As if things had not been swirling enough between the XWF briefcase, the spot in the Cannabis Cup, and the numerous confrontations with the rest of the competitors that had come as a consequence of this upcoming match, the young Lion of Osaka’s mysterious benefactors had now made themselves known.

"You alright? How do you feel, Raion?"

"Maybe he has to poop.."

Shortly after the Wednesday Night Warfare scuffle, the Lion is now found together with Theo Pryce, the “Notorious” Ned Kaye, and the DioGEE Jason Cashe in the locker room, and Ned Kaye is asking the still confused Lion what is going on.

“I’m okay, I’m alright. And no, I assure you, my bowels are fine. Just let me get a bearing…”

It isn’t long before Raion stands up, regarding the Notorious One, the DioGEE, and the Grand Slam Champion, part-owner of the XWF himself.

“Gentlemen. My thanks for the assistance and your interest in me, and I will do my best to repay it!”

The Japanese wrestler takes a deep nod, before talking to them once more.

“But I hope you would not mind if I ask one simple question. Why? Why me, and why all of this?”

It is Theo Pryce that takes the response.

“Why not you?

You have more than proven yourself in the ring. This group that is standing here with me, this Trilogy, it’s meant to be something unique. It’s not for everyone. You. Jason and Ned, you were the only choice. The A team as it were. You saw what can happen out there without backup, without friends. If you want to continue down that path by all means. There’s the door. We won’t think any less of you if you wish to go at it alone but you left that ring with us and I assume that’s because you see the value and importance of what we are doing? Or am I wrong?”

The Lion looks at Pryce square in the eye. He was aware of what he was worth, but at the same time, neither Pryce, nor Cashe, nor Kaye, had any obligation towards him, and brave as he was - he had been involved in sneak attacks before, and had not come out the best way of them.

But above everything, there was one fundamental truth. These men had come in his aid, when they could very well have not.

And for that, they deserved his gratitude. It was only what was right.

“No. You are definitely not, sir. As far as I am concerned, count me in for anything!”

“Well then Raion, officially, welcome to the fold.”

“Thank you, sir. Very glad to be here!”

In the bleak landscape that the XWF had become, the Lion had to admit, it was refreshing to finally be seeing a ray of light.

And at the Cannabis Cup, he would do exactly that.

Bringing a ray of light in a world of darkness.


At the heart of Times Square stands the Church of the St. Mary the Virgin - a Gothic-inspired church built entirely in stone. It’s late afternoon and the sun is going down, and the Lion is standing on its outer entrance, clad in a simple black T-shirt and blue jeans.

“A Newer Testament. As if there weren’t older, better forms of faith.”

So are his thoughts as he steps inside the church, gazing at the starry vault that makes up the ceiling of the nave, the rows of arched gateways that line up to the sides, and at the golden statue of Our Lady in the high altar. Not many other visitors are at the church at this moment, so the Lion takes the time to make his way to one of the front pews, sitting there in the respectful silence that a place like this deserves.

“Good evening sir, and welcome to the Church of St. Mary the Virgin. Are you passing through, or is there something in which I may help you?”

Looking at the voice that was addressing him, the Lion meets the face of a priest. He decides to stand up, since it would be the polite thing to do.

“Oh, good evening Father. I was just seeing the sights, but perhaps there’s something you may want to tell me. See, I’m not a Christian, but I am able to understand and appreciate the culture that has shaped this half of the world.”

“Ask what you wish, son, and I’ll do my best to answer.”

“Well - can you tell me why the part of the Bible that Christianity follows is called the New Testament?”

The priest gives the young Lion a benevolent smile, a true shepherd caring for his flock, as it were.

“Ahh, that is because when Jesus began to preach the word of God, he said that he came not to abolish the Old Covenant that God had passed down to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and the Hebrew Kings. The Gospel of Matthew teaches us that Jesus “did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it”. And as you probably know, it was thanks to His word, and to his sacrifice, that men were redeemed in the light of our Lord.”

“Thank you, Father. I ask this because I’m having to deal with someone that wants to create a Newer Testament, and his preachings didn’t seem too close to the original word of the Bible.”

“I feel like the Old Testament should serve us well here - Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.”

“True enough, Father.”

“May I ask what company you’re in, that you have to listen to someone like that?”

“I’m a wrestler, Father. You know how it is - some people find an avenue to go crazy inside the ring. This guy has what you would call a Messiah complex, and him, among others, is the one carrying our top prize. But then again, I’m just a guy taking inspiration from an ‘80s manga based on Greek myth, so I doubt you will find me any more palatable.”

“We owe the Greeks part of what we are, son. There are some that go as far as to say the name of Deus, Dios, came directly from Zeus. You’ll understand if my formation doesn’t allow me to agree with that, but it’s true that without the influence of Greece, maybe Christianity wouldn’t have made it past Asia Minor.”

“Well, I am Japanese, so I would not know as much, but I won’t deny the truth of your words. And even if I don’t have your faith, I can also agree that what this guy is doing is taking a word that is not his to preach.”

“The most important thing that Jesus Christ and the Lord have given us, son, is the promise of a light to banish the darkness, that all the uncertainties, suffering, and pain in the world come to an end. All things must eventually end, and that is always a source of unhappiness, but it’s our belief in the Lord that grants us the peace to go to Heaven, if we follow his word and follow Jesus’ example of kindness and generosity to our fellow man.”

“Is that also not how the very universe was created, in His word? Let there be light, the Lord said in Genesis.”

“Very good, son! Are you sure you don’t want to accept the word of our Lord?”

Raion smiles, but shakes his head.

“I have a goddess of my own, Father, but I appreciate the offer. I promise you, however, that I shall follow his words in my own way.”

“He’ll welcome you when you’re ready, son. And I’m glad we have had this conversation. It’s always good to talk to someone that doesn’t immediately go into the worst of conversations that flare up when Christianity is mentioned.”

The priest extends his hand, and the Lion shakes it.

“And it was also nice to find a priest that is willing to enlighten, rather than condemn.”

“Well, all that’s left for me then is to wish you good fortune, but if you don’t mind me asking. You said that you would try to follow the Lord’s word. How do you plan to do that?”

Raion’s smile grows larger, and he gives the elderly priest a wink.

“Actually, Father, the faith I follow has also something about bringing light in a world of darkness.”

He picks up the box of the Golden Cloth of Leo, which he had left beside him on the marble floor beneath the pew. and straps it to his back.

“And that’s exactly what I am going to do.”


“For all the times we’ve met each other in that ring before the actual event takes place, lady and gentlemen, I am more than disappointed at the things you have to say whenever you can be bothered to show up on camera. It’s like, without ALIAS and myself, the rest of you have decided to go dark.”

So does Raion Kido begin, in the open air of Times Square. Night is falling over the city that never sleeps, but the lights of the iconic intersection have yet to come on.

Conversely, the Lion’s Gold Cloth of Leo shines brightly, burnished to reflect everything over its metal surface, and the white of his cape distinguishable over the darkness of the city.

The ornate metal armor shines almost as brightly as the soul of the man that wears it.

“But the worst part of it all is that this is supposed to be the XWF Universal Title match, the main event of the Cannabis Cup! And here we are, a former Television Champion, and a former Champion of everything but this one title, making fools out of themselves both in and out the airwaves!

And to me, ladies and gentlemen, that is completely unacceptable, because I’m the one here with the most to gain. It’s not like Dolly Waters' name is dragged to shame - at least not as of yet, and Charlie Nickles held the Television Title not so long ago. But I am the one with no gold, and nothing other to this credit than a path forged in hardship and the biggest prize of the Leap of Faith Pay-Per-View.

That, members of the audience, means only one thing. I don’t plan on standing here with my arms crossed in the biggest match of my entire life.”

Defiance plastered all over his face, the Lion points towards the camera. ALIAS might take this as a mere exhibition, Charlie Nickles and Dolly Waters might be busy in other pursuits to pay attention to the main event of a night announced and promoted for months, with the ultimate prize at stake.

But there was an example to set, and, as always, it falls to him to give it.

For that was, after all, what a true Saint of Athena did. Odds and external circumstances be damned.

“For I know the odds that I am facing. Dolly Waters can claim she stopped ALIAS once and will do it again, Charlie Nickles wants to claim ALIAS will always have to fight him, and the XWF Champion himself wants to play master of the universe, but in the darkness where we stand, I mean to be the one to bring the light!

Because ultimately, that is what I was built to do - what I was meant to do, and that is what has driven me since the very first time I set foot in an XWF ring. And that means, ladies and gentlemen, that the Velvet Rabbit shall bear witness to the ultimate miracle - the XWF rookie getting to the top of the mountain within his very first year.

But most importantly, friends, it means that in the midst of the underworld, the light will shine once more.”

Almost as if on command, the stars begin to twinkle in the night skyline. Raion’s expression now turns to stone.

If the rest of the opponents were to focus almost exclusively on him, he would make them regret their decision.

Which meant, of course, that it was time for the cosmos to burn.


“And since I’ve begun speaking of illumination, let’s get to the one that needs it the most, in the form of Dolly Waters. She has Charlie Nickles and ALIAS, two people she was friends with, lashing out at her in matters of a sensitive nature into which I haven’t even got, and I’m the one she decides to target. I mean, I don’t much care about her personal life and wouldn’t think of insulting her the way Nickles has done, but her ire is mostly directed towards me. Which, well, tells me she knows the truth of my earlier words, does she not?

But whether she actually deserves to be here or not is ultimately irrelevant, for there’s something worse than that, friends. The greatest mistake, out of the many that Dolly Waters has made, is trying to discredit my presence in this match. Since, unlike her, I have actually done something that she hasn’t done - and that is to win at Leap of Faith.

I mean, I haven’t been getting easy wins at Anarchy, but at least, if Chris Page or the XWF management had not decided to book me here, I could have made my own way here on my own, by virtue of the briefcase that I carry. And it’s not like I could not go against ALIAS, one on one, man to man.

Maybe I’ll even do that, if I fail to win this match. Or maybe, and that’s going to be the greatest thing of all, I shall not need to, once the Cannabis Cup sees me as the new XWF Universal Champion.

Has that thought occurred to you, Dolly?”

As he lets the question linger, the Lion gives a sly smile, his mouth curving slightly to the side. Was Dolly Waters really thinking it was him that was in danger? Was she questioning his character, or his place in this match? In fact, she was not the only one that said he had been ‘shoe-horned into this match’.

If so, it was time for her, and for the rest of them all, to step from the world of dreams into reality.

And reality came in the shape of a Lion.

“I don’t claim to know very much, maybe it’s those sleeping issues of yours, but you of all people want to claim, I don’t deserve to be here!? I find it quite ironic that you have to say that, given that, initially, you didn’t even want to be anywhere near this match. You should have been the one with the most motivation out of everyone! You should be raring to go to get back at ALIAS, you should be eager to get back at Charlie Nickles, you should be wanting to win the last title you have yet to earn in the entirety of the XWF… and here you are, coming across as pitiful!

And then you complain about your own manager thinking you’re not ready for this match, let alone any of your opponents? What exactly are you doing to change that situation? Putting a submission move on some replacement for Centurion at Anarchy isn’t going to be nearly enough, Dolly, especially when one of the opponents here is poised to deal the biggest blow to the XWF the universe has ever seen. My thanks for your attention, but that’s exactly what I mean to do, and in comparison to that, you, and Nickles, and ALIAS, are but obstacles. Stones to be stepped into, fallen from the wall I tore down to be featured in this match.

And you’re the first one I’m going to leap over, in order to get at the biggest prize in the entirety of the XWF.

By the way, thank you for that Yellow Ranger comparison. It’s not like the cast wasn’t changed at the first opportunity because of racial implications, but I’m a benevolent person at heart, so I’m going to assume that particular idea never crossed your mind. After all, it’s not like insomnia allows for clear thinking, and at least Thunder Knuckles tried to be entertaining when he went that way.

You? Well, you didn’t even manage to do that. Instead, and this is even worse, you’ve fallen in the same bag as Cage Coleman, Jenny Myst, and every other genius that thought to drop lines related to ethnicity fell - the list of those that were swallowed whole by the maws of the Lion.”

A slight smirk creeps up to the Japanese wrestler’s face as he makes a wave off gesture, before he clenches a fist and peels back his lips.

There was no time to entertain stupidity, not considering what is at stake.

Dolly Waters had to realize that the Lion was not here for the glitz and glamour alone. And if she did not have the confidence of her people, how could she stand for the Lion to put her to the test?

“Because even though you hate people saying it to you, you know, in your heart of hearts, that they are right. You are not prepared. If you’re going to focus on me instead of the two opponents that dragged you through the mud, at least bring something better than the Power Rangers- especially when you’re skirted this close to coming off like the actual Southern racist stereotype.

But then again, given all you’ve shown us, this will likely mean nothing to you, and that’s exactly why you’re going to lose. And even then, it won’t even matter! You’ll go back to playing Wordle, you’ll go back to a daze of endless days that cycle between chain smoking and insomnia, and maybe eventually you’ll hit rock bottom and finally reach your prime.

Maybe ALIAS and the Nickleman will take pity on you once this fight is over, and since I want nothing but happy endings for the world, the three of you will be holding hands and going off into the sunset, free of all cares in the world, just as it used to be.

And when you do, make sure to remember that it was thanks to Raion Kido that the world finally came back to what it was. That will mean that I have once more performed my charge, and you?

Well… you can always go back to having sweet dreams.”

All traces of a smile are now gone from the Saint of Athena’s face. It was time for the next challenge - and the next test. Last time, Charlie Nickles had got away - but it was not him that he put down. And this time, he would not either.

Not again.

Not ever again.

“And now we come to Charlie Nickles, the next person to be illuminated in this match. And as usual, he’s repetitive. As usual, he’s predictable. As usual, he wants to discredit me for doing the simple thing of stating out the facts that make up everything I say.

It’s almost like I knew he would talk about him having triggered a change in me, and indeed has it been so, because right now I’m not the one getting out of a big chance empty-handed, am I?

I’m not the one walking out the lesser man now, Nickleman!”

This time, the Lion grins ear to ear, as always, when the prey has nowhere left to run.

After all, was that not where Charlie Nickles was at this point? While the Lion had hit the blow of his lifetime, Charlie Nickles ended up in the dust. And now the reckoning was there again.

Athena willing, there would be no salvation for the Nickleman.

“See, that’s the exact difference between you and me, Chucky Murder- you don’t seek to improve yourself, you’re content to stay where you are. Always the same speeches, always the same old and tired arguments, but the same thing isn’t going to work a third time.

So yes, Charlie, go back to bringing the Bastards’ names, it’s all you know how to do! I already beat both Thunder Knuckles and Bobby Bourbon, and unlike an honorary title that no longer has any value because the so-called King chose to bring it down to the mud, I’m now the man that jumped over his body to get the biggest prize in the XWF next to the Universal Title!

And now you want me to beat them both at the same time? HA! Maybe I’ll just go ask for that after the Cannabis Cup is over and I beat you, Dolly Waters, and ALIAS for the very XWF Universal Title! It’s not going to be quite as impactful given my name has the “W” check over both, and especially after having won the biggest prize, but I did it once, I can do it again.

So tell me, Charlie, with no less than two Bastards in the Leap of Faith match, where exactly is the field divided? Who exactly am I dragging through the mud? Every other name you faced, I beat, and that was on regular nights. You beat them on the Main Event of Savage and in Pay-Per-Views, when your title was on the line. How does it feel to know, Nickleman, that your very special Main Events, every single title defense you’ve had since March Madness, is what Raion Kido can do every other Saturday Night?

And you’re meant to be the bigger man because of that!? And I’m supposed to only do half the stuff you do!?”

The Lion roars these last words, which echo in the deserted Times Square. Charlie Nickles had prided himself on things that Raion Kido had not yet done. In the time since March Madness, everything that he had done, Raion Kido had done too. And if Nickles had competed for the XWF Universal Title, well - that’s what the Lion is doing at this very moment.

There was one simple thing, at this point, that Charlie Nickles had done that he had not.

Raion Kido never lost to ALIAS.

“Oh, and by the way. You want to talk about being the top dog and bark loudly, then your own brother Bastard tells you to take a lap when you call out Jason Cashe and Ned Kaye. Tell yourself how the Lion slinks away when I come back stronger every time, and the record I have reflects that, but at least I’m not the one getting told to scram. Make up all the lies you want about how you humiliated me, but at least I have never fallen that low to get called out by my own teammates. You know, those same Bastards that Goldi was telling you to leave at Star Warfare? Those same Bastards that you didn’t, and now hit you with a newspaper to your snout?

Bad puppy! You’ve made a mess on the floor, and now they have to clean it up. No treat for you!

Honestly, Nickles, it was better when you were Television Champion. At least you had Goldi to tell you what to do, and it looked like she had better sense than you ever did. At least you could make up an excuse to run away like you did in Star Warfare, but now there’s no such thing. You’re trying to conceal that fact by grandstanding, as you always do, about not needing to do so, but we already know that line, and it wasn’t smart the first time.

And that, my friend, just shows plainly that you’re as empty as I keep saying you are. Before, you were talking yourself up. Now, after all we’ve seen, you’re just talking to fill the silence. There’s nothing you can say that I haven’t already heard. There’s nothing you can do that I can’t do. There’s no cracks in the mirror that stares back at you. There’s only the Gold Cloth of Leo that I wear, and it’s burnished, and shining, brighter than anything you have done since defeating me. There’s only your fate staring back at your face, and that is to fall to the fangs of the Lion once and for all.

As it should have been, and as it now shall be.”

At this point, the Lion drives his fist forward, his face now galvanized, but then he lifts up a finger - as if he had just something he had missed.

The situation was, after all, much more different than it had been in the past.

And now it was time for the Lion to bring this detail to bear.

“Oh, but I forget, there’s a little twist now. It’s a very different thing, Nickleman, to beat a rookie in his fourth match for the Television Title, than to fall to him in the very Main Event of the Cannabis Cup, for the XWF Universal Title. Losing to ALIAS you’ve already done, and everyone’s seen that more than once.

But as a counterpart, no one has seen Charlie Nickles fall to the Lion yet, and the time for that has now come. Now they shall, along with two others, and it shall be the biggest victory the XWF, and the wrestling world in its entirety, have ever seen!

So when you suffer your final defeat, Charlie, and the Lightning Bolt stops your heart cold, and your last chance to become the XWF Universal Champion is gone forever, I want you to remember the day you beat me, because it’s your final achievement. The last noteworthy thing you’ve done in your XWF career.

And now? You’re less than nothing. You’re falling apart just like Bobby Bourbon and Marf Swaysons were before Leap of Faith. You’re falling apart like Dolly Waters is doing now. You’re not worthy of being here, no more than she is. Go back to being a good lap dog to your brothers, go back to being a father, if it’s even possible, remember the good times you had with the Television Title.

And go to the afterlife knowing that, ultimately, it was the Lion that finally put the coins over your eyes!”

The young wrestler from Osaka lets that last sentence reverberate through the air of the New York night for a brief moment.

The Nickleman would, in the end, get the coins that he had escaped all along, and the Lion, the justice he deserved.

And as a personal touch, Betsy Granger would be avenged too.

But the Saint of Athena isn’t yet done. There is the last opponent to address. This was the very XWF Universal Champion, and it was only right that Raion Kido saved him for last.

“And finally, we come to ALIAS, “and all that it entails”. Which is exactly what, Mr. XWF Universal Champion?

What does the name of ALIAS entail? A bunch of nicknames that you’ve used to hype yourself up non-stop? See, I can do that too, Mr. names-that-mean-nothing.

For I am a Saint of Athena.

A Knight of the Zodiac.

A Saint of Hope.

The Gold Saint of Leo.

The Guardian of the Temple of the Lion.

The Snarling Golden Lion!

How do you like that? Same thing you've done, and just as entertaining, maybe that's what I don't do it, because I actually have some modicum of self-awareness.

But back to the point, take all of that away, and what is there left? A complete wreck of a man becoming a slave to his own egotism? A long-winded blathering of mystical delirium and some pseudo-Bible verses?

Are you actually being serious?

Say whatever you wish about me and Saint Seiya, at least I don’t put the audience to sleep. At least I don’t make them smile and nod. “Yes dear, now shut up already”, that’s the entire reason you only appear on camera when you need to bring the title to bear.

Which, given that with which we have to put up every time you take to the airwaves, should be a blessing in and of its own.”

For what little appearances the XWF Universal Champion had had since winning his title - and even at the very show that Raion Kido had made his debut, ALIAS had based his title reign on fear.

Unfortunately for him, that was exactly the problem.

The Lion knew no fear. And now was the time that he let this show.

“And if you actually get to think that through, that should give you pause. You want to claim I’m built all wrong for this, but here you are comparing me to yourself, and calling me the Japanese you. Which I’m sure would be a compliment, if it did not come from a source as utterly disgusting as you are.

Because see, ALIAS - I don’t have this past that you claim to your name, so I could not care about what you, and any of these others, have done before I even came to be in the very slightest.

And let me tell you, for all your boasting, the list of names you’ve beaten since my debut to now.”

Raion starts counting with his hands as he enumerates the names. As if a list alone were enough to make him flinch, he would now prove that, just like with Charlie Nickles, there was nothing ALIAS could do that he himself could not.

But at the Cannabis Cup, Raion Kido would prove that he could do something that none of the others could.

And that was to turn the world, and the very universe, upside down.

“Unknown Soldier. Where is he now? What has he done of relevance in the time since Fire and Ice?

Xavier Lux. The very man I beat in my debut, in the very first XWF Pay-Per-View of 2022.

Mark Flynn. One of the men I beat at Leap of Faith.

Thaddeus Duke. Just my third match in the company.

And some poor sap at Madness that you showed up to beat for no reason. And here I thought that there was no lower point than Dolly Waters getting easy wins on Anarchy.”

The Lion’s deadpan expression betrays the glint in his eyes - shining as brightly as his Golden Cloth. There was only a barely contained disdain, and why should there not be? The man that was trying to write a Newer Testament was as much of an absentee as the deity he tried to liken himself to.

As the Lion had taken to heart, gods that care not for the lives of men or for justice deserved no worship.

And if they would go against the world, then the Saints of Athena were there to bring them down.

“So tell me, Universal Champion, am I supposed to be in awe? The only names I haven’t beat that you have are Peter Vaughn and Charlie Nickles. One I haven’t been booked with, the other, well, we’re here now, right? There’s always a first time for everything and this year has been a year of firsts for me. First time to ever wrestle on an international stage, first time to beat an XWF Legend, first time to beat one of the biggest names in the XWF. First time to win a high-stakes match. First time to go for the XWF Universal Title.

And maybe, just maybe, it may be the first time, ALIAS, for me to win it.

I mean, picture this inside that thick head of yours, ALIAS. Talk down my briefcase, this very one that you held, as if that didn’t make you look, well, more stupid than you already do. But I too am coming for you like you did Peter Vaughn. I too worked 25/8 since my debut to earn my place in this match, and I’ve been in more shows than you have the entirety of the year. And since you claim you didn’t win this briefcase in a Leap of Faith match, well… that just means it means much more in my hands than it did in yours, does it not?

Seriously, ALIAS, has your mystical delirium eaten so much of your brain that you failed to see that, or are you just as addled as the other two? Because see, that’s the problem with the three of you in this match - none of you have the slightest idea of why this came to be the Main Event of the Cannabis Cup. The four of you are supposed to be the best the XWF has, and all of you are treating this like it’s just something else!

Unfortunately, it falls to me to put all of you in your respective places, and you should be thankful that we’re here. For without Dolly’s past history, without Nickles having lost to you, without you having the belt, all of you are worth nothing!”

It is at this point that the Lion gives his biggest grin. He was certain that nobody would expect a remark like that coming from him.

But if one put their mind to it, was he not right? What had Dolly Waters, Charlie Nickles, or even ALIAS himself, done to warrant this being a main event?

From where, exactly, did ALIAS’ importance arise? What remained beyond the title and the smoke and mirrors he put in his spare appearances?

The Lion had the answer.

And at the Cannabis Cup, he would be certain to expose it.

“What, you didn’t think I would notice? Dolly Waters, and the XWF Universal Champion himself, haven’t been of any import whatsoever. Dolly Waters has been a trainwreck. At least three of us here beat Thaddeus Duke, but the difference that matters between her and the rest of us is that it was him that sought us, and ended up on the losing side. Charlie Nickles might have had a lengthy reign as Television Champion, but again - all that he’s done for the last two months in a main event, I did on a regular night.

But at least he has that over ALIAS, because here comes the worst part of all. Your only importance is tied to the belt that you carry, and you can’t even bother to show up unless it’s on the line. Great example for a Universal Champion. Great example for the XWF.

I would call that pathetic, but your rambling messages do that much better than I ever could.

You’re nothing but smoke and mirrors, an act that you’ve let into your brain. You’re just as much as Nickles as Television Champion - beaten people that I either have beat, or can beat. You’re not better than me, you’re not better than anyone. You’re just like the God about which you want to write your book.

You’re nothing.”

One more time, the Lion pauses, to let that last word linger. It did not look like any of these people were taking this match, or himself, with any degree of seriousness.

Deep down, he could not blame them. Not even he would have thought, at the very beginning, that he would have this opportunity after the biggest match of his career.

But he had come all this way. He might as well go the extra mile.

“So I want you, ALIAS, to think of this, and dare to cry to the universe again. Cry for Corey Smith, Dickie Watson or Vhodka Black, but the only person in mind for this match of the Cannabis Cup was none other than Raion Kido. Because the XWF and Chris Page both know, ALIAS, that the Lion, the very Saint of Athena, can very well be the one to make your universe explode.

So go back on your earlier statement. Think about it long and hard. And know that that which you claimed was built entirely wrong is actually the very thing that will ultimately be your doom. For I shall give you this much, ALIAS. There’s nobody else. The power of the universe can only be mastered by one man, and that’s exactly why I live for, and that means that you’re going down at my hands, and mine alone. And the briefcase question will be solved in the way that most people will consider impossible: The briefcase holder beating the Champion without even needing to cash it.

And among the many things that result will break, nothing will be greater than how it will break you. The Newer Testament of ALIAS? Dead before it was even born. The most dominant XWF Universal Champion the company has ever seen in recent history? Broken by a rookie within not even a year.

The universe that you claim to be? Burst into a supernova of a scale never before seen!”

One more time the Lion clenches his fist, and coincidentally, the lights of Times Square begin to flicker. After all, that was Raion Kido’s entire motivation.

To show that the average person had it in themselves to perform a miracle. He had done it before, and he would do it again.

And at the Cannabis Cup, everyone in attendance at the Velvet Rabbit, the XWF, and the entirety of the wrestling world would be witnesses to that.

“To do that, Mr. Universal Champion, takes a jump of a monumental scale, but then again - that’s what you liked about me, right? I jumped. Bobby Bourbon’s falling carcass didn’t matter to me to make that Leap of Faith. And you, Nickles, or Dolly will not matter either.

Because this is my victory, and nobody else’s. Whether I put Dolly to sleep, bring Charlie Nickles to his demise, or render you into nothing else than a quivering mass on the mat of the Velvet Rabbit with the Lightning Plasma, the only thing that matters to me is pulling the greatest upset of all time, in the city of New York, on July 22nd.

Because that’s where a new universe is born, when the cosmos burns to the highest level. That’s when the depths of the underworld finally see the beams of the sun, and all of that brought by the hands of the Lion.

The Saint of Athena that, with her blessing, and her power, shall turn the XWF, and the universe itself, upside down, with one single command…”

With a final roar, Raion Kido raises his right hand to the air, and clenches his fist for the final time - the lights of the most famous intersection in the world now shining in their full glory.

“... let there finally be light!”

Fade to black.