Post by Kevin Bishop on Jan 7, 2017 17:59:54 GMT -5
A voice breaks silence within a dark room…
“Cult…
Cult…
CULT…
That’s what they always come back to…
Bishop is running a cult and he rules his men with an iron fist…
He has followers who would do anything for him and that makes him a deranged cult leader…”
A light hanging above a figure comes to life and the figure below it, is non other than The Plague Kevin Bishop sitting in his Johnny Cash-esque attire with his WCF People’s Title on his right shoulder and his UCI World Heavyweight Title on his left. He stares directly into the camera before him and shakes his head.
“For fuck sakes, are you people that stupid? Are you so dense that you pick up on the surface of it all? Sure on paper, The Brotherhood looks like a cult, because we gather around a focal leader character who speaks of one cause that all the members agree on… But even within that definition… Wouldn’t we be a gang? Or an organization? A frat? So why peg us as a cult? Is it because I offer my members a safe haven to hang their hats? I mean, I haven’t forced anyone to live at our camp or even at our newly acquired farm house… Dion has his illustrious house that I’m sure he loves to be at more than with our brothers, hell I don’t blame him, solitude is a great get away sometimes. I’m sure that is why the both of us have enjoyed our time away from WCF so much, walking our own paths in UCI… It’s not that we don’t get a long and enjoy our brothers, but sometimes you gotta do something more challenging to prove you can do it all on your own just as well…”
The Plague holds his UCI World title up to the camera.
“That’s what I did and I became World Champion in another land, so there’s that…“
The Plague lifts the title back to his shoulder and he continues.
“But this isn’t about UCI… That’ll come up another time, but this right here… This moment in time is about Zero Tolerance… The clowns and their jack ass cowboy… For months they have claimed to be better than The Brotherhood… They’ve claimed to be the best thing to happen to wrestling since the damn headlock was invented… I have guys who look to me for answers and they look to me to be the beacon of hope…”
Kevin pauses for a second to ponder on his thought at hand.
“Honestly… There is no hope this time around… I can’t be more straight forward than that… Zero Tolerance has beat my members and they have done so every chance they have had against them… Kidd just lost to Crazy J… DK lost numerous times… Pomp and Dion lost when the Trios titles were on the line… Sadly ZT has a win against me on paper with them defeating The Baron von Douchebag that I left limp and half dead in the ring for them…”
Kevin smirks a bit and shakes it off.
“So yes… On paper… ZT has bested us every chance they have had… So I don’t offer all out 100 percent HOPE, because that’s a hard sell… BUT, I do offer this… Your leader is going to do what he does BEST and that is drop those tards to the best of my ability… You WILL NOT find quit in me! You WILL NOT see a man who gives up just because the going gets a bit tougher! The Plague is THE BEST PEOPLE’S CHAMPION FOR A REASON! The Plague is the current UCI WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION JUST AS WELL! BEST NEW COMER OF 2016! THE ACCOLADES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES!”
The Plague calms himself a bit and takes a swig of water that he grabbed from off camera.
“But I digress…”
Back to the point.
“Zero Tolerance have had a good year, that can’t be taken from them, but if they think for one second that The Brotherhood hasn’t done everything they set out to do this past year, then they haven’t really been paying attention to their surroundings… The Brotherhood has grown… PERIOD… Through that growth, the inevitable rise continues to be true to life… I have shown the reality of what The Brotherhood is to men who set out to destroy us and let me tell you right now… It didn’t take torturing them to do it either… I am not a bad man and my brothers aren’t bad men either… We live a simple life and we look out for each other… How is that any different than what Zero Tolerance does? Or Pantheon does? Just because my mission statement is to lift my brothers up and to protect them from the harshness of this world… That makes me a CULT leader?”
Kevin laughs a bit.
“HA, you wish it was that easy… Hell just stick to calling me a dirty, bearded, homeless man, amirite, Cash? Speaking of that redneck, Cash, how’s it going Hoss? You truly believe you are something special to the wrestling industry, don’t you? You believe everything you have accomplished in the WCF is something that people pine over? The most successful member of Zero Tolerance is Crazy J and that’s not saying much, since he reigns over the barbaric title that is the hardcore championship. Where’s the skill in defending that title? It’s not wrestling that he does, it is outright WAR with weapons that are designed to mutilate… There’s no art within it… There’s no technical prowess to it… I like to think hardcore matches are the type of thing the fans want in special occasions… Not on a nightly basis… Good for him for going to war so many times to hold onto his gold, but it’ll never be one that represents the best this company has to offer, because as much as you believe my title is a gimmick championship, what’s more gimmicky than the hardcore title?”
Kevin rubs his People’s title a little.
“You boys didn’t fair too well against Pantheon when your titles were on the line… They pinpointed your flaws and they took advantage of it… At least when it came down to me eating the pin in my match last week, it was done to protect Franky, because that’s what a good leader… err… Good friend does. My fight with the likes of Johnny Rabid and Wade Moor isn’t over, believe me… But this week The Brotherhood gets to go to war with Zero Tolerance and their newest recruit Vinnie Jones… Not the actor, believe me I checked… Not much is known about old Vinnie, but it is evident that he knows Zero Tolerance and if he knows them, then he must be a fighter… You see, I don’t see Zero Tolerance as guys who phone it in, by no means, I just know that I am indeed more proven than them. My list of accolades are constantly growing and I have shown what I am capable of in the ring more times than not…”
Kevin snaps his fingers and he points to the camera.
“But to be honest… This isn’t about me, is it? Zero Tolerance is going to aim for my brothers… Because that has been their approach this whole time… Cash won’t fight me one on one… J won’t fight me one on one… And if Vinnie is anything like the rest of ZT, he too won’t fight me one on one… They’re not cut out for actual wrestling matches, the kind that I put on… The kind that truly entertains the fans to their very core… They’re brawlers and that’s all they’ll ever be… Why do you think Crazy J gravitated to the Hardcore division? Why do you think the team went for the trios titles instead of, I don’t know competing for The People’s title or Internet or Alpha or TV or even… Yeah that’s a hard one to say, but the World title… They’re not destined for anything other than hardcore or trios… They went off to get Vinnie because they knew Crazy J was starting to become too overworked trying to keep his Hardcore title in house… They desperately needed another to go after what they feel is rightfully theirs against The Pantheon…
Kevin shrugs it off and tilts his head to the camera.
“Tell me I’m wrong… Go on, I’ll wait…”
Kevin looks at his wrist and then back to the camera.
“So you look at my brothers and you instantly cast them aside… Sure you have your victories, but they have been watching tape, putting in the work, and they’re gonna reap the benefits very soon… Hell, look at Dion, the dude is world traveling and working on honing his craft… Seth picked up on it, when he decided to team him and CJ with Andre to battle for the Trios titles… You know, your old Trios titles… The ones YOU lost to Pantheon… He’s going to go in ready to prove that his talk of wanting to be my second in command now that Lester has headed off into the sunset isn‘t just talk… Dion has done wonders on picking up where Parish left off and I see him being very capable of putting Pantheon in a world of hurt that you ZT fucks could only wish to do. Daily, Dion has proven to be a warrior and his training regiment puts most others I have seen to shame… Carrying giant logs up and down hilltops, yeah that is some gladiator shit right there.
Kevin nods with agreement.
“Even DK has started in on his own training… He’s been improving his high flying skills and working on his agility… I saw him practice super kicks with Franky just the other day… DK is out to prove that the events that have lead him to the man he is today isn’t what is going to define him as a man or as a competitor… He has more worth in the WCF than most people have given him credit for and 2017 is going to be his year, one way or another.”
Kevin smiles and then becomes a bit somber.
“Psychopomp… My good friend and the man who came into this company with me… He has hit a stride that could be considered a slump… It was after his defeat of Bates, a high moment for him… A moment that he still talks about today, in between his cookie breaks or his naked yoga classes… I still shudder at that thought… But that isn’t the point… The point is, Pomp is a team player and he is the most loyal person I have ever met… His friendship with Kidd is one that I knew was going to happen whether Kidd joined us or not… They’re so alike, kindred spirits if you will… The idea of them teaming together is one that I know will help the both of them in time…”
A pause takes over for a second.
“I just feel Pomp is going to find himself before any of us realize it and that is when he’s going to get his mojo back for lack of a better word… Pomp needs this win against ZT and as his leader, I am GOING TO GIVE IT TO HIM!”
Kevin’s eyes become more intense on the camera.
“We all have our reasons of why we want to dispose of Zero Tolerance, but the biggest reason is so obvious… They are a cancer to this company… To this INDUSTRY for that matter… They are degenerate thugs who get off on the pain of others…. J can call himself whatever he likes… EVIL… WONDERFUL… CRAZY… You’re all the same guy and if it takes a stern reality check to push that very point, then allow The Plague to deliver one right underneath your chin with a little thing I like to call, The Black Death!”
Kevin sits back in his chair and smirks.
“It’s not hard to see… You may be strong in a collective, but separated you fall… Pantheon is strong because all of them are strong apart, just as they are together… I’m training my men to be strong in their own right and with Dion jumping right into his role, the guys have reached out to him in a way that I thought only I could pull off. He is a great second in command and he is proving that more and more everyday. 2017 is headed the right direction for The Brotherhood and to kick off the year with a fight with Zero Tolerance, it seems only right to go in swinging… We have NOTHING to lose, because we have already survived 2016, which took more people than the year before that… The Brotherhood is going to continue to Carry On just like we have and we are going to gain more than Zero Tolerance could ever dream possible. It is so easy to overlook us, I’ve been dealing with that my entire life and for ZT to underestimate the likes of Pomp and DK… Well, I see that has an advantage more so than a disadvantage. All I have to do is go in there and smack those ZT bitches around. That’s more like a vacation to me than and actual challenge.”
Kevin stands up and the light above him starts to sway, allowing The Plague to disappear a bit into the shadows.
“The more I think about these different shades of Crazy J’s persona… The more I start to think about the true imbalance within Zero Tolerance. I mean… Is there really room for two skitzos within Zero Tolerance? I don’t see Jason Cash having the mental capacity to keep so many voices in check to be able to keep the Zero Tolerance train a moving. So the next question… Does Vinnie Jones know what he is getting involved with?”
Kevin moves closer to the camera.
“Vinnie… Let me tell you this… If you want to go somewhere in this company, you’re going to want to move as far away from ZT as you possibly can… They’ve said it before, they’re a three man group because no one else can get along with them and if you fail to pull your end, they’ll drop you like a bad habit… Take a look at Adrian Archer… Poor guy… I tried to help him early on in his career here in WCF, but Zero Tolerance talk him into joining up with them instead and the moment he couldn’t compete to their standard, they sent him packing… He even won the Trios titles for them, but they always play as if they have amnesia when it comes to that fact… Before Archer, they had Kira Izumi… A guy they brought in with them from OWC… A guy who they helped train… So who is his failings really on? If this little juggernaut called Zero Tolerance is so great, then aren’t they just as measured as I am for the company they keep? Is that why they are so quick to kick guys out of Zero Tolerance? As for me, my men fail and they train to get better… You think I let their downfalls affect me from continuing to climb this industry’s mountain? I was voted New Comer of The Year for a reason and we may not have been voted for top stable, but they doesn’t make any less of a stable. My guys are getting better daily and I look after them as they do so. I don’t just toss them aside… What, do you think I do because I’m some crazed cult leader, who needs his followers to be relevant? Sounds like something typical that Cash would yammer on and on about… Oh Bishop, is just a dirty cult leader who does this and that… For fuck sakes, Cash, at least when I was fighting Rabid, he actually tried to destroy my Brotherhood with some cerebral war fare…”
Kevin pauses a second and a slight chuckle can be heard.
“But cerebral is something that is lost on Cash… Cash, that means he used his mind to try to attack us, not just pin pointed one singular thing about us and beat it to the ground… Cash just as the rest of ZT isn’t capable of pointing forth thought that could be considered deep thinking… So mind games, isn’t your thing, that is evident… So what… You’re going to whoop my ass, as you so elegantly stand by as your very own life’s credo, you’re the ass whooping cowboy redneck from the trailer park… You booze it up better than any one else and you shut the bars down… You do this because you have a KID to provide for… Your wife isn’t turning over enough in the trailer park because she’s been had about as many times as you have called the Brotherhood a cult or hell as many times as you have called Dion homeless… She’s not bringing in the currency she use to and you HAVE to fight… Or are you still going to stick to the fact that you fight, because it’s WHAT YOU DO?”
Kevin shakes his head at the thought of Cash trying to be on the level of Rabid.
“Sorry Cash, but it’s going to take more than fighting to one up me and I’ll be more than happy to show you what a real New York beating is like for your country bumpkin ass come Slam.”
A door bursts open and a beam of light shines through into the dark barely lit room. In waddles Zander Hobbs with a piece of paper in his hand.
“Bishop! Bishop! I got the information you were looking for on Vinnie Jones… You’re right, he isn’t the actor from X-Men The Last Stand… It says in his bio that he has a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde personality…”
Bishop laughs a bit.
“So basically he fits right in with Zero Tolerance and they’re like of mental stability… It’s kind of scary really… Is Cash going to come out at Slam as a City slicker Wall Street mogul or something?”
Zander chuckles as he hands the paper to Bishop.
“Flip a coin… The fans don’t know which Vinnie they will get on a nightly basis… He strikes, strikes, strikes… Hardcore… Blah blah blah… UFC style fighter… Looks an awful lot like Freezer Burn… A joke in and of itself…”
Bishop shoos Zander away.
“Thank you Zander… You did well…”
Zander waddles away and Bishop looks back to the camera in a more focused manner.
“Let’s cut to the chase Mr. Jones… I don’t care which unstable man shows up in the ring with my Brotherhood on Sunday… You can claim to be some unrelenting mad man who thrives on the pain of others, but I have faced off against some of the most insane bastards this wrestling world has produced and yet I’m still standing… You want to go submission for submission, I’ll take you up on that… You want to go strike for strike and I’ll be more than willing to return the favor as well… You don’t strike fear in me and you’re not going to catch me slouching… When it comes to competition, I always come ready to compete and I bring a resiliency that no other man can match. You are foolish to side with Zero Tolerance when this battle between the two of us as only truly just begun… You could’ve had a bright future with WCF, but now it’s going to be cut short… You have been weighed… Measured… And found to be unworthy of a rise within this company… Hit the reset and start over, because this is the unstoppable end of Zero Tolerance… Brought to you by The Brotherhood…”
Kevin smirks at the camera.
“You see Zero Tolerance… Our rise is simply inevitable… You’re going to try to end us and keep us down… But you can’t destroy us, you can only hope to CONTAIN US…”
The camera fuzzes over and we fade out to black.
We open back up to another location… A man with a dark straggly beard is wearing a black hoody with the Brotherhood symbol on the front of is and he looks to be jamming a bunch of wires into a black backpack. Once he zips it up, he looks down to the bag and a off putting smile crosses his lips.
“For The Brotherhood…”
The view fades out just as quickly as it popped up.
We come back into view with Bishop walking down the stairs of the farm house and into the living quarters where the rest of The Brotherhood are sitting around a television set. Bishop looks to the TV very inquisitively as he approaches Karma on the couch.
“What’s going on guys?”
Karma grabs Bishop by the hand and she pulls him to the seat next to her which is right between her and Zander.
“We are on the news…”
Bishop sits down and he feels Zander shaking like a leaf on a tree.
“Come on, am I missing something here? Zander what has you so spooked?”
Zander shakes his massive paw at the TV.
“It’s not good Kev… While you were working on your promo video… One of our Brotherhood members bombed a building in Detroit…”
Kevin eyes get wide and he is hit with a hard hit of reality.
“But why? Who the hell DID IT?”
Zander looks at the TV screen as a man with a very unkempt beard is paused on the screen wearing his black Brotherhood hoody with a wicked smile.
“Just one of the guys who came along, I suppose… Not a wrestler… I believe he was a janitor or something… Ex-Military who found himself living on the streets…”
Kevin looks at the paused picture and the man’s eyes looking back at him.
“That was Wes Stevens… I remember him coming to us… He was in all kinds of a dark place at that time… But to do this? What would lead him to do THIS?”
Kevin has a tear fall down the right side of his cheek and Karma tightens her grip on his hand.
“Kev... Baby...”
Kevin shakes his head.
“Look at the location… It’s in Detroit… Zero Tolerance’s home turf… Wes is an ex-military guy and he probably still has that mind set inside of him… Ever since Rabid started after us… I felt an unsteadiness within our ranks… Maybe we were taking in too many people to keep the direction going in our favor… Maybe we were spread too thin to keep everyone under the same thought… Betterment is what we strive for… But I never said to go to the extremes that Wes did… If only I would’ve had a chance to talk to him before he did this… Maybe…”
The screen begins to play again and Wes screams into the news camera.
“THIS WAS FOR YOU BISHOP!!! FOR THE BROTHERHOOD!!!!”
Wes is taken off camera in handcuffs and the news feed is quickly shut off. The rest of The Brotherhood members sitting in the living room look to Bishop for answers. So Bishop stands up and he looks around… Zander, Damian, Pomp, Kidd, Karma, and Silver all look to Bishop with wide eyes.
“This isn’t US… What Wes Stevens has done in Detroit is simply sickening… If we have been dodging the idea of being a cult before, it’s going to get even tougher now… We are not EXTREMIST… We are simply are band of brothers looking out for each other… This SHIT isn’t going to happen AGAIN!”
Bishop looks to Zander.
“How does this make YOU feel, Zander?”
Zander is frantically in tears.
“I… I… I can’t even, man! What was he thinking?”
DK jumps in.
“It’s simple! He wanted to hurt Zero Tolerance for Bishop!”
Pomp and Kidd look at each other and reply in unison.
“DAMIAN!”
DK shrugs.
“What? I’m just saying… It makes sense… To some degree…”
Kevin shakes his head.
“Don’t you think we have enough on our plate than dealing with crazed Brotherhood fanatics in our ranks? Zander… I need you to contact Sean and I need you to have him get the rest of our members together at the camp… We need to set a precedence… Damage control must be implemented… Can you do that for me?”
Zander nods slowly, a bit unsure of himself.
“Zander! Can you do this for me or not?”
Zander snaps out of his own trance.
“I CAN SIR!”
Zander leaps off the couch faster than thought possible and he speed walks into the next room, causing Kidd and Pomp to chase after him.
“We will help, Zander!”
Bishop looks to DK who is lost in thought, staring at the blank TV screen.
“Damian… I’m getting a vibe from you as of late brother… It is one that is a bit unsettling… I’m all for individuality and encouraging you guys to be whatever you choose to be, as long it is leading to your betterment… But your thirst you showed when Obi was original reported as to have being shot… Well it was definitely out of character… As far as the character you lead me to believe was inside of you…”
Bishop walks up and places a firm hand on DK’s right shoulder.
“Look to me, brother… I know you have been dealing with a lot and this…”
Kevin points to the TV screen.
“This was the workings of a member of ours who was lost… As I said, we are not extremist and we don’t look to force our beliefs on anyone… But you sit here and you look to want to defend this Wes Stevens guy… Just as you looked to want to defend the shooter of Oblivion… TMZ caught wind of it and they tried to make it out to be the belief of all of our Brotherhood… I look to protect us from the outsiders who run slanderous things against us, but I can only do so much…”
Damian lowers his head.
“I understand, Kev… I may come across a little more passionate than the others, because I know what it was like to be lost in a chaotic world… I’ve been trying to find ground to stand on for a very long time and the introduction of The Brotherhood, was a saving grace so to speak… You have been a great ear to speak to about my problems and crazy enough Frank has been there for me more than you could ever imagine… He’s been training with me week in and week out… During the sessions he let’s me vent and he lets me speak of my own personal demons without judging me… I just don’t know what kind of place I’d be in right now, if it wasn’t for The Brotherhood… Maybe that is what has lead me to sympathize with the outburst of action from some people… They found their outlet… As I still look to hold my demons in tight…”
Kevin shakes his head for a second and then looks down to Damian.
“You are stronger than you give yourself credit for, DK… You have survived death and you look to us as your saving grace, but all we did was remind you of what you already knew… You are destined for so much more in this world and those demons you speak of… They will eat you alive if you let your guard down… I’m not going to stand here and tell you that The Brotherhood is going to be that wall forever… Betterment is a real thing and one day… You will gain the strength you need to overcome and perceiver…”
Kevin rubs his fingers on his temples for a second and then looks directly into Damian’s soul.
“But whatever you do son… Don’t go down this path of sympathizing with monsters… Detroit may have been fucked up already, but those were innocent people in that building… I don’t care if it was his attempt at stabbing Zero Tolerance in my honor… It wasn’t needed and it was inhumane to say the least… Wes Stevens is every bit the monster as Oblivion was, can’t you see that?”
Damian nods slowly.
“Now, I need you to get focused… With all the insanity aside, the show must still go on and we have our biggest fight we have had in a long time… The last time you and I squared off with Zero Tolerance, it was the night I fed them the Baron… I have you and Pomp with me this time around and we need to go at them blow for blow until it is The Brotherhood standing tall… Can you do that for me? Are you ready for a literal WAR?”
Damian stands up and gives Kevin a hand shake.
“Those Zero Talent fools, don’t know what’s coming their way… There’s a rage inside of me that is DYING to come out… They’re the ones who are going to quench that thirst…”
Kevin shakes Damian’s hand firmly and the pats him on the back.
“Great to hear, DK… Now go clear your head a bit, I think I remember Franky saying he had some high flying bumps to show you out in the barn later…”
DK actually smiles a bit and he walks off. Kevin turns to see Karma sitting on the couch with her head resting against the wall. Kevin walks over and takes a seat next to her.
“What, babe?”
Karma just shakes her head.
“This… All of this… Now we have members trying to create massacre in your name? You swear we’re not a cult, yet everyone looks at us as one… You claim we are just trying to save everyone who is looked down upon, yet no one sees you as a savior of the people… You cling to your People’s title and your newly acquired World title… But those titles don’t make you the man you claim to be… They only symbolize what you have been doing in the ring all these years… You lead your Brotherhood outside of the ring to, but you’re influence never steadies them… If it did, the events in Detroit wouldn’t have happened… You claim it’s Rabid’s fault… But Rabid only ripped away at the part we have left open and vulnerable… The People of The Brotherhood… The civilians if you will… You left Sean Craven to follow up with those members, so does the blame go on him for all of this? Or do you play a real leader and take fault in your decision?”
Karma’s words stung, but Bishop understood it all too well.
“You’re right… I fucked up… We have grown too much and we have spread ourselves too thin… I got selfish in my attempt to want to regain the glory of being a world traveler… I should’ve been there for my brothers and sisters outside of the wrestling world… It is my fault that Wes did what he did…”
Karma rubs Kevin’s shoulder.
“Just as you told Damian… You are stronger than you give yourself credit for… You will rise above this and you will lead your Brotherhood just as you always did before you lost focus… I think you need to make a trip to the camp, babe…. Your people need to see you and they need to know that this bombing wasn’t of your design…”
Kevin nods along.
“You’re right… They need me, honey… Thank you for showing me the error in my ways…”
Karma smiles and plays with Kevin’s beard.
“That’s what a good woman does for her man…”
Kevin kisses her and backs away with a smile.
“That must be why I keep you around, huh?”
Karma punches Kevin in the arm in a playful fashion.
“Now can we talk about my super awesome Final Girl Battle Royal match?”
Kevin tilts his head at the thought.
“I’m still not fully sold on you wrestling again… You walked away for a reason and now you want to jump back into it, as if you never left?”
Karma rolls her eyes.
“You act like I’m not capable of taking care of myself in the ring. I’ve wrestled with some of the best on the indies, what makes you think the ladies of WCF will be any different?”
Kevin fires back.
“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again… They wrestle MEN… For years the wrestling world has been divided… You have your women wrestle women and men wrestle men… Hell Andy Kaufman wrestled women, but that was a gimmick goof off of a match… Now the indies is all about mixing the gender matches… I’ve seen girls get demolished with chair shots from men and I’ve seen women do the unthinkable against men…. I just don’t want to see you get caught up in shit that I can’t protect you from, is all.”
Karma’s not a fan of the words that just came out of Kevin’s mouth.
“Protect me? I didn’t ask you to protect me from those bitches! So what you’re saying is, I’m not going to be able to hold my own in that match? I was the QUEEN BITCH of the indies and believe me, I can still tap into that side of ME.”
Kevin puts his hands up in a I surrender type of way.
“Calm down, I was just saying that these chicks aren’t push overs…”
Karma grabs Kevin by the beard and pulls him down toward her.
“I am going to walk into that battle royal… MY battle royal and I’m going to eliminate every last one of them… Do you understand me?”
Kevin gulps and nods slowly.
“Damn, you are hot when you’re angry…”
Karma punches Kevin and the arm and he laughs.
“What? What’d I say?”
The two laugh at each other as we fade out to black.
“Cult…
Cult…
CULT…
That’s what they always come back to…
Bishop is running a cult and he rules his men with an iron fist…
He has followers who would do anything for him and that makes him a deranged cult leader…”
A light hanging above a figure comes to life and the figure below it, is non other than The Plague Kevin Bishop sitting in his Johnny Cash-esque attire with his WCF People’s Title on his right shoulder and his UCI World Heavyweight Title on his left. He stares directly into the camera before him and shakes his head.
“For fuck sakes, are you people that stupid? Are you so dense that you pick up on the surface of it all? Sure on paper, The Brotherhood looks like a cult, because we gather around a focal leader character who speaks of one cause that all the members agree on… But even within that definition… Wouldn’t we be a gang? Or an organization? A frat? So why peg us as a cult? Is it because I offer my members a safe haven to hang their hats? I mean, I haven’t forced anyone to live at our camp or even at our newly acquired farm house… Dion has his illustrious house that I’m sure he loves to be at more than with our brothers, hell I don’t blame him, solitude is a great get away sometimes. I’m sure that is why the both of us have enjoyed our time away from WCF so much, walking our own paths in UCI… It’s not that we don’t get a long and enjoy our brothers, but sometimes you gotta do something more challenging to prove you can do it all on your own just as well…”
The Plague holds his UCI World title up to the camera.
“That’s what I did and I became World Champion in another land, so there’s that…“
The Plague lifts the title back to his shoulder and he continues.
“But this isn’t about UCI… That’ll come up another time, but this right here… This moment in time is about Zero Tolerance… The clowns and their jack ass cowboy… For months they have claimed to be better than The Brotherhood… They’ve claimed to be the best thing to happen to wrestling since the damn headlock was invented… I have guys who look to me for answers and they look to me to be the beacon of hope…”
Kevin pauses for a second to ponder on his thought at hand.
“Honestly… There is no hope this time around… I can’t be more straight forward than that… Zero Tolerance has beat my members and they have done so every chance they have had against them… Kidd just lost to Crazy J… DK lost numerous times… Pomp and Dion lost when the Trios titles were on the line… Sadly ZT has a win against me on paper with them defeating The Baron von Douchebag that I left limp and half dead in the ring for them…”
Kevin smirks a bit and shakes it off.
“So yes… On paper… ZT has bested us every chance they have had… So I don’t offer all out 100 percent HOPE, because that’s a hard sell… BUT, I do offer this… Your leader is going to do what he does BEST and that is drop those tards to the best of my ability… You WILL NOT find quit in me! You WILL NOT see a man who gives up just because the going gets a bit tougher! The Plague is THE BEST PEOPLE’S CHAMPION FOR A REASON! The Plague is the current UCI WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION JUST AS WELL! BEST NEW COMER OF 2016! THE ACCOLADES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES!”
The Plague calms himself a bit and takes a swig of water that he grabbed from off camera.
“But I digress…”
Back to the point.
“Zero Tolerance have had a good year, that can’t be taken from them, but if they think for one second that The Brotherhood hasn’t done everything they set out to do this past year, then they haven’t really been paying attention to their surroundings… The Brotherhood has grown… PERIOD… Through that growth, the inevitable rise continues to be true to life… I have shown the reality of what The Brotherhood is to men who set out to destroy us and let me tell you right now… It didn’t take torturing them to do it either… I am not a bad man and my brothers aren’t bad men either… We live a simple life and we look out for each other… How is that any different than what Zero Tolerance does? Or Pantheon does? Just because my mission statement is to lift my brothers up and to protect them from the harshness of this world… That makes me a CULT leader?”
Kevin laughs a bit.
“HA, you wish it was that easy… Hell just stick to calling me a dirty, bearded, homeless man, amirite, Cash? Speaking of that redneck, Cash, how’s it going Hoss? You truly believe you are something special to the wrestling industry, don’t you? You believe everything you have accomplished in the WCF is something that people pine over? The most successful member of Zero Tolerance is Crazy J and that’s not saying much, since he reigns over the barbaric title that is the hardcore championship. Where’s the skill in defending that title? It’s not wrestling that he does, it is outright WAR with weapons that are designed to mutilate… There’s no art within it… There’s no technical prowess to it… I like to think hardcore matches are the type of thing the fans want in special occasions… Not on a nightly basis… Good for him for going to war so many times to hold onto his gold, but it’ll never be one that represents the best this company has to offer, because as much as you believe my title is a gimmick championship, what’s more gimmicky than the hardcore title?”
Kevin rubs his People’s title a little.
“You boys didn’t fair too well against Pantheon when your titles were on the line… They pinpointed your flaws and they took advantage of it… At least when it came down to me eating the pin in my match last week, it was done to protect Franky, because that’s what a good leader… err… Good friend does. My fight with the likes of Johnny Rabid and Wade Moor isn’t over, believe me… But this week The Brotherhood gets to go to war with Zero Tolerance and their newest recruit Vinnie Jones… Not the actor, believe me I checked… Not much is known about old Vinnie, but it is evident that he knows Zero Tolerance and if he knows them, then he must be a fighter… You see, I don’t see Zero Tolerance as guys who phone it in, by no means, I just know that I am indeed more proven than them. My list of accolades are constantly growing and I have shown what I am capable of in the ring more times than not…”
Kevin snaps his fingers and he points to the camera.
“But to be honest… This isn’t about me, is it? Zero Tolerance is going to aim for my brothers… Because that has been their approach this whole time… Cash won’t fight me one on one… J won’t fight me one on one… And if Vinnie is anything like the rest of ZT, he too won’t fight me one on one… They’re not cut out for actual wrestling matches, the kind that I put on… The kind that truly entertains the fans to their very core… They’re brawlers and that’s all they’ll ever be… Why do you think Crazy J gravitated to the Hardcore division? Why do you think the team went for the trios titles instead of, I don’t know competing for The People’s title or Internet or Alpha or TV or even… Yeah that’s a hard one to say, but the World title… They’re not destined for anything other than hardcore or trios… They went off to get Vinnie because they knew Crazy J was starting to become too overworked trying to keep his Hardcore title in house… They desperately needed another to go after what they feel is rightfully theirs against The Pantheon…
Kevin shrugs it off and tilts his head to the camera.
“Tell me I’m wrong… Go on, I’ll wait…”
Kevin looks at his wrist and then back to the camera.
“So you look at my brothers and you instantly cast them aside… Sure you have your victories, but they have been watching tape, putting in the work, and they’re gonna reap the benefits very soon… Hell, look at Dion, the dude is world traveling and working on honing his craft… Seth picked up on it, when he decided to team him and CJ with Andre to battle for the Trios titles… You know, your old Trios titles… The ones YOU lost to Pantheon… He’s going to go in ready to prove that his talk of wanting to be my second in command now that Lester has headed off into the sunset isn‘t just talk… Dion has done wonders on picking up where Parish left off and I see him being very capable of putting Pantheon in a world of hurt that you ZT fucks could only wish to do. Daily, Dion has proven to be a warrior and his training regiment puts most others I have seen to shame… Carrying giant logs up and down hilltops, yeah that is some gladiator shit right there.
Kevin nods with agreement.
“Even DK has started in on his own training… He’s been improving his high flying skills and working on his agility… I saw him practice super kicks with Franky just the other day… DK is out to prove that the events that have lead him to the man he is today isn’t what is going to define him as a man or as a competitor… He has more worth in the WCF than most people have given him credit for and 2017 is going to be his year, one way or another.”
Kevin smiles and then becomes a bit somber.
“Psychopomp… My good friend and the man who came into this company with me… He has hit a stride that could be considered a slump… It was after his defeat of Bates, a high moment for him… A moment that he still talks about today, in between his cookie breaks or his naked yoga classes… I still shudder at that thought… But that isn’t the point… The point is, Pomp is a team player and he is the most loyal person I have ever met… His friendship with Kidd is one that I knew was going to happen whether Kidd joined us or not… They’re so alike, kindred spirits if you will… The idea of them teaming together is one that I know will help the both of them in time…”
A pause takes over for a second.
“I just feel Pomp is going to find himself before any of us realize it and that is when he’s going to get his mojo back for lack of a better word… Pomp needs this win against ZT and as his leader, I am GOING TO GIVE IT TO HIM!”
Kevin’s eyes become more intense on the camera.
“We all have our reasons of why we want to dispose of Zero Tolerance, but the biggest reason is so obvious… They are a cancer to this company… To this INDUSTRY for that matter… They are degenerate thugs who get off on the pain of others…. J can call himself whatever he likes… EVIL… WONDERFUL… CRAZY… You’re all the same guy and if it takes a stern reality check to push that very point, then allow The Plague to deliver one right underneath your chin with a little thing I like to call, The Black Death!”
Kevin sits back in his chair and smirks.
“It’s not hard to see… You may be strong in a collective, but separated you fall… Pantheon is strong because all of them are strong apart, just as they are together… I’m training my men to be strong in their own right and with Dion jumping right into his role, the guys have reached out to him in a way that I thought only I could pull off. He is a great second in command and he is proving that more and more everyday. 2017 is headed the right direction for The Brotherhood and to kick off the year with a fight with Zero Tolerance, it seems only right to go in swinging… We have NOTHING to lose, because we have already survived 2016, which took more people than the year before that… The Brotherhood is going to continue to Carry On just like we have and we are going to gain more than Zero Tolerance could ever dream possible. It is so easy to overlook us, I’ve been dealing with that my entire life and for ZT to underestimate the likes of Pomp and DK… Well, I see that has an advantage more so than a disadvantage. All I have to do is go in there and smack those ZT bitches around. That’s more like a vacation to me than and actual challenge.”
Kevin stands up and the light above him starts to sway, allowing The Plague to disappear a bit into the shadows.
“The more I think about these different shades of Crazy J’s persona… The more I start to think about the true imbalance within Zero Tolerance. I mean… Is there really room for two skitzos within Zero Tolerance? I don’t see Jason Cash having the mental capacity to keep so many voices in check to be able to keep the Zero Tolerance train a moving. So the next question… Does Vinnie Jones know what he is getting involved with?”
Kevin moves closer to the camera.
“Vinnie… Let me tell you this… If you want to go somewhere in this company, you’re going to want to move as far away from ZT as you possibly can… They’ve said it before, they’re a three man group because no one else can get along with them and if you fail to pull your end, they’ll drop you like a bad habit… Take a look at Adrian Archer… Poor guy… I tried to help him early on in his career here in WCF, but Zero Tolerance talk him into joining up with them instead and the moment he couldn’t compete to their standard, they sent him packing… He even won the Trios titles for them, but they always play as if they have amnesia when it comes to that fact… Before Archer, they had Kira Izumi… A guy they brought in with them from OWC… A guy who they helped train… So who is his failings really on? If this little juggernaut called Zero Tolerance is so great, then aren’t they just as measured as I am for the company they keep? Is that why they are so quick to kick guys out of Zero Tolerance? As for me, my men fail and they train to get better… You think I let their downfalls affect me from continuing to climb this industry’s mountain? I was voted New Comer of The Year for a reason and we may not have been voted for top stable, but they doesn’t make any less of a stable. My guys are getting better daily and I look after them as they do so. I don’t just toss them aside… What, do you think I do because I’m some crazed cult leader, who needs his followers to be relevant? Sounds like something typical that Cash would yammer on and on about… Oh Bishop, is just a dirty cult leader who does this and that… For fuck sakes, Cash, at least when I was fighting Rabid, he actually tried to destroy my Brotherhood with some cerebral war fare…”
Kevin pauses a second and a slight chuckle can be heard.
“But cerebral is something that is lost on Cash… Cash, that means he used his mind to try to attack us, not just pin pointed one singular thing about us and beat it to the ground… Cash just as the rest of ZT isn’t capable of pointing forth thought that could be considered deep thinking… So mind games, isn’t your thing, that is evident… So what… You’re going to whoop my ass, as you so elegantly stand by as your very own life’s credo, you’re the ass whooping cowboy redneck from the trailer park… You booze it up better than any one else and you shut the bars down… You do this because you have a KID to provide for… Your wife isn’t turning over enough in the trailer park because she’s been had about as many times as you have called the Brotherhood a cult or hell as many times as you have called Dion homeless… She’s not bringing in the currency she use to and you HAVE to fight… Or are you still going to stick to the fact that you fight, because it’s WHAT YOU DO?”
Kevin shakes his head at the thought of Cash trying to be on the level of Rabid.
“Sorry Cash, but it’s going to take more than fighting to one up me and I’ll be more than happy to show you what a real New York beating is like for your country bumpkin ass come Slam.”
A door bursts open and a beam of light shines through into the dark barely lit room. In waddles Zander Hobbs with a piece of paper in his hand.
“Bishop! Bishop! I got the information you were looking for on Vinnie Jones… You’re right, he isn’t the actor from X-Men The Last Stand… It says in his bio that he has a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde personality…”
Bishop laughs a bit.
“So basically he fits right in with Zero Tolerance and they’re like of mental stability… It’s kind of scary really… Is Cash going to come out at Slam as a City slicker Wall Street mogul or something?”
Zander chuckles as he hands the paper to Bishop.
“Flip a coin… The fans don’t know which Vinnie they will get on a nightly basis… He strikes, strikes, strikes… Hardcore… Blah blah blah… UFC style fighter… Looks an awful lot like Freezer Burn… A joke in and of itself…”
Bishop shoos Zander away.
“Thank you Zander… You did well…”
Zander waddles away and Bishop looks back to the camera in a more focused manner.
“Let’s cut to the chase Mr. Jones… I don’t care which unstable man shows up in the ring with my Brotherhood on Sunday… You can claim to be some unrelenting mad man who thrives on the pain of others, but I have faced off against some of the most insane bastards this wrestling world has produced and yet I’m still standing… You want to go submission for submission, I’ll take you up on that… You want to go strike for strike and I’ll be more than willing to return the favor as well… You don’t strike fear in me and you’re not going to catch me slouching… When it comes to competition, I always come ready to compete and I bring a resiliency that no other man can match. You are foolish to side with Zero Tolerance when this battle between the two of us as only truly just begun… You could’ve had a bright future with WCF, but now it’s going to be cut short… You have been weighed… Measured… And found to be unworthy of a rise within this company… Hit the reset and start over, because this is the unstoppable end of Zero Tolerance… Brought to you by The Brotherhood…”
Kevin smirks at the camera.
“You see Zero Tolerance… Our rise is simply inevitable… You’re going to try to end us and keep us down… But you can’t destroy us, you can only hope to CONTAIN US…”
The camera fuzzes over and we fade out to black.
We open back up to another location… A man with a dark straggly beard is wearing a black hoody with the Brotherhood symbol on the front of is and he looks to be jamming a bunch of wires into a black backpack. Once he zips it up, he looks down to the bag and a off putting smile crosses his lips.
“For The Brotherhood…”
The view fades out just as quickly as it popped up.
We come back into view with Bishop walking down the stairs of the farm house and into the living quarters where the rest of The Brotherhood are sitting around a television set. Bishop looks to the TV very inquisitively as he approaches Karma on the couch.
“What’s going on guys?”
Karma grabs Bishop by the hand and she pulls him to the seat next to her which is right between her and Zander.
“We are on the news…”
Bishop sits down and he feels Zander shaking like a leaf on a tree.
“Come on, am I missing something here? Zander what has you so spooked?”
Zander shakes his massive paw at the TV.
“It’s not good Kev… While you were working on your promo video… One of our Brotherhood members bombed a building in Detroit…”
Kevin eyes get wide and he is hit with a hard hit of reality.
“But why? Who the hell DID IT?”
Zander looks at the TV screen as a man with a very unkempt beard is paused on the screen wearing his black Brotherhood hoody with a wicked smile.
“Just one of the guys who came along, I suppose… Not a wrestler… I believe he was a janitor or something… Ex-Military who found himself living on the streets…”
Kevin looks at the paused picture and the man’s eyes looking back at him.
“That was Wes Stevens… I remember him coming to us… He was in all kinds of a dark place at that time… But to do this? What would lead him to do THIS?”
Kevin has a tear fall down the right side of his cheek and Karma tightens her grip on his hand.
“Kev... Baby...”
Kevin shakes his head.
“Look at the location… It’s in Detroit… Zero Tolerance’s home turf… Wes is an ex-military guy and he probably still has that mind set inside of him… Ever since Rabid started after us… I felt an unsteadiness within our ranks… Maybe we were taking in too many people to keep the direction going in our favor… Maybe we were spread too thin to keep everyone under the same thought… Betterment is what we strive for… But I never said to go to the extremes that Wes did… If only I would’ve had a chance to talk to him before he did this… Maybe…”
The screen begins to play again and Wes screams into the news camera.
“THIS WAS FOR YOU BISHOP!!! FOR THE BROTHERHOOD!!!!”
Wes is taken off camera in handcuffs and the news feed is quickly shut off. The rest of The Brotherhood members sitting in the living room look to Bishop for answers. So Bishop stands up and he looks around… Zander, Damian, Pomp, Kidd, Karma, and Silver all look to Bishop with wide eyes.
“This isn’t US… What Wes Stevens has done in Detroit is simply sickening… If we have been dodging the idea of being a cult before, it’s going to get even tougher now… We are not EXTREMIST… We are simply are band of brothers looking out for each other… This SHIT isn’t going to happen AGAIN!”
Bishop looks to Zander.
“How does this make YOU feel, Zander?”
Zander is frantically in tears.
“I… I… I can’t even, man! What was he thinking?”
DK jumps in.
“It’s simple! He wanted to hurt Zero Tolerance for Bishop!”
Pomp and Kidd look at each other and reply in unison.
“DAMIAN!”
DK shrugs.
“What? I’m just saying… It makes sense… To some degree…”
Kevin shakes his head.
“Don’t you think we have enough on our plate than dealing with crazed Brotherhood fanatics in our ranks? Zander… I need you to contact Sean and I need you to have him get the rest of our members together at the camp… We need to set a precedence… Damage control must be implemented… Can you do that for me?”
Zander nods slowly, a bit unsure of himself.
“Zander! Can you do this for me or not?”
Zander snaps out of his own trance.
“I CAN SIR!”
Zander leaps off the couch faster than thought possible and he speed walks into the next room, causing Kidd and Pomp to chase after him.
“We will help, Zander!”
Bishop looks to DK who is lost in thought, staring at the blank TV screen.
“Damian… I’m getting a vibe from you as of late brother… It is one that is a bit unsettling… I’m all for individuality and encouraging you guys to be whatever you choose to be, as long it is leading to your betterment… But your thirst you showed when Obi was original reported as to have being shot… Well it was definitely out of character… As far as the character you lead me to believe was inside of you…”
Bishop walks up and places a firm hand on DK’s right shoulder.
“Look to me, brother… I know you have been dealing with a lot and this…”
Kevin points to the TV screen.
“This was the workings of a member of ours who was lost… As I said, we are not extremist and we don’t look to force our beliefs on anyone… But you sit here and you look to want to defend this Wes Stevens guy… Just as you looked to want to defend the shooter of Oblivion… TMZ caught wind of it and they tried to make it out to be the belief of all of our Brotherhood… I look to protect us from the outsiders who run slanderous things against us, but I can only do so much…”
Damian lowers his head.
“I understand, Kev… I may come across a little more passionate than the others, because I know what it was like to be lost in a chaotic world… I’ve been trying to find ground to stand on for a very long time and the introduction of The Brotherhood, was a saving grace so to speak… You have been a great ear to speak to about my problems and crazy enough Frank has been there for me more than you could ever imagine… He’s been training with me week in and week out… During the sessions he let’s me vent and he lets me speak of my own personal demons without judging me… I just don’t know what kind of place I’d be in right now, if it wasn’t for The Brotherhood… Maybe that is what has lead me to sympathize with the outburst of action from some people… They found their outlet… As I still look to hold my demons in tight…”
Kevin shakes his head for a second and then looks down to Damian.
“You are stronger than you give yourself credit for, DK… You have survived death and you look to us as your saving grace, but all we did was remind you of what you already knew… You are destined for so much more in this world and those demons you speak of… They will eat you alive if you let your guard down… I’m not going to stand here and tell you that The Brotherhood is going to be that wall forever… Betterment is a real thing and one day… You will gain the strength you need to overcome and perceiver…”
Kevin rubs his fingers on his temples for a second and then looks directly into Damian’s soul.
“But whatever you do son… Don’t go down this path of sympathizing with monsters… Detroit may have been fucked up already, but those were innocent people in that building… I don’t care if it was his attempt at stabbing Zero Tolerance in my honor… It wasn’t needed and it was inhumane to say the least… Wes Stevens is every bit the monster as Oblivion was, can’t you see that?”
Damian nods slowly.
“Now, I need you to get focused… With all the insanity aside, the show must still go on and we have our biggest fight we have had in a long time… The last time you and I squared off with Zero Tolerance, it was the night I fed them the Baron… I have you and Pomp with me this time around and we need to go at them blow for blow until it is The Brotherhood standing tall… Can you do that for me? Are you ready for a literal WAR?”
Damian stands up and gives Kevin a hand shake.
“Those Zero Talent fools, don’t know what’s coming their way… There’s a rage inside of me that is DYING to come out… They’re the ones who are going to quench that thirst…”
Kevin shakes Damian’s hand firmly and the pats him on the back.
“Great to hear, DK… Now go clear your head a bit, I think I remember Franky saying he had some high flying bumps to show you out in the barn later…”
DK actually smiles a bit and he walks off. Kevin turns to see Karma sitting on the couch with her head resting against the wall. Kevin walks over and takes a seat next to her.
“What, babe?”
Karma just shakes her head.
“This… All of this… Now we have members trying to create massacre in your name? You swear we’re not a cult, yet everyone looks at us as one… You claim we are just trying to save everyone who is looked down upon, yet no one sees you as a savior of the people… You cling to your People’s title and your newly acquired World title… But those titles don’t make you the man you claim to be… They only symbolize what you have been doing in the ring all these years… You lead your Brotherhood outside of the ring to, but you’re influence never steadies them… If it did, the events in Detroit wouldn’t have happened… You claim it’s Rabid’s fault… But Rabid only ripped away at the part we have left open and vulnerable… The People of The Brotherhood… The civilians if you will… You left Sean Craven to follow up with those members, so does the blame go on him for all of this? Or do you play a real leader and take fault in your decision?”
Karma’s words stung, but Bishop understood it all too well.
“You’re right… I fucked up… We have grown too much and we have spread ourselves too thin… I got selfish in my attempt to want to regain the glory of being a world traveler… I should’ve been there for my brothers and sisters outside of the wrestling world… It is my fault that Wes did what he did…”
Karma rubs Kevin’s shoulder.
“Just as you told Damian… You are stronger than you give yourself credit for… You will rise above this and you will lead your Brotherhood just as you always did before you lost focus… I think you need to make a trip to the camp, babe…. Your people need to see you and they need to know that this bombing wasn’t of your design…”
Kevin nods along.
“You’re right… They need me, honey… Thank you for showing me the error in my ways…”
Karma smiles and plays with Kevin’s beard.
“That’s what a good woman does for her man…”
Kevin kisses her and backs away with a smile.
“That must be why I keep you around, huh?”
Karma punches Kevin in the arm in a playful fashion.
“Now can we talk about my super awesome Final Girl Battle Royal match?”
Kevin tilts his head at the thought.
“I’m still not fully sold on you wrestling again… You walked away for a reason and now you want to jump back into it, as if you never left?”
Karma rolls her eyes.
“You act like I’m not capable of taking care of myself in the ring. I’ve wrestled with some of the best on the indies, what makes you think the ladies of WCF will be any different?”
Kevin fires back.
“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again… They wrestle MEN… For years the wrestling world has been divided… You have your women wrestle women and men wrestle men… Hell Andy Kaufman wrestled women, but that was a gimmick goof off of a match… Now the indies is all about mixing the gender matches… I’ve seen girls get demolished with chair shots from men and I’ve seen women do the unthinkable against men…. I just don’t want to see you get caught up in shit that I can’t protect you from, is all.”
Karma’s not a fan of the words that just came out of Kevin’s mouth.
“Protect me? I didn’t ask you to protect me from those bitches! So what you’re saying is, I’m not going to be able to hold my own in that match? I was the QUEEN BITCH of the indies and believe me, I can still tap into that side of ME.”
Kevin puts his hands up in a I surrender type of way.
“Calm down, I was just saying that these chicks aren’t push overs…”
Karma grabs Kevin by the beard and pulls him down toward her.
“I am going to walk into that battle royal… MY battle royal and I’m going to eliminate every last one of them… Do you understand me?”
Kevin gulps and nods slowly.
“Damn, you are hot when you’re angry…”
Karma punches Kevin and the arm and he laughs.
“What? What’d I say?”
The two laugh at each other as we fade out to black.