Welcome to Gaia! ::

Oh wah ah ah ah!

Flames burst up on the stage as Down with the Sickness hits the PA for the second time this evening. The crowd erupts in deafening cheers as the Dragon steps out onto the stage and quickly makes his way down to the ring. He steps up onto the apron and into the ring over the top rope, looking at the two men standing inside bickering. He takes up a mic and the music cuts out.

"Before you get around to accepting that little challenge, I figured I'd come out here and save the audience from the mind numbing stupidity I've had to listen to. First off, Kartwright, I'll address you. I don't know what you're champion of and frankly, I don't give a damn. But when you run your mouth about being undefeated and wanting competition, you better count on someone coming out here to kick your teeth in. And had this upstart not beat me to it, you'd already be laying in a pool of your own blood right now."

the crowd cheers for the extreme nature of Jarel, who now turns his attention to Ben.

"Now, as for you, kid you've got guts coming out here to challenge what some may call a veteran, maybe even some form of icon. I like guts. But, I have a problem. You called yourself Mr. Hardcore. You see, that doesn't sit well with me as the man called the Godfather of Hardcore. Now, I didn't come out here in order to take your shot at Kartwright away. Far from it. I came out here to tell you if you want to take on the Hardcore moniker, you're going to have to earn it. You don't take that on at the beginning of a career. It took years of destruction to earn the name Godfather of Hardcore, and as even Kartwright can attest to, I have earned it. So, if you want to challenge the so called king, go right ahead."

Jarel turns back to Kartwright.

"But you understand this, King Kartwright. You say even the LWL World champion bows down to the king and maybe he does. But understand and know this. The Dragon bows to no one, be he man, King, or god."

Jarel smirks.

"Clearly, you're not well informed. I have well over a decade in this. All those things, I've been there and done that, and I'm known for making my opponents suffer through it. You're talking to a man who is 41-0 in hell in a cell. I'm no newcomer. Those legends he referred to, I'm the one of those he hasn't beaten. As a matter of fact, I was the first person to set the little king over here on fire. I was the man that took his very first world title from him. In all actually, I started the trend of kicking his a**. I have beaten the largest names in this business. In all actuality, if you think flaming tables, thumbtacks, and barbed wire make you hardcore, you have a lot to learn kid. To be hardcore doesn't mean you can survive those things. It means you have the ability to survive, use, and thrive with those things."

The Dragon takes several seconds to study him.

"I said guts impress me, and they do. But understand this and understand it well. While your guts may impress me, you have to have the ability to back it up. And right now, all I'm seeing is you dodging questions and not brushing up on history. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. Unlike you, I don't have to prove myself. Been there and done that too. I don't have to do much of anything. What I do here, I do because I choose to. If I so chose, I could already have kicked Kartwright through his throne into next tuesday and be backstage drinking a pint of vodka and preparing for next week. Right now, I've chosen not to because you're standing here running your mouth and he hasn't felt froggy yet."

Ben gritted his teeth and balled his fist and went for a huge right hook to the face of King Kartwright!!

Jarel laughs and leans back against the ropes. "Don't stop now, kid, let him have it. Show him you mean business."