His Royal Darkness leaped up the Strangla's body, clasping his clawed hands behind the man's neck, and pulled him downward into a Codebreaker. The impact against the Dark One's knees sent the Mad Dog's body bouncing up, and he tumbled back down onto the glass ring. The darkling himself lay where he was for a moment, winded by the impact with the floor, then slowly slid back up to his feet. Before his opponent could get back up, he brought his leg down across the man's throat. The back of Strangla's head smacked against the glass, giving him yet another reason to feel woozy in this bizarre contraption.
He hadn't quite gathered his bearings again when he felt the darkling's cold fingernails slide across his throat, and the fingers wrap their way around, restricting the flow of oxygen and blood. The Dark One was on one knee, and had his right arm locked in place as he applied the grip.
JR: And I don't know how smart this is. TDR can't win the match this way.
JL: Well, not unless he wants to push MDS down through the floor.
JR: This thing will only end when one or both of these men goes through that ring, and down into... I don't even want to think about it right now.
JL: And the boss is standing right there watching, to make sure it happens.
Perhaps it was the icy glare in the darkling's still-pinprick-sized eyes as he stared down at his face, or perhaps it was the chilly sensation of the smooth claws against his skin, but the Strangla felt rejuvenated enough to let loose with a wild kick that caught his attacker in the back. It made the Dark One grimace a little, but a second kick was sufficient to break the iron grip. Then the Mad Dog grabbed him by the collar of his tunic and threw him off to the side. It wouldn't incapacitate the darkling by any means, but it would give himself just enough time to scramble to his feet and plot a quick course of action. A right, a left, and snap hip toss greeted His Royal Darkness and sent him flying into the corner of the ring just beside the turnbuckle. Wasting little time, and shaking his head back and forth like a maniac, he threw himself off the ropes and hurled himself, squashing the Dark One with a powerful Rolling Thunder.
JR: Good grief!
JL: TDR just got flattened!
JR: And remember, there's no give at all in there. That's about as unadulterated as that move gets, folks.
JL: A couple more of those, and MDS is gonna light up His Royal Darkness!
As the Mad Dog slid off his body to the adulation of the small group gathered in the area, the coughing darkling turned on his side and curled up in a ball. And that's when he saw it, twisting its way beneath the surface from the spot where the ring floor met the corner post. The first crack.
