Roleplay Title: Never Quitting... Starring: Phoenix Winterborn, Mari Saito, others... Musical Inspiration: "Still Waiting" - Sum 41 ICC: Some people don't know what they're getting themselves into... OCC: Here's number two! Good luck and enjoy! Achievements: Too Many to List Marital Status: Engaged to "The Japanese Jewel" Mari Saito Yes, this is, in fact, an official Phoenix Winterborn Roleplay. Enclosed within are the following: Sex, gratitious violence, probably a good amount of swearing, and other various things that kids (and some adults) may not be able to handle. If you happen to fall under one of the aforementioned catagories, please do not continue because you will be offended. If, however, you do not fall under those catagories, please continue on and enjoy!   Phoenix Winterborn. Your hero. End of story. Friday February 13th, 2009 Milan Italy 9:47am The following is a commercial for WGEF Whatever It Takes: The WGEF Championship. Since it's inception, many great men have held that belt, and the title of 'WGEF Champion'. The stage is set once again for four men to go to battle...no. Go to war over the richest prize in the industry. Milan, Italy at the Arena Civica is going to play host to one of the fiercest battles ever to be waged. Enter Phoenix Winterborn. An eight-year veteran of professional wrestling. A four-time World Heavyweight Champion. At the end of this night, he hopes to make the total rise to five. Can Phoenix live up to his namesake, and rise from the ashes to stake his claim as the best in the business today? Tune into WGEF Whatever It Takes, live on Pay-Per-View February fifteenth. Mari Saito clicked off the TV inside of her and Phoenix's hotel room in Rome, Italy. They had only been there a day or so, but hadn't really gotten anywhere except to the Coliseum. (which was amazing, by the way) At the current moment, Phoenix was in the shower getting ready for the day's media blitz while Mari was laying back on the bed. She had on a white strap tanktop with happy Bunny on it, and a pair of pink sweatpants with a white stripe down the side. The sound of the shower squeaked off, and a few moments later, Phoenix walked out, drying his hair with the hand towel. His black jeans were already on, along with his DC Commander shoes.  As he rummaged around the small closet by the door, Mari took the chance to sneak up behind him and take  deep sniff of him as she wrapped her arms around his stomach. Mari Saito: You smell good.. Phoenix Winterborn: Of course I do. (chuckling to himself) I did just get out of the shower. She nuzzles on his back for a moment before letting go so he can put his shirts on. Today was quite the busy day. First there was the online interview this morning with WGEF.com, then later in the day, the obligitory press confrence was being held down in Milan. First thing was first, though. Phoenix turned around and kissed his new fiancee square on the lips. She smiled and returned the kiss before he broke it a moment later. Phoenix Winterborn: You, missy, need to get dressed. That video interview is in an hour. Mari Saito: I know, babe. I had to wait for you to get out of the shower though first. As she winked and headed off towards the shower to get ready, Phoenix's phone was going off, signaling that he had a new email coming in. Smoothing out his shirt, he meandered over to his phone, grabbed it and sat down on the side of the bed. From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subj: WiT (mass) Just a reminder about the press conference this afternoon in Milan. Please be on hand for the events. We don't need anyone no-showing this, please. Regards, Trish Stratus WGEF Co-Owner Phoenix flipped the phone shut as he logged onto WGEF.com from his MacBook Pro. There was still hype for the WGEF Championship match on the main page. His smiling face was there there. Many people were already counting him out of the match. The insider sites were calling for Deacon Havok to win the WGEF Championship for a second time. Everyone underestimated Phoenix. Good news to hear. A chat invitation popped from a user by the name of 'WGEF.com'. 'Interview time', he thought to himself as he clicked Accept. Up popped Robert Levy, who was not able to make the trip out with the rest of the crew due to a health issue. Still stateside, he started the online interview. Robert Levy: Good morning, Phoenix! How's Italy so far? Phoenix Winterborn: It's actually really nice. The Coliseum is an amazing sight to see first-hand. Me and Mari would've gone to see more, but we have to get down to Milan for the press confrence. Robert Levy: Speaking of that, congratulations to you and Mari on your engagement last week. I saw the blip on WGEF.com Phoenix Winterborn: Thanks, Robert. It was something I had been thinking about for a while now, and the chance just presented itself so I had to take it. Robert Levy: Right. Well, onto business now. This Sunday, you step into the ring in Milan, Italy to take another shot at laying claim to the WGEF Championship. Now, it would that more than anyone, Ryan Payne has been the most vocal about your chances at winning the big one finally, even going so far as to claim to be the next savior of WGEF. What do you think about this, and about your chances of winning on Sunday? "The American Tradition" Phoenix Winterborn: Robert, I've heard everything that Ryan has had to say, and if you want me to be perfectly honest, I'm not really that impressed about all of it. Granted, the little bit at the beginning of second promo was a bit amusing about some mockup of me calling Payne Inc., I'll give him that much, but the rest of it just about put me to sleep. For one, it wasn't that creative in the first place. I saw better stuff from Chris McKenzie, and the man was an idiot, so what does that make him? And second, I've never liked the show 24, so there ya go. You're right, though. Ryan has been the most vocal one thus far, and I applaud him for stepping up like he has, but this just isn't going to be his time right now. Maybe later on down the road, he will get a one on one shot at the championship, but the odds are too stacked against any one person in this match, myself included. I think someone has forgotten the rules of a fatal four way match. First pinfall, first submission takes it. How dare he say that I'm not focused on this match. Robert, this is the WGEF Championship we're talking about here. The most important prize in this company. For me not to be focused on this match would be a form of career suicide. Ryan Payne is the type of man one can't help but respect...to a point. After that point, though, when someone like him starts trying to make little TV minisodes to hype himself up. That's when he is only starts making a fool of himself. And while he is playing director/actor and not focusing on the upcoming battle, I am mentally preparing myself for what lies ahead of me. As for my chances of winning on Sunday, like I said earlier, it all depends on who gets lucky. Except, luck doesn't always apply to everyone. Look at me since my chase for the championship started back in August. A lot of people have said that I keep dropping the ball, that I can't perform at a main event level consistently. I've heard all the naysayers. Maybe they're right. Maybe I can't perform at a main event level all the time. But, you know something, I can step up when it's all laid out and on the line. Sunday, for instance, is going to be when it's all on the line. Robert, I've been in this business a long time. There is something those of us in the back call being a 'ring general'. That is someone who knows almost everything that there is to know about being in that ring from bell to bell. Some would say that Deacon Havok is also a ring general, but it comes down to plain experience. two or three years to eight. I think eight wins, personally. Robert Levy: Phoenix, if I could direct your attention to the link I'm sending you now, it contains Ryan Payne's latest promo for Sunday's pay-per-view in a segment he likes to call "Destiny's Atrium". Both men are silent for a few minutes as Phoenix watches Ryan Payne parade around town, looking for people to talk to. After the online video finishes, Phoenix stares blankly at the screen for a moment before bursting out into laughter. Robert Levy: Phoenix, what's so funny? "The American Tradition" Phoenix Winterborn: What is it with people biting my promos? I did something like this about four months ago in a different promotion. Walking around on the streets, talking with people about an upcoming match. Please, Ryan. Do something totally original here. This whole thing you're doing isn't imaginative, it's not even that amusing. It's...what's the word I'm looking for? (pause) Oh yeah. Bland. Stale. No good. Simply put, it sucks. But hey, at least you're making yourself known here. Deacon and Drew have been strangely quiet since we got started. Maybe they're waiting for a real star to make himself known. Someone like me. Someone who knows what they're doing inside the ring. I'm not really here to please anyone. Yeah, the reaction from the people always gets me going, but it's up to me to get the job done in the ring, not the people. Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm winning this championship not for the people watching. No, I'm doing this for no one but myself. This is the time when I have to ditch everything outside of the ring. A self-imposed solitary confinement, if you will. After the press conference later today, I am not leaving my hotel room until the day of the show, and once I get to the arena, I will lock myself alone in my locker room until minutes before the match. Robert Levy: Why? "The American Tradition" Phoenix Winterborn: Why? Because I need to get one hundred percent focused on the task at hand, and that task is finally winning the WGEF Championship. I will give Ryan credit, he did call me a leader of this company, but I'm not buying this whole 'good guy' act for a minute. Not after what he did to me two weeks ago. But to say that my leadership is akin to sandpaper and a bare ass? That's a little overdoing it there. Robert, I'm a four-time world champion. I have carried companies as big as this on my back for months at a time without faltering. Without failing. I stap up when the time is right. Maybe the time hasn't exactly been right in the past, but like John Cena used to say when he was worth a damn in wrestling, 'The time is now.' Robert, I hate to cut this off, but if i'm going to make the conference, I have to get going. I will talk to you later and if all goes according to plan, the next time you talk to me, i will be the WGEF Champion. Robert Levy: Best of luck to you, Phoenix. See you when you get back to the States. Phoenix smiled, and clicked off the interview as Mari came walking out of the shower, the towel still around her chest and waist. Phoenix Winterborn: (smirking) You still aren't dressed? She shakes her head, and as she does, water flies out all over the room from her hair. Mari Saito: I didn't take clothes in there with me, silly. (she sticks her tongue out at him) Besides, I wanted to pick out something really special for the press conference today, and I wanted some help. -------------------------------------------------------------- Later that day... Kris Dawson: ...so without further ado, allow me to introduce the co-owners of WGEF, Mrs. Trish Stratus and Ms. Kaylee Adams! "Time to Rock and Roll" starts playing as Trish and Kaylee walk out to mostly cheers, but only because this is the first time a WGEF pay-per-view has been held in Italy. The ladies wave at the crowd before starting in on their spiels about how nice it is to be here, what they expect out of the stars of the show...yadda, yadda, yadda. Phoenix was bored. So was Mari. She had decided on a yellow sundress and a matching baseball cap. Phoenix, who had recently inked an endorsement deal with Marc Ecko, was in a new signature black buttonup shirt with a red aztec phoenix wrapping itself around the back and to the sides on it and the ECKO rhino in white on the front pocket. His Avirex jeans had his custom circle phoenix on the back pocket and the DC Commander shoes were shined up and ready for a day in front of the cameras. After what seemed like forever, Mari nudged him as Trish was up on the podium hyping up the WGEF Championship match. He jumped slightly and started paying attention again. Trish Stratus-Copes: And now, finally, the final competitior to step into the Fatal 4-way match at Whatever It Takes, he is "The American Tradition", a four-time World heavyweight Champion...ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you, Phoenix Winterborn! The crowd on-hand erupts in racous cheers as Phoenix's new music, "The Resistance" by Anberlin starts playing as Phoenix stands up, waving to the crowd. As Trish sat down, Phoenix smoothed out his buttonup shirt, and stepped to the podium, waiting for the chants of "PHOE-NIX! PHOE-NIX!" to die down before leaning into the microphone. "The American Tradition" Phoenix Winterborn: Good day, everyone. (he looks around) Nice place y'all got here. (more cheers from the crowd as Phoenix looks over at Trish) I do believe that's the nicest, and longest I might add, buildup you've ever given me. I'm impressed. Anyways, Sunday is going to be a battle like no other. These three other men here are going to step into the ring with probably the most under-rated wrestler in the world today, but you know what guys? Go ahead and keep counting me out. It'll be your downfall, I promise you that much. Questions? (looking over at Deacon, Drew, and Ryan) No, not you three idiots. I meant the people out there. You know, the suit-and-tie people. (turning back to the crowd) Yes, you there. Man 1: Yes, Phoenix. I have to ask the big question that is on everyone's mind right now. How is your recent engagement to Mari Saito going to play into this match? "The American Tradition" Phoenix Winterborn: It's not, plain and simple. Mari knows this well already. Come the show, I am going to fly solo until after the match. At that point, we will carry on like the happy couple we are. But she knows the mindset I go into when there is a match of this magnitude. Even more so when I am facing these three particular individuals. Next question. The crowd is silent for once. Phoenix looks around, as a timid fan raises his hand in the way back. "The American Tradition" Phoenix Winterborn: Well, since you reporters are too scared to ask anything, let's get that kid in the back a mic. What's your name kid? A microphone is passed back to the young man, who can't be more than fifteen. Kid: Tyler. Phoenix, I was six when you debuted, and I've loved watching you ever since. Do you really think that tomorrow is the night you can win the big one? I don't mean to sound like a downer, but you haven't exactly been flawless at the pay-per-views... Phoenx stood there for a moment, formulating an answer. "The Anerican Tradition" Phoenix Winterborn: Tyler, thanks for standing up and asking the tough question. That, in fact, was the question that was on everyone's mind, but they were afraid to ask for fear that I would snap out on them. Onto your question, it you want the honest-to-god answer, yes. I have a good feeling about tomorrow night. These men may all look like they are focused on winning the championship that is right here in this glass case. (he points down to the WGEF Championship sitting below the podium) I have been striving for almost three years to win this belt, and tomorrow is the night I complete my journey, one way or another. I know that my record at the monthly shows is quite less than stellar, but I just use every loss to fuel my passion and my desire even more. So, if you look at my record, I'm at a boiling point when it comes to passion and desire. out of the four of us competing for the title tomorrow night, no one has had to work as hard as I have to get to where I am, plain and simple. Since coming back to WGEF in May, I have had to fight, scratch and claw my way to the top, and I'll be damned if I let myself get pulled back down before winning the WGEF Championship. Good luck, boys. You're all going to need it once you hear that bell me, and the "Raging Firebird" is unleashed on your poor souls. Phoenix's music starts playing again,a s he goes to sit back down next to his fiancee. Tomorrow night was going to expose three liars and one prophet. The prophet being Phoenix Winterborn. Anyone who looked at ihm recently could tell that he was mentally prepared for this match, and nothing was going to stop him from achieveing his dream. The WGEF Championship was within his grasp, and he would be damned if he was going to let it slip through his fingers this time...the press conference rolls on, and all Phoenix and Mari can do is sit there, playfully poking each other. She knew that this was her last chance to have any fun with him until tomorrow night after the show, since Phoenix was locking himself in his hotel room with no distractions so he could focus on the match. He was ready. Mari was ready. But the question was, where they ready? Were Drew Stevenson, Deacon Havok, and Ryan Payne ready for what was about to happen to them on Sunday night? Only time would give the proper answer to that question... Name: Hometown: Height/Weight: Finishers: Phoenix's Random Chuck Norris Fact: Phoenix Winterborn Oceanside, CA 6'1"/212 lbs. Light of the Apocalypse Flight of the Phoenix When you see a rainbow, that's Chuck Norris roundhouse kicking Richard Simmons.   This layout was made by Phoenix for Phoenix for the use of his character, Phoenix Winterborn. Got it? Like it? Want it? All you gots to do is ask me, y'heard?

Roleplay Title: Never Quitting... Starring: Phoenix Winterborn, Mari Saito Musical Inspiration: "Hells Bells" - AC/DC ICC: Where is everybody? OCC: Here's number four. I was able to bang something out for this one. Final one as soon as I wake up in my morning! Good luck! Achievements: Too Many to List Marital Status: Engaged to "The Japanese Jewel" Mari Saito Yes, this is, in fact, an official Phoenix Winterborn Roleplay. Enclosed within are the following: Sex, gratitious violence, probably a good amount of swearing, and other various things that kids (and some adults) may not be able to handle. If you happen to fall under one of the aforementioned catagories, please do not continue because you will be offended. If, however, you do not fall under those catagories, please continue on and enjoy!   Phoenix Winterborn. Your hero. End of story. It was early morning on Sunday February 15th. Church bells were ringing off in the distance. Native Italians were going about their business. Church. Family time. Things like that. But for the temporary transplants of the WGEF, the morning was anything but. Excitement was in the air for later that night. Paris Jior and Phoenix were getting ready for their Women’s championship match. Kaylee Adams was deep in thought in her makeshift office at the arena. But for Phoenix Winterborn, the morning was being spent in the near-darkness of his room. His isolation was in full swing. He had just woken up, and was sitting on the edge of his bed. Mari Saito was in the room next to him, but at his request, she was going to leave him be until after the match had taken place. DONG! DONG! DONG! There were the church bells again. Something told Phoenix he should at least open the curtains to see the world on this morning, but he ignored his inner voices. Something was different this morning. Something...demonic, almost. Phoenix had sunk into a deep dark place he had only been once before in his entire life. And the first time he had fallen this deep into pure unrivaled hatred was when he faced his now-deceased half-brother Ravyn Crow in a Deathmatch. During then, voices kept calling him to stop, but at the time, he didn’t want to listen to any of them. All that was on his mind was hurting the traitorous backstabber lying before him in a pool of his own blood. Punch after punch after punch. Several heavily dented chairs strewn all around the ring and surrounding floor. The ring mat was soaked in a ghastly shade of crimson. It took almost ten people to pull Phoenix away that night. Ravyn Crow never was the same after that. Months later, Phoenix had found out that Ravyn had committed suicide, finally ridding Phoenix of the nightmare forever...or so he thought. Since the announcement of the WGEF ‘Chase for the Championship�? as he liked to call it, the dreams had been coming back. the remembrance of that one match in particular. The blood, the screams...it was becoming more and more vivid with each passing day. Then, it happened. Phoenix’s match with the WGEF Savior. The Painkiller from Ryan Payne had done something to Phoenix that nobody wanted...the visions were as clear as day now, and it was haunting Phoenix. Torturing him day in and day out. He tried his hardest to put up a mask, to make the world look at him thinking he was ok, and Payne had not affected him. In reality, though, it had. It had affected him in ways no one wanted or expected. Especially since Phoenix was the eternal good guy. The man who had always stood up for the people. No one could save him now. Only himself. Only Phoenix Winterborn could truly save Phoenix Winterborn. No one was safe. Not Deacon Havok, not Drew Stevenson, and especially not Ryan Payne. The only thing that Phoenix could do now was fight. Fight, and continue to fight until no one was left standing, and his hand had been raised in final, complete victory. He couldn’t stop until he was the WGEF Champion. He couldn’t stop until blood had been shed by everybody. Slowly, he stood up and walked over to his suitcase, pulling out some clothes. Inside, there was a very particular shirt. A white t-shirt. Slightly worn, and brown in some spots. They hadn’t always been brown, though. It used to be bright red. One night, way back in 2006, Phoenix Winterborn had walked into a special kind of match against a man who outweighed him by more than a bit. But, in the end, Phoenix Winterborn had come out victorious, albeit bloody with both his own blood and the blood of his opponent, Mister Nyman. Phoenix looked up at the ceiling. he remember that night all too well. It was just another moment in Phoenix’s career where nothing could stop him. Nothing could hold him back from doing what he wanted. He slid the shirt on over his head to make sure that it still fit. It did, like a glove. O.J. was guilty. Random thought. Phoenix was becoming more and more angered by the moment. The very thought of Ryan Payne with the WGEf Championship made him sick to his stomach. Some no-talent WGEF rookie was coming in, threatening him and his chances to become the WGEF Champion? Not on this night. 2/15 marked the start of something new. Something exciting. Something that no one had ever seen before. At least not in WGEF. Phoenix Winterborn, WGEF Champion. He leaned against the wall, pounding it hard with his left fist. This hellish attitude he had today was something he liked in a sick, twisted way. He enjoyed hurting people for a living. He liked it. He craved it. Hell, he wanted it to happen more often. To Mari, he was always going to be the romantic man she fell in love with, but to everyone else, there was going to be a new Phoenix Winterborn. A Phoenix who didn’t care about someone’s well-being. Granted, the fans were still and will always be the driving force in this industry, but those were the fans. There was a difference between them, and the people who had been trained to be professional wrestlers. THOSE were the people Phoenix wanted to hurt. Those were the people Phoenix had no sympathy for anymore. Those were the people who told Phoenix that he would never amount to anything ever. That he would eventually fall back to the mid-card after this wave of popularity sizzled out. That he just couldn’t hack it as a main-eventer, let alone a world championship. Those people, those people were going to be proven dreadfully wrong when all was said and done tonight. When the dust settles. The smoke clears. Phoenix Winterborn would be standing tall. It was a promise he had not been able to follow through with on several occasions. He could feel something different about this though. His attitude was going to make the difference  in the match tonight. Phoenix looked around, still in the darkness of the room. He stumbled over to his only means of conveying any form of information to anyone. His tape recorder. Snatching it up, he felt around for the record button and pressed it as it whirred to life.   "The American Tradition" Phoenix Winterborn: Something has happened to me. Something that I like, but others wont. I have changed. Changed into something, no. Someone that my opponents will not want to associate themselves with tonight. I am a monster. I am a fiend. Someone who doesn't care about his own well-being anymore. Someone who is going to take great joy and pleasure in hurting people. Causing mass amounts of bodily harm and not having the ability to show any remorse for my actions. And I love the feeling it brings. The rush. Ryan Payne, you alone have awakened something inside of me. From your initial Painkiller after my match, to the incessant promos you have done about me, and directed at me. It’s time for you to man up, and repent for your sins now�?Payne, this ends between you and me tonight. It ends! When Phoenix Winterborn has his hand raised as the WGEF Champion, and you left wondering what happened, and how your championship dreams merely slipped through your fingers and out of your grasp forever. It truly is ‘my time�? dear child Ryan. It truly is “The Year of the Firebird�?within the WGEF. I’m so sorry if you wish to agree with me, but that’s just how it is, and how it is going to stay. I would wish you luck, but when it comes down to it, luck can’t even save your physical body, or your eternal soul from what I am going to unleash upon you. By no means am I going to proclaim myself some kind of holy warrior because I do not believe in some false, all-knowing God. I am a true master of my own destiny. You have already promised victory. I have done that on several occasions. Now it is time for you to break your promise. It is time for you to fall before the mighty, Ryan. I am the judge, jury, and executioner. It’s already been proclaimed, and here is where it shall be carried out. I sentence you to a lifetime of shortcomings, both professionally and personally. After tonight’s match, your professional career will slowly fall apart, starting with an injury that will damn near cripple you. Hell, I will probably be the one to cause you the injury. After that, you will have no choice but to retire from professional wrestling. And THEN! And then, Ryan…all your loved ones will see you as you truly are. A broken, hollow shell of a man who does nothing but reminisce on his supposedly long career in pro wrestling. They will all leave you, Ryan. They will leave you to die, broken, poor, and alone. I can see it now. The beginning of the end of your life starts inside the squared circle, Ryan. All you have to do is wait for it. Phoenix  clicked the stop button on the recorder, satisfied with the turnout of it. He played it back, and it gave him chills to hear himself talk that deadly serious about the life and soon-to-be-over career of one Ryan Payne. He slid the small machine into the pocket of his Avirex jeans, which he had just put on. Before he left the room, he grabbed his ECKO buttonup shirt and slipped into it as he walked down the hallway, causing his eyes to lose focus to adjust to the light. Passing by Mari’s door, he stopped for a moment, examining it. A smile broke out across his face for the first time in a few days, as he knew that his fiancée was in there, still sleeping and probably dreaming the same dream he had the night previous. Her man walking out of Milan, Italy with the WGEF Championship. Phoenix Winterborn tucked his hands into his pockets, and got on the elevator to go outside and finally embrace the light�?/FONT> Name: Hometown: Height/Weight: Finishers: Phoenix's Random Chuck Norris Fact: Phoenix Winterborn Oceanside, CA 6'3"/212 lbs. Light of the Apocalypse Flight of the Phoenix Using his trademarked roundhouse kick, Chuck Norris once made a fieldgoal in RJ Stadium in Tampa Bay from the 50 yard line of Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.   This layout was made by Phoenix for Phoenix for the use of his character, Phoenix Winterborn. Got it? Like it? Want it? All you gots to do is ask me, y'heard?

Roleplay Title: Never Quitting... Starring: Phoenix Winterborn, Mari Saito Musical Inspiration: "Hip-Hop Police" - Chamillionare feat. Slick Rick ICC: Where is everybody? OCC: The final one! Been awesome to help close out MSN with a great match! Let's keep it going in Aimoo! Achievements: Too Many to List Marital Status: Engaged to "The Japanese Jewel" Mari Saito Yes, this is, in fact, an official Phoenix Winterborn Roleplay. Enclosed within are the following: Sex, gratitious violence, probably a good amount of swearing, and other various things that kids (and some adults) may not be able to handle. If you happen to fall under one of the aforementioned catagories, please do not continue because you will be offended. If, however, you do not fall under those catagories, please continue on and enjoy!   Phoenix Winterborn. Your hero. End of story. Something was in the air. One could feel it walking through the halls. Smell it even. For some, it was a new smell. Others knew exactly what it was. Change. Change is what was in the air, but not everyone could understand it or even comprehend it. Phoenix Winterborn knew that there was a change in the air. It was all around him. It surrounded him totally and completely. The time was ripe for a showdown of massive proportions. The stage was set at the Civica Italia in Milan, Italy. Phoenix looked up at the arena as he stood outside the doors. Fans far off were watching him with a rapt gaze. Some wondered why he was looking up, while others wondered why he was looking around like an idiot. Everything was blocked out to the one known as “The American Tradition�? His headphones were on, the noise cancellers enabled. He pulled his iPod out of his pocket, putting on one song in particular. Slowly, he clicked through his playlist called ‘New Work�?till he found it. “Hip-Hop Police�?by Chamillionare with an appearance by the great Slick Rick. Sliding the small mp3 player in his pocket, he closed his eyes. Whatever It Takes was mere hours away. As the lyrics rolled through his headphones, he started to nod his head in time with the beat. Go, Go, Go, Go, Go, Go Keep runnin�? homie. Go, Go, Go, Go, Go, Go They on the trail! Go, Go, Go, Go, Go, Go Keep runnin�? homie. Go, Go, Go, Go, Go, Go They on the trail! With so much drama in the industry, Hip-Hop police are listening. Be careful, or you’ll be history. Looks like another unsolved mystery. It’s murder, murder, murder Ah, it’s murder, murder, murder Yeah, it’s murder, murder, murder Somebody tell them it’s murder. Murder was the case, and they blamed me. Looking back on one’s career can really do a number on one. Take Phoenix Winterborn, for example. It all started back in 2000, when Phoenix made his debut in ROH with Michael Harris, answering an open challenge from “The American Dragon�?Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGinness. Chi-Town’s Finest, they were called. They went on to become one of the most successful tag-teams of the millennium. Soon thereafter, they went their separate ways, with Phoenix being signed by WWE_Life2, and going on to capture his first tag-team championship, his first United States Championship, but most importantly, his first world heavyweight championship. Over the course of his career, he went on to win three more world titles as well as numerous other titles. Fast forward to present day. Phoenix Winterborn was one of the most decorated superstars on the active roster today. Just one thing was missing. The one thing he was fighting for tonight. The WGEF Championship. Most of the experts said that Phoenix was going to be the underdog in this particular contest, but Phoenix had made a career of defying the so-called “experts�?time and again. No one thought that he could bounce back from his firing a year ago. But yet, look at today. Here he was, ready to fight for the biggest prize in the company. Not bad for a scraggly punk kid from nowheresville Illinois. Across the world several times over, wowing fans across the globe with his always innovative style. He had never gotten the chance to compete in Italy in all his years however. Tonight was the night, though. Not only to show Italia what he can do, but to show why his daredevil style won him four world titles when he makes it five. Ryan Payne has already made himself quite vocal about his self-proclaimed technical prowess by listing his accomplishments, playing the hero in a minisode of 24, and trying to rally the people back in the States. What Payne had failed to realize however, is that Phoenix had already done all of those in some form. Rallying people from atop cars? Check. Goofy little TV show skits? Been there, done that. Bought the t-shirt, postcard is in the mail. Obviously, someone knew a good idea when they saw one. Ryan, in essence, was trying to be like Phoenix, but there was only one true “American Tradition�? And he was still standing outside of the arena. His song had long since finished playing, but Phoenix was still nodding his head to himself, in the zone. The “right�?mindset, if one were to call it such. Mari was already in the building. At his request, she had gotten there earlier in the day to give Phoenix some time to properly focus on everything. Something waved in front of his face, causing Phoenix to snap back to real time with a shake of his head. It was one of the security guards hired for tonight’s show to keep some random-ass crazed fan from hopping the security banner in the arena. His yellow shirt was faded from multiple wearings at events and his long face suggested that he had been at this job for awhile. Possibly with no way out of it, be it by choice or by force. It was none of Phoenix’s concern. The guard looked at him and spoke in a gruff voice. Perfect English, by the way. Guard: Are you ok? You’ve been standing there for the last ten minutes while the people have been chanting for you to do something. Phoenix Winterborn: (shaking his head again) Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking. You speak Italian, I’m assuming? Guard: Of course. Phoenix Winterborn: Well, could you go tell those people that I would really like not to be bothered until after the show tonight, at which point I’ll be happy to sign autographs and things like that. For the time being, though. I have to go prepare for this match. Guard: No problem. Have a good one. Phoenix Winterborn: (grabbing the door handle) You too. As he clicked open the steel door, a rush of air hit him, causing his buttonup shirt to blow back behind him. He hiked up his bag which had all of his ring gear in it, and walked inside, letting the door slam behind him. The hallways were starting to fill up with various personnel from WGEF. Camera crews, construction workers setting up the various stages and the ring itself. It was all hustle and bustle all over the Civica Italia. Phoenix Winterborn felt right at home amongst everything going on. It was just another day at the office for a wrestling superstar the caliber of Phoenix Winterborn. Come early. Leave late. While he was wandering aimlessly, he was approached by a stagehand, informing him that his area was ready for his promo later in the evening. Phoenix thanked the young man, who couldn’t have been more than nineteen. After the kid showed Phoenix to his area, he looked around at it. Baseball bat? Check. Solitary chair? Double check. Boom mic? That’s there, too. Everything was set up. He called over the camera crew, who was at the nearby catering area. They finished up their last cups of coffee and hustled over to where Phoenix was waiting. He motioned for the lights to be cut off in that part of the building as he got in the mood, the mindset again. The kind of mindset where nothing matters except for the men who will be in front of him, where everything and everyone else just…fades away. As he looked around, as if he was on a drug trip, everything seemed to literally melt away into nothingness. He was all alone, save for the camera lens as he smiled and started his promo to be aired later in the evening. “The American Tradition�?/EM> Phoenix Winterborn: Some call me a fraud. A false prophet, as it were. Some people think that I may be slowly losing my mind. Some would even go so far as to say that I don’t belong in a wrestling ring anymore. That I part of the past generation of superstars who needs to make room for the up-and-comers in this industry. Some of you may be right. Some of you, however, are wrong. Dead wrong. I say to all of you out there who have been against me all these years. Screw each and every last one of you. I have had it with your ‘expert analysis�? and what you think of what I do, and how I do it. I have methods to my madness, much to all of yours dismay. There is a reason that I have not won the title up until this point. It’s because Chris McKenzie’s ego was too god-damned big that, if I were to beat him he could probably have gone crazy and shot himself like eight times in the leg or something. But, now that the era of McKenzie has left us, there is room for a new king. A new person has to step up and claim the right to be called the WGEF Champion. Deacon Havok, Drew Stevenson, and Ryan Payne have all answered the call alongside myself. But, after the smoke clears and the dust settles tonight, there can only be one. One man left standing tall, ruling over his new domain. The experts have all agreed that it won’t be me. No one honestly expects me to win this match, or come close for that matter. Go ahead and keep analyzing me. Keep picking apart my career, and my chances of winning this match. I implore you to do so. Because when I win tonight, it will only serve to further cement my legendary status within this hallowed business. Underdogs have always been who I look up to. Guys like Matt and Jeff Hardy. Guys like Rey Misterio Jr. People who all the so-called “experts�?never gave a snowball’s chance in hell to. Look what they’ve done. All world champions in their own right. Just like myself. Tonight is the night I overcome the odds. Tonight is when I prove all of my doubters wrong. Tonight. Drew Stevenson, Deacon Havok, and Ryan Payne will forever remember the name of Phoenix Winterborn. They will remember “The American Tradition�? not for who I am, but because of what I did to them. Because of what I will become once the opening bell rings. Tonight is a one-night only apperance of the old Phoenix Winterborn. The Phoenix Winterborn that didn’t shy away from violence, but embraced it like a friend I haven’t seen in years. The Phoenix Winterborn who is not afraid to put his body on the line to make sure that I am the one to come out on top. I am the Phoenix Winterborn of old. I am the Phoenix Winterborn that did not care about anyone or anything. The only thing that mattered to me was that twenty pound piece of championship gold that awaits the victor. That belt that signifies so much, not only to a person, but what it signifies about a person. That belt shows that you took on the best, and beat the best, thereby making you the best around. It wouldn’t matter if it was for the moment, a month, or hell, even a year. That belt meant that you were the best, and there wasn’t a damn thing anyone could say otherwise. Deacon Havok, you and I have been through many battles here. Some would even say wars, but the one constant that has remained throughout all of it is not the fact you beat me, but the fact that our matches were always voted match of the month, for no more reason than the sheer intensity of our hatred towards each other. But, like responsible men of action, we have put that past us to look towards the bigger picture. The WGEF Championship. You know that even though we might be more on the same page than before, once that bell rings, you are nothing more than a mere target again. A target that I plan on destroying, once and for all. Trish will have to stay a few extra days in Italy to tend to your medical needs after I am through with you, Deacon. This rivalry ends once and for all tonight when I lay claim to the WGEF Championship. All the jokes aside, you are the most dangerous to my chances of winning this match, so I will have no choice but to execute you first. I’m sorry if this puts a hinderance on your  celebration plans you I’m sure have already booked, but this is not your time. Your time passed when you were injured. Too bad you missed most of your time. It’s a shame, really. I wanted you to be able to perform your best all of the time, but I guess even Superman has a weakness. Deacon, this idea in your head about being the King of Havok ends as well. You aren’t the king of anything anymore. After tonight, I will be taking the title of King of Havok from you as well after everyone gazes upon the pure carnage that I leave in my wake on MY road to the WGEF Championship finally comes to a triumphant end in winning the WGEF title. Phoenix stopped to take a breath. One could tell he was going to be here for a moment, because he still was sitting in near darkness, the simple silhouette casting an errie glow on from behind. A black wooden baseball bat was leaning on the chair next to where he was seated. “The American Tradition�?/EM> Phoenix Winterborn: Drew Stevenson, where do I begin with you? You are made to look like this big competitior when you were named the number one contender to the WGEF Championship, and here we are, mere hours from the show, and you have not so much as shown your head yet. I guess the “Man of a Thousand Faces�?wanted to take the night off. It’s sad when you think about it. Here is this sixteen-year veteran, the one man who has more experience than all of us combined, and he thinks that just because of his place amongst the greats of this business, that he can just ‘show up when he wants to�? Drew, if you really knew anything or hell, even cared still about this business, you would think to show up, and at least try to offer some of us challenges. Instead, you are probably at home back in Missouri with your wife and kids, enjoying some quality time while we are out here, still busting our asses for championship spots we have earned, instead of just having them given to us like you had. If you gave a DAMN about anything, you would be here with us, showing us what a real veteran is like! But nope. You’d rather sit at home, watch, then try to pick up the scraps later on when we are weak and unable to properly defend ourselves. You are a classic case of an old vulture, Drew. You lie in wait until we are at our weakest, and that’s when you strike. Well, this Phoenix is ready to strike back finally. I’m ready to step up to face the best. People have told me to elevate my game, and it’s about time that I listened to them. It’a bout time that I prove myself once and for all. Not just to everyone watching, but to myself as well. As Phoenix paused to take another breath, he reached up and clicked on a lightbulb above his head, setting it swinging in motion slowly. The light slowly ran it’s way over Phoenix’s face every few seconds. After a moment of the cameras watching the light shine on and off of Phoenix, he stood up, slowly reaching down to pick up the baseball bat that had been seated next to the chair up until now. He walked around the room a little bit, alternating between rolling the bat in his hand and tapping it against his gloved hand. The purple mesh biking glove he wore as a tribut to a fallen friend from his childhood. The other glove was buried back in Illinois with his friend after the two had made a pact that, if they had made it into wrestling, they would each wear a half of those biking gloves, signaling that they were going to be a team for forever. It was a part of Phoenix’s childhood that he didn’t want to remember anymore. Even as he looked down at it now, a look of remorse and sorrow came over his face for a moment before shaking it away and continuing with his promo. “The American Tradition�?/EM> Phoenix Winterborn: Well, I guess that now this leaves only one person. The man whom many have already called the next WGEF Champion, Ryan Payne. Here we have a man who seems, at least from the outside, to be a godsend of sorts to the WGEF after McKenzie’s departure and subsequent death. There’s only one problem that I see with that. I don’t believe in God. Jesus was just another joe off the streets who was made into a martyr by the Catholic church because they needed someone to look up to. So, to call Ryan Payne a godsend means nothing to me. All that means is that, for all I know, his agent said that this would be a good chance for him to get back in the spotlight since we don’t have a champion right now. This whole ‘good guy�?act he has going on right now doesn’t phase me, either. I can see right though it. He isn’t looking to be a savior of anything. He is only after the paycheck and another thing to go in his trophy case wherever he lives. Ryan, it’s painfully obvious from your promos that you have studied me before now. Those same promos I have done in the past in some form or another. I’ve done the rallying in the streets, I’ve done the cutesy little shows. If you can name it, I’ve done it, plain and simple. If you want a good promo, go cut one while you’re jumping off a bridge with a bungee cord or out of a plane or something like that. Be original. Be creative. But, most of all, be yourself. Quit playing this good guy and let out what you feel. It’s the only way to live. ‘But Dr. Phoenix, what will I do about the farce I have now?�?Balance it out in a harmony only you can find. Take your leave of this place for now to go find yourself, because you are obviously a very conflicted individual who needs some serious mental help. I’d be willing to pay if I cared, but…I really couldn’t care less what you do. The only thing I care about is who decides to step up to me inside of that ring. It’s do or die time. I’m ready to claim that WGEF Championship finally, and I’m ready to be “the man�? Naitch always said “To be the man, you gotta BEAT the man.�?Well, as far as I can see, there is no “man�?to beat right now. There are four men who want to BE the man, but three of us will fail. Deacon Havok will fall, Drew Stevenson will fall. Ryan Payne will fall. Phoenix Winterborn, however, will rise to the occasion when it all matters. When it’s all or nothing time, that’s when I will rise above all to be the man to carry WGEF into it’s new era. Deacon, Drew, Ryan…your time of judgment is coming. Guess who’s been called to take the unholy role of being your judge, jury, and executioner? Phoenix takes a step back from the still-swinging lightbulb, and swings the baseball bat at it, shattering it into hundreds of pieces on the chair and the floor and shrouding the room in total darkness. The only thing heard is the small crackle of the starter of the light and Phoenix’s voice. “The American Tradition�?/EM> Phoenix Winterborn: Me, gentlemen. Phoenix Winterborn, your future WGEF Champion. It has a nice ring to it. Get used to saying it, boys. It’s gametime. Who’s ready? As soon as the last words roll off his tongue, the camera cuts to black as the scene cuts out. War was about to erupt in Milan. Would Phoenix Winterborn walk out the WGEF Champion? Damn right he would. Name: Hometown: Height/Weight: Finishers: Phoenix's Random Chuck Norris Fact: Phoenix Winterborn Oceanside, CA 6'3"/212 lbs. Light of the Apocalypse Flight of the Phoenix Chuck Norris once ate an entire birthday cake before his friends could tell him there was a stripper in it.   This layout was made by Phoenix for Phoenix for the use of his character, Phoenix Winterborn. Got it? Like it? Want it? All you gots to do is ask me, y'heard?