The IRW Arena lights vibrated with excitement as the camera panned back to the ring. The crowd had been energized from the moment the show started, but it all changed when the women's champion's music played.
Tracey Prince appeared on the stage, not her normal cocky swagger, but with a purpose. The championship belt was over her shoulder, and the mic was already in her hand.
She stepped into the ring, pacing like a caged animal. The fans leaned in, knowing something significant was in play.
"Okay I'm done," she shouted, her voice piercing through the air. "Maya Hart—you wanna play games, and sneak in the crowd to punch me from behind and tongue wag from the ramp?"
The crowd roared at the name. Tracey continued, eyes fierce.
"You want to make a name by using mine? Fine. Let's stop dancing around it."
She raised the title in the air.
"You want this, Maya? You want the spotlight? You want to prove you're not just a mouthy brat who has the Hart name to ride on? Then get your ass to the ring. And fight me like a woman."
Noah exclaimed, "Whoah! Tracey's not just calling her out. She's calling her out, daring her, to throw down, here, right now!"
The audience exploded in approval, chanting Maya's name, when all of a sudden the beat dropped. The titantron went dark.
Tracey moved to the ropes and shouted toward the stage, "Come on, tough girl! Where's all that hot air now?! You like to run your mouth—where is it?!"
Then, from behind—
Maya Hart slid into the ring—she had a crazed look in her eye.
Noah: "Look out! Maya from behind!"
The crowd roared, then gasped, as Maya struck, raining furious forearms down on Tracey from behind. Tracey hit the mat, caught completely off guard, struggled to get up, and Maya delivered another furious series of hits.
Maya grabbed Tracey by the hair and blasted her face-first into the turnbuckle. Tracey nailed the canvas, bent over with her arms around her ribs, and Maya backed away—there was a bluster in Maya's eyes that could not be stopped!
Noah: "This isn't a fight--this is an ambush!"
Maya rolled out of the ring and the crowd began to grow louder. She was able to drop to one knee, flip the apron - then pull out a steel chair.
And, BOOS rained down in the arena.
Noah: "Oh no... no no no. Maya, please!! Don't do this!"
Maya charged back into the ring with chair in hand. Tracey was barely at her knees when the first crack broke out.
THWACK.
The chair smashed into her back and Tracey screamed in agony. She crumbled, and Maya wouldn't stop.
THWACK. THWACK.
Three more smacks at the steel chair, and the crowd gasped with each punishing hit.
Noah: "This is disgusting! We need to stop this!!"
Maya, with crazy eyes, was not done yet. She unfolded the chair and laid it across Tracey's ribs, like a lion getting ready to position its kill. The crowd began shouting, some fans jumping out of their seats, while others begged for officials to run in.
Then Maya turned toward the corner.
Noah: "No… no… not this… not this…"
Maya was climbing to the top rope, just sitting there, eerily calm. For a heartbeat, the entire arena held its breath.
Then she leapt.
Stompfall. A brutal double foot-stomp crash from the top rope.
Right onto the chair—onto Tracey's ribs.
The sound was terrible. The look was even worse.
Tracey twisted once… and stopped, her body lay in the center of the ring. The steel chair lay twisted over her stomach.
Noah: "Oh dear god—she crushed her ribs! We need medics out here now!"
Officials poured toward the ring as the fans booed, completely stunned and disgusted. Maya stood above her comatose opponent, breathing heavily, then bent and picked up the fallen championship belt.
She held it high above her head.
Dylan: "She's not the champion she's a damn criminal tonight!"
The crowd jeered louder, furious now. Drinks were thrown from the stands. Even the front row fans, normally divided, were united in outrage.
As medics placed Tracey onto a stretcher, her face twisted in pain but conscious, Maya stood at the top of the ramp, watching her rival be wheeled away.
------
Tony Hart was lost in the crowd, lips parted, as he stared at the ring.
"She... she stomped her," he murmured.
Luke Cross, who was standing next to him, was just as shocked. "Dude... that was not wrestling. That was, like... an assault."
Tony swallowed hard and pulled his cap lower to shield his face. The guy beside them booed loudly, meanwhile muttering to himself, "Who the hell does she think she is?"
Tony did not answer. He just kept his eyes straight ahead, watching as his sister turned on her heels and disappeared behind the curtain, Tracey's title in hand.
Backstage, the hallway was a mess. Medics wheeled Tracey through a throng of production crew and wrestlers. Vince pushed his way through to walk alongside her.
"You okay?" he asked. His voice was low, but there was clear concern hidden in his grip and the tone of his voice.
Tracey grimaced as she took shallow breaths. "Ribs are bruised. Maybe cracked. I'll live".
Vince held tight for a moment and nodded. He then turned to the person standing behind him - Maya, still holding the title.
"You alright?" he asked.
Maya looked down at her hands, which still trembled lightly. "I was afraid I was going to freeze. When the crowd turned against me... I almost cried. I did not think I would be affected in a personal way, like that."
Tracey chuckled weakly from the stretcher. "You almost caved-in my chest. I think you did," Trace said.
Maya looked up at him, her face caught in a battle of guilt and adrenaline. "I never meant to go that far."
For a moment Vince was silent, staring at her, then he said softly," That's heat, Maya. That's how monsters are created. You crossed the line… now live with it."
Maya nodded, silenced, as the medics wheeled Tracey down the hall.
Back at commentary, the camera returned to Dylan and Noah at the desk, both looking visibly shaken.
Noah: "We've seen rivalries. We've seen grudges. But I'm not sure we've seen what we just saw. Maya Hart didn't just make a statement on a fellow competitor -- she may have ended Tracey Prince's reign with a chair, a stomp, and no mercy."
The screen faded to black one last time with a final shot of Tracey being loaded into an ambulance -- title-less, bruised, and broken.
Noah: "Where do we go from here? Because after tonight, there is no turning back."