"An arcade?" Kido says with a hint of excitement.  

"Yup!" I tried to sound as enthusiastic as the expression on his face expressed to me as he stared at the games inside. "This is where we will bond and build the best chemistry!"

"So wait.." Kido grabs my arm as I turn to head into the arcade. Free of anyone else, these places weren't the 'hangout' spots they once were but offered a useful need for what I wanted to accomplish. 

"What's up?" I asked only because of the look of confusion on his face. It was as if he had a tickling prairie dog hanging out of his butthole. 

"We went out to eat. Went to the movies.. Now the arcade? Is this a date?"

"Did you want to hold hands to make it official?" I offer him the opportunity to take my hand. He refuses. His loss.

"We could have invited Ryleigh and Josslynn to join us.." 

Shaking my head, I gave him a pat to the outside of his shoulder. "No oohh aaahhs (chicks). But this?" Turning and pointing towards the Arcade, I turned back to him to finalize my response. "This is for us. You and Me." 

For a while we took to playing some of the games. I rented the place out just for us.. Well, I used Theo's name so he will be billed for damages but still.. 

Quarters were in literal buckets for us to spend to our hearts content. For a while, we were having fun, both of us. That wouldn't last much longer.


"Where I started to where I am now.. 

Thinking about it, it's funny how things have become. How long has it been now? Two years now me being on the roster? Most of which was on Anarchy but I have had a few opportunities to rise and unlike foam, I haven't achieved the cozy spot at the top of a glass. 

My partner has though..

The Xtreme Title? Sure, I won that but one could argue that me winning was a fluke. It was an arrogant Champion overlooking what she perceived as a lesser show.. So now I move onto this new booking.. The first I've had since winning the Xtreme Title. Anarchy has forgotten about me it seems.. 

That's fine. My contract is up mid April so I might as well try to add an increase for any re-signing.. 

Entering this company, I HAD a tag partner. I HAD a plan in place and from the jump, none of those plans worked out. I can't point fingers because my own steps forward have to be my own responsibility and I certainly could have done more to achieve those goals. I failed more than anyone else can be blamed for it. 

Will I continue to fail?

Do I want to be the Foam at the top or the flavor that settles at the bottom? 

With everyone and their second cousins getting a shot at being randomly booked for the Tag Titles, maybe the rise takes shape here and now! Maybe I should question why now? Why Kido? Why is Peter Vaughn being supportive on Twitter? 

Too many unanswered questions.

Random pairings are 'awesome' so maybe, just maybe, management has a weird sense of humor and wants to see how many randomly paired teams and teams of old that The Cool Kids can beat during their reign? 

What IS a Tag Team Division anymore anyway? Duos aren't selling so places have Trios as well, like adding a third wheel helps ANY situation with clothes on.. 

It's a dying tradition like alignment that is either non-existent or is a faded need for the business entirely! I guess it depends on who you ask. I'm offering cents to topics and at times it doesn't make much sense even to me.."


Working together, we were killing it at Terminator Salvation. Great arcade game! Both of us strapped with plastic guns pointed at a screen, we blasted like the free world depended on it. I caught a glimpse of Kido biting his bottom lip as he dodged and ducked, pulling the trigger of his gun. There wasn't any complaining about not winning March Madness or comparing everything to some Anime crap, yet he still seemed to be enjoying himself and that's what I was aiming for.

"Hey.. So.." I wasn't sure why I said anything but his eyes never left the screen. He was into the game like it had become his entire world so he didn't see me pull the taser from my pocket. He sure as fuck felt it though! 

"Aaaagghhh..gggaahhhh!" 

The sound people make when they get hit with the volts of electricity gives me a smile everytime! Kido wasn't prepared, he didn't see it coming at all as it zapped and pinched the side of his neck. His gun dropped as he fell like a sack of potatoes to the carpeted arcade floor. 

"Sorry Kid.. This is for your own good!" I tried to make it seem sincere but really, this is how I bonded with people and I wanted him to understand. "Any partner I've had.. Some of my best friends and I became so AFTER fighting each other outside of the ring! I'm doing this for US! For Saga!"

The pain on his face subsided as the shock faded. He scurried away as his expression changed from flustered to confused as he looked up at me for answers. "What is this Cashe? What is going on?!" He asks, clearly not having heard me before. His hand was holding his neck where he had been tased.

"We have to fight.." I told him as plain as a clear skied day. He looked at me even more puzzled than before. There was a hint of betrayal on him so I knew he wasn't expecting this and believe it or not, I felt a little bad. Just a smidge. 

"No, we don't!" He props himself up, ready to get off the ground. "We're partners! We have a Tag Title match upcoming!" 

"I'm aware." Nodding to show him I understand everything he was saying. "That's precisely why I have to whip your ass now.." I stepped towards him. He popped up and tried to hold out a hand and discuss things but I touched him with the taser to his chest. The snapping of the electric buzz stiffened him like a standing board before he tilted and fell flat onto his back on the ground. 

Tossing the taser onto the ice hockey table nearby, I bent over and grabbed the thick mane of his hair. Pulling him up as his body lets out a few minor twitches from the tasing. "I'm really sorry about this Kid.." I said it but I really wasn't sorry. The villain in me had this growing itch to slap Kido with a chair a few times. This was like a window of opportunity. 

He let out a groan as I set him up to be suplexed. Still regaining his composure, he didn't put up much of a fight as I lifted him off his feet and brought him down across the ice hockey table! He cries out as he arches from the pain. 

"Whhhhyyy!!!!!!!!!????????"

I pause. I wasn't sure if that was a noise he made or an attempt at asking why. Didn't matter, we were far from being done. I clubbed down into his chest with a forearm. Again and again, I took his chest to pound town before dragging him off the air hockey table and letting him collapse on the floor once more. 

"Do you think Graves or that Cadryn fucker care that you regret not winning March Madness? Do you think the Cool Kids care if you praise Anime Gods or whatever that shit is you go on and on about? Nobody cares! You're soft and it's time to leather your skin a bit.."

I kicked his hands out from under him as he pushed up from the carpet. He grunted as the wind left his lungs. "Stop.. I don't.. Want to fight you.."

"I didn't ask." I stepped back and lunged forward, punting him to the ribs. He rolled over onto his back, grimacing in the face, his ribs made my big toe hurt. "Get up. Fight back."

I knew saying that, that I hadn't really given him a fair chance to fight back. I tased him. It was to show him, teach him a lesson. 

"Expect the unexpected. You are too fucking NICE!"

I stomped down into his stomach and I'm pretty sure he farted but his groaning was louder. "Show me your Grrr face!" I stomped on his face to show I wasn't kidding with Kido. "Get fucking MAD!"

I was beginning to get mad myself. He was just laying there. I bent over to bring him up an–

"Aaaaggghh-aaaagggaaah!"

This motherfucker tased ME! You can feel the voltage flow through you like blood. It travels so fast and always reminds me of when I peed on a fence. 

Never again. 

Both of us lay on the ground looking stupid.. That's not what I intended for this but the lesson was to expect the unexpected right?


"At one time, the Cool Kids packed like sardines in an Arcade. Slapping quarters on a machine to indicate that they had next on a game. You interacted with people in person and debated on who was the best at what games or who would compete for the high score. Nowadays, you see an arcade and it looks like a cemetery. Each of the games sit like graves, the guts of them just rotting away and never again meaning what they once did for people. 

A loose metaphor but one that connects. What was cool then isn't today and the same can be said about returning talent. OGs of the past like Cadryn who was last seen in what, 2017? It's like that Gangster who ran the neighborhood when you were a kid but he caught a charge and went away for a while. Upon release, he thinks he can just step back into his spot. 

Fuck that! 

Now, how damaged is the Tag scene right now? I mean let's be real about it. Cool Kids are not Them No Good Bastards! The standard in my opinion for what a true Tag Team should look like.. Hell, Lacklin wants to call me Mr. 4CW like my past is my present? She better call Kenzi Grey and regroup the 5'2" Mafia because if Dolly or Roxy aren't in the picture then I'm looking at you two like you MUST be the DUFFs in the group!

You're not even the real Team to beat in this match because Gravy Train and his return-to-the-ring partner, Cadryn-something or another, have been Tag Champions before! Back when XWF had uglier Tag belts and their stars were at their peak forms. Now, we just see them returning for a throwback ratings boost from time to time. 

The point is.. The scene of Tag is at best done randomly these days. They are often the lowest sought after belts with any company because nobody chooses to share the spotlight. It is often you see that people find themselves in the Tag scene when their solo run has had a few bumps in the road or they are just starting to get their feet wet.  

The prior can be said for myself as well as Kido so please know that I am not just trashing anyone and included myself in the drag. Sensitivity is a Cool Kid trait these days so I had to make sure I was clear, I meant us as well. We haven't been on any great solo runs lately, just big losses. If it was otherwise, we wouldn't be booked in this match. If I was still Xtreme Champion, I'd be fighting Goth upcoming not in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match, titles or not.  

If Kido hadn't lost the Uni Title or if he decided to quit babysitting that damn briefcase, he wouldn't be in this match either. Yet we are here and we plan to win not because of the status it provides but because, at least for me, I should have been in this very position TWO fucking years ago!

Cool Kids often peak in High School but in this match, you'll find a Graduating Class of trouble. Your reign is at risk and I hope you are prepared to be called Former when people mention you having been Tag Team Champions in XWF.."


"I don't want to fight you, Cashe!" Kido says as we stand right out of arm's reach from one another. I swipe out a light right hand at him, he slaps it away and repeats himself. "I don't want to fig–"

"You are more than welcome to just take it then!" I let the words build from casual to shouted as I rush at him. He slides out of the way and suddenly I feel like a Bull being worked over by a Matador. It enraged me as I spun around to face him again. 

"I'm leaving.." He said as he turns his back to me. I race at him, leap onto his back and bite down at the top of his ear! I was trying to 'Mike Tyson' my Tag Partner and I had no shame about it. In return, he showed me no shame as he flings me over and slams me on my back. The thud I felt rumbled within me as I gasped for breath. Now he stood over me and watched as I slowly tried to rise. 

"Are you done?"

I let out a sigh. "Yeah.." I reach up wanting a hand to help me off the ground. He grabs it because he is, afterall, a nice guy. 

"Ooohhhhh!" He cries out in a pitch that was on par with Mariah Carey. I sucker punched him to the dick. 

As I get to my feet, he buckles to the floor where I was just occupying residence. "Right in the Caaawk, hurt don't it?" I laughed. Tasing and nut shots are MUCH funnier when it's not happening to you. 

He sits up and I big boot him directly to the face. That might have been that line crossed, that combination code to access fatalities because Raion Kido slapped the ground with both hands. Very aggressive as he rolls over and pushes to his feet. I gave him some space, fully prepared for him to finally be ready to trade hands. "Oh shit, you're bleeding!" I tell him as he faces me. His nose had blood trickling down from both nostrils. It made him look hella badass though, he should thank me. He didn't. No.. No.. Instead the flush in his skin turned red and he became the bull. I wasn't ready for the horns..

Charging, he plows into my midsection and lifts me off my feet. I can't see where he is taking me but soon, I find out as we crash into and through the glass display where all the prizes are located. Glass everywhere as it makes that pretty glass shattering sound. We might have had more shards in us if not for the stuffed animals which gave the landing SOME cushion.

"Are you done yet or do you want some more?" I had the nerve to ask. 

"You're.. an asshole." He responds. He wasn't lying but it was borderline rude to point out after all this bonding we have done. 

"Now we're Tag Partners!" I proclaimed with some excitement. There was also a sense of pain, I might be bleeding somewhere. Kido has glass in his hair. Big mess. 

"Maybe I don't want to be your partner now.."

I wanted to gasp but the risk of inhaling glass was much higher than before. He should have said this earlier and there would have been a big gasp. Missed opportunity now.. 

"Why?" I gave it a pause but it was barely a hesitation before I continued. I didn't want him to actually unload a reason. "Is it because I wanted to bring the Grrrr out of you and not in a Romantical way?" 

"You make jokes. None of this is funny to me Cashe!" 

I laughed. Can't help it. Fuck me for laughing at shit I find funny. I didn't say any of that out loud but instead tried to explain. I sat up to do so, pushing off of him to help sit up. 

"You beat Alias.. You have gone to War with Flynn! Nickles, do I need to keep naming names?" I scoffed before continuing. "Name someone else who has jumped the line and soared to the top of the XWF mountain as you have?"

"What about it?" He asked me not sure where I was going with it. 

"You are booked for a chance at becoming Tag Team Champions with me.."

Getting to my feet, I offer him a hand to help him up to his. Our fight was over. I won but I'll accept a friendly draw. 

"We have an opportunity, I don't want you unprepared to have my back because I will have yours. That's what this is! Fuck what has happened, let's make some shit happen moving forward!"

He takes my hand, I pull him up. Glass pieces fall from him making little tings as it lands among the rubble. "I finally see what you wanted me to understand.."

He drops his hands and uses his right to backhand me in the nuts. As I fall, he adds to his comments. "When all else fails, hit them in the caaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwk!" Kido laughs loud and weird, he has a weird chuckle. "Did I say that right? Caaawk?" 

"You got the nut… The right one.. Direct contact.." I mumble as the pain vibrates within the nerves in my sack.