The show was coming to a close after the finale of Cyrus Everblaze vs Xavier X, the last BBW match fans would remember for a long time coming. People were beginning to stand up out of the bleachers and were packing up their stuff, when a very familiar theme song hit the sound system...
Life is a long, long road I know,
Take it one day at a time!
But days are wasted,
I cant replace 'em.
If I'm not mistaken,
I don't have time for this!
"Crash and Burn" by Hell or Highwater began to resonate through the air, catching the attention of all the remaining fans in the audience. The only time that song played was to usher in a new episode of Monday Night Massacre, and their former General Manager. Could it be?!
The nights are getting longer and longer,
I swear that I used to be stronger.
But I wont forget that I cant regret where I've been,
So until then I'll say...
Right before the chorus struck, a tall, muscular figure ran out on stage. The moment he pushed through the curtain, the fans screamed his name to greet him. Wearing his black jeans, a leather jacket, his typical black muscle shirt, and his signature aviators to hide his eyes, it was none other than the former General Manager himself, Matt Shanahan. He didn't wear a happy expression, but a faint smile could be seen tugging at his lips while he scanned the crowd. He wasn't here to continue a rebellion against King's reign of BBW. He wasn't here to crash a title match. Tonight, he was only here with a heavy heart, and words for his fans.
Crash and burn, my friend!
I'll see you at the bottom of the
Deep, dark blue descend!
This is the end!
Begin again!
Without missing a beat, Matt began his descent down the ramp, slapping a few high-fives along the way with those that wanted to reach out towards him. It was almost a half-hearted effort, and the fans could sense that; he didn't want to be here, but he wasn't going to go quietly into the night. He gave each fan a reassuring smile and nod as he walked by, until he reached the ring. He hopped onto the apron without wasting a moment, and stepped over the top rope.
Live for the chase, survive by the thrill;
If you want me to take this step,
I will!
No longer afraid, no longer at bay;
Longing to face my fears but still!
A promise is made to change who I am,
No looking back,
We'll fight 'til the end!
A promise in vain is a promise to break;
Your life is only yours to make!
Before the chorus could sound off once more, Matt picked a microphone up out of the corner, signaling for the music to stop. "How we doing tonight, folks?" He asked without his usual ecstatic tone, but the fans still gave him a positive reaction in return.
"Yeah, yeah... tonight's been good, hasn't it? We've seen some good matches, and... yeah, I'm happy with it." He continued to mumble on. As he reached the end of his sentence, he took his aviators off and hung them around the neck of his shirt, letting the world see the sullen black pupils behind them.
"I won't really beat around the bush... I shouldn't be here. Right now, BBW is supposed to be in the hands of my once-best-friend, Kelly King. I should be banned from all BBW events. You all should be hating him right now, for what he did; but... we had an agreement. I would come back, on the condition... that it would be BBW's last show."
He took a moment to pause, his eyes clearly a good bit wider than they usually were. He pursed his lips and looked down at the mat, avoiding any eye contact as he continued. "And, it is... it's BBW's last show. Bad Blood Wrestling is officially closing its doors... just as we were beginning our third year as a company. It's not a truth I enjoy... but it's a truth we must all face."
"It pains me to say that, it really does. When I opened this company back on August 5th, 2013, I did so with a promise: BBW will never close, as long as people wanted it to live. I broke that promise, though. I'm breaking that promise, because there are still people that want it to live. There are still people that believe that this is the BEST company to have came around in recent years. From the day I opened to the day I was forced to leave, I heard people tell me every single day how this was their favorite promotion to watch! People told me that they would rather compete here than anywhere in the world! I had people who would only work with me, no one else!... And I let them down. I let them down, I let you down, I let Kelly King down, and... I let myself down."
"I let myself down most of all, because I truly believed that I would be able to keep this company going for as long as I lived, and for as long as it was needed. Unfortunately, I couldn't. We couldn't. Life... life changes you, and as life goes on, sometimes you're just... you're forced to do things you don't want to do. Life forced me to leave in-ring competition back in 2012. Life forced to give up world championships back in 2014. Life buried me under a titantron and nearly killed me. Life destroyed my friendships over the years, and... life has forced me to close down what has easily been the greatest experience of my life."
Matt took another pause, as he seemed to heavily choke up with his last sentence. He took a moment to run his thumb under his eyes, clearing away the tears that had slowly began to leak from the corner. He wasn't sure how the crowd was reacting, or what they were saying; right now, he was too focused on holding back the waterworks.
"I've loved every moment working in this company. I've watched some of the lowest names in the industry become champions of incredible caliber. I've seen nobodies become World Champions, and carry that prestige onward throughout their careers. We've had some of the biggest shows in the history our industry, without biggest one hosting over twenty matches in one day. That's unheard of! And... I doubt it'll ever happen again, anywhere. You see... BBW came into this industry in a time where it was truly needed, I believe; and now... we are not. It's time for us to stand down."
"But... don't think this is goodbye. Don't think you'll never see BBW on your television again. Don't think you won't see champions like Blackjack, Xavier X, Marshall Lee, Andrew Styles, and even Hiro Shin-Mozas again. Don't think you won't see me at the helm again. Because, one day... someday in the future, you just might. You might see BBW open its doors once more. You might see our brand of blood, sweat, and tears stain this mat one more time. I'd like to think that day will come sooner rather than later... And when it does, I will be there. I hope you will too."
The microphone lowered from Matt's lips, as he bit down on his lower lip. Tears were threatening to pour from the rims of his eyes, he was giving it all to prevent that from happening. It took everything in him to lift the microphone up one last time, and choke out his final line.
"Goodnight, Bad Blood Wrestling. We'll see you next time..."
Life is a long, long road I know,
Take it one day at a time!
But days are wasted,
I cant replace 'em.
If I'm not mistaken,
I don't have time for this!
"Crash and Burn" by Hell or Highwater began to resonate through the air, catching the attention of all the remaining fans in the audience. The only time that song played was to usher in a new episode of Monday Night Massacre, and their former General Manager. Could it be?!
The nights are getting longer and longer,
I swear that I used to be stronger.
But I wont forget that I cant regret where I've been,
So until then I'll say...
Right before the chorus struck, a tall, muscular figure ran out on stage. The moment he pushed through the curtain, the fans screamed his name to greet him. Wearing his black jeans, a leather jacket, his typical black muscle shirt, and his signature aviators to hide his eyes, it was none other than the former General Manager himself, Matt Shanahan. He didn't wear a happy expression, but a faint smile could be seen tugging at his lips while he scanned the crowd. He wasn't here to continue a rebellion against King's reign of BBW. He wasn't here to crash a title match. Tonight, he was only here with a heavy heart, and words for his fans.
Crash and burn, my friend!
I'll see you at the bottom of the
Deep, dark blue descend!
This is the end!
Begin again!
Without missing a beat, Matt began his descent down the ramp, slapping a few high-fives along the way with those that wanted to reach out towards him. It was almost a half-hearted effort, and the fans could sense that; he didn't want to be here, but he wasn't going to go quietly into the night. He gave each fan a reassuring smile and nod as he walked by, until he reached the ring. He hopped onto the apron without wasting a moment, and stepped over the top rope.
Live for the chase, survive by the thrill;
If you want me to take this step,
I will!
No longer afraid, no longer at bay;
Longing to face my fears but still!
A promise is made to change who I am,
No looking back,
We'll fight 'til the end!
A promise in vain is a promise to break;
Your life is only yours to make!
Before the chorus could sound off once more, Matt picked a microphone up out of the corner, signaling for the music to stop. "How we doing tonight, folks?" He asked without his usual ecstatic tone, but the fans still gave him a positive reaction in return.
"Yeah, yeah... tonight's been good, hasn't it? We've seen some good matches, and... yeah, I'm happy with it." He continued to mumble on. As he reached the end of his sentence, he took his aviators off and hung them around the neck of his shirt, letting the world see the sullen black pupils behind them.
"I won't really beat around the bush... I shouldn't be here. Right now, BBW is supposed to be in the hands of my once-best-friend, Kelly King. I should be banned from all BBW events. You all should be hating him right now, for what he did; but... we had an agreement. I would come back, on the condition... that it would be BBW's last show."
He took a moment to pause, his eyes clearly a good bit wider than they usually were. He pursed his lips and looked down at the mat, avoiding any eye contact as he continued. "And, it is... it's BBW's last show. Bad Blood Wrestling is officially closing its doors... just as we were beginning our third year as a company. It's not a truth I enjoy... but it's a truth we must all face."
"It pains me to say that, it really does. When I opened this company back on August 5th, 2013, I did so with a promise: BBW will never close, as long as people wanted it to live. I broke that promise, though. I'm breaking that promise, because there are still people that want it to live. There are still people that believe that this is the BEST company to have came around in recent years. From the day I opened to the day I was forced to leave, I heard people tell me every single day how this was their favorite promotion to watch! People told me that they would rather compete here than anywhere in the world! I had people who would only work with me, no one else!... And I let them down. I let them down, I let you down, I let Kelly King down, and... I let myself down."
"I let myself down most of all, because I truly believed that I would be able to keep this company going for as long as I lived, and for as long as it was needed. Unfortunately, I couldn't. We couldn't. Life... life changes you, and as life goes on, sometimes you're just... you're forced to do things you don't want to do. Life forced me to leave in-ring competition back in 2012. Life forced to give up world championships back in 2014. Life buried me under a titantron and nearly killed me. Life destroyed my friendships over the years, and... life has forced me to close down what has easily been the greatest experience of my life."
Matt took another pause, as he seemed to heavily choke up with his last sentence. He took a moment to run his thumb under his eyes, clearing away the tears that had slowly began to leak from the corner. He wasn't sure how the crowd was reacting, or what they were saying; right now, he was too focused on holding back the waterworks.
"I've loved every moment working in this company. I've watched some of the lowest names in the industry become champions of incredible caliber. I've seen nobodies become World Champions, and carry that prestige onward throughout their careers. We've had some of the biggest shows in the history our industry, without biggest one hosting over twenty matches in one day. That's unheard of! And... I doubt it'll ever happen again, anywhere. You see... BBW came into this industry in a time where it was truly needed, I believe; and now... we are not. It's time for us to stand down."
"But... don't think this is goodbye. Don't think you'll never see BBW on your television again. Don't think you won't see champions like Blackjack, Xavier X, Marshall Lee, Andrew Styles, and even Hiro Shin-Mozas again. Don't think you won't see me at the helm again. Because, one day... someday in the future, you just might. You might see BBW open its doors once more. You might see our brand of blood, sweat, and tears stain this mat one more time. I'd like to think that day will come sooner rather than later... And when it does, I will be there. I hope you will too."
The microphone lowered from Matt's lips, as he bit down on his lower lip. Tears were threatening to pour from the rims of his eyes, he was giving it all to prevent that from happening. It took everything in him to lift the microphone up one last time, and choke out his final line.
"Goodnight, Bad Blood Wrestling. We'll see you next time..."
