AS 128 - The Beard/Ace Stevens vs Live Mas

RP deadline is Wednesday May 23 at 11:59pm PST

Extensions available upon request

 

I'd been in this situation before. It was nothing new. In an unfamiliar city, thousands of miles from home. This time though, it was different. I didn't really have a home. I had bought a place in Randers, hoping that Denmark would cure my depression. I was flying all over Europe on this tour though that I really didn't have much time to spend there. It didn't feel like much of a home anyway.

Newcastle seemed nice enough, and since I had on my DeAndre Yedlin jersey most people gave me a friendly nod. I passed some cool buildings as I walked. There was the school that Sting attended. There was the castle, I wonder if that is how the city got it's name? I saw St James' Park. The soccer stadiums in Europe always amazed me, they seemed so much different than the stadiums back in the US. Of course I wouldn't call it a soccer stadium out loud, I didn't want to be run out of town. I even passed Avison Library, which made me stop and think on the name for a few minutes.

All in all Newcastle was a fine city, but I still couldn't get my mind off Kingdom Come no matter how hard I tried. Careers are defined at Kingdom Come, and mine was no different. I had won titles, I had main evented the show, I had put on memorable matches. This year though, it felt different. Triple X used to be a guy I called a friend, and somewhere along the way he changed. I guess we all change as time goes on, but X felt vastly different. Something got crossed up somewhere and he became the complete opposite of who he once was.

Then there was Mark Keaton. Truth be told, I'm not sure what compelled Keaton to do the things he did. Maybe hid dad didn't give him enough attention growing up so he acts out as an adult, but he tried to end my career. I could play it off that I held no ill will toward him, but in truth, he tried to take away everything I had in life. Wrestling was my safe space. As strange as that sounded, it was true. All my life I was an outcast, but when I stepped inside that ring, people liked me, I belonged. When he broke my back and tried to make sure I never wrestled again, he tried to make sure I was an outcast again. That transgression wouldn't stand.

Through it all, there was one constant. Matt. To this day, I will never truly understand how Matt and I came to be. On the surface we didn't have that much in common and the deeper you dug, the more apart we seemed. We just clicked though. Maybe because we were two lost souls trying to find purpose in life. Maybe we just both loved tacos too much. Maybe he thought I was handsome, I know I thought he cleaned up nicely. Whatever it was, Matt was more than a friend. He was more than some slogan I ripped off from Taco Bell. Matt was my brother, Matt was family, the only family I had left.

My mind was glued to X and Keaton, so much so that I couldn't focus on the upcoming match I had against Ace Stevens and Beard. Sure, I had beaten both in the past, I could easily write them off, but I knew all too well what happened when you overlook an opponent in this business. Ace was a very formidable Mayhem Champion, even if his jokes fell flatter than three day old Mountain Dew Baja Blast (available at Taco Bell). Beard was an opponent I knew well. The massive brute and I had many battles over the years, dating all the way back to my first ever win with the company. We even faced off at Kingdom Come in the first ever TLC match in company history. He was a tag champ, a King For A Day winner, and a former World Champion who had main evented Kingdom Come against Matt. He would be no pushover.

I continued to walk around town, until I came to a park. I found a bench and decided to have a seat and just take in the view for a bit. A few minutes later, someone sat down next to me.

"Nice weather we are having today."

"Feels nice out, yeah."

"That accent, you aren't from here are you?"

"Oh, no. I'm just here on business."

"You look familiar."

"Haha, I hear that a lot."

"I'm certain I have seen you somewhere....wait....are you Mikey Stormrage?"

I nodded my head.

"The one and only."

The man extended a hand, which I gladly shook.

"Big fan Mikey."

I smiled at him.

"Thanks. Always nice to meet a fan of my work."

"Yeah mate, you are one of the top guys in WZCW. Really enjoy cheering you on. Not like that Titus prick, a real **** he is."

I laughed. He wasn't wrong.

"I didn't catch your name."

"Names Liam. Liam McCritchin."

"Nice to meet you Lee-am."

I sat and talked with Liam for a about two hours, until I was due for my press work. I asked him the quickest way back to St James' Park.

"Oh, before I go, I hear Newcastle is getting a Taco Bell soon."

"Yeah, they just announced it."

"Well here is my contact info, when they build it, you let me know and I'll take my new friend out for some tacos."

And with that, Mikey Stormrage became good friends with Liam, the only man in Newcastle he knew by name.