Troy Stone vs Knock Out Kings vs Bad Company vs Vox Populi

[PWXonline]

#1 Contender's Fight Without Honor Tag Team Elimination Match
Troy Stone vs Knock Out Kings vs Bad Company vs Vox Populi

RP Limit: 1 per person

Deadline: 4-15-14 at Midnight CST


Story: Can you say clusterfuck? This week, four teams will have the opportunity to face Mascara Mureto at the PPV for the Tag Team Championships. In a certain light, all these teams have history with each other. Vox Populi and Bad Company are no strangers to each other. House of Stone certainly aren't unfamiliar with Pariah and Stryker. This week, histories clash as four teams duke it out for a shot at tag team gold. Let the shootout in Texas, commence!

[stryker]

Best of luck to all you awesome guys. I hope you'll enjoy the promo, I'm sick like a pig but I really wanted to write a good one no less.

Opportunities

[Jason Aries]

The scene slowly begins to open as we see Jason who is standing in the middle of the Pro Wrestling X ring as the crew is setting up for this week’s adrenaline. He pays no mind to the camera as we can see he is just looking out at the empty arena. The sounds of the crew can be heard but he could care less as he seems more focused and intense than ever. The eyes tell the story of a man who has come so close to breaking out in his career yet so far. He takes in a deep breath as he looks around knowing he has finally made it to the big time but will it be worth it in the end? He finally takes notice of the camera as he does the camera does it’s best to zoom in and he begins speaking.

“I have been doing a lot of thinking and the truth is the things that have been said about me in the news and on twitter they may be right do I underachieve? I mean sure I have been a champion in this company but not for any real amount of time. The words in this business they can cut like a knife sure you don’t show it but when it comes from your peers you hear it. I pay no mind to the critics who have never stepped in a ring or have done what I have done. I hear the whispers and the comments and if you ask me it is time for that all to change once and for all. The days of Jason Aries being a paper champion a transitional champion are over it’s time to take my place among the elite.”

He seems to be a man who cannot get the words of those select few out of his head but this time the words seem to be driving him to get better. The camera just watches on as crew members are coming and going Jason pays no mind to the world around him. The eyes are telling the story of a man who now finally believes he has what it takes to stand beside Night Hawk. He takes a few more moments to himself as he then looks back in to the camera and continues speaking.

“The two men I want to focus on right now are the Knockout Kings we all know who they are me especially considering they have shaped my career in one form or another. I have teamed with these men I have faced them the entire world knows how good they are. I mean hell one is one of the best in the world and the other is a certified legend in this business. I could stand here and sing their praises all day long but the truth is I believe Night Hawk are on the same level. The name Bad Company is quickly becoming a name that means something in tag team wrestling. Knockout Kings you once again going to find out just how good we are.”

He once again takes a moment to himself as he looks away from the camera but it does not move it just continues to watch him not wanting to miss a moment. He seems ready for the bell to ring right now just so he can prove to the world how much better he has gotten. He takes in a long deep breath and lets it out as the crew continues to work around him. He waits a few more moments before he refocuses his attention on the camera and continues speaking.

“The next two men in question should not even be named because to be honest when it comes to these two men if you can call them that there is no respect. I was in the ring with these two in a street fight and what happened we won that’s what happened. I like how they want everyone to think it was all part of a bigger picture as if they lost on purpose. The truth behind it all is they ran their mouths they thought it all mattered and at the end of the day bad company embarrassed them. The same thing would happen over and over if we continued to face one another. The idea that you two are still a threat is as about as comical as it ever was to begin with.”

He now knows he has to turn his attention to the one man in this match who has told him repeatedly he’s nothing that his career is a joke as he takes a moment. The intensity seems to be growing inside him as he begins to think to himself. The thoughts are racing through his mind as we see him begin to breath deep to try and compose himself. He finally seems to as he refocuses his attention on the camera as he stares a hole through the lens he continues on.

“Troy Stone are esteemed world champion seems to like to take to twitter from time to time to run his mouth and try to make it known how he feels. The only thing wrong with that is for as much as he talks these days Troy is starting to become stale. Troy would like you to believe he is the world champion because of how good he is but we all know why he holds that title. The truth is he is the biggest corporate kiss ass then that one guy up north who married in to power. Troy you think you can take on the world well get in my way once and I will end yours. I am going to make it a personal mission to make sure one way or another when this match is over you’re knocked out.”

He keeps looking in to the camera as for a moment he seems to have more to say but he just continues to stare for what seems to be minutes. He then begins to walk over to the ropes he once again stops and looks over his shoulder and back at the camera. The camera stays completely focused waiting to see what happens he then slowly steps through the ropes. He then slowly jumps off the apron and walks away from the camera as the scene slowly ends.

[Elijah Black]

[The coyotes wail, along the trail, deep in the heart of Texas – and that’s where the Vox Populi stand, outside the Alamo, with Black in a Rage Against The Machine t-shirt as the warm Texan sun gets some long overdue sun onto his skin]

Black: Welcome, everyone, to the reddest of Red States – yes, I know, I’m as surprised as you are that I haven’t burst into flames, nor been chased out of town by a mob bearing flaming torches or pitchforks looking to exterminate the monster that stalks their lands. Alas, that means I have to walk through this place, where every third mechanic begins a sentence with an ethnic slur about Japanese cars, where people see my long hair and feel the need to loudly question my sexuality from the window of their pickup truck before they speed off into the distance, and the general belief amongst the populace is that the term “left wing” refers to a cut of chicken at the local barbeque joint. Let’s just say that No Child Left Behind didn’t get here to leave anyone behind in the first place.

What better way is there to sum up everything that’s wrong with this state than to stand here, in the shadow of the Alamo, which we’re supposed to believe was the last stand for Travis, Bowie, Crockett and all and where they made a heroic sacrifice.

…or, to look at it another way, the location where 189 men were killed by their own stubbornness, rejecting the request for their surrender with cannon fire and spending their last days thinking they could hold their ground in a fortification that would never have withstood the siege – and where history has all but written out there were many Mexicans fighting alongside Travis, Crockett et al because it seems that only white people can be heroic.

You see, people don’t remember the Alamo by any stretch of the imagination: they remember the versions of the event they saw in the movies - the legend, the myth - where historical accuracy is skewed for the sake of narrative convention and to make those who died “heroic” they must therefore demonise the Mexican forces at the gates.

[Black turns to look at the Alamo behind him, then turns back to camera]

Black: And let’s be honest, if there was a back door to this place how many of those heroes would have been heading through it once they saw the massed Mexican army bearing down on them?

Everett: For all the talk of Texans having big balls, I bet they were the size of peanuts when they saw that headed right for them.

Black: There’s a time to stand and fight, and while Travis, Bowie etc chose the wrong one, we know when it’s time to look the enemy in the eye, before crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. And looking at the next show, that time is now.


Everett: Mascara Muerto may have stolen one, but that’s the thing: they stole one - and they haven’t been seen since. Obviously they never read Cinderella cover to cover, because if they did they’d know the book doesn’t end with her fleeing the ball having got what she wants, but with someone searching high and low for her and not stopping until she’s found. And that’s what we’re going to do, turn PWX upside-down until we find whatever rock you’re hiding under and flush you out into the open.

It didn’t take long for your Cinderella story to fall apart, and the longer you hide the more obvious it is that you got lucky and you realise it and that’s got you running scared, knowing your next match will see you lose the belts and leave you a broken shell of what everyone thought you were. You already peaked, and now you’re going to come crashing to earth with one hell of a bump.

Opportunity knocked, but that was then and this is now – and that sound isn’t opportunity knocking a second time, it’s the bell tolling for your reign.

Black: What’s more, you’ve got three teams queuing up to redress the balance.

First of all there’s the Knock Out Kings, and if you don’t think they’re smarting at you surprised everyone, especially them, when you eliminated them in the first round you’re going to be in for an unpleasant surprise. They were expected to be challenging, instead they got the rest of the month to feel sorry for themselves and watch you go all the way to the final and win it, only to vanish into thin air with the titles. The pair of them are not only thinking numerous variations of “what if?” but also know for a fact that they’d actually show up for work after winning the belts.

After the Knock Out Kings there’s the two teams you snuck past, scurrying up the ladder to snatch victory in that split second it was within your grasp. While there’s nothing wrong with that based on the stipulation for the match, this means there’s two teams waiting to prove that you had things go your way one night, but that won’t be happening again anytime soon.

And let’s be honest here – Nighthawk and Aries are the grasping children of PWX, wanting the shiny object someone else has just because someone else has the shiny object. They’ll be sat in the corner squabbling over who gets to play with their new toy first…although that may leave them distracted long enough to take them out of the equation.

[Black points between himself and Everett]

Black: And then there’s the Vox, looking to grow each and every week, and taking those belts would certainly qualify as growth. The fact is that we’re still here and we’re not going away, making your victory a mere setback rather than the defeat that resets the apple cart and tames the rabble once more.

Which brings me to the fourth option, the only team in this match who don’t have a bone to pick with you…but the second team in this match that I have a bone to pick with.

Cast your minds back six months or so, and you’ll remember that I held the PWX World Championship for a second time, and I was heading into a match with Timothy Hunt and Troy Stone, and that match…well, let’s just say the result didn’t pan out the way I liked.

Yet when I lost the title, Stone took his sweet time getting around to honouring my rematch clause, preferring to let Hunt challenge him so he could assert his dominance against a guy he beat rather than the former champion he never did. And when he finally deigned to honour my rematch clause, at the exact moment I was closing in on the title once more Ophelia Morganti interjected to save him from defeat. If Stone was thinking that I’d forgotten, I clearly haven’t.

It’s almost poetic, in a way: the reason I started to put the Vox together was precisely because of Stone and his ragtag bunch of followers keeping him in power, and to remove him from power I needed to eliminate the mechanism that was keeping him there. That’s why I recruited Daniel Everett, and he’ll stand beside me as Troy Stone falls.

Everett: And it’ll be an honour to do just that.

Black: Stone may have lost his seat of power, but he and his followers remain and, as they’re in this match, they are clearly looking to rise once again and stake a new claim to power, and they see defeating Mascara Muerto as the first step.

Everett: That plan sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Black: First it was the PWX Championship, then it was my victory, and now he’s taking my means of carving a niche all of my own into PWX? Well then, if that’s your little plan Stone, then you’re about to realise that whilst corporations prefer to do battle with lawyers draining their bottomless bank accounts, you’ll find that I prefer to deal with those who want to make a quick buck by stealing from me personally, and I like to be hands-on when I do it.

It may not be for the PWX Championship, but the thought of seeing the look on Troy Stone’s face in that split second before I claim victory at his expense has eluded me for some time, and I’ve been looking forward to the moment when I get to see it and this is my chance to do just that, whilst also sending his Asylum Films version of the Vox to the bottom of the barrel where they belong.

With the match being an elimination bout, that does pose the question of whether I do it quickly and ride that warm and fuzzy feeling for the remainder of the match, or do I bide my time and wait, claiming that victory to end the match and allow myself the time to savour the moment of finally gaining a measure of revenge?

Everett: That’s a hell of a lot of choice there, especially because you;ve got the thought of knocking off Nighthawk thrown into the mix as well. I mean, who would you like to put down the most?

Black: I know, it does sound like some odd kind of gluttony that I’m looking at half the teams in the match and thinking how much I want to eliminate them myself, and that’s the sort of thinking that can make a lesser man do something stupid and get caught out when they least expect it.

Everett: That’s where I fit into the equation: if anyone tries to take advantage, tries to sneak an elimination, then I’m there to make damn sure it doesn’t happen.

The Vox isn’t just one man with some subordinates, like Stone has running around wiping his ass for him, it’s one man’s vision but all men fighting for the cause from the first to the last. And if you haven’t noticed by now, the whispers that I was the only guy he could find have been dying a death recently, be it me knocking off Nighthawk one-on-one a few months ago or steamrolling Jessica Harmony last week, we’re on equal footing in this group so there is no weak link.

Add to that there are no rules and no regulations, which plays so nicely into the way we want things. Throw in a little anarchy, lose a little control, and that’s where we thrive, that calm little centre in the midst of all the chaos, focused on the task while everyone else loses their heads. For some that sounds like their idea of wrestling hell, but for us…it’s an average day at the office.

Black: Unlike the 189 men who let their pigheadedness damn them all at this spot, we know this is a fight that can be won so we will be bringing a war to each of the teams that face us and we will give no quarter. We choose to fight, and we will fight until every single opponent of ours has been vanquished as we tear a page from PWX history and write the Vox’s name with the blood of the fallen, and when that is done that page will be given to Mascara Muerto so they know what is coming for them.

Opportunity knocks, but the Vox prefer to use their fists to make their own luck.

[FTB]

[Deleted]

3“Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
As Nighthawk packs up his ring gear in the basement of his home in Chicago before heading out to join Jason Aries in a #1 contenders match against Vox Populi, the House of Stone, and the Knockout Kings, one has to wonder how he feels about the very real possibility that this match is something of a “title eliminator” for Bad Company even though this will be the first time that they have teamed since their loss in the triple ladder match which took place at High Stakes.


While the knowledge, and its accompanying pressure, that a loss in this dream match could very well capsize their dreams of another chance to become World Tag Team Champions has to be weighing heavy on both of their minds one only has to think of how many times they have, individually and as a tandem, found themselves in situations that are, in some way at least, similar to this and been able to come out the other end with the victory that no one expected them to have.


Despite his well-earned self-confidence one can’t help but allow themselves to wonder if the “Wrestling Machine” has finally plunged himself into a battle that he not only can’t win, but will also take from him a price that, at this point in his career, he will not be able to pay with the same ease that he might have been able to earlier in his career. However, we also realize that if this match takes something out of him beyond what he expects, there are few wrestlers anywhere in the world who are better equipped to understand the ramifications of what will happen if he chooses to make that choice, and deal with the aftereffects of it, than the “Man of 1000 Holds”.



But as Nighthawk continues to pack up his ring gear with an impassive expression on his face not unlike the samurai he spent his collegiate years studying, the basement door yawns open as his wife Sin stands at the top of the stairs looking down at her husband, her body bathed in off-white light from the one bulb at the top of the stairs. Walking down the stairs slowly, pride tinged with fear evident in her eyes, the “Dark Princess” finally sits down next to her husband and wraps her arms around her torso, noticing but choosing to ignore the wince that comes out of his mouth when she does so. Clad in a black Power Girl t-shirt, black curve-hugging skinny jeans, and red high-top sneakers, Sin hugs her husband tightly again hoping to draw his attention to her.



(Author’s Note: This conversation took place in Spanish.)



Sin: “I worry about you, you know. Not just because your ribs still haven’t healed, and don’t lie to me and say that they have because I'm not an idiot and when I hugged you just now you winced. But the main reason that I worry about you this week is because I know that you’re going to want to be there for Jason this week in that lion’s den the two of you are walking into together. And because you’re going to want to do that, because your sense of loyalty won’t let you be anything less than the perfect partner for him, you’re going to get yourself hurt. You’re going to ignore what your body feels, when your ribs are screaming and begging for you to stop, and just keep going because you can’t let him down, Tristan. And this isn’t like High Stakes, where I could forgive it because at least then you were doing it to try and win the one thing, attain the one championship, that you had never called your own. I could wrap my head around it, understand the purpose behind what it was that you were choosing to do. But this, Tristan? Doing this just for another CHANCE at it? That I can’t wrap my head around, Tristan. Please help me understand. Help me figure out what it is that’s making you do this, that’s making you suffer through this for Jason Aries.”



Nighthawk: “I'm not suffering through this for Jason Aries, not really. I'm suffering through this, willing myself to be the exact kind of partner that he needs, for every one of my students who are wrestling in Puerto Rico, or the Caribbean, or anywhere else that isn’t here. I'm doing this for the guy who had to scrap and fight longer and harder than they would have liked to get here, because I took their spot and made their dream harder than it should have been. That’s why I'm doing this. Because every night when my head hits the pillow, the only thing that my head allows me to see is those World Tag Team Titles hanging from that hook and swinging just out of my reach. And no matter how hard I try to get them, no matter how close I get, they just keep swinging out of my reach. So I figure, if I do this right and be the partner that Jason Aries needs and deserves, that dream can stop haunting me. I can sleep knowing I got him the chance he wanted, the chance he deserves. That, in a nutshell, is why I am going to keep doing this.”



Sin: “Before you do this, and do anything rash to finish your quest, I think talking to someone who can understand your plight might be the best move for you. Talk to Mr. Hiro. He might have a view on this that will be able to help you solve your problems, and at the very least, he’s someone who has been in the same place that you are now. He’ll know how to guide you through this abyss, and you’ll respect him enough to listen to what it is that he has to say. Talk to him.”



Smiling wanly, hugging his wife lovingly as if trying to express a lifetime of words in a single gesture, Nighthawk finishes packing up his gear into his suitcase before stuffing the entire thing into the trunk of his chopped and stretched Dodge Charger.



A few days later…..



As Nighthawk pulls into the parking lot of a hotel on the far edge of San Antonio, pulling his suitcase out from the trunk of his rented Ford Mustang, he slowly closes his eyes and sits behind the wheel of the car for a long pregnant pause as if trying to guide his thoughts to where he needs them to be. But as he sits behind the wheel, desperately trying to control the racing pace of his mind, his eyes suddenly snap open. Clad in a black Volk Han t-shirt, black leather pants with orange and silver piping up and down each one of the legs, and black work boots, the “Wrestling Machine” sits down and looks out at the city in front of him.



Nighthawk: “All of the big matches I have had, not just here but all of the places that my boots rested before I got here, have something in common. The opponents might be different, the stakes might be higher or lower, but there is one singular thing that has never changed no matter the battle is this: It was always my responsibility. I was always the one who had the most to win or lose because of it. But this week, and all of the battles that I have fought being alongside Jason Aries as part of Bad Company come to think of it, are different because Jason and I together have something to lose. At High Stakes, we came close, so close, to the thing that the two of us knew we both wanted. Not because of a lack of talent or skill but, if we’re being honest, a lack of luck. But this week we get the chance to get ourselves another shot at that holy grail, at that one thing we both know we want. There is nothing in this world, especially not the 3 teams standing between us and that goal, that will be able to stop us. If it has to be with our last breath, Jason and I will be #1 contenders. We will be the ones coming for Mascara Muerto.
I start with the newest guests to this party we’re having, Troy Stone. Gentlemen, you have been forsaken. Cast out of Babylon for daring to notice the thing that we noticed first, namely that the emperor has no clothes. But while we are happy that you have come to the same conclusion as us, Mr. Stone, you will find no friends here. Because the you, for reasons that I have neither the time nor the inclination to try and understand, have somehow found yourself in the position to try and become the tag team champions. That won’t happen. You see, Mr. Stone, while you’ve been off picking fights that you should have been smart enough to not start in the first place, Jason and I have been teaming together. We have been shedding blood, sweat, and tears to earn the right for a chance to get those titles around our waists, and if you even for a second somehow think that you’re going to walk in the back door and take that away from us just because you think you can, you are about to learn a very valuable and very painful lesson.
In this sport of ours, in this life, pain is a constant. Broken bones, contusions, and enough blood to keep the Red Cross in business for years. But the worst kind of pain is the kind that you never see coming. The torn knee ligament when you land an inch wrong on a springboard. <Nighthawk pulls up his leather pants to reveal the scar on his left knee.> The back injury when an ally you should never have trusted betrays you. <Nighthawk pulls up his t-shirt to show the scar of his back surgery.> I have felt all of this pain, Mr. Stone. I know what it is to have the rug pulled out from underneath you, to have your entire world shift 6 inches to the left and you not knowing how to react to it. This week, Jason and I do that to you. We change the way you think about yourself, and about everything you’ve done before this. This week, Bad Company crumbles the House of Stone until there’s nothing left but rubble.
And then that brings me to the men who would be kings, John Pariah and Adam Stryker. Gentlemen, we have done this before. Shawn Lester sullied that experience for all of us, and you and I both know why it was that he was out there. But regardless of all of that, regardless of how it might have happened, the truth of it remains the same. We won. You lost. And this week, that history repeats itself, albeit far cleaner than the last time the four of us were in the same ring at the same time. This week, two kings fall. It might take us a while. It might require supreme effort but we will do it. This doesn’t get to be your title shot just because you built this company and think you’re entitled to it, or because you’re the #1 contender and the idea of wrestling 3 matches on one show seems just too thrilling to pass up. This is not your time anymore, gentlemen. This is not the John Pariah or Adam Stryker show. It’s a new dawn, gentlemen, and this week you will be standing at the top of the hill when the sunrise comes.
Now let me be clear about something else, Mr. Pariah and Mr. Stryker, because I want this to be as clear to you as anything has been in quite a long time. What Jason and I plan on doing this week, we aren’t doing because we dislike you or disrespect you. Rather, this is being done because it needs to be done. This week, the kings get knocked off of their perch.
And then finally, we get to the team that has drawn out parts of Jason and myself that I wish we didn’t know existed. This city is built on fighting, to the last breath and the last man. And Elijah, that’s what you’re in for. When the crowds are gone, when the roar goes silent and all that’s left is the two of us in the middle of the ring, the last thought that will echo through your mind before Jason and I put the lights out will be this: ‘I should have left well enough alone.’ Because make no mistake, boys, you have pushed as far as we are willing to be pushed. And this week, in a city known for battling to the last man and a state where toughness is prized, you will see what happens when you pick the wrong fight with the wrong men.
Goodnight. May sleep give you the courage to go on.”

[troystone]

Disclaimer: Going to be wrapping up this story arc soon. Probably 3 to 4 more CDs so here's my offering. Good Luck and Enjoy!

The World of Stone: House of Madness

Chapter Twelve: Transition

Saturday, September 21th, 2013 in Los Angeles around 2:00 P.M.

"So why did you bring me here Troy," Troy heard his younger sister Cindy say as both her and his younger brother Liam was currently sitting on the couch inside what was once Troy and Liam's loft that's now solely Liam. Troy watched as the two asked themselves and then asked Troy as he stood in front of them. He was sporting a black suit jacket with a green dress shirt underneath, black tailor made pants and black and whit Nike sneakers on his feet. Troy remained silent for a few moment, clearly mulling over what he had to say. The reason he was standing in front of his silblings was because he had something on his mind that was potentially life changing. Something he was considering. it was almost surreal to troy that he was even considering this but the more he thought about it, the more he was sure this is what he wanted to do.

"Relax it's not like the two of you are doing anything," Troy replied. "Besides I'm going to make this quick because I have places to be."

"Oh and I don't," Cindy commented. Troy scoffs.

"Like where? Oh going on a shopping spree with your friends before gossiping about boys is really quite the task huh sis?"

"More like me actually trying to get an education through college-"

"Does hair salon school really count as college though?"

"Shut up. But I got a class in two hours and I'm suppose to meet my friend and you're holding me up."

"Yeah I got an exam to study for Troy," Liam responded. "It's my first one for the semester and it's a lot of content to grasp."

"Guys, you can worry about that later. What I have to say is literally life changing and I figured I would ask you guys about it first before I go to anyone else," Troy muttered.

"Well that spit it out already; Liam and I both don't have all day you know?"

"Trust me I'm trying but you know, I'm a bit anxious to what you guys are going to think about this." Troy runs a hand through his hand before he puts his hands inside his suit jacket. "Alright screw it, I'll just stop beating around the bush ok?"

"Finally," Cindy remarked.

"Whatever it is Troy just say it already," Liam chimed in. Troy nods his head before a small smirk appears on his face.

"What would you guys think about Ophelia? She's good right?"

"That's the reason you've been holding us basically hostaged," Cindy remarked. "This is the question you've wanted to ask? Seriously you've been dating the girl for how long and you're still asking us this?"

"Just answer the question sis. That's all I'm asking you."

"For what though," Liam replied. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope."

"Then I'm leaving because seriously Troy you-re wasting my-"

'What do you guys think of us getting married," Troy asked and this stopped Liam and Cindy in their place. Cindy was ready to get up and leave Liam's loft when Troy's announcement kept her seated on the couch. Troy allowed both Liam and Cindy to let the information soak in for a moment. Ever since last month Troy had begun thinking about his future; as a wrestler, in the business and his life in general. Marriage was something Troy always said he would consider once his career was over. But when Troy was thinking about his future, he couldn't picture said future without Ophelia and that led Troy to realizing just how much she meant to him. It's been six months since her and Troy had became a couple. Six months normally is considered way too fast for a couple to think about marriage. Six months for Troy normally wouldn't even think of marriage. But it was all about gut instinct. All about what he felt and he felt that he had found the one. The one that he was content with being with for the rest of his life. So in Troy's mind, he was really to just skip through all of that and just lock her up.

"Marriage? Wow." Liam stated.

"Are you serious about this," Cindy added. Troy nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I am actually."

"It's been six months."

"I know. Crazy right? But you know what else is crazy? I feel this is the right thing to do."

"How long exactly have you been thinking about this," Liam asked.

"A month. Almost two. Somewhere around there. Trust me when it first came to mind I was like nah. But then it never left my mind and now a month has passed and the more I think about it, the ore I want to do it."

"So this is legit?"

"It's legit Liam."

"Have you told Ophelia about this?"

"Nope."

"Have you bought a ring or even have begun looking for a ring," Cindy replied.

"Haven't bought a ring but I've seen a few."

"Wow, you're really serious about this Troy."

"I know right? Thing is am I crazy about this though?"

"Yes," Cindy remarked. "Are you seriously considering this? It's too soon. It's too fast. Six months Troy. You need to think this over." Troy looks at Cindy and then slowly paces back and forth.

"I know I'm breaking my own rules on this one. But you know what, rules are meant to be broken. Cliche but true story. And well if there's one thing our dad has told us over and over and over and over again, seriously it feels that way, don't reject what your heart tells you to do. This is what I feel guys and you know I don't do anything hastily. Bad for business throughout. It may be fast but this is the live I've always wanted. The fast life. So I doing it." Troy lets out a sigh of relief and laughs to himself for a moment. He had finally decided right then and there. He was going to propose to Ophelia. A weight was lifted off his mind and his shoulders. No one second guessing. He was going forward with this.

"Well, if you're serious about this Troy, go for it," Liam commented. "It's crazy but it's cool too. Do what you want to do. You'll do it even if Cindy and I told you not too." Cindy laughs.

"Yeah what he said. You're out of your mind for this and I hope you don't regret it but hey this is your life. You want to go through with it, we'll support it and be happy for you guys."

"Thanks guys," Troy stated. "Seriously. I have to go but thanks for at least thinking I'm not completely off the deep end for this."

"Well you're a lot of things Troy but you're own brother so we have to stick with you."

"Ha good to know. But yeah you guys can jet now. I know what I'm going to do so yeah thanks. And lates." Troy turns and starts to walk out of the door; satisfied with how this all turned out. He was doing this. He was actually doing this. This was a big commitment for his present and his future. But Troy felt like this was going to be a part of his present and future and for Troy, it was another step forward.
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The PWX cameras spot Troy Stone in his locker room, alongside Megan Pierce and Bruce Bowen, sitting down in a chair as the two stand behind him. Troy's sporting a black track jacket, black track pants and a black hat on top of his head. Troy takes a breathe before facing the camera.

Troy: There's a reason why this business is called a business. There's a reason for that. Because in this business, there's a lot ore things that go on in this business besides wrestling and in business, you have been a businessman. Self made. You have to know how to conduct business and Troy Stone, being as DAMN good(looking), as I am, it's important for people like to understand the concept of business. Every dweeb in the audience thinks that anyone can just make in this business but they can't. And that's a true story. Not everyone is made for this business because once you're in, you have to understand how to conduct business. You have to understand this or else you're going to end up getting used, getting picked apart by everyone and eventually, irrelevant.

When the Establishment and the House of Stone first agreed to do business, it was a good business move. See at the time, I was the World Champion of Divinity; something BTW no one will ever duplicate in this company. And Hollywood knew that. Zion knew that. They both knew the power I wield because I built everything from the ground up by stealing every single show and beating every single person in my path to getting to the top of Pro Wrestling X; something I predicted since one. It was a good business move.

At the time.

And then what happened? Well in business; when there's an agreement made, you must pull your end of the weight. You must keep your end of the bargain and well this agreement went sour the minute Brian Hollywood and Tiami Tyler decided to make an example of my babe, y cuddle monkey, the very envious future Ms. Troy Stone and put her on the shelf. Now when this agreement was made, by rule we'll all suppose to be on the same side right? With this partnership, the House of Stone and the Establishment was suppose to be working hand to hand. So Brian letting Tiami Tyler finally, after so many years wrestling, have her first actual relevant moment in wrestling lore be at the expense of my babe, it was at that moment that he broke our agreement.

Troy pauses.

Troy: I gave hi every chance to answer my question. Explain to me why exactly this happened and all I got was no answers. Well you either answer Troy Stone or as the businessman that I am, I'll take my business and I'll succeed elsewhere. i never needed the Establishment to get a foothold in this company dweebs because you all must forget before this agreement started, the House of Stone was the ones in the driver's seat. For months Brian and Zion have been trying to establish their Establishment, Troy Stone already beat them to the beat within two months of formation.

So yeah, I took my business and I did what was best for Troy Stone and that was to cut ties with Hollywood and Zion because well, since that partnership, I've lost the World Championship and saw my abbe go back on the shelf. it simply wasn't benefiting Troy Stone being around the Establishment. And now here we are, tomorrow night, I guess I'm getting "punished" right? Eight man tag match with a Tag Team title shot on the line. Only twist is one of those teams is Troy Stone and well...just that. Troy Stone. It's going to be, myself and I in this match and while every dweeb is instantly claiming that I have no chance of winning, clearly this is an example of how little their expectations are in their lives because if they were in this position, they would crumble.

Troy Stone doesn't crumble.

So you got Bad Company, Vox whatever and the so called Kings share the same ring with Troy Stone and obvi the odd man standing out is me. I get it. I'm the only one going into this match without a partner so I don't have anyone watching my back. This is where you dweebs at home, Hollywood and Zion truly believe that I'm at a disadvantage. I would ask you the fans to use your minds but come on, we all know that's not happening. if you all did, maybe your lives would be a little bit better. But let's put it this way. Way I see it, it's Troy Stone Vs the World. 1 against 6. Well you know what, not the first time I've faced multiple people at the same time and have won.

I'm the master of this.

Let's do a history lesson. When I won the Evolution Championship; triple threat match. My epic semi final victory in the World Grand Prix? Fatal Four way Ultimate X. The finals? Triple threat. And when I won the World Heavyweight Championship; you guess it; triple threat. The more people you put in a ring with Troy Stone, the more my chances increase. Because while everyone knows and mostly doesn't want to admit how good I am, my mind is just as deadly as my skills. And that's what I mean by being a businessman in this business. You can only do that if you have an active mind. A mind as smart and intelligent as Troy Stone.

Clearly I'm the smartest mind in this match. I mean seriously Jason Aries still thinks I'm the World Champion right now. No seriously, he actually said that, which means he doesn't watch the product and is the prime example of all brawns and no brains. And hey Jason, if you couldn't beat me in 30 minutes last July plus overtime plus the strawberry jam all over my face, you couldn't knock me out now. But hey Bad Company is doin things right?...

How did that Tag Series thing go?

Oh yeah you lost. And you're just like Adam Stryker and John pariah. Underachievers. Johnny, for all of your talk that I'm a puppet, I've done something you've never done. i've reached the top of the mountain here. I've become the man here. And that's something you and Stryker both can't say after chance after chance after chance. But yet, you're Mr. PWX Pariah. You're the Wrestler of the 2013 Stryker?

Over Troy Stone?

Crock.

But you know what guys. I get it. All of you think that I'm the lamb in this match. That I'm easy pickings because I have none watching my back. But for damn near seven years in my career I've only worried about Troy Stone and I'm only had my back. And well, that's turned out well for me. A lot better than Black and his buddy. And thanks for giving me credit for creating whatever you're trying to create with your buddy. But let's not dismiss me beating you twice and proving that I'm better than you ok? You make it see as if I actually should care about Elijah Black. You could have used your rematch clause whenever you wanted. That wasn't on me. And yet when you got that big chance, you goofed.

And tomorrow night Elijah I'm sure you actually think you and your buddy are going to prevail. Just like you were going to prevail about me. How did that go for you? Just like Bad Company thinks for once they're going to believer when it matters the most and just like how Pariah and Stryker think they're actually better than they really are. Four way tag, six on one, it doesn't matter Troy Stone will steal the show! Because I've beaten all of you once over the past year. I've beaten you Black, Aries, Pariah. I took you out Stryker last year. Michael Tompkins rings a bell? Probably not. because I made him disappear. All of you may be gunning for me and that's what the fans and Hollywood wants but none of you realize why I'm the FAVORITE! I have no one watching my back., but I have no one to depend on. No one that can't drop the ball or me or not pull their weight. All I have is my instinct and my savvy. You all have to depend on each other. And hell, Troy Stone as Tag Team Chapions all by himself make sense because no one in this combined can measure up to me. I may not have numbers but I have so much more. Troy Stone Vs the World tomorrow night. it's been that way since day 1 and you know what guys, I'm undefeated. I'm undefeated against the world and tomorrow night, I will still be undefeated against the world.