kon_el_superboy: HW: The Announcement, Part One

Chapter One

The heavyweights were excited about what was coming up. The announcement had been made that a tournament for the heavyweight championship was under way.

All the teens knew it would be a four-corner match and were excited to see who would be chosen.

*****

Just prior to the announcement, the Commissioner asked Terry and Ryan to talk to him. He said, "I am assuming you young men will forego your match to participate, correct?"

Terry agreed, but Ryan surprised them both. "No. I could have the title any time I want. I don't want to give up my shot at this loser," he said, pointing at Terry, "I don't trust him to re-sign."

Terry said bitterly, "Fine. Just more incentive for me to kick your fat ass."

*****

The Commissioner stood in front of the assembled teens. He said, "I know most of you have heard that we are going to have a tournament to decide the number one contender in the heavyweight class. It should be an exciting event for TW.

I would like to thank some of you for your suggestions on who should be involved. It speaks to your skill that so many of you are deserving of consideration. I'd like to thank a group of young men who came up with the format we are going to use. It is a variation on something that was done in Junior Wrestling and we are adapting it for our use. We think it will be very exciting for all concerned.

Lon called out, "We know it's the four corner match format and all the details. Just tell us the names!" The other boys all chimed in, agreeing. All they wanted was the names.

The Commissioner cleared his throat, "Well, all right. I asked the boys who proposed it not to tell anyone, but since you all know, we'll get to it. So without further ado, here are the combatants that will face one another:

"Anton, Steve, Pat and Lon!"

What? The crowd went into an uproar. They couldn't believe they were the four. The Commissioner tried to restore order. In desperation, Clay jumped onto the dais and whistled loudly. Cody jumped up beside him and whistled, too.

Together, they restored some order.

"Cody, you can't think that's cool!" Lance said.

Cody said, "Let the man finish, let the man finish. Sorry, sir, but we didn't tell anyone the details. Everyone just assumed it would be a four-corner match like the other divisions."

The Commissioner thanked Clay and Cody for restoring order. He said, "I'm sorry, boys, for doubting that you could keep the secret." He turned to the assembled throng and said, "I guess you hadn't heard the whole story. I assumed when you said you knew the plan, that you really knew the plan.

"We ARE having a four-corner match. And the participants are Anton, Lucien, Pat and Lon. But that is only one of four matches.

"There will be four four-corner matches, each one producing one winner. The winner will then proceed to a second match at the end of the night against the other three winners.

"In order to keep things fair, Rusty will also have to fight on Saturday. I will announce his opponent at the end of the list."

The boys were stunned, but excited. That meant 18 of the 24 boys would be involved and have a shot!

"Now, the first grouping will be: Anton, Steve, Lon and Pat. Group two will be: Cody, Clay, Roby and Lucien. Group three will be: Dane, Mike, Jake and Doug. And finally, group four will be: Bastian, Jackson, Lance and Bill.

"Rusty's match on Saturday will be against Gerritt. One week later, the winner will face either Rusty or Gerritt for the title."

Reaction was fast and furious. There were only 6 heavyweights left out of the action and four of them were devastated. Brian, James and Todd understood why. They had little or no record. But Jeff had a legitimate shot. Unfortunately he would be away for Spring Break and was excluded.

And Ryan and Terry had opted out, so there was very little debate on their exclusion.

This was like a TW version of March Madness! The list was complete. Barring any other complications, there would be a total of seven heavyweight matches on Saturday, including Terry and Ryan's match.