“Stewart from three…nails it!”

It wasn't the welcome back he was hoping for.

Centurion's first match on Warfare ended up as a chaotic mess, but ultimately, it was Bobby Bourbon avenging his previous losses against Centurion after a wild affair. It was obviously not the result Centurion expected or wanted, but it was one that he knew was possible.

That doesn't seem to affect the legend, however, as he signed up for the Leap of Faith qualifying tournament that same night, and is already looking ahead to his next challenge.

We open up on the back patio of Centurion’s luxury cabin in the Poconos. The temperature has reached its highest point of the year - in the mid 90’s on this particular June day - but that does not seem to bother Centurion, who has turned his hot tub into an ice bath. He has his eyes closed with the final remnants of a cigar burning in a tray next to him. A WNBA basketball game is playing on the TV in front of him, which draws the attention of his incoming visitor.

“You're watching the WNBA? You're more of a feminist than I am.”

Centurion opens his eyes and glances to his right to see Nellie approaching the patio. Centurion lets out a slight chuckle before responding back. “I have the Liberty minus three today. I've been absolutely crushing the betting lately.”

“Yeah, well, don't go crazy.” Nellie says in return. “I don't need you gambling away all my inheritance.”

“Aw, hunny.” Centurion says in a sarcastically sad tone. “Your inheritance is long gone.”

“Oh, I know.” Nellie quips back. “That's why I keep making sure you're getting booked. Speaking of…” Nellie stops her train of thought as she glances at the hot tub and the ice within. “Did…did you turn the hot tub into an ice bath?”

“Pretty cleaver, eh?” Centurion says in delight as he extends his arms, showing off his creation.

“Isn't that going to damage it?” Nellie asks sincerely, causing Centurion's face to immediately turn to one of concern. “I mean, I don't think it’s supposed to be filled with ice.”

Centurion looks around at his creation again, only this time with a look of worry on his face. “I mean…I didn't really think of that. I just figured water in, water out ya know?”

“Pretty sure that’s gonna void the warranty.” Nellie says as she continues to scan the hot tub. She ends up dipping her hand into the ice water and splashing herself in the face in an attempt to cool herself down. “Anyway, tough beat.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t completely unexpected.” Centurion says as he shifts around in the hot tub in order to face Nellie directly. “Apparently Corey Black heard what I had to say and was none too pleased with the idea of me going after the X-Treme Title. Sometimes when you poke the bear, the bear will fight back.”

“A lesson we could all learn from, I’m sure.” Nellie says as she splashes more water onto her face. “Still, I’m happy it hasn’t taken away your goals. I was worried you would give up on the whole Leap of Faith idea after you lost.”

“Eh, what else am I going to do?” Centurion says as he shrugs his shoulders. “Ruby’s in Canada celebrating with her family, and Anarchy doesn’t start back up for another couple of weeks. Besides, Mr. Black has given me something to fight for now.”

“I love it when your opponents make your decisions for you.” Nellie smirks. “Now we don’t have to debate back and forth over what you’d do if you won the whole event.”

“Oh, there will still be a debate.” Centurion quips back. “Just because I'm pissed at Corey, doesn't mean I'd automatically use a briefcase on him. I bet I could goad him into a match regardless of what happens. Using the briefcase in that scenario would almost be a waste.”

“Yeah”, Nellie nods, conceding this point. “It would also be weird cashing in on a title that's defended 24/7 anyway. Still, it's a target, and that's what matters.”

“I still don't quite…feel right about it, though.” Centurion says in an almost pained voice. “Like, I look at the people involved in that scene. SEB, I actually kinda like him. Corey, I have respect for his family. And the other two are Thunder Knuckles and Bobby Bourbon - just utter assholes. And yet, I'm on the side of the assholes?”

“Wrestling makes strange bedfellows.” Nellie responds. “Sometimes it's the people you like that end up becoming your enemies. Hell, you've got Ned Kaye this week. There's a perfect example.”

“Yeah, but I don’t really have a problem with Ned Kaye.” Centurion says in return. “In fact, I still kinda like the guy. Being opponents in a match is much different than being allies in a war.”

“You’re not allies in a war.” Nellie is quick to respond. “You’re not really even in a war. You made a comment about a title holder and the title holder responded in kind. That hardly makes you some soldier on a battlefield defending the honor of the XWF, nor does it make you stablemates with two people who have absolutely no respect for you. Shit happens. Sometimes paths cross.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” Centurion says with a hint of concession in his voice.

Nellie taps her hand against the side of the tub and her voice becomes a bit more concerned. “There’s actually something else I need to talk with you about. Something…not wrestling related.”

Centurion glances at Nellie, waiting for her to speak, but Nellie does not. Instead, she taps on the tub once again before looking back up at her father. Seeing that Nellie is awfully serious, he begins to stand from the hot tub. “Hand me a towel.” Centurion sighs as he steps out of his ice bath and Nellie tosses him a towel from the patio table. As he dries himself off, he and Nellie head into the cabin. “You’re acting real serious and it has nothing to do with wrestling. What, are you pregnant?”

“That would be…really difficult to do.” Nellie says as she shakes her head. “No, it actually doesn’t involve me. Well, it KINDA does, but only tangentially.”

“Oh God, I hate the preambles.” Centurion says as he grabs a shirt hanging over a dining room table and puts it on. He pulls the chair out and points to it, directing Nellie to sit down. She does, and Centurion grabs a seat of his own. “So, what are you having me do now?”

“I have someone who needs a place to stay.” Nellie says, nervously, as she tries to get to the point. “While working for PA Stands Up, I met someone who is in desperate need of housing. They’re going to be attending East Stroudsburg next year. They have no support structure back home - family pretty much disowned them - and they currently plan on sleeping out of their car in between classes. I know you have the room in the back corner upstairs, and I thought…”

“Have you said anything to them yet?” Centurion asks, slightly annoyed.

“No.” Nellie says as she takes a breath. “I didn’t want to get their hopes up before I had a conversation with you.”

Centurion sighs as he rubs his temples. “Tell me more about them.”

“They’re 19.” Nellie continues. “They’re a non-binary trans person, originally from Ohio. They were going to go to college at Pitt, but it wasn’t a good fit, and they needed to get further away from their family, so they transferred to ESU.”

“Oh Nell…” Centurion says with a sigh as he sits back in his chair and runs his hands through his hair. “This would be a very bad idea. For one, Ruby and I JUST got engaged. Secondly, what the hell do I know about transgender Gen Z college students?”

“You don’t need to KNOW anything.” Nellie says in a reassuring tone. “You just need to not be a jackass. You’re not raising them - you’re just giving them a place to stay. They can come in and out that side door - you’d hardly ever even see them.”

“I don’t know.” Centurion says, still not sold on the idea. “They should be living with someone who understands them better.”

“Our place is too far away.” Nellie explains. “And we don’t really have the space to give up at the moment. Yes, I’d love for them to go to some queer run commune where everyone can grow their own crops or whatever, but that’s not feasible right now, and we have to make the best of what we’ve got.”

“I get it.” Centurion says, reassuringly. “You’re an incredible person. I hope you never lose that. But we can’t just take in every LGBT homeless person when they come by.”

Nellie puts her head down and sighs. After a few seconds, she responds back. “Why not?”

“What?” Centurion asks.

“Why can’t we?” Nellie reiterates. “If we have the resources, why can’t we help everyone? What’s the point in having all this space, all this money, if we’re not using it to better the lives of people who can truly make a difference in this world. Besides…it’s not like you’re not used to taking in queer kids from off the street.” Nellie laughs, referencing her own life.

Centurion taps his fingers against the table, letting Nellie’s words sink in, as well as giving himself time to think about the situation. He places his closed fist against his forehead before extending his pointer finger and rubbing it just below his hairline. A few agonizing seconds goes by, with neither saying anything, which causes Nellie to break the silence.

“Dad?”

“I’m thinking.” Centurion quickly interrupts. “Bring it up to them. If they like the idea, have them come here and I’ll meet with them. I can’t promise anything more than I’ll approach it with an open mind.”

An ecstatic Nellie stands up from the table and wraps her arms around her father’s head. “You’re the best.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”


We open up inside a ballroom of sorts. The camera is pointed directly at a wall, with a banner saying “Happy New Year 2020!” on it. Into frame steps Centurion, fully clad in a suit, with his arms extended.

“The Kansas City Chiefs are Superbowl Champions! Joe Biden will face Donald Trump for the presidency! And Ned Kaye will wrestle Centurion on XWF television. It’s 2020, everyone! Welcome to Hell!”

Centurion pulls out a party noise maker and blows into it, causing the saddest sounding honk imaginable. Centurion tosses the noise maker behind him afterwards and continues speaking.

“Seriously, out of all the years to transport back to, we had to pick one of the shitty ones. Though I guess everything past 2012 is a no-go, really. This is why I’m convinced the world will never end - if it was going to, it would have by now. Look at this rotting cesspool we’re standing on! This thing is a dumpster fire, and more trash gets tossed onto it every…

“Dad!” The voice of Nellie yells out from behind the camera, catching Centurion’s attention and getting him to focus back on the task at hand.

“Right, sorry.

Anyway, the history between Ned Kaye and I is well documented. We were both team mates in APEX Prophecy together. We were opponents numerous times throughout the years. We have fought in high stakes main events, and in matches smack dab in the middle of a nothing show somewhere in Idaho. Quite frankly, Ned and I have been tied together since my return to the XWF, and in those early matches, I got the better of him several times.

But as much as I like to joke, it isn’t 2020.”

Centurion turns around and takes one of the pins out of  the banner, causing the entire banner to fall to the floor.

“Ned Kaye used to be the “lovable mid-carder.” The “good hand”, if you will. Someone who was good enough to share the ring with just about anyone, but not good enough to beat the top guys in this company. Ned Kaye was the guy you beat on your way to the top of the mountain. But then, after a few years, something happened.

Ned Kaye no longer became the guy to beat to get to the guy…he became The Guy himself. He changed his entire persona. He became more ruthless. More aggressive. He unlocked a side of himself that was stored away when he first got here, and he used it to become the Universal Champion.

And honestly, that was inevitable. We all knew from the moment Ned stepped foot into the XWF that eventually he would blow past all of us and take over the top spot in the company. It's why Raven and I took such an interest in him so early in his career. He's a natural talent, he's incredibly charismatic, and he works harder than anyone I've seen, at least in recent years.

However, just like this isn't 2020 anymore…it's also not 2023.

This business is cruel, Ned. You can build yourself up for years, take down all the obstacles in your path, work your ass off to reach the top, and the moment you're no longer there, the business goes “ok, next?” You're tossed to the bottom of the pile and the next great story comes in to sweep you away. And think, Ned. Your story just…isn't cool anymore.

You know what's cool and what's interesting? A multi time world champion elsewhere rising to the top of the XWF, flanked by some of the biggest names outside of this company. What's cool is a controversial figure playing both hero and villain to the people of the XWF through his words and his actions. What's cool…is a 23 year veteran climbing back up from obscurity to once again be front and center in the minds of wrestling fans across the world. That's cool. That's interesting. You? You just simply…aren't.

Now, in your defense, you never asked to be cool or interesting. That's not your thing. You're just here to wrestle people and win titles. Perfectly understandable. Thing is, though, while the people in charge of the business might claim that the only thing that matters is wins and losses, the fact is…it's not always true.

If it WERE true, you wouldn't have to qualify for the Leap of Faith match. In no world would the most recent Universal Champion have to go through the same path to qualify for the match as whoever the fuck Bob Grenier is, and yet here you are, and not only are you forced to qualify, but you're also forced to do so against a legend in the business, when they could have easily put you up against…I don't know…whoever the fuck Bob Grenier is. They set this match up for a reason, Ned - they only want one of us making it to the pay per view, and I bet if you put a gun to Thad Duke’s head, he'd tell you he'd rather it be me.”

Centurion walks to the side as the camera follows him. He eventually walks over to a table, and pulls out a chair. He sits down and his tone lessens as he speaks.

“I know you, Ned. I know there’s no way in Hell you’re going to underestimate me in this match. In fact, my guess is, you’re approaching this match as one of the most important matches of your career. You do that in pretty much every match you’re in, unless you’re facing Latoya Hixx and Cody Blade or whatever his name is.

And you know me, Ned. You know the amount of time and energy I’m going to devote to this contest. You know how much qualifying for the Leap of Faith means to me. I have been working far too hard lately to rebuild my reputation within the XWF, and being added to one of the biggest matches on the XWF calendar is an incredibly important part of that journey. So, it appears as if neither of us can rely on the element of surprise in this one.

I also can’t use my old “I’m way more experienced than you” line that I used to use against you. While that may still be mathematically true, you now have five years of an XWF career behind you. You have a Universal Title in your recent past, and a tag title in your pocket as we speak. So I can’t use that as a crutch, either.

So I guess we’ll just have to rely on our skills to do the talking for us. Unfortunately for you, you’ll never catch me in that category.

And it’s not because of the “moves”, Ned. It’s the toughness. My skin has become leather in my old age. I’m not a high flying, flashy guy anymore. I’m going to punch you, kick you, and stretch your ass in the middle of that ring…”

“Phrasing.”

Centurion pauses for a second as Nellie breaks his concentration, until his eyes widen as he realizes what he just said.

“No, I mean, stretch as in submission! I’m not going to stretch your literal ass! Fuck, let’s move on.

Point is, Ned, you might be able to outrun and out maneuver me in that ring, but when it comes time to truly get physical, I’ll put my toughness up against anyone in this business, ESPECIALLY you. Trust me, when you get punched in the face nine million times, you eventually learn how to handle it. I think you’re good, Ned. I think you’re talented as fuck. I also think, no matter how many years you put into this business, how many titles you grab, and how many rungs up the ladder you climb, you’ll never be never better than me.

The last two years have been fruitful for you, Ned. Now, it’s my turn. Congratulations on your success. I hope you keep it with you as you transition into the next part of your career, because right now, instead of being a former Universal Champion. Instead of being a former member of APEX Prophecy. Instead of being the “can’t miss kid”, you’re just the next person to meet your…