After a moment of darkness, the smiling features of the best agent in Hollywood finally appears on the screen. Smoking, what looks like, a very grand Cuban cigar; Andrew Adonis is glittering in every sense of the word. As the camera widens, Adonis looks over both of his shoulders as his expression changes to one of concern. But upon realising that nothing is stalking him, his wide smile returns to his face.
Adonis: Has it really been two weeks already?
The talented agent lets out a slight laugh as he presses on.
Adonis: Has it really been two weeks since my client was ruthlessly attacked at the hands of Ty Burna... Tyrone Blades... Whatever!? A few weeks ago, Xander LeBelle stood in my office as we shared some of the best cigars that money can buy. On that day, friends, I asked the World's Greatest Mind for two things. Firstly, I asked him to come with me on a journey that would propel him towards the top of sports entertainment. And my only other request was that he trust my judgement.
Adonis' speech is somewhat muffled as he keeps the cigar burning between his lips. Taking it from his mouth and flicking it onto a handkerchief in his other hand, Adonis shakes his head in disbelief.
Adonis: Something quite extraordinary happened two weeks ago, ladies and gentlemen. Two weeks ago, I was caught off guard as Tyrone Blades repeatedly raised a steel chair above his head and then brought it down on the back of my charge, Xander LeBelle. But in the same way that lightning doesn't strike the same place twice, I will not be made to look foolish twice in a row.
The camera widens again as Xander LeBelle finally comes into shot. Xander, like his representation, is smiling widely; almost as if nothing had happened last time.
Adonis: This kid, Xander LeBelle... Well, he's lightning in a bottle, ladies and gentlemen. He is a better story than Hollywood could even conjure up. And whilst sparks fly from this superb specimen, his opponent is barely a flash in the pan.
Adonis puts one arm around Xander LeBelle, nodding his head in appreciation for his client.
Adonis: Tony Mancini lies in wait for my client tonight but he will find himself hopelessly outmatches by the greatest mind in the world today. Hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen, my WZCW revolution begins now...
With that, Andrew Adonis gives Xander a pat on the shoulder as LeBelle wonders out of shot. Adonis takes another deep puff on his cigar before crushing it out on a nearby wall and walking off behind his client.
Connor: Well, ladies and gentlemen, Xander LeBelle really found himself up against the odds last week after being viciously attacked at the hands of Tyrone Blades. His match was, rightly, pushed to Ascension but I'm sure the effects of such a beating were not easily put to bed.
Cohen: Excuses, Cat! Justin Cooper was the better man on the night.
Connor: Regardless, big things are expected from Xander LeBelle here tonight and Andrew Adonis is certain that it is going to happen.
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Anderson: Ladies and gentlemen, your perfect silence has been requested, so that Xander LeBelle may make his entrance.
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The crowd falls silent once the music starts, and Xander appears in the entryway, puffing on a cigar. As he starts his walk to the ring, his manager, Andrew Adonis, appears behind him. He drops off his cane at ringside, and enters using the steps, handing his cigar and sunglasses to the ref, before mounting the turnbuckle, and turning his attention towards the ramp.
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The crowd comes to life, relentlessly booing the smug Italian as he makes his way to the ring, his friend Gino in tow. The two wrestlers lock eyes, and don't break their stare as Tony and Gino get into the ring. Tony and Xander are almost nose to nose with their respective seconds handling most of the trash talking.
Anderson: This match is scheduled for one fall! To my left, hailing from the City Of Light, weighing in today at 215 pounds..."The World's Greatest Mind"...XANDER! LEBELLE!!
The crowd lets their feeling be known as Xander apparently misreads the boos and poses in admiration of his legions of "fans".
Anderson: And to my right, weighing in at 275 pounds...He is from Little Italy...TONY! MANCINI!
Before Selena finishes Mancini's name, Tony winds up a big right hand that surprises the French diplomat, knocking him to the mat!
**DING*DING*DING**
Gino and Andrew both exit the ring in a hurry as Tony begins putting his size 13 boots to Xander's ribs! Xander crawls to a rope and grapevines himself around it, signalling for a timeout! The referee waves him off, explaining there are none, but Xander reminds him he is a diplomat!
Connor: The referee is certainly not going to bend to that kind of behavior and antics, is he? I mean, the fans clearly don't have a favorite in this match, and want to see some fists fly, so why not let them?
Cohen: If she doesn't want to end up in a French prison, she will do exactly as Mr. LeBelle instructs her, Cat!
Xander uses the ropes to get to his feet, and tries pulling out his wallet to bribe Tony! He stretches out his hand with a wad of bills sticking out of it, and Tony accepts! He stuffs the money in his pocket, and the fans are losing their minds!
YOU SOLD OUT! YOU SOLD OUT! YOU SOLD OUT!
Xander walks to his corner, and motions for his sunglasses and cigar,, but Tony surprises him again, this time with a
W.G.T. to the back, crushing him against the turnbuckle! Xander hits the canvas in a heap, and Tony poses on the turnbuckle over him!
Xander rolls off the canvas, hitting the floor on the outside, as Andrew comes to his aid, using a golden silk handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brow and fan him off. After getting some help to his feet, he is back in the ring, breaking the referee's count at 5! Tony gives him a gesture that appalls the crowd!
Cohen: This kid Tony's got some guts. I like it!
Connor: What exactly did that gesture mean, Jack?
Cohen: I believe it's an old Italian way of telling someone to go fornicate themselves, Cat.
Xander charges at Tony, but Tony sidesteps him and connects with a fisherman suplex! Both men hurry to their feet, and this time Xander stops short, catching Tony telegraphing the move, and smashes him in the face with a knee! Tony crumbles to the mat, and it's now Xander's turn to mount the offense, landing a series of right hands to the already large nose on the Italian! Gino gets on the apron, to try and break it up, but only draws the ref's attention! He argues that Xander is using a closed fist, and earns an ejection for his efforts!
Connor: Gino getting himself sent to the showers will certainly serve as a disadvantage to Tony in this match, Jack. He's now basically fighting a 2-on-1 battle!
Cohen: Well, brains aren't exactly what the Mancini Family is known for, and now they've put themselves a man down in this fight. Xander is smart enough to capitalize on this. He is the World's Greatest Mind, after all!
Tony is able to use his size advantage to break up Xander's offense, but is met with a snap DDT the moment he gets to his feet! Xander goes for the pin, hooking the leg!
1...KICKOUT RIGHT AT 2!
Tony shoves Xander off, and rushes to his feet. The two meet in the center of the ring, hooking into a collar-and-elbow tie-up that Tony easily gains the upper hand in, shoving Xander into the corner. He leans his weight against his opponent as he tightens the leather knuckle-length glove on his right hand, and then connects with a chop that silences the crowd. Another one drops Xander to a knee! He walks to the center of the ring, playing to the crowd's boos, and rushes in, trying to take off Xander's head with a knee!
Xander blocks the knee, and connects with a hard STO out of the corner! Tony lands awkwardly on the back of his head, and gets up, but can't seem to regain his balance! Xander sees this, and rushes him with a combination of knife-edge chops and strong shin kicks! Tony is doubled over, and Xander completes the combination with a hard elbow to the back of the neck! Tony hits the mat face first! Xander sets him up for
The Rose's Thorn!
Cohen: Hey, Cat! How ironic would it be, if Tony lost this match to a Curb Stomp?
Xander has Tony's arms locked, with his foot in place, but doesn't have quite enough strength to lift the much larger Italian for the maneuver! He lets go, allowing Tony to catch his breath and get to a knee, before taking him out with a guillotine leg drop! Tony's face is red with anger as he jumps to his feet and charges Xander again! Xander can't escape the raging Italian, and is tackled through the ropes to the outside! Tony begins delivering rights and lefts at a breakneck pace!
1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6!
The referee's count has no effect, and here comes Andrew, wielding Xander's cane!
7! 8!
Tony catches him out of the corner of his eye, and levels him with a big boot! He picks up the cane, and prepares to use it himself, but Xander dives for the safety of the ring, and breaks the ref's count!
Tony rolls in after him, still clutching the cane with both hands, lining up his shot on Xander's skull! As he pulls back his swing, the referee grabs the cane, and throws it out of the ring! Tony looks incensed, his whole body shaking with rage! As he stalks the ref, Xander crawls to the corner, and finds a small velvet pouch that Gino left before being escorted from ringside by security! He dumps its contents into his hand, and it's Tony's brass knucks!
Cohen: Sometimes being The World's Greatest Mind requires a bit of luck, and that's quite the find he just made there!
Connor: But if he uses those, he'll get immediately disqualified! I'm sure he doesn't want to take a loss here, especially to a low-rate thug like Mancini!
Tony sees Xander toiling with the bag, and rushes to the corner, pulling Xander up by his hair, and mounting the turnbuckle, delivering 10 hard punches directly to his opponent's face! After he hops down off the turnbuckle, and with his back to the ref, Xander lands a clear shot with the brass knucks, right on the bridge of his nose!
Cohen: Fuhgedaboudit!
Connor: With the cane out of play, it appears he has taken a page out of Tony's book, using his own brass knucks against him!
Cohen: He truly is a Class Act, isn't he, Cat?
Tony falls straight back, blood pouring from his nose. Xander falls right next to him, stuffing the knucks into his pants as the ref checks on Tony! He crawls over Tony's body, and drapes his arm over him for the pin!
1...2...3!
Anderson: Your winner...XANDER! LEBELLE!
Xander instantly leaps to his feet and races around the ring, celebrating his victory while his manager collects his belongings. As he gets in the ring to celebrate with the winner, Xander comes to a stop, and waits as his sunglasses are placed on his face, and his cigar is re-lit. He looks down at his opponent, and then leaves the ring with his manager following him.
Connor: That man really should be an actor! He stole that win, but I can't say Tony wasn't about to do the same with Xander's own cane.
Cohen: You're right! He should be an actor, a handsome gentleman like himself!
Once Xander and Andrew exit the curtain, Gino races out to check on Tony, helping him up and to the back.
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We go backstage one more time to where Backstage Bob is seen in the production truck. Fiddling with some knobs and some buttons, Bob tuts and shakes his head in frustration. After a moment, none other than the EurAsian Champion, Titus, makes his way into the truck. Bob jumps with a start as Titus makes his way inside but soon allows a welcoming smile to cross his features.
Bob: Oh, it's you. I thought it was going to be Becky again.
Titus matches the warm expression of the firm fan favourite as he moves further inside the truck until he is standing over Bob rather ominously. After a tense few seconds, Titus plops himself down on the chair next to Bob and lets out a deep sigh.
Titus: I know how that feels, man. Watching what you do, watching what you say, scared of what everyone will think and say to you... It can be exhausting sometimes; I get it.
Bob: I know, right? The last few weeks, she has been all over me to get things done and she hasn't given me any peace and quiet. I guess it all comes back to the Garth Black thing. The way I see it, Black has made her and Vance look really foolish and, for one reason or another, the want to stop him before he can do any more damage to their plans.
Titus allows a look of curiosity to cross his features as he looks at the frustrated backstage worker, who is still fiddling with knobs and buttons.
Titus: And that's what brings you here, huh?
Bob gives Titus a slight laugh as he stops fiddling with buttons.
Bob: Ridiculous, right? Becky summons me to her office earlier and tells me to have some sort of massive celebration planned for when Garth Black is pinned by Matt Tastic later on. Truth be told, I don't really know what I am doing with things like this. I got the balloons, the confetti and the streamers up to the rafters easy enough but timing has never really been my thing. And with everyone seemingly too busy to help me out, I have to figure this out by myself.
Titus continues to listen to Bob as an idea crosses his mind.
Bob: I give up!
Titus: Bob, listen, don't worry about it. Maybe it is fate that I was walking past this way when I seen you. You know me, I came from the home of pageantry and pomp. I came from a scene all about releasing balloons and streamers. Hell, enough times I have made it happen myself. Tell you what, Bob., You take off and I'll sort this out for you.
Bob stops prodding away at buttons and looks at Titus; not knowing which expression to select.
Bob: I don't think I can do that, Titus. I have strict instructions to release this after the Matt-
Titus: Matt Tastic and Garth Black result? I get it! I bet you've got lots to do, Bob. How long have we been in this business together for? You can trust me to do this for you. Go get on with your own work. Or better yet, grab yourself a cup of coffee and take a load off for a moment, you look exhausted.
Bob: I do feel a little tired.
Titus: You see! This is for the best...
With that, Bob considers his options before standing up and patting Titus on the shoulder.
Bob: Remember, only after Matt Tastic pins Garth Black tonight?
Titus: You can trust me, Bob.
Bob swallows the last of his reluctance to leave Titus alone and walks through the production truck and exits at the far end; leaving Titus alone with a look of deviousness on his face.
Connor: Uh-oh!