Yeah, listen to ONI! 

Anyone who underestimates me will peril!

Yeah! I'm scary! I'm a Hall of Famer! Fear me!

I like how you all go down one by one and respond to your opponents. Make it flow a little bit, y'all. C'mon now! We're in the 24/7 Battle Royal! We're all in this together! This match will indeed just end like the past has ended so many times. A veteran will once again cut short all of you very hard working gentleman and ladies, very all deserving of having a title shot... once again this will all be cut short by someone who walks in without that red carpet that I've had so much. 

You're right. Everybody shrugged their shoulders. And I walked back in. Just where I was before. People do know my routine. They know, just as some of you have figured out, that I come and go as I please. When I grow weary of addressing the likes of you all every single week, I put that cigarette in my mouth and walk the other way. No word spoken. I'm not on the company's dime over here mentally. I don't need to ask the likes of you all for when my time here is done and started. I don't need the satisfaction you all do at this point of your EAW careers. 

In all likelihood, I won't win this match. 

HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE! IS THAT SOMEONE TALKING ABOUT REALISTIC OUTCOME IN E-FEDERATIONS AND NOT BLOWING SMOKE UP EVERYBODY'S ASSES?!

I'm not senile, you all. I'm actually quite young, despite all that whole veteran and returning several times thing. I'm not dumb. I'm not oblivious, and I certainly don't put on a character that thinks he's going to win every match because I'm not a fucking asshole. I'm a realist. And there's hella other people in this match. I am but one simple man. One simple man that hates being in a match with hella other people.

I don't like people. I don't like talking to you people. I don't like having to talk to you all and try to act like I want to change your mind about your opinion of what I've done and what I do and how I act and how I conduct myself. Shit, Theron told me I had a program with Diamond Cage. I don't even remember that. Am I supposed to act like I do? Because I'm telling you right now I don't. I don't even know if what he said was factual. I'm taking cues on someone else about what happened in my career. 

See you just heard that last sentence and now are going to say something about "over the hill" and "you can't even remember what you do, that's how old your game is, boy." But now that I said something along the lines of what you were going to say you're going to have say something different and act like you weren't going to harp on that. 

Yeah, I fucking get it. That's what we're doing here. I know the fucking routine, and that's why I leave so many fucking times, man. I already know what's going through the head of my opponent when I say what I say, and it fucking drives me crazy that I'm supposed to keep up with the charade. I don't like this charade. It is dumb. I hate it. But I'm self-masochistic so here we are, ONCE AGAIN. Talking ONCE AGAIN how I'm an old fuck and that blah blah blah blah fuck, man.

Yes, I might not win this match.
"Oh LC, you're already counting yourself out because how great I am and you didn't know that before, I'm gonna win woo."

 

Might not win this match. Probably (you know, like the most probable statistics) I won't. And I won't have a contract that says I have a contract that guarantees me a title whenever I want. If I did win this match, that would only but give me another contract in addition to the one I signed the first day I signed up for Extreme Answerz Wrestling. 

It's not a physical contract, it's not a verbal contract, it's not a mental contract. It is nothing but a law of fucking nature of EAW that whenever I want to shoot for a title, or for anything, I, Lethal Consequences, can get it. Because I am, say it with me once again, fucking Lethal Consequences. I'm the most humble man you might know. So humble that I've been fired and left this company on multiple occasions so that the people that are all in that Title History can be there. Because I sure as hell would've had my name there more than it already is. 

"Oh LC, you for sure wouldn't have won more titles if you were here, you're only saying that because you left." 
"Oh LC, you've been gone so many times because you suck. "
Yeah, fucking right.

I was nostalgic at first. I felt cool. It felt all warm and bubbly inside. And then I realized why I leave time and time again. I hate listening to all of you. 
"Oh but you're forced to now." Shut the fuck up, I get it. 
I already know everything that will be said. I already know what has been said. I listen to, surprisingly, all of the competitor's words to what they've said up to this point. And that is really the truth. I've heard all your promoz. Honest to krishna. This isn't even me being sarcastic right now, I've read all of your all's stuff.

But unlike all of you slapnuts that no know better right now, I know that the only thing the matters is my perspective and what I see. What I hear. What I say. I'm not going to give you all my energy, listing the names one by one that say my name and retorting. I have nothing to retort. I'm goddamn Bunny Rabbit in 8-mile. Everything you're saying is true. I did lose at PFP in my match, I have come back to no fanfare, and you all probably have a shitty opinion of me that I will not bear in mind because just like the tops of this company headlining PFP 10 you're all worthless to me. And I don't care what I'm worth to you all. 

I'm fine if I lose this match. I really am. I will thrive whether I lose or not. That's just a forgone conclusion as long as I'm talking. Will you, reading this right now, thrive if you don't win? 

I don't know and I don't care. I'm honestly just here to make this battle royal watchable. 

Can't wait to hear everybody's response! 

If you think about it, Stark, how brief our time on this planet actually is, you would realize a lot of what the makeup of our destiny is during that same time frame has a window in which to fulfill it, a check point so-to-speak. If you don't reach that check point in time, fulfilling that part of your destiny in that time allotted, instead of getting more time added on, you are forced to re-focus all of your energy and start from "GO" again. But even then the more consciously awake you become, as things seem more clear, it's only then that you start to realize how short life really is, that there is suddenly this sense of urgency to make the most of that time, that window that you have left. That's when you are hit by the most adversity, when you finally have that focus, and you are filled by clarity rather than calamity. For years you wasted time on hopeless pursuits that were doomed to never take you anywhere from the start, certainly nowhere near what you are in pursuit of now. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that to live, to truly live, it's a matter of taking risks. You must be willing to take that leap of faith, not be afraid of being nothing in order to find everything. You'll never know what awaits you just around the bend, because the only way you can is to take a chance, even if it means being completely cut open and exposed in the end, Stark. Sometimes the slightest thing can change the avenues of the directions we initially took to begin with, the direction of our lives, the nearest breath of a single circumstance. Moments that come to be...they come randomly like meteorites striking the earth. All of civilization, they become swiveled, and like those moments that come to be at random; everyone's directions change once more all on the strength of chance. You got to recognize the signs though, realize the life you live reaches out, so you reach back. I'll put trust in that leap of faith, Stark, believe me. It's like you said, I'm dangerous. I'm hungry, I'm driven. I've been building my foundation from the ground up all the way from the opening moments that my career began here in Elite Answers Wrestling. I won't stop, not for a moment. I'm nowhere near the peak of my abilities, nor the zenith of what I'm out to accomplish in this company, let alone in this very match we will clash in. Another question you need to ask yourself, is are you willing to take that leap of faith? Stark I've been taking that leap of faith from day one of zero week in EAW, from pre-shows, just a filler on the card to bottom of the midcard to upper midcard. At each point, Stark, I was willing to take that leap of faith, not because I didn't know any other way to get higher faster, because just like you described, I ultimately decided not to with the belief in myself and faith in the god-given abilities that I was blessed with were enough to get me higher without all the tomfoolery. I can see that you're willing to show your cards, lay everything out there not even fully realizing your very own folly. Intolerant idealism aside, Stark, the biggest folly when it comes to someone like you, even with spilling all the beans in front of these cameras, about how you feel about this match, your life, your career, ambition, aspirations, all of it? It's all being done in vain, Stark. It's not needed here. You aren't the first to do it, Stark. You're no different from any other joe-smo that comes back just before Pain For Pride believing wholeheartedly that he's better than ever looking for the big payoff from a few months of taking bumps every week, no different. What adversity have you faced since you've been back, Stark? The true test of your comeback is in how many times you get knocked down and get back up, win or losses be-damned. You have to prove you can't be broken from the adversity that you are faced with. That's exactly what I told you three months back, and yet even then you still hadn't faced any type of adversity, and you still haven't. But you will be forced to this weekend, make no mistake about it. You haven't been tested yet. You've had it easy since you came back, and you won't figure that out until you have finally been tested. Years in the making, you say? Years, Stark? You've wasted years! You don't see the payoff this quickly after shitting away years of potential, and you won't! You have to work years, Stark, and several times harder than someone like me, because you have yet to prove that you can. It's really that simple. Your stints here haven't gotten better, they've been mere images of each other, duplicates in so many ways of one another, because each of your runs has began with the pursuit of gold, and each has ended with that one pursuit, but it was always up to you to go after that next checkpoint to extend your time, and this time it will be no different. It's whatever you decide to do after this, Stark, it's always been up to you. But hey, what do I know? I'm apparently the one that's in dire need of a reality check. (Shrugs)

These last several weeks, Stark, should have shown you several differences between you and I, ones that stand out far more than any similarities that you can find with the both of us. Something that I spoke of the last time, except this time I'm speaking in terms of your desperation as well as your ignorance. While older than me in chronological order, I should be the one looking up to you, but instead it's the other way around, isn't it? Your actions as well as your words have spoke volumes, even right now in this current week that leads us into the biggest match of our careers. You've been trying to find a way to make things easier for yourself, you want this to be the big payoff for you. You can praise me all you want to the moon, but it doesn't get you anywhere, really. All the formalities have long been said and done a few months back, Stark. We're way past that now. For all the things you've done out of desperation to try and find the psychological advantage has been time and words wasted. That next checkpoint is near though, Stark. Time has been elapsing since the very first words that left your mouth, mine too to be fair, but I'm closer to that next checkpoint right now, Stark, it knows I'm going to inevitably reach it, because I always do. Wins or losses be-damned, Stark, wins or losses be-damned. I'm the one playing sentry to your next entry in your pursuit, where my crux is simple. I've toppled you before, only for you to meet me at my stead again, where I will topple you yet again. But not because I've toppled you before will I topple you again, but because, as you've stated with my experiences since we shared our initial, they've made me better. Your experiences have brought you here, but have they made you better? More importantly than that, have they made you suddenly more so to be able to topple me? We're about to find out, Stark. I've been working around the clock, Stark, clearing checkpoint after checkpoint, fulfilling my destiny, Stark. You are now fulfilling your destiny too, through all the dark depths, and wrong paths taken going after the wrong pursuits in life, it's refreshing to see you are somewhat finding your way now. However, you've still not yet make it all stand up, now have you? Still all substance right now, Stark. You could say more, lots more after this, but what's it all mean before you even step in that ring? More importantly than that even, what's it supposed to mean to somebody like me that has been where you are at in your EAW career right now? Here in EAW, Stark? Forget everything else. All the time spent proving people wrong, I never did it in vain, and it was never done out of desperation. I've always been focused on the purpose, and since I've taken this National Elite Championship at Reasonable Doubt, the very makings of my career that were predicated based off my purpose, this title has become every bit apart of it as anything else in my pursuit. With this title, with each experience that I come upon, and come out victorious? It becomes a tangible truth of why I will undoubtedly walk away from that ring again this week the same way I walk in. I mean, it's barely up for discussion, Stark. The differences are ultimately what separate us far more than the similarities you assume are supposed to put us on equal ground. Your the hungry challenger, and I have the one thing that for a short time can quench that hunger, but if this was a matter of needing an essential to quench it, take even more LSD, Stark, because you're gonna need it. Maybe it might help, maybe it won't. As far as this title goes though, I'd much rather make you give chase to me even longer after Pain For Pride just to make you work that much harder, perhaps because there is just part of me, a tiny part of me mind you that sympathizes. Every other part of me? It wants to see you rightfully starve. 

I don't really concern myself a whole lot with why you came to be here whether you are deserving of it or not, because the fact is, you are here. You're here, and that needs to be rectified, and it will be at Pain For Pride. All the drama over these last few weeks that you've brought on, playing all the mind games, it's only made you that much smaller to me, Stark. You said it, I would rather bring the straight fight, and let the pieces fall were they may. All the mind games, all they do is leave no doubt in my mind exactly what I've known from the get-go, that you refuse to accept, and that's that I'm your better, and will prove to be Sunday. At least with guys like Lars, like Darkane, I knew what I was getting into the ring with, and they knew what I was all about just the same. I don't know whether all that LSD you take is a factor or not, but you've literally gone from psycho-analyzing the moments from leaving our mother's wombs, to Cinderella, to being good and evil, to the predisposition of destiny, all the while trying to stand up straight and make any sort story you can possibly contrive stand up to what I've established in my time here in Elite Answers Wrestling. I really applaud the effort, but if real was talking to real right now, I guarantee you I wouldn't be walking away having learned as much from you as you did from me. What you'll learn is what I've already known from the very moment you became that the next contender to this title. You were on the good road toward your pursuit after you were beaten decisively the first time around, but to say you've been underwhelming lately, leaving much to be desired would be putting it lightly. You still have a lot to prove, I stand by that regardless if you choose to accept that fact or not. For as good as you started your career, Stark, you can state that factors outside of wrestling played a significant part in the stunt of your growth, but to use them as your psychological crutches and believe that they are the springboard for your rise above me at this time, someone who has conquered and stood tall over bigger more battle tested names in this company, it's going to prove to be as wrong as all the paths you have taken over the years that kept you from reaching that next checkpoint every time, allowing your time to elapse. Stark there's no easy way to the top of the next tier here in EAW. Everyone that's ever done anything truly significant both in their careers or life no matter what career it may be or the kind of life they were brought into to grow and prosper, they had to work a long time for it, and like I said to you earlier. All of the paths you had taken previous, some right, many wrong, they by default forced you to start over. When you returned a few months ago, it was the rebirth of Stark. You got another chance to relaunch your career, and the balance you have been in constant search for was supposed to be your main purpose. The thing thats supposed to make you unique, set you apart, Stark. Trying to make it coincide with achieving this, the National Elite championship? It just may disrupt that balance again. You've worked so hard, Stark, you really have? But this ain't your time, not yet it ain't. You have yet to be truly tested, you've yet to fully make up for all that time lost, times where all that disenchantment, all the upheaval made you a slave to it. You may not like it, you may not even fathom defeat still after hearing all I've had to say, choosing to say more in response which like a few months ago proved nothing, and did more harm than good for your confidence, just imagine how you felt then, and how you will feel after this? I know you won't give up on my account, and I don't expect you to, but as you stated from experience a few months back about momentum? It's hard to stop, and unfortunately, Stark, you're just not that resisting force that's destined to stop it.

See, I don’t know if you guys know this or not, but Cody Marshall is the Face of America and soon to be the Face of EAW! 
 
I’m getting another opportunity to right all my wrongs, to avenge those losses I never should have taken in the first place. I’ve got a shot at a guaranteed championship match, any time, any place, and there ain’t nothing Damien Murrow can do about it! This match is a must-win for me… my entire future rides on this. My whole life comes down to just one moment. Pain for Pride X, in New Jersey at the Metlife Stadium, 24/7 Battle Royal. It’s right now or never. Thirty five men and women will enter that ring at Pain for Pride, and only one will remain. Got any guesses as to who that one may be? 
 
It’s me, live and in full color! 
 
So get a snack! Settle in! Cause I’m about to tell you a story. A story about how I got into this position in EAW and why I cannot and will not lose the 24/7 Battle Royal. Oh it’s true. It’s damn true.
 
I cannot afford to take another loss, not on a big stage like this. I have kids that depend on me. So if that means that I have to go in there and take the beating of a lifetime to get that 24/7 Contract, so I can provide a better life for my family, you better believe I’m gonna do it. Ever since I lost that New Breed Championship I’ve been getting paid peanuts! I’ve been placed at the bottom of cards against curtain-jerkers who shouldn’t even be in EAW, and while the name Cody Marshall once struck fear into the hearts of all those in the locker room, the name Cody Marshall is now met with laughter. People say I’m a joke. A novelty act. Is that what I’ve become? When I first got here I dominated every wrestler they threw at me. The Rapture was a guaranteed three count. Everyone recognized the fact that I was the toughest sonofabitch in this business, cause I proved it each and every night on Showdown! If y’all think those days are just in the past I don’t know what to tell ya. That strength and power and promise I once displayed is still alive and well. I had to reach deep down inside to summon up the drive and determination I once had, but now I am back and ready to kick ass! I’ll admit it, I got lazy. It sucks when you don’t get booked for months, and when you do you’re opening the show. It really fucking sucks. I started phoning it in and I think some of you recognized it before I did. But no more.
 
I don’t just want the 24/7 Contract because it’s an easy title shot, I swear on the King James Bible I NEED that 24/7 Contract more than anything else in the world. I need it to prove to myself and the entire EAW Universe that I’ve still got it. I need that contract because without it, Damien Murrow will continue putting me in opening matches and I’ll never get another shot at greatness! I need that contract to maintain the life I’ve built for my family -- the life that, when I was growing up, my parents could never give me! I’ve come too far now to take my ball and go home like my name’s Philly Kid or Axl Willow or Kevin Devastation… I am championship material and when all's said and done, after the carnage of the 24/7 Battle Royal, I will stand alone in the middle of the ring with my hand raised and my ticket back to the top firmly in my grasp. I swear to each and every one of you, I’ll give up that contract when you pry it from my cold, dead hands! I will fight on until I die in that ring, you’d better believe it! From this day forward, you’re gonna see the Cody Marshall who beat Ryan Marx for the New Breed Championship. Peak performance, every night. Nobody else in this match stands a chance, and if you’re one of the unfortunate souls who has to step in the ring with me at Pain for Pride, I hope you got an airtight health insurance policy, I hope you got a will written, I hope you’re okay with getting beaten so badly that you never work in this company again!
 
You think an over-the-hill has-been like Scott Diamond or Prince of Phenomenal has any shot of taking me down? Why don’t you grizzled old vets ask your pal Kevin Devastation how he’s doing since I squashed his ass in February? For the next four months he was not seen or heard from! Y’all think that ain’t gonna be you? Well I got some bad news. The fact of the matter is, you’re going the same way as all the other washed-up has-beens who’ve tried to step to me in EAW. You guys are hopping into EAW whenever you want and stealing our jobs! Every spot you old, broken-down part-timers take on an EAW show is a spot that’s not going to a real Elitist, who’s here busting their ass each and every night for these fans! Every time one of you part-time hacks strolls in and takes a spot on our card, that means there’s somebody in the back who’s not getting paid. This is the way we put food on the table, this is our livelihood, we are hear week in and week out because we love this business… and you old broken-down motherfuckers are ruining everything because y’all are too addicted to the limelight to recognize when to call it quits! It’s insulting, petty, and quite frankly un-American.
 
Let me spell it out for ya:
 
If you remember the Nixon administration, it’s time to retire.
 
If you have an artificial hip, just retire already! 
 
If you tear a quad walking to the ring, it’s time to hang up the damn boots! 
 
If you have dentures, please fucking retire. Seriously. That’s just sad.
 
If the fans are straight up chanting “PLEASE RETIRE!” at you, then maybe take their advice?
 
It’s not rocket science. You “legends”, and I use the term loosely, think because you had a good run 5, 10 years ago, that you can hang with the beasts we got running the show today? Scott Diamond, you really think you can stand face-to-face with Cody Marshall and escape with your pride, dignity, and 32 teeth? That’s funny. And the Prince, the Fresh Prince ain’t gonna be so Phenomenal eating his meals through a tube for the next six months. This match may be Lethal for some, and y’all so-called “legends” are gonna face the Consequences for running your mouths like you’re still fucking relevant. Newsflash, grandpas, you ain’t. You can’t compete with Cody Marshall and the American people! Nobody bought a ticket to Pain for Pride to see Scott Diamond compete. Hell no! The American people pay to see The Face of America! Their one and only American hero! The man who brings in the ratings, sells out arenas, and breaks buyrate records! We got tweedledee, tweedledumb and a whole bunch of tweedledumbers in this 24/7 Battle Royal, and then we got me. The one who matters. The southern boy with the farmer strength. The strength that’s gonna win me the 24/7 Battle Royal and put me in the history books! And nothing’s gonna stop me.
 
I mean nothing! Y’all talking about your game plan and all that bullshit! Ain’t no time for a game plan in the 24/7 Battle Royal. Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the face. When Cody Marshall opens up a can of whoop-ass on you, your fucking “plan” is gonna go out the window real quick. Some of these guys think they’re fucking geniuses. They think if they do the exact right flippy shit at the exact right time they’ll be able to take me down! This ain’t ballet. This ain’t the circus where we’re fucking acrobats doing flips and flops and 780 splashes. I came here to fight, and I will bring the fight to each and every competitor standing in my way. You ain’t gonna see any suicide dives from Cody Marshall. Ain’t happening. I don’t do moves that hurt me as much as they do my opponents. I come straight ahead and I kick ass like a man. The way it should be done. I’m not El Ironico, crowd surfing my way to an elimination. I don’t kick motherfuckers in the shins and do karate chops “strong style”. I don’t import my offense from Japan or Mexico, I am American Made and until the day when my blood stops pumping through my veins and my heart ceases to beat, I will always fight for the USA!
 
Happy early 4th of July, everyone! I know I’ll be celebrating in style with that 24/7 Contract! Who knows…
 
I may just cash it in that same night.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 


 
 

 
Is there a really good way to verbalize laughing out loud? Maybe just saying it, right? That’s what I’ve done after reading both of the Cameron’s last two messages. First off, get this everybody, if I was really over what happened to me at Grand Rampage, when I lost my title, I wouldn’t be in this match in the first place. Get a fucking load of that. That’s unreal. I’m here, because I belong here. Three women are fighting to prove which is the best in this division right now. If I wasn’t in this match it would be an absolute fucking travesty. Because I am the best in this division and I’m the only one who’s truly proven that since the Women’s Championship existed. Rematch clause, get a load of this bitch. As if those even existed. I learned better with the Specialist’s title. Cleopatra, can I get a rematch for the Women’s Championship? I think the match with Cameron would be awesome. No? Why not? Because you’re a dumb hick bitch who makes decisions that make absolutely zero sense? Fine! I’ll make you put me in the match. You just can’t stand that some things just aren’t all about you. Am I angry when I see the title on your shoulder? Of course. I’m never going to be content when the title is not around my waist or resting on my shoulder. And even then, I’ll never be completely satisfied. This anger you seem to think is all towards you. It’s spread out amongst this match. I don’t hate you because you cashed in on me. That just made me dislike you a little bit more. I hate you because you’re a narcissistic, smug bitch that walks around like there should constantly be some sort of parade in your glory. That’s the primary reason I want to kick your face in and watch the glory fade.
 
I don’t know if I’ll ever consider someone like you to be a leader of this division. Is it because you did stuff once? Is it because there was a time where the division was just you? We all get it, you were here a long time ago. We all get it! You’ve been here longer than the rest of us. Newsflash, that doesn’t make you better. Even as a Hall of famer, you just have to accept that once in a great while the next generation of fighters is just going to be better than you. Winning the Empire Cup and being smart enough to cash in on a vulnerable champion doesn’t make you the best. By that logic, Stephanie Matsuda was the best after she defeated Heart Break Gal in the Specialist’s Grand Rampage. She defeated almost the entire Vixen’s roster to win that title. Who is the best anyways? It’s such a flexible week to week term that it’s going to change. The only constant within that is that you will never be the best. Not again. Not anymore. Because this new group just outclasses you in so many ways. That’s why it’s so humorous to me when you come at me with some kind of weak shit about how my time has come and gone or I’m about to be dropped to a role where there’s nothing left for me. We all know if things weren’t going just good enough for you in Empire, you’d probably leave like you did before. The one admirable thing about you is that you did return back to your roots when the division got good again. You did decide to throw your hat back in the ring and when the rest of the OG’s peaced out or died or whatever, you remained here to see it out until the end. But that only makes one part of your fake self admirable, and I question if that’s even real. Who knows the hidden motivations behind everything you do. When I saw you were joining the OG’s, I asked myself why. Why? Why did it make sense for you to form an alliance with them. You question mine, but why them? What did they do for you? From an outside perspective, so I’m telling you the rest of the Empire girls thought this, why was Cam playing second fiddle to those two? Why had Cameron dropped down to such a level where she needed to be lackey No. 2 to Kendra? I’ll give you credit, you survied that match by attrition. One of them got fed up and left and the other, well, whatever. So do I see you as a leader after all of that? Not a chance in hell.
 
I’m not surprised about anything you do Cameron. But to be honest, I’m a little surprised that you expect us to give you so much respect when you do nothing but play the big bitch in return. I suppose you expect us to fall to our knees and beg you for something? I’d guess you think since you are a living legend we should have some sort of unconditional love for you or something? You’ve just never exactly given that back. Until just this week, when I’m talking to you, when have you ever heard me tell you that your time in this company is running out? When have you ever heard me say there’s no place for you anymore? You’re just a huge disappointment? No one likes you? I’ve never said those things about you until this week. That’s because I did have respect for you, until I realized before that last Empress of Elite tournament that you just saw me as a nuisance in your way. Your whole strategy then was to poke fun and prod and try to point out every flaw in my career you could to somehow create this illusion that you’re so much better than me that there’s no possible way I could ever find a way to come out on top over you. But it failed then, miserably I might add. It’s going to fail now, too. You’ve been around this world and put on some amazing fucking matches. You’ll be part of an all-time at Pain for Pride, but I assure you I don’t have it in me to allow you to leave this show with the ability to call yourself the face of Empire. So I say to you. Sure, be like every basic bitch that was here before me or Aria and continue to feed us the same bullshit rhetoric. You’ve been here before and you’ve already done this. I’ve never said you don’t deserve to be in this spot. You’re the damn women’s Champion. You rightfully deserve to have a title match. All I’m saying is three of the bests are going into that ring and I don’t see you coming up anything but third in that list. People can think what they want. They can love and admire you for your longevity. They can adore Aria for her spirit and candor. But they can deal with me as their Women’s Champion. Because that’s how it’s going to be, Cammy.
 
The glory of the EAW Network, by the way, is that the whole world can go back and see when I asked for ideas and resources for the match at Malicious Intentions. I asked two legends their idea for dealing with a triple threat match when one person was going to clearly cheat with a manager. But… y’all did your own thing. It’s ancient history. Just like I’ve already mentioned a million fucking times regarding your precious cash in for the Women’s title. It happened. I don’t drive a fucking time machine around and try to change the past. I mold the future. That’s why what you did then really has no affect on this match past your status. Rematch clauses are fake in EAW, time machines don’t exist and I only know how to fight you until you can’t fight any more. And come Sunday I will be the Women’s Champion. What will you do? I can’t even begin to pretend to care.
 
Aria, I won’t cop to anything but the truth. Everything that Cleopatra says is a lie. All of the things that Cameron says in line with Cleopatra are just ignorant bliss. It works so much better for your story when you add in these little details about how things are happening as they were suppose to happen. So you get it. Aria should be one to ask after all, where’s my rematch for the Vixen’s Championship? Oh, that’s right. That question was voided all together as it often is here. The only wrong I’m really trying to right, though, is I didn’t get a chance to fight back. I understand how the cash-in works and I’m tired enough of hearing the plastic asshole explain it like I don’t. But she wants to be the champion and not really act like it. She acts like I abused my power as champion in some way, like I wasn’t defending it all the time. And then she tries to pass off a match against La Diva as a real thing and then rub that in our faces. I don’t think Cameron understands how much I cared about the Women’s Championship, and definitely not the Specialist’s Maybe you do. For me there was also a certain bit of responsibility. Nothing ever goes exactly the way you want, but when it leaves your hands you want people to see it as better than it was before. I’m not sure I got that with the title. Sure, I beat Sheridan without really playing as many mind games as Cameron believes. But then it was Cloud. Then it was OG’s acting a fool. And then, Cam did her thing. Yeah, nothing is meant to last forever, but we’re never ready for it to end either. One thing you know better than her, is my ability to pick my shit back up and get ready for the next one. You saw it in person last year after Pain for Pride. Not that you weren’t doing a good job on your own side. But I was avoiding random social obligations with friends like partying or just hanging out in exchange for training more and more. The result, I think, is that I’m one of the strongest females on this roster and one of the best-conditioned. Everyone wants to know why I seem tog et up from so much or why I can be so hard to put away? For one I’m stubborn as hell. But secondly I put in all that time and I continue to because I never want to stop doing whatever it takes to ensure I’m operating at the top level possible. Maybe that just makes me sound like some kind of constantly oiled machine, but I love being in the ring so much that I don’t know any other way. I’d wrestle my ass off in an empty arena for the title, I don’t even care. That ring is where I’m most at home. But we understand the same things. Our paths are so similar, even in their slight differences. I was never a contender for the Vixen’s title. I won Empress of Elite just to get a shot. And all these people getting shots around me? I’d beaten them all. Nope, no one wanted to give Cailin the time of day. That might be where we differ sometimes. When I do want something, I do go and take it more often than not. And when I say it’s going to happen like I’m saying this week, rarely have I been wrong.
 
The stakes are so high this week you can just feel it coming from each and everyone of us. The desire taking us places where we’re willing to kill each other with our words before we even take a step into that ring. Yet Cameron is playing the role of the ultimate villain and you the one of the hero. I’m not sure exactly where that puts me in this scenario, but I do my own brand of vigilante justice is enough to trump whatever shit either one of you have planned for this. Her especially.  And I think that pisses her off the most. The fact that you took a turn out of your rotation of messages to really go in directly at her is not something she really appreciates all that much. And the idea you’ve casted and that I’ve sort of run with that she’s just the odd one out in what is really a cleverly designed way to matchup me and you for this title for the third time, that one just makes her furious. I have little doubt in her ability. I have zero doubts in yours. But I pick up just the slightest bit of hesitation with you. There’s this sort of mutual respect between us that still exist despite all the shit we’ve been through. Most will point to Sirens or Formation and try to come to some conclusion even though it didn’t really work that way. For one, Formation wasn’t really a group so much as it was a common feeling between three women who were asked to work together frequently. It’s not like we were showing up backstage on a routine basis and making these plans at domination. Hardly. We were still primarily doing our own shit until the idea wore out and Stephanie hit me with a chair. And Sirens? Fuck all that noise. Everyone was hesitant at that, but we thought someone might as well fight back against the two bitches trying to play queen and Corgi Ella Ava they were dragging along with them. I always admire how people try to pluck the slightest ideas from that and cast judgment like they have any fucking idea. I don’t regret my past. But I also can’t completely see the future. We are all of our mistakes and they play into our strengths and our weaknesses. But we’re also our accomplishments and when they happened. A lot has changed since Cameron went into the Hall of Fame five years ago. This isn’t even close to the same EAW. By the same token, you don’t feel like the same Aria Jaxon. Hell, in January you came with the slightest bit of extra fire at me. But now maybe you just feel so powerful or so far ahead that it almost seems like you’re trying to coast. Not on my watch though. Maybe there’s some love between us, but there’s no hesitation from me to snuff you out and leave all of your hopes and dreams to die. Is that because there’s a lack of respect? Nah, it’s just because I care a whole hell of a lot more about me winning then seeing you celebrate and reach out and try to shake my hand at a job well done. I don’t think we’re in that place anymore. And while Cameron might not be ready for what’s coming, I’m not sure you are either. This isn’t the same Cailin you had beat last time or the time before it or whatever. The past is practically irrelevant when we all stand in there together this weekend. It’s just a war that only one warrior can win. And the heat I bring to this match will be too much for both of you to withstand.
 
And if it does come down to me and you, then all is probably right in the world. I’ve honestly felt robbed by everything. I wanted better with my reign. But allowing the OG’s to meddle was probably the biggest mistake. They were relentless. Our sins caught up with us both in January. Cloud… I never saw coming. And even in February, I should’ve known but I didn’t. I’m a fighter. I’d fight you right now if you asked for it. If Cameron wanted to be the Women’s Champion she could’ve asked and I would have beaten her right then and there and just mocked her every time she tried to bring the weak shit with her knock out punch. With Cameron, I’ve had all the right answers when we’ve fought each other. With you… it’s been different. I’ll admit that you’ve won between us a lot. And that you were just as robbed as I felt robbed earlier this year. But none of that really plays into what goes down between us in this match. Cameron will bring new questions in and things will change. I’m just more confident, as I think you are, that we’ll both have everything we need to kick her ass. It’s not because she’s some terrible fighter. I don’t sense the same desire from her that I feel out of you and me. That’s part of the reason you don’t have the same malicious intent for me that we do for her, or that she has for both of us. But even your unintentionally cruelty toward me wouldn’t be enough to put me under water. You can both try to hold me under there, but you know I’m just going to fight my way right back to the surface, right back up to my feet and start taking you on all over again. You’ve been here for two years. In two years you will have fought for the top prize in this division on the top show. There’s no reason to believe this won’t be your spot every year. You’re at the top of the game even when you don’t have a belt. You have the respect of this whole company even when you’re not the champion. You’re right that people take me more seriously when I’m the champion. But I’m not doing this for them. I’m not doing it to silence other people. I’m doing it for me because it’s what I want. It’s what I’ve always wanted since I started watching wrestling. You keep telling me all week the same message. For yours to come true, mine have to be put on ice. The crazy thing is that I almost think you expect me to just accept that. You keep saying it so much. You’re clearly trying to drive it home. But let me drive this home to you. Just because you’ve been so wronged doesn’t mean you deserve this to be right. The past doesn’t just get to decide what the present should be. If you say the predictions of this match will be wrong, well, that’s tough shit for you. Think that through clearly Ms. Fan favorite. That means your dreams are a ship about to sink to the bottom of the ocean. And mine are not only going to come true, but they’re the iceberg that’s about to cause your imminent destruction.
 
I keep hearing about dreams and the past and the history and the accolades, but the truth is everything will be different in this match. We’re just three powder kegs ready to burst. The one that lasts the longest might very well be the one that’s on top. I don’t care if you were born to be in this match or it was your destiny to walk into Pain for Pride as the Women’s Champion. My fists and my feet don’t give a fuck about either one, and they decide the outcome of this match. They are the reason I’ll be the winner of this legendary match.

Nah Diamond, I’m not upset I just feel like I am looking at a shell of the man you once was. What happened to the “Cold Blooded Killer”, “The Perfect Storm?”  Where is the fire, the passion you once had?  It must shake you to your very core that you are even in a match against the likes of me.  You know a former Answers World Champion having to address someone of my stature in this company. It’s probably eating away at you on the inside slowly like a cancer.  A hall of famer having to even breath the name Johnny Nova or pay attention to the stories I hand out as eloquently. But why is that Scott, why are you wasting time on someone you don’t consider to be a threat?  If this match truly only comes down to luck, then why even bother speaking about me?  I take it as a compliment. My ability to get under the skin of the great Scott Diamond, but I don’t believe in luck. I believe in survival. This world has given me grapes my entire life and at Pain for Pride I plan on doing whatever I can to turn that shit into a fine vintage whine. The only strategy I have is to survive, just as I have done every day of my life leading up to this point and to continue to keep my mental game on point.

You see it’s not enough for me to simply rely on luck. This world has never blessed me with luck. I wasn’t born into the world with wealth and fame like Theodore Hilfiger. It has been said that “Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity." My entire life since prison has been preparing me for this opportunity. For my moment in the sun. Every moment I spent in gyms, in the ring in bingo holes scratching and clawing my way to an EAW contract has lead me to this.  I have been given a second chance by the good lord above and I plan to make the absolute best of it. So, if you want to rely on luck Scott that is absolutely fine. Maybe that is what has gotten you this far, but my plan is to survive. This match will be survival for the fittest, fighting tooth and nail for the 24/7 contract. I will leave all I have in the ring, blood, sweat, and tears and I will do it for these fans and all the people who have believed in me since I signed on that dotted line. I have no delusions of grandeur; I have seen the Vegas odds against me. I am a long shot, but every dog has its day. But I am growing weary of barking which leaves only one thing left to do which is bite.

Darkane the time to take me seriously is right fucking nigh, because every time my name exits that deformed looking face of yours I feel a rage inside me that I haven’t felt in years. Maybe you are getting under my skin but I feel that feeling might be mutual at this junction. After all you did call me a thorn in your side, right? And to think this all started because you were talking about warts on dog assholes. Funny how the world works sometimes. I should just let this go, let it roll off my shoulders but something inside of me keeps telling me to push forward. I can’t tell if it’s respect or absolute hatred, but in anycase it will all come to a head at Pain for Pride.  You won’t be putting me over the top rope, you can continue to preach that to yourself and the world alike but if you come at me in this battle royal I swear to the good god above and the devil below that I will bestow an ass beating on you the likes of which this world has never seen and toss you over the top like the piece of trash you are. Warning, if you poke the bear long enough you will get mauled. It’s as simple as that.

That all being said the same goes for you Mark Michaels. If you are feeling froggy leap, I’m not going anywhere once that bell rings. If you want to come at me then come at me, but If a scrub like you beats my ass in a dream he is best to wake up and apologize. I will dismantle you in the center of that ring and leave you wishing for what once was, leave you staring up at those lights from the concrete floor praying for a time machine so you can go back to the very moment you decided to speak my name. You can whine about getting railroaded by management, being screwed over by Michaels Envy but after I toss your ass over that top rope at Pain for Pride the only person you will have to blame is yourself and the bad decision you made by not keeping my name out of your mouth.

No one is under my radar, I am putting this every elitist in the match on notice. I don’t care if I am tossing psychopaths like Darkane over the top or social media fuck boys like Mark Michaels. It doesn’t matter if your last name if Hilfiger or Leonhart. It doesn’t even matter if you are in the hall of fame.  It’s simple I have one goal and one goal only and that is to survive until that bell rings and my hands are raised. If you are trying to do the same it would be your best bet to steer clear The Miracle Child from the 313, The Human Highlight Reel, The Great Black Hope, The Suicide Diving, Gravity Defying, Ethereal being better known as Johnny Fucking Nova.  EAW Universe, Get your popcorn ready.

Without Aria Jaxon in the title hunt would be a blessing. Will it make my path clearer? Of course, but that’s just one less female Elitist to worry about. One less female Elitist to concern about. Without you in the title picture? There is no struggling heroine in which the crowd can adore. I mean, who else will reach the status of one of the most loved women in the Empire roster? Savannah Sunshine? Please. With you out of the way, maybe these morons won’t be doped by the pretty pink hair and the flashiness. Perhaps, these morons will finally begin to realize that I am the true heroine of this story. I was the one that dethroned that traitor Cailin Dillon’s title reign. I am the one who prepares going into battle in about four days. Not only for the sake of the Womens World Championship, but for my life. You and Cailin might got everyone thinking that Cameron Ella Ava might not be able to pull of this victory. You both have been able to play the fact that there’s a sixty-six percent chance that I might not make it out of Pain for Pride with the title. You both think that I should be worried. You think that I should just pack my bags and not bother fighting. I mean, there is no fighting the results before the match has even happened. There’s no chance of me proving how strong of a champion I can be to the world. There’s just no point. I mean, Aria Jaxon has said herself that her versus Cailin is the money-making match. She said herself that she is better than any of the piss break matches that I had before these women showed up. I mean, is that all I am to Aria? I’m just a Vixen? I’m just a Vixen who has no idea how to adapt to the world of Womens Wrestling? Is that what you’re trying to say, Aria? You think that I don’t have what it takes to stand in the ring against you or Cailin? Well, you’re looking at the woman who won the Vixens Match of the Year against Sheridan Muller. You’re looking at the woman who has pushed women to be their very best. You’re looking to the woman who has made it possible for you to be part of the Voltage roster for a small period of time. You’re looking at the woman who broke doors down just so that you can compete for something as little such as the Young Lions Cup. As much as you try to tell me, I don’t think you quite understand what I am full capable of the moment I step foot in between those ropes. But, you and Cailin want to take credit for the work I have done? You think that I had no part of the revamped Womens Division? You think for a second that this was all your doing? HA! Get real, Aria. You want to be the trendsetter of the Womens Division? You want to take credit for the things that you wouldn’t be able to do without me? I mean, if there was not Cameron Ella Ava, there would be no standard for Womens Wrestling. There would be no bar for any of you women to reach. Just like I said a few days ago, everyone wants a piece of my success. They want to be able to do what I have been able to do in my EAW career. Instead of having the success of Cameron Ella Ava, most of these women will end up with the success of Sheridan Muller. You’ve got women that think that they are too big for this Division. They believe that Empire is too small and they aspire to be bigger than that. Aria, what happens when you have that mindset? What happens when you start thinking that you’re too good for the other girls? Are you going to ask the Board of Directors to put you in another brand? Are you going to go behind the Empire brand’s back and get what you want? Or are you going to sit and wait and have them call you? I know for a fact that’s what I’ll do. It’s what the Womens Division has done. What do I have to fear about, Aria? You think that I should be scared of you? You think that I should be trembling at the thought that you could rip this title away from you? Oh yes! I am so scared of you, Aria! I’m scared to see your giant forehead without that wig on. Seriously, I have nothing to worry about? Do you think that I should worry about the possibility of losing my title? You think that I should be awake for endless hours wondering what will happen to me if I lose the Womens Championship? You think that I’m losing sleep because of this. You’d like that. You’d rather face a Cameron not in her best. You’d like to find the easiest way possible to get into her mind. You, just like Cailin, want to see me crumble. You both want me to fall out of my pedestal. You want me to be brought back to earth like I’m the most delusional person in this match. Aria, I know this may be shocking to you, but I’m not delusional. I just say things the way they are. If and I do mean IF you find some sort of way to knock me down my pedestal, do you think that I could be the one disappearing after Pain for Pride? Do you think that I’ll just disappear from this place without a trace? Do you think I have it within me to hang up my boots and leave? I hope you don’t think that of me at all. I’m glad that you want me to stick around, but I’m not the one to hold on the losses. I mean, what am I? Am I Haruna Sakazaki? Do you expect me to bring up the failures of years ago? You expect me to hang out to the loss like it was the last match of my entire career? In some sort of way, I think you’re eviler than me, Aria. I didn’t think I see that coming. If it meant defeating me, will you channel that dark side of yours? Will your mind go to places it’s never been before to make sure you walk out of MetLife Stadium with the Womens Championship? I’m not an easy beat. I know for a fact that you or Cailin aren’t easy beats, but I am going to enjoy the challenge no matter what.

“I’m over it.”

If you were seriously over it, you wouldn’t be in this match in the very first place. Why are you in this match, Cailin? I mean, you wouldn’t be the first one not to evoke their rematch clause. You wouldn’t be in my life. Nah, you still hold a grudge over me cashing my Empire Cup on you. You still have the fact that it will be me who is walking into Pain for Pride as the Womens Champion. I can tell the thought of that makes you sick. It makes your blood boil to see the title that once belonged to you on my shoulder. As much as you want to deny it, I am a leader. I am the leader of this Womens Division. As much as Tarah Nova wants to call herself the leader, I think we all know who the real leader of the Womens Division is. You think that I was just Kendra’s lapdog? You thought that I was a sweet and loyal golden retriever. One that obeys orders and does whatever their master says? Yeah, right. To me, I trusted Kendra’s vision for Empire. Just like I tried to put my trust into you. I tried to make you feel a part of the group. I tried to be there for you because you had no other alliances. This was never about cashing the Empire Cup on you. This was never about the Womens Championship until the moment you turned your back on me. Just like I said before, that was your dumbest decision of your entire career. Do you think if you pretended to be nice a little longer, you would still be Womens Champion? Honestly, the way you lost your championship was all your fault. It was all the wrong you’ve been doing that cost your title reign to fall. I don’t think your Pain for Pride plans was to walk in a challenger. I think you had over visions of yourself approaching Pain for Pride as this badass champion. It’s hilarious how it’s because of me that you’re not able to live up to that vision. Now, you say that you’re going to knock me out so hard that I won’t remember my own name? That’s cute, Cailin. I’d like to see you connect with the Eyes of Texas like you did at Terminus. I’d like to see you try to rip this title away from me. You must enjoy painting me as a weak champion. You just get a rise of trying to back me into a corner like a playground bully. You could do that to any other female in the Empire locker room, but you’re not going to strike fear into my eyes. Look in my eyes, Cailin. Do I look like a woman who is scared that her title reign might end this weekend? Do I look like I give a damn about what you did or did not do? I don’t get what’s with you and Aria thinking that I can’t hang in the ring with you New Era Women? You think that I’m just a Vixen as well? You think that I am a poor representation of a female wrestler? Wow, you two are going to be surprised about what I am truly capable of when I am in one of the most hyped title defenses of my entire career. This is going to be bigger than anything that I have been a part of. I’m actually kind of pissed because I’ve given you two some of your best matches. Yet, you underestimate what I can do in the ring. Sure, be like every wrestling critic that thinks that I still don’t have what it takes to be the face of Empire. Be like every fan that thinks that I’ve over my prime. You’re not talking to a woman who is forty years old. I’m barely in my thirties. I am in the best shape of my life. I can still go against some of the best women in the world. At Pain for Pride, you’ll fully understand why I get the praise I do. Why I could potentially one of the best wrestlers EAW has gotten in the last ten years. You’re right. Last year was a prime example that the new crop of women still had a lot to learn before they can consider themselves the past. I still think you and Aria are way over your heads. It’s almost like the constant compliments and praises have gotten into your heads. That was me once, but don’t worry. I’ll bring you back to Earth. I’ll make you finally realize that Cameron Ella Ava still is one of the best Elitists in this company. You don’t believe that I am the bests? Well by the end of the weekend, you will.

I love when you have the ability to watch someone try their hardest to stand out in front of the world and believes wholeheartedly that they understand the situation that they're deal with, but take no time out of their day to see it from every direction possible. Thirty three other names will stand in my way at Pain for Pride and I was positive that I would come across one that would escape even my knowledge. I was right. A man who believes he holds the answers to my problems, but has fired all of his shots in the wrong direction. A man who's trying to prove that he's more than just another throw away name simply used for nothing more than filling the number needed for the event itself. I shouldn't have to explain this; it's something that I've gone through on more than one occasion - hell, I went through all of it when I announced my participation back at Resurrection V. I get it, though; you have absolutely nothing to fall back on, so you're forced to do whatever you possibly can to get people talking. But, let's go through this again, Theodore, and let's go through this slowly so we're not pushed too far back due to your overwhelming amount of pure stupidity. My reasons for throwing myself into this match were simply; I had run through every name that this company had thrown in my way and I had been given nothing for it. This business is meant to be one where hard work pays off, and yet those who have proven nothing throughout their time since walking through to doors of these company has been handed the world, while those truly deserving have been forced to sit back and watch. People preach about being forced to pay their dues; you're meant to give this business pieces of yourself before it's willing to give anything back - but, here I stand after four months, completely unblemished. A man that has cut down every collector that this company has thrown in my way. This contract is the one piece that I need to kick down the doors that they're trying their hardest to keep closed. The Champion that has tried his hardest to hide from my sights will have absolutely nowhere left to run. I could have bought into the spectacle of Pain for Pride. I could have stood out in front of the world and challenged any name that I possibly wanted and hoped that all of the pieces fell into their places - but, I would rather throw my name in a direction that benefits Theron Nikolas the most. Beyond popular belief, this contract is exactly that, and if that means that I have to settle for less than what others would if they stood in the same position that I do - I would make the same choices again and again. Perhaps when you're able to get your head out of your ass, if that day ever comes, you'll be able to see that for yourself.

Scott, you're making this too easy. I think it's not hard to see that the two of us are starting to tire when it comes to the same dribble that we've constantly spouted back and forth to each other. You wanted something different, so let's see what I manage to pull out of my bag of tricks. In all seriousness, there was something that really stuck with me when it came to the things that you said last week. I never took the words that Albert spewed, but I listened to everything that you had to say. It was what you said about Cameron Ella Ava before you left. You brought up that loss. You hid from the fact that you had been outclassed by a woman that you had slaughtered a few months prior and simply classified it down to you simply not wanting to be here anymore. Your time here had come to its end and you just wanted to finally go home. I could believe that; part of me did. It was generally the reason I didn't find the need to reply after it; I had the answers that I wanted. But, I couldn't let it go. There was just seemingly something that didn't sit right, Scott. You were a step behind on Showdown. You promised to be the man that would kick me in the head twice for making you step in front of a camera and speak when you never wanted to, but like you have so many times throughout the last three years, you failed. Instead being forced to watch as I put Lethal Consequences down like the dog he is. The thing that I've come to learn the most about you Scott is the fact that through the cold exterior that you enjoy playing, the one thing you really want to recognition. You want respect. You want to be seen for the things that you see for yourself; you want to be seen in the same light that Albert Hitchman sees you in. That's why when it comes to people like myself speaking about how far you’ve fallen, you throw out keep excuses and attempt to guide the conversation in a different direction. You wanted to be a Hall of Famer, Scott! That Hall of Fame Championship was your one ticket there! You did it! You made the Hall of Fame! You didn't show up. You let the same woman that ran you out of the company walk out in front of the world and take your ring. You let her walk out and take your moment. You can talk about how you never cared about it; in the grand scheme of things, you still got what you wanted. But, I refuse to believe that you don't have anything to hide. I refuse to believe that there's not more to be picture than what Scott Diamond is trying to portray. I'm never going to be able to obtain the answers until they come from your mouth. I'll forever be stuck with nothing more than: maybe you're right, and maybe you're not. But, while I might not, you always will. That is the anchor that is always going to drag you down. But, you already know that. The only thing is that it's a form of weakness, and Scott Diamond doesn't have any, right?

 
Chorus:
 
Nico Borg: The dust returns to the earth, as it were, and the spirit returns to the God that made it. This is a simple concept, yet for some indeterminable reason, people feel the need to complicate things. So many ifs and buts and conditions that the cognitive load just becomes far too much and so black and white collapse into a dull impenetrable fog of grey. I have been bombarded with questions once again. Once again they are leveraged rhetorically in attack.The funny thing is, Maero, you answered your own questions just as well as I ever could. Didn’t you? To be relieved is to skirt past disaster. To have a beating heart is to bleed sometimes. To live is to glance the very surface of death. And yet you wonder why the light falls in patches alongside the dark. The brightest lights blind surer than shadows, Maero. Keep that in your head. That is the beautiful thing about it all. Dark times never lasts. It never lasts. Not like the light of Christ. But like Scott Oasis’ time at the top. Like Lannister’s reign as Answers World Champion. Like Sanatorium’s ability to be an effective force for change in EAW...Everything that is of this world, will pass. There are few constants in this world, Maero, and they are all so much alike. Pain is one. Death another. Add to that the movement of stars and planets and all manner of celestial objects across the firmament. Pushing the shadow around the dial. Giving us minutes, hours, days, months, seasons and years. A whole toolbox of rules blessed unto us that we may measure how much time we have lost, and tremble at how little we are likely to have left.
 
Chorus: So teach us to number our days, that we may enter the heart of wisdom.
 
Nico Borġ: Scarcity to makes things valuable. Every layman knows that. I do not need to be a prophet to predict that five of the six men entering this match are going to go home hungry. And you do not need a crystal ball or to cut open the innards of a lamb to find signs that my chances are better than most. What people do not seem to understand is that I am just as at home in the dark as you, Maero. Same goes for “the Raven” Lars Grier. Same goes for “The Killer” - a juvenile sobriquet, grow up this isn’t a playground - Keelan Cetinich. I have bled for the path I have chosen. I have been split open. Busted open. Literally Burned. Blistered. And Broken. I have been cheated out of a world title more than once. But here is a little prophecy for you. The hens are coming home to roost.
 
Chorus: It is spoken that he who meets death with the spirit of life will live forever. Count your trials and tribulations as blessing you with perseverance for the long years ahead. Laugh at each blow that struck you but could not kill. Then turn the other cheek in knowing that whatever sufferance befalls you will be repaid in kind. You are Invictus.
 
Nico Borġ: So yeah, I’m guilty. I am guilty of actually finding some sense out of everything.I am guilty discerning where to place value and where to place scorn. I am guilty because at Pain For Pride I am going to have the blood of men and monsters on my hands. But most of all, I am guilty of actually sitting back and considering things before I open my mouth to speak. I took the time to consider my position after the cataclysm that was Grand Rampage, but I returned having charted my course. Being sure. Being prepared to claim victory and immediately return myself to the conversation. That is the value of thought. That is the value of splitting sunbeams and shadows.That is what separates me from a Keelan Cetinich,howling alone to the moon. Nervously trying to fill the anxious silences with the soothing sound of his own voice. I do not need anybody’s attention to feel good about myself. BUT I’VE GOT IT ANYWAY! That...is the difference. In the weeks leading up to now, Scott Oasis marked my absence. In return, I marked his coming to Showdown with retribution. Scott Oasis cam to feel my presence when he was immolated by my fire. Lars Grier has tasted my sting time and again. TLA for his part has been a little bit wiser, quickly fleeing the scene of my wrath. He can run. And he can also run his mouth off on talk shows. But deep down he knows that at Pain or Pride he will have nowhere to hide. By the grace of God or by these hands it matters not. Dawn breaks. My very presence demands attention and I shall not be eclipsed. You are all hoping to steal away with something I will have earned at Pain For Pride. But thieves never prosper in the end. And backbiters will soon enough be forced to face the weight of their penance.
 
Chorus: Praise he who treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God
 
Nico Borġ: And liars are worse than thieves, remember that. This is where I turn a special word to you, Keelan. Not that you are any more guilty than anyone else of making promises that you can’t keep. Although you do stand here having failed to keep your promise of outlasting Maero in the qualifier. But you do stand out for the sheer volume of verbal diarrhea gushing forth from your mouth. Despite all the words said, I still have no idea why I should. Don’t attempt to misconstrue me here. You have my attention insofar as I intend to break down everyone else in this match with equal contempt. But I just don't understand Keelan. What does your childhood daydreaming in front of the television set have to do with anything? We have all taken a shine to this business. We have all spent years, some more than others, toiling for what we do. Some of us, you and Maero aside, even worked hard enough to get the job done and earn this opportunity. Well I have to say, I am getting really sick of the nostalgia act from you. From tugging at heartstrings and manipulating emotions with childhood memories. All the way to digging up long dead matches against Maero when the most recent indicator of how you twain measure up found you both lacking. Why don’t you just lay these things to rest? They are just memories. That is all they are. They are dead. They belong buried away because their time is gone and they can’t help you now. If anything it just makes you look to fool for having taken this long to climb the ladder to this point. It makes me rather certain that before you ever lay a finger on that briefcase, I will be delivering you your last rites and burying your chances once and for all. I repeat, for posterity. Your idle mutterings will do you no service at all. If you want to take a word of advice, get your own houses in order. Lay up in the final days Because where the one shall rejoice, the others will in their sackcloth and ashes, heads hung in mourning. At Pain For Pride, one fire burns and the dust settles.The Sun may set a thousand times on your delusions before they are held to account. But remember It will never set on my ambition.
 
Chorus: Ave Invictus.
 
Nico Borġ: Unvanquished. Unconquered.
 
Chorus: En Nico, Níka.

(A confident Prince of Phenomenal is shown walking down the streets of East Rutherford, New Jersey as several members of the EAW media approach him)

(Prince grabs one of the microphones as the crowd eagerly awaits for him to speak)

POP: Yeah, I knew you guys would be out and about today. I mean, why wouldn’t you? We're less than five days away from the biggest event of the year. The night of all the nights. The pinnacle of professional wrestling. Pain for Pride. While I am disappointed that I am not competing for a world championship or in one of the main events, I have to respect that nothing is given in this business. I'm back and I'm back for a reason. I have to make a name for myself and prove that I am worthy to carry this company on my back again. There are a lot of people out there doubting what I can bring to the table in 2017. Luckily enough for them they won't have to wait too long to be proven wrong. Sure, I am a few years older, I have a few more hairs on my body and I am not as quick as I once was. The thing is I was so ahead of the talent curve that even if I am a step slower, it is still far beyond and better than what the next person has to bring. There are a lot of men competing in this 24/7 Battle Royal this weekend. There's going to be bodies everywhere, the ring will be filled with extremist setting out to make a point and get a step closer to a championship of their choosing. I have bad news for all of you. Honestly, I don't care to directly come at each and every one of you. Let's be reality here folks, it would take me all day to sit here and try to verbally rip all of these losers to shreds. Trust me, if the time came where I needed to, then believe me, I would do it. I just don't feel that there is a good enough reason to sit here and address all of you bums one by one. Instead, I am going to do the whole world a favor and direct this entire segment to all of my competition. I am here to make sure everyone knows that Prince of Phenomenal in 2017 is as good as any other version of me. My best days are ahead of me because I've prepared to climb the mountain known as EAW again. There is no one in this match up that can stop me. There is no one in this match that can prevent me from having my arm raise and being declared victorious. I look around this company and all I see is a bunch of jokes. A bunch of great value main eventers and performers who aren't ready for the position they've been put in. There's guys who will perform after me, who couldn't hold a candle to the light I intend on bringing to this company in the near future. What do I expect from my opponents? To call me washed up. Maybe even say I'm trying to re-live the past. But they're wrong. They're all wrong.

They can go ahead and tell their mothers that they're wrong too! I am in the past, present, and future of this company. I am living in the best version of me! Regardless of my failures in the past I am still here standing. I've never said that I haven't lost a match or been knocked down before. No one who has been able to knock me down has done it hard enough to keep me down. I've been in some of the most painful and physically challenged matches that this company has ever seen. So what makes any of you think that I should lose sleep over my match this week? I've competed against some of the biggest legends in this company and I slept like a new born baby the night before. Don't confuse my confidence with arrogance. Well actually it's the right combination of both. I stand before all of you today to tell you that you will be amaze by me. These type of events and matches bring out the best in me. One of the things I do best is put the asses in the seats. The merchandise sales went through the roof as soon as I came back. The wrestling world is simply better when I am out in that ring putting my body on the line for the sake of the fans entertainment. As for the extremist who think that this years Pain for Pride is the time for them to prove to the world that they are the next big thing or something of that nature. Sit back and watch a real professional handle business. I don't plan on making friends or having any allies in this match up. All of you have a big red target on your back. All of your days are numbered. Most of you won't even be around this time next year after I get finished with you. Some of you will be in the same position you're in now which is probably opening the show STILL trying to make a name for yourself. It's ok though. If you want to save yourself some embarrassment, just go ahead and throw yourself over the damn ropes and don't waste my time.

(Prince of Phenomenal is shown walking off from the large group of EAW Media as the segment fades to black)

Pain for Pride – Promo 3

Scott Diamond has been there and done it all. He has a huge list of accomplishments that he has achieved since being in Elite Answers Wrestling. It’s impressive really, he has been able to achieve things that only people can dream on. I am a newcomer to Elite Answers Wrestling, that is obvious. Realistically, I should listen to a man of Scott Diamond’s experience. He has achieved things that might take me years to achieve. However, am I going to listen to what Scott Diamond had to say? Absolutely not. Scott has had a lot to say over the past few days, recently he has dedicated a large part of his attention towards myself. I am flattered, Scott. Honestly, I am. I am flattered that a man with an ego as large as yours is willing to dedicate such a large part of your day to focusing on Theodore Hilfiger. You have finally dropped your obsession and infatuation with Sheridan Muller and realised that other people in this match matter too. It’s a real honour that you decided that I was the next biggest threat in this match. People will ask me, why don’t I want to listen to Scott Diamond? Why don’t I want to take in anything that he says and act on it accordingly? To put it simply for you all, Scott Diamond is washed up and past it. He is deluded and has an embarrassing sense of faux confidence. Why would anybody listen to someone like that?  I don’t respect you, Scott. Respect is earned, not given. You’re not particularly worth my time, Scott. I usually never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect. I’ve made an exception for you as I just feel what you’re saying is so ridiculously incorrect that I can’t bite my tongue any longer. You can go on all day about this obvious food chain but there seems to be something that you’re missing, Scott. Do you honestly think that you’re at the top of that food chain? Do you really think you’re above me? At the end of the day, we’re in the same match at Pain for Pride. Everything that you have achieved in the past has become futile and you’re now on the level of newcomers. I haven’t even made my debut yet and I’m still on the same level as you. Take a look in the mirror, Scott. Take a good, long look at yourself and decide what you think. Can you look at yourself in the mirror and say you’re happy with yourself? Can you say that you’re happy with where you’re at? Compare yourself to where you were at a few years ago. Your fall from grace has been monumental and well documented. I might not have been in this company long but it’s not hard to find out what people here think about you. Everyone in this company thinks that you’re a shadow of your former self, I can’t help but agree with them. You’re not the man you used to be, Scott. It’s almost as if your previous success existed within another dimension. I can’t look at you and imagine that you were ever at the top of the card. Just seeing how you wrestle, how you talk and how you conduct yourself on a daily basis, you really don’t strike me as someone who was ever in the main event. I am not here to abide to this hypothetical food chain, Scott. I am here to make an impression. That impression will start by eliminating an EAW Hall of Famer from this match.

A competitor that has been making a lot of noise in the build up to this match is a man that I have not had the time to address yet, Theron Nikolas. He’s been running his mouth even more than Scott Diamond and Sheridan Muller. I didn’t think it was possible to find someone who utters even more mindless dribble than those two but we’ve found somebody. The only positive that I can see about Theron Nikolas is that he seems to see the same flaws in Scott Diamond that I do. It isn’t quite bizarre that he can notice these flaws in Scott Diamond’s game but not seem to see the chinks in his armour. Trust me, he has a lot of them. The lack of ambition that this man has for a start is a large fault of his. He announced himself as the first entrant into this Battle Royal. This Battle Royal consists of mainly newcomers, people who are looking to make a name for themselves. Theron has been a member of the EAW roster for a little bit of time now, did he not think that he could get involved in a more prestigious match at Pain for Pride. Not to diminish the prestige of this match but apart from myself, it’s not exactly filled with superstars. Let me ask you this question, Theron. Why didn’t you aim for a more prestigious match? Why did you declare yourself as the first entrant in this match? Is it because you lack serious ambitious and realise that you’ll never be good enough to face against anyone that has been in this company for a substantial amount of time? I’m very disappointed in you, Theron. I expected more from a man that simply can’t seem to stop running his mouth. It seems like every single day you have something new to say. You have some more shit to talk. You have some more lies to tell. I know what you’re thinking, Theron. You’re curious to why I have verbally attacked you like this aren’t you? You haven’t said a word about me and I’ve came at your neck like nobody ever has before. I don’t like people who run their mouth without having anything to back it up. You’ve been here for longer than me and achieved the exact same, absolutely nothing. You’re so irrelevant that if we told people this is your debut they wouldn’t even bat an eyelid. Why do you talk such a big game when you’re achieved so little? Unlike Scott, I believe your confidence to be true. I think that you’re really so up your own ass that you think you’re actually going to win this match. Reality is going to hit you hard.

Alright, so maybe I misconstrued your words, maybe you didn't call me boring but was instead calling what Sheridan and I were conversing about boring... but Johnny, that really doesn't change anything. That doesn't change my opinion of you or your story. That doesn't make your come up any less mind-numbingly dull and tedious. It's a tale of falling to the absolute rock bottom due to some incredible hardship only to be resurrected in triumph and glory. It's a real tear-jerker, something you might expect to hear in a Sunday morning sermon. Ugh. 

There aren't enough fingers and toes in the world to count the number of times I've heard that one before. It almost makes you think that these stories aren't even real, that they're just told by people as a way to make them seem more interesting, like they're playing a character. Almost though, because we know that could never happen, right? 

Ol' Johnny Boy is upset with me because I haven't talked about what I plan to do in order to win this match. Which means he's annoyed that I haven't shared my strategy with him. Which means he doesn't have a strategy of my own and looks up to me for advice because he knows that without a shadow of a doubt, I'm the top dog in this match. Well, I'm sorry to have to share the bad news with you Johnny, but I don't have a strategy, there's no point in having one for a match like this. There's thirty-three people in this match, thirty-three. And they're all gonna be in the ring at the same time. Why stick to a strategy when it's destined to be broken within seconds of the bell ringing? You can't prepare for something like this, like I said days ago, the only thing we can hope is that luck happens to be on our side that night. That a few things fall our way. That we ourselves don't fall a certain way and are able to keep our two feet firmly planted onto the canvas surface. But we all know that despite all the hoping and praying we do, only one of us is going to have ours answered. I'm far too smart to say I have an advantage due to my size and strength, if that were the case I would've won a few of these by now, but instead I'm winless. 

And I have no reason to think that won't be the case again at Pain For Pride.

Look at the names who have won battle royals in the past and then look who hasn't one them. Mr. DEDEDE has never won a Grand Rampage, in fact his performances in them are quite poor. The Heart Break Boy the same. The greats don't win these types of matches because they weren't designed for the greats, they were designed for the lucky. Luck has no bias, luck doesn't leech itself onto one type more than it does another. Luck is luck, and no one is gonna know whose side it's on until the final bell rings and the victor gets his... or her arm raised in the air.

So you want a strategy? Alright I think I got one for you. We're in the New York area... go to Central Park and try to find yourself a four leaf clover. Maybe that'll give you an advantage.