One of the criticisms often lobbed towards Centurion is that he’s a boring stiff.

For his part, Centurion never fought back against these attacks. After all, he’s a middle-aged white man. It’s hard to be really “cool” in that scenario, and Centurion is a man of certain tastes.

The rest of his entourage, however, like to have fun, and with Nellie taking over managerial duties for Centurion’s career, he has found himself attending more night clubs and parties than he has in decades. And, while he won’t openly admit this, he is actually having fun.

We open up inside the Anthem Lounge in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Despite Atlantic City being Centurion’s hometown, he had actually never been inside this particular nightclub before. The music being played is a dance club remix of current pop songs, which has gotten a much younger, much more female crowd on the dance floor. There are three types of men currently in the club – the horny dudes in their mid 20’s standing against the wall, looking for an opportunity to talk to any woman willing to give them an opportunity to get it in; the gay guys who are enjoying the dance floor as much as anyone else; and Centurion, who is sitting at the VIP table above the dance floor, enjoying his cocktail.

Sitting across from him at the table is Nellie, who is looking slightly tired after a dance marathon session. She is sipping on a cocktail of her own, while also taking a few hits of her vape. Erin and Ruby continue to dance on the dance floor, and Centurion has his eyes fixated on Ruby – her bright red hair and dance outfit has him absolutely enthralled, reminding him just how lucky he is.

“Stare to hard and your eyes will fall out of your head.” Nellie says jokingly as she takes a sip of her cocktail. Centurion lets out a slight laugh as he turns his head away from the dance floor and over to Nellie.

“She looks so hot tonight.” Centurion says, wistfully. “And it’s great seeing her enjoying herself. I’ve been so concerned that my increasingly busy schedule was going to cause some stress on our relationship.”

“You need to have more faith in her.” Nellie says sternly. “You keep thinking that her innocent, no-cursing personality means that she can’t hang, or that she’s going to judge us. You need to get that out of your head. You see how Erin and I act...”

“Yeah.” Centurion cuts Nellie off. “Unfortunately. Some things you all can keep to yourselves, you know?”

“We could” Nellie says innocently “but why would we want to do that? Anyway, you’ve seen how we’ve acted. Not exactly been saints, but Ruby hasn’t said a word to us. She doesn’t correct us; she doesn’t judge us – she lets us live our lives.”

“Which is weird...” Centurion responds, thinking about what Nellie just said. “There are times when Ruby does say something to me about the things I say and the decisions I make, and there are times when she doesn’t. I don’t know why.”

“It’s because she knows what is a coping mechanism for you, and what is you just engaging in self-destructive behavior.” Nellie responds, sounding like a therapist. “There are times when you need a drink and smoke and a bit of downtime, and there are times when you’re trying to lean on your previous vices in an effort to disassociate yourself from life. She knows when both of these things are occurring, and responds in kind.”

Centurion looks back at Ruby on the dance floor as he considers everything that Nellie just said. “Am I really that complicated of a person?”

“No.” Nellie says in a slight chuckle. “You’re just a human being. I know your macho pro-wrestler “I need to be a tough guy at all times” persona won’t allow you to admit as much, but people are weird. Brains are weird. Emotions are weird. And we all have them.”

“Well, whatever it is” Centurion moves the conversation along “she knows what she’s doing.”

Centurion smiles as he grabs his drink and takes a sip. He sits back in the booth as Nellie glances back at the dancefloor herself before turning back to Centurion.

“You ever going to tell her you love her?” Nellie asks directly. Centurion’s eyes widen as he quickly sits up, caught off guard by Nellie’s question. He takes a deep breath, trying to find the words to answer his daughter, but it is not a question he had thought about, and being under the gun like this makes him sweat.

“That...” Centurion stumbles over his words. “I don’t...it seems a little early for that, don’t you think?”

Nellie sighs and shakes her head. “You’ve been dating for over a year. She’s moved into your place...”

“She hasn’t moved in!” Centurion objects.

“Oh, sorry.” Nellie says sarcastically. “She stays over five nights out of the week, installed a disco ball into foyer, and has an entire closet of clothes in your bedroom. I forgot in Hetero World, that doesn’t mean she’s moved in. Dad...be real with yourself.”

“I...” Centurion thinks for a moment. Nellie’s right, and in all other relationships Centurion has had in the past, this wouldn’t even be a question. Something is holding him back, and he knows it. “I don’t know.”

“You know how you feel.” Nellie says in response. “You’re head over heels for that woman. She’s the best thing to have ever happened to you. And that scares the shit out of you, because you’ve messed up so many aspects of your life, and you’re afraid if that happens to Ruby, you’re going to ruin her forever, and you couldn’t live with yourself if that were to happen.”

“Will you stop?!” Centurion responds sternly. “Last time I checked, you were my manager, not my psychiatrist.”

Nellie grabs her vape and smiles. “Give me a few extra bucks, and I’ll be your therapist, doctor, and shaman.”

Nellie sits back in her booth and takes a hit off of her vape, exhaling the smoke into the air. Centurion glances down at the table, thinking about all the things Nellie just said to him. She’s right, and he hates that she’s right, but at some point this conversation will have to take place. What surprises Centurion more than anything is how patient Ruby has been with him. Any other woman in her scenario likely would have tried to get Centurion to move forward in some capacity, but Ruby has given Centurion his space, which has increased Centurion’s feelings exponentially.

Centurion leans over to grab his drink, but before he does, he spots Erin and Ruby walking up the steps from the dance floor to the VIP balcony. Centurion smiles as Ruby approaches him, her hand extended.



“Hey handsome.” Ruby says as she walks up to Centurion. “I could use a dance partner.”

------Helpless to the bass and the fading light------

Well...this ought to be fun.

As much as the XWF has been my home for 20 years, and as much as I will go for bat for it and declare it the best wrestling company on the planet...you're still not guaranteed great wrestling matches every week. It's impossible - there is always a skill imbalance, and you're bound to get two or more wrestlers matched up that just shouldn't be in the ring with each other. Hell, it happens to me all the time, especially on Anarchy, where they are starving for talent at the moment.

But folks, this next Savage...we have a good one.

Three wrestlers step into the ring to compete in a triple threat match. Just based on talent alone, I'll be honest - it's even. Betsy Granger has already beaten me once before, so she's proven she can hang in the ring with pretty much anyone, and Marf is a wildcard that often beats wrestlers he has no business beating, and losing to wrestlers he has no business losing to. You take everything else away and just out the three of us in the ring, and you're likely to get even odds for any one of us.

But you can't just "take everything else away." Pro wrestling is as much a mental sport as is it a physical one, and the human element is a greater factor than any other factor in a wrestling match.

And despite the fairly equal talent, the three of us couldn't be any further apart in terms of where we are in out careers - at least, coming off of Bad Medicine.

Let's start with the new number one contender for the XTreme Title. Congratulations, Marf! You really had to work hard with that one. You had one hell of a battle there with Chasm…

...sorry, Schism.

And I'm sure you were really excited about the opportunity to face Jim Cadeus. After all, he held that XTreme Title for so long that anyone knocking him off would have been a huge feather in his cap - and you're someone who could have used a few more feathers.

Unfortunately, Bam Miller decided to jump in and fuck those plans up.

Still, you're the top contender, and you're going to be the next person to face Bam Miller for the belt, and while it might not be Jim Caedus, hell - a title is a title, and knocking off someone that was touted as a huge free agent signing could be big for you, too.

Oh...but then Cage Coleman decided to jump the line. And now he's the champ.

At this point, Marf, you must be asking yourself what the point of being the number one contender even was, if any random person can just pin the champ and take the belt anyway. At this rate, your guaranteed match is going to be an eight way war including the likes of Tommy Wish, North Korean War Criminal, and that cop dude on Anarchy.

And honestly, you needed that big, prestigious match. You came into the XWF as a house on fire. You looked to be the next great superstar, and you started gobbling up titles in your first couple of months here. You were well on your way to superstardom.

...and then, Lycana happened.

Honestly, you should have stayed as far away from Lycana as possible, because she inadvertently drug your career down. Her standing next you to you allowed all of us to go "why do you need Marf when we could have a cooler, hotter version of Marf?" You became yesterday's news, and the Blue Haired Wonder suddenly became the talk of the town. And while she may have lost her Universal Title match, I know a lot of people who are really rooting for her to get back in the picture? Why?

Well, not only is she talented, but she's social media savvy. She's personable. She's incredibly good looking. And you're...very much not any of those things.

But hey, I'm sure none of that matters to you. It's not like you're a prideful guy or anything.

Still, Marf is at least entering this contest with a level of momentum on his side. That is more than I can say for Betsy, who is coming off a devastating loss to Charlie Nickels at Bad Medicine. Not devastating because she lost the belt, but rather because of who she lost it to.

I know Betsy hates Charlie. She doesn't hate a lot of people, but there is a hatred that exists within Betsy's heart for that man that burns brighter than a thousand suns, and to lose to someone like that can truly demoralize a person. Trust me, I know, and while Betsy may try to say she's fine, I know better. I know that loss hurt her something deep.

Couple that with Betsy's...let's just say, questionable mental health as of late, and suddenly you have a recipe for disaster. Now, this combination could lead to a good thing. It happened to me in my life a few times, where an embarrassing loss helped snap me out of my funk, and pushed me in the right direction; however, I've also seen it where that combination leads to some really destructive behavior, which can doom a person and their career.

Betsy is lucky - she has James, who has a mind for this business like no one else, and who knows how to compartmentalize these things. If anyone can give her the advice she needs to push beyond this, it's him.

So, what Betsy Granger will we see on Savage? I have no idea. I know what she's capable of. I know what Marf is capable of...but I do wonder if either of them know what I am capable of.

And I'm not just saying "look at my resume, and see I'm a Legend" type of stuff. I'm saying, look at the streak I'm on. Look at the quality of work I have put in for the past few months. After I lost to Thebe Nwadike, I made a promise that I was going to completely change my focus and become a new competitor, and that is exactly what I have done. Gone are the days where I try to finesse my way around a wrestling ring, and instead, I just punch fuckers in the mouth - and I'm really good at it, too. I have stood toe to toe with plenty of wrestlers who thought I was too old and washed up to be still in the ring, and I didn't just out wrestle them, but I was physically superior to them.

Oh...and also...look at my resume and see that I'm a Legend.

I was a great wrestler. I AM a great fighter. And I am in better physical and mental shape than I have been in my entire career. So, put all of that together - legendary career with great grappling skills, a physical ability that is the best it's ever been, and a stable mental health? I ask both of you…

Who is beating me right now?

Oh, I know it's scary. Trust me, I'd be scared too if I was in your shoes. I'm supposed to be the down and out old dude who is just there to pad a resume. I'm not supposed to be a legitimate contender, much less a champion in this business. And yet, here I am, Anarchy Title around my waist, UGWC Conquest Title over my shoulder, and countless wrestling promotions hitting up my cell phone, asking me if I want to make a few bucks by being in their main event.

It's ok, though - you're both young...well, relatively speaking. Betsy kind of extends beyond the idea of age and time, so I can't really say if she's "young" or not, but you're both relatively new to this, and you have bright futures ahead of you. Your time has yet to come. Problem is, I keep getting better with age, and even 20 years from now, when you're finally about to reach that last rung of the ladder and become immortal, a 64 year old Centurion will still be there to make sure you meet your…

FINAL FANTASY!!!