[Mark Ward]

 Post all roleplays for this match in this thread.
Limits: 10,000 word max per character, 1 roleplay max per week.

Good luck

[Austin James Mercer]

 ”I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”
-J. Robert Oppenheimer as he witnessed the destruction of nuclear weapons, July 16, 1945

Scene One:Awakening the beast
Off Camera
Wolfslair, New York
Last Week.

Austin stood in the center of the main training ring at wolfslair, in a pair of black training shorts and black wrestling shoes. He looked around at the five men circling him. Austin was getting prepared for the Six pack challenge. Working on multiple opponents at once. Alex Jones and fellow Wolfslair graduate Aiden Reynolds stood outside the ring watching. Austin showed a small smirk, one of the trainees launched at him, Austin saw it coming before ducking down and lifting him up and over with a back body drop causing him to land on one of the others, two come at him at once, Austin blocks a right hand and headbutts one and then hits a hard chop on the other.

The sound of flesh slapping flesh echoed through the warehouse. He holds his chest and drops to his knees as the final trainee leaps on Austin from behind, Austin grabs the kids arm and throws him over his back before hitting a big boot sending him out of the ring, two more pop up and Austin takes them both down with a flying shoulder block before popping up and sending another out of the ring with a clothesline, Austin smirks and turns leaping in the air hitting an ode to lisa kick, he hit a second with the move and spun on his knee.

A trainee, seemingly not ready to stop ran at Austin who simply growled, ducked down throwing the trainee up before sending him crashing down with a pop up powerbomb, Austin clenched his fist and cocked a punch before a voice cut through the tension. ”Austin!” It was Alex, the voice causing the trainees to all stand down as Aus smirks looking over at his friend. Alex chuckles as Aiden raises an eyebrow.

”I think you’ve done enough for today big man.” He takes a deep breath looking around, all the trainees seem to be down and sore. One is unconscious and the others huddle together helping each other. Austin climbs from the ring to the floor, he gives a shrug to Alex as Aiden gives him a small punch on the shoulder.

The Australian star folding his arms as he leans against the ring. ”Jeez mate, you gave those blokes a bit of a tune up” Alex and Austin look at each other with blank expressions, Austin chuckles and shakes his head. ”I have no idea what you just said.” Aiden smirks and gives a shrug turning to get in the ring with a few of the trainees, he leaps over the top rope and turns back looking down. ”I just meant you beat their asses brother...I think you’re ready for the match...and to get that title back.” Aiden reaches over the top rope and Austin gives him a fist bump. Aiden turns and starts working in the ring.

Austin takes a long deep breath and looks over at the trophy wall, a replica of the SCW world title hanging there next to the Honor title and the WWH Hellsgate title. But his eyes linger on the SCW title belt. He sneers and shakes his head as Alex walks up next to him. ”You know, your chances of regaining that thing exponentially went up when I was eliminated.” Austin slowly looks at Alex, an eyebrow raises as he laughs. ”Exponentially? Been flipping through the dictionary lately?” ”Word of the day calendar” Alex laughs as does Austin he makes his way through the gym towards the lockers. Alex follows and he looks over at his wife Sonja, she winks and goes back to training with the other women. Alicia and Johanna having a...spirited grappling match.

”At Least Ali is working hard as I am. Looks good for the gym. Alex nods in agreement, surveying over what he had built with the help of Austin's now deceased father. Since Christian had passed Alex and Austin had become close, like brothers. But there was still a sadness in Austin, one Alex could feel. In the space of a few months Austin had lost his father and his mother. And the birth of his first son hadn’t healed the wounds. And now with the birth of his daughter as well Austin was happy as he could be. But there was something that still nagged at him.

And try as he might, Alex couldn’t get to the bottom of it. Even Elena DeDraca, Austins former stepmother who he had become close with failed to ease his fears and anger. And his wife Lisa, as much as Austin loved her he couldn’t burden her.

BZZ BZZ

Austin's phone went off in his bag, the screen flashing with a picture of his sister Amy and a cell phone number with a New York city area code. Alex raised an eyebrow as Austin reached down, looked at it for a moment and let it go to voicemail. Austin pulled a black shirt over his head and zipped up his bad, Alex sighed and couldn’t help himself.

”Why are you avoiding your sister?” Austin stopped mid step. A sigh heaving out of his body as if he had been holding his breath since zipping his gym bag. Alex folded his arms over his chest and tilted his head ”And don’t say you’re not. I’ve seen you ignore her calls for the last month.” There was an awkward silence between them Austin looked down and then back up slowly.

”I'll ...I'll call her when I get home…” Alex smirked and gave a nod before patting Austin on the back, he gave Alex a nod back and moved through the gym and out the door.
>Promo: One Two Austins coming for you…[/b[
On Camera
Las Vegas Nevada
Present Day

”Losing a title is almost a certainty in professional wrestling.”

His voice was deep, measured and controlled. His brown eyes stared through a veil of long dark brown hair that flowed out from under the black hood of a wolfslair sweatshirt. Available from the website for only 21.99.

”No matter how dominant you are. Eventually you need to lose it. Whether it is in a one on one war, like Fenris and myself or myself and Vinnie. Or a mult-iperson match with some crazy stipulation. Or even the closure of a company, the merger of a company, or just retirement. You can’t take titles with you forever. Even giving them up is a loss of some sort. And it is a cruel reality that every champion has to realise. Some people hold titles for a blink of an eye. Some go on a huge run with them.”

“But Fenris and myself and many others have felt it. Hell even Alicia will eventually feel it. And trust me when I say this, and it is something Lachlan and Caleb should hear since they don’t know what it’s like, when you lose a title you feel like you have had it all stolen from you. Despite how you lose, whether it’s fair or they did cheat or it wasn’t even you who got pinned. You still feel as if it was ripped from you. And you will do anything to get it back.”

Fenris knows this, and so does Ben to an extent because he has had success here and felt the loss of championships after he had done something with them, Caleb little roulette reign means nothing…”

“Losing a world championship, especially when you had done everything to show the world how worthy you are, it does something to you and it makes you rethink the path you have travelled and the one you will travel. And for the last three months I have had a sick feeling in my stomach and it just hasn’t gone away. I would sit there with Alex, I would talk about the respect I had and have for everyone with the balls to get in that ring. And he told me that respect is great and the way of our business...but respect?….”

“It doesn’t win titles…”

“He gave me a similar speech as he gave Lachlan. About killer instinct and learning how to pull a trigger and while it worked on Lachlan in a way that hurt Alex, on me in leached something and made me realise just how right he is. And how wrong I was.”

Austin sneers and leans forward clasping his hands together, they are wrapped with white boxing hand wraps, dirty and torn from overwork. He shakes his head and growled under his breath.

”I am six foot six, I am two hundred and sixty five pounds. I am a main mountain who is stronger than most other heavyweights, faster than most of them too who can physically do things that someone my size shouldn’t do. I can mat wrestle with the best of the best, I can hit harder than the best strikers and when I first came here I watched as the entire roster except Fenris fucking shat their pants. I destroyed that fake bad boy who lucked his way into the Honor title before disappearing, I then lost that title via fluke to Jake Raab a man who is so inept that he should just stick to archery because as a wrestler he sucks.”

“And by the way Jake. The only reason you’re still in SCW is because I allow it. You open your mouth again and I will end you and send you back to IPW with the other rejects who weren’t good enough to stay in SCW like St John Cross.”

“But, I avenged that match. I got my win back, I then went and did something many thought was impossible and I beat Fenris. It’s something that many people have tried to do and failed, including Alex, including Lachlan, and Vinnie and even Ty before he disappeared too. I did that, I did that for the damn title and here we are a few months later and all I got for my efforrts was lies about me fom Vinnie, lies that you all believed and when I tell the truth about the giant mexican douchebag I just get nods of understanding but zero..FUCKING ZERO back up in the voicing of it.”

“That title deserves a better champion.”

“Now, last time you people saw me in an actual match I was beating Griffin Hawkins, again, this time to step into the six pack challenge and a chance to get that SCW title back. But just put this into perspective, I have beaten Griffin Hawkins every single time I have been in the ring with him, a man many say is one of the best wrestlers on the planet, a guy who wins gold everywhere he goes, much like myself but in the ring with me I made everyone’s favorite rock n roll superman look like a rock n roll bitch…”

“And he was the Roulette champion every time.”

“Now, what this proves is that there is a clear divide between the best and the rest. The best being Ben Jordan, Fenris and myself in this match. The rest being Caleb, Lachlan and the world champion Vinnie. That might be a little harsh to some of you, but look at the evidence and it’s just true. And Alex was right, people hate seeing the truth when it’s inconvenient But I am still going to be nice and lay some real truths upon you..”

He pushes to his feet folding his arms over his chest with a smirk.

”I have already told you the truth about me, being too nice and respectful, Letting those feelings made me weak. But let’s talk about someone who is lucky. Lachlan Kane. Now, I won’t deny that Lachlan has an impressive set of abs, that Lachlan is an impressive athlete who when he really wants to can be exciting, dynamic and explosive. But he’s also...well ...not very good.”

“But when has that stopped anyone from competing?. I mean Jake Raab still tells people he’s a wrestler. The truth is that Lachlan is lucky. He has a horseshoe up his ass, a four leaf clover behind his ear and a rabbit's foot dangling off the end of his irish eggplant.”

“Here’s a guy who has lost every major shot at anything he’s had, not just in SCW but also in Division, where his own fiance whooped his ass for a world title shot. He comes into SCW from there, enters a dead division, hides behind Sierra and wins tag titles but where the real men play...well...Lachlan comes up a little short…”

“And again Lachlan, I’m not trying to make it seem like you’re not good in the ring, because you are...you have talent. But just not enough talent to step up there with people like me.”

He points to himself and flips back the hood shaking out his long hair.

”But even all the luck Lachlan has in being able to win over Alex, that is nothing, NOTHING compared to Caleb Storms. But I don’t know Caleb, are you the luckiest or unluckiest man in wrestling?. See Lachlan could still win, he has enough skill that if a little bit of that luck went his way he could walk out with the SCW title, he is good enough to do that. But dear, sweet Caleb, it was a shock when you won the mixed tag titles and the roulette title. But this is an entirely different level. And a level you don’t belong on.

So while Lchlan has a chance, you Caleb are here to make up the numbers and what makes you unlucky is that you’ll be in there with Fenris who hates you and seems to enjoy throwing you around like a rag doll, or more appropriately a wolf with a piece of flesh.”

“And not one of us are going to help you, so...good luck with that…”

“And someone else who needs luck, as I’m calling them the luck trio, is Vinnie. Now I know what you’re all thinking. Vinnie has defended the title three times, he has been an impressive champion, he cut a blistering promo on Climax Control at the contract signing. But, has he really been the champion you all deserve?. Hmm?. When Fenris was champion, he faced all comers with no complaints or excuses, he went to the shows, he promoted the title, the company and who he was on the show, on social media, everywhere. Just like myself”

“I defended the title, I did it proudly and I made damn sure I beat everyone in my way and did it concisely.”

“But what has Vinnie done?. He has turned up and half assed a few tag matches. He didn’t really beat Alex then made up excuse after excuse, he beat Ty West who clearly didn’t give a shit and was ready to quit and then needed weapons and a match stipulation that heavily favored him to keep that championship.”

Austin throws his hands in the air with a scoff.

”He doesn’t promote himself or the title, he doesn’t give a shit about it and is a horrible champion who also happens to be a trashbag wrestler He’s not one of us. He’s a joke. And I stood there and I sang his praises and showed him respect because he was able to get a win over me and then it kind of clicked. I walked away from an automatic rematch like Fenris did, I handed Vinnie and excuse, I handed him a god damn career. And what happened when Vinnie is handed these critiques from literally everyone else?”

“Does he take it in stride and promise to be better?...No”

“Does he het angry and strike back to prove us all wrong?...No…”

“He just does the same thing, over and over and over, Now when I held the title I did so with an aura around me. I carried the title like a champion and when I walked into a room people knew...they knew I was something special. But with you Vinnie, the saddest part is, you’re not special. I mean hey you try to be, mexican accent, the potted cactus, the stupid carnival death match bullshit. You try to make yourself seem unique and different. But in the end...you just seem bland.”

“You don’t feel like a champion, and instead of simply being one...you’re just a joke, and the thing is about jokes, eventually when you’ve heard it enough...it just stops being funny…”

He shrugs and sighs.

”But then we come to the magic three. I went through the three lucky ones and how they should feel happy to be here but let me talk about the other two who along with me actually make up the names who should be a champion. Fenris and Ben Jordan. Now. Fenris is a man who I have a lot of history with. He and I went at it, we faced and we have beaten each other to a pulp. And with that does come a certain measure of respect”

“I cannot ignore that. I can’t turn my back on that.”

“Now, Fenris would make a great champion again, he would win the title and then probably go on another run of dominance that even I would have trouble stopping. And the thing is I want to be the champion, I do, I believe I can be a champion the title and the company deserves. But I am not delusional or arrogant enough to believe I’m the only one who can be a great champion and Fenris is a champion and is a competitor that we would be proud to have.”

“But...I have to beat him…”

“I have to make sure I step out of this match as the champion, for my own stability and ego. And hey that might seem petty to some of you but ego is a huge thing in this business and I think it’s time we stopped pretending it isn’t. So, it’s as simple as that. I know Fenris is a great wrestler, I know he’s amazingly talented. But. My ego would bruise if he were to become the champion again…”

After this moment of pure honesty Austin clears his throat.

”Now, there is also a man who has yet to become the world champion in SCW. A man who I feel is probably one of the most underrated and overlooked wrestlers we have in Ben Jordan. See Ben and his wife Evie were a great team, both of them talented and good enough to be in the hunt for those world titles and Ben held the original tag titles and is a former Roulette champion. He could be a triple crown champion and I feel that he has been ready for qute some time.”

“Now, I don’t know Ben personally…”

“But I have eyes...I have ears...I have an eye for talent…”

“And the “Cockney King” has talent. It’s plain to see yet I get this weird feeling many will be overlooking and underestimating him….But Ben, I want you to listen to me very very carefully. I’m not one of those people. I won’t be looking passed you, I won’t be underestimating you. I will be coming at you and even though it would be a great thing for your career and your family and even though I have no doubts you would have a great run as champion and hold up the standard of that title...the truth is…”

“I’m greedy….and I want it….and that’s really it…”

[Ben Jordan]

 Now if you've been watching my stuff, you know I've had a camera crew follow me around all over the place for a while, doing a documentary on my potential rise to the top. If you haven't been watching my stuff, then you're probably not watching this, hey ho. Nevermind. For those that are, here's some footage from Climax Control 252.

10th November 2019 - Phoenix, Arizona.

"This is gonna make for some great footage, Ben." The sound of the producers voice could be heard saying. "Win or lose."

I was set to go, just moments before my match as I stood looking at the curtain leading to the main arena, my wrestling gear on and ready to go on and face Stephen Callaway. For some reason, there wasn't even any pre match jitters that every wrestler gets, trust me, even if they don't admit it, they get them. I turn my head to the camera and smile before looking at the producer.

"Win or lose?" I said with a smile. "Have a little faith. Still, if I lose, makes this whole thing even more special when I actually do get my hands on that title."

Before I can say anything else, Evie joined me, kissing me on the cheek.

"Easy win, right?" She told me

I loved her confidence in me, in her eyes, I can do little wrong, I say little cause no couple is perfect, believe me on that, but her confidence in me was second to none. It was one of those rare things you find out there.

"Callaway is due a win." I told her with a slight smile. "And if my gambling is any indication, I'm right out of luck at the moment."

"You make your own luck." She quickly said as she wrapped her arms around my neck. "Besides, that guy can't buy a win."

"I can't buy a team who don't let a goal in thirty seconds from the end either." I replied.

"In about ten minutes or so." Evie said, ignoring my statement. "You'll be in the main event at a supercard, something you've always wanted."

"Probably something he always wanted too Eves." I replied quickly "I think everyone would love that spot and getting that chance makes people want it more, makes them become more interested in it all. Gives everyone an extra gear."

"You got this." Evie said as her eyes drifted towards my opponent.

I looked to where her eyes glanced, looking towards Stephen Callaway as he made his way to the curtain, a confident look on his face as he got ready for his golden opportunity, a chance for him to start writing his name in SCW history. I saw him just turn his head to look at me and I felt obliged to nod in his direction. I waited for his music to start and watched him move through the curtain before looking back at Evie and the producer.

"Guess I better get something in gear." I said out loud as I pointed to my rear end.

"Good luck." The producers voice said to me off camera.

"Ben don't need luck." Evie's Australian tone said. "He's got this."

"Thank you to you both." I replied with a quick grin.

At that point, I kissed my wife and I turned to walk away, moving up the few steps and to the curtain and waited patiently for the music to start and me to walk though that curtain, not knowing that I was going to come back a winner, not knowing if I was gonna be another so close and yet so far story, turns out, I was one step closer to dreamland.

Let's jump forward twenty minutes.

"Now that was incredible Ben." The producer told me. "How are you feeling right now?"

I was covered in sweat as I sat in my dressing room, not too long after the match, but I hadn't processed anything that had happened to me at that point. I hadn't really thought about how I felt, what I was doing, hell, I didn't even know if that really just happened and that I was maybe sitting there waiting for my match to start in a bit of a dream.

"Ben?" His voice said again.

That seemed to snap me out of it as I looked around the otherwise empty dressing room, just me, still in my wrestling clothes and a towel around my neck.

"Sorry, million miles away." I admitted. "What was that you said?"

"That that was impressive." The producer repeated. "How around you feeling now that you know you're going to be in a huge match for the World Heavyweight Championship at December 2 Dismember IV?"

"I genuinely have no idea at all." I told him and it wasn't a lie. "I have no idea what to feel, did that really happen out there?"

"It really did." The producer said, and I saw the smile on his face.

"That's amazing!" I replied, a warm feeling starting to run through me. "I'm actually going to get a championship shot. Mate, let me tell ya that has felt like a long time coming, in fact it's felt like forever since I've been in this spot and I'm not sure it's actually gone through me thick skull yet but I think after a pint or two, it might just sink in and stay there. If it don't, I got time for it to sink in."

Before I even tried to continue, the proud face of my wife appeared from behind the door, walking towards me and wrapping her arms around my neck. I could feel that wide smile cross over my face as she held me tightly.

"I knew you could do it." She said with pride running through that Aussie tone of hers.

I wrapped my arms back around her as she held me close, but stepped back after a few seconds, pretty sure the happiness wore off when she worked out she was holding a ball of sweat.

"Look at that." I commented with a cheeky grin. "Now I'm not as sweaty."

Evie looked at me, before she looked down at herself.

"I'm glad one of us is less sweaty then when they came in to the room." She told me with a half mockingly disgusted look. "You really need to shower."

I stood to my feet, nodding in agreement with my wife who just shook her head at me.

"Still, sweats worth it." I commented. "Sweaty but one of soon to be five number one contenders to Senor Vinnie's championship. I really hope he does his job as champion and gets out there and pushes that belt. Even if I lose, I want people to be interested in that match and they look more at the champions than contenders."

He really didn't do that, but trust me, I'll be talking about that later.

"Now it's just a case of waiting to see who else ends up in that match and trying to figure out how to beat them." I commented to myself.

"And what kind of match it will actually be." The producer added.

"What do you mean?" Evie questioned.

"Well this is SCW." The director replied, looking at my wife. "It wouldn't be SCW without a twist, especially around the holiday season, it could turn out to be anything. You know that these guys seem to love holiday gimmicks, so there might be a Christmas tree involved in this one or something."

"You raise a good point." I admitted. "As long as I don't have to dress like an elf or something, green really isn't my colour. Anyway, better get in that shower before I stink up the place."

And that is exactly what I did.... Not stink up the place, get in the shower and that is somewhere this film crew are not allowed to go.



Some time had passed and shows had come and gone and I'd watched Fenris, Lachlan Kane, Caleb Storms and Austin James Mercer join me in that match with Senor Vinnie but there was still no clue what the hell was gonna be going on in that match. Two weeks later, we didn't know, nor has we really seen the champion oversell it. Other than showing up and talking about the match, there wasn't a whole lot more I could have done. I felt like I was the only one really trying to sell it in front of the cameras, actually putting the effort in to sell it. Austin was doing a good job on Twitter, but I showed up for the camera and felt like I was walking over old ground.

Oddly, before the last show, I got a message from Sam Marlowe saying she felt she was doing the same with her match build up... I feel ya Sammi, only so much we can do on our own.

But it had frustrated me, annoyed me to the point where my illusions on what was meant to happen in wrestling was fast fading. A champion who showed up and spoke a few lines didn't even make me interested in the match, let alone the fans. What was the point of me being in public, trying to convince people to buy the show for this match when only about half the people in the match actually made an effort to talk about it. It had wound me up to the point I didn't wanna be around the outside world, so I thought if no one else is gonna bother, why the hell should I? I didn't even bother showing up for Climax Control 254. All I saw was Caleb Storms talking about things, I saw Vinnie prat around mostly with a cactus on that show so the Monday after Climax Control 254, I shut the door and stayed there in the house.

25th November 2019 - Bar Harbor, Maine.

I really didn't wanna go out and face the world, so that's what I made sure happened. Dark living room, sitting on the sofa, and feet up. I'd been miserable about the way I felt everything was being undersold and wanted to distance myself. I think even my dog couldn't wait to be out of the house to get away from me, either that or he missed his turtle friends at the lake, one or the other. I sat looking mindlessly at the television set, but the front door opening made me turn my head slightly to the side to see my wife standing at the door, waving Bear to walk through.

"He's not gonna yell at ya if you don't do anything wrong." She told the dog, but the dog wasn't budging.

I caught out of the corner of my eye that the dog just shook his head at Evie.

"Wimp." She muttered at him. "Fine, just don't go swimming in the lake or he will get pissed off at you."

Evie turns as Bear turned away and presumably ran back towards the lake. Evie left the door slightly open, just in case 'Man's best friend' decided to find his way back home at some point. I turned to face the television again but I could hear Evie's footsteps getting louder, getting closer to me.

"Stop being such a miserable bastard." I heard her say to me.

I wanted to react with a middle finger, such was my mood at the time, but I knew she'd probably snap my finger off and stick it up my.... nose... Mind out of the gutter please. My only response was to ignore her, but that didn't exactly leave me pain free when she sat down next to me and squeezed the top of my leg, harder than playfully.

"What is wrong with you?" She asked me. "You've been like a bear with a sore head for days."

Ok, let's give her the truth, cause I know this isn't me and the thought of the match itself doesn't add pressure, the fact we could be doing more for it, just annoys me. So I turned to Evie, sitting next to me.

"I am currently pretty pissed off at wrestling." I told her.

Yes, I swear at times when I'm at home, and when I've got the hump, who doesn't?

"Biggest match in SCW's history and everyone seems as quiet as a church mouse." I told her and it's been like that for weeks. "I'm tired of selling things, and last night, Vinnie rambled on, and Caleb worried about Fenris. It's got to the point where no one can be bothered. This ain't the wrestling I knew from back years ago. Wrestling then, everyone turned up to talk about anything and get people interested, people turned up to talk to get people to notice them when there wasn't plans, you know what wrestlers have become?"

"No, but you're gonna tell me." Evie said, knowing me well enough to know the rant was on.

"Two bob lazy wankers." I said to her. "Before, people who didn't have anything going on would show up anyway so the bosses remembered them and gave them something to do. Now, no one turns up to do anything but wrestle and piss off home."

A sigh left my lungs because I knew I was about to admit something I've thought about for a while without admitting it.

"I think I'm done with wrestling Eves." I told her with a hint of sadness in my voice.

"You have the biggest match of your life coming up." She told me firmly. "You also have plans to face Fenris and people have wanted that for months. This should be the time you finally become World champion."

"World champion of what, exactly?" I asked her seriously. "World champion of a place where no one puts the effort in? It's like the anti me. I tend to be hard working and most there are just slacking. Besides, my contract is up on January the first, same as every year. I can't wrestle Fenris if I don't work there."

"Ben, you being World champion will put life in that division because of your hard work." Evie told me. "Reason people don't work in that division is because the champion isn't leading by example. All he gives a fuck about is his new wife and his plant. Wrestling isn't what he's committed to, so no one else is committed to it in his division. They think that if the champion can be that way and get away with it, so can they."

When you see my wife, you think bad arse lunatic who would rip your tongue out just for looking at her funny, and you'd be absolutely right, she would, but she sees things different from a lot of people and this is one of those examples where her vision can not be doubted.

"Now you as a leader." Evie continued. "That's where things change, because they'll have to work harder to keep up with you. If a division is bad, it's because the leader isn't doing what they should do. This is why different leaders pull out different things from people, and you'll have those people working harder because you'll be in charge, not some idiot that talks to plants."

She had a point. Leaders should lead and the rest should follow their example and maybe the rest were following that example. When Fenris was champion, he showed up every week to remind people they had to work if they wanted to beat him. Vinnie wasn't doing that I don't think.

"Just a second." Evie said before I could respond. "I think someone's coming."

Evie grabbed the remote from my lap and quickly hit a few buttons, bringing up a security feed on our television, much to my confusion.

"When did we get cameras here?" I asked her but her look fired back at me told me all I needed to know. "Nevermind."

We watched the screen, my security conscious wife looking at a car coming towards the house, her eyes focusing on the license plate.

"That's the car of that old guy from the council." She informed me.

"Did you memorize every...." I stopped at that point, knowing this is my wife after all.

"Tell them to piss off, not in the mood to be tapped up for a few quid." I told Evie, thinking they were here for a charitable donation.

I watch the car on the screen slowly moving down the road and eventually stopping outside the door to see three people stepping out of the car, one older man - Kenneth Spears and his wife Alice, both in their fifties, as well as a third women, Angela Gibbons, in her thirties. The three had one thing in common, all worked for the local council on their board. I watched them walk towards the door and knocking.

"Hello, anyone in?" Alice called out.

"Stay quiet and they might go away." I whispered to Evie.

But that wasn't to be as Bear moved past them, knocking the door open with his head and walking in to the house. He stopped in the hallway and looked back at them, nodded his head towards us, almost willing them to enter the house, which they did.

"That little..." I muttered under my breath, but Evie sprung in to action.

She knew I wasn't gonna jump up and greet them, but they were already in the house. I'm sure she wondered for a brief second if she could shoot them under the trespassers act and get away with it, but thankfully didn't go that route.

"Hi!" Evie called out with a cheery tone as she moved in to the hallway, partly shutting the living room door behind her.

Or as I like to call it, Evie's 'I'm gonna be nice to you because you're in my house, but if I get the opportunity, I'm going to poison you and throw you in the lake because I really don't like you' tone.

"Mrs Jordan." Kenneth said with a smile towards Evie. "Lovely to see you, I wonder if I could have a word with your husband."

"Ben's not feeling too well today." She lied. "He's having a bit of a tough day so maybe you can see him another time."

"It's really rather important." I could hear Angela say behind the half closed door.

"If it's an appearance somewhere, then it really isn't that important, if it's a charity thing, leave the details here and I'm sure my husband will look over them." She said, knowing I probably would have.

"No, it's much more important than that." Alice stressed.

Not gonna lie, part of me was hoping Evie would go with taking out the 'trespassers' by this point because I didn't really wanna deal with these people, but I figured the sooner they said what they had to, which used to hit me in the pocket when these board members come round... I must own every bench in Bar Harbor at this point... Sooner I heard what they wanted to say, the sooner they might go.

"Let 'em in Eves." I called out. "But not for long."

The door swung open seconds later and Evie's arm was pointing them in to the living room of our home.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" I asked, not wanting to get off the sofa.

I was delighted to see three shaking heads as I pointed to seat for them to sit down at and Evie joined me.

"I don't really have a lot of time." I told them as I looked around the three faces sitting opposite me.

"I understand." Kenneth said, looking directly into my eyes. "I'll get straight to the point. Our mayor is retiring shortly and we, the council would like you to consider running to replace him."

Ummm, Ben Jordan, Mayor of Bar Harbor, Maine? I know wrestling has annoyed me lately and I know Evie was right, I could make a change in wrestling just by becoming the champion, yet this brand new opportunity has just landed on my doorstep and I could actually make a real difference. The difference between a town and a wrestler is people want to see their town do well, while some wrestlers don't care about growing the company they work for, going the extra mile to make their company better, they just care about the money. Maybe this was the light I needed to tell me it's very much time for a change, and my face showed it.

"Oh?" I said with a smile. "Isn't there some rule against non nationals running for mayor?"

"No." Angela informed me. "Anyone can run for mayor and we think you'll be the perfect mayor. Everybody loves you."

"Isn't being mayor about policies and all that?" Evie asked.

"Yes, and this is why we're giving Ben enough time to look at things and create policies." Kenneth adds. "He will have access to everything before hand, you can hire a team, speak to whoever you need to, we'd just like you to consider this."

The next hour seemed to breeze by as the five of us spoke a little more about everything this role may entail, before Evie showed them to the door. I watched her return and she caught that smile on my face.

"You actually wanna do this, don't you?" She said with a curious look.

"I think I do." I replied.

The problem was, could I do it and still change the SCW men's division for the better at the same time? Do I stick with wrestling? Do I make a difference in the world? Is it possible to do both? At this point, I simply didn't know at all, but it gave me more options than I had come January the 1st when my contact runs out with Sin City Wrestling....



Ah contracts, most of them are not worth the paper they're written on when some people get mad about losing a match and cry and leave, or some just disappear altogether, close down social media, no show evens and just disappear, most of them come back cap in hand at some point, but those are the ones who can't seem to hack the competition. I took my deals pretty seriously, I didn't even break my SCW contract when I was ill and recovering from major things, it was Mark and Christian who just refused to book me while I recovered, didn't want me at the shows and still paid me. They wouldn't take that money back either, so the local charities did well out of them.

In case you haven't figured it out, every year, I sign one year deals, starting and ending on January the first, ever since I've been here. The only change in my contract there has ever been was year three, when SCW actually started paying me. I have money, enough to keep me going, I told them I didn't need the cash, so for two years, my money went to charities of their choices. I did it for the love of wrestling, which has faded from me a bit.

Well earlier today, it was time for that talk again. Sitting in my office in my house actually, and that old familiar sound of Skype caught my attention, my eyes drifting up to the screen to see the name of Christian Underwood flashing. I quickly hit yes.

"Ben, how are you?" Christian said with a nod.

I looked around the background of where he was, and he clearly looked like he was in his office at SCW headquarters, so I instantly knew this wasn't a social call.

"I'm alright." I told him, I was more curious about why he was calling. It'll be rude to straight up ask.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to see you after the show on Sunday and I heard you left early Monday morning to get home." Christian said.

You know Christian is just a dick on screen mostly? He's an alright guy and a top negotiator when he has to be.

"Yeah." I told Christian. "If I stay in Vegas too long, I'd go broke and I had a bit of a meeting on Tuesday morning about something important here."

"It's not a medical problem is it?" He asked with concern in his voice.

I was still his employee, I was still an asset to his company, and he and Mark Ward had been nothing short of brilliant when I was ill. They checked in on me all the time, and I never felt like I would be replaced. Many bosses would have hired someone new and been done with it. There's a reason these two are respected in the wrestling world by their employees. If you don't go to them blowing up and talk to them like human beings, they respond in kind.

"No, nothing like that." I told him reassuringly. "More to do with this area I'm living in. Anyway, what's on your mind?"

"I know we usually deal with contracts fairly quickly so I would have probably come to you in a week, but Mark and I have been talking and we want to change the terms of your new contract we're going to offer you. We thought there might be more things to discuss after the offer is made, so we wanted to get it done early." He told me.

I was always sceptical about changes to my contract, especially when things have worked out well as they have done over the last few years. If it's not broke, don't fix it.

"What kind of changes?" I asked, he had my curiosity.

"'More money, a three year contract instead of a one year deal. That's the only changes, your other freedoms are your own." He said getting straight to the point.

That took me back slightly, I had to be honest with him though. I owed him that.

"I can't accept that and it's not about the money." I told him straight up. "I'll be honest with you, I'm thinking about just seeing this one through and leaving wrestling behind me."

I could see the surprise on his face. I don't think he ever expected me to say that at all.

"There's a lot of reasons for this." I said, deciding to be brutal about it. "My main one is that people don't work like they used to anymore. It's like they can't be bothered. The days where the shows had everyone on was brilliant and now, people don't show up at all. I can't be the only one who does show up a lot to talk. A couple of weeks ago, I didn't because I got to the point of why push myself anymore when others are standing still."

"Mark and I have spoke about this and we agree with you. We'd love to see more out of people." He admitted. "But it's the flexible contract. It's written in that people can work as much or as little as they need to. They get bonuses for showing up but wrestling has changed a lot over the years, people have changed."

"People don't have the drive anymore." I told him straight up. "They all wanna be handed stuff and the people who had the drive are being dragged down. Jessie Salco used to turn up every week, but for about three months earlier this year, she showed up only to wrestle. This is Jessie Salco, a woman who wanted her face on the screen all the time. Now, you get me and a few others who show up all the time, while people getting top matches can't be arsed."

I looked at Christian deep in thought but decided to get another point across.

"It's hard to be motivated when others aren't." I told him. "I simply don't think I could do that for three years."

"You promised Fenris a match." Christian reminded me. "Promised the fans that match, so what if I switched it back to one year, with a two year extension should you feel better about things at that point?"

I hated going back on my word and he knew it. He'd played the right note with just a few words.

"Tell ya what. I like the way we do things." I told Christian. "But how about this. I'll sign an extension to face Fenris at the first supercard in 2020, that's what? Two months? Put a clause in that deal that either of us can trigger that contract for another ten months after that, putting me back to my usual dates."

"What stopping me from triggering it five minutes after you sign it?" Christian asked with a half smile on his face, indicating he was joking.

"Because I know you wouldn't want an unhappy wrestler on the roster." I told him. "You get enough rebellious people on the roster wanting to go against the bosses, I don't think you'd wanna put me in the situation where someone that's worked for SCW for so long has to sit there and not be bothered."

I could see Christian thinking about things.

"Mark's not gonna like this." Christian told me bluntly. "But it's easier dealing with you than it was dealing with Despayre that year on your behalf."

"I don't even want the extra money, hell I work for free up until I face Fenris one on one. That should sell it to him." I replied quickly. "Get my services for free for a couple of months, hell, I could be your first ever World Heavyweight Champion that's a champion that doesn't actually get paid."

"I'll run it up the flagpole." Christian said. "But I suspect Mark will be in touch about a meeting next week in person."

"I suspect he will." I replied. "But it sounds like your camera crew just pulled up so as I'm still an SCW employee, I better go shoot that promo for the show."

"Alright." Christian said with a nod. "We'll speak soon."

And that was that and I was now off to shoot that promo!



I do love a nice, cool evening sitting by the lake, nothing but me and my thoughts but unfortunately, today was nothing like that, it was a bit chilly. We'd hit December and December wanted to remind me of that fact while I sat outside on a little bench just outside my front door, looking at the water not too far in the distance, but it had to be done, it was time to talk about what was coming up at December 2 Dismember IV. I knew once I was done, the rest of the week and weekend was all mine and as you probably figured out earlier, I clearly have a lot of thinking to do about the future, but before I could deal with all that, I had to deal with five men coming up in a six pack survival.

"Alright people." The wind ran across my face with a chill as the camera focused on my opening words.

I pull my jacket a little tighter across my body, pulling the material closer for warmth.

"It's more than a bit nippy out you to the point even my loveable mutt and lovely wife are sitting round a fire but I needed to come out here and talk to you about December 2 Dismember IV coming up. When Mark Ward sat there and hinted at big matches around the time of High Stakes, I didn't expect this, I didn't expect one, they'll be this big, or two, I'd be involved. I thought I would finally be giving the fans the match they wanted, one on one with Fenris. I thought we'd be ripping the house down, turns out we will be but on a whole unexpected level." I admit honestly. "Never in a million years did I thought I'd be doing this, but here we are."

I still couldn't believe it half the time that I had finally made it in to a World Heavyweight title match at a supercard, nuts.

"You saw my reaction to qualifying earlier." I remind them. "But even now it just doesn't feel real and I'm sure I'm not the only one in that match thinking the same thing."

I felt the nerves in the ring this past Sunday, it wasn't just me feeling them, I knew everyone else was thinking about the magnitude of this match and what it could mean and the nerves were there, even if they wouldn't admit it.

"I know Caleb Storms, God bless his soul, is probably sitting there feeling the pressure as much as I am." I say pretty sure I was correct. "He's the guy no one expects to win, there should be no pressure there but Caleb brings it on himself, because everyone knows how badly he wants to shock everyone and walk out as SCW World Heavyweight champion. Everyone knows that he would give up the world for that belt, to be remembered as a champion and I don't think you're actually human if part of you don't wanna see him as champion one day. You'd have to be pretty cold hearted not to wanna see Caleb Storms win the World Championship because he's got the heart of a lion and balls like watermelons apparently."

I can't help but shrug at that, even though I knew he's a gutsy kid.

"He was quick with the speak but stood up to Fenris while absolutely tanking it, but he was there and that earns respect from everyone in SCW and around the world." I say as I look in the camera. "Caleb Storms is a gusty geezer and the world knows it, and the world loves an underdog. Caleb is that underdog everyone can look up to. Some people might not think he deserves his spot in this one, but I do and I think he's gonna have a lot of people sitting there cheering him on. There's SCW fans that have been here for years knowing that shocks do happen, surprises can happen and that means Caleb Storms can walk out of here with the championship."

I nod my head, knowing anything can happen in SCW and we have seen huge shocks.

"The thing is." I continue. "I'm kinda on that level to some extend Caleb, I'm on that level where I think it would be a shock to see me win that belt. My past elsewhere means nothing going in to this match, the fact is I could have been a champion at a hundred different places like a few of my friends and rivals but none of that matters, What matters is here in SCW, that's when you know you've made it, is when you win the big belt here and I haven't in all the years I've been here, I've been a disappointment to myself and the fans and I gotta change that. It would be a shock to see me win it as much as it would you Caleb, but I am gonna do all I can to shock people like you want to. The difference is, I've earned this over time, and I think this one might just be my time."

Did I really believe that? Probably not, but you don't sell a match by rambling for three lines.

"We're not the only ones people would be shocked to see win. There's a clear divide in this match where you have a champion and two former champs against three people who want it but have never had that big belt." I say seriously. "So I think it would be just a big a shock to see Lachlan Kane walk out as World Champion."

I believed in that statement as I slowly nodded my head.

"I don't mean that in a bad way Lachlan." I correct. "It would be a nice shock, a happy shock, more than a good shock, something fresh, something new, something worth seeing in my view. I mean the fans would be like the cat with a rocket tied to it's tail.... Ya know, over the moon."

Yes, it was a cheesy line but I liked it.

"Coming from the Tag Division with that firecracker missus of yours, showing that you are so much more than just a tag team wrestler." I say with respect. "Defeating your own brother. That was insane, I don't think I've seen anyone dive off the top of a cage with more intent and bravery than you that night. You could have blew out your knee, you coulda killed Malachi, shattered his organs to bits but you did it to show that you would take any steps, any measures to get the job done and that night, you did exactly that, you got the job done and I ain't seen too much of Malachi in SCW since that match. Some people may call that kinda risk stupid, but I am not one of them. I look at that and I see a whole different side, I see it from a very different point of view, I see it as a man willing to put his entire career on the line to get what he wants, get that big win. A couple months later, you go from cage to chamber and a lot of places you can take risks from. Can I see you do that?"

I nod my head, I mean if he was willing to squash his brother in to minced meat, what would he do to one of us?

"Abso-bloody-lutely mate." I comment with a smile. "That match you had at High Stakes showed me just how far you're willing to go. You could have climbed out of that cage, walked away but no, wham, bam, take this bruv! Risk were taken and watching that back, I know you'd be willing to do the same to me, to Caleb, hell, even to Vinnie to get that gold. I respect you Lachlan, I respect how much you're willing to do to get that championship, but I hope you know what I can be capable of too. Look back a while when Kedron Williams was the bane of my life, and how far I was willing to go to get what I needed. Look back at how much I did to just win. It's gonna be a more than interesting clash, but I think my determination is gonna edge me just in front of you. No disrespect meant."

And I really didn't mean any disrespect. Lachlan is a great guy, one of the best in the locker room to have around. He reminds me of me a lot, the good guy with the firecracker partner. Can't help but have mad respect for them both.

"Ah where to go next...." I pondered. "Sod it, let's go with you Fenris."

I couldn't help but smile. People were fully aware that Fenris and I were friends.

"This is nothing personal at all." I start, and meant it. "We both had to go and screw things up and qualify for this one, didn't we, and disappoint the fans by not having this one as one on one, which is pretty bloody sad but I see a different opportunity here, I see this as a chance to show them what they're gonna get in the future, I see this as a chance for them to see what we're all about. This is a chance to show them that one on one is gonna be something special."

I believed in that statement, this was a golden chance.

"And we both know at some point, everyone else is gonna be laid out and you're gonna be looking at me like I'm ugh, a cauliflower steak?" I say in a questioning tone. "I dunno what you vegans consider equal to a big juicy T-bone, but I know you're gonna be looking at me to prove a point, to do something that shows you can prove a point against me and gimme a little heads up about what's gonna happens when we do get the chance to go one on one, but the thing is, I'm thinking about the same thing. I've figured you out a little bit, I think I know how to take you down without even laying a hand on you. It's all about the mentality. You gotta prove constantly that you're better than everyone, doesn't matter if it's find, foe or even family, you gotta prove that you're better than those, but what if at December 2 Dismember IV, you look at me when everyone is down and heaven forbid, I out wrestle you?"

Fenris is probably listening somewhere shaking his head.

"Seriously, if I outwrestle you, then that ego takes a bit of a bruising." I say with a smile, knowing exactly what I'm doing. "Say I go on and win that championship, means I'm actually better than you, that I'm a better wrestler, a better all around guy, there goes your ego and the confidence crisis might just kick in there. I'm not as much as a donut as most people think, because I know winning this one Fenris will make it a hell of a lot easier to beat you one on one in our future match. In a match like this, you gotta split your attention five ways, if I can win this one, our one on one, you won't even be twenty percent the person you are gonna be in this match, which means I will have the advantage."

Sound logic, right?

"If ever there was motivation to win this one Fenris aside from the SCW World championship, this would be it!" I say excitedly with a smile on my face.

Forward thinking can't hurt anybody, right?

"This is where it gets even more tougher for me, because now I gotta talk about Austin James Mercer." I say with a tap to my chin. "I mean I know it's easy for some to rip him to bits for sort of fading out of the limelight a bit after losing to Vinnie. It's probably easy to pick on the fact that his stablemate Alicia Lukas outshines him. It is easy to say but regardless of what you wanna say about Austin James Mercer, you can't say it without that whole load of respect right about here."

I point to my heart.

"It's true." I say as I look down the camera. "No matter if the man walked up and kicked your cat in the jacksy, you can't help but respect him for everything he's done here since he showed up. In ten years time, when you look down the list of the great champions SCW have had of all time, Austin James Mercer will be close to the top of the list and without a doubt won a ton of belts by then, been the longest combined champion of all time. You don't need a crystal ball to sit there and figure that one out because you watch him when he shows up to wrestle and you don't forget that match for a long, long time. Guaranteed Hall of Famer there and I'm stepping in the ring with you Austin. To me, that gets me proper smiling on the inside cause win or lose, I'm in a ring with Austin James Mercer, that is something I didn't think I would be saying. A while ago, I made a list of all the people I wanted to face. I put down Ty West."

Ugh, Ty West, thank God he's gone, bloody hypocrite.

"And I beat him with little problem." I continue, with pride in my voice.

Is it obvious I never liked Ty West, so needy.

"I put down your stablemate Alex Jones." I say, remembering the list. "I put down Fenris, I put down Senor Vinnie and I wrote down your name. I wanted all one on ones, prove that I can do it with the best in SCW, no offence to anyone who didn't make the list but those five name where who I wanted. Out of the five Austin, you was the one I was most excited to face. You could make a case of me against any of the others would be a decent match but you was the one I was most excited to face, because there's something I've learned in wrestling and it fits this situation. If you wanna be someone who will be remembered for the ages, you have to beat the people who can never be forgotten."

I don't know if that was a deep phrase coming from me, or a load of old pony but it sounded decent anyway.

"And you Austin, you will never be forgotten." I say with honesty in my voice. "But I wanna be remembered. I wanna be that guy up there with the top wrestlers in the world when people online put those lists together and I knew I could do that if I got past you. If I didn't, no shame losing to you, but I wanna be remember. Although this one ain't one on one, this is my chance to get the ball rolling on that one. This is a match I want people to remember me by, and they will remember me a lot more if I pinned you. Like I said about Fenris, it's nothing personal at all, nothing but respect mate."

It really was all about respect there.

"I've spoke about the challengers, so there only one person left to talk about." I say with a sigh. "And that's you Vinnie."

I wasn't looking forward to this, I didn't leave Vinnie till last just because he's the champion, but it's been hard to find the words for this.

"I really wish at this point I could just switch back in to that Ben that was over taken by witchcraft and magic, that way I can justify my comments about you a little more, rather than come across as disrespect." I say as I look down at the ground for a few seconds before looking up. "But I'll level with ya, I don't think you're the right man to be the champion of a place like SCW."

It needed to be said and I'm sure I'm not the only one gonna be saying it this week.

"I'll explain, so I hope you understand." I say as I look for the right words. "I gotta look back and compare you to other champions, looking at the modern era champions in Fenris and Austin James Mercer, I look back at past era champions in Drake Green and J2H, I can even look back at Simon Jones, Gabriel, and they all instantly drew the respect from their peers, the people around them. They knew how to sell what they had. Being a World champion to me is about being the top guy in the company, about showing up and being the one who gets everyone's eyes. It's all about social media these days, drawing eyes on your division. You look at your equivalent in Alicia Lukas. Everyone knows Alicia Lukas is the SCW Bombshell World champion, because she hits that social media and she reminds them."

Also kudos Alicia for breaking the fasting airing promo record.

"People who have never watched an SCW show know Alicia Lukas is the top woman here." I force the words out. "And the men's division, we're falling behind when you're the one that needs to keep up with Alicia and you don't. The other day on Twitter, some guy challenged the SCW roster to a match and you wasn't tagged in it, but Fenris was and this is the problem. You shoulda been the one selling our division, selling what I, Austin, Fenris, Lachlan and Caleb are all chasing, but you haven't. Last Climax Control, Alicia walked around that building, taking to her opponents, making people interested in watching her match at December 2 Dismember IV. She got people interested."

It's true, our World title division has fallen behind because Vinnie can't keep up with Alicia.

"Since you've been champion Vinnie, we've seen your cactus more than you." I sadly say. "We've seen your cactus and a farting dog draw more attention than you have. People are probably more interested in seeing a match between them, because that's been sold more than what you've done to sell this. Three rambling lines every week ain't cutting it. You're a champion man, you should have the fanfare and celebration, you could have the right to open every show if you wanted. Three rambling lines and a chat with a cactus about a cactus wanting to fight a bulldog isn't selling our division well at all. It might be classed as a double main event, but I'm actually surprised we're on last."

I think most are surprised at that.

"I'm sorry I have to state the facts like this but the truth is, we're in the shadow of the women here." I say firmly. "because you haven't kept us in the limelight here Vinnie."

A lot of people could see this, but not many has said it, the women of SCW are making themselves the focus.

"I'm trying not to whiz on you from a great height Vinnie." I said meaningfully "It is what it is, but I feel that I can do better, I feel that I can be a better champion and that's what it's all about to me, that's the aim, be better than the person who came before you and I think right now, I can do just that. Sorry mate."

I think it's time to go in...

"Well, it's getting a bit parky out here. so it's time for me to end this one here. I look forward to the time rolling down so I can get in the ring with you all, until then..." I say with a wink.

You know what's coming.

"Laters people."

I stand up to enter the house as the scene fades to black.

[SenorVinnie]

 OOC:: I have permission to use Andy's character Bill BarnhartIt's all in the numbers part one

We are at a local casino, where we see Señor Vinnie sitting down with his wife Valora. Enjoying a moment together as Vinnie will be competing in a few weeks to defend his title in a Six Pack Challenge. They are playing on the Roulette table as Vinnie puts down some chips on red. The croupier nods his head and rolls the ball as it lands on black number 17.

Valora: Aww poor baby, you almost had a winning hand.

Vinnie smiles as he nods his head and tosses a few more chips back on red.

Señor Vinnie: It's nice to have you with me sweetheart, I know you can only stay a few days before going back home. But every moment that we can spend together is enough for me.

She smiles, kissing his cheek as she puts her head on his shoulder and watches the ball roll before landing on red 30. Causing Vinnie to ball his fist as he has won this round as the croupier pushes his winnings towards him.

Señor Vinnie: I knew I should have begged you to join me sooner sweetheart, you are my lucky charm.

She grins as she playfully pounds his shoulder before Vinnie pretends that she hurt him

Señor Vinnie: What was that for???

Valora looks at him, kissing him on the lips as he hands her a few chips before placing it in her purse.

Valora: Uh huh, sure. I don't want to see my husband to turn into a raging gambler now. Besides, I am sure that Pete will keep track on you as to make sure that you won't break your promise to me.

The two grin as Vinnie nods his head tossing another few chips on the table, but this time going for black. The ball rolls around and lands on black number 25 and again Vinnie has won another round.

Señor Vinnie: You sure that I cannot persuade you to change your mind??

The two lock eyes and Valora playfully scowls at him, she grabs her purse as she slowly gets up and kisses her husband on the cheek.

Valora: I have to go to the little girls room, just be a good boy and don't think about running off big boy.

Vinnie chuckles as she kisses him one more time before going to the bathroom, he focuses his attention back to the table before a familiar voice is heard.

Voice: I hope you haven't brought that damn plant with ya??

Vinnie turns around and stares into the eyes of one of the two commentators of SCW Climax Control and all the super cards Belinda Simone. He grins as he shakes his head no before she sits down with a look of being relieved.

Señor Vinnie: Please don't tell me that it's because of your fear for Pete that it took you this long to sit down here from the Black Jack Table???

She chuckles and shakes her head

Simone: Jason started to get into an argument as he believed that the card dealer had the cards marked. Seriously, I prefer watching you talk to a plant instead of seeing him get all worked up over whether the card dealer had a Jack of Hearts stuck underneath his sleeve. Besides, where is Pete??

Vinnie grins as he places another bet on Black before turning his attention to Simone while the ball rolls once more.

Señor Vinnie: He is being checked up for a rabies shot after having being at ringside with Bill Barnhart's dog for whatsoever reason. But what I have understood from Pete was that he wanted to serenade you.

This revelation caused Belinda to roll her eyes in disgust.

Simone: Why doesn't that fellow ever learn??? I'm not interested, I'm ta....

Señor Vinnie: You do have to understand that it is his hot blooded Latino heat that is inside of him that does not stop until he gets what he wants.

Belinda turns to Vinnie in a shocked fashion putting her hand to her mouth

Simone: I do admire his fortitude, but I am ma.....

Señor Vinnie puts his hand up towards her halfway her sentence, excusing himself as his phone went off.

Señor Vinnie: Hola??? Ahh hi Pete!!!

Belinda is shaking her hands in a desperate attempt to persuade Vinnie not to tell Pete that she is here.

Señor Vinnnie: What?? You had to get a tetanus shot???

He listens to Pete on the phone, nodding his head as he turns his gaze towards Belinda Simone as he motions to her reassuringly that he understood her. This causes her to sigh in relief and turns her attention to the roulette wheel.

Señor Vinnie: Now you have to understand Pete that I am spending some quality time with my wife, I....

Phone: .....

Señor Vinnie: Si, Valora is spending a few days here. Si I am still happily married Pete, si I know you still like to meet new women. Si.... I know that you like Belinda Simone still, but you have to understand that she prefers to just win some money on the roulette table.

These words causes her to spit out some wine that she just took a sip from, hoping that this wouldn't cause Pete to believe that she is next to him.

Señor Vinnie: No Pete, I am not going to ask her your phone number. I am married, I cannot go and ask someone's number!!

Belinda quickly gets up from her seat and thanks Vinnie by handing him a chip in his hand as he continues to talk

Señor Vinnie: Now see what you have done!! She just walked off, I mean seriously Pete. I am tired of you begging me to be your right hand man, while I am the husband of the most wonderful person in the world. I cannot just start asking around to women!!!

Voice: Trust me, if you work with Sin City Wrestling you need to fight them off my friend.

Vinnie tells Pete to be quiet for a moment as he looks up and stares into the face of Jason Adams, the other commentator for Climax Control and every Super Card.

Señor Vinnie: No it is not Belinda, can you just please be quiet for a moment?? I need all my focus to understand what he is saying.

He puts the phone down, turns his attention back to Jason who is drinking a Margarita and nods to Vinnie

Adams: Hi Vin!! Finally we got the opportunity to hang!!

Señor Vinnie: Si nice, but uhm you said something about women throw themselves at you??

Jason looks around and then turns his attention back to Vinnie.

Adams: I thought the misses was around Vin???

Vinnie's eyes roll to the back of his head as he motions tot he phone.

Señor Vinnie: Pete is trying desperately to get over the love bug that he has with every single woman. But especially with Belinda, I thought you could help him over the catastrophe to happen that is him and Belinda.

Jason nods his head as he finally understands where Vinnie is going to, he grabs a black book out of his jacket and hands it over to him as Vinnie starts to read into it.

Señor Vinnie: 10th of December: Laundry day

He looks oddly towards Jason, who realizes that he handed him the wrong book and quickly snatches it out of his hands before substituting it with another one.

Adams: Sorry bud, that was my chore book for every few days that I am supposed to be at home.

Vinnie nods his head, though still not convinced about the explanation that Jason gave him. But ultimately turns his attention back to the black book and starts to read through it. Until noticing an odd, but familiar name.

Señor Vinnie: Bill Barnharts lessons to seek for love???

He turns his attention back to Jason, who is nodding his head in response to Vinnie's questionable look.

Señor Vinnie: But... How???

Adams: You got to believe me man, just a few weeks ago I send my dog over there. Had troubles with the female dogs and Bill helped him over it...

Señor Vinnie looks at the phone and puts the sound on mute before turning his attention back to Jason.

Señor Vinnie: But Pete is a cactus!!! I am sure that Bill can work wonders with those dogs, but Pete is.... Well... Flora spikanozo!!!

Jason nods his head in agreement but doesn't stop there.

Señor Vinnie: Bill taught my dog that every living creature known to mankind has a heart and a soul. And everyone can find love and by the looks of your cacti friend... I have a feeling that he needs an overdose of L-O-V-E if you get my drift??

Vinnie looks at his phone, he sees his plant friend on the other end of the phone as his profile picture shows him with Vinnie in more happier days. He sighs as he doesn't like the idea, but on the other hand he wants to get rid off the annoying phone calls every single day of the week.

Señor Vinnie: Pete is going to give it a shot.

Adams: Great!!! I'll notify Bill, he may have a spot left for you in the near future man.

Vinnie sees Jason walk off and turns his attention back to the roulette table and to his phone, placing his hands to his head and shake it

Señor Vinnie: What have I got myself into???

The shot goes to a short commercial break as we come back and see that Vinnie has returned his attention back to the roulette table and is making quite some winnings. He has his wife next to him for being his lucky charm as he places all of his bets on red.

Valora: You sure you want to gamble everything Vinnie???

Vinnie is smiling from ear to ear, then he turns his face towards Valora and kisses her on the lips.

Señor Vinnie: WIth you on my side, I cannot lose.

The look on Valora's face turns from pure happiness to a slight concern when she sees that the roulette ball landed on black number 24. Seeing all the winnings being lost in one single move. She then turns her attention back to Vinnie, who is still smiling big time towards his wife.

Valora: Err..., Vin?? You just lost your entire bet..... I...


Vinnie turns his attention back to the table and sees that every chip has been taken away. He realizes what just happened after a few moments and then turns back to his wife and smiles after a few moments.

Señor Vinnie: I don't care amor. I have you, I have already won... And in two weeks I will still be victorious as I walk out champion. I....

Voice: (interrupts Vinnie): So you want to help out your lucky plant eh???

Vinnie had not expected someone interrupting him as he was attempting to smooth talk his wife to join him to their own hotel room. Annoyingly turning around as he stares into Bill Barnhart, all dressed up in pink pants, pink suspenders and a slightly too small Disney World t shirt that has the infamous mouse ears on the front. Bill is smiling from ear to ear as he sees the world champ look at him oddly.

Señor Vinnie: Uhm..., excuse me??

Bill: It's okay Vin, Jason told me all about it. And now I understand why Pete was at ringside during my match with Alex. Not to just help me out, but he was trying to help him getting Iris her attention!! Well, I am going to help you out partner.

Vinnie is not sure what to make of this situation as he tries to collect his thoughts and starts to counter Bill.

Señor Vinnie: No you don't understand, Pete isn't interested in Iris. He likes women, in like humans.

Bill is shaking his head.

Bill: Is that what the plant was trying to convince you off?? I guess he gave you the wrong impression. Or perhaps you need an hearing aid, because Pete is definitely in love with Iris.

Valora: Oh how sweet!!! Vin, just imagine how cute a couple these two would make!!!

Vinnie turns his attention back to his wife with a huge question mark written all over his face as he has clearly lost control over what is going on.

Valora: True, it may look weird. But just imagine, in today's society, people shouldn't judge those who try to be different.

Señor Vinnie: I.....

Bill: She is right you know!! Hell, my second cousins brother has been a fan of Monster Trucks all of his life.

Vinnie and Valora stare at Bill, wondering what this has got to do with the subject of Pete and Iris.

Señor Vinnie: We just went from a plant and a dog liking each other apparently to a monster truck fan?? What does that got to do with Pete and Iris??

Bill: Nothing, but it is a nice way to get you all worked up on monster trucks isn't it??

Bill doesn't see any response.

Bill: Guess not, but I tell you what, if you want I have enough time for you two next week if you are seriously reconsider the offer of me helping Pete.

Vinnie stares at his wife in doubt.

Señor Vinnie: Should I do this Valora???

Valora nods her head

Valora: I am sure that Penelope would not like it, but who are we to stand in the way of Pete's happiness?? Besides, people thought we did not seemed to be a perfect match together. But look at us now???

She smiles happily towards Vinnie, who nods his head in agreement before turning his attention back to Bill.

Señor Vinnie: I am willing to do this, but I need to know one thing.

Bill: Shoot!!!

Señor Vinnie: How much is this going to cost me??

Before Bill can answer Vinnie gets pulled back to his wife, looking at him with an angry look on her face.

Señor Vinnie: What?? You didn't lose all your chips on the Roulette table!! You kept yours in your purse!!!

Bill: Before you two love birds get into an argument about money. Seeing you are the champ, I am willing to do this for free. Hell, we may just end up as brother in laws my amigo. Wouldn't that be something??

The words sink in to Vinnie as he suddenly realizes that this could get awfully wrong.

Señor Vinnie: Oh My God, what did I get myself into....

With that the shot fades as we see Vinnie stare into the distance as Valora is hugging him and Bill continues to talk about him helping Pete, oblivious that nobody is actually listening to him.


It’s all-in the numbers part two

Señor Vinnie can be seen sitting in a corner of the room with a dice in his hand, staring at the numbers that is on the dice from one to six and back again. His eyes look past his fingers to stare at the championship belt that he will be defending in a six pack challenge against five other superstars.

Señor Vinnie: The number six...., how wonderful to think that a mere dice could sparkle something within me to talk about my opponents. Men that all believe that they could take away my championship belt in this Six Pack challenge, all because of many reasons. Some have one, others have more... Perhaps there is even one amongst them that has .... Six??? And what a challenge it has become, two men that already have held this championship belt..... The same two men that I have a history with when it comes down to this leather belt with gold on top of it to signify my status in this company. Two others that are in their minds the future of this company in a Caleb Storm and Lachlan Kane. And then the unsung hero, the man that is considered the very best that has yet to conquer the one title that has eluded him in his incredible career. Such stories could be told and songs to sing about heroes in the making and legends to continue the storied lives of those who came before them.

He smiles as his eyes return to the dice, he looks at the single dot that is in the center of the dice.  

Señor Vinnie: The number one.

A soft whisper that escapes his mouth as he is focused upon the single dot on this side of the dice.

Señor Vinnie: Is it fair or wise to ignore the number one?? I am sure that neither of my five opponents shall ignore me. From some I can already guess what their thoughts are and what their final draft will be before uttering their opinionated declaration of why they should be the better champ and why they will dethrone me to take home the gold in 2019.... Only to start 2020 with a bang.

And when it comes down to six numbers on a dice and five of them to be in so many ways superior to the single dot that is on this side of the dice is mind baffling to be sure. Yet isn't it the One that would Rule them all??

One ring to rule them all,  
One ring to find them,  
One ring to bring them all  
And in the darkness bind them.

He grins as he quotes a familiar line from the famous Lord of the Rings saga that to this very day is one of the most bought and read books in the history on this planet.  

Señor Vinnie: Now I am aware that I am not THE Ring and there were more than five other rings that the ONE ring could summon for. But the essence of it all is so fitting that I could not resist now isn't it?? Because it is the ONE championship that is so much on each and everyone's minds that it is solely the reason of their yearning and lust for The greatest achievement EVER... And then to be consumed by it to never let it go???

Truth needs to be told that this golden championship belt will not be thrown into Mount Doom as the mighty dark eye of J2H watches over us all... Wanting to reclaim that what is rightfully his. I perhaps should not utter his name too often, before the prophecy of HIM ever sensing HIS desired weapon of HIS power to consume him once more. Because let's face it..., HE is the only one that could ever hold on to it as none of us lesser beings will ever win it over like HE did not don't we???

He turns the dice as all six side slowly passes before his watchful eyes, focused on the digits and the placement of them all as his face tells that he is enjoying himself.

Señor Vinnie: All of you are fighting to be the number one champion in the company with all different reasons. Making it oh so exciting for me to sit down upon my throne and judge them all whether they have a valid reason to be here or not. Some have the desire to reclaim what they believe is rightfully theirs, missing the desired rubbing of the leather against their skin, their essence of confidence to skyrocket through the roof..., while others desire to wear it to prove others wrong. Convincing themselves that their believes of taking a risk is a valid one..., to be the second coming of the wild card that wants to break free from the chains that HE believes that has held HIM back... All the way to the one that needs it to perhaps silence his own doubts, just like he has done to the critics that questioned his desire. Wondering if his drive to be the very best is just as big as his in ring ability that is without a doubt one of the best. And yet..., being unable to make that final step to finally be the very best.

Stories, oh so many stories that I just cannot wait to be set free upon my listening ears and watchful eyes. Reading between the lines of the intentions that would unravel before my very own eyes whether they truly want it..., or just being utterly lies to convince others but mostly themselves to believe. Believe that is the key to great things, because without it...., you are nothing.

So who would go first hm??

He chuckles as he stops at the number six, the highest digit on the dice that in many games is the most powerful weapon to strike with.

Señor Vinnie: The number six, in many ways its the number of power. Beating all the numbers that are lesser than the number six, but is this the case?? In life six is the final number that this dice and many others conceived to be is the number of the weak. The one number that according this dice to be picked last.

Just imagine playing a basketball game, you always pick the strongest first isn't it?? And the strongest is obviously the one that would lead your team to victory. The one that you have the most believe in, the one that will dominate everyone else that comes after you.... The number one....

No number six to be found in picking sides until that moment comes that you have to. So who would be my number six???

He drops the dice on the ground before putting a hand to his face and scratches the stubs across his jaw, scratching it for a few moments before leaning his head back against the wall.

Would it be Caleb?? Lachlan?? Or even the Cockney King?? Basking in all of his glory with a hopeful thought. Pressing his lips against a steel window, praying for that one moment that just like Caleb has never come? Those who have come so close by tasting gold, only to be ripped out of their fingers so many times that I wonder... How desperate will you become to walk to the back AGAIN without the championship belt across your shoulder? Of course, I have been there too. Staring eye to eye with the man that DOMINATED last year all the way this year until Austin arrived and took it away. Two hard fought battles... Battles??

He shakes his head in disagreement with his very own words.

Señor Vinnie: Battles would not be the right description to do it justice, oh no. It was a war, a war upon life and death almost. Proving to the other that YOU are the most deserving one to obtain the golden nectar of what it is that makes competitors that take pride of withstanding everything that YOU throw at us... To where only one will survive and move on to the next challenge.

Does that sound familiar Ben? Caleb??  

There's a moment of silence  

Señor Vinnie: I know I did not mention your name Lachlan, but I have not forgotten of course..., because sometimes the sound of silence speaks so much more words than ANYTHING that I or anyone else will utter to you. And you know why my friend??

Again silence comes as Vinnie grins as he whispers the word friend once more.

Señor Vinnie: I am glad I have gotten your attention, the attention that I should have had since day one. But I know everyone out there only assumed that I was a flash in the pan, a one hit wonder that is merely a gimmick. Just like the annoyance of Alex Jones got him so much distracted that he once again got ripped away when he was so close to obtain the goal in life... To redeem that what he has failed at already three times this year. Making me put him already in a place of like Ben and Caleb, where I held my breath and wondered what your future shall be. As you are standing in a hallway of your career, where two doors are separating you from the destiny that YOU assume really is.

Am I making sense Lachlan?? Because I am the door that decides your fate, whether you like it or not Lachlan. Because when you stare at your future, I look at what mine should not be... Defeat, sorrow, denial of passing another torch that needs to be burning so bright to open up your and everyone else's eyes.  

He sighs, putting his hands close to each other as if he is starting a prayer. But he stares at his hands instead of closing them like a Christian would.

Señor Vinnie: I have traveled many roads Lachlan to this moment, that I cannot relinquish just yet. Now I know that you and everyone else in this Six Pack challenge will claim that their path is more deserving.... Only to have their egotistical needs that speaks for them, not even knowing what they will say. Because they should have been quiet, to have their silence speak louder than their own words.  

I know I have already lost you, I have already made the others proclaim that I have turned mentally unstable.

Silence.

Señor Vinnie: And that's such a good thing..., because at least that's when I know I have at least make myself known to the fools that have been here on both sides of my career. Those who have tried and succeeded on the left....

He extends his left arm  

Señor Vinnie: And those who have tried and failed....

He does the same with his right arm before raising his head and stares towards the ceiling.

Señor Vinnie: And then there's you, a hopeful thought... Nothing less, yes nothing as well. And I am the one that needs to lower your expectation my amigo. I need to temper your excitement to finally break on through to the other side.

He grins as he makes a reference to the classic Doors song.

Señor Vinnie: Isn't it amazing that in a match that will ultimately bring out the brutality that is within us?? As I already know that Fenris is licking his chops at this opportunity, where he is feeling that he is set free..... Free from a life that he never thought he would be in thanks to someone we both know very close... Or perhaps thought we did... As he looks back to a part in his life that he knew oh so well.... And you know what Lachlan? I am not going to go into the classical part that I will utter the stupidity of I am going to beat you, because I am better than though....

He chuckles as he repeats the though part in a whisper.

Señor Vinnie: Though you shall not escape from your own reality Lachlan...., what does that mean you may ask? Reality? Is that where you stand eye to eye with a six foot eight man that is two hundred and eighty pounds heavy?? To the watchful eye it may sum it all up isn't it?? But what would the reality tell you in essence of beating me??  

Nah ahhh, do not cheat upon me about using social media and historical facts of past matches... Because the past should remain in the past mi amigo... The past is always told not to reflect to future financial decisions when it comes down to the stock market... And yet, when it comes down to war... It tends to repeat itself....  

Scary..... Isn't it??

He once again grabs the dice and stares at the number six.

Señor Vinnie: Already I hear you think, Why the number six??

Surely you are the dark horse in this one, the one spot that nobody wants to be in during a match like this... The least expected and the most to prove... I wouldn't want to be in your shoes Lachlan... And I know, deep down inside your heart there's this belief. The belief that you are no lesser than a Caleb Storms or even may have more to offer than a Ben Jordan.

Perhaps....

But strong arguments are needed to make a stance isn't it?? Because let's face it..., To be a caliber wrestler, a humanitarian and quite possibly the most swell guy in the world... I have to be convinced by more than a slim margin that you have got what it takes..... Because who knows, who knows that your faith will be entwined with his. Would you perhaps go out of your way to bring back a man that has done what he has so far failed to accomplish?? Because who knows, who knows that perhaps Ben is merely doing this to have Kris rubbing some of his lucky Icelandic charms upon him. To finally look back upon his career as completed and not a.... Shall I whisper it to not upset the little viewers??? A waste?? Because Isn't it this the case for a wrestler of his ability? The questionings of why??? Why he has not achieved things that so many before and after him have achieved??

Vinnie rolls the dice and we land on the number five, causing him to smile of joy.

Señor Vinnie: You see Ben, I could have gone with everyone else besides Lachlan to be number five. But the mere fact of it all is that you intrigue me. The Cockney King, now I do have to admit that either a king is first or last... And never in between. Makes me wonder if this is merely the story of your life?? And yes, I have to admit that I am still wet behind the ears when it comes down to the big leagues that is Sin City Wrestling. But I cannot phantom the thought whether you are more suitable to be a social worker of the people than merely the professional wrestler that you aspired to be?

Now don't get me wrong? It's admirable to help out the Raab family bloodline in the quest of whatever it was that troubled them. All the way to find our Icelandic friend in a quest for him not to be lost for this grand sports for the alcoholic beverages that would ultimately drown his misery through his throat, no matter what side of the Ocean he is at. But aren't you forgetting something amigo?? Hmmm??

He tosses the cube in the air and catches it, turning it around until he is at the number one.

Señor Vinnie: I've always been taught that in this line of sports to think about nobody else but yourself. Now don't get me wrong, I am a family man. I have my friends, I have my joys in life besides wrestling when I am not booked to compete. But when it comes down to be the very BEST... Isn't it allowed to be a little egocentric at times?? Even a demand?? Where's your desire old chap??

He stops for a moment as he focuses on the single dot on the side of the dice that is pointing at him.

Señor Vinnie: Of course you shall retaliate by telling that you have plenty of desire left in you. That perhaps you will allow us to relive your past accomplishments, past fights and how you almost came this close to achieve it. That you almost could taste the sweet nectar that is both a joy and a curse at the same time. And yet.......,
No, I do not know whether I could go this personal that it would boil up the decency that I have promised my wife that I would not cross that line again. But just like your desire to win my belt..... It is tempting to perhaps ignore the right thing and just do what comes naturally.. Isn't it?? Or is this merely a question mark upon your face that will grow with every passing second as I delve deeper into your essence Ben?? Essence of that what tells me that I may not be as perfect aligned in the wrestling annals like you are.... But I am better than you my friend.

He stops for a minute, allowing the words to sink in for himself but more importantly for Ben Jordan.

Señor Vinnie: How often have you heard these statements Ben? Hmm?? How often has these words crossed your mind?? The arrogance of someone else to question your ability and winning spirit in general?? Hundreds? Maybe a few thousand times already?? I may be off a few here and there... But the essence is the reality isn't it?? My name is up there and yours isn't it..., but here's the catch Ben...

Señor Vinnie suddenly grabs the championship belt that is in front of him and holds it close to his face.

Señor Vinnie: I am not using this belt as an excuse to tell you that you are beneath me. That would be the easy way out my friend, oh no... It's the other way around. Because for men like you, lightning has to strike only once to succeed. Whereas for me, I have to wield the hammer of Mjolnir and make sure that lightning is a permanent thing that would keep my hopes and dreams of walking out STILL SCW Heavyweight champion alive and not you or any other name in this match for that matter. Something that you are attempting to convince yourself that this is what you want... But deep down inside, we both know that this isn't the case now is it??

I just hope you will tell the entire world that I am wrong, that I do not know you.. And you are right, I don't know you personally Ben. But I know the likes of you, those who never seem to want to stop. Even if they know deep down inside that they should Ben.... Because that's what I sense when I hear you cut a promo, when I see you wrestle. Compare those things to tapes of many years ago and realize that one thing Ben. Instead of moving forward, you are just drowning yourself in denial. And I know that these harsh words aren't popular by you or the likes of your seemingly growing fan base?? I don't care if people don't like me, all I care is to remain champ. And if I have to beat you for it as well to keep it?? Then so be it....

He puts down the championship belt and rotates the dice to the number four. He stares at the dice for a few moments and then smiles.

Señor Vinnie: Now going from the established wrestler to the one that just never seems to amaze me. Caleb Storms, the risk taker, the underdog, the unlikeliest opponent in many eyes to be the top favorite to win this title. And that's what I do not intend to do Caleb, look past you. Even if your track record of winning the big title is just as successful as Ben. And yet, why am I placing you above him?

Isn't it obvious? Because unlike Ben, you always remain a mystery. Even sure others would disagree. But then again, they don't see things the way I see it isn't it Caleb?? Because unlike the group of individuals that are destined to squash their hopes and dreams of getting under my skin by telling I do not deserve this belt... I am the one that tells you that YOU DO.... But when it comes down to actually managing it is two different things isn't it?? And I know you are in a hurry to catch another concert, Stage Dive into the arms of some Whole Lotta Rosie on the first row... It's not where your head is at all the time isn't it?? Oh no, you are like I call you a short term memory wrestler. One moment you want strawberry, then you want chocolate. Hell, after this match I am sure that you wish to combat Bill Barnhart once more, have another shot at the Roulette championship against Griffin or his opponent for this Super Card. Because life is too short to look back at one thing, because if you do then you miss another opportunity to do another.

Unlike Ben, you are always positive. Always ready for a fight, wait... Of course Ben is also... But that's when he doesn't need to hear the promises of a better year from his wife.... Hoping that he will finally shut up about that one missed dream catch. That one big fish that he has been unable to reach for... You are just on the verge of something that could exceed that of Ben. So that's another reason why I picked you above Ben..., because I just want to protect you from being the social worker 2.0 after Ben finally calls it quits. Just the fact that your body will be thrown into this match again and again and again, will tell me that ultimately the gas pedal on your V8 engine will ultimately blow up and give us a way too early encore... Because Axl Rose just can't cut it anymore.

Vinnie stares at the dice, looking at the number four as he has placed it in front of him. Grinning as he thinks back to the men he has mentioned before Caleb and to those who he still needs to discuss.

Señor Vinnie: So why four Caleb, why four and not perhaps one?? I'm sure that you are so thriving to be the top dog in this company that it may sound like an insult right?? And you are capable of reaching your goal, but unless you prove me that you are... Just place you in front of the wetness behind Lachlans ears and that of a man that has had more title shots than you have banged your head to every single Kirk Hammett solo that is known to mankind. But that will not change the fact that just like Lachlan and Ben..., when that moment comes that I have to eliminate you to move on... I will Caleb... I will....

He grabs the dice and shakes it between his hands, his eyes are closed as he knows that there are two men left. Two men that he has a history with, a championship history unlike the other three names that he has talked about earlier. His thoughts are roaming wild, who would be first to be mentioned?? Who is number three, who number two?? Only he knows as that amuses him.

Señor Vinnie: Here goes.....,

He throws the dice on the ground and it falls down eventually on number three. He sighs and nods his head approvingly....,

Señor Vinnie: Austin... James... Mercer....

The name of the former champion that he has beaten to take home the gold is uttered in a mere whisper.

Señor Vinnie: I understand that it may look odd to mention you prior to the other final opponent in this match, seeing that you were the one that I had beaten to claim the gold. The man that was destined to have a championship rematch....., yet you decided to reject that right huh Austin?? Oh I know, you were speaking off doing the honorary thing and allow others to take your spot... Wanting to do the same thing as Fenris and EARN your spot to have it reclaimed. Oh how gallantly have you spoken Sir Austin..., so has it written and so shall it be done isn't it??

A snicker emerges upon his face as he mocks the words of respect towards the man he beat.

Señor Vinnie: Oh trust me Austin, unlike your futile attempts to turn a new leaf and join the dark side. I am the man that does not change, I am the man that grows and adapts and become a better man... Unlike you Austin..., the man that believes that he will rid the world of a shame, a shame that you have created mi amigo. The shame of underestimating the man that believed in his own destiny and TOOK that opportunity to take away what you held so dear. Or at least so that is what you attempt to persuade yourself to believe isn't it Austin??

Oh yes, persuading yourself the belief of the dominance that you have had for over 100 days... Believing that you would achieve the same goals as Fenris and even surpass it isn't it Austin?? Causing you to ignore the fear of one day losing the championship belt. Especially against a man so undeserving.... Words that to this very day you still dare to utter??? Such a shame that a respectful man would lower himself to use futile tricks that caused Alex Jones to fail against me.... Twice.... Tell me Austin.., did that trouble you?? To see another wolf like yourself fail to the same... Undeserving champion?? Breaking the boundaries of the dominance that the three of you have proclaimed to have had for how long??? I guess realizing that Alicia Lucas has surpassed you and Alex... Did that upset you?? Did that feed the hunger to reclaim your gold?? Questioning your stupidity to have rejected your rematch clause?? Questions that may linger on and on and on..... And don't tell me that I am wrong Austin..., because I have lived it that for almost a year thanks to Fenris... But at least I have traveled the journey of redemption, I have lived and slept and dreamt the right to become the champion....

Only....

He bites his lower lip, swallowing his anger that to this very day he has still felt since beating Austin at Summer XXXTreme on August 25th of this year.

Señor Vinnie: YOU RUINED MY GOAL!!!!

Anger is building inside of him, realizing that his perfect goal of redeeming himself has not happened.

Señor Vinnie: It should have been me and Fenris Austin, it should have been ME and the man that kept me away from this championship belt on the bouts that has made me and him the men that we have become Austin. Something that you didn't comprehend in our match, something that you didn't even acknowledge!! Yet...,.

He shakes his head.

Señor Vinnie: Yet your arrogance that has blinded you to even acknowledge the threat that stood in front of you. The threat that wasn't even destined to be your downfall... But his... HIS Austin... And yet..., you told me that I wasn't going to beat you Austin... Over and over and over again..., I had to enjoy my marriage with Valora, because nothing else would come over me... How wrong you were amigo???

You see Austin, champions are acknowledged for what they have done... You were seeking for respect, you were seeking for bringing prestige to the championship belt... For what Austin?? You assumed that Fenris didn't brought that prestige already?? Or will you just merely counter it by saying that you beat him??

Tsk tsk tsk, words are often easily spoken... Yet actions are the true words as they never lie don't they??? You see Austin, I cannot just grasp the fact that deep down inside your stinking gut, it has been brewing inside of you that a lesser man... I will not utter the word champion as it will only anger you to even more profanity... A lesser man beat you by making you submit.... Something that I could not even let it happen to Fenris... I can already understand that doubt and questions have raised your mind over and over and over again since August 25th... The eve of when the night fell and you were without the price that you craved so much. No Austin..., I did not fail the championship, I did not make myself the undeserving champion that you to this very day believe me to be... Oh no Austin, you have dropped the ball. You have chased away every respectful entity of your own being as former champion that I HAD for you.

And all that is left for you to do is to survive every other superstar and walk away as the new Sin City World Heavyweight Champion... Isn't it Austin??? Quite funny to see that the tables have turned and yet..., I know what you are capable off Austin. I know that in an instance you have the ability to survive each and every superstar in this match.... That's what champions do Austin..., they do not underestimate those who are hungry... They do not look past those and searching for a new challenge that MAY be ahead of him or her. You see Austin, December 15, 2019 is the day that I have to defend my title against five other men... Capable wrestlers that all in their own rights have the ability to walk out champion... The only problem is that they need to survive me....

Will you believe the tales of delusional stories?? Just like Alex once did?? Degrading the fact that I still to this very day hold prestige of a different company?? Oh and tell me Austin?? What did it bring him??

He smiles as he shakes his head and holds the dice before his face as his gaze is fixated on the number three

Señor Vinnie: One..., two...., three.  He has failed Austin, but I wonder... Did he fail himself?? Or did he also fail you?? A man that waited his time to shine, not wanting to challenge you for the gold as long as you held it. Would you have done the same thing?? And before you would utter the same words like a mindless fool. Think about it Austin... Standing in HIS shadows as he has done to you... Just look at his failure since losing to me twice... Dropping to the boundaries of just being an spectator to your possible reclaiming of the gold?? You already have been in a downward spiral.., you already have been attempting to acclimate to a life that would not be main eventing every God Damn Show that you once did... Accepting that I am doing the same thing like you have done.... Bound to exceed the legacy of one man.... That already has been forgotten. Let's face it Austin. You think you have got something to prove, to undo the wrong that I have done to you. While it is YOURS TRULY that to this very day has to prove the fact that I AM THE BEST in this company. How did Mercedes Vargas put it?? Oh yes..., the shocking win over you.... How nobody suspected the unsuspected Austin... Their downfall in believing in me was yours as well... And already I have tasted that same disbelief once more... You shall not reign supreme Austin... Once more... You will be left empty handed.... Proclaiming that the winner does not deserve it.... Only because you are too ignorant to accept that your reign has ended.... And mine after 112 days has yet to begin to take shape... This is why I am better than you Austin..., this is why you are only number three behind two other men.... This is why you shall fail...... And all you have to do.... Is believe....

Vinnie turns his attention back to his dice as he lets it run between his fingers, swapping between the two and one as the final two numbers of his dice.

Señor Vinnie: Two more numbers are left and just you and me are left Fenris..., now wouldn't it be logical that I would place myself number one and you number two?? Seeing that this time it is ME that is the champ and you are the challenger?? But that's what makes it too easy isn't it?? Seeing how you never lost to me, how I was never able to beat you... Makes this championship reign one with an asterisk that I cannot comprehend... Until that moment shall come that I have to redeem myself...

It would have been poetic justice if I had done it when I made the decision to cash in on YOU at SummerXXXTreme as I had made my intentions publicly clear that the cruise would have been the culmination of being on top of my world in both my personal life and professional career.... And even though it did happen... It wasn't you that I wanted to beat Fenris.. It was Austin James Mercer...

He closes his eyes for a moment as the continuation of him playing with the dice continues as his breathing quickens pace. Clearly the thought of him facing not Fenris but Austin still lingers inside his heart.

Señor Vinnie: You should have been the one Fenris..., because YOU have a legit reason to hate me.. To respect me as a competitor and tell the world like it is..., unlike the cheap ass repetitive signs of the losers that clearly aren't paying attention to me. Referring to Pete the Cactus, when it was just ME who did the unthinkable and beat the man that beat you. No cactus around, no other living or dead entities that could have made a claim that my victory was tainted. Hell, even all my successful title defenses and main event matches do not change their bias opinions about me Fenris. And yet, only YOU have a claim to speak upon my behalf as whatever it is that makes you tick or tock when it comes down to the current SCW heavyweight champion. But it's rather funny isn't it Kris???

OH yes, I decided to call you out on a more personal note. We were once destined to be relatives by merely a possible wedlock. But we are not going to put personal issues all over the table like an egg that falls on the floor and splashes everything. Because that's not the true issue is it?? Oh no, Ben Jordan, who I have never faced before decides to ride the coattail of everyone I have faced since becoming champion. Why?? Because he has got no clue on whatever it is that he wants to talk about... And having an Englishman speechless is just like having Alex Jones or even Austin James Mercer say something intelligent for that matter. No, it's like letting loose several parrots and have them sit down at a speech of Chris Rock and pick up a few slang words here and there. But just like parrots, they are one trick ponies that you can teach a thing or two and remind it so they can repeat it over and over and over again. Quite sad isn't it Kris?? But at least you and I have a reason to disgust each other and yet respect each other.

He slowly reopens his eyes and stares into the camera as he holds the dice with the number one in front of the camera.

Señor Vinnie: You are number one Kris..., until I have beaten you or outlasted you in this match. I cannot take pride in this championship as much as I have ever wanted. Funny how these mindless fools don't catch up with the true history  of our existence. But I guess their pride is stuck up their asses and they cannot see beyond the light that blinds them. No, this should just be you and me as the final two. Or at least the moment that would at least that we stand in the ring as opponents, as enemies and warriors. Not having anyone ruin this magic as the third time is often the charm. I need this dammit!!! I deserve this!!

I know I told Austin back in August that I blamed you Kris for ruining my redemption night at Summer XXXTreme. I blamed you for being selfish, I blamed you for taking away MY opportunity to take away the one thing that I craved so much. And even though I have come to the realization that every athlete, every superstar and yes even US wrestlers... Have our weak moments. Our moments that we are not at our best, but I cannot allow that to happen until I have eliminated you and walk away STILL SCW champion. As it is THIS personal to me, but you know that don't you?? Oh yes.., The man that thrived to be as legendary as many before him. The man that was seeking challenge after challenge after challenge. YET YOU NEVER SAW ME AS A CHALLENGE!!!!

The words echo through the emptiness as his anger has picked up, he snaps his head to the side. Trying to collect his cool once more as he waves his index finger from left to right, signaling a no.

Señor Vinnie: Not even when I opened up your eyes and had made you admit the second time that we faced, And yet you never truly felt that way did you?? Oh no, the excitement that YOU should have had the first time vanished your shrouded mind and judged me falsely once more. And now?? How will you judge me?? Come to me with realistic measurements of what this match mean to us?? Or are you going to disappoint me with the downright pathetic nature of calling me a false champ. Because if that's the case Fenris... Help me remind myself that this time I won't let you counter any submission hold that I will slap on you and watch your face turn purple. Watch the light fade as you struggle and this time you will fail??

Failure, a word that was synonymous with my career and yet I have turned around. A word that never came into your dictionary, not even when you lost the title to Austin. Because everything you do, everything you touch... It all seems to change into gold and success. While yours truly?? I was never that way wasn't I?? Because you already owned me, you already put me down as you never wanted ME to be the one that would have dethrone you in the first place. Oh no, you prefer men like Austin, men like Ben.. Even HE WHO I WILL NOT MENTION HIS NAME was at first the chosen candidate to do so. Now the tables have turned and I see things far more clearly than I have ever done before. Now it is my time to tell YOU and everyone else in this match that you aren't going to take home the gold. And why?? Not because I want to, that would be too easy. Not because I have to, because that's too obvious. Oh no Kris, I cannot live another second knowing that I may have to wait another year or so for another opportunity to something far more important to me than just retaining my title.

Because besides that..., it is YOU that is my goal to slay at the end. I is MY goal to make you realize that same thing that you made ME realize the first two times. I know you can go the distance, so can I. Having the confidence in my own ability to get up at every attempt that YOU or any others that think that they can keep me down. Ask Austin, ask Jones, ask Warren.... They could not keep me down and you know why?? Because of YOU Kris. It is YOU that keep this fire burning, it is YOU that enrages me to know that I have to listen to you talk every GOD FORSAKEN time you open your mouth. Realizing that I had to bide my time for that moment to come. And that moment is now Kris..., so this time... You better not fuck that up for me now you hear me?? Oh yeah, I can use profanity just like you. I just never did it, because I never felt the need for it. None of the other four competitors could make me even want to say Pig to them. Even though to some it would rather sound fitting isn't it?? But with you, my Latino Heat just can't be controlled and I have to fuck you up....

So unlike what I have said to others that they have to beat me to wear my prestigious title, I must beat you to walk away with my crown. Now I already can hear the simpletons of the others say that I should not overlook them. But I don't, I won't. I can't, I cannot let myself be like Ben Jordan in every opportunity that he has had, I cannot be like Caleb, I cannot even be like Austin James Mercer when he underestimated me....l You hear that Kris?? And I cannot sure as hell be like the Señor Vinnie that faced you twice and lost the same amount of times for this

Vinnie stops as he grabs the championship belt and holds it next o his face while staring at the camera with determination.

Señor Vinnie: In my life there's only two reasons why I am on top of the world and the other reason is my wife. She is the main reason why I will never lose trust in life... And this title?? This is the reason why I need to be on top of the wrestling world as well. So I hope you understand that I am not going to use the same mistakes that I did a year ago, the same mistakes that so far everyone that has opened their mouth has done!!! I will show you why the times have changed Kris.... So enjoy being number one for now, because after December 15th, 2019. All of that will finally come to an end... And I can take my rightful place on top of the food chain... And there is nothing that you or any of you fools can do about it but love it.

With that Vinnie throws down the dice as the shot fades.

[Caleb Storms]

 RP Title: “It’s official, the universe hates me!”

It was finally time for December to Dismember IV and this year it was hailing from the Gold Coast Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, over the past several weeks qualifying matches were being held to determine who would challenge the reigning World Heavyweight and World Bombshell Champions in two back to back Six Pack Challenge Matches and by week three of the Supercard Cycle, those matches had been filled up, on the Bombshell side Andrea Hernandez, Seleana Zdunich, Roxi Johnson, Christina Rose and Sierra Williams were challenging Alicia Lukas, but what about the men’s side?

The focus of this promo Caleb Storms, Lachlan Kaine, Ben Jordan, Austin James Mercer, Caleb’s worse nightmare Fenris and, of course, the champion himself Senor Vinnie, Caleb was the clear underdog in this match but stranger things have happened in the wrestling industry, can Caleb shock the world, get over his fear of Fenris and win the title?

Local Café, Las Vegas, Nevada
Friday the 6th of December 2019, 16:00pm

Sometimes, I just need a chance to relax, in this case? Any chance I can tale to relax is well deserved!

To bring you up to speed, several weeks ago I defeated Bill Barnhart in my Six Pack Challenge Qualifying Match earning me a spot in the Main Event of this year’s December 2 Dismember show, exciting stuff, right? One problem, the week before my qualifying match Fenris defeated Mark Cross to qualify for the match which means that I get the pleasure of competing against Fenris for the fourth time this year, yay me! Things can’t get any worse right?

And then I went and pissed off Fenris again, again by accident, and this time on Climax Control, how? By saying to my wife that I hoped that Fenris would get eliminated before me, on camera.

If you listened closely, you could hear the collective face-palms of each and every one of my fans the moment I said that sentence!

As for the other guys in this match, well, in one corner I have my old rival Ben Jordan, in another corner we have fellow Honor Wrestling Alumni Austin James Mercer, in another corner we have former Mixed Tag Team Champion and recipient of a broken arm courtesy of Fenris Lachlan Kaine and last but not least, the only guy who didn’t need to qualify for this match, the reigning World Heavyweight Champion Senor Vinnie, so yeah it’s safe to say that I’m the underdog here!

Hell, I’d be the underdog if Fenris had lost his qualifying match!

To prepare, I’ve been having regular sessions at the gym that trained Fenris among others, including the two most recent SCU signings Ariana Angelos and HB Carter, that’s right, the Go Gym and for the first day Fenris was there with me, do I even need to say how painful it got?

All I can say is that I can now see why that gym produces so much top tier talent!

“Caleb, I swear to god, I’m getting you a life-insurance policy for Christmas!” Katie commented as she ran a hand down her face. “Pissing off Fenris the first time around wasn’t bad enough, you had to go and do it again!”

“It’s not like it’s that hard to get on Fenris’s bad side, his temper is almost as lethal as his kicks!” I pointed out before taking a sip from my drink, the café was one of our go to destinations here in Las Vegas whenever I wanted a nice, cheap meal out or just wanted to clear my head and today? It’s a combination of both. “Besides, I think I know how I can beat him, whether it be in the Six Pack Challenge or any other match.”

“What? You mean like the Blast from the Past Tournament?” Katie asked semi-jokingly and I started sweating a bit. “That’s, off course, provided that neither you or Fenris win this match or any other World Title matches in the lead up to the tournament.”

“Off course, and then there’s the other four competitors, Ben Jordan, Austin James Mercer, Lachlan Kaine and the champ himself Senor Vinnie.” I pointed out before I realized something. “I really am the underdog in this match, aren’t I?”

“That wasn’t established when you remembered that Fenris was in the match as well?” Katie asked and I shook my head before finishing my drink.

“Even if Mark had managed to beat Fenris, I’d still be an underdog in this match.” I responded before going through the names. “Ben Jordan, Austin James Mercer, Lachlan Kaine, all three guys have held titles this year, me? The last title I held was when I won the Roulette Title from Jon Dough last year after SCW came back from hiatus and that’s not counting my brief mixed tag title reign with Sam Marlowe which also happened last year.”

“And I’m guessing Senor Vinnie goes without saying?” Katie asked and I nodded, soon afterwards our food arrived, and we partook in the food we had ordered, in other words, we ate it, and as soon as we were done, I put a ten dollar bill down to pay for the bill. “Heading outside to do your promo?”

“You know it.” I nodded in response before standing up and leaving, Katie wasn’t that far behind me as the waitress was used to my routine by now and whilst Katie went to get the car, I got ready to do my promo.

“One year ago, I stated that my New Years Resolution was to enter 2020 as a champion, Roulette, Mixed Tag Title, World Title, didn’t matter because that was the goal I set for myself, flash forward a year later and after one of the craziest years I’ve had as a wrestler which is saying a lot, I have a chance to do what many other people can’t, actually fulfill my New Year’s Resolution, I just have to beat Senor Vinnie, Ben Jordan, Austin James Mercer, Lachlan Kaine and a pissed off Fenris to do it! It’s official, the universe hates me”

No prizes for guessing who I’m starting with.

“Fenris, back in April we competed in a Lions Den Match that Christian Underwood tricked me into agreeing to under the condition that it was going to be our last one on one match, I say one on one because, well, we’re both in this match, aren’t we? And throughout that feud of ours that I’m still not sure how it qualified for the Feud of the Year award in this year’s Year End Awards you handed me my ass on a silver platter, and I couldn’t stop angering you.”

You’d think I’d learn by now.

“And you know what? Since then, people have been asking why I’m so afraid of facing you in the ring, either in singles or in multi man matches, well it dates back to one specific event that happened earlier in your career, when you kicked Tony Thorn so hard that Mark threatened to fire you if did it again, I put it out my mind thinking that I would never face you but, well, we both know how that ended and in two weeks in order to win the title, I have to overcome my fear of you.”

No pressure as I move onto Ben.

“And during that same period, I was trying to get a title shot against Ben after he won the Roulette Title from me, what can I say? I’m good at Segway’s! Ben, from where I stand we’re in the same boat of not wanting to get our heads kicked off be Fenris but knowing my luck me and Fenris will be the first two competitors in this match but on the off chance that doesn’t happen and we somehow make it to the final two, I’m going to win this match!”

That simple.

“You beat me last year to claim the Roulette Title but a lot can change in a year and I’ve improved a lot in the year that’s passed since then, not only that but you’ve gotten older and you haven’t held a title since losing the Roulette Title, granted I haven’t held a title since then either but unless I’m wrong, you haven’t been in title contention either so what I’m saying is, you’ll be out of practice and out of luck against me!”

Next up is Austin and Lachlan.

“I don’t have as much to say about Austin and Lachlan so I’m just grouping them together for simplicities sake, me and Austin used to be in Honor Wrestling and now we’re competing for the gold here in SCW whilst me and Lachlan are both the underdogs in this fight but me more so! But at the end of the night, there can only be one winner and you know what they say, underdogs never lose! Unless said underdog is taking on Fenris.”

Last but not least, the champ.

“Saving the champion for last and Senor Vinnie finally won the title after god knows how many attempts! If that doesn’t give Jessie Salco hope I don’t know what will but that’s beside the point! Senor Vinnie, you may be entering December to Dismember the World Champion but with this much talent around you? It’ll take a miracle for you to walk out the champion as well but unfortunately for you, the only miracle in this match will be when I win the World Heavyweight Title!”

And with that I decided to wrap things up.

“Even without Fenris in this match I’d still be the underdog but with Fenris in the match alongside Ben Jordan, Austin James Mercer, Lachlan Kaine and Senor Vinnie I have a steep mountain to climb if I want to walk out the new World Heavyweight Champion, luckily for me, I have my climbing boots with me so the other guys in this match had better brace themselves because there’s a storm brewing, otherwise they’ll be blown away by “The Metal Storm” Caleb Storms!”

I went off to join Katie as the scene fades.

[Fenris]

 
Las Vegas - McCarran International Airport
Earlier this week

The international airport that served as a central point for international travel, as far away as Europe and Asia, was far busier than normal at this time of year. A circumstance he was practically kicking himself for having looked past, especially considering that he had made this same trip, at the exact same time, every year. He never failed, but his mind had always been troubled when doing so, a deeply rooted discomfort. And this year he had to jump through more ‘hoops’ than normal, given he had just returned to his American home from his native Iceland mere weeks ago, giving those close to him cause for concern that he was ‘running away’ a second time, and risk not returning.

“Please?” His pseudo ‘little sister’ Dani Weston looked up at him with pleading eyes as she stood in the lobby of Turnberry Towers, where she and the brothers both resided. He had hoped for Aron and he to slip out unnoticed for the drive to the airport early in the morning, but Dani was remarkably astute where he was concerned, and she had been found downstairs, still in her ‘jammies,’ and cornered him the moment they stepped off the elevator.

She had this annoyingly persistent trait of utilizing those pleading eyes as she stood a full head shorter than he, gazing up at him and asking of him, “You’re coming right back? Promise?”

“For fuck’s sake…” He muttered, but she was persistent, and did not release his arm until he yielded and gave her a curt nod. Satisfied, Dani threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. He gave a grimace, but his brother smiled, noting that he did not pull away, and in fact returned her hug; albeit stiffly.

Kristjan Baltasarsson, known in MMA and professional wrestling territories as Fenris, stood amidst the hordes of weary travelers, and he was only seeking to get past security so that he could head toward his flight gate. The lines were long, and his already short fuse was burning low and fast, as he silently fumed with bodies pressing in closer, those around him having no apparent knowledge to the phrase “personal space.”  A hulking, behemoth of a woman with too much perfume in front of him, and a family with a screeching baby behind him, he silently wished he had arrived earlier, not that it would have mattered. The end of the Thanksgiving holiday and the beginning of Christmas brought even more travelers to and fro in an endless parade of bodies.

Once he had made it past security, he practically burst forward. For a change, he only had to go through the full-body X-Ray, and not have a pat down. It seemed almost a natural occurrence when those agents would insist on his travels, adding an extra pat down with a twinkle in their eye. He had his phone and laptop for entertainment for his first class flight, and stopped at a shop only long enough for an over-priced bottle of water when he approached his gate, and a familiar sight from out of the corner of his eye gave him pause.

“What the fuck are you doing here!?” He stood stunned as Mackenzie Page, a member of Daniel Morgan’s London Underground tandem and fellow graduate of the GO Gym, leaned against a beam, the picture of impassivity, her eyes baring right down on him. She pushed herself from where she was leaning and calmly walked over to him, and without saying a word, she linked her arm into his like one might expect a lady to do with a gentleman. Only this lady in particular used the hold to steer Kristjan around by force and pull him up against the wall so she could confront him directly.

“Word has it that you’re taking another trip to Iceland.” She stated matter-of-factly.

“Some tip.” He said with the faintest trace of sarcasm behind his words. “It was no big secret this time.”

“Good,” She stated, fishing for something inside of her jacket pocket. She pulled out a packet the size of an envelope and practically held it up in his face. “Because you and I are going to have a talk. And if I don’t like what I hear, then you’re going to have yourself a travel buddy.”

Kristjan then looked closer at what she held in her hand, and noticed that it was an airline ticket; same destination as his own, same first class seating. He rolled his eyes in blatant disbelief and growled, “Ó, þú verður að vera fjandinn að grínast við mig!” And immediately Mackenzie reached up and cuffed him upside of the head. He whipped his head back and glared at her, but she happened to be one who was not intimidated by his temper in the slightest.

“English, if you don’t mind.” She stared him down. “Now what’s with this trip back home when you just got back two weeks ago?”

He growled through gritted teeth, “I already told Gabriel, Dani, Ben … everyone! I am going to bring my family back for Christmas!”

“Mm hm.” She mumbled between pursed lips. “Cozy. Now asshole, why not tell me the entire truth? Christmas is three weeks away.”

“If you knew anything,” Fenris countered. “You’d know we start celebrating Christmas in Iceland four weeks before December 25! I’d like to get my family here early, and in time to see me win that title.”

“You’re lying.” Mackenzie narrowed her eyes at him, gaining an “Excuse me?” in return.

“You’re not telling me everything.”

“Maybe because ‘everything’ is none of your fucking business -- hey! God damn it! Stop hitting me!”

The outburst drew a few looks until Mackenzie returned her own burning glare in the direction of the looky loos, giving them cause to hurry on about their business. Once they were alone again, Mackenzie turned her head to Kristjan and she asked, “You’re bullshitting me, and I don’t like that. Your family has come here on their own before. They didn’t need you last year, or earlier this year.” She shrugged. “So what’s the difference this time?”

“I have something I need to do.” Was the only answer Kristjan was willing to give, but it left Mackenzie unsatisfied as she asked, “What?”

“I told you before.” He said. “It’s not of your fucking business.” And when she went to cuff him for the third straight time, Kristjan blocked her blow with his own forearm. Their eyes burned right into the others’ until she smirked, “You learn fast, and it only took three tries.”

“Mackenzie,” Kristjan started to say in a whisper that would have had many backing away by several steps, but not this woman. “I am not like the other men in your life. I will hit you.”

“Fine.” She said in as much a dangerous whisper. She turned around to walk toward the waiting area of the boarding gate, adding, “I call the aisle seat.”

“It’s personal!” Kristjan suddenly found himself blurting out, and the desperation in his voice gave her pause. She stopped where she was and slowly turned around to address him as he approached.

“So it’s not just to escort your family.”

“No. I make this trip every year. Same time, same place.” He tried to explain without giving away too many details. “Check into it if you don’t believe me. Just like last year, and the year before that. I’ve been doing this every year for ten years.”

“Does Gabriel know?” She asked, and he answered back, “Aron knows. That’s enough.”

She leaned back on her heels, her eyes never once leaving his as she mentally assessed his words and the truth behind them. After moments of the tense stand off, she finally gave him the proverbial green light with a slight nod, barely able to see it or the meaning behind it.

“Fine.” She said. “I believe you. But I swear to god if you vanish again….”

“I’ll be back by Monday at the latest!” He snarled. Mackenzie then looked at the boarding pass in her hand and sighed, “I guess I should see if I can get this damn thing refunded. Was hoping I wouldn’t have to make a trip to that hell hole you call a home town.”

“Iceland is beautiful!!” Kristjan protested.

“It’s a fucking volcano!” She shit back. Both turned around tppo head in opposite direction, when Kristjan again found her hand on his arm. He turned around and she raised an eyebrow. “Charlotte and I were talking. That stomp on Lachlan? Nasty shit.”

“From you I will take that as a compliment.” He smiled, genuinely for the first time today.

“Why’d you do it?” She asked, genuinely curious.

“Truth?” He asked, and she nodded. “Yeah.”

He leaned in closer and winked, “It tickled me.”

This time it was her time to smile genuinely, a smirk to be more precise. “Safe trip.” Nothing more needed to be said between them as they went about their respective business.

Reykjavík, Iceland
Fourteen hours later…

The hour was late, almost reaching midnight. Hreyfill taxi pulled up to the curb of the street, directly outside of a small two story house with a tree void of fauna on its bare limbs reaching out above the house and the city street. The house was white, with olive green trim, and a front porch just off to the side of the house’s front exterior. It was comfortably sized, with it’s second floor and attic providing enough room for a small family to reside in. There was a single light on inside of the house, which did not surprise him. He knew she would be waiting up for him until his arrival.

Kristjan stepped out of the taxi slowly, and after paying the driver ans tipping him handsomely, kristjan stared ahead at the house with much apprehension as the taxi drove away. One would think after making this journey every year, things would get easier. It wasn’t true. In fact, they always seemed to get a great deal harder.

And in case you couldn’t tell, no. We are not outside the family home where Kristjan and Aronm were raised. This was the home of someone else, someone very special.

Finally Kristjan picked up his luggage and started to walk around to the side of the house when the light over the top of the front porch turned on, and a woman opened the door and peered out at him with a gentle smile. Roughly the same age as his own mother, she had long, blonde hair that reached to her mid-back and hazel eyes.

“Missus Kae…” He started to greet her, until her light hearted, exasperated look gave him reason to correct in how he addressed her. “Elisabet.”

Yes, Elisabet Kae, mother of Kristjan’s beloved Jökull. As he stepped up onto the porch, she held the door open wide for him to enter, and once inside, she met his arms in a fierce embrace, of which he was only too happy to reciprocate.

“I was worried that you wouldn’t make it this year.” She whispered, and he held her still as he replied, “I’m sorry I was late. My connecting flight got delayed.”

After several moments of comfort, they finally separated and she kept his hands in the clasp of her own. She looked him up and down as she would have her own son, had he not been taken from his family in a tragedy ten years prior.

He shook his head and she could see his pride was the only thing fighting back the tears in his own eyes. It was ten years ago this very day that Jökull had been taken from them, and every year since on this anniversary of their worst heart break, Kristjan showed up on her doorstep to honor her son, and his lost love. No matter where he was in the world, or what he was doing at the time, he refused to miss this one day.

The Fossvog Cemetery -
The next morning

Founded in 19932, and located in central Reykjavik, Fossvog Cemetery stretched out to almost seventy acres. Grave stones and markers stretched as far as the eye could see, each one as meticulously cared for as the turf that surrounded them. A small handful of mausoleums could be seen, reserved for the small families who felt a more old-school tradition in their minds as well as hearts.

If there was any other visitors here, Kristjan could not see them. He was dressed in his very best, and those who knew him in the states would be surprised at how well he cleaned up, given his known preference to comfortable clothes. Now? He was wearing a dark blue suit with tie and polished, black shoes. As he walked along the trail en route to his destination, he felt as if the weight of the world had set down upon his shoulders, just as it did every year. His heart racing from the pit of his stomach where it had seemingly fallen down into, Kristjan wondered why he never allowed anyone to accompany him on this journey. Of course, Elisabet and her husband, Han-Jae, had already visited and had offered as they did every year to accompany Kristjan to visit their son’s grave. And just as he did every year, Kristjan refused the offer. Why? He was not entirely truthful to himself. On one hand, he felt he did not want anyone, friend or family, to have to ease the burden of shame and guilt he had dealt for himself ever since that tragic night. Despite those closest to him insisting different, Kroistjan had not stopped blaming himself for his beloved Jökull’s death. After all, had he not called and asked him to stay over on the night of that terrible winter storm, Jökull and his mother never would have been in that accident that cost him his life.

This was his burden to bare.

But in truth, he did not want anyone to see his weakness. Others had offered to come with him, once he had explained the reason for this trip. Gabriel had offered to take some time off to go with him, as had Ben Jordan, despite the fact that in a matter of days, the two men would be engaging in what would prove to be an epic contest inside of the ring with four other men. Both men were of the select few who knew the truth of his past. He had declined both offers but remained grateful for them all the same. Such were his private thoughts that he had not even realized he had come to a subconscious stop, having arrived.

The flowers that adorned the simple but tasteful marker were fresh, Elisabet having brought them the previous day. He looked down into his own hands, bearing a small bouquet of lilacs and orchids. He knew were Jökull alive, he would have been teased without mercy. The truth was that Jökull disliked flowers and the gifting of them, reasoning why give someone something that is just going to die anyway? A sentiment that Kristjan shared, but he was unable to simply come empty handed. The marker had the bold carving of “Jökull Kae -- 04/09/1992 - 10/11/2009,” and just below it, embedded in the marble and behind a protective glass cover, was a photograph of the boy buried below. It was here that kristjan gently lay the flowers he brought, taking great care not to disturb the ones brought by the boy’s other friends and family.

A small tree rose from the grave, a canister with powder having been placed atop of Jökull’s casket at his burial so that a memorial tree would rise to commemorate the life of this angelic person. Here Kristjan sat and he leaned against the tree, just as he did every year, in his own way to be closer to the one he had lost. And for a time, he simply sat there and left his cares drift in the soft winds that were blowing across the cemetery, scattering the colorful leaves across the grounds.

“I miss you.” He finally said. “I know I say that every year, but it’s true. Every year I wonder what you would be doing if you were still with us.”

He took a moment to think, then looked down into his lap and shook his head. He turned his face upright and indeed his eyes had begin to glisten. It had been only a matter of time.

“I know. Your mom says that you are still with us, but … it’s just not the same. I want you here, Jökull! I want you back!” Ah yes, there they were. The full brunt on Jökull’s absence from his life broke through the barrier he had built up inside, and the walls he maintained to keep others out, were no match for the agony of a loved one’s untimely passing.

He said, “I never really know what to say when i come see you. I figure I’m repeating myself every year, but you always did have that effect on me. I have friends now who would laugh at anyone being able to leave me speechless, but you did. That little smile of yours, that wink you had a talent for? It got me. Every time.””

Kristjan drew his knee up against his chest and rested a forearm over it as he took pause before he confessed, “Jökull, I have something I need to tell you. I was with someone. His name is Ty, and we dated for awhile but it just didn’t work. Everyone says he was at fault, made me something that I wasn’t. I don’t know if that’s true, but I imagine if you were still here, you’d have put a foot up my ass for allowing anyone to manipulate or control me. Hell! … If you were still here, I never would have been with anyone else.”

Just then, a small group of adults and children walked past in clothes of mourning, and Kristjan paused before he hurriedly wiped the back of his hand across his eyes to hide any evidence of his emotions. Once they had went about their way, only then did he exhale a breath he had not even realized he had taken in.

“Jökull, that was the first time I ever let myself get that close to anyone since I lost you.” He nodded. “Yeah. The first time I dated anyone since you died, and every day I felt like a fucking bastard. Like I was dishonoring or cheating on you.”

He closed his eyes and the diminutive streaks of hot, salty tears welled up to the point of brimming and streaked down his cheeks. He opened his eyes and his look was lost, vacant.

“I still wake up and think you’re there with me. Or standing beside my bed, watching over me. If what your mom says is true, you probably are. II-I just wish i could talk to you. That I could reach out and… I miss you. So much.”

“The hardest thing to deal with I think are the dreams. I think about you every day, and that I can handle. But every once in awhile I dream that you’re still with us, with me. Then I wake up and roll over to hold you and draw you to me and I realize…” He drew in a shuddering breath, and swallowed a choked back lump in his throat. He had since past trying to control himself. He had passed the point of caring.

“...You’re not there!” He choked. “And I feel that loss all over again, a fresh hell. The night before I left for this trip to see you, I had a dream I never had before.” A brief, wisp of a smile turned up the corners of his lips as he looked back over his shoulder and to the photograph. “And no it wasn’t about us having sex! Shocking, I know.” He turned his head away once again and he smiled, despite the emotional agony he was experiencing.

“I dreamt we were still together, as adults.” He closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side. “Gods but you made a handsome adult! We stayed together, lived together, and … we were happy. I haven’t felt truly happy in years. Then I woke up, and it all came crashing down.”

He drew his other knee up and wrapped his arms around his legs. Moments passed by, until he again found his voice and he confessed, “I have something to tell you, something I never told anyone before. The last time I had one of these dreams, I spent the entire day just sitting on my bathroom floor. I had a bottle of Brennivin in one hand, and a razor in the other.” He closed his eyes and drew in deep. “I wanted to kill myself. I just wanted the pain of losing you to end! I thought if I did that, then we’d be together again in the afterlife, but…” He shook his head in dismay. “The valkyrie do not honor those who end their own lives. I’d have truly been lost to you. And to everyone else I love. My family, my friends … I couldn’t do that to them. But I came close. Damn close. Why am I telling you this now?” He looked back to the marker and joked, “Who are you going to tell?”

He then turned away and looked down, muttering a barely audibly, “Sorry. I just never could keep secrets from you. And my friends and family would kick my ass if they knew it happened only three months ago. And so would you I imagine. I think that is what kept me from doing … it. I could never have faced you in the fields of Fólkvangr.”

He then reached into his collar, and drew out a thin, silver chain. Attached to the chain was a pendant, bearing the symbol of Freya, Norse goddess of love. He reached behind his neck and undid the clasp, before holding it up in his hand and gazing at it with a longing memory.

Ten years ago --
Jökull’ family home

It was a Saturday morning during winter break from school, and as had happened many times in their past, Kristjan had been invited to stay over, this time with Jökull’s father having leave from his military duties to be home and spend time with his family, and a rare instance with his son’s best friend. As was their usual way of passing the evening together, Kristjan had sat with Jökull and his parents to watch a movie, then they stayed up late talking about the future and their home lives and personal matters with each other. Then when they were certain that Jökull’s mom and dad had went to sleep, they passed the night in more intimate ways until they had fallen asleep in each others’ arms.

But now they were at the breakfast table, and Han-Jae had gathered them at the breakfast table, saying they had something that they needed to discuss. And given his father’s strict views on things, Jökull had confided to kristjan that he was openly concerned.

“Boys,” Han-Jae said as Elisabet had continued preparing their family breakfast at the kitchen stove. “Is there anything that you want to tell us?”

The two boys looked at each other, before they turned back to Han-Sae and EElisabet had been watching, but quickly went back to her kitchen duties.

“What do you mean?” Jökull asked.

“Son… ” Jökull’s dad started to say, his hard edged face bearing the story of years in the United States military. “Two days ago, I was walking past your bedroom door and heard you talking to Kristjan here.” Jökull appeared lost for the briefest of moments, until a hint of realization struck him and his eyes opened wide, his naturally olive complexion blanching while Kristjan felt the desire to be anywhere rather than here. He too remembered a specific conversation they had over the phone, one which Krstjan had fought overtime to talk his friend into not doing something he had set his mind on.

“Dad…” “Mister Kae…” Jokull and Kroistjan started to speak up respectively, but both were silenced as the grown man held his hand up to silence them. He then said, “You were telling Kristjan how you intended to come out to your mother and me? How you were scared, and then you argued? Ou said you did not want to hide who you are from us?”

The man’s eyes turned to Kristjan and the young teenage version of who we know now as Fenris felt compelled to look him in the eyes like a man. Han-Jae said, “I assume that you were trying to talk him out of this?”

“Yes… yes sir.” Kristjan nodded, answering respectfully. Only then did the look in Han-Jae’s eyes soften enough that when he looked to his son again, Jökull appeared startled.

Han-Jae pointed a finger at Jökull and said, “Son, do not allow anyone to tell you to keep who you are a secret. Even this fine young man here…” He directed that pointing finger toward Kristjan. Both boys looked completely caught off guard, shocked even. Granted, Iceland was one of the more progressive nations in the entire world when it came to views on the LGBT lifestyle, but Han-Sae’s own home country had not quite caught up. Plus, he was in the armed forces, which made Jökull assume his reaction would b less than what it was proving to be.

Jökull was the first to find his voice, as he turned his head slightly to the side and he hesitated before he asked, “Y-You’re not angry?”

“The only thing that would make me angry…” Han-Jae said. “... Is you thinking your mother or I would think of you any less simply because of who you love.” At there mere mention of the “L” word, Kroistjan felt his neck and ears go warm. His dad continued, “The only expectations I have of you is for you to bring home good grades and make your mother and I proud. As for who you choose to … have in your life? That is your business, and yours alone. Just so long as your safe. The world is not as understanding as your mother and I.”

The two teenagers were rendered speechless, and as they looked to each other, Jökull could not help but smile at Kristjan in complete disbelief. Ellisabet walked from the stove, bringing two plates in her hands which she set in front of the two shell-shocked boys. She then ruffled kristjan’s short, spiked hair in her hand as she planted a mother’s kiss on her own son’s face. She said, “And your father and I think you two make an adorable couple.”

Jökull coughed and Kristjan closed his eyes, muttering, “Shoot me now?” Prompting both parents to laugh uproariously as Elisabet wrapped her arms around his neck before returning to the family breakfast…

Back at Fossvog Cemetery, Kristjan lowered the pendant and smiled, “I gave you this on your last birthday. Your mom’s been holding onto it, and she finally said it was time for me to have it back. To remember you… “ He then slipped the chain back around his neck and fastened it.

“I don’t need a necklace to remember you. I always will, no matter what.” Slowly Kristjan forced himself up to his feet and  he turned back to look down at the plot where his soulmate lay buried.

“I love you.”

With those final words, he took his leave and walked away...



The weather here in Iceland had been surprisingly mild for this time of year. One hears the name ‘Iceland’ and half expects the entire country to be blanketed in a bed of snow and ice. And half the time, they were not wrong. But this season the weather had seen more gray skies and rain with warm temperatures than snow and ice, with temperatures dropping below freezing. Most who called this country home believed this was the proverbial ‘eye of the storm,’ before such weather would lash out from out of nowhere.

Fenris now sat on the front porch of Elisabet and Han-Jae’s home. Night had fallen, the rain had eased up just enough for him to sit outside without Elisabet fretting over him getting sick.

“We all knew that it would come down to this one simple truth in this business. Where we as men look to the ones who stand in our way and seek to pick them apart mentally before we do so physically. It comes easy to some, not so for others. Me? Well considering how often in life I get called names like bastard, arrogant and asshole, you would think it comes easier to me than most, talking trash about the men, any men, who I’m set to compete against in any match.”

He shook his head, his fingers curling against his lips as his bright, blue eyes burn straight ahead at absolutely nothing while he is lost in thought.

“Not true. Granted, it does come easier when I’m up against men who I have personal issues against. Men who have wronged me or who I just think are fucking punk ass bitches who need briiught down hard. It’s ironic that in this case, when I am set to fight for the most prestigious championship in this whole sport, that I am not up against a single man who I can honestly say that I hate or have a grudge against. In fact, some I have an outright respect for, and even one who I am privileged enough to call a ‘friend.’ How the hell does that even happen? I came from a place where I had no friends or colleagues, where even the people who trained me were condemning me for my attitude, to where I have respect and hold it for others all in equal measure.”

“How do you focus on that? How do you follow the leader and talk shit about men you hold in such regard? For rivals and enemies it is not so hard. Anyone can walk in front of a camera and brag about how they’re the baddest on the planet and are going to lay waste to anyone standing in their way. This month I have the chance of walking away with probably the best Christmas present I could possibly get; becoming a two-time World Heavyweight Champion. And to do it, I have to go through five men, each who has the same hopes and aspirations as I do.”

“One wants to retain his championship. Two want to prove themselves worthy and become the best for the first time ever and prove any doubters wrong. One, like me, wants to regain the championship that he had lost. And the last, wants to prove to everyone that has faith in him that they were right to believe in him. A Grand Slam champion elsewhere, but having had that big taste of success elude him like fingers sliding through the moonlight. These are the men that I have to go through to get what I want. These are the men who I have to ruin their own hopes and dreams. And I will. I’ve waited long enough.”

“I suppose the easiest thing to do, is to get the hardest part out of the way. Ben Jordan. ‘The Cockney King,’ ‘Saint Ben.’ He’s had a lot of nicknames over the years, and I admit ignorance when I first entered this sport because I did not know who the man was. I didn’t know who anyone was, really. But Ben is a man you come to know and appreciate -- fast. He earned the ‘Saint Ben’ nickname because he’s someone who you would think was almost too nice to be involved in this sport. He goes out of his way to help people, for simply no other reason than he thinks they need it. It’s what he did for me, when he flew to my native Iceland to talk me down from the toughest spot in my adult life, and bring me back to America. And he did not do it because he or the fans wanted it. He did it because he felt that I needed it. I needed someone impartial to talk to, and he did not take no for an answer, even when he was certain I’d send him to the dentist the hard way. And I admit at first I was tempted. But just like the first time we drank together, when he sat down across from me after a show and gave me little choice but to let him befriend me, I found I could not get angry with the man. At least, not for long. Some people have friends that they want, others have friends that they need. Ben Jordan is both, and coming from a self professed fucker who would rather have his balls chewed off by a rabid beaver than betray human emotion, that has to mean something!”

“Which is why, as much as we want our own one on one match, this is not going to be easy for either of us Ben. I make no pretense that I will simply run right over you like I have most other men I’ve been in the ring against. Our singles match will be both inevitable as well as epic, but before it was just to satiate the two of us, as well as the fans. If and when one of us (meaning me) wins this match and our next encounter will be between just the two of us for the World Championship? That just brings everything that has been to a whole new level.”

“It is why I wanted to talk to you first. Because you are the only man that I have ever faced before in the ring that I have not beaten. That one time in that tag team match, when neither one of us were able to get the win over the other. That adds something to this besides the championship, another goal to strive for; to be the one to say they were able to get that one win over the other. And I have to say now that it is about time that this happened. No, I am not talking about another match between us. That was meant to be and the two of us both let something come between us. That will be rectified in time. I am saying that it is about fucking time that you got off of your ass and did something with yourself!”

Fenris turned his burning eyes to the camera.

“Ben, I am not saying this to come across as a bastard, especially not after everything that you did for me. That just comes naturally. But friendship aside, it is time for what I believe is called ‘tough love,’ the same what you gave me here in Reykjavík. Your own worst enemy is not your detractors or staff of SCW. It’s yourself. After allowing yourself to play the ‘straight man,’ pun not intended, to your tag team and friendship with Jamie Dean, you allowed yourself to languish in the background, satisfied publically with the random match here and there that meant little and accomplished even less! But inside, you wanted more. You hungered for it! That is why you kick started your #BenDeservesBetter campaign, and it gained you much, even when that douche bag Jessie Salco tried to derail it for her own use!”

“Everything was working out in your favor, but what did it get you? Or the more appropriate question would be, what did you get for yourself? What did you do to follow up? Nothing. You could have had championship matches, and not in the tag team division this time! But you didn’t, and why? Well that is the question on everyone’s minds! And the biggest non-title match you could have had in your entire SCW career, you avoided.”

Fenris turned away from the camera and shook his head.

“Don’t deny it, Ben. I made mention of wanting a match with you from damn near day one, and it never happened. Every time it was brought up, you’d make a joke of it or ignore it altogether. And why? I think it is the same reason you did not push harder for that elusive championship match everyone thought you deserved. You were afraid. No, you were not afraid of me, or of any of your opponents. You were afraid of yourself, and the possibility of failing. Because what would it mean, what would come next, if you delivered such a campaign to get what you deserved and the fans wanted, and you came up short? The answer is, you dust yourself off and try again! You keep moving! I lost the title to a man I respect, and I took time off of the title scene and bided my time, and here I am!”

“But everyone is different Ben. Everyone handles their own adversity in their own, unique way. How will you handle yours, I wonder? I guess we are going to find out in just over a week because I predict that we are two of the last men in this match, and neither one of us is going to yield to the other.”

“Now onto an entirely different subject… Lachlan, how's the arm?”

He smirked that agonizingly infuriating smile that had even his closest relations want to wipe it from his face. He ran a finger over his lips as if he thought to do so himself, but the smirk remained.

“I am sorry, I should not joke. Yet then again, I never was one famed for my sense of humor. You should be happy knowing that I've taken quite a bit of shit from people for almost breaking your arm, mostly from Sierra who sent me several messages threatening me with all manner of bodily harm if your arm was broken or required surgery. I was impressed with the level of the graphic nature. Almost as impressed as I've been by how little you've mentioned what I did, or what the after effect was. I suspect you don't want to give me the satisfaction of knowing how much I hurt you. Smart. Then nobody would know going into such a violent match, just how big of a target I stamped on you. A target that I am pretty confident in saying that all five of your opponents, not just me, will zero in on and exploit. After all, when hunting and Alpha always targets the weakest link of the prey. And sorry to say this Lachlan, but after what I did? You are definitely the weakest link in this match.”

“Just, don't insult my pride or intelligence by saying the only thing you walked away from that with was the need for an ice pack. Because unless you're fucking Thor, you did not just walk out of Primm with just a little ‘boo boo.’ And, I have been asked a time or two why I did what I did. I have my own reasons, and the so-called experts that sit back in front of their televisions, snacking on chips and getting fat have theirs. I’ve heard a lot of bullshit, but let me give you the real reason why I damn near snapped Lachlan Kane’s arm; because I wanted to. I saw my opportunity to soften up one of the men standing in my way and I took it. Call me a sadist. Call me a fucking asshole. I’ve heard it all before, and I have yet to deny any of it. And when we are locked inside of that cage, you can be damn sure I am going to take any opportunity Lachlan gives me to do it again. It isn’t personal, it’s simple arithmetic. Just like in our match in Primm, after I stomp that arm, I lock on ‘Blood Eagle,’ and same thing that happened before will happen then. Only in this match, that means one less opponent.”

“And no, Lachlan. I do not dislike you. You might think what I did gives you reason to think different, but it is true. You brought a fight to me, which is all I ever ask for of any opponent. But while we were waiting for that fight, you got just a little ahead of yourself. You looked past everything and focused only one one accomplishment of yours, thinking that it put you in my league. You made Alex Jones tap out. Granted, not an easy thing to accomplish. Alex Jones is one of the best, but you seem to think making him tap out puts you right up there with the likes of myself, Vinnie and Austin James Mercer. Well guess what, Lachlan? It does not. You are a fucking chihuahua in a wolf’s den! You forget, I faced Alex Jones myself, and I also made him tap out. But unlike you, I acknowledged the fucking fight that man put me through to accomplish just that! I had to go to extreme lengths and come up with something I never did before to finally get the win over that man! Alex Jones is one of SCW’s best. He will be World Champion one day. And who knows? You may share that same fate. Just not this time, and not at my expense. Yes, you’ve accomplished a lot. A former World Mixed Tag Team Champion? Hell, even I can’t say that. But then again, I never teamed with Sierra Williams. Lachlan, I want you to bring it in this match, the same way you brought it in our singles match. You may not be one hundred percent, you can’t be, but you are a fighter! You are going to make everyone in Las Vegas sit up and take notice for who and what you are. Just remember that I made you tap once before, and I can do it again. A lot depends on circumstances in a match designed like this. Who starts, who comes in next? Who gets their hands on who? In the end, the result will be the same. Trust me, you won’t make it to the end.”

“And speaking of Caleb Storms…”

Fenris paused and tilted his head back as the lift mist of the rain started to pelt down just a touch heavier. He allowed it to wash over his face and savored the sensation.

“Well I had planned to talk about Austin next but you know, I just can not get enough of this kid. Funny how he can’t seem to say the same about me, given every time there is a chance we may be inside of the same ring, he practically shits himself! And I can’t say as I blame him for feeling that way, but when you think about it, he puts himself in every one of these spots. The last time you opened your mouth Caleb was what started this whole issue between us. And I will tell you what I told everyone else put there after our Lion’s Den match; you fucking earned my respect that night! More so than just about anyone else I have ever entered the ring with, and that is not meant as a knock on anyone like Mercer or Vinnie. It is a nod to you, pure and simple. And why? You were worried the first time we were scheduled to face way back when, and when they gave me that Lion’s Den fight with you, I never fucking expected you would have the stones to show up -- but you did! You were completely out of your element, whereas I was in my own! By stepping up and fighting me like a man, even though you lost, you showed the world that you have balls! Some may refuse to acknowledge this, some might even look down on you. Not me.”

“Then you had to just go and open your mouth again, where this match was concerned. Tell me something Caleb, I have bought you drinks. I have even offered to help train you in legit MMA style. So why then do you go and say stupid shit that is just going to cause you trouble? Actually hoping that I get eliminated before you set foot in this match!?”

He shook his head.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but it is not going to work out that way! I could be the first man in that ring, and you the last, and I still would not be eliminated before you and I could have another little ‘chat’ over your speaking before you think!”

“I have you, Caleb. I knew it the moment they announced this match was inside of a cage, I was already in your head. But respect; you still fought to win because you want the World Championship and you are actually willing to get inside of another cage with me to accomplish that dream? Hunh! Still, I have you. There is little enough room in that cage for you to hit your strengths, where I have everything I need to do what needs to be done. You just have to face some hard, cold truths, Caleb. Facing me, is almost as inevitable as losing to me.”

“Okay, now we can talk about Austin James Mercer. Fuck! The history that you and I have together man, and everyone knows it! The word respect is being thrown around a lot these days, but it does not do justice for what you and I have been through. Anyone who knows me, knows that the one thing I crave above all else is competition, and you have given it to me, more than once. You did the one thing that to date nobody else has before or accomplished since; you beat me. You pinned my shoulders to the mat and not only took away my championship, but you took away the unbeaten streak I had going since April of 2017!  And as much as I’d like to say I acquitted myself in that match and made you work for it. And fuck all of this bullshit by people claiming I technically lost that Fatal Fourway rematch with Ty and Caleb involved, since I didn’t win! I was not the one pinned. I was on the outside of the ring, after I had laid out my own boyfriend at the time!  That is how bad I wanted to win the title again! That is the lengths I am willing to go to taste success! But you know that, don’t you Austin?”

“Because as much as everyone focuses on the match where you ended my reign, I very rarely hear anyone mention the fact that one month before that title change, there was another match, another title defense. And I was the one who walked away the winner. You got the rematch in March for two reasons; you earned it, and I wanted it. Do I regret campaigning for a second defense against you so soon? Fuck no! It is like I said that same night; you beat me cleanly. You more than earned that win, and the championship. I have no false modesty in telling anyone and everyone that I put that title back on the map, and when you took it from me, you kept it right where it belonged. That is why you and I are in a unique situation between us, more so than any of the others in this match.”

“No matter how many times we face each other, we never can seem to settle business with the other, can we? I beat you, you beat me. You won the Fatal Fourway, even though you did not beat me. Ty and I beat the Wolfslair in a tag team match, and I did not beat you.”

Fenris smiled and held up two fingers.

“Two and two, Austin. And we just keep going because here we are again. This one will break our tie. Will this be the last time we are in the ring against each other? I hope not because you bring out the best in me! When - WHEN - I walk out of that cage as the champion for the second time, the first thing I would want to do is put the title on the line against you. We each have one definite win against the other. I think it’s time we break that tie, don’t you?”

“Which brings us to Senor Vinnie, saving the best for last. And no, I am not being sarcastic. You are the champion, Vinnie, so whether anyone likes it or not, that makes you the best. It makes you the man to defeat. You have five contenders in this match, each wanting to do the exact same thing; dethrone the king. And as much as I like the chances Ben and Austin have at making it to the bitter end, the one you have to worry about the most is right here.”

He tapped himself in the sternum with a forefinger.

“And why? Because I did what the other four have not; I beat you Vinnie. Two different times, you tried to wrest the World Championship away from me, and both times I walked away the winner. That gives me the advantage in every conceivable way; psychological. Physical. Factual. Because any other time you would have the champion’s advantage going into a defense, but not this time around. In Las Vegas, someone is going to have to walk out as the champion, and where you and I are concerned, the Norn have proven the odds are in my favor. I mean, what makes you think you can do in this match that you haven’t been able to do before?”

“I get it. Becoming the champion makes you think you can accomplish anything. But there is one hard, cold truth in this sport, and anyone who wears championship gold has to face up to it. Every champion will one day become a former champion. It happened to me. It happened to Austin, and on December 15th, it is going to happen to you. And unlike others, I will not belittle your accomplishments. You may not have had the number of defenses that Austin and I had, but that is hardly your fault. My main animosity before had more to do with your relationship with Lora, but my personal ties in that situation are long since over. I just do not care any longer. My concern right now is directed at what you hold around your waist. It is almost poetic, don’t you think? I lost to Austin, Austin lost to you, and the championship will come home, full circle, to me for the second time.”

Fenris stood up and gave the camera a salute before he walked inside of the house he was staying at, allowing the scene to slowly fade to a close.

[Ben Jordan]

 The camera fades in to where I sit in a brown leather chair, a fireplace roaring next to me, three stockings hanging with the names Ben, Evie and Bear embroidered on them, as I hold a hard cover leather book in my hand. On my head sits a red Santa hat as I smile down the camera.

"God, I love Christmas, don't you lot." I say with a wide grin. "Absolutely love it. I love the gift giving, shows you care, I love the music, I mean this is the one month a year for it to be acceptable to play Fairytale of New York on repeat."

"No it's not." Evie's voice can be heard off camera.

I turn my head, looking to the left, looking at my wife off camera.

"Yeah it is darling." I tell her with a smile before looking back down the camera. "It's acceptable by a long shot, but you know what else I love about Christmas? The films, the stories, and I wanna tell you a story, an old classic with a modern day spin. I got to thinking what if I was a bit of a meanie? What if I could take that and link that to a Christmas character who was a meanie, yet bring it all the way up to modern times? Well that's the story I'm gonna tell ya."

I open the book and look down at the first page.

"This is a story you're all familiar with." I say as I raise my head. "It's called A Christmas Carol, just more modern and what it would actually be like if I was a penny pinching old git..."



A Christmas Carol 2019.

The evening has warn down towards the night, as I - E-Ben-Ezer Scrooge sit at a desk, a wide smirk on my face as I look at piles of money sitting in front of me.

"I would hate to be poor." I said as I run my hands through piles of noted currency. "Imagine being so damn poor, you couldn't sit here and look at all the money you've made in one single day."

I shudder at the thought.

"I will never be poor." I say to myself, the light of a laptop lighting up the desk. "And I don't care about anyone else who is poor. They should have worked harder in life. The cream float to the top."

The sound of people singing Christmas Carols can be heard from outside the window. I hate Christmas and carolers. Why should I spend my hard earned money on other people, when they're too lowbrow to even consider what to get me.

"Must shut those stupid people up." I say as I stand to my feet, moving towards the window and leaning my head out. "Oi! Pack it in will ya? This is not X Factor or some countries got talent. You lot wouldn't even get past the first round. You're not gonna get a damn thing out of people singing like a cat who's been run over by a tractor, so piss off!"

I slam the window shut, moving away and looking at the pile of money on the desk before picking it up, and putting it in a desk drawer before grabbing hold of the rest, and also sliding it in the drawer. I grab a key from the top of the desk and lock the drawer. I reach up to shut the laptop lid before walking towards the bed, key in hand.

"Ah sleep, per chance to dream." I say to myself as I slide the key under my pillow. "About making so much more money in the morning."

It didn't take too long for E-Ben-Ezer to fall asleep, falling in to a world where money, his personal motivation in life, was everywhere, swimming in a sea of notes, but a voice soon brought him from his slumber.

"Ben...." The soft southern tone can be heard saying. "E-Ben-Ezer, wake up."

His eyes didn't want to open, thinking it was just part of his dream, he wrapped his arms tighter around the pillow.

"Ben.... Oh heck." The female voice says. "Someone's breaking in to your desk drawer and stealing your money."

Like that, I was up like a shot, looking around the room, but all I could see was darkness for a few seconds, until a light from the side of the room caught my attention, a redheaded woman, with a bright glow coming from her.

"Sam..." I stumbled out, still half asleep.

"Not today." Sam Marlowe says to me. "Today I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past."

"Why?" I ask her.

"I don't know. This is your parody." She says with a giggle. "I'm here to show you the errors of your ways, how money has corrupted you."

"No it hasn't." I reply rolling away from her.

"Don't you roll away from me E-Ben-Ezer Scrooge." She says firmly. "I'm here to show you the past."

"Why?" I quickly respond. "I know the past, I lived it."

Sam, The Ghost of Christmas Past sighs.

"Have it your way." She says as she waves her hand.

No longer was I in bed, I stood out in the cold with just a pair of pyjamas covering my body, Sam standing in a thick fur coat. The ground was think with snow, but it didn't matter to the five boys playing outside with their new presents, all roughly around the age of ten.

"It's bloody freezing out here!" I complain as I look at Sam.

"Well if you was nicer, I might have let you have put on a jacket but you wasn't." She says with a smile.

"So have you brought me here just to freeze my gooleys off?" I ask.

"No." Sam replies. "Just to show you, that you was a mean little kid too."

"I was not!" I protest strongly.

"Just keep watching." She tells me as she points to the five boys.

I looked closely at the five boys in the street, playing with new cars in the snow, I couldn't help but notice something.

"Is it me or do those five look like Fenris, Caleb, Vinnie, Lachlan and Austin?" I ask.

"Probably." Sam replies. "Again, this is your parody."

I look at the camera and smile before it moves over to the five boys playing in the snow, simply dressed, not feeling the cold as much as I was standing there in just pyjamas. A sixth boy enters the scene, dressed in Christmas day finery, looking strangely like me.

"Aw." Sam says with a smile "You was a cute kid"

"Thanks." I replied. "It was the dimples that made people see that."

his eyes looking at what seems to be a brand new top of the range phone. He stops before the boys, looking down his nose at them.

"Is that what you got for Christmas?" The younger me says with a sneer.

The one who looks like Vinnie looked up at the younger me, proudly showing off his brand new red car.

"That's it?" Younger me says with disgust. "You got like a cheap little toy that probably came in a box of cereal?"

I try to hold back a laugh as I continue to watch the scene, but Sam gives me a stern look as I watched the younger me look towards a young Caleb, Fenris and Austin.

"Why do you three have really long hair?" Young me asks. "Can't you afford to get it cut or something? Why don't you just go lay next to the hedges when the gardener is working and he'll do it for free."

Again, I draw another stern look from Sam as I hold back another laugh, clearing my throat to cover my actions as I watch the younger me look at Lachlan.

"And why is your head square?" The young me asks the young Lachlan. "Is it a medical problem you can't afford to fix?"

Again, I can't help but hold back a laugh as I look at the scene, coming closer to laughing every time, but Sam shakes her head at me.

"You five are so poor, the homeless have to give you  money to live." Young me says. "I can feel myself getting stupid standing next to you, like my IQ is dropping a point every ten seconds."

That did it for me as I burst out laughing, drawing an elbow to the side from the Ghost of Christmas Past.

"What?" I say as I look at her, wiping a tear of laughter from my eye. "That kids funny as hell. Getting money from the homeless to live. Brilliant."

"It's not funny E-Ben-Ezer." Sam says to me. "That kid was you."

"That's why he was so funny." I reply. "He had money and comedy chops. No wonder I became so successful."

"You became successful because you was mean and penny pinching." Sam tells me. "Not because you were funny. You did it by ripping the heart and soul out of businesses, putting people out of work, turning the land in to slums. You was a meanie."

"But I was a rich meanie." I tell her with a smirk. "And money buys you everything you can want."

"No it doesn't." She tells me.

"Sure takes the sting out of being poor." I tell her quickly. "That kid grew up to be worth a fortune, and he doesn't need anything else."

A sigh comes from the Ghost of Christmas past as she shakes her head.

"Being rich just isn't about having all the wealth in the world." She tells me. "It's not about possessions, it's about feeling that your life has purpose, that it has meaning. What would have happened if you were nicer that day, you might have found five friends you could have had for life. That would have made your life much richer."

"I don't know about friends for life." I tell her as I look at her. "That kid with the red car doesn't seem normal, he looks like he has a strange smell even from here."

"I'm not gonna get through to you, am I?" Sam says as she looks at me.

"Money makes the world go round, and I got a lot of it." I tell her with a smirk. "So I wouldn't have done a damn thing differently."

Sam sighs as she looks at me with disappointed eyes, slowly shaking her head.

"You have no idea how much better your life could have been." She says sadly.

And with a simple wave of her hand, I was no longer in the snow, but laying back in my warm bed.



"Maybe now I can get some kip." I tell myself as my head pushes deeper in to the pillow.

"I wouldn't bank on it." Another female voice says to me.

"Oh blimey." I mutter as I roll over and sit up.

"Hello E-Ben-Ezer." the female voice says.

"Hello Aimes and what have you come as?" I ask.

Indeed it was the voice of Amy Santino, another friend of mine in the real world. I blink rapidly as I look at the glow coming from Amy.

"Ghost of Christmas Present." Amy tells me with a smile. "You would have thought you'd have gone the hang of it by now."

"Yeah, yeah." I say as I sit myself up in bed. "Can I put a jacket on this time? The last ghost didn't let me."

Amy taps her chin, I could see the wheels turning in her head.

"Nah, you're a bad guy in this whole thing, so no, no special privileges." Amy tells me. "Especially after today. I mean it's Christmas Eve and the way you spoke to Bob was just wrong on every level."

"No it wasn't." I told her firmly. "I'm sick of being his cash cow. E-Ben-Ezer we need money for this, we need money for that. He thinks I'm made of money."

"You were horrible." Amy tells me, a not so happy look on her face. "I will prove it."

"Oh mother fu..."

Before I can finish the word I had intended to say, Amy waved her hand, transporting me to the office of Jamie Dean a.k.a Bob Cratchit. Jamie sits behind the desk as the Ghost of Christmas Present stand nearby, not being able to be seen in this ghost form. Bob looks down at the desk, his eyes on paperwork but the door flies open to see a version of myself walking through the door, a look of anger on my face.

"I look bloody good in that suit." I tell Amy. "That cost more than most people earn in six months."

"Shush." Amy tells me. "We're not here to admire the way you look or the way you dress. We're here to show you what a complete dick you was early."

"For a ghost trying to help." I start. "You don't mince words."

"What is it now Bob?" Earlier me booms out in a loud acidic tone. "What is it that you're after now."

"Who said I'm after anything?" He stumbles out. "It was just time for our weekly meeting about this place."

We were standing in the office in Oasis, something Jamie erm, Bob and I set up to get homeless gay teens off the street, when I say we, I was the money man of course. Charity is not my thing but raising my own person profile was and to hell with everyone else.

"Oh let me guess." Earlier day me says with a roll of my eyes. "The roof still leaks, the costs of being here has gone up and your car wash with those freeloaders here didn't make enough money to do a damn thing so you thought I'd know, I'll ask E-Ben-Ezer for money again to do all that."

I could see Bob was reluctant to answer back to me. He knew I had the money to do all he wanted, I could make the place a palace, but why should I sit and pamper these people he deems worthy to enter the doors.

"Well the roof is still leaking." He tells earlier me. "And you promised extra funds last month to fix it and you haven't."

"I gave you an extra five dollars last month!" I tell him.

"You're so generous." Amy sarcastically says to current me in ghost form.

"I know right?" I tell her seriously. "I didn't have to give him an extra penny to do anything, but I did."

Amy rolls her eyes as we quickly focus on the two from early today.

"Five dollars is not enough." Bob tells me. "That doesn't go far to fixing a leaking roof. These kids deserve better."

"Why?!" I below towards Bob. "You said to me when you came up with this idea that these kids needed a roof over their head, and they got that, leaking or not. You changed the rules on me Bob when I set this up."

"You?" Bob questions.

"And how much of your own money did you put in this place?" Earlier me asks. "Not as much as I did, then you bring sexuality in to it! You have to be gay to be in this place. You decided to choose who was allowed a roof over their head based on who they sleep with? I get it, you're that way inclined so you only want to help out people who are like you. You act all hetrophobic and expect me to cough up more cash?"

"Can you now see why you went too far?" Amy asks the current me.

"Well why should sexuality determine who gets a warm safe bed and who does? Bloody ludicrous." I tell Amy.

"With statements like that, almost sounds like you have a heart." Amy says with a roll of her eyes.

I watched the anger in my face as I looked at Bob sitting behind his desk, looking at me in stunned silence. Current ghost me did start feeling something at that point, maybe I did overstep the boundaries earlier. It's not easy standing there and watching you make a prat of yourself.

"This place doesn't benefit me anymore Bob." I tell him. "It does nothing for me at all anymore. It doesn't raise my profile, and that is why I did it, not because I wanted to help these kids. These kids are bums, they're lazy, you wanna make something out of one of them, send him on a roofing course to fix the bloody roof. They're all sitting here having you wipe their noses and give inspirational speeches, while I sit there and pay for them to do nothing."

I watch as the door opens slightly and in walks a dog, limping slightly.

"My Dog Bear got a part in this, pretty cool huh?" Present me says to Amy.

"Stick to the script Ben." Amy whispers back

I look towards the dog as it barks at earlier me, growing towards me.

"No one asked you Tiny Tim." I say looking at the dog."Piss off."

"Look, E-Ben-Ezer." Bob says to me. "I just wanna give these kids a good Christmas. You promised last week that you would at least give them that."

"That was last week, this is not last week." Earlier me says pointing across the desk. "These lazy, good for nothing kids don't deserve a damn thing out of me, they haven't ever deserved a damn thing while you pamper them. They're not looking for self worth, they're looking for a free ride, so you can consider Christmas cancelled here. No food, no presents, nothing, and until one of them actually makes something of themselves and actually gets a job, they're getting nothing more from me."

I watch as earlier me turns around and heads to the door, only to get barked at by Tiny Tim.

"But..." Bob pleads.

"But nothing." I firmly say "My decision is final and it will stay final!"

Ask I watch me from earlier walk out the office, a young man passes me. I look him square in the eye, knowing he was nervous at being around.

"You should be glad you don't fancy women mate and that you're under the age of twenty." Earlier me tells him. "Or you'd be going to a soup kitchen about now."

I watch as Bob crumples in to the chair, scratching Tiny Tim on the head as the dog looks at him with sympathic eyes.

"Don't worry Tim." He tells the dog. "We'll think of something for these kids. No matter what he says, everyone deserves to be happy at Christmas."

All I could feel was Amy, The Ghost of Christmas Present staring an ice cold glare in my direction. Something slightly hit home there, just hearing those words.

"You hear that?" Amy says. "Everyone deserves to be happy at Christmas. Everyone deserves it. These kids have had hard lives and their only teens, even people like you who act like a dick deserve to be happy at Christmas."

I think those well chosen words were all Amy needed to say as she waved her hand once more and there I was again, back sitting on my bed.



"Well, where's last bloody one?" I question as I sit on the bed, waiting for the last ghost. "I know how this story goes, and she's late... He's late? Come on, gotta be a she, the other two were."

I sigh as I look around.

"Fine, how's this E-Ben-ezer here sits and cuts a promo mid story?" I say firmly. "And I can be an arse because I'm still Scrooge, and I can use what people said in week one of promos now cause that is not frowned upon, so yeah, I'm gonna do that while I wait for the next one to turn up."

I clear my throat.

"I would like to talk about everything Lachlan Kane said about me!" I start. "All those sharp jabs, all those little digs, all those questions about my ability... Oh wait, that never happened because he never said a bloody word about me or anyone else! What is wrong with you, you strange faced little man? Cat got your tongue? This is the most important match of your life, the most important thing you'll ever do and you can't find ten minutes to talk trash about me and four other people? Do you not see what winning an SCW World title would mean? It would piss over every other place you've ever won a championship before because they are small time places, this is the big league and you can't take the time to have a little chin wag about us? E-Ben-ezer is just as disappointed as Ben Jordan!"

I shake my head.

"Really disappointed in you but it seems to show something that the world already knew little man." I continued. "It showed that you're only any good when Sierra is holding your hand. Admit it boy! Sierra is better than you are, Sierra made you worth something in SCW. Do you see her missing the chance to talk about people? No you don't, she's there front and center to tell everyone what's what but you are clearly her little sub. You're clearly not learning a bloody thing from her. That is disappointing Lachlan, I expected so much more from you but no, you have to show who wears the pants in your house and it certainly isn't you."

A quick shake of the head shows my disappointed.

"Ben might have had you down as a threat for this match, a dark horse but you're clearly too lazy to even appear." I say firmly. "You can't be arsed to talk about a match of this magnitude, you sure as hell won't be putting the effort in to this one, you're just a big disappoint to everyone else in that match. Lachlan Kane, weak link. Ben was wrong to even respect you."

I shake my finger firmly at the camera.

"Now let's talk about someone who actually bothered to flap their gums." I say with gritted teeth. "I say flap their gums, he didn't flap his gums too much, he never does, you could sneeze and miss an entire Caleb Storms promo. You didn't say a whole lot about Ben did you Caleb? You pointed out a few facts about both of you not wanting to get your heads kicked off.... Well freakin' done genius. You've ever become a man who has studied human behaviour or at the very least worked out how to state the obvious."

I shake my head.

"Bloody amateur!" I say with a disappointed tone. "Who in their right mind would ever want their head kicked off? Have you met anyone who wakes up in the morning and say I know, I think today I will allow some angry guy to kick my head off? Maybe he's rattled your brain too much cause all you did was state the bloody obvious. you actually think you're better than Ben? You, Caleb Storms, the man with the claim to fame of shitting his pants whenever Fenris is within half a mile of you. Absolutely pathetic you call yourself a wrestler and yet fear someone who is a man like everyone else. You sit there and talk about Ben like he couldn't even lace your boots but you can't even keep your bowels under control whenever Fenris is anywhere near you.... You're a joke Caleb, an unfunny joke, a piss poor sad little joke who thinks he seriously stands a chance of not only beating Ben, but four others? HA! You couldn't beat anyone let alone someone who's destiny is to become a top level champion. You're right Caleb, you are an underdog, but this is not titled Caleb Storms the Underdog Story, this is just you in a match with far better people than you and as soon as you're eliminated, they'll forget you're even in this match."

I look around the room, trying to think about who to talk about next.

"So many people in this match, ain't nobody wanna talk about all these people all the time, by the time you finish, you'd have lost ten days, but this is how it works." The grouchy Scrooge side of me says. "I was gonna talk about Fenris but that man can seriously talk about Ben, he's obsessed so getting through talking about him might take a few days, go ahead, get some coffee, put the kids to bed or something. You really liked to ramble about Ben, didn't ya Fenris? It's like you've come up with nothing on anyone else cause you know Ben well. You don't wanna come across as a bastard? Well do so, cause right now, I ain't that saint Ben guy, can't hurt me, I'll be gone when the ghost of Christmas future puts in an appearance."

I wave at the camera in a mocking way.

"You spoke a ton about Ben cause you know him better than most and I get why you don't wanna get angry at him, cause he is a decent fella, but you will be angry with him soon." Scrooge me says. "Cause he's gonna take that World title from under your nose. Then how ya gonna feel and don't say happy cause we know that's a load of old bollocks. I mean was you happy after you wrestled that draw in a tag team match... Would it have even been a draw if someone knew how to stick to limits? Of course not, you'd have lost to Ben and you know it. I think it's bugged you ever since that day that you've not put Ben down like you've put the rest down. I think that's annoyed you no end that you couldn't beat him."

A serious look crosses my face.

"You are right in asking where did #BenDeservesBetter get him?" Scrooge me asks. "A few high profile big matches, a run with the Roulette title, Jessie Salco actually seeing it could work so tried to gain heat from it. Did it ever get in your head Fenris that everything happens for a reason? Could Ben have stepped up in your little lovers quarrel with that Kris guy? Sure, but who the hell wants to be part of that drama? Who the hell wants to be part of the soap opera you bring and well, I don't care if I come across as a bastard, but you've done more soap opera style dramas in your SCW career, you can smash the writers of Days Of Our Lives for every bloody award, why would Ben wanna be another side dish in your drama like everyone else. While it's going all out on the table, might as well level with you. Everyone is a side dish to you, your beat down little brother, Dani Weston, even that absolute dickhead Ty West, all a side dish. Everything has to be about you and maybe, just maybe Ben was smart enough to avoid all that crap, maybe he was sick of being the side dish in everything and wanted to actually stand on his own two feet. Think about it, you mentioned the team with Jamie Dean and mentioned he was in the background. Yes he was Fenris, he was just a side act to someone as a team mate, why would he want to be a supporting player in your drama by going for that belt then. He might as well have played side dish like he did the other week by coming you your rescue in your drama, without the pressure of the championship belt, but this is his time to break away from that and it would start when he beats you."

I couldn't believe deep down what this Scrooge side of me was saying, but I was in the character now. I knew none of my opponents would take it seriously, but it was oddly freeing to be this way for now.

"You wanted to know why good old Ben was avoiding you?" My persona says. "Because you were surrounded by drama. Everything about you was dipped in drama he didn't wanna be a part of. One of the reasons why he finally agreed was cause you cut that drama way out of your life. He didn't wanna get caught in all your crap Fenris, but now is the perfect time for Ben to show what he can really do. Think about it, what makes him look better? Beat one man for the World championship or beat five men for the World Championship?"

It was a valid point, anyone would want the bigger match to become a champion.

"Don't overestimate your worth Fenris." This version of me says. "You'll only end up more disappointed when you see what Ben can really do up close. You think you're the biggest challenge to anyone in SCW, how'd ya think you're gonna feel when Ben defeats you and five others."

This wasn't me, I felt like I was in control but I wasn't. I felt like something had taken over me slightly and the mean spirit of Scrooge was actually there.

"I guess we move on to Austin now." I said. "Austin, I agree with you completely, one hundred percent when you uttered those words about Ben being underrated, hallelujah, a man who actually doesn't have mud in his eyes and can see the absolute truth. Everyone rattles on about how Ben is a nice guy, how he'd help anyone, how he'd go to Iceland to bring back that lunatic Fenris, how he's set up charities, how he's worked for free to donate his money to charities, but not many people sit there Austin and talk about his wrestling talent."

It was actually true. It felt like a broken record but everyone has basically said you're a good guy Ben, they've never said much about what you can do in the ring.

"I applaud you Austin." I say. "You have hit the nail on the head with the biggest hammer you could find. You have basically sat there and figured out what gives Ben an advantage over most people he faces. The fact that no one looks at the talent, they look at his outside the ring stuff and forget he's a good wrestler, they forget that he's been in SCW for many years and they see that he's never really had a run at the world title and they put that down mistakenly to lack of talent, and underestimate him a little. See, people in SCW don't do their homework, they don't sit and watch matches, they don't sit and watch promos. Seriously Austin, how many of your co workers outside the people in this match, are actually gonna watch this? One? Two maybe?"

Sorry SCW fans, it's true, there's probably just a few of our co workers that actually watch everything. Outside you fans, people in SCW rarely take the time.

"Two if we're lucky." I continue. "But this is why they underestimate Ben, because they never take the time to watch. They don't watch matches but they do look at the title history page a lot. Ben is very much under the radar but you seem to have done your homework on him. Actually, it's what he expected. He expected Fenris to talk about the personal side of things, he expected Caleb to chat about getting his head kicked off, he knew Vinnie wouldn't make sense, he even knew Lachlan wouldn't be arsed to show up, but he knew one person would be taking him very seriously and that was you Austin. Ben knew the main threat in this match is not the mad Icelandic guy, or the Mexican champion. It's you Austin. Fenris already thinks he knows everything there is to know about Ben, and Vinnie is on a champions high, thinks he can beat the world, but Ben knew you would be the danger of this match because you work to be the danger."

That was the thought from day one in my head, Austin James Mercer is gonna be the danger man in this one. It's his kinda match, a match where you have to think.

"So thank you for taking the time to actually put in the effort but I'm gonna let you in on something..." I say softly. "Ben secretly really wants this too. He knows this is a chance to make everyone sit up and take notice and change the way they see him. He knows this is his opportunity to show everyone he is ready for this, it's not about the greed of wanting to become champion Austin, it's about being ready and Ben is more than ready for this now. He can see there is less drama at the top and knows he can make it a better division and try and keep up with what your stable mate Alicia has been doing for the Bombshell division. He's ready for that responsibility but he knows not to take his eyes off you for a second in this match. If Ben wants to become champion, you being eliminated is the key to that, he knows that Austin. He may respect the effort that you put in for each and every match, but he also knows he needs to get rid of you as quickly as possible. That that for what you will."

Getting rid of Austin is something that everyone needs to consider doing early, if I can see he is the brick wall stopping anyone else walking out as champion, surely the others will too? Well, a couple might.

"Ok, need a dictionary here of gibberish to English cause it's time to talk about Vinnie." I say with a disappointing tone. "Frankly, watching his whole promo was a bit of a headache. I don't know about Ben, but when I tried to watch it, all I got from it is your wife is an absolute bore, Bill Barnhart is a bore, frankly everything about you is a bit of a bore. I know Ben misses the days when you was actually funny though, he got a right chuckle out of some of the stuff you used to record but now, you're just another generic guy with nothing at all worth shouting about."

He fell in to the trap to me of changing himself too much after the ring went on his finger, out when the comedy and in came the wife.

"I didn't know what the hell you was talking about half the time Vinnie and neither did Ben." This persona admits. "Battles? Wars? Lord of the Ring quotes? Lots of number connected things? What the hell had you been smoking before recording that pile of pony? I don't think a single word that came out of your mouth made any sense at all to Ben, and probably not to Caleb, Lachlan, Fenris or Austin either, it was like ramblings of a mad man. Prattling on about the story of his life, the hell?"

I honestly at that point never understood what Vinnie was trying to get at, but I was pretty sure this side of me that has been taken over by the Scrooge spirit would have something to say about it.

"Ben aspires to be a wrestler?" I say confused. "You win one title and now you're the ruling party on what constitutes a wrestler? So what you're trying to say, and putting it terribly is that wrestlers should just be wrestlers and nothing else? So what the hell are you doing making mariachi music then? Surely you're more suited to playing in a third rate Mexican restaurant then actually wrestling because you just admitted yourself, you're wet behind the ears as a wrestler. Ben's won more than you in his career and you're talking about aspiring to be a wrestler? What utter tosh you speak Vinnie."

Talk about trying to take a leak on what I've done over YEARS in wrestling to say I'm just aspiring.

"So you're implying think of yourself in ya next ramble, eh?" That side of me says. "This is coming from a man who joined a stable... A stable Vinnie."

Even I know being an 'aspiring' wrestler that joins a stable means thinking of others.

"I'm gonna say this cause Ben won't, but put the crack pipe down for the love of God Vinnie." My bad character says. "Desire? Desire Vinnie? Ben hasn't even got started yet, he was always a long way from done, regardless of what people might say, the heart is still there and the heart says you're gonna lose that belt. You feel free to go personal against Ben, but you know you gotta expect it back, you know if you go below the belt, he's gonna do the same, hell, I will do it anyway, I have by calling your wife boring, I have by calling you generic. You can sit and say you're better than Ben, that's how this whole thing works genius, you always say your better than your opponent, that's wrestling 101, but you can't claim it after Ben takes the gold from you. You wanna be blunt Vinnie, no one's gonna remember you as champion after Sunday when that belt comes away from you and leaves with Ben, no one will remember you for anything you've done in your title run, because you've done nothing in your title run. The spotlight should have been on you when it's been more on your cactus messing about with a dog."

I knew the fans would struggle to see Vinnie as anything more than a guy who speaks to a cactus. I don't know if he say Despayre get over talking to a Teddy bear and thinking it would work for him, I really don't know. I could see where the rest of this talk was going and I wanted to pump the breaks, ease off, but it wasn't me in control at this point.

"You're embarrassing mate." The Scrooge persona says. "To that belt, to the great champions who came before you and to everyone who has to watch you. This is why Austin James Mercer hit the nail on the head and you're so far wide of the goalposts, it's gone out for a throw. You don't know Ben, you haven't tried to know Ben, you're one of those people who just gets by week by week without knowing anybody at all. You think you got it sussed because of championship confidence, but you know nothing of anyone in that ring against you, you know nothing of anyone you're facing at all, all you can keep in your head that as the champion, you will walk out as champion. That's not happening Vinnie, you're too lax about this, you're too over confident."

Over confidence can be a horrible thing, I've been there, I've dealt with it.

"You all see Ben as this nice guy, but nice guys can turn." He says. "Nice guys can become right horrible bastards to get what they want, but you keep digging at him Vinnie, you keep making mistakes like saying Ben isn't positive, which further proves you haven't watched anything about him in a long time. Keep thinking Ben's not ready for a fight, because all you've done right there is joined the rest in underestimating him. I don't have the numbers but I'm pretty sure over all those years, his win rate is probably one of the best in SCW, but you all doubt what he can do, you doubt what he can do Vinnie but it's gonna blow up in your face. You can't be like us, which is a shame Vinnie, cause I'll put money on Ben and the other four in that match will be a lot better champion than you was, you know why?"

Don't go there, don't go there, ah, he's gonna go there.

"Cause you wouldn't know how to act like a champion if you took lessons from every other champion there has ever been." He says. "You're one of the worst champions SCW has ever seen and on Sunday, not only will Ben win that championship from you, he's gonna show you what it's like to be a real champion."

"God I love this bad Ben." Evie's voice can be heard saying behind me.

I turn to see Evie standing there, looking at me.

"But we need to get on with things." She says to me. "Ghost of Christmas Future here..."



"Took ya time, didn't ya?" I tell Evie. "Some of us need to get up and go make some money tomorrow, so some of us need some sleep."

"You're not the only one who didn't wanna be up tonight, but hey ho, here we are." The Ghost of Christmas Future says. "Nice pyjamas."

"Thanks" I say with a smirk. "Cost more than what you're wearing"

"One, are you after a slap?" She fires back "And two, these shoes cost more than most things in your wardrobe, so button it."

"So you're here to wave ya hand and take me to my future and tell me what's gonna happen." trying to avoid the comment. "Wouldn't it just be easier for you to tell me so I can go back to bed and you can go dance the night away in your expensive shoes, everyone wins."

I look at Evie, her eyes staring directly at me and smiles.

"Well you meet a hot chick and you act like an idiot and nothing good comes from it." She tells me. "I'm just gonna show ya what happens because the look on your face will be priceless."

Again? Why won't these ghosts just leave me alone? Sure, they're all hot as hell, but it's Christmas Eve, all I want to do is sleep through this dreaded holiday. Let that money pile up in interest while I say to hell with it all.

"Oh not again. Please, not again." I plead. "It's always so damn cold out and I really don't wanna..."

It didn't matter what I wanted cause a wave of her hand took me back to the outside again, my shoeless feet pressed deep in the snow as we stand outside the window of a nice looking house.

"Before you ask, this is three years down the line." The Ghost of Christmas Future tells me.

Please, I find a hot chick within three years.... No way... Wait, who the hell is that? My eyes glance through the window to see future me, but future me wasn't alone, future me was standing face to face with.... The Ghost of Christmas Future. I turn my head to look at her.

"I end up with you?" I question. "You? Ms Expensive Shoes? Because I've met you tonight, we're just gonna be together. How the hell I end up with The Ghost of Christmas Future?"

"The fuck do I know?" She replies. "I can only do Christmas future, not anything else or I'd be just called The Ghost of the Future, wouldn't I? And would you call that one in there Evie? If not, people are gonna get really confused at this."

"Probably already confused." I tell her.

We move closer to the house, and shouting could be clearly heard from inside the walls.

"Have you seen this Evie?" Future me says holding up a credit card bill.

"Of course I have Ben!" She fires back. "I saw it and thought I spent more than that, so it's a bonus."

I look towards the Ghost of Christmas Future.

"I clearly had a hand in changing your name to Ben." She says with a smile. "Who would wanna be with someone called Ebenezer?"

"Evie, I work my arse off putting money in to this house, in to your pocket so you don't have to do anything and you can't keep hold of it for more than five minutes." Ben tells Evie. "Not more than five minutes. You get a pound note, you spend it within seconds. You could fall in a pit of money and come out minutes later with the money gone."

I watch as Evie steps closer to Ben.

"Money is there to be spent!" She told him "What's the point of having money if you can't go out and enjoy life."

"I enjoy life plenty because I have the money in my pocket." Ben fires back quickly, his tone deep and angry. "I would never have married you if I knew you would piss away money on everything."

"And I wouldn't have married you if you didn't say you would stop being an old skin flint!" She says slowly and dangerously.

I look towards the Ghost of Christmas Future, catching her looking at me with a frown on her face.

"Married?" We both mouth at the same time.

"How many cars do you need?" Ben can be heard saying to Evie in the house. "How many little trinkets do you need?"

I watched the anger build up inside Evie in the house, her cheeks flushing red as she turned away from her husband, but quickly turned back to look him in the eye.

"And what happens when you're gone Ben?" She asks. "Then what happens to all your precious money? You can't take it with you, you won't take it with you. Your entire life will be worth nothing. You'll be laying on your deathbed wondering if you could have used that money better, done better things. You may die rich, but no one's gonna care."

"I don't like this Christmas." I tell the Ghost of Christmas Future. "Can we skip on."

"Trust me, they don't get much better than this one." She says with a smile.

With a wave of her hand, we move on one year and I was stunned. I stare silently at a man resembling me sitting on a park bench, a thick beard covering his face, while holding a brown paper bag, lifting it up to his mouth to drink out of it.

"So what happened here?" I ask, not sure I really wanted to know the answer.

"Well, I had enough of you." She tells me. "I went, and I took most of your money, your good businesses, all the fancy cars, and the house on the lake. You went from being super rich to being just an average rich guy just like that and all your fancy friends turned their back on you. The country club offers disappeared because you just didn't have the money to run in their circles anymore. You couldn't maintain that lavish lifestyle you set out for yourself. When you had the money, it made more money, you could afford to spend more without the fear of ever going broke, but your ways turned people against you. You didn't have a friend who would hold the door open for you."

She shrugs her shoulders, but I could feel there was some pleasure in her words.

"You became what you hated." She said with a slight smile. "You became poor."

"Can we skip ahead a year, to where no doubt I've made a glorious comeback?" I ask.

"Oh you're not gonna like this" she replies. "This is gonna be awkward."

She waves her hand again and another year passes, leading us to a grave site, showing my name written on the tombstone.

"You drank yourself to death with what little money you had left." She says. "Cheap whiskey ruined your body. Spent years used to the good stuff and it's the cheap stuff that kills you. Worst thing is, is no one, no one at all came to your funeral, not even I did. I wouldn't get those expensive shoes dirty. People actually cheered when they heard you was gone. Actually cheered."

She put her hand on my shoulder but I'd been frozen to the spot, just looking at my name on the tombstone, not saying a word.

"And this is how your story ends E-Ben-Ezer." She tells me with a tilt of her head.

"It can't end like this..." I say in a sad tone.

"It's written. Enjoy your money, enjoy being a miser." She says with a shrug.

"Destiny is not written." I tell her "I can change it all..."

She looks at me and waves her hand. With a gasp of air, I sit up in my own bed again.



I couldn't breathe, it felt like my lungs couldn't take in the air in as much as I needed as I sat there in bed. My head felt heavy, like I had ten minutes sleep all night, maybe I have had, maybe I didn't even have that, but the night's events were fresh in my mind. Was I destined to die alone thanks to alcohol? I needed to change it pretty quickly in my mind. If it was my destiny to be that guy in years to come, then there was nothing I could do about it, but what if it wasn't, what if I could change it all. Change starts with admitting you've got a problem and by God did I have problems.

My feet hit the floor and my man servants quickly entered the room, looking oddly like Mark Ward and Christian Underwood.... Come on, it's a parody!

"Morning sir." The Christian look alike says with a bow of his head. "And Merry Christmas."

"Yeah, yeah, Merry Christmas to you both." I say as I scramble towards the desk draw, reaching to the one below and sharply pulling it open.

I reach inside, pulling out a school photo, looking at fellow classmates from many moons ago.

"Is everything alright, sir?" The Mark look alike says. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Yes there is." I tell him. "I want you to find these five kids."

My hand points towards the photo, pointing at five faces in the crowd.

"I want you to find them, and send them the biggest gift baskets you can find." I tell the two, before pointing at the Christian look alike. "And you, I need some phone calls made. I'll give you the list people shortly, I just need to get my head around all of this."

The two men look at each other confused.

"And when you're done with that, take the rest of the week off." I tell them, much to their surprise. "Today gentlemen, everything is gonna change..."

A quick camera cut switches to where Jam... Bob Cratchit sits behind the desk in his office, a sad look on his face as he looks down at the furry Tiny Tim, running his hand over his fur.

"Well I tried everything Tim." He says with sadness in his voice. "I looked at every option but we don't have any left. I can't give these kids the Christmas they deserve. There's simply no money unless we want to sit here with no power of heating for two months."

The noise coming from the hall in front of the office causing Bob to immediately stand up. Crashes and bangs coming from just to other side of the wall had him slightly rattled but he was the man in the building, he had to do something, he had to show authority to whoever was behind the door. Nervously swinging the door open, he stepped out in to the hall. Could you imagine his surprise to see me directing traffic to an army of the youngsters housed in the center.

"Come on lads." I tell them. "You want this to be the best Christmas ever, you gotta work for it. Get those tables set up down the middle of the hall before the decorators get here to make those tables look brilliant."

I knew he was watching me opened mouth, but I had a job to do as I turned towards the door, watching people bring in bags of wrapped presents.

"Stick those lot under the tree over there." I command, with a point of my wrist towards a tree in the corner. "Make them look pretty and there'll be a bonus in it for ya, on top of your bonus for helping out at Christmas."

Bob couldn't believe his ears. The penny pinching business partner of his had never willingly given away money. He was frozen in place as he watches what was happening. The will to find out what was going on urged him forward, putting one leg in front of the other by Tiny Tim had beat him there. I smiled at the four legged fur ball, reaching in to my pocket and pulling out a dog treat, holding it by his mouth.

"Merry Christmas ya filthy animal!" I say with a smile.

Yes! Home Alone reference! Had to be done while I looked at the dog take the treat from my hand.

"What's going on in here?" Bob finally raises the courage to ask.

I could tell he was shocked at what he was seeing, the words fell out of his mouth, but his eyes were looking around the room.

"Well it's Christmas day." I tell him, a smile crossing my face. "And it took me a while, but I get it now. It doesn't matter how much money you have, if you ain't got the right people around you, you'll never be proper happy. These are the right people."

"But yesterday..." He manages to get past his lips.

"Yesterday I didn't realize why you did what you did." I tell him as I look around at the kids looking more excited by what was going on. "I didn't get why one sexuality was put over another, it's about safety isn't it?"

Bob nods at me, still not sure he's hearing them.

"And I'm pretty sure wise people have said once or twice that everyone deserves to be happy at Christmas." I start. "And people need to feel fulfilled with what they do. I see that this is what you need to do to be happy. Happiness isn't about wealth so I've learned very recently, it's about feeling you're worth something. You work hard here, you deserve that, so they're getting their Christmas they want, and you're getting what makes you happy. As much funding as you need for this place."

"I'm... I'm..." Was all he could say.

"Needs to be some changes though." I tell him. "These lot ain't getting their noses wiped anymore. Time for them to learn a trade and stand on their own two feet."

"If that's what it takes." Bob says surprised. "But I don't know how you're gonna give them a Good Christmas. We have no food here."

"Like I'm gonna show up here, make them put out tables and not bring some grub. Pizza ok?" I say looking at him seriously

I could see he wasn't sure if I was joking at all but a smile on my face helped him figure it out.

"Lighten up, it's Christmas." I tell him.

Looking at the door, I start to see caterers walking through the door holding cooked food, including two turkeys. As the caterers walk past, I can't help but help myself to a roast potato.

"Kitchen's over there." I say as I pop the roast potato in my mouth instantly knowing it was a mistake. "That was bloody hot."

I quickly wave my hand in front of my face, but out of the corner of my eye, I spot three women looking at me with smiles on their face.

"Excuse me a second." I tell Bob. "I gotta go and say hello to the past, present, and future."

I was full of confusing him juice today as I turned and walked over towards Sam Marlowe, Amy Santino and Evie Jordan, looking at them one by one.

"Thank you ladies." I say sincerely. "That was the kick up the arse I needed."

"I didn't think we were gonna get through to ya." Sam says with a smile.

"I was close to hitting him upside the head to get it through to him." Amy quickly adds.

"So tell me something future." I say looking at Evie. "Still gonna take most of my money in the future?"

"Depends on if this new you is gonna last." She says with a smile.

"Well you changed everything E-Ben-Ezer." Sam says with a quick nod of her head. "You proved that anyone can change if they have to."

"And you can already see." Amy continues. "Your present has already improve."

"Maybe the good will actually give you something you want in the future." Evie says leaning forward, whispering the next part in my ear. "Like that SCW World Championship."

Evie leans back, winking at me.

"E-Ben-Ezer." Bob shouts out across the room. "You and your friends will join us, right?"

I nod back at him from across the room as Sam and Amy move in front of me. I look towards Evie and whisper.

"Does this count as our first date?" I ask with a smile.

"You'll be lucky to get a date with me." She quickly replies

She smiles as she walks away and I look down the camera, saying my last words.

"Bah humbug..."



And with that, the sound of the heavy looking book can be heard shutting as the camera turns to me once more.

"I really hope you lot enjoyed that." I say with a nod down the camera. "So this is obviously my last promo of 2019, and I wanna thank everyone I've shared a ring with this year, all the people who have kicked my arse and pushed me to my limits and to my five opponents, Lachlan, Austin, Caleb, Fenris and of course Vinnie, thank you all for pushing me these last few weeks, without knowing it, you've given me the gift of being better and I thank you all and to Sam, Jamie, Amy and of course Evie, thanks for putting up with my mad ideas through the year, you've all been stars in your own right. To the fans, without you, there is no us and that would be a terrible thing, thank you for your cracking support through the year and I know I speak for the entire roster when I say we can't wait to be doing it again in 2020 for you all. Merry Christmas to you all."

I give a thumbs up to the camera.

"Now I'm not the only one who loves Christmas, people dream of Christmas, people dream of happy endings. There's also a bit of magic to Christmas too, and I do like some magic."

I tap my chin.

"So what if what you just saw wasn't me telling you a story. That would be magic, wouldn't it?" I ask. "What if all you saw was in someone else's dream? That would be magic I think."

I click my fingers and the camera instantly changes to Sam Marlowe sitting straight up in bed.

"See, magic...." my voice can be heard saying as the image of Sam is on the screen.

Oh yes, I went there, last promo of the year and I linked it, so head on over to Sam Marlowe's second promo when it airs.

Merry Christmas everyone and a happy and safe holidays, from myself and Evie. All the best!

[Caleb Storms]

 RP Title: “We Are Gathered Here Today………”

The weekend of December 2 Dismember IV was almost here and whilst for many it was a time for great wrestling action for Caleb Storms it was a time for dread as he was part of the Six Pack Challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship alongside the champion Senor Vinnie, Ben Jordan, Austin James Mercer, Lachlan Kaine and the eternal thorn in his side “The White Wolf” Fenris and with the ever present possibility that the bosses could rig it so that Caleb and Fenris start the match, nerves were at an all time high for the young metalhead but can Caleb shock the world and win the World Heavyweight Championship?

Early morning run, Las Vegas, Nevada
Thursday the 12th of December 2019, 06:00am

Honestly, I’m surprised.

No, not that all of my opponents not named Lachlan sent their promos in last week, or that Ben and Austin where the first ones to get their promos in last week, or that it took me this long to realize that I had gotten Tony Thorn mixed up with Kyle Kavanaugh when talking about the root of my fear of Fenris last week, no, you want to know what really surprises me? Not to sound like a clickbait article or anything but I bet you won’t see it coming!

I’m surprised that I was able to find an SCW cameraman who was up this early and ready to tape my last promo off the year.

But yeah, if I wasn’t nervous about stepping into the ring with Fenris again last week, I am definitely nervous about it this week because the Six Pack Challenge is this weekend, throw in the other four competitors including one former World Champion, one former Mixed Tag Team Champion and the current World Heavyweight Champion and let’s face it, it’s going to take a miracle for me to win the World Title on Sunday.

And as I said before, even if Fenris wasn’t in this match, I’d still be an underdog considering that the last time I held a championship was over a year ago, man, how does time fly?

As I said, I’m doing an early morning run and happened to find an SCW cameraman willing to do a promo this early and as always Katie is with me though she is behind me at the moment, it’s early in the morning as we jog through the park and we eventually come to a stop at a bench so that we can rest up for a bit.

“Kind off surprised we didn’t run into Ariana Angelos from SCU.” Katie commented as she sat down next to me and I took a swig of one of the water bottles that we had brought with us. “Doesn’t she go for early morning runs?”

“Las Vegas is a big place, and I think she lives over in Sunrise so she might have a completely different route to us.” I pointed out with a shrug before taking another sip from my drink. “Besides, she has her priorities and I have mine, her priorities are winning that Triple Threat Tag Team Match on the pre-show and being a good lumberjill for the match between Bobbie and Keira, my priority is surviving Fenris and maybe winning the World Title.”

“At least you both have your priorities straight.” Katie commented with a grin before I passed her a water bottle. “And I can’t believe you got Kyle Kavanaugh mixed up with Tony Thorn, Kyle was only in SCW for, what? A week, maybe two?”

“And I’d like to remind you that on our binge watch of old Climax Controls and PPVs we are still up to 2017, Fenris didn’t kick Kyle’s head off until 2018, after the hiatus ended.” I pointed out and Katie had to admit that I had a point. “It’s not like I have a photogenic memory or anything like that, I remembered that Fenris kicked someone so hard that they were never seen again and was told off by Mark for it but I couldn’t remember who and my mind went to Tony Thorn for some reason.” I added before taking a sip from my water bottle.

“It could be worse, you could’ve mistaken Fenris for Ty West.” Katie pointed out and I nearly spat out my drink when she said that. “Not sure how considering Ty hasn’t been seen since that whole clusterfuck at High Stakes IX.”

“And let’s face it, will probably never be seen again, now let’s shut up about him before the bosses use this as an excuse to make me and Fenris the first two entrants!” I suggested and Katie nodded in agreement and before long she had resumed jogging with the assurance that I would catch up with her later, why later? Because I have a promo to do.

“December 2 Dismember IV is this weekend and normally on the Thursday before a Supercard I’m excited to see what’s going to happen, especially when it comes to the Main Event, not this time! On one hand I’m challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship for the second time this year and for bonus points? It’s in another multiman match, so what’s the problem? Well the competitors are as follows: Ben Jordan, Austin James Mercer, Lachlan Kaine, me and the reason why I’m so nervous heading into this match and the guy I’m starting with, Fenris!”

I need a miracle.

“I was hoping that the Lion’s Den Match that somehow made its way into the Match of the Year Candidates for this year’s Year End Awards would be our last encounter Fenris but as I said last week, the universe hates me! There’s no other explanation for why we keep running into each other in matches Fenris and the fact that I not only pissed you off again just a few short weeks ago but got the name of the guy you kicked into obscurity wrong does not help matters! Right now, I need a miracle and if that miracle happens then maybe, just maybe, I can survive Fenris!”

And then there’s the rest of the match.

“I said it once and I’ll say it again, even if Fenris had lost the qualifier to Mark Cross I’d still be the underdog in this match because there are a lot of top tier talent in this match and one of them happens to be another face from a short lived feu, this time from last year, that’s right it’s Ben Jordan! You may be older than me Ben but we have one thing in common, we are both vying to win our first World Heavyweight Championships and you, along with everyone else in this match has a decisive edge over me but that edge won’t stop me from winning if the miracle happens.”

And that’s a big if.

“Once again, I’m lumping Austin and Lachlan together because I don’t have as much to say about either of those man as I do the others and frankly, Lachlan didn’t have much to say at all so, that’s going to be the last time I mention him! As for Austin, if we do clash it’ll be a clash of former Honor Wrestling wrestlers but at the end of the day there can only be one winner and if the miracle happens that winner will be me.”

And last up is the champ.

“If you had told me at the beginning of the year that the World Champ would be a Mexican Mariachi who spoke to a cactus, I’d probably call you crazy! And I’d call you crazier for suggesting that I was one of five men who where challenging him for the title on the last Supercard of the year but here we are, twelve months later, in that exact scenario and I don’t know what to think! The only thing I do know Vinnie is that I need a miracle if I want to win this match but if that miracle happens, I’ll be entering 2020 the new World Heavyweight Champion!”

And with that I decided to wrap things up.

“In case you haven’t caught on yet, I’m hoping for a Christmas Miracle as we head into 2020 because otherwise? Well, we may as well have a priest at ringside ready to say “We Are Gathered Here Today To Celebrate The Life Of Caleb Storms” and it just so happens that we have a bunch of religious nutjobs working for the company in the Good Shepherds so hay, maybe we can get one of them to fulfil that role! But honestly, I don’t think it’ll be needed, even against stiff competition like Senor Vinnie, Ben Jordan, Lachlan Kaine, Austin James Mercer and Fenris I’m confident that a miracle will happen, and I’ll enter the New Year as the new World Heavyweight Champion “The Metal Storm” Caleb Storms!”

I resumed jogging as the scene fades.

[Austin James Mercer]

 Undo these chains, my friend
I'll show you the rage I've hidden
Perish the Sacrament
Swallow, but nothing's forgiven
You and I can't decide
Which of us was taken for granted
Make amends
Some of us are destined to be outlived

Prologue: A letter to myself

Dear 5 Year Old Austin.

I wish I could tell you life will turn out how you want it. Truth be told I can’t even remember what you wanted to be at this age. All I can remember is how scared you’ll be right now. I can’t tell you what happens with our mother. Let me say that what happens is what needs to happen. You did nothing wrong and you couldn’t stop it.

But with all the sadness in you life you will also live a life you can’t dream of right now.

See right now you are watching our mother go through something time and time again. You are confused and don’t know what to do. But you have dreams. You have dreams of having a good life and being a good man. I wish I could tell you that those dreams will come true.

But I don’t know if I’m a good man.

You will have a beautiful wife, two beautiful kids. Friends and Family. And the business you will enter will be fun and profitable. It will give you all you want. But, you will have to go through things that will break your heart. Things that will make you want to give up. You need to stay strong. And always remember the only loyalty you have is to yourself. Your wife and your kids.

There is one more thing. Something I have only just learned so I am giving to you now. Nice guys don’t always finish last. But bad guys get there first….

-Signed 27 Year old Austin

Scene One:I Made a promise
Off Camera
Manhattan New York
Present Day

It had been a few days since Austin and Alex had talked in the gym. Austin had promised Alex he was going to talk to Amy. He never breaks a promise. That night he called her, Amy was happy to hear from him, but there was something amiss, something Austin couldn’t quite put his finger on. They talked for hours all leading up to Austin coming into the city to see her. Amy had been back a month, had a job and her own place.

The feeling had been eating at Austin the whole way there. He sat on the train staring down at his phone, his wife Lisa messaging him, telling him it was the right thing to do. Austin didn’t know why he was so nervous. It had been 4 years since he had last seen Amy. But now she was back and in that time he had told Lisa how bad he missed her. There would be happy birthday and christmas texts, the occasional facebook update.

But for the most part it was 4 years of indifferent silence.

4 Years of feeling like he had no sister.

Of all the regrets Austin had in his life, not finding his mother sooner, not forgiving his father to build a relationship. Not being there the day Christian passed away, being cold to Elena, letting the pink demon woman back into his life, this, the breakdown of his relationship with Amy was the worst. After all he had done to get her out of the mental facility, to get to the bottom of the reasons she was there. He brought her back up, he helped her become a confident young woman.

As the train clicked and clacked on the rail his mind started to drift off...

4 Years Ago ...

”Hey Amy check this ou-” Austin walked into the living room of the small apartment he shared with his sister Amy, he had a DVD in his hand. An introduction to a company called the World Wrestling Headquarters. Austin had been running around different feds for months, even teaming with his father in a company called IWF, then moving on to Honor wrestling for a stint. But now this was huge.

In the months before Austin had gone into the gym and worked like a madman to change his body, he’d gone from a tall, slender kid, to a beefed up physically imposing man. Going from 225 pounds to 260. There was still more work to be done, but this DVD and letter of intent were proof that hard work pays off. But still, there was no Amy in the living room, he heard a noise in her bedroom, he smiled and walked down the hallway opening the door. ”Hey you gotta see this.” He walked in handing Amy the letter, she went to say something but noticed the header ad the logo.

WWH was one of the biggest companies in the world. Horrible at quality control and talent retention, but they paid well and would lead to bigger opportunities. Amy smiled and looked up giving Austin a hug. ”I am so proud of you. This is what you worked for!”.


Austin laughed to himself and gave Amy a small squeeze. Not to hard as she had been training the last few months to also try her hand at the family business. Austin cleared his throat and and smiled. ”So you want to watch this DVD?..and why are you packing?” Austin had noticed mid sentence that Amy had two bags on the bed, her clothes, books, laptop and other possessions sat in them, organised and ready to go, Austin shook his head and looked down at Amy, she looked sheepish biting her bottom lip.

”Aus I...I got a new job and I met a guy..” Amy smiled weakly, Austins heart sank, he backed up against the wall and put the DVD and letter down on the bedside table, his eyes trailing across the floor back to his sister.

T6he silence was awkward, Austin cleared his throat and shook his head slowly. ”And you were going to tell me..when?””Today, I know it’s fast but” Austin pushed off the wall, his voice raising a little higher than he thought it would. ”But what? What about training?. I had my foot in the door with WWH I could have..” Amy shook her head and put her hand up sitting down on her bed, Austin sighed and rolled his eyes. The realisation hitting him like a ton of bricks.

”You didn’t want to do this, did you?” Amy smiled and looked up at her much bigger but younger brother. She shook her head from side to side/ ”No...I’m sorry. It just isn’t in my heart” It was still awkward, it was still sudden, Austin forced a smile and reached out to help Amy back to her feet ”So..tell me about this guy…” Amy smirked and unlocked her phone.

DING

Austin’s eyes sprung up as he looked around, he was at his stop. He smirked and stepped up and out of the train door. The nerves were still there as he went over the rest of the day in his head. He wanted to be happy for Amy, he loved his sister and had been there for her as she had been for him. But his heart still broke that day and he felt like a piece of shit for it. So, for 4 years he had sheepishly waited for an apology that was not earned and it would not come. But this felt different.

He turned and walked up the long steps and popped out the top pulling his jacket closed and his beanie over his head. It was a cold day in New York City, the winter had begun to really set in, he looked over at the small coffee shop with a smile, It had been the last time he, Amy and Christian had been together in the same place. The night Amy left for California, they had a family dinner while waiting for her cab to the airport.

Austin moved across the street and stopped at the large glass door.

He took a deep breath looking at it, he knew she was inside, his eyes trailing across to a booth near the window, he could see her there, her long brown hair, he shook his head and pushed open the door pushing the guilt away. The warmth from inside hit him hard. His mind flashing back to their fathers funeral. Amy couldn’t make it. Things had mended between them but the hurt was still there. Austin struggled and took his jacket off and smiled looking over at Amy, he stepped towards her and laughed, Amy heard the familiar sound and turned to see him,l her face lit up, she smiled wide and as Austin stepped forward Amy went to get up...and struggled.

Austin stopped, his jaw dropping as he saw her. He swallowed hard and shook his head. ”Hey Aus…” He stumbled over his words, Amy’s hands drifted down over her stomach, sher looked down and cleared her throat. ”Surprise little brother...you...you’re going to be an uncle…”

Promo: A two time champion.
On Camera
Las Vegas Nevada
Present Day

”It’s getting so close now. I can taste it. A chance to regain the SCW world heavyweight title. A chance to be a two time champion. The 11th two time champion in SCW history...and what a history it is…”

Austin clasps his hands together, his long hair tied back as he flashes a small boyish grin. Full of confidence and determination as his large frame towers over everyone else made to look even bigger by the slightly dropped camera angle.

”For almost a decade the SCW world heavyweight title has changed hands between some of the best in the business. Of course it’s also had some low points, like the reign of Calvin Harris. But since Gabriel won that gauntlet match the title has meant the world to anyone who has stepped foot in SCW. And I was able to win it so soon into my SCW career due to the merger. I know there must be some members of the roster that were resentful of the fact I won the title so soon, the fact management saw something in me and wanted to capitalize on that. I won’t deny it, I have been given opportunities to prove myself over and over again. And in that time I have taken advantage of it.”

“4 Years ago I was just another name, floating around the scene, no titles to my name. Just some matches and a little exposure. My family name forgotten, my entire life was just a mediocre existence. Then that all changed and now I am a three time world champion. I walked into WWH one of the biggest companies in wrestling, it definitely isn’t one of the best, but I still walked in there, looked at their Hellsgate title, the biggest one on the brand and I took it, I snatched it up and went on a reign where I restored legitimacy to it. Thankfully the next two were ones that already had that aura to them.”

“Alex had lost the Honor title to Mickey Carrol. I won the mayhem survival, throwing name after name over the top rope until I was the last man standing. And then, the merger happened and my title shot was up in the air, but thankfully Mark and Christian wanted to do business. They wanted to do right by the talent that had signed on with their company so I got to face Mickey. And I was ready to defend the Honor title until they decided what they wanted to do but all road were leading to a match between myself and Fenris and the entire world was waiting with baited breath. They wanted it, they needed it. But Jake Raab being sneaky stopped that from happening.”

“That was the moment Honor died…”

“But, I set my sights on the SCW title. I set my sights on Fenris, that was the match everyone wanted, that was the match everyone needed. The title meant so much and was looked at as a beacon of hope. We had a champion who was dominant and feared, but also respected.”

Auston pauses and sighs shaking his head again as his heart dropped, his anger also rising from the pit of his stomach. His mind flashing back to losing the title.

”And I get it, I do. The pressures of being a champion aren’t for everybody. But the title went from Fenris to me and it was an easy transition. I had beaten him, I had taken the title from him and believe me when I say this, Fenris was the most dominant champion in SCW’s history, you can point to J2H and say he was the longest reigning but if you want to look at the manner in which the title was defended and the level of competition Fenris and I both have him beat ...”

“But again, much like the Honor title I didn’t need to rebuild the SCW one. It was already held at that high standard, but that standard has now fallen with Vinnie. The pressure has got to him, and broken him down. See being a champion isn’t just something to jot down on your resume. It means that week in and week out you need to do your best. Whether that is facing a man like Fenris or Alex Jones in front of 12 000 people on pay per view, or facing Caleb storms in front of 10 people in a barn. It doesn’t matter, you show up and give 100 percent no matter what.”

“Now this past week we all had our chance to hype up this match, to hype up ourselves and really dive deep into what we’re doing. That was, everyone did except for Lachlan Kane.”

He growled under his breath, Austin getting angrier before pacing back and forth.

”You worked so hard to get to this match Lachlan. You were starting to live up to your potential with that win over Alex and we all thought maybe, just maybe we had another main event calibre star. A man who was going to wow the fans and break through that glass ceiling. A man who was going to put in that 100 percent and do everything that was asked of him. A guy who was going to be on Twitter and TV shows and cutting promos to bring eyes to SCW while also putting in the rest of the work. But that isn’t what we have is it Lachlan?”

“No, instead of having a very talented, hard working, marketable title contender, we have a quiet, boring little man who would rather hype up Apex Wrestling than SCW. And hey, that's fine, I get it,l you have friends there and you could also make a splash there if you chose too since the competition curve is...well..not quite the same standard as SCW.”

“With that being said, you are taking up a spot in a match of incredible significance…”

“A spot that would have been better served with Alex standing here, because he would have done the world, he would have been on social media and in front of a camera cutting a scathing promo, he would have brought eyes to the product and he would have had a better shot at actually becoming a champion than you.”

“But hey I’m sure you’ll still be around and do the bare minimum, maybe Sierra can drag you to another mixed tag title win after Alicia retains her title…”

Austin shrugs and laughs under his breath before continuing.

”We go from someone who said so much without saying a word to someone who said so little while never shutting up. Our esteemed champion, Senor Vinnie. And hey, I get it, we have five opponents, we need to hype a match up, why not run your mouth, I mean I’m doing it right now. But the difference between people like myself and Ben and you Vinnie is that just like J2H recently said on twitter...you speak utter shit…”

“Take your promo for instance. You wanted to talk about how I apparently changed or have joined “the dark side”, like we’re all apart of the fucking star wars universe. But you stood there and said that you are “the man that does not change”, while then, in the same breath, in fact the same fucking sentence, said that you adapt and become a “better man”. Adaptation is change, you fucking idiot. I know English isn’t your first language Vinnie, but you need a thesaurus more than you need a world title right now.”

“And if you don’t know what a thesaurus is, get a dictionary and work your way forward.”

“But, it did play into my point about change Vinnie. See, before you beat me for that title you were in the metal and punk connection with Jesse Salco and Amy Santino, you were having some success and you were looked at as a violent badass in SCW. You were a little off kilter but you admitted you were the type to use any advantage to win including that stupid cactus. But now, now you’re trying to tell us how you’re a great champion and you want to drag others down when you aren’t even the best in this company.”

“Yes Vinnie, everyone wants you to lose that title. And not just so they can win it, like the names in this match. No, the entire company  wants you to lose that thing so a real champion can hold it and make it mean something again. The reason why everyone is talking shit about you is because you have failed as a champion.”

“I should have taken my one on one rematch…”

“I should have taken the title back.”

“But I didn’t and that failure is on me. The SCW title is now in the way it is looked at as a joke because of my own inaction. And you just don’t get it Vinnie, you don’t understand. You could just be true to yourself, be that violent hardcore asshole and stop caring what people think. Instead, you are an oversensitive cry baby, lashing out at everyone when in the last 100 days you have had one real title defence out of three and aside from taking up everyone’s time at the contract signing, you have done nothing to make the title look better or your reign matter…”

“You are a horrible champion and it’s time that title got a real man to hold it again…”

Austin laughed to himself a little louder and stopped pacing.

”Now, to the man who would make a worse champion than Lachlan with his silence or Vinnie with his verbal effluvia, Caleb Storms. Now, you have been here a long time Caleb as we have all said, it’s a running theme here that we all accept your tenure in SCW and we all know that based on longevity you should have a small amount of respect. A very small amount. I mean I do find it shocking that you just keep coming back no matter how much you’re shoved down. Week after week, month after month Caleb Storms turns up, says his peace, goes out to the ring and gets his ass beat.”

“But you still keep scrapping, you still keep coming back for more over and over again and we all watch and nod slowly. See, in the grand scheme of things you are a joke Caleb. I’m sorry I wish I could be nicer about this but sometimes you just need to give someone tough love and with you I have to be blunt because you just don’t get it…”

“Your skill set…”

“Your entire being…”

“Is not good enough to win the world title unless there was a huge accident. And since I don’t see all five of us suddenly coming down with cholera, I think it’s safe to say, in fact it’s probably the safest bet in the world, to state that after December to dismember, Caleb Storms will not be the champion. Take his..”promotion” of the match...he actually said he didn’t have much to say about me...really Caleb?”

“I’m a man who walked into Honor, where you were and decimated the competition, I’m a man who walked into SCW and became the champion here to. I’m someone who beat Fenris when no one else could, I’m someone who is just as big and bad as Fenris who could rip you in half if I wanted. But you don’t have much to say about me right?. Lumping me in with Lachlan...see this is why no one takes you seriously...you’re lazy….get the fuck out of my title scene…”

He rolled his eyes and grabbed a bottle of water taking it down, he untied his hair letting it flow down his back and shoulders.

”The truth is there are three men in this match who deserve to call themselves a champion, three men who would also elevate that title back to where it needs to be. I am one of them, you should all know that and just accept that I am a world title machine. I am a man who will take a company and make it even bigger. I carry myself as a world champion, so did Fenris and I have faith that Ben will if he gets the chance.”

“In fact he already has been.”

“Ben Jordan is a man who has deserved to be in this position for a long time but has been overlooked time and time again. And the truth is that now he’s getting a shot he should have had when Fenris was champion or when I was champion. And I could see him winning this match ande becoming the champion for the first time and etching his name in the record books. And you would deserve it, cause much like me you love wrestling. You love this business and all it represents. Wrestling isn’t about pot plants and stupid accents, wrestling is about proving yourself as the best and that is what you want to do isn’t it Ben?”

“You want to be remembered.”

“Hey, I get it. And I agree with you. And I respect you and like you but that isn’t going to stop me from standing in your way in that Six pack survival. See, I want that title back, I want to hold it again and be the champion, and we all want it, but few can accomplish it. And even though I want to win the match, if you were to win the title and be the champion I wouldn’t be as mad or annoyed as if Vinnie retained...so good luck Ben and I really mean that…”

Austin smirks and sighs deeply before folding his huge arms over his chest.

”And of course there is the man who I have the most history with. The man who when I arrived had the entire company by the balls and had most of the division running scared and the man that has turned Caleb Storms from a gown man to a child afraid of the dark. Fenris.And hey, he and I both spoke so much about our history. This is a feud built on respect. And it’s hard not to respect Fenris and now he’s even more dangerous since Ty left. In fact I watched what he did to Lachlan and I have to wonder, is that why Lachlan isn’t talking?”

“Now, one of the reasons I respect and actually like Fenris so much is because when I am in the ring with him, I don’t know if I’m going to win. And I know what you’re thinking, some of you are thinking that you can really lose any match so why would that be different and the other half of you are thinking about how that must mess with my confidence because you should always believe you’re going to win..it’s the fractured mindsets…”

“Let me explain.”

“I get in the ring with Caleb, Lachlan, Stephan Callaway, Bill Barnhart, any of those and I know nine times out of ten I win that match. I get in the ring with Vinnie and I know the same, but with Fenris it’s different. I get in the ring with Fenris and I know it’s about a fifty fifty shot I’m losing, and also a good chance I’m not going to be able to walk straight the next day…”

Austin pauses for a moment and clears his throat.

”Bad choice of words. But you get my point. Fenris is a beast in that ring, he’s a man who was able to hit the ground running and made SCW a force after it had been on hiatus. And that was important for the company. And again, if he won, I wouldn’t be as angry or annoyed. Ben, Fenris and I are cut from the same cloth, men who will be a champion SCW can be proud of. Not quiet like Lachlan, not lazy like Caleb and not a joke like Vinnie. But the one thing I have over Ben and Fenris is power. And they will be locked in a large cage with me where I can throw them all around.

“At december to dismember I will become a two time SCW champion, I will restore that title to where it belongs and I will do all I can with Ben and Fenrisd to rebuild the division and the honor of the title. I’m coming for that championship...and I won’t let anyone stand in my way, whether I like you and respect you...or I want to break you…”

[SenorVinnie]

 How delusional can you be?? Part One.

The Cactus and the Dog

We are in a classroom, Bill Barnhart is seated in a pink suit and matching tie. Looking through some papers while Iris is sniffling around the classroom in search for something to eat. On the outside we see Vinnie and his wife Valora argue while he has Pete in a baby pack in front of him.

Señor Vinnie: Come on sweetheart, I mean seriously?? Why do I let you talk me into this?? This is insane!!!

He continues to plead on the outside of the classroom as Bill suddenly looks upwards and notices the bickering couple.

Bill Barnhart: Well isn't that nice Iris?? They are on time!!!

Iris barks happily ass he runs off towards the door and starts to yelp happily for the three to come in. Causing Bill to walk over towards the door and open it.

Valor's: ..... And you need to understand that this could be Pete's shot to happiness Vin, he was always supportive about you and me!

Señor Vinnie: But...,

Bill: Welcome folks!! And how are you doing Pete???

Bill looks at the cactus and is waiting for an answer before looking up to Vinnie.

Bill: Is he always this quiet around new people??

Señor Vinnie looks at Pete before turning his attention back to Bill.

Señor Vinnie: Uhm, Pete said you.

Bill scratches his head as he stares at Pete before turning towards Vinnie.

Bill He did??? Hmm, I guess the audio book of flora and fauna was just a cheap rip off from Ebay. The salesperson told me that it was success guaranteed. Oh well, come on in.

Vinnie and Valora walk in as they sit down behind the desks in front of Bill's, Vinnie places Pete down in front of him as he turns his attention to the happily jumping Iris.

Señor Vinnie: Señor Bill, your dog did pee or poop right??

Bill looks up at Iris before looking back at the piece of paper with questions and puts on some glasses and grabs a number 4 pencil.

Bill: Iris?? Oh she has done her thing thirty minutes ago....

Vinnie sighs of relief.

Bill: But she is lactose intolerant and she did eat a piece of pizza with cheese toppings on top of it.

Vinnie's eyes bulges out big time before turning his attention back to Iris.

Señor Vinnie: But..., but...,

Bill: But don't worry, she usually can keep it up for an hour or two, we will be done long before that.

Suddenly Iris lets out a fart and looks puzzled around, wondering where it came from.

Valora: Maybe we should rush this.

Bill nods as he puts the paper down in front of him and looks at Pete before turning his attention back to Vinnie.

Bill: I need to ask Pete a few questions and I want you to tell me what he answers, then with the answers I can measure out why Pete and Iris are behaving like this.

Vinnie scratches his head.

Señor Vinnie: Could it perhaps be that your dog is in heat???

Valora punches him in the shoulder angrily

Señor Vinnie: Ouch!! Why did you do that???

Valora looks at him angrily before Bill chuckles.

Bill: Nah, Iris is fixed. So that cannot be the problem, no I think the problem is solely Pete. So here comes question number one: Pete, do you use Vinnie's shaving cream?

Vinnie's eyes grow wide.

Senor Vinnie: What???!!

Bill looks up at Vinnie.

Bill: Is that his answer??

Senor Vinnie: No that's me asking what the hell is wrong with you?? It's a cactus... I...

he looks at Pete with a questioning look on his face.

Bill: Did he say something??

Senor Vinnie: He just told me that he has used my after shave once.

Bill nods his head.

Bill: What brand?? Axe?? Hugo Boss?? Calvin Klein??

Vinnie raises an eyebrow, but his attention is being directed to Pete once more.

Senor Vinnie: You were the one that used my Calvin Klein??? I thought it was Pepé!!!

Bill: Pepé???

Valora: His nephew, I think he needs an apologie Vin

Vinnie scratches his head, but Bill already starts to ask another question.

Bill: Does Pete watch TLC??

Senor Vinnie: Tables, Ladders and Chairs???

Valora rolls her eyes as she clearly sees how clueless Vinnie is

Valora: He means the television channel solely for women.

Pete gives Vinnie another answer to Bill's question.

Vinnie: Apparently Pete likes the show where newly weds are looking for the perfect wedding dress.

Valora: Oh nice, maybe we can watch it together next time Pete.

Vinnie stares at Valora, unable to respond to her reaction as so much is going on inside his head.

Bill: Question number three: Pete, how much is three plus three??

Vinnie stares at Pete, who apparently has not reacted to Bill's question yet.

Bill: Uhm, did he not understand the question Vin???

Vinnie raises his head and motions to Bill to be patient.

Senor Vinnie: Pete never went to school, he had to take care of his mother at an early age due to the fact that his father suddenly was transported to Canada. He had to dance at some cheap ass clubs at night for little to no tips. You have to understand that those crowds are not easy to be entertained. I...

Vinnie looks at Pete and rolls his eyes.

Senor Vinnie: You have to know that three plus three makes six Pete... not seven. I...

Pete reacts to Vinnie's answer as Pete puts his hands across the ears of Bill, who reacts by pulling them away from him.

Bill: What?? What did he say??

Senor Vinnie: Perdoname senor Bill, but Pete just explained that he often got seven dollars for three dances in thirty minutes.

Bill scratches his head, but shrugs his shoulders and continues

Bill: Do you prefer redheads or dark haired women??

Valora: Interesting question

Pete senses that all of the eyes are now fixated upon him, including that of Iris for some reason. Pete's pot starts to shake as apparently he feels that he is put under pressure. But after a few moments the shaking has stopped and Vinnie senses that Pete is proud of his answer.

Senor Vinnie: Pete prefers Latina's

Valora: Obviously

Senor Vinnie: As I was trying to say is that he likes Latina's, he likes Swedish girls who usually are blondes. He likes dark haired women as well as red heads.

Bill: Hmmm..., interesting

Senor Vinnie nods his head in agreement

Senor Vinnie: Si, Pete at first was afraid of them. But after watching an episode of Southpark, where he had learned that gingers have no souls he started to like them.

Both Bill and Valora look at Vinnie with a questionable look on their faces as he seems to be very proud of his friend.

Senor Vinnie: What?

Bill is writing down something on the piece of paper and then grabs Iris from the floor, the dog stares at the cactus and remembers what had happened at the last Climax Control that they were part off. Starting to growl at first towards Pete, who staggrs backwards a few inches.

Bill: Easy Iris, this is very important.So make daddy proud and sit

The dog turns her attention to Bill for a few moments before turning her head back to Pete and sits down reluctantly.

Iris: Bark!!

Bill studies the dog and the plant and turns his attention to the piece of paper every now and then as he writes things down before studying them once more. He even lifts the left ear of Iris and looks down the ear before turning his attention to Pete.

Bill: The cacti has got no ears.... hmm interesting

Vinnie raises an eyebrow after hearing the comment from Bill.

Senor Vinnie: Ever seen one with ears???

Bill: No, but I was curious how Pete hears things as I was searching for something that could resemble ears.

Vinnie wants to say something, but turns his attention back to the plant.

Senor Vinnie: Pete says that his spines catches solar signals that causes him to hear but also see apparently.

Bill nods his head and writes it down on the paper as if it he was used to get ordinary answers like this.

Bill: Interesting..., how does he Skype with you???

Senor Vinnie: He tells Siri on his I phone to start the app

Bill: But how does he communicae with the smart phone??

Senor Vinnie: Uhm.., you know... just by talking???

Bill takes of his glasses and stares at Vinnie.

Bill: Look Vinnie, you hear him talk. Maybe your lovely wife hears whatever it is that your plant is saying. But us normal human beings usually are unable to hear what a plant is saying.

Vinnie's face is shocked, as if he had heard something that came absolutley as a shock to him. He suddenly grabs Pete from the desk and hoists it high in front of his face.

Senor Vinnie: Pete??? Is this true?? Are me and Valora the only ones that can actually hear you???

Valora: With all due respect Vin? I have always pretended that I could hear him....

Vinnie's eyes grow even bigger as he hears the response from his wife before realizing what Pete had said.

Senor Vinnie: I am sure that us being Mexican isn't the only reason why they cannot hear you Pete.

Vinnie stares at his plant with intensity, anticipating the answer from the plant when suddenly Iris gets up and starts to lick the hand of Vinnie as this startled him and drops the cactus.

Senor Vinnie: YUCK!!!!

Bill: Oh she likes you Vinnie boy!! You know what this means???

Senor Vinnie: That I need to wash my hand???!!

Bill starts to laugh as he shakes his head

Bill: No, I just mean that from now on you are uncle Vinnie to her. This means that every time she sees you that she will greet you by jumping up your leg.

This is clearly not the answer that Vinnie was looking for, sighing att he prospect of being humped by Bill's dog every opportunity that it would get. But he shakes off the idea and turns his attention back to Bill.

Senor Vinnie: So what are your thoughts of this all Senor Bill??

Bill studies the papers one more time and then places the glasses down on the desk and turns his attention to Vinnie.

Bill: Well it's rather easy to be honest, everything leads to the fact that Pete has got the hots for Iris and.... Iris likes him too.

Vinnie's jaw drops as he is quiet for a few moments. Valora's concern on her face causes her to start to poke him in the ribs.

Valora: Vin?? Vin???

She realizes that Vinnie is in utter shock so she turns her attention to Bill.

Valora: How do you come to this very odd conclusion Bill???

Bill: Well it's quite Valora, all the questions point out that he has a sensitive side to him. But mostly because I had seen Iris pee on his pot a few shows ago. Usually she doesn't do that with a cacus like this specimen, due to the sharp spines that often stung her up in the butt.

Iris: Ruff!!!

Bill grins as he pets his dog on the head.

Bill: That's right Iris, you like Pete don't you??

Iris: RUff!!!

Valora stares at her husband, who has not moved an inch since the revelation of the apparent romance between the dog and his plant.

Valora: So what are we going to do next???

Bill: Well I am sure that you are aware that if this is true love, then there's nothing that you can do stop these two lovebirds from seeing each other.

Valora looks at Iris, who has started to crawl over towards him and starts to sniff at it. This causes her to smile and realizes that even though it is very odd, that it was a beautiful thing.

Valora: You like her too don't you Pete???

She was studying the plant and can't believe her eyes as she suddenly sees it wobble in his pot. Realizing that he is trying to give her an answer to her question.

Senor Vinnie: He said... yes...

Vinnie has awoken from his shock as he stares at his plant and a sly smile emerges upon his face

Bill: Well that's agreed upon!! From now on we just have to arrange that we are going to share flights, share hotels and have locker rooms next to each other. I mean, we need to give love a helping hand now don't we??

Vinnie can be seen shaking his head slowly, unable to say anything to the question of Bill. Causing the veteran to grab his dog and then reaches out to Pete and holds them close to them.

Bill: Welcome to the... ouch!! family Pete... ouch!!! You need to comb those spines son!!!

With that Bill walks off with the dog and the plant as Valora kisses Vinnie on the cheek before joining Bill. Realizing that she needs to keep an eye upon Pete and Iris while giving Vinnie an opportunity to accept what has happened as the shot fades.
 
How delusional can you be?? Part Two.

We can see Senor Vinnie sitting in the same class room that he and Bill were participating in a rather unusual situation between Pete the Cactus and Iris the Bulldog. But of course this isn't the time and place to go into detail once more.

Senor Vinnie: I cannot believe this... Pete??? Iris???

Just a small recap of what you could have been witnessing if you had paid attention, which we are all assuming you did. So time to move on as Vinnie notices the camera crew and sighs

Senor Vinnie: Can't there be a moment of silence for once?? I know I am obligated as El Campione to do tell the world how I felt about my opponents... Well at least four of them, apparently number five was missing in his own hotel room or something. And I had an appointment with you guys at three PM... Not...,

The cameraman points towards the clock above his head as Vinnie looks up and sees that it is already five minutes past three in the afternoon. Causing him to sigh before turning his attention back to them.

Senor Vinnie: Like I was about to say, you are late. But that's okay, I guess I have to just put on a happy smile and put a warm feeling inside everyone's guts that are just desperate to survive Christmas. Because there are those who don't like the holidays, who don't have the loved ones that people like me have. And I have vowed to do something to change those negative feelings about the holidays as I will prove to these people that negativity is just a thorn in your side, just like a few of my opponents have already shown this past week.

Now I understand, I truly do that when you have the gold around your sexy waist. That you have a bullseye upon your chest, or in my case perhaps a Pinata. And apparently some people don't like me, apparently some people are delusional and even some are just downright stupid.

Vinnie shakes his head as he sits down on the chair that Bill sat on earlier the day, he places his boots on the desk in front of him and relaxes while putting his hands behind his head.

Senor Vinnie: And I have got so much to say, like for instance Ben Jordan. A man that is well respected, a man that apparently needs a self proclaimed camera crew to follow him the entire year as a documentary or something?? A man that to this very day sees him as a better champion, but never worn the title. Maybe he is just rejuvinated over the fact that every other superstar in or not in this match is praising him to the heavens.... So did I if you go back and read between the lines, but I remained realistic. Then there's Austin.... such a shame, truly a shame that I cannot believe that I was actually right. He has been infected by the Alex Jones personification of if neither of us can beat Vinnie... then we better join forces, something like that... And then we have Caleb... good ol Caleb... I truly admire you amigo... And then we have the reality check of Fenris... At least he tells the world the same thing over and over again and does not follow others or whatever.

Vinnie is clearly annoyed over the things that the others have said about him that he has taken out a pen and a piece of paper out of the desk and has placed his feet back on the ground.

Senor Vinnie: Austin James Mercer...., what happened to you amigo?? Did the fact of you not getting back on track until recent few weeks truly bothered you?? I mean seriously, I have been listening to your words of delusions and I wrote a few things down that seems like interesting facts.

He writes a few things down before placing the pen down next to the piece of paper and holds the paper in front of him to read.

Senor Vinnie: Numbero Uno..., that's Spanish for Number One. But a well diversed and respected individual like you should have already guessed that... But I will not go too deep into things like that... Like the assumption that I am a lucky trio member. Now isn't this cute?? I am lucky, Well yes I am luckily married, luckily to have an amigo like Pete. I am overjoyed that I am the defending champion in a match like this... but needing luck to have this belt is a bit premature isn't it Austin? Or is this just your egotistical way of pretending to be a psychiatrist?? I mean seriously Austin..., you make references that I didn't actually beat Alex..., that I faced Ty West who wasn't into this match at all and wanted to quit, that I needed a stipulation of weapons to keep my title??? Now I am not going to argue over the fact that you can have an opinion about anyone or anything. But please..., keep the facts alive as you are just like your promo is indicating... Merely half assing the true facts in life amigo.

But luckily for you, this lucky champion has got the other side of the facts that you have seemingly forgotten or just didn't have enough space to save on your harddrive up there.

He points at his head and chuckles

Senor Vinnie: Numbero Uno..., Alex Young did something that YOU would alledgedgly would never do isn't it Austin?? But with your new ego turn that you have announced in your promo makes me wonder if Alex has perhaps rubbed off too much of his stupidity over you.... Time will only tell. But you see Austin, when you turn a wrestler the first rule that you learn when the referee walks into your locker room?? Always respect the official, never put your hands on one or you get disqualified. Now I am sure that if a man of my stature would have done that, you would have persecuted me as the filth of the world that I am right?? Yet, apparently Alex gets a free pass on doing whatever it is that would secure him a victory... Like a cactus Austin???

Vinnie winks to the camera as he refers to the first ever confrontation between Alex and Vinnie where Alex used the cactus on Vinnie.

Senor Vinnie: Then the usage of weapons, oh dear Austin... Action asks for Reaction... Karma is a B#### Austin... Alex could not hold the champion down, just like YOU could not when I made you tap out to my submission hold Austin?? Is this is how we are going to remind you off?? Half assing everything because you are 6'6 and 265 pounds of muscle and clearly only a peanut sized brain that is working overtime??

You talk about Ty West?? Funny, didn't Ty beat your ass after becoming my number one contender?? Sure sounded like you were half assing a match against a quitter. Or were you just waiting for the moment to come that a tournament could appal you back into contention for MY BELT?? Sure sounded your promise to earn another shot to my belt by dominating every superstar has fallen to the wayside isn't it Austin?? Or were you just following my tag team matches that I lost?? Hm???

And isn't it funny Austin that you just talk about half assing my title reign?? I have been on more matches since being champion than you have been as champ. 154 days as champ and only five defences?? I will be at 112 at December 2 Dismember going for title defence number 4. I guess you need to check your math also before opening your mouth and tell the world that one plus one is Thomas Jefferson Sucka!!!

He shakes his head and puts the piece of paper down.

Senor Vinnie: I just gave you an example of what I am all about Austin, yeah I love to entertain. Because that's what these people want!! To be entertained while spending hard earned money and not listening to a 6'6 idiot with a savior complex that makes him believe he is God or something. You got to lighten up amigo..., but we all finally heard the news that Austin can't stand humor. Austin can't stand it that he has lost his mojo after losing the title.... I guess you did lose too much sleep since waking up on August 26 huh Austin?? You know something? I still admire you for accomplishing so much in such a short time with an IQ of sub zero. I mean seriously Austin?? And I quote... He is a trashbag wresler and he is not one of us???

Not one of us???

He let the words sink in before shaking his head in disbelief.

Senor Vinnie: I know what you are saying Austin, but your stupidity makes you sound like I need to travel in the back of the bus... Like many in the past had to endure as others believed that THEY were lesser than them? Learn before you speak and stick with what you are good at son, because you being the good guy was your thing and you were good at. But since you felt threatened by an unlikely challenger back in August...  you have never been the same again. At least I stick with what I am good at, at least I know what this company and the fans need... You are just stuck with kissing babies, eating vitamins and say your prayers that we used to do in the 80's. You are just a sad excuse of a man I used to respect.. But coming December 2 Dismember... I will have no qualms of beating your ass and use the entire cage as a weapon to destroy you. I'm sure that this is the next excuse YOU will be uttereing when you fail once more... Because you are too worried about not having me walk out as champion... that you aren't even focused upon your own chances. Hell, you say you do.... but on social media seeking approval from Ben Jordan and Fenris makes me sick... What was it again?? Oh yes, everybody would make a better champion than @ElGrandeVinnie... or that Ben Jordan would be a good champion.

You are just clueless, you are just lost in your own ways and not sure whether accepting the dark side that makes Alex Jones who he truly is... a man that is hiding in the darkness, hoping that he can convince the owners to walk out to the ring once more in the hope he can go face to face with the champ.

I defend this title with pride, every match I am is main event status. I am on every fucking show, while you just have to give milk to puppy wolf Alex. I am the champion that I want to be, that excites the crowd and whatever a former champion thinks of me that is clearly depressed over his own life doesn't bother me Alex. I am ready..., I am going to defend this title and walk out still champion... Just like I did on social media... congratulating everyone who has advanced in this match and that includes you. Where I got a like from the former champ, I guess you were just simply drunk in your own sorrow and hated yourself for doing that huh?? Why don't you just go and tell yourself over and over and over again that I am not one of US.... And I will just have to prove to you and everyone else... that US doesn't belong to be mentioned in the same sentence as ME!!! I guess I have already said enough about Alex, on to Ben....

Now I must admit, with age and experience comes wisdom. Something I have to grant you that Ben, words of wisdom have been spoken. But I've learned throughout the entire year and half that I have been in this company, that words are just hot air with sound that vaporates into the thin air after uttering them into void that is what surrounds me. The void Ben..., the same essence spot where I have yet got to see you emerge from as a successor like I have been as of late. Yet...., respect is necessary to be granted before I splash your futile misunderstanding all in front of your plate of literal breakfast.

Vinnie grins before shaking his head,

Senor Vinnie: I know that being in a small educational room like this would soil your pants Ben, as you are the walking guide to education. A sort of National Geographic, that teaches the weaklings about what has been, or what could have been if we would have done things differently. An explanation that made me realize how suitable would have fitted you mi amigo, I just never saw it before our.... let's say.... promo appointment that we shared with each other. I felt as if we connected with each other... and no Ben, I could not say that we had this click between us like you have had with those weaker minded fools.

You see Ben, you are like the National Geographic educational channel, educating the weaker minds that have fled their educational ducties to become nothing more than a cassiere in a fast food restaurant... but at least that beats being a fool isn't it Ben??? And then there's the man that forces his perfect aura upon the fools out there so they could look up to someone and have HOPE. Hope into thinking one day that they could upgrade their miserable life to a mere hamburger cook, standing over the grill and not realize that you just pulled them into your lies huh Ben??

Vinnie grabs a pen and stares at it, turning it around as he sees a red spot on the tip of the pen as he focueses on it.

Senor Vinnie: Why do you always seek the need to meddle in the lives of others Ben?? Or is it the fact that you cannot say no??? No to Lord Raab, no to Samuel McPherson whose interesting love life made such a profound eye opener for you to bring in your entire ensemble of Ben's reality soap?? Was it merely to guide Raab to like and understand women?? Or was it to keep yourself as relevant as you realize that tide is slowly changing and you were just merely an eighties example of the one dimensional good guy??

One dimensional, now don't get me wrong Ben. That isn't a bad thing to critique you with, so please don't feel upset that I don't see you further than merely an attention seeking has been. A has been that needed to patiently create your web and choke the oxygen out of the bodies of those who feel bad that to this very day that you have yet to wear a world title??? I must admit at first I had this feeling that you were only seeking sympathy, but now?? Now I finally realize that you are merely a parasite, that sucks out the life force from your victims by attempting to be a "friend"

An older friend, a friend that has been wise to educate them to not make the same mistakes that you have made. Even though in the case of Austin and Fenris there is a simple difference isn't there Ben?? And what could that be?? Oh maybe something small like the fact that they succeeded where you have yet to sink your teeth into??

Vinnie pretends to sink his teeth into a pretended piece of meat as if he was eating.

Senor Vinnie: Oh no..., suddenly the wise Ben Jordan interferes in the life of Kris, as if he needs a father figure hmm?? Tell me Ben, was it the fact that he loves to drink?? Or perhaps the fact that he needs to tone down his insults?? Or perhaps cut his hair?? Or even maybe force him to wear boots.....

I wonder Ben, are you in the attempt of making Fenris a second Ben?? IN the hope to she the bad luck that has been a trail throughout your entire career?? And please, please do not attempt to say no without hesitation. Because it would only cause the weakened minds that have upgraded their brains to cause their first sensation of a thought. A thought of doubt of why a man that is so wholesome to suddenly go weak and deny everything that I have ever said?? Words that are only assumptions that causes me to amuse myself to your existence my amigo.

A man that teaches, educates those who are jus simple minded fools. Easily distracted by others. Those who clearly cannot stand on their own, who cannot have their own ideals as yours are flawless huh Ben?? And yet, why Ben?? Why?? Why does a flawless man like you need to resort to reaching out to those who have succeeded in the past?? Men that have moved on, something that I am urging you to do as well as your contract ends at December 31st of this year. Because if that's one of your key ingredients to grasp your hope upon, then I have to warn you that it's already the first mistake that you have made.... probably for the millionth time???
Vinnie places the pen down on the table stares towards the camera once more.

Senor Vinnie: A wise man like you must understand that the Results achieved in the past offer no guarantee for the future. Successes that were created by the desire, the will power of those who could combine that with their talents to become the champions that they ultimately became!! And that's where you are limiting yourself in the hope and desire to achieve their successes Ben. I guess that's what a parasite does isn't it?? Adapting to the habitat that it evades itself in without even asking whether the host desires to share its life with you, why would you?? You are too blinded with your own greed that all is allowed until you achieve what you truly desire.

He smiles, he puts his hands together for a real slow clap for a few moments before keeping their hands together as he moves his head from left to right.

Senor Vinnie: It was truly a moment of goosebumps when you uttered the names of all the greats that once held the same championship belt that Austin and Kris have held... the same title that is currently in my grasp. And even though I enjoy feeling goosebumps for a few moments, it did leave a foul taste in my mouth. Realizing that their reigns were great..., yet all of them have one thing in common. In the end..., it ended with another title reign. Something like I have already pointed out in my first promo is something that is on my mind every single day. Funny isn't that huh Ben?? I am sure that you see that as a weakness, taking lessons from their reigns. And yet..., I have not lost my grip around the one belt that has eluded your impressive career. Why don't you seek refuge in the fact that you have done so much more than others that never had YOUR opportunities that were handed to you on a silver platter... at least, that's what you are assuming isn't it?? No Ben..., where you have taking refuge in the past, refuge into sinking your teeth in the skins of those who are too kind to tell you no.... I sink my teeth into the fact that I refuse to give in, the fact that I have two things on my mind in every single war that I have entered in since Austin James Mercer mistake to underestimate me... And by the looks of it, it seems that your "wise lessons" have not even made any impact on that fool. I guess at least you have a chance to have him to make that same mistake around you as well.... I guess imitation still is the biggest form of flattery... too bad I am not interested to teach you the ways of the Mariachi of Wrestling.

Did you watch my match against Austin?? My matches with Alex?? Even Ty?? Even though I am aware that your clouded mind will not admit the fact it was a great match due to personal feelings about a certain person. Already another mistake that may very well give away that to this very day you aren't suitable fit to wear this championship. But hey, at least I am not basing facts on a mere opinion. Something that neither of the.... How did Austin put it?? Oh yes..., the lucky three. How ironic that none of you have had any of luck lately..... but again..., that's my opinion.

He slowly opens his hands and slowly drops them next to him

Senor Vinnie: Already I have seen cracks in your seemingly "Perfect" plan to slide your way into the hearts of the fans once again, promising them promises that to this very day have not been able to make them come true. Hell, you even caused two men to clap their hands in your own miserable dreams when you finally succeed. Remember Ben.., dreams are nothing more than hopeful thoughts to give your miserable life hope.... So what will you do when I walk away with that title Ben?? Because with my objective view upon this match, what apparently I am the only one that has that clear mindset compared to two delusional idiots, one Icelandic warrior that I want to beat. A young upset that could steal the show if you don't pay attention. And then the mute that does not even deserve my attention. You have already lost your chances to redeem your opportunity, you already lost your clear mind and after this match... The fans will applaud you, chant Thank you Ben.... or You still got it!! Hopeful to make that decision for you to stay one more year easier while it is the complete opposite isn't it?? Because after you walk away,k the fans will turn their attention to those who are left. And guess what Ben...., I am the one that sets the fans on fire, the large amounts of Cactus shirts sold already since his return is blowing up the webshop of Sin City Wrestling every single day. You already have lost the fans to me as well, as I am what you want to become.... Too bad I won't let you Ben... With that you have already failed to survive an elimination type match before even entering the Six Pack Challenge at December 2 Dismember...

And then there is you Kris..., now I already have you been thinking. What about the others?? Caleb and Lachlan?? Are you already ignoring them?? Of course not Kris..., but this has been about us all along hasn't it? Interesting to have seen that you have referred to the past successes that you have had against me... Yet you failed to acknowledge the fact that I have changed so much.... Or were these just simply assumptions that you were going to save for this coming week? To boil over your talented foul mouth, combined with the alcohol that you Icelandic vikings were known for to drown themselves into without it ever effecting you?? Oh yes, perhaps I should allow the mute and the talent to have their acknowledgement before I save the best for last.

He sits up straight and looks as if he is finally interested to talk about his opponent(s) compared to Ben and Austin.

Senor Vinnie: And what is it that you want me to refer them to Kris?? That one is trying to beg hims uelf into you getting bored of him?? And the other we already have forgotten what his facial expression is when he takes a dump. Obviously that is rather entertaining and it would last longer than a combined promo of either of them combined. But that's not why I am here Kris....

I am here for you..., i am here to shake my head in disbelief over the whole FF'in screwjob that you just put out there last week. With only question roaming my mind

Vinnie raises his eyebrow towards the camera as if he is really not sure what to think of his opponent.

Senor Vinnie: You see, it's always nice to make fun of those who I feel are just there to fill my time and enjoy my rants off. But you Kris?? YOU!!! You were meant for so much more, so much intensity that I have been dying to get face to face with in how long?? OVER A FREAKING YEAR!!! And yes, of course there was that tag team match. But both of us know that the tag team match does not really count now does it?? Neither of us gained or lost anything as we were not even concluded in the decision in the end. But no Kris..., there is something brewing between us... Is it hate?? Is it jealousy?? Maybe from my part as the world is so keen on having me slip over words and make mistake!! Causing the beard headed wolfie to jump to a conclusion and forget that he had to shave his eye sockets before getting poked in the face with a toothbrush Now i know that it does not make sense, but another title reign of Austin Jones Mercer is as laughable as CD-I was back in the day before we knew anything of what came after. But no Kris..., you just had to recite a historical tale where I had finally seen the essence of it all amigo... You have lost the desire to compete, you feel obligated to enter that ring to please Ben..., to get the Spanking going one more time for Caleb and have Austin look across the ring and nod his head in approval. Tell me Kris, do you have any time left for yourself these days!!! Or is that also taken by the bottle of whatever alcoholic beverage that you could get your hands on and swallow it down in a whole? I've heard that Baileys nicely match the color of your eyes and hair before I stomp a hole inside your stinking face.

No Kris, I can live with Austin citing how a perfect champion should behave, how he should dress himself or even wipe his ass off for that matter. I can live with the rhetorical statements of one Ben Jordan, who to this very day is wondering what a true world champion is all about and seeks refuge with those who has done it before him. Not some kid that thinks that he is an upset artist, because in his defence.. It sure beats a crappy tweet from a guy who I can't remember his fucking name anymore!! And lets not forget the guy who enjoys the silence huh?? No Kris.., I can live with that all, because in the end of the day. All that matters is me redeeming my faults, my mistakes, my almost one year drought before getting my shot at that belt and taking it with me. No, all I could care off was you, I was hoping and praying that at least you would make some fucking sense... And what you do? You recite just another old promo and juice it up a little for the icelandic losers out there. But you intentionally.... or at least that's what I am hoping for your sake... Intentionally ignoring my freaking FRUSTRATION!!!!  How the f#### dare you!!!!

Vinnie grips the arm rests of the chair with both hands and squeeze it, causing his hands to turn white while his intensity is seemingly skyrocketing out of the roof.

Senor Vinnie: I thought we had the tale of the toughest match that you have ever had... And all you could do is talk with respect of the 2 and 2 scenario that you and Austin have created?? Cry me a freaking river damnit!! You aren't going to take this away from me like you did when you lost the stinking title okay!!!

Because lets realize this Kris..., I have not forgotten that night. I have not forgotten a damn second of that moment where my life went to ruins. Realizing that I could no longer take away MY championship belt from the ONE person that deserved to experience in one fold what I have endured TWICE!!! And when that moment finally comes, you just turn your back to me and suck up to the next idiot that fits your mold? Why Kris?? Is it still that delusional thought of big and strong and agile and looking like an athlete gets your drawers rocking? Or is it merely the fact that I have almost completed that negative circle and you have not even realized it!! I am undefeated against the man that beat you... YOU Kris.. the man that never lost.. so who is the man right now???

And don't worry about you uttering the words that this title makes me the marked man in this match. And of course it does..., but over here...

Vinnie points to his face, tapping to his temple as his intensity is sky high.

Senor Vinnie: But up here I cannot say it unless I have beaten your stinking ass. This title isn't valid until I HAVE BEATEN YOU!!! YOU!!! Can you hear me or do I have to ask Google Translate to curse you out in twenty five ways?? You have to understand this Kris..., talk all the respect that you want about any out there..., but when you only focus on the fact that you are just 2 and 0 and move on?? That would be the biggest insult I have ever endured.

Did you know what I have had to endure Kris??? Of course not..., you were face first in whatever delusional intimate situation with everyone that either wants to change you for the better, or those who just want to rub off against the Icelandic freak of nature inside that six sided ring!! Judging me and my relationship with Valora, as I wasn't the right one for her... Well?? Still the case?? Or is it merely the fact that I do not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as you?? Fuck YOU!!! It's always about you isn't it?? It's always about who can be better than you, not even realizing that this isn't the man that you faced off against in two brutal matches. Hell at least you admit about the wars and fights and everything else unlike some other fucking idiots in this match. Judging me by using movie lines and stuff like that while he is using the biggest cliché of Christmas to make a fool out of himself. But then again, Ben knows best isn't it Kris?? But it's all about you and me you long haired threat to my title reign.

That's right, you are Kris, you have been since day one that I had captured that title. Hoping that you would knock on my door and challenge me. But no, you didn't. You denied the prophecy that I had vowed me to achieve, just like you denied me that one on one title match at Summer XXXTreme... Because you were too stuck up and believing that you would reign supreme forever!! WAKE UP!! Even that Tweeting idiot did not do it and neither will I or anyone else after me. And you know why Kris?? Because it's supposed to be that way until the end of time.

Vinnie silences for a moment or two, breathing heavily as he puts his fists together as he is trying to restrain himself.

Senor Vinnie: I am sure that nobody in this match has ever told you that huh Kris?? But I am sure that them and you will be hiding behind the fact that it's inevitable to fail one day. And to this very moment all of you seem to forget to even consider your own... I was the only one that even mentioned it and that I am fighting to withstand it... That's the true essence of a champion. Looking past the fact that you want to take this belt away from me!! Well Hallelujah!! May the Lord be praised as another Prophet has found a way to open his mouth and say the obvious!!

Funny how everyone seem to think I am still that one guy that I was prior to this championship Kris. How they judge me from bringing in a cactus, while it has been months that he has been on air until the last few weeks. See how blindness fools you? See how you only wish to see what isn't even out there?? Oh no Kris, I am like you have uttered yourself... I am the champion, I am the one with the bullseye on his back... But I can only sleep when I have truly defeated you. But now that I only see you as a emotional mess, I can no longer see you as the hope and desired opponent to redeem myself.

Redemption is when this title changes hands, looking into the eyes of that one man that has beaten me. But I sadly have to tell you that you will not be that man Kris..., I do no longer wish to call you by a personal name but merely that of Fenris. Because I can no longer sympathize with the man that once was unbeaten. Maybe I should not criticise you and be angry towards Austin, but thank him for putting you down as an old dog... I just pity the fact that it wasnt ME that has put you down. But I will take pride knowing that the end of Fenris is upon us... and this time it will be at MY hands... And I will make sure that nobody will take away MY destiny like you allowed it to happen the first time.... The first time where I will look at my title and utter the words... I am the champ.... until then Fenris... until then... I will survive and none of you will....

[Fenris]

 
“You would think that going into the biggest match of my career, that I would be more focused. Just like I have been in the past. When I was scheduled four important matches, what did they be for the championship or more personal incentives, I would like to believe of myself that I set the tone for the match, between my opponent and I. Whether it was an A-List talent like Alex Jones or scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel like Kyle Kavanaugh, I treated every match the same; by treating every opponent the same. As a formidable obstacle that I needed to deal with without impunity.”

“Somehow in the past weeks I’ve lost that focus, the dedication.”

“Because this is the most important match that I have ever had in my career since I started in `18, I can not deny that without marking myself a deceiver. It is not just meant literally because five of the elite stand in my way of becoming a two-time champion, it is because of the personal stakes in this match that I have set inside of my own mind. I’ve spoken in the past of those who were perhaps more than just a touch happy that I had lost the championship earlier this year. And no, Caleb, I am not referring to that graven mistake in judgment that you made on Twitter. I am talking about the very same critics that made noise during my title run. The ones who thought I should not have even won the championship because I had some sort of standing beyond that of the other Superstars. I suppose being trained by the best gave me some sort of unfair advantage in their mind (or lack thereof), that it let me start closer to the top. Those same detractors saw me as never belonging, and paid no mind I was given no special treatment. From the moment I entered the `18 Blast From the Past tournament in April with Courtney Pierce, I fucking earned everything that came my way!”

“I was given no special treatments or circumstances! I fought every opponent that the hierarchy placed in front of me and worked my way to the championship that I held for eight months! I defended against who they said, and never questioned their choice of challenger. If privately I did not believe someone deserved a title shot, I said nothing. I simply went into that Championship defense and showed them why I was at the top! If someone was receiving more than one title shot, it was for a reason. They were a threat, and I treated them as such. Challenges like that thrilled me to no end, and made me more than determined to walk away the winner. It is where I stand now in this Six-Pack Survival, which leaves me wondering…”

“What happened to me?”

“Have I gotten sloppy? Have I let myself go mentally? Some critics might think that my time with Ty West or the ending of that time between us has cost me mentally. There was a time where my life revolved around training, my dedication to going into a fight and kicking my opponent’s fucking ass from start to finish until only I was left standing with my arm raised. I have not lacked in the training regime that I have always had set before me, you can ask Gabriel and Maksym if you don’t believe me. It is the ruthless aggression that I need to get back, so I can get back what was once mine. There is little need for sentimentality in a sport where only one can be at the top where countless others strive to achieve.”

“And everyone in this match has their own personal reasons for why they want to walk away the winner. For some it’s gratification, for others, justification. And myself? I’ve been hearing whisperings that I have been labeled what you might refer to as a ‘one hit wonder.’ Yes. Despite the fact I held the top championship in SCW for over eight months and went undefeated for damn near a year, my one loss and the inability in my lone rematch or the lack of progress in gaining another was evidence that perhaps I simply did not belong. That I simply progressed too quickly since my debut and took advantage of the unexpected. That my reluctance had less to do with my not needing to prove my superiority when I already have and more to do with not wanting to experience failure a second time. Those are the whispers I intend to silence. I have my critics, I realize that. I’m just fucking finished listening to them.

Las Vegas - McCarran International Airport
Earlier this week

“Where are they?” Dani Weston asked with unbridled enthusiasm, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet while she peered around the bodies of dozens of people, each one waiting much like herself, for the arrival of their loved ones. Beside her stood Aron, a young man who has quickly rose to the role of surrogate brother, just like his own flesh and blood, Kristjan had. Aron was much more relaxed in appearance than Dani, although he had his reasons to be more anxious. After all, his family was being flown in for the Christmas holidays extra early, as an early present from Gabriel and Odette Stevens.

Yet that was not the source of his personal disquietude. He had been watching the news and in talking over Facebook chat with his older sister, a severe winter storm had been heading quickly toward Reykjavík, and that could spell disaster for any traveling and bringing his family to visit in the States while stranding Kristjan overseas.

The others in their little ragtag family would shit if the latter were to happen. Especially after his recent withdrawal to their homeland following his breakup with Ty. It took Ben Jordan flying to Iceland to bring Kristjan back, and for many, they felt beholden to the Cockney King for having accomplished an impossible task; breaking through Kristjan’s stubborn exterior in however manner he accomplished.

“Don’t worry girl.” Aron said idly, his own blue eyes roaming the escalators that brought the arriving passengers from the flight terminals in the international airport to the luggage claim where they now stood. He continued, “The flight arrived, and my Dad said they were on it, so we’ll see them soon.”

“‘Girl?’” Dani looked at her buddy quizzically, causing Aron’s handsome young face to break out into his trademark toothy smile. Unlike his older brother who had a perpetual frown on his kisser, Aron seemed almost born to smile and make others feel better in doing so.

“Not you.” He chided his pseudo ‘little sister’ with good nature. “I was talking to her.” And by her, he was of course referring to the snow-white Siberian Husky at the other end of the leash that he held in his hand. Aron reached down with his free hand to ruffle the fur at the base of her neck, at almost the same time that Dani had extended her own hand to give Kristjan’s favorite girl a scratch behind the ear, her absolute favorite spot. Aron continued, “I think Kyssa is more nervous than anyone, especially after he vanished the last time. Kristjan doesn’t know this because I don’t want him to have a guilt trip, but I had to take her to the vet for a tranquilizer, she was reacting so badly to him being gone. I was worried she’d get sick him leaving this time but…”

“Who are we talking about?” A voice behind them asked and Aron and Dani turned around idly, both answering at the same time respectively “My asshole brother.” “Oh just Kristjan.” When they stopped at the aforementioned Kristjan standing behind them, looking back and forth between them with a critical brow.

“Asshole?” Kristjan quipped, albeit with the trace of a smirk on his tight lips. “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” And that was the cue, as he dipped to one knee to greet Kyssa and she reacted quite favorable, lapping at his face with big, sloppy doggy kisses and then nuzzling her head beneath his chin.  It was a rare treat for anyone to see the openly hostile Kristjan wearing such a smile, but he always had favored animals to people, and his ‘baby girl’ had that effect on him, heart and soul.

“How come we missed you?” Dani asked. “We thought you’d come…” And she jetted her thumb back over her shoulder, indicating the escalators.

“We had to go through immigration and customs, remember?” Kristjan answered. “That’s on a different side of the airport.”

Aron then glanced up from the tender scene and his face lit into a smile at his approaching family members, led of course by the heads of their clan; Eva and Benedikt, their mother and father, who walked hand in hand. Behind them, their eldest sisters, Viktoria and Elin stood stiffly, neither making the first move to approach. Despite recent events easing some of the animosity between them, there was little doubt whether all hostilities between the two brothers and their older sisters would ever truly go away. The same could not be said for the baby of the family, their youngest sister Freyja whose face lit up with a smile that rival Aron’s own as she rushed past her older sisters and ran right into Aron’s waiting arms. Aron happily wrapped his arms around her upper body and lifted her off her feet, giving her a little swing from side to side in his enthusiasm at seeing his sister for the first time in almost a year. Once he settled her back on her feet, Freyja step aside and his mother Ava took her turn in his arms. It was a comforting thing, and embrace between mother and son that we are all familiar with and would reflect on time and again. Eva was reluctant to release her youngest son from her arms (moms!), but she finally relented and did so, so that her husband and Aron’s father could have his turn. True, Benedikt and his oldest daughters had just been in Las Vegas for personal reasons only a few months ago, so it has not been as long as Eva since he had seen his boys. Still, there was no feeling for the family patriarch. A grown man never were too old to enjoy the comforts of hugging his son. In the meantime, Kristjan stood and turned to Dani who seemed about ready to burst.

“Are you happy?” He said, but she knew his tone masked the affection he held from her, and deftly hid for the most part. “I’m back.”

“Yes!” She cried gleefully and leapt into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and before he could turn away, she planted a smooch on his cheek, and immediately recoiled. She stepped back and hastily wiped her mouth as she had just kissed the same spot on his cheek that Kyssa had just greeted her master with doggy kisses. Kristjan found himself straining to keep from losing himself in a fit of laughter at her expense.

Aron leaned toward the side and looked past his parents to Viktoria and Elin, and marched forward and he made the first move with a hug for each. They returned the gesture, of course for their parents’ benefit, but it remained a stiff and awkward moment for all parties involved. After separating himself from Viktoria, he found himself asking. “Are you alright?” Referring to, of course, the emotional turmoil that she had recently been enduring back home. She just frowned and nodded, but said little.

“I’m fine too.” Elin added. “Thanks for asking.”

“Don’t be a bitch, Elin.” Kristjan started to say, when he did a double take at the glare that remark had just earned for him from his mother. He just looked from her to his father and shrugged, “What?”

“You can reign in that tongue of yours and go help with the luggage.” Eva directed, and Kristjan huffed quite audibly, but did as he was told. He was, after all, a proud and true ‘momma’s boy’ in every sense of the word, and everybody knew it.

“This won't be easy. I know I like to paint myself  as always being confident,  and I am. I am walking into this world championship match at December 2 Dismember IV, knowing I am going to walk out as a two-time World Heavyweight Champion. But, I will not lie and tell everyone that it is going to be an easy thing to accomplish. When this match was first announced as the brain child of “Hot Stuff” Mark Ward, I admit feeling a pang of annoyance at once again having to jump through hoops to get what I feel that I have already earned. Or rather, I have to get past five hoops.”

“Austin James Mercer and I have a colorful enough of a history together, and I do not mean that in either a negative nor a colorful way. It is rare for anyone in such a competitive sport to openly declare respect to someone, but I can honestly say that Austin is the first opponent  I had been blessed to face that truly got me as both a competitor and as a man. He knew what motivated me the most above all else was competition, and when we faced each other, he gave me that. The man is a fucking machine, and yes I know how that sounds coming from me! Mercer is not human, I sometimes wonder. He, like myself, proved to be able to not only dish out a beating, but he sure as hell, was able to take one as well! If he wasn’t, he never would have been able to end my streak and take my championship, but he did. And I made no excuses for that loss then, and I do not to this day. All I can do is watch and remember, and correct what i did wrong so that it does not happen again.”

“I made one critical mistake against you that last time Austin, and you took advantage. It is as they say, you go one time too many to the well and you risk everything. I did, and it cost me everything. And I will get ‘everything’ back, even if it means I have to go through all five of you. A man that stands at your stature? 6’6”? Two hundred and sixty five pounds? Larger than average, but not unbeatable. I think we’ve proven that fact about each other a time or two in the past, haven’t we? And now here we are, one more time. But is it the last time? Not if I can help it.”

“You know they say the key to defeating a larger opponent is taking them off of their feet and down to the mat. Well I can not exactly deny that I am smaller than you, being only 6’1” and two hundred and four pounds myself. But the key question is, once the larger an is down on the mat, how to keep him there? Well, you’re looking at the one man who can answer that question, and the one man who can keep you on the mat once I take you down. Therein lies the key to victory, Austin, and the answer to how I correct the last mistake that I made against you.”

The first order of business was, of course, getting his family settled comfortably in the apartment he had rented out for their use. It would have been grand for them to actually stay under the same roof as he and Aron, but their condo was only a two bedroom. It would not be nearly large enough for seven! Gabriel and Odette had even kindly offered to put the family up at their own estate, but Eva and Benedikt would not hear of imposing, although they were grateful for the kind offer.

So they stayed at the very same suites as the last time they visited for the holiday at the end of 2018. The Copper Creek suites were luxuriously furnished, even to the point Kristjan (half) joked that it was better furnished than his own place.

And this time, Kristjan had actually put his foot down as far as his mother cooking for him and Aron, save for the actual holiday and the traditional feast that she was known for. That was the only deal breaker. After all, she and Benedikt had saved their respective vacations from work to make this holiday, and both Kristjan and Aron wanted both parents too relax. They had more than earned it.

The evening had fallen, and Aron had ordered a massive Chinese feast for the family to enjoy around the suite’s dinner table.

“Five men?” Benedikt asked for clarification, as if he wasn’t certain he heard correctly. “You have to wrestle five men for the championship?”

Kristjan nodded, a heaping forkful of vegetarian dumplings into his mouth, saying through the side of his mouth, “And inside of a cage.”

“A cage?” Eva was seemingly aghast. “And you wonder why I find this sport barbaric?”

“I fought in cages when I was in MMA, mother.” Kristjan said, and Eva immediately shot back, “Which I thought was barbaric too!”

“Touche’” Kristjan brought his glass up to his mother and gifted her with a sly wink. He knew that his mother, as well as two of his sisters, abhorred the sport of professional wrestling. He also happened to know that they never missed one of his televised matches.

It was a family thing.

“It starts off with two men.” Aron explained for Benedikt’s benefit, and despite her misgivings, Eva listened in, as did their sisters. “Every few minutes, another man enters the match. You can be eliminated at any time, and the last man is the champion.”

“Isn’t this going to make it harder for you to win?” Freyja asked between bites of sesame chicken, but Fenris turned to her and scoffed, motioning his hand toward himself as if that should be answer enough. And for her, it was as a soft giggle escaped her.

“Well we didn’t fly all this way just to watch our brother lose.” Viktoria chided, and Elin added, “Yeah, so don’t blow it!”

And Kristjan brought his hand up in a fluid movement to give his sisters the ‘bird,’ but one look from Eva and he slowly lowered his hand and chose instead to play the schoolyard role and he stuck his tongue out at them instead.

“It’s also a charity show.” Aron added, in a see-through attempt at diffusing the situation.

“Oh? What charity?” Eva asked, the topic having softened her stance somewhat.

Kristjan answered, “Whatever we want. Usually they have a set charity, like Make A Wish or they did one for the Humane Society. This time they’re letting all of the wrestlers decide for themselves where their funds for the night will go.”

“And what did you two decide on?” Benedikt asked, motioning between the brothers who sat side by side at the table.

“Domestic abuse.” Kristjan answered right away, and out of instinct, Viktoria had looked up from her plate to her two brothers. She found herself asking, despite herself, “And how did you come to this decision?”

“How do you think?” Kristjan asked, his eyes never leaving hers.  



Family Matters Part II

Remember this? I can understand if this touchy situation might have slipped past your defenses and fallen to the way side while other matters required tending to. After all, it has been almost four months since we last looked back on this heart-breaking family situation, when Fenris and Aron had learned their oldest sister had become another statistic; a victim of domestic abuse. And Fenris slipping out past those closest to him to fuck up the piece of shit that had dared laid a hand to his sister!

“He’s going to kill him!”

Those were the last words that ran through Aron’s mind, and there was little doubt Kristan would do it, or come perilously close when it came to defending his sisters.

“Kristjan?” Aron called out as the door to his shared condo swung open and he hurried inside, followed closely by Gabriel who had followed, perhaps having the best shot at assisting in the situation. True, this was a family matter, private, but the moment that Kristjan and Aron came to the GO Gym, they became family. Benedikt stayed behind to keep Elin and Viktoria out of harm’s way, knowing a hostile Kristjan was likely to go off on anyone who tried standing in his way.

They heard the cursing emanating from the open door where Kristjan’s bedroom was, and the sound of things being thrown aside and audible bouts of frustration. Aron took the lead with Gabriel bringing up the rear, and they entered the bedroom to find Kristjan throwing open the drawers on both his dresser and desk, searching frantically for something. Papers were scattered and tossed to the floor and on his bed, growing more agitated by the passing moment.

“Kristjan…” Gabriel started to speak, but his charge looked up and past him toward Aron as he more so demanded than asked, “Where the fuck is my passport!?”

“How the hell should I know!?” Aron shot back, then followed by asking, “What do you need it for? K… you are not going to Iceland!”

“Oh like Hell I’m not!” Kristjan went back to his search and then threw his closet door wide open and started to search through the travel bags he kept inside.

“Kristjan,” Gabriel stepped forward. “This isn’t a good idea…”

“Butt. Out!” Kristjan found what he was looking for inside his favorite travel case, then stood up and turned around too find Gabriel with a severe and uncharacteristic expression on his face. He took a single step closer and with a warning tone, said, “Don’t you ever talk to me like that again!”

Kristjan was given pause, realizing he came damn close to repeating the same error he had made a year ago when he disrespected the universally beloved Despayre and earned the ire of practically the entire GO Gym and a number of SCW personnel, all in one fell swoop.

Kristjan said, “I just found out some piece of shit has been beating up my sister, and you’re actually going to lecture me?”

“If it means keeping you from doing something stupid, then yes.” Gabriel answered. “I am.”

“Defending my sister from some fucking bastard is not stupid!”

“No,” Gabriel accepted the gauntlet and took up the challenge of trying to make his hot headed student see reason in the face of adversity. He said, “But you do this and you risk more than just having your passport revoked and restricted to iceland! Kristjan, you risk prison! You know… again!”

And by again, he was referring to when Kristjan beat the shit out of Dani Weston’s stalking and obsessive boyfriend at the time, and it was only the timely intervention of Daniel Morgan that kept the law at bay. The day Kristjan became Dani’s ‘knight in shining armor.’ Her words, I swear!

“And what about you?” Kristjan wheeled around, turning his attention to Aron. “I can’t believe you’re her trying to talk me out of this instead of helping! She’s your sister too!”

“I know.” Aron nodded, the shaken feeling at seeing his sister’s back and neck bruised up still in his mind. “And trust me K, I am not any happier about this than you are. But you heard Dad; he said the bastard went to jail and he’s waiting trial.”

“While his fucktard family is busying themselves, trying to threaten Viktoria into dropping the charges!” Kristjan started to walk past the two men. “And the courts take too fucking long…” And Kristjan found his path blocked by the sudden appearance of Osbourne, one-fpurth of the London Underground tandem.

Kristjan turned to look from Gabriel to Aron and he asked forcibly, “What the hell is this shit!?”

“It’s called a distraction.” Aron sighed. “Until reinforcements showed up.”

“Reinforcements.” Kristjan repeated, almost chuckling at the thought anyone could stop him from doing something he had his mind set on. He shook his head and started to brush past the gargantuan osbourne, when the mammoth of a man reached out and grasped him by the upper arm, spinning him around. The moment Osbourne touched him, Kristjan looked from the meaty paw that clasped around his wrist in a vice-like grip, and his blue orbs slowly rose and flashed dangerously at the much larger and more imposing man. Simply put, he was not afraid of the enforcer of London Underground. His words were evidence enough as he whispered dangerously, “I am going to say this once, since you are just trying to help; take your FUCKING hand off of me!”

“Not until you see reason.” Gabriel said for his student’s benefit, although Kristjan’s eyes never left osbourne’s in the stand off between the pair.

“Iceland is a giant volcano, Gabriel.” Kristjan said in answer. “They’ll never find that fucker’s body!”

“Os?” Gabriel sighed. “Remember what we discussed doing?” Os gave him a curt and silent nod in the affirmative. Gabriel wiped a hand down his face and said, “Do it.”

“Do wha-hey! Put me down!” Kristjan bellowed, having no time to wrest himself free or take a swing at Osbourne who quickly threw Kristjan up onto his shoulder! “PUT ME DOWN GOD DAMN IT!””

“As you wish!” Gabriel said, holding the closet door open and Osbourne dumped Kristjan inside, giving him no time to escape before Gabriel slammed the door shut and latched it, sealing him inside! Immediately the door started shaking with heavy blows coming from inside!

“Open this fucking door you bastards!” Kristjan bellowed from inside. “Let me out NOW!”

“Not until you calm down!” Aron shouted back as the blows against the door intensified, shaking it at the frames! And just like that, the blows against the door ceased, and silence reigned from inside the closet. Gabriel shared a look with Aron, and even Osbourne frowned.

“Kristjan?” Gabriel spoke up. “Are you oka…?” And his words were broken up by a thunderous blow against the door that not only shook it, but sent a large and distinctive crack up the center! Gabriel and Aron started, jumping back, and Osbourne himself looked impressed!

Gabriel looked up at Aron and shook his head, “Well shit!”



The end of the tale was met with much laughter from all present, save for Kristjan himself who felt his face burn, the red flush rising from his neck up. Even Viktoria and Elin was getting a laugh at his expense, but big surprise there! Only this time, it was more light hearted and not so much mean spirited as it might have been in times past. After all, he went through this situation for the sole purpose of defending her honor. That was family for you. Nobody was going to hurt his sister, even if they shared their own mutual animosity between them. Just God help anyone else who looked to hurt them!one of the siblings!

“Did they really lock you in a closet?” Freyja looked up at her brother, wide eyed wonder etched on her innocent face. To her, it was unthinkable that anyone could or would do such a thing to her brother who she saw as practically untouchable.

“No.” Was all he said as he lifted his glass of mineral water to drink and Aron shot back, “They did too!” Earning his younger brother a glare from over the rim of his glass. Aron continued, “It was all we could do to keep you from after you broke down the door!”

“You broke down the door!?” Freyja asked, as this story was just getting better and better! This sounded a little more like the Kristjan that she knew and loved.

“Eventually.” He finally relented, earning a round of laughter from those around the table, even Elin and Viktoria. He finally said, “And since everyone seems to think murder is going a touch overboard, then I’ll just have to take matters into my own hands so my sisters can handle themselves!”

“What are you talking about?” Elin asked, her face taking on a distrustworthy expression.

“You’re here for the next few weeks.” He said. “I’m taking you three to the gym and showing you how to defend yourself if some asshole decides to play the fool again.”

Elin scoffed, shaking her head and Viktoria said, “You promised to take us sight-seeing on the Strip.”

“I wanted to see the Mob Museum.” Freyja offered with a meek smile. “Tough.” Krstjan bit back, surprising all for his tone directed at, of all people, the baby of the family. He said, “We have until January sixth to sight see! I think you learning to protect yourselves is a little more important!”

“Kristjan,” Eva spoke in a soothing voice. “While I agree the girls need to be able to protect themselves, I really don’t think fighting is the answer…”

“And on more word out of you…” Kristjan brought a warning finger up and directed it right at his mother. “And you can consider yourself included in this!”

Eva sat back against her chair, blinking in surprise and looking to her husband for a little help but Benedikt just smiled. No help forthcoming from there.

“You will be home early, yes?” Eva finally said, but it was more of a mother’s commanding statement as opposed to a direct question. She was telling Kristjan to have his three sisters back to his condo in plenty of time.

“Yes, I guess so?” Kristjan frowned, yet wore a smile and shook his head. “What I’ll be doing with them is important. What’s the rush?”

“I want you back in time for the dinner party.” Was her answer.

“Dinner party?” Kristjan slowly set his fork back down onto his plate and leaned his head in, an indication he was unsure whether or not he heard correctly. “What dinner party?”

“The Christmas party that your mother decided to throw for your friends here in the states.”Benedikt answered, wearing a confident smile to tell his son that it was Eva’s decision to do such a thing, and not his own.

Kristjan turned to Eva with his brow raised and he asked, “When was this decision made?”

“The evening before we left.” Eva answered. “I contacted Gabriel and asked he help contact all your friends and invite them.”

“All of K’s friends?” Aron joked, looking at Freyja and sharing a smile with her. “That is going to be a short list.” And someone clearing their throat gave Aron cause to turn his head and smile at Kristjan who just glared at him. Aron just batted his eyelashes in mock sarcasm, as Kristjan turned back to Eva.

He asked, “Why there? This place I rented for you is bigger than my and A’s place!”

“It is your place, Kristjan.” Eva pointed out, and Elin added, “And your friends.” To which Eva gestured toward her daughter as if to proclaim, “There, see?” A point having been made.

Kristjan groaned, propping up his head with one hand while rubbing his other palm down his face. Eva asked, “Is there a problem?”

“No, why would there be?” Kristjan sighed. “It is not as if anyone cleared it with me before deciding to throw a party in my home.”

“And Dani,” Eva smiled, turning toward the young woman who sat down at the far side of the dinner table. “Has even graciously offered to help decorate your home for the party.”

“Has she now?” Kristjan turned his attention toward Dani, who quickly averted his gaze. “Try to restrain yourself? I saw what you did to the Casino.”

This drew curious stares from the family as they looked back and forth between Kristjan and the young woman they came to understand had become an adopted member to their family, through her close relationships with Kristjan and Aron alike. Dani sat up straight, putting on her most dignified stance as she shot back, “I think the Casino looks great!”

“It looks like you shit Santa’s workshop in there!” Kristjan barked, pointing his fork at her and she sat back, eyes wide. “Do NOT go overboard!”

”Lachlan Kane, you have been the quiet one, have you not? It makes me wonder if i should bother with you at all, but I am not going to be the one to make such a mistake and not take you seriously. Granted you had Sierra Williams by your side when you won championship gold, but the fact remains that you earned your place in this match by beating one of the best, and Lachlan? That alone marks you as a target to defeat. You were a champion, and that tells the world just what you are capable of. Submitting Alex Jones? Incredible! And I should know.”

“But you have moved up too fast, too soon. You think one big win makes you the next World Champion? Every other man in this match has went through more --- much more -- than you have in order to say they will be the next World Champion, or in Vinnie’s case, remain so! And i do not say that to condemn you or disrespect! It is simple fact. Your time will come, but it will not be this time, and it will not be at my expense!”

The Go Gym

As promised, Kristjan had shown up at the Copper Creek suites bright and early, waking his three sisters up. They whines and grumbled, but in the end, they had been given little choice but to accompany their brother to the training facility that brought several success stories into the world of professional wrestling. And today, it would serve a secondary purpose with the aid of Odette Stevens.

Kristjan stood to the side of one of two wrestling rings, but his sisters and Odette were not standing inside. Rather, they were standing barefoot on the rubber tile mats that covered the floor at ringside. The sisters were in work-out clothes bought for them by their brother. Elin and Viktoria looked annoyed and tired, and poor Freyja looked outright pitiful at being forced to taking part in this as well rather than going on the promised sight-seeing.

“I know you ladies aren’t happy to be here.” Odette said as she lowered herself to the mat in a cross-legged position, beckoning the sisters to follow suit. “But this is important for any woman to learn.”

“I don’t see why!” Elin protested. “What happened…” She started to mention what had happened to Viktoria but stopped herself, wanting to draw no more attention to her older sister’s bout with domestic violence out of respect. “I mean, it’s not going to happen again. To us.” She waved a hand between Freyja and herself.

“And you know this how?” Kristjan challenged her from the sidelines. “I was not aware that you were prophetic or had a look at the Book of the Norn.”

“And we’re not fighters.” Freyja offered innocently. “At least, I’m not.”

Odette said, “Ladies, knowing how to defend yourself is about more than just the use of physical force. It also has a lot to do with simply knowing your surroundings and your situations. It is also
About awareness, assertiveness, verbal confrontation skills, safety strategies, and physical techniques that enable someone to successfully escape, resist, and survive violent attacks.”

“Physically fighting only comes as a last resort.” Kristjan added, then he rolled his eyes and added, “And yes, I get the irony given it is me saying this.”

“If someone threatens you,” Odette says, “You always have to be aware of where you are. In case you have to get away. Always try to defuse the situation, or walk away if you’re unable.”

“Stand up.” Kristjan ordered, and the sisters did as instructed, Odette joining her and Gabriel’s student by his side as he spoke to his sisters. “If someone, especially a man…” His eyes were set on Viktoria. “Won’t let you walk away, then always face them, and take a fighting stance. A kick below the belt is your best bet, but so is a fist straight to the throat. Even if you don’t have much arm strength, it doesn’t take much of a strike to the throat to knock the wind out of any man, no matter how big!”

“And then kick him below the belt!” Elin added with a smile, getting an approving smile from her brother in return.

“Whatever it takes!” He said, and then the self-defense classes started in earnest, and he and Odette took to teaching the three young ladies everything from nerve holds, to the most basic of judo tosses and everything in between.

“So Caleb, here we are again, and I imagine that you must be shitting yourself. And as much of a tickle it gives me to have that effect on, well -- anyone -- I have to admit I don’t like it so much when it comes from you. But you just keep fucking up, running your mouth where I am going to find out, and I can’t be anything other than my natural and true self. The fact is, much as it delights me to scare the shit out of you, I want more. Especially in this match because the stakes are higher than they have ever been for anyone involved! I want the same Caleb Storms that I had the pleasure of fighting inside of the Lion’s Den, the same one that, while clearly intimidated and rightfully out of his element, he still swallowed that fear and moved past it and gave me a fight that surprised everyone watching!”

“And indeed I do hope that you and I are chosen to start this match. And to quote a certain famous wizard, I think it’ll be very good for you, and most amusing for me. And who knows? You may even surprise me in there… well not really, but it is the thought that counts. Tough love, they call it Caleb. And every time you open your mouth and get your foot stuck, along I come to help dislodge it. That’s just the kind of man I am. Always giving! But if you’re lucky, it’ll help better you in the long run.”

“It’s true, Caleb. If you hadn’t stepped up, would we have been nominated for Feud of the Year? Would we have been up for Match of the Year? That is the Caleb Storms I want to enter that enclosed cage in Las Vegas! You do know what makes for bravery, don’t you? When you are afraid, and you work past that fear and still fight. Even with the odds clearly against you, that is what makes you, you. And it is one of the only times I will openly disagree with Austin James Mercer by saying that yes, you do deserve to be in this match. You earned it, just like everyone else! You may not win, you won’t be by the way, but you fight and you continue to fight. Nobody can expect or ask for any more from you than that.”

“I told you not to go overboard!” Kristjan bellowed as he stood in the dead center of his and Aron’s condo which had in the course of a few short hours, been transformed into a virtual winter wonderland for the holiday dinner party which was in full swing! Garland and lights were woven around and stretched across every vertical and horizontal surface. Mistletoe was hung up in strategic places. White ‘snow’ covered every table’s surface with ribbon adorning and candy canes dangling from the ribbons. Bulbs and tinsel. Wreaths hung on the walls. There was even a small Santa’s grotto set up complete with plush reindeer, miniature statues of Santa’s elves and ol’ Saint Nick himself. The only thing not set up was the actual tree at Eva’s behest, as in their Icelandic traditions, the tree was not set up until december 23.

“I think you’re exaggerating.” Dani said, never minding she had to brush the snowflakes streamers from her face in order to do so convincingly.

“I think so too!” Aron said, wrapping an arm around Dani’s shoulder in a delightful squeeze. “I think it looks great!”

Dani nods, mollified, before she turns and sticks her tongue out at Kristjan jokingly before making her way into the party to mingle along with everyone else.

“Hey, Kristjan?” Gabriel approached with a curious Lucas, taking his mind temporarily off of his home being turned into something out of Jack Frost’s nightmares. “What’s that all about?” And by that, he gestured toward the window where on the sill, a row of shoes had been set up, one for each member of their family.

“Icelandic tradition.” Was his simplest answer. “We do not hang up stockings. Each family member places a shoe in the window and every morning there is a small gift inside. Same concept.”

“That’s a lot of stinky presents.” Gabriel joked, and Kristjan smiled, taking it in stride. He said, “Technically, we do not even call it Christmas. It is 'jól' which is closer to Yule than it is Christmas.” He closed his eyes and for the first time in what seemed like forever, his student seemed at peace. Kristjan said, “Next year I would like for your family to come to Iceland. There is nothing like the holiday in Reykjavík. The lights everywhere. The snow….” At the mere mention of snow and Lucas grasped his father’s hand excitedly.

Kristjan went on, “The choirs. Food. Bonfires. Just … everything. Is nothing like it.”

“Doesn’t the holiday start early for you?” Gabriel asked, no more surprising him for his knowledge of some of his nation’s customs.

“Mm.” Kristjan nodded as he picked up a drink from the bar, set up for Despayre and Angel to have their fun and experiments with. “It starts  on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and last until January sixth. One tradition in Iceland is that everyone must receive at least one book for Christmas to take to bed on Christmas Eve along with some chocolates. Just be wary going out on the twelfth night.”

“And why is that?”

“According to our folklore, strange and magical things happen that final night.” He answered, winking at Gabriel’s son. “Cows talk. Seals walk amongst men, and the elves move house.”

“Wow…” Lucas murmured with wide eyes and Gabriel steered him away from more fanciful tales to the table laden with Eva’s home cooking, including the Icelandic traditional meal of lamb. Kristjan turned around and was about to take a drink from the glowing contents of his glass, when he found himself face to face with another of the many guests, Mackenzie Page. It would seem anyone that had some degree of connection to the GO Gym, Eva had seen to invite. Even Ben Jordan, one of his opponents but still a good friend, was there with his wife Evie, enjoying the feast and social setting.

Kristjan raised his brow questioningly, and Mackenzie very casually reached up and took the drink from out of his hand. She then set it down on the table beside them -- and PUNCHED him right in the jaw! The force of the blow was staggering, and sent Kristjan into a tail spin before he caught himself on the back of the sofa and remain upright rather than taking an embarrassing spill to the floor in front of anyone.

The woman could deliver a shot!

Rubbing his jaw, he turned back to find Daniel Morgan approaching with a casual smile.

“I did warn you.” He offered, passing a fresh glass to his waiting hand and Kristjan could just nod. “Yes, I probably deserved that.” Mackenzie nodded in agreement before snatching his drink and downing it in a single swallow before she ventured off into the party, leaving Daniel to attend their host.

“Despite that little show, I wanted to thank you for inviting us.” Daniel offered, and Kristjan sighed. “Don’t thank me, thank my mother. The party was her idea and Gabriel gave her the guest list.”

“I will.” Daniel looked around. “Still, it is a rousing success. Your mother does know how to throw a dinner party.”

“As I know how to pay for one.” Kristjan raised the glass handed to him and he and Daniel clinked glasses, tossing the contents back. Gritting their teeth and savoring that slow burn of the alcohol washing down through their system, Kristjan found Daniel smiling at him, tapping a forefinger against his chin.

“Mate, I don’t know how else to say this, but I could use a hand with something at the Casino.”

“I am NOT bartending shirtless again!” Kristjan immediately protested. “Those people have wandering hands -- and that was just the employees!”

“No, nothing like that.” Daniel chuckled, waving away his concern. At least until he added, “I’m saving that for the New Year’s Eve party.” Kristjan frowned at this and started to say something in protest, but Daniel cut him off. “Actually, it has to do with helping raise some funds for the charity my lot chose. Help the Aged.”

“Let me guess.” Kristjan offered. “It helps … the aged?”

“First try!” Daniel smiled. “And also, yer a smart arse! Yes. It helps provide funds to pay for medical bills and food. Transportation. Prescriptions. Entertainment. You know…”

“Uh huh ...and how am I to help with that?” He asked. “I do have my own charity to work with.”

“And my team will be donating to your cause.” Daniel offered. “I was just hoping you could help tomorrow with mine. We’re hosting an early Christmas party for the seniors, and a bit of a fundraiser on top of it.”

“And what exactly do you need my help with?”

“Well Dani has set up a little Santa’s workshop where all of the elderly are going to be given a little gift….”

“Daniel,” Kristjan warned. “If I hear the mention of a Santa Clause costume come out of your mouth next all bets are off!”

“No, don’t worry about that!” Daniel assured him. “Dani-Clause as we’re  calling her has that pretty much covered. C’mon.” Daniel nodded. “Just for a few hours. How about it?”

Kristjan rolled his eyes. This was not something he would ordinarily be interested in. Shit! He wasn’t interested in it now! But Daniel was the good sort, and a friend. And it was the holiday season after all -- and if his family heard he had refused to help out a friend with a simple and charitable request…

“Okay, fine!” He finally huffed. “What do you need me to do?”

Golden Ring Casino

Indeed the successful venture of Daniel Morgan and London Underground had been transformed into a Christmas delight thanks to one Dani Weston! Santa Clause and Frosty the Snowman wouldn’t know what hit them in such surroundings, making even the most elaborate winter wonderland pale by comparison!

Several SCW and SCU stars were present, signing merchandise with all proceeds going to the chosen charity of London Underground; Help the Aged. And true to his word, there was indeed a Santa’s Grotto set up where the elderly were gathered, giving Dani-Clause their best wishes, and receiving little gifts and sweets in return from her two little elves -- Nicky George and -- Kristjan! Both men were dressed in elaborate Christmas elf costumes, complete with red pullover shirt with green accents, green vest and pants with gold accents, matching hat with pom pom at the end, and the ost important part -- the red and white striped tights! Nick was all smiles, enjoying the time spent for this worthy cause, and Kristjan?

Well, he was being Kristjan. But his demeanor suggested that he wasn’t having an altogether unpleasant time. In fact, he even indulged the elderly when they asked to have pictures taken with them for their families. The most adorable old woman posed beside him for one such snapshot, and Kristjan made a face and whispered to the elderly woman…

“It’s the holidays so I will give you exactly twenty seconds to get your hand off of my ass!”

”Ben Jordan, one of the select few I can honestly call a true friend. I have to wonder if you will feel the same toward me when I have brought all your hopes and dreams crashing down around you. I know how hard you have worked for this Ben. I know all of the training and the dedication you have endured, because believe me when I say that I have put myself through just as much if not more. And for what? To ruin your hopes and the hopes of everyone out there wanting to see Ben Jordan finally win the big one? No.”

“Well, in a way -- yes. I do not do it out of maliciousness like some others might. It is just a matter of collateral damage. You want what I want. The only difference is, is that I am going to get it. Your time will come, just not this time in particular. I will walk out of this match as a two-time world heavyweight champion, but what about you? What becomes of Ben Jordan when he does not immediately get what he sets his eyes upon? Does he dust himself off and try again, or will I have to end up going to Maine or London and do to you what you did for me; drag your ass back to Las Vegas and SCW so that we can give everyone what they deserve? That match you spoke up, the dream match in the yes of all the fans that you pitched to me? Oh Ben, that is still very much going to happen, but this time it is going to have even higher stakes between us. And what could be higher than you challenging for the World title in a straight up one-on-one match between just the two of us and nobody else?”

“If you thought the match we could have had at High Stakes IX could have been big, you and me for the World title defies description! So do not let the bitter taste of disappointment give you second thoughts about the direction that you’re headed. You couldn’t seriously expect to walk away successful in your first serious attempt at the world title? And it is the first real try since you left ACW and joined SCW! That match against J2H never really counted because the little shit had to cheat to put your shoulders down on the mat! And that was because the kid was smart enough to see you for the threat that you are. Tag Team Championship. Roulette Championship. Slowly but surely the success that you deserve is coming your way. The World Heavyweight title will be no different Ben.”

“Just not quite yet.”

“And one more time Senor Vinnie, for the last time, we save the best for last. The World Champion, the man with the target on his back and the man who, in this match, has five men all wanting to tear that belt from your grasp and wear it for their own. That has to make you concerned, well if you’re smart it should. Because you have only a one in six chance of walking out of this match, still the champion. And once I step into the cage, those odds go down for you considerably.”

“I have to ask, what has gotten into you as of late? Are the days where fun loving Vinnie who dotes on Lora West and accepts sage advice from a fucking cactus, long gone? Well that could be all for the best, as people might finally be able to take you as seriously as you deserve! Nobody expected you to win the world title Vinnie, even you would have to admit that. After all, the last two times that you challenged for the championship, you were sent to the back with your pricks between your legs. Against me. Yet you did win, surprising so many. You’ve done your time, made your appearances, and defended your championship as expected. Ty West. Alex Jones. Nobody knows what would have come in a return match against Austin because the man took the route I did and stepped away from the championship scene, preferring to work his way back up from the bottom. But the one person you haven’t beaten, the one person whose victory at the expense of that still eludes you? Is right here -- myself. The White Wolf. I have stood there and listened to you talk shit about the men in this match, then turn around and declare respect for me, which is saying something. Because you have been after both respect and friendship with me, and I have to admit that your relationship with the aunt of my ex does complicate matters, but the recent changes we’ve seen from you? It could work in your favor. More aggression, right?”

“It could also spell disaster for you because talking shit to so many talented, qualified men that each hunger for your title could backfire BIG time! You’re just damn lucky you didn’t start talking shit to me, but overall the end result would have been the same then as it will be on Sunday.”

“You’ve had your time at the top of the mountain, but that spotlight is fading and when the moon rises, you’re about to hear the howl of the White Woolf as he ascends back to the top. I am not closing out 2019 with a loss, especially when my family is in attendance! And that does not just go for you, champ.”

“It goes for everyone; Caleb. Lachlan. Ben. Austin. 2019 going into 2020? It is the Time of the Wolf!”