10-21-2025, 06:33 PM
hu·bris
/ˈ(h)yo͞obrəs/
noun
1.
excessive pride or self-confidence.
2.
(in Greek tragedy) excessive pride toward or defiance of the gods, leading to retribution or nemesis.
“I understand your desire for comeuppance, Thunder Knuckles. This will be our third clash. At Leap of Faith, I faced you and Bobby Bourbon. You thought it would be a walk in the park. You had Mr. Oz ready to sacrifice himself to give you the easy win, but I played the spoiler. I didn’t need help to take the fight to both of you and ultimately you resorted to underhanded tactics to keep your tag team titles, but you still took the loss. Make no mistake, alone I am a threat. I have gone through rigorous training to get where I am. I may have just shown up with an air of mystery, but I have fought battles few would survive.”
The Director appears clad in a pitch-black suit. Beside him is XXXVI, it’s 2024 in Tokyo, Japan. They are backstage for the debut of XXXVI in Great Japan Pro Wrestling, a small independent promotion. They are in Gorilla position backstage, awaiting his entrance. XXXVI can feel the nerves. It’s been over ten years since he wrestled a match and he was a whole different man back then.
“Chin up, kid,” says the Director. “You’ve been conditioning and bare knuckle boxing. What ever do you have to be anxious about?”
“I’ve never wrestled in Japan. I don’t want to disappoint.” XXXVI says, honestly.
“I’ll be at ringside. Your opponent is a young boy. He’s still paying his dues in training. You have nothing to worry about.”
Just then, his music hits. The two enter through the curtain and the crowd doesn’t know what to make of him. He’s in unfamiliar territory. The announcer’s voice booms in Japanese: Shira rezaru sanjūrokunin o go shōkai! Here goes nothing…
“At Relentless, I had an earned opportunity at your Revolution title. I executed the Final Countdown and won, fair and square. The truth is, without that other Bastard, you were no match for me. I had your number every step of the way. I’m sure you’ll try to explain it away. You let me win. You didn’t care about the Revolution championship and thus, it was one less burden. I thought perhaps you had lost a step in Bobby’s absence. But the very next night, you dragged your manager Jimmy into a match and retained your tag titles. You showed that even trying and with a partner, a massive man at that, Oz couldn’t beat you. That’s when I struck. That’s when the Director chose to step out from the shadows and reveal himself and I embarrassed you yet again. Now, you want revenge and you are willing to put the tag team titles on the line to get it.”
Back in Japan, XXXVI makes his way to the ring, he prances, rehearsed, but loose, improvising as he makes his first appearance under this mask and moniker. He slides into the ring to applause. “They like me”, he thought.
In the ring, he paces around his opponent, Shunji Naruto. They lock up and the fight is on. It’s a very back and forth match and the fans are respectful and appreciative. Naruto tries to Irish whip XXXVI into the ropes and he reverses, sending his opponent into the corner and straight into the referee! The ref goes down and Shunji runs at him, all a fury. Then crack! The Director kisses Naruto’s back with a whip from outside. And again! Shunji cries out in pain and XXXVI questions his manager. This is not what they discussed prior to the match. The crowd begins to boo. Naruto gathers himself and tries to attack The Director, but XXXVI rolls him up with a schoolboy. The referee gets up and counts. 1..2..3!
XXXVI rolls out of the ring to a chorus of boos and The Director absconds with him backstage. Once there, XXXVI confronts The Director. “What exactly did you think you were doing out there? You could have seriously harmed that man!”
“You got the win, didn’t you? I don’t understand what the problem is. You know, you’re too focused on following rules, you should really just…XXXVI?”
XXXVI keels over. That’s when the Director notices the two Japanese wrestlers who have just stabbed the other masked man in the stomach. The Director cracks the whip to warn them, and they pull back. He whips one across the face and elbows the other in his. The men scatter and run off. The Director calls for a medic in Japanese, but none came. They committed the cardinal sin, gaijin can’t come into Japan and break the rules without consequences. The Director steals some bandages from the medical office and patches him up himself as he takes him to the nearest hospital. This is not how XXXVI expected his return match to go.
“Thunder Knuckles, you could have asked for a rematch for the Revolution title and I would have been happy to grant you that. But you chose to challenge me for the only title you have left. You, down a partner, chose not only to fight me, but the Director too. I assure you, I am dangerous because of the Director. He honed me, sharpened me like a sword. I was already a blade, but I had dulled over the years. So you take your sticks and stones and your mystery partner, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. You have never beaten me. I am two and O against you and now you plan to trust someone other than Bobby Bourbon to take on the oncoming and inevitable storm that is us. It’s your funeral, TK. I hope you chose well. Allow us to dance once more and see if the third time is the charm for you. Tick tock.”
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