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greenhouse.
It reeks of something long since dead.
It seemed to me that PWE wasn’t free from FIGHT: NY. No, the disease that the company spread to the company merely laid dormant. When we forgot about it, the symptoms began to manifest once again. Like last time, people from the company started to appear in our halls. Their sycophantic followers would comment on things that didn’t concern them. This time, however, those loyal to Pro Wrestling Excellence refused to let them have their way. In response to Joe and Vhodka’s actions, Tara and I saw to maiming Joe. We finished him with a stomp to the head, splitting his face open. However, we did our damage earlier. As reported, he’s scheduled to be out of competition for the foreseeable future. Despite the cries of those around him, he cannot do anything but lament the end result.
There’s no contender to the Pro Wrestling Excellence Championship.
And that is by my design.
This was Ophelia’s way of getting back at me for my supposed indecisiveness. Allen and I weren’t finished. We were forced to end our last match because of what she mandated. He and I were medically suspended to start. However, I faced the brunt of the punishment because Allen couldn’t be suspended. The championship on his shoulder was his saving grace, which was fortunate. If he would have been forced to vacate the championship, then somehow Joe Montouri would have ended as Excellence Champion. Then the infestation would grow stronger, then Pro Wrestling Excellence would be a rotting corpse.
All of our hard work would have gone to waste–if Tara and I didn’t do what we decided to do.
Ophelia Knight must be feeling the pressure. She has to scourge together a main event for Annihilation. Who does she have in line? Will she throw someone in the match that doesn’t deserve it? There are plenty of people that don’t. The current state of Pro Wrestling Excellence is that there isn't anybody that is rightfully in line the same way that I am. No one has momentum. As the roster thins out, even with the new signings, they all skew towards a single answer.
ANNIHILATION II: DAMIAN VS ALLEN II
A person might think that I would smile at the inevitability. I don’t have to play Ophelia’s game. I don’t have to earn anything else because I did what I was supposed to do. It has been a full year since Vhodka Black beat me. It has been a full year since anyone in the world has been able to beat me. I’ve taken time away from the business to cater to my family, and I came back to continue what truly never ended. Allen didn’t beat me. He survived me as much as I survived him. From there, I put everybody down that has stepped in front of me. There are no more excuses or hurdles that Ophelia can make to stop me. Allen and I can end this, once and for all, like we’ve always wanted to.
…That is if I wanted to go for the Excellence Championship anymore.
Oh, I wanted to be a fly in Ophelia’s office when she received my message at the end of the last Victory. Amidst the chaos of Joe’s injury, the breakdown of her plans, the attacks, and the new arrivals, there was an inconspicuous message from her dear first champion.
“I’m turning my attention to the Impulse Championship.” - DAMIAN AYLA
Why? She might ask. Why would I, the legendary first Excellence Champion, suddenly turn my attention to the supposed lesser title? In the public eye, there’s a litany of motivations, both positively and negatively charged.
- Jason Long defeated Allen Chaney in a champion vs. champion showcase. Therefore, he’s the more appealing person for me, the deranged gladiator, to go after.
- I’m backing down from Ophelia’s challenge. I’m a spoiled brat in a man suit, acting out because I didn’t get my way for once.
- I want to merge the Impulse Championship with the Excellence Championship in some dramatic fashion.
- I lost my whole fucking mind.
Though the true answer is the easiest one. It’s not on the list, but it’s what I’ve always sought after. I decided to redirect my efforts because of Tara. My wife and I demolished the competition as we often do. Enigma and Joe did put up a valiant fight but it was apparent that Tara was operating on another level. She was always my equal, despite what people may proclaim. She’s not just my wife, my arm candy. No. Tara Ayla’s a force to be reckoned with. She’s the only person in the company to beat Vhodka Black but wasn’t recognized for it. She’s the first person to win those little champion vs champion challenges by emasculating Ellie Quinn. She put life into the Impulse Championship and was poised to do so much with it…if it wasn’t for her getting pregnant. In a way, she, as much as Allen, Angel, Lachlan Kane forged the foundation of Pro Wrestling Excellence, and myself.
As she stood on top rope, ready to deal the killing blow, I saw a glint in her eyes. It was one that I saw in the mirror. It was the drive of a world champion. Tara had crafted a new life for herself in our company. She took on my mission where I faltered. She was now the nurturer, the provider, and she was beautiful. Yet, a person of her occupation shouldn’t dwell in a darker realm. She shouldn’t go for the Impulse Championship anymore. No, with her newfound might and resources, the world is hers for the taking. And this is where I can continue to craft myself the perfect opponent. There are slits in her chrysalis, where she’s reaching her finale. As we ventured backstage, lively from our bloody victory, I stopped her.
“I think it’s time for you to go for the Excellence Championship,” I started before I took a swig of water. “I have plans of my own, but the lane to the championship is clear now. We took out Joe. Ophelia cannot just make up a challenger.”
“I thought you and Allen wanted to finish the fight? Don’t you deserve an ending?” Tara asked, tilting her head inquisitively.
“There are many sacrifices that I make for your benefit, my love. A fight like that can happen at any time without a championship. This isn’t about him and I anymore. It’s about you, taking the helm of this company before it sinks into obscurity.”
Tara remained quiet, contemplative. It’s a look that I know well. She looked away, attempting to shroud a hungry smile behind her hand. I wouldn’t let her escape. I stepped in front of her and took her face in my hands.
“It’s your time,” I told her, forcing her to stare in my devoted eyes. “It’s time for you to make this place our paradise, our heaven.”
“Where only violence reigns,” Tara mused.
“And those who do not evolve…will die.”
━━━ ♠ ━━━
Hello, Pro Wrestling Excellence, we’re getting more personal these days. In my revival, I’ve decided that I cannot let myself stay the mysterious gentleman from the shadows. The first part of that is opening the doors to my home. The cameras have been here before, but it has been under my very careful eye. Today, I decided to let the camera into my greenhouse. Tara and I live in the Yukon in a village of mysterious retirees. I have to grow a lot of my own vegetables because no matter how affluent I am, I don’t believe in paying 13.47 CAD for a piece of fruit for one dish. There, people could see me treating tomatoes on a vine. I give them their food with love and consideration. I don’t have the same consideration anymore for this company. I make it known with a scoff.
“Damian Ayla in an Impulse Championship contendership match? Oh, what has this company come to?” I throw the statement out into the air with a laugh following it. Damian laughing? What’s going on here? Well, let me explain.
“It hasn’t come to anything because the Impulse Championship has all the potential in the world to be something special. You see, my wife laid the groundwork. Zoey might have been the first champion but she spent more time dealing with Xaria Linette than getting ready for my wife. That’s why she lost. Tara couldn’t do what she wanted with the championship, but she opened the door for other people to make it legendary. Despite how I personally feel about Joe Montouri, he did do what he could to make the belt important. Now we have Jason Long, who beat Allen Chaney. So what does that mean?”
“It means that our world’s expanding and there’s more gold to go after,” I said with a shrug. “Now I want it. I want to take that championship and put my legacy behind it. I want to be the man that stands at the bottom of the mountain I built. You want to even think of climbing it? You have to beat me. You want your chance at immortality? Then you have to find a way to figure me out and do what only ONE person has done.”
“Does this sound familiar to you, Cassidy?” I said, turning my head to the camera. I didn’t offer anything more than a glance because why wouldn’t I? “You faced the same problem not so long ago. How does one beat Damian Ayla? You wanted to figure that out so bad, and I can admit that I wanted you to. Last time that we faced off, I gave you the respect of my attention. Because PWE needs people like you. You had world champion DNA from your past exploits. You run your own company. If someone like you could thrive here, then maybe PWE wouldn’t be fraught with the aftermath of a dead federation.”
“Then you disappointed me.” I made sure to enrich my diction with every ounce of disdain that I had. “It’s funny that I used the fatherhood analogy against you because I ended up wanting to leave you behind for a pack of cigarettes and a gallon of milk.”
“I’m not referring to our match. No, it was exactly what I paid for. You tried to play to your strengths, but in the end, you were dissected and left broken on the mat. It was never the match that I was worried about. It was what came after. Allen Chaney took his loss against me as his chief motivation to excel, and look where he is now. Those who stayed here after encountering me went on to become an important piece of our company’s history. That’s what I wanted for you. I wanted you to come back stronger, more driven, hungrier. But then…”
I couldn’t help but sigh.
“You made up some narrative to placate yourself. Act as if you were the true victor when you were just another loser. You see, I don’t mind when old foes come back. I don’t mind when people seek me out again. I welcome that. It’s what breeds the kind of competition and violence that my wife and I strive for,” I looked at a tomato, seeing that it was starting to die off. Not all of them would last, I know. So I plucked it. “That’s not you.”
“No, Cassidy, you’re just another sycophant, another charlatan. All you will do is speak about how this isn’t over or how I wanted your attention. Or best yet, how you’re going to threaten my family just so it might bring you closer to me,” the poor tomato had no chance anymore. I would just blend it in with the compost. It could be used to make something better in the future, so it’s not totally worthless. “This second chance at me could have been something special. It could have excited me, but it disgusts me. So I’m going to put my all into making sure you never come back again.”
I stopped, lifting my head up. “So fuck figuring out where you went wrong. Fuck helping you be better and be your true self.”
“I’m just going to rip you out by the root.”
I cracked my jaw.
“Maybe then you can put more effort into your own company and leave me the fuck alone.”
I took time to let myself stay calm. The plants can feel someone’s anger.
“Yet, I find my feelings towards you at odds with mine toward Issak Otto,” I said, observing what I thought was the most bountiful fruit on the vine. “It’s the same essence at different temperatures. For you, Cassidy, I feel this coldness, but Issak? Oh, he’s a different matter entirely.”
“Issak, I knew of you before you even came here. I heard the stories of valor, but I heard each story of your failure. And I hoped that you had moved past that phase in your life,” I started, feeling a small sneer. “Here we are, gone from your days in the sun, where you have been given another chance at prove you are worth it.”
“However, I take a distinct pleasure in being the person to stop you from success this go around. I wish that this was a one-on-one match. We don’t need Casanova English polluting the match, but we make good with what we have. I wanted to take the time to dismantle you because you made a mistake some time ago.”
“You called me a tyrant.”
“Me? A tyrant?” I laughed. “If I am a tyrant, then why on earth would I have opened the doors for creatures like you? If I was a tyrant, I would have tried to give chances to each person that I’ve stood against. I wouldn’t have demanded Ophelia bring in a cavalcade of people to try to unseat me. I wouldn’t have been the provider that I was for this company during my reign. And most certainly, I wouldn’t have let you get this far.”
I let silence win for a moment before I shrugged. “Oh well, I guess I’ll play that role now.”
“Let me be the tyrant you wanted me to be because I’m tired of trying to make stars. No, that’s not my goal anymore. Because when I did, I allowed comments like that to fly and I let myself lose the finest prize in professional wrestling. And it’s sickening knowing that it comes from you, Issak. Since I’m supposedly some malcontent that stole Allen’s attention from you, it makes it easy to see through your veil. Like minds can sense each other, y’know. And this hasn’t anything to do with this new era of the Class Act because you’ve been that way since the start.”
“Let’s not kid ourselves, Issak. Any person can see that because of how you speak. To spare everyone the need to sift through your veil, I’ll point out when you were terribly transparent.” I realized that my prized fruit had an infestation within it. It could spread. I might as well remove it now. With a disgruntled noise, I plucked it and put it alongside its decaying brethren. “You presented the idea that Magnificence was meant to be your night because you’ve done your job beforehand. Issak Otto deserved to be Excellence Champion because he wrestled his heart out...like everybody else.”
“That led me to tearing open this facade of yours to see what’s really there. You’re hungry, yes, but you’re lying to everyone here. And you might be lying to yourself. You are a sniveling, self-important, malignant thing that hides behind a noble mask. My wife has decided to give you her time because she’s the person who wants to see you shed this false identity of yours. But me? I don’t have the same interest. Because I think this is a problem deeply embedded into your core. It’s a seed that germinated long ago, and it was poisoned at the start.”
“In conclusion, I think you two need to come back to me when you’re being more honest with yourself,” I said, picking myself off the ground. I threw the waste away with a sigh. “Because I don’t have the patience anymore.”
“I need to put this energy towards the Impulse Championship.”
━━━ ♠ ━━━
With my video submitted, I could go back and tend to my household. At some point, Tara would return, and the house had to be impeccable for her. I picked up toys off the ground with a hum. She would be delighted to hear that. I don’t sing much anymore. Yet, I paused when I heard shuffling outside. Someone had arrived, I noted. My dogs stood up, getting on guard. They circled the door, organizing themselves in case of an attack.
A knock came on my door. I took a knife behind my back, just in case. As I looked through the peephole, I saw a massive shadow covering the space. As I opened the door slowly, the silhouette became known. It was a giant standing before my door. He glared at me with piercing, light eyes.
He was a distraction.
As I looked down, I saw the glint of a gun barrel coming out of the shadow in the hand of someone else.
“Hello, brother.”
