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Striker Prepared For All Opponents

Posted: Dec 25th 2008 By: CMBurnham

When you're a champion, you're expected to face all challengers. And even though MSWA Mid-South Champion Striker only holds a title in one federation, he approaches all his matches with the mentality that every match is a title match and every match is important.

For the past few months, Striker has been engaged in a feud with GPCW Champion Carnage in IZW. While neither of them have put their titles on the line, it's still a battle of 2 of the largest champions in the state. At "Chaotic Christmas", the two behemoths were scheduled to finally face each other in a one-on-one match and ultimately determine who the best big man was.

That match never happened. Striker came to the ring, but when Carnage was announced, he appeared on the ramp with a crutch and favouring his left leg. Carnage took the microphone and announced to the crowd that he was injured and would be unable to wrestle. He then laid the blame for that on Striker, saying that Striker was afraid to face him and had tried to take him out earlier in the week. He blamed Striker for the the absence of his manager Christopher Bentley and then announced that he had brought one of his "brothers" to fight in his place. That turned out to be Se7en, which put Striker's plans out the window. While Carnage is a massive brawler, Se7en is a skilled technician and Striker would have to change his battle plans accordingly.

And just to keep Striker on his toes, Carnage decided to remain at ringside to observe the damage that Se7en would do in his name. Of course, Carnage couldn't just stand and watch. He had to interfere. And he did so, bringing Se7en an edge for much of the match as Striker had no one to back him up. After repeated interferences, Striker and Carnage began to argue. Referee Jimmie Deen got in between them, which gave Carnage the opportunity to slide his crutch into the ring to Se7en. But as Deen was admonishing Carnage, Striker turned around and stepped on the crutch before Se7en could pick it up. Striker then picked up the crutch, jammed it into the stomach of Se7en and threw it outside the ring before finally hitting The Stroke on Se7en and pinning him for the win.

Most fans could have forgiven Striker for not showing up at the MSWA show the next day, but that's not the kind of champion Striker was. He had a title defence in an open contract, and that contract had been signed by Max McGuirk. McGuirk, who has a shot at the MWA Title in Spavinaw on January 9, wanted to grant himself an early Christmas present by taking the MSWA title away from Striker, but that wasn't in the cards. McGuirk came to the ring alone, as his T. M. S. associates were not in the arena and that may have been the deciding factor. McGuirk has become accustomed to having backup around him in MSWA, but when faced with a one-on-one situation, he just didn't have the tools needed to take the belt away from the experienced veteran.

Striker certainly epitomises what a fighting champion is all about. He holds the top belt in MSWA and must be considered a serious threat to the IZW Title held by Michael Barry as well. Big or small, Striker is prepared to knock down everyone who comes in his direction.

Tags: MSWA, Striker, GPCW, Carnage, IZW, Se7en, Christopher Bentley, Max McGuirk, MWA, T. M. S., Michael Barry