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Centurion · (04-10-2020)

(Attacks happen in pro wrestling. It's a way of life.

Centurion knows this. He has been on the receiving end of one too many beatdowns to not understand this. In fact, at one point, attacking Centurion in the ring or backstage became a way to show everyone that you're "a real bad guy".

But this one was different...for some reason. Centurion's anger towards the events that transpired on Wednesday Warfare go beyond the normal reaction of a 20 year veteran who was just blindsided in the ring. Something felt more personal about this one.

We open up backstage after Wednesday Warfare. The show is coming to a close, but the scene backstage is anything but calm. Into the back storms Centurion, wound on his head still very much bleeding, holding the XWF Hart Title in his right hand. Allison is running behind him, as is a member of the medical team, but Centurion's determined look and quick gate doesn't get him to stop for anyone.

He reaches a door to an office and throws it open. Inside stands James Raven, looking at the monitor for the show. Before he can say anything, Centurion takes the title and throws it at Raven.)

Centurion: You can take this belt and shove it up your ass.

Raven: Woah, woah, what's with the hostility?

Centurion: I was promised this was a different XWF. Remember? Remember when you told me the Shane

Era was dead? That this place would get back to its roots? That we wouldn't have to worry about the lawlessness that existed before? Remember that? Well, I don't know if you just watched, but I was BIT IN THE HEAD by a FUCKING NAZI!

Raven: And? You painted your own target on your back. You were the one bragging about your long title reign and all that. You can't be surprised that any number of people would step up to try and take you down.

(Centurion begins pacing back and forth. The nurse is trying to reach up to help Centurion stop the bleeding, but Centurion completely ignores her.)

Centurion: I don't have a problem with anyone wanting to fight me, James. Hell, you know me - throw me in the ring with the entire fucking roster, I don't care. But to be blinded sided and, more importantly, BIT IN THE HEAD by some spooky looking Adolph Hitler wannabe - that's some Shane

shit!

Raven: Yeah, the very same shit you said you were going to take down. You should be reveling in the opportunity to fight one of

's old boys. This is the kind of opponent you dream of putting in the ground. What the hell is the problem?

(Centurion walks right up to James, pointing at him and getting within a few inches of him, clearly violating CDC guidelines.)

Centurion: I didn't sign up to be part of some freak show. If your plan is to bring the circus back in town, then I'm out. I don't need this shit. Go ahead and let

take over again for all I care.

(Raven, having heard enough, slaps Centurion. Centurion shakes his head and his eyes grow wide, but he has no response.)

Raven: Snap out of it! You're being a whiny little bitch. Sit down and let the doctor look at that head wound. You're bleeding all over the floor.

(Centurion, still mad but not mad enough to strike his friend, walks over to a chair and sits down. The nurse begins to clean the wound to stop any sort of infection as Centurion's breathing gets calmer.)

Centurion: Did you know that was going to happen?

Raven: Did I know

was going to retaliate against you somehow? Yes, and you should have known that, too. Did I know HOW or with WHO? No. But it makes sense. Nathaniel used to be in a group with

. He was one of the guys Shane always called on to anchor a match during his time as owner. It's not a shock to me. There's a lot of folks who are looking for work and who owe

everything. He's going to call in every favor he has.

Centurion: Well...I guess I should be flattered that he's willing to unload the arsonal on me.

(Centurion slightly laughs, then winces as the nurse dabs some rubbing alcohol on Centurion's wound. Raven walks up to Centurion holding the Hart Title that was thrown at him just minutes prior.)

Raven: You want this back?

(Centurion sighs as he snatches the title from Raven's hand.)

Raven: You think I like it when folks come from nowhere and cheap shot our champions? Hell no! Especially not someone with the...history that Nathaniel has. But that's not my call. I'm not going to fire someone for doing something everyone else does. If you have a problem with what happened, you know what to do.

Centurion: Yeah, well that's the problem - he's an illusive bastard. There's no guarentee he's going to be on any of the upcoming shows.

Raven: He probably won't be, but he also won't back down from a challenge. This dude is a lot of things, most of them bad, but I've never seen him say "no" when called out. Bait him in. You know you can kick his ass in the ring. Get your revenge there.

(Centurion lets out a slight laugh.)

Centurion: I'm sure this has nothing to do with you wanted to increase ratings or pay per view buys, is it?

Raven: ...unintentional side effects.

Centurion: Yeah, yeah.

(Centurion winces again as the nurse stitches up the wound. He cuts the end off the line and puts her equipment away before leaving the room. Allison hands Centurion an ice pack.)

Allison: I've never seen you that angry before - not over something as silly as a sneak attack. Mastermind, Tristan Slater - a bunch of other folks have attacked you from behind and you just shrugged it off. What's going on with you?

Centurion: Nothing. I told you, I don't like these

holdouts coming in here and making a statement.

Allison: No, that's not it. Chaos called you out and you laughed it off. Bourbon stepped up to you and you relished the idea. Hell, you damn near salivated at the idea of fighting Slater. This was not THAT. I've seen "I was attacked and now I'm mad" Andy. This was a whole new emotion.

(Centurion takes a second to look at the ground. Allison is right - his response was atypical for him. The idea of fighting one of

's associates normally gets him psyched up, but instead, he's downright mad.)

Centurion: I...don't know. Maybe the bite got into my brain a little bit.

Allison: There isn't enough of a brain there for that to matter. I'll talk to Genie - we're going to work on something to get you relaxed.

Centurion: I hope you don't "relax" me the same way Genie does.

(Allison smacks Centurion on the shoulder.)

Allison: Don't be a pervert! That's not what I had in mind. We'll talk about it more when we get out of here. In the meantime...

(Allison starts walking out of the room, but continues to talk to Centurion as she does.)

Allison: ...you just sit there and get your bearings. Once you rest up a little bit, we're going to fly out of here.

(Allison leaves, closing the door behind her. Centurion sighs and leans back in the chair, putting his legs up on the desk in front of him. He slowly closes his eyes, trying to relax his brain and put himself at ease.)

Raven: ...this is still my office.

Centurion: (calmly, eyes closed) Fuck you, Jim.

------Take this sword to kill i've done, deliver me from worry------

Have I run out of challengers already? Are we now in the recycling phrase of my title reign?

Hold the title long enough, and that's exactly what happens. There's only so many wrestlers that have signed a contract with the XWF that eventually, you just have to go back to the previous contenders and hope one of them makes it competitive.

That would be fine...if it wasn't THESE two.

First of all, I want to congratulate Chris Chaos for winning a Hart Title shot and then doing absolutely nothing for about two months. Top notch stuff. The dude was bragging so hard when he first came back. He's a LIVING LEGEND, after all. Former Universal Champion. Everyone should BOW DOWN and suck at the cock of the almighty Chris Chaos!

Honestly...if I didn't mention that number one contenders match, would anyone have even remembered it happened?

Chaos wanted to hold that title shot over me like this was The Pit and The Pendulum. It was his "Get Out Of Jail Free" card. "I may lose a shit ton of matches, but I still have a title shot! You can't hurt me!" Here's the thing about that title shot, though.

You can be number one contender all you want...but you still have to actually win the title match. It's not a 24/7 briefcase. You can't just DECIDE you want a match when I'm already Natalie Imbruglia'd. You have to walk up to ownership, say "I want a match next week for the belt", and then they make it happen. And that's why Chris Chaos has been dancing around this match for months.

See, Chaos can't beat me. He just can't. He knows it. Hell, Ethopian kids who never watched a second of wrestling know it. So the moment he cashes in that title shot and gets his ass kicked, his relevance is completely gone. So, hey, why not have some fun with it? Run around and tell everyone you're going to be the "next Hart Champion". If you have no intention on actually wrestling the match, you can say whatever you want.

But the XWF management didn't give you that opportunity, did they, Chaos? No, they told you you had to cash in your shot or lose it. That must really suck. I know you were having fun acting like you were important. Mean old Theo Pryce took away your fun time!

Herein lies the biggest issue you now have, Chaos - after this match is over, it's back to the home for you. You tried your damdest to be all cool and important. You had your big comeback. You talked a lot of shit. You finally got a rematch with Robert Main, and thoroughly DEMOLISHED your ass and ground you into paste. No one takes you seriously. You were floating on whatever name recognition you had, and now that's dried up. You're just another one of those stars of the old era who had a good run for a couple years, and now you're trying to convince everyone you were more important than you were and that you still "got it". Sorry, bub - you don't "still have it." It's gone, and you're walking into a match that will seal your fate. But hey, congrats on that Top 50 thing.

Yeah, remember that thing you tried to use against me the first time we fought, only to be reminded that not only am I ALSO on that list, but I'm higher than you are? That thing I never want to reference because it's relatively meaningless, but you find it to be some great career achievement? Yeah, that. Congrats on that. I'm looking forward to the day when they make another updated list. One of us won't be on there anymore, and it sure as hell isn't the one who won more matches in this federation than anyone else in its history.

And yet, despite Chris Chaos' absolute suckage, he is still somehow MORE of a threat to take my title than the other competitor is.

I want to take everyone back a few months. Into the XWF walked a man named Antony. He was a cocky, scrawny man with a boring ass German and a crazy ass redhead as his army. And he talked a LOT of shit. He was going to lead his team of "Misfits" to glory, which included knocking me off my high horse and delivering the Hart Title to Kristopher Von Baron Von Long. We all know how that turned out. I still have the belt, and the German is just now recoving from his embarrassment. So, Antony went away for a bit, but he promised he would come back, and when he did, he would bring with him a new superstar - one that will bring gold to him and his crew.

And come back he did, with a new wrestler. And who was that wrestler? Who was this future hall of famer that was going to take the XWF by storm and make us all fear the name of The Misfits?

...Mastermind.

[Image: giphy.gif]

How fucking desperate do you have to be as a manager when Mastermind is on the top of your list of people you want to manage? More importantly, how bad are Melanie and Kris that they need to be LEAD by Mastermind, a wrestler with one of the worst winning percentages in the XWF? That's not just bad - it's embarrassing.

I warned Kris and Krazy Eyes Mel that they should dump Antony, but they didn't listen. No, they thought sticking with his services was a good idea. Well, now here we are - what was once two promising talents are now acting as bodyguards for a man who can barely tie his own shoes.

In case you don't understand what I'm saying, Mastermind...you suck. And not in the "I'm going to tell Tristan Slater he sucks because that makes him mad" kind of way. No, you legit suck. Like, Peter Gilmour suck. Having a competitive match with Red-X kind of suck. Being left off the card suck...you get what I'm saying here.

It's sad, because they still keep trying to make you a thing. Say what you want, you certainly can't blame XWF management for your lack of success. They keep giving you opportunity after opportunity. They WANT you to succeed, but you're incapable of doing so. In fact, next to Gilmour, I don't know anyone who has received more opportunities they do not deserve than you.

By the way, thanks for dropping the ball in that Madison Dyson match. There's nothing more I love seeing than a Nazi win one of the biggest tournaments in the XWF and walk away from the entire thing with the crown on her head. Top notch stuff. FYI, I don't wrestle "just to defend my title". If I didn't have this title, I'd still be competing all the time. It's just that I AM obligated to defend my title nearly every week. What, do you want me to also wrestle on Savage, as well? Fuck out of here with that.

You want props for being a full timer? Fine. *clap clap* Congratulations! You wrestle a lot! You also lose a lot. You lose more than you win, by a pretty substantial margin. But that's fine, because you don't give a shit! You just live in your own world where your wins mean everything and your losses never happened. In your mind, you're undefeated. And in my mind, I'm the King of Norway. Hyggelig å møte deg!

This one isn't fun for me. Fun is being in the ring against someone you consider an equal, or someone you want to beat the piss out of. You two? I couldn't care less about either of you. I don't like you. I don't hate you. I nothing you. Your both completely insignificant to my life. You're here just as a filler. You bridge the gap between me and my next REAL challenger, who may be NAZI, or it may be someone else. Either way, my record title reign will continue, and both of you pissants will meet your...

FINAL FANTASY!!

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