As the night's WWF show came back from a commercial break, the viewers at home came back to the sight of the ring ropes wrapped in red, green, and gold rope lights and festive wreaths hanging from each corner of the ring. A long red carpet had been rolled down the ramp, with scattered bits of fake snow every few feet. People might have been confused at how such a set-up could have been put out in the span of a short commercial break, but any such thoughts were dashed as a somewhat familiar song took over the arena. The light's dimmed in response, leaving only a single spotlight on the stage.
"Where are the people that accu-se me?
The ones who beat me down and brui-se me?
They hide just out of sight; Can't face me in the light.
They'll return, but I'll be stron-ger..."
At some point, a figure walked into the spotlight with his head leaned forward to obscure his face, a serious gesture that wasn't taken as such because of the white fluff ball hanging off a bright red and white Santa cap. The crowd had caught on immediately anyway, with a respectably upbeat reaction for the returning Ohio grappler. And sure enough, as soon as the song reached it's chorus, the man flung his head back, causing the fluff ball to swung behind him, revealing the smiling visage of Brody Robinson. As the lights returned to normal, they revealed a rather seasonal attire, with reds and greens and even white elf gloves to really sell it.
Keeping himself in place, Brody scanned the crowd as he always did, genuinely surprised at the reaction he still got. He had quite a lot to answer for in the business, his constant absences being chief among them. But right now, he was just happy with basking in the moment. When a few moments passed, he signaled for the guys in the audio booth to cut his music and he pulled a mic from one of the pockets in his pants. Using his free hand to calm down the crowd, he lifted the mic in his left hand and finally spoke.
"Well then. Guess I don't need to ask if I'm welcome back, eh?"
He was immediately cut off by another quick pop from the crowd, to which he simply raised his hand once again to settle the crowd as quickly as he could.
"I mean, this has been quite a road for me. Last thing I did here was get my a** kicked 3 times in the same night and almost break my wrist falling off a ladder at 'Mania. But even after that, it was just an endless swarm of questions. Should I come back? If I do, when should I? Should I interfere with a match when I do? Is Jimmy Monera still an a*****e? Is Salem Croft still on a power trip? And then this whole new 'Era of Change' thing, which was really annoying because at some point when they changed over contracts to their new system, I was technically fired, which was a whole 'nother thing that stopped me from being at the last two shows. But, after a few talks with management I was able to get a spot on the roster again, and I have to say, there's not one thing that I'm more thankful for this year."
Another round of applause broke out, this time presumably for the executives that gave Brody another contract. In response, Brody tucked the mic under his arm, and clapped alongside the fans for a moment before returning to his dialogue.
"But you know what? We're all tired of hearing what people are thankful for aren't we? For those not paying attention, that particular holiday was, of course, last month. And I can't be happier. Because now we're here. Winter, the most wonderful time of the year! Hot Chocolate, Sledding, Snow, Vacations, and of course, the big red guy himself. You know, word around the locker room is that he's been seen in this very building, just waiting for someone to give him the proper introduction. So, why waste any more time? Ladies and Gentlemen, you know him, you love him, he's shilled every product from Coke to luxury cars. The one, the only, SANTA CLAUS!"
The crowd's reaction was deafening, if only because every child in the audience suddenly cried out in sheer joy. The upbeat tune of "Here Comes Santa Claus" played through the sound system. Sure enough, it didn't take long for the big, jolly guy himself to step out from backstage, dressed in his usual red outfit with a green sack hefted over his shoulder, waving to the crowd with his free hand. Santa walked to the edge of the ramp, where he shook hands with Brody, who was clearly giddy with excitement. They shared a silent discussion, before Santa pointed at his bag and Brody enthusiastically nodded his head. Sliding the sack off his shoulder, Santa held open the bag in front of himself as the pair started down the ramp. They both periodically reached into the bag and pulled out fistfuls of candy and other small objects to carefully throw out to the crowd. They continued their two-man train of Christmas cheer down the ramp and around the ring, before ascending the steel steps and climbing through the decorated ropes. Brody walked over to the ropes nearest the announcer's table and waved his hand, signaling a stage hand to bring him a second sack. He did the best he could at throwing it's contents out past the first few rows, but quickly looked disheartened as he realized he couldn't throw nearly far enough. Grabbing the mic from the pocket his stowed it in on the stage, he rubbed at his chin, trying to come up with a solution for their problem.
"Well, it seems like we're in a bit of a pickle here, Santa. We've got plenty of stuff to give out, but it'll take forever with just the two of us."
Both Brody and Santa crossed their arms and bowed their heads, trying to crack their current conundrum. It took a moment, but eventually Santa's attention was drawn to the ramp, and quickly tapped Brody with his elbow and pointed to the backstage area. Brody processed the idea, before nodding and turning towards the stage.
"Great idea, Santa. How 'bout it guys? Anyone in the back willing to help out an old man and a brawler pass out stuff to the crowd?
"Where are the people that accu-se me?
The ones who beat me down and brui-se me?
They hide just out of sight; Can't face me in the light.
They'll return, but I'll be stron-ger..."
At some point, a figure walked into the spotlight with his head leaned forward to obscure his face, a serious gesture that wasn't taken as such because of the white fluff ball hanging off a bright red and white Santa cap. The crowd had caught on immediately anyway, with a respectably upbeat reaction for the returning Ohio grappler. And sure enough, as soon as the song reached it's chorus, the man flung his head back, causing the fluff ball to swung behind him, revealing the smiling visage of Brody Robinson. As the lights returned to normal, they revealed a rather seasonal attire, with reds and greens and even white elf gloves to really sell it.
Keeping himself in place, Brody scanned the crowd as he always did, genuinely surprised at the reaction he still got. He had quite a lot to answer for in the business, his constant absences being chief among them. But right now, he was just happy with basking in the moment. When a few moments passed, he signaled for the guys in the audio booth to cut his music and he pulled a mic from one of the pockets in his pants. Using his free hand to calm down the crowd, he lifted the mic in his left hand and finally spoke.
"Well then. Guess I don't need to ask if I'm welcome back, eh?"
He was immediately cut off by another quick pop from the crowd, to which he simply raised his hand once again to settle the crowd as quickly as he could.
"I mean, this has been quite a road for me. Last thing I did here was get my a** kicked 3 times in the same night and almost break my wrist falling off a ladder at 'Mania. But even after that, it was just an endless swarm of questions. Should I come back? If I do, when should I? Should I interfere with a match when I do? Is Jimmy Monera still an a*****e? Is Salem Croft still on a power trip? And then this whole new 'Era of Change' thing, which was really annoying because at some point when they changed over contracts to their new system, I was technically fired, which was a whole 'nother thing that stopped me from being at the last two shows. But, after a few talks with management I was able to get a spot on the roster again, and I have to say, there's not one thing that I'm more thankful for this year."
Another round of applause broke out, this time presumably for the executives that gave Brody another contract. In response, Brody tucked the mic under his arm, and clapped alongside the fans for a moment before returning to his dialogue.
"But you know what? We're all tired of hearing what people are thankful for aren't we? For those not paying attention, that particular holiday was, of course, last month. And I can't be happier. Because now we're here. Winter, the most wonderful time of the year! Hot Chocolate, Sledding, Snow, Vacations, and of course, the big red guy himself. You know, word around the locker room is that he's been seen in this very building, just waiting for someone to give him the proper introduction. So, why waste any more time? Ladies and Gentlemen, you know him, you love him, he's shilled every product from Coke to luxury cars. The one, the only, SANTA CLAUS!"
The crowd's reaction was deafening, if only because every child in the audience suddenly cried out in sheer joy. The upbeat tune of "Here Comes Santa Claus" played through the sound system. Sure enough, it didn't take long for the big, jolly guy himself to step out from backstage, dressed in his usual red outfit with a green sack hefted over his shoulder, waving to the crowd with his free hand. Santa walked to the edge of the ramp, where he shook hands with Brody, who was clearly giddy with excitement. They shared a silent discussion, before Santa pointed at his bag and Brody enthusiastically nodded his head. Sliding the sack off his shoulder, Santa held open the bag in front of himself as the pair started down the ramp. They both periodically reached into the bag and pulled out fistfuls of candy and other small objects to carefully throw out to the crowd. They continued their two-man train of Christmas cheer down the ramp and around the ring, before ascending the steel steps and climbing through the decorated ropes. Brody walked over to the ropes nearest the announcer's table and waved his hand, signaling a stage hand to bring him a second sack. He did the best he could at throwing it's contents out past the first few rows, but quickly looked disheartened as he realized he couldn't throw nearly far enough. Grabbing the mic from the pocket his stowed it in on the stage, he rubbed at his chin, trying to come up with a solution for their problem.
"Well, it seems like we're in a bit of a pickle here, Santa. We've got plenty of stuff to give out, but it'll take forever with just the two of us."
Both Brody and Santa crossed their arms and bowed their heads, trying to crack their current conundrum. It took a moment, but eventually Santa's attention was drawn to the ramp, and quickly tapped Brody with his elbow and pointed to the backstage area. Brody processed the idea, before nodding and turning towards the stage.
"Great idea, Santa. How 'bout it guys? Anyone in the back willing to help out an old man and a brawler pass out stuff to the crowd?
