Wrestling

Loud, aggressive boos rained down from the Grand Auditorium. Moonie simply threw his hands up in mock innocence, whistling a tune as he backed away from the scene of the crime.

Jasun’s cocky smirk had returned to his face. He hauled Briggs up by the hair, whipping the rookie violently into the barricade. The impact rattled the fencing, causing the front row to scatter backward. Jasun tossed Briggs back under the bottom rope and slid in after him, hooking the leg for a lazy, arrogant cover.

1

2—

Briggs managed to thrust his shoulder up, breaking the pin.

Jasun didn’t look concerned. He transitioned immediately into a grounded chinlock, digging his knee into the center of Briggs’ spine. He wrenched the rookie’s neck backward, trying to siphon the oxygen from his lungs.

[Tanaka: And just like that, the numbers game catches up to Tyler Briggs. This is exactly what Sun and Moon do. They frustrate you, they distract you, and then they overpower you.]

The match now had a methodical pace to it. Every time Briggs fought his way up to a vertical base, throwing elbows to the champion’s midsection to break the hold, Jasun would resort to a handful of fists of his own or a sharp knee to the gut to shut the momentum down.

In the locker room.

Jey found himself leaning forward, the ice pack forgotten in his hand. He recognized the exact psychology Jasun was employing. It was the same tactic Nakamuro had used on him earlier in the night. Wear the opponent down, make them desperate, and force them to make a high-risk mistake.

Briggs, however, possessed... sometimes boundless stamina, that defied logic.

Jasun whipped the rookie into the corner, charging in for a running splash. Briggs escaped out of the corner, diving low and rolling across the canvas. Jasun crashed chest-first into the turnbuckle pads.

Before the champion could recover, Briggs was back on his feet.

Jasun sprinted forward at Briggs towards the opposite corner, Briggs used the corner and leaped up. He completely bypassed the incoming charge, vaulting backward over Jasun’s head in a stunning display of agility. As he landed softly on his feet, Jasun spun around in confusion.

[Tanaka: Wow! That display of agility.]

Briggs delivered a lightning-fast Pelé kick.

The half-flip strike caught Jasun flush on the crown of his head. The champion dropped to his knees, his eyes rolling back.

The crowd erupted, sensing the turning point.

[Braxton: Briggs connects! The rookie is finding momentum again.]

Briggs scrambled to the corner, pulling himself up using the corner ropes, one hand to each side. He ducked under the second rope when he got to his feet, stepped out onto the ring apron, his chest heaving with exertion. He wiped a streak of sweat from his forehead, his eyes locked onto Jasun, who was staggering blindly toward the center of the ring.

Briggs grabbed the top rope with both hands, measuring the distance.

Down on the floor, Moonie realized the match was slipping away. He scrambled up onto the steel ring steps, preparing to jump onto the apron and push Briggs off the ropes.

But Briggs had learned his lesson. He didn’t wait for the interference.

Without taking his eyes off Jasun to have the element of surprise edge on Moonie, Briggs snapped his right leg out, delivering a brutal superkick. The boot caught Moonie on the jaw. The silver-clad partner went flying backward off the steps, crashing in a heap against the barricade. Threat neutralized.

The arena exploded once again.

With the outside threat finally eliminated, Briggs focused his attention back on his opponent. Jasun was just turning around, thoroughly confused by the sudden disappearance of his partner.

Briggs leaped.

He springboarded off the top rope with incredible vertical height. He seemed to hang in the air for an eternity, extending his right arm perfectly parallel to the canvas.

[Tanaka: Here it comes!]

Briggs delivered his signature Flying Forearm Smash.

The impact was devastating. The forearm connected flush with Jasun’s jaw, practically folding the tag team champion while Briggs descended mid-air. They crashed to the canvas in a tangle of limbs, but Briggs immediately rolled through, hooking both of Jasun’s neon-tasseled legs tightly against his chest.

The referee slid into position, his hand slapping the mat.

1!

The crowd counted along, their voices echoing through the massive stadium.

2—

Jasun’s arms twitched, but the impact of the forearm had completely scrambled his equilibrium.

3!

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The catchy, high-energy pop-punk theme of Tyler Briggs blasted through the speakers of the Grand Auditorium. Whatever was limiting the crowd noise came apart as they began celebrating the massive upset victory.

Briggs had not only survived the numbers game, but he had also pinned one half of the reigning tag team champions clean in the middle of the ring.

[Braxton: He did it! Tyler Briggs secures what is currently the biggest win of his young career!]

[Tanaka: An absolutely brilliant performance! He neutralized Moonie and caught Jasun right on the button! What a main event!]

In the locker room, Jey let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He tossed the ice pack onto the bench, a smile breaking across his face.

"Kid’s got serious heart," Jey said, standing up. "That forearm was picture perfect."

"He earned that one," Bambietta agreed, reaching into her bag to grab her keys. "Alright, show’s over. Let’s get you out of this building before anything else happens."

Jey grabbed his gym bag, throwing the strap over his shoulder. He took one last look at the monitor.

Inside the ring, the referee was holding Tyler Briggs’ arm high in the air. The rookie was exhausted, his chest rising and falling rapidly, but he was beaming at the same time. He slapped his chest, pointing out into the crowd to acknowledge the fans who had rallied behind him.

But the celebration was cut short...violently.

While Briggs was playing to the crowd, the camera angle shifted. Moonie had recovered on the outside. He wasn’t rubbing his jaw or checking on his defeated partner. He had reached under the ring apron and retrieved a solid steel folding chair.

Moonie slid under the bottom rope, completely undetected by the exhausted ref or the even more exhausted rookie.

"Watch out!" Jey barked at the monitor, flaring up.

It was too late.

Briggs turned around just in time to see the silver blur swinging toward him.

SMACK.

The sound of hollow steel colliding with bone echoed through the arena, cutting through the celebratory music.

Moonie drove the edge of the steel chair into Briggs’ unprotected ribs. The rookie gasped, doubling over in immediate, blinding agony. Before Briggs could even fall to his knees, Moonie reared back and swung the chair horizontally, smashing it across the rookie’s spine.

Briggs collapsed to the canvas.

The boos from the crowd were instant and deafening. Moonie didn’t care. He threw the dented steel chair down onto Briggs’ back yet again, spitting on the canvas. He grabbed Jasun by the collar bone, dragging his half-conscious partner out of the ring.

Jey stared at the screen. There was always something lurking just beneath the surface, waiting for the perfect moment to ruin a celebration.

"Come on," Bambietta said softly, placing a hand on Jey’s arm, sensing the shift in his demeanor. "There’s nothing you can do for him right now. Let’s go home."

Jey nodded slowly, tearing his eyes away from the broken rookie on the monitor.

He turned his back on the screen, following Bambietta out of the locker room.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!