Clash of interests

[kaster]

Remedy by Seether plays over the PA as Overload returns from commercial. In the ring already stands Kastor Troy, with a look of displeasure on his face. A mic was already in his grasp, and he takes the time share with the rest of the world why he was uneasy.

It pains me to let all of you people know, for anyone who hasn't heard the news over the internet, that my legendary father Tomas Troy...has fallen in. He's been battling Pancreatic Cancer for the better part of five years now, and after countless treatments, it appears his fight is almost over. The reason I didn't appear at Vendetta is because I decided among my brother and sister to return to Detroit and get the news personally on his condition. It hurt my heart seeing my father, a man who's been a pillar of strength my entire life. A man who is one of the true living legends on this industry, slowly fading as he is. But he's a proud man, even in his current state. He refuses to let on that he's in pain. It's that kind of conviction that we Troys are known for. And it's for that reason why my...our family name will endure past this. My father has left his legacy in the form of eight children. Six of whom have followed his footsteps into pro wrestling, one who is a sports agent, and one doctor. And then of course there's our half sister Ashley Diamond, who to has the Troy wrestling blood flowing in her veins. The Troy family of wrestling will live on. And dad, we will carry on the tradition just as you carried it on for your father.

Kastor nods, then continues.

Yanno, it's funny the relationship my father has had with one certain man. A man who goes by the name of Alexander Fierhart. He and my father are spitting images of each other. Bitter rivals in their careers from the mid 60s into the 80s. They went to war against each other all over the world. From the Tokyo Dome in Japan, to Wembly Stadium in England, to MSG in New York. They've beat the hell out of each other over their storied careers. Hell, the injuries that eventually forced my father into retirement back in 1985 where mostly the result of bumps he took wrestling Fierhart. My father loathed Alex Fierhart. It showed in how he spoke of him. How he approached in him the ring. But even though he disliked him, he respected his ability. Alex Fierhart was a pioneer for a lot of what you see common place in wrestling today. From his own sons, to men like Jimmy Ames, Lionel Xander, Jon Payne, Chris Lionheart and countless others, Alex Fierhart was the archetype of that wrestling style. Here they are now though, my father 69 years old, Alex Fierhart now 71. Wizened old men they are, and who should I find next to my father's bed in Harper Hospital? Alexander Fierhart himself. I sat their and listen to the two of them trade ware stories. Talking about the matches they had against each other, and against other legends like Inoki, Shohei Baba, Harley Race and so on. Between the two of them, there's over 140 years of experience in this business, as both of them...like me, were sons of wrestlers themselves. It's at the moment, that it dawned on me. Listening to these two great men talking, that decades of hatred and contempt for each other they'd had as competitors, had washed away over the passage of time, and that contempt was forged in the spirit of competition. In every sense of the word, they were rivals until the day they hung up their boots.

Kastor pauses to take a deep breath.

And of course, we all know that great rivalries aren't made, they're born. Which brings me to you, Ryan Fierhart. It's funny. In the mere hours I sat soaking up the words of my father and yours, I learned more about what it takes to be the best at what I do then I did in 12 years of wrestling myself. When I arrived here in XWA, it was for the sole purpose of exacting personal retribution on you and your family name. But it occurred to me in that hospital room that your family wouldn't be what or where it is today if your father hadn't crossed swords with mines, and vice versa. And of course, as we all know...our families actually stand to someday very, very soon...become one, as you'll be marrying my sister Ashley later this year. So the question one would ask is "where do we stand?" Rather then tell it to you this way, I'd rather do so face to face. So if you will Ryan, c'mom out.

Tony: I...I don't think we've ever seen this side of Kastor before. He almost seems...well...humble.

Travis: It just proves you can't judge a book by it's cover. This is going to be an eye opening conversation, I can feel it.

The spectators in the arena, as well as the viewing public watching at home, await the arrival of Ryan Fierhart.

[ryan]

The entrance theme of Ryan Fierhart "Tempest" by Pendulum cues up, and the perennial fan favorite steps into the arena met with a rawkus cheer from the Vancouver faithful. As he makes his way to the ring, Tony & Travis weigh in on the history both men had.

Tony: Ryan Fierhart's been embroiled in a couple of heated feuds here in XWA. Scott O'Dell in 2007, Osiris Alston in 2008...but it was in 2009 when Kastor Troy arrived in XWA that he found himself a true to form rival in that ring. And as Kastor himself pointed out, the irony of it all is that in but a few short months from now, they'll be Brothers-In-Law.

Travis: The history between these two men stem directly from their legendary fathers. It seems to this color commentator that with the spectrum of things they way they are, Kastor might be looking to end their feud tonight.

Tony: I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. He's a card carrying member of Upper Echelon. They're not exactly ones to let sleeping dogs lay.

Ryan now stands face to face with Kastor in the ring. With mic in hand, he responds to all that was just said by him.

Charles. I've spent the better part of the last year and a half trying to figure you out. Not as a wrestler, but as a man. And what I found out was that above all things, you're passionate about what matters to you. About your friends. Your family. Your career, and your legacy. You're the type of guy who sees the world not as black and white, but as gray. No lines blurring what's considered right or wrong, just one path that leads to your ultimate goal. When I look at it objectively, you remind me of another man close to my heart...my older brother Simon. He's a man who's been through a lot. He's seen triumph and tragedy in his life very, verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry few people can comprehend. But he has no regrets of what his life has given him. He'd say "All we can do is what we're meant to do. Nothing more, nothing less." I never really got how his mind worked until later in my life. But now, as I'm older and have seen the world in my own eyes, I get what he was saying tenfold. You can't force anything to happen that isn't meant to happen, no matter how much influence you think you can apply to it.

Ryan pauses to acknowledge the crowd.

This brings us full circle. A lot has happened between the two of us in and out of this ring in the last year and a half. Like you said, at years end, your half sister Ashley Diamond and I will be married. I was also informed of your father's condition by my mother, who traveled with my dad to Detroit. Then there's the goings on with you and your wife and kids and so on. When the two of us 1st stepped in this ring with each other, we had nothing but contempt for one another. But as fate would have it, I can stand here and say balls to bones that I respect you, Charles. You earned that from me the only way I was taught how, by your actions, not your words. Unlike your boys in Upper Echelon, you've never taken a shortcut or used a cheap trick. The many, many times we went at it, you either beat me, or I beat you. But it was a clean and fair fight. Just like our fathers taught us. I can honestly say, of both of our brothers and sisters, you and I are more like our fathers then any of them. Which is the reason why just like our fathers, if we're going to end this rivarly and move on with our lives, then we need to do it the way we were taught to do it. Between these ropes.

Lowering his mic, Ryan waits for Kastor's reply.