CAEDUS REWIND: Since signing on with the XWF in late December 2016, we've been made privy to a good chunk of Jimmy O'Connor's life via backstory. An obsession with fire and history of arson since childhood. A career in professional wrestling spawned in 1996. Multiple substance abuse issues arising in 2001. A stomping to and surviving of a 7 minute death in 2003. Losing his father (as his caretaker no less) TWICE in 2009 via his own mistakes. A guilt-ridden alcoholic binge. The start of his relationship with future wife Holly in 2010 and a temporary relapse into drug use. Losing his mother in 2011 to cancer, his efforts to help having being sabotaged by her own siblings. Homelessness. The accidental deaths of his wife and daughter in 2016. The birth of Caedus. When last we delved into the mental makeup of madness we were introduced to a love interest of Jim's dating back to high school (with whom he cheated on Holly) and discovered his mother had left he and his brother John a death beneficiary sum. It had taken a month and 3 weeks to file for and now...

(continued from last week's backstory in Savage)


-OCTOBER 2011-

I've seen money before. Hell, I was a child actor for 8 years, I've had jobs both legitimate and not and I've been wrestling since 16. I've seen a lotta cash come and go. Never this much all at once. I love you mom, thank you.

Checking Account Balance: $1043.57
Savings Account Balance: $49,999.99

I almost start giggling like a lunatic. That number is ridiculous. It doesn't look realistic to me on my banking app. I look up from my phone to Holly (who should be due to pop out our daughter Amethyst near the end of December)...

"We're rich baby."

She laughs.

I hop outta the driver's side of my '96 Plymouth Breeze, close the door, make my way across the parking lot to the front entrance of my local Bank of America and enter.

First in line. Nice.

I saunter up to the nearest teller window upon being summoned. She eyes my short though muscular frame. I wonder if she recognizes me from the ring. I'd recently been working for a non-televised independant but I'd seen several stints in some larger promotions in the past.

"I'd like to make a withdrawal please."

I slide my ID and account information already in hand into the receipt tray beneath the glass divider before she can ask.

"Thank you, sir. And how much would you like to take out?"

"Mmmmm...five- no...better make it _seven_ thousand."

The teller flinches. Ha! Cool. She looks up from my ID and smiles before finishing typing in my info. A drawer opens.

"How would you like that?"

"Four thousand in twenties and three thousand in hundreds please."

She continues smiling, her eyes lighting up as she goes to work pulling out my money. Maybe it's infectious...I sure as shit can't keep the smile from _my_ face. This feeling is amazing. Like winning the lotto.

Lethal Lottery IV flashes through my mind for a moment before I return to the original line of recollection.

The teller slides the bills to me with my info atop and I casually retrieve it all

"May I help you with anything else?"

"No thank you gorgeous, this is good for now."

I turn to make my exit, noticing I can't help myself from an excited and hurried pace.

"Have a good day, Mr. O'Connor," the teller calls after me!

"I will, thank you! And you too," I call back over my shoulder!

It doesn't take me long to get back to Holly in the Plymouth. Shit, I AM jogging.

The moment I open the door I pull out all the dough and show it to her. Her eyes widen and her jaw drops.

"Baaaabe! That's awesome!"

"I know right!?"

"I'm so happy your mom could do this for you," she smiles, eyes tearing.

My heart pangs. She'd suffered with me every step of the way in context. My mom had given us her blessing, giving up two tickets to Disneyland in February (meant for a final trip with me I hadn't been aware of at the time) in favor of giving Holly and I a chance to have fun. I'd knocked her up that night when we got home. And I'd cheated on 'er...at my own mother's viewing. I'd cheated on our unborn child... I'll make it up to her, treat her like a queen...spoil 'er...and myself.

"No baby, she did this for _us_. I love you."

"I love you too."

I remove my wallet, replace my ID and account info and stuff the four thousand worth of twenties in. It swells oh so satisfactorily. I'm the king as I wedge the wallet back into my pocket, looking ever so much like I've got a massive growth on my thigh. The three thousand in hundreds I cram into the golden dollar sign money clip Holly had picked up last week after payday. It barely holds the cash in place. I smile and shove that into my opposite pocket.

Oh...we're gonna have some real fun now.

TBC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"Boston Bout"







-Thursday April 20 2017, 9:39 PM LOCAL-

-Long Wharf, Boston, Mass-


A slight smile remains plastered across my visage as the last vestige of memory lane is left behind in favor of enjoying the sights, sounds and scents of waterside along the Long Wharf at Boston Harbor.

I pull my Dickies jacket around my person, guarding against the chill in the air and I look to the lens of the XWF drone buzzing nearby over the pier before me.

"From Shade, to Random and Roman...now Tidbits and Danny Imperial. I haven't had to face odds like these in context with my Television Title for some time and I find it...refreshing.

Tidbits is an interesting case. He's not as polished as Danny but he damn sure ain't no pushover. Tids took Robbie Bourbon of all men to the limit in pursuit of the Hart Title a few times and I give him much deserved credit for it. He may not have beaten my boy in Ax3, Robert Main, to the prize but c'mon, it's Robert Main. The guy beat ME early on in BOTH our careers in the XWF and has never been one to be underestimated.

Which reminds me...Tidbits, you had some rather weak words aimed my way in response to my support of "The Omega" in that Lethal Lottery IV Hart Title contest...calling me a 'gay viking' and 'Main's shield maiden'. Gay viking? ...Easy there Tidbitch, don't hit me TOO hard with the same lame name game the likes of Mini Morbid brought to the table. Main's Shield Maiden was original at least...still weak...but original. Of course, that didn't change the fact you were the one who walked outta there lookin' like a ho. Speakin' of which...

Tell me Tids...how'd it feel to take triple penetration by Ax3 on Warfare in Grave Consequences, The Equalizer AND Katabasis within the space of three minutes? How'd it feel to watch Father Slathe's slaughter? I can tell you how it felt on _our_ end. _Justified_...and you goddamn well know why. You're a fuckin' coward. A quitter. You were among the five original faces of Ax3, a founding member no less, with Cadryn, Graves, Main and I. You debuted with us, ensuring our soon-to-be XWF XTreme Champ, my buddy, money Micheal Graves, defeated Colton Kato on Savage. You pissed on 'im with us, Tidbitch...then you turned your back on us and walked away. Pussy. For what, for Father Slathe and The Truth? For Htaed? Fuck is Htaed by the way, it sounds like Slathe botched the spelling of 'hated' on one o' your cue cards and your dumbass just went with it. Reminds me of the word 'skrimp'...ain't no one gonna tell me the genesis of that word WASN'T some rapper strugglin' to read "shrimp" in cursive on some high-class restaurant menu and he stuck with it like he meant to say it and you, lil' slave-ass theology thot Tidbot, ain't gonna tell me Htaed isn't simply a fuck up, or at best, some queerbait bullshit online fantasy forum RPG idea some thought looked cool in text. Dork. No wonder all you do is lose, you're a dreamer not a doer. Did I say you weren't a pushover? I take it back. I hope you got a good look at my TV Title when I nailed you in the face with it on Warfare, wimp...that's the closest you're ever gonna get to it.

Danny Imperial... You've made quite the quasi splash here haven't you? Defeating resident XWF special needs nitwit numbScully in a debut match on the XWF's pinnacle pay per view, after which you...uh...well...what is it you've done besides beat off a handful of tools since then? You skipped into this place impressin' Boss Lane with your initiative but you've been slowly fizzlin' out as the weeks progress. You really think you're good enough to take my TV Title now? Gonna take a helluva lot more than listing constellations, makin' with the space metaphors like you're some douche college kid writin' up a standard boilerplate report and not a wrestler, goddamn geek gayrod Galileo. You go ahead and be a star, a ball of fire, whatever the fuck. I'll be the singularity drawing you in, crushing your form, extinguishing your existence and that of those orbiting the great Imperial Imbecile.

That was nice of you to fill us in on your background...somewhat...telling us all, at redundant great length, that you didn't just waltz into the XWF an amateur fresh as a newborn baby's ass, like we can't tell, what with your silver tongue, verbal acumen and all the bells and whistles that accompany your promos, prick. That's fantastic, Dan, congratulations. Guess what? This ain't my first rodeo either, I'm 1 month and 10 days away from 21 years in this business you painted pissant. Got that much experience under your belt, bitch? I'll tell ya somethin' else, shithead, you're wasting your time talkin' on your pro-wrestling past, anything leading up to the XWF is fuckin' foreplay and nothin' more. I should know, I've faced opponents here with skills far beyond any I've ever come across elsewhere and the unfortunate-for-you conclusion to that story...I _beat_ most of 'em too. The man you try so hard to sound so confident up against, the vicious bastard who's held the XWF Television Title since January motherfuckin' 14th, the warrior who fought his way through to the final round of Lethal Lottery IV, took on _Dolly and Trax_, two of the BEST, to become XWF's Mr. 24/7, the problematic everybody-knows-how-psycho sunuvabitch who's earned the respect of his rostermates and fans and been blessed with three consecutive OTM accolades, #1 on the Xtreme Power Rankings...is Jim Caedus, not Danny Imperial. You, Daniel, are the irrelevant victim, the heretic, bein' tossed into my lion's den...where no God dare tread to deny me my weekly Savage sup. I'm hungry...and no matter how often I hunt, no matter how many times I take it upon myself to feed...I never seem to be sated. The starving singularity...and you're entering into my embrace of erasure.

Save your flattery for someone who craves it, cocksucker, fondlin' my front parts as you insult the names and faces of my past opponents, saying I've "dominated". I've done nothing of the sort. For fucksake, did I dominate Nico LaVey? Guy kicked outta Katabasis, nailed me with his own finisher and forced me to hit him with the first top rope version of mine I've ever attempted, to put him away for the pin. The names and epic battles that ride bitch alongside have all taken me to mat. I ENDURED and PERSEVERED...I SURVIVED...not dominated. Dominance is for the dubious, me, I'm just Jim skull-crushin' Caedus and I earned everything I've accumulated via determination, hard work and the very blood I've shed in the ring. You don't have that spark that I do, Danny. I got my shot at the TV Title in my second match, did you?

You say I lack class?" I sigh. "Daniel...fuck class up the shaven and bleached bunghole. I'm real is what I am, true to myself and all those like me. Like my brothers in Ax3. You denigrate them, claiming some say they're holding me back. Fuck are you talkin' about? Bobby holds a title higher in prestige than my own. He's defeated Chris Chaos, Gabe Reno, Robbie Bourbon...that sound like a man who'd hold ANYONE back? Take a gander at Graves. Taking on Dolly Waters head-on, tackling the Trio Tag Titles, evolving to a powerhouse who will prove to be, and already HAS, more than a thorn in the side of the XWF brass but a future champion of the new era...as a former champion of the old. Danny...the more you attempt to water down the men and women of this promotion the less intelligent and aware you appear. Kinda like how you call me 'irrelevant', then 'real prey', then sandwich me with another slice of 'irrelevant', fuckin' idiot.

Try again, Danny, much harder...what you've brought to the table thus far doesn't define _appetizer_ by my reckoning. And Tidbitch...don't you worry, I've got a whole lot more for you, chickenshit. Fuck the both of you. I'm Jim Caedus, Mr. 24/7...YOUR XWF Television Champion...and if you think it's a stretch of the imagination that I'll retain, again, for the _ninth_ time...you haven't been paying attention."
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TBC