(Quick flashing imagery of jail cells, gallows, and old, worn “Wanted” posters are shown. The camera cuts to the site of someone creating a new Bounty sign; putting the final mark on it as they brand it onto the sign with a hot iron. The camera cuts to a shot of the sign as the theme for “Bounties” - a piano rendition of “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi - begins to play)
(The camera pans away from the sign to the left to reveal a shot of the inside of Wrestleworld Studios where Jack Develin is standing next to a large TV screen wearing an expensive black suit, still with the same usual smirk on his face. He raises an eyebrow and stares into the camera.)
Jack Develin: Hello, hello, hello… How time flies so fast in Wrestleworld. One day, we were just building our roster into a solid community, and now those same people are going to want to murder each other less than a week from now in our third pay-per-view Badlands. And let me tell you -- all signs just point to chaos by this point! What once was known as The Promised Land of professional wrestling may as well now be the Fightclub where our clients willingly put their bodies on the line just to be called the winner whether or not they are fighting for a Championship. Some make it and others don’t and there’s nothing to be ashamed of as long as you tried! And if you fail, you try again until you get it right, and some have acted like complete idiots trying, but they are nowhere near giving up. And I admire them! And it is truly delightful how this world has become, and despite all the challenges that our clients have already gone through, here I am giving them more targets to come after every two weeks because let’s face it -- the wars will never stop, it will continue to go on so long as there’s a ring to perform in. My name is Jack “The Devil” Develin and this is the 11th edition of Wrestleworld Bounties.
(Jack Develin turns to the large TV screen behind him to show the previous week’s Bounties)
Jack Develin: Any active competitor is eligible to be part of Bounties, and Arata Asakura cannot stop winning his matches to earn his spot for multiple weeks at number 1. He has managed to defeat Raoul in quite the dominant fashion but took it one too far in an attempt to provoke Jaydayne Pendragon to finally give him the match that he’s been asking for. It now begs the question of if he will retain his spot this week despite not having any matches. Harry Sterling who was once at number one takes second-best to Arata Asakura, and that’s been happening for two weeks straight. And the more these two are just staying still in the Bounties list with no signs of slowing down, I think that Arata Asakura vs Harry Sterling would become a great fantasy match! Maybe it’ll happen in the future despite working on different divisions. But right now, after the hard work Harry Sterling has given, will his performance be enough to make him rise at the rankings? Knowing how that guy is, I’m guessing not. We also have The Professional who has been rising and falling in the rankings in the past few editions, and he immediately started at number one when he won the Bloodbath Battle Royale. He hasn’t left the Bounties list since, it would be shameful to his client if he suddenly fell off the list right before their big match at Badlands! I am worried about The Professional, but I am certainly more worried about The Maverick and Puppy who have both lost their matches last week to April Song and Hana Nakajima respectively, and I have no doubt that the results might have done some damage to their performance and momentum in Wrestleworld. I could spend HOURS and HOURS asking questions, but how bout we finally get some answers?
(The camera pans to an opening prison cell and zooms in, revealing the first wanted poster.)
Jack Develin: Hey! Whoah! Don’t get mad at me that your precious Puppy is gone from Bounties! I know you all love him, and I do too but you knew exactly what the repercussions would be if he lost a single match while being last week’s number 5! I didn’t like putting the dog down but I had to! I had to damn it! But knowing Puppy, I know that he will rise again! And now The Professional, who people hate almost as much as they hate Claudia Michaels, barely hangs on for his dear life at the last spot. The Professional has had more impressive wins in the past and the fact that he was able to fulfill his mercenary duties to the fullest working with American Dream Architect Claudia Michaels. I mean, think about it, no matter what you say, this match at Badlands was supposed to be his. It would take as easy as betraying the Architect to hurt her imaginary reign for The Professional to become the first Champion and skyrocket back to the Most Wanted spot, and now he’s supposed to walk in the Elimination Chamber. But in truth, I know that The Professional doesn’t care about any of that because people like him have a certain code to live by and a bigger purpose than one might think, and he’s not about to break away from it no matter what spot it takes him at Wrestleworld.
(The camera then transitions to the next prison cell door opening, it zooms in revealing the next wanted poster.)
Jack Develin: The poster certainly doesn’t look settling with Hana Nakaima in it. Our artist was having quite the trouble putting her picture on a wanted poster when it’s obvious that she should be in a high school yearbook instead. But it’s okay. Hana Nakajima chose her path and it seems she chose it wisely, which isn’t a surprise knowing that Arata Asakura has trained her to become an efficient fighter! She and Puppy had an intense back and forth match, and anyone of them could have won, but the stars aligned for Hana. But who knows? The Divide and Conquer match might turn out different! She and Puppy are on opposite sides of the ring and after Puppy’s loss, I am sure that he’s more than determined to survive the match so he can start fighting for Championships soon! I know it’s your first time in Wrestleworld Bounties, Hana, but if someone else wins the Divide and Conquer match, then your spot here might not last! It’s not just Puppy! You also have the rest of the Akuma Alliance to deal with and the rest of The Legion of Megalo if your team happens to win, because I can assure you that they will be more than willing to snap you and eliminate you once you’ve served your purpose. I know this is scary and I’m not tryna scare you Hana, but I think you’re screwed so hang in there! I hope you’ve done your maths and counted how many people you have to go through to win! You can do it, Hana!
(The camera then transitions to the next prison cell door opening, it zooms in revealing the next wanted poster.)
Jack Develin: Look at that! Look at that smile on April’s face! This beauty has proven once again that she earned her spot at the Elimination Chamber and she is coming there to become the first American Dream Champion! She has way too much on her plate as she gets involved with the clash between Underworld and The Wild Cards, but as you can tell, none of that had made her flinch. It doesn’t affect her at all! She still has her confidence and I think the best game plan that she could do in the Chamber is to take advantage of the politics and the hatred around her and just do her thing once they’ve nearly destroyed each other! And I don’t know if April follows some sort of code of honor, but desperate times call for desperate measure and you can’t act all soft and righteous in something like the Elimination Chamber because acting that way would just get your career killed without ever holding a single gold! But what am I talking about? Why am I giving you the perfect strategy? I’m a journalist! I shouldn’t give any advice without getting paid to write it, I should be giving my thoughts on this and I say that April probably has this in the bag! I’m not saying I’m rooting for her, but I do believe that she will give her best to keep her spot and do better than number 3! Look at her opponents -- Claudia is a scary woman. The Professional is focused on his task. Nobi is resilient. Reno Dumont is sadistic. The Maverick is… recently kicked out of the Bounties, thanks to April. And April is just a little bit of everything which makes her the perfect mix! Goodluck at Badlands, I guess! Don’t die out there!
(The camera then transitions to the next prison cell door opening, it zooms in revealing the next wanted poster.)
Jack Develin: Yeah, I know. It is truly sad to see this man fall to number 2 again by a technicality, but it is what it is. But I know that it doesn’t bother this man. I can still feel the smile on his face! I know he’s out shopping for a new wrestling gear because he finally got his wish and it’s already set in stone! Arata Asakura will be facing Jaydayne Pendragon at Badlands! But the story doesn’t end there, Jaydayne laid out his terms that if Arata Asakura were to lose, he will still keep the Championship belt! Easy, right? No one loses no matter who wins! Yeah, no. You see, if I learned something from observing nice guys like Tristan Killebrew and Harry Sterling, it's that their legacies mean more to them than wins and losses. They don’t want to be known as that asshole that cheats on their matches, or that jerk who uses underhanded tactics, or be “dishonored” by getting their morales tainted no matter what is said. Arata Asakura may have hounded Jaydayne into giving him a match, but deep down, he’s still that guy who wants to set things right and go the extra mile to heighten his career. But you know, if he loses, he will be known as the Champion that didn’t beat his Architect which goes against the purpose of Architects in Wrestleworld. It’s horrible! It’s sad! And it would go against everything Arata stood for from the beginning, but hey, at least he still has his title! Maybe he will beat Jaydayne, and Jaydayne will accept his status (and stubbornness) as the Shogun Champion... maybe he won’t.
(The camera then transitions to the next prison cell door opening, it zooms in revealing the next wanted poster.)
Jack Develin: And just like that, Harry Sterling takes number one again! Even if he finds himself in the middle of a silly bet thanks to Campeonatos de Parejas Architects Drake and Jones, the fighting spirit remains the same as he and Liz Karlson live for the challenges that go with it. Their last win against what’s-their-faces boosted Harry Sterling back on the top spot and they pretty much let the world know just how serious they are as a team. Didn’t matter to Campeonatos de Parejas Architects Drake and Jones though and plans are already in place for them and The War Vessel to fight each other at Badlands. Drake Jaeger believes in The War Vessel while Tiberius Jones will accompany The Spitfires in this contest. Now, I don’t know about you, but this seems to scream unfair! You can’t gamble over serious wrestlers and tell them about it, that’s just unfair for Drake and Jones! What if these two teams rig the contest in favor of the Architect they like better, hm? But either way, there really isn’t much to say about Harry Sterling that I haven’t already said before. He did the job which is great! Congratulations on the win! Congratulations on the number one spot! Here’s to hoping we’d have new ones next week because I am so done looking at your boy scout face!
(Jack Develin stands next to an HD Monitor with the usual smirk on his face as he shows the current rankings for The Bounties)
Jack Develin: The final confrontation has happened and I wait in anticipation for what’s in store for Badlands where all of this will conclude and considering I feel numb and reading off a script for the most wanted that this current list has, I sincerely hope we get a new one soon! It might be inevitable especially if we crown the first American Dream Champion from the Elimination Chamber. That would be a massive win considering its 5 of other people they’ve defeated, but Claudia Michaels might still keep her reign as an Architect going. There’s also that title match with Havoc and Tristan Killebrew for the European Championship which can very well boost either man’s ranking to the top. As I said, the war within Wrestleworld will never end. Just when you think you’ve closed the door to one, another door to a crisis opens and pulls you in whether you want it to or not! This is your host Jack “The Devil” Develin and this has been Wrestleworld Bounties.
(Jack Develin smirks once more before walking away as the camera focuses on the screen that displays all of this week’s Bounties while the Bounties theme plays before fading to black)
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