[Another cold open.  Christian is wearing aviator shades to cover the black eye, but other than that he’s pretty much dressed similarly: black T-shirt, blue jeans, white Reebok’s, seated in a chair.]

 

“The Last Nighthawk” Christian Light:

As you walk the path of life, Edward White, a man appears before you.

 

Blocking you from proceeding, he says you have to make a choice.

 

You could either turn back, slightly damaging one of your smaller business assets, and save one of your associates great pain and suffering.

 

Or you could press on, saving what amounts to, and I’ll quote you on this, “pocket change”, and practically cripple one of your associates.

 

For you, that’s not even a choice.  You press forward.

 

What would you have said, Ed, if Hector Perez took a Sledgehammer or a Sam Turner powerbomb or got hit in the spine with that turnbuckle bolt?  Would you be calling that “market failure” if he were in a halo because one of the participants in the Match Beyond did this to him and not Sylo?

 

No.  

 

This is just another opportunity for you to jump on Defiance for its “injustices” against you.  Make yourself look like the humanitarian when in reality if the situation had been different it would have been something more along the lines of “they understand the risks”.  

 

In reality, after you interjected poisoned assets into the market, it corrected itself faster and more violently than you could ever predict.  

 

But you just do what you do, Ed.  Blame everyone but yourself for your choices and their consequences.  But know that your fate is sealed...

 

[For punctuation, Christian slowly drags his thumb across his throat as he speaks his last line to Defiance’s moneyman.]

 

Light:

...awaiting you in your own private hospital suite.

 

[Light’s hand returns to his side.]

 

Light:

We’re in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Three men now face each other.  Each believes they are fit to be called the Master of Wrestling.  Of the three of us, only one will move on to take his place in the finals.

 

The first man steps forward, putting his Nintendo DS away in his pants pockets.  

 

The Ginger Gamer.  

 

Some would say the clear underdog.  I say he likes it that way.  I say he’s at his best when he’s got something to prove.

 

We stood together once before in the ring, Eugene.  You and I were both in that ladder match, and I saw how hard you can hit when you’re properly focused on doing so.  I said then I’d be proud to main event a Defiance card against you, and I’ve seen little that has changed my mind since that time.  

 

You remain an “underdog” in people’s eyes because they look at you and see nothing more than a nerd.

 

I see differently.

 

But you just do what you do, Eugene.  Keep on surprising everyone.  You’ll get your universal respect soon enough; you’ve already got it from me.

 

[Pause.]

 

Light:

The second man now steps forward, his fingers running through his mustache as he throws an intimidating stare.  

 

Bronson Box.

 

You are a born warrior, through and through, and it’s here in Defiance where you’ve come to do battle.  

 

But more than that, you are a living tornado.  A force of violent nature intent on destruction of the highest order.  People don’t necessarily fight you as much as survive you.  Look at the lives you’ve twisted and turned in your wake.

 

Chris Cannon.

 

The Bancroft Family.

 

Maybe even Alceo Dentari when this tournament’s said and done.  Which, to be honest, I’d be interested to see go down.  

 

I don’t like Alceo very much.  

 

In that we are alike.  And we’re also very similar in other ways.

 

We both want to test our skills against the best.  We both want to push ourselves to be the absolute best fighter in the world, bar none.  And many of the words used to best describe your in-ring style and prowess also describe me, too.  Irresistible force.  Lethal.  Capable of imposing his will upon any opponent or situation, regardless of physical mismatching.

 

Our means to accomplish this end are...very different.  You are the brawler and I the grappler.  But who can argue with effectiveness, Mr. former Defiance World Champion?

 

So you just do what you do, Bronson.  Spin your web of violent rage.  Lay waste to all in your path.  And continue to lay siege to the competition.

 

[A roll of the neck before continuing.]

 

Light:

The final man steps forward, running his hand through his flattop haircut.

 

Christian Light.

 

The thing they say about war is that it doesn’t determine who’s right, but merely who’s left.

 

And the winners, the people who make it through?  They have the privilege of being the storytellers.  They win the prize of going home and telling their friends and their family about how things were.

 

They earn the right to make history.  

 

Time after time, I’ve stepped to the forefront of battle and, every single time, I’ve come home to tell my tale.  And many times it was a bard’s song of conquest, praising my opponent’s battle prowess but telling the tale of their ultimate fall in battle at my hands.

 

Much like Bronson has made a career of crossing lines and Eugene has made a career of shocking the world, I’ve made my bones thriving in the harshest of circumstances.  

 

So while you guys do what you do, whether it’s shocking the world or crossing every line drawn in front of you, I think I’ll do what I do as well.

 

I will survive the force of nature that is Bronson Box long enough to pin his shoulders to the mat.

 

I will make Eugene face someone who will not overlook him and I will defeat him.

 

I will take the next step forward to the finals.

 

And I will be one step closer to saving Defiance from Elijah’s grasp.

 

[End.]