Fighting like gentlemen (Invite)

[aces]

Takedown returns from a break, and the fans cheer as Joe Beakman stands near the one and only Johnny Aces backstage.

Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Beakman here alongside of Johnny Aces. It's been a few weeks since you're last appearance in XWA, the big Hardcore 6 Man blood bath that took place at Independence Day. A match that saw Corey Stelios win, giving him a chance to challenge for the X-Gen Title anytime until X-Games. You were the second to last man eliminated, how's that make you feel?

I ain't gunna BS ya', Joe. It irks me. It irks me to this very moment, and the PPV was Three weeks ago. I take nothin' away from Stelios, he's one tough sum'bitch. And damn lucky as well. When it comes ta' Hardcore, it's not about who's the most skilled, it's about who's the most sick. And on that night, it was Corey Stelios. So I tip muh' cap to him. The man who won was the man who stepped up to tha' plate, and swung fer' tha' the fences.

So what's next for you, Johnny?

What's next? I'll tell ya'. I've been doin' Hardcore matches from the moment I got into XWA. But Hardcore ain't my only strength. Not by a long shot. I'm just as good in a regular match as I am swingin' a chair at some poor bastid's head. And that's what's next for me. Showing the world that I'm a jack of all trades. And that's the game plan. To get back to basics.


Well anyone who's followed your career knows that you're as accomplished in regular competition as you are in Hardcore, but that might be a little lost here in XWA. So who might you be looking to challenge?

Anyone who feels froggy, that's who. Doesn't matter how big they are, how tough they are or how ugly they are. Whoever it is has got themselves a lil' Bourbon Street Hangover comin' hard & fast, baby. I'm a man who likes ta' make a statement in the ring. And tonight's statement is gonna...

Johnny's interrupted as another man steps into the interview.

[pollox]

The fans boo as that man was Pollox Troy. Fresh off of a tough lose in his bid to become Pure Champion, Pollox looked decidedly more focused then usual. Neither man was a stranger to each other, so Pollox wasted no time in his response to Johnny's challenge.

A statement you say? Really. That's real interesting, Johnny. Interesting indeed. Because all I've seen you make a statement in here in XWA is that you're a better thug then Johnny Punch. Or if not a better thug, because I doubt anyone's a better thug then him, you're a little better at hitting people over the head with Kendo Sticks. And this from a man who's been a World Champion in countless other promotions. A man who I know as one of the most ruthless, cut throat sons of bitches in the business. A man who once called himself a "Maverick". A man I once called a Brother in arms. And look what you've become now. A puppet to the corporate machine. A side show. Amongst all of the "Hardcore" competitors in XWA, you're the most skilled. Or at least you were. You see, The Johnny Aces I see before me is a shadow of the man he once was. A man who's name went hand and hand with term "Future Legend". And what have you become since? A man who's been beaning drunks and druggies over the head with chairs for the last four months.

It's easy to say that I'm not pleased with the fact that I'm not Pure Champion right now. But it's all in due time. Circumstances have a way of putting people in the right place, at the right time. And low and behold, here we are. I've been waiting a long time to get in the ring with you again. And this, you don't have Kaster to get in the way. I said it back then, and I'll say it now. You've become weak, John. And tonight, in that very ring, I show you just how far from the grace of the brotherhood you've fallen.

With a sly, sadistic grin, Pollox stands in wait of Johnny's reply.

[aces]

With a smirk of his own, Johnny soaks in everything Pollox had to say. He then grabs Joe's arm, bringing the mic closer to him for his response.

Fallen from the grace of the Brotherhood, huh? That's a hard once to swallow. A bitter pill to take. But the way I see it, the only reason I fell is because your perspective was upside-down. I didn't fall, I rose. Yea, we were at the top of the biz. The Mavericks were the biggest thing in wrestling. We traveled the world. We took on and ran rough shot on the best competition they could throw at us. But then YOU got greedy. You wanted to call the shots. And I got sick of it. What a difference four years make, huh Paul? Charley and Cody havin' at it because of Cody's a lil' to tight with Temperance. You still havin' a bone ta' pick with me. And to think we all were so tight back in the day. I guess that sayin' "Nothin' lasts forever" is true. But I tell what will last a long time. That tinglin' feeling right on the tip of your lips when I kick ya' flush in the mouth.

[pollox]

Pollox returns a satisfied smile in his reply.

Speaking of sayings, here's one. "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Think about that one while you're preparing to face me tonight. Yea, things have changed between us. We're no longer boys in this business. We're men. But you should know me well enough to know that nothing...NOTHING...is out of the realm of possibility with me. I'll leave it at that.

Pollox starts to walk away, but pauses to say one final thing.

Oh...and...good luck tonight, John. I look forward to an interesting contest. *Heh Heheheheheh Heh*

With his menacing and devious laugh, Pollox walks off from the scene.

[aces]

The scene comes to a close as Beakman lowers the mic. Aces stands and watches Pollox leave with a scowl on his face. He knew this man like the back of his hand, and he knew that every word uttered by him always has an underlining and devious meaning to them. But he couldn't let that block out the fact that he'd be in for one hell of a fight.

The End.