The cameras returned from commercial, and Noah's voice could be heard, clear as day, as we now returned to thirty thousand screaming fans.
Noah: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to All In! If you just joined us, you have missed absolute carnage! The Flashpoint Brothers have been trying to murder the Steel Titans, and the Apex Predators are trying to tear Hunter Locke apart at ringside. And I promise, this isn't an exaggeration—this has already been one of the most violent contests in the history of the IRW!"
The camera zoomed out, giving a wide view to the home viewers of the destruction. Inside the ring, Axel flashpoint was handing out rights to Cal Bishop, while Jett was dragging a ladder across the canvas. Meanwhile, Brock Steele, the Titans' powerhouse, was laid out on the mat attempting to defend himself.
Jett had different plans. He grunted as he pushed the ladder approximately halfway under the ropes until it was angled from one end on the canvas and the other on the barricade. He tapped it a couple times as if to gauge its firmness, and then looked over at Axel and pointed down at Brock.
The audience reacted with confusion, which soon transitioned to screams of understanding, as Axel nodded, grasped Brock, and pulled him toward the rough edges of the bridge the team had so hastily constructed. In unison, the brothers raised him up onto the ladder and then placed him down flat across the rungs of the ladder as if he were a piece of beef being prepared for grilling.
Irvin: "Oh, God, what are these idiots thinking? That's Brock laying on the ladder!"
As Jett wiped the sweat off from his forehead and face, he faced forward and towards the turnbuckle, pointed towards the sky in a dramatic fashion, and the crowd exploded, stomping their feet and clapping their hands when they recognized what he was about to do.
Noah: "Jett Flashpoint - Please tell me that he isn't - he is climbing to the high-rent district!"
With urgency, Jett ascended the ropes as the loud, excited crowd's voices filled the arena with every step that he took. When Jett reached the top, he got himself stable standing there for a moment and then looking out into the huge number of fans, threw his arms up to elicit an even larger roar from the crowd.
Then he jumped.
The only thing visible was movement. The only thing observable was one human body soaring through the air. Jett crashed down, his torso hitting Brock's chest, while the steel ladder bent like a bow, but did not snap.
The sound was nauseating.
The crowd erupted.
Fans scrambled to their feet screaming, hands over their heads. Luke and Tony both jumped to their feet without really thinking, totally forgetting about their bet in the middle of the chaos.
"HOLY HELL!" Michael Myers screamed from the omega level in the crowd, "HE KILLED HIMSELF FOR THIS!"
Irvin: "Oh my god! A splash onto the ladder! Jett Flashpoint may have broken his own ribs, and Brock Steele is out, cold!"
Noah: "That is not human, Irvin that is insanity!"
Jett rolled off of the wreckage with both of his arms pulled tightly into his midsection, still in pain. Brock slid off of the ladder, motionless. Officials rushed to ringside to check on Brock while Axel ran over and knelt next to his brother.
"You good?" Axel yelled.
Jett groaned and nodded slightly. "Get the titles... Don't worry about me. Go."
Axel gripped him by the shoulder, then pivoted and a resoluteness crossed his expression. He slipped back into the ring where Cal Bishop awaited him. The Apex predator had shaken off the earlier punishment and did not intend to give Axel a free ride.
The two men collided in the center of the ring, throwing punches with abandon. Axel ducked under a clothesline and rebounded off the ropes, but Cal caught him with a big boot in the midsection that made him stagger back. Cal took a fresh ladder from the corner and drags it to the center of the ring.
But Axel wasn't finished. He dove forward, shoulder-first, spearing Cal in the ribs and sending both men tumbling under the ropes to the outside.
That left the ring wide open, at least for the moment.
Jett slowly staggered into the rings, still clutching his stomach.
Marcus Vane, true to his nature, had slithered inside. He picked up the discarded ladder in the middle of the ring, bent it, and then jabbed the edge, into Jett's midsection, which already had been injured due to the splash on Brocke.
The fans groaned in sympathy, as Jett crumples onto his knees, clutching his stomach. Marcus snarled, lifted the ladder again, and shoved it again into his ribs.
Noah: "That's disgusting! That's ribs that Jett injured himself on the ladder dive!"
Irvin: "He's doing damage. Marcus Vane doesn't care about the fans---he cares about those belts, and he will cripple a man to get them!"
Satisfied with his damage, Marcus Vane shoved Jett under the bottom rope and out of the ring, then stood the ladder up in the center. Slowly, methodically, he began the climb upwards.
The fans screamed, a mix of boos and cheers building into a frenzy. Each step that Marcus took upwards thrummed with anticipation. After reaching the halfway point, and then the three quarters point, he finally stretched for the top rung—
Until Hunter Locke came in.
The Steel Titan had gained enough composure to spot Marcus climbing. He charged like a beast toward the ring, his massive arms locked around Marcus's legs. The crowd was going insane as Hunter lifted Marcus on his shoulders. Marcus squirmed, flailing punches to Hunter's head, but to no avail.
Hunter easily turned toward the rings, where the busted ladder Brock went down on was still leaning in a broken state. Hunter let out a roar, and then threw Marcus with all of his body.
The sound of the crash was deafening. Marcus's body went crashed into the ladder, smashing it in half with a metallic sound. The entire building shook with the impact. The fans screamed, with many covering their mouths.
Noah: "Good god almighty! Hunter Locke just threw Marcus Vane like a sack of garbage, and the ladder just broke in half!"
Irvin: "That is a man's body hitting steel! That is not just dangerous, it is a career ender!"
Marcus laid crumpled in the broken pieces of the ladder, as officials were running to him to check on his condition. Hunter stared down for a moment, breathing heavily, and then turned his focus back to the belts.
He ambled toward the ladder, every step intentional, the crowd chanting his name instead of the boos they usually directed towards him. Slowly but surely, he began his ascent. One rung. Two rungs. Three. Gold shining above him within arm's reach.
But hope doesn't die so easy.
Axel Flashpoint, banged up but still perseverant, rolled back into the ring. His face was contorted with pain, but his eyes told another story—his spirit burned brighter than before. Axel crawled toward the ladder and, grasping onto Hunter's ankle, pulled him down hard.
Hunter tried to shake him off with a kick, but Axel held on like a pit bull. Axel pulled again and yanked Hunter's legs with every ounce of power he could muster.
Now the Titan thrashed and swayed—was he going to fall!
Axel gained momentum, then with one last pull, wrenched Hunter's legs off the ladder.
Hunter fell forward, with his body crashing face first into the mat with a nauseating sound. The ring reverberated, as the crowd exploded.
Noah: "Hunter Locke is down! The monster of Steel Titans has fallen!"
Irvin: "Axel Flashpoint lives, bounces back— and he receives the ladder all to himself!"
Axel pushed Hunter out under the ropes with the last of his strength. Turning towards the ladder, he felt the bones in his ribs aching and legs shaking. He knew this was his shot.
He began to ascend. Slowly. Painfully. The chants rose with him; "AX-EL! AX-EL!"
One rung. Two rungs. The energy in the arena surged, thirty thousand people willing him upward.
Tony shook Luke's arm with furious attention. "He's doing it! He gonna win this!"
Luke groaned, caught and paralyzed by overwhelm. "I ... I think you're right."
Edging further, Axel made it to the top. He took a look around, eyes open wide, and could not believe it was Karl that broke first. Marcus was finished. Cal was on his knees. Hunter and Brock were unconscious. Jett was still barely moving at ringside. The battlefield was his.
He stretched upward just one more time, his hand stretched to the full length he could, the leather straps brushed his fingertips. The belts hung, seemingly taunting him.
With one last push or agonizing pull, Axel unclipped the last of the hanger.
The belts came free.
The bell.
The outburst that followed could not be described in words.
Noah: "History has been made! The Flashpoint Brothers are the first-ever IRW Tag Team Champions!"
Axel collapsed onto the top of the ladder, hugging the belts to his chest, his face contorting between agony and euphoria. The fans were on their feet, cheering and screaming, some even in tears from the sheer spectacle of it all.
At ringside, Jett managed a smile, raising his fist weakly in triumph as officials helped him up. His brother had done it. They had done it.
Axel lifted the titles high from the ladder's peak, thirty thousand people chanting their name, the roar shaking the arena like thunder.
For the first time in this world, a ladder match had been fought—and survived. And in that chaos, a new era of wrestling was born.
AN: IF I GET ENOUGH COMMENTS THEN I WOULD DO A DOUBLE CHAPTER TODAY OR TOMORROW