What Lies On The Other Side?

[Skummy]

(Warning: This diary WILL include scenes of violence, death and profanity. If you're offended by any of these things, it would probably be best to stop reading now)

We at Wrestling-Heat.com always regret to be the bearers of bad news, but unfortunately we must report that last night the police were called in to the home of a former WWE superstar, who was found murdered. Due to legal constraints, we have not yet been able to obtain the identity of said wrestler, but it is always sad to hear any news of this nature, and we will try and keep you informed as much as possible over the following few days.

[Skummy]

In his office at WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Vince McMahon paced around his office, then stopped and looked in to the mirror. He rested his elbows on his desk and put his head in his hands, exasperated. He'd spent the whole day talking to lawyers about this damned murder case, even though "the deceased" didn't work for him any more.

Apparently Mr. McMahon was a character witness, but Vince knew the real reason. As a self-made millionaire and owner of the largest and most famous wrestling company in the world, Vincent Kennedy McMahon was the figurehead for the wrestling industry. That meant that when wrestling was popular, Vince McMahon was popular. However, it also meant that whenever a scandal hit the pro-wrestling world, a scandal hit Vince McMahon. There was nothing he could do about it, Vince was intrinsically linked with the wrestling industry in a way that could never be changed.

But there was more. Vince knew that he had something to do with the murder, he knew that...

Vince shuddered, as he felt a gust of cold air across the base of his spine. He turned, and saw his office window slightly open...that's odd...it was bolted from the inside, and Vince never opened it...it's not like there's anyone else here...

Vince shrugged, then slammed the window shut and returned to his desk. Just as he sat down, something landed on the desk and made him jump. It was a large black bird...like a crow, or a raven or something...how the hell did that get in here? It must have flown through the window...

Vince tried to shoo the bird away so he could get it out of the window, but got a peck on the hand, drawing a little bit of blood for his troubles. Mr McMahon cursed and shoved the bird away then turned back to the mirror...but froze as if he'd seen a ghost.

He turned, and saw a familiar face staring back at him.

"You!" Vince gasped, "How did you...but you're...you can't be..."

The man slowly walked up to Vince and put his hand over his mouth, then stood behind him, still with his palm clasped firmly over Vince's mouth.

"Believe in angels, Vincent," the man said, "You'd be wise to."

He took his hand from around Vince's mouth and shoved him to the floor, then stared down at his former employer's terrified expression.

"You're pathetic, Vincent," he said, "Pathetic."

With that, he held out his arm and allowed the bird to perch itself on it and Vince backed away, never more terrified in his whole life.

[Skummy]

In a seedy motel in South Carolina, a large man, standing well over 6' tall, and clad in a leather jacket walked into his room. He opened his jacket and produced a sword, which he wiped clean before laying down on the bed and slumping down into his chair. He brushed hair from his eyes, then pulled open a drawer and took out what appeared to be a rudimentary make-up kit.

He began to paint his face with white make-up, as a large black bird flew through the window and perched itself on his shoulder.

He painted a smile in black lipstick, then stood up and forced the motel room window open. As the bird flew out into the night, he followed, jumping out of the window in pursuit.

"People once believed, that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes, something so bad happens, that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes the crow could bring that soul back to put the wrong things right."

[Skummy]

In a South Carolina back alley, a small altar of some description had been erected, something the locals had blamed the teenagers of the area for. Those crazy teenagers and their satanic rituals.

But the man kneeling by it right now was no teenager.

"My Lord," he spoke, "I have been called back to this world for a reason, to right the wrongs that caused my death, but I feel that I need guidance. Please, give me a sign, give me some semblance of an idea...give me something, please, Lord."

The altar began to shake as the man arose, and a voice sounded from deep within his soul. It sounded louder than anything he had heard in his life, but none of the passers-by could hear it.

"My child," it said, "You are not here to avenge, but to punish...and to cleanse. You were released from World Wrestling Entertainment in events that led to your murder, and you must prove that your release was a mistake. Prove that you are the greatest wrestler in the world today. And prove, beyond any doubt, that you will not be the only casualty of these events. For it shall be brutal, moreso than anything the wrestling world has ever experienced. You will not be the only one to find out what lies on the other side."

And with that, the voice stopped as the man rose. He knew his mission. He was to prove himself as the greatest wrestler in the world today by construing a series of fights to the death, both in and out of the squared circle. It would be the biggest tournament in wrestling history and the best part is, only he knew the entrants.

[TGC]

So The Crow 5: WWE huh?

Intriguing.

I am interested in seeing who the Crow is, what happened, and how in the hell you are going to turn this into a wrestling diary. You have me interested, I hope you can keep me there.

TGC

[Kristos Is God]

Looks pretty damn good. I'll be reading.

[Skummy]

Note: The matches on this show are intentionally short, as this is a prelude of sorts to the actual diary. Still part of the back-story, but not...if you get what I mean.

Backstage at WWE's SmackDown! tapings and all was not well. For starters, Vince McMahon was nowhere to be seen, and with the show not being at it's best anyway, they were now a ship without a captain, unless you count Bruce Pritchard, who had been spending all day trying to contact Vince.

Steve Lombardi paced back and forth, he was getting worried. They hadn't heard from Vince in nearly a week, so the booking for SmackDown was looking even worse than usual.

The former Brooklyn Brawler took out his cell-phone and dialled Vince's number. He let it ring but still didn't get an answer. He'd tried Shane and Linda too, but neither of them knew where Vinny Mac had got to. Brawler put his phone away.

"Shit..." he said through clenched teeth,

Well, it seems like the show must go on.

Match 1: Chavo Guerrero Jr vs. Billy Kidman

A pretty decent cruiserweight match-up, back-and-forth action making both men look pretty strong, with Chavo picking up the win via a handful of the tights...I smell a rematch.

Winner: Chavo Guerrero Jr

Next up, The Undertaker came out to a fantastic response. His opponent was none other than his own personal jobber, Nunzio.

Match 2: The Undertaker vs. Nunzio

Predictable as they come, Nunzio doesn't even get a move in, just gets taken down with a Chokeslam then lifted back up for a Tombstone Piledriver for the easy 'Taker pinfall.

Winner: The Undertaker

Next up, and John "Bradshaw" Layfield rides the wave of cheap heat down to the ring, followed by Spike Dudley. I smell another squash. Two in a row?! What is this, 1986?!

John "Bradshaw" Layfield vs. Spike Dudley

Slightly longer than the previous match as Spike gets some offense in, but inevitably falls prey to the Fall-Away Slam and the Clothesline From Wallstreet...er...Hell by JBL, for the hook of the leg and the pinfall. Look on the bright side, Spike, he didn't hog-tie you in the showers.

Winner: John "Bradshaw" Layfield

We get some backstage gubbins now. I'm not entirely sure what was going on, but General Manager Kurt Anger was annoyed with Dawn Marie for some reason.

Back in the ring, and John Cena is cutting a stinging (read: dull and predictable) rap on Booker T. This, of course, prompts the Booker man to come down to the ring and face Cena. Looks like we have a main event to round off an awful SmackDown.

Main Event: Booker T vs. John Cena

Booker doesn't do too badly, but it's almost all Cena throughout, beating the Bookerman like the bitch he is! Booker actually manages to get a Scissors Kick in, but Cena kicks out and fires back with the F-U! Hook of the leg!

Wait a minute...a fan jumps over the guardrail, and the referee and security try to stop him! No...that's no ordinary fan...he's in a black leather trenchcoat and face-paint, with a bird on his shoulder...that's The Crow!

Referee Charles Robinson tries to restrain The Crow, but he gets knocked out with one solid palm thrust to the jaw! One of the security guards tries to take him down, but The Crow pulls a knife on him and drives it deep into his chest, causing the guard to drop to his knees in pain.

The fans don't realise what's going on and they're cheering like anything, not realising that they've just witnessed a televised murder. The Crow enters the ring as Cena and Booker back away from him, and he calls for a microphone, which reluctantly gets handed to him.

Crow: I am here as a messenger. A messenger from below. My life was ended only a matter of days ago...and I have been summoned back to Earth. You see...there is a place where us restless souls shall wander, burdened by the weight of our own sadness and unable to enter Heaven. So we wait. We wait, trapped between this world and the next, searching, endlessly searching for a way to rid ourselves of our pain....in the vain hope that somehow, someday we will be reunited with those we love, and that all that was wrong will be righted. I am alone, but I shall not be for much longer.

The Crow stops and a smile comes to his face as, unheard by anyone else in the arena, he hears a police siren from outside.

Crow: I must prove that my release and my death were unjustified. But I can not do that on this Earthly plain. I must prove that I am superior in my own element, and will only give up my life for another's. We must depart to Purgatory. To Limbo. The Other Side. Any wrestlers that want the opportunity of a lifetime...come to the graveyard tomorrow night. I'll be waiting.

The Crow continues to speak, but someone finally manages to cut off his microphone. The ring is surrounded with road agents and ring crew, but no one dares get into the ring. The first person to make a move is Tazz, who steps up from the announce table and cautiously climbs into the ring. He tries to talk sense to The Crow, but gets caught in a Sleeper Hold. Tazz struggles to get out of it, but The Crow tightens his grip and, with a sickening crack, drops Tazz's limp form to the floor.

By now, the police have reached the arena and rush to the ring. Rather than try and run, The Crow simply stands still and allows them to put him in handcuffs and help him out of the arena, with a sickening grin on his face, as paramedics rush to attend to Tazz.

Casualty Count: 2 (Tazz & un-named security guard)

[Skummy]

Due to the circumstances surrounding the ending of the show, UPN opted not to air WWE SmackDown! this week, but even so, the message that The Crow delivered had got out, and there wasn't a wrestler or a fan in the world who hadn't heard of his "opportunity of a lifetime". Obviously, a fair few of them decided against it, meeting a murderer in a graveyard for an "opportuntity of a lifetime" perhaps not the greatest idea in the world, but for others it was just too much. One way or another, it was a chance at immortality.

In a Conneticut prison cell, The Crow smiled. He knew that his plan was going to come to fruition. He was putting his own meager existence on the line, up against the existence of any number of other wrestling "superstars".

His eyes rolled back into his head as his faithful companion, his personal familiar, his crow, landed in the graveyard where the competitors were due to meet. So far, three people had turned up. The Crow recognised two of them as D-Von Dudley and Nunzio, but had no idea who the third was. Probably some indie no-hoper looking to make a name for himself.

The Crow smiled humourlessly, then forced the door to his cell off it's hinges and simply walked to freedom.

[nabeel]

This is a great diary. Who IS the Crow?

[Kaney]

I may be getting a bit confused here, but wouldn't the fans mistake him as Sting? Haven't saw the Crow films in years, but wasn't Sting based off him? Maybe thats who it is?

[Skummy]

I may be getting a bit confused here, but wouldn't the fans mistake him as Sting?  Haven't saw the Crow films in years, but wasn't Sting based off him?  Maybe thats who it is?

←

I did think about that when I was writing SmackDown! (possibly the worst Smackdown write-up in history), and I also considered Sting as a possible candidate for being The Crow...but it's not him. It's a former WWE employee.

The Crow is a different build to Sting, so the fans might mistake them at first glance but probably no more than that.

The fans won't play too much of a role in the rest of the diary, though.

Edited June 6, 2004 by Skumfrog

[Kristos Is God]

It's Jeff Hardy!

[Skummy]

It was quite a surreal sight as The Crow sat in the centre of the graveyard, surrounded by a number of crows and ravens, as wrestler after wrestler began to turn up, each as intrigued by The Crow's offer as the next.

The first to turn up was, as The Crow had seen, D-Von Dudley.

"One for sorrow.." The Crow said,

"Just letting you know," D-Von said, "I'm not into this supernatural "back from the dead" crap, I just wanna make sure this is all legit, understand?"

The Crow simply smiled at D-Von then said the words, "Two for joy." as Nunzio arrived.

Nunzio was keeping his distance from The Crow, not evening able to bring himself to look him in the eye. The next to turn up was Victoria...The Crow must have missed her before.

"Three for a girl..."

The next was a man not exactly built to be a pro-wrestler, and dressed in a pinstripe suit and flares. It was Elvis J. Healey, former Channel Islands Backyard Wrestling Champion. He was the man The Crow hadn't recognised before, and presumably was in this to try and make a name for himself.

"Four for a boy..."

The next man who turned up surprised even The Crow. It was the former Big Boss Man, Ray Traylor. Perhaps he was looking to re-establish himself as a top name?

"Five for silver..."

The next man should have come as no surprise, it was Kurt Angle, not a man to back down from a challenge.

"Six for gold..."

The seventh man came as something of a shock to everyone else present. It was Paul Heyman. Not a wrestler, by any stretch of the imagination, so why would he be here?

"Seven for a secret," The Crow murmured, "That's never been told."

Over time, more and more people filed in. This looked like it could be interesting...

Roster

1) D-Von Dudley

2) Nunzio

3) Victoria

4) Elvis J. Healey

5) Ray Traylor

6) Kurt Angle

7) Paul Heyman

8) Triple H

9) Chris Jericho

10) Shawn Michaels

11) Eddie Guerrero

12) The Undertaker

13) Big Show

14) Chris Benoit

15) Edge

16) Christian

17) John Cena

18) Kane

19) Matt Hardy

20) Randy Orton

21) Rey Mysterio Jr

22) Rob Van Dam

23) Al Snow

24) Billy Gunn

25) Charlie Haas

26) Eugene

27) Bubba Ray Dudley

28) Hardcore Holly

29) John "Bradshaw" Layfield

30) William Regal

31) Tajiri

32) Stevie Richards

33) Spike Dudley

34) Rhyno

25) Johnny Nitro

26) Nathan Jones

27) Mark Henry

28) Rene Dupree

29) Rico

30) The Hurricane

31) Ultimo Dragon

32) The Brooklyn Brawler

PLUS: The Crow and some mystery entrants!

[M.V.P.]

Looking interesting Skumfrog

[sirdavinator]

The Crow is Raven! Who else?

[Commander Sheepard]

Man, this is some SERIOUSLY intriguing stuff here. That's a pretty damn good backstory you have there, and it's making me want to keep reading, which is definitely a good thing. If you can keep the "shows" (or their equivalent) this intersting, you'll have a reader in me.

Quick question: This "Crow" is somebody who actually HAS been released from the WWE in REAL life, right? This isn't someone who left the WWE in your fantasy world?

[Kane's Mullet Slacker]

This certainly looks interesting Skumfrog, I was a fan of your WWE in the Style of Skumfrog, and I'll be reading this one for sure. I'm intrigued to see what the "shows" will be like. If you plan on killing someone else anytime soon, make sure it's Ray Traylor. He deserves to die.

[Skummy]

bigsheep, The Crow is a real-life former WWE superstar. I'll be dropping a few subtle hints as to who he is throughout the diary, as well as hints towards other things. In fact, I've already dropped some pretty important ones!

[Guest Jebus]

Kurgan?

[kingtut307]

Wow, at first when I skimmed through I thought this would be a BVS rip-off, but it is very different. Very interesting idea, I look forwarding to seeing where you go with it.

[Protoman Version 2.5]

Hmm, as others have said really interesting diary so far. And the whole killing thing is quite odd but cool. But i can think of one person who's recently been released who was kinda out there and 6 feet or over.....none other then the dream's son! Dustin " Goldust " Rhodes! :lol

[Skummy]

Nathan Jones, Tajiri and Ray Traylor found themselves on a desolate city street, the rain pouring down around them.

"What the hell is this?" Traylor asked, "I don't like this, we were in a damn graveyard a minute ago...this is getting too freaky."

"I don't like this any more than you do," Jones said, "But listen, mate..."

Whatever Nathan was intending to say, it was cut off by the booming voice of The Crow. No one could tell where it was coming from, but they all heard it as clear as day.

"Ah, welcome to Purgatory," The Crow said, "I trust you had a pleasant journey? Well, it all ends here. There's only three ways to leave Purgatory. The first is the easiest, and that is to leave in a body-bag. The second is to be the solitary survivor, leaving everyone else dead in your wake. The third...is impossible. The third is to return me to the Hell from whence I came."

"You're...you're fucked up," Ray Traylor said, "How...how do you do all this? What the Hell are you?"

The voice of The Crow could be heard laughing from wherever it was coming from. Maybe it was just in their heads? But then...why would they all hear the same thing?

"I am the shadow behind your soul," The Crow explained, "Everything you have ever feared, every monster hiding under your bed, everything you have ever run from...lives within me."

Ray Traylor shuddered, "This is some weird shit," he said, "I don't know about you guys...but I'm finding my way out of here. Now."

Overall Rating: 77%

As Traylor turned to walk away, Nathan Jones hit a stiff punch to the back of his head, knocking him down to the cold, concrete floor.

"Didn't you hear him right?" Jones asked, "Getting out of here is bloody difficult, but I'm going to make the first step."

Traylor rolled over, clutching the back of his head, and stared up into the wild, psychotic eyes of the "Collossus of Boggo Road". Jones swung to punch down at Traylor, but the former Boss Man managed to roll out of the way, causing Nathan to connect with cold, unforgiving concrete. He pulled back, clutching his hand in pain, as Traylor scurried away as fast as he could.

Silent thus far, Tajiri took it upon himself to attempt to gain the upper hand, jumping up onto Jones' back, locking in a tight sleeper. Jones struggled free, but got caught with a martial arts kick to the back of the leg. Tajiri got the big man down to his knees, then fumbled around in the dark for some kind of weapon. He felt something cold and hard in his hand, a paving slab, loosened by the rain. He struggled to lift it up, then swung it at Jones, only for the big Australian to duck and catch Tajiri with a kick to the gut.

"Not today, mate," Jones said, "Not today."

Nathan grasped Tajiiri around the neck, then launched him sideways through a window, glass shattering everywhere. Seemingly satisfied with his handiwork, Jones walked off.

Overall Rating: 71%

Eugene Dinsmore had found himself alone, but having heard The Crow's message, decided that was probably a good thing. He had taken shelter inside a building, but had so far been too frightened to turn on the light to see exactly where he was. From what he could tell, it was some kind of small shop. He wasn't too bothered, as long as he was alone, he was safe.

He crawled under the window to a side cabinet, and wiped the dust off of it to reveal what appeared to be a row of knives. Whatever this shop was, it seemed to offer some way for Eugene to defend himself. That could only be a good thing.

He scrambled over the counter and looked around behind it to see if he could find any food or drink...if he had enough supplies, he could realistically stay here and let the conflict happen without him. Eugene's wandering hands found what appeared to be a door, so he slowly rose and turned the handle, opening into another room, even darker than this one.

He felt around, and his hands found some leather boots. By the looks of things, this was just a wardrobe or something. It could make a good hiding place later, though.

Eugene looked up, and felt something cold and metallic brush against his forehead. His eyes widened as he heard a gun cocking and a Texan accent say, "Too bad, kid, looks like you're gonna need a new hidey-hole now."

Eugene scurried backwards and began begging for his life as the gun followed him, still too dark to see who was holding it.

The Texan's voice spoke again. "Wait," it said, "I got a better idea."

Eugene heard the man put the gun down and felt a sigh of relief escape his pursed lips.

Overall Rating: 70%

D-Von and Bubba Ray Dudley had managed to find each other, and were currently hidden in a back alley that had thus far gone undiscovered. They'd watched the conflict between Ray Traylor, Nathan Jones and Tajiri and so far weren't too keen to get involved.

"Listen, Bubba," D-Von said, "I have no idea what the Hell's going on here, but if what that face-painted freak says is true...I want you to know that there is no way I am gonna kill you. If I'm getting out of here alive, so are you. And that means one thing."

"I know, D-Von," Bubba replied, "It means we've gotta find that creature of the night and kill the bastard."

"But how?" D-Von asked, "If he can do...all this...then how do we kill him?"

"He's a man," Bubba says, "He bleeds, so we can kill the motherfucker."

The Dudleyz felt an ice-cold air sweep past them and, just for a moment, the rain stopped. There was nothing but silence and then...a single black bird swooped down from the sky and landed before them. Bubba Ray and D-Von watched it intently, until they heard footsteps from the distance. They looked up, and saw the figure of The Crow approaching them. Bubba Ray stepped forward to attack, but D-Von held him back.

Overall Rating: 70%

"What in the Hell is this?" Bubba asked, "Why are we here? What do you want?"

"Whenever someone dies," The Crow replied, "A ripple is felt throughout all the elemental planes and a compassionate spirit reaches into the world. A winged shadow, in the mortal shape of an Earth-born bird, takes flight over a Sunless and suffering city. Beneath its glistening wings, great fires reach up with greedy flame fingers, but it flies on in undisturbed passage through the rain-wet sky, and in a voiceless whisper calls. This is Purgatory. This is where it all begins and where it all ends. This is where I was cruelly taken from, and where you are now. This is the first step to redemption."

"I always knew you were a fuck-up," Bubba spat, "Talk some fucking sense for once! What the Hell do you want from us?"

"The question is not what I expect from you," The Crow replied, "But what you want from me. You came here of your own free will, following my lead. You are here for a reason, and it is not my role to determine what that is. Purgatory is not a place on Earth, but a place inside each one of you."

Bubba Ray backed away slightly...there was something eery about the way The Crow spoke. Like it went straight from his mind to yours without passing through his vocal chords. The Crow turned to walk away as Bubba and D-Von just stared at each other, fear in their faces.

As soon as he was aware that The Crow was out of earshot, Bubba let out a massive breath and uttered the words "We should have just killed the fucker there and then..."

Overall Rating: 72%

An evil grin came across Chris Jericho's face as he looked out of the window and saw a worried Triple H wandering the streets. This was going to be fun.

As Hunter backed away from an unseen terror, Jericho thrust his arm through the glass of the window before him and wrapped it around Trippers' neck.

"Heeeeeeere's FOZZY!" Jericho screamed as HHH struggled in his ever-tightening grasp.

Jericho felt the blood pouring from his arm, cut to shreds from the broken glass, and pulled away, dropping Triple H, gasping for air, to the floor, and beginning to tear apart his T-shirt to use as a bandage.

Once Hunter had got his breath back, he grabbed a hold of Jericho by the hair and caught him across the chin with a vicious crossface clothesline, dropping him to the floor, then mounted him and began throwing punches as Jericho desperately tried to cover up.

Hunter pulled a bloodied and battered Chris Jericho to his feet, then speared him into the wall and let him slump the floor, before laying into him with some hard stomps. Jericho tried to fire back, but just got thrown through the door and in to the street. Hunter walked out and lifted Jericho to his feet then, just to prove a point, set him up for a Pedigree on the concrete floor.

Triple H hooked Jericho's arms, only to get clobbered across the back of the head with an acoustic guitar! Elvis J. Healey had come out of nowhere to knock Triple H clean out. Healey spat on Trippers, then ran off into the night, glad to have got one hard shot in.

Overall Rating: 87

The Undertaker and Paul Heyman had somehow found themselves together and had come to the decision that, for now at least, it would be wise to stick together. 'Taker was beginning to get a little annoyed with Heyman's company, however, as he seemed more than a little bit reluctant to do anything, or to explain why he answered The Crow's invitation.

Overall Rating: 71%

Confirmed Casualty Count: 2 (Security Guard, Tazz)

[Rage]

This diary is becoming pretty much amazing (like all of Skumfrog's diaries). I think the Crow maybe the Fallen Angel Chrstopher Daniels or Raven. The next casualty will be Elvis. J Healey because I think The Crow feels threateaned by him, although The Crow probably feels threatened by no one.

[bubba]

This seems like a movie. Where only one soul will remain and then i think The Crow will kill them and then all the people who were killed will return to earth. I think The Crow is Sean O'Haire.

[Guest Illusion999]

This diary is becoming pretty much amazing (like all of Skumfrog's diaries). I think the Crow maybe the Fallen Angel Chrstopher Daniels or Raven. The next  casualty will be Elvis. J Healey because I think The Crow feels threateaned by him, although The Crow probably feels threatened by no one.

←

He said the Crow was over 6ft. Unless Raven and Daniels took some kind of pills to make them a few inches taller, then no