time: wednesday afternoon

day: july sixteenth

place: Hyatt Regency Hotel; Orlando, FL

(I've decided to fly into Orlando a few days earlier than usual. I needed to get out of Bermuda. I'm alone in my rather small one bed hotel room. I didn't want anything fancy, as I'm trying to keep a low profile. Sometimes it hurts to be this good and this infamous. We're still on the hunt for Duff, we haven't forgotten about him, and should he decide to show his face Friday night, he'll be regretting it.)

(I hit record on the camera. Go.)

Matthew Engel: "Is that it? You have one person that managed to share a few thoughts about this match and the other rambled on about God knows what and perhaps put one coherent sentence together. This is what I get. Fuckin' pathetic."

(I adjust myself in the bed. I'm not really in the mood to talk, but I needed to make a statement.)

Matthew Engel: "Despite the King's rambling, he managed to say a few things that caught my attention. You call the Masters a gang, and yet you call them a faction. Do you not understand the difference? A faction shares a common political belief and is an organization working together to achieve common political goals. A gang is simply a group of adolescents that participate in unlawful and antisocial acts.

I can see the confusion, because past versions have shared characterstics of both. We are neither a gang nor a faction. The Masters of Armageddon is a group of talented wrestlers who have banded together to become a dominate force in professional wrestling. I guess, in essence, you would call us a stable - a group of people under one management. Me.

Imagine that -- the MoA is simply a stable and they're not associating themselves with criminal activity constantly and trying to cause an uproar in the federation they are in. Imagine that! We're not trying to overthrow the President and take control. We're not hanging people from the rafters and burning people on crosses. We're not the past.

You could try to use the recent events with Duff Cote d'iVoire to say otherwise, but this is a one time deal. This is an act of vindication, and justice needs to be served. We're doing what the police won't do, and taking matters into our own hands doesn't signify a characteristic of a gang. It signifies a group having a proactive motif. We're getting the job done, and since that bastard decided to attack my younger brother, I'm doing it personally.

However, I'm not trying to hold a candle to the original. I know it could never be as good as that if I continue in their direction. That is why I am trying to go in a different direction. I guess a simpleton like yourself wouldn't understand.

And some of you don't like that. Some of you find us boring or uneventful. We don't measure up to past versions of the MoA and that doesn't please you. However, we wouldn't be the Masters of Armageddon if we actually gave a fuck about what you think."

(I take a drink out of my bottled water.)

Matthew Engel: "So please, before you try to ramble on and on about we can't even try to be better than our 'predecessors', just shut the fuck up. No one cares. What matters is the here and the now, and you've got the leader of the Masters across the ring from you in two days. Two fucking days.

I'll watch you shudder.

And then laugh when you tell me you don't like me, as if you expect that to hurt my.. feelings. Please. I couldn't be good at what I do if I let petty insults like that get ahold of me. You don't favor me, King? Join the club. I hear Corey Lazarus is desperate for recruits. It seems the people he gets close to end up turning away from him and coming my way, ala Gregory Price. That one still hurt, Laz?

I hope.

But what I don't understand is how you can be impressed with my win and loss record and not impressed with the way I achieved it. What exactly are you talking about? Or better yet, which way would you have preferred? Cheating?

I get it. Because I actually followed the rules and busted my ass, you don't find that impressive. Because I worked hard and used my raw talent to defeat people left and right, you weren't impressed. I didn't get fast counts,  I didn't have people interfering all the time, and I earned what I've got. No, that's not impressive at all. Damn. Maybe I'll change it up this week, and I'll have Cain beat the hell out of you for a good five minutes or say while I take care of Fire. Would you like that? Would that make me more impressive to you?"

(Sarcasm was laid pretty thick.)

Matthew Engel: "You go ahead and use your negativity to fuel your fight against me. You're going to find out that you're running dry, and you don't have the steam to roll with me. Whenever you move, I'll move quicker. Whenever you hit, I'll hit harder. Whenever you persevere, I'll persevere more. That's the way I see it going down, and there's really not much you can do about it. It's going to be a tough debut match for you, but look on the bright side - you're fighting the best the PWA has to offer. You can only go down from here.

So use that as a confidence boost when you find yourself curtain-jerking Chaos next week, and I'm headlining Rampage.

As for your partner, well she didn't have much to add this week. I was surprised she even showed herself on camera, despite a horrible outing last week. In fact, she's been on quite a losing streak. What's it up to now, five losses in a row? That can't be good for your career. You say you have complete confidence in your partner's ability to get the job done, King, but I digress. Your partner is weak, and her losing streak only solidifies that fact. If I were you, I'd opt for a new partner.

I'm close to doing that myself, as my partner hasn't decided to show her face yet.

But, Fire actually graced us with her presence and had absolutely nothing important to say. She wanted to remind me she has tag team experience, good for you. She wanted me to know that she doesn't care about the tag titles anymore, and she really doesn't care about this tournament. She'll force herself to show up and give us an average performance. She misses the old days.

Is this what you really want in a partner, King? I mean, at least my partner didn't go on camera and make a fool of herself.

Fire, I could care less about your good old times with Mr. Showtime. What have you done recently? You've managed to lose in back to back tag matches, and you're on quite a losing streak. You need to bounce back, that's for sure, but you won't be doing it this week. This week, you're going to get knocked out of this tournament. This week, you're going to find yourself hanging by a thread, and needing a miracle to bounce back into a title scene somewhere.

That's what you have to look forward to this week, and I hate to be harsh about it, but somebody needs to wake you the fuck up.

You can't possibly expect to keep performing on this kind of level with the output you've been giving."

(A cold stare.)

Matthew Engel: "Maybe you should bring your boyfriend Wilkie down to the ring this Friday for some assistance. I'd be glad to get a few shots in on Alex, a man who three months ago was on top of the world and fighting for the coveted belt, and now he's low-carding for that damn Television Title. He's getting into stupid fights with Chamelion, and basically has had the biggest downfall I've seen in quite some time. Wilkie could have had it all, and now he has nothing. But hey, at least he has you, right? Right.

Quite a match right there. The two of you can stay up late watching movies, sip on some Pinot Grigio, and reminisce about the 'good times'.

Pfft.

I do not forgive.

I do not forget.

Make this worth my time."

(fade.)