The lights in the arena went dark until the USMC Eagle, Globe and Anchor emblem appeared on the blackened titantron screen before the background appeared to burn away, leaving a field of scarlet red in its place with the words Major Devastation above and below the ensignia in gold, military-style block lettering while Warrior by Disturbed began blasting over the PA system. Once the scarlet background on the screen was revealed, the arena lighting was replaced by mood lighting in a matching shade of red, alternating with gold to the beat of the music.

The Marine emerged from the tunnel as the lyrics to the song began, feeling naked without the Intercontinental Championship -that he had held with pride since March- around his waist. Without his usual ritual of saluting and high-fiving the fans, Devastation slowly began making his way down the ramp toward the ring.

"Please welcome The Master of Disaster...Major Devastation!"

As he reached the side of the ring, Major grabbed a microphone from the ringside attendant and performed a standing leap onto the apron before stepping between the top and middle ropes to enter the ring itself.

"Nearly seven months as Intercontinental champion," Devastation said as the lights returned to normal, "and a nearly year-long undefeated streak...all came to a screeching halt last night because of a low blow and a handful of tights. Now there is an undeserving, no-talent hack who has no business anywhere near a championship belt holding one of the most prestigious prizes in this industry." He paused for a moment as the camera zoomed in on his face, affording those in the back and watching at home a good look at the fire in Major's eyes as he looked squarely into the camera. "Don't get too attached to it, Shitbrick. Tonight, I'm correcting that particular mistake and taking back the Intercontinental Championship before you and your particular brand of suck and fail can tarnish it's reputation too badly."

With that out of the way, Major paused to collect his thoughts and cleared his throat before continuing. "Ahem. Now that that little matter has been addressed, I can get to what I REALLY came out here to talk about, and that would be about the man who has been running around as of late, proclaiming himself to be the "Best in the World"...Chrono Quantum Clepsydra." The mere mention of the Undisputed Champion's name drew forth a barrage of jeers from the audience, as clearly Chrono wasn't exactly well liked around here. "Now, I'll admit, Chrono, your resume is truly impressive. Among your list of achievements too numerous to list in its entirety: You own one of the largest wrestling promotions on Gaia, and you've BURNED more titles than most superstars will win in their entire careers. You've squared off against some of the true legends of this business, and you've beaten them all. Is Chrono Clepsydra one of the all-time greats? Yes. Is he truly the absolute best in the world? I intend to put THAT to the test.

You see, to truly be recognized as the very best in the world, you have to have beaten EVERY great competitor to step into the ring...and I know of a few that you haven't faced yet, and one of them happens to be ME! Over the last 12 months, I've been making a name for myself as one of the fastest rising stars in recent years, and one of -if not THE- best members of this year's rookie class. I've torn through the ranks of promotions both mainstream and independent, but there have been very few moments in my career where I have truly been challenged...where I have gotten a chance to see just where I truly stand among my peers, and how my abilities stack up when compared to the best of the best. Now, if you're as good as you believe you are, then you shouldn't have a problem with PROVING that you truly are the measuring stick against which all others are compared, am I right?"