” A few years ago I cherished the XWF… It seemed like an intriguing place from the outside looking in, full of energy, the center of the professional wrestling universe, or so I was told when I walked through the door…”



Robert took a moment running his fingers through his greying beard that climbed his face like vines. The Xtreme Champion peered downward as the camera panned outwards revealing him sitting in front of a chessboard. To the right of the board was the Xtreme Championship, to the left was his half of The XWF Tag Team Championships and a glass of freshly poured bourbon.



” But…







That way of forward-thinking was a lie.”



Even the chessboard was a status symbol for The Omega. It was fabricated from exquisite granite and polished to perfection. The darker squares were gracefully arranged, each was different with complementary hues of brown, grey or black. The ashen squares were everything from pearl to creamy with streaks and dots of color throughout. The chessboard itself was enormous, at least more than half the size of the average board. The pieces were just as elaborate, masterfully carved from the same granite. The bottom of each piece wore a deep wine-coloured velvet cushion. So, when placed on the board it was almost soundless. The game with all its pawns, knights, bishops, rooks and its kings and queens were set… The XWF is and always has been a lot like chess… Robert could always see several moves ahead which was mind-boggling to most. He snatched a pawn off the board holding it for the camera to see.



” This pawn represents “The Dark Warrior” Michael Graves.”



Robert, didn’t hesitate to reach for his glass of bourbon… The bourbon always seemed turns down the volume on his thoughts. It brings memories of good times, letting himself dwell in them rather than think. He gently whirled the bourbon in his glass, listening to the crystal-clear chunks of ice bounce off the sides of his Glencairn. He then brings the glass forward, placing it right beneath his nose breathing in a fragrance that only years in an oak barrel could achieve. Already the hindrances of his life were beginning to dwindle, even before the first taste. Just watching its compassionate amber vortex was spellbinding enough. It was his one inadequacy and he intended to make a virtue of it, relish it, not sprint to the bottom of the bottle. When the brunette liquid settled, he brought it to his weather-cracked lips and let the caramel fluid sit in his mouth a while before swallowing. As he closed his eyes, he began dwelling only on the flavor. God damn, it was excellent, but then again, every single bottle of Michter’s 20 was euphoric especially at seven hundred dollars a bottle price point. He then opened his eyes retuning his ears to the light jazz he'd put on a few minutes prior, in that nanosecond, he was here not there, existing in two pristine moments as time stood still. He became steadier as he leered directly into the camera as if he were talking to Graves himself…



“I find it amusing Dark Warrior…”



There is a slight chuckle that leaves his bourbon covered lips.







” But, what you are doing really shouldn’t leave me flabbergasted, you always were a schemer… And not a very good one at that… You see Graves, you’ve always needed a crutch, credibility can’t get you anywhere nowadays, so you think that pulling at my emotions will bait me into a match. You and your merry band of incompetent pariahs are trying to sow seeds of doubt in my partners head, hoping, hell praying to the almighty that he will come to his senses… B.o.B desperately needs those seeds to grow into a gorgeous hate-filled vine that will ensnare me. Because that is the only way to get close enough to strike me down… Or so you simpletons believe.” Robert snickers. ” Go ahead and pour every ounce of poison in Page’s ear that you’ve got Micheal, but it isn’t going to work.”



Robert shakes his head as he takes another drink, he then grabs five more pawns off the chessboard…



” Robbie Bourbon, Miss Fury, Money Oswald, Jenny Myst, Thunder Knuckle and God knows who else, because like the rest of the world I haven’t been paying attention to B.o.B… Each one of you good for nothing sacks of shit are all pawns in a game… This entire fucking federation revolves around three or four people, our extended family Greggo… And Cataclysm… That’s it… So, don’t anyone of you think for a second that you are not right where I want you to be… You force my hand, and I’ll single handily take out your entire stable one by one like a surgeon with the precision you could only imagine having… Oh, and if… That’s a big IF… If the numbers get out of hand, all I’ve got to do is make a call and I’ll have all my reinforcements raining down the thunder… That there isn’t a threat either ladies and gentlemen… That’s a God damn promise.”



Robert nonchalantly tosses the pawns over his shoulder.



” I hate the fact that I even have to talk about you Graves because quite frankly you don’t deserve a second of airtime… You didn’t matter then, you damn sure don’t matter now… Not to me or anyone else for that matter.” Robert lifts his index finger ” But I guess I should thank you because you decided to tuck tail and run, I’ve got a match against some half-pint prick named Zane Norrison… Can anyone tell me who in the fuck Zane Norrison is? In the grand scheme of things, all you did was get me one step closer to that case… You want this match to be under stipulations that you see fit? Well, I hate to break this to you “old friend” but you have no right to call the shots… The same goes for that bitch boy Thunder Knuckles or anyone else underneath the XWF umbrella… I’m the fucking Xtreme Champion, I’m the one who has gone 2020 undefeated, I hold all the cards… And if you don’t want to play by my rules, then you won’t play at all… I control my narrative, not anyone of you halfwits…”



Robert then sighed in satisfaction, as if he just completed a comprehensive, personally needed action; expressed by the slightest curve at the corners of his mouth as youthful confidence worn in his slightly raised eyebrow above a quizzical eye.



” Seeing how I have been on your list for such a long time, I thought you would have leapt at the opportunity to become relevant again… We both know what would happen if you decided to step up… It’d be checkmate… I’d grind you down into a pile of dust… One would think that after all these years, you of all people would have an understanding of what I am truly capable of… You know how meticulous I am… You want a match with me, Graves, for one pathetic reason, salvaging the broken bits of your anima…”



Robert points at the camera.



” But you Graves are too feeble-minded to see that… Wrestling has become your therapy, and the XWF has become your victim… Each time you show your underprivileged face, you drag us all into you perpetual Halloween… Your entire career is falling around you and you are incapable of stopping it…







But…








You’d never admit that!”



He reaches across the board grabbing a bishop…



” Thaddeus Duke.”



He takes another drink locking his cavernous mahogany eyes with the camera, as a mischievous glint came from corners of his mouth, which were malevolent. His eyes were every shade of brown one could imagine, undercooked cinnamon and caramel mix, dotted with bits of dark cocoa. They radiate with utter brilliance sending shivers down the spine… Robert’s face was intentionally cold; calculated, somehow lacking the maneuverability others had. His toasted chestnut eyes would halt on a fixed point, even a person, he'd stare longer than the average person would. Robert could read others like a book, sensing their true intentions… It was like the elongated eye contact demanded a greater degree of physical separation. It wasn't something hadn’t ever noticed himself.



” Mr. Duke… For months you hid underneath a rock, now you return and suddenly the most unparalleled, unsurpassed, unrivaled wrestler walking God’s green Earth is in your sights? Funny… You are beginning to make a habit of showing up in places unannounced… Most recently in my bathroom, as I was trying to relax… Can’t a guy take a freaking bath anymore without some ass hole jumping in the tub with him?”



Robert chuckles…



” Kid, you should have seen the look on your face when I kicked out and slapped my pork sword across your face several times… Stupefied… Just the smack of my piss pump hitting your cheeks was deafening… You thought you’d pull a fast one and in return, you got thumped around with a custard launcher. Brother, you are damn lucky it wasn’t cocked locked and ready to rock… Ah, man that was priceless… Comedy gold even… Ugh… Anyway… Duke, all my life I’ve lived by a certain code, ignore all the haters and trolls, no matter what they say or what they decide to do… In doing so I’ve gotten my comeuppance… I try not to respond to the loser’s club-like B.o.B. and be the bigger man or let flavor of the months like you Duke get underneath my skin… But, there comes a time when a man has to say you know what fuck it…”



He pauses for a moment.



” People like you Duke, are intimidated by what I’m doing, every single doubter in the Robert Main brand are nothing more than pantywaists… My entire career people like you have tried to sabotage my success story… Including the management of the XWF… And guess what… Every single time I’ve been told I couldn’t, I did… You want to assault me when my back is turned like the chicken shit son of a bitch that you're known for, then you have the intestinal fortitude to run your dick suckers like you did something awe-inspiring … You didn’t do a damn thing other than piss me off… Fly by night attacks makes unsubstantial people like you feel empowered… With that playbook, you might as well JOIN B.o.B… You’d fit in impeccably with those crybaby cupcakes… Here’s the deal my resolutions to flunkies like you Duke, are straightforward.”



Robert raises both hands flipping Duke double birds.



” I won’t apologize or compromise for being a trailblazer, people like you Duke, whine because I’m a dynamo, so you latch on to my coat tails hoping to just get a taste… Praying that I’ll revive your broken career… If being true to myself means I lose the admiration of my peers, then so be it… It doesn’t bother me… You know I’m telling the truth too… Duke, what you’ve realized is that my potential is so enthusiastically profound, I can carry you back to the APEX of this company… You want that shot at redemption? Come and get it, but I guarantee you will not like the outcome…”



Robert tosses the chess piece over his shoulder reaching for the King and Queen… He raises the Queen leisurely.



” It’s an utter shame what they did to Sarah…”



He tosses the Queen off-camera raising the King…



” We all know who the real King of XWF is…







It’s me…”



Robert stands placing each of his Championships over his shoulders…



” Is it me… Or does anyone else find it amusing, that as soon as Sarah is out of the picture here comes Corey Smith, or Lux, or The Engineer presence or whoever else he might fucking be now… It’s a shame, Shawn, didn’t fucking kill him… He would have done the world an immense service, wiping away the scum for good… But here we are… Funny once Sarah went stage left Corey Smith leapt into the Universal Championship tournament… Now he is screaming he’ll become champion… The weasel always finds a route to an uncomplicated Universal Championship run, doesn’t he? Scouting the field and striking at the perfect time… Once again, the cycle repeats itself… Sarah, Shawn, Centurion, Raven are nowhere to be found and the clout king pounces…”



Robert adjusts his Championships.



” That brings me to you Zane, I’d grab a chess piece, but unfortunately you’re not even on the board… But, then again you never really have been, have you? Sorry, brother, I’m not trying to be a complete and utter asshole here but that’s just the truth… I call a spade a spade… There’s no chance in hell you walk away under your power… I want you to know going in I didn’t ask for this, I asked for Graves… What happens next isn’t because I despise you, it’s just business. Mark this up as the wrong place at the wrong time… Now I hold your career that never was in the palms of my hands… Zane, you are going nowhere like a rat trapped in a cage.”



He turns his back to the camera.



” Zane, I’m coming into this match with a head full of steam, hell, when’s the last time you even wrestled in the XWF? So, let me break this down for you, in a way that you’ll understand… I’m going to do what I always do… I’m going to walk out into the middle of that squared circle and give you an ultimatum… Turn and walk away or fall to the sword. That choice though is yours and yours alone. If you settle upon staying in my ring, I’ll pull the trigger on the machine gun so fast you won’t know what the hell hit you… That’s the thing about me, I’ve always had a rather itchy trigger finger and keep the safety off… Norrison, you are nothing more than white trash crotch stain on this business and have been for years… It’s underachievers like you and Mastermind that give people like me a bad name. And trust me when I say this, there is nothing more enormous than a tone-deaf ass clown who believes he is a zombie. After I’m through with you, you’ll believe you are Humpty Dumpty because no one is going to be able to put Zane Norrison back together again. You have no fucking idea what is about to happen to you, dead on arrival is an understatement, your dead in the water and don’t even realize it. After I dissect you, then end what’s left of your career. You’ll have no one to blame for this but yourself and Graves. You made the error kid, you had a lap in judgement deciding you wanted a match, and this slip is going to cost you immensely…”



Robert leers over his shoulder.



” Oh, and one last thing… I was told that I get to decide the match. How fitting is that? I get to decide how you are disposed of… So, let’s do something different… Let’s get the people in the crowd involved… Let’s give the fans a once in a lifetime opportunity, crowd interaction is going to be a must come Warfare… So, the stipulation for this match is going to be…










The Fans Bring the Weapons!”