John Madison kicks the door shut as Theo Pryce leaves the War Room. John then tosses the briefcase that Theo handed him prior to leaving. The briefcase lands on the floor in a random spot of the War Room as John throws himself onto a couch.


"It's come to my attention that the King of Failure, Sebastian Duke, attempted to trade punches with me in a recent promo of his.


That's good, Duke. Let's trade punches.


First and foremost, let's examine the statements-- I mean-- the false statements that he made about my Gauntlet City match. You see, Gauntlet City is an accomplishment I hold near and dear. It's the night where I overcame adversity and proved how great I am. It's a night where I earned the King of the XWF crown, and earn the right to call myself the King of the XWF.


See how that works, Duke? I worked hard, wiped out the competition, and as a result, I earned my championship. I didn't steal the championship and try to use it as a bargaining chip. I walked in and did everything in my power to win it-- not steal it.


Anyway, Duke attempts to tear apart my triumphant victory like he has a clue as to what he's talking about. He claims that instead of going through thirty of the best wrestlers in the business that I only went through ten. Wow, you might want to go check your facts, Duke. Gauntlet City was not an eleven man gauntlet; the match contained thirty two superstars! Thirty two men walked into the match and fought, but only one emerged victorious.


Do you really believe that order placement had anything to do with it? I was just as likely to end up as number four as I was number twenty two. That night I was just a number like the rest of you. Had I won at entry number four, would that be any different from order number twenty two? No. Just like with WWE's annual Royal Rumble, thirty men walk into the match at randomly drawn numbers, and one man walks out with the prize in hand. The winner of the Rumble doesn't go onto say, 'hey I only eliminated a couple of guys." The winner goes on record to state that he went through thirty superstars. XWF is no different. I had no control over my entry number. My name was dropped into the same hat as everybody else. Someone has to draw number three, number twelve, and number twenty two. My named happened to be twenty two. I defeated thirty two men and women, Duke. That's all there is to it; that's how it has been written into history.


Duke then wants to bring up outside interference and whatnot. Hey Duke, why don't you pull up the video of your match with Mark Flynn that night. It looked to me like you had some assistance from my good friend NAZI. In fact, it looked like Mark Flynn had you down for a fucking twelve count. Luckily for you, I had NAZI ready to go that night and had him save your ass from tarnishing The Black Circle's reputation.


That United States Title reign of yours? I'm just as responsible for starting it as I am for ending it.


That 'legitimacy' that you claimed to have contributed to The Black Circle? That was all thanks to me putting the United States Title around your waist.


I sent the NAZI.


The NAZI saved your ass.


The Black Circle then became 'the most feared group,' in wrestling.


I could have gone out there and saved you myself, but like I said before, I never really cared for you, Duke. You were just a slight inconvenience in my plans but I decided to roll with it. I put that US Title around your waist simply for the good of the group. In fact, it didn't matter who held it as long as it found its way into The Black Circle.


And then, after I was done tolerating you and your mediocre title run, I got rid of you.


I got rid of the one rusted cog in the machine and replaced it with something better.


I now have Mr. Supernova; the spaceman.


You know Mr. Supernova, Duke. He's the superstar that had a helping hand in burying you at High Stakes. He's also the superstar who happens to be ten times stronger than you. At one point, the man held three championships at once and defended them on a weekly basis.


He's a better competitor than you in every way imaginable. Actually, we determined a couple of weeks ago that even Mystica is a superior competitor. And judging by your unwillingness to compete in the upcoming Trios match, we can go ahead and add Alexandra Callaway, Jessie Diaz, and Egyptian Snow Angel to that list. Congratulations, Duke. You're worse than someone who hasn't even made their debut.


Anyway, Mr. Supernova was obviously the best choice to be your replacement.


So I made a deal with him at High Stakes that after we eliminated you, then he could join The Black Circle at a later date.


Mr. Supernova beat Sebastian Duke.


Duke disappeared.


Nova went onto be more successful than Duke could ever dream of being.


Nova collected championships by competing for them, unlike you Sebastian Duke. That's what makes Nova, Eli, and Luca more worthy of being Black Circle members than yourself.


Duke, you came out and said that the only reason you joined Peter Gilmour team was so you could collect another championship to throw in your closet.


Wow, that's a first. A guy who held a championship without even winning it. Is that the business you're in now, Duke? It seems to me like you're more of a collector of shiny objects than you are a successful competitor. You're able to weasel your way into collecting shiny things when a dumb ass like Peter Gilmour let's you into his trio team. You even went on record to say that if you're tagged in, you're gonna lay down for Alexandra Callaway. Hah, first you get beaten by Mystica, now Callaway? What a joke...


I wish that the idea of Duke laying down was something new or original, but quite frankly it's nothing new from Duke. When hasn't he laid down and taken a big loss? The fact of the matter is, he knows that he cannot possibly carry any momentum into that match after he loses to me on Madness. He's in a no-win situation so he's trying to play up the whole scumbag routine. Unfortunately, no one is buying it because we all knew Sebastian Duke would lose that Trio Tag match anyway.


Just for the record, this whole laying down scenario sounds familiar now that I think about it. If I recall correctly, Luca Arzegotti threatened to do exactly the same thing when he earned his right to be in the King Match. Ah yes, Luca was prepared to do the right thing that night, and we would spend the entire final hour of the show celebrating my kingship instead of fighting. After all, Luca deserved that honor after going through the grueling contest known as Wild Card Weekend. If, after going through all of that, he was prepared to forfeit his king shot and admit that I was the rightful king, then I was ready to oblige him. But lo and behold, out comes Paul Heyman ready to tag every stipulation to the match that he could think of in order to block Luca from achieving his dream.


Where is Paul now that Duke has admitted that he'll be laying down at Trios Warfare? Nowhere to be found, of course. Surely Paul Heyman could see how such pitiful statements coming from the king's challenger would make them undeserving of fighting for my crown.


Yet, I'm the one who's constantly being referred to as 'tyrannical.' More on that later...


For now, let me ask the members of my kingdom a question.


Would you prefer to have a king who goes out to the ring and lays down for his opponents all so he can say that he held a championship for thirty minutes? Better yet, let's hear that line come out of Duke's mouth again. After all, it's a line of information which happens to be the only piece of truth in his recent promo.

Quote:Sebastian Duke: I have no plans to give forth any effort whatsoever.

Keep in mind, this is a match that Sebastian Duke VOLUNTEERED for. Furthermore, Sebastian Duke is throwing away an opportunity that someone less pathetic, like LJ Havok, could have used to their full advantage. You know- LJ Havok; the guy who actually earned his King title shot not too long ago. But here comes Sebastian Duke, as lazy as his big brother Peter Gilmour, to lay down for his competition twice in one week. How can Sebastian Duke claim to be a king when he makes statements like that?


The other choice for a king is me-- the one and only King of the XWF. The XWF superstar who takes on worthy challengers such as Luca Arzegotti, Griffin MacAlister, Tony Santos, and LJ Havok; as well as unworthy challengers like Sebastian Duke and Peter Gilmour.


The answer is easy if you care about competitive wrestling.


Duke wants to be a king without putting in any effort. He said so himself that he plans on not putting in any effort whatsoever.


I want to be the king because I am the top wrestler in this industry, and I bring the best out of our XWF superstars.


Duke wants to spread lies about me. He says that I did nothing about Peter Gilmour throwing me off of a balcony. Last time I checked, I lured Gilmour into a King Match with me and beat him in the center of the ring. Duke also says that I did nothing about him taking my crown. Last time I checked, I signed on for a No Holds Barred match.


Perhaps Duke's idea of 'getting even' does not involve competing in a wrestling match. Yes, that would make sense seeing as how he's incapable of winning them. In actuality, I don't even have a need to 'get even' with Duke. Yeah, he stole my crown, but I found a suitable replacement. Duke is the one who has yet to get even. He's going into this match for personal reasons. Me? I'm just defending my toy crown; business as usual.


I don't know why Duke thinks of himself as being regarded higher than Cam Lang or Peter Gilmour. All three of these morons are practically the same-- big, lazy, and marginally talented. It might just be the perfect team!


Duke, you tried to describe by king reign as 'tyrannical.'


Let's visit tyranny.


Tyranny: A cruel and oppressive rule.


That's a pretty harsh word to describe something as beautiful as my reign, don't you think? I've been nothing but generous to you shitheads.


Am I tyrannical because I let Paul Heyman handle the majority of my crown defenses and went with all of his stupid ideas?


Am I tyrannical for only accepting the best superstars as worth competitors? Competitors who earned the privilege of facing me. Competitors like Luca, Havok, Tony, and Griffin.


Am I cruel and oppressive because I gave Peter Gilmour a King shot out of the kindness of my heart?


Or how about my group? Is Luca oppressive for cashing in a 24/7 briefcase that he rightfully earned? Are Supernova and Eli James oppressive for being defending champions?


You might say that the statements that I make towards Peter Gilmour about his weight are cruel, but at least I shoot straight with him. At least I'm bringing awareness to his unhealthy lifestyle so that he can change his ways.


So do all of these things make me a tyrant?


The answer is 'no.'


Duke, you're throwing out words that don't even come close to describing me.


Who's the one taking property that doesn't belong to them? That's you, Duke. Sounds pretty Hitler-esque if you ask me. Wait, I just asked NAZI, and he agrees. Yep, you're just like Adolf.


Who was it that kicked Peter Gilmour out of their group and then manipulated him into believing that they could still work as a trio? You again. That is pretty cruel behavior if you ask me!


Your idea of me being a tyrant is flawed just like the idea of you being king.


With or without the actual crown, my time as king shall continue."