Dusty Boots.

[red_dragon_masta]

Legacies was roaring on as scheduled and the fans were mildly entertained as they looked on the tron at the event that was unfolding between Cyrus and Jack Arson. What a disgusting display as Arson spit in the face of the Dream and the brawl that ensued was not for the faint of heart. After the front cut off Lillian Garcia stood in the center of the Ring, a microphone inner grasp. She would raise it up and begin to speak.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome at this time, from the City of Angels, the one..the only.. AAAANGEEEL!!!!"

"CUT MY LIFE INTO PIECES...

THIS IS MY LAST RESORT!

SUFFOCATION...NO BREATHING!

DON'T GIVE A ******** IF I CUT MY ARM BLEEDING!!!"

Papa Roach's "Last Resort" would tear through the PA system and Angel would let it play for a moment. He was in the back by the sound technician, dressed in an Armani suit that cost more then a hobos trailer, clutching a worn out old gym bag. He grabbed a mic from the table next to the sound booth and would make his way though the tunnel...out to the bright lights of a WWFG arena once again.

He would come through the tunnel out into the stage, pausing at the top of the ramp briefly before making his way down the ramp toward the ring. He would walk around to the stairs and would climb up onto the ring apron, wiping his feet before climbing into the ring through the second rope.

He would make his way to center ring placing the bag at his feet and looking out into the crowd... gathering himself before he began to speak.

"April, 2006...I made my debut to professional wrestling..in an I Quit match against Edge. I remember sitting in the back going, 'Who did I piss off to get thrown to the wolves on my first night?' But something even I didn't expect happened, I defeated Edge and he never wrestled another match after that day. Week 2 was the start and finish of my career all in one night. It was a Steel Cage match against Randy Orton for the top prize in WWFG at the time, the World Heavyweight Undisputed Championship."

Angel would pause, kneeling to reach into the bag, pulling out a replica of the WHU Championship, a title long retired from the company but a rich piece of its history. Angel would place it on his shoulder and stand, speaking again.

"This was how I saw that match playing out, I was walking out the champion, nothing was stopping me. Then it happened..."

Angel would toss the title on the ground, kneeling again and pulling lut a piece of his cast from his first injury.

"A compound fracture in my right arm that cost me 8 months of my career and nearly ended it. My body let me down and several people told me to hang it up there and quit.

Angel would wag his finger letting everyone know that wasn't the case.

"But i didn't go out there, I competed in an Indy fed in St. Louis, against a man who carved my back open like I was a piece of meat...for his sick pleasure, I nearly lost my life that night, and had Jack not stopped that Freak, I doubt we would be here talking today folks, I'm truly lucky to be alive."

Angel would pause, his time would change.

"I have struggled since my return to find a direction for my career to go in since I've been cleared to compete again. It is almost as if that night in St Louis took something away from me..a piece of me that I'll never get back again. I ask myself is it even worth lacing up my boots?"

Angel would kneel again, this time removing a worn out old white pair of boots. He would stare at them for a moment, and let out a sigh.

"I had such high hopes for my career when I laced up these boots my first night here, and I've stepped into the ring with some of the best in WWFG history and held my own with anyone thrown my way. But injury after injury I have spent more of my career on the shelf then I did in the fray. I slowly became irrelevant. People wrote me off as that a*****e that gets himself hurt because he doesn't give a s**t if he dies or not." Top talent won't touch me, I'm to high risk. So where do I go from here? I really..."

(Planned)  

[Drako Damone]

The lights suddenly cut out. The fans aren't sure what exactly to expect here. Someone is going to interrupt. Will Angel be attacked here again tonight? Cell phones light up the arena in hopes of getting a glimpse of someone.

Oh wah ah ah ah

Flames burst up on the stage and the lights come back up as Down with the Sickness hits the PA and the fans erupt. Jarel Damone steps out onto the stage, looking down the ramp at Angel in the ring. He's in his usual jeans and tshirt, and his gloves, with the leather trenchcoat thrown over it

King: What is he doing here? I thought he was gone for good.

JR: Apparently not, King, as you can see him standing there on the stage.

Jarel finally begins to make his way down the ramp quickly, Stepping onto the apron, he steps into the ring over the top rope and walks to the other side, signalling someone to give him a mic. Once he takes it, the music dies out and he turns to look at Angel. For several moments he stands there, eventually looking out at the cheering crowd and waiting for them to quiet down. Finally, he raises the mic.

"You know, few people remember this but years ago, as you were debuting in the business, I was considered a veteran already. I was going on a decade in the business, had been world champion in a few different federations, and had been involved in my fair share of controversy. There were those already clamoring for the end of the Dragon.In fact, several had tried to make it a reality. Clearly, they failed miserably. But as I sat in the back listening to you, I heard you enter a position many before you have been in. Going on 18 years in this business, it would seem I'm well past the shelf life of a wrestler since the attitude era, and especially in the more recent years."

The crowd truly gets quiet, listening to the words of the the WWFG Hall of Famer closely.

"Every year that passes, like everyone else, I take more and more damage to this body of mine. The ravages of time become just a bit more evident with each passing day. I'm a man in my forties, a point many legends weren't able to continue after. And especially within WWFG, each year comes the question of when I will at last call it quits. It's not a question I ask myself, but it's a question that some in the back ask, and the fans ask. And each year I deny some the pleasure of seeing the back side of me for the last time."

at this some of the fans cheer, causing Jarel to pause again before continuing on.

"But back down memory lane, as you were young and I was already considered old, you ran into an issue in a certain memorable federation, did you not? And I happened to dislike management in said federation. I aw you in a situation far less than fair, and you unlike so many reached out to me. So I stepped down into that place, and I helped you when you asked. For years now I have watched your ups and downs, and that is why it peaked my interest to hear you speak as you have here tonight.You see, I'm from a generation that is at this point long gone. Maybe two or three of us from my generation are still active today. I find it strange to note that you and I have a few things in common."

King: What's he talking about JR?

JR: Maybe if you give him a minute he'll explain.

"You see, all those long years ago, I came in against one of the bigger names in the business. I'm not talking about my WWFG debut, because I was around long before that. But you mentioned debuting against Edge. I came in against the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. My next match was against Kane. Those two were my first rivals, and eventually this thing that would become the streak was formed. Few realize the toll that the streak has taken on me.I thrive in the cell, sure. So much so that I was christened the Godfather of Hardcore. There were times when I questioned how much longer my body would hold out. And yet here I stand today, still a source of controversy here and there, still a force within the ring when I choose to enter it. There may come a day when the Dragon returns to his Den one last time and never again emerges, but that day is not today."

More cheers break out at this.

"And of course I, like most, know that Wrestlemania season is upon us. It's a time for this generation to shine. It's a time for men to make their mark in the history books. Now I don't really have such a need but I show up around this time anyway. I was in the back, just waiting to see what would happen, and then I hear you out here with a lack of direction. With all that you've been through, with all that you've survived, and all that perhaps you could still do, are the Angel's wings clipped? Have you decided to allow that light inside die out and fade into obscurity? Have you decided that you can no longer go head to head, toe to toe, with the best this or any other company has to offer? Because I would find that to be a disappointment."

Jarel lowers the mic at this point, his eyes studying Angel, awaiting his response  

[red_dragon_masta]

"Jarel, you and I both know that wasn't what I was saying, so get to the point you came out here to make...I was kinda in the middle of something here."

Angel wasn't sure what Jarel wanted, he was wondering what it was he was doing out here when he was probably the last person Angel expected to come out here and interupt him.  

[Drako Damone]

Jarel raises the mic again.

"Yes, you were in the middle of something, weren't you? You were asking a question, where do you go from here? I came out here to help you decide. You see, the words left your mouth that top talent won't touch you. You're too high risk. I find those to be strange words."

Jarel gestured to the back.

"There's a lockerroom full of men and women that call themselves stars. Some are, and some are probably dreaming. What would be star, what wanna be icon, is afraid to take a risk? We take a risk anytime we step between those ropes. Injuries happen. Sometimes at the most inopportune moments. Risk is, in fact, what we signed on for the moment we entered into a school to train to become professional wrestlers. To be a wrestler, you must be some form of a risk taker. So, you asked where you go from here. Well, it's simple."

Jarel points to the sign for Wrestlemania hanging in the rafters.

"You either go to the grandest stage with the lights on bright and you put everything on the line for that one night of glory, or you go home now. And if you need an opponent, there's 6 feet 10 inches and 328 pounds of pure unadulterated violence embodied standing right in front of you. And frankly, I want to see if you're as good as you say you are, as good as I once knew you were. Can you reach deep down and show me the Angel that made me step down to a developmental territory to fight against the injustices of management? And more importantly, can even that Angel stand toe to toe, face to face, eye to eye with the Dragon, the Godfather of Hardcore on the Grandest Stage under the brightest lights."

clearly some of the audience approves.

JR: It looks like we've hit the heart of the matter. Jarel has returned to lay down the challenge to Angel.

King: But why? And will Angel accept?

"Well, Angel, I think the fans would like to know just what they're going to see here tonight? Will Wrestlemania be a showcase, a war between an Angel and a Dragon, or will you give in to the same naysayers that said you weren't good enough all those years ago, that you didn't deserve a spot on the main roster, you didn't deserve a championship reign?"  

[red_dragon_masta]

"Jarel, not only can I reach down to where I was back then, I'm gonna do it in such a way that the stakes are as high as they ever been. You want to come out and issue a challenge for Wrestlemania, I say we raise the stakes. How about we have Jarel vs Angel with our livlihood on the line. That's right Mr. Godfather of Hardcore..loser goes home. You can name any match type you want... I'm more then ready for you."

That was a game changing stipulation, but would The Dragon accept??  

[Drako Damone]

Jarel cocks his head to the side, perhaps surprised by the counter challenge.

JR: A career vs career match at Wrestlemania?

King: That's it, Angel has gone off the deep end.

Jarel finally raises the mic.

"If you thought that perhaps that would make me back down, you are sadly mistaken. Not only do I accept the challenge, I make the match type quite simple. You see, I'm the type of guy that thrives under pressure. But we're going to see if your heart is as big as your mouth, son. The match will have no pinfalls, no submissions, no disqualifications. If you want to preserve your career, you're going to have to find a way to do what no other man has ever done. You're going to have to knock me out and keep me from standing before a count of ten. In other words, it'll be a last man standing match and believe me when I say that Armageddon has arrived. All that you've been through will have led you to this moment."

Jarel moves towards the ropes, seemingly about to exit the ring, but stops and turns back.

"But make no mistake. The time for me to return home and hang up my gloves isn't now. While I may in fact have respect for you and I was not pleased to hear what sounded like doubt coming from you, doubt is a Sickness, one which I cannot allow to fester. When I spot the Sickness amongst my peers, I have made it my responsibility to contain and destroy it. As such, at Wrestlemania, I will destroy what remains of your career."  

[red_dragon_masta]

Angel would raise the mic up quickly after Jarel finished.

"Well that's great..you know I feel the same way...I just screwed myself out of a job, except just one thing you forgot..."

Angel would look to catch The Dragon by surprise, by delivering that nasty superkick he called Excommunicated. Angel was game for Last Man Standing, he knew that kick would put the Dragon down for good.  

[Drako Damone]

Jarel really should have seen that coming, but that's the nature of superkicks. That classic sound of boot meeting jaw rings throughout the arena and the Dragon goes crashing to the mat.

JR biggrin ear Lord, Angel has just Excommunicated his Wrestlemania opponent.

King: I'm not so certain that was a good idea, JR.

the crowd however, cheers for the altercation, ableit with some boos thrown in there as Jarel has never really been one the crowd turns on completely  

[red_dragon_masta]

Angel would slide out of the Ring, counting as he made his way up the ramp. The Dragon had no idea who he was tangling with, and whether Jarel liked it ir not, Wrestlemania was going to be his last night.  

[Drako Damone]

As Angel leaves the ring and heads up the ramp, Jarel sits up, a scowl on his face, and the crowd cheers. He gets to his feet and turns his gaze to Angel.

JR: Maybe Angel should have held off on that count.

King: I hate to say it, but it'll take more than that kick to keep Jarel down for a ten count.

Jarel steps forward and places his hands on the top rope, his gaze still locked on Angel.

JR: Either way, it's official that these two men will collide in a last man standing match at Wrestlemania. What depths will they go to in order to keep the other down?

King: More importantly, who's career will end at Wrestlemania?

Jarel's music hits the PA, as is customary when one is the last person standing in the ring and just briefly, his hand goes to his jaw. That would be Angel's one acknowledgement to that kick from Jarel