Now what?
The King Of Kings, Alex, stood on a rise that looked over the ring in the Tucson Expo Center in Tucson, Airzona. Dressed casually, he watches as a swarm of pple are getting the show ready.
Not just a show. A pay-per-view.
High Stakes VIII.
He's been through multiple shows in his lifetime, so it isn't just another day at the office. It's the one show where all the stakes are on the line.
Closing his eyes, he revisited his previous encounter with the up-coming team. He remembers every single bit. It sucked to lose, but that was in the past. He took the time to watch the tape, focus on his strengths and weaknesses, along with his opponent's strengths and weaknesses, and develop a game plan. He took his training to the limit. It's a good thing too, since he has the week off from his music tour.
The wind was blowing gently through him and he let it pass him. Lachlan and Sierra. These two had to be put into their place for good. Their promos were full of fire and passion, but he knew that actions would determine their fate inside that ring. He looked at the ring that's between set up and visualized the action inside his mind. Carnage. Devastation. Epic beatdowns from both himself and his partners delivered to the two of them.
How did they get so far last time? He underestimated them. Thought they would be a joke. But that won't happen now.
Alex?
He turned around to see Lisa, who stood before him. Her beauty caught him by surprise. Then again, he was totally surprised to see her.
Lisa?? What are you doing here?
She walked towards her ex-husband and the two embraced each other.
I came to see you. It's been a long time.
The two stepped back from each other and looked at each other in the eyes, then turned their attention to the ring.
I also came to motivate you on your match. Just like old times.
Alex stubbornly shook his head.
I'll be fine. This match will be a lot different.
She glanced at him momentarily.
Your eyes told me a different story when you lost to that team. You need to find it within yourself the trouble that you've been having difficulty with.
He turned to her now and looked at her in the eyes as she turned towards him.
Maybe it's because I'm afraid to lose it all. When we went our separate ways, I had to lose you to gain myself again. But I miss us. I miss having you by my side, Lisa. But I'm ok with things now. I'm at peace. I know that you moved on and are now with a new man, who is a good man and I know he will look after you. But I'm just afraid. Being afraid can be a good thing, because I can use that as motivation. But still, I'm afraid to lose everything. Here I am, at the top of the class, and these two upstarts think that they are going to win, just based on one loss two weeks back. So there, Lisa, I'm afraid that I'll lose and I'll be a disgrace. I...
Lisa took one finger and placed it over him, silencing the legend briefly. He seems to be shaking, but Lisa's voice calmed him down a bit.
Alex, I know you. I know you better than anyone in the world and I know that you've gone through some tough times in your life. But I also know that you're one of the strongest men I've ever met and I'm glad I had a chance to date and marry you. To this day, you're still my male best friend forever and I love you. I know that Lachlan and Sierra may give you a hard time, but you are the King Of Kings. I've already held this belief that you were the one man in the world that would overcome the darkness and see the light. You've done it before. Do not be afraid of something that may happen in the future. Embrace it and use it to your advantage, Alex. Use it to conquer this team and retain the Tag-Team championship belts. I'll be watching. I promise you, you will be great. No matter what.
Striking back tears from his eyes, he embraced her once again and lowered himself to her ear and spoke.
Lisa? I'm glad you're still in my life. Tell the kids their father will visit them soon.
As they parted ways, she walked away from him. She stopped, glanced over her shoulder, smiled and nodded, then walked down the steps as the scene fades to black.
* * * *
I gave you both ample time to respond accordingly. This is what you had left in your tank?
Disappointment slowly starts to creep into my system and I can't help but just shake my head at all this foolishness that I had to hear.
You're not paying attention, Sierra. That I consider a weakness. Have you not heard a SINGLE FUCKING THING I've said to you?
Of course not. Your reality is quite different than the one I envisioned. You won one match, you keep telling us "I fucking told you so," then you start to believe that MAYBE there is some chance of taking it all away from us. I'm sorry, but I'm not impressed. I was THINKING maybe you would be taking the high road, that maybe you would be staying grounded from all this, somehow take it all in stride, and be calm and collective enough to figure out a way to take out Mercedes and I. And it's the same to Lachlan Lane...I mean KANE. Not that it really makes of a fucking difference to me, Kane, Lane, whatever. I don't see the two of you as just opponents to shake hands and wrestle against. No, I see you both as VICTIMS of our legacy. You expect me to believe that you both have a chance still AFTER ONE VICTORY?
GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!
Once again, I told you, straight from the get-go, that both Mercedes and I are on a mission. To destroy. To eradicate. To eliminate. To terminate. All this and much more, Sierra. There is simply more to discuss. My talking, as you see it, seems to be my weakest points, but I'm gonna give it to you straight. My wrestling skills, my fighting skills are in a world-class of their own. My talking skills are just as amazing as everything else that I've been attributed to. Disappointed to hear you say such horseshit from you, seriously, kid, you have A LOT to learn about trash-talking before stepping into my world. Did you really think that I'm NOTHING but a hulking brute? I have put fear into the hearts of men and made them tremble before me. Your man or whoever the fuck you think of him as will be destroyed in that ring, that's the truth. Fact is, everything single thing that I've said, SINCE DAY ONE, has been the truth, the whole truth, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH. So before you make douchebag commentary about my promo skills, perhaps you should step back and look at my history. I didn't win all these championships and become a Grand-Slam champion because of my supposed "silence". No, you stupid girl, I TALKED THE TRUTH and I BACKED IT UP! What a shame, I have to deal with a little girl that has little to no confidence, knows for a fact that she's no match for Mercedes, and has to hit below the belt in order to get somewhere in life.
And speaking of which, why did you have to bring up some boring drivel in my face? Is that what you think of me as well? That I'm some guy that wants to get into some girl's pants, but I'm afraid of being in the friend zone? Here's a question for you - WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE MATCH? NOTHING! I've dated A LOT of women before ultimately marrying and eventually divorcing. Confidence with women is not an issue I have. I mean, you really had to go that far and for a second, I wondered why? Then I realized it - maybe it's because you maybe you want to ditch Lachlan for a guy like me that DOES WIN in the end. I'm not surprised, but it doesn't matter. In the end, what matters is demolishing the competition. That's you and Lachlan Kane. You both don't have a "mental edge" over us. I'm sure that's what you've been telling yourself, day after day, night after night, Sierra.
You are only right about one thing - YOU DO BORE ME. So here's the reality of things - you both are going down. You both won't be getting the Mixed-Tag Championship belts either. There is no equal footing or even footing between us. All Mercedes and I see is one girl, one guy that got lucky once and beat us for a match. Good job. But that ends now and I'm going to throw you and Lachlan off the cliffs and watch you, in glee I might add, scream like two little BITCHES as you lose everything and it will be VERY satisfying.
Then we will be the ones telling you so, Sierra. We will be the ones standing over your broken bodies, bleeding steadily as you look at us while WE hold the titles over you and mock you. No games. No more playing. This is going to be an all-out war on the sense and NEITHER of you will be prepared for it. So shut the fuck up, Sierra, stop trying to drown my hopes with petty, unremarkable drama and games, and get to it. You either want this and you don't. Quite frankly, judging from your eyes, I see the fire, the will, the passion. But in the end, you're going to lose the titles THAT BADLY and you're going to go right back to the bottom of the food chain, whether you like us or not. I'm sick to death of people like you, jumping around like a couple of cheerful horses THINKING that you have a chance in an opportunity like this. Well, I'm glad to be the one to take that all away from you, Sierra.
You pissed me off. You said untruthful things about me. You tried to hurt Mercedes and I, but in the end, we are going to CRUSH YOU. I've done ENOUGH hyping about her and I and you just seem to FLEW by those statements. Why? Because you think its untrue and you don't want to believe in the power that she and I possess. Well, that ends now. I'm going to watch as Mercedes, the most powerful woman in the Women's Division, crush and beat the living shit out of you and I'm going to be LAUGHING at every moment of it, because YOU DESERVE IT. This will be our second confrontation between each other and you're not going to like it. I promise you that. You won't win. You won't get the titles. You are going to be on the ground, broken, battered, and beaten beyond anything you've ever experienced in our lifetime.
So do me a favor. Be a good girl and stay the hell out of my way. I want you to watch in horror as I rip apart Lachlan.
And speaking of him...
Actually, the miss-spelling of your name was quite intentional, to say the least. So, let's get this party started.
First off, running the company? Hate to break it to you, good sir, but last I checked, Mark Ward and Christian Underwood own the place. Good luck trying to wrest it away from their grasp!
Second, you won't be getting the titles at all. Not on our watch. See, I get it. You and Sierra have worked hard to get to where you are now and I certainly won't begrudge you from that. But what pisses me off, about you two, is where your head is at in this whole debacle. You both sound like a bunch of gossip girls, all laughing, cheering, and talking about something exciting that may happen to you and you just want to get invested in the drama, thinking that you're a part of it. You know how I see this as? Nothing but a dream for the two of you. You became the number-one contenders, but at the cost of something big. Your lives. Your careers. Everything that you've been working hard for will be gone too. Isn't that going to be sad? Of course it is, because Mercedes and I, two of the biggest badasses on the planet, will be MORE THAN HAPPY to take that away from you, kiddo. Try as you might, you won't emerge victorious this time. Why not? Because this time, we will have you figured out and we will be picking away at your weaknesses and making sure that your best strengths won't be used as much.
I just like that false sense of confidence that surrounds you, man. You want to be the main guys on the planet. If that's the case, how come you haven't accomplished that already? I was hoping that MAYBE you would go straight to the forefront and confront Fenir for the World Heavyweight Championship and MAYBE win? Of course, I fought him, it was a non-title dispute, and he became the better man. No problem. The difference between you and him, boy, is the fact that you're overconfident and do a lot of underestimating. He does neither. So do yourself a favor, Lachlan Lane, and tone down your stupidity and ignorance. Stop dreaming of things that will NEVER happen in your lifetime.
Like this, for example.
Winning the Tag-Team titles? Putitng it up over our bodies, asking us if we have any excuses after all is said and done?
I hate to tell you this, but Mercedes and I take our careers as fighters and wrestlers seriously. We have a few setbacks every now and then, but SOMEHOW, WE ALWAYS COME OUT ON TOP. I can't believe that you feel this way, the both of you, that somehow history is going to repeat itself. Mercedes and I aren't just coming out with all this swagger for no reason - WE MEAN WHAT WE SAY. We both know that neither of you have a chance in hell. You slipped from our grasp, you won, end of the fucking story. You really need to stop thinking that the end result is going to play out the same. Mercedes and I REGROUPED. Mercedes and I developed a GAME PLAN, one that you will NEVER see coming. Mercedes and I are at the top of the mountain because she and I worked VERY HARD to reach this point in our lives. We have accomplished a lot as both individuals and as wrestlers. Didn't you see what happened to the both of us? How we got the titles, lost them, but won them back? You didn't? Well, those facts are going to hit you straight like a train running over you both.
That's the difference between you both and us - Mercedes and I aren't a couple. We both are partners that have EVERY desire to keep the titles around our waists, because it motivates us to perform at the best level possible. Does being a couple make you more powerful? I suppose so, I've been in that place where I thought that unity between a couple makes us stronger. But you don't need that at all, in the end. All you need is yourself and the belief that you possess. Mercedes is the same way - she believes in herself and in her abilities. That's what makes us excel as a team, we know that we will find a way to overcome the odds and WIN. I don't care about the fact that you both are a couple; I truly don't. Leave the drama behind. I am sick of your stories and outside bullshit. This is the REAL DEAL and when we meet in that ring, Lachlan, I PROMISE YOU. Things will NOT be the same as they were two weeks ago. Two weeks ago, you got us. At High Stakes, the tables will be turned on you. The odds are against you. Mercedes and I are going to unleash our rage and it will be unlike ANYTHING you've seen before. Mercedes and I are committed to this road.
We are going into the match as champions.
We are going to walk out of the match as champions.
You both hate us saying that. We don't care. You either want this or you don't. You may have proven yourself to be contenders to the throne. But when it's all said and done, it's really going to be pretenders to the throne!
For I am Kain...THE KING OF KINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And I.....HAVE SPOKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!