The date is September 3rd, 2010. I'm sitting inside of a hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa, just a few miles away from the spot in which the FIFA World Cup tournament took place earlier in the year.

Last night, another tournament found it's way to the City of Lights, as the XWF brought it's patented brand of action packed wrestling to Johannesburg Stadium under the rule of it's latest (though I'm sure he won't be it's last) owner, Aidan "Blizzard" Collins.

Yes, you read that correctly. The same kid who used to sit and meditate in a freezer before he competed is now the owner of the federation. I'm sure that wherever Jon Brown is, he's not happy about that one.

The previously mentioned tournament that was brought to South Africa was necessary to crown a new Universal Champion, as the former title holder James Raven was sidelined with a back injury after his Leap of Faith match with XWF Legend and billionaire Andy "Centurion" Cortivinis.

Even though Andy was clearly the number one contender for the title, Collins had a hard time deciding who would be the man on the other side of the ring facing him. There were plenty of options, including Jayzon Williamz, Zach Rizza, RJ Palmer, and Trent Gein. As it turned out, these options were too many for the boss, and he couldn't make a concrete decision. His choices weren't made any easier when Steve Jason returned and when Ace Vincent displayed amazing in ring ability.

Weighing his options, Aidan Collins made the best choice possible: He booked a four week tournament that would lead to a new champion being crowned at Rage in the Cage, and the best part was that no one could complain him of being biased or screwing Centurion, because he gave every single person on the active roster a spot, and even opened up a slot for the former Anarchy General Manager, Dante Anglais.

Early on in the tournament, the heavy favorites to win were Steve Jason and Jayzon Williamz, two legends of the XWF who have proved time and again that they are forces to be reckoned with, regardless of their age. However, as the tournament has gone on, a relative unknown has shown that he has the talent to not only hang with XWF's elite, but to beat them.

The man I'm speaking of is the protege of Drake Komodo, the former Universal champion and founder of Truth Until Death, one of the most dominant stables ever in the XWF. Interestingly enough, Truth Until Death holds a unique spot in XWF history as it is the only stable that has never disbanded. Founders Drake Komodo and Aidan Collins claim to have never even had a disagreement, let alone a feud, and the two have turned down many offers for a match against each other.

That doesn't mean Aidan is going to play favorites with Drake's student Ace Vincent, which he demonstrated by matching him up with Dante Anglais right off the bat, forcing him to prove his worth by beating the former US Champion. Ace won the match via pinfall, after knocking Dante out with a Superman punch.

Fate would then match Ace up with RJ Palmer, an ally of Dante's, and the former World Heavyweight champion. Once again, Ace was the underdog, but as his performance in the ring proved, terrible odds don't affect his performance. Like Dante, Ace defeated RJ via pinfall after knocking RJ out with his patented Superman punch.

However, a pattern developed during his encounter with RJ Palmer: Ace discovered himself to have a secret admirer, who you all know as "Greenman". Every week since Ace's debut, a masked man has come out to ringside and attacked both him and his opponent. Some weeks Ace has managed to counter him, and some weeks he hasn't.

After beating RJ Palmer, Ace confronted Jayzon Williamz, who, after defeating Zach Rizza, was to be his next opponent. However, before the two rivals could say much in the way of anything, they were attacked by not one, but two Greenmen, furthering the mystery of who is behind the mask.

The tournament reached the semifinals last night as Ace Vincent took on Jayzon Williamz in the main event, with Steve Jason and Centurion finally meeting in the ring just minutes before.

Ace and Williamz put each other through Hell for nearly forty minutes, but in the end, Ace managed to come out on top, thanks in part to his girlfriend and valet, Bree Benz. Bree kissed Williamz at one point in the match, which somehow led to him passing out for a few minutes. Many in the industry speculate that she wore tainted lipstick, possibly infused with chloroform. Whether or not that's possible is for a chemist to decide, for there is no denying her effectiveness when it comes to distracting Ace's opponents.

Like in his previous matches, Ace was attacked by Greenman, as was Williamz. The masked attacker managed to assault both men after the two of them were knocked unconscious because of a fifteen foot drop off of the ladder. Greenman was able to execute a finishing maneuver on Williamz, but as he went for Ace, Bree attacked him. By the time the chaos was cleared, Greenman was hit with the 187, Ace was on top of the ladder, and Williamz was following quickly after him.

As the two men fought on top of the steel ladder, it seemed as if Williamz was going to gain the upper hand until out of nowhere, Ace stopped fighting and jumped off of the ladder, landing on the canvas. Williamz, thinking he had knocked Ace out, reached up for the briefcase, but Ace had only dropped to tip the ladder backwards, sending Williamz to the outside of the ring. Ace then repositioned the ladder, climbed it, and grabbed the briefcase, earning his shot at the Universal title.

I caught up with him the day after, which, unbeknownst to me, was the anniversary of his birth. The following is our interview, which took place in his hotel as he waited for a private limo to take him to Drake Komodo's airplane, which is how he and his associates travel. Having a billionaire serve as your beneficiary certainly has it's perks.

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SS: A Universal Title shot is a hell of a birthday present.

AV: It would be if it were a present, but I earned it, so I guess it's my gift to myself.

SS: Before we talk about anyone else, I'd just like to ask you about Jayzon Williamz.

AV: What about him?

SS: Well, when the match between the two of you was over, you were being helped from ringside by Bree Benz, and he was being attended to by medical. As the two of you passed each other, you exchanged....

AV: We gave each other the finger.

SS: Yes, well-That's a crude way of putting it-

AV: We gave each other the universal signal for "Fuck you". I didn't realize there was a classy way of putting it.

SS: Fair enough. The gesture, however, seemed less like an insult, and more like a sign of respect between two men who said too many harsh things about each other to shake hands in the end.

AV: Well, you're half right. I don't think it was so much a sign of respect as much as it was like saying, "See you later", which I completely believe we will.

SS: So things between you and he aren't over?

AV: I'd say that's a fair assumption.

SS: You were pretty vocal in saying that you could do anything better than Williamz, even going so far as to changing your finishing move from a Superman punch to a leaping cutter. Why would you do away with something that brought you so much success just to play mind games with your opponent?

AV: Because it works. I said I could do anything better than him, and I went out and proved it. I'll still throw the Superman punch every now and then, but for the most part I'm going to stick with the new and improved version of The Ace of Spades.

Ace begins to smile as he describes to me the feeling of hitting his new move.

AV: Think about it, Sayors. Every time I hit someone with that move, Jayzon Williamz is going to either see it or hear about it, and it's going to eat him up inside. When I beat Steve Jason at Rage in the Cage after nailing him with either The Ace of Spades or The Cliffhanger-

SS: The Cliffhanger?

AV: Yeah, The Cliffhanger. I haven't had a chance to debut it yet, but on Sunday I promise you'll see it.

SS: Can you give me an idea of what exactly this move is?

AV: It's a double-pump frog splash.

SS: That doesn't seem possible.

AV: I'm sure that twenty years ago, neither were moves like the Swanton Bomb or the 450 Splash. I'm just trying to help with the evolution of the sport.

SS: Well, it certainly sounds spectacular. Now, your victory in that match was due largely in part to interference on the behalf of Bree Benz, and the masked attacker who is simply known as "Greenman". Do you think you could've won the match without Bree's assistance, and what are your thoughts on Greenman?

AV: First of all, my victory in that match was due to me flipping Jayzon Williamz backwards out of the ring, then grabbing the briefcase. Sure, Bree had a hand in distracting that bastard, but that's her job, and that's what people should expect anytime she's out there. Second, Greenman is obviously someone who is trying to hype up their return by piggybacking off of my rise to fame. I'd bet dollars to donuts that he's going to reveal his identity at Rage in the Cage, at which point I'm going to reveal to him an ass-whooping.

SS: Do you have any guesses as to Greenman's identity?

AV: Well, if you look at the evidence, you'll see that he's done four different finishers, pointing to four possibilities. However, last week he threw Jayzon Williamz off of the stage and onto a bunch of tables that were set on fire to resemble a pentagram. I'd say it's pretty obvious that it's some new gothic wrestler trying to build a serious reputation before coming back.

SS: Could the finishers and the pentagram possibly be misdirection?

AV: Who in the XWF is that fucking smart? Not only that, when have you ever met a gothic wrestler who was smart enough to plan shit out in advance like that? No fucking way is it misdirection.

SS: You seem a little defensive-

AV: Next question, Sayors.

SS: Okay. In beating Jayzon Williamz, you earned yourself a shot at the Universal title, but to wear the coveted strap, you need to go through the greatest wrestler in the history of the XWF in Steve Jason. How do you feel going up against the legend?

AV: The same way I felt going up against Damien Bates. To me, Steve Jason is a nobody, and that fact became especially true for me when I beat his fellow legend Jayzon Williamz. Steve Jason is a man, and he is a very old man on top of that. I don't anticipate too many problems next Sunday.

SS: But how will you be able to take advantage of Bree Benz' unique talents if you're surrounded by a steel cage?

AV: Where there's a will, there's a way. I guarantee you that Steve Jason will not walk out of Rage in the Cage with that title, whether or not Bree is able to assist.

SS: Could you beat Steve Jason on your own?

AV: Does a bear shit in the woods? Is the fucking Pope catholic? Does he cover up molestations? Yeah, I can beat Steve Jason simply with my God-given talent. The question is: will it be easier to cheat?

SS: Will it?

AV: If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying.

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Ace and I spoke for a little longer, but none of it was that significant or interesting, and mostly had to do with travel arrangements. One thing I took away from our conversation is that Ace Vincent is a man with a mission. He is on the war path, and he seems committed to ending the career of Steve Jason if it becomes necessary.

I also firmly believe that he not only knows who Greenman is, but is in cahoots with the masked man as well. Whether or not Greenman proves to be Famine is yet to be seen, but after having attended the funeral myself and witnessing him being lowered into the ground, I'm hesitant to believe it.

Let's look at what we know about Greenman, shall we?

He is obviously a wrestler, and a talented one at that. One does not master the finishing moves of several men with mediocre talent, and he is even less likely to execute them successfully without being extremely talented. He is of average size, so that rules out someone like Zach Rizza or The Sentinel, and he enjoys the suffering of others, as evidenced by his laughter after the vicious beating delivered to Jayzon Williamz.

Sure, he's attacked Ace and even Bree, but how bad have those attacks been? And how has Ace always managed to narrowly escape the worst of the attacks? I don't want to say that something smells fishy here, but I'm certainly not smelling this just because I'm staying on the coastline.

It is my opinion that two men in this company know who Greenman is. One of them is Greenman himself, and the other man is Ace Vincent. If I were Steve Jason, I'd be taking extra precautions over the next week, and even the night of Rage in the Cage.

Let's remember that Ace Vincent is trained by one of the all time great manipulators in Drake Komodo, and has probably also had some tutelage under the XWF's greatest trash talker and schemer, Blizzard.

Like a poker player, Ace is holding cards up his sleeves, and come Rage in the Cage, it's pretty much a guarantee that he's going to reveal his true hand. The real question will be whether or not Steve Jason is prepared, and holding on to a few cards of his own.

This has been another edition of Steve Sayors Presents!

We'll see you at Rage in the Cage!