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B.O.B. D · **05-10-2019, 09:50 PM**

There was no interview after my Warfare match. No celebrations, no happiness. For me, at least. As I walked backstage, it was people like Robert Main and Griffin McAlister who had everything to cheer about. They were the winners of Wednesday night. And there I walked as a loser, yet a man one win away from a Universal Title shot, and I couldn't be less excited.

My position didn't feel earned. When I volunteered to be a captain of a War Games team, I didn't expect them to ACTUALLY pick me. At the time I WAS on a win streak, one more victory away from the TV Title. It must've been a decision of pure curiosity: could Big D handle the spotlight? If they only knew what my future held, they probably would've made Lacklan a captain instead.

I shouldn't have felt the way I did, there was plenty of reasons to be proud. In my loss to Lux, I was merely a move away from changing the outcome. Against McAlister and Double G, I wasn't the one who passed out in a submission hold, hell, I was the one who beat GG to the point where he could barely compete. Griffin took advantage of my actions and is being rewarded for it. That was just the way it went.

Despite all this, I didn't feel like the man I had a couple weeks ago. I felt drained, mentally and physically, and it was finally starting to show. The sleepless nights, the pain I endured every week(sometimes twice). It was taking such a toll on me, I didn't know how much more I had left in the tank.

And then there was the next matter at hand: my match against Snow and Hootie. It was difficult not to want to look past this bout, but doing that could spell continued failure. When this match was booked, I told myself it'd be an easy win. I mean, for starters, who could take an owl in a wrestling ring seriously?

Apparently this was no ordinary owl. I expected Hootie to either not show up Saturday, or be there and lay down. Not the case. This owl, toy, stuffed thing, whatever you want to call it is for real. At least it says it is. For being such a small creature, Hootie sure had quite a mouth. It was interesting to think the participant I looked at most like a joke would be the one that needed to be taken seriously. I guess they do say size doesn't matter. Oh God, if it's not my opponents, it's ME making the penis jokes. Ugh.

I quickly changed out of my wrestling attire and made my way for the exit. As I left, I made eye contact with Steve Sayors. He shook his head at me, turned, and walked away. I could read his face; it was as if he was rubbing in the fact he had been right with his original championship rankings. Big D at the bottom of the lowest championship. Right where I belonged.

I got outside and stood around. I didn't know what to do, my car was completely destroyed at the moment thanks to PETA. It wouldn't be that hard for me to walk to a hotel, or call a cab, but I didn't feel motivated to do either. All I wanted to do was melt all over the parking lot, have the janitor sweep me up, and throw me in the garbage. I felt THAT low.

"Excuse me, Big D?"

From behind me I heard a high pitched voice address me. I turned around and saw a young kid, probably about 10 or 11 years old, standing there with a big smile on his face.

"Yes?" I barked at him rudely. It may not have been nice, but at this point it was no secret to anyone that I wasn't a nice person. Along with all the other crap I was dealing with currently.

"It's so awesome to meet you," the kid gleefully responded, not deterred at all by my rudeness. "My dad was a HUGE fan of yours and I am, too."

"I see," I said, trying to humor the kid. "But he stopped being a fan after I turned my back in the fans like I always do, right?"

The kids cheerfulness subsided for a moment as he looked at the ground. He was frowning, and it seemed as though he was trying to hold back some tears.

"No," he said in a low tone. "He died a few years ago."

For the first time in a while, I actually felt bad for someone else. Here I was sulking about losing a few matches and this kid just wanted to talk to me. His dad must've been a big fan of mine if he knew who I was BEFORE XWF. I decided to change my tone a bit.

"Well, I'm very sorry to hear that," I sympathized.

"It's okay, me and my mom are strong like you," he smiled back at me. "She promised me if I was good I'd get to come and watch you wrestle."

"Well you obviously must've been good, then," I chuckled. "I'm just sorry I couldn't have pulled off a victory for you to enjoy."

"Are you kidding?!" the kid joyfulness boasted. "I got to see Big D live, just like my dad did when HE was younger."

This kid had some spunk. I normally despise children, at least the really obnoxious and misbehaved ones. Which isn't really fair, because most of that can be contributed to their upbringing, but it was quite obvious to me this kid was raised right.

"So you don't care that I lost?" I asked a little shocked.

"Mmm mmm," the kid responded with a head shake. "We all lose at some point in life, what matters is how we rebound from them. That's what my dad always said."

"Well your dad sounds like he was quite a guy," I stated with a pat on the kid's head.

"My dad would've loved to see you come out of retirement," the kid spoke. "He watched all of your career highlights as they happened and showed them to me when I got older."

"I'm sure he'd be REALLLL thrilled to see his hero wrestling an owl Saturday," I sarcastically remarked.

"Are you kidding?" the kid asked with excitement. "I can't wait to watch that match!"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah!" he yelled jumping up and down. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'VE never seen someone wrestle an owl! That's gonna be the coolest thing EVER!!!!"

It was weird. In all of my anger, sorrow, depression, I didn't expect anyone to actually WANT to see my match Saturday. All I could think about was 'why me?' and yet this kid lost his dad before he was even in high school and he hadn't lost a step. This kid has more guts than I did at this point in time and it was sad.

"I guess it is pretty cool, huh?" I laughed, which made the kids smile grow even wider.

"It sucks you have to wrestle your partners' sister, though," he said.

"Yeah, it does," I began. "But Rain will understand. It's not like I'm going to attack his sister with a chair like I did Double G. I just want to walk into the match, win, and head to War Games."

"You HAVE to win War Games!"

"I'm gonna try, buddy," I grinned. "It's not all up to me, though, it's gonna take a team effort to get the job done. But I like to think I have a pretty good team, so it should be a good match."

"I'd love to see you win a World Championship, just like my dad did!"

"I'll do the best I can, kid," I told him.

"Well, I better go," the boy said with a sigh. "My mom is probably worried about me, I just kind of snuck off to look for you. It was nice meeting you, good luck Saturday."

The kid began to walk away, waving at me as he did. It was strange, because this small conversation that I didn't even WANT to have at first, made me feel alot better. It was nice to know there was at least someone out there who believed in me, didn't mind watching me compete in pointless matches.

"Hey, kid......." I yelled out before the kid got too far out of range. He stopped and turned around. I took off my 'Cold Big D Truth' shirt I had changed into and tossed it to him, Mean Joe Green style. "Have a souvenir to remember the experience."

"Oh my God!" the kid shouted with joy. "A Big D shirt worn by the man himself!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"No, thank you," I said before turning and walking away.

As I walked away from the experience I just had, I couldn't help but feel some new life. I had always conducted myself in such a way that people hated me, yet this simple minded kid cheered for me regardless all because of his dad. It was nice to feel appreciated for the things I did, the pain I put my body and brain through. Even though the match I was gonna have Saturday night seem stupid to most people, there were still those out there who wanted to see what would happen.

The result was going to be the expected one: Big D walks away with the victory. It might not fit with the story that had been being told lately, but I don't let other people write MY stories. There's no way I can embarrass myself by losing to Hootie, I'd be dead before I EVER let that happen. It didn't matter how cute Hootie was, or nice, I was going to show that thing that good people always finish last. Nothing personal, it's just the way it was. This match was a last chance at momentum for me to take to War Games and I'd be damned if I walked into that match on a 3 match losing streak.

And then there was Snow, the participant I had yet to hear from. Both her and her brother had been rather silent lately, a strange occurrence from the pair. Maybe they were busy training, something I could only hope for in Rain's case. As for Snow, no amount of training could prepare her for me. Everyone knew she was not on my level, maybe even the Perfect Storm themselves. But I'm sure that won't stop her from trying her best to take me down.

Regardless of how confident I was, I couldn't get cocky. It was gonna be hard not to. I'm Big D, War Games Captain Former NWF World Heavyweight Champion, future XWF Universal Champion. I'll be damned if I let Snow or Hootie H. Hootie prevent that from happening. And that ain't no story, it's the Cold Big D Truth.

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