THE KING OF DEATH

[FPV]

THE KING OF DEATH

This is what you call a flip
Ten keys from a quarter brick
Bentley from his mama's whip
K.O.D., he hard as shit

I had been spending a large amount of time staring at the championship belts hanging from the walls of my office. In my attempts to distance myself from pro wrestling over the past year, I had taken these belts for granted. Now that I was officially under AW contract though, the meaning behind these accomplishments was restored for me. How many people could claim they were double Grand Slam champions? Only four, if my memory served correctly. Four legends of the business. Torture. Jayson Price. Odin Balfore.

And yours truly, of fucking course.

The smile on my face was infectious. Ever since my return to wrestling, my employees noted an increase in my overall mood. According to them I was more approachable, listened better and was more engaged in conversation with them. This did not surprise me in the least. I could feel a new sense of purpose now that I was doing what I do best once again. As if I once again had actual goals to fulfill. The intern at The People's Grounds offices, Joshua Lincoln, was smiling with me as we stood, basking in the glory of my past.

Joshua: Magnificent. Truly magnificent Mr. Venable.

FPV: Please, Josh. Just call me Frank.

Joshua: Oh, okay sir.

Kid couldn't get away from the formalities. Heh.

Joshua: You know, Frank, every time I've been in this office, I've always wondered what all of this meant to you. I've never seen you talk about these photos, I had kinda assumed you never really cared for them.

FPV: I've always cared about these things, Josh. But lately, I've been dangerously close to writing these things off. Glad I never did.

Joshua: I can imagine, sir.

He stepped up to the centerpiece of the whole room. The two WCF World Titles that hung on the wall behind my office desk. Even to a non-fan like himself, I could tell he was spellbound by the shimmer of gold, captivated by the sparkle of gemstones, enraptured by the prestige these two title belts stood for. Most WCF superstars would kill to hold that world title once. I was good enough to hold it twice. I may never have reached the heights of a Jonny Fly, a Joey Flash, a Dune, but I still made sure that people knew the initials. Those three letters. F. P. V.

Joshua: So what now, Frank? Now that WCF is closing?

FPV: Well kid, I've got two goals on my mind. The first one is simple. Recreate this kind of glory in Action Wrestling.

The kid seemed just a bit taken aback by my answer.

Joshua: Really? All of this in a company you've only spent a week in so far?

FPV: Yup. That's the mindset you gotta have in this business kid. I've got a feeling that AW will be the one federation that matches the WCF's longevity. And if I'm gonna make my mark there, I'm gonna start early. Get all the belts that I can. Have as many five-star matches that I can. Ensure that everyone knows that I still mean business. That's not the only goal though, kid.

Joshua: Well, what is it then?

I looked at Joshua, forlorn. My memories turned towards the very beginning of my career in the Dub. Timebomb 2011 to be specific.

FPV: Kid, ever since I joined what we call the Dub, I've always been on the fringe of getting one title in particular. From my second ever match for that company, one belt has eluded my grasp. But for this final show, I have the chance to finally earn it.

Joshua: The Hardcore title?

FPV: You've been doing your homework. Well done.

Joshua: But Frank, isn't that match supposed to have the toughest opponents in the whole show?

FPV: People like Mikey eXtreme, Odin Balfore, Oblivion, Roy Speede and Andre Holmes? Yeah, I got my work cut out for me kid. But I'm more than capable of rising up to that challenge. This office should be a testament to that.

Josh nodded, as he continued to look around the office, inspecting the various framed photos and the people contained within them. He came across one of me and my old friend Roy, hoisting our tag titles in the air in celebration.

Joshua: This is one of the guys you're up against, Roy Speede, right?

FPV: Yup. He and I have seen a lot of things together. We've teamed just as many times as we've fought. Y'know he used to be the longest reigning champion? 180-something days, it was a real spectacle. Then Torture held the belt for a year and suddenly no one remembered Speede's reign. It's funny, Roy always said his biggest regret in this business was that he never won the World Title before I did. There is no other thing that can heal that kind of wound. He can become a legend in Action Wrestling and become the first ever World Champion there, with a belt just now building up prestige. But when it comes to a belt with a 20 year history, nothing will ever change the fact that I won it and he never did. It's a pain that eats at him, and will always eat at him for the rest of his career.

If he thinks beating me in this match up will heal that wound, he's got another thing coming, kid. He's spent most of his days in regular matches, catch-as-catch-can and the like. Meanwhile, the last time I was in a wrestling ring I was in the thick of dangerous territory. The King of the Deathmatch tournament. A week of solid torture and brutality, and in the end, I came out on top. Nothing can prepare you for this street fight quite like it. Of all the people in this match, Roy is the least prepared for what he's signed up for. He's hopelessly out of his depth in this match, and I intend to take full advantage of that.

Josh nodded, and turned his attention towards another photo, a photo of the most momentous night of my night. Blast 2012, the night I pinned Oblivion to unseat Jonny Fly as WCF World Champion. I gave the photo a look over behind and couldn't help but smile at the memory.

FPV: Ah, what a night that was.

Joshua: I bet. And Oblivion...that's another guy in the match, right?

FPV: Partly. My whole career I've gone up against a man named Jakob Lister, a man inflicted with a second personality named Oblivion. Oblivion was a monster, and for a long time it felt like getting to Jakob was a lost cause. Lord knows I tried many times to get to him, but no matter how many times I tried to talk to Jakob, the only one who spoke back to me was Oblivion. Now it looks like things are finally up for Jakob, he seems to be back in control of his own body. That's all well and good, but it's just too little too late.

Back in the day when Oblivion was at the top of his game, he gave me plenty of trouble in the ring. He was a credible threat back then. After I pinned him to win the World title though, things changed. No longer was he this scary creature from hell. He had been reduced to a borderline joke, and no one was willing to take him seriously. If you ever want a laugh, just google Monster Guardian of the Nae Nae. I can't remember the last time the one known as IT was taken as seriously as he was in 2011. And today? He's been reduced even further than that. Now he's just a normal man, and not the monster that won the Hardcore title more than anyone else in WCF history. Taking out a normal man will be the easiest thing in the world, kid.

He looked at the photo again. Seeing me standing tall over this supposed "monster," I got the feeling he wasn't about to argue my point.

Joshua: What about the other people in that match? Holmes, X and Balfore? Those guys are supposed to be pretty tough, yeah?

FPV: To some people. Not to me though.

Joshua: Really?

FPV: Kid, I'mma tell you about Andre Holmes, and I'm gonna set you straight.

This guy, he's good. On paper, at the very least. He's the very definition of a workhorse. He will not stop until he's fulfilled whatever he's put his mind to. One could even call him...Relentless.

Joshua: Relentless...that's his catchphrase, right?

FPV: Yes it is! Relentless Andre Holmes, a moniker he gave himself after listening to New Years Day one too many times one night. But being Relentless has it's draw backs. Y'see, Andre has a terrible knack for over exertion and burnout. He's the king of the anticlimax, great at the start, horrible by the end. He's held that Hardcore belt before, and he held it a damn long time. But he pushed himself too far, and when an opportunity came to become World Champion in the Ultimate Showdown, he choked. He choked in the worst way possible. Falling victim to an early pinfall, losing his Hardcore title and trading it for a tag run with Jayson Price.

Watching him afterwards, it was clear that Andre was trying to play it off. But we could all tell losing that belt struck a nerve and bothered him to no end. It was if he was saying "No no, this is fine, no I ACTUALLY wanted this in the first place!" His attempt at making a legitimate team with Price? Mushroom Mandingo, a gimmick that would never fly today. Not because it was entirely focused on two men talking about the size of their dicks and how they fucked every girl they came into contact with. No it wouldn't fly because of how inane and stupid the whole thing was, the fact that it reeked of insecurity from both men was just the icing on the cake.

Nowadays the guy has lost that spark that led him to become the 1000 day champion of that one fed. And no kid, before you ask it wasn't because it was a dying fed with no competition that he just happened to enter into at the right place and time. Absolutely not. Positively not.

Joshua: ...

FPV: Okay maybe a little, but that's besides the point. Point is, the guy can't cut it anymore. He ditched the Dub after the Mandingo stuff and made a mockery of the Television Title and flaking out of Action Wrestling. Point is, taking him on at Endgame won't be hard at all.

Now kid, I've got a video I want to show you.

I pulled my phone out, and opened the YouTube app. Though he seemed confused, Joshua pulled in to see the video I hap opened up. Said video was titled "Mikey eXtreme THROWS WAR MATCH #KingOfHardcore #GoneStupid." Yeah, the clickbait-y title was bad but it got the point across. In the span of about a minute, Joshua watched as Mikey eXtreme entered into WAR XV, laid down in front of me, and allowed me to get the easiest pin in WCF history. I looked at Joshua's face, the kid was definitely taken aback.

Joshua: But...but why would he do that?!

FPV: No one knows, but I've got an inkling. Mikey has always gone on about how he's the King of everything. King of Hardcore, King of eXtreme, King of Hardcore, stuff like that. But you know what he's the true King of, kid? The King of Wasted Opportunity. He talks the talk, to be sure. And sometimes, when the moon is just blue enough and the stars aligned juuuuust barely aligned properly, he can even walk the walk. When that moon turns back white and those planets drift apart though, Mikey is nothing short of a spectacular mess.

That WAR where he just gave up? The month prior, he won a match to earn the final entry into the WAR match. With a match like WAR that can have up to 50 people in it at the very least, coming out at the very end is a huge advantage. Nevermind the fact that Mikey won that match via DQ...actually no, let's dwell on that fact for a second! Mikey was facing a man named Henry Spearman, one of the many ham and eggers lost to the ether that is time. As irrelevant to the history of WCF as he is, Spearman is very relevant to the story of Mikey eXtreme. For some godforsaken reason, their match had the very specific stipulation that if Spearman used a superkick, he'd be DQ'd and would enter at #1. That's exactly what ended up happening. Mikey did not win via pinfall or submission, no Mikey won by almost taking a superkick from a nobody in the grand scheme of things. I'd call it quite pathetic, but let's be real, what he did at WAR was ultimately even more pathetic.

That's not the end of it though. In 2018, once all the top talent had made their way out of the door and there was no real competition left to speak of, Mikey was poised to take advantage and stake his claim as top dog. This was when he won the 2018 Ultimate Showdown match and became WCF World Champion. This seems all well and good, until you see just what kind of competition he was facing. Bonnie Blue? One of the most hated talents in WCF history without the talent to back it up. Teo Del Sol? The precise definition of "Always the bridesmaid and never the bride." Kid Dynamo? No one even knows who Kid Dynamo is, even if I gave them 2 minutes to google him they'd come up with nothing. That leaves Dune, a once great World Champion way past his prime, and Stephen Singh, the biggest cheapshot artist in wrestling history. It's wonder Mikey was able to pull ahead and win thee whole thing. If only he hadn't wasted a month of his time by losing to the title to my final opponent at Endgame...

Joshua: Odin Balfore?

FPV: Bingo.

I took an all too brief moment to catch my breath and sigh a little. I was saying a lot of things to this kid, who I was almost certain was just mildly interested in the things I had to say. To my surprise though, Joshua still seemed interested in this story I was weaving to him. That was good, now I was certain I wasn't just saying these things for my own benefit. I continued my diatribe to him.

FPV: I've faced Odin many times before. To be quite honest, I can't recall many times that I've beaten him. He truly was one of the greats of our business.

Joshua: "Was?"

FPV: Yes, was. Today, he is...man, he's an absolute shell of the man he was years ago. His hair is getting grayer and his wrinkles are getting deeper. When I see him speak now I have the distinct feeling his mind is beginning to go. He's an old man screaming at clouds at this point, still thinking that calling people queer as a slur is still acceptable in 2019. His promos give the same vibe that one gets when their racist grandpa ruins Thanksgiving dinner with hate speech towards minorities. He's a deteriorated man, and it shows in the ring.

True, he beat Mikey to become World Champion once again, and finally did that belt some much needed justice until Payback rolled along. Remember when I said Bonnie didn't have the talent to back up her intense fan hatred?

Joshua: I do, yeah.

FPV: Well, she couldn't beat Odin on her own.. She had to have the help of John Rabid to get the job done. The old Odin Balfore? He could've taken the both of them on no problem? 2018 Odin, though? He was destroyed by these two. People watched a god die that night, and it wasn't pretty. Though he's the Hardcore Champion leading into this match, his reign has been nothing of note, as his opponents have been all cannon fodder with no weight to them. This final match will be the first "true" defense in his months long reign, and that's a damn shame.

Mikey eXtreme and Odin Balfore together have shown their true colors. They stood ground in the WCF while all the true competition left. Now that they've failed in keeping the company afloat and there's only one show left, they've begun to point fingers as to why it failed. They point at people like me who left, of course they are. They should turn those fingers and point it at themselves though. Under their watch, the WCF became a joke. A few months ago, the final One took place, and it was a shit show. One of the worst PPVs ever produced in wrestling history. Not just WCF history. WRESTLING history. The company failed under these guys, and now it's gone. People like me, the true heavy hitters, are back, but it's too little too late. At the very least, I can cap off the history of the Hardcore Title the right way, with a brutal, deadly Hardcore match. Which brings me to the real reason I brought you here, Joshua.

Joshua: Oh?

FPV: I'm going to be away for a few weeks. AW work and other such things. I'm heading on a plane later today, so you'll be reporting everything to my good friend Aaron, who'll be your boss in my stead. Sound good?

The kid nodded, then asked one final question.

Joshua: You're headed to New York aren't you?

I smiled. The kid was learning quick.

FPV: You know it.