Last week during Climax Control
Backstage Area
“Son of a BITCH!”
Letting out a loud yell and kicking a nearby production crate, Malachi watched the main event on the monitor set up in the backstage area, shaking his head and running his hands down his face. He watched on as Seleana Zdunich forced Jessie Salco to tap out, therefore becoming the new Bombshell Roulette Champion. And while the focus stayed on the celebration taking place in the ring, Malachi’s eyes were drawn to the side of the ring, where he saw Bella Madison slowly making her way out of the ring and start heading to the backstage area. He slid his hand into his pocket, pulling out her engagement ring as he made his way over to the gorilla position.
When he saw Bella emerge from the curtain separating the entrance area from the rest of the backstage, wringing out the water in her hair, he wasn’t sure if the wetness on her face was due to the water from the match or if she had shed some tears of frustration. When she looked up and he was standing right in front of her, he could see the disappointed look immediately melt into one of relief as she hurried to him. But just before she ran into his arms, she stopped.
“I would, but…” she gestured to herself. “I’m soaking wet.”
Mal just rolled his eyes and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her to his chest and wrapping his arms around her tightly. “You think I’m afraid of a little water?”
“I dunno. Didn’t know if you were going to melt or not.”
He looked down at her with an unamused stare, while she giggled slightly. “Nice to see your sassiness is uninjured.”
She stuck her tongue out at him playfully, while he simply rolled his eyes again. He took her left hand in his and slid her engagement ring back on, while she stared at it and then looked back up at him, this time with a genuine smile on her face. He smiled back at her, kissing her forehead. “I promised you, didn’t I? No matter what, you and I are a team. Through thick and thin. Good and bad. And before you start going down the shame spiral that I know is building up in your head, I just want you to know that I am so proud of you. You looked like a damn star in that match, and by the end of this year I guarantee that you will have a title to your name. Whether it’s you and I finally getting our hands on those mixed tag belts, or you going solo and dominating the Bombshell division. By the end of this shit year, the entire wrestling world will have its eyes on you.”
It looked like tears were welling up in Bella’s eyes as she threw her arms around Mal’s neck and hugged him tightly. “Have I told you lately how much I freakin’ love you, you big lug?”
Mal laughed as he picked her up with one arm under her knees and one around her back and began walking towards the locker rooms. “I never get tired of hearing it. Now, let’s get you into some dry clothes and head back to the hotel. I’ve still got a bottle of champagne I swiped from Lach’s wedding.”
“But, I didn’t w-“
He cut her off with a swift kiss. “Shush. Don’t ruin the moment. We’re going back to the hotel, we’re gonna order the fanciest food from room service and drink champagne, and I don’t wanna hear another word about it.”
She shook her head with a smile, cuddling in closer to his chest. “Sounds like a plan, my man.”
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Earlier this week
Saxon Hotel - rooftop bar
The rooftop bar had seemingly become the go-to place for Malachi these days. Not for the reasons one might think, however. He did admire the classy decor, thinking it was a good backdrop for him to film his promo videos. The fact that the bar was close at hand while he filmed his promos there was an added bonus. Even now, as he sat near the roof’s edge and looked out over the glowing lights of downtown Las Vegas, a glass of Jameson cradled in one hand, he seemed the picture of calm as he turned his gaze towards the camera, a far cry from the brash, arrogant performer that he normally portrayed. Perhaps his fiancee was becoming a positive influence on him?
“I hope none of you think that Bella Madison and I are done with the mixed tag division, because that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Just because we fell short of capturing those titles does not mean you can be rid of us that easily. As a matter of fact, come this Sunday, Bella and I are going to be front row during that main event, watching as once again the Trenton Tigers get a title shot that they clearly didn’t earn. After all, Brandon Sludge was the one to take the pin back at Into The Void. Not me, not Bella.” A snarl starts to creep across his face, but he stops and takes a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again with a calmer look in his eyes. “But, rather than put everyone on blast like I would normally do, I’m just going to sit back, watch as - once again - the Tigers get their tails pulled by a couple of Wolves, and enjoy every last second of it. Of course, that will all be after I take out Caleb Storms at the top of the show.”
He took a slow, measured sip of his drink, savouring the taste. “Hope you enjoyed that little taste of victory back at Into the Void, Storms, because it’s the last one you’ll have for a while. I don’t want you to think that anything I say against you is personal, because it isn’t. Purely because I don’t give enough of a shit about you to make it personal. You’re nothing more than a card-filler. You’re cannon fodder for the rest of us to sharpen our skills on as we go on to bigger and better things. While you? You’ll languish at the bottom, or maybe mid-card at best.”
He leaned back in his chair, looking rather casual despite his cutting words. “Lemme pose a question to all you SCW fans watching from home. What exactly has Caleb Storms done in this company to make a name for himself? Don’t worry, I’ll wait while you Google it.” He raised his arm up to glance at his watch as he whistled for a few moments, lowering his arm and looking back to the camera. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that you found absolutely nothing. Well, that’s not entirely a fair assessment. The man does hold a record here in SCW - 13 consecutive defeats at SCW pay per view events. And sure, he held the Roulette title for….two weeks. Two whole weeks.” Malachi brought his hands up to give a slow, sarcastic clap to the camera. “Not to mention you lost it to the very man you beat it for in the first place. Christ, you’re a real piece of work, aren’t you? Can’t win for losing.”
He swallowed down the last of his drink and set the now-empty glass down on the table, leaning forward to glare into the camera. “Like I said earlier, this match for me is nothing more than to make sure my skills stay sharp. Come hell or high water, Bella Madison and I will be the next mixed tag team champions. All these other matches to me are nothing more than distractions and obstacles impeding our journey to that goal. And one thing that people know for a fact about me is that when there’s an obstacle in my way…” He smirked, somewhat deviously. “I remove it. With extreme prejudice. I am not in the mood to make this match a long, drawn-out affair. In all honesty, you’re not really worth the effort. But I am nothing if not a consummate professional, so if the match is booked, rest assured I will be there, and I will not hesitate to smack your dopey arse around one side of that ring to the other. So Caleb, I want you to think long and hard about stepping into that ring on Sunday night, and ask yourself a question before you do...Is your wrestling career - as pathetic as it may be - really worth crossing my path?”
Drawing a thumb across his throat, he rose up from the chair as the camera feed cut to static, before fading out to black.
