The sound of weights violently clanking against each other could be heard half way down the hallway. It was about 7 AM at the Courtyard Marriott in Fayetteville, Arkansas and the vast majority of the EBWF roster was still asleep. Not this “old man”. Syxx was wearing track pants along with his Bullet Club t-shirt and Social Outcasts beanie. He may as well have been a walking billboard for rival companies but it didn’t matter, no fans could afford to stay in this hotel anyway. When Syxx entered the gym he saw his cohort Seven there wearing a sleeveless black shirt with black gym shorts sweating up a storm while lifting a seemingly inhumane amount of weights on the pulldown machine. Seven had his earbuds in blasting heavy metal music so it took him a second to notice Syxx there but when he did he ripped out his earbuds but continued his workout.
Seven: Isn’t this a little early for you?
Syxx: They say us geezers like early mornings. I’m still desperately searching for the appeal.
Syxx popped a squat a nearby weight bench. He wasn’t dressed for a gym and could see that his co-workers was slightly put-off by his pressence.
Seven: There’s certainly nothing for you here. Do you even still workout?
Syxx: Are you kidding? I’m 43 and I still fly around the ring like I’m 25. I’m still on the road 250 days a year. Do you think I could keep this up if I didn’t stay in shape?
Seven: It’s impressive, what you’re doing.
Seven glanced up and down Syxx’s outfit, cracking a half smile.
Seven: Nice foreshadowing. It’s great to see nepotism is alive and well in pro wrestling.
Syxx: Don’t get the wrong impression, Kev. You’re still in the plans but I know you don’t want any part of the grind we’re about to partake in. You know that’s why you’re here to begin with. You and Alicia can trade house shows so you can spend more time at home with your son and she can do whatever the fuck it is that she does.
Seven: You always need a posse. Those couple years alone must have killed you.
Syxx: People like Syxx as an individual but they have a ceiling as far as what they think I can accomplish. My view is a lot greater than that. I tried starting anew and completely doing my own thing but with WWE doing it’s network and making money off my past accomplishments it’s kind of insulting. You know? Like, how much money did you get off that December to Dismember pay per view?
Seven: I still got my base rate but my royalties off orders was about $8.
Syxx: You see? Everything that was cool in the 90’s and 2000’s is now cool again, especially now that everything is digitized, archived, and at everyone’s disposal.
Seven: So you are going to shake things up again and toss me aside throwing me Kanye West like it’s some kind of consolation prize. You know that piece of crap isn’t going to agree to a match.
Syxx: The key is not to get him in the ring, it’s to get people talking. You know that guy’s ego is so big that he can’t just sit there while we hurl insults at him.
Seven: So why does it have to be me? Why don’t you challenge him?
Syxx: I have a match for the Intercontinental championship tonight. If I win that belt I will most likely be defending it at WrestleMania. I can’t undermine that title while calling out some pop culture dipshit while I should be building towards a match with an actual opponent at WrestleMania.
Seven: Who is to say that you are even going to win that match with Chris Jericho?
Syxx: You think they are going to have Jericho wrestle twice at Mania? It’s either that or he just wouldn’t defend the intercontinental championship. That’s exponentially worse than Syxx holding the belt while calling out black Donald Trump.
Seven: Well, everybody loves Chris Jericho.
Syxx: Yes! Everybody does like Chris Jericho. Hell, I like Chris Jericho. That’s why he’s the perfect catalyst to set things in motion. I take the title from him and hurt his momentum going into WrestleMania. Not only that, I EMBARRASS him on the way to WrestleMania. I make a statement. The EBWF is no longer about Chris Jericho, Wes Ikeda, or any of these Johnny-come-latelies. I don’t just beat Chris Jericho, I beat him down. The fans are going to be so happy to see their favorite EBWF legends go at it for the prestigious EBWF Intercontinental title but the majority of them are going to be disappointed that their second favorite won. I then proceed to rub the proverbial salt in their wound by marginalizing their hero on his road to WrestleMania. The revolution can start all over again. I just need to take this title and make it my own until I can trade it in for something better.
Seven: So what do you want me to do?
Syxx: Stay the course. Have my back. I promise you will be vindicated.
Seven: How so?
Syxx: You know how.
Syxx gestures to Seven giving him the “too sweet” hand signal.
Seven: I like where this is going.
Just then the gym door swung up. Symphony enters the room wearing her tight black yoga pants and her low cut modified 6 ball shirt that exposes her midriff. Her hair was in a messy high ponytail and her face was staring daggers through the screen of her Android phone. She threw her phone right next to Syxx hard enough to get his attention but not so hard that the screen would shatter through her protective case and took a seat right next to Syxx.
Symphony: Oh my god! Can you believe this bitch!?
Syxx: Whoa...what? Are you alright?
Symphony: I told you that china hat was a bad idea! Now that he-she thinks that I was trying to rip her off! The nerve! I swear I just...I can’t even!
Seven: Actually you can even, and it’s that defeatist attitude that’s killing ‘Merica.
Symphony: Shut the fuck up Kevin! UGH! Why Sean!? Why do you always have to…
Syxx put his hand on her shoulder and it instantly made her stop talking but it did not calm her down. She grit her teeth trying so hard to restrain herself from what she really wanted to say.
Syxx: It’s a joke. Friends make jokes. You’re my friend, she’s my friend, I don’t see any reasons why we can’t all be friends.
Seven: Really? Because I see six, seven, maybe even nine reasons. No pun intended.
Syxx: Kev you’re not helping. It’s alright Alicia. The joke was directed at me. It was all me. It has nothing to do with you.
Symphony: Oh really? What about that line about “settling for Symphony” awhile ago? I know what she wants. She just wants me to say something so she has an excuse to get me fired.
Syxx: Leave it alone Alicia, please. It’s awkward enough having one ex as a valet and another as a boss of sorts. The two of you frequently remind me of why I am still single, I just don’t understand how the female brain works. If Joanie wanted you fired she really wouldn’t need a reason. She has major pull in this company. Technically Jericho rehired me and I’ve never mentioned it but do you think I would still have a job if it wasn’t for her? Much like you wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for me. Lets all just get along and live happily ever after.
Symphony: I know you Sean, happily ever after isn’t in your vocabulary.
Syxx: No, but “fuck” and shit” are. So please, don’t fuck shit up.
The scene fades.
**AT THE ARENA**
It was about 6 PM central time at the Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, AR, roughly about an hour before Warfare would go live but as per usual the fans had the arena damn near filled to capacity already. No dark matches had aired yet and Christy Hemme had not even welcomed the majority of the sold out crowd to Warfare when the fans were hit with an unexpected treat. The lights went dim and accent lights started flashing green as the opening chords for “FE” by 40 Below Summer rang throughout the arena’s PA system. As the song of Max Illidge’s voice pierced the ears of the viewers Syxx made his way through the curtain along with Seven on his right and Symphony on his left. The three with adorn with the traditional black and neon green with gold trim. Seven was wearing a vampiric steampunk trench coat and Symphony looked stunning as always leaving very little to the imagination with her choice in attire. Syxx was dressed in his ring gear complete with his black bandana and his cloak that looked royal by nature. The crowd was 80% cheers, 20% boos, but 100% reaction as Syxx energetically made his way down the ramp occasionally stopping to slap a fan’s hand or give someone the “too sweet”. Then they got to the ring Seven held the ropes down for Syxx who subsequently stayed between the ropes and held them for Symphony to enter. Christy them handed the mic to Syxx so he could address the crowd.
Syxx: Fayetteville, Arkansas...let’s make some noise!
Regardless to whether they cheered or booed him, everyone reacted to the cheap pop.
Syxx: Glad to see that you’re with me, because it’s a hell of a lot better to be with me than against me. Bret Hart and Shane Helms went up against me at Fallout and we all saw how that turned out. From now on just make it a point to not get in my way because my victory at the pay per view set the standard for exactly how things are going to be going forward. We aren’t worried about anything else right now. We don’t care about the peaks and valleys of yesteryear, my focus is 100% on getting gold around this waist and that starts with defeating Chris Jericho for the EBWF Intercontinental championship. It is true that the Intercontinental strap is considered the lesser of the two shiny gold things that Jericho lugs around with him and I’m not going to give you the same old story about how I am going to bring prestige back to the Intercontinental title. I am here to establish one undeniable fact and that is that I am better than Chris Jericho. I am better then the EBWF world heavyweight champion and I am going to prove that by taking his Intercontinental title from him. Disrupting his momentum is the least of my objectives. After I defeat Jericho he is going to start preparing to face Wes Ikeda at WrestleMania but he is always going to be looking over his shoulder. I will put an asterisks next to his name on the title listing. Chris Jericho is your world champ *only because the Intercontinental title was the only thing on the line in his match up with Syxx on Warfare. I have been Intercontinental champion before and I will be again. I will unite the seven continents and claim them in the name of House Syxx. Not for one single solitaire second do I want to give the impression that I am looking past this prestigious championship, I am merely asserting that this is only the beginning for me. The main event for WrestleMania is set, challenger Wes Ikeda vs. champion Chris Jericho, and what do the two of them have in common? Both of them have been or are authority figures in the EBWF. How does my history suggest I feel about authority figures? Jericho and Ikeda represent a status quo that has been prevalent in the EBWF for years. I am not here to change the status quo, I am here to destroy it completely. I may not be the kind of person this company wants to hitch its wheel to but I am going to be the standard bearer of the EBWF going forward whether anyone likes it or not. Fifteen years ago this company was founded, and I was there on day one. I may not have been here every subsequent day like Chris Jericho has been but off and on for 15 years and consecutively for the last four years this has been my home. 1,500+ days is a long time to go without a world title reign. Can you imagine wrestling off and on in this company for damn near 15 years all the while with the same objective in mind and never quite getting to the summit? I’m going to see you come to the ring tonight with that big gold belt and after I defeat you I am going to close my eyes and imagine that all of my wildest dreams have just come true and that I can finally call myself the EBWF world heavyweight champion. Then I am going to open them, with the scene of my dreams freshly hanging in the air, and then realize that I have so much work left to do. Have you ever stood in between a man and his destiny? I figure you have, but you better get up out of my way or your ass is grass...AND I’M GONNA SMOKE IT!
The crowd popped loudly for Syxx’s signature catch phrase.
Syxx: Speaking of grass, I want to briefly talk about a man who is about roughly about as talented as grass. Kanye West, I know you can hear me. I don’t think you have enough taste to be a pro wrestling fan but I know your slimy little ears just perk up at the sound of your name so Kanye listen up. You’re nothing. You’re a talentless piece of garage and you’ve inspired a generation of millennials to be worthless pieces of garbage just like you. I hope you are not too busy conning fans out of money on March 27 because my main man Seven is ready for you. Oh, what’s that? Not so tough all of the sudden? Get your head of of your wife’s overgrown ass and do something productive. Fight my guy at WrestleMania unless you are too busy dreaming of fish penis! On second thought if this doesn’t work out for you you could try running for vice president of the United States of America. I heard Donald Trump has a lock on the Republican nomination. By running alongside Donald Trump you will effectively accomplish two things. You will get yourself a job that will help you dig your way out of this alleged financial hole you’ve gotten yourself into, and you will prove that you and Donald Trump are in fact two separate people! I know everyone else likes to keep things PC around here but I’m going to go ahead and say it. Neither of you did anything to deserve your fame. You are both talentless pieces of garbage, self righteous with absolutely nothing to back it up. You have no place on this side of the dirt, especially not in my country. All I can hope is that Kanye magically grows a set of tater tots next to his fishstick and accepts Seven’s challenge at WrestleMania.
Syxx handed Seven the microphone. Seven looked perplexed for a second but then took the microphone making a menacing face while looking at the camera.
Seven: They say there are seven deadly sins, but none are as deadly as I. I am the personification of all that is evil, that is unjust, that is unholy, that is cruel about this world. I seek to purge this living hell of the cancers that accelerate our inevitable decay. I am neither a problem nor a solution. I just am. Hear me! Fear me!
Syxx: Damn son, that was pretty good. Now back to Chris Jericho.
Symphony stood directly in front of Syxx and slowly took the mic from him.
Symphony: Chris Jericho is the Intercontinental champion for now. Pretty soon that will be in the past, and as my lord said we are not concerned with things that are in the past. We aim to unite the seven continents and reign supreme across North America, South America, Australia, Antarctica, Africa, Europe, and Asia...except for China. We don’t really care about that. The oceans will be saturated with the blood of our enemies and…
Syxx carefully snuck the microphone away from Symphony
Syxx: To my Chinese fans I apologize, we care about you very much. We certainly wouldn’t want to exclude anyone with our selfishness and personal agendas. Anyway I digress. Donald Trump wants to build a big wall, Chris Jericho would rather break the walls down whereas me? I’m not into politics, I don’t care about borders. I don’t want to make America great again, I want to redefine what it is to be great. I ran for number one contender and I got the nomination, now it’s time to take on the incumbent and forsake the standards of yesteryear in favor of a new way, a new generation, a new...well you get the picture. The thing about it is people keep calling Chris Jericho and me old, but what’s old can become new again. I’m not much for prophecy, I just advise all of you in the EBWF to start paying a little more attention to me than you have been or you are going to get sucked up into the whirlwind that is coming. I am going to take the EBWF intercontinental championship. I am going to embarrass Chris Jericho and be the proverbial roadblock on his road to WrestleMania. Tonight I become a champion, and if you’re not down with that I’ve got 2 words for ya...SUCK IT!
The scene fades.
