#I think aew is running a show out there on Saturday?

[miru-has-thoughts]

Vegas is crazy if the rock's not booed at the press conference

For sure, though one thing I know about my people is that they run on Vegas time. Here's to hoping they come in masses and be the rowdiest they can be....on time

#I am seriously considering going out there a week before JUST to go boo corporate Rock #I think aew is running a show out there on Saturday? #don't be surprised if you see tomatoes or a shoe being thrown. #it might just be me 🙂 #wwe #roman reigns #the rock #dwayne johnson #wrestlemania #cody rhodes #we want cody

[flytohurt]

Thrasher mag, March 2024 issue // buy it here! by Matt Pendry

article under the cut!

Skateboarding seems to be everywhere these days, including in the wrestling ring. But if somebody is going to hop over the ropes with a board, we're glad it's Darby Allin because he's not using skating as a gimmick - the dude rips! Despite putting his body through the ringer three-to-four nights a week wrestling, he's still out there getting broke off on his board - and loving every second of it. We caught up recently to talk about living in his vehicle, his guest model on Deathwish and jumping a car over his damn house. Check it.

What's going on, Darby? I'm on the way to the FA warehouse to hang out before we do this meet and greet at their store later today, and on top of that I'm getting ready to go to Mount Everest on Saturday. I got so much shit planned. I have to get hit by a car tomorrow and I have a joint sprain at the moment, so I'm trying to stay at 100 percent.

What do you mean you have to get hit by a car tomorrow? I have to get hit by this car for an AEW promo show tomorrow, then do an actual show in Inglewood and them jump on a red-eye flight to China to train for Mount Everest, so I got to make sure my body stays in one piece.

It sounds like you have a lot going on right now! Where are you originally from? I was born in Arizona, but I was only there for two months so from my brain's standpoint all I remember is Seattle.

Did you start skaing there? Yeah, I started skating in eighth grade.

Is that also around the time you started filming yourself with a tripod? Yeah, it would just rain all the time in Seattle, so when you got a sunny day you couldn't take it for granted - you had to go balls to the wall. That's pretty much when the inception of all my craziness started. You know, sitting at home all day thinking about skating while it was raining. By the time it was sunny it was time to rock and that's when I would get sent to the hospital.

I heard you broke your leg one time and had to push yourself home. That's when I was going to film school in Arizona. It was my first month there and I was trying to drop in on the ASU art museum structure. It's this huge drop in I'd seen in videos. I didn't have a filmer because I'm impatient and don't like to wait for people, so I set up a camera on a tripod and went for it. I flew into the concrete wall in the landing and broke my foot. At that time I had no money and the buses had stopped running, so I had to push myself on my board all the way home. It was a good ten miles; so gnarly. Then I was just sitting there sweating in a hot-ass apartment all summer with no AC and a broken foot.

Sounds like a long summer. I head you were homeless when you moved to Georgia to join the amateur wrestling circuit and make a name for yourself. How long did that last? I was living in my car in Georgia for about five months, pretty much because I didn't want to end up complacent or lazy. A lot of people sit on the couch all day every day, but when you're living in your car, in the middle of the Georgia summer, you get woken up pretty early. It was just a way to push myself out of my comfort zone because I think comfort zones are the death of most people. So, that's the big reason I wanted to be homeless in my car and it ended up working out.

It sounds like with that environment and mindset you were able to push yourself to where you are today. Yeah, absolutely. Everything I do in life is to get out my comfort zone. All the crazy stuff I do, whether I'm getting hit by a car, or jumping over my house, or trying to climb Mount Everest, or sleeping in my car, it helps me get out of my comfort zone and that's usually what chills me out.

Was cooking chicken in the bathroom of a gym on a George Foreman grill out of your comfort zone? Well, I used to park outside of an Anytime Fitness and go cook chicken in the bathroom. Everybody in the gym could smell that shit and would be like, What's going on?

You got to do what you got to do. I didn't have a kitchen or money to eat out so it saved me so much money.

Were you skating much during this time, or had your focus shifted to wrestling? I pretty much stopped skating for a solid year and a half. It was weird - I felt like in order to make it in wrestling I needed to dedicate my life to it and at a certain point I really felt something was missing and I couldn't pinpoint what it was. I was feeling this depression like something about my life was just not there anymore, and then the moment I picked up a skateboard again I was like, Oh shit, this is it, for sure. I never put it back down after that. I've been skating all the time now, even though I'm signed to this company and have to wrestle every week. It's like, You can't pay me enough to stop skating now. When I stopped skating for that year and a half I felt it. Mentally, I really felt it; it just sucked.

Does All Elite Wrestling ask you to take it easy on the skating? No, it sounds crazy but they trust me. I still skate so much. I'm not just doing rock to fakies either - I'm usually trying some crazy shit, so it's really hard to balance out the two worlds, especially when you have to perform every week and you have a passion for skateboarding. I don't think anybody truly understands how much I thread the needle on a weekly basis.

I heard when you first got signed to AEW, they couldn't guarantee you anything because they didn't know what was going to happen with the new company. The parallels are almost identical to many pro skater's careers in this aspect - style, personality, presentation and so much more go into both curating and carrying out a successful skateboarding or wrestling career. Being a few years into a professional wrestling career, do you think it's similar to being a professional skater? I think the overall difference is skateboarding is just more unpredictable. With wrestling, once you make it you're kind of set. I feel like being a pro skater would be a lot harder and there's no real guarantee for the future. Once you can't skate anymore you're kind of spit out of the system, but with wrestling there's more options with what you can do outside of it once your body gives out.

I'm saying the career path is what is so similar - where you go and live in your car with no money and push yourself into this life. Well, would you rather do that or would you rather play it safe? I worked at a 99 Cents store and the mental pain of working at a place like that versus risking your body every day is a no-brainer. I would rather risk my body any day.

Let's talk about the Gates of Hell slam you took a few days before doing a pay-per-view match in Arizona. I was filming this AEW intro video with Max Yoder at the Gates of Hell. Jaws was there, too. There's a big crack at the bottom that wasn't Bondo'd. I tried to no comply backside 360, hit the crack and flew into the wall at the bottom. I fell into this red anthill. I just laid there while they were eating me up. The first thing I thought was, Oh shit, I have to wrestle next week. So I went to Jaws' house and was like, Alright, if I piss blood I'll go to the hospital. If not, I'm good. I sat in the bathtub for like two hours and there was no blood, so all good. A few days later I show up limping for this big match and everybody was like, What happened? I told them I was training and hit my knee, because I have a wrestling ring at my house. I have such a drive to show skateboarding to the pro-wrestling world because they've never really seen it before, so that's why I wanted to skate the Gates of Hell, but I got annihilated.

In true akater fashion you just want to put it on the line! That's what it's all about. It seems like you want to represent skating in the right way and not as some lame gimmick to your persona. It's actually who you are and where you came from. Continuing to skate is certainly a risk because I feel like I have a high standard for how I want to skate. I don't want to just play it safe.

How did the guest board with Deathwish come about? It was my friend Steve Hernandez's idea, who works at Deathwish. He was trying to sell it to Reynolds and Ellington, but they were kind of on the fence. Once they saw some of my skating they were like, Yeah, he's actually a skater. Let's get it! Then we created the Darby Allin AEW Deathwish board. I was super grateful for that whole experience.

When you started making a little bread from AEW, was the backyard skatepark the first dream that was brought to life? Yeah! I got a roll in out of my kitchen window. We have like 14 acres of fucking chaos - there's dirt jumps, a skatepark, we're blowing up cars every weekend. It's just a representation of what I would have wanted when I was ten years old: a fantasy land mixed with Nitro Circus and skating.

Which brings me to the house jump - how did you get the idea for that? We were filming a pilot for my TV show Darby's Days Off and they asked me, What's something you want to do? I was looking at my yard and I said, Can't we just build a big-ass jump over the house? The next week there was a truck unloading dirt and building this massive jump and we even got mobile-home trailers. Travis Pastrana told me trailers are like a crash pad for cars. Earlier that week he also told me there was a good chance I'd break my back if I didn't land it right. Tony Khan, my boss at AEW, asked me if I could a stunt duble and I was like, No way. The moment I landed it, Tony was on FaceTime and I jumped out of the car and was like, I can make it Wednesday! He's always getting stressed out with my shenanigans.

I'm sure he was hyped once he saw how much publicity the video received. That's my whole goal with professional wrestling. I feel like a lot of wrestlers play it safe outside of the ring. To find a way to attract a new audience or fans you have to think outside the box.

You're certainly thinking way outside the box. You clipped the house but still came out alright. What were the stats? How far did you fly? It was a 96-foot jump over the house. It was insane and by far the gnarliest thing I've ever done.

Have any fans or fellow wrestlers ever given you shit about bringing a skateboard into the ring? No, not really. I feel like the best thing to do in wrestling is bring something from outside of wrestling into the ring. Nobody's ever been like, Yo, what the hell? Why do you have a skateboard?

Because they know you actually skate! That's the thing - if I didn't really skate and everyone saw me out there with it, they'd be like, All this is just same fake pro-wrestling shit. There's a lot of that going on already and I don't want to add to it.

It seems like after everything that you have been through you've made the best of the situation - you've got action figures in Target; your matches are televised across the world; I've literally seen you on billboards. You're a celebrity at this point! So, one last thing - I know you're a certified psycho, but are you serious about this Mount Everest thing? You're about to fly to China for a month. Are you actually training to climb it? Absolutely. When I say I'm going to do something, I do it. I just want to work for it. I want something to push towards again that's going to be extremely difficult. It's more of a spiritual quest. I have a lot of things I want to do in life, but Mount Everest kept calling me for whatever reason. I only have six months to train for it and my guides there tell me that's unheard of, but I feel like with everything I've put myself through in life I can 100 percent do it.

Are you going to take your board? Are you going to be the first person to get a clip on top of Everest? I don't even know if that's possible to bring up there. I'll have to ask them, but that would be epic.

Well, I can't wait to see what's next. Do you think we're going to get a full Darby part anytime in the near future? Yeah, it's a goal of mine. Once I get back from Everest I want to start filming.

I know it would be one for the books. Thanks for talking with us, Darby. You're truly one of a kind, my friend. Good luck on the mountain! We'll see how it all plays out. If this interview comes out before Everest, cool. If not and I die on the mountain, then yeah, I don't know...

You're a skater. You'll be all right. Yeah, I guess we'll put that to the test.

#darby allin #darbyallin #thrasher #thrasher magazine #yes i did both purchase a copy and transcribe it for all of you

[questintheskies]

Wrestling’s next breakout international star is upon us. His name is “Switchblade” Jay White, and the former New Japan Pro-Wrestling world champion is ready to showcase his talent to the world.

“So much is possible,” says White. “Impact, AEW, WWE—we’ll see.”

Jamie White truly transformed into “Switchblade” Jay White when most weren’t watching. Since 2017, he worked a demanding schedule that included stops all over Japan—most of which were not broadcast. Repeated stops, from Sapporo to Hirosaki to Kanazawa, provided a platform away from wrestling’s blaring spotlight to sharpen his skills, shaping White into the masterful performer he is today.

While White would not discuss his contract status, industry sources have confirmed that he is set to leave New Japan. A two-time IWGP world champion, White exceeded all expectations during his run in the company.

“I’m at peace with it,” says White, who brought new life to Bullet Club as its leader. “I don’t know if there is much more I could have done. I don’t feel like I left a bunch of boxes unchecked. I’ve been living it, so it can be hard to appreciate it in the moment, but as I move on, I’ve started to look back at the weight some of it holds. As time goes on, I hope people appreciate it even more.

“To me, I was doing what I was meant to be doing. Now I’m looking at what’s next.”

As leader of Bullet Club, White gave the group a unique edge. His persona was different from past leaders, presenting the group in an altogether vicious, cunning manner. One key reason for his success in the role is that he never attempted to mimic Kenny Omega, the man he replaced.

“I always chuckled when people compared me to Kenny Omega after I took over Bullet Club,” says White. “I don’t think you can find two wrestlers who are more different than me and Kenny. I think a lot of people wanted me to try to be just like Kenny, but that’s just not me. If I tried to do that, I would have failed. I did it my way.”

White is still working New Japan dates, even after losing a Loser Leaves Japan match to former Bullet Club partner Hikuleo this past weekend at The New Beginning in Osaka. He will wrestle AEW star Eddie Kingston on Saturday at NJPW’s Battle in the Valley card in San Jose.

“I can’t go back to Japan, but there is nothing that says I can’t compete at the shows in the United States,” says White. “Hikuleo was everything I always knew he was. I’ve always believed in him. I’m proud of him, and his moment came against me, so now we’re tied to each other forever.”

Only 30, there is no limit to the heights White can reach. He is a world-class wrestler who can cut exquisite promos, and he has spent the last half-decade enhancing his presence and physique. But before he moves on to his next conquest, White still has unfinished business with New Japan—including watching his eternal rivals, Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi, wrestle in the main event.

“People are getting all worked up about it, but my future is this Saturday,” says White. “You’re going to get a treat in seeing the storied rivalry of Okada and Tanahashi on the card, too. I hope Tanahashi got his teeth fixed—his three front teeth fell out when he bit into a protein bar. I guess that happens when you get to his age. And speaking of Okada, I’m proud of him. He’s finally listening to me. I like his approach going after [Kaito] Kiyomiya from NOAH. I met him once when I was on excursion, which is quite funny now that he’s now their champion and I was over in New Japan. Props to Okada; he’s obviously learned a thing or two from myself.”

In addition to the next chapter of Okada-Tanahashi, the Battle in the Valley card also includes the NJPW debut of Sasha Banks, who is now wrestling as Mercedes Moné. White against Kingston is also a worthy addition to the card. Very few pros connect with their peers in the same manner that Kingston does, and he has a style that should mesh perfectly with White.

“What you see is what you get with him,” says White. “Eddie’s real. That doesn’t mean I like him, but he is real. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything verbally or physically. He’s probably got the hardest chops I’ve ever felt, and I was just in there with Hikuleo, who has some huge damn mitts on me. I know Eddie can hit hard, and I know what he’s capable of, and I know Eddie wants his moment, but you can’t get what you want all the time. I’m going to teach that to him at Battle in the Valley.”

#jay white #switchblade jay white #bullet club #puroresu #wrestling #njpw #new japan pro wrestling #breathe with the switchblade #switchblade era #king switch #the catalyst #bullet club gold #guns up

[wheeler-beretta-harwood]

A couple days ago I snuck out to see The Bobs Burgers Movie by myself. It was the first time I ever want to a movie by myself…I loved it!

So you are officially the angst queen, but I still love your light and fluffy gooeyness sooo…. It’s movie night with you and your AEW beau. Are you guys going to the movies or staying home? Who is picking the movie? What snacks are you snacking on? And most importantly do you watch the movie or make out ?

I wish I could see the Bob's Burgers Movie, too. But no cinema here shows it 😒

Anyway, I've started this with Cash (what a shocker), and then deleted all of it and started anew with my other favorite North Carolina boy Dax. I will try to make Dax a regular from now on. It's a bit short, but maybe you still like it.

"What do you mean you have never seen it? It's a classic!"

Dax just shrugs at me. "Doesn't seem like I'd enjoy it. Isn't it for kids?"

My jaw drops. "How dare you, sweetie?! It. Is. A. Classic! For all ages." I cross my arms and shake my head in disbelief. "We're not gonna argue about it, we're gonna watch it tonight. And you will love it."

He snickers, but finally agrees to watch 'a kid's movie' with me.

It is Saturday, and Dax finally has a weekend off. No Pay-Per-View, no indie shows, no interviews, no podcasts. Nothing.

Just us. It is pure bliss. We have had a wonderful breakfast date at his favorite coffee shop, went for a stroll with the dogs, and cuddled all afternoon. And now, I am forcing him to watch "The Nightmare Before Christmas" with me.

While he takes care of the beverages, which means water for me, and a beer and LOTS of tequila for him, in case he hates the movie, I make some salted popcorn for myself and get the roasted cashews ready for him. I know he secretly craves some chocolate, but he's too afraid to gain weight. I will never fully understand his problem with his body as I love the way he looks - all mean, but in reality a big, cuddly teddy bear - but I support him as much as I can and therefore banned all sweets for me too. It's actually only good for me, because I have lost some pounds since we moved in together.

As soon as he lays down on the couch, he pours himself a shot which causes me to scoff. "Don't you dare and get drunk before the movie even starts. At least have the decency to wait until I annoy you with singing along to all the songs."

His face distorts in shock. "There's songs?! Oh Lord, have mercy."

I sit down next to him and hand him his nuts before I snuggle into his side and press play. The opening song hits and I softly sing along to it to which Dax chuckles and presses a kiss on top of my head.

For about 20 minutes, he actually pays attention to the movie, and at some point, I think he actually enjoys it, but just then, I notice his hand rubbing my back while travelling down to grab my ass. I gasp and look up at him: the fire in his eyes tells me we won't see the end of the movie. With his free hand, he lifts my chin up so he can kiss me. I love how soft his lips are against mine...and the way his mustache tickles is making me smile against his lips.

"Dax..." I start because I want to tell him to stop, but when he swats my ass, I know we won't see ANY more of the movie. The kiss becomes more heated and I crawl up to straddle his lap. His hand moves from my butt up to run along my side. His touch is so delicate it sends shivers down my spine. I moan into the kiss and start tugging at his shirt. When I get it off of him, he smirks up at me. "What about the movie, dove?"

I let out a gust of air. "Don't act like I initiated this. Besides, I know you don't like the movie. So...let's do something we both enjoy?", I suggest while running my hands over his bare chest and trailing kisses down his neck and up again until my lips are next to his ear. "You are so hot, baby. You have no idea what you do to me", I whisper.

A lopsided smile finds its way on his face and he turns off the TV before both his hands cup my ass and he stands up, holding me tight to his body. I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck as he carries me upstairs to our bedroom, all while our lips are glued to each other.

"Dax."

"Yes, dove?"

"I'm kinda glad you don't like the movie."

He laughs at my comment. "It wasn't half bad. But I enjoy this a lot more." With those words, he drops me on our bed.

I enjoy this a lot more, too...

#the best girl asks i answer #top girls out #dax harwood imagine #dax harwood #dax #all elite wrestling imagine #aew imagine #aew

[blackpoolcombatwriter]

How do you think Final Battle will go vs how do you think it should go

Quickly, will go:

Dalton and the Boys vs The Embassy: Dalton and the boys win

SIOG vs Shane Taylor Promotions: Shane Taylor wins

Samoa Joe vs Juice: Joe wins

Athena vs Mercedes: Athena wins

Danny vs Yuta: Danny wins

Jericho vs Claudio: Jericho wins

FTR vs Briscoes: FTR wins

How I think it should go(this is assuming ROH is getting some kind of deal announced after the PPV since Tony is supposed to address it).

I still think Dalton and the Boys win. They're entertaining, very over, and The Embassy have mostly been there.

I think Shane Taylor Productions wins after Swerve completes his turn and walks out on Keith as revenge for Keith walking out on him.

Right now, I think Joe wins. He's just become a double champ, he's a known name, and if they're about to have their own show, he's someone who can bring eyes.

Athena's been going around doing a lot of podcasts ahead of this PPV, combined with her return to her harder hitting style, it feels like she's primed to win.

I need Yuta to win his title back. And Yuta winning makes the most sense. Yuta's been busy doing the podcasts, like Athena, and with the BCC basically turning into a BCC 2.0 after Regal leaving, their members going on a run is exactly what should happen to prove they're taking over like Mox said. And this ties in with my thoughts on the Jericho/Claudio match. With Tony promising many, many times there will be less ROH content on AEW going forward, I can't see Jericho not being on AEW each week, so if JAS stay on AEW, both need to drop their titles. BCC are better set up to have ROH titles and defend them on the new ROH show, but still appear on AEW in other capacities because they're actual wrestlers.

And I just touched on it, but I also need Claudio to win. Mox promised this Saturday was the end of JAS/BCC but I can't see that happening if Claudio is forced to join JAS. I think Claudio would be the type of champ who would want to restore the title to its glory by giving anyone who was screwed over by Jericho a rematch. And no way should Claudio be forced to join JAS and be forced to tag with Danny. Claudio's partner is Yuta.

I have a hard time seeing The Briscoes winning, especially if ROH is getting some kind of a TV or streaming deal. They're not allowed to appear on TV after one of them tweeted horrible things(not getting into, well AEW still has so and so on TV.) so I can't see them winning the titles and being the faces of the ROH tag division when the network doesn't want them to be. Now if Tony went outside of the network with ROH, then maybe The Briscoes could win, but then there would be the issue of talents crossing over between networks. I think the core AEW audience wouldn't like it much if suddenly a bunch of the wrestlers they've gotten behind were moved to ROH and now they have to add another hour or two to their weekly wrestling watch list in order to see the wrestlers they love.

#anon asks #j answers things

[springgirlwaiting4fall]

You and your Darling wanted to spend a fun day outside, everything was planned...and then it fucking pours. Do you have a backup plan or so you just spend the day at home?

As soon as I opened this, my mind immediately went to Dax. But than the doubts starting coming in, because I’ve been focused on him so much lately. So I tried thinking off other AEW Darlings who I would want to spend a rainy day with: Trent, Eddie, Santana, MJF, Ortiz, and even my most favorite idiot Max Caster. But nothing came. So strap on your seatbelt lady, because you are getting another Dax and me. I would say sorry…but I’m not. 😂 😝

When I was younger I used to be all about spring, but in my twenties that changed. All of a sudden, the world just seemed most magical in the fall. The air had a chill to it and I could wear flannels and cute boots. Halloween and thanksgiving two awesome holidays happened in the fall. And best of all, the activities that you could do in fall: Pumpkin picking, scary movies, costume parties, apple picking, making apple cider, decorating, carving and painting pumpkins.

Tomorrow was going to be one of the best fall days I could imagine. My boyfriend Dax was home on a Saturday, and with his schedule that was a huge deal. I went all out making plans. We would wake up and head right out, stoping for Dax’s coffee and hot chocolate for me. He would drive us over to this adorable farm where we could snuggle on a hayride and pick apples. Than we would go out for lunch and stop at the store so I could get ingredients to make apple pie. Dax even promised to help make it and we would have it after dinner while we sat outside on our sun porched and star watched.

My excitement quickly turned to disappointment when I woke up on Saturday and the whole sky was dark. I cursed the weather channel out in my head, when Dax told me on Thursday, he would be home my app said Saturday would be clear skies and and 63 degrees. I hoped that maybe it would be a quick thunderstorm and that we would be able to go out in the afternoon to pick apples. But I had no luck, it was only going to get worse as the day went on. I felt myself get teary eyed which was stupid, but my I couldn’t help feeling so disappointed. I turned Dax’s phone alarm off and went downstairs to pout. At least Dax would get to sleep in now, a luxury he normally didn’t get.

It’s a little after 10 when Dax comes shuffling down. I’m still on the sofa in my pajamas watching New Girl (the show I binge when I’m bummed and need a laugh) when he comes over and sits down with me. Dax wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his chest, before giving me a kiss on my temple. “I’m sorry firefly (the nickname he given me since ‘I brightened up his life’.) I know how excited you were.”

I kiss his lips and the instant they touch his I do feel a tad better. I’m here with the love of my life and we get to spend a weekend day together. I’m not going to waste this opportunity. “I am bummed. Cuddling next to you on a hayride would be the perfect start to fall. But we can always do that another day. And on a weekday it won’t be as crowded.”

We sit and finish watching the episode where Jess finds Nick dancing to reggae music.

The show ends, Dax stand up, takes my hands, and pulls me up. I have to bend my head to look up at him, since he is so much taller than me. He gives me a deep, knee weakening kiss. “Get dress,” Dax whispers in my ear, before lightly spanking my butt and running off to get in the shower first. I still dress in my apple picking planning episode and Dax makes my stomach do a flip flop In his jeans and Bret hart shirt. I still can’t believe someone as funny, charming, smart kind, talented, athletic, and such a handsome man loves me. And he doesn’t believe any of those things about himself, but I vowed to make sure that one day he will believe all those things about himself.

The first place we go to is a cute café we never been to before. Dax drinks at least 4 coffees with his brunch and I eat fluffy waffles with warm maple syrup and drink a mimosa. I try to ask Dax where we’re going next, but he won’t tell me. He pulls into a Halloween store and we spend our time walking through the whole store. We debate on what our costumes will be, with me coming up with so many ideas and Dax insisting we don’t need to dress up. Him

And I both know we will have matching costumes October 31st. We end up picking up a few new decorations and I’m bouncing out of the store. The rain has really started to pick up, but Dax says that we have one more stop left.

Dax pulls into a target parking lot, I raise my eyebrows at him and ask if we’re out of toilet paper or something. He takes my hand into his and kisses my wrist before saying, “don’t start doubting me.” We walk into the store holding hands and Dax grabs a cart. Together we take our time even when I have to look through the Dollar spot section and the office supplies for any cute journals or pens. He never rushes me. In the grocery area Dax starts loading up on soda, popcorn, and the movie theater style box candies. We have lived together for two years now, I know Dax doesn’t think I’m a gold digger or anything like that, but I still try to pay. He rolls his eyes and swipes his card before I can even get mine out of my handbag.

The rain has really picked up by the time we got home. It’s thundering and lightning, and the rain is coming down so hard that I thought Dax would have to pull over on the way home. Dax has me run ahead and unlock the front door while he grabs all the bag. Once we’re inside we change into our more comfortable at home clothes and Dax turns on the fireplace that is under the tv. We cuddle back on the sofa with all the snacks. I laugh, squeeze Dax’s waist and kiss his cheek when he turns on Hocus Pocus. He hates the movie, but he loves me more. The rain might have ruined our plans, but it couldn’t ruin our perfect fall Saturday.

#aew #aew fanfiction #dax harwood #cash and dax #Dax and I #my best girl request #I reply #Halloween and fall vibes only #ftr #top girls out

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony’s Stupid Daily Blog (400): Fri 21st Apr 2023

The rumour going around is that CM Punk is about to return to AEW in order to front their new TV show Collision. First of all I’m very happy that Punk will be back as I think he’s overall a net positive for AEW. Secondly: fucking Hell Tony what the fuck is wrong with you? ANOTHER FUCKING TV SHOW? Your main TV show was has been struggling to stay above 1 million so then you go and launch a second show which struggles to stay above 500,000 and now you want a third one?! Personally I think that he would have been better off never agreeing to the second show in the first place, trimming the roster to less than 100 guys / girls and focusing all of his energy on trying to get Dynamite consistently above one million viewers before even thinking of taking on another god damn TV show. I think that maybe Tony has the same problem as me in that he’s a completist. With me I’ve been able to channel my obsession with completing things into my bucket list but I think Tony has himself convinced that he won’t be able to rest until he’s collected all the wrestlers. The problem with collectors is that eventually they will run out of space and Tony feels that because he’s run out of space on Dynamite and Rampage he needs a third storage space for the 75 other wrestlers he never fucking uses. Another problem is that this show is happening on a Saturday night which I think will be tough to garner an audience because people don’t want to be in the house on Saturday night, they want to be out at bars and restaurants trying to bang dirty bitches. I hate when I have to agree with the likes of Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo but I think this is going to be a colossal mistake that is going to bite Tony in his very rich ass. 

[aewhore]

Tunnel Vision ~ Eddie Kingston x reader

*WARNING* THIS IS SUPER ANGSTY (and probably badly written) 

Author’s Note: This is my first attempt at fanfiction because people seem to like the prompt i posted of “I don’t know who you are anymore” so here’s the story i envisioned for it!!!! ENJOY

Eddie didn't want the AEW championship, he needed it. The hunger he had for that title is what drove him, it’s what powered him to fight every Tuesday and Wednesday night. it guarantees the respect of his so called co-workers who’ve looked down on him since day 1 of joining this company, with that title he could finally get back at all the people who called him a garbage wrestler. 

That’s where your problem was. Eddie had become so fixated on beating- NO! making Moxley quit that he’s changed completely. He’s become bitter, when you two speak on the phone he speaks as if he is being physically burned or tormented by the world he’s created his head. he spends most of his time either pacing a hole into the hotel room carpet or at the daily’s place with the family working on ways to beat Mox. He hasn’t been back to your shared home in  New York in weeks, he claims if he leaves Jacksonville he’ll become distracted and won’t be prepared for Full Gear. You can’t help feel completely neglected, as you yourself are a wrestler but are currently out due to a rotator cuff tear but you’re still helping out backstage as a coach as you feel the dynamite tapings are your only time you get to actually see Eddie anymore. with your injury you need Eddie’s loving support now more than ever but it doesn’t even feel like you rank on his list of priorities. When you see him backstage at dynamite he gives short answers about how he need to focus on winning right now but he’s going to bring the belt back for you and how he is finally going to right all the wrongs that AEW has done and that means making Mox quit, even if it’s the last thing he does 

You and Eddie have been dating for nearly six years at this point, what drew you to Eddie was his honesty, how he spoke his mind and to hell with anyone who didn’t like him, but what made you stay was how loyal he was. He let you see a side of him that not many people get to see, a softer side. You got to see how his beautiful green eyes would soften when he looked at you, as if you were the solution to every problem he’s ever had. You can’t just throw that away! but you’ve also never seen Eddie like this before. Now instead of love or lust in his eyes you only see torment, confusion and hurt. You’ve tried everything at this point and you’re running out of options and sanity. When will enough be enough? 

It's hours before the go home episode of dynamite for Full Gear on Saturday. you’re slowly but surely making your way towards the Family’s dressing room. Tonight was the night you were going to confront Eddie. you were going to give him no escape tonight. He has to talk about what has been happening between the two of you. You let yourself into the dressing room as the guys are used to you looking for Eddie. The room is empty except for Eddie blankly staring at the wall to the left of you as he does his wrist tape. 

“Hey baby, i need to talk to you.” you say as you side step into his eyeline. “listen doll, i don’t have the time ri-” you cut him off before the excuses could start “Well if you don’t have time then you’ll just listen!” you say as you dragged a chair in front of the bench he’s seated on. 

You take a moment to really look Eddie in his forest green eyes that for the first time almost seem blank of emotion, before asking “What’s going on Eddie?” “What do you mean doll?” you breathed out a sigh as you realize this is going to be more difficult than you thought. “what i mean by that Eddie, is that you haven’t spoken to me in weeks and i want to know why?” Eddie was clearly taken off guard by this as his eyebrows creased with confusion “what are talking about? we literally talked this morn-” “NO EDDIE! we didn't talk this morning, I spoke at you and you grunted back at me, i bet you can’t even remember what I said can you? I’ll wait Eddie '' seeing his face turn from shock at you yelling at him to dread as he realized he couldn’t remember a single word you said to him back at the hotel room this morning.  

“Listen doll-” “don’t you doll me Eddie, Jesus Christ Eddie do i even matter to you?” your patience was wearing thinner as the seconds passed. “Don’t say that doll, of course you matter to me! I love you don’t I?” Eddie was chuckling by the end of the sentence. Your eyes fall to flour and you can feel your heart begin to crack. “I don’t know anymore Eddie, do you?”  Eddie’s face fell as he scrambled to put a sentence together. “Doll don’t say that!! i love you more than anything” you knew his actions proved this to be a lie. “if you love me so much why don’t you talk to me? and don’t give me that i need to focus bull shit, we both know that’s shit” Eddie’s resolve was thinning as your ,however justified, questioning wore him down. “Well what the fuck do you want me to say then, Jesus doll, This title is my number one priority until i win it and show everyone that I’m the best in this entire god damn company” your eyes started to well up as you realized that you were coming to a cross road with Eddie. “but you’re already the best to me! is that not enough?” Eddie answers the question before thinking “No it’s not, your approval hasn’t gotten me jack shit in this business” 

If you thought your heart was breaking before, it shattered with this revelation. Your worst nightmare has come true. Eddie doesn’t need nor want you anymore. “Well then... i see how it is... “ as you start to walk out the door, Eddie grabs your arm to pull you back to him and breaks his silence “Wait.. doll i didn’t mean it like that, you know what i meant.” you were fully crying at this stage, “you know what Eddie, No. i don’t know what you meant by that because i don’t even know who you are anymore.” you pull your arm from his grasp. “Doll.... what?! where are you going?” you stop at the doorway to glance back at him “I’m going home to my parents Eddie, I can’t do this anymore. I deserve better than this, I’ll send my brother to pick up my things. I love you, goodbye” you let the door shut behind you as you leave the man you once hoped to be your future, in the past.

#Eddie Kingston #Eddie Kingston fanfic #Eddie Kingston imagines #aew fanfiction #aew fanfic #aew imagine #aew angst #angst #wrestling fanfiction #first fic #pls be kind #all elite wrestling #aew full gear

[wrestlingisfake]

Full Gear preview

It's AEW's annual November pay-per-view, Full Gear! Fun fact, this show is named after a 2019 Being the Elite storyline. You see, Cody Rhodes pretended to think Hangman Page was out of shape, in order to gaslight Page into training super-hard to be "full gear" ready--i.e., wrestling in your ring gear, rather than covering up with a T-shirt or track pants. I'd say that bit is disturbing in hindsight, but it was pretty disturbing at the time too. Anyway, now they just act like "full gear" means machinery and stuff like that.

The show will air live Saturday, November 13 at 8pm Eastern time on pay-per-view, with a free pre-show at 7 Eastern. In the US and Canada, you can order via BleacherReport.com or traditional cable/satellite providers for $49.99 US. The rest of the world can get the show on FITE.tv.

Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page - Omega is defending the AEW men's world title; his AAA mega championship is not at stake. Page won a ladder match on October 6 to earn this title shot. If Page wins the title, it would be his first singles championship in any national-level wrestling promotion.

OK, this is the part where I typically run down the story leading into the match. I think these two were fighting over a shampoo commercial or something. Let me check my notes--oh. Oh.

Adam Page joined Bullet Club in 2016, and quickly became associated with the Elite (Omega and the Young Bucks). That relationship meant Page was carried along for the ride as the Elite achieved superstardom, culminating with the introduction of All Elite Wrestling in 2019. While the rest of the Elite got executive positions in the new company, Page's big thing was that he wanted to be the first AEW world champion. He did qualify for the inaugural title match in August 2019, but he lost to Chris Jericho, which sent him on an emotional downward spiral.

Over the next 12 months, Page's sense of inadequacy within the Elite festered, and he was reluctant to talk to his friends about it. Even when he and Omega won the AEW tag team title, Page worried that Omega was carrying the team. Even when they defended the title against the heavily-favored Young Bucks, Page worried that they were the better team and the better friends to Omega. His doubts and fears got the better of him when he interfered to prevent the Bucks from earning a second title shot. The Bucks kicked him out of the Elite, sending him further into depression, which caused the Omega-Page team to collapse in September 2020.

Since then, the Elite has become a dominant heel faction, while Page did a lot of healing with his new friends in the Dark Order. (This part is weird, because in 2020 the Dark Order was a heel cult preying on Page's insecurities, but the tragic death of their leader Brodie Lee made it impossible to present them as anything but lovable goofballs.) On July 7, 2021, the Dark Order pushed Page to pursue a title shot against Omega this summer, but he lost the opportunity on July 28, which crushed his fans. We all wondered if it would take another year for him to recover from that setback, making his surprise return in October all the more powerful.

The core theme to this saga is that Page tried and failed to prove himself to everybody else, and now he has to prove himself to himself. Omega knows what buttons to push, and he's willing to push them to protect his championship, even if that means sabotaging his former friend's mental health. Even if Page can take the mindgames off the table, he's still in there with one of the best pro wrestlers in the game today. Page is the sentimental favorite, but in every other respect he's the underdog.

Considering this is the peak of a babyface title chase that's been built for 34 months, you'd think it'd be a no-brainer that Page has to win. But all week I've seen fans and pundits alike second-guessing that, coming up with ways AEW could plausibly drag it out even further. There are those who think Kenny has to keep the title for dream matches against Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Kota Ibushi, or anybody else that may or may not be available soon. So if you think Page winning the belt would be the one thing all wrestling fans could be happy with, I can already tell you it won't be.

As for me, I'm all about getting the happy ending. I don't need to see Omega just pin Page, and watch everybody awkwardly look around for some angle to close the show. I need Page just beating Omega, no excuses, and the Dark Order holds him up on their shoulders like Bret Hart in 1994.

Bryan Danielson vs. Miro - This is the final match of a tournament to determine the next challenger for the men's world title. Originally Danielson was set to face the winner of Jon Moxley vs. Orange Cassidy, but when Moxley entered rehab, Miro was chosen to be an alternate, and he clobbered Cassidy. The story is that Miro has not been allowed to have sex with his wife since he lost the AEW TNT title on September 29, so he is very motivated to win another championship.

Obviously this is a battle between two ex-WWE guys. So even though WWE only booked Rusev vs. Daniel Bryan on TV like one time, because they're dumb, a bunch of weirdos are going to act like this is "WWE lite" or something. Personally, though, when I watch these guys in AEW I can barely recognize them as their WWE personas. Danielson is having the time of his life wrestling however he likes, and Miro has taken his character to a whole new level. They're going to beat the fuck out of each other, and it's going to be sick.

My gut feeling is that we're getting Omega-Danielson and Page-Miro in the near future. Which of those matches would be for the title depends on who wins tonight. But I don't expect Omega-Miro to happen (and before Moxley stepped aside, I didn't expect Omega-Mox anytime soon). Since I'm pulling for Page to win the title, I'm also banking on Miro to hand Danielson his first AEW loss, and then job in Page's first title defense.

CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston - This one got started beause Kingston was upset about losing to Bryan Danielson and interrupted Punk's backstage promo. Somehow that dredged up a lot of unresolved hostilities from 15 years ago when Punk and Kingston were in ROH and the indy scene. Thing is, I wasn't following any of that stuff 15 years ago, so I don't really know what they're talking about, which is a problem.

At any rate, it's a good matchup between Punk trying to rise above old beefs and Kingston using them to fuel his violence. I like both guys, but I really want to see Eddie piss Punk off and turn this into a real brawl. I'd also like to see Kingston swallow his pride and admit he's been carrying on like an ass, but we already got that with his Moxley feud, and I don't expect that to happen twice in one year.

Punk should probably win, but I wouldn't complain if they just let Eddie get the upset.

Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara & Jake Hager & Santana & Ortiz vs. Dan Lambert & Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky & Junior dos Santos & Andrei Arlovski - Jericho's team is the Inner Circle. Sky and Page are the Men of the Year. Dos Santos and Arlovski are MMA fighters from the American Top Team training camp. Lambert, uh, owns the camp, I guess.

I won't pretend to understand the story here. Lambert showed up on AEW television months ago rambling about whatever's wrong with modern pro wrestling. I guess he said "snowflake" and "triggered" to get Twitter edgelord heat, but I stopped listening long before that. Eventually he brought a bunch of his fighters with him as backup, and later the Inner Circle started trying to shut him up, and here we are.

This feud has the same problem as every other "MMA guys invade pro wrestling" storyline, where the wrestling promotion assumes everyone knows and cares who the MMA guys are. I'm really not into it. Ideally the Inner Circle should isolate Lambert and destroy him to win the match and end the storyline. But I expect the heels to overwhelm the faces so Lambert can score an unearned pin on Jericho for heel heat, to drag this out even further.

Britt Baker vs. Tay Conti - This is for Baker's AEW women's world title. There's not a lot of story here, beyond Baker and her entourage roughing up Conti's friend Anna Jay. The match should be good, but it's hard to believe Tay has any chance of winning, which kind of limits my interest. I don't need Baker's title run to be in jeopardy at every PPV, but I wish they'd do more to build up her opponents as legitimate threats.

Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix vs. Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler - The Lucha Bros (Penta and Fenix) are defending the AEW tag team title. FTR (Dax and Cash) got this shot after disguising themselves as luchadors and beating the Lucha Bros for the AAA tag title on October 16. The AAA belts aren't on the line here, but FTR will defend them against the Lucha Bros on December 4, regardless of the outcome in this match.

Although FTR are in MJF's Pinnacle stable, this feud has more to do with Andrade El Idolo's feud with Death Triangle (PAC and the Lucha Bros). Andrade has paid off MJF for the use of FTR's services, but it's not clear how long that will last or what Andrade will do afterwards. It feels like Andrade needs to hook up with a different tag team that he doesn't have to rent, and that team should be next in line to challenge the Lucha Bros. With that in mind, I'm pretty sure FTR is going to lose here.

Adam Cole & Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Christian Cage & Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus - This match has "falls count anywhere" rules, so there are no count-outs, the wrestlers can fight all over the building, and they don't have to come back to the ring to finish the match. It feels like Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus have been feuding with the Young Bucks since the Bucks first turned heel, with Christian and Cole getting mixed in upon arrival in AEW.

Adam Cole and Jungle Boy have been particularly violent with each other, so it feels like at some point Jungle Boy needs to pin Cole. I would do that here, so that it won't hurt Jungle Boy too much when he loses the inevitable one-on-one match.

Cody Rhodes & PAC vs. Andrade El Idolo & Malakai Black - The Andrade vs. Pac and Rhodes vs. Black feuds have coalesced. Apparently Andrade and Malakai are friends for some reason? Okay! At least if Cody teams with Pac the fans won't totally hate his side of the match. But I don't see this going very well for the good guys, who haven't demonstrated whether they can COEXIST~! I gotta go with Andrade and Black to win.

Darby Allin vs. MJF - Both of these guys are coming off major losses at the All Out pay-per-view, and both guys need a big win. Only one of them is going to get it here. The whole story is MJF trying to get in Darby's head, and Darby refusing to give him the satisfaction. In the process, though, MJF has gotten a lot of heel heat on Darby, so it'll be hard for MJF to win without making Darby look like a chump. This is really going to depend on which one they push harder over the next couple of months, and it's hard to tell who that might be. This one could go either way.

#aew #full gear #kenny omega #hangman page

[gdwessel]

Road to Power Struggle Night 3 - 10/26/2021; Official Statement on Kota Ibushi Injuries; Suzuki’s Tour of America Ends

The tour continued today, with a show you can see now on NJPWWorld. A title match topped the bill today.

- 10/26/2021, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (NJPWWorld)

SANADA & Hiromu Takahashi [Los Ingobernables] d. Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi (SANADA > Nagata, O’Connor Bridge, 9:58)

EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Dick Togo [Bullet Club] d. Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS], YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] & Master Wato (Yujiro > Wato, Pimp Juice, 11:27)

Great O-Khan & Aaron Henare [United Empire] d. Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Tomoaki Honma (Henare > Honma, Streets Of Rage, 10:15)

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe d. KENTA & Gedo [Bullet Club] (Tanahashi > Gedo, DQ, 9:20)

Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado [Bullet Club] d. Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS], Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (Loa > Kojima, Apeshit, 11:34)

Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI [SZKG] d. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] (Sabre > BUSHI, Zack Driver, 11:28)

IWGP Juniorheavyweight Tag Team Championship: Robbie Eagles [CHAOS] & Tiger Mask IV d. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [SZKG] © (Eagles > Kanemaru, Ron Miller Special, 20:30) - Despy/Kanemaru fail their 1st defense - Flying Tiger are the 68th champions

Well that’s a bit of a surprise! Robbie Eagles is now a junior double-champion, the second we’ve had in NJPW this year, neither of which was Hiromu Takahashi, shockingly. Eagles will face the other one, El Desperado, at Power Struggle. This is also the first time Tiger Mask IV has held these titles since he & Jushin Thunder Liger briefly held them from 6/16/2012 - 7/22/2012; also shockingly, this is only the second time Tiger Mask IV has been the junior tag champion. You wouldn’t think. One wonders if Ryusuke Taguchi will scare up a partner (maybe Master Wato again) and challenge to try to be the 69th champion, again.

The heels all made statements today in the final streamed run-ups to Power Struggle (no other shows will be streamed on this tour). KENTA even went and stole the IWGP US title from Tanahashi again for good measure.

NJPW released an official statement on the injury status of Kota Ibushi:

On October 21’s G1 final, Kota Ibushi suffered an injury in the ring that led to the match being stopped. After treatment from ringside medical staff, he was taken for a thorough evaluation.

The evaluation revealed a right anterior dislocation of the shoulder, and joint lip damage. Recovery is expected to take two months.

Further updates will be provided as to Ibushi’s return when more information is available.

We apologise for any concern caused, and join fans in wishing Ibushi the very best in his recovery.

As I said before, when Naoki Sugabayashi said this was the case, a dislocated shoulder sucks badly, but could have been far worse. I will also reiterate that I hope NJPW don’t try to rush Ibushi back for Wrestle Kingdom 16. They say “two months” which technically is before Jaunary 4, but also, he needs to rest and fully recuperate before returning to full-time ring action.

We all knew it was going to be over sometime. As of this morning, Minoru Suzuki is travelling back home to Japan, after being here in the USA since the beginning of September, kicking off his tour with a shock appearance at AEW All Out, and it pretty well went from there. 

His final weekend in the USA began near Fargo, ND, as Suzuki beat Dominic Garrini in Timebomb Pro. I’ve still not been able to watch this show yet, but I’ve heard the entire show was a thrill, and you can see it on IWTV on-demand.

Friday and Saturday were spent in LA, in Game Changer Wrestling. Suzuki main evented both nights, first submitting Chris Dickinson at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 7. Other NJPW talents were on this show too: Yuya Uemura tapped to Davey Richards, whilst Team Filthy members “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and JR Kratos both won their matches, Lawlor submitting Alex Coughlin, whilst Kratos beat Calvin Tankman by TKO. Clark Connors got the only win over Team Filthy, tapping out Royce Isaacs. Rocky Romero even did commentary on this show.

Saturday was GCW War Ready, which saw Suzuki take on deathmatch king Nick Gage, in a wild brawl that went all over the Ukrainian Cultural Center. Suzuki would win here as well, but the final words that night were from Gage. What was said, I don’t know, because FITE TV nonsensically cut the feed in the middle of the promo, so no MDK All Fuckin Day that time. Sunday and Monday was spent in Las Vegas, as Suzuki took part in the Impact Wrestling TV tapings there. I’ve not seen any results there yet, but I’m sure we’ll see them soon enough.

There are some matches yet to be shown on NJPW Strong, so we have those to look forward to. There is still a batch of matches I’ve not seen yet (from WrestleMax, PWX and Glory Pro). I wish this was the tape trading era still because this would be a hot seller on that market. Maybe I’ll work on getting a compilation of the matches he had here in the States in some fashion, probably a Google Drive or something.

Whatever the case, this was a special, special time, and I’m sorry to see it end. We all should be so lucky that this happened, especially during a pandemic that’s still not quite abated yet. Hope he makes it back home safe and sound, and we see him back in NJPW soon too.

The tour continues tomorrow, but as I noted, we’re done with any streamed shows from this batch of shows until Power Struggle on 11/6/2021.

- 10/27/2021, Ibaraki Lily Arena Mito

Kosei Fujita v. SHO [Bullet Club]

Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato v. Robbie Eagles [CHAOS], Tiger Mask IV & Ryohei Oiwa

Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] v. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo [Bullet Club]

Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Yuji Nagata v. Great O-Khan & Aaron Henare [United Empire]

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma v. KENTA & Gedo [Bullet Club]

Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS], Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado [Bullet Club]

Shingo Takagi, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] v. Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI [SZKG]

#NJPW #new japan pro wrestling #road to power struggle #njpst #Robbie Eagles #tiger mask iv #kota ibushi #Minoru Suzuki #timebomb pro #dominic garrini #game changer wrestling #gcw #bloodsport #chris dickinson #Nick Gage #yuya uemura #Clark Connors #alex coughlin #filthy tom lawlor #jr kratos #calvin tankman #royce isaacs #rocky romero #njpwworld #iwtv #fite tv #impact wrestling

[debbiechanclub]

Best Two Out of Three, Part 18

Well it’s still a decent hour for me, but I think I failed to get this posted before @what-does-mine-say fell asleep. She’s been the real MVP of these last couple parts, too, just saying.

Anywho, no long note this time. All I have to say is thank you to everyone who continues to read and support this lil fic (that’s not so lil anymore), and I really do hope you enjoy :)

Best Two Out of Three

Part: 18/26

Pairing: Kenny Omega x OFC x Cash Wheeler and Adam Page x OFC

Word count: 5.7k

Warnings: Language; angst.

Catch up on previous parts here.

Adam spent the entire fifty-minute drive home bracing himself to face Callie. He knew she’d be upset; she had every reason and right to be upset. He’d turned her down, pushed her away, disappeared and left her to find out when she woke up, alone. It was cold, what he’d done. Heartless. And someone as warm and loving as Callie shouldn’t have to put up with it. She deserved better—better than what he could give her; better than him. And the longer he drove, the more he felt like that was all he could say to her.

His stomach twisted in knots as he turned down the road to his house. It only got worse when he pulled into his driveway and saw that Callie’s car was gone.

He put the gearshift in park and cut the ignition, but he didn’t get out of the truck. He sat there in silence, staring at the spot that Callie’s car usually occupied. He had a sinking feeling that she hadn’t just run around the corner or gone for a drive herself. This felt like a more permanent absence.

He got out of the truck and walked to the front door. It was locked. He fumbled with his keys to get it open. When he stepped inside, he found a note waiting for him on the kitchen island.

He could guess what it said before he read it.

              I decided to head to Florida early and stay with Britt for a while. You need space to figure out what’s going on in your head and in your heart. It breaks my heart to write this… but we can’t go on the way we have been. I hope you’ll figure it out soon. I’ll miss you. I love you. x Callie.

Adam read the note over and over, until the words started to warp and blend together. There was a crinkled spot on the paper from where a tear had fallen as she wrote. He set it back down on the island, numb. It had to be a ten-hour drive to where Britt and Adam Cole lived outside Orlando. If Callie would rather take on that than face him, Adam had a feeling she wouldn’t be coming back. She was gone.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Imagine that it’s Tag Team Appreciation Night, and the number two ranked tag team in all of AEW doesn’t have a match, not even on Dark. Oh wait—we don’t have to imagine it, because we’re fucking living it!”

Alex frowned across the locker room at Chuck. She didn’t blame him for being upset; she was upset for him. Outside the Young Bucks, Best Friends were the most established tag team on the roster—and yet, they’d been completely left out of this so-called “Tag Team Appreciation Night” that FTR was hosting on Dynamite that night. It was a slap across the face. And, in the back of her mind, Alex couldn’t help but wonder if her situation with Cash was to blame for why Chuck and Trent had been excluded.

“They’re not even gonna interview us about who our favorite tag team is,” Trent lowly said. “They interviewed Kenny and Hangman.”

“Of course they did,” Chuck said with a roll of his eyes. “No offense, Alex,” he added.

Her eyebrows arched. “Why would I be offended?” she quickly asked—maybe a little too quickly. She’d been paranoid ever since Saturday that Chuck somehow knew what she’d done with Kenny on his balcony. Granted, she absolutely would have heard it by now if he did… but still. Just the thought of him ever finding out made her want to crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment.

He gave her an odd look. “Because Adam’s your friend. And Kenny’s… whatever.”

Alex swallowed. That answer didn’t help her paranoia. “Oh. Well, none taken. I don’t blame you for being upset.” She looked sheepishly down at the floor. “I wish there was something I could do about it.”

“It’s not your fault, Alex,” Trent assured. “They’re just trying to hold us down because they know we’re better than them.”

A corner of Alex’s mouth turned up. But she didn’t know if it was sweet or just pathetic that Trent knew she needed to hear that they didn’t blame her. “I’m gonna go to catering,” she said as she stood from her seat. Another thing she needed was coffee—and probably a chocolate chip cookie or two. “Does anyone want anything?”

Trent and Chuck both shook their heads no; James didn’t even respond from where he sat on the couch, leaned back with his arms spread out, one ankle crossed over his knee. It looked like he was asleep. He had a match against Chris Jericho that night and he was completely unbothered. Alex only wished she could be so carefree.

She pushed her way out of the locker room and pulled her phone from her pocket, her thoughts turning to other things. She hadn’t heard from Callie in days, not since she’d tried to text her when she was in Philadelphia; since she’d left her on read Saturday morning. It was obvious something was wrong—she just wasn’t sure what. Adam hadn’t really talked to her since Saturday, either. And Alex didn’t know if she should ask or just mind her own business.

Catering was just around the corner now. She turned it and slowed to a stop. Dax and Cash were right in front of her. Her eyes met Cash’s. Her heart jumped into her mouth.

“Alex,” he said. He looked just as unprepared to see her as she felt to see him. “Hey.”

“Hi,” she returned. She flashed back to the middle of the night in Philadelphia, to the balcony underneath the moonlight. Guilt gripped her so tight that she struggled to breathe.

Dax looked awkwardly between them. “Okay. Well, I’ll let y’all catch up.” He made a hasty exit. Cash watched after him as he disappeared into catering. Alex couldn’t tell if he was annoyed with him for bailing or not.

She awkwardly cleared her throat before the silence could drown them. “Um, how are you?”

He let out a wry laugh. “I didn’t hear from you all week, Alex.”

His tone implied a follow-up statement: How do you think I feel? She knew the answer: hurt, forgotten, cast aside. But she felt all those things, too. “I didn’t think you wanted to hear from me,” she said.

His brow puckered. “What? All I wanted was to hear from you.”

That surprised her. “Then why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because—” he cut himself off with a frustrated huff. “You need to figure out what you want, Alex. Not me. And the fact that I haven’t heard from you at all… it feels like you’ve made your decision.”

Alex’s eyes burned and her stomach turned. She could almost feel the hot summer air on her skin, hear Kenny’s voice in her ear. Her actions that night spoke louder than her silence. But she’d been drunk and emotional. She’d given in because she was hurt that she hadn’t heard from Cash. Right?

He let out a sigh and moved closer. She didn’t expect it when he reached out and took her hand in his. Her skin tingled at his touch. “I want us to talk, sweetheart. But not here. Maybe we could go somewhere after the show? I know you have a Dark match, but—”

“Wait, what?” she cut him off, suddenly confused. “I don’t have a Dark match.”

He gave her an odd look. “I just saw it on the card; you have a match against Anna Jay. Did no one tell you?”

Alex bit down on her jaw, frustration bubbling up inside her. No, no one had told her. And she had a feeling she’d been left in the dark on purpose.

She gave him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, I have to go,” she said, and she pulled her hand from his and marched toward production. Her anger built with every step she took. It was near boiling-point by the time she found the match card taped to the wall. There it was, printed on the paper as clear as day: Alex Hawthorne vs. Anna Jay, slotted as the second match after the end of Dynamite.

She ripped the paper from the wall, crinkling it in her clutched fist as she marched back out of production and through the halls of the arena. She knew exactly who was responsible for this, and he had another thing coming if he thought she’d just lay down and take it.

She arrived at the EVP room and knocked hard and fast on the door. Someone called, “Come in”; she barged in before they even finished. Adam, the Bucks, and Brandon Cutler stared up at her, matching looks of wide-eyed surprise on their faces. Alex walked right up to Matt Jackson and slapped the paper down on the table in front of him.

“What the hell is this?”

The entire room went still. Matt’s eyebrows arched, obviously stunned by her nerve. He glanced down at the paper. “Well, it looks like the match card. Did you take that off the wall?”

Her eyes narrowed. “And when were you planning on telling me that I have a Dark match against Anna Jay?”

“Oh.” He looked her right in the eye and said, “You have a Dark match against Anna Jay.”

Alex’s other hand curled into a fist at her side. She could have hit him she was so angry. Knocked that indignant look right off his stupid face—

“Alex,” Adam stood and put a hand on the small of her back, trying to diffuse the situation, but she ignored him.

“Is this about Cash?” she charged. “Are you punishing me for what he did?”

Matt’s brow lowered. “I didn’t realize giving you a match was punishment.”

She gaped back at him. “I didn’t know I had it until two fucking minutes ago!”

“Alright, come on.” Adam took her gently by the arm and whisked her out of the room. Alex let him lead her down the hall and around a corner into a private corridor. She started to shake as she leaned back against the wall. Adam gripped her shoulders.

“Take a deep breath,” he said.

She took his advice, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Her anger started to give way to embarrassment and shame. Had she really just done that?

“That was ballsy,” Adam commented. She breathed out a rueful laugh. “Are you alright?” he asked.

Alex tilted her head back against the wall as she looked up at him. She was tired of everyone asking her that. She was just tired all around. And that was exactly what she told him.

“I’m tired,” she breathed. “I’m tired of feeling like everything is falling apart around me. I’m tired of doubting myself and feeling like I have no control over anything. I’m tired of trying to do the right thing just to have it backfire in my fucking face.”

Her voice cracked, and Adam pulled her into him. She looped her arms under his and buried her face in his shoulder, drawing in another deep breath. She didn’t want to cry. She was tired of crying, too.

“I know exactly how you feel,” Adam said. “More than you realize.”

Alex pulled back and looked up at him. That was her opening to figure out what was up with him and Callie. “Why?” she asked. “What’s going on with you and Callie? She hasn’t said a word to me since she tried to text me when I was in Philly.”

Adam let her go. His arms fell to his sides as he took a step back. It looked like the weight of the entire world was on his shoulders. But she couldn’t have predicted what he said next.

“Yeah, you and me both. She left.”  

“What?” Instinctively, Alex reached out and clutched one of his hands in both of hers. “What do you mean, she left?”

“Exactly what it sounds like,” he returned. “When I got back from driving to your place, I found a note in the kitchen. She’d just gone.”

Alex squeezed his hand. “What did it say?”

He shifted, avoiding her gaze, but he didn’t let go of her grip. “That I need to figure out what I’m feeling. That she’s gonna stay with Britt for a while.”

His eyes finally met hers, and she swore she felt every emotion coursing through him herself. She’d already felt all of it, for days now. Pain. Guilt. Hopelessness. They were stranded in the same fucking boat, up shit creek without a paddle. But even though misery loved company, Alex didn’t want Adam to be stuck there with her. She’d push him out and make him swim if she had to. She wanted him to be happy.

“I’m so sorry, Adam.” She reached up and pulled him into a tight hug. “Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

“I wanted to,” he said into her shoulder. “But you’re dealing with your own shit. I didn’t want to bother you with mine.”

“You wouldn’t have bothered me,” she assured. He hugged her tighter. She did the same. “She hasn’t said anything to you since she left?”

“No,” he said. “I haven’t even seen her today. I don’t even know if she’s here.”

The resignation in his voice broke Alex’s heart. But before she could think of anything to say in return, he flipped the conversation on her.

“What about you? Have you talked to Cash?”

She pulled back and unwound her arms with a heavy sigh. It was only fair that she fill him in on her shit, too. “I ran into him before I burst in on you guys. But no.” She chewed on the inside of her mouth. “I think he wants to talk after the show.”

“Well, that’s good,” Adam offered, hopefully. “Right?”

She looked away, down the hall. “I honestly don’t know.” She thought back to the look on Cash’s face, to how he’d taken her hand and called her “sweetheart.” But she shook her head, snapping herself back to the present before her overthinking could carry her away. “Right now I just need focus on getting through this fucking match I just found out about.”

“You’ll be fine,” Adam said. “Just don’t let Anna or any of the other Dark Order freaks get in your head.”

His eyes turned dark; introspective. Alex frowned. It seemed like he was speaking from experience. But it wouldn’t benefit either of them to go there right now. “You’re defending the tag titles tonight, right?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, against Jurassic Express. I need to focus on getting through that fucking match. Although Kenny seems to be in a better mood this week, so that helps.”

Alex’s cheeks flushed when she heard that. “Oh? I haven’t seen him.” She and Kenny had talked since Philly—of course they had. But if Adam wondered if she had anything to do with his tag team partner’s improved mood, he thankfully didn’t ask.

“I guess I should get back in there,” he said. “We were going over some stuff for BTE when you burst in and bit Matt’s head off.”

“Jesus.” Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m probably gonna pay for that, aren’t I?”

But, surprisingly, Adam waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. Just focus on winning your match. And not joining a cult.”

A corner of his mouth quirked up. It was small, but it was nice to see him smile; hear him joke. They needed to do more of that, like they used to. “I don’t know,” Alex returned with a sarcastic laugh. “Joining a cult might be a nice change of pace at this point.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Dynamite wasn’t over yet, but FTR wasn’t sticking around for the rest of the show. They’d done what they’d set out to do with Tag Team Appreciation Night: prove that they were the best tag team in the business. It wasn’t their fault that Rock ‘N’ Roll Express had gotten in the way. Those old-timers should have hung it up a long time ago, anyway.

They burst back into their dressing room to grab their things and get the hell out of dodge. As Cash waited for Dax to finish packing up, he pulled his phone from his pocket and looked down at the lock screen. He still hadn’t changed the background; it was a picture of him and Alex from the night they’d gone out with Adam and Callie, at that fancy restaurant downtown. She smiled wide at the camera as he held her close, his arms tight around her waist, his face nuzzled against her cheek. That night had only been two weeks ago. But it felt like a lifetime.

“Hey.” Dax got his attention and he looked back up. He nudged his chin at his phone, at the photo on the screen. “You sure you don’t want to stay for her match?”

Cash looked back down at the picture. The screen went dark. “Yeah,” he returned. “She can find me if she wants to see me.”

He pushed the phone back into his pocket. And then he grabbed his bag, and he and Dax left the arena.  

* * * * * * * * * *

Smack!

Alex saw stars and fell backward to the mat, stunned by the unexpected bicycle kick from Anna Jay. She covered her and hooked her leg. It was only on instinct that Alex was able to kick out. Her head hadn’t been in the match from the moment it had started.

She knew Cash had left. She’d gone to talk to him after the melee in the ring with the Young Bucks and Rock ‘N’ Roll Express only to find FTR’s dressing room empty. It cut deep that he’d just up and gone without so much as a text, especially after claiming that he wanted to talk. It made her wonder if he’d really meant it.

But Alex had no choice but to focus on Anna when she climbed on top of her and started choking her.

The ref counted as she struggled to breathe, clutching at Anna’s wrists. “1! 2! 3! Come on, Anna, let her go!”

Anna let out a sadistic chuckle as she released her. Alex had barely managed to gulp in a breath of air before Anna pulled her up by her hair and threw her hard into a turnbuckle. She let out a cry and charged; but Alex threw up an elbow, hitting her in the jaw and stunning her. She climbed to the top rope as quickly as she could. When Anna stumbled back around to face her, Alex launched herself into the air and hit her with a missile dropkick.

She scrambled to cover her; Anna kicked out at two. Alex clutched her throat as she glared at Anna.

That crazy cult bitch had choked her.

That crazy cult bitch had made a terrible mistake.

Alex grabbed a fistful of Anna’s long blonde hair and sat her up. She didn’t let go of it as she kicked her hard in the back with a resounding whack that made the people watching in the audience wince. Anna arched her back, bending her knees and fingers in pain, and Alex ran toward the opposite ropes, rebounded off, and nailed her in the jaw with a running knee. She sat on top of her and hooked her leg. She kicked out and powered her shoulder up at the last possible second, sending Alex tumbling off of her. She stared at the ref in disbelief. “It was two,” he confirmed, holding up two fingers. She bit down on her jaw in frustration.

Alex pulled Anna to her feet. She grabbed her forearm, pushed her back to the ropes opposite the ring entrance, and Irish-whipped her to the other side. Anna rebounded and Alex ran toward her—but someone caught her eye as they appeared on the entrance ramp and she stumbled, rolling her left ankle. She managed to lift her right knee at the last second and hit Anna in the gut, sending her flipping to the mat, but Alex fell with her. He ankle throbbed as she looked back at the ramp. Brodie Lee, Evil Uno, and Stu Grayson stood in a line. Watching.

Alex knew she needed to act fast. She crawled over to Anna and locked on her finishing submission maneuver, the ’88 Sleeper. Her ankle screamed in protest as she put weight on it, but she channeled the pain into wrenching Anna back harder. It wasn’t long before she tapped.

The ref called for the bell. Alex threw Anna aside and fell back onto the mat. She reached for her left boot, fumbling to undo the laces and loosen the pressure on her ankle; but she stopped when a pair of brown dress shoes appeared in front of her. She looked up, and up, until her eyes connected with the cold, dark stare of Mr. Brodie Lee.

He grinned down at her. “Hello, Alex.”

She froze. Grayson and Uno flanked his either side. She was surrounded.

“That’s a helluva submission you have there,” Brodie complimented. “Granted, I’m not happy Anna lost…” he cast a glance at Anna Jay, who laid still clutching her back on the mat. “But you impressed me.”

He held out his hand. People throughout the arena shouted and booed, but Alex didn’t hear any of them; Brodie’s eyes were arresting. Haunting. Inviting. She didn’t even realize that she’d reached up and slid her hand into his until he gripped it and pulled her to her feet. Her ankle smarted and she stumbled; Brodie put his other hand on her waist to steady her, and Alex grabbed his arm. She couldn’t look away from his eyes. They were so dark that she almost couldn’t tell the pupil from the iris. Two black bottomless pools. She wanted to jump in and see how far she’d sink—

“Alex!”

Someone wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her away from Brodie, breaking the spell. Chuck. Trent and Adam were with him. They stood between her and Dark Order like a barricade.

“Keep moving, pal,” Trent warned. “She’s not available.”

Brodie let out a laugh, slow and deep in his chest. He looked back at Alex. “Do they think they own you?”

Adam shoved him then. “Get the hell out of here before I make you.”

Grayson took a threatening step forward; but Brodie held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t bother,” he said. “The inner demons will take care of this one.”

Adam bit down on his jaw; but Trent put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s not worth it, let’s just get Alex out of here.”

Alex’s eyes stayed glued on Brodie as Chuck helped her hobble to the ropes; Trent held them open so she could gingerly duck through. When she was on the other side, her gaze connected with Brodie’s again. He smirked.

“Think about it, Alex.”

It wasn’t until Chuck draped her arm over his shoulders and turned her away that she was able to pull her eyes from his.

“Can you put weight on it?” Chuck asked as they started to walk.

Alex winced, but nodded. “Yeah, but it hurts.”

“It’s probably just a sprain, then.”

He helped her through the tunnel into the back. Trent and Adam were close behind. “Jesus, Alex, I thought I told you to focus on not joining a cult tonight,” Adam quipped—but Alex didn’t hear him. Kenny had just run into Gorilla.

“Alex!” He hurried toward her, worry etched on his face. “Are you alright? What happened out there?”

Alex didn’t answer; she couldn’t. She was too overcome with emotion at just the sight of him. Cash had left—but Kenny was still here.

She removed her arm from around Chuck and limped over to him. She practically fell into his arms. “Hey, it’s okay,” he soothed as he hugged her. “Tell me what happened.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I got distracted when Dark Order came out and I stepped wrong and rolled it. And then Brodie was suddenly there and—”

“It’s okay, forget about him,” he gently returned. “Come on, let’s get you to the trainer.”

He took her by the waist and helped her out of Gorilla and down the hall toward the trainer’s room. And as they walked, Alex couldn’t help but think, over and over: Cash left, but Kenny’s still here.

* * * * * * * * * *

Callie had left Daily’s Place right after the tag title match. She’d wanted to stay and watch Adam; she was happy that he and Kenny had retained the titles against Jurassic Express. But after that, she caught an Uber back to the hotel. Even though she’d wanted to see Adam wrestle, she still didn’t want to talk to him.

Besides, she needed some time to herself. While she was beyond grateful to Britt and Adam Cole for letting her stay with them, Britt had been, for lack of a better term, smothering her ever since she’d arrived at their house late Saturday evening. And because she and Britt were sharing a hotel room, too, she decided to take the opportunity while the doctor was still at the arena to grab some dinner and air to breathe.

She pushed the down button for the elevator. When it arrived several seconds later and the doors slid open, she was surprised and confused to see Cash standing inside.

“Hey.” His eyebrows arched, obviously surprised to see her, too. “What’re you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same,” Callie said as she stepped onto the elevator. She pressed the button for the lobby. “Aren’t you supposed to be hosting Tag Team Appreciation Night right now?”

He laughed lightly to himself. “Dax and I did what we needed to do and then left. I’ll just put it that way.”

Callie arched a curious brow, wondering what exactly he meant by that. But before she could ask, he asked her, “Why aren’t you back at the arena with Adam?”

The elevator arrived at the lobby with a ding. Callie drew in a deep breath as the doors slid open and she and Cash stepped out. She was both surprised and not that he didn’t know what was going on with her and Adam. But he’d find out eventually—the entire locker room would—so she might as well take the opportunity to tell him herself.

“Actually, Adam and I are kind of on a break right now.”

He stopped walking and turned to face her, his brow furrowed in confusion and disbelief. “What? Are you serious?”

She nodded. “Yeah. He doesn’t want to talk to me about anything anymore, so I left him a note and drove down to Britt’s Saturday morning. And… yeah. We haven’t spoken since.”

It didn’t hurt as much to tell him as Callie had expected it would. After four days of no contact with Adam, she’d resigned herself to the situation. She’d tried to help him. But only he could help himself now.

“Shit,” Cash breathed. He ran a hand through his hair, still obviously thrown off by the news. “I had no idea. I mean, Adam did seem pretty distracted tonight, but that’s honestly not that unusual.”

“Exactly,” Callie returned, more firmly than she intended.

Cash’s brow puckered in sympathy. He looked down at his phone, as if considering something. “Well, I don’t know where you were heading; I was just gonna go to the bar to get a drink,” he said as he pointed a thumb in the direction of the hotel bar. “But I could eat, if you want to go grab something. Misery loves company, right?”

Callie blinked, surprised at the offer. But then she realized: if anyone could relate to what she was going through right now, it was Cash.

She nodded. “Sure. But I get to pick the place.”

* * * * * * * * * *

They ended up walking to a bar and restaurant not that far from the hotel. It was a nice night, and they opted for a table outside on the patio. It was tucked away in the corner; intimate. The hostess had probably assumed they were on a date. Callie had been grateful when her cocktail arrived.

“So, if misery loves company then I guess that means you and Alex still haven’t worked it out?” she asked as she grabbed her straw and took a long sip. The drink was already halfway gone and their food hadn’t arrived yet.

Cash reached for his beer, shaking his head. “No. Back at the arena I told her I wanted to talk with her after the show, but she freaked out about her Dark match and ran off without saying anything.” He took a sip, swallowed it down. “The ball’s in her court. She knows how to find me if she wants to talk.”

Callie frowned. The part of her that had come to value Alex’s friendship wanted to know how she was feeling about all this, what she was thinking. But the jealous part of her still resented that Adam seemed so willing to open up to Alex instead of her. “Kenny practically bragged about what happened,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head and gave a sarcastic laugh. “Of course he did. You know, after the first fight with Kenny, I admitted to Alex that I was worried he could steal her back. I wish I’d been wrong.”

His forearm flexed as he gripped his beer glass in frustration. Callie’s brow furrowed. “You think she’s gone back to him?”

Cash shook his head again. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Sometimes I feel like I made a mistake telling her to choose. But I can’t be with someone who obviously has feelings for someone else.”

Callie reached for her straw again. And before she could stop herself, she muttered, “That’s how I feel about Adam.”

The comment obviously took Cash by surprise. “You think Adam has feelings for someone else?”

Callie bit her lip. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him that she thought Adam had feelings for Alex. So she danced around it. “I practically offered myself to him on a plate the other night, and he literally pushed me away to get another drink. So that really helped with my self-esteem. I don’t know; I guess there’s someone else he’d rather see in skimpy lingerie.”

Her cheeks suddenly burned, realizing what she’d said. She needed to slow down on the alcohol. But when she glanced at Cash and saw the look on his face, she wanted to down the rest of her drink in a single gulp.

“What?” she asked.

Cash laughed to himself as he shook his head. “Nothing. Just something’s wrong with him if he turned you down.”

Callie’s face flushed again. The waiter couldn’t have arrived with their appetizer at a better moment. She pointed to her drink as he set the dish on the table. “Can I go ahead and order another?”

* * * * * * * * * *

“Why didn’t you go get dinner with Kenny and the Bucks?”

Alex took a sip of her water as she sat next to Adam at the hotel bar. Filming had wrapped not that long ago, and while Alex had come back to the hotel with the boys, Kenny had gone with Matt and Nick to grab a late dinner. Alex had hoped that maybe—maybe—Adam would go with them; but her hopes had been dashed when he’d texted her asking if she wanted to get a drink. She’d agreed to meet him, but she didn’t feel like drinking tonight.

“Please,” Adam scoffed. “They didn’t ask me.” He swirled his whiskey and took a sip. He gave her a sarcastic look as he set the glass back down. “Why didn’t you go with them?”

She pursed her lips. “Really?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. You two seemed pretty cozy when he took you to the trainer after your match.”

Alex’s cheeks burned and she shifted in her seat. Kenny had stayed with her in the trainer’s room the entire time, holding her hand as it was determined that she’d—thankfully—only suffered a bad sprain. She’d be out of action for two-to-four weeks, but it could have been a lot worse. Afterward, he’d kissed her and told her he was glad she was alright. She hadn’t said anything, choosing instead to kiss him back deeper. But she didn’t have to tell Adam that.

“He was there for me,” she said. “And I appreciated it.”

“Didn’t you say Cash wanted to talk to you after the show?”

Alex blinked, caught off-guard by the sudden interrogation. “Yeah, but he left the arena after he and Dax attacked Ricky Morton and didn’t even say anything to me.”

His eyes hardened when she said that. “I can’t believe they fucking did that.”

Alex frowned. “I know,” she agreed. But she didn’t want to go down that road, so she took another sip of water and changed the subject. “Have you talked to Callie?”

Adam shook his head. “Nope.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “I don’t think I want to.” He downed the rest of his whiskey and set the glass on the bar. He glanced at her as he signaled the bartender for another drink. “You sure you don’t want a drink?”

Alex put a hand on his arm. The muscle tensed underneath her touch. “Adam,” she said, urging him to look at her. But he kept his eyes fixed on the empty glass in front of him. “Don’t throw out what you have with Callie.”  

The bartender swapped out the empty glass for a full one, but Adam didn’t reach for it. He looked down at her hand on his bicep. He reached across and placed his hand on top of hers. “Alex…”

But Alex’s attention was suddenly drawn to the lobby. “What the fuck?”

Adam’s brow furrowed and he turned to look where she stared. Callie and Cash crossed through the lobby—and judging from the carefree looks on their faces, they’d been drinking. Adam and Alex watched as Cash put his hand on Callie’s back, and then they disappeared out of sight toward the elevators.

Adam turned around to face forward again, his eyebrows high on his forehead. “What the fuck,” he repeated. He grabbed his whiskey and took a long drink.

Alex laughed wryly to herself. She wanted to believe it wasn’t what they thought it was. But she didn’t know what to believe anymore. “Yeah… I’ll take that drink now.”

#aew fanfiction #aew imagine #aew fanfic #aew fic #kenny omega fanfiction #kenny omega imagine #kenny omega fanfic #kenny omega fic #cash wheeler fanfiction #cash wheeler imagine #cash wheeler fanfic #cash wheeler fic #adam page fanfiction #adam page imagine #adam page fanfic #adam page fic #hangman page fanfiction #hangman page fanfic #hangman page imagine #hangman page fic #hangman adam page fanfiction #hangman adam page imagine #hangman adam page fanfic #hangman adam page fic

[rawiswhore]

Dean Ambrose/Jon Moxley x Fem Reader- “Blood, Sweat and Tears”

This fanfic isn't about Jon Moxley in AEW, no, this is him when he was in CZW!

_______________________________________________________________

Before AEW, before he joined the WWE, a young wrestler who would later be known as Dean Ambrose wrestled for a company known as CZW, under the name Jon Moxley.

What was CZW exactly?

CZW, which stands for Combat Zone Wrestling, is an indie pro wrestling company infamous and notorious for being very graphically violent.

It is so unbelievably violent, it makes 90's ECW, the WWF's Attitude era and even the WWE's 2000's Ruthless Aggression era look like "WWE Saturday Morning Slam".

Wrestlers getting stabbed through the mouth with syringes, getting cut in the forehead with power drills, weed whackers and chainsaws, getting cinderblocks thrown and slammed on their bodies...it isn't wrestling, it's attempted murder.

Believe it or not, a lot of pro wrestling fans despise this company, even some professional wrestlers like Triple H have criticized this company for being just a bunch of obnoxious violence and no storytelling.

No one really belongs in this company, especially not a young up and coming wrestler who was currently then known as Jon Moxley.

You've followed CZW for some time, watching it in the crowds and viewing Jon get himself hurt and almost murdered.

Jon is probably one of the few wrestlers in that company who is nice to look at.

Watching his forehead get slashed by power drills and seeing him get put through so much pain is horrid to watch, you're cringing and even turning your head away from how much pain he's put through, but even when he's drenched in blood, he looks sexy.

Despite that he bleeds profusely, you'd love to lick the blood off of his body, though you can't because of things like AIDS and hepatitis, not to mention blood tastes disgusting.

However, you have something planned for Jon when his match is over.

Once one of Jon's matches were over, blood gushing out of his body and forehead, you took his hand and ushered him towards the locker room, your fingers laced into his fingers, holding onto his hand.

Thank goodness this was inside of a building and not outside, because you have something planned you want to do with him.

While you walked him to the locker room, he was wiping away the blood gushing out of his forehead with a paper towel.

While that's nice for him to do that and all, you hope that the blood doesn't dry up before the two of you even enter the locker room, and you have reasons why.

Once the two of you had entered the locker room, he ushered you over to his locker, where he unlocked the lock and opened his locker.

The two of you both got undressed, he helping take your clothes off and you taking off his.

As you undressed him, since he was drenched in blood, you actually got some blood on your hands thanks to his clothes as well as holding his hand, but it won't be on your hands for long.

When you two were completely stark naked, you put your clothes in his locker, where he shut the locker.

The two of you walked over to the shower stark naked, entering the shower with white tiled walls.

When the two of you were underneath the showerhead, Jon put his hand on the knob and twisted the knob, and hot, warm water poured down on your head as well as his.

There was no curtain to shield the two of you's nudity, but whatever.

One of your hands reached out for the shampoo sitting on the stand, a gender neutral bottle that luckily wasn't empty, and grabbed it, pulling it to you.

You flipped open the shampoo bottle's lid and held the palm of your hand out, where you tilted the shampoo bottle and squeezed the center of the bottle, until a little blob of shampoo was sitting in the palm of your hand.

You then closed the bottle with your thumb pressing the lid down and placed the bottle down next to the two of you.

While the two of you were under the shower's head, the water was washing away the blood and sweat down his body, the water and blood mixture trickling down his body onto the floor, being sucked into the drain.

The water was dampening and wetting his hair as well as yours.

You were holding the palm of your hand out away from the water so the water won't rinse the shampoo out of the palm of your hand.

Your eyes were busy watching his entire hair get dampened, waiting until his hair was completely wet so you could rub the shampoo in his hair.

You're shocked and surprised he isn't putting any shampoo in his hand as well, and you're gonna confront him about it.

"Jon" you said to him, raising your voice so he can hear you. "Why don't you put any shampoo in the palm of your hand? I want you to wash my hair as well"

He didn't really think of that.

He grabbed the shampoo bottle and held the palm of his hand out, lifting and flipping the cap off the shampoo off with his thumb and tilting the bottle, squeezing the middle of the bottle.

A little dollop of shampoo dropped on the palm of his hand, he held the palm of his hand out away from under the pouring showerhead so the water won't rinse away the shampoo on his hand.

He clasped the palm of his other hand into the palm holding the shampoo, his palms crushing the shampoo from a dollop to a splat.

He then began to rub his hands back and forth, getting his fingers lathered in shampoo, although not enough for the shampoo to seep into his skin like it's hand soap.

He held his hands away from under the showerhead so his hands won't get rinsed.

You look so silly holding the palm of your hand out like that, so maybe you should clasp your hands together so you'll get shampoo on your fingers and hands.

Your eyes were still staring at his head, making sure his entire hair is wet.

"Turn around" you ordered him "I want to make sure the back of your hair is wet too"

He carefully turned himself around, showing you the back of his head.

The water was rinsing and soaking his hair, making his sweaty, dry hair wet, cleansing his hair.

Again, he was holding his hands away from under the shower head so the water won't rinse and clean his hands.

You moved your hands away from the showerhead, clasping your hands together and rubbing your hands, letting shampoo get on your hands and fingers.

You rubbed and lathered your hands in shampoo until they were smothered completely in it, but not enough for it to sink into your skin to the point where you can't see any shampoo on your hands.

"Jon" you said to him "Is my hair completely wet? Turn around"

He turned around when he heard your order, his hair clinging onto his forehead, and looked at your hair.

Your hair was seemingly completely damp.

"Could you turn around so I can see if behind your head is wet?" he asked.

You followed his order, turning around and showing him the back of your head as well as your head sideways.

Yep, your hair's all wet.

"I can feel my hair cling to the back of my neck" you confessed.

"Your hair's completely wet now" Jon said.

You smiled hearing that, now it's time to get to the good part.

You turned around until your face was right in front of his, and you moved yourself closer to him.

You placed your hands on top of his head, where his hair is, and began to lather his hair with that shampoo, running and sliding your fingers through his hair.

He placed his hands on top of your head, on your hair, and began to let his hands roam all over the top of your head, soaping your hair with his shampoo covered hands.

The shampoo was trickling down his face as well as yours, and because it stings like hell when you get shampoo in your eyes, you shut your eyes tight, and so did he.

Since your fingers are wrapped through his hair and vice versa, you might as well do what you wanted to do with him.

What is it?

You pulled him into your face and made his lips lock on yours, where he felt your lips.

You had previously told him what you planned on doing with him in the shower, and he likes your idea.

In fact, he was even thinking of doing something like this.        

He didn't mind you kissing him, and your lips were in between his lips, where the two of you started making out with one another like Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon in Sonic Youth's "Titanium Expose" video.

Since you're so close to him, you really hope that you're not gonna get hepatitis when you're close to him, especially considering what you're prepared to do with him in the shower.

You also really hope some shampoo won't get in your mouth or his, he's hoping that as well.

Your hands were still roaming and sliding all over his head and through his hair, and his were roaming over your head as well, his fingers sliding through your hair, the water rinsing and washing the soap away in your hair as well as his.

Speaking of the water, because of the water rinsing and pouring down on the two of you, the dried up blood on Jon's body was washing away and disappearing.

Your tongue managed to slip into his mouth and flick on the tip of his tongue.

Since Jon was a playful little scamp even before he joined the WWE, his tongue slid in between your lips and into your mouth as well, he could feel your tongue in his mouth.

The two of you started French kissing one another, sometimes you slid the tip of your tongue across his front row of teeth and across his top lip.

Strange, but whatever.

While the two of you were making out in the shower, you could feel his erection pointing and poking at your stomach, but you're not gonna let him fuck you now.

You just really hope that you don't get any shampoo in your mouth or on your tongue.

Was it necessary to also wash his hair? His hair is sweaty, but it isn't dirty, neither is yours.

You're really tempted to open your eyes and see if he still has any shampoo in his hair, and so is he.

You carefully opened your eyes, pulling yourself away from his lips, where he felt your lips separating from his.

"What's going on?" he asked, opening his eyes.

"I wanna see if you still have any shampoo in your hair" you confessed "Sorry"

"I can relate" he admitted.

Even if you get some shampoo in your eyes, it isn't the end of the world, or is it?

What if you become blind?

There's still a little bit of shampoo in his hair, and he can see some shampoo in your hair.

Though, you wonder if you can feel the shampoo on your hair, and so can he?

You didn't really care about washing his hair, you wanted to do what happens later on in this fanfic.

"Is there any shampoo left?" he asked.

"A little, yeah" you confessed. "What about me?"

"Yeah, there still is some"

The two of you stood under the water while it poured down on the two of you, the water rinsing out the shampoo in your hair as well as his.

Honestly, Jon is so much hotter when his hair isn't wet.

(Author's note: since you guys probably don't wanna hear about two people washing each other's hair, I'll skip to the best part)

When the two of yours hair was completely rinsed, not a single bit of shampoo in either of yours hair, you grabbed the bottle of body wash standing next to you and tilted it, where you held the palm of your hand out away from under the showerhead and squeezed the bottle, until a little dollop of body wash landed in your palm.

"Can I have some too?" Jon asked.

You nodded your head, and he held both of the palms of his hands out away from under the showerhead, where you squeezed the bottle until a blob of body wash got on his palm.

He clasped his hands together again like usual, getting that body wash on his hands (but not letting it sink and seep into his skin).

You too clasped your hands together, until that blob sitting in the palm of your hand splat, and you rubbed your hands together, getting the body wash on your fingers and palms.

When your hands as well as his were covered in body wash, you put your hands on his body and vice versa, where the two of yours hands roamed all over your bodies.

Your hands slid and traveled around his body, always on his skin, shifting towards behind his back, cleansing and washing away any dried up blood or sweat that was on his body.

His hands were the same as yours, sliding towards your back and caressing your body.

Since his nickname is the "titty master" (although he had that nickname when he was in the WWE), his hands slid to your torso, where his hands caressed up and down your tits.

He was staring down at your breasts, getting so sexually aroused looking at your shiny breasts.

You could feel the palms of his hands touching your sensitive nipples and areolas, which felt so good.

You pressed your body onto his, and grabbed that body wash again, flipping the cap with your thumb, but instead of holding the palm of your hand out, no, you squeezed that bottle until some body wash was on his torso.

You closed the lid by pressing your thumb and sat it back down, where your hands rubbed that body wash up and down his torso.

You were so horny right now, blood was running and filling up your clitoris, and you couldn't it anymore.

You wanted him.

"I want you so bad right now" you pleaded and begged, your voice sexy and breathy.

The two of yours lips quickly crashed into each other, your eyes shutting once his lips met yours, and the two of you began kissing each other like you did before.

Your kissing was heavy and breathy, lots of moaning and groaning.

Your hands were sliding all over his body, washing away the blood and sweat on his body, and his hands were sliding all over your body.

The body wash lathered and cleaned any dirt that was on his body, cleansing the blood, whereas the water washed and rinsed it away.

He slid his hand to your thigh, where his hand lifted your leg up from the floor.

One of his other hands, specifically his fingers, was wrapped around his shaft, where he held his penis and tried to insert it into your pussy.

He could feel and tell it was your pussy, he's entered there many times.

You could feel his cock stretching and entering your twat, where you moaned inside his mouth, your head slowly leaning back.

When his cock was enough in your cunt, he unwrapped his fingers off of his shaft and proceeded to slam and pound his cock in and out of your pussy.

He fucked you a bit like an animal, fucking you the way his character in CZW or even in the WWE would fuck you.

You were crying and moaning his name out while he fucked you, one of your arms was behind his neck and lying across the back of his shoulders, holding onto him.

He wants to press you against the tiled wall and he's tempted to do so.

What you wanna really do to him is let your hands glide all over his torso and body, and he wants to do that to you as well.

He put his hands on your breasts, cupping them, where he proceeded not just to squeeze them, but fondle and caress them as well.

He also took your breasts and pressed your areolas to his nipples, where he made his hands make your breasts move in circles.

He wanted your areolas to touch his nipples, he has sensitive nipples and areolas as well.

"Ohhhhhhhh God Jon" you moaned on his lips. "This feels sooooooooo gooooooood!"

"You're so tight" he purred on your lips. "And so wet"

While the two of you were making out, it was difficult for the two of you to French kiss while he fucked you.

You moaned with every thrust he pounded in your twat.

"Call me Daddy" he ordered to you.

"Yes Daddy!" you whined and whimpered.

You really, really hope that you don't get arrested for indecent exposure, he's hoping that as well.

"Fuck me Daddy!" you whined and pleaded him "Harder!!"

He increased the pace of his fucking, slamming his cock in your pussy.

Since he previously had somebody wash on his hands, maybe he could slide one of his hands into your vulva and rub your clit.

"I wanna press you against the wall" he confessed, his voice throaty and gravelly.

Though, you're scared the walls might be dirty, he's a bit scared as well.

Even though he plays a crazy bad boy in CZW, he secretly cares about you.

"You're so fucking hot" he confessed "And sexy"

"So are you" you replied "I want you so fucking bad!"

Since he's fucked you for quite some time, you eventually cried out when you came, your clit throbbing after you had came, his penis inside your vagina getting drenched in your cum.

Your hands were behind his back, your nails were scratching down his back.

But, it isn't over until he, well, y'know...

You moaned over and over again while he fucked you, calling him "Daddy" and shouting "I need you! I want you!".

His moans were very quiet and a bit gravelly, you could feel his breath on your skin while he fucked you.

Though, wonder why he isn't pressing you against the wall like he promised?

Hmmmmm, maybe because the shower might be a bit dirty?

It would be better if the two of you fucked at your home, because your shower is completely clean.

Pretty soon, eventually, he released a throaty, gravelly groan from his mouth, his eyes shutting and mouth grimacing, his cock releasing his seed out of the slit of his penis head.

A few seconds after he came, he pulled himself out of you, his jizz dripping down to the floor and mixing with the water on the floor, getting sucked by the drain.

Your pussy hole had his cum dripping out of it, though your thighs were closed.

The two of you checked each others backs, checking to see if there's any blood there.

Nope.

Jon turned the knob off until the water stopped running out of the showerhead, and the two of you left the shower with white clean towels.

The two of you both helped each other by drying each other off, until there was no more water in your hair or his, as well as off of your body.

Later on, he ushered you to his locker and got a fresh pair of clothes out from there, where you grabbed your clothes and got dressed.

You pulled out a tube of Neosporin out of your pocket, where you twisted the cap off and squeezed a little blob of the medicine on the tip of your finger, where you smeared and spread the Neosporin across the gash on his forehead.

Surprisingly, no one entered the locker room while the two of you were having sex, though maybe that's a good thing.

Though, it is also unrealistic no one was entering the locker room when the two of you were showering.

#dean ambrose #jon moxley #czw #combat zone wrestling #fanfiction

[darlinrogue]

It had been a long time since an argument had made him feel such a way: exhilarated even in his exhaustion, trembling with adrenaline even as his body ached. He and Adam had argued, and he and Adam had brawled, strikes to the jaw, fists and knees—Adam’s knuckles colliding with Kenny’s mouth, and Kenny simply smiling at him with bloodstained teeth. Pinned to the wall, Adam against him. Like electricity. Kenny kisses him hard, blood staining Adam’s lips. And for once, The Cleaner is ashamed.

Sol Finished Her Essay.txt >:3c

Adam and Kenny AKA Omegaman 

A swipe of his thumb and the twitter feed blurred. Post-after-post, oh, that kitten was cute, he did not care about this person’s problems, holy shit, Adam did not want to read about politics right now. Bright blue and white fluorescents burned his eyes, blurred his vision. Adam blinked and wiped his hand down his face. He dug his fingers into the bridge of his nose to alleviate the pressure of a building headache. An open beer, three sips deep, rested on the bar counter at his right elbow. Adam picked-up the bottle. He swirled the contents and watched the amber liquid and brown glass disperse the light. Molten, dark, and shifting, a tiny kaleidoscope in his hand that captured his brief fascination-- haha, dumb monkey brain like pretty colors. He brought the rim to his lips but didn’t tilt a swig back. His phone vibrated. The bottle returned to the counter and with a couple taps he opened the message app. Mom had sent him a question, will he be home this weekend? She’s making tex-mex for dinner Saturday.

With a little :-) emoji at the end. 

For a second, Adam stared at the little green bubble of white text. 

As a professional graphic designer, he always thought the Iphone text function was ugly as hell, plain and near unfunctional. The colors were plain and unappealing-- and there was no fucking search bar. That line of thinking didn’t help him answer the question. Adam pressed the power button and the screen blackened. He laid the phone face down on the bar counter. Adam leaned back and pressed his hand against his thigh. The stool creaked beneath his shifting weight. He threaded his fingers through his hair and swiped sweat dampened curls from the back of his neck. An ache worked into his muscles, a little bruised, a little sore, but not yet satisfied. Not yet— Both elbows now pressed on the counter, a sigh racked his shoulders.  

Tucked into a corner of the arena, this small bar probably served executives and cultured peoples during the day. People who wore like, a tie everyday, the poor miserable bastards. This late at night it was empty. Crystal glasses lined the back shelves and fractured the golden glow of the light bulbs. The black marble countertop reflected back Adam’s face and hands. The curve of his IPA. It was quiet and it was lonely, exactly how he liked it. The hour was ticking way past late, he had to get back to his hotel. Right here, on his own, though, post-match, he was content for the night. This was it, this is what he asked for. He took a swig of his poison, the grain had a good flavor, smooth but with a bite. The bottle returned to the counter, and with a nudge of his finger, Adam pushed it just out of reach. His stomach churned, heart constricted in his chest. His forehead fell into his hands and stayed there when the door pushed open. Footsteps shuffled across the carpet. The stool legs next to him screeched as it was dragged across the tile. The newcomer settled down.

“I had a feeling I’d find you here,” the coarse voice observed.

Adam leaned back, hand gripping the edge of the counter to balance himself as his gaze peeled to his left. His twisted heart found new contortions-- like dislocated shoulder, levels. Kenny sat next to him, within touching distance. A heavy, dark leather jacket draped over his broad shoulders. A thin sheen of sweat coated his bare chest. Adam’s gaze studied the seams of the coat, the lines of Kenny’s throat, and then the features of his face. The light had a way of softening his rounded features, the thin, pinkness of his lips, and the fullness of his cheeks. He wore dark, aviator sunglasses, obnoxious because they were in a well lit room, inside— at night. Adam turned back on his stool, facing parallel with Kenny. Looking at nothing in particular. His entire skin was on fire, cheeks warm, hands shaking. He tucked his fingers under his armpits.

“Yeah,” Adam said, he rolled his palm over his forehead. “At least I’m consistent.”

“How long are you going to do this, man?” Kenny demanded, his leg propped against the stool spindle. “Wasting time, getting drunk— you know how many calories are in that?”  Kenny did not look impressed when Adam twisted the bottle to check the label. “You think what you’re looking for is at the bottom of that bottle? Think again, man, think again. All you’re doing is drowning your braincells, you know you need those, right?”

“Yeah, and how do you know what I’m looking for?” Adam grunted, his eyebrows lifted, glancing at Kenny. 

Kenny was all grins because Adam took the bait-- hook, line, and sinker. From his side, Kenny lifted the belt and laid it on the counter to his left. Kenny smirked, with smarmy, stupid, self-confidence. Adam hated that his arrogance was hot as hell. His eyes darted from Kenny to the AEW World Championship Belt. That big strap of black leather, gold, and silver, glittering like the Stairway to Heaven. A muscle tightened in Adam’s jaw and his hand fisted. Adam scoffed and he sought solace in his drink, swallowing, relishing the burn of alcohol down his throat. A year or more, with all sorts of detours, divergences, side-paths, distractions, an entire run as one-half of the tag-team champions, and he was still chasing that damn belt. Adam had everything, it was supposed to be his for the taking. Yet, twice now, it’d slipped his grip. It was an illusion, like a pond screwing with his depth perception. It was always a little deeper than he thought. Much like someone else at this counter. 

Kenny’s head laid on his chest. A mop of curled, unruly blonde hair, that tickled Adam’s lips and chin. He buried his face against the top of Kenny’s head and smelled the plain soap, the cheap shampoo he used, floral, rosemary, something aromatic. Kenny breathed slow and even, and Adam could feel each inhale and exhale through the connection of his hand against Kenny’s back. Proof that was he real and present. He was warm, contrasted to the cooled hotel room. Adam tucked Kenny against himself, drew him closer, terrified to let go-- knowing he’d escape in a heartbeat. That moment was as fleeting as the kiss laid on Adam’s forehead like a reverential gift. Adam awoke in the morning, alone and cold. He grasped at the still warm mattress and felt Kenny fall through. 

“You’re too easy,” Kenny chuckled, he tapped his forehead with his finger. Like he was some kinda conniving mastermind. Dude, watched way too much Anime. Adam only barely remembered Kenny being this annoying in Japan. He’s seen the videos of Kenny singing his own damn theme song during his entrances. “You let people in your head, they get to you— it’s an excuse, Page. You’re just too pussy to do anything, that’s why you sit there and get fucking wasted, ‘cause that’s all you can do.”

The beer bottle shattered. Slammed against the counter on the perfect sweet spot, crushed in Adam’s hand. The glass fractured into dust and piercing shards that buried in his palm. Beer spilled onto the counter and dribbled onto his jeans. Blood, red and crimson, mingled with the stinging alcohol, and seeped between the lines of his callouses. Adam snatched Kenny’s lapel. Hand fisted, Adam dragged him in, the tendons and muscles of his bicep tight. Kenny was all teeth, eyes obscured. Once again, Adam had taken the bait. Kenny was in his head and he lived there rent free. Adam wasn’t sure if he could evict him. 

“You mad bro?” Kenny queried. “Because I’m right? You couldn’t beat Chris; You couldn’t beat Maxwell; and you couldn’t beat me. You got it, you got everything you need, but you keep wasting it. You lose, and what do you do? What you’ve always done. Take a beer from some stranger that has God knows what disease and mope. You think I was fucking cool with it? Dealing with your drunk ass all the time?”

“You’ve been a real dick since you won that belt,” Adam growled. He laughed to himself, chin ducking to his chest. His attention focused on Kenny, “You know I’m going to take it from you.”

“No, you won’t,” Kenny snapped, a little irritation biting in his tone. “We both know you won’t do shit.” His tone took on a whiny, mocking lilt. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’ll try harder next time. Sorry, doesn’t cut it Pizz. What are you going to do, stretch my coat? You’re a coward, you won’t do shit.”

Adam’s bottom lip trembled, his throat dry and eyes locked with tinted glass. “Take off the fucking sunglasses,” Adam demanded, voice cracking. He dragged Kenny a little closer. “Say that to my face.”

Kenny pursed his lips, he pouted. 

“Take off the glasses, Kenny,” Adam repeated. “Look me in the eye, you son of a bitch— and say what you just said, again. Show me you actually mean that shit.”

Kenny sneered and Adam read the disgust, discomfort, mockery. And, something else he’d been missing. It was right there, right in front of him. Kenny leaned in the last couple inches, his nose brushing against Adam’s. He whispered: “Make me.”

“HIt me, punch me,” Kenny insisted, sing-songing. “C’mon, do it, prove it— that you can do something. Literally, anything, Hangman.”

Adam’s grip slacked. He released his cinch on Kenny’s jacket. Kenny eased back onto his stool and muttered, “I knew it, I knew you wouldn’t, you’re--”

Kenny didn’t complete the sentence before Adam decked him. A hard and clean right hook across the jaw, that knocked Kenny clean off the bar stool. Kenny stumbled, his hand swiping and reaching for the counter to steady himself. He rubbed his fingers over the site of impact. The skin of his left check now red and swollen, imprinted with Adam’s bloody knuckles. Kenny smiled and giggled, nodding his head with approval. Adam pressed to his feet, jaw stiff. Small sparks of pain coursed-up his arm, like he just stuck his finger in an outlet. Kenny straightened, cocked his hip, and returned the favor. The left smashed across Adam’s cheek and sent him reeling back. A pump of adrenaline rushed his head, throbbed his heart, and burned in his skull. Like a bell ringing clear in the night, unsure of for whom it toiled. 

Adam hoped it chorused for him. So, that he might hang for his crimes and his corpse could feed some daisies. Finally, after twenty-nine years he could do something good for this miserable planet. Let the worms make sweet worm love in his brain and maybe then, by the nutrients of his bones, he’d be useful. And despite the grim thought, the certainty of his resurrection filled him. Burry him, return in three days, and he’d be back-- call him Lazarus. He resented the executioner, hated his accusers. Adam was a piece of shit, son-of-a-bitch, with poison for blood and a rock for a heart. He was too pissed, anger filled, frustrated and unsatisfied to stay dead in a shallow grave. 

And Kenny’s left hook hurt like hell.

Damn, that felt good, he needed that.

Like he needed oxygen, like he needed water, like he needed Kenny.

Like he needed that belt. 

Adam surged and swung with a wide punch. Kenny caught it at the elbow and twisted Adam’s arm. Adam stumbled forward, bending into the momentum. Kenny drove his knee into Adam’s gut. The air rushed out of Adam. His already sore ribs seized like a vice around his internal organs. 

Oh, shit, he had not thought this through. Adam had already gotten the crap beaten out of him tonight in a match. Like, put through a table but still won-- crap beaten out of him. This was not good. Adam couldn’t beat Kenny on a good night. What the hell was he doing picking a fight on a bad night? Well, Adam was way past dumb decisions at this point.

Adam drove the heel of his hand into Kenny’s lower stomach, a cheap shot to make Kenny drop his hands. Adam popped a quick jab into Kenny’s face. Nothing but a distraction, to make his eyes water, and stun him. Adam seized Kenny’s jacket by the lapels and drove him him back into the wall. A solid ‘oof’ escaped Kenny as they collided with the solid surface. Kenny wheezed, because he had had a match too. Neither of them had any business picking a fight. 

“Damnit! Kenny!” Adam shouted. “Get your head out of your ass!”

Adam growled, a low rumble reverberating through his chest and his eyes darkened. Chest-to-chest with Kenny, he leaned-in, to push and pin him against the wall. He breathed hot and fast, his heart shuttering, beating against his chest. Their pulses mingled so that Adam couldn’t separate the chaotic rhythms. Kenny’s glasses were ajar, hanging crooked off his nose. Adam knocked them off Kenny’s face. They clattered to the floor. Kenny blinked, eyes adjusting to the new light. Tension drained from Adam’s shoulders and he sighed, soft breath over his chapped lips. Blue eyes, like the sky over his childhood home, baby blue, aquamarine, the Gulf when his family took a trip to the beach. Pupils blown-out and black. Breathless, Kenny left Adam breathless. The rage dissipated, draining from him like water. Kenny grinned, blood on his teeth, white and red, their noses an inch apart. It would be so simple to--

Kenny’s lips tasted of iron and him. Everything Adam dreamed of but better. The kiss was all teeth, blood, and spit, ugly and gross. Worthy of something from Adam’s fumbling teenage years. Adam groaned into Kenny’s mouth, lungs shuttering and eyes fluttering closed. He braced his hand against the wall and pushed back, tilting his head for a better angle. Adam kissed Kenny with his blood roaring in his ears and demanding more of whatever the hell this is. He slowed, lingering, in a passionate and deep kiss, relishing the taste of what he had been starving for. Then, Adam slid his hands through Kenny’s hair, cradled either side of Kenny’s stupid, soft and stubbly, chipmunk cheeks. He laid small, quick, fluttering kisses to Kenny’s lips, the corner of his mouth, and Kenny whimpered, wanting more than teasing. Adam smirked and he tangled his fingers into those ashen curls to tilt Kenny’s head back to give more. Darted his tongue past Kenny’s lips to find more. Kenny clutched at Adam and dug his nails into Adam’s shirt.

Then Adam parted, gasping for air. He rested his forehead against Kenny’s and whispered something like ‘holy shit.’ He threaded his fingers in Kenny’s hair to pet and soothe him. Kenny surged forward, looking for that second kiss, but Adam laid his hand across Kenny’s chest and pushed him down. Kenny slumped against the wall, settling on his heels. He looked wounded, like a kicked puppy. It was enough to tug on Adam’s heart strings. 

“Adam,” Kenny whined, drawing out the last syllable. 

“Kenny,” Adam said, voice firm. “Stop, that’s enough.”

Kiss him again, his inner voice insisted. While Kenny stood there, all pretty and cute, gaping with his brow furrowed. His cheeks flushed and lips almost scarlet. Take a second taste, a third, let the whole night unfold like origami. Except no, this wasn’t what Adam wanted. Whatever the hell this was, it ain’t it, chief. Adam knew what he wanted. He knew what he needed. He knew, he knew, he knew, it was so obvious that this dumbass, pinned beneath his hand, could see it. So obvious, that even Adam was starting to see it. Adam stepped away from Kenny even though it felt like ripping off his own arm. Pure chemistry, the pure need and want of a man dehydrated in the desert. Adam didn’t want to go back to his hotel room alone. He didn’t want to spend another night in a cold bed. He didn’t want to keep playing this game of cat-and-mouse, always guessing, always confused, and lost. He didn’t want to keep his thoughts to himself anymore-- but there was something else he needed more than he wanted.

Something, he’d needed since he was a child, since his birth. Adam was convinced it was inscribed in his DNA. And until he had it, he would never be satisfied. Maybe he was a masochist, always stepping-up to the chopping block like this. Knowing, believing he knew, what came next when the axe fell. Yet, Adam Page didn’t have an ounce of quit in him. He was far too stupid to stop.

Adam eyed Kenny and then reached behind him to find his phone on the counter. Kenny stayed pinned to the wall like a taxidermy bug. Then, Adam turned to leave. He paused at where the belt rested on the countertop. He lifted his hand. Adam curled three fingers to his palm and pointed his index to the sky.  Then he took aim at the belt. With a dramatic flourish, Adam took the shot. He left the bar, leaving the door ajar. While the Uber drove him back to the hotel, Adam typed-out his reply on the ugly message app. 

I’ll be home this Saturday. Looking forward to tacos I’ll bring tequila. See you soon. Love ya, a lot. 

#ofgrief #‘The Hangman’ || Adam: IC #‘Deals with God’ || Adam: Verse #‘Beloved’ || Adam and Kenny

[closetofanxiety]

Here’s a list of wrestling promotions I currently pay attention to

Why not? I’m on my lunch break and like to make lists.

Beyond Wrestling - my local, more or less. I watch their weekly “Uncharted Territory” show, which has been very good. The last two weeks haven’t felt quite as essential as the first few months, but there are still gems. It’s great to see that Drew Cordeiro can really develop detailed and immersive storylines working on a week-to-week basis. Hopefully they do a season 2 after their big show at the end of this month. 

Impact Wrestling - It’s the most TNA thing ever that the vast majority of its fans gave up on Impact just as it got consistently good. I’ve been watching ever since last year’s Slammiversary show, which for my money was the best PPV of 2018. There are still plenty of things I don’t like about Impact - they constantly go to the well with old ECW guys; most of the titles are booked in an oddly dull manner; the presence of Michael Elgin - but they get more right than they get wrong. 

Major League Wrestling - This company has zero buzz, and its roster almost feels like it’s like a Region 2 Impact or something. But I watch their weekly show for free on Fite TV, and it’s better than decent. They spotlight a lot of wrestlers who don’t get much attention elsewhere, the matches are consistently entertaining, and the commentary’s good. 

Stardom - I am currently not a subscriber to their streaming service, but I’m sure I’ll be back. It’s fairly easy to keep up via Twitter and YouTube. They’ve seemed a little directionless since Io Shirai left last summer, and they don’t really have anyone on the roster who feels like a Top Star. Tokyo Cyber Squad has been very entertaining, though. 

Sendai Girls - I subscribed to their streaming service, but they update full shows more frequently on their YouTube channel, so I guess I’m a sucker? Anyway, these shows are a wild ride. The tonal variation, from comedy to brutality, is so abrupt it occasionally takes place multiple times in the same match, but at least it’s different. They were kind of in danger of getting a late period AWA vibe in terms of reluctance to elevate younger stars, but then last month Sareee won the world title, which is great, unless she signs with WWE, as has been rumored. Mika Iwata could be a huge star as well, although she’s hurt right now. 

All Elite Wrestling - To the extent that it’s possible to closely follow a promotion that is about to have its third show ever, I closely follow AEW. I’ve really enjoyed the shows I’ve seen so far, although there are some bugs to be worked out of the system. There’s going to be another “Librarian” match happening on the pre-show this Saturday, and they’re all hur-hur-hur about it on Twitter, like YOU DON’T WANT THE LIBRARIANS? YOU’RE GETTING LIBRARIANS AND YOU’LL LIKE IT! “Vince McMahon pushing Baron Corbin, but ironically” seems like a bad move. 

Wrestling Has a Tomorrow - This is the worst name for a wrestling promotion in the history of wrestling promotions. I don’t even know if anyone outside the greater Providence area is capable of seeing their shows. Maybe they’re on Highspots? Anyway, they’re trying to be what Beyond Wrestling was a few years ago, even running shows in Beyond’s former home. For whatever reason, the same 100 people attend every WHAT show, no more and no less. I got to see a lot of Private Party matches there, in a two-thirds empty room, and now they’re going to be on national television. 

Game Changer Wrestling - GCW seems to be mostly about producing a series of spectacles rather than weaving long-term storylines, but I’m on board for it. They had the best show of Mania Week (Bloodsport), they did a high-concept backyard show on July 4, and now they’re doing a show in the guise of a super-local Southern indie promotion called WOMBAT. They’re the only company I can think of that could get away with doing a death match tournament and a comedy event featuring Teddy Hart reading a children’s book about what it’s like to be a cat. 

WWE - Yeah, yeah. I dropped my network sub, but it’s impossible to avoid knowledge of what’s happening in Vinceland, at least ambiently. I’ll put on Raw or Smackdown, pay attention for 20 minutes, and then find myself getting up and doing other things in the house while the shows are on in the background. It’s just not my thing these days, maybe that will change.

Promotions I dip into from time to time

New Japan Pro Wrestling - NXT - Northeast Wrestling - Blitzkrieg Pro Wrestling - Absolute Intense Wrestling - Black Label Pro Wrestling - Pro Wrestling Eve - Rise - Southern Underground Pro - Alpha 1 Wrestling - Ring of Honor - Over The Top - DDT - Chikara

Promotions I used to follow but for one reason or another have stopped paying attention to

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla - Progress - AAW - Shine - Shimmer - Combat Zone Wrestling - XWA (New England) - Pro Wrestling Revolver 

Promotions that no amount of trying can get me to care about

EVOLVE 

#lists #official rankings

[beingallelite]

Hoffman Estates, Illinois — All Elite Wrestling returned to familiar ground in the suburbs of Chicago on Saturday, trying to recreate the magic that launched the brand's leading stars into the wrestling stratosphere at last year's All In.

Mission accomplished.

All Out was a five-hour extravaganza, mixing diverse wrestling styles to create a show unlike anything fans had ever seen from a mainstream promotion. From the old-school southern shenanigans of Cody Rhodes and Shawn Spears to the state-of-the-art stunt spectacular performed by the Young Bucks and Lucha Brothers, it was a wrestling show that had something remarkable for every fan in the building.

The energy was electric—and contagious. The live crowd couldn't get enough, and the building was full to bursting with fans who felt invested, not just in individual wrestlers or storylines, but in the entire enterprise.

Something special is brewing in the wrestling industry, and AEW is at the heart of it.

Last week, Off the Top Rope's Jonathan Snowden talked to one of the event's architects, All Elite Wrestling executive Brandi Rhodes, about the launch of a new wrestling promotion, her savvy use of social media and her role in building a women's division from the ground up.

This week, we continue that conversation with a discussion of one of the most multifaceted talent rosters in professional wrestling history.

Jonathan Snowden: I'm assuming you're often the only woman in the room when a lot of important decisions are being made. Is it kind of your duty to keep an eye out for the other women on the roster and help make sure they aren't pushed in directions creatively that a man might not realize could make them uncomfortable?

Brandi Rhodes: That's the goal. I haven't had any situations like that yet, but we're about to start weekly TV. So we'll see some of the ideas. But there have been for myself at times in wrestling, times when I had to say, 'Hey, wait a minute, I'm not really comfortable with that' or, 'That doesn't work for me.'

It's interesting to see how a lot of people don't see the other side of the coin. Since they haven't been there. Someone might suggest your character say something that they'd never say. It doesn't occur to them that there are people who think differently about something, from another perspective.

I think it probably will be helpful to have me there. I'm also someone who is always looking at things from different angles. There's always two answers. Cody and I run a lot of things by each other. We're able to help each other see things differently than we would singularly.

JS: What's an example of a time you remember when you were asked to do something you didn't feel right about doing? Is there a moment that stands out?

Rhodes: Ideas that made it seem like I wasn't particularly faithful to my husband. That's an area I don't like to go. It's just not for me.

And the fans, they know us. They know Cody and I, and they like our relationship. So, I would never want to kind of scoff in their faces and make it seem like it's something that it's not.

JS: You guys have a slogan, "AEW is for everyone." I know just how real that is, and I wanted to personally thank you for your commitment to sensory inclusion. We have two kids on the autism spectrum, and going to an event like yours can be kind of terrifying. But we came out to Double or Nothing, and the sensory room you put together with KultureCity made a huge difference. Why was this so important to you? Because I was told you championed the cause.

Rhodes: Thank you for sharing that with me. I love hearing from people who had wonderful experiences with the sensory room. It really makes me so happy.

KultureCity actually reached out to me. I didn't know anything about them or their mission, because it was really vague to me what they represented. I met with [CEO] Julian Maha, and he told me that when we said "AEW is for everyone," it might not be true. He said: 'You're missing a big part of the market. You're missing people with invisible illnesses.' I said, 'Wow." Because we 100 percent were, and we hadn't thought about it.

It's just one of those things people don't think about unless it personally affects them. It can easily slip your mind unless you're confronted with it. But I've been to countless wrestling shows over the last seven or eight years. I've been a part of many meet-and-greets where someone had a need like this and no one knew what to do. Personally, it was embarrassing when we didn't know how to help people and they would just have to leave.

So, when Julian brought this up, I was all for it. If I can keep those moments from happening for any family, I'm all for whatever it takes to make that happen. We are fully in with KultureCity and doing everything we can to get them to as many events as possible.

JS: Inclusion seems to be important generally to this company. From Nyla Rose to Sonny Kiss to the Chinese superstars from OWE, you've been finding talent where most mainstream wrestling companies don't even think to look for it. Are there barriers you're intentionally breaking down, or is it just a matter of being open to talented performers, whatever their background might be?

Rhodes: It's not something we set out to do. We never said, 'We need to check these boxes.' That's not a good way to find the best talent, in my opinion. As long as you keep in mind that what you're looking for is the best person, regardless of anything else, you're going to find the best of the best. And I think that's what we've got here.

In our case, we were very, very lucky. A lot of talent just kind of fell in our lap, which is wonderful when you don't have to search very hard for such talented people.

Our agenda was always to have an open mind about everything. When you have someone like Sonny Kiss, who is very much on the surface who he is, there is no way we're going to say, 'Maybe he should be different, do different moves or act a different way.' He is who he is, and who he is is perfect. He's very talented, and we absolutely love having Sonny as part of the roster.

JS: You guys have made great use of social media. Before I was familiar with the wrestling work of many of your young performers, I met them on your YouTube shows Being The Elite and The Road to All Out series. Both those shows are great at making you really care about the people who make up this company.

But is that possible with some of the foreign talents? I think Riho and [Hikaru] Shida had a really compelling match at All Out—how do you present them on a YouTube show the same way with the language and cultural barriers that might be there?

Rhodes: That's always a challenge, as many people have seen in wrestling over the years with characters when English isn't their first language. However, there have also been plenty of examples where it hasn't been a factor at all because they've been able to express themselves in other ways.

There are things we have in mind to let people know more about some of these wrestlers and how they came to be, what their background is and who they are in the ring. It's something you'll have to see as we roll it out, but there are definitely plans.

JS: AEW launches on TNT on Oct. 2, just a few weeks after WWE takes their NXT brand into the mainstream on the USA Network. Old-school wrestling fans have seen a version of this before, but for new fans, this may be the first time they've been asked to make a choice. So, with WWE just a click away, why should fans choose to take a leap of faith with AEW?

Rhodes: We've been at the cusp of something amazing in wrestling, something we're calling a revolution. This is the first time in almost 20 years that there has been another brand that is this strong and on prime time.

The fanbase has expressed that they've wanted this and needed this for so long. It's been proven with the sellouts we've been having at multiple arenas throughout the country that people really, really do want this alternative.

We vow to bring that alternative in many, many ways. We've talked about it across many mediums, and we'll stay true to our belief that bell-to-bell wrestling is the most important thing.

Our roster is so diverse, and I think our show will be different than anything people have seen. We just hope to continue this movement, and fans will come with us and tune in every week so we can keep doing what we're doing. That's what makes this possible: the fans. As long as the fans keep rallying behind us and stick with us, we're going to do really, really well.

Brandi Rhodes is the chief brand officer for All Elite Wrestling and a standout performer. You can follow her on Twitter and YouTube for further glimpses into a life well-lived.

Match of the Week

Young Bucks vs. Lucha Brothers (AEW All Out, Aug. 31): These teams have been squaring off for months, to the point where their combined excellence has become almost routine. A ladder match successfully upped the ante, ramping up the danger, level of difficulty and excitement in ways that would have been unimaginable just two decades ago when Edge, Christian and the Hardy Boyz set the standard for all to follow.

With all due respect to WWE's legends of the form, this match surpassed even their best efforts. It was consistently innovative, daring and almost too much for several people in my section at Sears Centre, who hid their faces in their hands and literally begged for someone to stop the match before someone died in the ring.

No one did, but only because the performers executed some of the most bonkers highspots imaginable and almost never missed a beat.

'Hard Times' Promo of the Week

Chris Jericho was on top of the world as he cruised Tallahassee, Florida, in a limousine on his way to a local LongHorn Steakhouse. Jericho was the new AEW world champion, and to the victor go the spoils.

Afterward, however, there was a bit of a problem: he couldn't find the belt. As the internet mocked him savagely, Jericho leaned into the storm and made the moment his own.

Here's a taste of his genius, delivered in a hot tub with a scarf on, because it's Chris Jericho and he can:

"Now, as I sit here in my palatial estate, in my beautiful mansion, getting ready to have a little bit of the bubbly, I'm just imagining what I would do to that son of a b---h if he was here right now.

"And as a result, I am launching a worldwide investigation, using the top private investigators in the world today, to find out who committed this crime. And trust me, as the AEW champion ... I promise to regain and restore and find—and reclaim!—the AEW championship and once again give you another reason to finally give me the 'thank you' that I deserve.

"You're welcome."

Update: He got it back!

#all elite wrestling #aew #all out #brandi rhodes #the young bucks #chris jericho #matt jackson #nick jackson #lucha brothers #pentagon jr #fenix #article #posted on: 9.5.19 #bleacher report

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony’s Stupid Daily Blog (191): Thu 22nd Sep 2022

Looked after Luna today. After subjecting me to "Toot Toot Crissy Carson" possibly the most annoying TV show I have ever seen (It's a show about a family of cars that live in a house...fuck off) we had some fun playing games including stacking dominoes on every step of the staircase and trying to get them all to knock over which they eventually did. I love playing with Luna but the problem is she can't just do one thing once she has to do them over again. That would be like me staying in all night and watching the same YouTube videos over and over and...Oh. Anywho, I listened to Reece Sheersmith on Richard Herring's podcast where said that the ninth series of Inside No 9 will probably be the last. I get that this would be really poetic and I can understand the strain that doing this kind of show must put on Reece and Steve but I hope that this news turns out not to be the case because Inside No 9 is one of the best shows on TV. The rest of the podcast was a joy to listen to as well as Reece is a great interviewee especially when he's getting angry. I particularly enjoyed his rant about how fans are always suggesting he do a story set on a Number Nine bus...and that's it, no ideas for characters or story or twists just a setting. I also got a big belly laugh where he said that he'd turned down the chance to appear on Strictly Come Dancing, reasoning: "Imagine being told off by those cunts". He also expressed an interest in appearing on Taskmaster which needless to say I would be all for. I realized today that December 1st will be the 10 year anniversary of this blog (I wrote this blog under a different name on Wordpress for 8 years, then continued to write an entry every day just for myself for two years and earlier this year started publishing it again here on Tumblr). Man it seems like a previous life when I first started writing this blog but I can still remember the exact moment I posted on Facebook (from my cubicle at the call centre which they were starting to decorate with Christmas regalia) that I was going to be starting a blog. I was inspired by comedian Richard Herring who also does a daily blog after seeing an interview with him where he said that every day there are these great little moments that get lost in time because you don't write them down. At the time I had hoped that this would become a Hunter S Thompson-style blog where I would go out of my way to do things in order to get a story out of them...hasn't quite worked out that way. I normally finish the day during which nothing has happened and so I'm forced to write a bout a YouTube video or an episode of Hollyoaks and drag that out for a few hundred words. With the ten year anniversary of this blog not far away it feels like I really should do something special to commemorate this occasion and something this captures the original purpose of the blog. My gut is telling me to book a trip to Sarajevo in order to see the spot where Archduke Ferdinand was killed as this has long been a weird fascination of mine but it's now the run-up to Christmas so the money could be better spent on that instead. I was trying to think of something I could do locally. I've been interested in booking an IQ test at a Mensa centre for a while in order to confirm exactly how stupid I really am so I might look into that. I also think it would be a good day to have another attempt at launching a podcast which I have tried before but it didn't last long. One of the things I could do for the podcast is in the morning I could write down the top news stories on Yahoo News (one of the few news sites left where you don't have to subscribe to read the stories) and then just riff for half an hour on them sort of like what Collings and Herrin used to do in their podcast. Plus every Thursday I could upload a review of AEW Dynamite, on Fridays I could review Impact and on Saturdays review Rampage, plus occasional specials where I review pay per views.