The line in the sand (Invite)

[sab]

As the Takedown Supershow opens up, the music of Sabastien Gallas plays over the PA. The crowd boos heavily as the new GM of XWA makes his methodical walk down to the ring, joined by a few of his associates; Marshall Dane, Steven Higby, Thanatos, Vikram, and to many's surprise the KoC Champion Primo Valiante. They all enter the ring, and Gallas is handed a mic, prepared to make his first address as GM of XWA.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of ALL ages. Welcome to the XWA Supershow. And the first officially night of the Sabastien Ignace Gallas era of XWA. An era that will be RULED by the strong. The men and women who produce without fail. Which in my personal opinion is few and far between. You see, in the time I've been involved with XWA, i've seen a company growing faster then anything before it. A company that YES...has exceeded it's predecessor TENFOLD. But at the same time, a company marred by WEAKNESS.

Gallas pauses. He takes a look around at his associates who are all in total agreement before continuing.

For every Scott O'Dell, who's put this company on his back, there's is a Keith Wyle, who's rode the proverbial gravy train and won the favor of my foolish father to get the chance to become champion in the FIRST place. For every Ryan Zlabe, who redefined himself into quite possibly one of the BEST talents the industry has ever seen, there's is an Adam Devlin, who's only claim to fame is that he's the LUCKIEST man alive. And of course for every Vikram, Higby and Primo, there are the Jon Payne's and XXL's, who believe so much in there own hype. Who's bubble has inflated to such gastronomical proportions that when it finally is popped, chances are they'd never be the same. And of course the "Icons" and Lionhearts, who to this day in XWA have only proven how inferior they are. Well gentlemen, the free ride is OVER. Tonight, I have a little fun at each and ever one of your expenses. Let's start with with Mr. Curtis...

Roach: Oh man, I'm not liking the way this night's about to turn up.

Buzz: His first night on the job and already he's flexing his muscle. This can't be good for ANYONE.

Last week, Mr. Curtis took it upon himself to pay visit to my office in XWA corporate, where in his usual tone he decided to let his mouth write a check his ass most CERTAINLY will not be able to cash. I don't take kindly to insults, Mr. Curtis. Now, I could have just as EASILY had you dealt with after your visit, but I decided to wait until tonight. I wanted to make the occasion special, VERY special. So tonight, Mr. Curtis, don't make any plans. For you'll be in action one one one...versus the FEARSOME Draco Thanatos!!!

Buzz: OH MAN! He did not just sick his personal attack dog on Curtis! I don't know what Joey said, but it must have pissed him off to cause him to bring out THAT monster again.

Next, we come of course to Mr. TNB himself, Chris Lionheart. A man who I know had such a close relationship with my father. A trusted friend and ally. Now left to the WOLVES known as Sabastien and Primo. So diligently had you gathered you troops. Just to now be faces with the prospect of watching all of you close friend systematically ANNIHILATED at our hands. As Sun Tzu states in The Art Of War, "Crush an army's general, and the army dies from within." I do believe in you last two encounters, Primo's pretty much proven without fail that he IS indeed your superior. And I think he's up to another encore performance. SO tonight, Mr. Lionheart. You'll be face to face with the man who's slowly becoming your MAKER...in what I'd like to call a "Choose your end" match. Should you win, you get another shot at the KoC Title at Independence Day. But should Primo win, You must wrestle THREE men at ID07 in a GAUNTLET MATCH. The LAST man being Primo. Sould you survive one out of the two first matches, your match versus Primo will be for the Title.

Roach: Damn this guy! He's stacking the deck on all fronts. A GAUNTLET match? And if Lionheart survives the first two THEN he has to face Primo in a KoC match, which is FIRST BLOOD rules? That's inhumane! That's suicide!!!

Buzz: That's our new GM for ya, Mikey.

This brings me to the old friends, Jon Payne and Xander Xavier Luther. Both men are so loved and respected by you fans, as well as the rest of the locker. Both men are the pinnacle of industry standard. And both men personally make me SICK. Payen with his smug "I'm so cool" attitude, and Luther with his 1980's positivity crap. Well gentlemen, I have two men in this ring whom both of you are VERY familiar with. Two men who want to see you both reduced to a mass of broken flesh, bone and blood just as much as I do. VIKRAM and The COLOSSUS!!!

Marshall Dane can be seen patting the two giants on there backs as the crowd continues to boo.

I figure, why not reintroduce you all tonight? So that's EXACTLY what I'm doing. As it will be the FOUR of you in one ring, AT THE SAME TIME in a Tornado Rules TAG MATCH! As for our champion, consider yourself safe this evening. Thankfully you've not made my little list. But be wise, Mr. Wyle. That can change in the blink of an eye. And ask some of your peers backstage. Namely Mr. Devlin, having me as an enemy is not a safe career choice. So for the rest of our viewers, and those here in the arena. Enjoy the Supershow. I know I will.

As Gallas and his troops prepare to leave the ring, a VERY familiar entrance theme hits the PA...

[Xander Xavier Luther]

The first music that plays is the theme to the one and only XXL. "Loving It" blasts over the PA to the roar of the crowd and the man stands on stage with a mic in his hand. As the music dies down he applauds the men in the ring.

Congratulations, Sabastien. I mean that I really do. That was quite the coup that you pulled off at Soul Survivor there, becoming the new GM. Really good work...

Can you sense a bit of sarcasm?

There's a bit of a problem though, dog. See I was standing back there listening to your little speech and there were a few point that you made which are obviously nothing but a pile of French horsesh*t...kinda like you are. O'Dell putting the company on his back? Next thing you'll tell me is that Genesis is the greatest National Champion of all time, right? If there's ANYONE who's been carrying the load of the XWA the past 5 or so months, it's been me...and guys like Jon Payne and Keith Wyle and even Joey Curtis.

See while you were off having your little argument with daddy, we were making the XWA the greatest goddamn wrestling promotion on the planet. While you were sitting around eating your caviar and escargot, guys like me were in that ring busting our asses night and night out for these fans in attendance and the millions watching around the world. Then all of a sudden in one night you beat your own father, a man who if I'm not mistaken isn't a wrestler...and you're walking around like you the man of the hour?

I'd say more like the man of the minute. You're moment in the sun is just about done, Gallas...cuz all of your men in that ring right there ain't sh*t. Nothing but lapdogs, hired guns and brown-nosers who've been riding on your little "war", thinking they'll get a free ride now that you're "the man".

Well, lemme fill you in on something, Frenchie...you only won a BATTLE at SS. Tonight is when the WAR really begins.

[sab]

Ah Mr. Luther. So candid in your words. But allow me to clue you in on a few things, my friend. First of, Your good buddy Genesis is FAR from championship material in my eye. I've not yet decided what to do with him, but I assure your, it'll be fun. Secondaly as I recalled, the last two times you came out and basically mouthed off just as you have right now, you were handed losses BY said Genesis AND Scott O'Dell. Indeed sometimes it would pay just to keep you mouth shut. But I'd hardly imagine such an inflated ego as yours to be able to do that. You see, Mr. Luther. I'm not the man of the hour. Or the man of the minute. I am the MAN...PERIOD. You call this a war? HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Allow me to compare this two a film then. A little number called Star Wars. That would make you and your cohorts The Jedis, and myself and the men behind me The Empire. And we've all seen the films. We all know The Jedis didn't fare to well, did they? Such a pity that you all have been lured in this false sense of security. You really believe your feeble existences matter. You EVEN believe you stand a chance against me. Now THAT is humorous. However, when the dust settles, I'll be the one truly laughing.

He awaits the next possible response.

[Xander Xavier Luther]

Star Wars? You wanna compare this to Star Wars, Vader? Or...wait no, no...that would make you Anakin, nothing but a whining little bitch who could handle the power that he possessed, THEN turned into Vader after Obi-Wan whipped his ass. Well, anyone who knows those films knows that in the end the Death Star kinda exploded.

Replace Death Star with you and your band of merry morons, cuz all you think you're gonna do is gonna blow up in your face. You know the difference between guys like me, and guys like O'Dell and Genesis. Yeah, they beat me...and those wins for them were career defining moments, to the point that they gloat about every damn chance they get. For me...all it was was Sunday night at the office. Since we're on a movie kick, there's a pretty cool football one where Al Pacino said "Any Given Sunday you either win or you lose, but can you win or lose like a man?"

*nods*

It's pretty clear the answer to that question in my case. See your career isn't defined by who you beat or how many you beat. If that was the case man, you're career would be a joke, seeing as the big win of it was against YOUR DAD. Come to think of it you're career's a joke anyway, Sabby.

I might have lost the National Title. I might have been eliminated from big British retard #1 over there at Soul Survivor...but I'm still gonna get my due in due time when I face off against the World Champion. That's the next logical for someone who earns his spot at the top...something that you don't know a damn thing about, "boss".

[sab]

That is of course if you MAKE it to facing the World Champion, Mr. Luther. And THAT my friend is a BIG if. You see, you can stand there and talk yourself up all you want. The reality of the matter is this. It all goes through ME. You speak of my career being a joke? In the last month I've gained more power then a roid freak as yourself has in your CAREER. And that spans across you wrestling AND Failed NFL career. Mr. Luther, tis a shame to see a noble man such as you crushed beneath my boot. But such is the price that comes to those who choose to defy me. A lesson you and anyone else STUPID enough to do will learn very quickly. If that's my career being a "joke" as you say. I'll laugh all the way to the bank.

Gallas and his associates all collectively begin to laugh...

[Jon Payne]

The sounds of "Millionaire" by QOTSA breaks up the "comedic" moment. The fans go nuts as Jon Payne steps out with a mic of his own standing by his old friend.

What you do have though is some kind of false sense of security in thinking that you and your boys there can't be beaten. Like as XXL called them "Big British Retards" 1 & 2 there can't get their asses handed to them tonight by two of the best damn wrestlers in the world, period. I think that it's been confirmed that mighty Colossus isn't as unstoppable as Dane hypes him up to be, and Vikram...let's face it "boy'o"...eliminating my friend here is one thing, but in a one-on-one contest against XXL for the National Title, you couldn't get the job done.

That's something that the two of you are going to have to get used to. Hell, it's something you're ALL going to have to get used to. You think it's gonna be a free ride? You think you're gonna impose your will on us hapless "peons", Sabastien? Tonight is going to be a night that WE make a statement...the bigger they are, the harder we hit.

Look people, I'm a "reality check"! [/color][/font]

[Chris Lionheart]

''My Quest'' hits the speakers, and Chris Lionheart walks down to the ring. He picks up a chair from the time keeper, and opens it up on the areana floor, in front of the announcer's table. Sitting down in the chair, he takes a mic from the announcers and begins to talk.

When XXL said there were a few things you got wrong, he wasn't lying. What close relationship with your father are you talking about? I went to see him once in the lead up to Sole Survivor. I wanted to know if he was in the business of doing good business or inflatting egos? And I have to say from our short conversation he seemed to conduct things in a way that was good for business. But as I can plainly see by you in that ring with a few associates, it seems your all about inflating the egos of your masses.

Lionheart smiles.

And that's ok, you're the man of the moment, enjoy your successes. But one thing you said was that I would see all of the TNB troops, my close friends, systematically annihilated by your hands. At Sole Survivor we had a good few debuts for the TNB side of this little thing we've got going on. Jayson Jones, a wrestler who your father and I were competing to bring to each of our sides, came to TNB. So did Blaze from Toranto. We even had a few women debut as well. And lets not forget a TNB legend returned, when The Avenger made his long awaited appearance.... all you're guys have a long way to go in order to annihilate all of us.

Lionheart stands up, and climbs onto the ring apron, looking over to Primo.

Hey big boy, tell your new mouthpiece that I really like the idea you and he have cooked up. Because weather it's three men I have to go through, or if I manage to beat you later tonight I will not rest until I have taken that title from around your waist. But you need to stop kidding yourself, during our last encounter, I nearly pulled it out. I think that with a little bit more in ring training, and my superior intelect, I'll dethrone you sooner rather than later...

[vikram]

Vikram snatches the mic from Gallas and points at the three men standing atop the stage.

Lionheart, Shut ye' Bleedin' Mouth. WAAAAAAAAAAH WAAAAAAAAAH WAAAAAAAAAH!!! "With a lil more training"...With a lil more trainin' I could get ya' ta's top wearin' that god awful damn MAKE UP, ya' piffer!!!

He then points to Jon Payne.

As fa' you. SO WHAT I lost ta' him for the National Title. Ya' want a cookie fa' pointing that out? At least i aint tap out to a WENCH! I think that about crushed any bit of creditability ya' still had. YA LOST TO A BIRD!!! And ya got lucky against Higby over 'ere. Sure you can win when ya' got a cage involved. It's like fightin' him witha BASEBALL BAT. But without any added help, we saw what happend to ya'. Ya hit him withe everythin' ya had and ya' LOST.[/color]

He then finally points at XXL.

Then there's YOU. The man I sent PACKIN'. How's it feel NOT bein Soul Survivor because of ME. I don't give a toss about bein' a champ. But when I found out we was facin' YOUR team. That changed EVERYTHIN'!!! I made it my mission ta' see to it that YOUR night was done. And I DID JUST THAT. JUST LIKE me and the BIG MAN are gonna do TONIGHT. We're gonna grind you pair o' pansies inta' DUST!!!

[sab]

Gallas steps back a bit to let the ever candid Vikram have his say in the matter at hand.

[Xander Xavier Luther]

Yeah, you knocked me out, Vik...after two credible wrestler in Shawn Hollywood and Sylas Styles did most of the work for you. All you do is huff and puff around the ring with your little Clothesline Of Dooooooooooooooom!!! Nice move when you catch somebody off guard with it, but the night you stood face to face with me, like you and Higby are gonna do tonight, I handed you yo' pasty English ass!

There's a reason why I'm the best big man in the business, Vikram...looks to me you forgot that reason, so i'm gonna have to beat it back into you, and hell I'll let Mr. Colossus have some too, just cuz I'm such a nice guy.

[Jon Payne]

Yeah, see Vicky...there's no shame in losing when you give it 100%. It only gives you reason to step back in and get better. The only thing that you all do is gloat when you win, and make EXCUSES when you lose. Pathetic...really pathetic.

We're gonna see what it is that you have to say later tonight, gentlemen...you like many others before are gonna have the chance to make something of your otherwise hopeless careers when you step into OUR ring...one way or another, sorry Jimmy but I gotta do it...I'm gonna make YOU famous. Wouldn't be the first time...

[dane]

Dane grabs hold of Vikram's hand and brings the mic down to his level to get a word in.

Oh how soon we forget that just a few mere weeks ago, My giant handed you one of your most Decisive LOSSES in your storied career Mr. Payne. And if history serves me correctly, It DID take both your skill, AND a steel cage to defeat The Colossus. ANY MAN can beat another, no matter how big he is, when he uses a steel cage to the regularity that you do. So congratz. You beat Higby in YOUR MATCH. Key words, YOUR MATCH. But we all know that when the gimmick are gone, and the stipulations are tossed out the window, you...just like you did as a husband...fall a little short.

The crowd boos Dane's jab at Jon's personal life.

But tonight, BOTH OF YOU will fall short. To the tune of my TWO Giants. That's right, you're now looking at the man who OFFICIALLY represents Vikram, as WELL as The Colossus, The Headliners, Nigel Sledge, Bryan Jasta AND Mr. Valiante himself. You see gentlemen. Xander...I can call you Xander?...spoke of the WAR Just beginning. That couldn't be ever more true. But what you boys failed to realize is that we've already formed us the army to end ALL armies. Like the great Ieayusu Tokugawa marching to crush the woeful army of Mitsunari Ishida at the battle of Sekigarhara, We've stepped unto the battle field, and by shear numbers and power alone, we've already turned the tides. But of course being the would be heroes you are, you'll just say "You can't beat us" and "blah blah blah". But the "Reality" of things is this, Mr. Payne.

This is real life. And in real life, the bad guys DO win.

[Jon Payne]

My match, Dane? Well...seeing as I haven't lossed in the Cage in over a year, I guess you could call it my match. But that loss a few weeks back...decisive? Funny how you managers roll, hyping things up to ginormous proportions when it is what it is. I lost a match...a match were you're boy need TWO chokeslams to put me down, a match where he wasn't the "dominant uber-being" that you've touted him to to be all your life.

He kicked out of a PayneKiller, guess what? It's been done before. Big whoop. Only thing you're doing right now is EXACTLY what Xander here said you only good at doing...gloating.

"Oh, my client handed you the greatest defeat of your career! But you only beat him because you were in a Cage!" Did you watch that match, Marshall? I beat him because he's a big, slow oaf who depends on nothing but power to win. Power will get get you a few of those make no mistake...but it takes more than that to be POWERFUL. There's a big difference there, and I don't think that the likes of you will ever understand that concept, will you?

Whatever...do what you have to do to psyche your guys up, even if it means bold faced lying and bragging out your ass. That's what they pay you for isn't? Later tonight though you'll get a taste of reality...later tonight you'll find out that the mightiest of armies fail to match the greatness of GODS. Get those excuses ready for next week Dane...you're gonna need plenty of them.

[primo]

Primo steps foward. He takes the mic from Vikram's hand and starts to pace a bit. He slowly looks back up to the stage at the three men.

What an unlikely situation we have here. Atop the stage we have Chris Lionheart, Xander Xavier Luther and Jon Payne. A momentus occasion, had it not been for the fact that your EGOS prevent you from even realizing it. That my friends, is the sign of your weakness. Neither one of you can see past your own foolish ambitions.

he first points to Payne...

You need for personal vindication.

Then to XXL...

Your quest for championship validation.

The finally to Lionheart...

Or your burning desire for redemption.

Continuing to focus on Lionheart, he adds...

You "nearly pulled it out"? Let's not kid ourselves, Chris. Nearly doesn't cut it. The Buffalo Bills "nearly" won four consecutive Superbowls. The United States "Nearly" won the Vietnam war. Susan Lucci "Nearly" won an emmy 8 times in a row. But the fact is, neither of them did. And no one cares about who's second best. Payne, you've been second best for YEARS. No matter how much you try, you'll always chase the shadow of your "Mentor". Luther, you've been second best in XWA since day one. A fact that Mr. O'Dell hammered home when he defeated you. "Champion vs. Champion" indeed. And you Lionheart. No matter how much you try, no matter what it is you think in that head of yours. You'll NEVER be as good as me. And you'll NEVER take this title...YOUR TITLE away from me. At first I cared NOTHING of it. But then it dawned on me. For every day I hold it. For every time I defend it, it's another dagger in your soul. A belt you covet so highly. As if it were your child. A belt you tried so hard to push in you own company, and in numerous others, that I'M building a legacy for. NOT YOU. It eats at you knowing that as much as you try, you'll NEVER be as good as me. And that...that's all the motiavtion I need. You're pain and suffering.

He laughs maniacally as he lowers the mic awaiting a response.

[dane]

Marshall grabs Primos hand and brinsg the mic to him and adds...

Y...yea. What he said.

He steps back and applauds as it appeared Primo had decided to take Vanguard.