Step Two - The destruction of all he holds dear

“A warrior must only take care that his spirit is never broken.”- Shissai

War Games at Ultimate Carnage Five, this will be a night that is remembered for a long, long time. The future of Paragon and a man’s career are what is at stake. This single match, ten individuals, all with their own agenda, all with fire in their soul. What will happen? The real question is what won’t happen in this match. Think about this for a moment, what do you think a man won’t do in order to protect his job, his legacy, his stamp on a company?

Nothing, there is nothing a man won’t do.

Now, that being said, it’s not my career on the line. I was asked by JC to be on this team and I was glad he asked. Like Joe, there’s nothing I wouldn't do to protect Carnage from the likes of Paragon. JC and I are not friends, we barely know one another but he has my respect. I support his cause and I believe in what he’s doing. That’s called value kids, it means something to me and I know it means something to the fans who sit in attendance every week. It should mean something to each and every person who sits back in the locker room. It doesn’t appear to be that way though does it Jack?

The war between Jack and Joe is legendary, it has left a mark on Carnage Wrestling that can never be removed. Personally, I think it's one of the bloodiest things I’ve ever witnessed. It has driven each man to desperate measures. Joe has put his career and much more on the line for this company to finally be rid of Paragon. In turn Jack has brought the Clown back to help him and his little family to defend their territory. Who’s more desperate? I think that’s pretty damn obvious. I was in the back watching when the Clown came out. I saw the fear in Jack’s eyes, so unsure of what he just unleashed on Carnage and on his friends in Paragon.

Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that Jack, at the end of the night, he’ll be gone again. Paragon will be no more and I hope like hell that Crucifix is able to take your title from you. He’s earned that right, now all he has to do is step up. It’s obvious to everyone who’s watched that you are not at full go. That twisted little girl fucked you up. Who knows, maybe she softened you up enough for Brian to be victorious. The more important thing is that we as a team will be victorious. JC, Lucy, GI, Trent and myself; we all have a vested interest in winning this match. For me, it’s about the fact that you have no presence in this match. You’ll have to, like everyone else, watch as we dismantle your family.

You’ll have to sit and watch as we bloody every single person that you care about in this business, or at least pretend to care about.

{Post Carnage - After Lucy’s Match against Amber}

[On-Camera]

I walked away from the conversation with Lucy with the smell of copper and sweat intermingled in my senses. It had been a long night for all of us, mine and Joe’s match got pulled at the last moment. I guess Bridges didn’t want to put his investment in jeopardy. I continued down the hall, hoping to catch up with Joe to at least get a sense of why he treated his girl the way he did just now. I felt bad for Lucy, she wasn’t one hundred percent before that match and she sure as hell wasn’t now. We had just finished a talk about the state of her head and why she was doing this and it made sense but didn’t all at the same time. I walked away from the conversation with more questions than answers really, and the feeling that she needed a friend now more than ever.

Instead of finding Joe, it’s Bridges that I almost run over as I round the corner of the Carnage Arena. To be honest I could smell him long before I got to the corner, a combination of cheap cologne and bourbon. When he looked up, I could see the tension when he realized who he was looking at. I smile at his discomfort, “Don’t worry little man, I’m not in the mood to hurt you in order to get some order back in this place at the moment.”. I watch as his nostrils flare and can see him visibly bite back a retort. Instead he returns the smile, “Well, that’s good, I’m not really in the mood to fire anyone for threatening me either.”. I actually laughed at this brazen little business man who thinks he has a set of stones. I pat him on the head as I work my way around him. I look over my shoulder briefly and see the scowl he was trying to hide. “Tick tock little bitch, it will all come to an end very soon.”.

I continue towards the parking lot; coming out the entrance doors, which I do quite often, mostly because following the rules of polite people has never really been my thing I find that the tires on the rental I had used tonight were all slashed. I laugh a bit to myself as I pop the trunk and dig out the jack and the four spare tires that I had picked up on the way to the arena. “People are so fucking childish sometimes.”, I remark as I set myself to the task at hand. I begin to think out loud as I work. “So, Amber Ryan comes back to Carnage, to help Jack, to save herself or maybe it’s out of some sick sense of honor. Who the hell knows with that one. Someone I had given respect to, of course that worked really well as she in turn shit on me and my reputation. Not literally of course, that would be gross. I’ll give her this, she earned a small amount of respect back tonight. She could have and should have taken the kill shot she had lined up.”. The car is jacked up on the back drivers side and I begin to take the lug nuts off. “A very small amount Amber.”.

The first tire comes off, and I slide a new one in its place. “Every time I listen to or read that trash you call a promotional, it makes me question your intentions. You keep saying you came back because your family needed you. That people like me threatened your family and that’s why you came back. I think it would be obvious to anyone who watches or listens to you. You’re a fucking liar and a fraud. You’re only here because you want the world title back around your waist.”, I say as I lower the car back down and move to the passenger side. I move the jack into position and begin jacking up the passenger side rear portion of the vehicle. “Just because you spared Lucy tonight doesn’t really mean jack shit to me. All that shows me is you’re incompetent.”. Now with the passenger side up off the ground I begin loosening the lugs as I continue. “You showed your incompetence before, in your return match against me. You called me nothing more than main event cannon fodder if I recall correctly. I told you then and I’ll tell you now, words spoken to me have consequences. I don’t know if you simply don’t care about your own personal safety or if you’re simply that fucking stupid.”

I smile to myself as I lower the car back down again. I move to the front tire and slide the jack in place and begin cranking it to get the car up off the ground. “Not long ago, about two weeks or so I think, Ken and I had the opportunity to take those tag titles off of you and that dipshit Goode. Rather than allow my brother from another mother to take a loss to the likes of you, yes, I tried to drive a chair through your spleen from the back side.”. “You only survived because I allowed it, that’s something you would do well to remember Amber.”. Another tire comes off and a new one slides into place. I begin tightening the lugs back down on tire number three. “Eli Goode, a super talented performer and at one time you were considered heir to the throne were you not?”. I move to the final wheel and slide the jack into place as I continue to rail on about the match. “Then another took your place, you told your sugar daddy in public that you understood why he did the things he did.”. Now I have all the lugs loosened and get the car into the air for the final time. “Eli, the same guy who had the balls to refer to me as one of JC’s goons not so long ago. The same guy that has a history with Amber and is never quite sure whether she will stab him in the back or sleep with him.”.

I slide the old tire off and replace it with the new one, the last one thankfully. “Always so sure of himself, always convinced he’s a difference maker. Son, I’ve fought hundreds of men and women just like you in my career. Why in the hell do you think you’re more special than any of them?” I get the last of the lugs tightened and lower the car one last time. “Thing is Eli, you’re not a man who’s convictions are strong enough to carry the load for Paragon. You’re a nobody kid, big fish, small pond.”. I go through the motions of putting the old tires in the trunk and dig out my travel sized tube of go-jo. I hand towel from my travel bag and a few minutes later, my hands are somewhat clean. Probably clean enough to get on a plane. “This is just the beginning children, I wrote the book on pain, now you get to live it. I follow JC, not because I need someone to lead but because what he’s doing makes sense. Too fucking bad none of the rest of you have the brains to think for yourselves.”. I open the drivers side door and sit down, pushing the start button on the dash of the camaro, the engine roars to life. Pantera’s “Cowboys from Hell” begins to play as I slam the door shut. I ease out of the parking space, knowing the camera’s are still rolling and slide the window down. I crank up the volume on the music and flip off the camera as I stomp the gas pedal, throwing smoke from the tires along with chunks of rubber and loose rocks at the camera, laughing all the way out of the parking lot.

Fade…

{Crooked M Ranch - Port Arthur, Texas}

[Off-Camera]

The crispness of the air was refreshing, the breeze that accompanied the cold temperatures was neither wanted or needed but Mother Nature does as she will. As we worked on the fence line, we simply turned our collars up to ward off the cold and the damp. A recent storm had spawned a couple of tornadoes that ripped up the ranch pretty good. Ranchers didn’t have to use manual post hole diggers anymore, those days were long gone but in some areas you still had to, simply because it was just too dangerous to use a gas powered auger. My son, Jimmy and our ranch foreman Jimbo were with me to help and to help supervise the crew. We had taken a break to grab some coffee and breakfast taco or three. Jimmy was on his soapbox again, and around mouthfuls of breakfast taco I was getting a dissertation on why supporting JC was the wrong way to handle things. “I just don’t get it pops, that dude is off his fucking rocker. Why do you support him?”. I smile at my son, take a sip of coffee and respond, “Well kid, it’s like this, you’re not there in Carnage.”. I leave it hanging in the air as if that should explain it.

He shakes his head, takes another bite and begins to say something else. He stops and finishes chewing before he says anything after a look from me. He knows that annoys the shit out of me when someone talks around mouthfuls of food. “Good choice,'' I remark as he swallows down the bite of taco. “I know I’m not there in the backstage of Carnage where I would get to see everything, but I do watch each week and I see it for what it is. This is not a war you can win Dad. This will end badly for everyone.”. I listen to him ramble on for a second, having finished my breakfast, I lit a cigarette and pass the pack to him. He shakes one loose before handing the pack to Jimbo. Jimmy lights his cigarette and passes the lighter as well. “It’s been a long time since you’ve been through one of those and remember how the last one turned out for you, Uncle Myke and Uncle Ken?”. I nod my head remembering all too well the end of that particular match.

“I remember, I remember us winning that match and then Gary Mac turning on us.”, I unconsciously rub the scar above my right eye where he had smacked me with a nine iron. “Most of that match is a blur, or at least what happened afterwards was.”. “You’re probably better off not remembering what happened after. I get it though, you are doing what you think is right.”. I give my son a meaningful look, “What about you? Have you decided where you’re going next?”. I didn’t like the feeling of my son not being active in the industry, he had way too much talent to just stay away. “I saw that Mia had showed up in Carnage, I just don’t know Dad, hell I may retire.”. I look at him, “Retire? The fuck for? You’re still young, you can still make an impact on this business.”. I holds up his hands in mock surrender, “I know all that Pops, but the business has taken a toll on every relationship I’ve ever had. I honestly don’t know if it’s worth it anymore.”. I let that go knowing he was still reeling over the breakup with his longtime girlfriend Marissa. I knew that one left a mark that might take a while to heal.

“I hope you do what makes you happy Jimmy, I think the business is worse off without you in it.”, I pat my son on the shoulder to emphasize my sincerity. He smiles as we put our cups down and our cigarettes out to go back to work on repairing the fence line.

Fade…

“TJ! The heir to the throne! You, are the one that he thinks is special aren’t ya? Too bad really, I mean, look at ya, so much potential and so little commitment to anything. When you faced Trent one on one you tried so hard to pump yourself up for that match. All that hype and excitement and the most you could do afterwards was a post on social media. An obligatory “I beat Trent” post. Yeah, so what, were there titles at stake? No, it was just for pride and bragging rights. This time though, this is different, because there’s so much on the line. See, this time kid, you’re not in the ring one on one with one legend. You’re in the ring with five of them, the bad part about this is they aren’t on your side. No, they are looking to break you in a way that you’ve never experienced.

Speaking of Broken, what a great transition to talk about Kyra Johnson. Good god woman, if you were any more broken, you’d be one of the clowns playthings. For all of your talk, your abrasiveness towards your own sister and you finally got the opportunity. You faced your sister one on one in a cage. You accomplished what you set out to do, the sad part is that you didn’t think about the consequences. You didn’t realize that in hurting her, and yeah, you almost killed her. How that would affect you, that’s the part you didn’t think through. So, you made a deal with the devil in order to get what you wanted. How did that work out for you? You put your own flesh and blood in the hospital for weeks. Rumor has it, you had a breakdown of sorts. Now you get to deal with the remorse that was generated by you. Revenge was so bitter sweet wasn’t it? Mostly bitter though would be my guess.

There we go, transitioning again, bitter, that would be a good word to describe Clown. He had dropped off the face of the earth after losing to Jack Michaels. He was completely out of wrestling, just trying to find his place in society again. Jack was so desperate that he pulls this guy out of retirement. The same guy that almost killed him. I would normally claim wildcard status for myself, but it’s you that is the wildcard in this match. No one knows, including you, what you’ll do in this match. I know your reputation, I know your love of violence. I do wonder something though. What would bring you more pleasure, helping to keep Jack’s little family safe or destroying him. Destroying the man who broke you. Something to think about isn’t it?

I cannot even imagine what Jack must have promised you to get you to come back to wrestling. A rematch? A place among his family? The soul of his first born? I mean really, what kind of reward could he possibly have offered you to come back to the chaos. I guess time will tell the tale. For me? Nothing was promised, I don’t have to be offered anything to go into a fight. I only have to believe in the fight and that it holds value moving forward. I’m in this fight because I think Joe’s right about Paragon. I’m not a big believer in forcing things to evolve, Jack has been pushing for Carnage to go national. A broader audience for him to try and shove his ideals and his philosophy down the throat of. I’m with Joe on this, and in this, things will evolve naturally over time. You don’t have to add a catalyst to speed up the process.

We’ll simply allow things to play out the way they will, and at the end of the night ...at the end of the night, Paragon will cease to exist. They will come to know what it truly means to be overridden. We’ll give the fans what they’ve been screaming for, a fight like none they’ve ever seen before.

We will give them Ultimate Carnage”