Ink Master: Grudge Match (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Run Your Machine, Not Your Mouth - full transcript
Season 12 rivals Alexis Kovacs and Ash Mann look to settle unfinished business, while Master Anthony Michaels tries to tame the trash-talking winner of Season 10, Josh Payne.
male announcer:
In 12 jaw-dropping seasons
of "Ink Master," we've
witnessed amazing artistry...
- Shut the [bleep] up!
announcer: Insane rivalries--
- [bleep] mother[bleep].
announcer:
And wild personalities.
- Any [bleep] camera follows
me, I swear to God.
I don't give a [bleep].
I will break
that mother[bleep].
announcer: Now, three iconic
"Ink Master" champions--
Ryan Ashley, DJ Tambe,
and Cleen Rock One
have risen to judge status,
deciding grudges between
some of the competition's
most furious rivals.
- Are we gonna hash it our
like grown men,
or are you gonna get
in my face again?
- Let's tattoo!
announcer: These foes will
have the opportunity
to settle the score
once and for all.
- I can be in your face.
I can be in your face, too.
- Okay, okay.
- Let's do it.
- Guys, guys, guys, guys.
- We can do it all day.
- Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
I don't think
that grudge is over.
I think it just got worse.
[dramatic music]
announcer:
Tonight, two epic feuds
will come to a head.
It's honorable competitors
versus their
cutthroat counterparts,
and the grudges
will be settled now.
♪ ♪
was betrayed by her teammate,
Alexis Kovacs.
- You threw me under the bus.
- This isn't "Friend Master."
- Well, you didn't
make friends, don't worry.
- [hissing]
announcer: And will now fight
to earn the respect
of the backstabbing veteran.
- I can tattoo.
I'm just new at it,
and I just want you
to take me seriously.
♪ ♪
- All right, guys, so we have
a ladies' battle today.
Ash and Alexis.
- Being a girls vs. guys
camaraderie between teams
fell apart.
Out the window.
- When these teams
come together, and you're
all playing together.
But ultimately, one person
is gonna win, and that's it.
- Yeah.
- It's like, are you loyal
to your teammate, or do you see
an opportunity and push ahead?
It's tough to decide.
- I guess, for some girls,
they could still
sharpen up the blade
and put it right in the spine.
Each of you must call out
one additional artist
to join the Face-Off.
- I'm gonna call Ash.
- She's, like, bitch!
- Like, obviously,
I'm pissed off
that my own teammate
put me in the bottom.
- It's a game, man.
Like, can't we just
put that stuff aside?
- Do I think
that you're somebody
that I'm gonna continue
a friendship with,
or that I'm gonna
trust in the future?
No.
- That's a huge
stab in the back, to bring one
of your teammates down there.
This is gonna be a fight.
- Hell yeah.
- Good boy.
I'm not, like, a team person
as far as, like, sports go,
you know, obviously.
But when it comes to, like,
the loyalty of a team,
I will never take anyone else
down with me, you know?
I'm calling Alexis out
because I want to prove to her
that integrity can win this.
It doesn't have to
be fought in a dirty manner.
[dramatic music]
- It's perfect, look at that.
Cheers.
- Cheers to that.
- Oh!
- Drink up, buttercup.
- Oh, drink up.
Ash has this whole thing
about loyalty and morals
and this and that
and being a team member,
and we should all
die together, and it's like,
I just--
I'm not here for that.
Girl, it's a competition.
My little baby.
You need to just
worry about yourself,
and she just literally
cannot comprehend that
and thinks I'm an asshole
because I feel that way.
[dramatic music]
Oh, wow.
Back here again.
- She's, like, ready.
- I just cannot wait
to see what Ash
has to say to me.
- Ooh, see?
- Here we go.
- They're getting
feisty already.
- It's the undertone
you have to look out for.
- Oh!
- [gasps]
- Look who it is.
If it isn't
America's best teammate.
- The girl with nine lives.
- [hissing]
- I see we still have a
little bit of a grudge, huh?
- I just don't like the person
that you are.
- Oh!
- Oh, yeah?
- You threw me under the bus
the first chance that you got,
and now you want me to just
forgive you
like everything's cool.
- It's just playing the game.
This isn't "Friend Master."
I'm not trying
to make friends here.
- Well, you didn't
make friends, don't worry.
- Look at that face.
Just a mean frown.
- Game aside,
I'm just the type of person
where I have morals,
and I go off that.
- I understand that,
but unfortunately,
that just doesn't get you
anywhere in this game.
- They're talking about morals,
like, as a person.
I mean, this is pretty deep.
- Well, it was pretty deep.
- It's definitely
a personal grudge for sure.
- Are we--
Let's go settle this
and get it going.
- Yeah.
- Let's find out
what's actually up.
- I did what I did.
There's no going back.
- That's great, Alexis.
I'm glad that you're proud
of your decision,
but I stand by my morals, and--
- Come on, fireballs.
You better get ready
for a big old competition.
You guys are gonna sit there
and whine all day?
Man, you guys got some beef.
- I'm just the type of person
where I'm gonna stick up
for my team and my girls,
and she has not an ounce
of that in her body.
- It's a game.
Am I wrong?
This is a game.
I played it.
- There's always two sides
of every story,
so you guys want to throw down?
- Oh, yeah.
- Let's do it.
- We are giving you
the opportunity
to settle all of this.
We're gonna throw at you
a 90-minute Face-Off tattoo.
Head to head, just you ladies,
where we get to pick what you
girls will be tattooing today.
Total level playing field.
No bullshit.
- Oh, damn.
- 90 minutes?
That's not enough
time to do anything.
That's not even enough time
for me to put my hair in.
- Whoever wins
gets a huge advantage.
You're going to be able to
choose either the style
or the subject matter that
the both of you have to tattoo
in tomorrow's six-hour
grudge match tattoo.
- Hmm, I'll take that.
- Well.
- This is a huge advantage.
I can really
set Ash up for failure.
If I pick something that
she is not comfortable with,
that could get in her head.
- And the winner of that
grudge match ends it all.
- Buries those skeletons
and ends this grudge.
- About time.
- Don't talk to me.
- I mean, what do you think
we should give them?
- I feel like it's a catfight,
and we should do some cats.
- 90-minute cat tats.
- Okay.
- 90-minute cat tats.
- [hissing]
- All right.
- Go get 'em.
Come on, why aren't
you guys drawing yet?
- Yeah.
Get to work!
[dramatic music]
I'll tell you right now,
this is gonna be insane.
- I think they're gonna
throw down.
- You think?
- Let's see how you do
without your precious team.
- Well, I just don't understand
why you're talking to me.
♪ ♪
announcer: In our
second grudge,
season 10's zen master coach,
Anthony Michaels,
saw his team taken out
by the cunning strategist,
Josh Payne.
- If there was a "Talk Master,"
it's all you.
But that silver tongue,
it's not working today.
- I'm on
the same platform as you,
so don't walk around here
like you're better and bigger.
announcer: And now,
Anthony's out for revenge.
- Look who I'm
going up against.
I had to bring it.
♪ ♪
- All right, I mean,
this is pretty crazy, guys.
Two Ink Masters have beef.
It doesn't get
any more epic than that.
- Oh, I'm excited about today.
- What are these guys
even arguing about?
- Well, the thing is, Josh is
really good at manipulation,
and that's a skill in itself.
- Yes.
- Anthony's a gentleman.
He likes to play by the rules,
very by the book.
And Josh is throwing
all these tricks at him,
and I think Anthony's
just like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa.
What rulebook
are you following?"
- That's where this grudge
stemmed from.
- This competition
is full of adversity,
which is what I
was brought up from.
I'm here to help all of you be
the best you that you can be.
- In this industry,
a lot of people,
even though
there are competitions,
they tend to kind of
shy away from it.
So when they see me
coming in being competitive,
they're like, "Oh, this dude's
just an asshole."
It's like, no, man.
If there's a prize to win,
I'm gonna win it.
I pushed buttons,
and it worked.
I'm still here, and I'm
gonna keep fighting.
- Then we're gonna gun at you.
I'm gonna do everything I can
to shit on your world.
That's just the way
the game goes.
[dramatic music]
This grudge match
is all about revenge.
One of my biggest goals
is to show Josh
you don't have to be a dick.
You don't have to be loud.
Look, we're here to tattoo.
I really want this shop
to be relaxing,
balanced, comfortable.
A place of positivity.
If this was a yelling match,
Josh might have
the upper hand.
But that's not
what we're here for.
I'm gonna
let him run his mouth,
I'm gonna do a bad-ass tattoo,
and I'm gonna give Josh
a run for his money.
[rock music]
- Do your shoulders hurt?
Because you've just got to
carry the weight of that crowd.
- How many times
have your clients come in,
and they're like,
"You're not as big a dick as
I thought you were gonna be"?
- They all say that.
I won the title of Ink Master
kind of on a question mark.
A lot of people think I won
with my mouth and not my work.
This will be my chance to
really prove how good I am,
and the fact that I deserve it.
[dramatic music]
We're back again.
- Look at the loafers.
- Man.
- He's going on a cruise.
- People that rock those
don't give a [bleep].
- They don't.
- Oh, Mr. Payne.
- Look who showed up late.
Come down here.
Let's have a conversation.
Like adults, if you know
how to do that.
- I'm not good at it.
- Well, I know.
I know you were hell-bent
on taking my team out,
and your strong point
was this mental warfare.
- I'm the best.
I knew I was the best.
I came in to win
this whole thing.
I am who I am for a reason,
and I do what I do.
- As I told you then,
and I'm gonna tell you now,
you're screwed.
- Anthony's calmness
is a bit intimidating.
It's a whole different kind
of mind trickery.
- I'm representing
all those artists
that should have taken you out.
I'm here to finish the job.
- Let's go.
- All right, we got to--
- Let's get in there.
- One last wolf to take out.
- That silver tongue,
it's great.
It's not working today.
- Yeah, boys!
- Uh-oh.
- Look at this matchup.
- Hey, guys.
- This should be interesting.
- This is epic.
I mean, I wore
a fancy shirt today.
- It's gonna be
a bloodbath, man.
I'm not representing
just myself.
I'm representing my team.
I have a lot to lose.
- I took out his entire team,
and there's one last wolf
to kick out of the pack.
- Honestly, may
the best man win.
- This is what we're gonna do.
We're gonna even
the playing field.
No one has the upper hand.
We're gonna give you guys
a 90-minute Face-Off tattoo--
- All right.
- Where we decide
what you're gonna be tattooing.
- The winner of that
Face-Off tattoo
gets to pick the style
or the subject matter
for a six-hour
grudge match tattoo.
- That's big.
- That's a big game-changer.
- And whoever wins this
six-hour grudge match tattoo
settles the score.
Ends it all.
- That's it.
- [exhales]
- I haven't done a small
tattoo in years.
- Well, today's the day.
- Legitimately.
I talk for 90 minutes a tattoo.
Like, when am I
supposed to work?
- Definitely gonna take this
to the wire, then.
I think it's safe to say.
- What are we gonna give them?
- How about we
let them surprise us?
- What do you mean?
- Like, what?
- So don't pick any anything?
- They're Ink Masters.
- I'm down with that.
- The worst thing you
can tell me to do...
- Is anything you want to do.
- Is anything I want to do.
- Oh!
- Maybe that's
the biggest challenge.
- [groans]
- You guys
don't got much time to draw.
You want to start drawing?
- That might be a good idea.
- Get to work!
- I be gone.
- Like--
- Good luck, guys.
- Let's do it.
- Oh, man.
- Let the tournament begin.
- Oh, man!
- Oh, what do I do?
- I mean, I'm surprised
you're a little thrown off.
- The problem is I got
too many things in my head.
I just got to rein myself
in a little bit.
This is not "Idea Master"
or "Drawing Master" right now.
It's tattooing, and that's
when I'm showing up, bud.
- We'll see.
- We will.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- All right, fellas.
You guys ready
to get this started?
- Yes, sir.
- Born ready.
- Anthony,
cool, calm, and collected?
- Walk in the park, baby.
- Josh, you got
the jitters out?
- I'm good.
- Got the duct tape?
- That I can't promise.
- You guys get to do
whatever you want
in this 90-minute Face-Off.
Your time, it starts right now.
- Let's go.
Check that out, dude.
- Ah, I like it.
It looks good.
- This is gonna be
a cool tattoo.
- Anthony Michaels
and Josh Payne, man.
This is two Ink Masters.
This 90-minute Face-Off tattoo
is to get them
back into the game.
- All right, Daddy.
Let's do it.
- An hour and a half
might take a while
if you're, you know,
watching a movie.
But in here, that clock ticks.
- In art, apparently, you're
not allowed to be competitive.
Everyone's--"Why have you got
to be like that?"
I go...
- Yeah.
- I want to win.
- Exactly.
- Josh is like that dog in a
neighborhood that just barks.
- I got thrown
every single curveball
they could have thrown,
and at this point,
if I got to
take out the coach...
- Yeah.
- Got to do what I got to do.
- All the time.
- Time to put an end to
the reign of the wolf pack.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- All right, Ash, Alexis.
You guys got 90 minutes
to do catty tatties.
You ready to get
this catfight started?
- Absolutely.
- Let's do it.
- All right.
Let's tattoo!
- Ow!
[rock music]
- You ready?
- Ready.
- I'm doing a black and gray
realistic cat portrait.
I'm gonna do it
nice and small,
but still make sure that
I focus on the details.
The fact that I get to do
what I want to do,
I feel confident.
- In case you didn't know,
that's what a real
tattoo machine sounds like.
- Sorry, can't hear you.
This is what I do every day.
This is what I'm good at.
Alexis is gonna learn today.
[dramatic music]
[tattoo machines buzzing]
- Color.
- Already?
- A 90-minute tattoo
can throw you off
way more than you realize,
because you could do a design,
and it looks like it's small.
But if it has a lot
of detail in it,
that's where you have
to realize as an artist,
"What are the
most important things
that need to be
in this tattoo?"
My biggest concern
is just making sure
that it's
technically solid as hell.
Fastest tattoo I've ever
done in my life.
- All right, we are already
down to one hour.
Only 60 minutes left, ladies.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Hi.
- Hi.
- How's it going?
- Cat tats.
- 56 minutes, huh?
- Yeah.
- Ash is doing a portrait.
A portrait, in 90 minutes!
Doing a cat portrait
in general is tough,
because of all of
the fur and texture.
But in 90 minutes?
I mean, that's insane!
- It looked, like,
small and easy to do.
- You have got to get
a move on, baby.
- I know.
90 minutes just goes so fast.
[tattoo machine buzzing]
[rock music]
[tattoo machine buzzing]
[dramatic music]
- You gonna finish, Ash?
- If you stop talking
to me, yeah.
- We'll see, girl.
- I would never, like,
say that to her.
- If this was
a morals competition,
I would win, period.
[dramatic music]
- I can't lose this.
I have a chance
to put this little girl
in her place.
[dramatic music]
- Here we go.
Five, four, three, two, one.
That's it, ladies.
Machines down.
- Sweet.
- Oh, I love it.
- It's pretty darn cute.
- It's so cute.
- If I do say so myself.
- It looks awesome.
- It's so cute!
- Oh, I love him.
Thank you so much.
- Thanks for letting me
do a cat tat.
- Absolutely.
- How do you think
you did, dude?
- You can't really go wrong
with cat tats, so...
- You should have done
a scaredy cat,
because you seem
pretty scared right now.
- I'm not scared
in the slightest bit,
so I don't know
what you're talking about.
- I'm just, you know,
reading the room.
- What's up?
- How was the catfight?
- It was good.
- 90 minutes.
- Super fast.
- No joke.
- Whoever wins this
has a huge advantage
for tomorrow's six-hour
grudge match tattoo.
- Somebody gets to pick the
subject or the style.
I mean, that's a big deal.
- Yeah, absolutely.
- That's a huge deal.
- Honestly, I think
the biggest surprise of the day
was your tattoo, Ash.
There was a lot of moments
in this tattoo
that I think
are really, really pretty.
You have the dark, black fur
with the medium fur.
Really nice, flowing,
crisscrossing with each other.
- But you can definitely see
that you started at the bottom,
and it's real detailed.
And then once you kind
of get to the top,
and that one ear,
it's, like, Motown.
- The right ear
kind of goes flat.
- The 90 minutes
got me a little.
I got to be honest.
- What you pulled off
in 90 minutes
was actually really impressive.
- Thank you.
- Alexis, your tattoo
was definitely sharp.
- Thanks.
- I love that
little drawing, man.
- I like how you built up all
your shapes
and everything
with just color.
- The one thing I wasn't a huge
fan of was the star necklace.
You really
have to look for it,
because it's the same color
as the body.
- The two tattoos
that you ladies did today,
they couldn't be
any more different.
- We got to figure this
out, because, uh--
- I don't know.
This is a tough one.
- I think Ash did
an awesome tattoo,
and the shading is really nice.
But I'm gonna vote for Alexis.
The overall saturation,
it's super solid.
That's the only thing
that I'm going off of.
- Because I know how hard
black and gray realism is.
For 90 minutes, it was really,
really awesome.
But I can't argue
with how bulletproof
your tattoo was, Alexis.
[dramatic music]
I'm gonna have to go
with Alexis.
- Ah!
- Congratulations, Alexis.
- Thank you.
- You won.
- That's awesome.
I think Alexis
got a little more creative.
- But Ash, I want to say,
you did an awesome tattoo.
- Thank you.
- I mean, very impressed.
- To hear you guys say
that my tattoo was good--
I mean, I'm good.
I'm happy.
- No matter what she throws
at you, you better bring it.
- I'm gonna.
- Alexis, that's a big win.
- Yep.
- You got the advantage.
- What style or subject
are you picking
for your six-hour grudge
match tattoo?
- This is
a really tough decision.
Um, I want to have fun with it.
Um, I think I'm going to
go with...
new school.
- New school?
- New school.
- New school?
- Yep.
- Ooh.
- I just--I want to have
a fun competition.
I don't want to do anything
that's just gonna be,
like, generally boring.
- That is a bunch of bullshit.
I want to punch her
in the head, bitch slap her.
Like, I don't know.
All of it all at once.
- Do you do a lot of
new school tattoos?
- On the competition,
I did my first one, so...
- So this is the second one?
- Have you done more
since then?
- A lot of people don't come
to me for that at home.
It's, like, you know.
- It's pretty far away
from the style that you do.
- Yeah. I'm just used to
it with her, so...
- Whoo!
- Hey, old habits die hard.
- This is your time to shine.
To show everybody
what you're made of.
- Remember, ladies,
whoever wins this grudge match
ends it all.
Good luck.
- Have a good night, guys.
- Cool.
- Get to work.
- Thank you.
- Oh, man.
New school tattoos?
Oh, I'm pumped.
- So, it's pretty
typical of you.
You're kind of showing me
that you're a one-trick pony
when it comes
to the morals department.
- You called me out, girl.
I'm here to play.
I'm here to throw down.
- Well, good luck.
- You too.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Competing against somebody
to his level and ability,
it's not gonna be,
"Who did a shitty tattoo?"
It's gonna be, "Who did
a little bit better one?"
I can tattoo with
the best of the best,
but I'm also not an idiot.
I know my competitor.
I really want to make sure
I do a solid tattoo,
but I also want to put some
tricks and some flair in it,
because I think I'm gonna need
that little advantage.
I will say it's been a while
since I've
been nervous tattooing.
- 60 minutes, guys.
60 minutes.
- Ah, [bleep].
[dramatic music]
- Oh, you're doing a
pop of color, huh?
- Oh, yeah.
- Huh.
I expected you to
go black and gray.
- I wanted to, but, I mean,
look who I'm going against.
Black and gray is my go-to,
but Josh is probably
gonna have 100 colors.
So I'm gonna take a risk.
- Color definitely takes
a little bit longer
than black and gray.
- Oh, yeah.
So do you think we
should leave him alone, or...
- 30 minutes, guys.
30 minutes left.
- Somebody sped that clock up.
No big deal.
I only have, like, a
half a fish to color.
I [bleep] up.
I spent way too much time
doing this line work,
and now, I'm down to
a fraction of what's left,
and I have to color about half
of this fish still.
This is crazy
how fast this time went.
I need a puke bucket,
because I feel like
I'm gonna throw up right now.
[bleep] this clock.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- 15 minutes to go.
- Oh, [bleep].
- [laughs]
- Can we just, like--
just rewind that clock
a little bit?
- How about you [bleep]
rewind your mouth?
[dramatic music]
- Five, four, three, two, one.
Put 'em down!
- [bleep] that.
That was the most
stressful thing.
- Looks good, though.
- Pushed the envelope.
- I really like it.
- You could definitely
cut some fish
in half pretty easy.
- I've never worked that fast
in my [bleep] life.
- You were talking,
"Oh, the [bleep] little rules.
I took out the rules..."
- Yeah, I was talking shit--
- "I did this."
- To people that
weren't Ink Masters.
I didn't know
you were listening.
- What's going on, fellas?
- Whoo!
- Yeah.
- Let's get into this.
- Hey, guys.
- Go time.
- How stressful was that?
- That was awful.
Awful.
- 90 minutes.
- It was awful?
- Awful.
- A little bit tough, huh?
- My nerves got me.
I'll say it all day long.
I was stressed.
I was frazzled up.
I couldn't deliver
some little janky thing.
It just wasn't an option.
So I'm like,
"What can I do in the time?
But I still have
to beat Anthony."
And it's all of a sudden,
you go too big, too much.
- Josh, it does
seem like you had
sort of an upstream battle.
- Yeah.
- Josh, the salmon
drawing's dope.
You got really clean
line work in it.
Some really saturated color.
But is all of it saturated?
It's a little fishy.
That red isn't
all the way punched in,
and I could tell
you were rushing
once you got to the back
of the fish.
- For sure.
- Overall, though,
I freaking love this tattoo.
I think it's rad.
The little strip of negative
that you used
around those frilly gills.
That looks so cool.
Salmon tear-out?
Somehow, it works.
- I just wanted to see a little
bit more creativity with it.
You know what I mean?
Like, we've all seen a dagger.
We've all seen it
a million times.
- There's just a lot more punch
in that than half
a salmon head.
- Hey, it's cut out.
The other half's
in his leg, bro.
- Whatever!
It's your story.
Tell it how you want, so...
- You've got
a ribbon-dancing dagger
on a man's forearm.
- Again, all that talking.
We're here.
It's up to them.
- Anthony, you had a
sort of, like,
samurai sort of flair
to your design.
Really stylized,
with the dagger,
the background, the ribbon.
It's all very cohesive.
- The ribbons that you played--
I like the way they're bouncing
from the front to the back.
That was a good
artistic approach.
I liked the openness that
you left in the blade,
but some of the outline
is a little on the light side,
and the blues in a couple
spots look a little rushed.
Like, it's there,
but it definitely could use--
- More punch.
I agree.
You guys are pointing out
everything that I went
back and forth
about in my mind.
- I mean, hey, you guys clearly
showed up
with some [bleep]
bad-ass 90-minute tattoos.
But we got to figure it out,
because somebody's
getting an advantage.
- Josh has got
some clean lines.
I like that punchiness
of color.
- Anthony's is a way more
technical drawing.
He's got ribbons that are--
- All the tricks.
That are wrapping around.
Yeah.
- I don't know, Josh's design
was pretty unexpected.
- But it's a very simple
fish head with a slit.
- It didn't look simple to me.
- I thought it looked
pretty simple.
- I thought it was
super stylized.
You gave us a
100% Josh Payne tattoo.
My vote is for you.
- Thank you.
Well, I always fall back
on technical.
My vote's for Josh.
- Damn, thank you.
- My vote's for Josh too.
Josh's was just
this much cleaner,
and his color's
a little more punchy.
- I got to bring more, and I
have no problem doing that.
- All right, Josh, you just won
the Face-Off tattoo.
So now, you get to choose
either the style
or the subject matter
for tomorrow's six-hour
grudge match tattoo.
- And the winner of that
grudge match ends everything.
- I sat here
ready to lose that,
so I didn't even really
put any thought
into where this
was about to go.
- What's it gonna be?
- I don't think
there's any point in trying to
throw you under the bus.
And if I'm gonna beat you,
I don't want to
beat you at something
you're not good at.
I want to beat you at you.
I want to see a drawing.
I want to see it fun.
I want to see it cool.
I just want to leave it
under illustrative.
- So a drawn illustration.
All right.
- I love that.
- I love it, too.
- I love it.
- All right.
Well, you guys got
a lot of drawing to do,
So get to work, and let's
see some awesome tattoos.
- Congrats, brother.
- Two seasoned vets.
Two great drawings.
Two great tattoos.
- Tomorrow is gonna be awesome.
- I was called a lot of things
and told a lot of different
stuff about the way I played
the game, and you know what?
I'll play it with integrity,
and I'll play it
fair right now.
- I can honor that, man.
I think I'm going up
against the right competitor,
with all due respect.
- This is personal.
This is one-on-one, man.
- The game's not over.
- Let's see how it plays.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- All right, ladies.
You guys ready
for this six-hour
grudge match tattoo?
- Hell yeah.
- You got your gloves on, Ash?
- Alexis, you ready?
- Absolutely.
- Your time starts now.
[dramatic music]
- All right.
Let's get this on you.
- Alexis called out
new school tattoos.
She's super versed in this.
Ash isn't.
- Let's do it.
- Smart thinking
in a competition.
[dramatic music]
- She does realism,
but I primarily do new school.
I know I've lit a fire
under Ash's butt.
I got the choice.
I made the decision.
I'm gonna make her jump.
I'm gonna make her
work for this.
- Thanks, Alexis.
You're really proving
that you're growing
as a person.
- It looks good, dude.
I mean, for you.
- Oh, my God.
You're such a bitch.
I don't know why I keep letting
this girl get in my head.
Like, I really--the second
I think, like, okay,
we're gonna be on an
even playing field...
God.
[tattoo machine buzzing]
[dramatic music]
- All right, Anthony and Josh.
The ultimate
Ink Master grudge match.
Are you ready?
- Yes, sir.
- Are you ready?
- Game time, baby.
- All right,
you guys have six hours.
Let's tattoo!
- All right, baby.
Hop on up.
Let's get this stencil set.
- All right.
Let's knock this thing out.
- We are in
for an awesome battle.
Josh called illustrative.
I mean, both of these guys
are gonna have to give us
something that is created.
Something that is
gonna be amazing.
- You ready to rock?
- Yeah.
- This is the ultimate
grudge match.
[dramatic music]
- I'm up for a challenge, baby.
Then again, trying to work
with that drawing
you got over there
is probably challenging enough.
- For your dumb ass, probably.
- Don't bring
my intelligence into this.
- I've created this
wolf Hannya demon mask.
My design is all about my
experience here as a coach.
There were seven members
of my team.
This wolf has seven eyes.
- Poor lone wolf over there,
trying to keep his pack alive.
- I felt like I was
fighting for my family.
I have five kids,
and I had a rough upbringing.
So it's always been
very important to me
to just be impactful,
be a leader in any type of way.
- You're going color today?
- Yes.
I'm not gonna go up against
somebody super versatile
and then just kind of,
like, "Eh."
- Yeah?
- Just be comfortable.
I have no idea how
I'm gonna color this tattoo
because I spent so much time
making sure these lines
were perfect.
That it had movement,
it was dynamic.
- Are you gonna make
it up as you go?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- Yeah, pretty much.
- Going with the flow.
I like it.
- Sometimes you have no choice.
[dramatic music]
- I've created essentially
a new aquatic animal.
This is a tattoo that is me
through and through.
It's goofy, it's dumb,
it's crazy.
It's as bright as I could
possibly get it.
It's got all the little flairs.
Everything I got
torn up on yesterday,
I put all the same tricks in.
Which is funny,
because if they just told you
that you [bleep] up,
why would you try it again?
Here I am trying it again.
I want to stand
on my own two feet
and win with my art
or lose with my art,
but I want it to be
with my art.
- What the [bleep]
is this thing?
- It's a big crayfish
serpent beta fish.
Duh!
- It's weird.
Josh, bro, I've
seen you do crazy shit.
You're doing almost
the same face as yesterday?
I would say in a second
challenge in a competition,
you're gonna want to impress
and do something different.
- If I'm doing a drawing
and I'm laughing,
I know I'm gonna have
fun tattooing it,
and there's nothing fun about
going against
Anthony right now.
So any little bit of happiness
I can make myself,
I'm going to.
- Three hours left.
It's halfway.
- God damn it.
- Is it really getting
that hot
in the kitchen there, Ant?
What are you, scared?
- Shut the [bleep] up.
- [laughs]
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- He's so cute.
He's my dog,
and I might be biased,
but he really is the cutest
thing in the entire world.
I can't even take it.
I think this is
coming out cool.
I learned a lot while
I was here.
I taught myself everything,
so when you're just
by yourself,
that's all you know.
It's all you're learning.
- You taught yourself
how to tattoo?
Oh, really?
- Yeah.
- That must be hard.
- I started doing, like,
guest spotting here and there,
because I just, like,
missed to be around
other artists.
Especially here,
It was really nice.
- I mean, that's probably why
it was so important
for you to stay loyal
to your team--
- Oh, yeah, yeah.
- You know what I mean?
- My grudge goes so much
further than tattooing.
Alexis doesn't take me
seriously, and it's obvious.
But there's also a lot
of reasons why she should.
- Three hours.
Three hours.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- So how does it feel
when you get called out
as a non-team player?
- Like, I've just been in this
industry so long that,
like, when I first
started tattooing,
the only thing I learned
was just, like,
nobody's gonna get your back.
Nobody's out there for you.
I do want Ash to see that,
head to head, there's no team.
You have to worry
about yourself.
So I want to see what
she can do alone.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- One hour, guys.
One hour.
[tattoo machine buzzing]
- Ash is super solid right now.
I think the face of
the dog is super cute.
- The line work that Ash put in
is actually
really, really nice.
- It is.
- I really like
Alexis' drawing.
- I think the bear
looks cross-eyed.
One of the eyes is here,
and one of them is here,
and it's not on purpose.
- Okay.
He likes [bleep] cake.
He's probably got diabetes.
- I mean--
- So it's a diabetic [bleep]
wandering-eyed [bleep] bear,
and you're gonna sit
and body judge him?
- [laughs]
- Are you scared that
I'm gonna beat you?
- Girl, you're the cat
with nine lives.
Everybody should be
scared of you.
- [laughs]
- Five, four, three, two, one.
Put 'em down.
Grudge match is over.
That's it.
- So what do you think?
I'm gonna win?
Oh, definitely.
- Hello?
Look at mine.
Look at hers.
Ugh, yikes.
You'd think that I'm the one
who does new school.
- Crazy.
- Super awesome.
- I love it.
- Yay!
Thanks for letting me
do it on you.
It's a bear.
Boom, bear.
- This is something that
you do all the time.
You're a one-trick pony.
- I am not, actually.
I just prefer
to do this style.
- Because it's what
you're good at.
- And because I won.
That was my decision.
- Okay.
- Because I won
that tattoo yesterday, so--
- Okay.
- And you did what you did.
- Mm-hmm.
- I'm done with
this conversation.
- Bye.
- When Alexis won
the advantage yesterday,
she said that she just wants to
have fun with this challenge.
And then, she called out
new school,
which she knows Ash is
not well versed in at all.
- This is her second
new school tattoo.
She's breaking some
bro codes there.
- That's how you win.
- She's looking Ash
dead in the eye
and underhandedly screwing her
with this hard challenge.
That's all I'm saying.
- "Here's one dagger.
Oh, wait. I got one more."
- I'm into it, man.
The more holes the better.
I'm into it.
- Oh, my God.
- Hey, guys.
- Hey.
- You called new school.
- Mm-hmm.
- Knowing she doesn't
do new school.
- That girl can work when she
is put under pressure.
I just think that
you gave me new school
because that's what
you wanted to do,
and I think you should just
come out and say it.
If I could take you
at your word,
then I respect you a lot more.
- Obviously, you guys are still
throwing knives around.
We got to figure out who's
gonna win this grudge match.
Whoever wins ends it all.
- You girls ready
to get into this?
- Yeah.
- Yep.
- Alexis, I really
liked your drawing.
It definitely had
a new school vibe to it.
- My favorite part are the
little paws holding the cake.
The saturation
in those paws is awesome.
The cake is adorable.
- I wish the frosting could
have been a different color.
because when you look at it,
you kind of have to figure out
if it's frosting or if
it's the inside of the mouth.
- Another area is the top
little section panel
that you have of the hat
is colored in purple,
and it's right up next
to that purple background.
Because they're
right next to each other,
you lose that pop of it.
- It was an afterthought.
- Ash.
- I think we didn't hit
all the points on her tattoo,
so we should just--
- Stop!
- Stay there.
- I think you laid down
a super solid tattoo.
- I think the tattoo
is adorable.
I like the
muted color palette.
I love the little hint
of green on the snout.
- But that drool was
in the freezer, girl.
You know what I mean?
It was just, like,
you know, sled dog.
The drool could have
been like, blah.
All over, you know?
You want to exaggerate
them a little more.
- Just let go.
Be silly, be crazy.
Do something wacky.
- Baby steps.
Stepping out of
my comfort zone.
- Baby--hey, you're brand
new to new school.
- She did a good job, man.
Like she always
pulls it out of her ass.
- Can I be honest?
This whole thing was not
that I thought I could
out-tattoo you.
It was that you don't take
my tattooing seriously,
And I can tattoo.
I'm just new at it.
And I just want you
to take me seriously.
Truthfully, that's all
this is about.
- I do take you
as a serious tattooer.
That's absolutely why I gave
you new school.
Because you can handle it.
- I mean, ladies,
there are a million different
ways to play this game.
It's a competition, and today,
you guys let your
tattoos do the talking.
- Okay.
- Ultimately, we had
two great tattoos, but there
can only be one winner.
- Well, here's
the debate for me.
You know, when I first
look at a tattoo,
the first thing that you
look at are the eyes.
And the eyes in Alexis' tattoo,
they kind of
just look like strange,
creepy uncle human eyes.
Ash, the eyes you put in that
tattoo were adorable.
My vote is for you.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- Told you.
- I think you crushed it.
- Thanks.
- Yeah.
- But I really liked
Alexis' tattoo.
I really think it lends more
to that new school style.
My vote's for Alexis.
- Thank you.
- All right, Cleen.
It's one to one.
- [sighs]
- Ball's in your court.
- Man, oh, man.
Why has it got to be me?
All right.
- Deciding factor.
- When I look at
Alexis' tattoo,
I love the cake,
I love the paws.
But I like the color play
in Ash's a lot better.
[dramatic music]
- Want me to start a
drumroll for you?
- What's your vote, dude?
- God, the suspense
is killing me.
[dramatic music]
- Want me to start a
drumroll for you?
- Cleen,
what's your vote, dude?
- God, the suspense
is killing me.
- Damn it.
I'm gonna vote for Alexis.
- Whew.
- Ash, you're definitely
a worthy competitor.
I know guys that have been
tattooing twice as long as you
that couldn't even do
what you did.
But Alexis, your tattoo
is applied flawlessly.
- Thank you.
- Congratulations, Alexis.
This means you won
the grudge match.
[rock music]
♪ ♪
- Whew!
- You barely
squeezed by, though.
That's what I'm saying.
- It's true, it's true.
It feels awesome.
I mean, she always gives me
a run for my money.
She certainly did that today,
and I feel good.
- It feels good to hear
positive things
about my tattooing, obviously.
Love it.
Tell me more.
But to have even
one vote for me,
especially in something
that isn't my style,
it's pretty awesome, so...
- Keep doing what you're
doing, girl.
- Seriously, thank you.
- All right.
- Good job, guys.
- Sweet.
- You guys killed it.
- Congratulations.
- Thanks, thank you so much.
- You did great.
- I appreciate it.
Thank you.
- Is the grudge match over?
- I'm a better person now,
every day, because of you.
- Because of me.
Thank you.
I might not have won,
but I think we can all agree
that morally, I win.
Get off of me.
Get off.
- [laughs]
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- One hour left, guys.
- Cutting it close, man.
- Now, remember, Anthony,
when this all started,
you said that
you were pretty sure
that I was gonna
get inside my own head
and be my own worst enemy,
and that might have
gone the other way.
- No.
Your [bleep] top lip's
allergic to your bottom lip.
- Hey, I've been over here
relatively quiet all tattoo
because I respect
what you can do
and I have to not talk so much
and make sure I tattooed today.
My nerves are through the roof,
and I know it's because of
who I'm looking at.
I know when a guy is
on the same level as I am,
and it's stressing me out bad.
[dramatic music]
- Five, four, three, two, one.
That's it, this Ink Master
grudge match is over.
- [laughs]
- Damn, brother.
Crazy day, but we made it.
- Hell yeah.
I love it.
- You did good, my man.
- Yeah, that's sick.
It looks like a sticker.
- It's all up
to the judging now.
- Let it be known I don't have
to play games to win.
- Bro, you're definitely
an expert
at getting in people's heads.
It did not work today.
- I don't know, man.
I feel pretty [bleep] solid
about proving the fact
that I can sit here and tattoo
alongside anybody I need to
and not worry about it.
- It's not gonna matter until
those judges sing.
- I'm not waiting
for a judge to sing.
I'm looking for
the fat lady to start.
- Start singing.
- [laughs]
Shots fired!
- This is insane right now.
- The caliber of these two
artists is mind-blowing.
And on any given day,
they could go up
against each other and the
outcome's gonna be different.
- Yeah, for sure.
Put two champions
head to head,
somebody's gonna win.
You know?
- What's up, fellas?
- Hey, guys.
- There you go.
- How did it feel going
against each other?
- I've got the utmost respect.
I do believe
he respects my work.
Whether he respected the way
I played the game or not,
that's a different situation.
So I knew that I wanted to
stand here at this point
right now, head to head,
putting out what I can do great
and what he can do great,
and just lay it on the table.
- To be 110% honest,
after today,
there's things
that Josh does in tattooing
that are
[bleep] mind-blowing to me.
I have the goosebumps because
I have now understood that.
- As much as I don't think that
I got in your head,
knowing who
you're competing against sounds
like it humbled you
just the same.
- All right,
Josh is still trying
to get in people's heads,
so let's start with Josh.
- Let's start with Josh.
- Yeah, all right.
- Let's get in Josh's head.
I love seeing
goofy, weird stuff
that all you can say is,
"What is it?",
and you're like, "It's art."
The little textures that you
got in the claws
are super solid.
The fine lines that you got
in the little fins
and that little spine,
that's probably
my favorite
out of the whole thing.
To get that little sheen
and to get that transition
from the yellow over
to that red without being
too blocky and overpowering,
you really nailed that.
- You showed us these super,
super watery color blends,
and it just looks effortless.
- But I'm gonna be honest.
I expected
a little bit different.
That was almost
the same similar head.
Only yesterday it was flat
because you didn't have
time to do all your tricks.
I'm stoked that Anthony
pulled something different
than you always do.
- Look who I'm
going up against.
I had to bring it.
- I like that you got
real wacky with this thing.
- It has personality.
It has style.
I love your color play.
The way you use that purple
to pop the gums
is so unexpected
and weird and cool.
- I like how that
tone comes out
and kind of turns it
into that flame.
- But the flame comes out,
whips around, comes back,
and it just disappears
behind the ear.
Like, it literally just goes--
and then you're like--
it's not believable that they
would have vanished that fast.
But overall,
the drawing is great.
The application of the tattoo,
pretty damn bulletproof.
I don't think either
of you guys
snowballed each other
to give us an easy decision.
- We have to come
to a conclusion
on which one of these
is gonna win this thing.
I love Josh's saturation,
but Anthony's colors
worked so well together.
- I just love how subtle and
bold it is at the same time.
I would totally rock
this tattoo.
Josh, I would not
rock that tattoo,
but it is laid in
so nice, dude.
My vote is for Josh.
- Anthony showed something
that he doesn't always do,
and it was clean,
and it was solid.
My vote's for you, Anthony.
- Man, I needed that.
- One for one.
- Tiebreaker.
- It all comes down
to you, Cleen.
- Oh, great.
Both of these are
super creative
and out of the box,
tattooed with
flawless application.
- And I went technical
as [bleep].
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
I'm gonna have to go with Josh.
Anthony's is great.
Those flames just
leave a little question.
- That was close.
- Josh Payne,
you're the winner
of the grudge match.
- Thank you very,
very much, guys.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Maybe you guys might
get along now.
- [groans]
- Come on, let's go talk
for a while.
We got a lot to say.
- No, man, it's all good.
For it to be that close
against Josh Payne,
just knowing that in one
of those claws,
there's probably
ten colors in there.
That's something I haven't
[bleep] mastered yet,
but I'll be back.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you, sir.
- In this competition,
it's little subtleties
like a technical trick
that's gonna set one artist
apart from another.
- Trust me, I'd wear his before
I'd have worn mine.
I'm so proud,
and more than anything,
to be able to win against a guy
that I do admire and respect
is that much larger
of an accomplishment.
- Let's go get some sushi.
- I'm all fished out, bro.
- [laughs]
- All right.
- Let's do this thing.
- Bye, guys.
- Take care.
- Man, that was insane.
- Whoo!
[rock music]
In 12 jaw-dropping seasons
of "Ink Master," we've
witnessed amazing artistry...
- Shut the [bleep] up!
announcer: Insane rivalries--
- [bleep] mother[bleep].
announcer:
And wild personalities.
- Any [bleep] camera follows
me, I swear to God.
I don't give a [bleep].
I will break
that mother[bleep].
announcer: Now, three iconic
"Ink Master" champions--
Ryan Ashley, DJ Tambe,
and Cleen Rock One
have risen to judge status,
deciding grudges between
some of the competition's
most furious rivals.
- Are we gonna hash it our
like grown men,
or are you gonna get
in my face again?
- Let's tattoo!
announcer: These foes will
have the opportunity
to settle the score
once and for all.
- I can be in your face.
I can be in your face, too.
- Okay, okay.
- Let's do it.
- Guys, guys, guys, guys.
- We can do it all day.
- Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
I don't think
that grudge is over.
I think it just got worse.
[dramatic music]
announcer:
Tonight, two epic feuds
will come to a head.
It's honorable competitors
versus their
cutthroat counterparts,
and the grudges
will be settled now.
♪ ♪
was betrayed by her teammate,
Alexis Kovacs.
- You threw me under the bus.
- This isn't "Friend Master."
- Well, you didn't
make friends, don't worry.
- [hissing]
announcer: And will now fight
to earn the respect
of the backstabbing veteran.
- I can tattoo.
I'm just new at it,
and I just want you
to take me seriously.
♪ ♪
- All right, guys, so we have
a ladies' battle today.
Ash and Alexis.
- Being a girls vs. guys
camaraderie between teams
fell apart.
Out the window.
- When these teams
come together, and you're
all playing together.
But ultimately, one person
is gonna win, and that's it.
- Yeah.
- It's like, are you loyal
to your teammate, or do you see
an opportunity and push ahead?
It's tough to decide.
- I guess, for some girls,
they could still
sharpen up the blade
and put it right in the spine.
Each of you must call out
one additional artist
to join the Face-Off.
- I'm gonna call Ash.
- She's, like, bitch!
- Like, obviously,
I'm pissed off
that my own teammate
put me in the bottom.
- It's a game, man.
Like, can't we just
put that stuff aside?
- Do I think
that you're somebody
that I'm gonna continue
a friendship with,
or that I'm gonna
trust in the future?
No.
- That's a huge
stab in the back, to bring one
of your teammates down there.
This is gonna be a fight.
- Hell yeah.
- Good boy.
I'm not, like, a team person
as far as, like, sports go,
you know, obviously.
But when it comes to, like,
the loyalty of a team,
I will never take anyone else
down with me, you know?
I'm calling Alexis out
because I want to prove to her
that integrity can win this.
It doesn't have to
be fought in a dirty manner.
[dramatic music]
- It's perfect, look at that.
Cheers.
- Cheers to that.
- Oh!
- Drink up, buttercup.
- Oh, drink up.
Ash has this whole thing
about loyalty and morals
and this and that
and being a team member,
and we should all
die together, and it's like,
I just--
I'm not here for that.
Girl, it's a competition.
My little baby.
You need to just
worry about yourself,
and she just literally
cannot comprehend that
and thinks I'm an asshole
because I feel that way.
[dramatic music]
Oh, wow.
Back here again.
- She's, like, ready.
- I just cannot wait
to see what Ash
has to say to me.
- Ooh, see?
- Here we go.
- They're getting
feisty already.
- It's the undertone
you have to look out for.
- Oh!
- [gasps]
- Look who it is.
If it isn't
America's best teammate.
- The girl with nine lives.
- [hissing]
- I see we still have a
little bit of a grudge, huh?
- I just don't like the person
that you are.
- Oh!
- Oh, yeah?
- You threw me under the bus
the first chance that you got,
and now you want me to just
forgive you
like everything's cool.
- It's just playing the game.
This isn't "Friend Master."
I'm not trying
to make friends here.
- Well, you didn't
make friends, don't worry.
- Look at that face.
Just a mean frown.
- Game aside,
I'm just the type of person
where I have morals,
and I go off that.
- I understand that,
but unfortunately,
that just doesn't get you
anywhere in this game.
- They're talking about morals,
like, as a person.
I mean, this is pretty deep.
- Well, it was pretty deep.
- It's definitely
a personal grudge for sure.
- Are we--
Let's go settle this
and get it going.
- Yeah.
- Let's find out
what's actually up.
- I did what I did.
There's no going back.
- That's great, Alexis.
I'm glad that you're proud
of your decision,
but I stand by my morals, and--
- Come on, fireballs.
You better get ready
for a big old competition.
You guys are gonna sit there
and whine all day?
Man, you guys got some beef.
- I'm just the type of person
where I'm gonna stick up
for my team and my girls,
and she has not an ounce
of that in her body.
- It's a game.
Am I wrong?
This is a game.
I played it.
- There's always two sides
of every story,
so you guys want to throw down?
- Oh, yeah.
- Let's do it.
- We are giving you
the opportunity
to settle all of this.
We're gonna throw at you
a 90-minute Face-Off tattoo.
Head to head, just you ladies,
where we get to pick what you
girls will be tattooing today.
Total level playing field.
No bullshit.
- Oh, damn.
- 90 minutes?
That's not enough
time to do anything.
That's not even enough time
for me to put my hair in.
- Whoever wins
gets a huge advantage.
You're going to be able to
choose either the style
or the subject matter that
the both of you have to tattoo
in tomorrow's six-hour
grudge match tattoo.
- Hmm, I'll take that.
- Well.
- This is a huge advantage.
I can really
set Ash up for failure.
If I pick something that
she is not comfortable with,
that could get in her head.
- And the winner of that
grudge match ends it all.
- Buries those skeletons
and ends this grudge.
- About time.
- Don't talk to me.
- I mean, what do you think
we should give them?
- I feel like it's a catfight,
and we should do some cats.
- 90-minute cat tats.
- Okay.
- 90-minute cat tats.
- [hissing]
- All right.
- Go get 'em.
Come on, why aren't
you guys drawing yet?
- Yeah.
Get to work!
[dramatic music]
I'll tell you right now,
this is gonna be insane.
- I think they're gonna
throw down.
- You think?
- Let's see how you do
without your precious team.
- Well, I just don't understand
why you're talking to me.
♪ ♪
announcer: In our
second grudge,
season 10's zen master coach,
Anthony Michaels,
saw his team taken out
by the cunning strategist,
Josh Payne.
- If there was a "Talk Master,"
it's all you.
But that silver tongue,
it's not working today.
- I'm on
the same platform as you,
so don't walk around here
like you're better and bigger.
announcer: And now,
Anthony's out for revenge.
- Look who I'm
going up against.
I had to bring it.
♪ ♪
- All right, I mean,
this is pretty crazy, guys.
Two Ink Masters have beef.
It doesn't get
any more epic than that.
- Oh, I'm excited about today.
- What are these guys
even arguing about?
- Well, the thing is, Josh is
really good at manipulation,
and that's a skill in itself.
- Yes.
- Anthony's a gentleman.
He likes to play by the rules,
very by the book.
And Josh is throwing
all these tricks at him,
and I think Anthony's
just like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa.
What rulebook
are you following?"
- That's where this grudge
stemmed from.
- This competition
is full of adversity,
which is what I
was brought up from.
I'm here to help all of you be
the best you that you can be.
- In this industry,
a lot of people,
even though
there are competitions,
they tend to kind of
shy away from it.
So when they see me
coming in being competitive,
they're like, "Oh, this dude's
just an asshole."
It's like, no, man.
If there's a prize to win,
I'm gonna win it.
I pushed buttons,
and it worked.
I'm still here, and I'm
gonna keep fighting.
- Then we're gonna gun at you.
I'm gonna do everything I can
to shit on your world.
That's just the way
the game goes.
[dramatic music]
This grudge match
is all about revenge.
One of my biggest goals
is to show Josh
you don't have to be a dick.
You don't have to be loud.
Look, we're here to tattoo.
I really want this shop
to be relaxing,
balanced, comfortable.
A place of positivity.
If this was a yelling match,
Josh might have
the upper hand.
But that's not
what we're here for.
I'm gonna
let him run his mouth,
I'm gonna do a bad-ass tattoo,
and I'm gonna give Josh
a run for his money.
[rock music]
- Do your shoulders hurt?
Because you've just got to
carry the weight of that crowd.
- How many times
have your clients come in,
and they're like,
"You're not as big a dick as
I thought you were gonna be"?
- They all say that.
I won the title of Ink Master
kind of on a question mark.
A lot of people think I won
with my mouth and not my work.
This will be my chance to
really prove how good I am,
and the fact that I deserve it.
[dramatic music]
We're back again.
- Look at the loafers.
- Man.
- He's going on a cruise.
- People that rock those
don't give a [bleep].
- They don't.
- Oh, Mr. Payne.
- Look who showed up late.
Come down here.
Let's have a conversation.
Like adults, if you know
how to do that.
- I'm not good at it.
- Well, I know.
I know you were hell-bent
on taking my team out,
and your strong point
was this mental warfare.
- I'm the best.
I knew I was the best.
I came in to win
this whole thing.
I am who I am for a reason,
and I do what I do.
- As I told you then,
and I'm gonna tell you now,
you're screwed.
- Anthony's calmness
is a bit intimidating.
It's a whole different kind
of mind trickery.
- I'm representing
all those artists
that should have taken you out.
I'm here to finish the job.
- Let's go.
- All right, we got to--
- Let's get in there.
- One last wolf to take out.
- That silver tongue,
it's great.
It's not working today.
- Yeah, boys!
- Uh-oh.
- Look at this matchup.
- Hey, guys.
- This should be interesting.
- This is epic.
I mean, I wore
a fancy shirt today.
- It's gonna be
a bloodbath, man.
I'm not representing
just myself.
I'm representing my team.
I have a lot to lose.
- I took out his entire team,
and there's one last wolf
to kick out of the pack.
- Honestly, may
the best man win.
- This is what we're gonna do.
We're gonna even
the playing field.
No one has the upper hand.
We're gonna give you guys
a 90-minute Face-Off tattoo--
- All right.
- Where we decide
what you're gonna be tattooing.
- The winner of that
Face-Off tattoo
gets to pick the style
or the subject matter
for a six-hour
grudge match tattoo.
- That's big.
- That's a big game-changer.
- And whoever wins this
six-hour grudge match tattoo
settles the score.
Ends it all.
- That's it.
- [exhales]
- I haven't done a small
tattoo in years.
- Well, today's the day.
- Legitimately.
I talk for 90 minutes a tattoo.
Like, when am I
supposed to work?
- Definitely gonna take this
to the wire, then.
I think it's safe to say.
- What are we gonna give them?
- How about we
let them surprise us?
- What do you mean?
- Like, what?
- So don't pick any anything?
- They're Ink Masters.
- I'm down with that.
- The worst thing you
can tell me to do...
- Is anything you want to do.
- Is anything I want to do.
- Oh!
- Maybe that's
the biggest challenge.
- [groans]
- You guys
don't got much time to draw.
You want to start drawing?
- That might be a good idea.
- Get to work!
- I be gone.
- Like--
- Good luck, guys.
- Let's do it.
- Oh, man.
- Let the tournament begin.
- Oh, man!
- Oh, what do I do?
- I mean, I'm surprised
you're a little thrown off.
- The problem is I got
too many things in my head.
I just got to rein myself
in a little bit.
This is not "Idea Master"
or "Drawing Master" right now.
It's tattooing, and that's
when I'm showing up, bud.
- We'll see.
- We will.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- All right, fellas.
You guys ready
to get this started?
- Yes, sir.
- Born ready.
- Anthony,
cool, calm, and collected?
- Walk in the park, baby.
- Josh, you got
the jitters out?
- I'm good.
- Got the duct tape?
- That I can't promise.
- You guys get to do
whatever you want
in this 90-minute Face-Off.
Your time, it starts right now.
- Let's go.
Check that out, dude.
- Ah, I like it.
It looks good.
- This is gonna be
a cool tattoo.
- Anthony Michaels
and Josh Payne, man.
This is two Ink Masters.
This 90-minute Face-Off tattoo
is to get them
back into the game.
- All right, Daddy.
Let's do it.
- An hour and a half
might take a while
if you're, you know,
watching a movie.
But in here, that clock ticks.
- In art, apparently, you're
not allowed to be competitive.
Everyone's--"Why have you got
to be like that?"
I go...
- Yeah.
- I want to win.
- Exactly.
- Josh is like that dog in a
neighborhood that just barks.
- I got thrown
every single curveball
they could have thrown,
and at this point,
if I got to
take out the coach...
- Yeah.
- Got to do what I got to do.
- All the time.
- Time to put an end to
the reign of the wolf pack.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- All right, Ash, Alexis.
You guys got 90 minutes
to do catty tatties.
You ready to get
this catfight started?
- Absolutely.
- Let's do it.
- All right.
Let's tattoo!
- Ow!
[rock music]
- You ready?
- Ready.
- I'm doing a black and gray
realistic cat portrait.
I'm gonna do it
nice and small,
but still make sure that
I focus on the details.
The fact that I get to do
what I want to do,
I feel confident.
- In case you didn't know,
that's what a real
tattoo machine sounds like.
- Sorry, can't hear you.
This is what I do every day.
This is what I'm good at.
Alexis is gonna learn today.
[dramatic music]
[tattoo machines buzzing]
- Color.
- Already?
- A 90-minute tattoo
can throw you off
way more than you realize,
because you could do a design,
and it looks like it's small.
But if it has a lot
of detail in it,
that's where you have
to realize as an artist,
"What are the
most important things
that need to be
in this tattoo?"
My biggest concern
is just making sure
that it's
technically solid as hell.
Fastest tattoo I've ever
done in my life.
- All right, we are already
down to one hour.
Only 60 minutes left, ladies.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Hi.
- Hi.
- How's it going?
- Cat tats.
- 56 minutes, huh?
- Yeah.
- Ash is doing a portrait.
A portrait, in 90 minutes!
Doing a cat portrait
in general is tough,
because of all of
the fur and texture.
But in 90 minutes?
I mean, that's insane!
- It looked, like,
small and easy to do.
- You have got to get
a move on, baby.
- I know.
90 minutes just goes so fast.
[tattoo machine buzzing]
[rock music]
[tattoo machine buzzing]
[dramatic music]
- You gonna finish, Ash?
- If you stop talking
to me, yeah.
- We'll see, girl.
- I would never, like,
say that to her.
- If this was
a morals competition,
I would win, period.
[dramatic music]
- I can't lose this.
I have a chance
to put this little girl
in her place.
[dramatic music]
- Here we go.
Five, four, three, two, one.
That's it, ladies.
Machines down.
- Sweet.
- Oh, I love it.
- It's pretty darn cute.
- It's so cute.
- If I do say so myself.
- It looks awesome.
- It's so cute!
- Oh, I love him.
Thank you so much.
- Thanks for letting me
do a cat tat.
- Absolutely.
- How do you think
you did, dude?
- You can't really go wrong
with cat tats, so...
- You should have done
a scaredy cat,
because you seem
pretty scared right now.
- I'm not scared
in the slightest bit,
so I don't know
what you're talking about.
- I'm just, you know,
reading the room.
- What's up?
- How was the catfight?
- It was good.
- 90 minutes.
- Super fast.
- No joke.
- Whoever wins this
has a huge advantage
for tomorrow's six-hour
grudge match tattoo.
- Somebody gets to pick the
subject or the style.
I mean, that's a big deal.
- Yeah, absolutely.
- That's a huge deal.
- Honestly, I think
the biggest surprise of the day
was your tattoo, Ash.
There was a lot of moments
in this tattoo
that I think
are really, really pretty.
You have the dark, black fur
with the medium fur.
Really nice, flowing,
crisscrossing with each other.
- But you can definitely see
that you started at the bottom,
and it's real detailed.
And then once you kind
of get to the top,
and that one ear,
it's, like, Motown.
- The right ear
kind of goes flat.
- The 90 minutes
got me a little.
I got to be honest.
- What you pulled off
in 90 minutes
was actually really impressive.
- Thank you.
- Alexis, your tattoo
was definitely sharp.
- Thanks.
- I love that
little drawing, man.
- I like how you built up all
your shapes
and everything
with just color.
- The one thing I wasn't a huge
fan of was the star necklace.
You really
have to look for it,
because it's the same color
as the body.
- The two tattoos
that you ladies did today,
they couldn't be
any more different.
- We got to figure this
out, because, uh--
- I don't know.
This is a tough one.
- I think Ash did
an awesome tattoo,
and the shading is really nice.
But I'm gonna vote for Alexis.
The overall saturation,
it's super solid.
That's the only thing
that I'm going off of.
- Because I know how hard
black and gray realism is.
For 90 minutes, it was really,
really awesome.
But I can't argue
with how bulletproof
your tattoo was, Alexis.
[dramatic music]
I'm gonna have to go
with Alexis.
- Ah!
- Congratulations, Alexis.
- Thank you.
- You won.
- That's awesome.
I think Alexis
got a little more creative.
- But Ash, I want to say,
you did an awesome tattoo.
- Thank you.
- I mean, very impressed.
- To hear you guys say
that my tattoo was good--
I mean, I'm good.
I'm happy.
- No matter what she throws
at you, you better bring it.
- I'm gonna.
- Alexis, that's a big win.
- Yep.
- You got the advantage.
- What style or subject
are you picking
for your six-hour grudge
match tattoo?
- This is
a really tough decision.
Um, I want to have fun with it.
Um, I think I'm going to
go with...
new school.
- New school?
- New school.
- New school?
- Yep.
- Ooh.
- I just--I want to have
a fun competition.
I don't want to do anything
that's just gonna be,
like, generally boring.
- That is a bunch of bullshit.
I want to punch her
in the head, bitch slap her.
Like, I don't know.
All of it all at once.
- Do you do a lot of
new school tattoos?
- On the competition,
I did my first one, so...
- So this is the second one?
- Have you done more
since then?
- A lot of people don't come
to me for that at home.
It's, like, you know.
- It's pretty far away
from the style that you do.
- Yeah. I'm just used to
it with her, so...
- Whoo!
- Hey, old habits die hard.
- This is your time to shine.
To show everybody
what you're made of.
- Remember, ladies,
whoever wins this grudge match
ends it all.
Good luck.
- Have a good night, guys.
- Cool.
- Get to work.
- Thank you.
- Oh, man.
New school tattoos?
Oh, I'm pumped.
- So, it's pretty
typical of you.
You're kind of showing me
that you're a one-trick pony
when it comes
to the morals department.
- You called me out, girl.
I'm here to play.
I'm here to throw down.
- Well, good luck.
- You too.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Competing against somebody
to his level and ability,
it's not gonna be,
"Who did a shitty tattoo?"
It's gonna be, "Who did
a little bit better one?"
I can tattoo with
the best of the best,
but I'm also not an idiot.
I know my competitor.
I really want to make sure
I do a solid tattoo,
but I also want to put some
tricks and some flair in it,
because I think I'm gonna need
that little advantage.
I will say it's been a while
since I've
been nervous tattooing.
- 60 minutes, guys.
60 minutes.
- Ah, [bleep].
[dramatic music]
- Oh, you're doing a
pop of color, huh?
- Oh, yeah.
- Huh.
I expected you to
go black and gray.
- I wanted to, but, I mean,
look who I'm going against.
Black and gray is my go-to,
but Josh is probably
gonna have 100 colors.
So I'm gonna take a risk.
- Color definitely takes
a little bit longer
than black and gray.
- Oh, yeah.
So do you think we
should leave him alone, or...
- 30 minutes, guys.
30 minutes left.
- Somebody sped that clock up.
No big deal.
I only have, like, a
half a fish to color.
I [bleep] up.
I spent way too much time
doing this line work,
and now, I'm down to
a fraction of what's left,
and I have to color about half
of this fish still.
This is crazy
how fast this time went.
I need a puke bucket,
because I feel like
I'm gonna throw up right now.
[bleep] this clock.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- 15 minutes to go.
- Oh, [bleep].
- [laughs]
- Can we just, like--
just rewind that clock
a little bit?
- How about you [bleep]
rewind your mouth?
[dramatic music]
- Five, four, three, two, one.
Put 'em down!
- [bleep] that.
That was the most
stressful thing.
- Looks good, though.
- Pushed the envelope.
- I really like it.
- You could definitely
cut some fish
in half pretty easy.
- I've never worked that fast
in my [bleep] life.
- You were talking,
"Oh, the [bleep] little rules.
I took out the rules..."
- Yeah, I was talking shit--
- "I did this."
- To people that
weren't Ink Masters.
I didn't know
you were listening.
- What's going on, fellas?
- Whoo!
- Yeah.
- Let's get into this.
- Hey, guys.
- Go time.
- How stressful was that?
- That was awful.
Awful.
- 90 minutes.
- It was awful?
- Awful.
- A little bit tough, huh?
- My nerves got me.
I'll say it all day long.
I was stressed.
I was frazzled up.
I couldn't deliver
some little janky thing.
It just wasn't an option.
So I'm like,
"What can I do in the time?
But I still have
to beat Anthony."
And it's all of a sudden,
you go too big, too much.
- Josh, it does
seem like you had
sort of an upstream battle.
- Yeah.
- Josh, the salmon
drawing's dope.
You got really clean
line work in it.
Some really saturated color.
But is all of it saturated?
It's a little fishy.
That red isn't
all the way punched in,
and I could tell
you were rushing
once you got to the back
of the fish.
- For sure.
- Overall, though,
I freaking love this tattoo.
I think it's rad.
The little strip of negative
that you used
around those frilly gills.
That looks so cool.
Salmon tear-out?
Somehow, it works.
- I just wanted to see a little
bit more creativity with it.
You know what I mean?
Like, we've all seen a dagger.
We've all seen it
a million times.
- There's just a lot more punch
in that than half
a salmon head.
- Hey, it's cut out.
The other half's
in his leg, bro.
- Whatever!
It's your story.
Tell it how you want, so...
- You've got
a ribbon-dancing dagger
on a man's forearm.
- Again, all that talking.
We're here.
It's up to them.
- Anthony, you had a
sort of, like,
samurai sort of flair
to your design.
Really stylized,
with the dagger,
the background, the ribbon.
It's all very cohesive.
- The ribbons that you played--
I like the way they're bouncing
from the front to the back.
That was a good
artistic approach.
I liked the openness that
you left in the blade,
but some of the outline
is a little on the light side,
and the blues in a couple
spots look a little rushed.
Like, it's there,
but it definitely could use--
- More punch.
I agree.
You guys are pointing out
everything that I went
back and forth
about in my mind.
- I mean, hey, you guys clearly
showed up
with some [bleep]
bad-ass 90-minute tattoos.
But we got to figure it out,
because somebody's
getting an advantage.
- Josh has got
some clean lines.
I like that punchiness
of color.
- Anthony's is a way more
technical drawing.
He's got ribbons that are--
- All the tricks.
That are wrapping around.
Yeah.
- I don't know, Josh's design
was pretty unexpected.
- But it's a very simple
fish head with a slit.
- It didn't look simple to me.
- I thought it looked
pretty simple.
- I thought it was
super stylized.
You gave us a
100% Josh Payne tattoo.
My vote is for you.
- Thank you.
Well, I always fall back
on technical.
My vote's for Josh.
- Damn, thank you.
- My vote's for Josh too.
Josh's was just
this much cleaner,
and his color's
a little more punchy.
- I got to bring more, and I
have no problem doing that.
- All right, Josh, you just won
the Face-Off tattoo.
So now, you get to choose
either the style
or the subject matter
for tomorrow's six-hour
grudge match tattoo.
- And the winner of that
grudge match ends everything.
- I sat here
ready to lose that,
so I didn't even really
put any thought
into where this
was about to go.
- What's it gonna be?
- I don't think
there's any point in trying to
throw you under the bus.
And if I'm gonna beat you,
I don't want to
beat you at something
you're not good at.
I want to beat you at you.
I want to see a drawing.
I want to see it fun.
I want to see it cool.
I just want to leave it
under illustrative.
- So a drawn illustration.
All right.
- I love that.
- I love it, too.
- I love it.
- All right.
Well, you guys got
a lot of drawing to do,
So get to work, and let's
see some awesome tattoos.
- Congrats, brother.
- Two seasoned vets.
Two great drawings.
Two great tattoos.
- Tomorrow is gonna be awesome.
- I was called a lot of things
and told a lot of different
stuff about the way I played
the game, and you know what?
I'll play it with integrity,
and I'll play it
fair right now.
- I can honor that, man.
I think I'm going up
against the right competitor,
with all due respect.
- This is personal.
This is one-on-one, man.
- The game's not over.
- Let's see how it plays.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- All right, ladies.
You guys ready
for this six-hour
grudge match tattoo?
- Hell yeah.
- You got your gloves on, Ash?
- Alexis, you ready?
- Absolutely.
- Your time starts now.
[dramatic music]
- All right.
Let's get this on you.
- Alexis called out
new school tattoos.
She's super versed in this.
Ash isn't.
- Let's do it.
- Smart thinking
in a competition.
[dramatic music]
- She does realism,
but I primarily do new school.
I know I've lit a fire
under Ash's butt.
I got the choice.
I made the decision.
I'm gonna make her jump.
I'm gonna make her
work for this.
- Thanks, Alexis.
You're really proving
that you're growing
as a person.
- It looks good, dude.
I mean, for you.
- Oh, my God.
You're such a bitch.
I don't know why I keep letting
this girl get in my head.
Like, I really--the second
I think, like, okay,
we're gonna be on an
even playing field...
God.
[tattoo machine buzzing]
[dramatic music]
- All right, Anthony and Josh.
The ultimate
Ink Master grudge match.
Are you ready?
- Yes, sir.
- Are you ready?
- Game time, baby.
- All right,
you guys have six hours.
Let's tattoo!
- All right, baby.
Hop on up.
Let's get this stencil set.
- All right.
Let's knock this thing out.
- We are in
for an awesome battle.
Josh called illustrative.
I mean, both of these guys
are gonna have to give us
something that is created.
Something that is
gonna be amazing.
- You ready to rock?
- Yeah.
- This is the ultimate
grudge match.
[dramatic music]
- I'm up for a challenge, baby.
Then again, trying to work
with that drawing
you got over there
is probably challenging enough.
- For your dumb ass, probably.
- Don't bring
my intelligence into this.
- I've created this
wolf Hannya demon mask.
My design is all about my
experience here as a coach.
There were seven members
of my team.
This wolf has seven eyes.
- Poor lone wolf over there,
trying to keep his pack alive.
- I felt like I was
fighting for my family.
I have five kids,
and I had a rough upbringing.
So it's always been
very important to me
to just be impactful,
be a leader in any type of way.
- You're going color today?
- Yes.
I'm not gonna go up against
somebody super versatile
and then just kind of,
like, "Eh."
- Yeah?
- Just be comfortable.
I have no idea how
I'm gonna color this tattoo
because I spent so much time
making sure these lines
were perfect.
That it had movement,
it was dynamic.
- Are you gonna make
it up as you go?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- Yeah, pretty much.
- Going with the flow.
I like it.
- Sometimes you have no choice.
[dramatic music]
- I've created essentially
a new aquatic animal.
This is a tattoo that is me
through and through.
It's goofy, it's dumb,
it's crazy.
It's as bright as I could
possibly get it.
It's got all the little flairs.
Everything I got
torn up on yesterday,
I put all the same tricks in.
Which is funny,
because if they just told you
that you [bleep] up,
why would you try it again?
Here I am trying it again.
I want to stand
on my own two feet
and win with my art
or lose with my art,
but I want it to be
with my art.
- What the [bleep]
is this thing?
- It's a big crayfish
serpent beta fish.
Duh!
- It's weird.
Josh, bro, I've
seen you do crazy shit.
You're doing almost
the same face as yesterday?
I would say in a second
challenge in a competition,
you're gonna want to impress
and do something different.
- If I'm doing a drawing
and I'm laughing,
I know I'm gonna have
fun tattooing it,
and there's nothing fun about
going against
Anthony right now.
So any little bit of happiness
I can make myself,
I'm going to.
- Three hours left.
It's halfway.
- God damn it.
- Is it really getting
that hot
in the kitchen there, Ant?
What are you, scared?
- Shut the [bleep] up.
- [laughs]
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- He's so cute.
He's my dog,
and I might be biased,
but he really is the cutest
thing in the entire world.
I can't even take it.
I think this is
coming out cool.
I learned a lot while
I was here.
I taught myself everything,
so when you're just
by yourself,
that's all you know.
It's all you're learning.
- You taught yourself
how to tattoo?
Oh, really?
- Yeah.
- That must be hard.
- I started doing, like,
guest spotting here and there,
because I just, like,
missed to be around
other artists.
Especially here,
It was really nice.
- I mean, that's probably why
it was so important
for you to stay loyal
to your team--
- Oh, yeah, yeah.
- You know what I mean?
- My grudge goes so much
further than tattooing.
Alexis doesn't take me
seriously, and it's obvious.
But there's also a lot
of reasons why she should.
- Three hours.
Three hours.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- So how does it feel
when you get called out
as a non-team player?
- Like, I've just been in this
industry so long that,
like, when I first
started tattooing,
the only thing I learned
was just, like,
nobody's gonna get your back.
Nobody's out there for you.
I do want Ash to see that,
head to head, there's no team.
You have to worry
about yourself.
So I want to see what
she can do alone.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- One hour, guys.
One hour.
[tattoo machine buzzing]
- Ash is super solid right now.
I think the face of
the dog is super cute.
- The line work that Ash put in
is actually
really, really nice.
- It is.
- I really like
Alexis' drawing.
- I think the bear
looks cross-eyed.
One of the eyes is here,
and one of them is here,
and it's not on purpose.
- Okay.
He likes [bleep] cake.
He's probably got diabetes.
- I mean--
- So it's a diabetic [bleep]
wandering-eyed [bleep] bear,
and you're gonna sit
and body judge him?
- [laughs]
- Are you scared that
I'm gonna beat you?
- Girl, you're the cat
with nine lives.
Everybody should be
scared of you.
- [laughs]
- Five, four, three, two, one.
Put 'em down.
Grudge match is over.
That's it.
- So what do you think?
I'm gonna win?
Oh, definitely.
- Hello?
Look at mine.
Look at hers.
Ugh, yikes.
You'd think that I'm the one
who does new school.
- Crazy.
- Super awesome.
- I love it.
- Yay!
Thanks for letting me
do it on you.
It's a bear.
Boom, bear.
- This is something that
you do all the time.
You're a one-trick pony.
- I am not, actually.
I just prefer
to do this style.
- Because it's what
you're good at.
- And because I won.
That was my decision.
- Okay.
- Because I won
that tattoo yesterday, so--
- Okay.
- And you did what you did.
- Mm-hmm.
- I'm done with
this conversation.
- Bye.
- When Alexis won
the advantage yesterday,
she said that she just wants to
have fun with this challenge.
And then, she called out
new school,
which she knows Ash is
not well versed in at all.
- This is her second
new school tattoo.
She's breaking some
bro codes there.
- That's how you win.
- She's looking Ash
dead in the eye
and underhandedly screwing her
with this hard challenge.
That's all I'm saying.
- "Here's one dagger.
Oh, wait. I got one more."
- I'm into it, man.
The more holes the better.
I'm into it.
- Oh, my God.
- Hey, guys.
- Hey.
- You called new school.
- Mm-hmm.
- Knowing she doesn't
do new school.
- That girl can work when she
is put under pressure.
I just think that
you gave me new school
because that's what
you wanted to do,
and I think you should just
come out and say it.
If I could take you
at your word,
then I respect you a lot more.
- Obviously, you guys are still
throwing knives around.
We got to figure out who's
gonna win this grudge match.
Whoever wins ends it all.
- You girls ready
to get into this?
- Yeah.
- Yep.
- Alexis, I really
liked your drawing.
It definitely had
a new school vibe to it.
- My favorite part are the
little paws holding the cake.
The saturation
in those paws is awesome.
The cake is adorable.
- I wish the frosting could
have been a different color.
because when you look at it,
you kind of have to figure out
if it's frosting or if
it's the inside of the mouth.
- Another area is the top
little section panel
that you have of the hat
is colored in purple,
and it's right up next
to that purple background.
Because they're
right next to each other,
you lose that pop of it.
- It was an afterthought.
- Ash.
- I think we didn't hit
all the points on her tattoo,
so we should just--
- Stop!
- Stay there.
- I think you laid down
a super solid tattoo.
- I think the tattoo
is adorable.
I like the
muted color palette.
I love the little hint
of green on the snout.
- But that drool was
in the freezer, girl.
You know what I mean?
It was just, like,
you know, sled dog.
The drool could have
been like, blah.
All over, you know?
You want to exaggerate
them a little more.
- Just let go.
Be silly, be crazy.
Do something wacky.
- Baby steps.
Stepping out of
my comfort zone.
- Baby--hey, you're brand
new to new school.
- She did a good job, man.
Like she always
pulls it out of her ass.
- Can I be honest?
This whole thing was not
that I thought I could
out-tattoo you.
It was that you don't take
my tattooing seriously,
And I can tattoo.
I'm just new at it.
And I just want you
to take me seriously.
Truthfully, that's all
this is about.
- I do take you
as a serious tattooer.
That's absolutely why I gave
you new school.
Because you can handle it.
- I mean, ladies,
there are a million different
ways to play this game.
It's a competition, and today,
you guys let your
tattoos do the talking.
- Okay.
- Ultimately, we had
two great tattoos, but there
can only be one winner.
- Well, here's
the debate for me.
You know, when I first
look at a tattoo,
the first thing that you
look at are the eyes.
And the eyes in Alexis' tattoo,
they kind of
just look like strange,
creepy uncle human eyes.
Ash, the eyes you put in that
tattoo were adorable.
My vote is for you.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- Told you.
- I think you crushed it.
- Thanks.
- Yeah.
- But I really liked
Alexis' tattoo.
I really think it lends more
to that new school style.
My vote's for Alexis.
- Thank you.
- All right, Cleen.
It's one to one.
- [sighs]
- Ball's in your court.
- Man, oh, man.
Why has it got to be me?
All right.
- Deciding factor.
- When I look at
Alexis' tattoo,
I love the cake,
I love the paws.
But I like the color play
in Ash's a lot better.
[dramatic music]
- Want me to start a
drumroll for you?
- What's your vote, dude?
- God, the suspense
is killing me.
[dramatic music]
- Want me to start a
drumroll for you?
- Cleen,
what's your vote, dude?
- God, the suspense
is killing me.
- Damn it.
I'm gonna vote for Alexis.
- Whew.
- Ash, you're definitely
a worthy competitor.
I know guys that have been
tattooing twice as long as you
that couldn't even do
what you did.
But Alexis, your tattoo
is applied flawlessly.
- Thank you.
- Congratulations, Alexis.
This means you won
the grudge match.
[rock music]
♪ ♪
- Whew!
- You barely
squeezed by, though.
That's what I'm saying.
- It's true, it's true.
It feels awesome.
I mean, she always gives me
a run for my money.
She certainly did that today,
and I feel good.
- It feels good to hear
positive things
about my tattooing, obviously.
Love it.
Tell me more.
But to have even
one vote for me,
especially in something
that isn't my style,
it's pretty awesome, so...
- Keep doing what you're
doing, girl.
- Seriously, thank you.
- All right.
- Good job, guys.
- Sweet.
- You guys killed it.
- Congratulations.
- Thanks, thank you so much.
- You did great.
- I appreciate it.
Thank you.
- Is the grudge match over?
- I'm a better person now,
every day, because of you.
- Because of me.
Thank you.
I might not have won,
but I think we can all agree
that morally, I win.
Get off of me.
Get off.
- [laughs]
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- One hour left, guys.
- Cutting it close, man.
- Now, remember, Anthony,
when this all started,
you said that
you were pretty sure
that I was gonna
get inside my own head
and be my own worst enemy,
and that might have
gone the other way.
- No.
Your [bleep] top lip's
allergic to your bottom lip.
- Hey, I've been over here
relatively quiet all tattoo
because I respect
what you can do
and I have to not talk so much
and make sure I tattooed today.
My nerves are through the roof,
and I know it's because of
who I'm looking at.
I know when a guy is
on the same level as I am,
and it's stressing me out bad.
[dramatic music]
- Five, four, three, two, one.
That's it, this Ink Master
grudge match is over.
- [laughs]
- Damn, brother.
Crazy day, but we made it.
- Hell yeah.
I love it.
- You did good, my man.
- Yeah, that's sick.
It looks like a sticker.
- It's all up
to the judging now.
- Let it be known I don't have
to play games to win.
- Bro, you're definitely
an expert
at getting in people's heads.
It did not work today.
- I don't know, man.
I feel pretty [bleep] solid
about proving the fact
that I can sit here and tattoo
alongside anybody I need to
and not worry about it.
- It's not gonna matter until
those judges sing.
- I'm not waiting
for a judge to sing.
I'm looking for
the fat lady to start.
- Start singing.
- [laughs]
Shots fired!
- This is insane right now.
- The caliber of these two
artists is mind-blowing.
And on any given day,
they could go up
against each other and the
outcome's gonna be different.
- Yeah, for sure.
Put two champions
head to head,
somebody's gonna win.
You know?
- What's up, fellas?
- Hey, guys.
- There you go.
- How did it feel going
against each other?
- I've got the utmost respect.
I do believe
he respects my work.
Whether he respected the way
I played the game or not,
that's a different situation.
So I knew that I wanted to
stand here at this point
right now, head to head,
putting out what I can do great
and what he can do great,
and just lay it on the table.
- To be 110% honest,
after today,
there's things
that Josh does in tattooing
that are
[bleep] mind-blowing to me.
I have the goosebumps because
I have now understood that.
- As much as I don't think that
I got in your head,
knowing who
you're competing against sounds
like it humbled you
just the same.
- All right,
Josh is still trying
to get in people's heads,
so let's start with Josh.
- Let's start with Josh.
- Yeah, all right.
- Let's get in Josh's head.
I love seeing
goofy, weird stuff
that all you can say is,
"What is it?",
and you're like, "It's art."
The little textures that you
got in the claws
are super solid.
The fine lines that you got
in the little fins
and that little spine,
that's probably
my favorite
out of the whole thing.
To get that little sheen
and to get that transition
from the yellow over
to that red without being
too blocky and overpowering,
you really nailed that.
- You showed us these super,
super watery color blends,
and it just looks effortless.
- But I'm gonna be honest.
I expected
a little bit different.
That was almost
the same similar head.
Only yesterday it was flat
because you didn't have
time to do all your tricks.
I'm stoked that Anthony
pulled something different
than you always do.
- Look who I'm
going up against.
I had to bring it.
- I like that you got
real wacky with this thing.
- It has personality.
It has style.
I love your color play.
The way you use that purple
to pop the gums
is so unexpected
and weird and cool.
- I like how that
tone comes out
and kind of turns it
into that flame.
- But the flame comes out,
whips around, comes back,
and it just disappears
behind the ear.
Like, it literally just goes--
and then you're like--
it's not believable that they
would have vanished that fast.
But overall,
the drawing is great.
The application of the tattoo,
pretty damn bulletproof.
I don't think either
of you guys
snowballed each other
to give us an easy decision.
- We have to come
to a conclusion
on which one of these
is gonna win this thing.
I love Josh's saturation,
but Anthony's colors
worked so well together.
- I just love how subtle and
bold it is at the same time.
I would totally rock
this tattoo.
Josh, I would not
rock that tattoo,
but it is laid in
so nice, dude.
My vote is for Josh.
- Anthony showed something
that he doesn't always do,
and it was clean,
and it was solid.
My vote's for you, Anthony.
- Man, I needed that.
- One for one.
- Tiebreaker.
- It all comes down
to you, Cleen.
- Oh, great.
Both of these are
super creative
and out of the box,
tattooed with
flawless application.
- And I went technical
as [bleep].
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
I'm gonna have to go with Josh.
Anthony's is great.
Those flames just
leave a little question.
- That was close.
- Josh Payne,
you're the winner
of the grudge match.
- Thank you very,
very much, guys.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Maybe you guys might
get along now.
- [groans]
- Come on, let's go talk
for a while.
We got a lot to say.
- No, man, it's all good.
For it to be that close
against Josh Payne,
just knowing that in one
of those claws,
there's probably
ten colors in there.
That's something I haven't
[bleep] mastered yet,
but I'll be back.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you, sir.
- In this competition,
it's little subtleties
like a technical trick
that's gonna set one artist
apart from another.
- Trust me, I'd wear his before
I'd have worn mine.
I'm so proud,
and more than anything,
to be able to win against a guy
that I do admire and respect
is that much larger
of an accomplishment.
- Let's go get some sushi.
- I'm all fished out, bro.
- [laughs]
- All right.
- Let's do this thing.
- Bye, guys.
- Take care.
- Man, that was insane.
- Whoo!
[rock music]