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Centurion · (05-26-2019)

(They say time heals all wounds…but sometimes, you’ll need a lot more than time. Sometimes, you’ll need some connection, humility, and a common goal.

We open up inside the side room of Centurion’s gym. There, we see Centurion and Jocelyn Camden, both holding glasses of wine. Centurion is giving Camden the rundown of his life since the last time they saw each other – the good, the bad, and the really, really awful.)

Centurion: …and so that’s when the bank took the house.

Camden: Wow.

Centurion: Yeah. And I didn’t know any of this was happening. I was hanging out in Eastern PA, trying to lay low. I just wasn’t in a place mentally to be able to deal with any of this, so everything was taken away from me. Since we shut down operations of C&C Inc years ago, this building was the only asset I had left. It was a mess when I came back.

Camden: I can’t believe those mother fuckers would do that to you.

Centurion: Really? You can’t? Because I absolutely believe it. In fact, I beat myself up for not seeing it coming. It’s the kind of thing I would have done years ago. Hell, you’ve seen me do it in the WGWF. I didn’t think it would happen to me because I was so good at doing it to others, and now I’m serving my penance.

Camden: You don’t deserve this. You deserve to get your ass kicked. You deserve to be beaten down and humiliated in the ring. But you don’t deserve to have everything taken from you.

Centurion: …thanks?

(Camden just nods as she takes a sip of her wine. She looks around the room – it’s not as drab and dreary as it could be. What was once an administrative office has been turned into a relatively decent bedroom.)

Camden: Gonna be honest, didn’t think you had it in ya to survive on your own.

Centurion: I grew up around a lot of strong people who taught me how to live when the chips were down.

(Camden thinks about it for a second. He’s right. First it was his daughter, Nellie, who came to him after being orphaned. Then it was his sister, who he found after being separated from, who lived a hard life for a long time. Finally, it was Jocelyn herself, who moved to the states as a teenager to escape her overbearing mother. Centurion was preparing for this moment for a long time, and he didn’t even know it.

Camden looks down at her feet. She did not come here to attempt to repair Centurion’s image, nor did she expect to have any sort of feeling for her former mentor. The best she would have hoped for was apathy, but the past few days working with Centurion has done something to her. She finds herself feeling…forgiveness. A rare trait for the untrusting, foul mouthed Brit.)

Camden: Listen…

(Camden’s voice is unsure. The next step she is about to make is a huge one. Can she trust him again? If she does, what does that say about herself? Was she wrong? She can’t possibly be wrong? Still, she has to do this.)

Camden: Allison and I are in the process of starting a family. We don’t know how long it will take, but I do know that when the child arrives…we want their uncle to be in their life. So, Allison and I…we want you to come to London sometime. Soon.

(Centurion takes a sip of his wine and smiles.)

Centurion: I’d like that.

(And there it was – the true reason Camden was drawn to come here, and to help Centurion – healing. Not for Centurion, but for herself. She had been carrying around the wounds of betrayal for so long that she didn’t even realize how much it was harming her.

Centurion’s path to redemption isn’t just about him getting back his personal struggles. It’s also about those around him – those that were once his closest companions. It’s about their redemption, as well.)

Camden: Of course, I don’t want to see your face if you lose this match.

Centurion: Yeah, well I doubt I’m going to want to be seen if I lose this match. I haven’t been in this important of a match since…well, since I fought you in Calgary. And we see how that turned out.

Camden: You’re not facing anyone of my skills in that ring. You’re old. And you’re beat up. But so is everyone else on the opposite side. They’re all past their prime. One of you is probably going to die.

Centurion: That’s…reassuring.

Camden: It’s probably not going to be you, because you’re not that fuckin’ daft. It’s going to be one of those goons who think they’re still 25 and can jump from high places without shattering a pelvis. Point is, none of you are as good as you were ten years ago. You’re just not. You know this. They don’t. Chris Page, he thinks he’s still the best in the world. You want to exploit a weakness? Forget about the back, forget about his move set – that’s his weakness. He’s going to walk into this match thinking he already has it won. He thinks he’s the greatest wrestler in the world…and he’s not.

Centurion: Who is?

Camden: Does that matter? Could be Robert Main. Could be any number of people. Point is, it’s not Chris Page, but he’s going to assume he is. He’s already proving it by calling out the Universal Champion. He is going to take you lightly. He wants to pin the Universal Champion and make a statement. You can make a statement right back by punching that mother fucker right in the nose.

Centurion: And what about the other members of his team.

Camden: Don’t worry about them. Page won’t let them outshine him. Plus, they have nothing. MDK? That dude was never good.

Centurion: RIGHT?!

Camden: They’re just names to get you distracted. The entire match centers around Chris Page attempting to pin Robert Main. That’s the story. Know that going in, and they won’t stand a chance. Plus, remember, you may be old, and they may be old, but you have Apex on your side, and they’re at the top of the wrestling business right now. Chris Page and his ego wouldn’t allow for him to select any younger competitors that might outshine him, and that’s the biggest mistake he made.

(Camden extends her arm.)

Camden: You got this. I believe in you. Everyone is expecting you to be the weak link on your team, and that plays in your favor. You’re going to show every single one of those mother fuckers that Centurion is BACK, and he’s not going to take this shit anymore.

(Centurion smiles and grabs Camden’s hand in solidarity.)

------We’re Gonna March------

Well, if this wasn’t the most predictable thing in the world!

I told you all not to let CCP in your doors! I told you that he doesn’t do anything other than main events, and that if he isn’t at the top of the card, he doesn’t care. I told you that he doesn’t really care about this War Games match, but noooo, you all insisted that everything was going to be fine, and that the XWF would go right back to normal once James Raven gets rid of the The Archbishop Of Stonerberry.

And now what do we have? We have Chris Page calling out Robert Main, despite not even knowing his name, and challenging him to a Universal Title match before War Games even takes place.

Do you understand now? This was never about an “invasion”. It was never about trying to destroy the XWF, or getting rid of James Raven. No, Chris Page was looking for an excuse to walk in the door so he could jump the line and get a Universal Title shot. That’s it. He swindled three suckers into thinking he actually cared about their careers, when in actuality he knew War Games was around the corner and he needed three bodies to form a team and not ask any questions. Now that his foot is back in the door and he got the attention of everyone in the back, he’s already forgotten about the match.

How pathetic must his teammates feel right now, by the way? You come back, attack James Raven, set yourself up to look like a hero, only to come to the realization that you’re just a pawn in another one of Chris Page’s vanity projects? Then again, they agreed to team with the man to begin with, so self-reflection probably isn’t something this group of people know. They will be back in the hotel, nursing their injuries after Chris Page leads them to slaughter, wondering “what went wrong?”

That’s what Chris Page does. He sells people a bill of goods, telling them how much better he will make their lives, when in actuality he hasn’t positively affected anyone’s like in the entire history of his existence. Everybody he touches turns to shit, and that’s primarily because Chris Page refuses to be around with even a shred more clout or talent than he has. He constantly has to be over, no matter what the situation. He’s the kind of guy who would go to a restaurant and Page Plant the fucking chef because the steak was really good and he can’t have anyone else being complimented.

That’s what this whole thing is about. That’s what WGWF was about, that’s what Chris Page’s entire career is about – his mother didn’t hug him enough as a child and so he needs to find a way to make himself feel validated. He is every narcissist in the world. He’s Donald Trump, or Jeff Bezos, or Kanye West – take credit for everything you had nothing to do with, and lie about all of things that failed under you. WGWF collapses and the XWF prospers? Tell everyone how bad the XWF is and that you closed the WGWF in order to fix the XWF. People will buy it. Listen to the wizard, and pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Chris Page can run my name into the mud and try to slander me all he wants by claiming I shouldn’t be a legend, which…by the way, is perhaps the most commonly used attack against me. Between that and telling everyone I’m old. You may not think I’m a legend, but I didn’t just earn this with my long list of accomplishments, which includes having the most wins of any XWF superstar in history, in case you forgot. I won this tag, fair and square, by beating…

…FUZZ, Chris Page’s newly found pal. And I won that tag nearly a decade before Chris Page even stepped foot in the XWF, so what he “thinks” about me being a legend is completely irrelevant. I accomplished a lot before most of these wrestlers even knew what the XWF was. But I forgot – there was no wrestling outside of 2009 – 2014, and anything that happened before and after should be scrubbed from the record books and wiped from our memories. If Chris Page wasn’t there, if Rage wasn’t a top guy, then fuck it, it’s worthless, right?

Chris Page is walking into this match, acting like he’s the best wrestler in the ring, when secretly, he’s worried he might be the weakest link. THAT’S why he’s calling out Robert Main now. He wants to get this match signed as soon as possible because if he goes into this War Games match and lays an egg, he’ll never be seen as a credible wrestler again. He wants that match in his back pocket in case things go south for him in a hurry. And trust me, there’s a chance that happens. If his three team mates get wise to the fact that he’s only in this for a title shot, they may feed him to the dogs.

Another trait of Chris Page being a narcissist is the fact that he cuts promos only for himself. He’ll use references to things he’s seen and he knows, and if you don’t get it, well…too bad for you. Archbald Borough? Does he even know where that is? Or was he just scrolling through people’s Facebook posts one day and decide to mash everything together and vomit it out?

All of this is to say, Chris Page is overrated. Always has been. He had one decent run in the XWF a few years ago, when he was smoking buddies with Spice One, but he quit as soon as he took a couple of losses. Outside of that, his resume is nothing more than padded wins in his own federation against subpar wrestlers…and yes, before you say something, I am including Chris Page’s win over Jocelyn Camden, who was in the business for a grand total of four months at that point, in that statement. Beating up on Paul Frost and Nick Ryan is not exactly what I consider strong wins.

I look at the acolytes that Chris Page has around him, and it makes me wonder how three wrestlers, who have such high reputations in the wrestling business, would be so stupid as to follow him around. I don’t know if he’s handing them drugs, or promising them they’ll all get title shots, or if they’re all just complete fucking morons who can’t think for themselves, but it says far more about their character than it does about Page’s.

Actually, I take it back. I don’t know why Fuzz and Rage would follow Chris Page around. I understand completely why MDK would be Page’s loyal little puppy – because, without him, MDK would have nothing. I know they fought like, a thousand times in the WGWF, but that’s the point. MDK’s “legendary career” is built off the fact that he fought Chris Page. If Chris Page didn’t exist, no one would give MDK the time of day. He would be wrestling in opening matches against one of the Incest Kids if it weren’t for Chris Page keeping him on a leash.

Poll the crowd. Hell, poll the boys backstage. Ask if any of them know who the fuck MDK even is. My guess is nearly 80% never heard of him before. That’s because MDK was a big name in a really niche crowd. He had a cult following…and that cult drank the Kool-Aid and died.

If anyone on that team is willing to lay down and take a loss to Chris Page can walk out of there with his dignity, it’s MDK. After all, he owes it to Page. MDK isn’t going to stick around. He isn’t going to fighting for the Universal Title any time soon. So, as one last favor for making his career, MDK is going to make sure Page doesn’t look like a fucking idiot.

I mean…too late for that, honestly, but I get the idea. Page has already looked like a moron long before this match even starts. He looked like a moron by selecting three washed out superstars as his team mates. He looked like a moron by attacking James Raven. Hell, he looked like a moron by walking into the front door of the XWF and not just leaving well enough alone. Page could just sit home, get stoned, and enjoy his retirement. That’s what he SHOULD have done. But no, his never ending jealousy of James Raven compelled him to come back.

That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? Jealously. All four men have had to go their entire careers hearing about how James Raven is the “greatest of all time”, and it pisses them off. It pisses off Chris Page because he did a really good job isolating the WGWF from the rest of the world in hopes that it’s fans wouldn’t ever know that other wrestling exists. It pisses off Rage because he was never able to get the better of Raven, whether it be in wrestling or in life. It pisses off Fuzz because Fuzz wants to be friends with Raven and Raven has much better things to do than to hang out with an untrustworthy, relapsed druggy. And it pisses off MDK because Chris Page told him it pisses him off, and MDK has shoved so many crayons up his nose that he’s stopped thinking for himself.

What happens to MDK after this match? Where does he go now that the WGWF is closed and he doesn’t have the talent or the stones to compete in the XWF long term. I would suggest he just retires, or finds himself a civilian job, but I highly doubt he’s able to do anything other than fight. Maybe he can join one of those awful MMA promotions I hear about on Twitter all the time. Or maybe he can join OCW or whatever the fuck it’s called. I hear that place has a world champion that can barely tie his own shoes. Sounds like the perfect place for MDK to spread his wings without his sugar daddy guiding him along the way.

And there’s Fuzz, the “unpredictable one” as he likes to brand himself in this match. That’s all a façade. Fuzz is incredibly predictable. He’ll say he’s doing this for his own good, that he doesn’t know where his loyalties lie, and that he’s only using Chris Page, but that’s him just trying to internally justify joining this team and realizing Page played him like a puppet. You can still get one over on Page? Please. He’s already gotten one over on you.

Though, I do enjoy the fact that Fuzz – FUZZ, of all people – calling me a “broken man.” He’s not wrong, but that’s the pot calling the kettle black. Fuzz had the XWF in his hands, and yet he squandered it with his addiction. I’m not here to criticize a person for their problems – trust me, I’ve had enough of my own that I don’t need to be throwing stones. But being someone who’s had those issues, I know exactly what’s going on with Fuzz…

…he’s lost control. He knows it, but he’s trying to tell himself that everything’s fine. This War Games match? His team? His opponents? All HIS plan…at least, that’s what he says in the mirror. In reality, Chris Page exploited Fuzz’s mental issues and turned him into a common foot soldier. Just another expendable body in a war that Page can’t win.

I would say I hope someday Fuzz gets help, but I honestly don’t give a fuck. Even without his issues, Fuzz would still be an asshole. I feel bad for people who have genuine problems and have a tough time getting help. I don’t have any sympathy for people who use their mental illness as an excuse to be a dick. Fuzz is going to die with a needle in his arm, and that’s a better ending for his story than what should happen to him.

Congratulations, Fuzz. You got James Raven’s attention. Something you’ve been begging for for months. Was it worth it? I guess we’ll have to see at War Games.

You’re like a dog chasing a car. Now that you’ve caught it, you don’t know what to do with it. You’ve “weaseled your way” – your words – into a main event at a Pay Per View. Ok, now what? You’re not in line for a Universal Title shot – Chris Page has made sure of that. You can’t get a tag team title shot – you don’t have any friends. You’ve all but given up on actually WINNING this match. So, what was the point? Was the goal just to get some attention. Well, good job. People see you. Pat on the back, old chum.

Oh…and Rage is still part of this match. You’re going to have to forgive me if I completely forgot about him. That’s how insignificant his presence is in this match. Not that he’s a nobody, but that Chris Page has neutered him to the point where he can’t even speak for himself. It’s a sad fall from grace for a man who accomplished so much, but it happens to the best of us.

If this was five years ago, Rage would have come back on his own and thrown everyone out of that ring the night he returned. Instead, he was just another dude – a name and a face from the past that people remember, but only for nostalgic reasons. The Rage I knew – the man who would beat everyone in his path – is dead. This Rage? This hired gun on his last legs? This is someone completely.

War Games is upon us. At the end of the night, it will be proven that nostalgia isn’t as important as good, old fashioned talent, when Chris Page, Fuzz, MDK, and Rage all meet their…

FINAL FANTASY!

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