What is the truth?

{The camera starts up and we see the “One Man Crime Spree” himself working on the heavy bag as his wife, Cassie, holds it in place for him as he slams his fists hard into the bag, the sheen of sweat on his arms and bald head show that they have been at this for quite a while now}

Cassie:
You know that I love working out with you, babe, but I gotta ask if you’re ready for this week’s chapter or not. I mean this whole thing over the campeonatos situation.

Reno:
As ready as I’m going to be, why?

Cassie:
Because Jay was sending a camera crew here to the house later today for you to cut a promo or something I think, you do have a match against Teddy after all.

Reno:
He’s a good kid, got a lousy choice for a tag partner though.

Cassie:
Hm.

{Reno stops hitting the heavy bag and looks over at his wife with a raised eyebrow}

Reno:
I know that “Hm”, what’s up?

Cassie:
Jace, you know that I think the world of Nobi right? I mean yeah, his wife makes sticks in the mud tell her to get the stick out of her ass...but hasn’t he been a little bit, well...off as of late to you?

{Reno takes a breath while using the back of his right forearm to wipe the sweat from his brow before shrugging}

Reno:
No more so than I with that whole bullshit with Claudia a while back, only his frustration is much more well founded.

{Reno holds up both of his hands to forestall Cassie from saying anything}

Reno:
Just bare with me on this one, alright? For the entire time that a lot of these people like April, Stephanie, Andrew, Jaywalker, and Robbie have known him, Nobi has always been the guy who has never cut corners and has never taken the cheap way out of a match.

But then in comes this guy from his past and Andrew, the Pizza Professional Boy, keeps coming at him time and time again. Even coming at me in an attempt to force me to see what Andrew was viewing as the “truth” and eventually that leads to the two of them having this massive throw down on the same scale as Devon and Brian Renzor a couple of years back.

{Cassie doesn’t say anything but she nods in agreement as she waits for her husband to continue}

Reno:
You were there for the entire pay per view, you saw what those two put each other through. Now you take all of that frustration, Cassie, including how he felt like it was his fault we lost our chance at winning campeonatos because of that whole thing with Pizza Boy, the constant comments about his skill by people who really didn’t see nor care about the sheer amount of effort that he put into each and every match...and when he finally hits that emotional peak of frustration, then he’s the bad guy?

How is that right?

{Cassie doesn’t say anything at first as Reno’s wife comes around the heavy bag and wraps her arms around his neck as she looks into his eyes}

Cassie:
I’m not saying he’s done anything bad, I’m with you on everything...but I’m concerned because I’m seeing that black fire that once burned in your eyes before, babe.  He’s your tag team partner and friend, which means he’s a friend of mine and the kids too and we all support him.

{Reno nods as he wraps his arms around his wife’s waist and gives her a kiss on the lips, nodding his head as the kiss breaks.}

Reno:
I know, just wish this match didn’t have that bloody Tekken knock off bad mouthing everything.

Cassie:
(Chuckling quietly) Tekken, geez hun. I wasn’t going to give him that much credit, I was just going to call him a bad Taliban knock off at the very least.

{Reno holds his wife out with a “WTF-OVER?!” look on his face at the Darkstalkers ref before the two slowly start to melt into laughter as the screen fades out and then back into a view of Reno’s backyard with the Toronto skyline semi-far in the distance}

Reno:
I want to be upfront with you, Teddy, in that I honestly have nothing against you as a person or as a wrestler. I mean look at the two of us, we both have so many similarities-our first major title was a tag team strap, we both partnered with the most illogical of partners and became successful, we’re both highly skilled wrestlers in our chosen styles, and we’re both fathers.

There is a lot of respect there when you get right down to the nitty gritty of the matter and that was very evident at the last chapter.

And while I was hoping to get your partner, that loud mouthed, arrogant, little disrespectful kid...

{Reno stops talking and motions at the camera}

Reno:
I pulled...you.

Now unlike a lot of opponents that I’ve faced here in Wrestleworld, you’re one of the very few that I don’t feel the need to go all out and try my usual tactics on of simply hitting you hard and fast in a very brutal manner.

No.

You are that rare opponent, Teddy, that I feel that I can actually step into the ring with and have an honest to fucking god wrestling match with. Someone that I can test my actual technical skills against rather than just how bloody hard that I can throw a punch and I’m hoping that you feel the same way on some level.

But that having been said Teddy, I hope that right now you are facing the facts and fully understand that while I hold you to some level of respect as a person, the moment that my music hits and step out onto that entrance way...that respect won’t save you from the beating that is to come.

You see while you might be in the dawn of your career, me...I’m in the twilight of mine and I know it, but that won’t stop me from tearing you down and showing you exactly why you and your little mealy mouthed fucking partner aren’t ready for what’s coming at the next pay per view.

Maverick and Jay Jones love to bash me about my past in this business, but the point of the matter is that I *have* a past in this sport, one that has reached two decades and that is two decades of being on the road, of putting in the hours, of standing high and mighty in the saddle and of being bloody and laid lower than the low, Teddy.

I hope that your children will forgive me for all of the swearing but understand that when I say that I’m about to say next, I don’t do lightly;

But fuck the championships.

Fuck the accomplishments and the awards, being listed time and time again.

If there is one thing that I have learned and little snot nosed shits like Maverick will *never* learn is that with the more successes that you have, the more that you lose sight of what you’re capable of doing in that ring and I will admit that during my wars with Claudia, I let that history of successes get the better of me, I let that control me...let that control an arrogance that I thought that I’d left behind in the the Frontier Wrestling Alliance long ago.

{Reno stops talk and runs a hand over his bald head, taking a moment to calm himself  before looking into the camera again}

Reno:
No, that arrogance was merely sleeping and all it took was to hear that siren’s call of fellow monsters of arrogance to awaken it.

But that’s not what is gonna happen at this chapter, Teddy.

No.

What is going to happen is that from bell to bell, I’m going to be right there on top of you and showing you the width and length of what over twenty years of an active professional wrestling career will grant you in terms of experience.

I’m going to show you exactly why at War of the Worlds, Nobi and I are going to walk out with those Campeonatos de Parejas, like we’ve always meant to from day *one* of Nobi and myself teaming in this promotion.

It doesn’t matter how we got here, Teddy, and it doesn’t matter if Nobi is finally showing just how sick and tired he is of everyone looking at him as a third rate talent when in fact he is a proven top tier fucking *superstar* anywhere he damn well chooses to go!

What matters is that at this chapter, you’ve got to stand toe to toe with me and you’ve got to answer one simple question, one that I bet you realized the moment that you stood in that ring with me during that last chapter;

Do you have what it takes to put down a veteran of my caliber?

Do you have the quality of skill to keep a man who has been put through more tables and ladders than you’ve ever seen to earn that precious three count victory?

{Reno then points at the camera, a serious look on his face}

Reno:
Is your fighter’s passion hotter enough to burn mine to cinders?

This is a question that you need to ask yourself before you even grab a camera to cut a promo, Teddy, because when that bell rings in just a few shorts days, I want you to be able to look me in these two fucking eyes and I want you to be nothing but serious because right now I am being *deadly* serious when I say that the devil is awake and he’s coming to claim his victory.

So make yourself ready, sir. I await your answer.

{Reno then turns away from the camera to look once more at the Toronto skyline as the screen fades out}