APW Presents: BULLETPROOF 06/29/20 *COMPLETE*

Hardcore Submission Match

Zaigon Carter vs Masuda Jubei vs Jason Ryan (c)

Clearwater: I have to say thank you to our gracious hosts. Tokyo knows how to throw a party!

St. Remi: Dude, we hit Ribera Steakhouse last night. Flashing the Alpha colors. It was intense.

Clearwater: But all nights must come to an end. This one is another for the APW history books. We began the series with a king dethroned. Damon Warrens left the ring never to return. In steps his most vocal critic, the same man Warrens defeated at Kingdom Come. Now here we are, a champion in name looking to defend his detractors and haters.

St. Remi: And he’ll be against some of the best talent in APW. We have a master of the art. The new face of the business. And another on a meteoric rise to the top.

Clearwater: Something has to give. Now, we take to the ring….

Lights lower with a heavy fog settling around the stage. There’s a low bass beat leading for both a droning rhythm on guitar and low howl overtaking the arena in a demonic trance. Light lift up to a gray scale letting the audience see Japanese horror-rock band Ningen Isu (the Human Chair) playing at the ramp their song “Namahage” with the guitars shredding something fierce. And then, the crowd’s excitement for Ningen Isu dampens to the approach of Masuda Jubei through the curtain. He’s wearing a full samurai chest plate with high-collared jacket and horned helmet bearing a mustached facemask. He steps onto the stage with his usual air of confidence before their all-encompassing hatred.

Jessica Kaine: This match is scheduled for one fall! … and it will be for the Alpha Pro-Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship! … First, from Yokohama, Japan in Kanagawa Prefecture … weighing in at 219 pounds … “the Master” Masuda Jubei!

Clearwater: Fans might remember that theme.

St. Remi: It’s the old theme of the Masuda Corporation! And he brought the band back too!

Clearwater: They were a highlight of the Jubeilation show the Master put on for us last year.

St. Remi: I still prefer Baby Metal!

Fans jeer him down to the ring, bur an eclectic subgroup can’t help but cheer to the lyrics of the namahage demons. Chants of “Where are the crybabies?” go along with the song as Jubei makes his entrance into the ring. He leers over one of the open corners towards an unreceptive audience. Meanwhile, for the finishing flourish of the song, bass player Ken-Ichii Suzuki burst a blood packet in his mouth getting the fans riled up for the main event. Jubei removes his helmet but keeps it under one arm with the music and lights returning to normal. He then takes up a microphone.

Jubei: Tokyo! Now is the moment you have been waiting for all night. Before my competitors get the ring, I wanted to ensure tonight’s match will not have any interference … so I phoned in a favor.

Clearwater: A favor? What the hell does that mean?

St. Remi: Wait! Who are those guys?

An army of men in matching black suits stakes its place up the end of the ramp. They number at least two or three dozen while still keeping an open tunnel for whomever comes out next. Masuda smirks from the ring as he disrobes into his all black ring gear.

Clearwater: I don’t like the looks of this.

St. Remi: He just wants to keep order, bro. Jason has the Bloodline, and Zaigon his literal army.

Clearwater: But who’s going to watch these watchmen?

In darkness, the intro drums of “Don’t Tread On Me” by Metallica bang out loud through the arena. They continue to bang like the sound of war before the initial shout

“DON’T TREAD ON ME”

A single spotlight activates at the top of the entryway, showing Zaigon Carter with his eagle on his shoulder.

“I SAID DON’T TREAD ON ME”

Most of the lights come up now, as the pair walks to the ring. They’re taking their pace, as fans boo their presence.

“LIBERTY OR DEATH, WHAT WE SO PROUDLY HAIL

ONCE YOU PROVOKE HER, RATTLING OF HER TAIL

NEVER BEGINS IT, NEVER, BUT ONCE ENGAGED

NEVER SURRENDERS, SHOWING THE FANGS OF RAGE

I SAID DON'T TREAD ON ME”

Once in the ring, the eagle takes off his shoulder flying a lap around the ring as Zaigon climbs the second rope. Posing with both arms crossed, the eagle lands on the turnbuckle in front of him with wings spread.

Jessica Kaine: Entering the arena from Billings, Montana by way of Chicago, Illinois. He weighs in at 240 pounds. He is the Reckoning…Zaigon Carter!”

Clearwater: Zaigon has exploded onto the Alpha stage, and in under a month of dominance, the Storm has been a force to reckon with!

St. Remi: Well, he is the reckoning.

Clearwater: And now we get the stare down of a century. Jubei and Zaigon. Two powerful men with armies at their disposal.

St. Remi: And maybe the Master has shown his hand here, but either of these guys can win the whole thing!

Clearwater: But here he comes—the man this crowd has been waiting all night to see!

Lights up to their maximum with strobing lasers firing in all directions to the opening blasts of “Bloodline” by Slayer bring the audience to their feet.

Jessica Kaine: And your final competitor … hailing from Helena, Montana … weighing in at 245 pounds …

Jason and the Bloodline pull up in a limo. Armed guards exit the limo and bow their heads when The Bloodline exit wearing nice suits followed by Jason wearing his ring attire.

Jessica Kaine: accompanied to the ring by Soulreaver and Aaron Blaze … he is the leader of the Bloodline … the Scourge of all Professional Wrestling … Jason Ryan!

The guard escort the bloodline to the ring as Jason gets on the ramp and crawls to the ring in a sinister way. He climbs on the turnbuckle and strikes a crucified like pose before jumping in the ring with his compatriots. The guards pay their respects to the bloodline than leave.

Clearwater: These men went from sideshow acts to some of the biggest names in this company. It goes to show kids, if you keep trying, it will eventually come true.

St. Remi: That’s for sure. And all this booing—you’d think these people would get tired.

Clearwater: Nope! They’re just getting warmed up for this meeting of evils. You’d think this was the Legion of Doom and all the concerned parties.

St. Remi: Bro, try to keep focused. And don’t take away from Jason’s moment! You’re ruining everything!

The bloodline shakes Jason’s hand then sit in the front row on a glass box to protect them from plebeians and parasites in the crowd with modes serving them drinks and snacks. Few garner as many stare as massive and intimidating Soulreaver dressed to the nines. Jason makes a final pass around the ring with APW Title held high above his head. Zaigon and Jubei have not lifted their stares from the Champion like two hungry sharks circling him. The referee takes the belt and holds it high for all to see.

Clearwater: Everyone party is in place. Jubei’s enforcement has taken the stage for everyone’s safety.

St. Remi: Can you feel it bro! This electricity flowing through my veins!

Clearwater: I feel it! And there’s your opening bell!

Zaigon shoots out of his corner and takes a heavy fist into Jason Ryan. He backs the champ into his starting turnbuckle with a mad flurry of rights. Fans erupt when from the rebound off the padding, Jason Ryan brings a superkick out of nowhere. Zaigon rolls out of the ring in serious pain.

Clearwater: That shotgun blast nearly took Carter out of the match.

St. Remi: He can pull that out of nowhere—and he brings it to Jubei!

Clearwater: Masuda tried to block but the sudden impact took him down to the mat!

1!

2!

Clearwater: So close!

St. Remi: Two Pink Eyes! This man is not the champion! He’s a warrior king!

Jason pulls Jubei off the canvas and whips the smaller, older man into the turnbuckle. On the rebound, he shoulder blocks the veteran to the floor. Masuda is beginning to look winded when Zaigon Carter comes into from on the top rope. Jason turns but not in time to do anything about the aerial assault.

Clearwater: Diving clothesline from Zaigon!

St. Remi: That’ll slow him down!

Clearwater: And he’s going for the legs—anything to keep from eating another of those superkicks.

St. Remi: And as many predicted… this is your match. Masuda is struggling to keep up with the new blood.

Jubei retreats for a turnbuckle’s support while the ground game goes in favor of an oppressive Zaigon Carter. He tries for the Red Line at first, but Jason is able to fight him off that move. He instead goes for a chin lock to wear down the champion. Masuda roars from the corner to kick Zaigon in the ribs. That frees Ryan from the hold. Jubei returns to him with a soccer kick to his exposed chest.

Clearwater: Strong style at its best. And these fans are loving it!

St. Remi: Here comes Zaigon!

Smack!

Clearwater: oh god! did you hear that chop from the Master! Capillaries exploding on contact!

St. Remi: And now for Ryan!

Smack!

Clearwater: Those chops are ruthless!

Zaigon toe kicks Jubei with chest lit up like a Xmas tree. He then follows up with a snap suplex. Ryan attacks Zaigon, wrestling both of them back to the mat. Zaigon gains to the top and puts on a rear naked choke. Jason flails around for the ropes as Carter grapevines the hold for emphasis.

Clearwater: The champ is in trouble!

St. Remi: The size of Jason Ryan is giving his opponents fits. He’s a stout beefcake, bro.

Clearwater: But Zaigon’s no slouch. And he’s taking the fight to where the champion has proven to be his weakest.

St. Remi: Oh no! What’s he doing?

Clearwater: Masuda has the free leg of Jason Ryan! Rolling kneebar!

St. Remi: This is insane!

Jubei locks in the hold with a tight grapevine of his own, refusing to let someone else dominate the mat. He and Zaigon glare at each other with the World Champion trapped between them. They pull in opposite directions keeping Jason Ryan miles from the ropes. Fans love every minute with no favorite emerging among these three hated baddies.

Clearwater: If this goes on any longer, he’ll have to tap.

St. Remi: I don’t know, bro. Jason Ryan isn’t made of paper. He’s weather way worse than this.

Clearwater: Zaigon and the Master are tearing him limb from—Zaigon going for a game changer!

St. Remi: He slips under the back… and he’s got the Red Line locked on tight!

Masuda, sensing the danger from that move, elects to abandon his hold and attack Zaigon. The two move off the floor into a striking match. Zaigon hits a combo of forearms but Jubei absorbs them.

Clearwater: He’s calling for more!

St. Remi: The Master wants another!

Zaigon rears back with all his strength, and clocks Masuda to one knee. The Master grits his teeth and somehow powers himself back to both feet. He then answers with another massive chop.

Smack!

Clearwater: God, he’s got a hand cannon in those palms!

St. Remi: You can say that again, bro!

Zaigon shoves him off and hits a lariat into the chest of Jubei without dropping him.

St. Remi: He’s always got another of those clothesline in his pocket. Masuda should be more careful!

Clearwater: And another stiff lariat failing to sunder this angry pile of leather!

Masuda knees him to deliver a trapped head butt that staggers both men. Fan erupt at the blood.

Clearwater: That head butt just opened a cut above Zaigon’s eye!

St. Remi: Huge elbow shining the Master. And now he’s bleeding!

Zaigon adds another for good measure before hitting the ropes. He then wipes out the older man with the heaviest clothesline he can muster, turning Masuda inside out from the impact. Fans erupt once more, not just for that thunderous strike, but the sudden appearance of Jason Ryan with an RKO!

Clearwater: Silencer! He just dropped Zaigon!

St. Remi: And he makes the desperate cover!

1!

2!

3 –

Clearwater: Masuda pulls him off the hold! He almost retained right there!

St. Remi: Jason Ryan is the ultimate opportunist. And he just showed his true colors with that explosion of power at the right moment!

Clearwater: And now he’s fighting Jubei in the one place you don’t want to be with the Master!

Jason Ryan tries to get an advanced guard, but Jubei finds a way to trap the champ into a fujiwara armbar. Jason rears forward, screaming in pain.

Clearwater: These two are trying to rip the World Champion apart one limb at a time!

St. Remi: They found his weakness, bro, and they’re exploiting it before the entire world!

Jason slips just right to grab the bottom rope. Jubei release the hold early with an added soccer kick for good measure. He gets a warning from the official for that illegal contact when a flash of Zaigon Carter cuts out his knee. Jubei topples forward and under the rope. Stranded on the apron, Zaigon crawls after him. They stand up wearing crimson masks before exchanging a flurry of forearms.

Smack!

Clearwater: Show the man some mercy!

St. Remi: Uh oh! Jubei is setting up that butterfly suplex—we’ve seen this one before!

Clearwater: He locks the arms… and Jason Ryan storming back to them!

St. Remi: Double dropkick! There goes the opposition!

Clearwater: He’s going up top! This is a bad idea—with a capital “B”!

Jason Ryan rises about the riveting applause to a sudden silence. Everyone in suspense to what awaits those helpless two men prostrate before him. Every member of the sequestered Bloodline gets on their feet, leading the entire arena to do the same in fervent anticipation. Masuda is the first of them to stand, followed closely by Carter. They both look up to see a blazing streak of humanity superman punch them both back to the ground. Everyone loses their shit.

Clearwater: That was insane! What was going through his mind!

St. Remi: Do you want to know? Because that just killed all three men.

Clearwater: There’s bodies strewn about the place. Blood everywhere. Strong style lives on tonight in Tokyo!

The official begins his count in the ring after no one heeds his warnings.

1…

2…

Masuda crawls towards steel steps. Zaigon props himself on the side of the table.

3…

Jason Ryan reaches the apron but struggles to pull himself over it.

4…

5…

Zaigon rolls into the ring followed by Jason Ryan.

6…

Jubei pulls himself onto the apron, both hands wrapped around the turnbuckle for support.

7…

8…

The Master walks under the ropes and goes right after the Champion for a piledriver setup.

Clearwater: Here we go!

St. Remi: Zaigon throws him off the wounded champion!

Clearwater: Brain buster from the reckoning! And the Master is out of commission!

St. Remi: Ryan meeting him. And this is what we paid to see!

They scrunch forehead. Somewhere in the previous scuffle, Jason Ryan has also been busted open. Both men exchange shoves before going into an all-out striking contest. This one finally ends with a forceful combo from Zaigon Carter that actually backs the Scourge against the ropes. He fires back with a series of chops that strand Zaigon on the opposite ropes. Carter rebounds and works into a side grapple that transitions into a suplex clutch.

St. Remi: We wants that falcon arrow bad!

Clearwater: Jonah! That’s a fine!

St. Remi: Ah dammit!

Zaigon powers the champion halfway off the ground before kicking legs reverse momentum into a gutwrench suplex. Both men crash to the floor, but a vicious kick to the back of Ryan’s head breaks up any pin attempt. Masuda then pulls him into the piledriver and sets up the Gotch style.

Clearwater: Oh no!

St. Remi: Gotch piledriver!

1!

2!

3 –

Clearwater: Ryan kicked out! I don’t believe it!

St. Remi: I don’t think the Master does either!

Clearwater: The champion is made of steel! What else can they do to stop him?

Masuda tries to capitalize when Zaigon whips him into nearest turnbuckle. He hits it hard with Carter only steps behind with a powerful lariat to the chest. Jubei roars back at him before swinging a chop.

Smack!

St. Remi: Those hands are a game changer, bro!

Clearwater: Masuda lining up another!

St. Remi: Carter has the wrist! He stopped the chop!

Zaigon swings the arm over and executes a vicious side slam that traps Masuda into an Anaconda Vise.

Clearwater: Crowd Control! The Master is in trouble!

St. Remi: Nowhere to run now! Those ropes are miles away!

Fans erupt with what little energy they have left, running purely on endorphins and Coke cola® at this point. Jubei kicks for the rope while grunting at the pain. Zaigon has a crazed look in his eye as Jason Ryan soars in for another Superman punch to the defenseless Carter.

Clearwater: What an impact! But can either man hope to capitalize?

St. Remi: At this point, bro, nobody’s got legs. Everybody’s gassed. All they can hope for is a kill shot.

Ryan tries to pull Zaigon over for a pinfall but Jubei shoves him off the cover early. Jason decides to take his anger out on the Master instead with three big chest kicks. He goes for a roundhouse, but Jubei collapses on his back before the strike. Ryan stands powerful above his challengers, breathing at his hips for some chance to end this bloodbath.

Clearwater: Ryan pulling Zaigon off the mat. And he eats a forearm for his troubles.

St. Remi: This could be it here! These two at standing tall before the final bell!

Rights and lefts all over the place as the two stand pound each other to oblivion. They both look to see the laughing face of Masuda rise to meet them. He swings in and connects.

Smack!

St. Remi: Now Ryan gets a taste of that awful medicine!

Clearwater: Zaigon Carter refusing to take another! He just dropped Masuda with a clothesline!

St. Remi: Ryan from behind!

Clearwater: He’s setting it up… this could end it all right here!

Zaigon resists the Gory clutch, and reverse their positioning with an argentine piledriver over his back.

Clearwater: Agent Orange! Zaigon dropped him for good!

St. Remi: Look out—Masuda’s back!

The Master goes for another chop, but Zaigon has mastered Jubei timing. He throws him to the ground with a snapmare and locks on the Red Line. Fan explode for a final time.

Clearwater: Red Line! We could have a new champion!

St. Remi: Can the Master hold on?

Clearwater: He’s tapping! Masuda just tapped out!

Colored streamers fly from all directions, littering the ring in a rainbow of beautiful tapestry. Zaigon rises with the APW Championship floating over to him via referee.

Jessica Kaine: Your winner and new Alpha Pro-Wrestling Champion … Zaigon Carter!

Clearwater: America Jackson and the Army are on the scene!

St. Remi: Where did Zaigon get all these people! They’re overwhelming Jubei’s security force!

Clearwater: Who’s that running to the ring now?

Mr. Shoda, Jubei business associate and two beefcakes attempt to rescue their boss from the ensuing chaos. That’s when the Bloodline enter the fray with Soulreaver in front. He clobbers both of the men protecting Mr. Shoda, but not before Daisuke pulls the Master from under the ropes.

Clearwater: Masuda and his mysterious friend are exiting through the crowd. Someone needs to take control!

St. Remi: Every man for themselves!

Jubei’s army has been obliterated by a relentless attack from all the perfect models of male and female perfection dedicated to the Storm’s cause—and it wasn’t even close, as they tower over Yakuza type thugs either unconscious or scrambling for the hills. Soulreaver and America go to blows with the Army eventually pulling their 2nd-in-command away from the carnage. Soulreaver rejoins his brethren creating an imaginary DMZ now bifurcating the entire arena.

Clearwater: Irina is here… but the damage is done. Zaigon Carter. Jason Ryan. Let the war begin….

St. Remi: In the end, there were two. Bruh, this is just the beginning for these dudes.

Clearwater: Thank you for everything Tokyo. We’ll see you in two weeks for what’s planned to be an extravaganza of epic proportions!

St. Remi: Year one in the books baby!

Clearwater: Thank you again for tuning in to Bulletproof. Only with the consistent fans like you, Alpha faithful, do we get a chance to bring these matches to you. As he head into a new era of Alpha Pro-Wrestling, we invite you to share your Alpha tales and join in the action with our massive archives.

St. Remi: Thank you Tokyo! We love you!

Clearwater: Good night folks. We’ll see you again in two weeks!