‘Your day has finally come, you old dog.’

Brian leaned back in his armchair, rocking back and forth slowly as he stared absentmindedly into the softly burning fireplace in the corner. It was the night after the Birthday Brawl had taken place, and only just now had the significance of what he had done that night finally set in.

He had gone into the match hoping that he would walk away with some sort of a title to be proud of; everyone involved in the match had the same aspirations that he did, of course. But, not only had he ended up walking away with one title, he had left Chicago that evening with TWO championship belts. A feat that he didn’t think had even been done before in a Birthday Brawl match.

“Look at me, daddy! I’m ‘Flyin’ Brian Calvin!”

Brian’s son, Ryan, stepped out from the shadows and into the light that the fire was casting. Around his son’s waist hung, rather loosely, Brian’s United States Title belt.

“I’m ‘Flyin’ Brian too, daddy!”

His youngest son, Cade, emerged from the shadows soon after his older brother. Around his waist was Brian’s other title belt, the Intercontinental Championship.

Brian smiled at his children, nodding his head in loving approval. Ever since yesterday morning, when Brian had arrived back in Colorado, his kids had seized every opportunity to wear his belts around, pretending that they were WWA Wrestlers. He didn’t mind this one bit; on the contrary, it made the wins all the more special because of the way it brought joy to his children’s faces. To know that they were proud of their father’s accomplishments was almost as good as winning the belts in the first place.

But even though Brian had done so well that night, it almost didn’t seem fair. Unlike others in the match, he had gotten off extremely well. There were no twenty foot drops off the top of WWATron, as had been the fate of Shaman, Khaled, and countless others. He hadn’t been carted off on a stretcher; he had walked from the arena that night and driven to his hotel. And yet, although so many others had suffered so much more, he was the one who had been gifted with two of the most prestigious belts that the WWA had to offer.

“Look at me, dad!” Ryan had climbed to the top of the couch, where he had set the United States Title. He started to reach for it, but then suddenly jumped backwards and yelled as he fell to the floor two feet below.

“I’m Shaman, daddy! Look at me! I’m DEAD! I’m DEAD!” Ryan was yelling, but his voice was filled with amusement and laughter. Brian’s face contorted into a stern frown, and he quickly turned towards his son.

“Don’t joke about that, Ryan. We don’t know Shaman’s condition; he could be seriously hurt. How would you feel then?”

“Yes, dad.” Ryan scampered up to his feet and continued playing with his brother.

He had been lecturing to his son, but it really felt that he was lecturing to himself.

Did he feel guilty? Well, yes, a little bit. But it wasn’t just because he had left the Brawl standing on his own too feet. Yes, Shaman had suffered badly, and he felt badly about his fate, but there were other things on his mind.

Other, much larger, MUCH more important problems.

After Brian had been eliminated from the Brawl by leaving the arena, Dave Harley had won the World Heavyweight Title.

‘The ruthless bastard…’

Out of the twenty men in the Brawl, Dave Harley was the one who Brian had LEAST wanted to walk away with the world title. There were so many more deserving then he… the Muppet Man, Craven Moore, Mal Somers...

And the way that Dave HAD won the belt was disgusting. A restraining order? For Christ’s sake… How could Brian knowingly wrestle in a company where the World Champion had won the belt because the runner-up, the man who DESERVED to be wearing the gold in the first place, wasn’t allowed to touch him? It was pitiful.

Brian took a deep breath.

‘Maybe the time to be a spectator is over…’

It was true. Brian had been wrestling for some time now for the WWA, but in reality he had been nothing more then an overblown spectator. He hadn’t fought to keep the Devil’s Own at bay for the last three months, like Moore, Mal, and Muppet Man had. All three of them had taken their shots battling Harley and his cronies. But Brian? He hadn’t offered his assistance to anyone; in all honestly, he had been quiet. And that was why he was feeling guilty.

Well, that was about to change. As the Intercontinental and United States Champion, Brian wasn’t about to remain a spectator. He had a duty to take his turn battling the evil force within the WWA, especially now that it’s leader held the most powerful title in the company. And it all started this week in his match against Odium, one of the biggest cronies that wrestled in the WWA.

“Hey daddy, look at me! Who am I?”

Brian glanced down at his children again, who were still play wrestling on the carpet below. Ryan was lying flat on his back, yelling in fake agony as Cade wrenched on his brother’s ankle.

“I’m Odium, daddy! Look at this!”

Ryan began tapping the ground with all his might, pretending to whine in agony. Brian had to grin at the irony.

Cade stood to his feet, grabbing both titles and hoisting them into the air. “Woohoo! And your NEW United States and Intercontinental Champion, Brian Calvin!” He began to dance around on the carpeted floor.

And on Monday Night, Odium would find out why.