J-1 Pinnacle - Block B - Round One - Kobane vs. End

[Kip Whistler]

Round One in Block B:
Seph Kobane (0) vs. Tommy End (0)

[Seph Kobane]

The lights dim, spotlights hit the ramp and it's a new song:



Oh, a new entrance song! And it's the Offspring!

Beeman: Who is this before me?

To answer him, Seph Kobane steps onto the ramp, his white sunglasses on, flannel hanging off his frame, his drawn jaw chewing him, Converse laces trailing under the cuffs of his torn jeans.

LeRay: I thought we saw the last of this poser!
Beeman: Alas, he returns. But is he a new man?

As the lyrics hit, Seph strolls to the ring, gazing lazily at the crowd around him. Some bay for revenge for the atrocities that Insane and the Compound committed only a year past, some love a good comeback story and the rest can't wait to see this grunger get battered by our boy Tommy End.

LeRay: He'll have a hard time tonight. He returns the same time as Tommy End?
Beeman: We'll see this evening why he is called the Dutch Destroyer!

Seph stops at the steps and an official gives him a patdown. Happy that Seph has no hidden phones or handheld consoles, he lets him enter the ring. Seph smirks and hands the official his tattered flannel, entering in a tank top, jeans and at least stopping to tuck his laces in.

Rod C: Entering the ring first, hailing from Grey Harbour, Washington, he is the man formerly known as The Truth, Seph Koooooooobane!
LeRay: Formerly?
Beeman: Allegedly.

Seph wipes his feet on the apron out of respect, enters the ring and strolls over to the opposite turnbuckle, his sunglasses still on. He hops up onto the turnbuckle, sits and watches the entrance as his music fades, waiting for Tommy...

[Dark Mauler]

*Tommy End’s music hits and the Dutchman makes his entrance, still showing visible damage from his MMA bout. (OOC: a bout that I was going to write up, unfortunately I completely forgot to.) Tommy’s wearing the same gear he wore for his fight, orange Vale Tudo shorts with a Dutch flag design on both sides.*
LeRay: Tommy End makes his return less than a week after winning a performance of the night bonus with a brutal head kick KO! But can End pick up a win here tonight with such a short layoff?
Beeman: Mick, if I know one thing about Tommy End I know he’s always ready to scrap. In his JWA career Tommy has transformed from a pure striker to one of the most well rounded wrestlers in the company.
*Tommy enters the ring and drops into a sitting position in his corner, awaiting the start of the match.*

[Seph Kobane]

Seph and Tommy stare at each other for a short moment. Seph takes a step forward and stops. Tommy has not moved.

The crowd, coiled like a spring, begin to chant to get the two men to meet. Tommy sits still, barely even breathing. Seph steps towards the ropes, as if to leave, goading Tommy. Still no movement. He walks along, hands on the ropes, moving to within several feet of Tommy and then-

Beeman: Oh my!

Seph strikes, a kick to End's sitting face, but the Dutchman has rolled out of the way. A cheer rises and Seph follows, throwing punches, kicks, shoulder barges and clotheslines. It lasts for barely a heartbeat, but Tommy dodges them all.

All bar one.

End allows himself to be clipped by a boot to the chest. He swipes and checks every strike but that, taking a millisecond to steady himself before getting hit by Seph. It is barely a tap, but through it Tommy gathers all he needs to know about Seph's strength and skill.

Tommy End smiles.

[Dark Mauler]

LeRay: Tommy gestures for Seph to hit him again, and takes Seth’s punch without so much as a flinch! Tommy returns fire with a chop that drops Seph to a knee! Tommy picks Seph right back up and starts peppering him with palm strikes, forcing Seph into the corner.
Beeman: Not a great place to be when you’re in there with Tommy End. Seph needs to create distance, and fast.
LeRay: Seph seems to realize that, as he headbutts Tommy in the chest, driving the Dutchman back. Seph then quickly rolls out of the ring, looking to take a breather on the outside.

[Seph Kobane]

Seph's chest is heaving, his body throbbing and his head pounding. The speed of Tommy! He struck without so much as giving Seph a moment's respite. Surely his sportsmanship would outweigh his conceit. Seph knows that he doesn't have the speed or power to outmanoeuvre End.

Tommy takes a step back, leans into the rope and launches himself towards the outside. Seph side-steps it and Tommy changes tact mid-air, grabbing the top rope and landing on the apron. He reels back and charges a boot at Seph's face but the slimmer man ducks it and grabs a hold of End's stationary foot, lurching back. Tommy wavers but holds onto the ropes, righting himself.

By the time he spins, Seph has slid in, bounced off the ropes himself and charges towards Tommy. The Dutch Destroyer whips and slides around the clothesline but Seph, overwhelmed with the embarrassment that comes from missed shots, follows Tommy, moving along the ropes swinging digs as End Dodge's along the apron.

Finally, Tommy finds himself at the corner and swings around it, one foot on each side of the apron, holding onto the turnbuckle. Seph is up on the second rope - Bret's rope, the most dangerous rope - and grabs a hold of Tommy's head.

End, with unmatched grace of one of the best all-round wrestlers that the JWA has ever known, grabs a handful of Seph's hair in each meaty fist and jumps off the apron - driving Seph's head into the top of the turnbuckle.

Kobane springs backwards, holding his face, certain to have broken a nose or a tooth. On the outside, Tommy stands, eyes never leaving his quarry. 

[Dark Mauler]

LeRay: Tommy End is stalking his prey, but Seph Kobane hasn’t yet realized Tommy’s back in the ring, as he’s still holding his face! Tommy goes for the Foot to the Face but a very lucky stumble from Seph sees Tommy End miss! Seph takes advantage with a roll up that nearly gets the job done, scoring a 2 count! And Seph thinks he’s won the match!
Beeman: Big mistake. Kobane should have just laid down and accepted the loss, because Tommy End is back to his feet with a murderous look in his eyes.
LeRay: Tommy grabs Seph from behind, and hits a straitjacket German suplex! And now End starts laying down ground and pound, punishing every mistake Seph makes in this match!
Beeman: This isn’t a match, it’s a mauling. Seph bit off more than he could chew tonight.

[Seph Kobane]

Tommy is on top of Seph, not letting up a single bit, never even giving him an inch, being as selfish a worker as he can, determined to win, unafraid to even consider the concept that Seph should be given a single opening. The official moves between them, pushing End back, and yet he continues to ground and pound, one of the strongest strikers in the business, clear JWA hall of famer and headliner of the Mount Rushmore of wrestlers and MMA boys.

Seph, given a moments respite, takes it. He drags himself to the apron and tumbles off, spitting thick saliva through swelling lips. He stumbles to his feet and grips his flannel from the timekeepers area, dragging it behind him as he sways towards the ramp.

Beeman: What is he doing?
LeRay: He's taking his toys and leaving! What a coward! He's walking out on the single greatest man to ever lace his boots in a JWA arena!
Beeman: Seph has had enough. Just because he can take a beating, doesn't mean he has to.

Tommy watches Seph trip up the ramp with his hands on his waist as the official begins a ten count. Seph gets to the curtain and turns, the crowd booing their dissent. He glares, with his one painfully unswollen eye at his opponent.

The official reaches five, but Tommy is already up the ramp after him. No way he's letting someone lose on their own terms.

[Dark Mauler]

LeRay: Tommy End catches up to Seph Kobane, but Seph lands a punch out of nowhere!
Beeman: It was a trap! Seph is going to try to win by count out! One of the oldest tricks in the book, and End fell for it!
LeRay: As Seph re-enters the ring, the count reaches 7! But Tommy End kips up at the top of the ramp, and Seph looks like he’s seen a ghost!
Beeman: One punch was never going to be enough to stop Tommy End!
LeRay: You might be wrong, as the official’s count hits 9! Tommy quickly makes his way back into the ring, but as he rolls in Seph rolls out near our announce table!
Beeman: Finally, a strategy with a chance of working from Seph. You can’t get beat if the opponent can’t reach you!

[Dark Mauler]

LeRay: It would appear to be a very sound plan from Seph Kobane, but the only issue with it is that Tommy just leapt over the top rope with a huge flying elbow strike! Tommy tosses his opponent back into the ring, and both men are back on their feet in the ring! And now the two begin to trade punches, and it looks like Seph is somehow getting the upper hand!
Beeman: I don’t know how Seph is doing this, but it appears he’s caught a second wind!
LeRay: Seph goes for a huge haymaker, but Tommy drops into a roll and snares the leg! A heel hook is locked in now, and despite his best efforts Seph is completely trapped in the middle of the ring with no way to escape the hold!
Beeman: I thought Tommy might come back with something new, but I didn’t think it’d be the Imanari Roll!
LeRay: Seph taps! Tommy End gets it done via submission in his return to the JWA ring!