A figure walks into the well lit room, the patrons of the XWF End-of-Summer corporate party scramble and scream. Theo Pryce and Vinnie Lane are nowhere to be seen, as per their typical cowardly fashion. A shotgun is in the figure's hand. A few shots to the ceiling clear it out just far enough for there to be enough space to move freely and quickly, if need be, but also enough to still garner an audience. In behind him come four others, all with shotguns, and they stand around in a circle. The man's face is painted as to hide his identity, but his voice is not mistakable.


And the others with him were Chaotic Inc. They stood around in a circle as he grabbed a chair, sitting down and facing the camera. He smiles a crooked smile.

"Oh shit, wait....I had a match this week? It shows how little I give a shit about Thaddeus Duke. The picture for me is so much bigger. The bottom line means so much more. The end game......well, lets just say that Thaddeus Duke couldn't be further from my sights. Sure, Thad has been my nemesis, my Achilles heel, the one man that stuck a stick in the spokes as I rode through town. Between Thaddeus and Robert Main, I have pulled a lot of hairs out. But that is the past. Its behind me. Apparently, it is something Thad holds near and dear to his heart as he continues to boast about it. I never quite understood that......if Chris Chaos is such a joke, such a loser, such an also-ran, why is beating me always listed on the accomplishments list? If I have the same amount of respect around this place as guys like Jimson and Bilbo, why not just let me be? I'm clearly not a threat to anyone, right? You don't hear their names mentioned. But I am different, why is that? Because shit talk about me is a mask, a charade, a facade. You know that I am the most dangerous man on this roster and now that I have Chaotic Inc with me, I am nearly untouchable.

Thad is going to boast about his former accomplishments against me, call me every name in the book, put me down but not a single word of it matters to me. Your harsh words, a feeble attempt to get under my skin, simply don't matter to me because Dukey, you don't matter to me. So I am not even going to watch your promo's this week, its not even worth it. You are the smallest fish in my pond right now, a former champion who held a title I have long since written off, over your head with a sense of pride. Nobody cares about the Television Title, Thaddeus. Only you and Knuckles, and neither of you can hold a candlestick to the real "upper echelon" of talent here. You held the lowest ranking "major" title here and flaunted around, chest out, like you're a big shot. Nobody cares about the TV title, and I hate to be the one to break it to you, but nobody has cared about you since Dolly Waters hit puberty.

These attempts to belittle me, to play mind games by making me second guess myself, you and everybody else is a step behind. Maybe more. I do what I do and I say what I say for a reason. Theo thinks he can twist words, take things literally, and try to act smarter than me and it'll throw me into a panic? Fake news. I may seem like a loose cannon who spews out the first words that come to my head like an elementary schooler, but trust me, every single thing I do is calculated. The fact you all fall for it, every single time, just proves that it is working even better than planned.

I only care about the Universal Title because why wouldn't I? I hold myself to a standard much higher than most. The TV title, Thaddeus, its like making the playoffs and losing in the first round. Sure, you made the playoffs, but that's the ceiling. I want to make it to the championship game or not make the playoffs at all. Nothing else matters to me until I get a fair, 1 on 1 shot. No interference, no crazy stipulations, no stacked decks. One on one with Lacklan. I've been screwed in title matches more times than a two dollar whore, and nobody can deny that. Not a single Universal Champion has beaten me cleanly. If I am such a joke, and Sara is the demi-god you all make her out to be, then there should be no reason in the world that this match can't take place, right? It's only logic. Give me the match to shut me up, let me get slaughtered, and move on.

Simple.

But it's never that easy is it?

I don't see a single champion who has been screwed and held down like I have been. There hasn't been a champion, or former, who has had to battle through what I have had to battle through. Hell, Thad, if you were Universal Champion they would basically lay out the red carpet for you. They'd make your reign as easy as pie and if you lost it'd be on you, not them. For me, my losses, are on THEM. All I really want to know is if everyone's main argument about me is true......am I that good or do I just not have it anymore? There is no way to tell until I get what I have earned. I have been the most consistent wrestler on this roster, week in and week out, and I get shit on. Duke you have come and gone more than jock itch and you're road has been paved in gold. The only reason you've lost a couple matches in a row is because you've faced competition that's been better than you. Bourbon, better than you. Page, better than you. It's nothing the powers that be made difficult. If you were Universal Champion you'd probably be facing Supreme Dylan or Brian Storm. Hell, they hated Warstein and he faced Calvary. There is no reason Calvary should EVER be in a Universal Title match. But notice I didn't get my shot? Even Hanari got a shot, and he's been here like a month. My point is, Duke, that nobody, including you, has ever had their championship reign or quest made a difficult as I have.

But you've never been Universal Champion, have you? At least, not in the last six years.

You see, Duke, you come and you go, always welcomed with open arms, despite your true feelings about management. We both know how you truly feel, but I won't air any dirty laundry here......because I guarantee you any ill will you may have is multiplied exponentially on my end.

These all may sound like excuses to you, and you'll probably tear them apart, but I won't know because I am not watching. Say what you wish, but its all the same thing that's been said before. The same old argument. Cookie cutter. You drink the kool-aid Thad, but I prefer to make my own. Your uncle is a son-of-a-bitch and we both know it, but the reason that the title means more to me now than it ever has before is because Theo is going to be the one to serve it to me. He is going to lose to me and then watch helplessly as I torture his coddled champion inside that ring, getting that one-on-one match I deserve and winning the title they have kept just out of my grasp for three years. My personal life was affected by this, and as much as he hides behind it and denies any involvement, he knows something. So, at Relentless, I'm going to beat it out of him. I'll admit though, he can take a beating with the best of them.

I am sure at some point you'll be in my sights again. I am sure we will cross paths at some point when you matter more to me, maybe 2 or 3 more hiatus's by you? But, do me a favor, next time you come back, be you. Don't come back as some cheesy gimmick with a tacky, 80's horror B-movie name, for shock value purposes. The Collector was a shitty gimmick, and we both know it.


The figure and his cronies are gone in the blink of an eye, leaving the party patrons shaken but relieve that they were not hurt.

Theo and Vinnie come in shortly after. There is a piece of paper left on the table near the punch bowl. It has THEO scribbled on it.

As soon as they enter many of the patrons run up to them, telling them what happened. One brings him over to the table where the note sits. He opens it, his eyes scanning the page.

Theo, in a burst of rage, slams his fist on the stable, shaking the bowl and rattling the cups.

DAMN!