Both men staggered to their feet, breathing heavily and wary of making sudden movements. Each of them had felt the ground split beneath his body, and neither one had any intention of delivering the death blow by accident. The MadDog delivered a right and a left hook to the Dark One's jaw, and twisted him around for a short clothesline. But the darkling ducked under his opponents outstretched arm and, sliding up against his back, pushed him forward into the corner of the ring. The Strangla stopped just short of Kevin McKain, who remained perched atop the turnbuckles watching the action closer than ever. The Mad Dog exhaled following the sudden stop, but his relief was all too brief; a gloved hand and a pale arm reached around and wrapped him in a dragon sleeper.
JR: Now this is a little peculiar. At this stage of the game, a submission hold would be a waste of time.
JL: Yeah, will someone slam the other one through this thing already??
For an eternal moment, the General Manager and His Royal Darkness locked eyes, as the Strangla squirmed in the hold. "You may not be my favorite distraction," said the Dark One with a classical smile, "but you are certainly the most entertaining." As McKain glowered his resentment, the Dark One placed two knees sharply into his prey's lower back, one after the other, and threw him down to the glass mat.
His Royal Darkness stood there for several seconds, pondering his next idea as the crowd jeered in its disapproval. Then, fully aware of what would happen next, he grabbed the Mad Dg by the scruff of his neck, lifted him up to his feet, and bounced him off the ropes across the shaky ring. The other ropes returned his man to him, and he bent down and lifted up, sending the Strangla over his head in a back body drop. But the Texas Menace landed on his feet; the floor didn't move enough to indicate a back splattering against the surface. The Dark One turned around just in time to see a MadDog missile launch itself off the ropes again and spear him in the midsection.
JR: Good Lord, but he got all of that!
Both men hit the mat hard. Shards and splinters shot up from the exposed fault line running through the middle, as the two sides screeched against each other. The entire structure shook. The ropes vibrated. The lights flickered on and off twice. But still, if only to spite itself, the floor remained intact. The crowd knew not whether to cheer or boo at the sight, and so they gasped and murmured. Ever so cautiously, McKain came down from his perch and gingerly walked along the side of the mat, holding the top ropes as he went, trying to check on the status of both men.
