"And Night Queen hit one of her signature techniques and gets the cover for the win! That was an incredible move to win the match! Don't you agree Bill?" Ted asked excitedly as the match ended.
"Well… yeah it was alright I guess." Bill said searching for something to criticize but being unable to find anything.
Night Queen came back to the locker room with the rest of the Dark Dynasty and was beaming with a great big smile on her face. Black Maria on the other hand, was completely dejected. Dark Mistress seemed to be as bubbly as she usually was.
"Well darling, what did you think about my performance? It was quite spectacular don't you think?" Night Queen asked Black Mask, acting quite pleased with herself. "I earned that date didn't I? Now where do you think that we should go? I had a few ideas…" She tried to say before Black Mask cut her off.
"We'll grab a cup of coffee or something sometime." Black Mask said as he dismissively waved her off. "Now, as for the two of you I have the harshest punishment for you. The both of you will be coming with me on a five day training camp at my mountain retreat. For five days I'll be with you constantly, every second of the day with the harshest training regimen you've ever experienced."
"Wait, so just to be clear since they lost their punishment is that they get to spend five days alone with you in a mountain resort and my reward is that your going to take me to get a cup of coffee?" Night Queen asked.
"Yes?" Black Mask replied, not understanding the point of her question.
"Ok, just wondering. That's fine. That's, fine. That is fine." Night Queen kept saying in an attempt to convince herself that it was in fact, fine.
"Hmph, looks like we're the ones who are getting the real prize." Black Maria said under her breath with a smirk.
"What was that?" Black Mask asked as he overheard her.
"I just meant that, to a true champion a chance to improve is its own reward." Black Maria said.
"Well that's good to hear because I'm going to be drilling you ladies from dawn to dusk." Black Mask said.
It was now finally time for the main event. It was a 10 man gauntlet match with the winner getting a shot at the SWF Universal Championship. A 10 man gauntlet match is a style of match that starts as a standard match between two opponents, but when that match ends the winner stays in the ring and has a match with the next opponent. This goes on until there is only one man left standing.
Black Mask was of course, the first man in the ring for the gauntlet. That meant in order for him to win a title shot, he would have to beat nine consecutive opponents. Of course, he would have no idea who his next opponent would be until they walked in to the ring.
"The first opponent that's coming out to face Black Mask is former champion Mr. Phenomenal!" Ted announced. "These two have already fought each other and it was a victory for Black Mask, but this is obviously different than a regular match. Black Mask has to face 8 more opponents after this if he wants to win. He's going to have to win while expending the least amount of energy possible and absorbing the least amount of damage possible."
"That's right, and remember, Black Mask got off to a rough start in his first match against Mr. Phenomenal. We might see him struggle in this match." Bill remarked.
As soon as the match started, Black Mask ran across the ring at Mr. Phenomenal and hit him with a spear. He then covered for the count.
"1!"
"2!"
"3!"
"And that's it! Black Mask wins the first match of this gauntlet with blinding speed! It looks like Mr. Phenomenal was caught off guard by his aggression in that match. I don't think anyone expected the match to be over so quickly." Ted announced. "Now his next opponent is already on his way. Let's see who it is, oh my goodness! It's former title contender, Wolfman!"
Wolfman had fought for the title himself only a few short weeks ago and he was now looking for a chance to get back into title contention.
Wolfman leaped into the ring and didn't waste anytime before unleashing a barrage of strikes with his claws. Black Mask was forced on the defensive as he couldn't afford to get a serious wound this early on in the gauntlet.
As Wolfman swung his claws again, Black Mask caught his arm and whipped him into the corner before hitting him with a powerful clothesline that dropped him to the canvas.
Black Mask then stepped over Wolfman and jumped to the top of the turnbuckle and as Wolfman stood up, he jumped into a DDT and covered for the count.
"Oh! Black Mask is trying to end this one quickly as well. It's in his best interest to end these fights as quickly as possible, but you have to wonder if maybe he's pushing the pace too much." Ted said.
"1!"
"2!"
Wolfman kicked out at 2 and got back on the attack. This time, Black Mask didn't dodge but charged straight in with a clothesline that dropped Wolfman. He then picked up and put him above his shoulders and slammed him down with his Black Meteor.
"Oh! A powerful slam as Black Mask hits Wolfman with the Black Meteor! But he doesn't go to cover! He's running the ropes and now he's hitting him with an elbow drop!! Still no cover, he's climbing the turnbuckle and now he's jumping into a vicious stomp on Wolfman. Black Mask really trying to make sure Wolfman is down before going for the cover which he is doing now."
"1!"
"2!"
"3!"
"Oh my goodness!!! Another dominant victory for Black Mask but he expended a lot of energy to put his opponents away so quickly now let's see who's coming out here next." Ted announced. "You've got to be kidding me! It's the former Champ! The "Texas Tank"! Tex Lunger!!! He's still supposed to be on medical suspension for his arms that were broken in their last match."
"He must have made a speedy recovery." Bill replied.
Tex and Black Mask stared each other down as Tex entered the ring. Tex started by going for a shoulder tackle but it was dodged by Black Mask. Black Mask then whipped Tex into the ropes and followed up with a vicious clothesline.
Tex tried to answer back with some heavy punches, but they were all countered by Black Mask, who returned some heavy strikes of his own. Black Mask then proceeded to throw Tex around the ring with tremendous feats of strength. Over and over again he'd continue to rag doll the massive man. He then grabbed Tex by his face and threw him across the ring and Tex sat stunned in the corner.
"Oh! We've seen some tremendous action here. Just imagine the strength it takes to throw a man the size of Tex Lunger around the ring like that. Still throwing a man that weighs over 400 pounds had to be incredibly taxing."
As Tex tried to get back up to his feet, Black Mask sat him up onto the top of the turnbuckle. He then lifted him upside down onto his shoulder and dropped down to his knees.
"Oh he just hit him with a Black Buster!"
*For visual reference it's just a common wrestling move known as a Muscle Buster*
The move left Tex stunned again and this time he covered for the count.
"1!"
"2!"
"3!"
"I can't believe it! Black Mask beats even Tex Lunger in dominant fashion. These first three matches have been quick victories for Black Mask. I have to say I didn't expect him to win these matches in such a one-sided fashion. Especially against Tex Lunger, a man who just a few weeks ago, pushed Black Mask to the brink of defeat." Ted said.
"Well you could clearly see that Tex's arms weren't fully recovered from his injuries, but still Black Mask has been dominating his opponents in this gauntlet by weaponizing his pace. His pace and pressure in these matches have been overwhelming his opponents so far. You just have to wonder, how long can he keep this pace? My guess is not long enough to finish this gauntlet with a victory." Bill analyzed.
The next opponent was about to make his way to the ring. This opponent was specially selected because he was a terrible match up for Black Mask in his current situation.