Read Part 1 here!

Read Part 2 here!

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11 October 2022
Brooklyn, New York City


I can still feel it. Still see it. Even in the dead of night when I close my eyes, I know it's there.

A never-ending weight that looms on my shoulders.

The reason I know I may never be able to outrun the stigma of a 'loser.'

The reason I know I have to work twice as hard to prove myself in this company.

The reason I know I must redeem myself for.

Second Chance 2018 Said:Madison climbs into the ring taking up a position between the two fallen competitors.

This can't be good for The Engineer.

Madison starts slamming the chair into the ring mat in an effort to get the two men's attention. It takes a few hits before the two men are able to pull themselves up now standing a few feet apart, only crazy Madison and her steel chair standing in between them.

The two competitors are exchanging glances at each either while not overlooking the crazy woman in the middle of the ring with the chair. She turns 90 degrees so that she can see both men. She looks at the Universal Champion first, then the Kaiser, then back to the champ.

The ref is yelling for her to get out of the ring but it's No Disqualification so what can he do but yell?

Madison lifts the chair, stares down the champion one last time before her face contorts into an evil grin and then swings!!!!

The looming steel death that went straight for my soul. A single, sickening shot that spelled doom. In the blink of an eye, it had only taken one decisive moment to rip a dream from reach.

That was the single moment that was all that was needed in order to place me into a near-permanent funk.


THUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMP!


With a nervous, anxious start, I sat up in my bed, my eyes forced wide open as I felt the cold, dripping sweat reaching all over my body. I had to force my feet to touch solid ground, to try placing me back in this reality as I couldn't stop myself from burrowing my face in my hands.

I was coming so far, so damn far even after everything that had been placed in front of me, yet still... still my mind clung to those missed opportunities. A part of me was clinging to the sensation that maybe, maybe that this was still all for naught.

Was it fear? No. No, I didn't think so. Anxieties though... that seemed to be the case.

In this moment, I felt maddeningly pathetic. How long was I going to perseverate on this? I needed to try forging a new path for myself, but knowing that both of my prior victories so far weren't straight, weren't earned felt like added fuel to the fire. I needed to try putting things together, but just...

How?

My body acted on its own, feeling the nerves swelling up inside of me as I wiped the sweat off of myself before flicking the light on. I had to shield my own eyes to block out the bright white light of the lamp before fuddling around inside of my dresser, finding proper clothes to change into. Fresh air would do me good. Without Skyla and without Christine, I could have time to think to myself. Time to really sort out my emotions - time I never really had to myself all this while I've been back.

It did not take me long to get situated and throw clothes on. Making sure my hair was in proper order, making sure I was properly bundled... I managed to quickly get myself out of the house in about ten minutes flat. The cool early October air was calm, and with my jacket on as I stepped out into the dark, dimly-lit streets of Brooklyn, silence was a steady accompanying hand.

I was not sure where I was going. Quite frankly, I did not care.

To try passing the time, I slipped in Charlie Nickles' recent promo on me, shaking my head as I continued walking.

Skyla had said it herself. He knows how to press every button imaginable. And every word out of that vile mouth of his that said nothing but idiotic filth filled me with rage. And yet still, I listened. Because with every word of garbage he spoke and uttered, I felt a new burst of desire filling my step.

The world itself felt like it was dissolving around me. All I could think of was the desire to get into the ring and do what I loved to do, more than anything. The fact that wrestling had been filling my mind so constantly was nothing new - in fact, one may say that with it being almost the only thing going on in my life, it made me 'boring.'

I say those people are fucking stupid.

Wrestling is my job - no, my life. Rarely do I ever feel as alive as I do when I'm in that squared circle. Whenever I'm on, whenever I'm focused in there, it feels like there is nothing else in the world that would ever matter. And that's something I'm content with. But I had to make sure, as I stepped across the streets, that I could get something out of this in return.

Wrestling was about power.

That was what drew me into this to begin with. That was why I called myself a 'King' with the desire to be a 'Kaiser.' I want power. I've always wanted power. The power to lead an entire industry forward and make it the best it possibly could be. That was my goal. My dream.

My stream of consciousness dissipated for the moment as I stepped onto the familiar concrete path of Owl's Head Park. I had gone here often, more so when I was younger with my old friends. It was funny how I ended up coming back out here myself even now when I felt like I was at my worst.

Silently, I continued walking along the path, deciding to just pause Charlie's promo for now. I wasn't sure how late it was, but the park would probably be close to closing up soon for the night, so I might not have long here. That was fine - I knew exactly where I wanted to go. Amidst the quiet chirping of crickets, the gentle gust of wind and the silence in the air, I made my way over out through the trees into the clear, hilly overlook that situated itself over the water. As soon as I started to make my way over, though, I saw a strange sight.

The clearing itself was empty, save for the sight of one small child sitting out in the field and looking longingly at the flowing waves off in the distance. His face and hair looked greasy, his eyes seemed sunken, and his stare felt like that of a thousand yards as his hands sunk into the dirt.

I looked around, trying to see if there was any sort of guardian nearby to look out for him. Nothing. This child was on his own. Part of me considered walking by and continuing on my way, but looking at him still... Brooklyn wasn't known for being the safest place on Earth, after all. If I could at least make sure that nothing bad would happen to him, well...

"Little late to be out on your own without a parent, isn't it?" I called out, my eyes showing concern etched into them as the boy practically jumped in his seat.

Brushing the sandy-colored hair out of his eyes, he squinted them in order to take notice of me, before they widened in realization. "You're that wrestler that's from around here..." He said softly. "Finn, uh... Kewn?"

That earned an honest laugh out of me. I wasn't expecting him to nail a German pronunciation or anything like that, but hearing him try to say it anyway got a smile on my face. I strolled forward, pointing to right next to him. "You mind if I sit there?"

The boy paused in hesitation, before shaking his head and beckoning me to come over. As I did, the grass crunched beneath my feet before sitting down, leaning on one leg. "What's your name?" I asked, trying to make conversation between the two of us.

He hesitated for a minute before responding. "Jordan," he murmured back. He honestly couldn't have been more than fifteen at most - at least around the ballpark of those early-to-mid teenage years, though it was hard to make out a definite answer in the fark.

"Anyone looking for you, Jordan?" I asked. I figured if he did have any family trying to look for him, or even friends, I could just stay here and watch him until they get here.

Jordan had quickly shot down that possibility though as he shook his head. "Nah. Nobody like that. I just came out here on my own."

I nodded my head in silent understanding. I was fortunate enough to have a mother and father that both loved me, but they both knew how to get into trouble, especially since they had emigrated to America with me and had a far more difficult time trying to learn the language. Between that and seeing other friends who were in less fortunate parental circumstances than I was, and I had to learn quickly to try looking out for myself.

This was just another one of those cases.

Before I could keep passing the time with idle conversation, Jordan continued talking with me. "You mean a lot to people around here, you know?"

"I do, do I?" I asked back with a small smile and a raised eyebrow. Jordan flushed with embarrassment, trying to find the right words.

"Well- yeah!" He exclaimed with just a bit more gusto than he had planned on using. "I mean, not just anyone gets into the big leagues in wrestling. And, I mean... uh..."

"Relax," I responded with a wave of my hand. I could see Jordan visually trying to exhale and follow along as we spoke. "It's alright. I'm flattered regardless, at least."

There were better role models in the XWF than me. People far more well-suited for that job than me. It wasn't something I had particularly wanted to be, but I didn't say anything to dissuade him in that moment.

"It's just... you've had a lot happen to you. And I mean - honestly, same with a lot of people in your profession, but... no matter what, it's great seeing you just... get back up and laugh in the face of it all and try again. Even if trying again took another couple years for you, but still..." Jordan gave a nervous laugh, but felt better about things once he saw that I joined in with my own chuckle.

"I get what you're saying," I said. Slowly, I leaned back and laid my body out against the cool, green grass while staring into the sky. Funny. Out of everything Charlie said, above all else, there was one thing that in all of his reaching and grandstanding, he had been right on the money about. "Y'know, when I was younger here, I... well, you can't really see the stars out here with all the light pollution in the city, but I'd come here with a few of my friends and... we'd drink and do stupid shit and sometimes if and when we got drunk enough, get all philosophical and wishy-washy on what we wanted to do with our lives."

I took a deep breath, reminiscing on those old memories. "I wasn't quite like the others. I knew wrestling was what I wanted to do. I wanted to be the best. A champion. I mean... wishing that is more normal if you wanna get into that kind of profession, but not everyone dreams of being a wrestler and all. Things kinda... took on a few twists and turns though."

"Yeah... I'll say." A small exhale of a held-back chuckle continued. "I'm not sure what I wanna do, but... in school, wrestling's fun at least. I'm on the school team and all that."

I nodded in response. "I was more so focused on trying to condition my body at that point. Exercising, running, what have you. My friends... didn't really try having that. They tried to get me to do other stupid shit and also set me up with someone. When they realized I wasn't into any of the girls at school, they thought maybe I liked guys... then when that didn't turn out, they finally realized I'd rather be battering myself to get ready for what would be coming next in life than that kind of stuff."

A small moment of silence ensued as Jordan collected his thoughts. "You regret doing that at all? Just... focusing on all that shit and what not."

This was really a talk meant to happen with parents, but... the fact that this was coming off the cuff like this told me that Jordan really didn't have anyone like this to talk to. So I figured I'd keep humoring him. "There's always regrets people have in life. I'm no exception. Honestly, I've been thinking about them and getting hung up on them for... the past four years, now. But life goes on in the end, doesn't it?"

"Guess so." Jordan leaned back into the grass with me, and together we watched the rolling clouds drift among the open sky with the chirping crickets still watching us. "For what it's worth though, I think you'll do great in the future."

That earned another chuckle out of me. Here I was, at the point where I needed to accept a mini-pep talk from a teenager. Still... I wasn't going to complain. "Thanks," I said. "As corny as it might be... part of me still wants to make that dream come true with being the best. I've just... got a lot more bumps on that path than I planned on, initially. But again..."

"That's life, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I guess you're right." A moment of silence passed before Jordan managed to roll up back into a seated position. "I should probably get back home by now. School night and all... at least I don't live far."

Before Jordan could walk away though, he took a look at me on the ground and pursed his lips, trying to work up a bit of inner courage before speaking. "Hey, you uh... mind if I grab a quick selfie with you?"

"Sure. Why not, if you wanna have me look like a creeper by being out with a kid this late at night," I joked (though people would probably think that regardless) as I managed to get back up onto my feet, dusting myself off as Jordan whipped out his phone.

One flash-assisted photo that hurt my eyes later and a wave goodbye, and I was watching him as he walked out of the park to make sure nothing happened to him.

I gave one last, final deep breath as I looked back at the sky.

I think I needed that. A small a thing as that was, the fact that I was proving people truly could make the most out of a second chance was inspiring others was enough for me to try and keep moving.

Maybe I couldn't fix my prior mistakes... but I can always try to make up for them in the present.

The old Finn Kühn would have been too prideful to accept having to reinvent his style, to know that someone as deranged and depraved as Charlie Nickles would try and attack his very being and he had to accept that fact. But I've lost too many times, faltered so often that I couldn't afford to make that mistake.

Charlie has no morals, no goals, and he thrives off of that fact.

But I... I have a goal. I know what I want to do. I know what I need to do. And I'm going to start come Wednesday.

A new day was coming.

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"Charlie Nickles wants to go on about the fact that he's lead to the end of several careers here. A 'soul reaper,' he put it. He has every right to be confident about that fact - the fact that he's lead to as many ended careers here is staggering. However, he's forgotten one thing."

"I've already been a ghost, Charlie."

"I've been driven out of here, robbed of dignity and self-worth and desire and made into nothing more than a lifeless husk that was going through life, trying to chase the high I once had, that I once got addicted to. But guess what, Charlie?"

"You never had to deal with a ghost that brought itself from back out of the grave, did you?"

"See, I never said losing matches was what made you great, but you learn a hell of a lot more in defeat than you do otherwise, and I've learned a lot in my time. I'm not ashamed to admit that fact, because I know that the path to right yourself makes that worth it."

"Because that's the thing. No matter how things may look, I've been beaten, spat on, wiped out by those far greater than you. But you know something, Charlie?"

"I'M. STILL. HERE."

"I'm still here! My star's on the rise and people are taking notice of ME once again, and I'm not giving that up for the world. You're goddamn right I'm looking for my first Main Event victory in years. You're goddamn right I'm looking to make good on the dream I've set for myself ever since I was a child. And I'm going to be making good on that come Warfare."

"You're nothing I haven't faced before, either on the mic or in the ring. The Main Event is nothing new to me. There is not a single opponent that intimidates me and this will not be the first. It doesn't matter if the way to win is by pinfall, submission or by having to make someone bleed. I know my talent is to the point where even if I have to try reinventing my moveset in order to stand against those at the top (did you really think I'd consider you specifically important enough to do this JUST for you?), I can still outwrestle you. I can still outmaneuver you. I can still outstrike you and do whatever I have to do to bust you open, especially since you're keeping that same energy with trying to overlook me."

"Since you for some reason like to insinuate Buster Gloves actually beat me at Relentless, how about you ask him how that match went? Fact of the matter was, we beat the Hell out of each other, and no matter how it ended - and I'm looking for a rematch soon - there is only ONE way the record books have that entered in as."

Back to Relentless Night 3 Said:

Winner: Finn Kuhn

"It's the same way this match is going to end, because while I'm preparing to give you the fight of my life and show EVERYBODY not to sleep on me... you're busy making up sob stories about fictional grudges and going on about the past."

"And you know something? I'm through with living in the past. This 'ghost' of the past is going to reincarnate. This King is going to reestablish his kingdom. And that starts on Warfare, in the main event."

"You said the main event is where you get to play with your balls, earlier."

"Come Warfare, I'm going to rip them off and shove them down your goddamn throat while I decorate my crown with your blood."

"See you at your loss."