WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND
HOME OF MASTERMIND

I had been home a week now, I'm due to head back to the States today in time for my Television Title Match against a newbie named Cambyses, and the new Television Champion Thaddeus Duke. That was on the 3rd and final day of the Relentless Pay Per View, in Miami, Florida.

Like I said I've been home a week and I feel like it's only been a few days. Something isn't right.

Normally when I get home I reacquaint myself with my children, especially the boys Vin and Jacob. They are 2 years old now. But this time around I can't seem to settle.

I spend a few minutes at a time with them before thoughts of the XXWF start popping into my head, and then I get up and go for a walk, or so I think I do that.

Even holding my baby twin girls Bernadette and Louise, I can't even hold them for a period of time either becauses flashes of the XWF hit me, and I tend to give them back, and walk away.

Again, I think I'm walking away but I'm actually doing something else that I'm not even aware that I'm doing.

And then came Thaddeus Duke's promo and well that made my mood even more worse.

I was now standing in my victory room which I haven't been in since I even got back and was thoughts started flooding back to me.

FLASHBACK #1 Said:
Suddenly from out of nowhere THE MIND CHANGER a.k.a FLYING CLOTHESLINE. Mastermind hits BigD hard, he releases his grip on Peter and is thrown right across the ring to the ropes, clutching the back of his head. He continues to roll right out of the ring, to the floor below leaving a very vulnerable Peter alone in the ring with Mastermind.

PIP: "Where the hell did he come from?"

HEATHER: "Mastermind seems to have recovered quickly but he's still going to have the same problem as before with Soldier refusing to count who acknowledge any Submission attempts,"

Mastermind stands over the body of Peter. He looks across at Soldier and yells at him to do the right thing. He then shockingly goes for a cover.

1.......













2..........












It's over surely.....








Nothing, no final 3rd count












Mastermind looks up from his cover attempt and sees Soldier errily smiling back at him before giving Mastermind the fingers......

I clench my fists as I look up at the victory t-shirts that were hanging up on the lines. I heard the door close behind me.

"Okay Mister," I heard Maria's voice say "You've been like a bull in a china shop since you got back, and I stood back and taken it as far as I can handle it. You are leaving today, good, but you've been a miserable bastard, and I'm not letting you leave until I get what I want. What the fuck is your problem?"

Woah, for Maria to come at me like that must have meant she had been all of that in. I take a step back from the angry heat that was emunating from her body.

"Don't you fucking well keep it to yourself, talk to me now, damn it,"

I hold up my hands to calm her down.

"Let me speak please babe,"

"Don't fucking placate me you ass hole. The kids have missed you yet you seem to spend seconds with them at a time,"

"I'm just having a difficult time at the moment with things going on inside the XWF,"

"Well then do us all a favor and quit, then you'll probably be more calmer and actually here,"

I stood there can't believe the words coming out of her mouth, usually she would be backing me one hundred percent so I had obviously fucked her off big time.

"I am sorry baby," I said quietly and calmly "For being rude, for being not here, for being a total bastard,"

This seemed to calm Maria a lot.

"So what's the fucking issue?"

"I guess I brought my anger from the road, home. And I wasn't aware that was the case, now I know why I've been antsy,"

"Okay that's a start but it's still no excuse. I watched you get screwed over by that special referee dude. You would have been 4 time x-treme champion which would have been great and not that BigD fella who claimed his first title.

"Then you decided to interfere in not 1 but 2 matches. Both title matches, one for the Hart and the other being the Television title. And then you wind up in the Television title match at that 3 day PPV event coming up. So explain yourself,"

My wife, ladies and gentlemen, always keeping an eye on me, and always supporting me.

"Okay I was frustrated by what happened in the X-treme title match, and I have been wanting a match with the famous Centurion to test myself against the legend that he is, but he kept ducking me, kept putting me off, and so I got fed up and decided to do what so many others have done in the past and took matters into my own hands...."

"So you became a copy cat, a lamb. Something you've been preaching against for the last few months,"

Again ladies and gentlemen, my wife, a very clever, astute, judge of what's going on.

"It worked for them, so I thought I'd give it a shot and see if it worked for me!"

"And who are 'them' that you speak of?"

I looked down at the floor knowing I was selling my soul against the very people that I have been rallying against.

"Sarah Lacklan, Noah Jackson, Fuzz, even Robert Main, Drew Archyle, and James Raven,"

My wife put up her fingers to stop me speaking.

"Firstly, Sarah, Noah and Fuzz have been using their well used language to victimize their opponents. They do it well. Don't you fucking put yourself amongst that lot because you can't compare to them and you never will. Secondly Main, Drew and Raven are stablemates. They run around together, fight together, hunt together. We both know you don't trust people because otherwise you would have either formed your own
stable by now or be part of one. So you need to be apart from those three as well."

"Say it like it is, why don't you," I said feeling down

"Don't you dare start feeling sorry for yourself now, damn you because I won't allow it. I was getting to the fact that you have done everything up to now at your pace, at your agenda, at your style, and that style works for you.

"It's okay to go crazy and branch out like you have been doing, but fucking well own it, and improve on it. Stick to yourself you asshole. Because then people will start to notice, if they aren't already noticing. Just keep it on the road, and bring only your true self home from time to time. Do you hear me?"

I nodded.

"I can't hear you!"

"Yes ma'am,"

Maria opened her arms and smiled "Then get over here for a bloody hug, you big dope you,"

I walked over to my wife and she gave me a huge hug, she knew when I needed those.

---

ENROUTE TO THE UNITED STATES

The camera fades in to the cabin of Mastermind's private jet and it finds him watching reruns of Thaddeus Duke's promo. He sighs each time he watches it. He looks up at the camera.

"So Thad, it seems I was right. You couldn't even resist not doing it. When you spoke about me getting a tonne of title opportunities, you went down that path. I opened the door a little, but you busted right through it like the loser you are, and attempted to put forward an argument that is only fifty percent correct.

"Just tell the other fifty percent Thad, I implore you to, but we all know that you won't because it'll make you look bad. It already makes you fucking look bad, Thad, but I'll make you look way worse...

"Let me set the picture first Thad, we all know that this place has a revolving door policy where people come and people go. Most of the time it's people leaving because they can't stand losing.

"You see Thad, sometimes it takes a while for someone to get a foothold in feds like the XWF, because the senior people there are always winning... why? Because they have experience, they are strong, and they know how to get the win. That's why they have the experience.

"So yes I may have lost in my first two years here, more often than not, but I didn't cry like a baby and state 'woe is me I'm losing all the time' nor did I pack a sad and get up and leave. I stuck with it. I lost. I kept on going. I gained the experience to win a match or two, and then I took a much needed sabbatical because I got exhausted of being the whipping boi all of the time. Don't get me wrong, at least those experienced wrestlers knew that they had been in a match with me, and needed to be at their very best in order to get the win.

"So then I went on a much needed break. But you know what Thad, I always intended to come back.

"And come back I did. I found that the XWF was in a place of rebuilding last year, and so I took my chance, and won more matches than ever before including a 129 day run as Television Champion. That record took me to outright second place which I was very proud of, and I am still very proud to still be outright second."

"The very title that you have now I took it to a new level. A new level that no one has done since I held it, not even the great Lux. Lux chose within days of my second place record to vacate the title for a shot at the Universal Title. A shot that Lux has not yet received yet because of having to stand in line, while others seem to take their opportunities willy nilly.

"So Thad don't you fucking well stand there and preach to me that I have been given title opportunities after title opportunities, because Mr Preacher I have fucking well earned them.

"You see Mr Preacher, management can't really give out title opportunities to newbies, can they now? They haven't earned them, they don't know how long they will even stay, because they haven't tasted defeat after defeat

"What about other deserving people I hear you ask? Where the fuck are these deserving people? Oh that's right they fucked off because they couldn't stand losing.

"Or what about the ones that are still here, oh yes they get in line for title opportunities like Lux, like I use to, but often find their paths being blocked by cunts who decide to push in line and do what they do to get a shot.

"I'm a three time former x-treme champion and a one time Television champion preacher boi, and I even get tired of being the meek quiet one standing in line and wait.... and wait..m and wait some more.

"Excuse me for being tired of waiting. They don't even incude title matches, they include wanting to test yourself against former legends like Centurion. I did what I did to Centurion because I got tired of meekly asking for a match against him, and him turning me down. So I took it to a whole new level and well things happened.

"I wasn't even after a title match but management chose that not me. Blame them not me. We all know that Centurion has a fifty fifty chance of winning that Hart title.

"But believe you me preacher boi, my main focus is on you.
Read my lips. I AM COMING TO RELENTLESS TO BECOME TWO TIME TELEVISION CHAMPION AND YOU WILL BE MY VICTIM.
CAMBYSES ISN'T A FACTOR IT SEEMS.

"I may be relentless now but just you wait til Sunday because when I become two time Television champion you be rueing the day that you stood there and preached your inaccurate information, and I for one will destroy your short reign and I wont masterMIND that at all."

Mastermind smirks at the camera as it fades out.