Shotgun Episode #8

ROXIE DIXON vs. CORVO PRATEADO

The Guadalajara crowd remains white hot as we cut to the ring to set up our opening match, one of the competitors already in the ring, always a universally good sign for their chances. In this case the fighter in question is Corvo Prateado, pacing back and forward and throwing punches at the air while generic samba music plays in the background as she gets her introduction.

BIG MOUTH MINDY: The following match is scheduled for one fall! Introducing first, from São Paulo, weighing in at 116 pounds, she is the Brazilian Bruiser,  Corvo! Prateado!

Prateado raises a single fist to a smattering of cheers, as most eyes are looking towards the entryway. A moment later, the opening riff of "Death By Rock and Roll" by the Pretty Reckless begin to rip through the arena. A moment later, Roxie Dixon appears from backstage. A confident smirk is plastered across her lips as she steps forward, taking in the crowd for a moment before she throws up a pair of devil's horns. She starts to stalk forward, eyes on the competition as her entrance theme blares on. She wears her wrestling gear, all shiny black faux-leather, with a matching true-leather black motorcycle jacket, and a matching studded baseball cap.

BIG MOUTH MINDY: And her opponent, from Los Angeles, California, she is the Skid Row Angel, Roxie! Dixon!

DICK DELAURIER: Last week on Shotgun, Roxie Dixon talked a bit talk, but now? Now we see if she can walk the walk as well.

FIONA METZ: A lot of people talk a ton of bullshit. What matter most is if you can back it up. And I was actually talking to Prateado before the show, and she said she's not impressed with Dixon either, and tonight she plans to put her into her place.

DICK DELAURIER: Do you two doubt Roxie's ability to back up her bluster?

FIONA METZ: I am a difficult woman to impress, Dick. And Prateado is here to prove she's a forced to be reckoned with.

As Dick and Fiona banter, Roxie has made her way to the ring. She steps on the top turnbuckle, throwing up double horns and sticking her tongue out as she vamps to the crowd. A moment later she jumps and takes her corner. Gina Stripes, the most appropriately named of referees, checks both competitors for any foreign objects before she calls for the bell. Our opening match is underway!

The two fighters circle each other for a few moments, clearly sizing each other up, each waiting to see when they should strike first. Corvo is the first one to bite, approaching with an aggressive knee strike, which Roxie is ready for and is able to push away. Corvo turns quickly though, squaring back up. Another attempt at a knee is countered once again, Roxie proving light on her feet. Corvo, clearly growing frustrated, rushes forward with firey punch, which a ready Roxie easily counters into an arm wrench, allowing her to take control of the match. She then pushes her opponent against the ropes, whipping Corvo across the ring. Roxie bounces off the ring ropes herself opposite her opponent, and attempts to nail her with a huge clothesline. Corvo is able to duck it however, and as both women pump the breaks, Corvo executes a perfectly executed dropkick, dropping Roxie.

DICK DELAURIER: After some cat and mouse, Corvo is able to get the advantage.

FIONA METZ: And this is why games like Roxie is playing aren't worth a piss. You need to be aggressive, and not give the other side an ounce of daylight.

As Roxie stumbles to her feet, Corvo attempts to apply more pressure with a strong series of strikes. Roxie is able to block most of them, but is forced into the ropes. However, when Corvo backs to lunge forward, Roxie is able to duck the blow and position herself in the more advantageous position, smacking Corvo across the chest with a thunderous knife-edge chop! Corvo is momentarily stunned, but attempts to counter with a chop of her own. Roxie ducks under it however, able to transition herself behind Corvo, lock her in a full nelson hold, only to snap her back into a bridging dragon suplex pin!


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Corvo is able to kick out!

FIONA METZ: Okay, I have to admit, that was pretty.

DICK DELAURIER: Roxie calls that the Rainbow Bridge, and it almost earned her a W here! Prataedo seems to be taking that as a sign to take a breather.


Indeed, Corvo Prateado rolls out of the ring, hands on her hips, clearly collecting herself. However, just as she turns to get herself back into the ring, she gets a major set back as she finds herself completely missled into the barricade thanks to a supersonic suicide dive from Roxie Dixon! The crowd goes wild and Roxie actually hops atop the barricade, throwing her twin horns back up, taking in the crowd's positive response to the newcomer.


DICK DELAURIER: Roxie soaking in the crowd in her debut match!

FIONA METZ: All well and good, but she better keep her mind on the match.

Roxie jumps off the barricade, turning just in time to eat a serious elbow to the jaw, stiff enough to elicits a loud CRACK!

FIONA METZ: I'm a wrestling genius.

DICK DELAURIER: Dixon indeed gets caught off guard, let's see if Prataedo can capitalize.

Corvo is able to get a few more stiff shots in before finally rolling Roxie back into the ring. She hops up on the apron, waiting for Roxie to turn around. As soon as she does, Corvo attempts a springboard crossbody, but is caught by Roxie. From slam position, she sets Prataedo on her feet, bridging her backward and slamming her down on the ground with thudding reverse DDT! The Skid Row Angel doesn't stop there however, racing towards the ropes to springboard herself, hitting Prataedo with a huge LASault! She hooks the leg...

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A hair away from a three count!

DICK DELAURIER: It doesn't get much closer than that! And it doesn't look like Roxie is quite done yet!

FIONA METZ: That's the aggression she needs.

Indeed, Roxie hoists Corvo in the air in a suplex position and hold her there. Soon the Mexican audience begins to count. Uno...dos...tres...all the way up to diez before Roxie finally drops Corvo on the crown of her head in a spiking brainbuster. Corvo seems stunned by the blow as Dixon sizes her up. She bounces off of the ropes, and just as Corvo starts to get to her knees, she is knocked right back down as Dixon nearly knocks her face off with running knee!

FIONA METZ: That's a broken nose waiting to happen.

DICK DELAURIER: Roxie calls THAT the Death by Rock and Roll, and it's not hard to see why! She goes for the cover!

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The bells rings as Roxie gets to her feet, Prataedo curled in half and cradling her face. Referee Stripes raises Dixon hand, as the Skid Row Angel raises a devil horn with her free hand and Mindy makes it official.

BIG MOUTH MINDY: Your winner, by pinfall, Roxie! Dixon!

DICK DELAURIER: The newcomer debuts with a win, and with quite a punctuation mark.

FIONA METZ: She may have shut Corvo up today, but she has a big hill to climb still if she wants to prove she's hot shit.

Roxie starts to make her way backstage, smiling as she catches a nearby cameraman. She winks before she starts mouthing off.

ROXIE DIXON: Welcome to the Roxie Show, babies! Just enjoy the ride!

Okay. Lemme set the scene. If you're watching the regular English commentary, you're gonna get the regular vibes. Well spoken Delaurier and snarky ass Metz talking about the match with a slight lean towards RAZOR's tag champs, no matter how subdued they make it. They will also wonder what effects not having Mestizo at ringside will have on the duo.

However, if you somehow manage to stumble over to the Spanish language stream graciously provided by two old lower end employees of FLG, you will get a completely different story. They'll acknowledge that the tag team titles are on the line (much to the exasperation of Big Mouth Mindy) and they will make a nod to Pedro Gonzales' old, highly publicized nickname of "Mexico City's Favorite Son". But that's all secondary compared to the three masked men in the match and what–or rather who–they represent.

In the days where lucha libre was at its peak, there were many luchadors looking to make their name (and money). Blue Dorado and Mr. Angel 2000 were the lead technicos for their respective promotions. They were compared to each other often, a battle between the two was seen as a dream match, and their movies where they would do battle against miscellaneous boogeyman are still considered peak cinema to a certain demographic. Despite this, the two men wouldn't meet at the height of their collective fame.

But there was a bridge between the two. A very big bridge. An adversary that faced off against both men. A rival both in the ring and on the silver screen. He was a rudo among rudos, living breathing destruction in the form of a man. His name was Persona and the scars he made on both men were deep and brutal. Mr. Angel 2000 ended up retiring much earlier than he should as a result of being crippled mercilessly by the original Golden Emperor. His son, Hijo del Mr. Angel 2000, barely survived a mask vs mask match with his actual face attached to his skull. While Blue Dorado faired better and lasted longer, he did end up in a coma for the better part of two years as a result of a particularly nasty assault.

As the decades rolled on, the families of Mr. Angel 2000 and Blue Dorado would eventually meet and become friendly with one another. Rumors abound that the two technicos became in-laws of some fashion, though nobody could prove it. What is well founded is that as circumstances changed in the Mexican wrestling scene and younger generations took up the masks of legends, the spirits of both clans became intertwined with each other. The men that are now known as Blue Dorado Jr. and El Nieto del Angel 2000 knew each other from childhood and are extremely well versed in their family's collective wars.

So when they heard that the hand chosen successor of their namesakes' nightmare was coming to Guadalajara, they contacted Horado Basa and offered him a deal he could not refuse.

Which brings us to now.

The technico duo are talking mad trash at Persona Non Grata and they are being loud about it. Things along the lines of the mask being bought off and the Sucesor del Emperador Dorado being a fraud. The vibes are already off to begin with due to the slight shift on Los Rebeldes' side from "playful" to "somewhat serious", given their piss soaked Mogwai is stuck in a Manchester jail cell. But the barbs being slung are only building tension in the ring. PNG isn't saying anything and he doesn't look any different to the naked eye. But anybody sensitive to auras and shit can feel the danger ramp up.

Pedro, being able to practically taste in the bloodshed in the air, goes full leader mode and makes the wise decision to slip into his corner. PNG shifts his head just enough to look at his partner. There's an unspoken conversation here as Pedro makes a subtle gesture that says something along the lines of "go ahead, I'm not gonna stop you". The response is an equally subtle nod.

It is only at this point that referee Slowpoke Rodriguez motions for the bell.

Ding.

LOS REBELDES DEL BIEN vs. BLUE DORADO JR. Y EL NIETO DEL ANGEL 2000

Dorado Jr. and El Nieto waste no time charging after their collective adversary for the pride of their respective familias. Unfortunately for them, PNG has sensed this and also starts charging, clotheslining both men out of their boots. The first time is a metaphor. The second time is literal as their bodies go flying under the metallic clad freight train.

Instead of going for the attack immediately, the tag champ leans against the ropes and tilts his head slightly as if to say "you really wanna do this?". The Spanish commentary notes that this is more leeway than his predecessor would've given his opponents. The young duo pay no heed as they hasten back up to their stocking feet and order him to BRING IT. PNG shrugs and that murderous aura that he had temporarily tempered to make his silent enquiry roars back to the surface.

It is at this moment that Pedro Gonzales jumps off of the apron, grabs a steel chair, and…sits in between the commentary tables because he knows damn good and well he's not going to be in that ring tonight. The leader of Los Rebeldes knows a thing or two about both his partner and self-preservation.

A ring lackey appears to take the discarded wrestling boots from the mat, partly because the last thing these men need is weaponry and partly so he can sell them off to the highest bidder. The masked tandem begin to swarm around Persona Non Grata. The action is lucha: speed, technique, and (in the case of the head on collisions between PNG and Blue Dorado Jr.) meaty men throwing meat around. But the intention is brutality. It's the tale of two Davids, one Goliath, and that Goliath's David hyping up his monster to the Spanish announce team.

PEDRO GONZALES: ¿Es neta? Güey! ¡Muéstrale respeto a mi hermano!

DICK DELAURIER: I wonder what Pedro said there.

FIONA METZ: He said "I hope he doesn't catch a murder case!"

DICK DELAURIER: I didn't know you could speak Spanish.

FIONA METZ: I don't. I can speak criminal though.

And to give PNG some credit, he is dialing in on not only where the line is but how close he can come. Even in his abundant fury and the plethora of mental images running through his brain, he keeps one lesson of his mentor's in mind. It's not about killing an idiot. It's about killing the idiot's soul. Although, this rule is almost flung right out the window when they tie him up in the ropes and try to rip off his mask. Pedro smashes Blue Dorado Jr. with the steel chair he was just sitting on six seconds ago and releases PNG from his prison. El Neito del Angel 2000 tries to create distance, but PNG immediately snatches him and squeezes the poor bastard's head with his hands.

He tightens. And tightens. And tightens. El Neito is screaming his forfeit. Slowpoke Rodriguez is calling for the bell as the crowd goes apeshit. Mindy grabs the mic.

BIG MOUTH MINDY: Here are your winners…AND STILL RAZOR Wrestling Tag! Team! Champions, Los Rrrrrrrrebeldeeeeees! Del. Bein!

…and Persona Non Grata hears none of it. The ref is trying to stop him from crushing this poor guy's head like a soda pop can, but Pedro pushes the official away. The leader puts his hands on PNG's shoulders and yells a quick "HEY!". PNG's head shifts down slightly to look at Pedro. Another unspoken conversation happens and whatever it was about, it's enough for PNG to release the pressure on El Nieto's skull. The last masked man standing reties the laces of his mask as Pedro gently places the tag title on the bigger man's shoulder.

DICK DELAURIER: That was a dominating and quite frankly somewhat disturbing display from Persona Non Grata.

FIONA METZ: Eh. We've seen our share of dead bodies. One more wouldn't have hurt a fucking thing.

DICK DELAURIER: Even so, I'm glad it was stopped before it could turn tragic.