Business deals are nothing new for Centurion.

For the longest time, as the owner of Centurion Enterprises, the purchasing of land and property was an almost weekly occurrence. What started as a simple casino turned into an international business worth billions of dollars. Of course, with him no longer in charge of the business that bares his name, these types of meetings no longer happen – not that he would want them to anyway. His focus is elsewhere now.

For his daughter, however, the excitement of acquisitions and business expansion is just beginning, and all the joy Centurion once held for himself and his decisions is amplified threefold as he watches Nellie slowly morph into the corporate kingpin he once was.

We open up inside the Ohana Japanese Hibachi, Seafood, and Steakhouse on Warren Island, New York. There, we see Centurion and Ruby, walking into the dining area of the restaurant, dressed in business casual clothing. Many diners are seen sitting at various tables, and the sound of chefs cooking at hibachi tables ring throughout the building. Upon taking a few steps into the room, Centurion sees Nellie, dressed in a formal suit, seated with Erin, who is wearing a red dress. Centurion gives a slight smirk, not just acknowledging that he sees the couple, but that they have officially outdressed him, a rare feat. Centurion and Ruby walk over to the table and take their seats.

“You didn’t have to get all dressed up for us.” Centurion says with a smile.

“Yeah, you wish.” Nellie responds back to him in a snarky tone. “And you’re late.”

“That’s all your father’s fault.” Ruby says as she glances over at Centurion. “He wanted to get coffee at this boutique local place, and when I told him we were meeting at 5:30, his response was “It’s Nellie and Erin, they will wait.”

“And you waited, didn’t you?” Centurion says as he extends his arms out. “See, I told you.” Nellie grumbles as a waiter walks over to the table. “Can we get a tequila sunrise and a scotch, double malt, on the rocks?” The waiter nods as he writes the order down and walks away from the table. “So, what’s going on?”

Nellie reaches out in front of her and grabs her glass of wine. She takes a sip before lowering it back down onto the table in front of her. “Well...” Nellie says, sheepishly. “I might have purchased a hotel.”

“Really?” Centurion responds, excitedly as Ruby’s eyes light up and she gives a big smile. “That’s awesome! Where at?”

“Locally.” Nellie responds as she lets out an exhale. “New Rochelle, to be more specific. I’m buying out the current owner of the Radisson up there.”

“Oh, a franchise location?” Centurion says, curiously. “That’s interesting. I never took you as someone who was willing to be part of a franchise.”

“I’ll still have my name on it.” Nellie responds. “But it’s better for the hotel business, especially considering the tourists that come through there. If I went with just “Cortinovis”, it’s a crap shoot in terms of what might happen, but if I go with the “Cortinovis Radisson”, build the brand name a bit more, maybe we can break off in the future. Besides, the people over at Radisson are basically willing to give us full autonomy, given the potential investment payoff for them.”

“Well, that’s great. Hey...” Centurion is interrupted by the waiter bringing the drinks over to the table. Centurion grabs his and keeps it raised in the air as the waiter hands Ruby’s drink over to her. “...to the Cortinovis Radisson, and it’s new owner!”

The other three raise their glass and cling them together in a toast before all taking a sip. Nellie makes sure to finish her sip first in order to take the lead in the next part of the conversation.

"So, I’m really excited about this.” Nellie says, nervously. “I think I stand to make a ton of money off of this investment...but there’s something very special I would like you to help me with.”

“Sure.” Centurion says as he sets his glass down on the table. “I’m here to be your sounding board for anything.”

“I want you to go in with me on this.” Nellie says, quickly.

Centurion tilts his head to the side and blinks a few times, confused at what Nellie just said – or, more accurately, why she said that. “You don’t need me, Nell.” Centurion says, reassuringly. “Hell, at this point, you’re smarter than I am. I’m sure you can do it.”

“Oh, I know I can do it.” Nellie says confidently. “This isn’t something I need. I want you to come along with me. I want you to have a part in this.”

“I appreciate it, Nell.” Centurion says with a kind smile on his face. “But this isn’t my time anymore. I’ve done all that. I’ve made the mistakes, and come out the other side. It’s your turn now. You don’t need me dragging you down as you try to build this up. Besides, you want the satisfaction of doing this on your own.”

“Doing it alone is over rated.” Nellie scoffs. “Everyone wants that satisfaction, but you know what I want? I want to share my success with the people closest to me – especially with the man that set me up to be the person I am today. You won’t have to do much – we're going to get a general manager to run the day-to-day operations, and I’ll retain majority control. I just want you to have a piece, is all.”

Centurion grabs his scotch and takes a sip as he ponders what Nellie just said. He pushes the glass to the side of his face as he looks at Nellie in the eyes, then sets the glass back down on the table before exhaling and crossing his arms. “Alright...sell me on this.”

“It’s simple.” Nellie says, excitedly. “It’s all about location. The hotel is only a half hour away from the Velvet Rabbit, and Candice Wolf is poised to put a multi-million dollar investment into City Island, which is only 15 minutes out from the Radisson. These properties are becoming global hot spots, especially among rich people and people in the wrestling business. Once the spring and summer hit, things are going to go nuts around here. You know that as well as I do.”

Centurion thinks for a second. Nellie is right, and Centurion had seen it first hand – the business that the Velvet Rabbit has attracted over the past few months has been rather staggering, but more than that is the amount of money the patrons tend to throw around. Centurion built his fortune off of high rollers, which is exactly what Voodoo and the folks at the Rabbit are doing, too.

“Alright,” Centurion says, coyly. “You have the facts down. Now I want the numbers. How long until we’re in the black? What are we looking at for five-year and ten-year revenue?”

“I’ll put it to you this way,” Nellie says as she smiles and points over at Centurion before gripping her glass of wine. “We’re going to be making a profit within the first six months.”

Centurion’s eyes immediately widen. Very few businesses, especially in the hospitality industry, make a profit within the first year of investment, much less six months. Centurion can’t tell if Nellie is overly optimistic, or if she’s onto something. Centurion takes another sip of his scotch before calmly placing it back down on the table.

“...show me the hotel.”

------Open Up The Safe, Bitches Got A Lot To Say------

We reopen inside the lobby of the soon-to-be named Cortinovis Radisson Hotel in New Rochelle, New York. There, we see Centurion lying on a leather couch, his $600 shoes propped up on one of the arm rests. He looks calm and relaxed as he looks directly into the camera.

"I like to think of myself as a judge of talent. I know some might dispute that, but I have a pretty good track record. Especially when it comes to younger wrestlers.

See, not all "young wrestlers" are the same. They may all be equally as hungry, but they're not equally as prepared, and they're certainly not equally as talented. Just being young and new doesn't make you the "future of the business." There are some folks that you can look at and say "Yup, you're definitely going to burn out in four months."

On the flip side, there are wrestlers I can look at and just know that they're going to be huge superstars some day. I'd like to think there's something that sticks out about them, but it's not that simple. Maybe it's something you just pick up over years of being in the business. Who knows? Here is what I can say, though.

You, Raion Kido...are one of those future superstars."

Centurion sits up from his lying down position and sits forward in the camera. The camera pans around to the front of the couch, and Centurion folds his hands onto his lap as he looks into the camera.

"You have it all. You have the charisma. You have the in ring talent. You're tough as hell, and you have been trained in perhaps the most talent rich country in the world when it comes to professional wrestling. If wrestling was a stock market, I'd be buying stock in you, since I know for sure you're going to soar.

And let me say, I'm incredibly excited that we get to face off in the ring. I've mentioned on multiple occasions that my biggest goal at this point in my career is to fight young, hungry wrestlers that are worthy of my time, and Raion Kido fits that mold perfectly. I'm looking forward to wrestling him...almost as much as I'm looking forward to beating him."

Centurion stands up from the couch and begins walking toward the camera.

"See, for as talented as you are, you still have so much to learn. You've been in the ring against someone you should have beaten. You've passed the opening test. That's not to diminish what you've done, but it is to put it into perspective. You've proven you belong here. Now the real work begins.

Here's the thing about being a young stud in the business - your initial peers are ALSO young wrestlers. They don't know any better. For instance, they don't know that the thing many consider to be your strength is actually your weakness. That "fighting spirit" that you possess. That passion and energy that courses through your veins. It's great when you're staring down wrestlers who don't want it quite as much as you do, or whose only experience in the ring is against a gym coach whose only offense is something called the "tickle the grundle." But against folks who have seen it all? Against wrestlers that competed against some of the greatest Japanese talents to ever step in the ring? We know that passion can also lead to frustration."

Centurion reaches the front desk of the lobby, which has no one operating it at the moment. He leans up against the desk and taps it a few times before he looks back into the camera.

"I'm going to tell you something that I'm sure you already know, but I'm going to say it anyway. I am not Xavier Lux. He didn't have an answer for your balls to the wall, never say die attitude. But I do, and I have the sinking suspicion that you're not quite sure how to handle adversity. Not in your personal life, obviously - you might have fought through some really tough shit - but in a competitive environment. When that one move that normally hits just doesn't quite do it, or that submission you've been working on doesn't quite get locked in, or that opponent that you thought was old and on his last legs wouldn't quite stay down for you. What happens then?

Well, if you're anything like the wrestlers that share your similar style, you'll panic. Not at first, no. You'll just get a little frustrated. You'll wonder if it's a fluke, or maybe you miscalculated something. So you'll go for it again, and again, and eventually, you'll realize you don't have the moveset to put away a legend. THAT is when the panic steps in. All your preparation goes out the window, and you just start throwing everything you can at the wall. You no longer do moves you've practiced, but rather, moves you've seen on television before. And when that happens, you can kiss your chances of winning this match goodbye."

Centurion walks around the desk and gets to the other side before leaning forward with his elbows on the desk.

"You want to know what makes me great, Kido? It's the fact that, 21 years later, I'm still doing things to keep people on their toes. I'm ever evolving. Why else do you think I want to fight young wrestlers such as yourself? Do you think, as so many others do, that I stand on some sort of throne, demanding young wrestlers prove themselves to me before I toss them into the wasteland? Of course not. I do it so I know how this business is evolving, and I adapt to it. The shit wrestlers are doing now would never have been a thing when I first started, and if I just sat back and assumed I knew everything there is to know about this business, I'd be looking at the lights almost every day. Interestingly, though, I'm not doing that. Instead, I have these."

Centurion reaches down below the desk and pulls up the UGWC World Heavyweight Championship, which he places on the desk, facing the camera. He reaches down again and pulls up a piece of paper on a clipboard, which he sets down next to the title belt.

"That's the contract I signed after becoming number one contender for the TV Title. I know, it's not very impressive, but they don't really give you any sort of big trophy or something for that. Just...use your imagination.

There will come a time when I will pass this business on to someone else, but that moment will come when they lower me into the ground. In the meantime, I plan on accomplishing as much as I possibly can, and in order to do that, I have to run through all the talent that is placed in front of me. Sometimes that talent is Chris Page - a fellow old bastard who wants to settle a score. Sometimes that talent is Jenny Myst, a wrestler who never achieved any semblance of success, and who continues to just exist in the world. And sometimes, that talent is a young, future Universal Champion looking for that signature victory to propel them into the big time. In the end, the goal is still the same, and eventually, the outcome will be the same.

I wish you nothing but the best, Kido. One day, we will be sharing the ring once again, only in the main event next time, and hopefully with some gold on the line. Your ceiling is limitless, and your success will bring joy to so many people who live and die for the success of their heroes. This success, however, will not be off my back. I will not be your springboard. Instead, it will be a learning opportunity for you. You will get to see a legend in the ring. You will see success up close. And you will be the next person to meet your…

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