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Shadow of Death Takes Tough Love Too Far

Posted: Nov 30th 2007 By: CMBurnham

The relationship between the Shadow of Death and his proteges, the Canadian Luchadore & Michael York, has best been described as strange. And recent behviour on the part of all 3 individuals might actually up that description to bizarre. SOD seems determined to send a message to his charges that they had best do as he says or physical punishment will ensue. Sadly, he doesn't seem to be concerened who gets in the way of his punishment, nor is he overly willing to show pleasure at the successes of his men.

For months, the question of who SOD was scouting was one of the great unanswered mysteries of ComPro. But that mystery was finally resolved in October when it became clear that he was not just scouting one man, but two. And when those two became a tag team, SOD's monitoring became even more intense, as did his physical participation at ringside. During one match against Beau Dalton & Luc Lapointe, SOD attempted to interfere in the match while the referee was distracted, but York & Luchadore waived him off, allowing themselves to be set up for double back suplexes and another in a long line of losses.

And even on the odd occasions that victory would come to this odd-couple team, SOD's manner wouldn't change. One week after losing to Beau & Luc, York & the Luchadore scored a won over ComPro Tag Team Champions Sudden Impact, due in part to interference from the Innovative Combat Fighters. They never asked for the interference, but they certainly took advantage of it and it was their first victory as a tag team. But when SOD, who had not been at ringside for this match, made his appearance after the match, he was not happy. Emitting his chill-inducing growl, he ordered his men to the back, presumably for more physical punishment due to the FACT that they couldn't get the job done themselves.

More losses and fewer wins followed these events and fans began to question exactly what type of hold SOD had over York & the Luchadore. He didn't seem to be adding anything to the pair that lead to success. He just sat at ringside and watched, then growled after the match. And thus it was last Saturday when Sudden Impact 1 defeated Michael York in a singles match. After the defeat, SOD entered the ring and delivered not 1, but 2 heart punches to York following his loss. The message being sent was obvious: toughen up and win or more and worse will follow.

Apparently, the Canadian Luchadore got the message, even though he wasn't out at ringside during York's match. Without any interference, the Luchadore pinned the other half of the tag team champions in the middle of the ring. Luchadore was almost ecstatic as he racked up his 4th victory this year and went out to celebrate with his manager. At first, it appeared that SOD was not satisfied with the performance, as he raised his hand and looked prepared to deliver a physical lesson like he had with York. But something calmed the dark beast and he brought his hand down in a reassuring pat on the shoulder of the Luchadore, the calmest and most positive emotional response ever seen from SOD in years.

Happy with the Luchadore, but still unhappy with York, it seems SOD felt that another opportunity was warranted, but here is where SOD went beyond anything he had done before. When the match between York and Tim Rockwell began, SOD took a seat at ringside. After approximately 45 seconds, referee Tommy 3 Count, who has had plenty of documented problems with FCW Champion The Canadian Red Devil recently, stopped the match and told ComPro commissioner Kitty that he believed SOD's presence constituted an unsafe work environment. Combined with all the other physical brutality Tommy had suffered at the hands of the Devil, the Luchadore and Shane Morbid, Tommy publicly quit ComPro and said he would not return until the safety of the working environment was restored. Both combatants and SOD watched as Tommy stormed out of the arena and senior referee Mike Two entered to finish the match. The contest didn't last long, as Tommy's theatrics were enough to completely confuse York and allow Rockwell to gain a swift win after hitting the One-Stop Drop. And once again, SOD entered the ring after York's loss, prepared to deliver some punishment. But this time, Mike Two tried to intercede and was accidentaly hit with the heart punch intended for York. This did nothing to slow SOD down, as he watched Mike collapse, then targeted and struck York again for emphasis before leaving the ring.

Reports have reached the Oklafan offices that Mike Two suffered multiple broken ribs as a result of the heart punches and will be unable to return to the ring for the remainder of this year. With Mike Two incapacitated and Tommy 3 Count resigned, it looked like the entirety of the refereeing duties would fall on the hands of John the Encourager, but yesterday, Tommy 3 Count issued a statement on the ComPro message board stating that, for the good of the company, he would return to duty this Saturday. He also said that he would be keeping a close eye on those who had physically assaulted him in the past and any infraction on their part would be dealt with swiftly and severely.

The safe guess would be that none of that makes any impact on SOD. As the head of his Manson-esque family, SOD continues to throw his charges to the lions, waiting for them to emerge bloodied or with their opponent's blood on their hands. Either way, the Shadow derives some sort of sick pleasure from it all as he continues to dish out his version of tough love.

Tags: ComPro, Shadow of Death, Canadian Luchadore, Michael York, Beau Dalton, Luc Lapointe, Tim Rockwell, Tommy 3 Count, Mike Two, John the Encourager, Sudden Impact