- Event: MTG2020
Every time we come to Rome to compete in this great arena I always think of this famous quote.
“As long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome;
when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall;
when Rome falls, so falls the world”
—(Prophecy of Bede, 8th century)
However, with the pressure that has been put on me with the losing stipulation by Lee Best’s news post has given me a new perspective of the quote because I am the Colossus and HOW is my Rome and War Games is my World. If I am to fall against Brian Hollywood this Saturday so shall everything else I hold dear to me.
Location: Rome, Italy: The Coliseum
March 27, 2020, 10:30 a.m. local time
The sun is shining brightly in the clear blue sky as the rays of light illuminate the shadows from appearing in the greatest structure ever built by man, The Coliseum of Rome. The world marvel constructed of concrete and stone was the home to the great Roman Games, where warriors would become gods among men or be lambs for the slaughter. This great structure will be home once again to High Octane Wrestling and instead of the usual War Games the GOD of HOW enjoys watching from a far in the Emperor’s chair, this time everyone involved is Marching to Glory. Regardless of the name of the event, the Coliseum is still place where modern day warriors come to compete and attempt to leave a legacy, a lasting impression that can live up to the reputation of the people that came before.
As we stare at one of the wonders of the world from the outside we see The Coliseum is draped in banners to show each one of the participants at this year’s March to Glory. The outside banners by the main entrance is all about the Tag Team titles as we see champions, Dan Ryan and Lindsay Troy, in the middle with a white; G.O.D above them. To the right of the champions are the former champions, Doozer and Mr. Cool himself, Cancer Jiles with a cracked egg above them and the yolk pouring down to spell out eGG Bandits. Next to the Bandits is a golden banner with Andy Murray and Perfection with a shiny 24K above them. To the left of the champions is a red banner with Damien Ryan and Scott Woodson with HATE written above them and a giant Anarchy logo in the middle. The outside banners wouldn’t be complete without the Hollywood Bruvs, obviously. Mikey Unlikely and Kendrix are front and center of a golden banner like their stablemates with a Starbucks type cup logo filled with their favorite frappe with Hollywood Bruvs written in white on the green image of the side of the cup.
As we head towards the entrance the image fades to the inside of the arena where things are being setup for the show. Various other banners hang around the Coliseum highlighting the other matches taking place such as the LSD championship match with Max Kael’s devilish smile front and center. As the camera pans around the arena we see hanging under the perch where Caesar and other people of importance sit hangs the fabled 97 red color hangs proudly as it displays the infamous Bottomline pen, and then God himself, Lee Best. As we continue to pan around the arena in the farthest corner of the Coliseum we see two banners almost out of sight and out of mind. The two banners are of Scott Stevens and Brian Hollywood. As the image zooms in we see someone looking up towards the banners.
“So this is where they put us?”
The voice says with a shake of his head before turning around to reveal that it is Scott Stevens standing before us.
“Out of sight and out of mind just like we’ve been treated as of late.”
Stevens says as he slowly turns towards the banners again.
“You and I are a lot of like Brian.”
Stevens says as he turns from the banners facing straight ahead.
“You could say we are both two sides of the same coin.”
Stevens says as he places his hands behind his back and starts to walk.
“Our journey to High Octane Wrestling is virtually identical, it’s that scary, and you don’t need to fact check Stevenspedia to make sure either.”
Stevens says as he stops briefly to pick up some sand and as he rises slowly lets it blow into the gentle breeze that haunts the Coliseum.
“Two careers lost in the wind just like this sand here to the people of importance in HOW.”
Stevens continues to release the sand until it is gone and the Texan dusts off his hands before continuing his trek on the arena floor.
“However, it wasn’t always like that, was it Brian?”
Stevens asks as he shakes his head.
“Brian, you were a successful business man, and blue chip prospect on the rise on the independent scene while I came from a wrestling dynasty whose name had me blacklisted from most promotions in the United States and I had to cut my teeth in rings south of the border and overseas in the land of the rising sun. Regardless of the fact you were new to the sport and I was being taught the business since the day my father held me in his arms, talent recognizes talent and eventually big time regional promotions with national television exposure was looking for bright and up and coming talent to sign, and that’s where you and I come in.”
Stevens says as he points to the camera and back at himself.
“These promotions didn’t care that my last name was Stevens or who my father was or that you were greener than grass.”
Stevens says shaking his head.
“What they saw in us was the future. They saw me as an already established brand they could bring people to the table early on while they saw you as a moldable, future heavyweight champion or possibly a world champion. I would be the star to help the company in the now while you would be the star to lead it into the future, and that’s exactly what happened with us.”
Stevens says with a smile.
“I was signed to many promotions and became the top guy and helped them flirt with global status, but they could never get over the hump and soon would fade to obscurity while you helped your company get over that hump and become a dominant brand in the wrestling world. You see, while I was on hiatus, you helped grow PWX and put it on the map. I would eventually come back after getting that itch and compete in The League of Competitive Wrestling which would eventually get me signed to Legacy Pro Wrestling. As we competed in these companies; we were at the top, we were champions, more importantly, we were the guy.”
Stevens says with a nod.
“However, as we were the King of the Mountain of our respected wrestling promotion we gathered the attention of the GOD of HOW, and with that everything changed for us. Our introduction in the land of high octane may have been different we came in the same way.”
Stevens says before stopping.
“Both world champions and established names.”
Stevens says with a half smirk.
“But you know how that goes in HOW. It doesn’t mean shit.”
Stevens says with a chuckle before continuing.
“When you came into HOW you weren’t exactly setting the world ablaze.”
Stevens says shaking his head as he continues to walk.
“You were drifting from match to match with a few tag title reigns here and there, but you weren’t the man that dominated PWX. You weren’t fully committed to HOW and that is probably why you never asserted yourself early on because you’re focus was still on PWX and you were seen as a part timer. I, on the other hand, came in like a bat out of Hell and dominated early on. Debuted at the Bottomline pay-per-view and because of my performance I was offered an exclusive deal with HOW, but my focus was still with LPW, so Lee offered me a deal where I could wrestle in both full time. A few short months later LPW shut its doors and Scott Stevens became exclusively to High Octane Wrestling. Within my first month with HOW I was undefeated and competing for my first championship. I lost, but I developed another winning streak and was competing for the world title another month later at Rumble at the Rock.”
Stevens says with a nod before sighing.
“However, like all good things they must come to an end and when it ended for me it wasn’t a soft landing either it was like getting hit by a fucking asteroid from outer space and my career was stuck in a never ending ice age.”
Stevens says with disgust in his tone.
“However, as I was floundering around HOW as the Lonesome Loser and doing everything I could to stay relevant you returned with Darin Zion and Noah Hanson as Sex and Money featuring the Story Driven Character with a new fire and vigor about yourself.”
Stevens says with a smile.
“You came back; kicked ass, took names, and pissed everyone off backstage and you didn’t give a fuck. That success you always wanted you finally found and you wanted more.”
Stevens nods.
“You knew that to take your success to the next level you had to leave your friends behind and that’s exactly what you did when you kicked Hanson and Zion to the curb and joined the Best Alliance. It was a marriage made in Heaven because once a part of the elite you began to contend for the world title on a regular basis. However, you couldn’t get over that hump could you? You had someone in your way, didn’t you?”
Stevens asks as he points to himself.
“I was in your way because I had put myself on the correct path after my suspension and clawed and scratched my way back to the top and then along the way I got cocky and complacent and I fell back down to earth.”
Stevens says with a shrug.
“Shit happens, and with that you found what you had been looking for and finally won the HOW World title. As the man on top you were kicking Darin Zion’s ass on a regular basis something I struggled.”
Stevens says with a smirk before continuing.
“You capped off your success by becoming Mr. All or Nothing when you held every singles championship before HOW had to close its doors.”
Stevens says with a clap.
“You had finally achieved everything you had wanted in High Octane Wrestling just like me.”
Stevens says as he points to himself.
“On paper, our resume is Hall of Fame worthy, but our legacy has more downs than ups and that’s what I try to erase……I believe you call them wasted opportunities.”
Stevens says as he cracks his neck and his tone turns serious.
“You have the audacity to accuse me of not caring or wanting the opportunities I have been given?!?!?!?”
Stevens says as he moves in agitation before wiping his mouth like he’s going to regret what he’s going to say next.
“No Brian, I do care about the opportunities I’ve wasted in my time here in HOW, but I shrug my shoulders at the fact I can’t dwell on them because if I do I’ll continue to be stuck in the past like I did when I was the Lonesome Loser trying to remain relevant on my past success. That’s something you recently found out the hard way after you wasted YOUR OPPORTUNITY to win the world title, a title you never lost.”
Stevens says as he points towards the camera to put emphasis.
“No offense to Joe Bergman, but you had no business losing to him.”
Stevens says sternly.
“You were the HOW World, ICON, and LSD champion and he was a journey wrestler with bad breath…..and you lost. No one had more momentum coming into the Refueled Era of HOW than you. You were the fucking man when the Modern Era ended and you were still the fucking man as you decimated everyone in your way to the finals to solidify yourself as the undisputed world champion and you lost.”
Stevens says as he motions for the camera to zoom in.
“That’s a true wasted opportunity Brian.”
Stevens says with a nod before turning around to walk again.
“However, the opportunity I won’t waste is War Games.”
Stevens says bluntly.
“Some people love the Lee Best Invitational. Some love Rumble at the Rock and ICONIC, but I fucking love War Games!”
Stevens says emphatically.
“It is my favorite time of the year because I can brutalize anyone and everyone with the added bonus of walking out as a champion.”
Stevens stops walking as he has walked around the entire Coliseum and is back where he started.
“Winning War Games is the only thing I WANT or HAVE to achieve in HOW to permanently cement my resume. It’s an opportunity I try not to waste, but I always come up short for various reasons, but I won’t be coming up short because of you!”
Stevens says as he points towards the camera.
“You hear me mother fucker?”
Stevens says harshly as spit flies from his mouth.
“War Games is MY match, not yours!”
The Texan says as he beats his chest.
“The last couple War Games matches were we competed in where you were red hot was back in 2015 when you were Tara’s number one draft choice and I was her second to last choice and we all know how we did. You were one of the first few eliminated and I was in the top fucking five. In 2016, you were the world champion going into War Games we and you fucking lost your world title midway through the match while my team won. Unfortunately, I came up short but I prevented you once more.”
Stevens says as he turns towards the banners.
“When it comes to the world title Brian I am your kryptonite, and this Saturday nothing is going to change because I’m going to defeat you and go on to compete at War Games and walk out of that cage as your next World champion.”
Stevens says before turning one last time.
“See you Saturday.”