---

DARK GODDESS PRODUCTIONS
Hollywood, California

Steve Sayors walked into Kenzi Grey’s personal production studio that her wife had purchased for her barely a year ago to free her from the constraints of finding others who were willing to take chances on her creative vision. Steve walked the halls, passing posters of some of DGP’s movies and programs and he started to think about how silly the recent debate was. Who, in their right mind, would go from being broadcast on an entire television network, where she had creative control to do anything she wanted…to having a single focal point on a wrestling site, from which to smack talk the competition? In fact, it seemed a boon to XWF to have a multimedia star on their show, regardless of her status as an A or even a D lister! It was all about putting eyes on the product and Kenzi Grey had the perfect vehicle for it.

Steve was directed to Kenzi’s office where he found the media starlet staring at a letter in her hand with a dumbfounded look on her face. He cautiously rapped his knuckles on the door frame to get her attention as he cleared his throat.

“Ahem…Kenzi? Is this a good time?”

The young woman didn’t even glance up in Steve’s direction as she hurriedly waved him in. She slapped the letter down on her desk and slid it over to him with a look of utter exasperation on her face.

“HAVE YOU SEEN THIS SHIT STEVE?!”

Steve picked up the paper and read it aloud;




Steve glanced down at the names on the petition, which numbered only 3. He scratched his head as he put the petition back on the desk.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t concern myself about those three people. It’s clear that they have an agenda. I mean, let’s be honest, anyone in the tag team tournament should know who they are facing and it wasn’t like it was the first round! To say; ‘I wasn’t prepared because I didn’t know who I’d be facing’ doesn’t hold a lot of water. I mean, if anyone has a gripe, it’s probably Salt and Pepper since they had to face one-half of a team that had already been eliminated.”

Kenzi gave a dismissive wave of her hand. She wasn’t interested in any of that.

“Steve…THAT’S NOT THE POINT!! THOSE PIECES OF SHIT CALLED ME AN UNATTRACTIVE B-LISTER!! WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK?!”

Steve was understandably left speechless by the shallow reply to the controversy that had followed Savage. After talk of the ‘Hooded Man’ had cooled, this had been quite a spirited debate.

“I want to know what XWF is going to do about this Steve! Are they just going to let a bunch of backyard spot monkeys distribute libel like this?! Here Sarah and I are, bringing more eyes to the show than an entire field of Idaho potatoes and they are letting jelly-bellied neckbeards shit talk me on the eve of becoming their new champion?! WHERE IS THE LOGIC?!”

“I mean…isn’t the real issue that they are claiming that you posted an illegal promotional video?”

“…a wut…?”

Steve wondered if she was playing games with him as she simply stared.

“Your promo. They said your opponents couldn’t adequately prepare because they didn’t know who you were.”

“Don’t be stupid Steve! I’m on television every goddamn week! I’m a champion in another major wrestling company where XWF stars just competed in…WHO DOESN’T KNOW WHO I AM?!”

She seems frustrated as she makes a tent with her hands in front of her face. After a moment she nods her head.

“I know what I have to do now…I have to go all in! I have to use my clout to force my way into the XWF consciousness! If people are there claiming I’m an ugly B-lister, it’s probably because they don’t know who I really am!”

“If you don’t mind my asking…how do you intend to do that?”

“Simple…I’m going to take over CTN and I’m going to make sure that everyone sees exactly who I am!”

Steve stroked his chin, wondering what she meant. He’d find out…soon enough…

---

Steve Sayors looked around in amazement, stuck by the utterly convincing beachside cantina that had been constructed by the DGP staff and crew. He could almost smell the cool breeze coming in from the ocean as the waves lapped at the sand, just a few feet away.

“Hey mang! I glad chu could make it!”

Steve turned and had to do a double take as Kenzi was no longer dressed as Kenzi, but was made up to look exactly like Hanari Carnes. Steve blinked, unsure of what to say.




“Errrr…Kenzi?”

“KENZI? Is chu blind mang? Can’t chu read chico? Da name on da promotional tag say my name loud and clear mang! I one half of da XWF Tag Team Champions…we da Arm Collectors mang! We don’t sweat no loud mouth mocosos pequeños! Me and Steve Justice da champions of da world…and dat make us da champions of everything in it, chico!”

Steve didn’t feel at all comfortable with Kenzi’s mockery of Hanari, but he had to admit, it was rather convincing…if you shut your eyes and didn’t listen.

“So…are we redoing the interview from the cabana bar from last week Kenzi…errr I mean Hanari? I guess I could go for another Mojito.”

Fake Hanari sneered at this.

“Mojito? Mang! What chu think dis is, some low budget production? Chu think Hanari Carnes gonna bring chu to dis paradise and serve chu cheap Cuban rum? No mang! I not gonna do dat to chu! We got a big budget chico! We got a big audience! That mean we only got da finest for chu mang!”

Kenzi yelled to the bartender.

“HEY, YO! Cantinero…get dis mang a Mojito, rápido!”

Steve stared as the barkeep, immediately produced the ordered drink…suspiciously as if it had been ready and waiting the entire time. He took the drink and nodded politely, then turned to his host.

“I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but this is the same drink that Hanar…errrr you got me last week.”

Fake Hanari stared at Steve, then reached over and took the drink from him. She took a sip, then tossed the entire thing over her shoulder, paying no mind as the glass shattered on the pavement. She pulled out a fat cigar…an obvious Cuban.

“Chu know what I say mang, same difference! Just like Kenzi and Sarah. Day both da same! Day both short and day both perras mang! Day shouldn’t be fighting for my title, day should be fighting for da chance to clean my gold!”

Steve couldn’t help the sheepish grin that touched his lips.

“I think that’s exactly what they are fighting for, a chance to add your gold to their own!”

She lit her cigar, but as she took her first drag she erupted into a coughing fit, then looked at the cigar and threw it down in disgust. She ruthlessly stomped the rolled tobacco with malice, then a growing sense of zeal.

“DAY THINK DAY GONNA GET MY GOLD CHICO? DAY NOT GONNA GET NOTHING BUT MY SIZE 13 ARRANQUE TO DAY CULO! What day even done in XWF? Tell me amigo, who day even beat to deserve a chance to be da campeones?”

Steve started to answer, but he was quickly cut off.

“CÁLLATE! I answer dat for chu mang, day aint beat nobody!”

Steve managed to chime in.

“They actually had the toughest draw. They beat Fuzz and Noah Jackson in their very first match.”

“Chu think I impressed mang? Chu think I care about those two j-brones? Day not even a team mang! Not like Hanari and Steve Justice! We a team, we even got a team name! We da Arm Collectors and we gonna collect a lot more than dat on Sunday night!”

“Well…they beat Famine of the Vile and ‘The’ Tristan Slater, ‘The Unholy Alliance.’”

Fake Hanari had a good long chuckle about that.

“Da two idiotas who don’t even know who day facing? Chu talking bout da two pendejos who wish day in a handicap match mang? NAH! Day no team, day just a couple of cabrones with big mouths and tiny cajones! Day not even mang enough to carry gold like da Arm Collectors!”

“You’re sounding quite confident ahead of Relentless. Should things not go your way, what do you…”

Steve flinched as she was in his face, finger poking his chest, driving him backward.

“WE NOT LOSING THESE TITLES TO NOBODY, MANG! ESPECIALLY TWO LITTLE CHILDREN! First we gonna break day arms…then maybe, if day lucky…the Tag Champs gonna break day back!”

Steve watched as Fake Hanari smiled and walked off, presumably looking for more mamacitas in need of having their backs broken as well…

---

A short while later, Steve Sayors found himself in an altogether different environment. It was sparsely decorated room, dotted with cheap furnishings…only the bare essentials. At the center sat Kenzi Grey, her usual long black braids missing and instead replaced by a short cropped mohawk. Her legs were crossed as she sat in a Zen-like pose, her eyes fixed on the empty wall in front of her. It was obvious that she was now in the guise of her other opponent at Relentless, Steve Justice.




Steve remained silent as he watched Other Steve as he stared off into nothingness. This went on for several minutes before Steve finally spoke up…

“Steve?”

Other Steve remained placid, unmoved by Steve’s presence or his words. Steve cleared his throat, then spoke up again.

“Mr. Justice, can I ask…what you’re doing?”

Another long beat passed. For a moment, Steve thought that Other Steve would just sit there the entire time, staring off into the empty void…but eventually, the silence was broken.

“I’m sorry Mr. Sayors…I was thinking back to my very first interview with you, before my very first match here in XWF. Do you recall? You were extremely jetlagged, but you went on with the interview. I told you that I had several meetings with Vincent Lane and I promised that I would walk the line…I’d start at the bottom and work my way up.”

“No more attacking people. You’d handle business in sanctioned matches only. Of course, your actions against your partner on Savage after winning the tag titles seems to fly in the face of that, doesn’t it?”

Other Steve remained calm and serene.

“Maybe I’m a hypocrite, Steve. Have you considered that? I mean, I say one thing and then I do another. Hell! If you hadn’t come here, I would have just sat here and stared at this wall for hours on end…contemplating Relentless…contemplating defeating two scared little girls who don’t have the heart that I do!”

Steve stroked his chin before he cut in.

“So…no mention of you attacking your partner and kicking him in the groin after winning the titles?”

“It’s hilarious when you think about it, isn’t it Steve? This so-called championship match is really going to be a massacre. The Arm Collectors going up against two women who have absolutely no idea what they are getting themselves into.”

“Not even gonna mention what happened, huh?”

“Tables, ladders, and chairs. The ring will be filled with implements of destruction and those two dolts have no concept of what awaits them. Sarah Lacklan has lived a life of wealth and privilege where everything was just laid out in front of her…like a buffet table. She never had to climb the ladder of success to get to where I am. She has just sat there on her ass, in a chair…waiting to be handed everything! That’s her only concept of Tables, Ladders, and Chairs. She’s lazy Steve…she's been coasting through XWF for months, but that free ride comes to an end on Sunday night!"

“Nothing about Hanari...nothing at all?”

“YES! Kenzi, I’m glad you brought her up!”

“I actually didn’t, I was asking you about…”

“What does she even know about Xtreme Steve? Nothing! I’ve been an Xtreme Champion once for a short time…”

Steve ran his hands over his face in exasperation as Other Steve refused to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Instead, he attempted to address Other Steve’s obvious error in reasoning.

“Kenzi is a three-time hardcore champion. She’s literally a hardcore champion at this very mome…”

“I’m going to enjoy introducing her to Xtreme. I’m going to enjoy watching her wilt under the bright lights of her very first big pay-per-view match with tag team championship gold on the line and an arena filled with fans. She’s never seen anything like it.”

“Please tell me that you are joking right now. She’s literally on television every single week.”

“That is what sets The Arm Collectors above the rest. We do our homework Steve, we know the opposition inside and out. We know them better than they know themselves. Sarah will crumble when the going gets tough, it’s what she does…”

“She fought her way to becoming King of the Ring, Federweight Champion, Anarchy Champion, and just won her first World Title after coming back from a career ending vehicle accident.”

“…she’s a quitter, and that’s just her nature when the going gets tough. It will get very tough on Sunday. It almost doesn’t seem fair that this will be Kenzi’s very first XWF match...”

“SHE JUST FOUGHT IN TWO TOURNAMENT MATCHES!”

Other Steve didn’t seem to care or maybe didn’t even hear him. Other Steve’s eyes stayed fixed on the wall.

“…he shouldn’t have brought her here Steve…he’s going to regret it…”

A puzzled look appeared on Steve’s face, but he didn’t interrupt.

“…I told you during that first interview Steve, Vinnie was the one who set this whole thing in motion. Vinnie knew what he was unleashing when he signed me…and tomorrow night that bill is going to come due Steve…do you hear me? THAT BILL IS COMING DUE!”

Inexplicably, all pretenses of being Steve Justice was abruptly dropped as Kenzi tore at the prosthetics she wore, ripping off all vestiges of Steve Justice and leaving only the unattractive B-List star…

“It’s all been fun and games for you, hasn’t it? For all of you in XWF, this has all been one big laughfest, hasn’t it? Yeah, bring in the Mafia…they are good for ratings…stalk them, burn down their house…cut their legs out from underneath them…”

Kenzi stood, glancing down at her wounded knee that she had nursed through the entire tournament.

“How are those ratings? Are they up? How about the training videos for the up and comers? Are they flying off the shelf? What about those titles? How are those titles doing? You let Vita Valenteen shoot her shot…but she missed. So, tomorrow…you get to see how the shot you took at me fairs…but I promise you, the result will be EXACTLY the same! You’re gonna pop a big rating…but Sarah and I are gonna pop your tag team champions! Those titles are leaving with the Mafia…and there’s nothing that anyone in that entire arena can do about it!”

Things ended abruptly and on a bit of an angry note, much to Steve’s confusion…

---