Post by strat on May 10, 2022 7:01:08 GMT -5
Personal Stats
Name: Stephen Stratford
Age: 36
Height: 6’
Weight: 185lbs
Hometown: Estes Park, CO
Relationship: Married; Demi Stratford
Picture Base: Brian Molko
Professional Stats
Performer Name: Stephen Stratford
Alias/Moniker: n/a
Formerly Known As/Other Alias: The Angel, The Painted Devil, The Guiding Hand
Billed From: New Orleans, LA
Professional Debut: 2004
Entrance Theme: “The Dove and The Serpent” - Devil Electric
Entrance:
TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF! TURN IT —
The lights in the arena cut abruptly, plunging the fans into darkness with startled gasps floating on the air. The crowd falls into silence only a dull murmur of voices penetrating the uncomfortable darkness until slowly a single dim beam of light penetrates the blackness to shine weakly on the stage. A fine mist begins to form quickly building into rolling clouds falling down the ramp towards the ring, with the stage behind almost completely enveloped. Music begins to thrum through the PA system, a ghastly soundtrack to that hopeless dark and suffocating mist.
•─────⋅☾ ✧ ☽⋅─────•
Drag me down to the hellhole where I come from
I got some unfinished business I can't run from
Send me up to the Devil she want to see me face to face to face
I can hear the dogs are howling my name
Yeah, they're howling for the human race
•─────⋅☾ ✧ ☽⋅─────•
The dim light lighting the stage suddenly flashes out as the music plays on, an altar of melted candles flashes on to the tron screens. As quickly as it went the light returned, this time two figures stood illuminated in the glow, almost entirely hidden by the creeping mist.
•─────⋅☾ ✧ ☽⋅─────•
Bring me up so I can try to I can start all over again
Fill my veins to the brim with you, be a friend
You know that I need it, it's time to choose the door
A think about the Dove and the Serpent and which one of them I need more
•─────⋅☾ ✧ ☽⋅─────•
The light grows brighter and brighter, almost blindingly revealing Stephen Stratford with Demi Stratford at her side, both surrounded by the stifling mist. He looks out to the ring and at the crowd of people with his arms stretched out by his side and as the music punches up, he starts to bounce from one foot to the other in anticipation. His narrow grey eyes are dusted with smoke shadows, and his lips are outlined in a light red hue. His tattooed torso is draped in a black leather trenchcoat, beneath which he wears a black leather corsage around his waist, black and white striped stockings and torn fishnets. The two glance at one another, maintaining eye contact for a moment before they clasp hands.
•─────⋅☾ ✧ ☽⋅─────•
Now I can feel it in my shadow
It's something I can't live without
When I hide from the sun
The darkness keeps catching me out
•─────⋅☾ ✧ ☽⋅─────•
The couple begins to descend through the mist down the ramp and towards the ring. Stratford’s Doc Marten boots clinking against the walkway in lockstep with Demi.
•─────⋅☾ ✧ ☽⋅─────•
So help me out of this mess I'm in
Could it be that we're evil?
So help me out of this mess I'm in
Could it be that we're evil?
•─────⋅☾ ✧ ☽⋅─────•
Stephen keeps hold of his wife’s hand assisting her up the ring steps before following behind. Demi walks along the apron like a stray cat along the fence top, eyes averted to the floor, one hand absentmindedly trailing along the top rope behind her as Stephen opens the ropes for her to enter the ring. As Demi enters, Stephen Stratford climbs up the turnbuckle from the outside, and scans the audience. A smile curls at the corner of his lips, as he hops into the ring and lands next to his wife, the two standing center under a lone spotlight in the darkness.
Alignment: Circumstantial
Weapon of Choice: No preferred weapon.
Most Preferred Match Types: Standard wrestling match
Least Preferred Match Types: Ladder match
Personality
Gimmick: Calm, calculated and deliberate. He aims to engage in psychological warfare, to put his opponent in a state where they are not behaving rationally.
Ring Psychology: Methodical, mind games, technical
Why They Compete: Legacy. His purpose is to prove beyond any dispute his place in the world.
Wrestling Style: Athletic, technical
Attitude Towards Cheating: If a viable opportunity presents itself, he may take advantage of that. Demi Stratford is likely to help him to win.
Strengths: Mentality & misdirection.
Weaknesses: Size & strength
Absolutely Will Not Do:
Biography
Stephen Stratford is an Australian-born naturalised American who came to The Land of The Free in his teen years to chase the American Dream.
As a pro-wrestler, he quickly realised that he had a unique perspective on the game and a way to make his smaller frame work for him among a sea of giants. He tangled consistently with long-forgotten legends such as “Smokin” Shawn Stevens, Jason Jarrett, Ichabod Bitchwax and Chris Cage, but in his original run he is perhaps most remembered for an infamous incident in an organisation called WfnW where he had been working with Bryan Dyamond under the leadership of The Queen (a role portrayed by his wife, Demi Stratford). Their team had been engaged in a war with a group called Uncivilized, which comprised of the legendary Kal X Wolf and Damon “HavoK” Riggs. During one show, whilst Stratford and Dyamond were in the ring competing, Riggs cornered The Queen in the back and delivered a beating so brutal that the lines of story and reality were blurred. This would be the last time either Stratford or his wife appeared in a wrestling ring.
Until June 2020, when a very different-looking man, referring to himself as Id, appeared in Outlaw Pro Wrestling after a mysterious HBO Producer signed him to the organisation and started placing him in high profile matches, whilst he spent the majority of his time criticising the stranglehold that Riggs and his allies the Wolf / Black family had over the industry. His arrival came a month or so following the grand unveiling of the returning Damon “HavoK” Riggs, and after biding his time and earning himself a place in the prestigious Stairway 2 Heaven match, Id finally struck. He incapacitated Damon Riggs with a baseball bat that had once belonged to Bryan Dyamond but now belonged to Riggs, and as Id choked Damon Riggs to unconsciousness, he asked Riggs if he remembered him.
Following his reveal, and Riggs being shelved, Stephen Stratford reverted back to his real name and started in earnest in his pursuit of the Immortal Heavyweight Championship. At the aforementioned Stairway 2 Heaven, he was the first competitor to make himself ‘safe’ for the second phase, and in the second phase he pinned the champion Anicka Swan and eliminated her. It appeared to most that Stratford was going to cause an upset and take the Championship when the majority of experts would agree that Xavier Wolf was a strong favourite. The two of them reached the top of the ladder at the same time, and both had their hands on the belt as it unhooked itself from the ceiling. As the two men fell through the air, it would be Xavier Wolf who was ultimately successful.
With Xavier Wolf now the figurehead of the Wolf / Black / Riggs “Pack”, Stratford’s work began to overthrow them at any cost. Knowing the price he had paid back in the early days, and the lengths this ‘family’ would go to maintain dominance of the wrestling world, Stephen and his wife started putting pieces in place that would change his adversary forever. On the eve of his opportunity to run it back with Xavier Wolf one versus one, Stratford sent out manila envelopes to Xavier Wolf’s sister, Sarah and Xavier’s adopted father Thomas Marke. The contents of this envelope would allow Marke to frame Sarah for first-degree murder, and completely shatter trust between Xavier and the person closest to him.
Needless to say, Stratford managed to topple Wolf on that night, and what followed was a carefully plotted series of events that would see Xavier’s best friend, Anicka Swan, cash in a title shot against Stratford instead of Wolf, who certainly expected to be given an immediate rematch, thus driving further wedges between Xavier and his closest people.
In the build up to the match with Swan, Damon Riggs re-emerged, sickened with the lengths Stratford had gone to in order to go over the Wolf/Black family and to his surprise, Stratford offered him the chance to dethrone him himself, to finally get his payback - if only he would put his career on the line as a wager. In what would be a chaotic match involving Demi Stratford nearly taking her husband’s head off with the bat, and Xavier Wolf appearing and incapacitating Riggs, Stratford left the ring victorious. An asterisk, perhaps, given that his greatest enemy was in fact defeated by the hand of his greatest adversary.
As drama continued to unfold thereafter, with expiring television deals, FBI investigations and corruption charges being levelled at the owners of OPW, a lot of uncertainty hung for the Outlaw Pro roster until Xavier Wolf, now calling himself Xavier Black, revealed that he had bought the company from the previous owner who had been arrested for a litany of felony charges. At the final show, Stratford and Xavier fought for a final time, to define who would be the last Immortal Heavyweight Champion. The outcome of which, only those two men know, because the feed was cut. We only know that Stephen Stratford did not follow the rest of the company to Xavier’s FIGHT! NYC outfit, leaving people to speculate whether he refused to work for Xavier Black, or whether Xavier Black forced him out.
Achievements
[*]Retired Damon Riggs[/font][/ul]
Moveset
General Style: Fairly generic moveset. Can utilise high-flying moves infrequently, but owing to his calculated and deliberate style, he wouldn’t tend to be particularly high tempo or risk-taking. Think late-career HBK.
Finishing Techniques:
Chip On My Shoulder [PRIMARY] - Stone Cold Stunner
Stratusphere [OPPORTUNITY/HIGH STAKE]- Shooting star press from a high place
Signature Techniques:
Halo - Cross Rhodes
Silencer - Springboard Dropkick
Strategizer - Shining Wizard
Submission Techniques:
Clipped Wings - Americana submission with a body lock
Notable Supporting Cast
Name: Demi Stratford
Relationship: Wife
Name: Charlotte Stratford
Relationship: Daughter
Handler Information
Name: jess
Twitter: @stratford_angel
Discord: jess#8264
