- Event: Refueled XLI
“It didn’t go down the way I wanted it to..but then again, I’m actually not that upset about it. Truth is I did exactly what I said I was going to do and I did it. I made a supposed god bleed. Sure it was a knock out in the first round just like Mike Best said it would. But we both got what we wanted out of that match. We both did what we said we were going to do and you can expect that out of any Hollywood and Best match. No…the real truth is I exposed Mike Best when I busted him open in an effort that I proved Mike Best can not only bleed, but he can lose as well. All I did was anger the legendary HOFC fighter and what I did was help revive a division long missed in HOW. If you want my opinion on it, I could safely tell you that the division is back bigger and stronger than ever. I know that the rules are different in HOFC matches, yet I chose to take on the HOW World Champion and arguably the greatest HOFC champion in HOW history. Yes..I may have lost the match but I came away with something I can positively use in my bag of tricks moving forward. I’ve become stronger and more agile in that ring and I couldn’t have asked for better track for me in my quest at getting back on top in HOW. Ironically, that’s where YOU come in, Solex.”
Knocked down, but not out
“My match against Mike Best was everything we said it was going to be and more. A lot of people thought I was going to get killed, decimated to the point where I would have to retire or my life as a HOW wrestler would be over. But it didn’t end that way, did it? No…the same old posse of HOW wrestlers were betting the same thing in my match against Mike. They all thought I would get killed, wiped the floor with, a toy that Mike Best could fuck with and play with like a child who plays with their food. But again, it didn’t go down that way, did it? It’s quite simple, really. I’m getting better and I’m not the only one who’s noticing it. Above all else, even if I’m the only one who’s noticing improvement, then that’s something positive I can take home with me every night. At the end of the day, I’m in this business for MYSELF above everything and everyone else. I could have been finished off just like that in my match against Mike, but I frustrated him, angered him and even though he probably wouldn’t admit this, was a threat to actually beat him. In the end, I got knocked out, but not before I made the fucker bleed. It just proves to me that my skills are getting better and I’m getting closer and closer to beating him every time we lock up in that ring. So perhaps when we meet for a fourth time Mike, the result will be much different. However, that’s not what I’m focused on right now. No. This week it’s about getting back in the win column and I intend on doing just that when I lock up with Steve Solex this week on Refueled.”
“Oh Steve..what exactly happened to you buddy? I feel like you’ve been forced down that same rabbit hole I was forced down. The one that is so small to navigate through, but deep enough to bury you in the darkness with the threat being that you won’t find the sunlight ever again. Now look at you…it seems you have more pressure on you to staying great than I did. I should have expected The Best Alliance would return…but you being apart of it? That’s the biggest surprise of the Alliance’s return. Yet here I am, once again, fighting against The Best Alliance. I guess that’s the part of my long tenured career that will never change. I’ve been up against The Best Alliance so many times in my career that the phrase if you can’t beat them, join them, came to pass. At one point I was in The Best Alliance and I’ve got to admit..it felt pretty fucking great. Being on top of the world and controlling your own destiny. But that’s the key difference in this whole affair, Steve. I was the HOW World Champion. I was on top of the world and was chopping people down week in and week out. But you? Your in a little bit of a different situation. I must add that the pressure really is on you out of the gates. If you can’t beat Brian Hollywood, a man who has been damned since returning to HOW at the relaunch then what use does Lee Best have for a Solex in his own alliance? Just ask yourself that question, Steve. I’ll wait.”
“I don’t think I need to remind you that out of the few times we’ve faced off, I’m the one who holds the tie breaker over the number one dad. You were able to beat me once and I give you mad props on that one. But the other two times? I’ve been able to come out on top. I was a lost soul the first time we faced off. The other two times I had found lightning in a fucking bottle…getting back to my tip top form again and that’s been the difference maker right there. However, let me tell you something else, Steve…this isn’t going to play out how you like it too. Sure, I may be one half of the HOW Tag Team Champions, but don’t let that championship status fool you. I’ve just started coming back into my own, finding my form once again, but adding more finesse to my wrestling style. I’ve become more ruthless, more ring aware and more importantly, finding ways to WIN again! I promise you Solex, come time for Refueled this Saturday night, I’m going to pick back up where I left off. Mike is as hard as they come in that ring..but the fact that I’m back up on my feet and training again should speak volumes of my toughness and my ability to continue to trek on. The latter part of 2019 was difficult for me. The beginning part of 2020 was difficult for me….but as we get closer to closing out this year, I’m only going to get better and I plan on ending this year being closer than ever at getting back on top. However, more importantly, Brian Fucking Hollywood is back once again and this time he’s here to stay!”
“I don’t think you understand who you’re about to meet in that ring, Solex. You may know me based off our few short matches we’ve had, but you haven’t faced a more refocused Brian Hollywood. The Brian Hollywood who has since found his killer instinct once again. I’m going to be out for more blood…especially against a member of The Best Alliance…especially since it seems that I’ve been the Alliance killer the past decade I’ve been in HOW…at least in the latter part of the last decade. I know the Alliance better than you do and I’m not even apart of it anymore. No…I’m going to have this sick pleasure of being able to pick up where I left off at putting Alliance members down.”
“It’s quite sad, really. But I oddly find it pleasurable being able to knock Best Alliance members down in that ring. You could almost say I get off on it..but I really do take pleasure in making Lee really think twice about who’s apart of his Alliance. That’s why I ultimately became a member of The Best Alliance. Well….one of them, anyways. It was this weird hobby I had, you know? Being that one guy who constantly took Alliance members down one by one. Being apart of the Alliance myself was career defining for sure…I don’t even think anyone saw me joining it, coming. But I digress…perhaps Lee is just testing you when he booked you against me knowing full well my history with the Alliance.”
“No…this match will not go down the way you think it will, Steve. It looks to me as if the number one dad got desperate because he was spiraling out of control and didn’t know what he could do to turn himself around. I remember there was a time you were number one when HOW reopened its doors. Now look at you…you’re just a sad, pathetic excuse of a dad trying to maintain keeping his head above water in HOW. You’re running out of options in HOW and I think that’s why you joined The Best Alliance. Lee wanted to give you a chance at redemption, but I honestly see right through that load of fucking shit. It’s Lee telling you you’re on notice, motherfucker. You only have so many chances in HOW, especially in the Alliance and if you don’t chip in with the winning column, he will get rid of you faster than eating ice cream on a hot one hundred degree day. But don’t think I don’t see the other half of it, too.”
“This match up against you is no coincidence. No…I don’t believe in coincidences. I know full well that Jatt Starr and John Sektor are gunning for these HOW Tag Team Championships that Darin Matthews and myself hold. It’s no secret to me that Lee and hell, even Mario Maurako, that there is a plan to get the HOW Tag Team Championships back in the Best Alliance. I wasn’t fucking born yesterday. So I’m going to send Lee and Mario a little message by beating you senseless and not only proving that the Brian Hollywood of old is back, but that Matthews and I have no plans on giving up these tag titles. I know how much value Mario holds these tag titles in HOW and how much they mean to him. He may be the fucking Godfather of the Tag Team division, but it’s going to take more than the Best Alliance and two guys who didn’t think they had it in them anymore to pry these titles away from us. So I’m going to make sure that Lee and Mario witness first hand what I think about their little plan come Rumble at the Rock. I’m going to beat that message loud and clear straight into your fucking skull, Steve!”
“You may be a different Steve Solex, but you’re still the same fucking Steve Solex. You can’t just purge away your identity. Oh no…your identity is everything in HOW. You may seem like you’re more focused and more determined to win..but I was that way, too. How quickly we forget that I was in your shoes not too long ago, Solex. I’ll be fucking damned if I let you take that moment away from me. If getting getting kneed and knocked out by Mike Best taught me anything, it’s that staying down just isn’t an ideal option for me. Mike knocked some sense into me alright…it was that killer instinct and it’s an instinct I know you think I don’t have, Steve. But I’m going to show you that instinct is a basic instinct and it’s fucking alive and well in my fucking soul! I’ve never been more rejuvenated in my entire life than right now, Solex. There’s a fucking storm coming in HOW and it’s one that I plan on being on the front lines fighting myself. I’ve been given another chance to dominate and get back to what I know best and I’ll be fucking damned if I let a washed up dad like you take that away from me. I eat Best Alliance members for breakfast and if this is to be a war started, then you better best believe I’m going to show up to stop it from being won starting with kicking your head straight off and straight into the Danger Zone!”
“I can’t be more specific enough, Solex. This is something you don’t want to get yourself entangled in because it’s something you will find it hard to escape from. I was able to escape that reality, but I nearly lost everything just to do it. That’s a man you’re going to go straight head to toe against. A man who knows what it means to lose everything. I don’t plan on going back down that route again, Steve, and that’s why I’m going to put you out of your misery before you even get a chance to do anything with it. Call it doing you a favor and saving you all the pain and torment because that’s all the Alliance does to you. I can only hope you’ll see it before the end…but I doubt that very much. I already know what that curiosity does and it’s something you just can’t run away from. That’s why I faced it and I changed myself through it all. I had to take a long look in the mirror at myself and I’m glad I did. That’s why I’m in the position I’m in today. I’m a champion and I don’t plan on stopping there as I fight my way back to the top of HOW.”
“The Best Alliance doesn’t show you any mercy and I sure as fuck won’t either once Refueled swings around this Saturday night. Maybe…just maybe, I can save you the pain and torment..but I rather doubt it. There sure is a war coming and I plan on being ready once Saturday night rolls around. You haven’t faced me at my best yet..but you’re about to at Refueled. You can challenge me on that claim all you want…but you’ll witness that first hand this Saturday. Mark my words, Solex, I promise you this is a war you want no part of…but I’ll do you a favor and let you see that firsthand this weekend!”
“The war is almost here, Solex…and I’ll be seeing you soon..”
==================
Buck Wringley: “You just about ready Bri? This is going to take up most of our day!”
Brian Hollywood: “I know. However it’s something that needs looked into.”
Hollywood and Buck walk out of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department as Hollywood and Buck choose to walk from where they are to a nice Italian restaurant just around the corner. They were both dressed really nice in suits as they were getting ready to meet a couple of business owners that were right next door to Hollywood Enterprises.
Buck Wringley: “I sure hope you know what you’re doing, Bri.”
Brian Hollywood: “Don’t worry Buck, these are a couple guys we can trust. Perhaps they can give us some testimony about who all has been going in and out of Hollywood Enterprises a week leading up to the explosion.”
Buck Wringley: “Yea, I get that…but what is this going to do for us for the investigation? There are hundreds of people that come and go from your company a week. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack!”
Hollywood nods in agreement. He knows Buck is right. However, he also knows the faces of a lot of people that come and go from Hollywood Enterprises every day. It was his job to know.
Brian Hollywood: “Look, I know you think this will take time away from the real enemy. But I’ve got to look into this. This also may give us some insight on the insurance claimers of the fire damage to Hollywood Enterprises. I’m telling you Buck, I think if we can point out the people responsible for the fire, we can zero in on the insurance company as well.”
Buck Wringley: “Yea…but Darin already admitted it was him.”
Hollywood slightly smiles but shakes his head in disagreement. He knew Buck was good at his job, but he was also involved with this war against the Chair for a very long time. He knew what stuck out to him and what appeared to stick out for the betterment of distraction.
Brian Hollywood: “True. But who do you think put Darin up to this in the first place? Plus the insurance company that is covering the fire damage? It’s too convenient…too close to the Men in SUITs. Remember them? Remember that mess of a war we found ourselves in with them?”
Buck nods is head slowly. It wasn’t the best memory he wanted considering they put him in the hospital.
Buck Wringley: “Believe me…I remember them alright. I see your point. Okay, so what happens if we find out that they are somehow connected? We don’t exactly have the evidence or the right number of guys to go up against them.”
Brian Hollywood: “Trust me…I’m aware of that. However, we’ve always been able to maintain and endure and that’s something that has always frustrated The Chair. I know he’s connected in all of this. It’s a feeling I haven’t been able to shake…and there’s a war coming Buck…and we’ve all got to be ready when it does…”
Hollywood knew he needed more allies if this was to trigger a bigger war. So he hoped that the first of many answers lied with these two business owners Hollywood knew so well and could trust. Business was definitely starting to pick up again as Hollywood sighs. Hollywood and Buck continue to walk down the block as they prepared to meet with these two business owners as the scene slowly fades to black..