Carmen Rodriguez vs. Black Dragon - Through the Fire

Army kept up with wrestling enough to know that, sooner or later, he'd have to take a chair shot. Wasn't looking forward to it, but it was an inevitability of the sport. All things being even, he'd done well to go this long without one. Almost a year.

But, as he laid on the flood, nursing the gash in his forehead, he realized the streak was over. "Fucking bitch..." He glared at the girl and started to try and sit up, wincing every inch of the way.

Carmen was warring with herself, not sure what the smart play was, when Black Dragon made the decision for her - the moment she turned around, he folded her in half with his vicious spear, dropping her hard to the mat. She hit with a sickening thud and laid flat beneath him as the impact wrecked her body. Her ribs cried out in agony and she rapidly tried to suck in all the air she'd lost, staring up into the stadium lights with her pained eyes.

As Carmen crumbled to the mat, Alex stood up straight and looked down at her for a few seconds as she gasped for air. A sadistic grin filled his face and he bent over to grab her leg. He flipped her to her frontside and placed a knee on her lower back. He bent her leg back and behind his neck in a stretch muffler hold. It was one of his finishers, Through the Fire, and he didn't imagine an injured Carmen could last too long in it.

Hawk, on the other hand, was amazed how Army was already getting back up. He was a big, tough guy though. Chair shots didn't do the same to him as they would have on lesser people. She backed away to the steel steps and climbed them as he struggled to get up. The referee got distracted by Hawk as she climbed onto the apron and waited for Army to get to his feet. Then, she sprinted forward and leaped at him, hoping to catch him with a hurricanrana!

Carmen was down, vulnerable, and even if she hadn't seen the look on Dragon's face, she could have made an educated guess what was about to come next. A submission hold, and she'd been locked in and tapped to enough of them to see it coming. But knowing her fate didn't mean she had a chance of stopping it.

Army had a chance, though. He figured it was time to screw the match and interfere, whether Carmen liked it or not - these guys were throwing around chair shots, and even though there was only two of them now, he didn't want to take bets on it staying that way. He'd just have to deal with the Hawk, then Dragon was all his.

It seemed simple enough in his head, but in reality, things were a bit more complicated, and he figured that out right as he saw Jade Hawk's legs coming around his neck. He was sent tumbling forward before he could even think about escape, and he crashed hard, upside down, into the steel steps, with enough force to knock them over.

Carmen managed to see the whole thing, and as distressing as it was, the Stretch Muffler that Black Dragon locked her in was the bigger concern. She reached behind her, trying in vain to push Dragon's knee away, but it wasn't moving an inch, and his solid weight was breaking in half. All she could do was writhe in the hold, letting out the occasional screech as he bent her even further.The choice was clear: surrender, or be broken.

Carmen tapped.

As soon as Dragon saw Carmen's hand tapping the mat in defeat, he released the hold. The referee didn't even have to tell him to release it, but she did signal that the match was over. Dragon stood straight up, his fierce gaze down at the crumbled opponent. The referee grabbed Dragon's hand and lifted it up as the announcer called out the winner of the match. Dragon couldn't help but grin and laugh as the boos rained down upon him. He seemed to feed off of it.

Hawk didn't slide into the ring after the match was over. Instead, she casually slipped over the barrier to the audience and made her way up the stairs. She ran as if somehow doing so legitimized the action. No one ever saw or would suspect a thing, right? Nevermind all the cameras and witnesses. She disappeared into the crowd, although it was easy to spot her from all the fans who reached out to pat her on the back just to have an excuse to touch her.

Dragon looked from Carmen to Army who was on the ground outside the ring. He then turned and left the ring. As he climbed the ramp, he never once looked back. He knew he didn't have to.

Black Dragon wins via Submission