Day Two

[Karl Jak]

Face to Face
#13 Strazio Rockwell vs #46 Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

Strazio Rockwell was having the worst of luck as of late. His attempt to find shelter at the diner had led to him being thrust into the middle of some very unpleasant drama, and he’d managed to get nailed for all his troubles. As he made his way from the scene of yet another unfortunate scuffle, the Defender of Darkshire kept walking as the storm faded away to a heavy rain. Despite how wet he was, he didn’t mind too much—the rain washed away all of the grime and sweat and dried blood from his beleaguered body.

“Well look at this,” a voice called out from a few yards away. Strazio turned to see a hulking man in short tights sitting on a weightlifting bench. The wrestler was doing curls with a set of dumbbell that read ‘400 kgs’ on both sides. “Who in the blue hell are you?” Dwayne replied as he dropped the dumbbell and stood up to look over at Strazio.

“Excuse me?” Strazio barked as he limped over to confront the Rock. “I am Strazio Roc—”

“It doesn’t matter who you are!” The Rock interrupted as a grin spread across his face. “You waltz up here, into the People’s gym, confronting the People’s Champ, and expecting to spit-spatter in my face without having me layeth the smacketh down on your candy ass?”

Strazio grit his teeth as he threw down his scant possessions and held up his fists. “Shut up and fight me then… just fucking bring it.”

With that, the Rock lifted a single eyebrow and grinned. “The Rock likes your spirit, Kid. He’ll like it even more when it stomps it out of you.”

Before Strazio had a chance to retaliate, the ground beneath him started to shudder. The Defender of Darkshire looked down and realized that a wrestling ring had somehow been summoned up underneath him and the Rock. The white-haired man tapped his foot on the surface and noted that it was indeed some sort of canvas. The whole elevated platform was surrounded by three red ropes, and in each corner, there were posts with padded turnbuckles. “What the hell is this?” Strazio demanded as he turned to glare at the Rock.

“The People’s ring,” the Rock replied nonchalantly as he gestured around them. “Can’t you feel it? The millions.” The man paused for dramatic purposed. “And millionsssss of the Rock’s fans?”

“No.”

Dwayne scowled as he cracked his neck. “Well then it’s time for you to go one-on-one with the Great One!” With a burst of speed, the Rock sprung forward and clotheslined Strazio. The impact threw the Defender of Darkshire into the air and spun him head-over-heels before he crashed down onto the ring floor. Still smiling, the Rock jiggled one of his giant legs before bringing it crashing down onto his foe’s ribs. Strazio rolled before the boot fell onto him a second time, and with a grunt, the white-haired warrior rose to his feet and threw his good arm at the Rock’s face, catching the man in the jaw.

Laughing now, the Rock spit onto the floor and grabbed Strazio by the shoulder and arm. The wrestler then threw the man toward the side of the ring, and unable to stop his own momentum, Strazio hit the ring ropes and was bounced back toward his opponent. Before he could stop himself, he was horizontal atop the Rock’s shoulders and being driven back into the canvas. A groan escaped the man’s throat as his opponent grabbed him by the ankles and lifted them off the ground.

The Rock proceeded to step through Strazio’s legs and fold his ankles across one another. With some smack that Strazio couldn’t hear through the ringing in his head, the wrestler took another step forward, turning the Defender of Darkshire over onto his belly before wrenching back on his captured legs. Almost immediately, Strazio felt the pain shoot through his legs as Rock crouched down and leaned back with all his awesome might.

“Tap out!” The Rock shouted as Strazio writhed in pain on the canvas. The man refused to relent as he leveraged his broken arm under his own body to give him some elevation off the mat. Looking forward, he saw the ropes and realized that if he could just crawl to them, he might be able to slip through them to the ground outside the ring.

Screaming out in pain, Strazio slammed his only good elbow into the mat and used all his might to try and drag himself toward the ropes. Through some sort of miracle, the Defender of Darkshire managed to pull himself a few inches closer, and before the Rock could drag him forward, he threw out his hand and closed it around the rope. After four agonizing seconds, his opponent suddenly released the hold, and Strazio’s agonized legs thudded to the mat. A beat later, two hands clenched around his ankles, and the man was hoisted up into the air and slammed down once more.

“Been a long time since someone managed not to tap out to that,” the Rock replied as Strazio rolled over onto his back. “You might not be a jabroni after all… what did you say your name was?”

“Strazio… Strazio Rockwell,” the winded prime muttered.

“Rockwell?” The Rock asked, his face an expression of amusement as he reached out with a hand. “What do you say we team up? We can call ourselves the Rock n’ Rock Connection.”

“Deal,” Strazio muttered as he reached up and accepted the man’s hand. As he was lifted to his feet, the ring sank back into the ground and was soon only a memory.

[spoiler]ROCK N’ ROCK CONNECTION[/spoiler]