On Halloween, Muscle Hustle Wrestling presents one of the year’s biggest events. The second-annual Spooktober pay-per-view will beam into television screens nationwide as one of MHW’s most bitter rivalries comes to a head. After being pushed to his limit by Coffin Nail Crawford, it was Dark Marten who challenged the heavy metal hitter to one final showdown at Spooktober. To understand what brought us to this moment, it’s important to understand the history between these two. Despite their being bitter enemies today, Marten and Crawford were once one of the most formidable tag teams in MHW history.
Martial Metal
Shortly after arriving in MHW, the men then known as Henry Crawford and Drake Marten were struggling to make their mark and stand out from the pack. Henry was fresh out of the music industry and still trying to find a way to adapt the energy from the stage to the squared circle. Meanwhile, Drake was primarily focused on martial arts. While his roots in the occult stemmed from long before his arrival in MHW, he’d yet to nail down how to utilize those powers in the ring. Instead, Marten worked to adapt his training in aikido and judo to bring his opponents to the mat.
Despite literally being from the opposite ends of the country, the New Yorker and the Oregonian found common ground in their appreciation of listening to music and destroying opponents. Crawford’s methods were always a bit more crude, but he got the job done. Together, they formed Martial Metal and quickly rose through the ranks to become the MHW Tag Team Champions. For more than a year, Martial Metal dominated the tag team division. Some teams rose and gave them a challenge, but none could topple Crawford and Marten once they hit their stride.
In the end, the only thing that destroyed Martial Metal was the team itself. While their tag team success was substantial, Crawford began to believe he was being held back by Marten. They defended their championships against The Punk Punishers. The team of Heartless La Belle and Kutthroat Kurt earned their shot on the road to Spooktober and were eager to take on the champions. What followed was a hard-hitting brawl like the MHW tag division had never seen before. The nearly half-hour match ended when The Punk Punishers managed to hit their signature maneuver, The Liberty Spike.
It all comes crashing down…
Heartless La Belle came flying off the turnbuckle to add impact and help Kurt send Drake Marten into the mat with an assisted piledriver. Crawford tried to recover on the outside to make the save, but it was too late. The referee’s hand hit the mat for the count of three before Henry could break it up. Just like that, their year-long reign had come to a screeching halt. Not only that, but the crowd that was once firmly behind them had fallen for The Punk Punishers and exploded in excitement as the duo won their first piece of championship gold.
As they celebrated, Marten rolled to the edge of the ring, still feeling the sting from The Liberty Spike. Crawford checked on his partner, but his frustration was obvious. Crawford stepped away from the ring, visibly upset and pacing to deal with what had just happened. Marten shifted to a position where he was seated on the apron and started to collect himself. As he did this, Crawford made his way towards the timekeepers area. Shoving ring crew out of his way, Crawford grabbed a steel chair and went back to his tag team partner.
In a stunning turn of events, Drake Marten stepped off the apron and got to his feet just in time to feel the unforgiving steel chair held by Henry Crawford crack against his skull. Drake immediately crumbled to the ground, and the crowd began to holler and boo in disapproval. Henry brought the chair down with three more punishing blows to the back of Marten. The prone competitor flinched less with each hit, clearly feeling the effects of all the damage he’d sustained. Finally, Crawford folded the chair out into a regular sitting position and set it on the ground. He dragged Marten’s nearly lifeless body to a vertical base and looked him dead in the eyes.
“I’m tired of you holding me back! This is the final nail in Martial Metal’s coffin!”
With those resounding words, Coffin Nail Crawford was born. His first course of action was to use a forward Russian leg sweep to slam Marten face-first into the seat of the steel chair with a Skullcrusher. The crowd gasped in horror. Even for a team that could be as brutal as these two were, this was crossing a line that few even knew could be crossed. Trainers and referees rushed from the back to check on Marten, but the damage was done. They threw up a signal for EMTs to make their way out to the ring, and Crawford could be seen laughing his way up the ramp as he watched the aftermath of his actions.
That was the day their friendship, and the tag team of Martial Metal, died forever. Some even believed that was the day Drake Marten’s wrestling career died forever as well. News came out in the coming weeks that Marten suffered a severe concussion and officials were hesitant to clear him for competition. As Drake was forced to take time off to recover from the damage inflicted on him, Coffin Nail Crawford was just getting started. He set his eyes on beloved MHW World Heavyweight Champion Slick Trick.
The Era of Coffin Nail Crawford
At HustlerMania 2018, Coffin Nail Crawford challenged Slick Trick for the championship. Despite the roll Crawford had been on, few believed he could topple the undefeated fan-favorite. A combination of rugged skill and unmatched power had helped Slick take out every challenger that dared to step up to him. Coffin Nail Crawford knew he’d have to do something out of the box to leave HustlerMania with championship gold, but no one expected his dirty tactics to actually defeat Slick Trick.
After a miscommunication in the corner, Slick Trick inadvertently knocked the referee to the ground. While the impact was clearly unintentional, it provided an opening for Crawford. As Slick got to his feet, Crawford suddenly hit a low blow from behind on the World Champion. Slick crumbled to the ground like any man would, and Crawford dragged him out of the ring. The metal and wood sarcophagus that was chained to Coffin Nail Crawford during his entrance was laying flat on the outside, and Crawford saw his opening. With the referee still down, Crawford slammed Slick Trick into the coffin with a Skullcrusher that hit with enough force to crack the wood.
Crawford rolled Slick’s lifeless body into the ring just as the referee began to stir. By this point, the boos of the crowd had become almost deafening. Crawford hooked the leg as the referee slowly counted an inevitable three times and the bell rang. The boos turned to a mix of stunned silence and confused murmuring. The undefeated champion had been beaten, and Coffin Nail Crawford had used every trick in the book to do it. Crawford snatched the MHW World Championship from ringside and made his way up the ramp whilst holding the belt high in celebration.
That shocking moment happened only two months ago, and Crawford managed to escape two rematches against Slick Trick as champion with more dirty tactics helping him along the way. With Spooktober nearing, the question of who would challenge the champion began to circulate among fans. Some wanted Slick Trick to get yet another shot to take back his championship, but even the once-undefeated wrestler knew he needed to regroup and let someone else have that opportunity. A battle royal was held to determine the number one contender for the MHW World Heavyweight Championship, and the final entrant was a man who hadn’t been seen in months.
The Lord of Darkness returns!
The arena went dark and unusual noises began to echo around the building. Suddenly the lights flashed back on and Dark Marten stood in the center of the ring. The crowd exploded in excitement to see the gothic powerhouse back home in MHW. Reigning champion Coffin Nail Crawford was sitting at ringside and looked as if he was seeing a ghost. The remaining competitors rushed Marten, but the former tag team champion dropped to a knee and began chanting. The wrestlers around him stopped in their tracks, seemingly out of confusion more than anything. After saying something in latin, Marten suddenly punched the mat and a puff of smoke engulfed him.
Dark Marten emerged from the cloud seconds later with a speed and ferocity that he’d never exhibited before. His strikes during the tenure of Martial Metal suddenly looked like mosquito bites compared to the force Marten was delivering now. One by one he sent his opponents flying over the ropes and to their own defeat. When only one opponent remained, Crawford knew he had to do something to prevent his former partner from getting an opportunity to face him at Spooktober. Coffin Nail suddenly jumped up on the apron, distracting Marten. His former friend grinned, stepping towards the ropes with his eyes fixated on the man he so desparately wanted to get revenge on.
Before getting within reach of Crawford, Marten stopped and smirked. He closed his eyes, suddenly dropping to a seated position only seconds later. The timing was perfect as the final remaining competitor flew right over Marten and hit Crawford with a leaping clothesline. The momentum allowed Marten to get back to his feet and push his opponent over the top and to the floor. Coffin Nail Crawford’s last minute plan had backfired, and Dark Marten was officially the new number one contender for the MHW World Championship.
After the match, Dark Marten conjured a microphone seemingly from thin air and began to speak. His words were directed right at Crawford as he didn’t break focus for even a second.
“Nearly one year ago, a man I once saw as a fellow Lord of Darkness betrayed me. Henry Crawford! In a fit of rage, you decided to throw a tantrum and trash everything we had built together! You chose the quick and easy path, and now you stand as a phony champion. You believe yourself to be an agent of evil, but you are nothing more than a self-serving sapien. You have no respect for the dark arts. You have no respect for these people, who once stood as our army of darkness. You have no respect for that trophy you so desperately cling to. At Spooktober II, I’m not just going to take the MHW World Heavyweight Championship. I, Dark Marten, Lord of Darkness, am going to lock you in a pine box and end your career. I hope you like sleeping in that prop, because at Spooktober II you’ll be facing me in a Coffin Match!”
The crowd cheered in excitement, and the eyes of Crawford betrayed his tough-man facade and laid his fear bare for all to see. The demons of Coffin Nail’s past had finally come back to haunt him, and now this demon is looking to take that which he holds most dear.
With only a few weeks remaining until MHW presents Spooktober II, can Coffin Nail Crawford devise another devious plan to escape with his championship yet again? Will Dark Marten’s triumphant return and dark sorcery lead him to singles gold for the first time in his MHW career? Could the championship itself even be secondary to the personal issues between these competitors? Dark Marten is looking for revenge, and Coffin Nail Crawford has no idea what this new and improved Lord of Darkness is bringing to Spooktober II.