"Ahem...well, for one I'd like to say tonight is a bittersweet one -- I have a lot of respect and admiration for the Damones, and the idea that I have to deal with Drako tonight under these pretenses is just upsetting. What he and his boys did to Nuke at Backlash was despicable, and mind you, Nuke is still resting up in the hospital right now or else the Syndicate would be laid up in his position instead. I understand this isn't my battle by any stretch of the imagination, and while I'm gonna go out there and deliver an a**-whooping that the Fusions clan can be proud of...this match means more than that for me. When I gave up the World Heavyweight Championship eight years ago, it's because my body beat me. Not Bad Boy, not Lauri Henry, certainly not Kody Gordert, Cyrus, or GBL...and not...Drako...Damone. I decided to return to wrestling for these fans in WWF:G because my life was nothing without the business, but there were certainly other reasons too. I've wanted to bury the hatchet with those who wronged me and that I wronged, and I also wanted to remind every last fan, worker, and detractor that when I hung it up I was the hottest thing in the business, I was the world champion, and I was on my way to being the greatest of all time. So yeah, tonight, I'm doing this for Nuke Fusion and his family -- Avari is busy trying to become the King of the Canvas or I know he'd be fighting Drako himself. I'll do what I gotta do for a guy I consider a friend so that when it's all said and done we can sit down and talk like men and get it all out there. Then, he can go beat the hell out of Drako again, Avari can too, take on the whole Damone family. When that dust clears...then maybe, I'll be there again, serving as the next challenger for that World Heavyweight Title -- for MY World Heavyweight Title. Drako better hope that he beats me tonight, or else he'll have to tuck his boys in every night reminding them that his title reign...well, it isn't even his."
The interviewer would give Hiro a thumbs up and thank him for his time, leaving the Ethnic Enigma alone as he sat back down, his body tightening back up from the looseness he had displayed in his promo. The truth was, of course, becoming World Champion again wasn't really a priority for Hiro right now. He meant one thing for sure, he would go out there and beat Drako for what he did to Nuke, but admittedly that whole interaction was practically an out of body experience. Hiro was talking, sure, but mentally he was too transfixed on what he'd just watched.
YOU HAVEN'T EVEN BEGUN TO BLEED!
Hiro's breathing labored as he clutched at his side again, putting a hand on his face. He rubbed across his scarred flesh, feeling each one and being reminded of where they came from. The staple marks in his forehead from Salem Croft. The dent on the side of his head from a knee Guy Cancer drove into it. The aching, the sheer burning on his side where a scar from being stabbed had been left behind. A blade broken off in his body, puncturing his lung. That day, June 3rd, 2014, was a day where Hiro nearly died. It wasn't enough that the same thing just happened to Nicky Delabonte Jr. at Wrestlemania with Hiro watching nearly a football field away...but now, Blackjack had reemerged, and he was angry. He was angry that The Number Three's legacy, his name, they'd been made a mockery by an impersonator. A deal that Hiro had nothing to do with, something he could have easily ignored, but that couldn't be the case. Now, as if to catch up on years of punishment, pain, and restlessness...there wasn't just continued run-in's with the Marauders that Hiro had to worry about. It was another part of his past, Blackjack, who he may one day have to see once again. The only man he truly feared. The only one that could run him back off again. The entity who won the Bad Blood Wrestling Championship with a Butterfly Blade.
Hiro coughed a few times, trying to choke out a few words to himself. "Relax, Hiro...relax...you've got...a match...ugh..." The Ethnic Enigma buried his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes over and over, trying to get his mind back on Drako. He was being paranoid, worried about NOTHING. The past wasn't coming back for it's revenge. He was going to fight Drako, he was going to talk to Nuke, he was going to move on from the things that plagued him before and earn his spot among the best in the business once again.
The past was NOT coming for him. His will would NOT be broken. There were no past debts to repay, and nothing would harm him. Hiro was going to be fine. Hiro was going to get by. Hiro was going to will his career's full resurrection into reality. It's time for this to end. No more paranoia, no more fear, and no more distractions. Hiro would slowly stand up and grab his ring coat, slipping it on, and then leaving his locker room to finish his preparations for the match with Drako.
