weaselperson. vol 5 “Whether or not I respect Chris Peacock doesn’t matter. He’s a World Champion. I know there’s been a lot of World Champions lately, but that doesn’t make him any less credible. Besides, the difference between him and all the other ones is, he’s still got the belt.” weaselperson stops midway through the hallways of the Toyota Center. He glances at the television set. No one else is looking at him, that's what gives it away that there's something worth watching. Usually, the costume secures attention. On the TV, they're showing an interview, somewhere backstage. It's Katie Baxter and a man in an oversized dragon costume. A dragonperson. The costumed man rants and rawrs. weaselperson snorts. A bit too loud; others take notice. He glances once at them and leaves. "Ayo, Zachary." He stops again. He turns to see Jon Russnow grinning, and heading his way. He says nothing, and watches the man approach him. "You gonna go after him right?" "After who?" "Alyster Black. dragonperson. That was him mocking you, man. You want the BIB match don't you? I don't want to encourage my talent fighting, but you gotta show him how serious you are. Get people talking. Force my hand!" "That wasn't him mocking me. It was him acknowledging me." "No, no, no. Acknowledging? Come on, WP. You gotta go after him now. Or you get yourself a nice White Jesus costume on Fallout, eye for an eye. Start throwing out some cunts too." Russnow tenses, and looks over his shoulder, and eases up seeing no one. "No. That's not my thing." "You mean it wasn't Zachary Kazadi's thing? I see you walking up and down this arena on nights you're not even wrestling, dressed as weaselperson. Suppose weaselperson doesn't have the same values as Zachary Kazadi? Suppose weaselperson shows Alyster what's up." "That's not necessary. If I can make Danny Toner tap out the way I did Cyrus Truth, then I won't need to get theatrical to get Alyster's attention. I'll focus on that." "Damn. Here I thought the costume would liven you up." "Is that everything?" "What, you're in a rush?" weaselperson said nothing. "Fine, fine. Whatever. Go." “It’s a chance to send a message to Alyster, but at the same time, that can’t be at the forefront of my mind. He’s the World Champion. I know Alyster is the endgame, but I can’t look that far ahead. That’s how I lose. Chris Peacock, on paper, he’s the best in the FWA. I couldn’t beat Danny Toner. But if I can beat Chris Peacock, then I can live with losing to Danny.” They're going to be in Texas for a while. weaselperson wasn't a fan. He'd wrestled here a lot, almost a decade ago now when he'd spent some time in Mexico. They had him going up North every now and then since he was a known name in the American circuit. They were the hardest crowds to ignore. He's got Danny Toner next. He's been going hard on pissing off everyone. Hard to say if it'll make it more or less distracting to wrestle the match. No, there's more to it than that. The truth is, you miss it too, don't you? You pretend not to hear the crowd, but the jeers reached you. They gave you that same twisted enjoyment the others get. The Danny Toners and Shawn Summers. It makes you feel like you're fighting against the world. Fighting against someone who's fighting against the world is tough. Especially when you don't actually have the world backing you. You gave all that up. All that hatred they had for you. Now you get barks. And 'weaselperson' though it's never any well coordinated and it never feels as good as the jeers. You arrived in your costume. Smelling of pine, despite the allegations against the stench of your costume. Thank you, Wanda. The first match didn't hold his interest, but he did his duty and watched. His disdain for tag team wrestling was hard to keep down. His disdain for inconsequential six-man tags was even harder. But he wanted to support his peers, so he watched. The Nephews were the winners. The trio must've had less than a dozen professional matches. They could fight though, and they fought well enough. An ad plays. weaselperson reads a book to bide the time. Then Sonne hits. Alyster Black's here again. Tonight. Guess he was still in Texas, might as well drop by. And for all his claims of hating the FWA, he must love wrestling too much to stay away. weaselperson watches, attentive though not wanting to be. He grits his teeth when he hears Alyster speak. At least, they don't seem to believe it. Neither commentators nor fans. That saves him some work. He had no intention of going out of his way to deny the claims that he was dragonperson. There's a more vital part to Alyster's message though. weaselperson means nothing to Alyster Black. Lethal. But that's how Alyster Black is. Bold. Bold and boisterous, and very lethal. And with his own penchant for mind games. You've done your research. You know all about the Leather Boys. All those long cons. Should’ve expected it. You sought Alyster Black out because he's a dangerous man. But you took that danger to be what he could do in the ring. Or around the ring, to be more accurate. You forgot that he's also dangerous because honor means very little to him. That's a tough type to deal with. Underestimation, and dismissal? These aren't new to you. You know how to handle them well. Or you used to know how to handle them well. But then look what happened with Mike Parr and WOLF. You prefer not to think about that time. You were a different man, then. No. Not only because you weren't weaselperson. You were the BE- ah, forget about it. The fact is, you can't do the same things you did back then. People might remember how that story ended. Actually, no, they won't. Most people don't remember you. Not the you that did things. Especially since most of the things you did aren't all that relevant now. X Champion? You're talking about him in relation to Alyster Black here. 2nd place in the Quest for the Best. 2nd place in the Carnal Contendership. No one gives a shit about second place. The truth is, they only recall the reputation you had. You were whiny. You made people tap out now and then. Which was cool. But you also seemed to have a knack for cracking under pressure, which was less cool. But the win over Truth, that helps erase all that past. Especially it being a submission victory. Wouldn't have helped much if you'd scraped your way to the win. That's how you used to do it. Roll-ups and whatnot. You hated yourself for it. weaselperson wouldn't win by roll-ups. At least, not this weaselperson. And this was the only weaselperson that mattered. Alyster keeps talking, but true to his word, he has nothing more to say of weaselperson. He rants about the disrespect he feels. He rawrs about everything he's done. He disparages Cyrus Truth. You have a hard time disagreeing with the bit about Cyrus Truth, but the rest? The rest is cheap. What does it serve? What's his point? What does he want? Is it the jeers? The jeers are fun, that's true. And Alyster, he doesn't like when he's liked. That's also true. Is that all it is? Riling people up? You're not getting that Back in Business main event, no matter how much you complain. You gotta be angling for something else. But there's nothing else. There's only me. There's only weaselperson. And when I beat Danny Toner, you'll know that this is the best you could've hoped for. When I beat Danny Toner, and after I've tapped out Cyrus Truth, you'll know I'm your key to being back on top. Plus, you need this. You need to see what I can do. Because we've got a date, somewhere down the line, in a Roulette. And you know I'm the most dangerous one there. And you don't want to fuck that up. You don't want to let this surest of golden opportunities slip through your fingers. Not because you underestimated me. And you know better than to underestimate me. You're no idiot. You saw what I did to Truth. You felt me end your dreams at CC. You know you've got no choice. You need to see how dangerous I am. You will accept this. So what's all this extra shit for? “And it’s not just a message to Alyster. It’s a message to Chris himself. He sees himself walking out of Back in Business still a World Champion. Everyone can see that he doesn’t see any other future for himself than that. And if that’s the case, then he should start getting ready for what’s going to come after. He’s quite familiar with the Golden Opportunity. And he knows that just like he did, I don’t intend on taking a shortcut. If Peacock is Champion after the night of the Anniversary Show, he knows what’s next. I know he’ll know what’s next because tonight I’m going to show him. Just like I showed Cyrus.” weaselperson keeps watching. That's his duty. That's what he owes the rest of the roster. Though Alyster Black threatens to dominate his thoughts, he knows better. Acknowledges it. Let's go. Mindfulness at work. He's got a match later. Danny Toner. Danny beat the World Champion a cycle ago. He never lost that World Championship to begin with. Danny, for all intents and purposes, was the best wrestler in this company. Once, you could see the insecurity rising over the top. And you thought, yeah, he isn't much. Too hot-tempered. Full of smoke. You've met plenty of guys like that. Easiest guys to deal with. Seven years had passed. Or six. Those years were long. And this Danny Toner, he wasn't the same man you once fought. No more insecurity. Must've been that World Championship reign. Some people get imposter syndrome, some people get validation. The validation they long sought and craved. Now he had unwavering self-belief. That's the Danny Toner he's dealing with. A very dangerous Danny Toner. You've prepared as best as you can though. There won't be any last-minute revelation. No clear-cut weak point would come to mind. Unless you wanted to invoke the name of the Last Star. And you didn't want mind games to be how you won. No, that's not what you'd prided yourself on. You prided yourself on clean victories. Whatever a clean victory meant. The lines were never as clear as you liked to pretend. The next match is a helpful distraction. As much as Summers and Parr were. You knew you wouldn't get your hands on Summers anytime soon. The man's an eel. And Parr. You wanted another shot at him. A real shot. You were still better than him. The FWA had changed a lot. New names. Lots of new names. But a few stuck around. Cyrus. You'd dealt with that. And Parr. But Parr, he hadn't taken a single step forward, had he? All he had to his name were the petty grudges and plots he'd conspired. But if he could beat the bastard. The other bastard. The one with the gold. Well, if he could beat the bastard, then that set the stage perfectly for their reunion. No WOLF, sure, but he was always superfluous, to begin with. Just you. Parr. And that gold you’d once sought. A gold you had a feeling would become very important. Peacock is out to watch the match too. He hadn't been out when weaselperson faced Truth. That would've been something to watch. Jean-Luc insinuates Truth tapped out to preserve himself. weaselperson sneers. Of course, gotta protect Truth. He'd heard nothing Alyster had said earlier that night, had he? Jean-Luc had never been a man of any integrity. weaselperson could say that, given their past exchanges. But he passes himself off as the wrestling intellect on the commentary team, and that's what he says? Peacock talks about Truth the way you expect him to. Dismissive. Condescending. Trophy victory. Everyone sees it. Everyone's seen it since Carnal Contendership. Since before that. The Journey's End lands and Truth wins, but no one's impressed. This is the bare minimum. This is what he should've done to you. But didn't. How do you react to that Truth? That dismissal. You've been around for a long time. Longer than anyone else here. You've faced guys like Peacock before, haven't you? Actually, more lately than ever, I bet. Guys that see you as part of the furniture. But nothing more. Not a living breathing person. But something that serves a fixed, modest purpose. A purpose everyone is fond of but doesn't appreciate all that much. They glance past you. They underestimate you. They dismiss you. How do you deal with that? I could use some advice. “The thing that I most admire about Chris is that, he doesn’t give up. I mean, I look at him, and I see a man that’s as fragile as I am. As Danny once was. He looks like he’s ready to crack at the slightest pressure. And I know he has in the past. But what separates Chris and me. And even Chris and Danny, it’s that he never really left. He stuck to it. He came short so often. I came short twice and it destroyed me. Look how many times he fell short. I talk about Danny always coming back. But Peacock is another level of masochism. He’s a hard worker. He’s determined. I respect that. But I’ve grown a thicker skin. And I know I’m good. I know I’m better than him. I won’t let a loss bring me down again. I’m here to stay. I’m here to beat the best. I’m the next one up.” The rest of the show doesn't do anything to get his mind off his meeting with Danny Toner. The bear might've, but by then, he had to head to the ring. He didn't get a chance to share the panic the rest of everyone backstage was having. The guitar strums, and weaselperson steps through the curtains. The aggressive and jarring rapping echoes. It drowns most of the crowd. They don't cheer much. Or jeer much. They didn't care for him. They cared even less for him than they used to. Both when weaselperson was a different weaselperson, and when he was Kazadi. He was more passive now. Crowds wanted showstoppers. Or people who derided them. weaselperson did neither. He barked. He made challenges. He wrestled. That didn't sell tickets. Greenback Boogie hits. The crowd's loud. Real loud. They love him, and they hate him, all at once. That's the type of man Danny Toner is. He could get them to jump the barricades to try to rip his head off if he wanted to. Or he could get them to jump the barricades and to try to rip weaselperson's head off. That's what Danny Toner drew out of people. He beat Chris Peacock. The World Champion. He never lost the World Championship. If you beat him. Not beat him, but tap him out. If you tap him out, what does that make you? It makes you the man everyone else will want to beat. It's the best thing you could hope for, short of having the World Championship. That'll come though. It will. Think about it later. Now? Now you've got this man. The man you need to beat - tap out - to achieve that. Danny meets your eyes. And you're happy. You're real happy. A bit nervous. You're not usually nervous. You weren't usually nervous. And after tapping out Truth, you thought all the nerves were gone gone. But then Danny versus weaselperson got announced, and they were back. You hated it. A part of you is afraid of Danny Toner? You hate to think about it. That scared, fragile man from so long ago. You were afraid of him? But you see his eyes, and you know he knows you're not something one looks past. Much as Alyster wants to play his games, Danny doesn't have that luxury. He's gotta take you for what you are. And in those eyes of the best, those eyes that recognize you as a peer, you feel yourself again. Or did you read too much into it? He has you in a headlock, and he yells out wrestling in mockery. Headlock takeover. Since when does Danny do headlock takeovers? Should've watched more tapes. No, that's because he got in your head. That's what he does. Ignore all that. Danny Toner will not outwrestle you. This is your game, and he's an idiot for taking you at your game. Danny hits a few roll-ups. You won't lose by roll-up. You hate losing by roll-ups. As much as you hate roll-ups themselves. Imagine losing this main event by a roll-up. That's Danny Toner. He'll win in whatever way he can, won't he? You gotta be ready for roll-ups. You follow him outside. You regret it almost immediately. You knew it was a bad idea when you did it. Danny's one of the best outside. But there's one person who's better. The very same person you're trying to get a fight with. You gotta go outside and give Danny a fight. Show him you know every square inch of not only the wrestling ring but everything surrounding it. Even so, that was a bad idea. You get your face kicked in, and stomped in. And the match is getting away from you. He throws you around. He throws you around enough times, he lives up to those claims of being a heavyweight. Need a breather, but he's not giving it to you. Lifting you up again. And do-. No. Still up. Still up. Ah. A breather, at last. That's Danny's mistake. You hit him in the skull with your knee three times. That gets you back on your own feet. Feels good. You crack your head into his. Why not? You can't tell up from down yet, on account of all the suplexes, and blood rushing to your head. Headbutt won't hurt. Then you spin around. More dizziness makes no difference. Rolling elbow. Is that a loose tooth? You keep him before he drops, a ripcord elbow, not so loose anymore. You're in control now. He's on the back foot. He knows he's one mistake away from tapping out. He's tapped out bad before. You watched the match with Jeremy Best. He's afraid it'll happen again. And he's cautious because of it. Always got his eyes on the ropes. That's how you end up on the wrong side of it. He tries to be a heavyweight again. Suplex you over the ropes. Doesn't quite manage. Those headshots did the damage. You catch him with the knee. This is it. Make that head rattle one more time, and that'll be it. Nothing in him left to resist tapping out. You climb the turnbuckle. It's a risk. A stupid risk. But that knee hit him hard. You've got a good knee. Good a knee as anyone. Peacock. Krash. Danny, himself. He's not getting back up. You even gave him a suplex to be sure. You go flying - and fuck, he rolled away. You land on your feet. That's the only way you were willing to add this to your move set. If you could land on your feet. You get back up, turn around, and- “I don’t have any other plans at Back in Business. I know that they’ve got tag titles to defend. I don’t care. Alyster Black loves to fight. That’s his thing. And he knows how it goes. Sometimes you’ve got back-to-backs. Shit, he won a gauntlet to get a world title shot, didn’t he? I’m not gonna shed a tear for him, or take him any less seriously. Same thing with Chris. He can defend those tag belts. Have at it. But I’m going to be watching those matches, and I have no issue with picking out the weakness I see, and taking advantage of them. You want to split your attention, that’s fine. We’ll see what kinda shape Peacock’s in at Back in Business. Personally, I’m not sure that match will be as clear-cut as it’s seeming. I think you’ll agree after I’m done.” You hear a loud ringing sound. It was only for a few seconds, you know because Greenback Boogie isn't too far in. You exhale. Utter disappointment. You couldn't do it. All that momentum is gone. You lost. You're not good enough. You couldn't beat Danny Toner. He's better than you. He dropped the ball all those times, but he came back. He came back over and over again. And this is who he is now. The best. The absolute fucking best. He came back. You didn’t. Not till it was too late. That’s the difference. You took your break, and now you're a step behind. You're playing catch-up. Can you even catch up? They might all be gone by the time you do. Done their job. Won their gold. And packed up. Why did you come back? You should've stayed on the bench. Kept your honor about you. Now you've proven what you could have once denied. You're not the best. You were a guy who was a bit good but had too much of an ego. If you'd stuck around, and hadn't made stupid challenges, you could've lived up to the promise. Do you see all those guys who picked up world titles while you were gone? Not only in the last two years. Even before that. Sully. You used to slap that guy around. He's a legend now. A future first ballot hall of fame member if there was one. That could have been you. But instead, you're walking up that ramp. And you're listening to Greenback Boogie. Because you got knocked out. And you got pinned for the three count. And you couldn't do anything about it. What now? This was how you sealed the deal with Alyster Black. How you reeled the Blood Knight in, by proving you could beat the man he couldn't. But you couldn't beat him. What's Alyster got to gain from beating you now? Nothing. You have nothing to offer. Fear you at Golden Opportunity? You were being too proud. Let that Truth win get to your head. You're unproven. All he has to do is wait for you to slip up. To take a dumb risk. And all he has to do is follow up. Hit the One Shot Kill. Done deal. You got rocked outside the ring. You got tossed around inside. You got knocked out. Alyster's laughing at you right now. Somewhere backstage. If he's still there. If he watched. He's laughing. And he doesn't think anything of you. “I’m not really impressed with FTN winning the tag team championships. It goes without saying, I’m not a fan of tag team wrestling, but I know a lot of people take it as seriously as I do singles wrestling, and I respect that. But it’s hard for me not to think that this is just FTN trying to collect accolades without really caring about what those accolades mean. And I know that the North American Championship is waiting around the corner and Alyster Black, and especially Chris Peacock, they’ll have their eyes on it. And you know, I still think I have unfinished business with the North American Championship myself. So if I can find a way to get between them, and the rest of them backstage, and that belt, I will. That’s not taking away from Baxter, he seems like a tough bastard. But I think I’d do a better job of keeping that belt to those it’s right for. They seem to give out a lot of free shots for gold these days. Much more often than when I started. I’m still willing to earn a shot at the NA, though.” Wanda knocked on the hotel door. There was no answer. She sighed and pulled out the card she bribed the receptionist to get. At least her investment would pay off. She opened the door. The man inside stood up in a hurry, and turned around in a panic, and saw Wanda. He relaxed. Then, he noticed her gaze, and remembered how he'd been lounging. "Can you give me a second?" She nodded. He walked off, as unashamed as he could manage, to his room. He returned with a tank top, and shorts. "Nice to see you, I hope." "You disappeared." "Not really." "I couldn't get a hold of you. It was my presumption that the result of your match with Danny Toner had an undue impact on your psyche." "Well, it did suck." "I assumed, wrongly, it seems, that you were going to attempt to... disappear." "Why'd you think I'd disappear? Because of the loss?" "That, or because you feared what I would do to you after such a disappointment." "Oh, right. I guess that slipped my mind." "Maybe you lost because you underestimate the legitimacy of my threats." "No, it's not that. I very much estimate them. It's only, I'm not the sort of person who gets motivated by threats like that. I mean, I don't want to die, but it won't make me fight harder. I try as hard as I'm able to no matter what." "Then you simply weren't good enough to beat Danny." "It seems that way. So, as far as your threats go. I try not to think about it at all. Should I be worried?" "No." "Good. Well, as you can see, I'm fine." "How come you weren't answering your phone?" "It broke." "I see, the loss did have an impact." "No. I don't take my anger out like that. It slipped. Taking a knee to the head messes with your balance for a while." "Did you get checked?" "I'm fine now." "Very well. This is somewhat reassuring, although... perhaps seeing you take the defeat harder would further reassure me of how much this means to you." "You want me to take the loss harder. I'm taking it very hard, Wanda. I really wanted to beat Danny. I did. I made some mistakes I shouldn't have. I got ahead of myself. I didn't simply want to win, I wanted to prove myself. I was outplayed." "This isn't a game." "You don't have to tell me that. Or at least, you don't have to think I don't take it seriously. I do. No one takes it as seriously as I do. But, in many ways, it is a game. With rules. And there are a lot of components that go into it. And sometimes you have to do what I did, and test yourself. Even if it means losing. And you have to keep testing yourself. That's how you push yourself to your limits. I shouldn't have fought him on the outside. I shouldn't have gone to the top rope. Zachary Kazadi never would've. He'd have known better. But weaselperson didn't. And it cost them. I'm not happy with what happened. I want nothing more than to get a second chance at Danny, to prove that I could beat him any other day. But I didn't beat him that day, so I guess it'll be a while till I get another shot at him, won't it? Who am I facing this week, by the way? I've sort of... kept my head down since then." "You're not facing anyone." "They kept me off the card?" "No. I couldn't contact you. And Russnow couldn't contact you. So he contacted me. I requested an indefinite leave of absence." "What the fuck, Wanda?" "You disappeared. Be a professional." "With all the crazy shit you have going on, you couldn't have found me sooner?" "I tried contacting you. I decided to give you space to recuperate until you decide to contact me of your own volition. When that did not happen, I hoped to attract you with some good news. I visited your place, and you weren't there. I discovered you had extended your stay at the hotel in Austin, and had recently checked in El Paso." "Me not wrestling is not good news." "That wasn't the news." "What is it?" "I'm sure you were wondering how you were going to guarantee your challenge was answered. To this Alyster Black." "I thought I might have to call him out again. What else can I do?" "You can confront him." "He plans on showing up on Meltdown?" "Alyster Black has been attending every FWA show for one reason, and one reason only. He's been waiting for an opportunity." "At what? The World Championship?" "The World Tag Team Championships. The Connection has been defending it frequently, and haphazardly. Many challengers have been welcomed, in a variety of circumstances. Alyster knows that he has a chance. And his partner, Chris Peacock, is ever present should such a chance appear. They won't risk missing it." "So he'll be at Meltdown." "Yes. You will know better than I will what it will take to arrest his attention." "I'll handle it. But why are you so invested in this? It won't do much for weaselperson's legacy, you know. A victory at Back in Business is nice, but this is just a fight for pride." "And weaselperson's pride should not be important to me? They fell short at the King of Death Match. Beating Alyster Black at Back in Business would go some way to redeeming that horrid night." "Alright. You don’t have to say anything more. If I get Alyster at Back in Business, I'll see to it that it is redeemed." "Not if. You will. No more empty promises. weaselperson will get their moment at Back in Business. You will make sure of it. If Alyster has nothing to do but talk, then you will confront him. If he will simply roam backstage, you will confront him. But, it would seem to me, that if his wish does come true, there will be no greater opportunity to assure your match than to cost him his." "You said I would know what it would take to arrest his attention better than you would." "I did." "Good. Then I'll do it my way." "If you fail to do so-" "I won't." "Good. I will get you a new phone. Two new phones. You will take care to make sure one remains intact at all times." "Of course, Wanda." “Cyrus Truth seems like he’s on his last legs, doesn’t he? Almost takes away from what I did to him, seeing him stumble to Back in Business. And Peacock has made it clear as day how he feels. And now that he’s beat the Connection. After he defended that belt against Michelle and Truth, it’s hard to think Peacock still doubts what he’s capable of. Danny’s still a worm in the back of his mind, but going up against me, I wonder how he sees it. That’s the question I always have when I look into my opponent's eyes these days. Do they think nothing of me because of the suit, or do they brush that aside, and remember what I’ve done thus far? I don’t wear it to get people’s guard down. weaselperson is just who I am. But I can’t ignore the effect it has. Well, if I don’t see that fire in Peacock’s eyes, maybe I can make him remember that even a weasel’s claws can make a king bleed sometimes.” Meltdown came. You didn't have to wait too long. Chris Peacock, the FWA World Champion, came out. Then Michelle von Horrowitz, the FWA World Tag Team Champion, came out. Michelle had company. The Nephews. weaselperson hadn't talked to the Nephews. Not since Back in Business. That's how they wanted to keep it. And the inevitable happened. Uncle proposed a tag team match. Titles on the line. Sonne played. Surprise, surprise. Alyster Black is here. The Connection is good. Very good. They should be able to win. They should. But FTN had been waiting for this moment. This particular moment. A clean chance at the Nephews. They wanted nothing more than this. Alyster Black had vowed the only reason he'd return was for this. And here he was. This would erase every failure that had preceded this night. The loss of the X Championship. The loss of the FWA World Championship. The loss of the F1. The loss at Carnal Contendership. This mattered more than anything for Alyster. And he was desperate. And Chris Peacock. He's no less desperate. Even with that FWA World Championship, the greatest of prizes, he's desperate. Because he has a legacy to build. The Triple Crown. And further in the distance, the Grand Slam. More accolades to prove to himself that he belongs. Not belongs, but surpasses. To himself, and the world. And not only that, but the ghost of Randy Ramon still haunted him. And he needed this to erase the last traces of that friendship. To prove he'd moved on, and he was all the better for it. They wanted this. They wanted this very badly, and that could be the difference. And the Connection, for all their talent and chemistry, they were not prepared. They hadn't been in their last defence either. And Michelle, she had her eyes elsewhere. This whole series of defenses, it reeked of fear on her behalf. Fear that she was nearing the end, and she would do anything to further cement what little she could of herself. They were tiring. Or growing too comfortable. It'd be close. Real close. FTN's desperation is plain. It's not only desperation though. It's chemistry. They respect each other as equals. There's no enmity there. Or jealousy. Even though Peacock has what Black wants. They have faith in each other, in ways they haven't had in other people. Peacock soared for a suicide dive. He's never done it before. Doesn't pay off. But the champ's got extra tricks up his bag. That's worth noting. He's not done growing. He's still got more to show. It'd be easy to rest on his laurels. He'd done more than most could in his short career. More than anything you've done. Ever will do? We'll see. It's real close. The Nephews, those Black and Peacock want so badly to be fornicated, intervene. You should go out. Damn this match. It's Black and Peacock wanting to swell their records. There's no love for tag team wrestling here. This isn't a passionate climb up the ladder. This is two men who need every ounce of approval they can get. This is why they've opposed the Nephews. This is why they've been plotting to take any easy route to those pair of gold belts that they could. They don't deserve this. And if they do, they can do it when they're not taking what you demand away from you. You gave Alyster a chance. Did he think there wouldn't be any consequences to mocking you? To telling you you aren't worth it? Go out there, and slap him. Make him pass out. Take away the only reason he had for sticking around, and replace it. Wanda is right. This is the only way you can be sure. It's this, or you go to find two friends for a battle royal. Is that what you want? No, but I'm not going to get involved in the match either. That's not me. It's not weaselperson. There are some lines best not crossed. Come on. Look at this. It's hardly a wrestling match. If the referee was doing his job, this would've been thrown out a while ago. That's not a good enough reason. This is simply the fight they've both chosen to fight. I don't respect it. But it has nothing to do with me. The two teams fight on. The match crosses twenty minutes. And weaselperson sees the way things are going. The interference isn't as reliable. It's catching up to them. Especially against those two. FTN. They knew more than anyone what they were walking into. They were ready. The Nephews won't be enough. The way things are going, the momentum, the fire behind FTN. It's almost over. Better get ready. “You heard he might wrestle as peacockperson? That’s funny. I hope he does. I hope dragonperson shows up at Back in Business instead of Alyster Black too. No, really, I don’t care how they show up. I don’t mind the jokes. Inevitable really. Logan Darwin was doing them from week one, wasn’t he? I’ll leave them to it.” The Nephews are out of the way when you walk down the ramp. Good. You're not interested in a confrontation with them. Your music doesn't play. That's fine. Better he's sitting pretty in the ring, without a chance to get away. He's going to face you. He's going to face you whether he likes it or not. You climb up the steps, enter the ring, and stand in the center of it. Your eyes are on one man: Alyster Black. His eyes lock on yours. He wants to fight you. He really wants to fight you. And you want to fight him. So enough with all the bullshit theatrics. You've got your tag belts now. Time to focus on the real fight. The one you'll do on your own. And you know that's the fight you care more about than any other. That's why you've got your eyes on that FWA World Championship. Because you want to be the best, not one of the best. He drops the FWA World Tag Team Championship. His fist balled up. I wasn't expecting a fight. I don't really want a fight. I want the promise of a fight. But if this is what it'll take, then- The gold plate crashes into the back of your head. You fall limp to the ground. “Yeah, the fact that this could have been the Back in Business main event does gnaw at me, just a little. The thought that the result of this match, could have likely been the result of the Back in Business main event, yeah, it’s a bit bothersome. But it’s a chance to reassure myself. I’ll never really know what if? But this is the closest I can come to that answer. There’s a lot of variables that make this match different than that one. But the most important variables are that it’s weaselperson on one side, and the FWA World Champion Chris Peacock on the other. Whatever the circumstances, I’ll give each match my all. But when I say that about this particular match, know that it is my all, and it’s that very same all I would’ve put forward if I had secured my spot in the Back in Business main event. What I’d like Chris to feel after the match is a unique combination of agony and relief. Agony, evidently, deriving from how I’ve folded his body up. But relief that it was Cyrus Truth that was last standing in that ring. I want to see that look of relief and agony in his eyes. I’ve never seen it, but I think I’ll recognize it if I get a chance.” When you wake up again, a road agent and a doctor are rolling you outside the ring. You catch your footing on the way out. The agent and the doctor offer shoulders and you take it. You can tell you'll drop if you don't. "What happened?" "Peacock knocked you out with the belt." "Huh. Shit. Which belt?" "Which belt?" "The new ones or the important one." "The World Championship." "Heh. Guess I shouldn't have turned my back on him." "Yeah, you're not the first guy who disrespected him and paid for it." "He makes a habit of taking cheap shots?" "Not of taking cheap shots. But of hurting people. Bad." "I'm still standing, aren't I?" The doc and the agent offering shoulders laughed. "Ayo doc, how's my favorite rodent doing?" Jon Russnow showed up with a grin. Fucking terrible, you think. "Amazing," you say. "Amazing? Oh, right. First chance you get to taste FWA World Championship gold." "Doesn't have to be the last." "Golden Opportunity is still a while away." "I'm not talking about Golden Opportunity, Jon. Your World Champion took a shot at me. You need to balance that out, or as much as I don't want to, I'll have to take matters into my own hands." "Thought you were on a leave of absence." "Miscommunication. Jon. Me and Chris. Next week. You're going to make it happen, right?" "Well, FTN might be busy." "It took a lot of self-control and grace for me not to get involved in that match just now. I won't be as generous next time, if you don't give me something, Jon. He started this. I'm owed a chance at retribution aren't I?" "Fine! Fine! If the doc gives you all the clear, I'll make it happen, alright. And ANSWER YOUR DAMN PHONE." You head to the medical room to get checked up. You get a chance to see FTN finding themselves a match the next show. Russnow mustn't have had a chance to warn them. Doesn't matter. He knows it's coming. So, how much is he willing to give up of himself before his big night? Because you'll take a lot. You'll take a whole heck of a lot. As much as you need to take so that Alyster has no choice but to accept. And if that doesn't leave much for Cyrus to play with, then that's that. The show goes on. And more announcements emerge. If FTN win next week, they'd defend at Back in Business. Had to expect it. But it grates on you. You should've swallowed your pride and gotten in the way of that match. No. Doesn't matter. You don't have the luxury of picking the circumstances of your matches. You had chances to decide your fate at Back in Business. Focus on your last chance. Make Peacock tap out. Snap a limb. Force Alyster's hand.