FFW Future Shock - Episode 118 (Pool Party)

[Adam Grant]

   
Recorded from the Kalahari Resort in Poconos, Pennsylvania
July 19, 2022

The limousine pulls up outside of a bank somewhere in Boston before the driver opens the door to let Cait Flanagan and Kyle Kilmeade out. She takes his arm, and heads inside and is immediately escorted to a vault filled with stacks of money. But she notices one pedestal set aside for the title she wants most. “Legendary” by Skillet begins to play as someone dashes past the camera, and the pair look out to see whoever it is with the Future Shock Championship.

My heart bleeds adrenaline
The fire I breathe is where I live

It turns out to be Charlotte Harker, who darts out of the bank and around a corner at top speed with it in her hands. She doesn’t get far before Shaw trips her up, and takes the title away from her with a shake of her head. As she’s looking down at her former tag partner with annoyance, the title gets lifted out of her hand before the woman holding it ducks into a parked car and starts it up. The driver is Jacqui Minogue.

Top, to the top
Ain't never gonna stop
To the top, to the top
Ain't never gonna stop

Jacqui speeds through the streets of Boston till she runs into a familiar woman holding up traffic by standing in the middle of the crosswalk. Jacqui looks closer, and sees it’s Shaughnessy O’Neill who makes a beeline for her car. Minogue locks the doors and rolls up the window before someone else rises up from the backseat...that being Alessandra Esposito. She snatches the title out of the passenger seat, and bolts from the car onto the crowded sidewalks. She only gets so far before she’s spotted. Cait, Jacqui, and Shaw close in on her before a car honks to get her attention. She hops into the Italian sports car, leaving her pursuers in the dust..

Never gonna keep me down (never keep me)
Still the one that's standing now (never falling)
Destiny is calling me
Go down in history
Every day I'll fight to be
Legendary

Watching out the window of one of the nearby buildings at the plight of the would-be champions is a very amused Angelina and Arabella before the show cuts live inside the Oceanfront Arena. The fans roar as the show goes live, and sparklers shoot around the stage all the way down the ramp until another burst shoots from the ring posts. The camera shows the sprawling waterpark with all the pools and slides throughout the facility before we see the commentators. Zack had on a bright Hawaiian shirt and shorts alongside Claire in a pink tie dye bikini top with a matching thin linen kimono style cover up.

Zack: Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Kalahari Resort’s massive indoor water park here in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. If you haven’t guessed already, it’s time for our annual pool party after a historic night at FFW vs. Future Shock on All Access two weeks ago. I’d say the girls have earned a little rest and relaxation.

Claire: It’s been a busy and phenomenal first half of the year, traveling the country, welcoming a whole host of new talents and smashing records everywhere we’ve been. And we’re certainly ready to just slow it down a little for one of our highlights of the summer…and maybe test a couple of our ladies in new, different ways to what they see in a ring.

Zack: I have to tell you, fans, that if you’ve never been here, you should make a trip. This is a massive waterpark at 174,00 square feet! It’s the biggest one I’ve ever seen, much less to be entirely indoors.

Claire: It really does have something for everyone, multiple different slides, a cheetah race, a wave machine or, if you want something a little slower paced, there’s the lazy river and some incredible spas with waters that just help any tensions or stresses melt away. Like a little slice of heaven in a waterpark. Think maybe we can talk someone into bringing us over a couple of cocktails from the grotto?

Zack: Since we’re here, we have brand new challenges for the girls and a couple old favorites too. One classic is the log rolling competition. You know how those work, Claire. And in one woman’s case, I think it’s gonna create a particular challenge. But you tell me. It’ll be Aviva Miller, Sapphire Taylor, the reigning Diamond Champion Nadia Beaulieu and the reigning Anarchy Champion Charlotte Harker. And I think Charlotte might not be best suited for this. Then you take into account she and Sapphire haven’t gotten off on the best foot recently.

Claire: Out of all of those ladies…No, I don’t think anyone is going to put down Charlotte as the favourite. She’s not really known for having quick feet, which I feel is absolutely essential when it comes to log rolling.  But, you never know, if she takes big, long strides or maybe decides that no one else is making it across safely.

Zack: If you remember, Arabella did pretty well in this and she has a lot in common with Charlotte, I think.

Claire: I think Arabella might have slightly quicker feet - especially from working with Angelina. For me, I think this is still a three horse race between Sapphire, Aviva and Nadia. I don’t think much are going to separate those three on the logs.

Zack: Speaking of Arabella, she’s going to be part of our other returning challenge on today’s show. We’re talking tug of war, Claire. She’ll join Jake to take on the “Forever Champion” Ashley Marie Chase and her manager, Kyle Kilmeade. I still remember the last time those two women were in the ring together.

Claire: That’ll be an interesting contest right there but I think Arabella might just have enough of a strength advantage over Ashley to give them an edge. But that assumes that we don’t see any shenanigans from Latina Heat. Or River doesn’t come to try and protect DOCs honour after what we saw at FFW vs Future Shock.

Zack: We’re gonna hear from River actually today, and hopefully see how DOC is doing after that unprovoked attack from Ashley when she battered him with the defunct SVW Aggression Championship. That was disgusting!

Claire: It was heinous and completely unnecessary. DOC came, made his request and was leaving. Still, I’m not sure what else we expected from Chase and Kyle has never really been a big fan of DOC or his abilities as a manager.

Zack: Then we have some brand new games we’ll see today. I know most everyone is familiar with the game called The Floor is Lava.

The next thing we see are big floating shapes in one of the pools as Zack continues.

Zack: We’re gonna play that today as the girls try to cross the pool and show off some agility and leaping skills to get to the other side. Who do you like out of the three here, Claire? We got Angelina Fantastica who might have the inside track, the Buddhist Warrior herself Serafina DeCaro and Future Shock’s answer to the Penguin, Fiona O’Dalaigh.

Then it cuts back to the duo at the poolside.

Claire: Much as I hate to go against my sister-in-arms here, that’s the sort of challenge that is definitely more suited towards Angelina and Fiona. That said, DeCaro’s methodical approach will be very helpful to her in picking her way across from one side to the other and she could well win if Fiona gets a little too big for her boots and attempts a leap she has no chance of making. And it’d only take one mistake or slight misjudgement from Angelina.

Zack: I think Serafina has a good shot at it personally. I know she does a lot of  yoga, so she’s gonna be very limber. I haven’t seen her leaping ability too often, but I think those skills could go hand-in-hand.

Claire: I’m just saying Zack, there’s a reason she prefers to keep her feet on the mat and pick apart her opponents rather than do all the flips and head up to the top rope. Her flexibility and grip strength will work to her advantage…but Angelina’s built a career on having phenomenal agility and her high flying ability. And Fiona would like you to think she’s right up there with her too.

The next shot shows a pool with two massive tubes that someone would slide down all the way into the water.

Zack: And then there’s that, Claire! Those tubes are about 75 feet from the top to the pool below. We’re gonna stick flags all the way down from top to bottom in those tubes, and the winner of this competition is the one who grabs the most of them on the way down. And I couldn’t tell you who this event benefits. It’ll be Jacqui Minogue, the new Nova Champion Madyson Stone, Wrestler of the Year River Campbell and Ashley Whitmore.

Claire: I’m not sure either, Zack. It’s going to be a tough one to call, really. If this is against the clock then I guess it might come down to whoever can do the most effective job in slowing their descent long enough for them to grab the flag as they pass. Otherwise this might be down purely to reaction speed and reach. So maybe Jacqui might have a slight advantage in terms of being able to reach back and grab them. Or River? As a guitarist she’d be used to having quick hand speed. Perhaps that’ll aid her on the way down the tube? I guess we’ll find out along with the fans at home.

Zack: Let’s not forget about a potential dark horse in the challenge, namely After Shock co-hostess Gia Lynne. How do you think she may fare in what will be our main event challenge?

Claire: It wouldn’t surprise me at all if she pipped all of our in-ring talent here. I’m not really sure this challenge favours any particular physical trait or attribute so she might well be able to grab more flags than anyone on the way down. This is very much a wide open challenge that is anyone’s for the taking.

Zack: Now there’s one very important rule to this game. The only flags that count are the ones you have in your possession when you get out of the pool. If you drop some, they’re out! So I suspect the girls may be using their swimwear to help keep hold on the flags. Or at least that seems like a smart idea, especially when you hit that water with a splash. There will be 50 flags in each tube.

Claire: Potentially. It’s going to be a balancing act because obviously as you try to trap them in your swimwear you run the risk of maybe missing one. You might want to risk some slipping from your grasp when you hit the water to maximize the number you can try and grab on the way down.

Zack: As you can tell, we’ve got a lot of games and activities planned for today’s show. We’ll also catch up with the new Pure Champion Missy after her historic win two weeks ago. She’ll be here with her husband, Adam, of course. Cody really seemed to set him off again on the last show, didn’t he?

Claire:  Adam certainly laid out his case pretty well and made his point pretty forcefully when it came to him having earned everything. I can appreciate how he feels about it too. As for Missy, that’s probably the best warm up she could have hoped for going into Unstoppable against a woman who might be a legend in FFW but hasn’t been in a ring in almost 9 months.

Zack: I’ve also seen some faces today that I haven’t seen in a while…or ever on Future Shock. I don’t know if we’ll see them on camera, but there’s potential for surprises. We have a pre-recorded interview with Kyle too, who had a less than successful night in Boston. One, Cait’s outlandish contract demands were pretty flatly denied, I’d say. And then he had an angry Shaw shove him backwards after her match. I suspect he has a lot on his mind, and for once, I’m interested to hear it.

Claire: It was possibly the worst night possible for Kyle. He either has to back down on Cait’s demands…or find her somewhere else to work. And, possibly, depending on Shaw’s mindset and how much she cools down, lost his most successful client as she lost the title to Missy. You’ve got to think that’s probably the sort of thing that he has nightmares about happening and wakes up in a cold sweat over. 

Zack: Well let’s get things rolling, shall we? We’re gonna send it over to the log rolling competition.

The shot changes to another part of the massive water park where a spinning log is shown from one side of the pool to the other before four Future Shock talents head to poolside.




Aviva keeps her distance from Sapphire, who has Emerald with her hyping her up. Nadia is seen next as she surveys what’s in front of her before Charlotte joins them. The Anarchy Champion casts a long look over to Sapphire as Emerald tells her client to ignore Harker.

Zack: The rules are simple for this one, fans. Whoever makes it across the fastest without falling into the water wins. We’ve seen this won by the likes of Mikayla Stone and Arabella Townshend in the past. Who do you like here, Claire?

Claire: If I was going to put money on it, Zack, I’d say Nadia might just have what it takes to beat out the other three. But I think it’s going to be a close run thing between her, Aviva and Sapphire. I believe those three are better suited to this than the Moose, Charlotte Harker. Unless she’s been taking lessons from a lumberjack.

Zack: It’s 20 feet across from one side to the other, folks. And we’re ready to get the competition rolling. They all drew straws to determine the order, and…..

The referee blew the whistle to start the contest, and it was Aviva Miller who stepped forward first in a white bikini. She took a couple quick breaths before the referee told her to begin when ready. The newcomer touched the end of the log with her toes for a second before she started hot-footing it across like she was stepping on fire. She broke into a longer stride, and cleared the way to the other side when the whistle sounded to stop the timer: 6.2 seconds. Then Nadia stepped up next.

Claire: Aviva makes it across successfully and that’s a very good time that she’s set there. Everyone knows what they’ve got to beat now and I wonder if any of them have picked up any tips on how to attack this challenge after watching Miller there.

Zack: LIke you, I didn’t expect Aviva to have too much trouble with this challenge. She told us how much she was looking forward to being part of her first Future Shock pool party, and she definitely did well for herself. The Diamond Champion is up next.

Nadia took a couple seconds before she finally began, and started across the spinning log. She was getting heckled and booed by Sapphire as she went. The Diamond Champion was a little unsteady, and took very short quick steps instead of longer strides. She made it to the other side when the whistle sounded to stop the timer: 6.5 seconds. Then it was Charlotte’s turn.

Zack: Nadia put forth a solid effort there, and was really close to tying up with Aviva. Maybe the heckling and the shorter strides played a factor.

Claire: A slightly different technique but still, a competitive time. Personally, I think I’d favour longer, faster strides to try and keep the amount of contact with the log as little as possible and for as little time as possible. But as Nadia showed us, there’s more than one way to skin a cat here.

Zack: Now we have the Anarchy Champion, and this is the one that I’m most intrigued to see how she does. Like we talked about earlier, Charlotte isn’t known for being nimble, but she’s strong as an ox.

Claire: I don’t know if that strength is going to help her any tonight, unfortunately. I think she needs to focus on making it across and then enjoy the rest of her day in the Kalahari Resort water park.

The heckling from Sapphire and Emerald began again as they started shouting at her. Charlotte’s face showed she was already starting to get agitated before she looked down, held out her arms and started walking across. She had more than one slip as she used her arms for a counterbalance, and kept her focus on what was beneath her and ignoring Sapphire and Emerald. She made it to the other side without incident as the whistle blew to stop the timer: 8.3 seconds.

Zack: Well now, that was impressive! Charlotte knew she wasn’t the quickest, but I like how she used her arms to help her and did well for herself.

Claire: I think she knows that she wasn’t going to match her opponents for pace tonight. She should take this good time and the fact she didn’t end up in the drink as a win.

Zack: That only leaves Sapphire to go, Claire. The time to beat is 6.2 seconds set by Aviva a bit ago. She’s been heckling and being obnoxious, so now’s the time to back it up. Think she can beat Aviva’s time?

Claire: I’m not sure about that Zack. I think she’ll be competitive but 6.2 seconds is proving to be a very fast time.

Sapphire stepped up in a blue bikini, because her name is Sapphire obviously. Emerald poured praise on her as she stepped up to the edge of the pool. And as soon as she did, Charlotte stepped up to the other side of the log and cracked her knuckles.

Zack: Uh oh… Sapphire might not be in a big hurry after all to get over to the other side, Claire. Charlotte’s ready to greet her! And it doesn’t look like it’ll be a warm reception!

Claire: Sapphire and Emerald enjoyed running their mouths just a couple of moments and those chickens look like they are coming home to roost. That and getting kicked in the jaw when she was sitting at ringside is probably still playing on her mind .

Emerald demanded that Charlotte move away from the other side of the pool, but the referee told her Charlotte wasn’t breaking any rules and could stand where she wanted. Sapphire was hesitant to start before the whistle sounded. She took off across the log, running like a gazelle practically and taking as few steps as possible as she bounded across. When she got to the other side, her progress was stopped when Charlotte grabbed her around the throat with both hands and lifted her off her feet over the pool. Taylor kicked her feet, and ended up catching Harker with a knee to her groin. That caused her to drop the musician who landed back on the log and leapt to Charlotte’s right to the pool edge. The whistle sounded but Sapphire headed off to the right quickly, not worried at all about hearing the time when she saw Charlotte start to get up from one knee in pain.

Claire: A lucky escape for Sapphire and she might be glad that she’s got 174,000 square feet that she can try to hide in and avoid Charlotte for the rest of the day because that did not look like it was going to be a happy ending to her log roll.

Sapphire’s time was then revealed as 7.4 seconds, but she was almost out of sight by then. The referee raised Aviva’s hand in victory, which got her a “Congratulations!” from Nadia as Charlotte was now in pursuit of the brunette musician.

Zack: Sapphire and Emerald may want to keep going, and not look back. Congratulations to Aviva on setting a bar today that no one but Nadia came all that close to reaching. This was clearly Aviva’s challenge to lose today.

Claire: As we said at the start, this challenge certainly leaned into her skill set but credit to her for getting her tactics and approach towards crossing the pool pretty much perfect. She set a good time and Nadia was just a hair behind. It would’ve been interesting to see what Sapphire would have got if it wasn’t for Charlotte - she looked to be going real fast for the first nineteen yards.

Zack: Yeah, until she got within reach of the Anarchy Champion. I don’t get the sense Charlotte feels any better about Sapphire than she did before, and this may have made it worse if we go by the look on her face.

Claire: I don’t think Charlotte is prepared to just let this go and Sapphire and Emerald are either really brave for poking the bear…or really stupid. Either way I think she’ll come to regret it.

Aviva was handed a small trophy for her victory as the show took its first commercial break.


Tough Night at the Office

Recorded Earlier Today….

The camera showed the crew getting the water park ready in the background as we find Sara standing alongside Kyle Kilmeade.

Sara: Kyle, it wasn’t a good night at the office two weeks ago at FFW vs. Future Shock. You had two setbacks, and I wanted to ask you about them.

He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked down to the reporter.

Kyle: I can’t wait to hear them. That’s sarcasm, by the way.

Sara: Let’s start with Cait Flanagan. You both made some pretty audacious demands of Adam to keep her in Future Shock. And as you no doubt saw and heard, he turned you down flat. Is that what you were expecting?

Kyle: Honestly? Yeah, I didn’t expect him to take her up on what she wanted. He’s always been incredibly shortsighted from the day I first met him. I mean if he doesn’t see the value in a talent like Cait, well that’s his failure as the person in charge. I bet you if it were Cody, he’d have come to the table and made the deal.

Sara: You really think Cody would have accepted that deal if it had been him? Sounds like you’re hoping Scarlett wins at Unstoppable.

Kyle: Cody doesn’t have the deep seated bias against me that Adam does. So yes, I think there could have been a better shot at it. I don’t care who wins at Unstoppable personally, but if I had to pick one, I’d go with Scarlett. We’re never going to be on each other’s Secret Santa list, but then again, the only person in management I’ve ever liked was when it was me in SVW.

Sara: Fair enough, but what does this mean for Cait? Are you going to renegotiate with more reasonable terms?

Kyle: Absolutely not. He doesn’t want her? There’s plenty of places that would like to have her on their roster. I guarantee you that Cait Flanagan will not appear on this show for any time in the foreseeable future. She’s not here today, is she? No.

Sara: Okay, then let’s switch gears to what happened with Shaw in the main event. It looked like she was pretty furious with you with how she shoved you after the match. Why did you throw in the towel for her? You’ve never done that for anyone else.

Kyle: When I watched the tape back the next day, something Claire said pretty well summed up why I did it. Sometimes you have to protect a talent from themselves. Shaw is a world class athlete and one of the best of all time anywhere. And the only person who believes in her more than me…is her. She still has a LOT of years left in her, and if I let the match continue the way it was looking, those years would have been shaved down a lot. She wasn’t going to give up. Missy couldn’t pin her. Shaw kept her word in her promo. She said she wouldn’t be pinned or tap out. She didn’t. Missy won because I decided that it wasn’t worth risking Shaw’s future for one match. And I don’t care who it was against. I wasn’t going to let her potentially end her career just to win a single match. And any manager, you name whoever you want, under the same circumstances would have made the same call as me. Any good manager, at least. I’d have done the same thing for anyone else I manage too.

Sara: That sounds reasonable. As angry as she was though, did she fire you?

Kyle gave Sara a long look after the question.

Kyle: You really want to get the dirt, don’t you? Well you’re not going to get the answer you’re probably hoping for so you can try to dig deeper. Shaw did not fire me that night. Was she angry? Absolutely. She has an ego just like everyone else in this business, major difference being in a lot of cases, hers is well deserved. After that show, she got her leg stitched up and is gonna be taking it easy for a little while to give it time to heal. Those types of things don’t heal up overnight, after all. Missy NEARLY pulled her quadriceps muscle off the bone. Nearly, but not quite. A few more seconds, according to the doctor, and it would have happened and put her out for most of a year. So I threw the towel in at just the right time. The doctor said to give her 4-6 weeks. So that’s what we’ll do.

Sara: Okay, last question then. Thank you for being so forthcoming, by the way. What’s next for her?

That started to make him smile.

Kyle: There’s only one title, besides the Pure Championship, that she wants as much as it. So whether it’s Adam or Cody who ends up in charge of this show? They can tell everyone in the Future Shock title picture that it’s about to get real.

He gave Sara a pat on the arm with a grin on his face before he headed away from the camera. Future Shock then went to a commercial break.


Madyson’s Best Weekend Ever

A clip from the 200th edition of Breaking Point is shown featuring the crowning of a new Future Shock Nova Champion when Angelina Fantastica was defeated by Madyson Stone.

Courtesy of Breaking Point 200 - July 2, 2022

Angelina went to grab her from behind, but caught a mule kick in the stomach that stopped her in her path. Stone grabbed her head for a springboard bulldog that drove her back to the mat, and once more held her ribs for a moment. She pulled the champion to her feet, and hooked her arms for the second time.

Zack: She’s going for it again, Claire! Madyson is determined as hell to hit that facebuster, and leave the City of Angels with the Nova Championship!

Claire: It’s won her a lot of matches, Zack. This might be the chance that she needs to walk away with the title belt!!

Angelina tried to fight out of it until Madyson drove her into the mat, connecting with the move perfectly and immediately going for the cover!

Zack: She got it that time….BLACK MAGIC!!

ONE!!!

TWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

THREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Fisk called for the bell as Stone rolled away to her knees. Making it to her feet finally with one arm held against her ribs, the referee raised the other to a pop from the crowd.

Claire: Madyson laid it all on the line and finally hit the high impact move like nobody else in this business can. It was enough to put away one of Future Shock brightest, most decorated stars and win her the title tonight!

Lexi: Your winner by pinfall……………AND NEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWW Future Shock Nova Champion…………MADYSON STONE!!!

Fisk awarded her the title, which brought a smile to her face before she held it up for the fans to see and then managed to raise it with both hands for them. She helped Angelina to her feet, and the former champion raised her hand too before exiting the ring.

~ ~ ~

As the clip concludes, we find out that the viewers weren’t the only ones watching it. Because there we see the new champion with Sara looking at it on a monitor in their swimwear before Sara gives Madyson her attention.

Sara: I’m very happy to welcome the NEW Future Shock Nova Champion Madyson Stone. She’ll be part of the festivities here today at the water park, but congratulations on a massive win and your second title in Future Shock, much less on a landmark Breaking Point.

Madyson: Thanks Sara, it was an amazing night. The Nova Championship almost feels like a family heirloom at this point, what with my baby sister winning it previously… and in my mind, she’s still the definitive Nova Champion at this point. Though I can’t promise her she still will be by the time I’m done.

Sara: I exchanged text messages with Angelina in recent days, and learned that she won’t be pursuing her rematch clause. Which means you will have quite a field of new challenges and possibly familiar ones awaiting a shot at that title. And I also can’t leave out the fact you helped Future Shock win the series at the pay per view two weeks ago. You had yourself a damn good weekend, I’d say!

Madyson: I really did and I celebrated for a few days after it was all done. I’m focused now though and ready for whatever challengers come my way. The Nova Championship isn’t just for decoration or a flashy accessory, it needs and deserves to be defended and that’s exactly what I intend to do.

Sara: I’m not surprised to hear you say that. So you’ll be pleased to know we’re going to have a number 1 contender match for it on the next show. You won’t have to wait long to see who will be stepping up to challenge you. It’ll either be newcomer Ashley Whitmore or Gwen Margolis, who has been racking up some wins since she arrived. What do you make of those two possible challengers?

Madyson: Both would definitely be tough challengers. As you can imagine I’ll be watching that match with keen interest to see which one I’m going to be facing, and to see if there are any chinks in their armor.

Sara: As you know, being a champion around here makes you a marked woman pretty quick. But you’ve clearly shown you have what it takes. After all, you were the only new champion crowned at Breaking Point 200 out of three title matches. I know it’s not 100% relative to Future Shock, but I’m curious how you felt seeing Mikayla make her presence felt that same night you won the Nova title.

Madyson: I was super proud of her. Melody and Miles were as well, there was a four way video call that night where they both said as much. Mikayla might be our baby sister, but I think she’s proven that she is not only a capable, but extremely talented wrestler in her own right.

Sara: Last but not least. How are you feeling heading into your pool party challenge? You’ll have to grab as many flags as you can as you go down that big tube into the water. These pool parties are designed to be fun, but they certainly test you beyond in-ring skills.

Madyson: It’s nice to cut loose a little to be honest. Have a little fun with the challenge, rather than the seriousness of a match. I’m looking forward to it.

Sara: Congratulations again and good luck on that water slide challenge, champ!

As Sara thanks her, the show goes to a commercial break.

[Adam Grant]

After a commercial for Unstoppable 13 on FFW All Access, the show returns from the break and we see the referee unfurling a long thick rope to prepare for the next challenge.

Zack: Time for a little tug of war action, Claire. I know you said earlier you had Arabella and Jake with the inside edge here, primarily due to Arabella’s strength. I’m not entirely sure how much Kyle or Jake work out personally. You don’t think they’ll be much of a factor on either side?

Claire: Jake has said on Twitter that he works out and I’m sure Kyle knows his way around the gym too, so I pretty much have those two canceling each other out; they’ll both be as effective as each other in terms of strength. There’s a chance one might have better tug of war technique than the other….but I’m not sure how much chance they’ll have gotten to work that out.

Ashley and Kyle approach their side of the small pool, with one in black board shorts and Ashley in a pink bikini. She whispers something to him before they both pick up the rope with him standing behind her.

Zack: Do you think it makes a difference who stands where? Should the stronger half of the team be behind their partner or in front? I’d imagine Kyle may be a little stronger than Ashley.

Claire: Personally, I think it makes sense to put the heaviest member of the team at the back. Let them act as a bit of an anchor and also make sure there’s no chance that you’re trying to pull their weight too if you get a little out of sync. You want your efforts to be focused on moving the team at the opposite end of the rope as much as possible.

Next we see the other team. Arabella, in a bikini matching her black hair and Jake head towards the other side of the pool. The two discuss a little strategy before she encourages him to take up the spot behind her. Her face goes from smile to scowl as she looks from Jake to Ashley and Kyle.

Zack: Looks like the guys are going to be the anchors here. I remember how much Jake didn’t enjoy when Kyle and Ashley were his guests on After Shock, and who could blame him? I also suspect Arabella hasn’t lost any feelings of admiration for Ashley after their match.

Claire: If they both channel those feelings and all the frustrations that have no doubt built up in recent weeks and months due to other events and put it into their efforts tonight, this could be a short and wet night for the Gold Standard and her manager.

Both teams get a grasp on their side of the rope as the referee asks them if they are ready. Before answering, Arabella yanks the rope and sends Ashley’s foot forward into the small pool before Ashley snaps it back out with a scowl. That amused the Brit as the referee told her that didn’t count, and Ashley said she wasn’t ready yet.

Zack: I think they have to wait for the whistle to sound, but Arabella is playing some mind games maybe.

Claire: Some mind games, just reminding her what she’s capable of and maybe with Ashley’s foot getting wet, she might lose a little bit of traction and might make her job in this competition a little tougher.

Ashley complained to her manager that Arabella cheated, which Kyle fully agreed to before the Forever Champion got another grip on the rope. The referee asked again if they were ready, and got nods all around before the whistle sounded. The tug of war began, and in the early seconds, was a bit of a stalemate, thanks to Kyle pulling back and down like he was trying to take a seat.

Zack: Now remember, the first person on either side who goes into the water loses for their team. They don’t have to pull the whole team into the pool. And look at this, Claire. Kyle really is trying to be the anchor!

Claire: He’s using every ounce of his body weight and really digging in here and it’s just about keeping the two teams even. He has to be careful because if he leans back too far and loses his footing, this really will be game over.

The stalemate continued until Arabella started to get some traction. She did the same thing Kyle was doing, and it was working as Ashley was getting pulled forward against her will. Chase tried to dig her heels to stop her, and Kyle lowered down a little more to stop their momentum. Meanwhile behind Arabella and Jake, both members of Latina Heat were approaching on their tiptoes in red and green bikinis.

Claire: No good can come of this. No good ever comes whenever Latina Heat show up. Though there’s not much here they can steal to sell…and they certainly aren’t hiding any scissors or a razor on them are they?

Zack: Definitely not. We got a stalemate going here, and unfortunately, Arabella nor Jake can see them coming. Everyone else can though.

After stopping the forward progress, Ashley and Kyle started pulling back and began to pull Arabella to the edge of the pool with her toes hanging over. Francesca and Daniela whispered into each other’s ears for a second before it was Garcia who continued to inch closer behind the team.

Claire: I think Francesca will certainly get Jake’s attention here, in one way or another. Maybe not in a good way…and almost certainly not in anyway that Arabella is going to appreciate. You’d think the girl would take a hint by now, wouldn’t you?

Zack: I think you’re right, but I’ll give Ashley and Kyle credit. They are hanging in despite what we thought might be a serious power advantage.

Francesca moved in behind the After Shock host and ran her hands down his chest. It startled Jake, causing him to look down and loosen his grip. Ashley and Kyle pulled Arabella into the water waist deep before the whistle sounded. When Jake turned around, he got a kiss on the cheek before Arabella spun around to see what happened. And that’s when the Heat turned around and took off!

Claire: I certainly hope it was worth it for Francesca. Maybe Kyle and Ashley have a friend they could set up whatever is left of her when Arabella and Angelina are through?

Zack: I don’t think it’s anything but playing games with the Belles. I don’t think either of them are genuine in the slightest, but they are certainly pushing Angelina and Arabella farther than anyone I’ve ever seen.

The referee raised Ashley and Kyle’s hands in victory, and Arabella didn’t care at that point. Jake helped her out of the pool, and she was already very angry at this point.

Zack: These two teams are going to meet at the Sydney Supershow at the end of August, and that date can’t get here fast enough for the Shaolin Belles. I think the Heat are playing with fire, and the flames are getting higher.

Claire: You’re right. There’s going to be Hell to pay at the hands of Arabella and Angelina…but I think the Heat would argue that so far, their antics are working for them. They’re undefeated and everyone is talking about them. What else could they want?

Arabella took her boyfriend’s hand and stormed away as Ashley and Kyle looked very pleased with themselves. The show then cut to a commercial break.


DOC’s Seen Better Days

The next shot takes us elsewhere in the water park, and finds the Wrestler of the Year River Campbell and her manager, DOC. River’s already dressed for the waterslide challenge to come, and DOC, of course, is in a suit. The only difference is he’s wearing new glasses and bandaging on his head.

DOC: Two weeks ago….I got beat up worse than I ever have in my life…..by Ashley Marie Chase.

His usual boisterous tone wasn’t there.

DOC: She stomped me over and over. She ended up breaking my glasses, so I couldn’t hardly see well till the next day when I was able to get a replacement pair. And she beat me up with a title that isn’t even defended anymore. I only wanted to talk, and try to get the match signed. That…didn’t quite work out like I hoped.

He touched the bandage on his head for a moment, and let River continue.

River: See. That’s the thing. DOC ONLY wanted to talk. He only wanted to let you know what he wanted and he was all nice and polite in asking you to sign the contract, to put the title on the line in one match. After all, you are THE Gold Standard, right? You are THE Forever Champion, aren’t you? You are the one who wants the world to believe that you beat me so easily for that title in the first place. So, it should be no sweat and no problem to do it again, right? You’re that damned good aren’t you.

There was a shrug of her shoulders.

River: Instead you decided to attack an old man. A defenseless man. While his back was turned. You decided to smash the title into his head and stomp away at him, breaking his glasses and causing all of this. Now, as much as I told him it was a bad idea to go hunting for Kyle while I was in the ring…I’m not about to let that fly. I’m not about to let you get away with doing that; with attacking my manager. We’re not asking nicely anymore. I want the match and I promise you, Ashley, Kyle, whether that title is on the line or not, I’m taking it.

DOC: I’m gonna level with you guys. I turn 67 in September. I don’t go to the ring with River, because I’m not physically able to take what some people much younger than me do. I’m not like CK. I’ve never been a wrestler or trained to be one. I’m certainly not like Kyle, and have a bodyguard who pops up on a moment’s notice. I can’t take the kind of abuse physically they can. I’m still having coughing spells from all those stomps to the ribs. The body doesn’t heal as fast at this age. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this, maybe I just wanted people to know that even if you don’t take me seriously or make fun of me…I’m still a person. A person who can’t do what River does. I hope it was worth it. I guess.

River: Believe me, DOC, it won’t be worth it. Not with what I’ll do to them by the time we’re through here. You’ve always had my back, DOC. I’ve never cared whether or not people have taken you seriously or not, because truthfully I owe pretty much everything to you fighting my corner. My Diamond Championship run. My place in Global Wars. Everything that went into me earning those votes to be Future Shock Wrestler of the Year is because you had my back and you fought my corner. I’m getting revenge and I’m getting that title. No matter who or what I have to go through to get it.

DOC nodded his head, and tried to calm her down a little bit as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

DOC: I believe you. But for now though…you got a water slide challenge to win. You ready to grab some flags?

River nodded her head.

RIver: I’m ready. Let’s have some fun, get some flags and…this is a waterpark…why on Earth are you still wearing a suit? We should get you like a t-shirt and some board shorts or something. You deserve a bit of fun too, you know?

DOC: I brought some! As soon as I change, I’m gonna find one of those tubs with the jets in it, you know what I’m talking about? I know they got some here.

River: Good, you’ll probably feel better for having a little bit of downtime and relaxing in a hot tub. Plus I know how much you enjoy these pool party nights.

DOC agreed wholeheartedly before the pair headed off together, and then the show cut to another pool filled with orange water.

[Adam Grant]

We find the camera looking at an empty swimming pool where the water has been changed to an orange color. Large plastic shapes are situated throughout with a starting point shown on one side of the pool and the finish line on the other.

Zack: For those of you who aren’t familiar with this game known as the Floor is Lava, the object is to get to the other side of the pool the fastest way possible. If you fall into the orange water, you’re eliminated from the challenge. We talked about this earlier, and this may be the one challenge most suited to a particular person’s abilities, meaning Angelina and her agility.

Claire: The quickest route might not necessarily be the safest route or the easiest route. Invariably the quickest route involves some leaps of faith, incredible grip strength and the ability to keep your feet up. Something that arguably favours Angelina…and potentially Fiona…a little more than does Serafina. Of course there’s always the chance that you don’t quite catch yourself when you make the leap and fall into the lava…

With the referees at the starting and end point, we next see Angelina in a purple bikini make her way out. Following several feet behind her in red is Fiona and her manager. The weather girl has a matching open umbrella over her shoulder as she walks towards the pool. But as the referees wait and check to see if she’s coming, there’s no sign of Serafina.

Zack: Well we got two out of three of the competitors in this challenge. This is an indoor water park, so I don’t think Fiona needs that umbrella with her…but that’s never stopped her before.

Claire: Has no-one told her that it’s bad luck to open an umbrella indoors? Nonetheless, we’ve got two competitors ready to start this one and it’s not at all like Serafina to be late.

The referee at the starting point asks Angelina if she’s seen Serafina, and the former Nova Champion shakes her head. When Fiona is asked, she starts chuckling and says she has no idea where Serafina is.

Zack: You can usually tell Fiona is lying when her lips are moving. I’m not convinced by that response. I certainly believe Angelina.

Claire: If Fiona had anything to do with it, I wouldn’t want to be in her boots when Karma comes around looking for a little payback and to even up the balance.

The referee decided to start the competition, and it was Fiona who wanted to go first. She handed Kyle her red umbrella, which he closed before she went to the starting line. As soon as the whistle sounded, she leapt to the first platform without much trouble at all. Quickly positioning herself, she made a slightly longer jump to the second and third. With each platform a little farther away than the one before it, she took a running leap to land on the fourth. One foot grazed the water’s surface before she landed, and the final jump got half her body onto the edge of the pool with just her legs dangling before she swung them around and got back to her feet.

Zack: Well done to Fiona. She certainly knows how to get the most out of her jumping. As long as you don’t fall in the water entirely, you can continue. All she did was get her legs wet. Let’s see what her time was.

The time appears on the screen for the viewers watching at home, and shows Fiona’s time as only 38.3 seconds.

Claire: If the water really was lava then she’d have gotten some nasty burns but 38.3 seconds is the time to beat and that looks like it could be a really tough time. She didn’t run into too many problems getting across.

Zack: Angelina’s up next, and I understand we got a couple producers already on the lookout for Serafina. This is a huge building, so hopefully they find her. Maybe she got turned around somewhere.

Claire: Maybe…but I can’t help but feeling something untoward has befallen her. I guess we’ll find out sooner or later just as soon as she resurfaces. For now, let’s see what Angelina can do and if she can beat Fiona’s time.

Angelina headed to the starting point, and glanced off as a pair of officials took off on the other side of the pool to somewhere out of sight. She took a deep breath, focused herself, and started jumping as soon as the whistle sounded. The first jump looked very easy for her, and she landed almost like a frog with her hands and feet touching the platform. The second and third was fairly easy for her too, landing almost perfectly dead center of the platform. She had to size up the fourth platform, and launched herself off it to land at the edge of the fifth before getting her feet under her. Now it was only the finish line awaiting her as she glanced up to the timer on the wall, showing she still had 8 seconds.

Zack: Angelina’s making short work of these platforms. It’s like watching Spider-Girl out there, and one last one to go with plenty of time left!

Claire: So far, Angelina has made this course look easy and she should make this last jump without too much issue given how she’s eaten the first four for breakfast.

Fantastica made the biggest jump of them all towards the finish line, and caught the edge with both hands. Her legs and lower body hit the water as she tried to pull herself up until Fiona aimed the umbrella at her from a few feet away. And she instinctively leapt out of the water and rolled away on the floor from where the umbrella was pointed.

Claire: Angelina outsmarts Fiona with her agility!! Good for her! Fantastica still has the time to beat and it looks like she might win this one by default!

Zack: At least nothing shot out of it this time. Hell, I don’t blame Angelina for avoiding that umbrella. We’ve seen what it can do in the past.

Claire: Nope, just the threat of a shower sparks was enough…especially after almost getting her head shaved two weeks ago by the Heat. It’s been a rough few weeks for Fantastica.

Fantastica wiped her face with a towel before the referees declared her the winner. The redhead rolled her eyes, and put her umbrella over her shoulder. And as he applauded her, the referees apparently notified of something and took off in the same direction as the producers did earlier. But the cameras were in pursuit this time.

Zack: I understand we’ve found Serafina!

Claire: That’s good news! Are we sure there’s not still time for her to partake and maybe give her a fair shot?

Zack: Maybe so, they haven’t said where she is but the cameras are right behind the referees.

The two referees race towards the office area of the water park, and there they find Serafina handcuffed to the maintenance door as two brunettes in black bikinis are stomping her. One has her foot on her throat as the other continues to lay into her with barefoot stomps until the referees pull them back.

Zack: No wonder she didn’t make it! Who are those two? Let’s get the camera on some faces here!

Claire: Real tough cookies stomping away at someone while they’re handcuffed to a door. What’s the betting that Fiona and Kyle have got something to do with this?

Fiona arrived just seconds later with Kyle in tow as the two brunettes saw her, and the trio began hugging each other like they hadn’t seen each other in years. The referees were trying to free Serafina until one of the brunettes hurled the key as far as she could, causing it to land in the water. That’s when the camera caught sight of who they were.

Zack: First Fiona comes back after all this time….and she brought some flunkies, Claire! That’s Allison and Stephanie Sullivan, I know you remember them!

Claire: Oh good. Just what we needed. The female members of the Williams Dynasty. Just as you get rid of the Gold Standard we get another group to fill the void.

The camera cut back to the pool as Angelina dove to collect the key. The three girls shared another group hug before heading away from the scene with Kyle. Angelina emerged seconds later with the key, and handed it to one of the referees.

Zack: Big thanks to Angelina right there! Fiona went through all this to win a challenge at a pool party…and it didn't work, thankfullys! I haven’t missed Allison or Stephanie at all.

Claire: I think about as many people missed them as missed Fiona. Yet here they are and already picking a fight with someone who is going to kick their ass.

One referee unlocked the handcuff, letting Serafina sit herself upright on the floor and hold her ribs where she was getting stomped earlier. She coughed a little before getting back to her feet, and gone was the normally smiling and sweet Serafina. Her facial expression was instead one of fury.

Zack: If Allison and Stephanie wanted to pick a fight, there are better options than Serafina, if you ask me. Look at her face, that tells you everything.

Claire: Her and I had issues with the Williams Dynasty way back when in SVW…I guess they wanted to pick up where the rest of the group left off eight years ago. Serafina might need someone to give her a little backup.

Zack: I’m positive she won’t have to look far.

Serafina told the officials she’d be fine, and headed off in the other direction with a none too happy look on her face. The show then cut to a commercial for Unstoppable 13 on FFW All Access.



Purely Missy

Somewhere inside the indoor waterpark we find Sara once again. Still dressed as though she’s going to the beach, she is quickly joined by the new FFW Pure Champion and the Future Shock Director The reporter seems a little taken aback seeing Adam in swim trunks as opposed to a suit, but none at all to see his wife in a bikini top and denim short shorts.

Adam: What?

Sara: I’ve just always seen you wearing a suit.

Adam: Yeah, but I don’t wear them everywhere, Sara. Just to the arenas for events. Why wear one to a pool party? You think I sit around the house in two and three piece suits all the time?

Missy: He does, you know.

Missy grins and then shakes her head.

Missy: Just kidding. He changes out of those suits the first chance he gets usually, and who could blame him?

Adam: Those things tend to be pretty warm. And in a place like this? That’d just be uncomfortable and pretty silly looking. Anyway, what did you want to talk about with us?

Sara: The most important thing that comes to mind so far is to congratulate you, Missy, on becoming the new FFW Pure Champion two weeks ago. You accomplished something no one else can say, and hung back to back losses on Shaw to claim that title. How does it feel now that it’s had time to kinda sink in?

Missy: Obviously I’m over the moon that I won, who wouldn’t be? On the flip side I’m not entirely thrilled by the way the match ended, but those are the breaks. I still won and that’s something that can’t be disputed by anyone.

Sara: Well you certainly caused something that I’ve never seen in the history of the company. You got a manager to stop the match, much less Kyle who has never been too eager in all these years to admit someone he manages got defeated. There’s always some excuse, ya know. Well he doesn’t have one. But I see what you’re saying. You really had a tremendous gameplan going into that match.

Missy: At least Kyle cared more about his clients health than she did her own, because there was no way I was going to stop until that bell rang. That might sound harsh, but you don’t enter a title match to throw it away do you?

Adam: Absolutely not. I spoke with the referee the next day in that match. And from what she told me, she was going to do it if Kyle didn’t. She was just trying to give as much latitude as she could.

Sara: Fair enough. Let’s move onto the news that Zack mentioned right before your match started. That this marks your official return to Future Shock no matter how the match ended. Has that been something you’ve been thinking about for a while, or was there a catalyst that sparked the decision?

Missy: It’s been something I had considered for a while now, but after the reign I had with the FFW Championship I honestly don’t think there’s much more for me to do in FFW at the moment, while there is still a hell of a lot I want to do in Future Shock. So, it just made sense.

Sara: Adam, who’s going to be the first challenger for her?

Adam: Well that’s something I can’t 100% make the call on my own. Since Missy is now able to travel across both rosters freely, I have to pitch who I think would be a good opponent to Samantha. See if she agrees, and then make a match. But you know as well as me, Missy isn’t some shrinking violet champion. She’s ready to defend it whenever possible. And you’ll probably see more of her as champion because unlike the last person to hold it, I don’t have to deal with uh…well a pain in the ass manager now. I can just sit by the champ on the couch, give her a nudge and say “So I think you’ll face….” and that be that.

Missy: I think I’ll definitely be a lot easier for you to negotiate with than the previous Champion’s manager, that’s for sure.

Sara: That certainly makes sense to me. Last but not least, Cody came to see you again on that show and once again, he got a pretty frosty reception. It looked like yet again you were about to strike him, Adam.

Adam: Yeah. Well how many times and how many ways can I say I want nothing to do with him? The only thing I haven’t said it in was another language. I thought I had been clear for some time, and then he wanted to talk to me about earning something? I have nothing but full confidence that Missy is going to defeat Scarlett. She’s done it before. SVW fans remember she took the Defiance title from Scarlett. She feels the same way as I do. But as for being frosty? Like I said, how many times have I said it over the last few months?

Missy: You’ve got to love a vote of confidence like that, don’t you? But I think it’s clear I stand 100% behind Adam on this. He couldn’t have made himself any clearer to Cody in all the times he apologised, so maybe this will finally get the message across loud and clear.

Sara: I hate to ask this, but…what do you do, Adam, if she doesn’t?

Adam: If she doesn’t? I just said I have full confidence in my wife. Total unwavering confidence. I haven’t hardly given it a thought. It’s Scarlett who has to prove she can win this match. Missy already did a long while back. The only difference between then and now? Scarlett is coming back to FFW after the better part of a decade. This isn’t SVW. Missy never left, she’s been hanging with the best women in the world from the day she got here. Scarlett is the one with something to prove. And I hope after the match is over, you ask Cody what he’s gonna do next because he’s got 2 whole weeks to start making plans.

Missy: I think when I won the Pure Championship and did what nobody else has been able to do by beating Shaw for the second time in a row, I proved that I’m not someone you should bet against. Cody would be best to get his resume ready now, because he’s going to need it after Unstoppable is done.

A graphic for the match fills the screen before the show cuts elsewhere.

[Adam Grant]

After the break, the first thing we see are two huge slides that curl and twist down into a very large swimming pool. Both slides are mirror images of each other and side by side. We also see little red flags attached inside all the way to the bottom.

Zack: It’s time for our final challenge for this year’s pool party. Five women will be part of this, and like we talked about, I don’t see anyone in particular having a real advantage here. I also understand those slides are going to have water pumping through them too.

Claire: Yeah, it’s pretty much a level playing field for everyone involved here. I’m not sure there’s any particular physical trait or ability that’s going to help too much when it comes to grabbing hold of the flags on the way down. It might just come down to grip strength and being able to keep hold of them at the end.

Zack: I’ll be very impressed if anyone manages to grab all 50 flags. Hell, I’ll recommend them to get their own comic book if they can do that. Who’s up first?

Zack’s question was answered as Madyson Stone began to climb the ladder up to reach the top of one slide.

Claire: Looks like Madyson’s going to be taking one slide and this might be a good thing. A catch to set the bar and maybe put pressure on the women who follow her to try and match whatever she scores.

After reaching the top of the ladder, she heads towards the slide with a grin on her face before she begins to quickly slide down the tube. The camera follows her every bit of the way as she starts snatching flags as quickly as she can as she picks up speed before finally splashing into the water at the end. A couple flags were floating in the water before she climbed out, and the referees counted 18 flags.

Zack: A little short of half for our new Nova Champion, Madyson. Those slides really pick up speed as you go down, I noticed. It’s not the same speed at the start as it is at the end.

Claire: That certainly makes it an awful lot harder to grab the flags when you get near the bottom. I think Madyson has done well there and now the pressure is on to see if anyone can match or better that score.

As a crew replaced the flags in the first slide, Ashley Whitmore headed for the other slide.

Zack: Ashley Whitmore is up next. For some of these challenges, you could probably practice before getting here. This challenge….it’s pretty hard to set all this up somewhere to give yourself a little time to get the hang of it.

Claire: It’s certainly a tough one to prepare for ahead of time. I think the best preparation is to just try and think it through ahead of time and formulate a strategy that you believe in. Then stick to it as you go down. Hell, you probably don’t have time to change it up on the way down.

Ashley quickly dropped into the tube, and started sliding fast through it towards the bottom. She rounded the corners, and her arms were moving in all directions. She’d grab with one hand, and stuff flags into her top with the other…at least for as long as she could. Which wasn’t long when she hit the water and climbed out. As she started pulling flags out, the referee was counting.

Zack: Ashley used her bikini top to help her keep those flags in place on top of the ones she has in her hand. Not a bad strategy, but she might have wasted too much time stuffing. After all, that’s a pretty quick ride to the pool.

Claire: You do lose a little bit of time it seems trying to stuff them away when you could be using both hands to grab and just try to hold on tight when you land.

The referees finished counting all the flags, and Ashley had gotten just shy of Madyson’s number when it was revealed she had 16 flags.

Zack: Just 2 short of Madyson. I’ll give them both credit so far for doing as well as they have with virtually no way to prepare or train for a challenge like this.

Claire: It looks very much like fifteen to twenty flags is going to be a very good score in this challenge. If you can break twenty then you’d be very well placed…at least based on what we’ve seen so far.

With the first tube ready to go again, Jacqui Minogue was next. She cracked her knuckles, and headed for the slide.

Zack: The number one contender for the Future Shock Championship is up next. She’ll be going to Detroit to challenge Sydney at Unstoppable 13. I’m curious to see what her strategy for this is going to be. Or if it’s just go for broke and see what happens.

Claire: I think she’s going to back herself and just go all out, believe that she can grab hold of all the flags and make the rest of this competition academic.

Jacqui used a little different strategy than the first two. She sat down sideways in the tube, and started going down. Every few feet, she pressed her feet against one side of the tube and her back to the other to slow herself as she grabbed multiple flags. Minogue would let go again, slide further, press her feet and back against the tube and grab even more flags. She did that four times before she landed in the pool finally with both hands clutching plenty of flags.

Claire: That’s certainly a strategy that used a lot of her strengths to her advantage tonight. And it looks like she might have put a winning score on the board but we’ll wait for official confirmation of the final number.

Zack: Very smart of Jacqui. I’d have never thought of that, but like you say, she used her strength to her advantage. This challenge isn’t timed at all, it’s about who grabs the most flags however long it takes.

After the referee finished counting the flags, Jacqui took the lead with 24 flags.

Zack: 24, Claire! That certainly puts Jacqui comfortably into the lead in this challenge. You think either River or Gia will try to adopt a similar strategy seeing how well that went?

Claire: I think that might be a possibility. Whether that will work out for them as successfully as it has for Jacqui I’m not sure. Minogue might just have a slight edge in terms of power and strength. But I guess we’ll see.

The next up was Gia Lynne. The After Shock co-hostess limbered up in her navy blue bikini before sizing up the slide seemingly.

Zack: The true dark horse of all this, that’s Gia. We know she models, and she co-hosts After Shock with Jake. I’m not sure if either of those are going to be useful here.

Claire: No but she might have a winning strategy, really quick hands and a grip like a vice. Like you said, she’s the dark horse and could pull off a win in this competition.

Gia decided to adopt Jacqui’s strategy. The hostess went in sideways, and attempted to do exactly what the Aussie had done. But Gia didn’t have her strength, and it didn’t quite pan out. As soon as she tried to stop herself in the tube and grab flags, the rushing water underneath her sent her going again before she was done. A second attempt on the way down didn’t have as much success either before she just began grabbing every flag she could as she landed in the pool with a big splash.

Zack: Gia tried to follow what Jacqui did, but she doesn’t have the same upper body or leg strength, it doesn’t look like. I’ll give her an A for effort, but I don’t think she got close to 24.

Claire: It was a nice try but perhaps not quite the right strategy, not given how quickly her hands were flying to grab the flags towards the end of her run there.

The referee counted all the flags Gia handed him, and that total was 12.

Zack: Not bad, not bad at all. She said on After Shock that this show was the only way she’d ever get to be part of the action, and I think she had a good time. That’s what matters.

Claire: A good time and a good performance up against some of Future Shock’s best. Now she can kick back, relax and enjoy the rest of the day in this phenomenal water park.

Zack: And that just leaves one, Claire. Future Shock’s Wrestler of the Year is the last to go down the tubes…as it were. River likes to throw hands in the ring, but I don’t know how well that translates here. She could try Jacqui’s strategy and it work though.

Claire: Let’s not forget that she’s a pretty mean guitarist too and she has to have real quick hands when it comes to shredding those solos. She’s knows that to win she has to grab every other flag on the way down and keep hold of them when she hits the water.

River headed for her tube, and sat down. She spread her legs out into a V shape before she propelled herself down the tube. With her legs fully spread and her feet slowing her progress down the tube, she began snatching up flags without much trouble. River kept her legs locked  and her feet pressed against the sides of the tube until she got about three fourths of the way down and gravity as well as the rushing water were getting stronger and sent her into the pool.

Claire: Different technique to Jacqui but a similar idea in trying to slow her progress down the slide. At least for as long as she could and it certainly looks like it gave her plenty of chance to grab hold of those flags. We need the referees final count to find out how successful she’s been.

Zack: She may have taken off half the layers of skin on the sides of her feet like that, but you’re right. We may have a photo finish here like they do in horse racing.

River popped up out of the water, leaving a flag behind that she lost grip of when she splashed into the water. As soon as she was back on the floor, the referee started counting off flags as she handed them to him. At the final count, River scooped up one more than Jacqui at 25.

Zack: It really was almost a photo finish! River picked up 25 flags, edging out her closest rival in strength. Congratulations to her!

Claire: Pretty much every time River and Jacqui have crossed paths in Future Shock, Jacqui has had the upper hand. Tonight, though, River has edged her out by a single flag to take victory.

Zack: Turns out they are rivals in more than just the ring, as was proven today. The pool party shows are designed to give our roster a little downtime, and let you see them in a different light. After Future Shock won the series a couple weeks ago, it was well deserved too.

Claire: All year the Future Shock roster has been smashing records and putting on phenomenal shows. This is looking like it’s going to be the most successful, most talked about and most historic year yet for Future Shock. This is a well earned bit of R&R for them as we build up towards the biggest show on our calendar - the Sydney Supershow!

Zack: Future Shock returns to the road on our next broadcast in Hidalgo, Texas as the Payne Arena. Tune into After Shock this coming week to find out more about that, and thank you for joining us for this year’s Future Shock Pool Party.

As River looks very happy with herself at her win and gets her hand raised, the show fades to black.