There’s so many things on my mind. So many things I’ve thought about ever since I saw the worst sights my eyes had ever seen. So many things I’ve contemplated during my training in Hell. The scene flashes before my eyes over and over again. The eternal disappointment has set in and refuses to leave. Personal responsibility is my credo, and that’s why I’m back. When the world fails you, when people fail you, when everything goes on, when you’ve seen Hell itself yet still know that what exists before you is even worse than that… personal responsibility is all you have. The power to pick yourself up to your feet, stare down at whatever it is that brings you despair, swallow your fear, accept your limits… and then aim to break them, so that when even all you have is yourself, you still have the power to change the Hell before you into something better! That’s why I’m back. If no one else can do it… I know I can. It’s a burden I didn’t want to shoulder but one that I gladly will, not just for myself, but for the greater good. Even the chains of Hell weren’t enough to hold me back. Like I said, there’s so many things on my mind that I don’t even know where to start… But if you lend me your ear for this short while, we’ll discover together that everything falls into place. This isn’t just my desire, this is my duty. 

I want to try to take this as seriously as possible. I’ll set aside the simp stuff. I’ll set aside the fact that I beat you three times in a row, and that your only win came over me from ME letting you finish the job. I’ll set aside the fact that the only reason you even got to the World Championship in the first place is because I stepped aside. And I’ll also set aside the fact that you and me both know that you’ll never be able to beat me without your bullshit pussy tactics and the help of The Awakening. I’ll acknowledge Nathan Fiora as a serious threat, I’ll even go so far as to acknowledge you as the OWA Omega Heavyweight Champion. You don’t deserve either of these things, to be fair, but I’ll entertain it nonetheless. So I wanna know Nate, what the hell changed? I want to know who Father Fiora is, compared to the “Simp”. I need to know how I died and came back to an OWA where Nathan Fiora is praised, heralded, and held in the highest regard as a serious and credible OWA Champion. There’s a lot of things I need to know actually, like why the hell Nathan Fiora thought he was just going to get a free pass to the main event of Final Destination 3 like Stark himself wasn’t going to rise out of the deepest pits of Hell and put an end to that nonsense before it ever has a chance to happen.

I mean I know I’ve been chiding the Olympus roster for their failures in allowing you to reach the top, Nate, but I have to put the blame on myself where it belongs too. I let this happen. That’s why I’m back with vengeance, with urgency, I’ll even go as far as to say desperation -- because this is my fault. I’ll be honest, I went back and listened again to the words you said to me before what was supposed to be our last and final match. This is the problem with men like you, pariahs who gain influence and become ideologues. You’re just always talking out of your ass. You thank me for your “awakening”? And what? I’m supposed to say ‘you’re welcome’? Let’s be real Nate. This demon has always been inside of you. I know you’ve been a whore for love and attention probably your whole life, and you’ve always failed at it, haven’t you? As long as I’ve known you Fiora, there’s only one word I can really think of that can encapsulate your entire career. Mediocrity.

I would call you a failure but seeing as you stand before me as the OWA Omega Heavyweight Champion, even I know that isn’t fair. Neither is disappointment, because you’ve definitely far surpassed anyone’s expectations for you, seeing as you’re still in this industry at all, let alone standing on top of it as the World Champion. But mediocrity? That does say it all, Nate. You’ve been insecure your entire career. From EAW to now. Always third best, because even second is a stretch for you. Draping yourself with midcard gold and acting like you owned the world. Winning the New Breed Championship four years into your career and acting like you were ready for a Hall of Fame nod that very same year. Then what? You come to OWA. You fail once again, season after season. Why did Nathan Fiora even come back to OWA? Then you thought you hit the jackpot. 

Spending the entire season being nothing more than a joke, a freakshow, hell, basically a glorified jobber right? Let’s put the hot new guy up against Nathan Fiora! Let’s bring Kevin Devastation back to try to give Nate something special! And where were you on the side Nate, while all of this was happening? I mean sure, you may have been in OWA physically, competing at your bare worst, losing matches left and right, destroying any credibility you had built at all in the tragedy that was your career up that point… It was bad. But that’s okay. You had an excuse back then, right? Your mind was on the music, man! You didn’t need wrestling, that was just a hobby! Music was the way! Out there performing in sold out bingo halls, strumming that acoustic guitar and singing the heart wrenching love ballads you wrote for Astrea Jordan, shit, you even had Brotha Jamal by your side back then huh? What happened to him anyways? You threw aside the one black dude who used to rock with you and surround yourself with a bunch of crackers instead? The fuck’s going on? But anyways, the music fell apart yeah? I mean if you had to downgrade from pop icon to professional wrestler Fiora… Things clearly weren’t going well there. So your mediocre music career fails, but that’s no big deal, same goes for millions of others simps with guitars who can strum four chords and think they can write a song.

So you come back to OWA! And the crowd went… mild. Just like the rockstars of old from their shitty bands need to dust off the mic and guitar and go back on their ceremonial retirement tours to make some extra cash; the failed artist laced his boots back up and came back to the only other thing he knows… professional wrestling. Except, we’re not looking at much of a professional here, are we? Even when it comes to professional wrestling, Fiora just manages to miss the mark. What was your record before you came around and managed to sneak out a win against a half-assed Derelict who already had half his body out the door? He was gonna throw the match against whoever it was! A failure to the Omega Heavyweight Championship passed the belt down to another, and this company has been celebrating this transition of garbage like it’s the hottest title reign they’ve ever seen. Is this what we’ve fallen to? Our Clash bets are on the likes of Nas or Senn or Finn? We have Keelan potentially about to win the Omega Heavyweight Championship and take it to FD? And what’s our best case scenario… Nate Cage in the cut with that God of War? So what do y’all want? You want the EAW hasbeens? You want the Australians? You want Cage with his two assholes?

Nah. I’ll tell you what you need. It’s not Keelan. It’s not Nathan Fiora. It’s me, it’s gotta be me, and it’s gonna be me. What I do for this company, what I bring to this brand, the kind of power I have to make everyone turn their heads in watch - whether in amazement, disgust, or pure reverence - I can do it all, Fiora, and people like you will never appreciate it. You want me to go out there and run a 45 minute classic against Jacob Senn? I got you. You want me to go out there for 20 minutes a week on Season 1 of Olympus and make your golden boys Bull Gareth and Cason Connors look like main event stars so that they can reign over the barren lands of Olympus for the next two seasons? I got you. You want me to go out there and run an hour long Simp Match, call my homie Snoop up, get the crowd hyped and kill time for an hour on PPV? I got you! You want me to sit in the back and bounce ideas off the wall with your creative guys so we can continue pushing the envelope, continue to evolve and grow and put out the best damn product in the world of wrestling? I fucking got you! There isn’t a single thing, from the back to the ring, that I can’t do. I’m not going to act like I’m undeserved, because it’s true. I’m getting exactly what I deserve for it. That’s why when it comes down to it, I can do exactly whatever the hell I want. I can pop back from the dead after being gone for months, declare my intentions to defeat the false champion Nathan Fiora and put the Omega Heavyweight Championship around a waist that can actually hold the true weight of that belt, and get what I want. Just like that, I”m a top contender for the Omega Heavyweight Champion. Considering Keelan is in the match, you can consider me THE top contender. And considering you’re the champion Nate, you basically consider me as the Omega Heavyweight Champion already. Big brain moves that.

Now that the mask of the “simp” has been destroyed, it looks like the coward Nathan Fiora has donned yet another identity. Failed musician, failed simp, and now you’re a glorified pastor! Congratulations! Just like the bastard televangelists who prey on the weak minded to expand their own wealth and prosperity, you’ve found a way to FINALLY reach the masses Fiora! Trying to appeal to 12 year old girls wasn’t working with ya Harry Styles lookin ass but it seems like 12 year old boys are more up your alley now, Father! Televangelists are just ugly crackers with weird names and cronies at their side, and I can see you’re cut from the same cloth Fiora, just like your icons Joel Osteen and the Almighty Creflo Dollar, you’re a bunch of crooked liars and thieves. It’s just that unlike them, you aren’t smart enough to be capitalizing on the billions, you’re out here stealing championship belts from hobos and preaching the prosperity gospel of being a fake World Champion. So you’re not just greedy and malicious, you’re entirely incompetent at that too. I will give you this, Nathan, unlike your music which causes tumors to grow in the ears of those who listen to it, your sermons… for a lack of a better word, are at least tolerable. Believe it or not, I actually sat there and listened to a few. Just for the sake of getting to know “Father” Fiora a little bit better, because if he was truly anywhere near the same level of bitchmade that Nathan is, then there’d be no way he was World Champion at all. So let’s see what Father Fiora is all about.

I think about the teachings of great prophets like Jesus Christ -- nah, not Andre, I mean real Jesus, long haired brown boy riding camels in the desert Jesus -- and then I listen to Nathan Fiora, and the difference is palpable. You’re not here to bring the world together, you’re not here to save anyone, no, you’re here for the opposite. You’re here because you’re selfish, you’re greedy, you’re self servient -- all you want to do is compensate for a near eight year long career of nothing but mediocrity, you want to stand at the top and see the sights that eyes like mine have seen, what it feels like to be World Champion, what it feels like to have your face on the poster, what it feels like to get cheered, what it feels like to be the TOP guy… You didn’t earn these things Nate. You STOLE them. You’re not here to give back to the world. You’re not here to bring people up. You’re not a Messiah, you’re the Anti-Christ. You claim to speak for the God that you serve but just like Pontius Pilate, if that God ever appeared in front of you and spoke his true teachings, teachings that contradict the way you act and the things you say -- you’d be the first to nail him to a cross and call yourself righteous while doing it. You don’t want to help people, you want them to worship you. You say it yourself Fiora - the only way you accept someone as your follower is if they offer you a complete sacrifice of the mind, body… and wallet.

And again, it’s because you’ve failed in every other aspect where you wanted to be acknowledged. You learned and understood that you’d never be able to earn the love and appreciation of the people the honest way. And it makes you burn even more because I DID! I did what you failed to do as a wrestler, I did what you failed to do as a musician -- and now you’ve taken the dirtiest path of all. You prey on the weak! You started as a pariah, an outcast on the fringe, found the SLIGHTEST hint of success in a measly thirty second Television Championship reign… and to your credit, you managed to sneak and bullshit your way into snowballing that into a whole ass Omega Heavyweight Championship run. You claim to “save” the people who worship you by turning them into your mindless slaves, and you sacrifice those who oppose you! You took a failing tag team in Chaos Elite and turned them into your cronies. You took someone like Mark Michaels who was never going to amount to anything and gave him your hand, turning him into nothing more than an extra body for The Awakening, someone else to carry your bag and sing your praises. You put worthless championships around their waists and make them bow to you. The lamb became the wolf that herds the pariah… but compared to me Fiora, you are no wolf. You’re nothing more than a rat, and I’m from New York City, so stomping down on an annoying rat’s head when they’re in your way isn’t gonna be nothing new to me. 

This has to end here, Fiora. It has to. Look at this Clash of the Titans PPV card. Brian Daniels and Jacob Senn have the shameless audacity to put on an hour long Iron Man match with nothing on the line, wrestling for probably the fiftieth time in their careers! Do you want us to be like that in the future? We’re already on round five! Last time was supposed to be the last time! Why are we still doing this?! Why can’t you stop being who you are so I don’t need to keep coming around every four months to beat your ass back down into the dirt?! But maybe this was unnecessary, unlike Brian and Senn’s hour long senior home exhibition match. This time it’s for everything. The most important thing we could be fighting for. Damn shame that Keelan needs to be involved. Cuz this ain’t about Astrea. This isn’t about who’s the bigger simp. This isn’t for jokes, this isn’t for a laugh, this is for EVERYTHING that we’ve dedicated our entire lives to! This is why you left your music career! This is why I came back from the dead! This is why Keelan is still employed! The Omega Heavyweight Champion! There is NO greater prize! Not for you, not for me!

It’s why I came back! It’s why I chose to never let my soul rest in peace! As long as you are there, I have no choice, Nathan! We will fight forever! Father Fiora? If you truly claim to be the Messenger of God, whatever disgusting, evil God it is that you worship, whatever disgusting God that allows you to represent them… THEN CONSIDER ME THE DEVIL! Preach Fiora! Preach at the Gates of Heaven! It doesn’t matter anymore! The door to Hell has opened, and I’ve stepped through them. You fear me Nathan. The fire that burns deep inside me, that one and only mission I’ve taken on to make sure that you harm not a single other soul -- not through your music and especially not through your dangerous teachings as “Father”… That fire isn’t going to burn out unless you stomp it out YOURSELF.

I know that you’ve surrounded yourself with some green as turtle shit kids who you’ve managed to scheme your way into draping with gold… I know that you think you’re stronger than ever, blessed by God with the power to lead the world into your vision as the Omega Heavyweight Champion… but deep down, when you take away the curtain, you’re still the same old bitch. Nathan Fiora. The man who just barely defeated Jesus Christ only to lose the TV Championship to Stark thirty seconds later. The man who wrestled Stark three times in a row only to lose each affair. The man who was destined for nothing more than warming up the ring for the real elite like me… That man has found the power to cheat destiny and create his own reality. But the illusion breaks, now. I’ll tell you something right now that’s going to make you shit your pants Nate. That same Stark that’s 3-0 on you in formal competition… That ain’t me anymore. I HAVE THE POWER OF HELL! I AM MAJIN STARK!!! THE DEVIL HIMSELF COWERS AT MY FEET!!! So when I have to face a rat like you… Forgive me Father for I have sinned, but there’s not a damn chance in HELL that I’m going to lose. This M I have branded on my forehead, the power of Majin that I have accepted into my body, is realer than anything you could ever preach to your sorry followers. Now tell me Nathan, what are your followers going to think when I crush their false God right in front of them and give them something REAL to believe in?

November 4th, 2014
2:39 AM, EASTERN TIME
Guanajuato, Mexico
Callejón del Beso

(It is a rather calm night in this bustling city, a lull which heavily contrasts the usual day to day that runs 24/7. Guanajuato City, capital of the state which shares its name, is one of the most wealthy and culturally active cities in all of Central Mexico. Comprised of four barrios - Santiago, Tepetapa, Santa Ana and Santa Fe - it’s a very compact area despite all of the places it encompasses. The historic center has numerous small plazas and colonial-era mansions, churches, and civil constructions built using pink or green sandstone; a grand looking location with the amount of money and tradition behind it apparent from the moment you lay eyes upon it. With hilly terrain from having been placed on a narrow valley, the streets are winding and there are plenty of alleys set up to make it easier to navigate the space. The most famous alley of all is El Callejon de Beso: The Alley of the Kiss. 

Much like the name of Llorona, the Alley of the Kiss has attached a Mexican legend and tragic story attached to it. A tale of two lovers - Ana and Carlos - separated by outside forces and passing away sadly before getting to reunite in the alleyway again. A noted tourist attraction for those who look to find the spirit of Carlos, it is now empty of all but another haunting figure. Our Llorona, a younger, unknown Llorona. But also far more bloodthirsty and chilling. Llorona is camped out with her running mates Papichulo and El Cabron, hanging in the shadows with weapons drawn and evil intentions on their mind.)

Llorona: How much time do we have left?

Papichulo: Un minuto. We told her that the “deal” would be made by 2:40AM at the latest, right by the stairway of the alley.

El Cabron: She should be coming any second now to meet our decoy and then….it’s go time.

Papichulo: I don’t usually say this, but I’m feeling uneasy about this. Are you sure you want to go through with this, Nicole? Senorita, this chick worked with us! She was right there with us to run out Los Zetas and take over this territory! We wouldn’t be running this place without her, doesn’t she deserve a cut.

Llorona: When it comes to controlling the land there is no “cut.” Either you’re the leader or you’re not. Both of us want to be the head bitch in charge, I damn sure ain’t trying to be stuck as no follower after all of the work I did to make this shit happen. Whole city locked down, scared to be out in the streets - it was my tactics that did this. Not her! 

Papichulo: You’re really underselling what she contributed, to this miha.

Llorona: I’m not underselling her hustle, I’m just making sure the dirt I did is given the weight it deserves. She served a role yes, but who put this thing together? Who made it all happen? She ain’t flexing and puffins out her chest to the rest of our enemies if having me by her side didn’t put that battery in her back. It’s easy to be tough when you have the support of the baddest around. And you know what? Even if it was 50/50, fuck em either way. It doesn’t matter who you set out on a mission with, it’s all about who is alive to get the glory when the task is done. There are bound to be casualties on the streets. Your grey matter can end up on the pavement at the hands of anyone. DTA, remember? Don’t Trust Anybody. You can become a victim at the hands of your own homie. Can you be made that you go out solely for selfish desires when you were playing a selfish game from the jump?

(Papichulo gives Llorona a look of uncomfortableness as Llorona waves it off.)

Llorona: You’re silent because you know I’m right. When we came into this, we all had our own motives. Yes we worked together with her to take Guantajao, but did we explicitly want the city so everyone else could benefit. We pictured ourselves, she was just an extra number that was convenient. It’s fucked up, but It’s the way it is. We’re moments away from doing job and you’re still shaking and shit? Acting all scary? Thinking I’m so wrong? You shouldn’t be surprised, you should have saw this coming a mile away. I’m not a good person. I don’t follow no regular code. All three of us - you two motherfuckers especially - know that the only code in this warzone is to protect yaself.

El Cabron: And ya peoples!

Llorona: This girl ain’t my people. She was a business partner, ese! She isn’t who I’m giving a plate to and chilling with. She’s an opp right now; she’s in the way of me feeding my whole team. Her presence means less food for me and it damn sure means less for you guys, pendejo! Look at this way. Her and I, we are two big dogs who are looking to lay claim to the bone and when it comes down to it….two big dogs can not co-exist. We can’t handle sharing, we have to have it all or we really aren’t the big dog of the yard. Only one of us can be la reina and it comes down to which one of us will strike first as to who will be bestowed that crown. I ain’t getting left out of the cold when it comes to this shit so I’m cutting her throat before she can get a stab at me.

(Llorona’s eyes dart out of their hiding spot as she quiets down and nudges Papichulo and El Cabron in the arms. They hush and follow her gestures as she points ahead toward their decoy, Young Benito, who throws up the high sign as he sees someone coming. He takes a few steps down the alley stairs and meets with their target - rising gangster and unknowingly FORMER business partner to Llorona: Erica Fordera. Erica is a stern, calculated woman who commands the respect of everyone as soon as she walks into a room, a trait that can be picked up on even in this dark space with only one visible person to her. Benito straightens up upon seeing her and his nerves have him wound up tight. Erica puts him at ease by touching his shoulder and giving him a greeting. Despite giving off the aura of a dangerous woman, right now she is relaxed and seems to see this meet up as business as usual.)

Erica Fordera: You’ve got my cut for the money train incident, yes? Including my extra percent for a finder’s fee?

Young Benito: Yep, it’s all there. 

Erica Fordera: Fantastic. I know Llorona gets a little antsy about the payouts for these endeavors so I just wanted to make sure I got my fair share. Thanks for looking out for me, Benny boy.

Young Benito: No problemo. I even cut a little off top for you as extra since you’re the boss lady.

Erica Fordera: Ooooh. “Boss lady.” You’re already getting into the routine! Tell you what, just give me the cash and we can go about our nights, I’m feeling in a good mood now.

(Erica reaches out as Benito offers her a briefcase. He clutches the handle and hesitates, giving a look to the shadows where Llorona and her goons are staked out. Erica gives a quizzical look.)

Llorona: (whispers) … This isn’t going to be messy. A skilled assassin like me makes sure these jobs are swift, clean...EFFICIENT.

Erica: Benito, what’s up with you?

(That’s the last coherent sentence she is able to give before Llorona pushes Papichulo and El Cabron out of the shadows and instruct them to knock her down. Erica’s eyes are wide open in shock as Papichulo and Cabron fight against their better judgment and get in the zone. They beat her down and restrain her from resisting, silencing her from screaming by brandishing their knives. As Llorona stands before her, hand in her pocket, Erica begins to piece everything together. She looks at Llorona, seeming to be aware and at peace with what’s going next.)

Erica Fordera: You’re really about to violate me like this. Huh, Nicole? Just going to set me up and put me down like a dog. We were trailblazers side by side, two women doing big things but now you want the whole pie.

Llorona: I want what I deserve. And I deserve every last crumb that I can get. Who you fooling, Erica. I know you aren’t one to be “satisfied” with leaving points on the board. You don’t do complacency, if you did you wouldn’t have started a revolution with me. Both of us think we should receive the world.

(Llorona digs deep into her pocket, pulling out a beretta as she puts it to Erica’s chin, lifting her head up so she’ll look her in the eyes.)

Llorona: Face it Erica, the title of la jefa is singular; one. It was known from the jump when we entered this city on our conquest that even with all of those men at the top that we wanted to take down, we were only looking to replace the HEAD of the organization. Say we’re equals as much as we want, the dynamic at the end of this was always gonna require that one of us takes the backseat as “right hand woman” while the other gets the lionshare of the benefits and calls the shots. It’s the natural order; even the filthy wolves on the edge of the forest eventually form their hierarchies.  You can’t even lie and act like you were all about team harmony forever. Look at you working with our other group members so you could get ahead. You were prepping for a power play too. This day was bound to happen, you just expected you’d be on the other hand of the gun. Little did you know I was checked out from the start and made sure to always keep myself one step ahead. Now I rule the whole board.

Erica Fordera: ...And this is the checkmate. I give it to you. You got me. I have a few years on you, I wanted to run out the old guard a long time ago. I figured a young girl like you wouldn’t question me taking the reigns when it was all said and done...just happy to be there with me. But you, you are a quick one. Already thinking like a vet. A strong woman who wasn’t gonna fall to my tricks….I respect it. Can’t even be mad. If I was going to go out, at least I’d prefer it be to a G instead of some goof who got lucky. And you’re a G, alright. 

Llorona: I sure am…

(Llorona cocks back the hammer and lets it fire off one round point blank. The sound reveberates throughout the whole sound, the clap of the gunshot being thunderous. It’s a moment where time stands still as they’re all frozen. Papichulo, Cabron and Benito crowd around Llorona as she stands there, breathing heavily with a hundred yard stare, blood spattered across her face and the hot gun still in her hand.)

Llorona: An OG at that. This is my turf now. Everyone better recognize.

(Llorona eases up on her shooting stance, putting the gun away as she looks down at the fallen body of the woman she once worked with. Llorona is in thought, pondering on the alliance, processing her new position as leader of the territory and making amends with the sins of her actions. She gives a look to Papichulo and El Cabron as they pass her a bandana to wipe away the blood. She tosses it down at her former partner’s body and gives a nod as she, the Goons and Benito walk off. Left behind is the stepping stone that Erica’s life provided, now joining the spirit of Carlos in the alleyway. 7 years later, thousands of miles away, another life is meant to be damaged by the hands of the Murderous Woman, once again with the intent being to be Queen of the niche they carved for themselves.)
--------------------
You could say that I’m no stranger to business relationships.

I don’t like failure. “Who does!?” Yeah, I know. It’s different to me though. Failure is something I flat out can’t stomach. The shit makes my skin crawl. I grew up associating failure with returning to squalor or outright death. So when I set out to do something I don’t like to consider the thought of being unable to complete it. I need results and I want them fast. And business relationships are one way to do that. What’s a better way to truncate the issue at hand then to get more bodies in the mix and make the workload easier. Multiply the brainpower, multiply the muscle; it’s a quick fix! Easy success! And that’s how these relationships form. Like minded people who all have a goal - who all don’t want to LOSE - coming together and using their skills to make it happen in a way that benefits everyone. All parties get something out of it and work towards accomplishing the objective they never would have been able to on their own.

That’s what we’ve had with the Demolition Corps. A business relationship. All four of us - me, Revy, Jonetta Stone….April Song - we formed a stable because we were all tired of our positions on Odyssey. We were tired of being overlooked and mistreated while the old faces were being kept at the top, heralded as legends and being allowed to coast off of their statuses. We’re a group with a common cause but at the end of the day we always remained individuals. Our identities were never in question. At Civil War we all got what we wanted. We came through to that Lethal Lockdown cage, the “pillars of Odyssey” repped their set, and we dog walked all of those bitches in front of millions of people around the world. Punked them like it was nothing! When that closing bell rang and their bloodied bodies were staining the canvas, mangled and unable to move all while we stood tall above them…..that is a picture that got everyone talking. That was the image that represented history being made. Street historians will look back on that ass kicking and note that it was the transition of power, they will talk about how that was the paradigm shift in women’s pro wrestling! Dulce and Diantha are now midcard acts, Natalie Cage is washed up and begging for relevancy and Niki Khan has been demoted back to the job she should have always had: a home making civilian. And while she leaves behind….the OWA Women’s World Title.

The old guard was effectively ran off their turf and now the Demo Corp has a stranglehold over the landscape…..but the order still needs to be sorted. There is any empty seat at the head of the table, the place of the DON, that must be claimed. Clash of the Titans is where the position is filled and if you want a spoiler….that spot might as well have the name of Llorona etched into it. While the rest of the roster is stepping up for a rumble to get even a CHANCE at some Final Destination clout, I am merely one match, one victim, away from doing what I told you all I would do the very first time you saw me on OWA TV. From the moment I signed my Omega Wrestling Alliance contract, I sized up the Odyssey locker room, looked at who were being revered as the big shots, and I said verbatim that I was the kingpin in my hood and would be kingpin of Odyssey before you knew it. Yall didn’t believe me, but the takeover had been manifesting with every week that passed by! The downfall of your favorites and my rise to this point was all by design. The culmination of my planning. This World Championship match es la gran finale; la ultima! For my opponent, April Song, this match is meant to be the big day for her too. It’s her chance to seize control. There is a conflict of interests that shall come to a head on February the 6th, and that my friends means it’ll be the day in which our business relationship must reach a pause.

Thank God for my ability to dissociate. I have respect for the Demo Corps, the ladies in this group of ours are the only ones I could say were worth their salt around these parts, but I also knew that I had to keep you all at arm’s length. Why? Because this was bound to happen. We’ve been fighting for opportunity, fighting to clean out the outdated and overcrowded main event that oppressed us, but when it was all over with I knew that not ONE OF US expected to share space in the marquee. Our movement was born out of self centered ideals. We wanted a spotlight for ourselves. We wanted to improve our own reputations. We wanted to be the number one woman on Odyssey and eliminate any of the established threats in the way. If we could have done this all on our own we would have, but the Demo Corps was a means to an end! Only one of us can truly reap what we went out in that field and went to war for! That someone is ME! 

April Song you’re a hell of a fighter, a master tactician, and one of the few athletes, male or female, that I would call a legitimate hitter. You’ve been grinding out here for years, you’re serious business no doubt about it. Allow me to give you your flowers here and now. Out of everyone in the Demo Corps, you were the one I expected to see standing across from me in that ring first. If anyone was gonna be quick to scramble for that brass ring, it’d be you. Of course it’d be you. You ain’t stupid, you were surely anticipating having to turn on me. When that match was set for The Clash I saw the look in your eyes. A switch had been flipped from Civil War! You were a bad, bad woman before, but on that evening? The hypercompetitiveness, that killer instinct you were keeping inside, it came out crystal clear. All of them years of struggling have built up and you’re chomping at the bit to get yours.You’re fixing to give me the match of a lifetime. You will too, you have it in ya. I also have it in me to neutralize you before you even get out of the box. You’re ready to jump off the Demolition Corps ship and ride this wave on your own, but unfortunately you’re going to find out that you were too late. I’ve been in war rooms with you, traveled with you, got to know you right down to being able to recognize every tendency you have and thought you make. I was doing my due diligence and measuring you from the jump. I’ve had this match on my radar since OCTOBER. I’ve been trained by killers my whole life to make sure NOTHING can surprise me. Nobody I let close is allowed even a chance to do me dirty no matter how hard they wanna flip on me. It’s like I said, this whole come up of mine was something that turned out this way by design. You think snuffing out your play for the big gold belt wasn’t accounted for? I’ve been through this process time and time again. There’s always one person in my circle who proves to be a road block and they ALWAYS get ran down; I wouldn’t be here with the scars to prove it otherwise!

I expect blood to be spilled, I expect our bodies to be broken down and I expect carnage unlike anything Odyssey has seen before! We will both scratch, claw, flip, fly and almost DIE to get that Women’s Championship! I’m going to be hurting for a while after this one, and the idea of me not being the same after this affair with you is practically academic! I have prepared myself for the fact we’ll be entering that ring primed for a massacre, though despite that I can promise you it won’t be nothing for me to worry my pretty little head about. What happens between that first punch thrown and that final drop to the canvas will be a hellish experience but the outcome is a guarantee anyway it goes. I will have to work, yes but I will not sweat what’s ahead. I have this whole situation in the palm of my hand. The story of Llorona and how it has swept through OWA will reach its conclusion, and it will follow the same route as the tale of old. I will be left standing in this territory as a feared woman; an untouchable legend. A woman who owns every bit of ground she walks on. And you will be made to suffer in my wake for daring to interfere with my endeavors .

I’m a shooter April. I’ve kept you at a distance. I’ve let you roam freely thinking it was sweet, all while keeping you as a target. And you got your eyes on me sure, but that doesn’t mean a thing when I got you in my crosshairs and I’ve had my trigger finger itching before the word “Go.” It’s time for shots to be fired and if the last time fucking with me taught you anything, it ain’t going to be a night for celebrating in your case. I hemmed you up and had you looking FOOLISH for a simply Athena’s Cup tournament match. Hana might be renting a hearse on your behalf for trying to even put a FINGER TIP on my placement in the totem pole.

Step up this Saturday, April.

Step up and get shot down.

(At Odyssey Go-Home show suffered a defeat against Nakita DuBov but she show the resiliency against her that might help her in Clash! As she resting backstage.)


Heh..heh..well I've had survived but I came this close to slay the Amazon known as Nakita DuBov. She's a tough bastard I've give her credit for. But she knows that my Starks Training regimen help me, it help my resiliency against you, and it'll help against all 19 womens at Clash of The Titans! Wolves will strive to survive and i'm ready put my survival to the test. But however it seems that Revy and Jonetta Stone of Demo Corps are going to be part of the Women's Clash of The Titans after what they did to Niki Khan, but Revy you stated that you did anyone a favor for fired her, wrong...You raped everything that Niki had earn since her arrival, you and your skanks hate the Wolvesden, I can see right through you.


As for me, I had a upmost respect for Kenny Drake, Niki Khan, and the Wolvesden but it seems that you got Natalie Cage, Diantha Rosso, and Dulce Torres gunning for you Revy as well as your friend Jonetta Stone. But i'm letting you guys on the warning we all want Revy and Jonetta Stone out of the Women's Clash of The Titans but Diantha and Dulce I fought you ladies before, Natalie Cage nothing against you but getting my way won't be a problem of mine. Revenge is one thing but you got to know what's in stake. And that's the Women's World Championship!


And having a Demo Corps main event Final Destination 3 is a cancer that nobody won't have. So i'll continue having my resiliency and amounts of my Stark's Training regimen to survive for this match. I'm on the mission to rid the cancer that the Odyssey has done, and soon Viola DeMarco would reinstate Niki Khan once I win the whole Women's Clash of The Titans and headlining Final Destination 3. And Hana I heard what you say on Twitter, and you ask yourself what was last time you won a championship? Oh that's right you choke on that opportunity, glass houses should not throw stone little sweetheart, think before speak next time.


So everyone here is a markwoman in this Women's Clash of The Titans match and remember this...The Wolf is always at your door.


*knock, knock*


(Then suddenly Devi heard the knock and she tells to come in, turns out the man in the black suit that had a Majin symbol on her forehead.)


Man: You're Devi?!


Devi: Yes?


Man: I here to sent the message for you.


Devi: A message, ok?


(The Man gave a letter to Devi, has the man walks away, has Devi look at the letter, started to opening up and look at it.)


Devi: What? Stark's comeback from hell? He probably let Osama resurrected him with the Dragon Balls. And he wants me to come to japan tomorrow for training for the Clash of The Titans, *sigh* what choice do I have.

The dawn of the neoteric era to be born from the destruction brought forth by The Phantom Troupe is upon us. The moment to be etched in the annals of history as the night when we laid claim to the grandiose prize everyone is clamoring for at Clash of the Titans. The event that will stamp our spot into the main event of Final Destination for the rich trophies that all of you so desperately covet. The end of everything that you cherish and hold close to your heart is nigh now.

Ever since I have returned to the Omega Wrestling Alliance with my grand crusade to restore not only the desecrated championships that the selfish generation you let run wild through these halls take control of but the entire business itself from the leeches that have drained everything that people like me have put our blood, sweat, and tears into to create the foundation they trample without hesitation, the entire company has decided to vilify me for the way that I have handled this issue. My peers that had regarded me with respect and reverence because I sat back in silence to let these people abuse me and degrade me at every single opportunity they had in order to make some whelp look better underneath the bright spotlight, they have transformed into these vehement and bitter cynics of my crusade who despise every action I take. Management who has allowed this tragedy to proceed with no reflection on the consequences that would ensue from investing so much into these children, who show no respect for those who came before them to create this tarnished legacy of champions and stars they are forced to cater to, they have joined in the narrative of painting me out to be OWA’s brand new vessel of The Antichrist. You could remove all of them and I would still be vilified because my best friend has decided to join in this betrayal against me because I didn’t fit into the mold of what people perceive me as in a silent creator to watch others take what was created as their own work, and he paid for it. At Game Over, when he attempted to preach to me about being the same man I once was, I was disgusted at myself to see that my friend was brainwashed into this stance of sitting on the sideline and being spat upon for the rest of my career. Everyone says that you should rest on your laurels once you reach a certain point in your career where you shouldn’t stress about the championship glory that you were chasing years ago. Everyone keeps telling me that I should let this generation of talent that is ascending through the ranks to the point of being the next great champions and legends of the industry take the torch of absolute acclaim. To stand inside of that ring at Game Over and listen to my best friend echo those sentiments right into my face, slap me in the face, and disrespect me because I wouldn’t fall in line with those words that he said unto me, it was an insult that I couldn’t even allow him to deliver unto me. I had to snuff him out at Game Over and prove a point that not even the great Brian Daniels would stand in the path of my crusade or revert me back to the weak person I once was, and even when he joined in The Resistance at Civil War to attempt to stall my path once more, the crusade proved to be the true path as we stomped him out and broke his body within War Games, evident on last Olympus. Even after all of this and everything that was presented to him about the disrespect given to men like myself and the members of The Phantom Troupe throughout the years, he remains adamant about bringing back a man that is dead because of the abuse he had to deal with last year at the hands of a promotion that didn’t know what they had in a natural like me.

He believes that the only way to bring back the friend that he once knew was to break him down to the point of nearly killing him, ending his career in front of a worldwide audience, in the most grueling and enduring match we could be put through in a Sixty Minute Anything Goes Ironman Match. I believe that the only way to end Brian Daniels from standing between The Phantom Troupe and the path we are destined to march down in forging a new dynasty from the rubble we create through our annihilation of the current pillars of this business is through a match of this magnitude also. The only way that we are set to be done with one another is if through the carnage we inflict upon one another, the anguish we will have to suffer through within this match, it breaks the other person to the point of their career coming to a screeching halt. I know you better than anyone else in the world knows you right now, Brian. Better than Robbie V ever knew you, better than Killswitch ever knew you, better than Devan Dubian or StarrStan ever knew you, I am the one who knows exactly who Brian Daniels is in every way possible and who will stand against me at Clash of the Titans. I know the determination that fuels you deep inside to the point where there was no other option running through your mind for how to settle something like this. I know the passion that you have for this business to where if someone like me demands a revolutionary change through the ruin left behind in our wake, you have to respond in some way to prevent it as it is the heroic thing to do. I know that when that bell rings when we’re forced to endure each other for an entire hour with nothing but brutality and violence in our minds, you’ll fight the man you once called friend until the moment your body has become broken to the point of being unable to move even a single finger. I know this because you’ve been my best friend and I’ve spent many days, months, and years at your side, but what you’ve started to show throughout the weeks is that you don’t know the man that stands before you. The man standing before you is not the heroic champion of professional wrestling that had decided to be one of the greatest wrestlers in the world that you know, it’s not the man that had done everything in his power to be considered one of the best through the determination in the labor and struggle to get there I showcased, but it’s a completely different bastard who will have no problem bringing a grand finale to the career that you cherish dearly. What comes for me in that Ironman Match is an opportunity to finally put the final nail in the coffin of the man I once was and it will be a hellacious war to achieve that feat, but it will all be worth it to prevent you from stopping the crusade I’m on with the quest in building a dynasty worth fighting for in my own image.

With that said, it makes it where The Clash of the Titans Match itself will serve as a challenge for me to win myself. I know that everyone is gunning for their chance to reach out and seize the opportunity that comes with being victorious and it will provide one of the greatest challenges in my career, but it will not deter me from the task at hand in the crusade that must be done. To be able to not only walk out of this Ironman Match with my body intact but to enter into the largest match known to man for the opportunity to headline Final Destination for the world championship, a man would truly have to be an indestructible force to be reckoned with to even hope to achieve such a feat and luckily, I have proven to be a man that cannot be broken. Flying from the top of scaffolds onto the concrete floor, locked inside of a glass crypt and dropped from stories on high, violated in the worst ways of torture that could be manifested in the form of wrestling’s greatest sadists and demons, I have experienced everything that could be done to another human person within this industry and I am not only still standing here today, but I’m standing here with the ability to go the distance with any wrestler that decides to test me. From Brian Daniels, CM Nas, Keelan Callihan, Stark, and Nathan Fiora to Arata Asakura, Nate Cage, Noah Reigner, Graham Baker, and Nobi, I have been able to take this litany of former, future, and current world champions to their limits and beyond to the point where they never have been the same person after they have experienced a match with me. I am a man of a different breed no matter the generation you put me in front of because the truth of the matter is that there is no one in any of the generations that match up to me in determination and endurance within this industry. None of these men will be able to surpass me in being able to break through the limits of the human body that have been set upon them, none of them will be able to endure the complete amount of punishment that my body will be put through in order to see my crusade through, and that’s because none of them have the determination and ability to do that as I do. Everyone has created this narrative for themselves as to why this match, Clash of the Titans, is going to be their night to be the one left standing after the bloodbath has settled for who gets the opportunity of a lifetime. Everyone has fabricated in their mind this fantasy of what they hope to expect, but the only people that I see within this match that holds any merit within their chances of walking out of this match with the opportunity are those within The Phantom Troupe. Why? It’s because we are sadistic killers within the squared circle, a brotherhood of brutalizing bandits who will take whatever we want from this business, and every single one of us wants the opportunity to correct the mistakes that this industry has done to us through victory in this match. We all know that when everything is said and done that it will be every single man for themselves and when the opportunity arises, in a match like this, we will fire the gun into the back of the head of a brother to get ahead if need be. That’s what this match does. It brings out the most vicious and desperate nature that most of you decide to keep harbored and locked up behind bars because you want the people, the advertisers, management, the locker room, everyone to believe that you’re some sort of hero that deserves to be pandered to. The ones of you who decide to showcase that side of you so unabashed and unashamed, most of you do it to the point of being a weak and sniveling child who’s simply begging on their hands and knees to be rewarded for simply existing. Pathetic is what that is. The Phantom Troupe is about begging for our opportunities, we’re not kneeling before the great leaders of this promotion to plead with them to give us what we want, we’re here to take it for ourselves and that’s why inside of this Clash of the Titans match it will be one of us who walks out with our hand raised high. It’s the same reason we walked in and out of War Games with victory and pride, the reason we have brought a rebirth to the name of Phantom Troupe from being this brunt of jokes for you to be able to talk about with your friends and family at the dinner table for not amounting to what it should have been because we are a brotherhood of vindictive men who seek the proper retribution and restitution for the suffering that we have already had to deal with not just here in OWA, but outside of the walls you surround yourself in. The Phantom Troupe is determined to fight until we are the last remaining within that ring unless opportunity knocks for one of us to take the moment to remove a potential threat from our personal desire of being the lone survivor of this match. However, once we have leveled the playing field into only us being inside of that ring, there’s no mercy to be shown between us and we will fight, scratch, and claw our way to the top of the figurative mountain of the gods we chase after in order to gain the redemption we seek and be the figurehead of The Phantom Troupe to represent our crusade in restoring prestige into this business. We know this to be the truth already, we don’t hold bad blood between each other if one of our dreams are dashed because our brother took the opportunity that was presented to him, we understand the desperation and viciousness needed to win this match. We simply are doing whatever we need to inside of this match to make sure The Phantom Troupe reigns supreme and the lone survivor bears our symbol. When your dreams are dashed by us at the end of this match and you look into the mirror thinking what caused us to be reinserted into the spotlight and wondering why The Phantom Troupe was even here in the first place, just remember that all of this happened because of each and every single one of you whether you’re inside of the locker room or the ones inside of the boardroom.

Everything that The Phantom Troupe has been born from was because of every person who has walked through the halls of the Omega Wrestling Alliance, but especially those of you who were involved with Olympus and the Omega Heavyweight Championship. That championship was one of the richest prizes in this sport when it was first introduced into this business, literally a prize that was created to reflect a true world champion at the time where a massive exodus of talent from a once-great home happened, and it was a trophy that I claimed at the hands of a fallen foe who wasn’t even worthy of being awarded that championship because I had always been the superior talent between us. Isn’t that right, Nas? Everyone knew that when the time came for me to challenge for that championship, I would be the one to snatch it away from you and I was. During my reign as champion, I established it as a championship worth coveting and desiring to hold because it was a championship to be proud of holding within your hands. There was value within that championship, prestige because a legend such as myself had made such a struggle towards claiming it and defending it against the best talent that could be offered to him at the time, until the very moment I had it stripped away from me at the very first Final Destination in a match to set the tone for future events to be forced to follow. At that moment in time, I was at peace with it. I wanted to embark on creating new worlds for professional wrestling to expand the horizon and make sure there was a home for every person who needed one in the sport, but now I look back to see how foolish I was for walking away from this business because everyone allowed it to be reduced to shambles. After Tarah Nova had become champion, things spiraled out of control and you saw a litany of champions that disrespected and tarnished the prestige I built into that championship at every single turn. Bull Connors simply meandered his way through the championships and believed he was some big shot because he held it twice, but without any chance to give it the proper prestige it deserved. Gareth Cason was a laughable champion to the point where he was a forgettable blip on the fucking radar to where people even question sometimes if he actually won the damn thing, only remembering he did because of the tragedy he put that belt through. Don’t even get me started on that homeless bastard Derelict who fucked off the very moment he lost the championship and went back to the cardboard box underneath the bridge like the sewer troll he is, literally letting his filth coat that belt in the grease and slime that he walked around with. I would attempt to say that Nathan Fiora is an improvement to the past champions that have carried around that championship because at least he has been a natural constant within this company, but that’s the only thing he has going for him as he surrounded himself with two men who were able to attain championship glory on their own because he knew without them, there would be no Omega Heavyweight Championship in his near future. Why? It’s because no matter how much he wants to change his hair, the way he presents himself to the world inside of that ring, he’ll always be the lowly simp that’s a mere laughing stock of a wrestler behind all the regalia he adorns himself in. The current state of that championship is dire and after the experience that I had outside of this company, I’m here to take back what rightfully belongs to me and restore the former prestige that championship once had instead of being forced to endure champions that aren’t even around anymore because they can’t show their faces after what they did to ruin that title. I’m here to correct the mistakes this business has allowed their former champions to make and with the only possible path on my horizon being to be the one that endures through every ounce of punishment and abuse inflicted upon me through the two matches I’m set to take part in, claiming victory within The Ironman Match and The Clash of the Titans, then I intend to achieve the impossible.

The long line of souls who will be entering into The Clash of the Titans match are simply cows being herded into the slaughterhouse where The Phantom Troupe will serve as the butchers to carve the meat into a feast fit for the gods. Everyone with the sparkling hope within their eyes to be the one to stamp themselves into the main event at Final Destination, blind to what surrounds them in the form of predators waiting to pounce upon their prey to brutalize them to the point of becoming unrecognizable to anyone to drag out of that arena, you simply are awaiting the point where your dreams are set to be shattered by us. Finnegan Wakefield, the man who is said to be the heaviest favorite to win this entire match in the hopes of getting the very match he has dreamed of since the inception of the Omega Wrestling Alliance, has added onto this dream with the sheer hope of the redemption he’ll find at the very moment he claims victory in The Clash of the Titans to mark himself in the main event of Final Destination. Redemption is what you seek in the form of achieving this great feat to make your entire career worth it all, right? To make everything you’ve been through, to make that moment when you walked out and relinquished the OWA World Championship, to have it all wash away in the sweet moment of redemption to have that championship cradled within your hands to show you that you’re still that undefeated champion you envision yourself to be, right? Everything has led you to this moment in time where you could be the one to right every single wrong that has happened to you, but I need to make it very clear to you. The Phantom Troupe is going to create another wrong in that career of yours, another moment for you to sulk over and cry about only to respond in kind to how you’re going to go through this hurdle and make your way back to the top of the mountain, another excuse to use in order to yell at the top of your lungs about being the undefeated world champion who never lost his championship. The list goes on and one about that, but you chose this path that you’ve been placed upon. As much as I want to lay the blame only to men like Bull Connors, Gareth Cason, and The Derelict, you’re right there with them on the long line of champions who’ve done nothing but bring shame to the championship they held. As much as they tarnished the Omega Heavyweight Championship by carrying it with such lack of prestige and respect that it deserved, you did the same exact thing with the OWA World Championship when you relinquished it because your feelings were hurt and couldn’t handle the pressure placed upon your shoulders. A poor excuse of a world champion that I intend to correct when not only I claim victory in The Clash of the Titans, but when I reclaim world championship glory to restore it to its proper prestige and glory that it has been starved of, something you have shown to not be able to accomplish in the past. This may be the biggest regret of your life, but I’m going to make you continue to live haunted by that decision when you’re tossed over that top rope and onto the floor with shock taking over your senses that your dream has been shattered.

As much as he may be the favorite and his past reveals him to be a man who will simply crumble underneath the pressure of world champion once again, Finnegan Wakefield is not the only person who will be met with the judgment and wrath of The Phantom Troupe within the squared circle. There are many others within the confines of this match that will be subject to the punishment that we intend to inflict on the path of our crusade to forge the dynasty we desire to be created, the dynasty that shall be manifested with the ideals and pillars we hold in high regard and a dynasty that will no longer allow the generation of parasitical greed to last any longer. All of you that have signed into this match has basically signed yourself for the hope of attaining that spotlight at the end of the night broken to leave you traumatized at the fact of your chances being stripped away from you by The Phantom Troupe. You’ve chosen this path and it is a path destined for failure, a trajectory that will only lead you to sit on the outside on the concrete with a trace of bitterness in your heart towards us for what you did to yourself, and we will not be the ones with the blame placed upon us for your ignorance to the truth. The Clash of the Titans is a night that will belong to The Phantom Troupe, no matter who in our brotherhood leaves with the chance of a lifetime, but I will do everything within my power to make sure that person is me. For on that night… 

I will show the entire world Jacob Senn is the greatest wrestler by legitimizing my name as Indestructible by not only surviving the Ironman Match I have been placed into but as the lone survivor worthy of Fabled Conqueror.

(A temple towers over the Mongolian Steppe. The wind starts to blow and a shrill screech is heard through the air. Fire erupts around the temple and all of a sudden a man comes bolting out through the door. Osama Al Yamama looks up to the sky.)

Osama: He is calling me, alhamdulillah.

(Osama Al-Yamama walks down a dark road towards an abandoned field. Holding a bag with white paint, candles, and a dead human carcass, with burning sage in his other hand, Osama stands in the cut and starts performing an ancient Mongolian summoning ritual. Osama paints a symbol into the grass with white paint and sets up the candles in a pentagram around it. The human body is laid down in the center of the white paint. Osama begins chanting and dancing around it. The fire from the candle begins shooting out into the sky and white smoke envelops the circle.)

Osama: Bee ha, bala hala ba ba!

(The smoke and fire suddenly extinguish all at once. A man emerges from the smoke and stands straight up.)

Osama: You asked to be summoned, Master?

(The man walks out of the smoke, revealing Stark.)

Stark: Yes. Hell was an enjoyable place, but I’ve felt a disturbance back on Earth. Too bad though, I will miss my friends. Tomi was fun to use as a slave boy and Bada Dik Baap was teaching me some interesting ideology. Satan was alright too, I guess. 

Osama: And your powers, sir?

Stark: Stronger than ever. Don’t think I’ve just been hanging out down there, having fun. I’ve been training. For months I’ve been experiencing an awful unrest. Everything in the world has gone wrong. The entire mission that I spent the last year fighting… it was all for nothing. The greatest evil in the world has taken over and worst of all, like the Anti-Christ was prophesied to, he has convinced them all that he is good.

Osama: Who is this man?

Stark: There’s no point in saying his name. It gives him power. He is an ideologue of the worst kind. He works strongest as a man who gathers influence. He spreads dangerous knowledge into the world -- things no one should ever be exposed to. I’m not saying I’m some kind of savior or hero. Far from it, in fact, but if we’re being completely honest, this man is looking UNSTOPPABLE. He has a formidable army behind him. He has the love and appreciation of the world. He stands at the top, the zenith is his, and all the rest of them there can do right now is look up and hope to reach that spot. If I’m being honest, I don’t want this fight. I was perfectly content down there. Do you know how many fine women commit heinous crimes in this plane and get sent down to Hell? And you can’t even catch STDs in the afterlife. The weed was good, the drugs were good, the parties were insane… There was no reason for me to leave all that behind. I didn’t want to come back up here, because in an ideal world, there would be someone better to fight him. I’m just surprised. With all the talent I’ve seen walk through the gates of OWA, I can’t believe that no one has stepped up to the plate. 

(Stark begins walking forward and snaps his fingers, causing him and Osama to suddenly appear in the SSW Dojo. Stark immediately rolls into the ring and begins running drills.)

Stark: It’s gotta be me. There’s no one else capable of it. Not any fake “God of Destruction”. Not either of the two Corsairs. Not Darkane. Not Senn. Not Miles -- I mean no shit, definitely not Matt Miles. Not Finnegan Wakefield. And the rest? They accepted that they’ll never even have a chance, that’s why they joined up with him as his Awakening cronies. Shame too, I thought that the men of Chaos Elite had potential, disappointed to see how far Eon Blue and Noah Quinn have fallen. Doesn’t matter if they bullshitted their way into championship reigns, same with that hick Mark Michaels and whatever the fuck that Hybrid Championship is. Who the fuck named that?

Osama: Nas.

Stark: Nas? Of course it was that piece of shit. 

(Stark hits one more run across the ring and springboards over with a front flip landing in front of Osama.)

Osama: Starting to limber up?

Stark: Yes I am. The power of Hell is great. Gravity relativity and all of that. I was basically bench pressing two thousand pounds every day. I can probably jump ten feet into the air if I wanted to. But this kind of stuff is besides the point. I can show that off once I’m back in the ring.

Osama: So what are you starting to prepare for? What battle are you heading into?

Stark: I’ll get to that in a second. I gotta hit 3000 or I won’t be able to even enter that battle in the first place.

Osama: 3000 what?

Stark: Just 3000, man, don’t worry about it. Nas though. Nas does disappoint me the most. After all the shit he talks. After everything he says, after everything he puts out into the world, that massive ego… It’s disgusting to see. What was up with all that hype? The hiatus? How long were you gone for Nas? What the hell were you doing in all that time gone? Driven off by Scott Oasis, ha! And then what? You came back? You came back?! For what? To lose to the same god damn man that I had beaten three times beforehand, right when you come back with the most hype, the most press, acting like you’re refreshed ready for a top run after a nice little rest… what the fuck did you do man? You lost! You fucking lost! You let Fiora beat you, enter the Thunderdome, and cement himself as a legitimate contender for the Omega Heavyweight Championship! Where were you, man? What the fuck were you doing man? That’s you! That belt is yours! You made it! You fucking made it! The entire lineage, a fucking disgrace that starts with YOU! Where are all the god damn champions?! Where are your boys? Where is your girl? Where’s the fucking hobo? Are we really down to just you and Senn? The has-beens from the past, champions from Season 1 who shouldn’t even have ever come back to Olympus, let alone making grand claims of winning the Clash?! You couldn’t even beat Nathan Fiora before he was World Champion, how are you gonna do it now that he’s stronger than ever?! Because with you, I’m not seeing the same man who reigned as Omega Heavyweight Champion for nearly 300 days, setting the god damned golden standard of excellence in this company! I’m seeing a little punk bitch who can’t live up to his glory days anymore. Think about it Nas! Who the fuck are you even hanging out with these days? Chase Veddar? You’re in a tag team with Chase Veddar?!!!

(Stark jumps back into the ring and starts pacing.)

Stark: The God of Destruction. The Best Wrestler Alive. What happened to that? That man is in a tag team with Chase Veddar now? The first and longest reigning OHC in a tag team with Chase Veddar? What’s going on man? This is the path you’ve chosen? Nathan Fiora stands on top of Olympus with Chaos Elite and Mark Michaels at his side, the Omega Heavyweight Championship over his shoulder -- YOUR Omega Heavyweight Championship over his shoulder! The TV Championship, the Openweight Championship, and the Hybrid -- and this one isn’t really worth being proud of but a title is a title -- the Hybrid Championship. Four of OWA’s belts in the possession of a faction led by Nathan Fiora. The Awakening has overtaken everyone in their path - The Troupe, The Corsairs, The Australians, The Inbreds -- and they now fucking OWN Olympus… And Nas is teaming up with Chase Veddar.

(Stark rubs the bridge of his nose and shakes his head in frustration.)

Stark: Nas is teaming up with Chase Veddar… CHASE VEDDAR! Where has that gotten you? You guys are the fourth best team on Olympus, and barely even in the top ten overall in OWA. You ain’t The Corsairs. You ain’t Chaos Elite. You ain’t The Queens, you ain’t Darkane and Miles, you ain’t The Ashes, you ain’t Flaherty and Hampton, you ain’t the Iron Squadron -- I’ll tell you what you two are right now though, and it ain’t the OWA Tag Team Champions. So once again Nas, I ask you, if you aren’t succeeding in a team with Chase Veddar, what are you doing? But fine. I won’t hang onto your failures any longer Nas. I thought I could lay back and enjoy the greenest grass of retirement, but that clearly isn’t the case. I’m back out here, fresh out of Hell, a conniption bout to explode in my head, because again, it doesn’t matter how many times I say it, how many times I repeat myself, the fact that with all the talent that exists on Olympus -- the fact that Nathan Fiora of all people is your current Omega Heavyweight Champion… just what the fuck has been going on? 

(Stark gets a more serious look on his face.)

Stark: Please tell me what the fuck has been going on. I really don’t understand it. I know that when I was back here on Olympus at the start of the season, things weren’t like this. Sure, Bull was on another one of his dumbass runs but that was a different time! That was the sad era where the likes of Bull Connors and Gareth Cason were all we had to offer as Omega Heavyweight Champions, two dirty stains on an already tainted legacy! Season 3 came around and things changed! Jacob Senn came back! Matt Miles came back! Darkane came back! Baba Yaga grew into his own! We had perhaps one of the strongest incarnations of The Phantom Troupe we’ve ever seen! Shit was looking so good that despite the repeated failures of John Doe as a leader I still fucked up and went to his side -- I mean, my ulterior motives aside, I thought the Troupe had a good thing going! Before that little pest Baba Yaga got in the way of course, I knew for a damn fact I was heading for that Omega Heavyweight Championship myself! Now look. I accept the fact that I did leave. I chose to. I gave up my bid. But that’s because I had faith in the future. Like my main man Shanks from One Piece, when I let -- and it’s important to emphasize that I LET Nathan Fiora put me away -- not because I wanted to, but because I had to. The evil deeds I did in SSW, I needed justice served. Nobi had spared me, but that’s besides the point. I wanted my ego in check. I needed to be sent to Hell, and just like Gold Roger allowed the Navy to execute him in order to start the great pirate era, I let Nathan Fiora execute me. I tried to inspire the next era of Olympus. Men like Jacob Senn and Nas on their second wind; the top guys of today, SSW and EAW World Champions Darkane and Noah Reigner, ALPHA World Champion Matt Miles, Omega World Champion Finnegan Wakefield; the men fighting to define themselves as the future -- Graham Baker, Baba Yaga, Chaos Elite… All of them had the chance to step forward and claim their place as the King… BUT THEY ALL FAILED! You all stood by and let NATHAN FIORA pass you by! And that’s why the hell I have to come back and settle this my own way.

(Stark leans back against the ropes and lets out a deep breath.)

Stark: Professional wrestling is a disciplined skill. You can’t come out here and do this if your head’s not in the game all the way. It’s what separates the top of the card from everyone else. The Aria Jaxons, the Cloud Matsudas, the Havocs. They’re in a league of their own right now. Day in, day out, across countless companies, and the result becomes an inevitability - victory. Success. Spots at the top of the card. Championship gold. That shit doesn’t just fall in your lap. If you’re not out there chasing it, every second of every day, with a full commitment to that and only that, it’s just not going to happen. I don’t like living in the past, but I feel like some context is important. The start of my career was hotter than anything else I’ve ever done. Maybe that’s what fucked me up. Intercontinental, Tag Team, and World Champion. In my first six months. When you hit that peak so early on, complacency is an inevitable result. Complacency is hard to break, I know that first-hand. A career that could have been full of total domination, a legacy left behind that few others would have ever been able to top. It was all in the realm of possibility. But if you don’t want it, you’re not going to work for it. At the end of the day, I just never had the same kinda drive that the likes of the current World Champions of this promotion do. Does it bother me? No. Do I have any regrets? None at all. In fact, I’m proud of carving out the niche I have for myself. Few guys have solidified themselves in that upper echelon without ever having held a World Championship in our little network of companies. Is that more impressive to me than just having a hall of accolades? At this point I can genuinely say -- YES. 

(Stark steps off the ropes and takes a little walk around the ring while continuing to speak.)

Stark: So from a “veteran’s” perspective, seeing as I’ve been in this industry on and off for the past twelve years, it’s beyond disappointing to me that someone like Nathan Fiora who less than a year ago was my whipping boy in a feud that should have amounted to nothing more than a comedy sideshow has risen up and claimed the grand crown of Olympus. Now while Nas might have been the chosen one who failed against Fiora when it counted the most, I still have to take responsibility myself. I left, when I know for a fact that it should’ve been me. I’m back now and it’s gonna be all good. I thought men like Miles, Darkane, and Senn, three great rivals of mine, would have been able to fill in my shoes and defeat Nathan Fiora. I thought about my boys from SSW, who I personally pushed to bring into this company, The Corsairs. Noah, Graham, what the fuck happened? Is this why I personally vouched for you guys? I didn’t bring you guys over just to watch you LOSE! In my ideal world, this would be one of you standing across from whoever the Omega Heavyweight Champion, ready to take the title from their cold dead hands. But it’s not a perfect world -- this is Hell. Nathan Fiora is the OHC, and I’m the only one who’s stepping up to that challenge. Now Darkane, Darkane, my good friend Darkane… I’m not even gonna go there. You chose to align yourself with Jacob Senn and John Doe, and now you’re reaping the rewards -- or lack of them! Speaking of Jacob Senn! Senn, so you’re good with beating Nas at his peak for the OHC, but I leave the room for you to go after Fiora and what -- your entire ideology of destroying OWA amounts to another fucking match with Brian Daniels? Put two in the back of his head and let that poor bastard rest in the dirt already! What the hell are you doing man? Matt Miles, you can take three wins off of me in EAW but not one off of Nathan Fiora in OWA? What the fuck is going on? This is the peak of wrestling? This is the best OWA has to offer?! This is what Olympus has come to?! KEELAN?!!! KEELAN?!!! Y’ALL LET KEELAN STEP UP?!!! WHAT THE FRESH FUCKING HELL IS GOING ON?! To be honest though, with how hard the rest of you fuckers are slacking, I’m not surprised at all that the OWA brass needs to beg Keelan to stick around and challenge Nathan Fiora!

(Stark rolls out of the ring and starts packing his things up.)

Stark: I think back to my work backstage, dating all the way back to when I first got into the world of professional wrestling. The stuff I’ve produced. The reactions they get. The money they make. It’s good. But what about me? What have I, personally, brought to the table? Other than short, meteoric albeit inconsistent runs, what will I be remembered for? And then that’s where that tiny ping of melancholy hits. That’s when this shit stops being a game. Because sure. I can do as many entrances with the homie Snoop as I want. I can do as many CERTIFIED Five Star Classics like “I Simp” as I want. I can walk back in here and give 10% of my best against the new blood in OWA to help show the world what they’re all about. And make millions of dollars doing all those things. And now it’s not me, it’s not anyone else, it’s FIORA. Fiora is the top guy, above the rest of you. He likes talking shit, but I’ll show Fiora what I’m capable of when I’m not smoking blunts with Snoop in the back. Point is - I’m back. I’m ready. And I’m hungry, no doubt. I haven’t felt the drive I feel now in quite some time now. This is the same kind of motivation that’s propelled me to stardom everytime it passes through me. When I hit my stride, I’m next to unstoppable, and I know that shit for a fact. So if it won’t be any of you, it’ll have to be Stark. I’m not letting Fiora run through Keelan on some filler defense bullshit. Nathan Fiora’s time as World Champion is over, and I’ll do it myself.

(Stark walks out of the dojo and Osama Al-Yamama hobbles along beside him.)

Osama: Where are we going?

Stark: Canada.

Before I even begin to talk about my victim, er, excuse me - opponent - for this week, allow me to send out a congratulatory remark to someone. Reginald Dampshaw… congratulations, old friend. Not only did you prove to the entire world that you will never… EVER… get anywhere near my Spartan Championship again, let alone any other championship in this entire company, but… there is one thing - ONE THING - that you proved to me. You proved that you are no longer the wolf in sheep clothing that you once were. No. You are no longer nothing more than a fucking snake that no one can trust… I mean, maybe you can’t be trusted, who knows. But, all of that shit you were talking about being a “changed man,” and how the Great War “changed you,” maybe - JUST MAYBE - you weren’t talking out of your ass… for once. Everyone knows the history between you and I, or at least they should… maybe they weren’t listening, who knows. Nonetheless. Reggie, you and I have always had our differences. Since the first day I met you, you and I never really saw eye-to-eye. However, after our match two weeks ago, you showed me that you could still give me a run for my money, and for that… I respect you. Not as the General Manager of Kingdom because… ya know… I’m still pretty certain that you’re a fucking murderer… but I respect you as a competitor. Now don’t get it twisted, Reggie. You and I will meet again in the middle of the ring, it may not be next week, it may not be next month, but I can guarantee you and I will face each other again, and the outcome will be the exact same as it was two weekends ago. For now? We’re good.
 
Respect. Respect isn’t a word that I like to throw out a lot. Hell, it’s a word that really isn’t even a major part of my vocabulary. There isn’t a lot of people that I respect in this industry, or even in the world for that matter. Respect is something that has to be earned with me. I don’t give a fuck if you’re the current world champion of a roster, a former world champion, a Hall of Famer, I don’t give a rat’s ass about any of those bullshit accomplishments. Just because you won a piece of metal attached to a leather strap, or have your name on a plaque hanging from a wall, that doesn’t mean that I respect you. It’s earned. You have to show me why I should respect you. Reggie did just that two weekends ago. Michael Bishop is another man who has earned my respect. Bishop hasn’t liked me since the first day I stepped foot in this company. Why? I don’t really know. Maybe he has always looked at me as a threat. I mean, do you blame him? I sure as hell don’t. Because I am a threat. A threat to his championship? Nah. I could care less about the Outlaw Championship. A threat to surpassing him in any accomplishment that he may want to achieve? Sure, who really knows. But despite whatever grudge he holds against me, I still respect Michael Bishop. Did you hear what I said?! Michael… I respect you. Not because anyone told me that I need to respect you. Not because you beat a former world champion in Aria Jaxon to win the Outlaw Championship. But because you went to war with me. You stood by my side. You stood next to me, shoulder-to-shoulder, in fighting for the same cause: ridding Kingdom of The Ashes of the Wake. And when my best friend, my brother, tragically left this world… you were there. Shit, the entire Frontline was there for me when I needed you all. So for that? For everything that you have done within the past month… thank you, Michael.
 
However, don’t let that get to your head, Michael. Just because I respect you and I appreciate what you have done for me, does not mean that I will not rip your goddamn head off and spike it to the canvas like I just scored the winning touchdown at the SuperBowl. It’s business. I will do whatever it takes - WHATEVER IT TAKES, MICHAEL - to prove to not only you, but the entire world why I am the Spartan Champion, and prove why my division is far, far more superior than your little Outlaw division. Your division is what… not even a year old? Sure, maybe if you bring up the fact that it was once known as the OWA 24/7 Championship and it was the laughing stock of not only this company but the entire wrestling industry. You said it yourself, Michael, the Spartan division is the workhorse brand. Look at the history of this belt. It has bred world champions. It has bred future Hall of Famers. It has been around since day one. It is a championship that everyone wants to have, but only a few will ever actually win it. In all honesty, it should be a championship that you want, Michael. When you lay your little head down at night, you should be DREAMING of winning this piece of championship gold. When you are looking at yourself in the miror with your little Outlaw title strapped around your waist, you should be imagining that you are wearing a REAL championship like the Spartan belt. Instead? Instead you make up bullshit excuses in your head of why your belt, why your division, is going to one day surpass everything that the Spartan division has accomplished for this company. But, in the real world? We all know that your belt will never amount to anything.
 
Everyone has been pleading with me for the past week that I should go to Scott Oasis and have this entire match called off. Why? Because you are a former MMA champion. Because you have ripped men apart in mere seconds inside of the octagon. NEWSFLASH, MICHAEL - you’re not in the octagon anymore! All of that? All of that means SHIT here. I don’t care if you have knocked men out in seconds and stood triumphantly over their lifeless bodies. I don’t care. I. DON’T. CARE. You see, I have never been the type to back down from a fight. Maybe that’s my downfall in life. Regardless of what is thrown at me, I will walk into the battle with my head held high despite if I know for damn sure that I am going to lose. That’s the case even more now since I beat Arata Asakura for the Spartan title. You talk about being a “fighting champion,” Michael? You’re looking at a fighting champion. I am the motherfucking embodiment of a fighting champion. But you? I see you more of a person who got lucky when finally catching your big break when you won that strap. Nothing more… nothing less.
 
I can’t promise that I am going to win this fight, but there is one thing that I can promise. Only one thing. And that is you and I will give everyone their money worth with this match. I can’t promise that I will pin you in the middle of the ring for the three-count, but I can promise everyone that if I do go down, I am going down swinging.
 
I will not make it easy for you, Michael. This will not be a “piece of cake,” nor will it be a “walk in the park.” Much like you, I also need to prove to everyone that my return to this company wasn’t a fluke, and that I am NOT just the latest “flavor of the month.” I need to prove to everyone just why I am a future world champion and a future Hall of Famer, and if I need to beat the living FUCK out of you and make a mockery of your precious Outlaw division to prove that point? Then so be it. Just remember… it’s nothing personal, Michael… just... purely business.

Same time as Rebecca was sitting in the basement gymnasium of The King’s Penthouse- just upstairs was where The King resided himself upon hearing Rebecca’s voice getting louder, in his hand was a glass of water and two ice cubes as he readied himself to head down into the basement, but of course, that wasn’t the case whatsoever upon hearing Rebecca’s fit of rage with the punching bag and then the loud thud of her hitting the floor is heard from the top of the staircase leading to the basement.

“Jesus christ… she definitely gets that anger from me.”

Jason leaned against the wall and listened to Rebecca’s speech about her first title defense, maybe she learned her harshness from the wrong person, the person who’s been so notorious for losing the championship in his first title defense. But, the more that Jason listened in, the more he came to realize he had his own frustration to let out himself. Of course, that came in the form of his own partner in Tag Team matches continuing to flake out and forget his own place. That frustration came to a boiling point at the last Atlantis where Rebecca and Hana defeated an ill-minded Jacob Knight. The more that Jason thought about it, the more pissed off he became of the thought. Placing the glass of water down on the nearby table near the door to the basement, he walked around the penthouse home and silently thought to himself about the possible outcomes that awaited him for Kingdom. All in all, they all tied to the same thing--

“I am fucking disgusted with you.”

--Jacob Knight choking once again.

“Fucking disgusted with you, absolutely disgusted with you, and the fact that you’ve done fuck all after everything I’ve done for you -- it makes me fucking sick. I mean, just how much do I have to put in the fucking work with you before you actually cop the fuck on and do something instead of being a lazy fucking bum? When I saved you from being absolutely murdered and fucking merked in that ring against The Vincent, I gave you a chance to actually show your worth and when I confronted you about it, you gave me that fire in your eyes- in your voice that you were serious about this, that you were mentally preparing for something big and you were wanting to prove to everyone that you’re not the joke of this team. I took you under my wing when Havoc wasn’t going to and wanted you to fucking die in those Trials of The Wake, and you made a fucking fool out of me, an absolute fucking fool out of me, and I am embarrassed about all of this, Knight. I am, I truly am embarrassed about all of this and I shagged Sara fucking Cross who was a mere fucking virgin that wanted to wear her best Sailor Moon costume during sex, THAT is how fucking embarrassed I am with you, Knight. I had to be a weeb and watch nine thousand episodes of One Piece like a fucking incel weeb cuck for the sake of having to get fucking sex and that is subpar to how you’ve made me feel for fucking months now.”

The remainder of those days was unbearable, it was like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but in a relationship- not that it was toxic or anything for Jason, but of how absolutely shit it was in comparison to what he had with Rebecca, a healthy relationship that worked out in the end with them separating and going their own way.

“Yeah, I used the bitch for fucking sex and I manipulated her to allow it to happen but that’s what happens when you get a naive young adult to become a simp for someone with fucking stardom to his name and let themselves become wrapped around your finger. Here, Knight, I’ll pass her your number and maybe she can talk to you because having two imbecile, naive, and downright fucking immature pricks of both genders might make the perfect couple. Honestly cannot wait for you to be pegged from behind with her Naruto-themed strap-on. And when you’re done taking twelve inches in your arse, then you’ll come back to me and realize how much you’ve mentally fucked me in the arse like I’ve two arseholes puckered up for you to just ram it the fuck in, you sodding bastard.”

His tone continued to be raised before coming down in a loud crescendo at the very end of the rant, bringing a calmer side of Jason into view and a soothing voice coming from his lips.

“Now, onto matters at hand here, because fuck knows we’ve got a lot to talk about here with Elijah the chad and mentally deficient Shea Flaherty. Now, when I first saw that this match is made, the initial thought I had was “Jesus Christ, we’re going to fucking lose again now, aren’t we?” and maybe I’m right with Trumpie Cunt Knight over there but on the other hand, I thought long and hard about it, and I realized, they’re just like us. Two people who hate each other so much that they throw shade at one another for the fucking sake of it. They hate each other’s god damn fucking guts and it kind of put a smile on my face-- until I realized that they both actually give a fuck about the match they’re in and they might work together at some point to put in the effort and win. That’s where my problem lies here, and that’s where my problem ends really because for as much flack as you two might get from me, I’ll just feed you fucking Knight and you’ll have your happy win and be so delighted with yourselves.”

Jason rolled his eyes at the thought but the more he contemplated his sarcasm, the more he thought to himself how much of a true statement that might have been.

“Elijah Hampton. The fucking chad of the group. The big boy “I’m bad” with the slick feel to every speech he speaks. The big boy wants to join our ranks but doesn’t realize the initiation you’ve got to take to be apart of The Ashes. Let me tell you something, I really like you, I like you a lot. You’ve got a good vibe to you and it’s making me feel like me and you could click. We could be the PERFECT teammates, we both hate the fuck out of our partners we have right now and we both fuck with the sleazy life. Come on, we would both fit well on a banner with some Vaporwave in the background for a theme, wouldn’t you agree? I can’t promise you a membership or anything but if you feel a tickle in your arsehole, then prepare to squeal like a little bitch and be pinned down by an invisible force because he’s going to make you like Belle Delphine and give you a rape fetish.”

A chuckle came from The Prince.

“I wish I was lying when I say that but in reality, I’m absolutely fucking right.”

...

“But Elijah, please don’t ever do that fucking face paint bullshit you did, it was like watching an adolescent toddler get a hold of a bucket of paint and pouring it all over itself. Although entertaining at first to see him try, it turned less funny when you actually did it. Leave the face painted shite to Shea, alright? Cool. Thanks mate… and speaking of Shea Flaherty…”

Clearing his throat with a small cough.

“I WANT YOU TO REALISE SOMETHING REALLY QUICK HERE, SHEA. SHOUTING OBNOXICIOUSLY LIKE SOME RETARDED GOBSHITE WITH LESS BRAINCELLS THAN HE SHOULD HAVE IS NOT HOW TO PORTRAY YOURSELF AS SOMEONE THAT’S GOOD. SHOUTING FOR NO REASON GETS YOU NOWHERE BECAUSE GUESS WHAT, NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR YOUR FUCKING VOICE AND THE FACT THAT WE HAVE TO HEAR YOU SCREAM IN EVERY SINGLE PROMO YOU DO MAKE OUR EARS BLEED. IT’S NOT A FUCKING MYSTERY ANYMORE HOW MUCH ELIJAH HATES YOU WHEN ALL YOU DO IS SHOUT LIKE SOME REVERSE AUTISTIC CUNT WHO ACTUALLY LIKES LOUD NOISES AND SCREAMS ALL THE FUCKING TIME. WHEN THEY MAKE THAT MEME OF ‘AUTISTIC SCREECHING’, YOU ARE THE VERY FUCKING DEFINITION OF THAT MEME BECAUSE THAT’S ALL YOU CAN FUCKING DO, IT’S YOUR SPECIAL TRAIT, AND IT’S SOMETHING YOU’VE SOON MADE TO BE YOUR OWN PERSONALITY YOU FUCKING MONGOLOID. NOW, I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU DO TO KNIGHT BUT IF SCREAMING IN HIS EARS MAKES THINGS SO MUCH BETTER THEN I’LL ALLOW YOU, BUT AT LEAST LET ME PUT MY EAR MUFFS ON FIRST BEFORE YOU DO IT, CUNT.”

Again, he coughs to clear his throat.

“And to be honest, if Knight does attempt the same shit with me this week, I will not hesitate to fucking kick the commie knacker right in the fucking head with a Punt because he deserves every single bit of it. Right now, I have better things to be focusing on. The Clash awaits me, and for what I hope is going to be something good awaiting me on the horizon, it’s all going to be going well for ol’ Mavvy here, and when I’m done, we’ll be seeing something very new along this road in OWA. Because for those who never seen me in Wrestleworld, you’re in for a rude fucking awakening… BUT- if you do remember me back on that furry fucker island of shite, then I’ll leave you with this one final message that might give you a hint as to what is soon about to come.”

Jason’s face grew with a massive smirk as he clicked his fingers and then his tongue before leaning his head back and uttering out the words he thought he’d never say again.

“Long may The King fucking reign.”

Fade to black.

The sound of a bubble gum popping is heard as an arrow hits a bullseye, straight in a beheaded wolf's head on the wall. Jonetta Stone, happily in a cottage in her home country, plays with a crossbow, in a rare sight of her being upbeat in her natural habitat. She lets the crossbow down, jumps into a fur-covered sofa, and is ready to mock her adversaries in their time of trouble.

Well, look what the cat dragged in—crawling at our feet, the leftover riffraff from the demolished pillars of OWA. Nibbling at our feet for crumbs now that we're the breadwinners of Odyssey, now that we're the wielders of the Odyssey main event for the Clash and I always have my championship shot. They want attention, a taste of relevancy from the olden days. Those two…..

What are their names again? I get so forgetful when it comes to people that no longer hold any sway or importance. I mean, who remembers the names of each actor from the Breakfast Club? You may remember their faces, but you've probably forgotten most of their names by now. That's how it is with these pillars. The two of them that Llorona and I are facing, they're…... they're….

Jonetta starts playing with her hair with a pretend lost look on her face. She then places her index finger over her mouth in deeper thought.

Oh right, Dulce…..ah Tour…..Torres? That's the one with the whole good girl act but joined arms with the crime syndicate Wolvesden at the first sign of trouble.

Jonetta suddenly angrily looks at the camera.

YOU SOLD YOUR SOUL TO THE DEVIL DULCE, AND YOU STILL LOST!

Jonetta then folds her arms, shaking her head.

And then the other one, who was she? Oh right, she's the prime example of the wicked favouritism we had to get rid of. The pillar was only champion because Dulce begged and howled at Viola to get her another title shot. The pillar didn't put up a genuine fight against her mommy wolf Khan because they love sharing championships in their little pack.

Jonetta gets angry all over again and points at the camera while doing it this time.

YOU LET NIKI KHAN WIN THAT CHAMPIONSHIP DIANTHA, AND NOW IT'S VACANT BECAUSE OF YOU! EVERY TIME YOU SO MUCH AS TOUCH THAT CHAMPIONSHIP, TRAGIC EVENTS FOLLOW!

She sits back in her seat and shakes her head.

We had to fix what you messed up. Beat her for the championship? No, personally, I refuse to give her any legitimacy like she was a true champion we had to beat in the middle of that ring for the belt. No, I don't care what little stunts were done on Atlantis when she "earned" a championship shot in some random match when the rest of us were distracted by an actual event. I'm glad we fired her. Odyssey shouldn't be a glorified charity act where failed professional wrestlers can get another shot at superstardom because they've been good wifey valets who became mother figures to the company's real stars. That's all your mommy wolf was Diantha, just someone relevant due to the infamy of your little wolfpack.

Ever since I came to OWA, I had to hear all about the Wolves for over a year. "Wolvesden is eternal." "Everyone is scared of Wolvesden." Bla Bla Bla, Wolvesden! It was so irritating! People just wouldn't shut up about it. Then, I step in the ring with Wolvesden for ONE night, and it all crumbles to dust! I completely obliterate your team and mommy, and then daddy commits suicide out of embarrassment!

What a shame.

Llorona and I? We're all pride. We've taken everything that we've been hit by with stride, and we always come back swinging with a force people can't take in return! I don't have to worry about if my partner has any remorse over what we've done. Do you people forget what Wolvesden did? Oh, you beat up my help. You damaged some of my fur products, truly annoying. But Llorona? You attacked her family, her roots, her people, you think she'll ever forget that? FORGIVE that? I don't think she will. Those things are important to her. And why not? Who doesn't love their country? We're once again going into Jonetta country, and whenever it's in Canada, you can best believe my hand decides who gets to survive the night through the cold. She and I? We're not best friends, but we're the most complete team in all of OWA, we're the North, and the South brought together to beat up all of the American's in the middle! Consider it the walls closing in from every border, crushing you between the once great rift between Llorona and I. I mean, who haven't we beat?

We beat Wolvesden. We beat those two outlaw mud show wrestlers everyone in OWA is obsessed with when all the fans go crazy over Devi Krysis tickling their amusement of seeing a trainwreck not knowing the joke is on them! We even went to Atlantis, and with Llorona on my side, I walked out victorious against another monster on this roster. Honestly, come to think of it, I've knocked out Havoc. I starched that tub of lard Nyx. Now I've even beaten Maelstrom. Perhaps, if there were no pillars around to distract me, and EVERYONE in OWA had begged for my assistance, I would have been generous enough to deal with OWA's Abholos problem, without making any sacrifices. That's how dangerous I am. And everyone knows what Llorona is capable of, I'm the only one who has ever been able to stand up to her, with that chilling knife of hers at my throat! The rest of you just aren't up to snuff, or what is it that people like to say these days? "Build different?" That fits quite right, formed by permafrost up north and forged by the heat of the wastelands down south, Llorona and Jonetta Stone were the killers this roster was always too stupid to realize they had until we decided to work together in taking out all of you!

It's too late for regrets though, I've seen you hit your knees Diantha, all emotional over what happened to your parental figures in OWA. If I had known that's all it took to get you to lower yourself to where you belong and expose yourself for the weak hearted little girl you are, I'd have targeted your Wolvesden family a long time ago! …..For everything you've done to me, all those career-defining moments I could have had if not for you being there to ruin my day, oh I would have done ANYTHING to get back at you and watch you succumb to pain like we witnessed on the last Odyssey! Then again, I don't even have to do anything for that to happen, no one does do they? Even your friendship with April didn't work out. That's right, and where you're little gal pals Christie Sky and Roni????? DON'T THINK I HAVE FORGOTTEN ALL THE TIMES YOU WOULD RUN AROUND WITH THEM, TRYING TO PRETEND THEY WERE PART OF THE NEXT BIG THING IN OWA! Don't you see Diantha? You're a curse, a blight! Everything you touch, everyone around you, you're destined to ruin them all! Everyone who has ever been remotely considered your ally, the Women's World Championship, and even Eris' career, they all got worst because of being in your vicinity. There's only one thing on this roster that has been synonymous with being around Diantha that hasn't come out worse from it, and that's me! You may have taken the Clash and Promethean Chamber, you may have even beaten the Dollhouse with those two sideshow freak friends of yours, but after seeing you have it all in your wasteful hands…..I have only become stronger every time! The destruction you bring with you is what made me realize how cutthroat I had to be to survive in this company! You're the reason why I stopped the colourful laughing, why Dollhouse fun and games have been traded in for plain ugly brutality! So don't be surprised if you see me not give an ounce of remorse over your ruined life and lost loved ones, you pushed me this far and you'll continue to see the consequences of your existence!

And don't think Dulce isn't part of the people you lessened, I was waiting to get to her. The once pure World Champion at the top of the world, a woman who was once even capable of defeating me, now just another individual that this business has proven to have no standards! All because you dragged her into your little Den of wolves, a dirty place you know more than anyone she didn't belong in Diantha!

Dulce, your soft spot for Diantha has always been your undoing. I'm not just talking about you literally making sure she was in the match you lost the world title in, that's not even important, BECAUSE I WAS THE ONE WHO ACTUALLY ELIMINATED YOU! ….What I'm talking about is that was the first time I knew you were as bad as any pillar,  no one else seemed to have realized it back then, but I knew then the legend of Dulce Torres as the heavely beacon of hope was a lie! When you made Viola put Diantha in the chamber, you became Dulce the politician. And you lost your world title. Then when you followed Diantha into her old pack of scumbags, you became Dulce the Wolf. And you lost again! Are you really not going to think about why an indomitable goddess such as yourself have become such a sorry excuse for superstar? Open your eyes Dulce! You aren't good at these new complicated roles of yours, you're supposed to be "Just Dulce", the woman who just goes out there and lets her work in the ring define her! When you start exercising your influence for favours and start running with creatures beneath the goddess's purity, you lose all the simple appeal and strength you have. Personally, I think you're pretty much done Dulce, the genie can't be put back in the bottle. But hey, it's not that bad is it? When you kept your career as clean as a fully rubbed magic lamp, you got your three proverbial wishes in 2 Goddess Championship reigns and 1 World Championship, no one can say you didn't go far before losing that luster of yours! So just stop getting in Llorona and I's way, accept that your era is over, and we won't have to embarrass you anymore after this match.

You too, Diantha. Unlike Niki Khan, it's not too late for you two have happy lives! You can be REAL mothers AND employed with a steady source of income sitting at home as legacy OWA hires! That's right, I'd gladly talk Viola into letting you two sit at home with your husbands, or wives if you so choose, and keep your jobs! So long as, unlike Niki, you be good "Wolf Mothers", you tell all your little baby wolves drinking at your tits that those Demolition Corps women they'll see on TV are the type of women you NEVER cross in life, just so they aren't raised as badly as you were.

Jonetta Stone gets up and approaches the wolf head, removing the arrow and target. She reveals the name "Niki Khan" plastered on the wolf's head, finally in taxidermy the wolf is eternal to Ms Stone. Jonetta smiles at her work on the wall and the camera goes to black.

"Long time no see, eh Hana?" 

We hear-and see-this message through the recording of a voicemail on a phone screen, although judging by the length of the bar, we can imagine it'll go on longer than the usual set of pleasantries. The voice of one Elizabeth Karlson is muddled, both by the quality of the audio and, one can imagine, quite a few drinks, but the message still comes through clearly. 

"You and I, we've been destined to do this for a long fucking time, haven't we? I remember the first time we faced off in that other place, locking up, looking for leverage, one over the other. I felt a connection with you, Hana, even if it wasn't a positive one...you were one of the few true challenges I'd faced in my career at that point. Imagine that, me blazing through everything, stopped dead in my tracks by a young girl from Japan who most would otherwise look over as if she were nothing. 

You and I have that in common-the overlooking, that is. People don't think we're worth a fuckin' thing, and they step on us. 

...

Difference between then and now, though? You've got a worse attitude than I do, and that's damn well impressive. I figured I'd be the one with a chip on my shoulder for the rest of eternity, and you'd be jiving and grooving with whatever it was you had for the same duration. You've got a man, Hana, you've got gold-or you did, at least, and you've got a crew. Me? I've got nothing. No significant other. No trainer. No place to really call home, even. I'm just full of piss and vinegar and looking for some poor bastard to let it all out on. 

You might be that poor girl at the moment.

...

Look, Hana. Life for people like us is hard. It's always gonna be hard. But I feel like we've got a real opportunity, here, you know? We can bury those feelings and try as hard as we can to put on a show, put ourselves back into consideration, you know? You've had those spotlights in the past few years, you can bring us back there. You can show the crowd watching what real competition looks like, you can pull those eyes back, and I'll try my hardest not to beat on you as bad as I did last time. I'll try my hardest not to nearly end your fucking career, to do what I can to outlast you and make sure that we both get a bit of shine coming out of it.

Because you're not the end goal, darling-that's Becky Brookes. 

And I'll do whatever I need to-

-whatever I can-

to get there expeditiously.

...

See you soon, doll. 

Promise it won't hurt too bad."

The message, wordlessly, clicks off.

(The scene opens backstage inside the First Ontario Centre, in Hamilton, Ontario Canada, the sight of where OWA Odyssey will soon be taking place.)

(Cut to: the 4'11 little person, Kevin Edward LeBrock wearing a white three piece suit and a solid gold necklace around his neck, walking down the hallway with a scowl and a power walk with focused purpose. He swipes a OWA microphone from a nearby backstage reporter and gestures to follow him down. As he walks he brings the mic up to his mouth to speak)

Kevin Edward LeBrock: "Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Kevin Edward LeBrock, and I am the advocate, representing my client in her first SINGLES match this week right here in Hamilton Ontario Canada where she is set to take on one Devi Krysis in singles action. I would speak on this but at my client's behest she has made it perfectly clear that 'she has got this and wants to handle what needs to be said. So ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children, piss ants, and various hosers watching all over Canada. I give to you the Fem Phenomenon, the Baddest mother f'n bitch on God's green's planet Earth. I give you Nakita DuBov."

(She arrives at his destination and brings the microphone down to show the 6'4, one-hundred and eighty pound Nakita DuBov seated quietly on a bench listening to music from her iPhone. She glares up at LeBrock and the camera with an icy cold stare from her green eyes. She removes the hood from off her head with one hand and pulls the headphones out of her ears with the other ready to speak.)

Nakita DuBov: "Last week, I put the entire OWA locker room on notice, last week I made the entire Odyssey locker room collectively shit their pants in attention when I set foot against the likes of Monica Monroe and Liz Karlson and dominated both of them in the center of the ring with unrelenting fury and when I knocked Monica Monroe out not once, but twice and just as I was about to go for the pin and get that final one-two-three, that little opportunistic lucky ass bitch Lizzy Karlson stole my right of glory from me and took my moment right from out of my hands. Now I will give you credit in that it the nature of triple threat matches and you got all one-hundred eighty pounds of me out of the ring and made the pin, but mark my words that your reckoning is coming. It maybe at The Clash of the Titans, or it maybe sometime there after, but there will come a time whenever this green-eyed demon comes right for you and like a deer caught in the headlights there will be nothing that you can do but take what's coming to you."

(Nakita takes a pause as she lets out a sigh to recollect her thoughts and prepares to change the subject before continuing on.)

DuBov: "Now moving onto this week and right into singles action, a match that thus is lots more simplified. A one on one match where I will set foot in the ring against the Starks Academy Mix Martial Artistry in the form of the five foot eleven Devi "YAY, I get to slap an adjective at the end of my name and deliberately spell it with a 'K' in order to be more edgy and cool" Krysis."

(Nakita pauses as she does a mock golf clap before continuing on.)

DuBov: "From what I understand Devi, we are starting the show out and when it is all said and done and whenever the dust has settled there won't be a need to continue watching Odyssey because like two pit bulls in a Michael Vick, we're gonna tear the mother f'n roof on this bitch. Shit is about to get very real for you. Oh I get that you're fighting for the honor that was Niki Khan getting fired and thus having her Women's World Championship vacated but you know what I say to all that, much like the same thing about Kenny Drake and his memorial. Who in the hell cares. He's dead, and she's gone. You want to know why Niki Khan is gone from OWA? It's not because of Revvy firing her so much because that is just a convenient out for her. She was backstage before the show, she took one look at me in the locker room and got so scared that she...

(Kevin LeBrock chimes in waving his hands in the air in excitement at Nakita.) 

LeBrock: "Oh, oh, oh, Nakita, can I say it, can it? Can I? Can I?"

DuBov: "Yeah sure big Kev, go right on head."

LeBrock: (Singing) "Fuck that shit, I'm out. (Normal voice) "And now back to you Nakita."

DuBov: "And the rest was Khan going into Revvy's office and handing in her walking papers and laying it all like the way she did because she didn't The Fem Phenom slamming her pretty ass through the bottom of the damned ring, and now you want to be her champion and cry foul because you didn't get your dream match. Who the Eff cares. You better be paying more attention to the woman that is going to run through your tall and slender five eleven ass like wet tissue paper. Now I get it that you're a mix martial artist. Another MMA star that wants to try her hands at professional wrestling. Good for you and you hope to make a name for yourself at my expense. NOT GONNA HAPPEN BITCH! You have trained extra hard in your Stark Academy for this upcoming match up against me hoping that it will be enough that you can do what you can to somehow bring your dream match with Nikki Khan back into the fold, that's cool. But there is just one problem with that little pipe dream and that is your facing Nakita DuBov and you are gonna get your skinny narrow ass kicked from turnbuckle to turnbuckle and back again for more."

"Now you can go on and quote your Isaac Newton and make your comparisons of David and Goliath all that you want, but unlike David, who rolled a natural twenty on his attack roll and taking out the giant in front of him. This little story isn't going to have a happy ending for the conquering hero. This Goliath is gonna grind you up into itty bitty chunks of dog shit. Sorry but not sorry, but damned your luck. As much as I want to raise my own stakes towards the Clash of the Titans. I have another goal and that is making sure that you bloody and broken mangled up body serves as an example to that opportunistic lucky bitch Liz Karlson and it haunts her dreams until the day she dies that Nakita DuBov is going to end her...painfully."

"Now don't get me wrong Devi, I am sure that you will somehow and someway muster up the intestinal fortitude to survive your upcoming loss against me this week and limps your ass to Clash of the Titans and put on a good showing because of who you are as a mix martial artist, but one thing that I can more than make perfectly clear and that I will PTSD your ass and you will never forget what I do to you. I will haunt your thoughts and plague your dreams, and that's all I've got to say about that. Kev, close us out."

(Kevin LeBrock brings the mic back up to his mouth as Nakita puts her headphones back in her ears and resumes listening to her music.)

LeBrock: "Devi Krysis, it really is nothing personal, but it really is damned your luck that you had to draw the unlucky number of facing off against the Fem Phenomenon. Believe it or not she does think respectfully of you, but once you are standing face to face and you looking up at the green-eyed demon from Phoenix Arizona. Everything will be a blur but will be felt in slow motion all over the highlight reels. Nakita DuBov is going to conquer you. This is Kevin Edward LeBrock saying good fight and good night and good luck and pray to whatever god you so believe in because she is going to end you painfully."

(The scene fades out.)

I never did buy into the whole concept of wanting to have a dream match with someone.

On one hand, I wanna say it’s because I never held someone in such high esteem that facing them felt like a dream. That’s either dickish or , depending on who you ask. On the other hand, I wanna say that, as someone who’s done more in this business than I ever could’ve planned, it’s because the notion of calling something a dream attaches the element of unbelievability to it. I’ve done it all and won it all. I’ve faced all the titans, monsters, and larger-than-life figures that some people wait their whole careers to face.

That’s why I won’t do either of us the disservice of calling this a dream match, Natalie.

There’s nothing dreamy or unrealistic about it. You said yourself that we were fated to meet. Along with the likes of Dulce, Alyssa, and Diantha, you’re the one most likely to be pegged as emerging from the blueprint that the likes of myself, Stephanie, and Azumi drew up. To watch all of you succeed every day is to know that we did the right thing. It’s to know that, when we were doing our best to realize our own goals, there was the unintentional side effect of inspiring the next generation to do the same thing. I’ve never been shy about the fact that I consider myself to be an accolade-chaser, but I think that evolved from the fact that there was always someone insisting that I had advanced through some means that didn’t have to do with the fact that I’m one of the best wrestler that’s ever existed. It was so easy to say that it all fell into my lap because I was pretty or because I was popular...and so I’ve become a belt-hoarder. Championships and big-money matches are the tangible proof that your time in this industry has been well-spent. The younger version of myself allowed herself to think that she needed a gold-plated armor to defend herself from the detractors, and while I’ve got nothing to be insecure about at this stage, I just haven’t gotten out of the habit of wanting to win things. That’s probably gonna be my legacy, that I won a lot of shit. While that’s great, I always wanted there to be more to it than that. You’ve reminded me that there has been more to my time as a wrestler than just winning championships and headlining shows. That just by existing, I’ve inspired others to walk a similar path. And through my work on Odyssey, I’ve taken a more direct role, quite literally helping to mold the future of the business with my own hands. I never planned for any of that to be the case, but I’m proud of it just the same. I want that to be a bigger part of my legacy — that I know this girl power shit doesn’t stop with me and I’ve done my part to make sure that this business is always populated with strong women who know they can do everything their male counterparts can and more.

It’s my responsibility to leave this place better than I found it. To make sure that OWA is always a place where warrior women can thrive. The obligation that you feel to look after Odyssey, I understand it. I’m just the person behind the scenes. Women like you were the ones pushing it forward in front of the camera and on those grand stages. You roster members were the ones doing the important work, so to see the way shit has gone down lately, I understand why it weighs heavy on your heart…but the rain never lasts forever. I know because I’ve been there myself.

That “Golden Mafia” nickname was inspired by the color yellow, which dominated the signature color scheme of the show I primarily performed on at the time. I was the only woman in a boys’ club that was considered the young core of that show — along with Aren, Nas, Keelan, Nate, and of course, Kenny. Feeling as if I owed a debt to that show didn’t happen overnight. It was built over weeks and months, stepping out of that company’s neatly-defined box for women and beating up every man I faced on that show. At one point, there was an evil, self-serving group that wanted to take over the brand for their own benefit — sound familiar? — and things spiraled out of control. The brand’s avengers tried our hardest, but we lost. Things looked bleak for a while. It stung because I felt as if I had let down the people around me when it mattered the most. There was also the commonality of having that one particular person who believed in me above all else. In my case, it was Oasis. He lobbied for me to have a spot on the team that fought for our brand’s future. He gave me that spotlight, and even though we lost, getting to be on that stage was what turned a lot of people’s heads and made them believe that I was around to stay. That was five years ago. Then, three years ago, I lost Brody. To say that having to say goodbye to Kenny gave me flashbacks was an understatement. But, as my great-grandma used to tell me, there’s nothing new under the sun. We’re all living through shit that other people have trudged through before, and I’m here to tell you that there’s another side. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Even then, I don’t just know that you can survive all of this because I also have...I know that you can purely because of what you’re made of. No matter what stunts you’ve pulled, you’ve never deviated from being that girl that I saw on day one. The person that I championed because I knew that a brand could be built around you. You’re still the same Natalie Cage who lit the world on fire every time you’ve succeeded. That’s who you are, whether you feel like you’re in touch with her or not...and that’s who I need you to be when we face.

I’m not gonna sit here and lecture you on how to work through your grief or how to handle loss. It’s not my place to do that. I know that I’ve always been a busybody and that I can’t focus on what’s hurting me if my mind has occupied. It’s in my nature to compete and to keep moving forward, but the fact that I haven’t even paused professionally since Kenny passed is definitely my way of putting up a mental block.

The grief can’t catch up with me if I don’t slow down.

Stephanie and I still have the World Tag Team Championships. I won the Puroresu Heavyweight Championship again and I’ve already successfully defended it. Hell, Stephanie and I are less than a month away from adding the SSW Tag Team Championships to our already-overloaded trophy cases. All of this since Kenny left us. All of this in part because my feelings are hot on my fucking heels. It’s also owed to the fact that I knew Kenny long enough to know he’d never forgive me if I fell off and then blamed it on missing him. If there’s anything I can do to honor his memory, it’s to keep being damn good at this wrestling shit, just as he was. And being at this stage now where I don’t have anything else to prove, even my title-chasing ass knows that every match can’t be a prizefight. I’ve long since realized that iron sharpens iron. I still need to beat the best if I wanna continue to have any claim to being the best, and you still have that in you. You still have it in you to be the person who can take me to my limits. You’re still the woman who shattered records as the Women’s World Champion. You’re the one that helped me cut Bull down to size when we faced at Civil War. And shit, you’re one of the ones people were talking about afterwards with that stunt you pulled after the match! That’s that spark. You’ve still got it in you to have your name being the one on people’s lips when this match is over. And no, as you admitted, it’s not the grand affair that some of us might have expected. We’re not fighting for a title and we’re not closing a pay-per-view, but it’s okay. Aria Jaxon vs. Natalie Cage is what the streets need, and we’ll own the night regardless.

I can’t do it alone, though.

To take some losses — both personal and professional — on the chin and to wonder how you come out on top again is a shitty feeling. I mean, do we really need to delve into how things were going for me before I won the Clash? You’re talking to a kindred spirit here. I got chills when you got on the mic last week and detailed how you planned to win it all again and go on to bask in the bright lights of Final Destination. What’s funny is that would make me little more than a speed bump on the road to that proposed conquest, wouldn’t it? Well...only if I lost. Just as always, I’m out to win, Natalie. As heavy as your heart may be, I know that deep down, you want the same thing. You’ll be stacking wins on top of wins until you feel like yourself again. I just can’t take a loss here because I wouldn’t be myself if I allowed myself to falter here. Even on this “throwaway” edition of Atlantis, I can’t let up. I’m hoping that you won’t either. All I can hope is that, when the bell rings, all of this sadness is pushed far enough to the back of your mind that you can be the opponent I know you can be. And this time, when we’ve got the whole audience captivated, there’s no champion vs. champion vs. champion implications hanging over our heads. There’s no third body in the way. There’s no brand warfare. Just the best of the best, having the one-on-one match that the world has been waiting on.

And I know that when the moment comes, the best version of Natalie Cage will be ready to meet me there.

Well, is this not just the most charming, lovely thing you ever did see? All of these so-called “elite” competitors doing nothing but…STANDING AROUND AND SUCKING EACH OTHER’S DICKS.
 
WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO THE REAL MEN?! WHEN DID THIS COMPANY BECOME A BREEDING GROUND FOR SNOWFLAKE CUCKS WHO ARE JUST HERE TO PRANCE AROUND AND PUT EACH OTHER OVER LIKE WE AREN’T DOWN IN THE SHIT WITH THE REST OF THE RIFF RAFF?!
 
Seeing as how I am not a giant, quivering pussy, I am not beating around the bush and I am definitely not saving the best till last. Finnegan Wakefield, you don’t get to say SHIT about me after the fucking idiocy you displayed two weeks ago. What the fuck did you think was going to happen, son? You thought I was just going to sit idly by and let us co-exist for the sake of taking out the Phantom Troupe? Who gives a flying FUCK about the Phantom Troupe in the year of our Lord 2021? They are IRRELEVENT! We have a group of nutters hoarding all the gold in this place and you cunts are hung up on a faction who haven’t done anything of note here since 2018? Get a fucking grip, people!
 
Yes, Finn, I fucked you over and I would do it a thousand times over just to see the look on your face. The utter disappointment that befell you when it became apparent that a tiger cannot change its stripes. Call me a snake, call me a bastard, call me whatever you like, you were still stupid enough to trust me. When are you people ever going to learn? I betrayed my best friend and then when he died, pissed on his grave like it was nothing. I am not here to please anyone, fuck your feelings. I am here to do whatever I want, whenever I want, and no pencil-necked geek is going to stand between me and that objective. You’re “hunting” me now, Finn? A fine fucking job you are doing of that, mate. Except this is literally the safest I have felt in my entire life! You sit there and pontificate about how life is a gauntlet and give props to everyone in the match and all I can think about is how much I want to snap you in two. How much I want to ring that scrawny neck of yours for old time’s sake and watch the life drain from your eyes one more time.
 
Everyone is so focused on the big picture that they are not paying attention to the subtleties. This right here is a gauntlet match, ladies and gentlemen. No way to know who you will be facing and no way of adequately preparing for anything. All I see is people talking about that coveted late Clash entry, how this is their destiny and their time to shine and all that other bollocks that makes me sick! You people care about such meaningless things. Finn, there was a time I thought you were above all this, but now you have only confirmed to me that you are the beta bitch I always knew you were. Who gives a fuck about the fact you and Nobi were in a Clash together one time? Who gives a fuck about the banal minutiae of stats and all the grandstanding you insist on peddling out? I kicked Nobi square in the dick in the first Clash and sent his Asian arse home, now that is how you get shit done!
 
Same old little Finn, trying to fulfill a destiny he cannot accept has passed him by. You had your chance, boy. You got your title reign that lasted forever and now you think there is some divine reward in it for you? You think you can intimidate me when I am the closest I have ever been to getting exactly what I want?
 
YOU’LL DO FUCKIN’ NUTHIN!
 
YOU’RE GONNA BE A GOOD LITTLE BOY AND TAKE THIS BEATING LIKE A MAN BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOU FUCKING DESERVE. I HOPE YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH EVERY OTHER CUNT IN THIS GAUNTLET SO I CAN JUST BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU WHEN THERE IS NOTHING LEFT! PICK THE BONES OF A FALLEN HERO AND MAKE HIM SUFFER JUST LIKE I MADE YOU SUFFER LAST TIME WE FACED OFF!
 
Oh and lookie here, if it isn’t Nobi again! A man who gets opportunity after opportunity after opportunity despite having done sweet fuck all here! Yeah, we faced off not too long ago and I whooped you good, boy! I beat you down and now you want more? You think there is some strak for you to break? That I am Goliath and you are little, bitty David with your slingshot? Get to the back of the fucking line you utter mongoloid. Every time you speak in your broken English I wish the British Empire still existed so we could just colonise Indonesia to fuck. Just roll in there, burn down some buildings, execute some civilians and take over trade routes for the fun of it. Maybe if we did colonise Indonesia back in the day, the filthy animals that live there now would be able to speak the Queen’s tongue in a halfway decent manner! I don’t know who you have dirt on that it means you keep getting elevated to these spots, but I will beat you down until the message is clear: nobody wants to see Nobi in OWA. And if I come across your dumb arse in the Clash this year, I am not kicking you in the dick: I am cutting that fucker off and shoving it down your throat.
 
But wait, there is more in this land of misfit toys! The Corsairs! The fucking Corsairs! WHO THE FUCK ARE THE CORSAIRS AND WHY THE FUCK SHOULD I CARE?! AND WHY THE FUCK DO 99% OF YOU STRONG STYLE FUCKS SOUND EXACTLY THE SAME?!
 

“Hello, my name is Noah Reigner. I am sooooo good at the graps! My workrate is phenomenal and I just know that no matter who I face in this gauntlet, we will put on a classic for the people! If you can dream it, you can do it! Conceive. Believe. Achieve.” SHUT THE FUCK UP!
 
I HAVE HAD IT WITH YOU INDIE-RIFFIC FUCKS WHO WALTZ INTO OWA LIKE YOU’RE HOT SHIT. NOBODY CARES, DICKHEAD! THAT WORKRATE SHIT MIGHT DRAW MONEY IN JAPAN, BUT IF YOU CAN’T CONNECT WITH AMERICAN FANS, WHY SHOULD I GIVE A SHIT!
 
Noah fucking Reigner, the man who cut the same promo six times on six different guys. Why don’t you just kneel down now and cop a facial from all of us? If I’m gonna get a metaphorical blowjob from you, might as well follow through with the real thing. Is that really all you can muster for me? That you want us to have a great match and may the best man win and all that other shite? BOOOOORING. You’re boring, Noah! And all the whining and complaining about the Phantom Troupe, give me fucking strength. Why is everyone so hung up on these cunts? I cared so little about them that I let Keelan and Finn take an L because I had better things to do. Half your promo was just you waxing lyrical about a bunch of shitheads who aren’t even in this match. Your head is not screwed on right and I will happily twist it into place for you. The Corsairs, what a fucking joke. A couple of jobbers who have done nothing but take Ls since that got here. Oh, but now you have a win over Chaos Elite and suddenly, you think you mean something? You think that opportunities are just going to fall into your lap. If I have to hear you romanticise the arc of the Corsairs one more fucking time, I am going to put a bullet in my skull. Oh I am sure you two made a handshake agreement while you were docking or some shit. I am sure you have a contingency plan in case you end up in the ring against each other and you know what? I want that to happen. Because you are two dumb motherfuckers, you know that? Why fight? Why not flip a coin and let someone progress fresh? Fuck it, take each other out for all I care. I can just picture myself walking down the ramp after the two of you batter each other and having an easy path to victory.
 
This is the problem with wrestlers like you. All you care about is satisfying the move marks. About giving the people 30-minute, five-star classics. You don’t THINK. You have no sense of self. It’s just move-move-move-move, flashy sequence after flashy sequence. Why do you think so many wrestlers in their 20s have the bodies of 50 year-olds these days? Nobody knows how to get over in a meaningful way anymore! Nobody knows how to draw money without fucking killing themselves! This industry’s in the gutter and it falls to me to pull it out again!
 
So excuse my cycicism, Noah, but I do not want to have a good match with you. I want to stand over your broken, mangled body and pick the bones like a vulture. Why the fuck would I throw away the chance of a lifetime to have a good match with you? I don’t even know who you are.
 
And that brings me to the member of the Corsairs who appararently has some hair on his chest. Hey Graham, I kind of like the way you talk. No frills, no bullshit, a straight up MAN in a world of PUSSIES. Shame you are also a fucking IDIOT. Why would I walk away from this? Because I am the God of War? Newsflash, dickhead, two is better than one. Imagine the power I could wield with the God of War medallion in one hand and a guaranteed world title shot at Final Destination in the other. Nobi hit the nail on the head, actually: I would be the UNDISPUTED #1 contender! Nobody to stand in my way, no ridiculous hoops for me to jump through. You yourself admit to not knowing much about me, so let me clue you in: I have done nothing but GRIND in this company and got FUCK ALL in return. But not anymore. No sir. 2021 is MY YEAR and I have started things off pretty fucking well, all things considered. Yeah, I made that little Jap Arata regret ever stepping in the ring with me. I have no respect for Japan and never will. I wrestled there ONE TIME and was BANNED from the country because of my entrance and they did me a FAVOUR. The streets smelled of bad sushi, everyone there sounded like Jackie Chan and the Pokemon Store was closed when I tried to visit it!
 
So one big fuck every accomplishment you had over there mate. You want to say I’m not accolade-driven? EXCUSE ME SIR BUT HOW MUCH OWA HARDWARE HAVE YOU GOT TO YOUR NAME?!
 
I WAS THE FIRST EVER TAG CHAMPION HERE. I WON THE TOP TAG TEAM AND SINGLES TOURNAMENTS THIS COMPANY HAS. I’VE BEEN A PART OF MORE FIRSTS THAN YOU HAVE HAD HAPPY ENDINGS AT THAI MASSAGE PARLOURS!
 
Fall into the trap of thinking I am just here to hurt people and bring chaos, keep on thinking in your little safe space, dickhead. Because while you are preoccupied with that, I will be running through the field of this gauntlet and just making a stronger case for my rightful role in the main event of Final Destination. And even if I DON’T win the Clash…I can just cash in this bad boy around my neck and get a free ride to the main event anyway. Do you not see it? Do you not see that this shit is win-win for me? I hold all of the cards right now and you are hung up on my spot in this match. Here is what happens next, Baker Boy, I kick the piss out of you and your bumboy partner and send you both packing. I snap the HB pencil in half like I do every time we face off, I dispose of Nobi again, and then I sit pretty with the knowledge that a late entry in the Clash is my prize.
 
You understand what I am saying to you, Graham Cracker? You are fucked mate, totally and unequivocally fucked.
 
Jimmy Johnson, El Ironico…

I finally accomplished the dream I’ve prophesied for years, but I was not recognized as the true champion. I was the last man standing back in Game Over and I took my beautiful crown with me. However, that oaf Derelict continued to claim he was the champion and attempted to undermine all the modifications I was making to Olympus. After a long and perilous battle, I am now the undisputed Omega Heavyweight Champion. If I told anyone that a year ago, they would’ve laughed me out the room, but now, I am the king of Olympus. Not one man or woman can lay claim to that moniker because they are all undeserving. Olympus is no longer a hellscape full of destructive personalities and fleeting champions. Olympus is now a utopia, with a loving and understanding Father, attempting to save the world from their own transgressions. I have offered my hand to every single soul, but I will only accept those who are truly willing and have the purest of hearts. That is why we rejected two potential candidates from joining The Awakening; they were not pure in thoughts and they wanted to use us for their own dreams. The Awakening is a brotherhood that was built with our sweat and tears, dreaming to defy expectations from the elitist scum who ran this brand. Now, everyone has to refer to us as the faction on top. We hold every singles belt that this brand offers and no one has been able to stop us. Sure, we lost last week to the Corsairs but all I see is a small error in a book full of successes. In all of OWA’s history, no faction has ever been this dominant. No faction on Kingdom or Olympus can lay claim to the things that the we have done in only a matter of months. In Olympus, there is no Great War; we have won the war already. Some may try to start wars with us, but there isn’t a point; we always will prevail.

Now, don’t be surprised if there are voices of dissent, my children. Some have already questioned the methods that I rightfully claimed the title, but they can hate all they want. At the end of the day, every record book will say that I defeated Derelict by pin in the middle of the ring. I said beforehand that I would do everything possible in order to win this match; I am a man of my word. Men like Nas have told me that I have bribed authority figures so I can claim advantages, but he’s just bitter. His wife is no longer the general manager and he can’t use her to further his own agenda. Ever since I defeated him, he’s become a man of self pity and anger towards the world. His status was revoked and in return, he’s seeked help in order to reclaim the power he once held over this brand. However, no matter what he does, he’ll always be a failure to me. He’s a man who deserves nothing but losses, until he recognizes that he’s nothing but a control freak with an inferiority complex. But enough of that, let’s get into what’s going on this week. I have the opportunity to solidify my title reign when I go up against Darkane. Now you all may remember Darkane as the weakest link from the Thunderdome match late last year. Not only that, but he continues to do nothing of note for himself or his faction. Personally, I see him as an example of what I am capable of now that I claim the top of the mountain. He’s my first opponent in this new era and the last thing I need now is another fluke. I need success and I expect nothing but a easy fought victory against a washed up old man who should’ve retired years ago. Sure, you’re a hardcore veteran at this point, but we aren’t playing in your playpen right now, old buddy. Heck, if we were playing in your pen you’d probably still drop the ball somehow. If you were as good as you think you are, you would be Omega Heavyweight Champion right now. You called me a con artist several times, but if your track record makes anything clear, you’re nothing but a false prophet spewing out the fantasies in your head. Where are all your accolades if you were such a hardcore legend? They are nowhere because you’ve spent your time in complacency. Meanwhile, I’ve evolved from 2016 and got over this whole “Hardcore” personality crap. Instead, I’ve morphed myself into a father who seeks justice and peace over unnecessary violence. I hate having to hurt others that could’ve joined me instead, but you relish in it. You and Derelict share this quality, but he actually accomplished what he wanted; he ruled this brand with an iron fist until I came into the mix. You couldn’t even rule Atlantis.

You and the Phantom Troupe are the wannabe Awakening. You want to accomplish the same things we have but you can’t even keep the same members on board for longer than a few weeks. You have no loyalty to one another and instead of focusing on building your connection together, you all seek violence. Every single member of your faction is selfish and that will ultimately be your downfall. You say the Troupe’s chemistry is unparalleled, but I think you’re living under a rock or something. Have you completely given up looking at the title scene at this point? The Awakening is more connected than any faction in wrestling history. That isn’t what some may call a “cap”; it’s just the facts. I have a trinity of equals who have put their faith in me, and I’ve also trusted them. Our bond is not some scheme and I do not have any ill intentions towards my faction members. Now I understand that is how lower tier factions work and is the reason that they never succeed. The point of being in a faction is becoming selfless and aiming towards a common cause. That is why you won’t ever be able to clip my wings, Darkane. You fight for yourself but I fight for the Awakening, as well as my fellow members. We have strived for each member of The Awakening to hold a championship. That shows that each of us have a mind of our own; each of us had our own goals and we made sure each of us were incredibly successful. You can’t do anything to me that’ll keep me down. You tried to do the same back in the Thunderdome but I was the only man who remained standing after the whole match was said and done. If I remember clearly, you actually were pinned by Derelict in that match. Again, you lost against Derelict in the match that you touted was your personal playground. How am I supposed to take you seriously after such a poor performance? You say that we will eventually fall, but you are showing signs of doubt towards our brotherhood. We aren’t easily swayed by things like egos. One day, I believe every member of The Awakening will hold world titles, and we will all be supportive of one another. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t have to fight each other, but we will know the best man will triumph at the end of the day. Noah and Eon had to face this struggle head on during their TV title bouts, but they became even more united after Noah solidified his status as the greatest TV champion in OWA history. Eon claimed the Openweight title for us and has been a fantastic champion thus far and expect him to be revered as a great champion whenever this world ends. Now, you disrespected my brother Mark Michaels, but it’s funny. He has Olympus’ newest title meanwhile you botched every opportunity you’ve had to win a title so far. If he’s as bad as you say, then you’re even worse. Mark has become into a diamond who has yet to see the biggest heights his career will reach. Your lack of purpose and pursuit of destruction has lead to your current path Darkane.

I am not playing God. I am the Father and ever since I’ve been awoken, I’ve proven that I am a divine being. I prophesied everything that has happened so far and now I will make another prophecy; I will defeat you this Friday on Olympus and hold my Omega Heavyweight Title over your head. I will wipe my feet on the weak legacy that you’ve made for yourself. Your darkness won’t be able to prevail against the light; my word says that good will always prevail over the evil chains of sin and misery. I will bring hope to your wretched soul and to those who may be following your footsteps. I forgive you for your hurtful words, my son, but you must be punished for defying the Father. You must know consequences or this world will continue to defy me instead of accepting me. I am a loving man, I really am, but I also can be angry and must invoke my wrath against the ungrateful masses. I will make you look like a fool; it is a bigger punishment than any threat you threw my way. I am not afraid of you inflicting damage on me; I already hold this world’s burdens and pain. I’ve nearly faced death and I’ve also been in some of the most extreme matches in this federation’s history. You are an edgy imitation while I’ve actually lived through and succeeded in the hardcore and wrestling scene. You must be fed your lies and your eyes must be open. You are not cursed; you are a product of your own actions. Your sins are holding you back and you’re too stubborn to understand the Father’s truth. If you actually listened to me back in the Fall, you would be in a very different place than you are now. You’d be more successful and a less conflicted individual. You wouldn’t need to rely on violence; you’d just need to be dominant and trust in me. However, you, like many others, have decided to go up against me. I don’t know if this is just the fad but just like every other fad, it will eventually end. I will ensure my brothers receive better spots in the Clash and have stronger opportunities to make it to Final Destination 3. I would love to face any of these men and allow them to prove their worth to me. I will reign for as long as I decide to and unlike previous Omega Heavyweight champions, I will hold my crown with an iron fist. My career will be at an all-time high this year, mark my words. This is my year and it will be one of the biggest years and seasons OWA will ever experience. People are paying attention to The Awakening and the success that I’ve brought to them. My career has become anything but mediocre at this point. I could retire tomorrow and I’d still have a more eventful career in OWA than you have. However, that would be too easy; my legacy has just begun; I’m barely writing the first chapters in my newest book. The cracks are in your own armor and you are projecting your fears towards me. I don’t know how to tell you this, but...I am not you Darkane. We are nothing alike and you will never be on my level, especially with your foolish mindset. I am untouchable and until I decide my purpose is needed elsewhere, I will continue to be this brand’s world champion. No man or devil can defeat me. Your attempts at putting me down are futile. Once you fall, please... PRAY FOR YOUR FATHER.

Natalie is sitting at a table in her bar. On it is a bottle of decadent-looking whiskey and four empty shot glasses.
 
It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
 
Natalie pours a shot and downs it with swiftness. Before pouring out another and holding the glass up to the light, inspecting the amber hue of the liquid.
 
Glenturret Scottish whiskey. Aged for thirty years. Retails at $2300 a bottle. The smoothest, neatest liquor you’re gonna find anywhere. I normally make do with a Jameson. Booze doesn’t have to be expensive; it just has to get me shitfaced. But this isn’t about getting ratarsed, nah, it’s about looking at the past and towards the future. It’s about weighing up all the shit that’s going on and evaluating exactly how I wanna react.
 
I am not in a good fucking place right now. It’s all gone to shit. It was an honour to wrestle Gwen Harper, to give a young talent the chance to shine and boy did she make me work for that win. She’s gonna do great things, of that I have no doubt. But how can I savour that victory? How can I sit here and toast to a job well done when the show I helped build is falling apart at the seams? I had to stand there and watch my friend, my grieving fucking friend, Niki Khan, get fired. I had to protect my girlfriend from an angry mob for something she didn’t wanna do in the first place. All because that psycho cunt Revy used her wish. She could have wished for anything and she chose to spite Niki, Viola, me, and the memory of Kenny. That shit is unforgivable. I’ve pulled some sick stunts in my time, but I’d never do that. The moment I’m in the same postcode as Revy, I’m ripping her fucking head off. This isn’t business anymore, the inmates are running the asylum and Odyssey’s turning into a living nightmare. Once Clash of the Titans is done with, either April Song or Llorona are gonna be world champion. To see the belt I made into the top prize in this sport on one of them…it doesn’t bear thinking about.
 
Natalie knocks back another shot and sets her glass on the table.
 
This should be a happy time for me. This should be a time for celebration. I’m back in the win column, I’m building up momentum for the match I made famous, but all I can think about is how fucked everything is. To watch something you love fall into the hands of a group like Demo Corps makes me feel powerless.
 
And it’s my fucking fault.
 
I could have stopped them. All I had to do was win that Lethal Lockdown match and Niki would still be employed. The title wouldn’t be up for grabs between two wastes of oxygen and we’d be able to mourn Kenny properly. The guilt of my failure to win that match weighs on my brain every waking hour. It’s like a sickness that I can’t shake. I’m consumed by it and I’m expected to just go on like things are normal.
 
I’ve finally been given something I’ve been lobbying for for a long time and it feels bittersweet. The dream match: Natalie Cage vs. Aria Jaxon, two titans of this industry FINALLY come to blows in singles competition. We’ve been kept apart too long, Aria. This match was fated, we both know it. You’re the standard bearer, you laid down the blueprint for what I’ve done and have done everything there is to do. I have a deep admiration for you, that goes without saying. But above all that, I’m thankful. I’m thankful for all the times you went to bat for me with management. For all the times you told anyone who would listen, “Natalie Cage is the future!” For all the times you were able to look at me and see that I’m not my brother. That despite you having to put up with his bullshit for as long as you have, you never let it get between us. And when I was at my worst heading into the main event of Civil War a couple of years ago, you kept a clear head. I remember that match with a fondness. Me and you teaming up to take out Bull Connors and trying to make it a singles match. Ha! It’s funny looking back now, ain’t it? Gareth came and cashed in and stole the headlines.
 
But where are Bull and Gareth now? Gone, while we’re both grinding and trying to make OWA the best that we can. We’ve been through a lot since we last crossed paths and truth be told: this match is exactly what I needed. I’ve been losing a lot of big matches since I came back to Odyssey. Seems that for every step forward I take, I’m taking two steps back. I’m not about coasting on legacy, I’m about getting results. You’re the one top woman on this roster that I’ve not gone one-on-one with yet and this occasion should be a momentous one. But I just…I can’t get in the right headspace to enjoy this.
 
I know you’re hurting too, Aria. You’re hurting more than I am. You’ve known Kenny a long fucking time. The Golden Mafia, the war you two went through at Hardcore Havoc, you’ve been friends, enemies, and everything in between. Your story weaves a rich tapestry and the words you had for Kenny after he departed were…well they were special. I’ve done my fair share of crying and I know you’re in the same boat. Neither of us want this match under these circumstances. This might be the biggest match that hasn’t happened yet in OWA. It should be headlining Final Destination! It should be up in lights! But no, we’re in the middle of the card on Atlantis. A year ago, I would have been mad about this. I’d talk about how much I’m being disrespected, but I’m over all that anger for the sake of anger bullshit. It’s an honour just to be booked against you, Aria. I could be fighting you in a pub carpark for all I care, I just want to fight you.
 
Maybe this is what I need to get my head straight? Anyone who comes for Aria Jaxon with anything less than 100% efficiency is in for a bad time. This is arguably the biggest match of my career and-
 
Natalie starts to chuckle.
 
-and I feel like it’s a fucking warm-up. Like it’s the chance for me to get my shit together before Clash. What the fuck is up with that? This match is everything, it’s the one thing I’ve pined for and that spark that I usually have just isn’t fucking there. That pisses me off because I don’t know what to do about it. I’ve always had the edge over my competition because of my spark. I was never the most technically gifted wrestler, I was never the strongest, the fastest, the most athletic. And yet I’ve accomplished more than any woman in this company not named Aria Jaxon or Tarah Nova. Why is that? Because I got lucky? Or is it because I have a desire and a will to succeed no matter what the cost? Is it because I am willing to destroy myself as long as the means justify the end?
 
Oh, it worked for a long time, but it’s starting to catch up with me. As I lay there at Civil War in a pool of my own blood, looking up at the lights and hearing the enemy’s music, I started to ask myself what the fuck I was doing. What the fuck got me to this point? Why am I going out there and bleeding buckets, only for it to lead to bad people getting everything they want?
 
What am I working towards, Aria? Tell me, because I don’t even know anymore. Is this what they call a plateau? Is this Natalie Cage’s purpose? I feel like I’ve become that top name they bring out to pop the crowd and give them a good show, but I don’t feel like the animal I used to be. I feel a little…lost. I feel like everything I’ve done was lightning in a bottle, that it can’t be replicated. I want to win the Clash again, I want to headline FD and become a two-time world champion.
 
I also want to fuck Penelope Cruz but that shit ain’t happening.
 
Show up, wrestle, repeat, that’s the cycle. You’ve been doing this a lot longer than I have, Aria. You’ve done everything I’ve done multiple times over. By my estimation, you’re the fucking GOAT. So, indulge me, if you will, is this what you expected? Did you expect Natalie Cage to be feeling this despondent when the inevitable dream match was booked? I’m sorry if this is disappointing you, because you deserve better. You deserve the spark, you deserve the baddest bitch on the planet who took this company by the balls and became a legend.
 
Natalie fills the four shot glasses and starts to drain them one by one.
 
This one’s for Kenny.
 
This one’s for Niki.
 
This one’s for me.
 
She pauses at the fourth glass and dares not touch it.
 
This one isn’t mine to take. This one I can’t take until that spark is back. This one’s for you, Aria. When all this is over, when we’ve let out our frustrations on each other and given the people something spectacular…when the world starts to heal and the sickness that’s taken us down fucks off once and for all, I want you to sit down at this table and share a drink with me. I want us to remember everything we’ve done and tell ourselves it was worth it. Years from now, I want our kids to play together and remember just how fucking cool their mums were. That we didn’t take shit from anyone and did it our way. You’re my role model, Aria, the reason I keep doing this. As long as people like you are in the world, then people will continue to be inspired.
 
If anyone on this godforsaken rock can help me find that spark, it’s you.
 
Natalie calmly gets up and walks away, the camera zooms in on the remaining full shot glass before abruptly cutting to black.

 

(The camera opened to Olympus commentator and New York wrestling aficionado Giovante Reese sitting in OWA Studios with defending PWN Unified World Champion Stephanie Matsuda. The Queen of Fighters was dressed in civilian clothes with a pair of shades over her eyes. The PWN belt was hanging off her shoulders as she held onto it with pride.)

Giovante Reese: Thank you for coming in today, Mrs. Matsuda. I know you have a busy schedule, but it’s nice for an accomplished champion such as yourself to grace us with your presence.

Stephanie Matsuda: You’re far too kind, Giovante. Once I knew it was you who wanted to speak with me, I just had to come in.

Giovante Reese: Aight, aight, so let’s get to it then. Stephanie Matsuda vs Alyssa Grace: a match nobody expected to be on an Atlantis episode, even less for another promotion’s world title. As the reigning champ, I’m sure you have some insight into what led to this one in a lifetime opportunity?

Stephanie Matsuda: Well, Pro Wrestling Nova has expressed its interest in working with other companies since its inception. As its champion I’m open to defend this belt against anyone. The matches that were planned for me fell through I guess and it’s been difficult to book around my schedule, but believe me when I say that I’m quite excited to defend my legacy against the woman who ended the career of my business partner.

Giovante Reese: You’re referring to Azumi Goto?

Stephanie Matsuda: Yeah. It’s just here in OWA, but it threw me off when it happened. I remember the dirt sheets discussing Alyssa as a legend killer, something that I take issue with on a personal level.

Giovante Reese: Oh really?

Stephanie Matsuda: Really, Giovante. I respect what Alyssa can do in the ring. She was a competent Goddess Champion. In a year's time, she’ll be up there with the others, but I know how quickly the hype train likes to take off. Everybody wants Alyssa to be Odyssey’s greatest treasure, but we won’t be fighting on Saturday night. Atlantis will be our battleground, a place where anything can happen. This is not a fight between two OWA Goddesses, Giovante. This is the PWN World Champion elevating her title and her portion to a higher level. If the powers that be can’t make that hap[pen, then I will. When I signed my name on that dotted line I made a promise that I would be the face of the Pro Wrestling Nova brand, and if I can do that at the expense of Scott Oasis and Alyssa Grace, then so be it.

Giovante Reese: Interesting. So for the sake of this match you won’t be looking at yourself as one half of the OWA Tag Team Champions?

Stephanie Matsuda: Why would I? Aria’s not involved and I have a feeling of who we’re going to bump heads with in our next defense. This is more of a business matter, business where I’m the outsider coming into OWA to stake her claim for another company. My goal is to show the world that PWN has the best world champion who is halfway to a year long reign. This isn’t the only world title I’ve been hanging on to for a while either, Giovante. If I can get past Jaydayne Pendragon’s wife Renee Jonae, then I’m one step closer to reigning as WWH’s Women’s Champion for a full calendar year in March. One day this will be replicated in OWA. Save the best for last, after all.

(Giovante rubs his chin as he considers Stephanie’s comment.)

Giovante Reese: So you would consider the OWA Women’s World Championship to be the biggest prize in our hunt for more gold?

(Stephanie shrugged.)

Stephanie Matsuda: It depends on how you look at it. In many ways while Odyssey remains its own thing while inheriting the legacy of Empire. We’ve had women who crossed over to encounter a new generation of superstars. I think the Women’s World Championship is one of the bastions of prestige in women’s wrestling. We live in a world that’s becoming more intergender - and rightfully so. But there’s a history to be acknowledged, you know. That’s what Odyssey is about. That’s what the WWH Women’s Division is about. Same goes for JET, LAW, Yugen, and other places. I want to remind people of where we were and where we’re going. Specifically, I want to be a bridge between the past and the present. I was trained by two women who are considered by many to be the greatest of all time. Azumi, Aria, and myself learned the way of the Queen’s Road. A style mostly seen in Japan we brought to the international stage and it changed our business forever. Hell, there are male talent who were inspired by our philosophy. And Alyssa? She’s definitely in the generation of women who were directly influenced by us.

Giovante Reese: I’ve heard about this Queen’s Road style. Could you elaborate?

Stephanie Matsuda: Sure. It’s full name is Queen’s Road Lucharesu. It’s a mix of three styles - Japanese strong style and Mexican lucha libre, but it’s philosophy is inspired from King’s Road puroresu. The Queen’s Road is made to pace oneself for the long term in a match. You focus on strikes and light grapple maneuvers early in a match and over time you build up to bigger maneuvers and risker high flying techniques. It’s about controlling the match using your fighting spirit and ring command - much like a war queen controlling the battlefield.

Giovante Reese: Hence the term Queen’s Road, I take it?

Stephanie Matsuda: Yeah. Every match is a road that goes in one direction, leading towards a single destination: victory. You must do whatever it takes to make it to that destination, Giovante. But there’s always danger on that road. Your opponent doesn’t want you to reach victory, but against all odds you must press forward. Alyssa defeated Azumi, but it wasn’t Azumi of the Queen’s Road. It was Azumi who was disillusioned by her place on Odyssey. The Azumi that fucked up Scott Oasis during Gate to Heaven. THAT’S the Azumi Goto of the Queen’s Road. When Aria and I rule side by side as the company’s top champions, Goto will be alongside us as Heritage Champion. Three queens, daughters of Miss Manami. We are not perfect, sweets. We all lose our way now and again. But, you have to ask yourself “how far am I willing to go?”

(Stephanie turns to face the camera.)

Stephanie Matsuda: How far are you willing to go, Alyssa? How much are you willing to sacrifice to prove that you can beat the Queen of Fighters? This is not an Odyssey match, sweets. I am a champion from another promotion who’s coming to invade your space. My destination...my victory along the Queen’s Road lies in Atlantis. That’s your homefront, love. When I take you to Cloud 9 and I stand over you with my foreign championship held high I will be sending a message to all OWA exclusives…

(Stephanie stands up and walks a couple of feet forward. Her eyes are serious as her chest slightly rises.)

Stephanie Matsuda: All of you will be thinking to yourselves ‘Cloudy Rules Everything Around Me’. This is a C.R.E.A.M. world ladies and gentlemen, a New York state of MOTHER-FUCKING mind. Empire’s greatest who fights out of the Empire State! Atlantis is the place where dreams come true, but I will be making that place my Kingdom, my personal Mount Fucking Olympus! I don’t need to be on Odyssey to make the story about me. Everywhere I go I make it my home. Alyssa, sweets, you couldn’t even handle two promotions. How are you going to write your legacy when the Rebecca Brookes of the world are already surpassing you? You know what happened when Allesandro Devione snuck off with my American Dream Championship? I went out and got two more, in the mere span of days! THAT’S HOW YOU REBOUND FROM A FUCKING LOSS ALYSSA! If you want to surpass the Clouds, Arias, and Azumis of the world- THIS!

(Stephanie snaps her fingers and JET wrestler and Matsuda’s protege Sora Todoh walks on screen with the SSW Intercontinental and OATH Intrepid Championships respectively.)

Stephanie Matsuda: THIS is how you get on my fucking level. I know I’m cursing up a storm sweats, but I need you to know, understand, and believe that I want the best for you and your generation. But if you give me anything less than your absolute best, I will make a mockery of you. I will embarrass you and send you tumbling back to Saturday Nights. Because, I have an ulterior motive for this, my dear. I’m not just sending a message to OWA in general, but specifically the ENTIRE Odyssey roster.

(A sly smile comes across Stephanie’s face.)

Stephanie Matsuda: I’m coming. Like Galactus floating through the Marvel 616 I’m on my way to eat your fucking planet. I haven't forgotten about the Women’s World Championship. Alyssa will be an example of what happens when each of you cross paths with me. I’m walking the Queen’s Road, a path walked by only the worthy. You’ve seen me fight with your own eyes, Alyssa. This isn’t a normal match. This is the fight of your life.

(Stephanie snaps her fingers and several War Room Dojo students walk out holding the WWH Women’s World and International Champions, AND the OWA Tag Team Championship, Stephanie pats the faceplate of her PWN championship.)

Stephanie Matsuda: This isn’t a game, Alyssa. This isn’t an anime where the plucky hero defeats the all-powerful antagonist. This is a warrior at her absolute fucking apex offering the opportunity of a lifetime to someone with all the potential in the world. Nobody has what I have right now, Alyssa. The best OWA has - Havoc - I already proved he can’t touch me several months ago. You know what that means right? Tomorrow night you fight The Best Wrestler in the World. The ACTUAL Best Wrestler in the World. I am the Elite Answer of Wrestling, sweets. I am the Omega and these belts? Are my fucking Alliance. This joshi has taken over the business in an extreme way, and nobody…

(Stephanie breathes in…)

Stephanie Matsuda: AND I FUCKING MEAN NOBODY!

(Stephanie breathes out…)

Stephanie Matsuda: Will be able to do what I’m doing. I don’t need a Hall of Fame to celebrate my praise. I’m already living my legend. But I’m not a selfish woman, Alyssa. I’m willing to offer you the same piece of greatness that I’ve obtained. This might sound shocking, but I believe in you. There’s a part of me that wants you to beat me, but sadly that won’t happen. I look at you and I can tell you’re not there yet. But, we’ll see just how far along you really are. Maybe there’s some hope for you after all.

(Stephanie gestures to her students and they leave with her other titles.)

Stephanie Matsuda: Tomorrow night Alyssa’s arms become long enough to box with God. Let’s see how many rounds you last, eh? Welcome to the Queen’s Road.

(Stephanie salutes at the camera and walks off with her students with Giovante nodding in approval.)

Tick… tock… tick… tock… the sands are falling down the hourglass to the moment where the cataclysmic transformation of the wrestling universe this company is contained within comes ever closer like lingering Death.

The Clash of the Titans is one of the biggest opportunities in this business to be able to bring forth a change to the natural direction that the OWA Management has placed upon the upper echelon to those that have been chosen to represent this company and those who have been chosen to compete within the purview of the top accolades. Everyone has it placed within their mind that they are walking into this match with the biggest advantages, the best opportunity to be the one to outlast the multitude of bodies and flesh that will be scattered about throughout the ring, but everyone’s chances have been drastically reduced because of the introduction of the men determined to raze the landscape of the Omega Wrestling Alliance. The men whose brotherhood has been forged within the fires of scorched earth from the divine leaders of this industry and the steel of caged malice where war was waged. The name that has returned to haunt everyone’s mind when mentioned instead of being a mere mockery of what it once was, The Phantom Troupe. Trust me in knowing that we intend to have one of our members walk out of the match with the opportunity to become make an example out of the man decreed to be the top name of this company with the trophy hanging on their shoulder as evidence of this, bringing rebirth to the prestige of these trophies that have been tarnished over the past two years since my departure from this business, and we will do whatever it takes in order to make this possible. However, this week is all about making that threat known to the rest of those that are within the roster that has decided to declare themselves in The Clash of the Titans match. Darkane will be representing The Phantom Troupe in standing across the ring from the man who has been chosen to be the centerpiece of Olympus as Omega Heavyweight Champion in Nathan Fiora and this match will be essential in giving us the best opportunity to not only enter into the match after most of the chaff has been cast aside from the match, but it will bring birth to a precedent that the days of Fiora keeping that trophy that has been degraded over the years is numbered with The Phantom Troupe having him in our crosshairs. Not only has this opportunity been gifted upon us or the opportunity to have a moment to speak about The Awakening itself on Olympus, but the powers that be has decided to place yours truly into a match against a man who has a history with a person who has been a thorn in my side for far too long, Ryo Sakazaki. Opportunities to make sure that the world keeps the name of The Phantom Troupe with the same place of fear and reverence that it deserves and if they are not already, these opportunities to make examples out of those who stand before us are the perfect chances to return that perception.

With that said, let me not forget the man that has been chosen to be my opponent at Atlantis because I’m sure his ear is eager to listen to the thoughts I have had about the words he has thrown towards me, especially considering he has a certain point of view brought from a colleague. I can see that you’re trying to coax out the worst parts of myself from the cage I had kept it within for such a long time, but if you haven’t been watching or paying attention to Olympus Ryo, let me go ahead and let you know that there is no need to lure out that side from me. I’ve already made it very transparent through not only my inclusion into The Phantom Troupe faction but through my actions since my arrival back into the fold of this company, that there is no heroism left in this vessel. No heroics, no gallant acts, no creator, no longer being the name that everyone wants to praise for being the face of an industry, the only thing left is a man who’s willing to do anything and everything to make sure his mission of bringing forth wrathful destruction upon this industry for all the bullshit over the last year he had to deal with because he wanted to be that becomes realized, a shared goal with those that are within The Phantom Troupe who feel the exact same way that I do, surprisingly. The generation that you have become a part of, that you have formed bonds within the terms of colleagues and acquaintances, created this man that is standing before you as what you called right on the nose as a “New Age Punisher”. It has a ring to it, a nice allure to the nickname, but there’s much more to be said about it because it has brought this nature of violence out of me that I didn’t have for a long time since my departure from the company that cast the spotlight down upon me into the view of legendary status that I have now. I haven’t been this man since that time, I haven’t been this destructive force of carnage and brutality since those days when Gawds and Aces had stood in my path, and that makes me quite the dangerous individual especially for fresh talent like you who looks to make a name for themselves at my expense. I’ve been where you are, Ryo. I’ve gone through the growing pains of being a new talent trying to break his way through the glass ceiling in order to get his start into the business, but let me inform you that you won’t get that from me. Unless there is an act of God himself inside of that ring to make you perform a miracle or someone runs down that ramp to be your salvation, Atlantis will be a night where you become another victim to stand as a testament to who Jacob Senn is now. You wanted this however, you wanted the worst I can deliver, and trust me, you’ll get it in spades in preparation for what is about to come. For even though Clash of the Titans is at the forefront of my mind, I’m not about to let you be caught in my rear view mirror. You’re right beside me in the passenger seat, Ryo. I have you right by me and the pit stop on this highway to The Clash of the Titans is about to come up, where I kick you out of my car and leave you the ditch, broken and bloodied with the everlasting memory of the man you allowed to put you in this position and asked for it. After all, this is all part of your plan at Atlantis to get one over on me and psych me out on my path to claim victory at Clash of the Titans for The Phantom Troupe? You’re the one in control right? You want this?

All of this bold talk is just that, bold talk. You saw this match and thought about the opportunity to finally let the spotlight catch you with the world’s attention directed right onto you, but you’ve come to realize that this uphill battle of yours will be in vain. So, you try to play this little mind game to do what you can to make that climb a bit easier. Get inside of my head and talk about how you’re going to slow this match down because you know how fast I want this match to end, talk about my past in Wrestleworld, even make boisterous claims about being the bigger bastard between the two of us and proving it at Atlantis while puffing out your chest. I get it, management has given you more than what you can chew or swallow, but there’s no escape from this and I’m going to choke the life out of you, pal. You can take this match however you want to take it, go whatever pace you want to take where you want this to be an all-out destructive brawl between the two of us or if you want a show of technique and skill to be placed out there for the entire world, it doesn’t matter to me. I’ve done it all and excelled at it against people who’re far greater inside of those ropes than you are, kid. I’ll give you the opportunity to make yourself get comfortable and believe everything is in your control, make you feel like this match is all in your favor where you can do whatever you want and feel invincible against me, and then when you least expect… you feel the sharp pain. You feel the figurative knife sliding into your spine, the searing pain forcing you to freeze from the excruciating pain that you’re forced to endure, as you suddenly collapse to the mat as you figuratively bleed out as another fallen soul placed before me. I’ll make sure you have all the confidence in the world when you enter inside of that ring, but once the bell sounds and we’re in there, I’ll slowly chip away at it deteriorates with every passing second until there’s nothing left and you come to the realization of what you’re standing in the ring with. Carnage was a fantastic comparison to make to the person that will be standing across the ring before you because that’s what you’ll endure. Brutality, destruction, malice from the deepest recesses of my mind in order to make sure you’re unable to fight and be forced to accept defeat, but carnage… the perfect word for what’s not just in store for you, but for OWA as a whole. Enjoy this moment in the sun, this chance to be able to make your statement to the world while you can, because once I’m finished with you on Atlantis as they watch from their screens and in attendance, you’ll be forced to be lost in the darkness of oblivion and obscurity. You may believe you’re the bigger bastard between the both of us, but the truth?

The truth is that I’m going to make sure you come to realize that I’m the worst bastard in this company and when everything is said and done at Atlantis, you’ll have no more doubts about it.

This is a chance to get a closer step to win The Clash of Titans as the winner of this match is getting a high entry number for The Clash. This is an opportunity for everyone to get a future World Championship match of your choosing at the OWA Biggest PPV in Final Destination.

My God, this is a good opportunity and chances are, if you have a high entry number, the chance of you winning the Clash of Titans will be getting bigger. I believe it that everyone in this match on Olympus deserves an opportunity to win The Clash of Titans.

I believe Noah Reigner, Graham Baker, Nate Cage, Finnegan Wakefield, Ironico, and Jimmy Johnson want to win this match as much as I do and anyone who wishes has this one spot for this Gauntlet Match.

Funny enough, I don't think I have ever had a Gauntlet Match in my resume so this is truly for the first time ever I'm going to experience this.

Now I don't know when would I come out for this match nor I don't know about anyone's spot but this match could also be considered as a warm up for the Clash of Titans match.

You see, we need a skill and endurance to win both Clash of Titans and Gauntlet matches and I don't mean to brag on about this, but I did win and at that time, I retained my SSW Puroresu World Heavyweight Championship against 29 other men at SSW Homefront just a few months ago which is still fresh in my memory.

That being said, I do want to repeat my success in SSW to win the OWA Clash of Titans match because if I'm able to do that, I'm going to be one of the first few people who wins this kind of match twice in a different company.

But you see, in life, We are forever a student. We never stop learning. And the best teacher is always the experience. I did win the SSW 30 Man Battle Royal match but I entered as like….what? Number 21 or 22? Around that. My point is, I've experienced it that I won that Battle Royal match when I entered as a high entry number and that's why I have to win this Gauntlet Match to repeat the success I had in SSW to win Clash of Titans this year and going to Final Destination to finally win an OWA World Championship.

Not to sound too overconfident, but I have been both a World Champion and a 30 Man Battle Royal winner and I'm sure I could do my best to repeat my SSW success story in OWA and that's why I have to be ready to battle against anyone in this Gauntlet Match.

It appears that I know all of these people in this match. Some have been my alliances. Some I have traded punches with them. Some at least I have shared a ring with them. And some...well some have beaten me.

In this day and age, especially with The Internet being the most important thing in life, Information is the key. I know all of them have my information but I know all of their information as well which is a fair trade.

And to be even more fair, sometimes information leads to false interpretation so there's a chance I could make a mistake but a fair trade is a fair trade, they can make a mistake against me as well.

Let's start with Finnegan Wakefield, shall we? The first ever and the longest reigning OWA World Champion. First of the all, thank you for all the kind words that you've said to me. I'm not going to lie to you, there was a time when I thought I was done and I wanted to give up. Hell, I missed the boat on 2018 until like mid 2019 to focus on my acting career which I thought would be something I wanted to do for living for the rest of my life. I mean, acting isn't bad at all and that's something I like to do but as for right now, it's not my main passion, wrestling is. That's why I came back to get more success in this industry and also to atone my sins to a believer like you who thought I never gave up. Have I paid all my debts? I don't know. It's not something I can judge but I've done great since I returned to 3 wrestling companies but we always want something more. Can you win a World Championship for the second time? I believe you can, Finn. As a matter of fact, you won the OWA World Championship by beating 3 other men fair and square and still holding the record as the longest reigning champ ever in this company. To add an even more fact, you never really lost that belt. You gave up that belt because you had other things to do like trying an MMA Career which you did great as well. No one ever beat you for the OWA World Championship and that's something you should be proud of because you lose your World Championship under your own will. You're a true champion in my eyes, Finn and I hope you realize that too. It is surprising that even after all these years knowing each other, we only met not once but twice. Yes you did eliminate me in New Jersey's Clash of Titans but you also have to remember that you also pinned me in a Tag Team Match when you were still part of "We Are The Bollocks". See, if we're going by technical, I'm 0-2 against you, Finn. That's why IF, and I mean a big IF, we ever meet in this Gauntlet Match or even Clash of Titans, I have to be the last man standing in order to prove that I can show something to you. No hard feeling at all from my end Finn, but if you want to run me over, I'm going to try my absolute best to stop you just like you have stopped me twice.

I've said I have no hard feelings towards Finn at all even though he has eliminated me from a Clash of Titans type of match or for pinning me, so everything you said about me isn't disrespectful at all and we're cool with each-others, Noah Reigner. As a matter of fact, I also want to thank you for all the compliments you've said to me and it was fun teaming up with you and Graham Baker to battle The Phantom Troupe at Clash of Titans. We lost but I have no regret because I had an opportunity to team up with the one and only true Assault Rifle in this business. After hearing the rumours of Noah Reigner for a few years, I'm excited to possibly trade punches with you in this Gauntlet Match. I mean, I don't know if we would ever meet at all in this match but the feeling is mutual that I would love to have an opportunity to face off against you, Noah. You see, you are a former New Jersey World Champion and also just like me, a former SSW Puroresu World Heavyweight Champion, I'm sure you want to win an OWA World Championship by winning this match to get a high entry number to win the Clash of Titans match to go to Final Destination to be a world champion and honestly, I have no doubt about that. Every rumor I have heard about you before we ever met are always great ones. Why is that? Because you're great. You're a great wrestler and a great talker and no one doubts you in those departement. As for me, it's always the opposite. People doubt me. People underestimate me and I can tell for sure, my SSW Puroresu World Championship winning was an unexpected one. But just like that, if I have a chance to wrestle you in this Gauntlet match, I want to do something unexpected by pinning you 1-2-3. Again, no hard feelings from me Noah, but just like you are, I do want to realize all my dreams to come true and I have to battle every obstacle I'm going to meet, including you.

Noah brought this himself but I'm going to say it again to you, Graham Baker. I did eliminate you last week on SSW Gate of Heaven at that Elimination Chamber match. But I don't think it's an accomplishment at all. Speaking of accomplishment, you are a former 6 times World Champion in different places which I'm sure you can win an OWA World Championship. I'm sure you can do it at Final Destination too. But to do that, you have to win the Clash of Titans match first. Can you do it? I'm sure you can because everyone has a chance to win this match, especially for someone like you, Baker. I do want to see you to win an OWA World Championship but I'm sorry in advance if I'm going to be an obstacle for you because while we don't know if we would meet at all, I want to win this match as much as you do and everyone else and that's why I'm trying all I can to win this Gauntlet match. The question is, who wants this more? We're going to find out soon enough and I'd be like that man to find myself as the winner of this match.

Without being involved in this match, you actually have a guaranteed world title match at Final Destination, Nate Cage but if I were you, I too would want to win Clash of Titans to seal my fate as the sole number one world championship contender. I'm going to say that you do deserve to win the God of War Tournament because you're a good wrestler and it's about time you win the big one. I mean I have experienced myself that you beat me in a one on one match so I'm sure you want to extend your winning streaks against me technically or not. Now what I want is to break that streak in this match even if this only counts as a Technical win. Everyone knows you're The Devil and I've experienced it myself and that's why I have to do all I can to prove it that I can survive from The Devil if we ever meet at all in this match. You're the Hell I need to escape from and I know it that my soul is tortured by the thoughts of you that have beaten me once and that's why, not only do I need to win this match, but also to prove it that I can ride The Devil to bring me to realize my aspirations to win the Clash of Titans match.

You've beaten me too once, Ironico. I'm going to give you a credit for that. But I'm going to tell you right now: 2017? Remember that? You were in Clash of Titans in New Jersey's version where you got eliminated by the fans when they made you go further from the ring. I don't know if you still remember that but it must be hurt to see no one wanted you to win. I'm saying this not because I don't want you to win but I'm saying this because I want you to prove it that you too are capable to win a Clash of Titans match. I don't doubt you for it. Prove it that you can win it but I'm sorry in advance that it has to be delayed because I want to win both this Gauntlet Match and The Clash. I'm sorry, but just like what I've said to Nate Cage and Finnegan Wakefield, I want to prove it that I can show a better showing than you even if we don't meet at all in this match. I want to add a win over you on my record and I'm going to do it in this Gauntlet Match.

And last but not least, Jimmy Johnson. You know, we only encountered each other once in a 4 Way Tag Team match. Sorry I had to make your partner tap out that time to eliminate you. And just like what happened in that match, I'm sorry if I win this match even if we don't meet at all. For the entire time I've known you, people always see you as an Underdog in Wrestleworld. Maybe you come to OWA to prove that you can be the Top Dog. Well, this is your OWA debut match and you have a chance to make a good first impression. Imagine it if you win the Clash match. It will be number one trending on Social media. This is your chance to have a fresh start but I'm sorry, it won't be easy as I'm involved in this match. I too want to win this match to repeat my SSW success.

I've said what I wanted to say and now it's time to back it up by showing what I have to do by winning this match. I'm going to win this match to win Clash of Titans and to win an OWA World Championship at Final Destination.

(Roy Bandini, Elijah and Shea’s mentor is waiting outside the locker room. He keeps checking on his watch. Whatever he is waiting for, must be taking a while. It’s roughly 4:30 pm so the old man is probably hungry for dinner. But finally, the door opens and a man steps out, looking like this...)



Roy: “What the hell is this? Elijah, you look ridiculous.”

Elijah: “Elijah? As in Elijah Hampton? The greatest thing to happen to OWA?”

Roy: “We must be talking about a different Elijah Hampton.”

Elijah: “Elijah is DEAD!”

Roy: “This is so stup— you know what? Fine. I’ll play along. If Elijah is dead, then who am I speaking to?”

Elijah: “MayHam.”

Roy: “Mayhem?”

Mayham: “Yes. Like mayhem, but with an a instead of an e towards the end. Because Hampton. Ham. MayHAM.”

Roy: “I have no words.”

Mayham: “Words are often meaningless anyway. Just like life. All life does is take and TAKE! It forcefully grabs and squeezes your hopes and dreams till the very last drop! Life is unforgiving! Life pushes you to the ground. Life stomps on your ribs. Kicks you when you’re already down. A SWIFT KICK TO THE DICK, THAT IS! It makes you its bitch. But Mayham is no bitch. Mayham may paint his nails, but he’s no bitch. I paint them black. After my cold black heart. After the darkness that has engulfed me. I was born into that darkness and I’ve lived in it ever since. The abyss is my home. Or...was my home. I’ve branched out since then. OWA is where I’ve set up shop. I’ve kicked my feet up and made myself comfortable. Brought all my pet snakes with me. Hung up my Jimmy Eat World and My Chemical Romance posters on the walls. I’ve brought my bed with me...my coffin. It makes me feel safe and secure. I brought all my belongings. Packed it all in the back of my car...my hurst. That’s all I’ve really had. Just belongings. And my shadow. And the voices in my head. My only friends. Because nobody understands me. Nobody can relate to me. And because I’m not relatable, people judge me. They judge me because I’m DIFFERENT! Because I talk different. Because I act different. Because I dress different! That is until I saw two people. They helped open my eyes! They changed my outlook on life! And they gave me something I haven’t had since the day I was born...HOPE! One of these people I speak of is Elijah’s tag team partner, Shea. But I don’t prefer to call him by that. No. No. No. NOOOOO! I see his true self. His true form! BLOODSHOT! He too wears face paint. WAR PAINT, that is. And so does the third guy I’ll mention. BLOODSHOT too is a little ‘crazy’, a ‘little out there’ as ‘they’ would put it. ‘They’ being society. The brainwashed masses. Pointing and laughing at the likes of us because we don’t conform to their rules. Because we are freethinkers. We don’t live life as if it’s just one big game of Simon Says! We color outside the lines. We march to the beat of our own drum. Like I said previously...life takes. But now it’s our turn. Our turn to take. Take whatever we want. Take whatever we DESIRE! Simply because we want to. Simply because we can. BLOODSHOT and Mayham can do just that as a duo. A deadly duo laying everyone in our path to waste. Leaving behind a stack of bodies in our quest. Painting a beautiful picture with their crimson blood. Even using it to add red to our war paint! But I say we expand a bit. I say we make even more friends. Friends who are like us. Friends who act like us and dress like us! A rarity, yes. Especially when we are under the same roof. Signed to the same company. I’m talking about...Havoc! Most don’t like him. Most want his head on a pike! Most. I’m not like most. BLOODSHOT’s not like most. I don’t jeer you, Havoc. I cheer you. I don’t fear you. I hear you. I hear your message loud and clear. And I want in. I want a seat at the table. I want to partake in your barbaric acts of violence. I want the blood on my hands. I want to help crack and pop your enemies’ bones just for shits and giggles. I want to choke them out as I watch their light burn out and their tearful and fearful eyes beg for mercy. Something we both know will never come. Because they don’t deserve it.”

Roy: *heavily sighs* “Are you done?” 

Mayham: “Done? No. We haven’t even BEGUN! Don’t sigh at me. You wanted this, Roy. Don’t act as if you are some moral compass all of a sudden. As if you levitate above us. NO! I’m above you. We are above you! Like a dark cloud, hanging above OWA! You took the call. You talked to him on the phone. You set this plan in motion. And now, it’ll come to fruition. In due time. Because I know what I’m getting myself into. And I know I’m not officially with them. I’m a possible recruit. I have to earn my stripes before they take me in with open arms. So be it. Mhm, so be it. ‘They’ killed a man...even though he did it to himself willingly. And I say...so? This is professional wrestling. We put our bodies and lives on the line, not sit and stare at a computer screen in a cubicle. Shit happens. Oh well. I didn’t know him. So I don’t mourn for him. I could fake it and pretend we had a connection like the other sheep in the back. Acting as if he was beloved. When his hands weren’t scrubbed clean. But it happens. A musician dies, their records sell like hot cakes even though in the past, most would turn the station when one of their songs would come on. It’s the cool thing to do. A trend. A trend for followers to...well, follow. Let’s talk facts. Fact of the matter is, Ashes of the Wake need to retool after what transpired at Civil War. Some new blood, who will fight for the cause in the trenches. A couple of men who would never turn on their brother because of selfish reasons or because of shock value. How could you be so sure? Simple. BLOODSHOT and Mayham aren’t gunning for what Havoc has. For what rests on his shoulder. That’s his. And I’m not stubborn or ignorant enough to dispute otherwise. BLOODSHOT, Mayham...we are team players. And we are good soldiers. You won’t have to twist our arm to do a specific task. We’ll do it with perfect precision and flawless execution with zero hesitation.”

“This week we face our hopefully to be soon allies. Which makes this situation...strange. But I like strange. I am strange myself, or at least, that’s what I’ve been told on numerous occasions. This match is a job interview and I got my zipper tie ready. Our first impression to a certain someone. And we are going to impress. We are going to ace it. I would say with flying colors but I’m not much of a color guy. Mainly like black. It suits me and my mood. AND MY SOUL! So this is usually the part where I talk about my opponents and go on this soliloquy about how they will struggle against us and how badly I want to hurt them because Mayham is all about pain. And I’m not just talking about dishing it out, but taking it as well. PAIN MAKES ME FEEL...ALIVE! But I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to do what you want me to do. What society wants me to do. Disrespecting your opponents, trying to make things personal, all to entertain the fans like the puppets we are, doesn’t interest me, for I have no strings to pull! See, I don’t have some deep hatred towards my opponents. Not into that manufactured beef. There’s no beef anyway. The way I see it, we are all on the same side. The right side. And soon to be, winning side. I’m committed, are you? A simple question, really. A direct question to a certain somebody. They know who they are. A question I don’t need an answer to. Seeing as how they will give us all an answer soon enough, so with that, I digress. Mr. Headstrong, Jacob Knight. Bringing me back to my Trapt days. The ole ringtone. I would headbang to that track as I’d put my black wristbands and spiked chain on. You and your partner, don’t seem to mesh that well, no? Constantly at each other’s throats. Ruffling the other’s feathers. Can’t relate. Because I trust my partner, BLOODSHOT, and he trusts me, Mayham, we are two sides of the same coin. Therefore, it goes without saying that we are on the same page. We know what must be done and we’re willing to do whatever it takes to make sure we check off a certain goal on the checklist. It’s no secret that Maverick, is touted as a future star in not just company, but this industry as a whole. Well...I for one disagree. Because I think he already is one. One of the most entertaining members on this roster, whether it comes to in the ring or on the mic, he has it all. And possibly joining this group, this BROTHERHOOD...he’s one of the main reasons as to why I want in. Because talent recognizes talent. And it’s quite clear he has just that. And so does Jacob. And so does BLOODSHOT. The four of us, along with Havoc...I don’t see how you turn that down. That dream team is just waiting to be assembled. And I’m in. BLOODSHOT is in. Just waiting patiently for you to humbly accept.”

Mayham: “Oh, and one last thing...”

(Mayham grabs the nearby bottle of water and splashes it all over his face, the facepaint washes off, of course.)

Elijah: “That’s right! It’s me, Elijah! It was me the whole time!”

Roy: “...”

Elijah: “Speechless after the big reveal, I get it. But yeah, Havoc or Maverick or Jacob, if you could give me the Ashes of the Wake official membership card and parking pass, that would be pretty cash money of you right about now. K, thanx.”

The camera opens up outside a large circus tent sitting in an empty cornfield. Dusk is setting in, as the moon still rises in the dimly lit sky. A sign right outside the circus tent say,” Come inside for the Thrills… Stay for the Chills!” The tent itself is lit up with rows of red and yellow lights that alternate on and off. The camera then moves inside the tent, where a lone, large object sits in the middle of the empty circus tent, completely covered by a dark tarp. As the camera draws nearer, the tarp is yanked away by unseen forces, revealing a wooden cage cart lined with iron bars. “Freak Show” is painted in red across the top of the cart, about the bars. Sitting inside the cage is The Banshee, who clasps her hands on the bars as the camera zooms in on her face.
 
“It’s all part of the plan.”
 
“The plan is simple…”
 
“Chaos… mayhem… Alyssa Grace…”
 
“Alyssa, we had a well-fought battle… a battle in which you, the “Savior of Odyssey,” managed to defeat The Banshee in the middle of the ring… Congratulations are in order, I suppose… but tell me one thing, Alyssa…”
 
“Do you feel like a “winner?”
 
“Did you think winning the match would result in all sunshine and rainbows, and everything you ever dreamed would happen? Raise your hand if… oh, sorry, I nearly forgot… I shattered your arm… again… I also left you in tears, lying crumpled on the mat like a cheap street slut after a Carolina gangbang, and walked out with my head held high while you writhed around on the ground like an Irish whore in an opium den…”
 
“So Alyssa Grace, the same woman who held the Goddesses Championship for nearly a full year… the same woman who retired that has-been, fallen fossil Azumi Goto, who also should remember that her “retirement” status won’t prevent me from snapping her spine like the dead wood she is… the same woman who finally prevailed over her eternal tormenter, The Banshee…”
 
“Do you feel like a winner?”
 
“Wins and losses don’t really matter to me, because the simple truth is that history never remembers who won what battle… history only remembers who won the actual “war,” and Alyssa, this war is far… far… far from over… You’re getting ready for the Clash of the Titans? Guess what? You’re not alone… The Banshee will also be throwing her name into the hat, but our goals couldn’t be more different… you’re all about winning so you can “accomplish another dream,” add another notch to your already-impressive belt… my goal isn’t necessarily to prevail in that match, though The Banshee promises that she will take out anyone that dares to step into her ring… my goal, Alyssa, is far more simpler… to prevent you from attaining your goal… my dreams are to crush your dreams…”
 
“Interesting coincidence that we both are booked for Atlantis, but while you got a more quality opponent in another ancient bitch named Stephanie Matsuda, someone who has overstayed her welcome by centuries… I’m matched up with some jabroni trying to reinvent herself because she’s so amazingly uninteresting and unthreatening… Madison Chandler, or is it Danielle Madison now? Still from Chandler, Arizona, which in itself is quite pathetic…”
 
“Danielle Madison, or whatever generic name you want to call yourself this week… why bother showing up? We both know how this tale ends for you… The Banshee brutalizes you until boredom quickly sets in, you cry about loss and swear that you give 110% next time, you won’t let your fans down again (like you even got any fans), blah blah blah… Do yourself a favor, and refuse to enter that ring when called upon, because once you step between those ropes… you’re no longer a wrestler performing in the squared circle… you’ve become another attraction in my circus of calamity… life imitates art, as they say, and that mat is my canvas, one which I will cover in blood… your blood…”
 
“You somehow have the narcissistic urge to call yourself “Wrestling’s Rising Star,” yet the only thing you’ve accomplished is becoming the most forgettable skank to ever set foot in the OWA… The Banshee belongs in the ring with actual talent like Alyssa Grace… or Finnegan Wakefield… not some lowly ring rat trying to cosplay as a wrestler… You used to think of yourself as some sort of attractive gamer geek, but remember, The Banshee isn’t one to play games… and no amount of 1-ups can save you from suffering the Torment of The Banshee… The Banshee will send you back to Arizona, a state that should be considered a borderline third-world country, full of sand, prejudice, and ignorance, almost as terrible a place as North Carolina...”
 
“Danielle Madison is not a rising star… after Atlantis, she’s just going to be another… dead… bitch…”
 
“Alyssa Grace, it hasn’t escaped my notice that your match on Atlantis against Matsuda is for the PWN Unified Heavyweight Championship… assuming that “PWN” stands for “Pathetic Wrestlers' Nation.” Should The Banshee stay out of this? It won’t take much time or effort to skin Danielle Madison alive… I could always use more lampshades… but why bother leaving right after my match… when more exciting developments may happen later on Atlantis… Perhaps Alyssa could have The Banshee in her corner… It’s rather unfair to force Alyssa to fight with only one arm, and against… well, I almost said a “quality competitor,” but everyone knows Matsuda teamed up with Aria Jaxon because she saw how strong The Banshee was becoming… so Matsuda fled The Banshee’s wrath, like a true coward, something real "competitors" would never do… But she’s not alone though… Azumi Goto was retired by Alyssa Grace, but there’s another story behind that… Azumi Goto just wanted to escape The Banshee, just like Matsuda… That makes them extremely smart. Cowards, absolutely… but intelligent all-the-same… However, not everyone was able to escape The Banshee’s wrath… just like Danielle Madison won’t be able to escape her own extinction if she dares to enter my own twisted little “carnival.”
 
“Alyssa Grace, your arm may be in pain now… but that’s just a small appetizer of the feast of pain I’m personally preparing for you… Soon, the entire world will know who The Banshee is… and more importantly… exactly what The Banshee is truly capable of…”
 
“Odyssey’s Greatest Threat,” that isn’t a term of endearment… it’s a cold, hard fact! But why limit myself to just one brand… when I’m powerful enough to torment them all! The Banshee doesn’t just end careers… The Banshee will devour the very essence of anyone stupid enough to cross my path… A new dawn approaches, one that will usher in a darkness that covers the entire OWA landscape, as the “Destroyer of Idols” continues to eliminate every perceived OWA wannabe-legend without remorse or pity… It doesn’t matter who it is... there is no one stronger… no one more twisted and wicked… no one that loves chaos more… than The Banshee.”
 
“The Wraith of the Ring continues to haunt the OWA, growing stronger in malice, cruelty, and the will to dominate them all… No one can... and no one will ever... stop The Banshee… Danielle Madison, you’re far too weak for your suffering to sustain me… but squashing and pulling apart tiny insects can still be a mindless-yet-fun diversion… Torturing you will be akin to solving an amateur Sudoku puzzle, but anyone stupid enough to fight evil incarnate probably can’t spell “Sudoku,” which explains why Madison accepted this booking in the first place… fortunately for her, she won’t need to concern herself with bouncing back after losing… especially if she loses an eye… an arm… or her very life…”
 
“As for Alyssa Grace… enjoy the little respite from facing The Banshee in the ring… but dread what The Banshee has intended for you OUT of the ring… By the way, how’s that British beefcake boyfriend of yours? Wouldn’t it be a shame if something happened to him as well? Atlantis and Olympus are both being held in the very same arena in Edmonton, the armpit of Canada… And Finnegan has his sights set on a higher purpose…”
 
“Alyssa… if you want your main squeeze to make it to Clash of the Titans healthy… than I suggest you break things off with him… for his own good… You are dead weight holding him back from reaching that next level… but men often think with their gross appendages rather than their brains, so it’s likely the dumb bastard hasn’t realized the heavy ball-and-chain that’s been weighing him down for months… So what’s more important to you, Alyssa? Finnegan’s career and safety… or your own selfish needs to have a “Prince Charming” in your life, princess? And just like all “Prince Charmings,” there’s always a villain standing in the way of “happily-ever-after,” but that’s not how this story will end… The pen to finish this next chapter of our story, Alyssa, lies in your hand… will you have the courage to do what is right and necessary? Or will your pride cause not one… but TWO IDOLS… to be wholly consumed by The Banshee?”
 
“The clock’s ticking away, Alyssa…”
 
“Tick… tock… tick… tock”
 
The Banshee lets out a large shriek, which causes all the wood on the cage cart to splinter and shatter, the iron bars all falling to the ground with large “CLANGS” ringing throughout the tent. The Banshee begins laughing maniacally as she leaps towards the camera, the feed instantly cutting to black in that instant.

Kingdom #1 (fatal four way)


Sunday, January 10th, 2021:

(The scene opens on Cori Simmons standing outside the kingdom locker room, mic in hand, standing by ready to interview whomever would walk through the door.)

Cori Simmons (off mic): “Is the camera on? Great. Now keep it rolling, and make sure to keep me framed the way I told you to.”

(As the words finish escaping her lips the locker room door opens revealing Solomon Caine.  Although visually a bit taken aback by his appearance, she quickly gathers herself and proceeds to ask him a question.)

Cori: “Excuse me, Solomon? Tonight you had your kingdom debut, and came inches away from capturing the Outlaw title. First how are you feeling, and what do you think you can do better on next week to get a win?”


( Cori extends her arm to bring the microphone to Caine’s face. Caine quick as the blinking of an eye grabs her by the wrist.)

Cori: “HEY! LET GO! YOU’RE HURTING ME!!!”

( Cori tries to pull back her arm, but Caine’s grip proves too strong for her to escape.  Cori continues to struggle as Caine silently shoots daggers at her.)

Cori: “LET ME GO!”

Caine (quietly into mic): “Don’t ever mock me again.”

( Caine finally releases Cori from his grip, his menacing stare never wondering away from Cori as he walks away.)


SEVERAL DAYS LATER:

( The scene shifts to the streets of Vancouver. The sky is darkened by the black clouds that cover the moon and stars, the lights from street lamps fall just out of reach of the alleyway where we find Solomon Caine sitting, his body cradled by the cold, hard cement.)

Caine: “ Fate can be a cruel mistress. Ever teasing and toying with her lovers like the witch she is. Drawing me close for an embrace one moment, and pulling away before her lips can press mine the next. Ever testing my faith in her whims. I was moments away from ending Michael Bishop. But fate was not done toying with me. Had my grip not have given away, had my strength held but a moment longer, I would be resting knowing that the ones who sent me would be pleased. But fate, She has lead me From the highest of Heights to lowliest of lows, I had almost reached the summit of the mountain before I fell to the Depths of hell. And yet now I heed fate’s call as she beckons me. As she implores me. As she tantalizes me. She calls me to somewhere, something I have never seen before. I can hear fate telling me to hold on tighter. Does that mean that perhaps I am meant for something greater much sooner. hold on tighter she tells me, hold on tighter. And at her call so now I begin my Ascension out of this pit. Wiser for having fallen, stronger in my resolve. Ever more eager, and desperate to prove myself to my masters that I am worthy. I am worthy to receive their reward, That I am worthy to climb out where pit where snakes try to Devour them one another not because they would root out those who were too weak to survive, not because they do what they must to survive, but simply to boast that they are for that day the king of fools. Where they squabble with each other to  acquire more useless possessions that all amount to nothing more than kindling in the end. Fools and snakes likes of the three that fate has placed before me. How I find each of them loathsome in their own way.  Each of them taunting me to introduce them all to fate and what her ultimate endgame is for each of them. 

Take for instance the one called Myojin.  The ones who have sent me told me of you. You  who prances and preens and otherwise makes an imbecile of himself for the delight of the masses. A jester without a king, What kind of attention whore are you that you’ve felt the need to become such a pitiful wretch? It sickens me how you hide your true self beneath this... thing you Masquerade as. It is so contemptible how you act only to get get scorn. You’re like a child who throws a tantrum because he cannot stand when his mother doesn’t look at him. The masses will laugh and call you a character but character is something you possess none of. You are such a shameful waste of potential,  you deserve every ounce of my scorn but to chide  you would be a waste of time, And time, what little time we have is precious. The world to come has no need of men who hide their true selves. It has no need of clowns. Such things deserve to be ripped limb from limb by my bare hands. It would be much more merciful then to let you see the day of the great fire. 



Malestrom, you are a man after the heart of the ones who sent me. If only you were not so sadly deluded about yourself. You claim to have ascended to godhood, yet whenever We have seen you in the midst of a fight you always found yourself either faltering or fallen. You always boast about your strength, yet I haven’t seen you crush even a fly much less another man. You speak of your endurance, but it has never been enough to claim victory. You may roar like a mighty lion, but you are helpless as a kitten. How I wish you would learn to let go of your ego, and put your vanity to rest. How I wish you would stop tripping over your own feet and stumble towards your grave. You could serve the ones who sent me well. They could guard you from the terrors that are but a stone’s throw away from this world. The could hold you in their hands and safeguard against that nightmare that will only be a moment, but last an eternity for those who choose to cower in their own pleasures and leach off of those who toil and till. You could be apart of something greater, a cobblestone in the road, but to do so you must slay your demons, conquer your weakness, and prepare yourself for what is to come, and the world that lays just beyond that. 

Samuel, Samuel, soft and timid. Why are you so meek? What holds you back from speaking like a man instead of the sacrificial lamb?  What is it that you are afraid of?  Myself and my masters we see into your soul. You long to exist but simply cannot. You desire freedom of yourself, but you allow yourself in the depths of your soul  to bound in chains. What troubles you my son? Why are you so ashamed to speak without withholding, when you should be proud of how you bludgeoned that filth that had long been a thorn in your side. Yes we saw you, and we were proud of you. But know this now, the timid and meek will not inherit the earth. If a man cannot find the strength to so much as speak then what good is he. If the only way for you to speak truth is through a poem, then I may as well reach into your throat and tear that feeble tongue out of your mouth!  Better that it would burn in the fire, then to condemn your whole body. Samuel don’t make me hurt you more than I have to. Don’t draw the ire of the ones who sent me. Shake off your shackles and be a free man. Live life now and in the world to come, or suffer with the rest of this rotten world for the end of fear is oblivion. The choice is yours Samuel, I would hope you chose not to chose the path that leads to you becoming nothing more than ashes scattered to the wind. 


Heed my words well all of you. For this is not a battle for dead things like money, this is not a clash for honor or glory. This is a fight for survival, and I refuse to be your prey. I refuse to be the one you consume. I refuse to be as the weak and incompetent masses who are all nothing more than stains waiting for the day they are wiped off the face of this world!  I will not merely sit back and await what is coming to me.  I will stake my claim today and  take my rightful place in the world to come, by wounding all of you in body and soul. I will do it! I must. Fate has blessed me to do so.”


( with that Caine turns away from the light and his figure disappears into the darkness.)