Embrace the Darkness

[Ben M]

Another week had passed, and more destruction had been caused by Braun Strowman. First, he had torn apart a steel cage on Warfare, taking out the Big Show. Then at Aftermath, he had broken a ladder in half, stopping Enzo Amore and Trent from winning the Tag Titles. This week, the Monster Among Men was returning to singles action, taking on Karl Anderson.

The scene opened in a dark room, the only light coming from a dim lantern. There was enough light to see Strowman's face, and the mountain of a man was grinning demonically.

Braun Strowman: I may no longer be the black sheep of the Wyatt Family, but I still embrace the darkness. People always ask me what my goals are, but isn't it obvious? I have one goal, and one goal only... DESTRUCTION.

Strowman smashed the lantern, causing the light to go out. The sound of a match being struck was heard, and Jimmy Havoc could be seen briefly as he lit another lantern for Braun.

Braun Strowman: Thank you, Jimmy. You like fire almost as much as I like destruction, and that's why we work well together. People always ask me why I aligned myself with him; they say a monster like me doesn't need Jimmy Havoc. But what they fail to understand is that Havoc doesn't need me either. It's an alliance of choice; Jimmy and I are working together because we're kindred spirits, the Bastard and the Beast. And between us, we're going to bring the EBWF to its knees. We've already proved ourselves to be an unstoppable force... and despite a brief setback against Enzo Amore and Trent a few weeks ago, at Aftermath, we reminded those two losers that they are not in our league. They're probably still licking their wounds, along with Sydal and Andrews. Jimmy Havoc and I are the most dominant alliance in EBWF, and there's only two of us. My opponent tonight, Karl Anderson, is a member of the Bullet Club. There are seven of them, and with the exception of one brief Breakout Title for their so-called leader, Finn Balor, the Bullet Club has accomplished nothing here. Jimmy Havoc held the Breakout Title for almost four months, went on to become the Intercontinental Champion, and now he's the first ever Gateway Champion. In my first night, I took the Tag Team Title from an unworthy Baron Corbin, and since then no one has been able to take it from me. Do you know who took the Breakout Title from Finn Balor? Enzo Amore! One of the guys Havoc and I just destroyed at Aftermath!

Jimmy Havoc could be heard laughing off camera.

Braun Strowman: Karl Anderson, you stand behind Finn Balor, who has already proved himself to be a weak leader. Anyone who will follow a weak leader must be even weaker than the person they stand behind. In case you've forgotten, I already beat Finn Balor. So did Havoc. You might be bigger than Balor physically, Anderson, but mentally, you clearly don't have what it takes to stand out from the crowd. That's the difference between the Bullet Club and Havoc and me... Anderson, Balor and the rest are together out of necessity. As a collective entity, they've accomplished next to nothing. Individually, they're nobodies. The only reason they're still here is because the powers that be still see some value in the Bullet Club brand. But that's about to change, because I'm going to take out the Bullet Club one by one. Starting with the "Machine Gun". Karl Anderson, when I'm done with you, you'll be a broken man. And that's just... 2 Badd.

Jimmy Havoc: Did you just make a joke?!

Braun let out a sly laugh, then smashed the other lantern Havoc had lit, bringing the scene into darkness once again.