Pax Romana

[Notorious B.O.B.]

Viewers tuning in to the live stream are surprised to say the least by the image that appears on their monitors and televisions. There, smiling from ear to ear, is the man of the hour.

”Friends,” he begins, reaching down into his lap, ”Romans, countrymen,” he continues, placing a laurel on his head and shrugging the sweatshirt from his shoulders to reveal a floral printed toga, that has obviously been made from a set of bedsheets, ”lend me your ears.”

Taking his seat once more, he adjust himself before continuing. ”So, I’m obviously not in Ohio yet, but since my flight doesn’t leave for a few hours I figured why not spend a little time doing what I love …” he pauses, ”well, that other thing I love” he winks.

”I’ve waited a long time to say this, but folks,” he grins, ”I’ve finally made it to Night of the Immortals!”

He leans back in his chair, tucking his hands behind his head for a moment letting the statement sink in. ”Four years I’ve been with this company; four years that I’ve been here and this, THIS is what I’ve been waiting for. Night of the Immortals, the one night of the year that can make or break your career – and finally I’ve earned my spot here.

If you had told me when I first joined this company that I’d have to wait four years before being showcased at this pay-per-view I’d have told you ‘no-way’. There wasn’t a chance that I was going to just sit by and watch other people take my spot – but that’s exactly what happened.

We all know,” he laughs, ”my issues with,” he starts waving his hands around, ”longevity; I mean, I was able to go for a few months before burning myself out and slash or making some monumental ass of myself and being told to walk away for a bit. Seems like it wasn’t the company keeping me off the card for the last three years so much as it was my own stupidity and immaturity keeping me from realizing this dream.

You guys know that through the years I’ve been my own worst enemy – but,” he shrugs, ”I feel like I’ve turned a corner, taken a step back and reevaluated my life. All that shit,” he shifts his head to the left, his eyes closing momentarily, ”and all those people who let me feed into that shit … I’ve worked hard to eliminate them, and it, from my life.

I’ve moved on; hopefully you guys would agree that I’m a much different person from my early streams. Jesus,” he laughs, ”I was an angry person back then, which probably didn’t make for great content” he says with another chuckle.

”But you guys stuck with me through those bad times and look at us now.

We’re a few hours away from making history by defending the Invictus title on the biggest stage IWF has; and considering who my opponent is – this isn’t going to be a walk in the park.

Jayson Matthews,” he says with a smile, ”the man of the hour, the guy who stepped up to the plate when nobody else would.

See, most people of the chatter that I’ve been reading throughout the week has had a common theme; Jayson Matthews doesn’t have what it takes to be champion.

How soon we forget, eh.

‘cause whether people just have poor memories or just plain ignore the history of this title,” he raises the Invictus title to his shoulder, ”Jayson Matthews does have what it takes to be champion – he’s done it twice now and I’m sure there’s nothing he wouldn’t like more than to be the first three time Invictus champion.

Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he continues, eyes scanning the chat room, ”both title reigns took a little assistance, but the fact remains that he’s accomplished what many in this company have not; underneath all that banana bullshit is the heart of a competitor – something I’m not going to be taking lightly.

Couple months back,” he continues, ”Jayson had enough. All that time spent as a punching bag for the Eddie Blacks and Rob Diamonds took its toll and Jayson took matters into his own hands and joined one of the most prestigious wrestling schools around. Under the tutelage of Nighthawk, Matthews has picked up more than a few tricks to add to his unorthodox style. So please,” he smiles, ”tell me again how he’s just a goofy guy who’ll never amount to anything.

You guys know already,” he says with a grimace, ”because I’ve gone on record before about this history of this title, how I’ve been tied to it from it’s inception. Half,” he says with a sneer, ”half of this baby is my Cruiserweight title, the other half the Heavyweight championship; it is now greater than the sum of its parts and has taken on a place of prestige in IWF that I’ve done my best to add to since winning it from Jimmy Karn.

Since that day I’ve taken on anyone who’s wanted to step up and take me on; I’ve refused to quit, refused to let up, just … refused.

What I haven’t done, much to the chagrin of a few of you,” he adds with a sideways glance at his second monitor, ”is treat this title how it was initially intended. Yeah, I’ve heard it, guys, this belt gives me the opportunity to defend under the most extreme conditions without worrying about count outs or disqualifications; but I haven’t capitalized on any of that.

No, instead, what I’ve done is carve a path through the competition winning each of those matches with straight forward wrestling, not brutality.

Jayson’s probably expecting more of the same and I’m of a mind to keep on keepin’ on,” he pauses with a wink, ”but who knows; only thing for certain is that when all is said and done, I’m going to be walking out of Ohio with this baby still on my shoulder … that is for damn sure.

Now who’s ready for some Overwatch?”