Centurion couldn't help but laugh.

When he signed up to compete in War Games, he knew there was a chance he would get drafted by someone he disliked. It's part of the business - as a captain of a team, you select the best wrestlers available to you, regardless of personal preference. Centurion can flashback to when he was a captain and was forced to select Chris Chaos as proof of this.

But he didn't see this coming. Not only did his arch nemesis Sidney Grey select him for her team, but she did so with her first round selection, and has made it known to the world that she did so simply to make Centurion's life a living hell. It's something so stupid and so chaotic that he should have seen it as a possibility. After all, the XWF prides itself on stupid and chaotic.

We open up outside of Centurion's luxury cabin in the Poconos. There, we see Centurion standing on the back deck, overlooking his lake. He has an unlit cigar in his hands as he leans against the banister. Behind him, the sliding glass door opens, and the sound of the coverage of the War Games draft being played on the TV can be heard. Centurion turns his head to see Nellie walking out of the cabin, closing the door behind her.

"Aren't you going to watch and see who your other partners are?" Nellie says as she approaches Centurion, eventually standing directly next to him. 

"Nah." Centurion says in an almost defeated tone. "It doesn't really matter. I'm fucked anyway." Centurion glances at his cigar and goes to put it in his mouth, but instead he just lets out a slight chuckle and slips the cigar back into his pocket as he shakes his head. "How did we not see this happening?"

"It's antithetical to everything we know about Sidney." Nellie says in response.

"Obviously not!" Centurion says a little louder and with more irritation than before. "Sidney is a troll. She wants to get a rise out of people. How did we not consider the idea that perhaps she would select me for the team just to fuck with me?"

"Because Sidney is also a power hungry bitch that craves the spotlight and wants more than anything to win." Nellie says in a matter of fact tone. "She doesn't exactly have a high opinion of you. I figured she wouldn't even consider you for the team because she would think you're the weak link. I guess she has more respect for your skills than I thought."

"Ha!" Centurion lets out an audible laugh. "No, that's not it at all. Sidney thinks she's so great that she can win without me. She wants to boss me around just to cut me loose the moment the match begins because she thinks she can make it all the way to the end on her own."

"Well, she's delusional." Nellie says in response. 

"Yeah, well." Centurion quickly responds as he nods his head. "We already knew that." Centurion takes a deep breath and taps his fingers on the railing. "You know, I have to hand it to her. It's clever."

"You do not, in fact, 'have to hand it to her'." Nellie responds in disappointment as her face drops. "It's carelessly stupid. There are so many ways this can backfire on her. For one, it could make you guys instantly lose the preliminary match, which solves absolutely nothing. Neither of you move on, the show continues without you, and literally nothing is solved; however, there is also another potential issue she created for herself."

"Yeah?" Centurion questions. "What's that?"

"Well…" Nellie pauses as she tries to gather the words of what she is about to say. "What if you end up making the Main Event with her? Hell, what if you WIN?! She would have enabled the person she hates more than anyone in the world to become the…wait, what does the War Games winner get, anyway?"

"You know?" Centurion says as he cocks his head to the side. "I don't rightfully know."

"Regardless…" Nellie continues. "She would have been the catalyst for you to win the whole damn thing. Then what? She has to sit back and watch as you skyrocket into the main event? Even if she is as delusional as she is, you'd think there would be a part of her that would consider that possibility for a second."

"No, she's not really a thinker." Centurion says with a slight chuckle. "Besides, she will never let that happen. She would kneecap me first. Hell, she might shoot me on my way to the parking lot knowing her. Whatever she has to prevent me from winning, she's going to attempt to use it. Have they announced who we're matched up against yet?"

"No announcement." Nellie says as she leans forward, shifting the conversation to a more serious tone. "But word has it that you're going to be matched up against Ned Kaye's team. So far we know he and Mark Flynn are on a team."

"Cool, great." Centurion says sarcastically. "Not only do I have to be on the same team as the Wicked Witch Of The West, but I also have to be on the other side of the ring against two of the best wrestlers in the company. I'm starting to think not showing up would be a better use of my time."

"You could do that." Nellie says in agreement, causing Centurion to back up slightly from the railing. 

"Really?" Centurion questions in a very confused tone. "You would just let me do that without a fight?"

"What do you want me to say?" Nellie responds as she holds her arms out to the side. "You want me to kneel down and beg? I don't give a fuck what you do. I'm just here to make sure you make decent life choices at this point."

"You are a bundle of joy." Centurion says sarcastically. 

"Yeah, well, if you had to manage yourself, you'd be grumpy as shit, too." Nellie responds. She reaches into Centurion's pocket and pulls out the cigar he was previously holding before pulling a lighter out of her own pocket. Centurion looks a bit confused as Nellie lights the cigar and slides the lighter back into her pocket. "The reality is, I don't know what the answer is. If I was in your shoes, I'd consider no-showing, as well. But if you do, you better be prepared for the blowback you're going to receive. Your chance at ever being a top guy again in the XWF would be gone. If that matters to you - if there's still something you want to accomplish in this business - then you need to show up and kick ass."

Nellie takes a hit of the cigar as Centurion turns back towards the lake and the camera cuts.

—---Bongo, Bongo, Bongo—---

What the fuck am I doing?

No, seriously, can anyone with a psychology degree please let me know why I'm so damn destructive to myself? I've been doing pretty good lately. Living in the woods with my beautiful girlfriend, rebooting the business, relaxing and enjoying the vibes as I continue to recover from injury.

Then I decided to come back. No big deal, a few dates on Anarchy, kick some ass, make a couple dollars, all gravy. But for some reason, I decided I wasn't being booked enough. No, I wanted some time in the spotlight. So I signed up for War Games.

…ever make a mistake so gigantic it makes you feel sick in every organ in your body?

Of course Sidney Grey selected me with her first pick. Of course! Any normal wrestler in that position would select someone based on team symmetry, and who gives them the best opportunity to win. But not good old Sidney. Nope, everything she does is out of spite and malice. All she thinks about is inflicting harm on people, and getting a good laugh while doing it. I'm surprised she didn't pick me for the team, then tell everyone "we're good!" and just not select two others. Jay Omega and Vagabond must feel like they've been drafted into No Man's Land.

The thought of just not showing up has crossed my mind. Seriously. I'm still thinking about it, to be honest. Sidney thinks she can get one over on me by "being my boss" or whatever, but if I just don't show up, she can't do shit about it. I'm a legend! I've won more matches than anyone else in the history of this company. I'm not some rookie who sees this as their only shot at greatness. The easiest, and probably smartest thing to do would be to just say "fuck it" and miss my flight that evening.

But I wouldn't get any satisfaction out of that.

You know what would really satisfy me? Like, the kind of satisfaction that I would remember on my death bed? It would be getting my arm raised as the War Games winner while Sidney Grey watches on in horror as she sees her ultimate plan crumble before her, and the realization that, instead of screwing me over, Sidney Grey turned me into one of the most powerful people in the XWF. Oh yeah, that's career defining shit. That would be better than any championship I've ever won.

So I think I'm going to do that.

Of course, in order to achieve such a feat, there are several steps that need to take place. The first is that our team needs to win the first match of the evening, which means I'm going to need to get along with my team mates…not Sid, obviously. I need her out of the equation as quickly as possible, because the quicker she trips over her own two feet, the faster I can work together with my actual team mates. Jay Omega and Vagabond, I know they're not top shelf players, but they are good wrestlers that have flashes of greatness inside of them, and I can build around that. They're not there to screw anyone over - they just want to win, and the passion of a young competitor looking to make a name for themselves can be harnessed into something spectacular if it's given some guidance.

And they're going to need both that passion and guidance…because we're not facing scrubs here.

Well, I shouldn't say that as a blanket statement. I don't know who the fuck Crash Rodriguez is. He sounds like a used car salesman, or Ned Kaye's cocaine dealer. He could be the second coming of Steve Jason, but I'm going to go ahead and assume he's not. Kaye selected him last, and while I'd never consider Kaye to be a scholar by any means, he at least has some knowledge of the wrestling business.

As for Isaiah King, while I am not too familiar with his work, I know folks who are, and they tell me he's a really good wrestler. Like, "future champion" good. Whether or not he has tapped into that potential yet is a whole nother question in itself, but one thing I know about young wrestlers with talent is that they can often springboard to the top if they get the opportunity, and War Games seems like an excellent opportunity for him. So I will have my eye on King the entire time, and I will not be taking him lightly by any means.

Obviously, though, all the starpower is at the top of the ticket for this team, though Ned Kaye is going to have a problem similar to what Sidney Grey has. He's the captain of the team, and he's no scrub, but he's clearly outshined by the person he chose first in the draft. Mark Flynn has been one of the best wrestlers on the planet over the past 16 months. He's on a short list of wrestlers that can headline a pay per view without a moment's notice. Despite the fact that he is a complete prick, there is no denying that he is an absolute superstar, and is invaluable to the XWF.

Ned Kaye isn't any of those things.

Don't get me wrong, I like Ned Kaye. I think he's really good on the ring, and he can be incredibly charming. I've faced him in the ring. I know exactly what he's capable of, and if he sticks around, he will continue to have a solid place in the XWF, as anyone would love to work with him.

But let's face it, he's not Mark Flynn. He's not Universal Champion material. He's a solid hand, capable of winning multiple Supercontinental Titles, but when push comes to shove, he's going to take a back seat to the more talented wrestlers in the federation, and Mark Flynn knows that. You think for a second that Mark Flynn actually respects Ned Kaye? Hell, Flynn probably started laughing the moment he was drafted. That team is going to get together, and Flynn is immediately going to dominate the conversation. He may not listen to a word Kaye, or anyone else, for that matters, says. HE'S the true captain. HE'S the true leader, and HE'S going to be responsible for the team victory…

…unless they lose. Then it will all be Ned Kaye's fault, because God forbid Mark Flynn takes any responsibility for his failures.

So there's the match for you all to see. Two teams with ineffectual leaders, a bonafide superstar in the second position, and two young upstarts who could either be sensational or completely flame out. I'm sure Theo knew exactly what he was doing when he pieced this whole thing together.

At the end of the night, I plan on standing in the middle of the ring with my arm held high, announced as the newest winner of War Games. First, however, I must complete step one, and that is to make sure Ned Kaye, Mark Flynn, Isaiah King, and Crash Rodriguez all meet their…

FINAL FANTASY!!