Connie’s voice: BRING HIM BACK CHARLES! PLEASE! I won’t even call the cops if you bring him back tonight! PLEASE!

Charlie rolls his glazed over eyes as the voicemail ends. He tosses his iphone onto the empty seat next to him as he continues to drive down the side streets of Steubenville in the dark of night. Tyler is moaning in pain from the backseat as he lays down on his left side, holding his right arm while grimacing towards the camera. His teary face is scratched all over, with dried blood caked on to the young lad’s skin.

Charlie: Don’t worry, buddy- I won’t let him get you.

Charlie looks back at his child with a smile on his face, but his expression soon saddens as he sees his child continue to cry in the backseat. Charlie turns back to face the road as he ponders the solution to his child’s misery. A few moments of silence pass before Charlie speaks to his son in a soft, fatherly tone.

Charlie: You know, I will always be there for you kiddo. There are many monsters in this world, I won’t lie to you bud. But, your mom married a knight in shining armor. I can defeat all the evil in this world. You know that, bud. I’ll always be protecting you, watching over you.

Charlie looks back at his young son, whose expression seems to be easing slightly. Charlie faces the road again, a confident smile on his face as he continues to soothe his son’s mind.

Charlie: I have fought monsters before, little buddy. You know that. Remember that time I brought you to a show in Indiana? And I fought against that really big guy with the facepaint? The scary guy in one of those British skirts?

Tyler: yeah....

The boy speaks with a weakness in his soft tone.

Charlie: That monster didn’t want to go down. But your dad made him go to sleep, you remember? But now, we have another monster coming after us. But I won’t let him get you. You been watching your dad on T.V. every week?

Charlie turned around with a proud excitement to him. His son shook his head from side to side, still grimacing in pain while clutching his clearly broken arm. Charlie turned back around with a dejected expression. His sadness turned to anger within the span of a few seconds as his brow furrowed and his frown turned into a scowl.

Charlie: Your whore mother is a real bitch, you know that? I’ve been busting my ass week in and week out. I just keep racking up the wins, kid! You gotta see em’. I’m doing it all for you, kid. I even won a belt!

Charlie turns back to look at his kid who doesn’t seem to care.

Charlie: Listen here! Listen up!

Charlie’s screams capture the injured child’s attention again.

Charlie: I work for years and years for this moment! For this opportunity! The least you could do is give your dad a little support! There’s a beast, a monster coming after us. Don’t you know that you fucking idiot? I’m the only one that can protect you from The Omega.

The Omega isn’t a man. The Omega is hardly even alive. The Omega is the embodiment of all that is wrong, evil, cowardly, and corrupt in this world. He hides in the shadows, afraid of confrontation. The Omega-Roach hides under stoves, fridges, dishwashers. Waiting. Watching. Afraid to come out and face men in the light of day. Daddy’s waiting to stomp him.

The Omega-Roach is a parasite on a leash. Dirty, sick, diseased, twisted. He will eat your table scraps, roll around with the trash, and spread his pestilence. But above all else, the Omega-Roach is afraid. Afraid of Sarah Lacklan. Unwilling to fight her for the premiere belt in this industry. Afraid of Chris Page. Unwilling to stand up to his master. But above all, the Omega-Roach is afraid of your daddy. Because he knows I’ve fought monsters before. Monsters that were bigger. Monsters that were badder. Monsters that weren’t neutered.

Charlie chuckles to himself while his kid zones out in the backseat, silent tears falling down his wounded face.

Charlie: The Omega-Roach was a real beast years ago. He walked those halls backstage and the boys in the locker room froze. Stepped out of his way. Looked at him with fear and honor. But now? Tsk tsk. He’s been muzzled. Caged. Castrated. Chris Paged. At one point the Omega-Roach was a rising star, the sky was the limit, and no one wanted to see how far he could go. But now? The boys in the back don’t respect him. They know he’s just a lackey, just another one of Sarah’s little simp boys. Just a puppet on Page’s string. When Chris gets bored of ordering around the Omega-Roach and leaves him in the dust, well, at least he’ll always have Greggo to tag with! Sarah’s little simp boys.

It’s a real shame, you know, kid. The Omega-Roach was a monster, a beast who couldn’t be controlled. But now? The boys in the back see the roach for what he is. A coward, hiding behind a mask. A man that knows his own limits, and is afraid to push that envelope. Afraid to climb higher. That’s why the boys have been rolling him up, knocking him out, and pushing him around backstage for months now. They don’t respect him. Let alone fear him. Anyone will take a potshot at the paper champion. He won’t do shit about it but hide, slither in the shadows, and wait for a cheap shot.

But you, kiddo? He might just take you. He can’t compete with real men in the ring. He knows this. That’s why he hides in the shadow of Chris Page and Sarah Lacklan. But you? He might just take you. But I won’t let that happen, bud. I’ve fought monsters before. I’ve fought bloodthirsty beasts, insane lunatics, genocidal madmen. But this monster? This masked roach? He’s a shell of a creature that once was. And I plan to crack that shell this Saturday, little Timmy.

But Trenton, I will never let him get you. The Omega-Roach is a monster, a desperate one, but I won’t let him grab you. You mean the world to me, Taylor.

Charlie slows the vehicle down as he pulls into an empty park. The moon overhead illuminates some of the parking lot, but the playground and the wooded area behind it are imperceivable in the darkness. Charlie pulls into a random spot before putting the car in park. He looks back at his child once, who is quiet and reserved. Charlie smiles, proud of his solid parenting skills. He turns back around and opens up his glove box. He takes out a needle filled with dark yellow liquid. He sticks the tip of the needle underneath his dirty fingernail, pushing the liquid into his veins as a relieved sigh escapes his solemn lips. A few moments of bliss pass as Charlie’s eyes shut.

Charlie: Grrggrgggghhhh

Charlie starts seizing and convulsing as a fizzy white liquid drips out of his mouth.

Tyler: Daddy!

Charlie’s body movements grow more erratic with each passing moment. His arms and legs flail out, causing the now empty needle to fly out of his finger and hit the glass window. Charlie’s chest starts pumping fast, his heart going into overdrive. Tyler continues to scream as his father overdoses before his very eyes.

Charlie: Gggggggggggggghhhhhhrnnnnnnnn

The white foam grows in size and viscosity as it slowly drips down the bearded man’s chin. The screaming, injured child in the backseat opens the back door with his good arm before darting out into the darkness. Charlie slips out of consciousness as Tyler races out of the car.


Charlie “awakens” in a misty haze. He is seated at a wooden table in the middle of what appears to be an abandoned home. The X-treme championship lays in the center of the table. There is an old T.V. in the background that plays the clip of Omega destroying Charlie on Warfare on loop. Robert Main is seated across from Charlie, but he looks quite different from his usual self. He is masked, of course, but two brown antennas protrude from his forehead. A brown shell covers the champion’s back. Instead of a mouth, Main has two pincers moving back and forth. Charlie seems to relax as he comes to. He looks down at the championship belt before shifting his gaze up to meet the cold stare of the Omega-Roach.

Charlie: You won’t be walking out of Savage alive. But you know this, don’t you?

The Omega-Roach nods as it’s pincers continue to move.

Charlie: Why did you bring me here?

The Omega-Roach emits a low frequency sound that only Charlie can hear. He nods up and down as Omega’s pincers continue to move.

Charlie: You want me to make it quick? To make it painless?

The Omega-Roach nods. Charlie chuckles as a grin spreads across his face, which appears to be free of the usual markers of heroin addiction that plague Charlie in his daily life.

Charlie: I’M GOING TO MAKE YOU SUFFER! All the pain, all the anger that I’ve bottled up for years and years in this business….I’m going to unleash on you. I will humiliate you, like you did to me on Warfare. But this time? Oohhhhhhh this time Roach….my back won’t be turned. I will run you down like the parasite you are. I will stomp you until your guts come squeezing out of your wounded body. Then, I’ll let your little roach buddies come out and eat your remains.

Charlie taps on the title belt on the table between the two men. Well, the one man and the one roach.

Charlie: This belt right here? I’ll let you keep it. But only until Saturday night. Then, it’s coming home with me! Everything I’ve worked for. Years in this business, sacrifice after sacrifice…..it’s all going to pay off on Saturday night. And you won’t stand in my way, roach. You’re not as tough or as scary as you think you are. As you used to be. And I’m going to prove it. I’m going to prove it by bashing your skull against the steel stairs! I’m going to prove it by slamming your skull down on the mat! I’m going to prove it by holding your shoulders down to the mat for the three count. And when it’s all said and done, that belt is coming home with daddy tomorrow night.


The Omega-Roach lashes out at Charlie! It reaches across the table, trying to attack him! But our hero is too quick! He sidesteps the lumbering roach while landing some offense of his own!

ROUNDHOUSE KICK!

QUESTION MARK KICK!

SUPERMAN PUNCH!

SPINNING ELBOW!

JUMPING CRANE KICK!

Charlie delivers the vicious combination as if he's Conor McGregor! The roach falls to the ground, a gross brown liquid spewing from the wounds our hero inflicted upon the beast. Charlie stands over the parasite with a satisfied smirk.

Charlie: You want me to finish you now? Spare you the humiliation?

The Omega-Roach emits a low pitch frequency that only Charlie can hear. Charlie chuckles to himself before turning back to the table. He leans over the table as his gaze fixates on the championship belt.

Charlie: Too bad. I won't let you out the easy way. This Saturday....I will make you suffer.

Charlie grabs the championship belt off the table, slinging it over his shoulder as he walks out the door of the abandoned home. He is swallowed by the darkness as the camera cuts out.