Eventually, chaos will engulf everything. Order and peace are a facade, and WZCW's facade has finally fallen. It's fitting, in a way, that WZCW's downfall -- its spiral into chaos -- is happening at the hands of its once great leader, its legendary champion, Ty Burna.
As I walked into the doors of the arena WZCW's Meltdown was occupying this week, I felt something different in the air. I guess I wasn't the only one who could see the walls of the empire crumbling. I was probably the only non-Apostle of Chaos enjoying it, though.
Several familiar faces shot me confused looks as I walked down the hallway to the make-shift interview room where I'd be meeting Leon Kensworth in a few short minutes. After all, I'd gone straight off the grid following my injury shortly before Lethal Lottery. I wouldn't want it any other way -- I didn't need these people following my every step and, it seemed, they didn't really care, either.
Leon Kensworth greeted me outside the door of the low-key interview room, shaking my hand.
"It's nice to see you again, Sam. How have you been?"
I nodded my head in return, replying dryly.
"Been great, Leon. Just great."
That was a blatant lie, but I wasn't going to let him know that. The past few months had been rough, to say the least. It was going to pay off, in the end. I was going to embrace the chaos that everybody else had tried so hard to avoid.
"Glad to hear it. Let's just do a standard interview, then?"
A standard interview? That's all I'm worth to these people? It's nice to see that nothing has changed around here, even in the face of impending destruction -- these people always were ignorant and arrogant, to boot.
"Actually, I wanted to have the interview to myself. There's a few things I want to get off of my chest."
Kensworth looked confused, but he didn't have the spine to say anything to the contrary.
"That's fine. I'll just give you an intro, alright?"
I nodded in return, already deeply in thought about exactly what I was going to say. This promo was months in the making -- hell, it was years in the making. I'm a different man than I once was.
"Ladies and gentleman, please welcome the returning Sam Smith..."
I stepped in front of the camera and I got a rush that wasn't matched by any artificial or natural substance I put into my body -- it was a thrill unmatched by anything the world had to offer. I had a giant audience that was about to hear the truth about WZCW -- the truth about me. I tugged at my tie out of excitement, before starting my promo.
"A few months ago, my body landed on the canvas in that ring, a broken and twisted mess. My career could have been over -- and you all knew that. Did I get a hero's farewell, like Blade? No. You people forgot about me and never looked back. It gave me a harsh realization: I was at your mercy.
The empty feeling inside of me what was led me to you, to this business, in the first place. I had buried my mother, destroyed my family, and frayed every relationship in my life. I was hollow. Pain killers used to fill that void up, but then they became a necessity. I can't wake up in the morning without feeling pain in my knees, pain in my back, a foggy feeling in my head, and a ringing in my ears. All because you people gave me a false sense of hope -- I thought that you people cared about me. I destroyed myself in that ring, only because you people cheered me on. Then I realized that the whole damn thing was nothing but a load of shit."
"Sam, language! Please."
I looked at Kensworth, almost entertained by his steadfast adherence to the rules of a dying company.
"You people disrespected everything that I stood for, by turning your backs on me... And now I'm here to destroy WZCW -- the only thing some of you feeble-minded morons look forward to after a day at your thankless jobs. I'm going to enjoy every second of it, too."
I smiled, running my hand through my hair.
"That's what separates me from the rest of the roster. I'm not here to seek glory, so that I can have something to put on my mantle. I'm here to seek glory, so that I can destroy WZCW from within. If that means having to work my was past everybody on the roster, then so be it. I'll take Steven Kurtesy's World Heavyweight Championship, if I have to... Because then, I'll finally have WZCW by the balls. You'll all fall at my feet, just like you're falling at Ty Burna's feet right now."
Kensworth started toward me, but I wasn't finished.
"I'm not done just yet, Leon. Hang on until I'm done."
I coldly stared at him until he finally stopped in his tracks.
"As I was saying, I'll take the walls of WZCW down and it all begins this week at Meltdown 74, against Phoenix. The very same Phoenix who hasn't won a match in months, the one I beat in the fatal four-way for my Elite X Championship. Yes, that Phoenix."
I smiled at the thought of getting back in the ring. I'd finally be able to show these people my hatred and my anger.
"Phoenix will be the first victim, and you will all remember what I will do to him. I may not be getting a welcome back party from WZCW, but that doesn't mean I won't be able to have some fun, now does it?"
A slight grin crossed my mouth.
"It's good to be back."
As I walked out of the small interview room, I felt a sudden relief come across me. No longer did I care about pleasing the fans -- after all, who were they to judge me? The same can be said for everybody else backstage in WZCW; nobody understood what I had gone through... But, soon enough, they would.
The chaos that I was going to create wasn't without reason -- as a matter of fact, the fans were at the root of the problem. They were the ones that led WZCW management to give the likes of John Constantine, the King for a Day -- who I had beaten -- an opportunity that I deserved.
Unappreciated and vilified from the moment I stepped into the company -- it was only a matter of time before I'd finally had enough. I had finally snapped and I was going to take what was rightfully mine. I was going to put this company into the ground, just like they'd almost put me into the ground.
My journey was only beginning, as WZCW's was coming to an end. After all the blood and sweat I'd given them, it was only right I'd be there to see it.
