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Centurion · (10-22-2019)

(A good cigar. A glass of scotch. A quiet night.

For Centurion, this is luxury. We open up on the balcony of Centurion's suite in Wales. There, we see Centurion looking out into the city, his scotch on the table next to him and his cigar in hand. The night is quite, save for some far away sounds of the city, and the occasional vacationing family in the hotel below him.

The glass sliding door opens behind him, but he doesn't turn around. Allison's red hair becomes visible as she walks onto the balcony. After a few seconds of silence, she speaks.)

Allison: Hey.

Centurion: Hey, grab a seat. It's a beautiful night. I just did the cost projections...

(Centurion turns his head to face Allison and immediately stops talking. In her hand, she holds a prescription pill bottle. She shakes it one time, and Centurion doesn't move.)

Centurion: Going through my stuff, have you?

Allison: These are yours?

Centurion: Yes.

Allison: They're your anti-depressents?

Centurion: ...yes.

Allison: And you haven't been taking them, have you?

(Centurion just sighs and puts his head down. He doesn't have to answer. Allison already knows the answer.)

Allison: Andy, you can't just stop taking these...

Centurion: I can't drink when I'm taking them.

Allison: Then don't drink!

(Centurion scoffs, but Allison does not seem amused.)

Allison: I'm serious! I know you're not an alcoholic. You're not going to go through withdrawal. Booze isn't a necessity in your life. If you can't drink while you're on them, then don't drink.

Centurion: We've been celebrating! This is all fun!

Allison: No, you were having fun two weeks ago. Now you're just chasing the high. This is how you went off the rails before, and I refuse to allow you to do it again.

Centurion: I'm not "chasing the high."

Allison: Yes, you are. You do it all the time. You don't want to deal with your thoughts, so you surround yourself with booze and women and gambling to make you forget about your mental illness. That shit may work on all those people who get starstruck by you, but it certainly won't work on me.

(Allison takes the bottle and tosses them over to Centurion, who catches them.)

Allison: Enjoy your drink tonight. Take your meds in the morning.

(Allison walks in front of Centurion and grabs his cigar. She sits down on the chair next to him and takes a drag from the cigar before handing it back to him. She exhales the smoke and looks over to him.)

Allison: You ready for tomorrow night?

Centurion: Pfft. Ready? Please. It's just Mastermind.

Allison: No. It's not "just Mastermind". It's your first title defense in nine years. It's a shot at your 150th win. This is a really big match, and you've done nothing to prepare for it.

Centurion: I'm not sure adding pressure to me is going to be helpful.

Allison: Sure it will. I need you to start taking this shit seriously. Going forward, you're going to be getting everyone's A game. No one is going to overlook you or think you're some kind of washed up legend. They're going to see you as the Hart Champion, and they're going to want to eliminate you, and that's going to be a lot easier when you're boozed up and off your meds.

Centurion: I don't think you realize how much Mastermind isn't a threat.

Allison: I don't think you realize how much I don't care. This isn't about Mastermind. It's about you going forward and keeping the momentum you built. It's about keeping you in the rhythm. That's my job. Oh, and my job is to also keep you from doing stupid shit, like getting yourself sued by a former US Senator, so if you decide to tweet something stupid out again, I'll shove your smart phone so far up your ass...

(Centurion snickers, causing Allison to stop.)

Allison: What?

Centurion: Technically, I'm your boss.

Allison: SO FAR UP YOUR ASS! Got it?

Centurion: (timidly) Yes, ma'am.

Allison: You're great. You know you're great. But everyone gets humbled, and you've been humbled too much already. You've come so far, but a big part of your recovery is to make sure you continue to follow the steps you need to follow. You need to keep taking your meds. You need to keep going to therapy. These aren't one time things - it's a lifetime of battles. Trust me - I've been doing this a little longer than you. Sorry to say, Mom gave us some really shitty genes.

(Centurion laughs as he takes another sip of his scotch. He takes a drag of his cigar and blows the smoke into the cool Welsh air. Centurion reflects on his mother, who he barely knows. The last time Centurion saw her, she was in a mental hospital in Illinois. Between their mother's mental issues and their father's life of crime, the Cortinovis twins weren't exactly given a winning hand in terms of genetics.)

Centurion: Have you heard anything from Mom?

Allison: It's been years. Last time I spoke with the hospital, she's pretty much confined to her room. Her illness gets worse and worse every day. I doubt she even knows who we are at this point.

(Centurion takes a puff of his cigar as a pit in his stomach makes him ache. Despite never having a relationship with his mother, he always felt bad for the life she was dealt. Centurion was lucky enough to be adopted as a baby and not have to witness his mother's mental decline, but it doesn't make it any easier. Centurion ashes his cigar and changes the subject before things get too emotional.)

Centurion: The bank is putting my house up for sale.

Allison: About time. What's the starting bid?

Centurion: $3.6 million.

Allison: That's low. You put way more than that into it.

Centurion: Yeah. It won't stay that low. Latimore is going to throw as much money as he can at it just to burn it all down.

(The two sit in silence for a few moments as the reality of the situation hangs in the air - Centurion's former business partner is looking to purchase his old home just so Centurion is unable to live there, and is likely to be successful.)

Allison: Well...we better get prepared.

------Wouldn't Dive In, Wouldn't Bow Down------

Do you believe in destiny?

I don't. I think human's control their own future. The idea that we're all set down a path that we can't change is all an excuse for folks to get over their own failures. Every action has a reaction. That's not destiny - that's just consequences.

However, if you were to ever try to convince me destiny exists, now would be the time to do it. A legend, crashing to the world below, only to climb through the rubble and wreckage to come out a champion? That's some pretty solid evidence for destiny, that's for sure.

Whether you believe in things like fate and destiny, or you believe the world just spins and humans control their own future, there is one thing we can all agree on...

...Mastermind isn't going to win the Hart Title.

See, if destiny DOES exist, there is no way a man who was gifted a title shot after doing absolutely nothing to earn it is going to take that title off the greatest comeback story in professional wrestling. There isn't a single movie, book, or play that would ever write that story. It's terrible, there's no character progression, and quite frankly, it's not believable. Besides, the people want to cheer for scrappy underdog and boo the powerful, unstoppable villain. Booing the unlikable underdog? There's no money in that.

Besides, fate wouldn't reward someone like Mastermind; or, if it did, it would wait until he raked up a few victories first, or at the very least, wait until he start gaining some momentum and people actually started to like him.

But fate isn't real. Instead, humans are in charge of their own path...which is ALSO why Mastermind isn't going to win. Simply put, he's not good enough. He doesn't have the skills in the ring to beat someone like me. This isn't a cocky person bragging about how good he is, this is an actual, non-subjective fact. There isn't a single person on the planet, except maybe Mastermind and Antony The Jerk, who thinks he has even a slight chance to win this match. The mismatch is too great. Probably the biggest mismatch of talent between two wrestlers in 2019, and we saw Drezdin in a Universal Title match.

If this sounds like disrespect, it's because it is. I have no respect for Mastermind. He constantly demands attention, and somehow receives it, despite having no conceivable talents. Hell, the fact I'm talking about him NOW is more attention than he is worth, and yet here we are, back down this path again.

You know what I hate the most about Mastermind? This psychological profile he thinks he can put on people. The idea that he can "Master your Mind" or whatever. That was what he was trying to do when he was rattling off all the "bad things" about me. I guess it works sometimes with some people...though not as many as he would like. But for me? I think it just makes him look like an ass.

In fact, it's so bad that I have to wonder if I had been the target all along. All the things he has said about me makes me think he is confusing me with someone else. The person coming in and "being taken under Raven's wing"? The "timid superstar" that wanders the halls? The "laughing stock" taunts?

Mate, are you confusing me with Ned Kaye? No offense to Ned - I don't consider him a laughing stock by any stretch of the imagination - but that would make a lot more sense than me.

You're aware Raven and I are friends, right? Have been since he first joined this place. I took HIM under my wing when he was a rookie, and he took that knowledge, coupled with his massive amount of talent, and became one of the greatest of all time. We never STOPPED being friends. There's no wing for me to be placed under. I can prove that by pointing you to the fact that I FOUGHT him, and Robert Main, in an attempt to win the Universal and Tag Team Titles. I'm no charity case. James doesn't have me around as some nostalgia act. I'm a great fucking wrestler, and your weak ass attempts to downgrade my accomplishments just proves how out of touch you are with this company.

The winner of this match - me - will face one of three people at the following Warfare - Peter Gilmour, Thunder Knuckles, and Baron Von Hammerschmidt or whatever the fuck his name is.

Seriously? Come on guys. This is the Hart Title! What happened to the competition? When Tony Santos was champ, there was a line of folks eager to take him down. Now I get the galley of losers lining up behind me? My goal is to elevate the Hart Title, but I can't do that if the XWF management hands out title shots to any doe-eyed wrestler who asks for one. A title shot should be a privilege, one you earn because of the hard work and effort you put into this business. It shouldn't be something granted to fill out a card or keep someone busy.

Perhaps that is my biggest issue with Mastermind. He jumped the line. When I came back, I wasn't immediately thrown into the ring with the top wrestlers in this company. I had to face Job Ber Too and Bearded War Pig and Destiny Graves. I could have called my shot, and I probably would have gotten it thanks to who I am and who I know. But I didn't. I worked my ass off to get back to where I am.

And now Mastermind, who loses at a far greater clip then he wins, wants to slam ME and insult ME and tell me what I do and don't deserve, what I can and can not say, who I should and should not fight? If anyone should be dragged through the mud for being a pompous jackass, it's him. He's the one who weasled his way into a title match. He's the one who bitched and moaned about not facing who he wants to face. If you want me to be an entitled jackass, Mastermind, I can absolutely do that. I can make sure you never get a title shot again. I could storm the offices of the ownership, tell them who I do and don't want to see in matches, demand a Universal Title shot every week until I get it, and ship your ass to UGWC, and I would get every single one of those demands, because I am who I am.

But I'm not going to do any of that, because despite what you and so many other people may say, I don't think so highly of myself that the entire wrestling business should revolve around me. Yes, I put myself in the main event of a charity show. So what? I was the biggest name on the card, I financed the show, and I sold a shit ton of tickets. When you decide to put in the work and do something to help people, you can put yourself in whatever match you wish. Until then, piss off.

I'm done talking. I'm done telling Mastermind how much he sucks. I'm honestly done with the catch phrase, because he doesn't deserve it. I'm going to put Mastermind in the ground, just like he demanded, and I better receive a thank you for giving him more clout than he deserves.

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