A feud that seems to have taken over the whole company. You have FlexAmerica v The Elite Overweight champion. Since the Live Mas split a new sense of fulfillment has awoken in Stormrage. Can he use that to defeat Flex Mussel or will the prime athlete take the title?
Deadline Tuesday 15th October 11:59pm Eastern (No extensions)
Deadline extended for all matches to Saturday 19th 11:59pm Eastern
You know I think all the time, should I still be here? All the things I've put my body through, all the birthdays and anniversaries. Each time I consider hanging it up, something pulls me back. Sometimes I regret the decision to stay. You travel up and down the road, you get three hours of sleep, you get cramped onto planes.
You are always hurt in some way. Sometimes itâ??s just as simple as a sore wrist or bruised knees. Others are strains and dislocations. Iâ??ve broken my back twice in two separate places. Iâ??ve seen guys suffer worse.
Iâ??ve been a fighting champion. My Elite reign has been one of the longer reigns in recent memory. I wasnâ??t just fulfilling my contractually obligates pay per view defenses. I was defending on Ascension and even indie shows that more than annoyed the brass.
Kingdom Come is our Super Bowl, but itâ??s more than that. Itâ??s one of, if not the greatest, live event experience in the world. No one wants to miss this.
Despite that, my mind was elsewhere, as so often it had been the last few months. I thought maybe I owed it to the fans. Maybe I thought I owed it to my parents, who both passed while I was on the road. Maybe I owed it to the friendships I lost along the way like Matt Tastic and James Howard. Maybe I owed it to myself for all of that.
Then I think maybe I owed it to Flex. He was the one thing keeping me fresh lately. He was playing mind games, but I wondered in my mind if he did respect me. Iâ??d never admit it, but I did respect Flex. He carved out a very good career and always pushed me to the limit when we crossed paths. This wouldnâ??t be the first time we faced off with gold on the line. Iâ??d beaten him years ago at Lethal Lottery to capture my record third tag team title. I was already in the Hall of Fame, something I wasnâ??t sure he knew, but I knew it was a place he would be one day and that deserves respect.
The more I thought about it, I think it was just habit. My entire adult life was wrestling. It gave me purpose and direction. It was the only thing I knew and I was afraid of where life would take me once that life changed.
I donâ??t think that fear ever goes away.
I didnâ??t know how much longer I would be known as a WZCW wrestler. My life was changing. Nearly all of those changes were positive, even if they scared me. There is a fear of the unknown. Obligations change, hobbies take back seats, friends get ignored. Family forgotten.
Maybe I came into this match wanting Flex to take my title. Being a champion was hard. It required obligations that I was growing tired of.
â??What do you think?â?
Katherine walked out, stunning as ever.
Thats the one. You nailed it.â?
We both knew it wasnâ??t conventional for the groom to help pick the wedding dress, but my entire career had been built on unconventional. Why change that up in the next chapter of my life?
â??Behind The Mussel: The Flex Fitness Storyâ?
Flex: Hi, my name is Franklin Alexander Mussel, better known to many as Flex Mussel, and over the last decade plus of my life I have made this planet a healthier place.
The freak athlete can be seen in a nice suit sitting in a chair as a title card of with his name and accomplishments appears on screen beside him. Quickly the scene transitions to B-Roll of Flex working out and teaching seminars as the WZCW superstarâ??s voice over continues.
Flex: From a young age I suffered from an obesity problem. An issue that plagues many children around the world possibly now more than ever. It took many years and a lot of hardwork to perfect my body to the point it is now. And when I did I wanted to inspire others to change their lives, hence why I created Flex Fitness Industries. A state of the art gym that now has locations in all continents of the world, and has slowed our obesity crisis worldwide.
Faceless Interviewer (In the Shadows): Do you have statistics for that?
Flex: The large margins of profit are all the statistics I need.
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Early footage of Flex training in the ring with WZCW trainer and Hall of Famer Everest flashes on screen.
Flex: As much I love restricting oneâ??s diet to reach their true physical peak I didnâ??t start out wanting to be some fitness trainer. I grew up as that chubby kid wanting to be the WZCW superstar ever. So once I had stable money I decided to follow my dreams, join WZCW, and do just that.
Everest: He was incredibly green when he first started training in the WZCW Dojo, but you could sense the potential was there, and it was even more clear that the raw talent could be molded into something great if he put in the work, and as Iâ??m sure you can see he did.
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Flex: I've been in WZCW for almost about five years, and despite all the people Iâ??ve faced, the legends Iâ??ve beaten, and the things Iâ??ve accomplished it feels like I have so much more to do, and part of me worries there isnâ??t much time left to do it.
Footage of Flex is shown as he is defeating the likes of WZCW mainstays such as Matt Tastic, Tyrone Blades, Showtime, Titus, and many others.
Flex: When I hear people in the back, when I read fan tweets, even when people come up to me I hear â??Flex Mussel is undoubtedly one of the bestâ?. And it bothers me, it annoys me, to a degree it even disgusts me.
Faceless Interviewer: Why is that?
Flex: I donâ??t want to be â??one ofâ? anything. If you come into this business looking to be anything but the absolute best youâ??re wasting your time. And for a while Flex Mussel was looked at just being a â??solid contenderâ?. Early in my career I got close but it was clear in some peopleâ??s eyes that I was just second fiddle to Eve Taylorâ??s success. That my legendary tag title run was nepotism anchored by a superior bookworm. I took Titus to the limit twice in his historic reign but I just couldnâ??t get the job done. I was always close but could never catch the dangling carrot. I felt like was just going to be another Blade, another Austin Reynolds, another insert name of anyone who was â??pretty goodâ? but is never quite in the most â??Eliteâ? Echelon of talent. That was until I won the WZCW World Heavyweight Championship.
Footage of Flex Mussel defeating Tyrone Blades and Eve Taylor and winning the world title at R-Awakening plays on screen.
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Flex: Not only did I prove once and for all that I can be the best on my own, that night I retired the man who many believe is the greatest WZCW competitor to ever grace the ring, and on top of that captured the greatest prize in all of WZCW.
Never before seen post show footage begins to play showing Flex and former Cerberus stablemate Eve Taylor hugging in-ring following their World title clash.
Eve: I have to say despite all of the problems that me and Flex have had over the years seeing one of my closest friends finally atain the dream heâ??d been working towards all his life was incredible. It was a war tooth and nail but that night he alone beat me and Tyrone. There was no shenanigans, no outside interference, just Flex finally backing up all his talk and putting his name in the record books, and say what you want about him, doing what he did that night is nothing to balk at.
Flex: You would think after what many believe is my crowning moment Iâ??d be satisfied: long story short I wasnâ??t.
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Footage of Flex losing the World title is played in picture on the bottom right of the screen as the bodybuilder reacts. His facial expression is that of disgust yet acceptance.
Flex: I went on something of a losing streak immediately after winning the belt until I eventually lost it. In hindsight I think my ego got the best of me, I think I fell back into old habits and let my wacky ideas, my minions, and my own hype get the better of me. And despite the fun hijinks I had a pretty unremarkable reign, and it still bothers me to this day.
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B-roll of Flex chucking rocks in a pond and walking through the forest can be seen. A downtrodden Flex is seemingly reflecting on things in silence. The documentary then established to former WZCW superstar and FlexAmerican confidant Wasabi Toyota.
Wasabi: He was definitely different post losing the World title. A little bit manic, a little bit all over the place, he was always ten feet off the ground and not in a good way.
Footage of more losses piling up whether that be from him or his associates at the time. Flex continues to look frustrated and dejected.
Flex: I was lost, I felt like I had no purpose, I honestly wasnâ??t sure if should even continue in WZCW. Didnâ??t really feel like there was much left for me to accomplish. Unbeknownst to me, there was a massive blimp on my radar that I was completely missing.
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Footage of a beaten-ed and battered Mikey Stormage winning Elite Openweight Championship at R-Awakening flashes across the screen.
Flex: I didnâ??t notice it because I had my own tunnel vision but the same night I won the World Heavyweight title Mikey Stormrage won the Elite Openweight Championship. And heâ??s held it ever since.
Eve: The Elite championship is one of the most prestigious titles in all of WZCW, as someone who has held it for a lengthy amount of time I can tell you holding onto it is no easy task.
Flex: It wasnâ??t until recently that I had realized that Mikey has held that championship longer than any other current title holder in the company, itâ??s quite an accomplishment considering our current landscape. And that made me realize something else: that Mikey Stormrage may just be the greatest WZCW superstar in history.
Eve: Greatest of all time? He said that? Highly unusual of him to give that sort of praise to such a formidable enemyâ?¦
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Flex: Mikey Stormrage is the only three time tag team champion in WZCW history, a two time World champion, a Eurasian Champion, a Mayhem Champion, and as Iâ??ve already stated the current Elite title holder. If thatâ??s a not a Hall of Fame worthy career Iâ??m not sure what it is.
Faceless Interviewer: Why have you taken such an interest in Mikey Stormrage?
Flex: Because in all of my time in WZCW Mikey and I have never had a single one on one match. Sure weâ??ve had encounters in triple threats, fatal fourways, donâ??t even get me started on the tag matches, but never one on one. Kingdom Come was around the corner, I thought I would extend a friendly offer. Especially when you consider all of the similarities between he and I.
Faceless Interviewer: Such as?
Flex: We both came into prominence through notable tag teams. We both have been stifled by the corrupt cancer that was Justin Cooper, weâ??ve both defeated Matt Tastic at Kingdom Come, we both have sordid history with Eve Taylor, we both have far surpassed our tag team partners and have gone onto become staples of the current WZCW landscape. But the one that I think matters more than any of it, is that me and Mikey were both fat.
Childhood VHS footage of a chubby child Flex running around his home is shown. He waddles and tumbles as he plays with a Showtime Cougar action figure.
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Flex: Coming up in WZCW I always paid no mind to Mikey because in the end I chalked him up to nothing but a tub of lard with crass jokes and bad humor. I thought he would ride the coatails of Matt Tastic and eventually fade off as a Chris Farley wannabe who decided to step into a ring. While I was on my own journey he kept being a tub of lard but he didnâ??t fade away, he grew, he evolved, and Iâ??m not ashamed to say it he became better than me. He never shed the weight but he instead gained my respect, accomplishing things I never thought someone of his health could, and God damn it I respect that more than maybe anyone else in WZCW history.
Faceless Interviewer: But is any of this genuine?
Eve: Impossible to know, not when the stakes are this high. Flex has done shady things, Iâ??m sure youâ??re already well awareâ?¦..
Flex: I can understand the skepticism, Iâ??ve done a lot to get ahead of my enemies. Iâ??ve done a lot I wish I could take back...but I can assure you Iâ??ve never meant it more when I say I believe Mikey Stormrage may be the greatest WZCW success story in history.
Everest: Yeah heâ??s been saying that a lot lately. Havenâ??t seen him praise a superstar this much since before he retired Showtime.
Wasabi: I canâ??t speak to the mindset of Flex at this time. He has told me to stop accompanying him to the ring, he has instructed me not to assault Mikey even when I have ample opportunity, he wasnâ??t very happy when I challenged him for his title. As far as Iâ??m concerned he really wants to do it alone.
Faceless Interviewer: Who do you believe has the advantage?
Wasabi: FlexAmerica will always have the advantage.
Everest: Hard to say, but I think in the end Mikey has won more big matches, and while Flex is incredible, I have give the edge to Mikey.
Eve: I know extensively about both men. I know just how good Mikey is, and I know just how dangerous Flex is, but something is different. Heâ??s not dastardly, heâ??s focused, and focused Flex may be the most dangerous of them all.
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Flex: I talked earlier about the similarities between Mikey and I but what I think is even more interesting are very key differences. Such as: Mikeyâ??s first Kingdom Come ended with him conquering fear and claiming the tag titles, mine ended with me losing mine. Mikey has had his time with the Elite belt, I failed to capture it at Kingdom Come. But once again the most key difference, Mikey kept his weight, Iâ??ve shed mine. Iâ??ve changed my body, Iâ??ve changed my mind, Iâ??ve changed my spirit, Iâ??ve changed everyone who is around me. All to constantly evolve into a better form of myself, all to become the absolute very best. I could give a damn if this is the last match on the card, I could give a damn if its for the World title, what Mikey has in his possession is the most important title in WZCW because it hasnâ??t been hot potatoed for months like the World title. It hasnâ??t been rented out like the Eurasian title. It hasnâ??t been defunct-ed like the Mayhem and tag titles. Mikey has made the Elite championship so prestigious because he is that damn good and thatâ??s why I have to beat him. And thatâ??s exactly why I have been the most honest I have ever been not only with myself, not only the entire WZCW Universe, but with Mikey himself.
Faceless Interviewer: He doesnâ??t seem to be believing it.
Flex: Whether or not he believes my motivations is irrelevant, because I know what he does believe. I know he thinks heâ??s been overlooked, I know that despite all the fanfare and recognition he receives just like me he isnâ??t satisfied. He wants to be the best, he wants to be greater than Tyrone, greater than Titus, greater than Tastic. But what he doesnâ??t realize is that for years heâ??s been better than all of them. He has been the heart of WZCW for a long time, but fact is, itâ??s time for a healthier heart, itâ??s time for a stronger back, and its time that title to not be saddled by the tag line of â??overweightâ?! Iâ??ve been a Hound, Iâ??ve been a legend killer, Iâ??ve been a FlexAmerican, but its about damn time I become Elite!
Faceless Interviewer: What if I said youâ??ve been that for years.
Flex: You of all people would.
The faceless interviewer emerges from the shadows and reveals himself to be Ramparte. He turns off the camera as the former stablemates begin a private conversation.
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Ramparte: Did you ask me to conduct these interviews just to feed your ego?
Flex: With Eve reaching out about us inducting her into the Hall of Fame I thought it was only right we meet me face to face once more time. I mostly just wanted to put the past behind us, begin a new.
Ramparte: I think my hound days are behind me. Youâ??re going to have to find someone else to help you at Kingdom Come.
Flex: Good thing I donâ??t need any. Iâ??m serious Ram, this match against Mikey is the single most important match Iâ??ve had yet. You know whatâ??s been happening with WZCW, who knows if there will even be another Kingdom Come after this one. I want to beat Mikey, but Iâ??m doing it my way, and Iâ??ve been honest since the start. There will be no Cerberus coming down the ramp to help, there will be no FlexAmerica interference, there will only be the Healthiest Man Alive cementing himself as the single greatest WZCW star of all time, all I want is you and my closest companions behind that curtain once I walk back.
Ramparte: Win or lose?
Flex: Never been much of a drawer.
Ramparte: Never been much of an artist Iâ??d say.
Flex: In the end Iâ??ve always just been a fat kid with a dream. Thanks for helping make it a reality.
Ramparte: Thanks for being one of my most interesting chapters.
Flex: The book ainâ??t over yet, Kingdom Come I write the last page.
The old friends nod their head in agreement. The rest of Flex's allies can be heard conversing outside the room. Both men leave to join them.