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-Enter the Stinger-
-Title:
Teammates or Opponents?- When most fans are asked 'How did the feud between Steve Jason and Bigg Rigg begin', most would not even be able to pinpoint exactly when the two superstars first started their titanic hatred of each other, or even the reason why. All they would be able to answer with was the barbarism and hatred fuelling their feud. But of couse, Steve Jason and Bigg Rigg both knew well. It all started when Stinger made his long-awaited return to the XWF in June. Most people had believed they had seen the last of 'The Overthrow' Steve Jason when he had made his emotional farewell at Leap of Faith 2002 after his wife had been in what had proved to be a fatal car accident. However, motivated on by a belief that his wife had wanted him to continue, Steve Jason had reached into the depths of his soul and realised that he still had what it took to keep going. It was that which led him to return on an Anarchy long ago, and consequently led him to enter the Universal Title tournament. Bigg Rigg, of course, was, up until that point, the so-called "big name" in the XWF. When Steve Jason had arrived under the moniker of the Stinger, all of that faded away. Nobody was talking about Bigg Rigg the XWF Heavyweight Champion any more. The excitement and the spotlight were no longer focused on the "Angry Italian". Instead, it was all about the Stinger. Everybody was buzzing with excitement, speculating on just what Steve Jason would do in the XWF. Many speculated that he would have made the biggest impact the XWF had ever seen, and many believed that he would storm the tournament and take the Universal title for his own. The fact that Bigg Rigg washed out in the first round of the tournament, of course, only decreased the interest in him and increased the interest in Stinger. And thus, Stinger knew that a pool of jealousy was bound to grow in John Gambino's stomach, increasing more and more as time went on further and further. It would only be a matter of time before Gambino, driven by his jealousy, would try to attack Stinger and dash his hopes. Rigg was partially successful. When Steve Jason faced Superballs on Anarchy for a Universal title shot at the Bad Medicine Pay Per View, just about everybody in the crowd was convinced that Stinger had the match won. In fact, virtually everybody convinced that Stinger had 'ring rust' immediately changed direction in about half a second as the twenty-five year old dynamo took it to Superballs on the mat, on the ring and in the air, even going to far as to take Superballs through a table via air in a move that many thought had knocked the then-undefeated Superballs out for the first time ever. Then Bigg Rigg reared his head, of course. The jealousy had driven him absolutely insane, and he proceeded to try with all his might to cost Stinger his shot at the Universal title. If Steve Jason were to win the Universal title, then Rigg would never regain the spotlight. It took Bigg Rigg, Superballs, Antonio Gambino and a pair of brass knuckles to put Stinger down, but they did it. Of course, Steve Jason never took this lying down. The result was one of the bloodiest and most-remembered matches in the history of the X-Treme Wrestling Federation. A match that made the Universal Title Tools Of The Trade ladder match pale in contrast. It was a barbed wire match. Rigg, of course, relied on his ordinary CCWF/jobber bluster, while Stinger made it as clear as possible what he was going to do to Rigg. He told Rigg that he would tear him limb from limb, puncturing his battered, defenseless body with barbed wire, force him to beg forgiveness and, as a final insult, take his Heavyweight title. And he did just that. In the aftermath of the brutal war, "Bigg Rigg" John Gambino was rushed to hospital and, consequently, placed under psychiatric care. Stinger had essentially destroyed his body and his mind. Stinger was fairly confident that the Gambino family had wished Steve Jason was never born that night. Bigg Rigg had tried to make up for his mistakes, of course, but every time he attempted it Stinger struck him down and crushed him into the dirt. Before long, even Bigg Rigg had learned from his mistakes and gave Stinger the wide berth that his fear compelled of him. Or so Stinger had thought, anyway. After the Leap of Faith Pay Per View, upon which Stinger sustained a mild spinal injury due to a heavy impact he had taken while going off the rope, he had come to the now-defunct Monday Massacre to announce a six-month hiatus while he healed. It was, at this point, that Bigg Rigg had made his unwanted intrusion and had basically accused Stinger of running from his problems. Stinger pointed out that this was far from the case, and that a single bump could end his career forever. Of course, it was at this point that Bigg Rigg's true fear of Steve Jason shone through. Despite the fact he hid behind a wall of anger and contempt, deep down John Gambino feared Steve Jason. If Stinger were to return, he would claim the Universal title for sure. What Gambino did, therefore, was ensure that Stinger would never come back... that Stinger would never be able to win again. And perhaps it was also to comfort his own bruised pride... a pride that Stinger had deflated himself. Stinger remembered it clearly, of course. Bigg Rigg had sprung Stinger by surprise, then lifted him and delivered an F-Bomb. It had its desired effect, of course. Stinger could already feel the brief, piercing pain as one of his vertebrae seemed to give way. A pain that filled him with intense agony for the briefest of seconds. And then he felt nothing. Stinger opened his eyes, letting the memory of Bigg Rigg's F-Bomb fade into nothingness as he looked around. Sure enough, he was still in the small nightclub that Dougy and Tim had dragged him over to. It was 9:30, it was the night of Anarchy, and Stinger almost certainly should have been relaxing in preparation for the matchup, but he couldn't. It was only his first match back... and a miracle return match to add to that... and a match that would determine whether or not he would go on to win the XWF Universal Title and destroy the CCWF... when you looked at it that way, Stinger would have been lucky if he had received any relaxation at all. To his credit, Dougy McNamara had not dragged Stinger and Tim to a strip-joint or a topless bar. Dougy's character suggested he was the kind of person who would do that, but Dougy was surprisingly moralistic. That was just as well, because Stinger had a fair deal of moral development too. Instead it was more of a quiet nightclub that, surprisingly enough, was free of crackheads by the look of things. It was illuminated by a lime green light and was laid out in a circle... the quiet areas and the bar around the walls, and the dance floor straight in the middle. Of course, Stinger had decided to sit at one of the quiet areas with his friends. Stinger had a shot of Southern Comfort in front of him, while Tim had a Midori Illusion. Dougy, in his typical style, had a can of beer. "So yeah, mate... I said to her, I said, 'Well, I'm not famous, but my best mate is. Former XWF World Heavyweight Champion. And he can vouch that I'm a decent guy and the kind of guy you'd like to be seen with.'" Dougy recounted as a detailed description of his attempt to pick up a supermodel of some big-shot fashion chain. Tim snickered. "And what'd she say?" Stinger inquired. "She asked when you got off work." "Uh... don't you mean when you got off work, Dougy?" "No, Steve. You." Stinger raised an eyebrow slightly, while Tim's face hit the table as he failed to suppress his laughter. Dougy scowled. "Don't make me bash ya." he threatened. Stinger saw it as an empty threat. Tim was taller than Dougy and far more muscular. "I'm sorry, Dougy... it just seemed pretty amusing is all." "It wasn't. I'm humiliated beyond all belief." "Don't worry, Dougy," Stinger said, "If it's any consolation, I probably would have turned her down. Got way too much to focus on." "Yeah, but you wouldn't say that if Talia pressed herself on you, would you?" "That's different." "Sure it is. Anyway," Dougy asked as he set his beer down, "what's new on the XWF front?" "Well," Stinger said, "Sewaside finally got around to acknowledging my arrival in the XWF. To be honest, I thought he'd be keeping very quiet and hoping I just forget about him." "Why's that?" "Because I've flattened him twice in the past, that's why. Although he apparently has some belief that 'the guy with a million horrible nick names won't make it a three peat'. That's pretty funny, coming from a man who calls himself 'The Untouchable Darkman'. I mean, the Untouchable Darkman? I get the image of some gothic guy prancing around in leiderhosen, poking himself with his finger and saying, 'Y'all can't touch this!' Sewaside's in a fine place to talk about horrible nicknames... particularly as I earned all mine and he just tacked his on to look bad. And honestly... how can a guy who hangs around with 'T Money the Harlem Hellrazor', 'Kid Money the Amityville Assassin' and 'Slim Stevie Bone' even comment on horrible nicknames? I think he has to start a little closer to home." Dougy laughed, "I have to agree, Stingah. Homie-G names are pathetic... but entertaining." "I prefer to stay non-partial to whether they're homie names or not, but yeah, they are pretty pathetic. What surprises me is how Sewaside can be so confident. I mean... he knows I can beat him, because I've done it... twice... and he's made petty excuses every time before I beat him. He has yet to prove that he can beat me. I would have expected him to be a lot more on his guard, to be honest. I would expecting him to be extra careful with every step he makes. I would expect him to know that I can beat him... because if there's one thing Sewaside should know, it's that taking me lightly is an enormous mistake. And honestly... fragile egos? Having friends is a sign of a fragile ego? Hardly. The only reason you and Tim are with me is because..." "...we're your mates. But still... well... he ain't too bright, is he? I mean... you have to be pretty dumb to be a homie in the first..." "I keep telling you, I don't care about that." "You should. Hell, the man bases himself on a bunch of fifteen year old kids who hang around at the shops, wear pants and shirts twenty times too big for their dad, and call the food court 'The Eastside Roughneck Ghetto of Westside Harlem." "Should, but don't. He could be a gothic prophet of doom for all I care. The fact is... he can comment on my nickname... even if he gets it wrong... and he can comment on hanging around with my friends like an ordinary human being... but no matter how 'Untouchable' he considers himself... Sewaside can... and is going down once more." "That's provided you can even work as a team, though. You know, in reality, this match... if you even get to it... is going to be more like a four-team tag match. I mean, Marcellus and Sewaside are naturally going to team up... Chris Cage and Sean Manning, both being from Dynasty, are going to team up... Bigg Rigg and Superballs are naturally going to have each other's backs... that leaves you and Jem, Steve. You two have to watch each other's backs if you're going to take on unified teams. I mean... Rigg isn't going to play fair." "My team is XWF. Jem, Superballs and Bigg Rigg are on my side, whether they like it or not. Rigg's going to stay on my side, because if he doesn't, he automatically becomes what he's hated... a CCWF turncoat. Rigg doesn't like me, and I think he's a jealous, egotistical prick. But the fact is, we have to stay on the same side, or the XWF is going to vanish into nothingness. When we're sure we have the CCWF beaten, then we can squabble about who's going to be the Universal Champion. I'll say this much, though. I've beaten Bigg Rigg before, three times, and I can certainly beat him again. If he steps out of line, he will be eating an S3... and I will decimate him. As for Superballs... well, let's face it, if Bigg Rigg and Antonio Gambino hadn't interfered the first time we fought, Superballs would have been pinned for sure. I had the man's skull through a table, for crying out loud. He wasn't going to walk away from that. As for Jem... well, he's one I've never fought, but if he does anything desperate, I'll be more than glad to introduce him to an S3. If any of us have to fight, then so be it. All I ask is that we leave it until the CCWF are so weakened that we can't lose. And rest assured... Superballs, Rigg and Jem are not getting the pin this time. Marcellus Torelli, Sewaside, Chris Cage and Sean Manning... none of them are escaping the S3. And one of them is going to be pinned by me, and I am going on to be the Universal Champion. And that... IS UNDENIABLE!" To emphasise that point, Stinger slammed his shotglass on the table. Unfortunately for him, he slammed it too hard, and it shattered straight in his hand. "Uh... Steve..." Tim commented, "...you're bleeding." "Really?" Stinger commented, looking at his hand... which surprisingly had red blood escaping from a laceration... "I didn't even notice. I guess that's a good sign, eh?" "Why's that?" "Well, if I can slice myself open without noticing... it obviously wasn't as bad as it could have been. If I can avert any spinal-risk injuries like that... who knows, maybe one of my opponents will think they've crippled me... and then I'll get to see the shocked expression when I kick out and give them the S3." "It's possible..." Before anybody could comment any further, Stinger's cell phone began beeping. Stinger reached into his pocket for it, unflipped it, then answered, "Steve Jason." "Steve? It's Liam Johnston here." "Hey kid, how you doing?" "Not bad. Right now I'm trying to invite some people to my 18th." "Dude, I'm in America. I can't make it. I know it'd be cool to see a former Heavyweight Champion at your 18th birthday party, but it's not..." "That's not what I'm talking about! What I'm talking about is... why has Rigg left the country?" "What? Liam, are you serious?" "Yeah, I am. It's the latest rumor, apparently, but a private jet left Gambino turf recently and it appeared to be headed international. As in, the general direction of Australia international." "Are you serious? Why?" "I have no idea. You didn't really piss him off, did you? Maybe he's going to kill your mum or something." "Stop trying to be funny, Johnston." "Sorry, I had to say something. The point remains... if he's coming here... which he may or may not be... then why is he?" "I have no idea. Just stay up in the hills or something, alright? And if you see the man... don't do anything." "I had no intention of intercepting Bigg Rigg, Steve. I'm... what, 100 pounds lighter than he is? He'll mop the bloody floor with me." "At least you recognise that point. Just leave it to me." "I hear you. Later." The phone went dead, leaving Stinger to stare at Tim and Dougy. "Guys... that was Liam Johnston. Apparently Bigg Rigg's gone airborne or something. That's speculation, anyway. A Gambino jet's supposed to be headed in the general direction of Australia." "Let him. Every XWF fan in Australia's loyal to you and thus hates him." "Do you think that'd stop him doing something stupid?" "Perhaps not, but... maybe it has absolutely nothing to do with you." "And maybe it'll rain tequila, too..." Tim commented. "Quiet, both of you. I think I ought to talk to Talia about this. Being my agent and all, she probably ought to know. And maybe she'll figure out what's going on." "Perhaps. But Steve..." Dougy's eyebrows raised, "...what do you think he's going to do?" "...I don't know. He'd just better remember that we're teammates, or I'll be more than happy to put him in the camp of the enemy. Let's go, guys. We've all got important things to do. But the point is... this doesn't matter any more. We're going to Anarchy. Let's move." His friends nodded, then the three men rose to their feet and made their way around to the outside where Dougy's Nissan Nomad awaited. Stinger sighed quietly as he headed out, letting one thought fill his mind as he stepped out the door. You'd better not be screwing around with things you shouldn't be, Gambino. Because if you do any of the things I suspect you of going there to do... team-mates or not, I'll hit you with an assault that'll make Bad Medicine look like a Disney movie. RP OUT |
