Drako vs Salem Croft [Octane #13]

[Drako Damone]

the best laid plans crash and burn, similar to the pain in Drako's arm as Salem drops it across the middle rope. the Soaring Dragon hits the mat, clutching his right arm, curling up a bit as if to shield it with his own body

JR: Salem wisely working the arm he heinously injured earlier tonight. Our champion is in serious trouble.

King: I'm not the biggest Damone family fan, but this is rough to watch. I told you he should have waited to fight another day  

[Salem Croft]

The crowd was booing loudly at these dastardly tactics, but Salem paid it no mind - rather, as he spun around after landing nimbly on the arena floor, "The Copperhead" took notice of some security guards approaching, as though trying to corral him to the ring and not let the match spill out and possibly threaten the audience.

Raising his hands in mock surrender, Croft chuckled and smirked, blowing one of the big men a kiss before rolling back into the ring, crouching as he looked on at his handiwork.

King: "Good thing those guards are there, I was worried Salem might start coming over here!"

JR: "That may be good for us over here, King, but what about in there?! Drako's trapped in the ring with a madman, and he's only got one arm!"

King: "I don't like to watch it, JR, but better him than me!"  

[Drako Damone]

Drako rolls to his side, pushing himself to his feet. His right arm is still held to his side out of reflex, not wanting to move it, even as he makes his way to the corner and leans his back against the turnbuckle  

[Salem Croft]

Salem smirked as Drako struggled back up, backing away into a corner to recouperate as Croft stood on the center of the mat. Spreading his arms out wide, Salem adopted a broad, Cheshire grin, a mocking laugh leaving his chest.

"Where are you going?! Why run?!" he spat, literally, blood hitting the canvas from Salem's mouth to a foot or so from where Drako was propped up. "This is WHAT YOU WANTED! I'm RIGHT HERE! But you're backed in the corner like a b***h! You're a DISGRACE to your family name!"  

[Drako Damone]

Drako is a bit sick of Salem's mouth. But he has a simple retort. He flicks Salem off, to the joy of the crowd.

King: Well, that's not champion like behavior

JR: I didn't see anything.

King: He just flipped him the bird!

JR: I think he just told him he thinks he's number one  

[Salem Croft]

Salem chuckled, tilting his head and lowering his hands, but reaching forward to jut an accusatory finger at Drako, the crowd popping for the champ's nonverbal response.

"See, Drako - maybe you wouldn't be the third best in your family if you'd been the one kid your mom swallowed."

The crowd booed loudly at this, Salem sporting a s**t-eating grin as he watched Drako's reaction, curling his pointed finger to beckon the champ closer.

"I know Jarel wouldn't just cower in the corner hearing s**t like that...then again, he's used to you disappointing him." he said, openly provoking the champ.  

[Drako Damone]

there are lines one shouldn't cross, and Drako has had it with Salem. He dashes out of the corner and looks to dropkick him right in the jaw  

[Salem Croft]

At last, Salem got what he'd wanted as Drako rushed from the corner and dove at him legs-first, kicking him in the face and sending "The Most Wanted Man in Wrestling" staggering back into the corner, propped up on the second rope.

A little blood stained his teeth and now his nose as he smiled, biting his bottom lip to focus through the aches and pains, but causing his mouth to dribble more blood.

JR: "My God, it's like Salem WANTS to get hurt! What kinda guy gets off on tasting their own blood like that?! Something's wrong with this man, that's sick!"

King: "Maybe Drako knocked a few screws loose, JR! I just hope it was a couple TEETH, too!"  

[Drako Damone]

there is a downside. Drako ran in off instinct, and attacked the way he standardly would in a wrestling ring. The problem is, the landing. He lands on his arm and ends up on the mat again, curled up and kicking out slightly as the pain overwhelms him at the moment.

JR: A bad move on the champion's part here. Yeah, he got Salem but he landed on that bad arm

King: That was instinct. When you've wrestled as long as Drako has, you have your style and it's hard to switch that up even when you're injured  

[Salem Croft]

Salem could feel more and more of his savage side boiling up, and he liked it. The feeling of pain, of inflicting it, of infecting a person's thoughts, expressing that primal fury that always lingered under the surface, this was what he lived for.

So, as Drako started writhing on the center of the canvas, Salem sprung forward and siezed his right ankle, looking to disable the champ's entire right side as he wrenched it, twisting the joint into a deeply sunken ankle lock!

JR: "Oh, no! Now the champ's between a rock and a hard place! If he doesn't tap, he could lose a leg, too! But he's in the middle of the ring, King - can he crawl on that bad arm?!"

King: "I can't watch, JR! Just tell me when it's over!"  

[Drako Damone]

this is the price Drako pays for going for a high risk move. The reward was temporary and he finds himself locked in an ankle lock. the initial response of the crowd is to boo Salem, but switches quickly to try to motivate Drako back into the match. Unfortunately, he's stuck in the middle of the ring with one bad arm. Still, one bad arm means one good arm, and he uses it, attempting to crawl and claw his way to the ropes  

[Salem Croft]

The crowd was trying to motivate Drako towards the ropes, the champ struggling to pull himself closer to the bottom rope and break the hold! Still, with only one good arm he was struggling twice as much for half the distance, and the effort and pain was visible on Drako's face.

Trying to slow down the man's efforts, Salem twisted and stepped across Drako, settling a knee down into his lower back to transition into a Liontamer, adding his weight to drag Drako down!

JR: "It's a Liontamer! Now Drako has to pull against Salem's weight, with only one good arm! Things just went from bad to worse for the champion!"

King: "There's no way he's gonna get to the ropes, JR! Look how far away he is! And with Salem on top of him, he can't crawl! He's gonna have to tap!"  

[Drako Damone]

Agony is evident on Drako's face as the champion is now in a Liontamer, additional weight stopping him from moving.

JR: Come on, Drako! Get to the ropes kid!

King: Nah, JR, he needs to tap and live to fight another day. He's hurt and this is only making it worse

Several long moments of agony go by before Drako lifts his head and this time attempts to use his usual arm, the right arm, his bad one right now, to pull himself to ropes. Instinct and a will to survive is all that's guiding him, causing him to seemingly ignore the pain as he attempts to escape  

[Salem Croft]

Salem looks genuinely surprised as Drako starts to inch slowly towards the ropes at the cost of his bad arm, struggling for every little bit closer he got to salvation through gritted teeth!

Though part of him was pleased to see this much fight in Drako still, the point had to be made - so, Salem stood up once more, not to pull Drako back to the center of the ring, but to brutally stomp on his injured arm and hand, wrenching st the ankle as he did so!

JR: "Dear God, this is sick! Does Salem not have a heart?! Does he not have a soul?! Drako's been a proud champion but this isn't a match, it's just a slaughter! Referee, stop this!"

King: "I don't think the referee is gonna get between them, JR! Don't expect me to, either! I want as many zipcodes as possible between me and that FREAK!"  

[Drako Damone]

the stomp sends fresh pain through his already damaged hand. Still the champion grits his teeth and uses the other hand to continue trying to reach the ropes. A few moments of relief is all he needs, or at least that's what he's telling himself.

JR: Can he do it? Can the champion get to the ropes?

King: What's the point? All he's doing is prolonging his own suffering.