Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

Centurion · (06-18-2021)

(To say it's been a long week would be an understatement.

Centurion is hot off of hosting "Retro Anarchy", a throwback show that show plenty of returns and blasts from the past, as well as new stars continuing to show why the XWF is as great as it is. On top of running the show, Centurion also wrestled, and did so in an Xtreme Rules match where he pulled out some wrestling moves he hasn't done in years.

Oh, and all this took place in Mongolia.

After taking part in the show, then overseeing the press conferences, after party, and meeting with members of the Mongolian government, Centurion had to fly back to Chicago, where he had to wrestle a title match in the UGWC.

On top of all of that, Centurion has continued to receive cryptic messages from the mysterious Mr. Blue, and whatever his "plan" is for recovering Centurion's casino is, it has yet to be discussed. The entire thing has been weighing on Centurion's mind.

Finally, the XWF saw the debut of Giovanni DeSantis, also known as "GD", a violent man who once crucified Centurion in the middle of the ring and left him for dead. GD has one mission, and that is to destroy Centurion once and for all.

And yet, Centurion has to push all of that out of his mind, because his next match is against the most recent Universal Champion, an XWF Legend, and someone with whom he has held a bitter hatred for for years - "Chronic" Chris Page.

We open up inside the luxury apartment complex that contains the current lodging of Centurion and Ruby. There, we see Centurion stepping off an elevator and into a hallway leading to his front door. He has several bags of food in his hand. As he approaches his front door, the county of Ruby's laughter can be heard. Centurion raises an eyebrow as he walks further toward the door. Ruby can very clearly be heard taking to someone - someone with a masculine voice. Centurion gets even more confused, and he opens the door. Standing in his kitchen is Ruby, who is leaning up against the bar area. She glances over at Centurion with a huge smile on her face.)

Ruby: Dinner is here! Hey, my mans, why have you never introduced me to Alphie before?

(Centurion glances over at who Ruby was talking to, and his face drops - it's Mr. Blue, who is holding a glass of scotch and also has a smile on his face. Mr. Blue has a second glass of scotch sitting next to him, which he taps as he sees Centurion.)

Mr. Blue: Ice is starting to melt, old chap.

Ruby: Alphie was telling me about how far back you guys go. That you were business partners or something like that, yes?

(Ruby glances over at Mr. Blue, who smiles and picks up the glass of scotch. He reaches it out to Centurion and winks.)

Blue: Something like that.

(Centurion takes the glass and sips it, but keeps one eye on Mr. Blue the entire time.)

Centurion: I'm surprised you're here. I can't say I'm a fan of guests showing up unannounced.

Blue: My apologies, but I was in the area for some business and I just had to come and surprise you. Also, I got you something. A gift, from a friend of ours.

(Mr. Blue points over at the kitchen table, where a box sits. Blue walks over to it and grabs it as Ruby is speaking.)

Ruby: I kept trying to convince him to let me open it, but he said it HAD to be you. That it was super special to you.

(Mr. Blue sets the box down on the bar and opens it up. He reaches into the box and pulls out a suit - a powder blue pinstripe suit, to be exact. The same powder blue pinstriped suit Centurion got fitted for in Mongolia. Ruby let's out an "ooo" as Mr. Blue shows it off to Centurion.)

Blue: I assume your measurements are still the same, correct? You take relatively good care of yourself, after all.

(Blue sets the suit back down in the box and closes the box back up.)

Ruby: Alphie and I were just talking about your upcoming wrestling schedule. How you have to face Chris Page, Thrax, and Osira Themis all in the manor of days.

Centurion: I'm sure "Alphie" was really concerned about my well being.

Blue: Is that sarcasm I sense from you, Mr. Cortinovis? Of course I am concerned about your well being. That amount of physical toll on the body can really do damage to a person, especially someone of your…advanced age.

(Centurion stares Mr. Blue in the eyes with a look of anger, an anger Ruby doesn't pick up on.)

Ruby: I'm not concerned! My mans here is in the best shape of his life! He isn't just going to do well, but he's going to WIN all three of those matches! Isn't that right?

(Centurion's look of anger turns into a smile, but he continues to look Blue in the eyes.)

Centurion: People underestimate me a lot. Often times, they assume there isn't any more trick left in the old dog.

Blue: That is unfortunate for them. Perhaps they should study you a little more. They would be shocked to learn what they can find out about you.

(Centurion and Blue continue to stare each other down, and that stare is only broken by Mr. Blue raising his glass and taking a sip. Meanwhile, Ruby grabs the bags of food from Centurion's hand.)

Ruby: Well, I'm starving. You're welcome to join us for dinner, Alphie. There's plenty here.

(Mr. Blue smiles and turns toward Ruby.)

Blue: No thank you, dear. I truly appreciate it, though.

(Ruby just sort of shrugs as she walks out of the kitchen and into the dining area of the apartment. Centurion's face returns to one of pure anger as he takes a large gulp of his scotch. Centurion and Mr. Blue continue their conversation, but they speak in hushed tones, so Ruby can not hear them from the next room over.)

Centurion: What the hell are you doing here? Is this some kind threat? Are you flexing on me that you know where I live?

Blue: Don't be so dramatic, Mr. Cortinovis. I came to check on you. Make sure you're alright. DeSantis? Page? Demos? I'm concerned you're not going to make it.

Centurion: Yeah, I'm sure.

Blue: You're no good to me dead. The better you are, the more I can get out of you.

Centurion: I appreciate your concern, now fuck off.

Blue: You know, by the end of our time together, you're going to absolutely adore me, but if you want to keep acting like I'm your enemy, then be my guest. Oh, and there is one final thing I wanted to make sure you got.

(Mr. Blue reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box. He shows it to Centurion before opening it up. Inside is the handcrafted watch he saw while he was in Mongolia - complete with the wood band and the oil finish. Mr. Blue casually grabs Centurion's hand and calmly fastens the watch onto his wrist.)

Blue: Consider it as a bit of a...sign on bonus. To remind you what is in store when this is all over with. Go get 'em, champ.

------If You Can Give It, I Can Take It------

All hail the infallible Chris Page! The man who makes mountains crumble with just his voice! The man who can bury a wrestler 20 feet into the ground using just three sentences! The man who can not be beaten!

...well, except when he is.

I'm going to be honest with you, Page. I was really upset when you choked away your match with Lycana. I really wanted a shot at the Xtreme Title. Think about it - two dudes with a combined age close to 90 fighting for the belt that is as far away from "classic wrestling" as you can get? It's absolutely absurd. And, it would be nice to have an actual gold belt around my waist after I beat you, rather than the fake one I'm going to make. Oh well, too bad. Congratulations to Lycana, I guess.

Oh, I'm sure there is some great reason as to why you lost that match. In fact, I'm pretty sure you said it in your most recent promotional video. I wouldn't know - I didn't watch it. Though could you blame me, Page? Put yourself in my shoes. I've listened to you put down me and my career for over 10 years, and now you expect me to pay attention? What, you planning on breaking new ground, Copernicus? Going to suddenly say something interesting?

Sorry Page, but I just don't have the time or the patience to listen to you anymore.

And I'm not alone. In fact, I'm pretty sure I share the same sentiment as all of the fans, most of the internet, and 99% of the locker room. I know what people think of me. I know I'm continuously called "boring", but I don't see how that's fair, considering you stand in front of a television for an hour saying the same God damn bullshit you've been saying for a decade. It's bad enough when we have to watch you on XWFTV, but when you come out every fucking week on every single show and do your same old song and dance, it's just too much.

You know those boos you get when you walk out from the back? I know you think you get them because you're some evil mastermind that fucks with people, but that's not it. That's not the "heat" you get when you walk out. You get "go away" heat. You get "turn the channel" heat. You get the kind of heat that comes with being a tape recording of yourself. If people wanted to watch someone stand on stage and talk about how great they were for an hour, they'd go to a Trump rally.

Yes, yes, I know. You were the Universal Champion. Key word there is WERE. You can talk shit about me and my career all you want, but after the past few weeks, I don't see you standing over me in superiority. You got your belt stolen from you. Then you lost, clean, in the center of the ring. And now you have a Universal Title match on the horizon that literally no one thinks you can win. You want to talk about me being stuck in the mud? Well, welcome to the bog. It's rather large. Can be calming, too.

I was wrong about something I said earlier. I said you didn't need to win this match. Oh, how wrong I was. See, I was under the assumption that you were still Chris Page. I thought you were the ass kicker that thought he could beat any opponent just by looking at them. Considering you have that rematch already in your back pocket, I figured you just assumed you were going to get the belt back, and therefore this match was nothing more than a week off for you.

But I forgot how human you are. I forgot that even you, "Chronic" Chris Page, can start to doubt yourself. You need to beat me not to prove to anyone you're good, and not to bury me like you say you are. No, you need to beat me to remind YOURSELF of who you are. For the first time in years, I see self doubt in you, Page. You didn't have it after Leap of Faith. You were just pissed. But after Retro Anarchy?

Well, now you're starting to question yourself. "One inside cradle to Lycana? What if Alias does that to me? What if Corey Smith does that to me? What if...Centurion does that to me?" Yes, Page, what if? We all know that the inside cradle is the deadliest move in professional wrestling, and I have one of the best ones. There are a lot of things I can't do. I can't fly off the top of the titantron. I can't lift a super heavyweight into a torture rack. But I can do an inside cradle. I can do one HELL of an inside cradle.

Then what happens? I know what you normally do. You normally give props to the person that beats you. That is one thing I will say about you, Page - when you DO get beat, you own up to it. You're not like half of those chucklefucks in the back who have to try and find some excuse for every L they take. No, you usually go "yup, got beat, but I'll get you next time."

But those people aren't ME. Those people aren't wrestlers that you have been putting down since the day you met them. You had an ounce of respect for them. You have no respect for me...at least, none that you'll admit.

I don't think you wanted this match to prove something to me. I think you wanted this match to prove something to yourself. You didn't want to fight me because you're convinced you're on a different level than I am. You wanted to fight me because you're afraid you're not.

I may be the one you're looking to bury, Page, but you're the one the vultures are circling. I'll never die. I might be wrestling in opening matches against Nazi midgets wearing masks, but I'll be 60, and I'll still be here. You? You have a shelf life, and it's fast approaching. You had a hell of a Universal Title run. It will go down as a thing of legends. But it's over, as is your time at the top. At this point, you're just trying to run out the clock. You may not know it. You may still think this is all part of some Chris Page Comeback Tour, but it's not. This is the Chris Page Retirement Tour.

I'll never have your career, Page. I admit it. I'll never be Universal Champion. I'll never be the guy that's looked at as "carrying the company". Hell, I'll never be on anyone's Mount Rushmore. But you know what I will have? Your scalp, on a platter. Or, more realistically, I'll have the nail that ended your career. Because losing the Universal Title to Alias via cash in? That's nothing to be ashamed of. Losing a match to Lycana? It happens to a lot of people. But losing to CENTURION, of all fucking people? Well, then it's time to get your affairs in order.

Have a great night sleep, Page. I know you're lying in bed, tucked in all nice and cozy, not for a SECOND thinking about how bad you're going to fuck this up. That would be terrible. Me? Oh, I'm going to have the best sleep I've ever gotten. My pillow will be fluffed, the air conditioning will be set to the perfect temperature, and I'll be snoozing all nice and sound, because I know, when I wake up, I'm going to go to Wrigley Field, kick your ass, and shock the world. Smoke em if you got em.

Threaded Mode \| Linear Mode Just Like Jesse James
Author	Message