Blood rushing down his face, clutching the WZCW World heavyweight championship
King Mussel can be seen limping down an empty and dark hallway. Following a vicious tussle with his upcoming challenger he aimlessly wanders forward. No allies by his side he can’t help but wonder if he should go back for his fallen comrades. He stops and looks back only to see a shadowy looking figure staring him down at the end of the hall. Injured and alone he thinks better of the decision and attempts to retreat. The figure continues to follow him down the hall at a slow pace that is somehow still faster than the champion’s injured jog. A fear starts to take control of the King as he can’t seem to shake the figure. It continues to gain distance on him, the fear only intensifies with every second. The champion can see a light behind the curtain at the end of the hallway and he struggles to get there. The shadow figure is now directly behind him, but all it does is touch his shoulder. The minimal contact is all that is needed for Flex to completely freak out, the champion trips out of the hallway, past the curtain, and into the bright lights of the WZCW entrance ramp.
He gets up on one knee and notices something is different. He’s still buff but he’s not…”King” Buff. He looks into the crowd and sees fans ferociously cheering for him. He wonders how this can be. Blood continues to pour down from his face and after wiping it he looks up at the titantron and sees the Gold Rush 2016 logo. And then it clicks, but before he can do anything he sees Titus Avison charge at him from the corner of his eye. And in one split second he delivers a Tit Drop off the stage! Before he can even feel the impact he awakens in the center of the ring. Once again bleeding from the top of his head. He looks out in the crowd and sees a much more conflicted audience,some cheering for him, some cheering against the man behind him. He turns around to see Justin Cooper taunting him. It doesn’t take much more for Flex to know where he is now. Gold Rush 2017 is burned into his memory, all the anger he felt that night comes rushing back, the once calculated King becomes just another angry warrior, he charges at Cooper with a wildly timed Flexicution, but misses, and is planted in the center of the ring, he’s out cold but can still here the ref slamming his hand down on the mat.
1….2…..
Instead of hearing the third and final count that haunted him for so long a loud thud is all that rings through the King’s ears. It is his body being planted on a witness stand in a very dimly lit court room. He looks out into the crowd and can see faces vaguely similar to his fellow WZCW superstars. Whether it be his damaged psyche or for copyright purposes their faces are distorted, but know the entire roster is in attendance. Confused the King looks around until he sees the WZCW World Title in a Judge’s throne. This time it is the title wearing a crown, and still strapped to it is
Masquer.
Flex:
Masquer!! What is this?!?!
Masquer:
This is either your finest hour or your greatest downfall, this is your reckoning Flex.
The Trial of King Mussel
Flex:
Trial? A King can’t be on trial!!
Masquer:
This is to decide whether you are still worthy of being called one. For many believe you have disgraced the World Championship and have made a mockery of your clash with Titus Avison.
Flex:
The true mockery is that despite having my allies by my side and my mentor as the special guest referee, the odds are quite clearly in Titus’ favor. The fast counts, the count outs, and the bias management has made it clear they are not happy with the title in my possession!
Masquer:
No more monologuing! Bring out the first witness!!
Flex is teleported to a nearby chair and in his place sits his sister
Maria on the witness stand.
Masquer:
Ms. Mussel, how would you judge your brother’s time as leader of not only his own nation, but WZCW as a whole.
Maria:
Well I’m still locked in the basement of a corporate building so It’s hard to not still be PISSED OFF!!!!!
Masquer:
Hmmm, so Flex is a bad sibling on top of his other crimes?
Maria:
I’d have to say yes your honor.
Masquer:
That’ll be all. Next witness!!
Maria teleports away and she is replaced by one of Flex’s allies:
Wasabi Toyota.
Masquer:
What are your thoughts on Flex Mr. Toyota? And please be aware you are under oath.
Toyota:
He’s done a lot for me, but he’s also very demanding, like he always wants to work out, even when I just wanna eat ca-I mean not work out…
Masquer:
Did he at least give you a holiday bonus?
Toyota:
Does Flex Fitness Granola bars count?
Masquer:
No!! NEXT WITNESS!!
Toyota is replaced by Flex’s protege,
Keith Kole.
Flex:
Finally, someone reliable.
Kole:
First and foremost I want to say that Flex is the rightful King of FlexAmerica.
Flex:
Atta boy!
Masquer:
But is he deserving enough to wear moi?
Keith ponders for a second, looks to Flex, and then proceeds to answer the judge/title belt/hallucination.
Kole:
He has been a guiding mentor through a pivotal time in my career, and I shall always be grateful, but I’m always gonna wonder: would I be the Elite champion if he was ringside like I always am for him?
Flex:
It was your moment not mine!
Masquer:
SILENCE!!! Now for our final witness!
Flex is heartbroken as Keith disappears and the final witness takes the stand:
Everest.
Masquer:
Everest you are a WZCW legend and the man who brought Flex into this company. How would you evaluate him now?
The WZCW hall of famer takes a long look at the World champion and then takes a deep breath.
Everest:
Flex Mussel is one of the most talented people currently in this company, even before his time as World champion I saw potential in him that far exceeded other rookies at the time, which is why I brought him into WZCW. Since then he has taken his own path and by himself has risen to the top of the mountain, and I am proud of that. However, what I am not proud of is the tactics he’s used. Whether it’s cheap mind-games, political debauchery, or endless amounts of help from his underlings he has lost any honor he once had. But while I do not respect the person he has become I will call the World championship match fair and down the middle.
Masquer:
So are you saying he does not deserve to wear me?
Everest:
I’m saying that come Gold Rush we shall see, because in my experience, even in Flex’s, Titus is no easy task, and he may be the very best he’s ever been.
And in the blink of an eye Everest is gone. The King isn’t sure what to make of what he’s heard.
Masquer:
Well Flex, do you have any final words before a decision is made?
The champion nods in his head, and he begins to walk to the witness stand. He looks out into the jury of WZCW peers and their faces are even more distorted and faulty, almost as if they are fading away from his memory.
Flex:
Your honor I want to say this to not only you but the entire WZCW Universe: I’m sorry.
The championship belt/mask becomes intrigued.
Flex:
WZCW is currently at it’s lowest point, a dwindling roster, low ratings, and that’s all my fault. Ever since I’ve joined WZCW, I’ve been responsible for the loss of many talented individuals. Back when I was in a tag team me and my comrades relished in not only disbanding teams but outright forcing them out of the company via injury. And by the time I was on my own I was retiring and destroying many competitors whether they were rookies or hall of fame legends. And surely me as champion has scared away many from joining. So I’ll take responsibility for this, and as I said I’m sorry. But there’s one more person who is responsible for the current state of WZCW, someone who unlike me isn’t brave enough to admit how much damaged they’ve caused, and that person is Titus Avison.
The jury is shocked, but it’s sort of hard to tell with their faces looking like jigsaw puzzles.
Flex:
You see we first clashed shortly after Titus began his legendary EurAsian title reign. He was still kicking people in the dick and ironically enough I was fighting for all the fans of WZCW. But alas two years ago at the Gold Rush event I was unsuccessful at capturing his title. And from there on Titus made history, and while he and others may revel in the accomplishment lost in the history books is all the young talent that was purged from the company as the selfish veteran mowed them down with ease. Sure management says they were giving up and comers the opportunity of lifetime but instead they were feeding lambs to the egotistical wolf that is Titus Avison. But I’ll be honest it’s hard to blame him, if I was in his position: A legend whose best years seem to be behind him, I’d probably take an easy win from Johnny Scumm myself. But the placebo effect from that win seemed to go to Titus’ head and from there he became an entirely different competitor. One who would go to any great lengths to keep that championship around his waist. When the title was on the line he seemed unbeatable, to the point where he seemed to be holding the most prestigious championship in the company, because in all honesty, he was.
Flex proceeds to turn directly to the World Championship.
Flex:
You’re not prestigious, and you haven’t been for quite some time.
Masquer:
Excuse me?!
Flex:
Justin Cooper was a cancer to this company. And egotistical individual who only cared about his own legacy and accomplishments. And my loss to him at last year’s Gold Rush still haunts me to this day. But ever since he lost the championship it hasn’t been a belt worth holding. After Kagura took it she immediately lost to Eve, who was then quickly dethroned by Tyrone, who was then unseated by me. The point is the WZCW World title has been such a hot potato for so long that by next year the whole roster will have held it. And that needs to change. But it’s not going to change by giving it to Titus. Because possibly even more so than Tyrone Blades Mr. Avison is just more of the same. The same hall of famer giving you the same comeback story to the same audience who begs for change. Well take a good long look because I am that change!!! I’m a homegrown superstar who has bled WZCW for his entire life and will continue to bleed it as long as there are challengers to the throne. I don’t just want to succeed, I want all deserving talent to thrive! I want the young talent like Keith Kole and Stetson Hayes to become the next gatekeepers, and I want to preserve the legacies of people such as Wasabi Toyota and Everest. But what I don’t want, is to be thought of as a footnote title reign. You will not compare me to one hit wonders because I have not reached my peak yet and I got a lot more left in the tank. And while I may have apologized earlier for killing talent and legends, you can be damn sure I’m ready to do it again because Titus is going to have to kill me to take away MY TITLE! I refuse to lose at Gold Rush for the third year in a row, I refuse to just lay there as the man who gave me the opportunity of a lifetime hands my title to Titus, and I refuse to just be another spoke on the wheel of a company that can’t seem to change. I’ve been building a new nation when it’s obvious that I should have been raising this one from the dead. So at Gold Rush I’m going to beat Titus and go on to make the WZCW World title mean something again, and after that I’m going to MAKE WZCW GREAT AGA-
Flex pauses as he sees the same shadowy figure from before. It enters the court room and begins making a bee-line for the champion. He knows there isn’t anywhere to go. The figure finally reaches out to touch his face, he’s ready to take his punishment like a man until-the shadow licks his face!
The Commander and Chief awakens from his delusion still bleeding from his brawl with Titus, and he looks up to see that the shadowy figure is
Svetlana (who is still licking blood off his face)
Svetlana:
I can taste the sugar in your blood stream! I told you no cheating on your diet!!
Flex:
I...need...stitches….
Svetlana:
You need the gym, because we can’t afford for you to lose this championship. There’s too much left to accomplish….too much left to overtake.... we need to Make WZCW Great-
Flex:
Again...
