor who had tended to Eddy.

'He won't be able to wrestle for a long time after suffering a concussion, which is what has fallen upon your friend. That wound will take a lot of stitches to close.' The doctor responded. A pissed Sylvester walked over Eddy, who was having his blood wound taped up.

'We'll get those bastards for what they did, Eddy. I've got a grudge against that S.O.B Kevin for what went down in the Motor City Mall 2 months ago!' Sylvester promised.

'If I were you, I wouldn't worry about Kevin so much as worrying about Panther Master, Sly. Injuries like this happen in wrestling all the time. You don't believe me, just watch an FMW tape from Japan. Besides, I don't want you guys to get hurt over something that happened to me. Let it go.' Eddy muttered as the nurse applied more tape.

'I'll let it go once they're dead!' Sylvester declared.

'Yeah! You bust your head open for us: we'll bust our asses for you!' Red added. Sentai Dragon Omega came in to talk with the Kru.

'I saw what happened, guys. As a result, management is changing the main event. After you are all done with your other matches, you'll all team up in the Thunderdome and defend the World Annihilation title against Panther's troops... with Knuckles obviously replacing Eddy in the warzone. If you all win, you will have helped Sylvester capture the XLW title and put PM in jail for his disgusting conduct outside of the ring. I can't wait to see the smile come off of their faces!' Omega retorted before walking out.

'It's on!' Sylvester proclaimed.