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Chris Chaos · (04-05-2017)

The Art of War: Chapter 1

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“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Gabe Reno has been sucked into the vortex of Chaos. He is a victim of the game. This entire time he felt like he was in control, like he had the upper hand, like he was the one who was pulling every string on the puppets body. In reality, Gabe Reno as been two steps behind the entire time. He was made to feel like he was in control, like he was the master of the chess game. That is right where he was planned to be. You cannot let failure creep into the mind of your enemy. You need to give them small victories to keep their confidence up before you crush their advances in one fell swoop.

Gabe Reno began this war, he opened the door for his opportunity. He saw a lane and he chose to go down it. When he swung that chair and hit his partner over the head, costing them the Lethal Lottery Tournament, he chose a path. He could have went on to win the tournament and perhaps ascended to Tag Team Glory, side by side with the Universal Champion, and could have possibly won another belt in the process. Iconolast could have held every belt in the business, they could have been a dynasty. But he got selfish. He became greedy out of his jealousy. He saw the champion at a vulnerable point, with the world pressing down on his spine, and decided he would take a shot at the biggest prize. He could not set his pride aside to become great through hard work and steadfast dedication, he decided to take a direct path. To butt the entire line. Within the chaos going on he saw a golden light of opportunity, and he decided to run towards the light. But with this opportunity came great risk. He could have had it all--now it is all or nothing. By choosing this path, he has limited his options. Sure he opened the door, but the door leads one way. Win and be champion, or lose and be remembered forever as being not quite good enough.

In the midst of one of the thickest plots in XWF memory, Gabe decided this is what was best for him. It is an opportunity, sure, one he would not have gotten had he chosen the straight and narrow. This is an opportunity that could bring great fortune, and the the fortitude it took to choose the path shows why he is a solid challenge to anyone who he may choose. He has moxy. He goes to the limit, and then beyond. But sometimes, he oversteps his own limitations. His gets overzealous, and makes mistakes. He tries to create chaos without stepping back and realizing that he can't handle the chaos he already has. It has already overcome his once, and that eats at him. He needs to know in his own mind that he can rise up and handle the same amount of chaos--and more--that comes with being at the top of the mountain. He needs to make sure in his heart of hearts that he is truly built for this. He needs to create more chaos to counterbalance the chaos that has already overcome him. Fight fire with fire? Fight chaos with chaos.

But he is cocky, arrogant, and big headed. He talks the game of a champion, but when the chips are on the table his stack has been smaller than the rest. Other than a win at Shove It--which got him peanuts in the long run--and a string of victories over sub par competition lately, he has no such reason to gloat. But he does, and gloating has become a forte of his. Gloating and genitalia jokes. He is childlike in his outlook but fights with the tenacity of several men. A hard one to figure out, he is, but once he is figured out he becomes so blatantly one dimensional. Offensively one dimensional. But he hides it well. He needs to be figured out first. It is the game he plays. He plays games to hide his insecurities and his limitations--and when there is an opportunity, he grabs it. Smart or not, he tears in with reckless abandon. He does not stop to think of possible consequences. There is no Plan B. That is why he has failed. That is why he hasn't lived up to an amazing amount of potential and talent. He refuses to coordinate his attacks and plan his next move. His entire life is a whirlwind.

“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”
--Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Chris had to make Gabe think he was a broken man. Like the pressure had gotten to him. He had to make Gabe think that he was starting to crack, like his wall was one hit from tumbling down from the inside out. He needed to make Gabe and the world believe he was in a position he didn't want to be in.....

The truth was.....

This is exactly where he wanted to be.

It was this false sense of security that had afforded Gabe the opportunity to use that chair to begin with. He took the opportunity he did because he believed that Chris was at a point where he could be picked off by even the simplest of predators. But that wasn't true. None of it was.

There is more to chaos than spearing some mask wearing moron through a wall. More to it than spraypaint, random attacks and brass knuckles. There was a mental and pyschological element to it. There was an element to it that broke it's victims down by making them thing they were breaking IT down. Oh, what a viscious cycle.

The TRUTH is he is stronger than he has ever been.

The "quick trigger", all planned. The Bobby Blackcoat, Paul Heyman, Micheal Graves incidents....all planned. If he could look like a loose cannon, like he was paranoid, he would look like he was losing his edge. No. He knew what he was doing. He would ever accept matches against people he thought could beat him, beacuse he didn't have to.

TRUTH IS, there wasn't a man on the planet he "thought" could beat him.

Certainly not one in the XWF. Men have cheated to win--Bourbon. Men have distracted to win--Tidbits. Men have used weapons to win--Dillinger. Men have gotten a whole lot of help from a desperate and panicking sudden ally--Robert Main.

Every match where Chris wasn't screwed, he won. Every. Single. One.

And this upset Gabe.

“If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

And arrogant he has. The little things have gotten to him. Chris winning match after match has gotten to him. The attention the champion has garnered has gotten to him. It is to the point where every little sneeze and cough that Chris does gets under Gabe's skin.

Beautiful.

He has grown so arrogant that is has become universally impossible to tell him otherwise. He doesn't listen because he is not capable of listening any longer. He is a bull seeing red. Chris has had a plan all along.

But what is the benefit of exposing this now? Surely, everyone else will be expecting it now. No. That is the beauty of war--you adjust to each new battle. Adjust to each new challenge, but always, in the back of your mind, have a game-plan.

A "Plan B".

As you can aBort any chance of failure and you always know what is coming.......

....a vital mistake by Reno.

One that will cost him gold.

“The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Since the moment Gabe Reno walked in the door, Chris was annoyed by him. His smirk, his stupid hair. He had selected Gabe out of a long list of options to take out, but he would have a little fun first.

Like a cat pawing a mouse before he goes in for the final kill.

Gabe was just so much fun. That little adventure in the art museum in France? Gabe proved he could have a little chaotic fun. It was at that moment that Chris knew he would draw this out. Gabe was going to be his little plaything.

Just so much fun.

So Chris put his plan into place. He knew that taking on any and all comers when they had a tournament to focus on would get under Gabe's skin. Really stick in his craw. It may even make Gabe turn his back.

And he was right.

All those "mistaken" spears. Planned. Chris knew who he was going for.

That night on Warfare, when Chris was surrounded by all the men who wanted a shot and Reno came through the crowd....he knew he had him. Gabe wanted a piece of the action, his ego wouldn't allow him to say in the shadows.

Stupid boy.

But Chris was never his friend. Never liked him, never even cared if he lived or died. All Chris ever wanted was to keep Gabe in the shadows then crush him himself once he emerged.

Plan succeeded so far.

Now he has emerged, the only left on the checklist is to crush him.

....And crush him he will.

“He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Gabe Reno is not ready for the storm that awaits him. When Chris and Gabe first faced off, there was something on the line. A wild card spot for the chamber. Now the stakes have been raised. If Gabe couldn't beat Chris with smaller stakes, what makes anyone think he can beat Chris with so much more riding on it? Chris had fought long and hard to get to where he is. Gabe would giggle because someone said long and hard. That is the difference between these two. One wants to be a rock star. The other wants to be a champion. Gabe wants to win because he thinks he will look cool wearing a belt. Chris wants to win because his legacy is on the line. There is a different mentality at play here. Gabe Reno is prepared to win, but isn't prepared to shoulder the consequences of winning this match. The responsibility it brings. Gabe Reno is unprepared to be a champion of any magnitude, much less this one.

This has been a long time coming. Does anyone remember that little losing streak Gabe went on? When he went a month without winning a match? At least, a month is when Chris stopped counting. When Chris beat him for the rights to keep his Wild Card, Gabe damn near quit. He disappeared for a small time. He came out of nowhere to win Shove It. Other than that, what had he done but lose and then complain? So he has won a couple in a row. Now he thinks he is untouchable. Chris went damn near three months without a loss, before he was screwed by Bourbon. Gabe can barely go back to back.

He is unprepared.

Unprepared for the success, unprepared for the fame, unprepared for the pressure. Chris has taken the limelight of his own succession and subsequently used it to sit back in the shadows and wait for Gabe to stumble into his line of sight. By being the star, he was also the ambush predator. Chris has prepared for this.

Gabe is unprepared.

“It is easy to love your friend, but sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is to love your enemy.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

His mind and heart had been filled with hatred for a long time. But through the process, Chris had grown fond of the back and forth with Gabe. It completed him. One of the things Chris loved most in this business is the aspect of competition. He had pushed all the right buttons and Gabe had taken the bait like a hungry fish. Game on. Now the battle can really began, all he had to do was reel until this fish was worn out. Sit back with a stogie and a cooler of beer and get ready to fight a battle than in the end he will win.

There is such a thing as a love-hate relationship. He hated Gabe, and he loved to hate him. He loved that he had someone to hate. He loved that he had something besides a title to care about again. A good old fashion American rivalry. It was what the country was built on.

He loved Gabe in a weird way. He loved him because without Gabe Reno, he might not be where he is today. He was coasting. Victory after victory over scrub after scrub. Then--as planned--Gabe's ego took over. He hated seeing Chris be given all the easy matches, the competition that was reserved for men of his status, mid card. So he called Chris out and wanted to put the chamber shot on the line. Beautiful. Chris considered it an early birthday present. Gabe pushed him when Chris was starting to grow complacent with ass kicking. Gabe made Chris realize that he could be and would be so much more. Gabe made him realize that maybe this business was one day going to be in his chaotic palm and that he could beat any foe, large, small, and radical.

By pushing Chris to the limit he did, Gabe made the present champion realize he could actually be champion. Gabe gave him confidence to go into the chamber. He gave him the state of mind to know he could hang with anyone.

And for that, he loved Gabe Reno, even through all the hate.

The hardest lesson Chris had to learn through all this recent turmoil was that fact. He hated Gabe Reno with every fiber of his being but every time he looked at the Universal Title and the scar he got inside that vile mile of steel, he learned to love Gabe a little more every time. Now applying what he learned and defeating Gabe in defense of the title that Gabe motivated him to win.....

He brought out all the Chris's. Petty Chris, Whiny Chris, Sad Chris, Mad Chris, Glad Chris, Rad Chris, Fad Chris... BAD... CHRIS.

They say all is fair in love and war.

"Gabe Reno, how does it feel to know that you have been played like fiddle for all this time? How does it feel to know that I manipulated every aspect of this relationship like an abusive husband.....and like the abused wife, somehow, you end up right back in the path of my backhand again. I think you and I are destined to do this dance forever. To think this ends here is foolish and irrational. Sure, I will be up 2-0 and may take a few years off your career, but one day down the road we will meet again. That is how it always works. And when we do, I will beat you down like a hammer and a nail yet again. You are nothing but a fly on the wall and I have the rolled up newspaper.....you will be squashed before you even see it coming.

I have worked too hard to let some sugar high punk with a love for dinosaurs take the most precious thing I own from me. You've been very busy lately, haven't you? Two promos and the card has only been posted for a handful of hours. I know how this is going to go already. You are going to the overwhelming technique. You are going to bury me, and the XWF fans, in a sea of cool looking shoots with bright lights and an array of colors---all to mask the fact that you know in a straight up fight you can't beat me. You haven't, and you won't. How many did you do for the Warfare on the cruise ship? 8? 9? It is overkill. It is too much. You love to hear yourself talk and you pray that someone out there will listen to your crap. You use big words to mask your fear.

I will admit, however, I got a little chuckle out of your newest one. All the things I remind you of. You are a creative little fucker aren't you? I did get some entertainment from it. But that is all you are good for, entertainment. Nobody ever said you aren't an entertainer. Hell I think anyone you ask will say you are one hell of an entertainer. Everyone I know would put the tag of entertainer next to your name. But how many you tag you as "champion"? I can't name one. That is what you will always be remembered as, Gabe. One hell of an entertainer, but really not much more.

Gabe I have you right where I want you, and you know it. You see, its funny, really, because in your fancy little promos that are ascetically pleasing the the XWF viewer, in reality you are really saying the same tired old thing that every...single....other...person says about me. The exact same argument. And you've been saying it for months. In fact, it was you who began this "shell of yourself" nonsense, and it has caught on like AIDS in Haiti. And you've rolled with it. Rolled with it and rolled with it, and rolled with it. You've shoved it down our throats. But where is your proof? That is in your mind, Gabe. Ever since you started this, I have beaten Graves, beaten Duke....both which said the exact same thing you said. They followed in your footsteps and decided that what you said had merit. Then, I crushed their spirit and broke their will. I have kept this title for this long through this much turmoil. Gabe......

When we were teammates, where was this "shell" discussion? No. You were basically giving me a blowjob. To anyone listening, who wasn't familiar with the situation, you'd think I was the best wrestler on planet earth....

Which is the truth.....

But the point is that this shell discussion never took hold until you realized not only was I good....I was TOO good. Then you needed to come up with a reason for attacking your superior, and your delusional mind came up with this. Now it is so engraved in the back of that fucked up head of yours, I am not sure you know what is real and what isn't anymore.

An entity producing no real purpose other than Championship placeholder.

Oh yeah? A placeholder? For who? If I was a placeholder, Gilmour would have taken it back, Graves would have taken it.......if I was a placeholder........a placeholder for who? You? Pssht. Gabe the only reason you are here is because Thomas Nixon is incompetent and you had a lucky stretch of matches. We have seen the results once already. You aren't on my level, so you must resort to these childish word games. We have seen the movie before, Gabe. I have beaten you already. I will beat you again.

I've seen this before, but there is no fast forward button to get to the end. The ending is the same, but we have to sit through this slug fest in its entirety. It is boring to me now. But that is fine, I can take a few minutes of boredom to hold my belt high once again, knowing right there that you will NEVER get another chance as long as I am champion. Bittersweet, at least to me.

You said it the best yourself. Perfectly phrased.

Desperate men do desperate things.

You are a desperate man. Desperate to prove you aren't just another face in the crowd. Desperate to prove you can stack up to me. We had a chance to stand side by side at the top of the wrestling world, but your desperation and paranoia caused you to bend that chair over my head. You knew what you were doing, and you cost yourself glory. You elected to have a CHANCE to be the greatest, whereas if you had kept your word and had a set of nuts you would have been. We would be in the finals of this tournament and the tabloids would have some catchy headline that their editor with a double digit IQ and a triple digit income came up with: "Radically Chaotic". But instead, they will only read one thing now. "Chaos Rules Supreme".

XWF's shining star. The new Omega. By disregarding the former Alpha.

Alpha? Since when were you the alpha? Do you even know what alpha means? In order to be an alpha, you have to have DONE SOMETHING to get there. You aren't the alpha, Gabe, you aren't even the Omega. Your nothing here. The sheer fact you are in this match elevates you from the bottom. I bring out the best in people, then I destroy their hopes and dreams. I am the crusher of souls.

Gabe Reno.....your hopes and dreams will be crushed at Lethal Lottery. Your chance to be anything more than a filler wrestler for cards that I headline, will be crushed. I don't need silly jokes and humorous comparisons. I have the upper hand, and I have had it all along.

You know it.

I know it.

The world knows it.

So, whose the bitch now?

GABE RENO, THE RADICALLY DELUSIONAL

BITCH

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XWF RECORD: 25-6-2
XWF Universal Champion: 1x (Current)

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