- Event: Chaos 041
Rioja Restaurant
Denver, Colorado
Thursday, August 31st, 2023
Jace was hesitant to even respond to the text message when he received it earlier in the week. His biological father reaching out to him usually meant bad news of the worst kind. However, seeing as how he would be teaming with both Nettie Carey and Conor Fuse this week to take on the PWA World Tag Team Champions and the HOW World Champion in a six-person tag team match.
More Lee Best booking 101 at its finest. After his announcement last week, Jace figured Lee would milk as many matches out of him as humanly possible. He sat in his car and glared at the front of the restaurant trying to decide whether this would be worth his time or not. With a shake of his head, he stepped out of the vehicle and approached the front door. He was greeted by the Hostess on the outside and shown to the table where he found Terrence already seated.
“Glad to see that you decided to dress for the occasion.” Terrence criticized as he looked his son up and down. “But you’re here and I guess that is better than nothing.”
Jace folded his arms across his chest and looked around a bit.
“Is there a problem?” Terrence inquired.
“Yeah, there is a problem. You are one of them, but also she isn’t here with you.” Jace commented. “So, where is she? In the bathroom or is she hiding somewhere waiting to attack me from behind?”
Terrence shook his head and sighed.
“If you’re referring to my dearest Nettie, then no, she’s not here with us today,” Terrence revealed. “It’s just you and I here. So, if you would please have a seat.” Terrence gestured to the seat across from him.
Jace narrowed his brow but eventually pulled out the chair and took a seat. He gets handed a menu by the waitress before looking over at his father.
“So what is the catch here?” Jace questioned.
“Do you always just assume the worst of me?” Terrence countered.
Jace leaned back and extended his arms.
“Of course I do and so far I haven’t been wrong once.” The truth was laced with a drop of venom.
“Can’t a father just come here to a nice restaurant and celebrate his son’s impending retirement? One less obstacle to stand in my dear Nettie’s way.” Terrence asked like it wasn’t a backhanded comment.
“AND THERE IT IS!” Jace shouted which caused other customers to turn and look his way. “It’s like you just can’t help yourself. It doesn’t matter what is going on in my life, you just take so much joy in trying to kick me when I’m down.”
“That isn’t true at all.” Terrence protested. “I just think that having you out of the way will help Nettie achieve her goals to reach the top of this company.”
“Well, you have fun hanging off of her teat for as long as you possibly can,” Jace said as he stood up from his seat. “I’m leaving, thanks for wasting my time.”
Jace turns around to leave but Terrence reaches out and grabs a hold of him by the arm.
“Wait…” Terrence said with a sense of urgency in his voice. “I’m sorry, sit back down. Please, son.”
The HOW Hall of Famer raised his eyebrow in confusion at the uncharacteristic apology from his father. Jace lowered himself back down in his seat. The waitress came over and brought him a drink that his father had preordered before Terrence spoke up again.
“I know I haven’t been the best person or parent to you,” Terrence stated the obvious. “Regardless, I am glad you put your foot down and you’re no longer willing to eat shit from this Lee Best person. The salary you get paid by this federation is nowhere near worth the shit that they put you through.”
“If you’re trying to butter me up for a cut of the money or try to talk me into some Carey cooked-up plan then I don’t want to hear it,” Jace said sternly.
“It’s nothing like that, I promise,” Terrence confirmed. “You’ve accomplished a lot even though I think this choice of professional is less than stellar. You deserve a certain amount of respect.”
“You ever let that Water Buffalo you decided to start humping hear that and she’ll kick you to the curb.” Jace chuckled.
Terrence swallowed down the hateful comment that was dying to explode from his lips and just nodded his head.
“Nettie is a lot to deal with sometimes… even for me,” Terrence said the last part under his breath. “As long as you show up for the match this week I will do my best to keep her under control. You have my word.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Jace replied before taking a sip from his drink. “Anyway, I’ll show up this week but not for you or Carey. I have my reasons to go to fucking Ohio of all places to wrestle in this match.”
“Fair enough,” Terrence said before changing the subject. “So, what does life after High Octane Wrestling look like for you? This isn’t going to be one of those things where you take a couple of months off and then come crawling back because you can find something better to do?”
“Not that it’s any of your fucking business…” Jace hissed before talking in a calmer tone. “I have a few things that I want to do. Things that people in HOW think are beneath them but I’m not a part of the hive mind. I don’t think Lee Best’s bullshit is something worthy of being a commandment. I’ve always had a mind of my own and I guess that’s what makes me the black sheep of the company.”
“Speaking of sheep on the HOW roster.” Terrence leaned forward a bit. “How many of them have wished you well or asked you to stay now that you’ve announced you’re leaving?”
Jace grinned and rubbed his hand over his chin.
“Well… counting you? No one.” There was a sarcastic chuckle. “Not a single active member of the HOW roster has said so much as fuck you about me announcing I am not re-signing as an active competitor next year. Which is fine, really, it just shows me that deciding to leave is the best decision that I’ve ever made.”
Terrence leaned back in his seat as his eyes widened from the news. His first instinct was to ridicule his son but for once he decided to keep his mouth shut. He grabbed a hold of the menu on the table and then opened it up.
“Their loss, honestly,” Terrence said sincerely. “I know you won’t believe anything I have to say to tell you that I care. So, I’ll do the next best thing. The meal is on me, order anything that your heart desires.”
Jace once again raised his eyebrow before laughing.
“Then you better prepare yourself to watch me drink this entire place dry.” Jace raised his hand into the air to signal for the waitress. “I guess you’re going to have to beg Carey for an advance on your allowance to cover the credit card debt I’m about to put you in.”
The waitress walks over to the table as Jace begins to order drinks left and right while Terrence sighs before the scene fades.
—–
Unknown Property
Denver, Colorado
Thursday, August 31st, 2023
Jace pulled himself out of the back of the vehicle followed by his father. The HOW Hall of Famer was more than a little bit tipsy and Terrence had demanded that Jace not get behind the wheel after they left the restaurant.
“Where the fuck are we?!” Jace slurred his words as he tried to remain on his feet.
“We’re still in Denver,” Terrence said matter-of-factly.
“No shit, Sherlock.” Jace proclaimed. “That still doesn’t tell me anything.”
Terrence grabbed his son by the arm and steadied him on his face before turning him around.
“I brought you here to show you the new company,” Terrence confessed.
“Company?” Jace asked in drunken confusion. “There is no company anymore, I told you that I gave it back to STRONK! STRONKUMMS is his to do with whatever Lee wants him to do with it.”
“You gave Mr. Godson back the name of the company.” Terrence corrected him. “Not the company itself.”
“Huh?” Jace stumbled in place a bit as Terrence continued to hold his arm.
“While you thought all I was doing was having sexual relations with Miss Carey, I was also doing something to help you like I said I would.” Terrence uses his free hand to gesture to a large building in front of them. “Lee Best and Mr. Godson got back STRONKUMMS the name and everything to do with frozen meat. You, however, still hold the company itself and all of its employees.”
Jace took a few moments trying to process what Terrence was saying.
“The company was based in Minnesota and I let all the employees go with a very generous severance package,” Jace recalls.
“Yes, that is something you did but I undid it.” Terrence clears his throat. “I offered the workers a chance to keep their jobs and to relocate. All of them chose to stay employed instead of trying to find work in this economy.”
“I… what… explain it in simple terms. FUCK!” Jace shouts and wobbles on two feet.
“You still have a company and employees, the only thing you don’t have is the STRONKUMMS brand name,” Terrence said slowly. “And this building in front of us is the new headquarters for the company.”
Jace takes a beat to squint up at the large sign on the building. In his intoxicated state, he can’t make out what it says.
“What do those words say?” Jace points.
“The Finer Things in Life,” Terrence answered.
“The fuck is that?!” Jace protested.
“That is the new name of the company,” Terrence said proudly. “It has a lovely ring to it.”
Jace staggered until he was facing his father.
“You named my company ‘The Finer Things in Life’ without talking to me first?!” Jace points his index finger in Terrence’s face.
“Yes, I named OUR company that,” Terrence responded in a parental tone that resonated with authority.
Jace paused before realization set in. He reached out and grabbed a hold of his father by the collar of his shirt and got into his face.
“You decided to make yourself an owner of MY company?!” Jace growled. “So, that was your plan all along?! You and that bitch Carey wanted to steal the company away from me?! I swear I will end you if she has anything to–”
Terrence pushed Jace away and smoothed over his clothes.
“Nettie has nothing to do or no stake in the company,” Terrence argued back. “As much as I love her, she’s not exactly acting like someone that I can trust with that kind of thing.”
Jace staggered back from the shove and almost fell on his ass.
“Heh, what did she do? Did she cheat on you?!” Jace cackled loudly.
“NO!” Terrence snapped back at his son. “…Nettie would never do something like that. She’s just been suffering from something I can’t put my finger on yet. There are times when she is the woman I fell in love with but there are also times where she’s not herself at all. She’s someone or something completely different. Something that seems revolted by me.”
Jace continued to laugh and wobbled his way forward but the amount of alcohol he consumed finally won. Davidson blacked out and fell forward but Terrence reacted fast enough to catch him before he hit the ground.
“Forever acting like a spoiled child,” Terrence grumbled before leading his son back to the vehicle. The Chauffeur stepped out to help Terrence get him back inside. “Let him sleep it off, we’ll drop him off at his home and then be on our way. I don’t want Nettie to worry about me being gone too long.”
The Chauffeur nodded his head and then helped Terrence into the back of the vehicle beside his son. After getting back behind the wheel, the car soon pulled away from The Finer Things in Life headquarters as the scene fades.
—–
Sanctuary
Denver, Colorado
Saturday, September 2nd, 2023
Jace walked out to the front of his estate where a familiar vehicle had pulled up in front of the multi-car garage. The front door of the vehicle opened and out stepped Jace’s business manager and best frenemy, Kat Jones. Jace jogged his way over toward her before scooping her up in his arms to hug her tightly.
“Kitty Kat, what a wonderful surprise!” Jace bellowed as he continued to squeeze the smaller woman. “I’ve missed you so much!”
“You just saw me earlier this week!” Kat groaned as she fought for oxygen while stuck in the bear hug.
“Yeah, but before that it felt like forever since I’ve seen you,” Jace said in a joyful tone. “Besides, you hardly ever come down off of your mountain to come here to see me.”
“That’s because your hugs are damn near lethal,” Kat complained before smacking his forehead with the palm of her hand. “Now put me down before you have to plan my funeral and deal with all of my angry brothers!”
Jace placed Kat back down on her feet. Being the brat that she is, Kat decided to dramatically gasp and cough for oxygen in a display that made Davidson just want to squeeze her harder.
“Threatening me with your brothers and being dramatic. Some things never change at all.” Jace commented while folding his arms across his chest.
“Like you’re the master at changing bad behavior.” Kat quipped.
“Touche.” Jace nodded his head. “But what brings you out here?”
“I want to personally say thank you for taking the time to spar with me like you did,” Kat said genuinely. “Now that I’m cleared to wrestle again, I feel like everyone around me trying to cover me in bubble wrap and handle me with kid gloves.”
“That’s because most people are scared of you,” Jace added.
Kat rolled her eyes but the smirk on her face gave away her true feelings about his comment.
“I also wanted to come see you and talk about your announcement,” Kat said before leaping into the air to wrap her arms around him to hug him before he could wrap his arms around her. “Walking away from the place you’ve called home for most of your career isn’t an easy thing to do but I’m happy for you. It’s about time you stop putting life and limb on the line in that place.”
Jace smiled down at her as she clung to his body.
“I just feel like it’s time,” Jace replied. “There is only some many times, so many years that I can fight the same battles against the same people. Only so many times I can win the same matches or titles before it becomes kind of routine and mundane.”
“I know the feeling.” Kat nodded her head against his chest. “However, just because you’re leaving that place does not mean you get to retire for good just when I am about to come back to active completion.”
Kat lectured in a motherly tone even though she knew Jace wouldn’t listen and that he was older than she was.
“Yes, I promise that is not the case, Kitty Kat,” Jace assured her as she let go of him. Kat narrowed her eyes at him before nodding her head. “There are still plenty of things I want to do and try both in professional wrestling and outside of it.”
“That both makes me happy and worries me more than I am willing to admit,” Kat said as Jace turned toward the garage door.
“It’s still like four whole months away from me starting to do any of those things.” Jace laughed as he pulled up the garage door. “Until then I get to pick and choose which things I want to do with the rest of my contract.”
Jace stepped inside the garage as the sunlight poured in and a shriek was heard coming from inside.
“Fuck! Is it always too fucking bright in Colorado?!” Abdullah Choi complained while still being shackled to the wall of the garage. “I need food! I need water! I need someone to empty my shit bucket!!!”
“Pipe down!” Jace barked at Choi who flinched. “You won’t be here in Colorado much longer.”
Jace leaned down and began messing with the chains attached to the wall. Kat held her hand over her mouth and nose in shock.
“What the hell is this?!” Kat screamed in a muffled manner through her hand. “You’ve done some out-of-pocket things in your time but this one crosses way too many boundaries.”
“What do you mean?” Jace asked as he continued to mess with the chains.
“It looks and smells like you’ve kidnapped a human being and have been torturing him!” Kat exclaimed.
“Well… duh.” Jace shrugged his shoulders. “He totally deserves it, though.”
“He’s fed me nothing but off-brand dry cereal for days!” Choi whined.
“Fucks sake…” Kat yelled before stepping back out of the garage. “Come on, get your ass out here!”
“What?” Jace turned to look at her. “I was going to empty the bucket.”
“Jace Parker Davidson,” Kat said in a demanding tone. “Get your ass out of that garage and bend down so that I can slap some sense into that empty head of yours!”
Jace scoffed and then unhooked the chains from the walls. He pulled Choi up to his feet and then yanked him out of the garage.
“Number one.” Jace began. “You can full name me all you want but you’re not the boss of me. Number two, like Hell, am I going to bend down just so you can smack me on the head.”
“Someone has to!” Kat pointed her free hand at Jace.
“Calm down,” Jace said to Kat which never works. “Today was his last day inside my garage. And I will no longer be feeding him dry fucking cereal.”
“So, you’re letting him free?” Kat questioned.
“Sort of,” Jace said as he shook his hand back and forth. “I’m taking him to Ohio with me tomorrow and I’m handing him over to STRONK! Godson. One less loose end to tie up before I’m done working there.”
“You’re going to WHAT?!?!” What little color was left in Choi’s complexion was drained in an instant. “Noooo… let’s not do that! I like the garage, I’m more than happy to stay in there. No rent, all the free cereal I can eat, who doesn’t love defecating into a bucket?!”
Kat shakes her head.
“Yeah, nope, everyone in the house is starting to complain about the smell and the noises you make in the middle of the night.” Jace yanks at the chain on the shackles. “I’m going to hose you down here in the yard and then tomorrow we let STRONK! decide your fate.”
“That is a fate worse than death!” Choi falls to his knees and pleads. “Anything but that, the things he’ll do to me won’t be humane at all. Have a heart, bapa!”
“Save your sob story for Godson,” Jace said before turning to Kat. “You want to go inside and wait while I spray him down? We can finish catching up after I lock him in the trunk of my car or something.”
“I’ve seen and smelled more than enough.” Kat took a few steps backward. “I’m going to head back up my mountain and put together bail money for when you get caught for doing whatever this whole thing is. When you’ve gotten out of prison and showered about ten times, you’re more than welcome to come up the mountain.”
Jace shakes his head and begins to spray Choi with a garden hose as the scene fades.
—–
Six-person tag team match.
Booked again just one week after fighting The Son in the main event of Chaos. And this time I got the PWA tag champions and the World Champion himself. Lee was even so kind as to grant me tag team partners for this match.
In the form of Carey and Fuse.
Every fiber of my being wants to flip Lee Best the bird and just not even bother to go to Ohio. Who the fuck does he think he is? After everything that’s happened, he thinks he can just book me for every single fucking show and I’m just going to show up like some loyal mutt? I had nothing to gain from facing Mike Best last week. What does he think wrestling in this six-person tag team match is going to do for me?
Fuck all, that’s what.
However, I’ll show up in Ohio and wrestle in this match. Not to amuse Lee Best but to not leave Carey and Conor out to dry. As far as I know, both of them plan on being here longer than I do. When I walk out of the door for the final time, that’s one less person to stand against Lee and his fucking Alliance.
Conor, regardless of things that happened between us in the past, I like the kid. He’s talented and capable. A little too trusting for my tastes but he’s true to himself and what he believes in. He’s due to face Mike for the LSD Championship belt and I know that is the monkey on his back at the moment. Mike Best is the mountain Conor feels he needs to climb before his time is done in HOW. I understand that feeling.
I also know that after the win last week, Conor has a shot at the HOW World Championship belt against STRONK! I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t a match I was dying to see. No matter what Lee says or how much Mike or anyone else in that goofy-ass Alliance wants to proclaim… STRONK! and Fuse are the future of this company. Lee absolutely adores one of them but the other he treats like shit.
Fans of HOW can only hope Lee pulls his head out of his ass before Conor decides to walk out the door like I am. And then there is Carey. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to her and my father bumping uglies but that’s their business. I’ve done a lot of rotten things to her and I know everything that is happening now is her way of trying to get some sort of revenge against me. Honestly, I deserve it but it’s not like she’s a saint by any means.
She is on a roll lately, though. She’s won two straight matches and I guess if she’s around she keeps my father out of my hair a majority of the time. I’ll show up in fucking Ohio and deal with her bullshit this week as a courtesy. I’m sure not costing her a win but also leaving at the end of the year will put a smile on her face. With me gone, maybe Zombiewood will crawl out of whatever broad-shouldered cave he’s fallen into and decide to be a worthwhile friend to her.
The irony of the fact that it took one foot out of the door for me to decide to be a team player isn’t lost on me at all.
The goal is still the same. Get my hands on Lee Best.
So, if I have to face off against three of his goons to do it, then so be it. The fact that one of them is Jatt Starr is kind of hilarious. One of the men who recruited me into that bastard version of the AoA. Someone that I’ve been teamed with and against many times. The old dog of HOW now that Kostoff is dead and gone. How do you do it, Jatt? How do you stick around and show up after all these years?
Aren’t you tired of facing the same people over and over again? Although, it seems like you only complain when your opponent happens to be Carey. And while I understand that Carey is extra and annoying in her own right. How many times can you stomach having to face the likes of Scott Stevens or Darin Zion before you want to pull what is left of your hair out? How many times can you do the frienemies routine with John Sektor before it feels like you’re stuck in the Groundhog’s Day movie?
I guess when you don’t give a flying fuck about appearances and there are still things for you to accomplish it makes that bitter pill go down easier. You’re broken down, Jatt. The Golden Era was a long time ago and you’ll never be THAT good ever again. Not while there is actual talent left on this roster. Carrying around Dan Ryan’s jockstrap cannot be fun for you… Or maybe it is?
Speaking of Dan, you’re one of the few people I have not faced endless for years in this company. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to drag out a four-month-long feud with you. I mean I will kick your ass since I have not forgotten about you putting me in the hospital when you were protecting STRONK! Even though I think you’re kind of a tool, you do seem like someone who carries himself with a sense of pride and purpose.
So, why are you in The Final Alliance?
I get that Lee gave you a second chance when most people wouldn’t but come on. Lee has given Scott Stevens 5th and 6th chances, so that can’t be the reason. Aren’t you sick of it? Aren’t you tired of just teaming up with Jatt? Isn’t facing the same handful of people over and over again just awful? I’ll be gone by the end of the year and then what? You’re going to fight Conor, Carey, Shane, and Zion until the end of time itself?
I get the PWA tag titles are nice, but how many no-name teams can you beat from different federations that don’t measure before the dread creeps in? That void in the pit of your being that screams 24/7 because you know you have to show up this week and then the very next week have to face a slightly different Yahtzee roll of opponents that you just faced from the week before?
You’re talented, Dan. The problem is that Lee has everyone else that’s talented on your side of the field. You could get matches against STRONK!, Michael, Sektor, Solex, and so on more often if you weren’t attached at the hip to the fucking Alliance. You’re no spring chicken, Daniel. Don’t let those last few grains of sand in the hourglass slip away by sitting complacently under Lee’s thumb.
And then there is you, STRONK!
This may be the last time I get to share the ring with you. I know for a fact that Lee isn’t just going to throw me another shot at the HOW World Championship out of the goodness of his heart. We went to War at 97RED and I think you know just like I do that you didn’t win convincingly, you survived thanks to Lee and all of his shenanigans.
I guess it’s nice to know that you finally realize that I didn’t kill MONGO. However, after setting you on fire and everything I did at 97RED, I know that things just are magically back to normal between us. I have Choi in my custody and I’m bringing him to Ohio with me. Win, lose, or draw in this match, he’s all yours to do with what you please. I took him away from you to use as a bargaining chip against Lee but now that I’ve made my decision to leave? There is no point in punishing you by preventing the much-needed revenge you seek for what Choi did.
I just want you to know that beyond this whole Lee Best and Final Alliance bullshit, you are the one person I’m thankful I got to meet, team with, and even face here in HOW. My time around you here in HOW made me realize that it won’t get any better than you as an opponent, partner, rival, or friend in this company.
I just hope that you have a nice long reign as the HOW World Champion and that one day you decide to stop letting Lee Best and all of his minions control your life and your decisions. I hope one day as I’m long gone from HOW, I can flip on the HOTv Network and see you standing tall on your own two feet as your own man, doing what makes you happy.
Gentlemen… this is the goodbye I’m getting out now because who knows what will happen between now and December 31st.
I expect each of you to come at me the same way you would if I hadn’t decided not to re-sign with HOW in 2024. I’m going to come at you the same way because I don’t know how to do it any differently.
Let’s make Sunday night memorable.