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thesupreme316 · 1 year

Note

hi i don’t request stuff so bare with me how would aew boys react to you having a big return like Kris Statlander ex: you lost your title and left and you come back and win the title again sorry if this makes no sense i’m not good at requesting 🫶🏼😢

yall gotta stop apologizing for being CREATIVE CUTIES

AEW Stars React to: You Returning and Winning Your Title Back (Fem!Reader)

Pairings: Hook x Fem!Reader, Ricky Starks X Fem!Reader, Dante Martin X Fem!Reader, Darius Martin X Fem!Reader, Eddie Kingston X Fem!Reader, MJF X Fem!Reader, Christian Cage X Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1.1K

Supreme Speaks: thank you to anon for requesting (yall keep em coming), sorry that this took me so long (shit happening). But please enjoy this and p.s you are loved and appreciated

Warnings: not proofread, my regular react wrestlers, GIFS AINT MINE

Taglist: @hooks-martin @wwenhlimagines @sheinthatfandom @hookerforhook @triscillal @cassiesworldsworld @eddie-kingstons-wifey

Backstory:

Either you were injured and surrendered your title (you never lost it technically) or you lost it in a fluke to your opponent (just do whatcha want)

For months you spent away from the company, trying to gain your strength and feeling back

But now, you were back and better than ever

And you were owed a rematch

Right when the so-called champion called out for an open challenge, you were the first to answer that call that night

To your surprise, the whole arena rose to their feet and loudly cheered you on when hearing your theme (ex. Kris Statlander and or AJ Lee)

And after the match was over, you stood tall with your title high above your head again as the crowd again screamed loudly

(Or you can skip this and have a great segment like Trent with Sue’s van)

The entire moment/match went viral

However, they weren’t the only ones happy to see you tho

Hook

Mans had no idea that you were here

Was stunned into silence; with a big ass smile on his face

You were picked up into a hug by him; would definitely whisper sweet things into your ear or skin

“I’m so happy to see you back”

I think this will encourage him to try to win back his title quicker

Hook is the type of person (whether you're his best friend or girlfriend) to take this return personally as it is a start of a new era for you

Wants to celebrate with you in private ;)

HE WOULD ALSO WEAR YOUR MERCH TO SHOW HIS SUPPORT

Ricky Starks

OOOOOO THIS MAN IS SO COCKY RIGHT NOW

I also think he would be that person who would almost spoil your return out of excitement

You thought he was arrogant after he won the Owen Hart tournament? PUH-LA-ESE

Would reference you in his promos

“I’m a part of the winning team. I mean have you seen my hot ass champion of a girlfriend (or best friend; whatever you prefer)?”

Would book a photoshoot just for you to show off your championships

Defs would make you guys match in outfits and would get you in a storyline with him

I def see you as his manager/valet (IMAGINE THE (eventual) HEEL HEAT)

You two would take over AEW as the new IT couple or duo

Darius Martin

Tbh, it gives him kind of a nostalgic feeling when he returned during the tag team battle royal

He would be so incredibly happy for you

Would keep up with all your appearances and matches afterward

“I am the president of the Y/N protection squad *poses with lads*”

Genuinely hopes that everything goes well for you

Will do your signature move to show his support for you

Also, expect a celebratory dinner or movie night

But don’t get it twisted this man is mad at you for not telling him about your return

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME? I was just joking when I was gonna carry the cutout of you to the ring”

He was in fact not kidding (he was just a lil goofy)

Dante Martin

THE BABY

With him on the shelf, he is emotional for you

“That was amazing! The crowd really went wild for you!”

Has multiple emotions tbh; happy, anxious, a little sad

Wishes he could really celebrate with you

I also think because of the fact he has been out of action for a while, he’s dreaming of a return like yours; especially with a championship in his mind

I think he would be a little sad because you’re gonna be busy as hell

“I’m gonna miss the off days with just us two.”

To which you promised to drag him all around to wherever you were wrestling

He didn’t have a choice

Eddie Kingston

“THATS RIGHT DAWG!! YALL SEE THIS SHIT?”

Makes a post about you on Instagram

He’s genuinely happy about the two of you being champions at the same time

Will brag to everyone backstage

“YOU SEE THAT BRYAN? I HAVE FRIENDS THAT ARE CHAMPIONS, SORRY YOU CAN’T SAY THE SAME!”

Eddie, just like how I always say, is a very emotional person (even though he doesn’t wanna show it)

But he will make sure that you know how proud he is; even if he gives you a shoulder tackle

I also think Eddie sees every win as a win for the whole crew

Like Darius, he is upset that you didn’t tell him about your return but it made him excited about wrestling again

MJF

THIS MOTHERFUCKER PART 496792466

Would make a backhanded compliment about you

“Although it wasn’t as epic or spontaneous or memorable as my return last year, congrats to Y/N Y/L/N for making her return to the ring! BAY BAY”

After some choice words, he updates his Twitter again

“I reviewed my tweet after Y/N confronted me (with dice, a wooden spoon, and a lighter) I realize that I made some errors. I meant CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WONDERFUL AND ABOVE AVERAGE GENERATIONAL TALENT Y/N Y/L/N!”

Will ask you to shout him out occasionally (imagine having a friendship like him and Adam Cole)

No but for real, he’s happy for you

I think this man would shower you with gifts in private so you can fully get the MJF experience

Will bring you up in interviews; especially about people he can kind of give props to (his words not mine)

Christian Cage

THIS MAN IS MY SUGAR DADDY AND-

I feel like this man would be very proud of you

Would not dare hold your championship as you threaten him about that

But he would announce himself with your title in the same sentence (ex below)

“I AM THE TNT CHAMPION AND I am the significant other/best friend of the AEW Women’s Champion! Therefore, you all should respect me!”

Definitely would tell Luchasaurus to protect you as well

Loves how confident you became since winning

Also remember how I said he’s a sugar daddy?

Mans would buy you anything just for holding the championship at one point it almost becomes an accessory

Even if you didn’t have a championship, Christian would splurge on you just because

YOU DESERVE IT BIATCH

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kayfabebabe · 1 year

Note

Hi Mitch, I hope you're doing well. 4, 11, & 17?

Hallo M! Thank you so much for the Ask <3

What fandom’s/ship’s fan fiction do you read the most? Technically, it's Polycule Blackpool Combat Club fics. This is a little bit of a difficult question as I don't search for fics focused on specific ships. I have favourite writers that I follow on Tumblr and I read whatever they post.

Kid fic or childhood friends? Childhood friends. 100%. I don't have anything against Kid Fics and I've written a couple in the past, but Childhood friends. It simply hits completely different and, strangely, I find it easier to write for Childhood Friends.

Describe your WIP that currently has the highest word count. It is the sequel to my first BCC fic 'Aftermath' (YOU CAN READ THAT RIGHT HERE.) The Blackpool Combat Club is still fractured after the betrayal of Regal and the attack by MJF. It's a glimpse of how Claudio and Wheeler learn to forgive their mentor.

#Ask Answered #THANK YOU M #Wonderful Friendo #The Human Speaks #I've been working on the Aftermath sequel for literal months #and it's still not done #Ask Game

0 notes

pg-punk · 2 years

Text

Don't fall in love with me

MJFXFem!Reader

Part 2

Part 1/??

Kinda short but if you guys like it I'll continue with the series

*NOT PROOF READ*

Summary:

Both MJF and Y/N have reputations in the company for being the biggest dicks EVER. But with a mutual enemy they agree to team up in a mixed tag team match, but what happens when they both break the last rule of their agreement?

*1 WEEK AGO*

3rd Person

"And Still AEW Womes champion! Y/N L/N"

The crowed booded as Aubrey held up

Y/N's hand. Everyone knows Tay Conti should have won, technically while Sammy Gauvara had come out to the ring in a attempt to help Tay, she had pinned Y/N for 3, but much to Y/N's luck she had retained due to this distraction. Sammy was already in the ring when the bell rung annocing the win, and alough she hated this couple with a buring passion, she coudnt help feel a pang of jeously. No one had ever cared for her like that and everyone could see it on her faces ad she looked at them, clutching her blet tight befor leaving the ring without looking back.

*Present*

Y/N's POV

I sat in my dressing room strolling mindlessly on Instagram when I came across a post. It was a screenshot took at my revolution match last week, I was looking over at Tay and Sammy with a sad look on my face, I scoff and turn on my phone not wanting to read the caption. Being a bitch had many benefits, for example no one bothered my outside the ring, but this over time had become a disadvantage, alough I would never admit it, I would like just one person I could trust with my life, who I would know would always be there. But here we are alone. I look up to see my TV playing the current dynamite live for the arena. My face is filled with digest as I see Tay and Sammy cutting a promo. Its beyone me while they still try to get the crowed on there side. True they hate me and I will always be the villain in whatever fued you put me in, but their realshonship has got on the fans nerves and that's one thing we all agree on.

I watch as MJF makes his way to the ring after his name being mentioned. He it currently in fied with Sammy, he's going after the TNY championship, and honestly i hope he gets it. I ahve never spoken to him, I suppose he's jn the same boat ad me,the fans hate him more than me, witch is hard to achieve. I zone out before I hear my name being called out on the television.

"Y/N! "

Tay shouts just befor MJF us about to cut one of his many promos. I look up from my phone to are her directly staring at the camra.

"I know your watching this from whatever lonely little hole you live in so why don't you come out to the real word"

I guess that's my que.

I walk out of my dressing room in my sweats and walk past the production team. No words or thumbs up exchanged they just play my entrance music and I walk out not bothering to grab a mic and I assumed she just wanted to fight.

As I make my way to the ring I suddenly realise how strange this is. Max has the same look on his face, we exchange noods knowing that even thought we have never meet or talked, in this senoro we are allias and are facing a mutual enemy. I enter the ring only to see Tay and Sammy giving a look to eachouther, as I'd they have just had the best idea in the word.

"Call me crazy"

Sammy begins

"But iv had a idea"

He looks over at Tay and she continues.

"Considing you two are similar in the way you both willow in your own self pity, we have thought a mixed tag match at Double ot Noithing"

The crowed loses it at this suggestion I look over to see Max getting ready to say something on the microphone. I'm guessing to turn down the offer, I hope so anyways, I don't work well with others and neither dose Max.

"Winner takes all"

Max adds with a serious expression on his face, then a idea hits me only I don't have a microphone, I look over at Max and I gestured to borrowed his, he looks annoyed bit still hands the mic over.

Then something unexpected, stuiped and down right cringy happend. When he passed over the microphone for a slip second out hand touched. Then all of a sudden I fell like a girl with a crush all over again, expect this time I'm not 12 years old and not a nerd. I'm a women rhe AEW women champion and and I know for a fact that this is just because I haven't been a realshonship for so long. I manege to pull myself together to add my speculations to the match witch I don't want to do anyways but this might give me some motivation.

"If you lose, Tay cant challenge for the AEW women's championship again"

The crowed gives a mixed response. Halpy about the new specuation but I'm assumg sad that Tay won't get a rain

"Done"

Tay says

"Done"

Adds Sammy.

Max now gestures for the mic of me. Our hands brush again and I scoled myself for not getting a mic befor coming out then all of this woundt be a distraction.

"Let's set some ground rules L/N"

His demnre changes from serious to cocky, he is now disregarding Tay and Sammy and looking directly at me

"Number 1. We are doing this to win, no long lasting friendships or whatever however I assume that wasn't be difficult for you since you have this whole lone wolf demner going on for you"

Can't ague with the truth so i simply smile and look at my combat boots I have on.

"Number 2. There is no 'we' you and I, probably me, will pin one of them, you and I and are not a team and you and I are definitely never discussing this once it's over, no attending eachouthet matches, no helping eahcouther if we get attacked. We simply win the belts then leave got it"

I nod my head, still smiling though he'll be in for a nasty shock when he realisees in not scared of him.

"And for the hardest one, don't under any circumstances fall in love with me"

He sticks his hand out to shake. Who the hell dose he think he his, however the rules will keep my social barricage up and only leads for benefits for both of us. I smile sarcasticly and have his hand firmly befor leaving the ring, holding on to my belt tight as my entrance music plays. I look back at the ring to see Max looking back at me, I send him a wink

"See ya at Double or nothing!"

I shout at him, I cant help the smile and my face and it looks like be can't help his either.

#aew #aew dynamite #aew wrestling #mjf #mjf x reader #maxwell jacob friedman #Dont fall in love with me #maxwell jacob friendman #maxwell jacob friedman x reader #aew imagine #mjf imagine #maxwell jacob friedman imagine

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wrestlingisfake · 3 years

Text

All Out preview

Here we go with AEW's annual Labor Day weekend show in Hoffman Estates, just like the original All In show three years ago. I have been going to wrestling shows for days, and it all comes down to this!

The show starts at 8pm EDT, streaming on Bleacher Report (in the US and Canada) and Fite.tv for $49.99. A free pre-show will be available at 7pm EDT.

CM Punk vs. Darby Allin - This is CM Punk's first pro wrestling match since January 26, 2014, when he spent 49 minutes in the Royal Rumble working with a staph infection and a possible concussion. The following night he walked out of WWE, leading to seven and a half years of debate about what is next move would/should be. Two weeks ago he debuted with AEW and declared that he wanted to help the younger talent, starting with a match against Allin. Allin, for his part, took some exception to being the first opponent, as if he's just a stepping stone to bigger matches.

The big issue here is seeing how well Punk, 42, has held up after seven years away. I've seen reports that he's looking good in training, but you just don't know until the bell rings. Regardless, I expect the hometown crowd to be very forgiving to Punk, and Allin is good enough to carry the match if he really has to.

I feel like I ought to have more to say about this, but it also feels like everything's been said. I can't believe Punk would lose his first match in. But I can believe that if Punk insisted on doing the job, AEW would let him do that. It'd be unusual for the returning guy to come up short, but New Japan does that sometimes and it can work as a longer build to the first win. Still, it is Chicago (sort of), so my gut says Punk wins to let us feel special.

Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage - Omega is defending the AEW men's world title. For months, Omega held four different belts, representing championships in AEW, AAA, and Impact Wrestling. But on August 13 Christian defeated Omega for the Impact/TNA world title (and later retired the TNA belt), leaving Kenny more vulnerable than ever. The AAA and Impact titles aren't at stake in this match, so no matter who what happens the winner will be a double champion.

Cage is a great wrestler, but not a great challenger for this match. For months the storytelling pointed towards Hangman Page in this spot, but Page was abruptly written off television so he could take paternity leave. I don't think anybody resents Christian for filling in, but nobody really expects the 47-year-old, recently returned from a seven-year retirement, to win the big one. It's also a rematch of something we already saw a few weeks ago, which isn't a big deal but it's a bit of a talking point when everyone is always dogging WWE for excessive rematches.

The big go-home angle on September 1 was that Omega, the Young Bucks, and their buddies destroyed Christian, the Lucha Bros., and their buddies. After the show went off the air Tony Khan promised that this kind of bullshit interference wouldn't happen in the Bucks-Lucha Bros. cage match. Well, okay, but this match doesn't have a steel cage, so I have a feeling there will be plenty of bullshit interference. And I'm willing to bet that interference gives Omega the win while somewhat protecting Christian.

Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix - The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick) are defending the AEW tag team title. The Lucha Bros. won a four-team tournament to earn this shot. The Bucks have relied on a lot of outside interference from their entourage lately, so to counter that this match will be held inside a steel cage. In AEW, the only way to win a cage match is by pinfall or submission.

I was at All Out 2019 when these teams last met in a crazy ladder match (which feels like a million years ago). Everyone raved about it, and also worried that the Bucks damn near killed themselves. Personally I had a really shitty view of the ring, which made it hard to follow the match. This time I've got a much better view, so I'm looking forward to some good karma.

In theory the Bucks have sworn off doing the dangerous shit from the ladder match, but technically this is a cage match so maybe they'll just do different dangerous shit. Personally I'm more intrigued by seeing them change their game to fit in the confines of the cage, which doesn't lend itself to springboard flips off the ropes. But the cage has places to stand at the top, which will encourage the idea of setting up crazy highspots.

I feel like a title change is possible, but I could just as easily see the Bucks hold the belts for another six months. Santana and Ortiz seem to be next in line for a shot, and honestly I think that would work with either of these teams. But I guess I'll lean towards the Bucks retaining.

Chris Jericho vs. MJF - MJF defeated Jericho on November 7, 2020, to earn entry into Jericho's stable, the Inner Circle. MJF inevitably betrayed Jericho and formed his own stable, the Pinnacle, which beat the Inner Circle on May 5, 2021. Jericho was so determined to get revenge that he accepted MJF's terms to perform five "labors" to earn a rematch, but MJF beat Jericho once again on August 18, 2021. So now MJF is 3-0 against Jericho. (For some reason we're counting the ten-man match on May 5 but not the other one on May 30, which Jericho's team won, but whatever.) To get this final rematch, Jericho has put his career on the line.

Suddenly everything else in this storyline has taken a back seat to the idea that this may really be the end of Chris Jericho's 30-year in-ring career. There are plenty of fans who think Jericho, 50, should hang it up, but now that it might actually happen I think people aren't so sure they're ready for it all to end. The timing for Jericho to tease this is perfect, because he could easily just win and go another couple of years, or he could easily just finish today.

Part of what makes this work so well is MJF. I think everyone recognizes that MJF is going to be a top name in the 2020s, and that Jericho wants to make this guy. So it's like, if Jericho can get retired by anyone he wants, why wouldn't he pick MJF? I think the match will feel a little flat if Jericho comes up short yet again, but if it's the end of his career it suddenly doesn't matter if he's lost too many times, y'know?

Still, something tells me this isn't the end. Something tells me Jericho has more he wants to do. And something tells me, in a few years, we may be wondering if it would have been better if he retired on this show.

Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander - Baker is defending the AEW women's world title. I expect to like this match but there's not really much to it. Baker was feuding with Red Velvet a while back and then Statlander made the save for Velvet. Baker and her crony Rebel have brought in Jamie Hayter to stack the deck against Statlander and Velvet. I think it's way too soon for Baker to drop the title, and I don't expect Kris to be the one to take it from her. So this is kind of a formality to kill time until Baker vs. Thunder Rosa down the road.

Miro vs. Eddie Kingston - Miro's AEW TNT championship is on the line. Somehow in the past year Miro has gone from Kip Sabian's gamer buddy to a monster heel who thinks God has anointed him to beat the shit out of people. Kingston has gone from a gutless heel to the most beloved guy in AEW. Wrestling is great.

Anyway, I love both of these guys, but I can't just bet that all the wrestlers have a good time. If Eddie's going to win a championship, it really ought to be in New York. I realize Chicago is AEW's favorite and we get all the good shit, but I've had my CM Punk ice cream and I'm maaaaaybeee going to get the Bryan Danielson debut too, so I'm willing to let New York have this one thing. Just this one time.

Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima - Moxley is the new GCW world champion following a surprise appearance at last night's GCW show; I assume that does not turn this into a title match. Moxley told top contender Nick Gage "you know where to find me," and it's anyone's guess if Gage will show up here to accept that invitation.

Mox is a busy boy making friends everywhere he goes. For a few weeks he was angling for a match with a top New Japan Pro Wrestling star on this show. The leading candidate was Hiroshi Tanahashi, but several other interesting names were discussed by fans and pundits alike. After that buzz, Kojima is a bit of a letdown.

Don't get me wrong, it's cool to get a guy who's held the IWGP heavyweight title, the All Japan Triple Crown, and the NWA world title. Kojima's a legend. But at this stage of his career, he's the guy New Japan sends when the real stars aren't available. Besides which, my cup runneth over when it comes to 50-year-old guys showing up to prove they can wrestle like they're 40. And I don't think anybody really believes Kojima can beat Moxley.

Ideally, this match should end with a video message from a bigger New Japan name calling out Moxley. I'm not confident that will happen. Then again, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if Moxley showed up in NXT UK to pick a fight with WALTER.

Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall - Formerly the Giant in WCW and the Big Show in WWE, Wight debuted with AEW earlier this year as a color commentator. QT and his goons were picking on Wight's broadcast partner Tony Schiavone when Wight intervened, setting up this match.

I was actually kind of into the idea of this until Marshall showed photos of Wight's recent hip surgery. Up to that point, they'd managed to keep me from noticing if Wight could move okay, and I was willing to accept he could do a basic squash match without a problem. But now I just assume he's broken down and he'll need a lot of smoke and mirrors to do even a simple match. Maybe that's the plan, to get me to lower my expectations and be pleasantly surprised. I sure hope it works out.

I'm about 95% sure Wight clobbers QT and just wins handily. There's a chance QT's squad pulls enough shenanigans to get a bullshit win, but I'm not sure what the point would be.

21-woman Casino Battle Royale - This is AEW's funky concept for a gauntlet battle royale. Five women start the match, and then every five minutes another wave of five enters; the 21st entrant gets to come out alone. Eliminations can occur at any time, by exiting the ring over the top rope to the floor. The last woman left after the others have been eliminated is declared the winner, and receives a future title match against the AEW women's champion.

AEW has announced 20 participants: Abadon, Anna Jay, Big Swole, Diamante, Emi Sakura, Hikaru Shida, Jade Cargill, Jamie Hayter, Kiera Hogan, KiLynn King, Leyla Hirsch, Nyla Rose, Penelope Ford, Rebel, Red Velvet, Riho, Skye Blue (a late substitution for Julia Hart), Tay Conti, The Bunny, Thunder Rosa.

The 21st spot has been left open for a surprise. Ruby Soho (formerly Ruby Riott in WWE) is widely expected to join AEW, and this would be a sensible spot for that to happen. But there are other women who could potentially debut here as a swerve.

I always want to pick the surprise entrant to win these things, but they really haven't done all that well in AEW battle royales. I could see them giving the win to, say, Big Swole, and just having Britt Baker beat her a few weeks later on Dynamite. Or Thunder Rosa could win to set up a major program for the next pay-per-view. They have a lot of options, which makes it hard to predict but fun to watch.

Orange Cassidy & Chuck Taylor & Wheeler YUTA & Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy vs. Matt Hardy & Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy & Jack Evans & Angelico - This is booked for the pre-show. Hardy's heel group has been feuding with most of the midcard babyfaces for months. I don't expect this match will blow off the feud, but it'd be nice if it did so we could move on to something else. Orange's team should probably win.

#aew #all out #cm punk #darby allin #kenny omega #christian cage #the young bucks #lucha bros #cannot *believe* i managed to get this done

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darlinrogue · 4 years

Note

matthew found himself getting anxious at every all elite pay-per-view. but something about this specific revolution—— this specific main event had him more worried than usual ‘exploding barbed-wire death match’… it had problems written all over it. biting nail after nail, cuticle after cuticle. “since pac’s going after the tag titles, adam’s next in line for kenny” he heard tony khan say from the headset in guerilla. matt’s heart stopped, right then and there. he had to find adam.

Matt

A few hours before the show Adam had scoped out his vantage point. A seat in the back on the ground floor at Daily’s Place. High-up, but not too far away. Even better it was an empty section. After his match with Hardy, Adam changed into street clothes, crept-out from backstage, and took his seat. While the street fight with Darby and Sting played on the big screen, the ring crew set-up for the so called, “Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match.” The crew wore thick leather gloves. They maneuvered pieces of hardware, metal, and explosives to the floor. Bryce looked like the marshmallow man from Ghostbusters. It was, without a doubt, the most elaborate, inane match idea Adam had ever seen. He never delved into that Death match shit. An occasional no DQ with chairs and table settled Adam’s need for violence, but this was next level.

And it was the exact kinda bullshit that Kenny would come up with.

The construction of a wrestling ring had always fascinated Adam. In his teenage years he shadowed production crews to shows. From them he learned how to square a ring by measuring the diagonal, how to lay down the boards, roll out the pads, and lash down the mats. Then, tightening the ropes and tying in the turnbuckles. For the cheaper productions, duct tape repaired holes torn in the apron. All the little things he didn’t have to do anymore now that he was a ‘star.’ Part of Adam missed the days on the indies when he’d show-up a day early for set-up and leave late for tear down. Get to watch a show for free that way. Somehow, watching the AEW ring crew bind explosive barbed wire around the ropes didn’t make Adam feel very nostalgic, though. Instead something cold settled in the bottom of his stomach.

Adam had brought a beer out with him and he brought the bottle to his lips. He watched the pyro tech guys rig-up the explosives with lines of electric wire. The ring crew were filtering out. The fight on the screen was winding down. Adam glanced over though as someone approached on his right. Wedging himself between the seats and coming down the row was Matt Jackson. He’d changed back into a gray, AEW jacket, his hair twisted into a quick and dirty bun. All he had for Adam was a half-smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He shoved his hands in his pockets and his throat bobbed, not meeting Adam’s gaze. Instead he focused on the dust laden concrete beneath his feet. Adam shifted in his seat, coming forward, elbows pressed into the arm rest. Matt chewed on his lip and then gestured at Adam’s hand.

“You okay?” He asked, thinly. “Matt worked you over good.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s fine,” Adam said. “Just sore.”

He looked down at his hand. An athletic trainer had wrapped it in bandages and popped him a couple ibuprofen. There was nothing broken, just some bruising and swelling. Adam’d have to get an X-ray sooner rather than later, though. After the match high ran down though it hurt like a mother. Matt and Adam stared at each other for a second, before Adam tilted his head to the side. An indication and invitation for Matt to sit. Matt sunk into the chair beside Adam, hands rubbing over his knees. His fingers pattered over his thighs and he shifted, exuding nervous energy. When he settled back into the chair it was like he was sitting back into the barbed wire in the ring.

“Congratulations, on beating the carny though,” Matt offered with a small laugh. “You guys had a good match. What are you going to do with the money?”

“Oh, yeah, uh, well I was thinking,” Adam began, he put his beer on the floor by his feet and leaned back. “I need a new lawnmower and there’s enough to pay off the mortgage— I don’t need much else so like, I told them to just, just to give the rest to some cause. Someone mentioned the public schools in Jacksonville? I liked that, so that’s kinda what we went with.”

“Seriously?” Matt breathed. “That’s amazing, Adam.”

“Fuck, I don’t want that money anyway, makes me feel dirty,” Adam admitted. He sucked on his cheek. “Chris and MJF didn’t beat you up too much did they? Ya’ll pulled it out, but it was kinda brutal to watch.”

“Oh, so you watched our match?” Matt noted. They looked at each other and something warm sparked in Adam’s chest. “Takes more than a baseball bat to keep me down. Besides that’s nothing compared to— to all this.”

Matt’s voice rasped as he flicked his finger towards the completed ring. Adam followed his gaze and got what he meant. It wasn’t the barbed wire or the explosives. It was the anticipation of seeing Kenny in the middle of that ring. Kenny, bloodied and burned and hurting, with his life on the line. There was a long, long list of shit that could go wrong. And Adam and Matt shared in common a worry wort gene. It was in their nature to look at a set-up like that, then let their minds run to all the terrifying possibilities. It was the inner instinct of ‘older brother’ in them. The shit going on Matt’s mind had already crossed Adam’s a half-dozen times.

Injury, pain, and even death, were the risks of their sport, everyone who stepped in the ring had comes to terms with their mortality. It wasn’t often though that Adam sat down for a match and was fully level with the idea that one of his oldest friends may actually die. It was a ‘holy shit’ moment, this was how far they’d come. Well over a year ago Adam remembered the way Kenny’s voice cracked over the phone when he talked about Mox. The desperate, twisted edge in his tone, jagged as broken glass. It was obsession rolled with a fragile mental health teetering over the abyss of fear, anxiety, and depression. All Adam had done was stand back and watch as Kenny was crowded to the cliff. Then, Adam witnessed the merciless hand shove Kenny over. And now, at the bottom, body and mind broken over the rocks, Kenny challenged Mox to an Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match. The entire Elite had hit rockbottom in the past six months at least once but none of them had involved explosives.

“Kenny’s gone off the fucking deep end, man” Adam observed, like he was commenting on the weather. He picked-up his beer from the floor and took a sip. “This is batshit. You let him do this?”

“It’s not like he asked us?!” Matt protested, his hands fluttered around him. “TK approved it and you know, it’s his show. Besides, it’s not exactly like Kenny is talking to us right now.”

Adam shifted in his seat. He and Kenny hadn’t been on speaking terms since October. A long run of almost six months as they awkwardly avoided each other in the hallways. Of course, Adam had his handful of ignored, attempted phone calls and double texts from back when the tag-team broke-up. He’d kept abreast of the Elite’s crazy drama and then felt quietly grateful he wasn’t apart of it. Forsaken doors, Barbed Wire Death Matches; literally everything to do with Don Callis, Impact, and the Good Brothers— no thanks. Adam got why he was out of the loop, though. Kenny getting sick of his shit and kicking him out of his life was inevitable as it was deserved— But, Kenny wasn’t talking to the Bucks either? That was a red flag. Shit, Adam shouldn’t be worried about Kenny, grown ass man that he was but—Adam took another sip from his beer and returned it to its spot by his feet. Yeah, he was kinda worried about Kenny.

“Why are you even out here?” Matt asked, an edge of accusation in his voice.

“Shit, I dunno, figured if my old tag-partner was gonna get blown-up I should at least be here to witness it?” Adam speculated, with a shrug. The buzzing crowd indicated the end of the Street Fight that Adam had been ignoring. Whispers of anticipation floated through the arena. “Maybe— I just got some shit on my mind. Trying to figure out what comes next.”

“You’re in the rankings,” Matt blurted-out. Adam glanced at Matt and met his eyes. His face was stricken in the stark lights and his throat bobbed. Music hit, Mox’s theme, moments before Adam could even think up an answer.

Mox wasn’t a bullet point on Adam’s list of relations. He was just a guy he occasionally saw backstage or in production meetings. They’d been in a ring once before. Adam kinda saw him as this hardened badass with a devil may care attitude. A weird, enigmatic guy with a prickly attitude and a hardened reputation. The flash of a silver flask, drawn from Mox’s inner jacket pocket, spoke to Adam though in a way few else in the arena would get. He understood the motivation behind the deep drink Mox indulged. If a guy like Jon Moxley needed alcohol to steady his nerves, then shit, it was really that bad. Kenny’s entrance then, was a nail in the coffin. He dressed subdued, in jeans and a shirt instead of elaborate gear. No bullshit spiel from Justin Roberts, just his music, and the belt. Adam worked his jaw and took some solace from his own beverage. Besides him, Matt shifted and squirmed, his thumb at his mouth gnawing on his already bitten down nail.

Before Ring of Honor shipped him off to Japan, Adam was never into Japanese wrestling. His library of matches included the DVR recordings of WWF matches, the local shit you could get on the TV, and eventually, the various indie shows across the South-East he attended. It was all catch wrestling, some technical shit, and whatever the Hardys were doing. Death matches, likewise, were a joke in the schools and shows he attended. “How many commas?” Was the refrain for what it’d take to get an average wrestler to do something as stupid as involve barbed wire in a match. Therefore, a Japanese, Exploding, Barbed Wire, Death Match, was completely out of Adam’s wheel house. He had no idea what to expect. What he got when the bell rang was totally outside of the realm of his imagination.

It was the little shit: Kenny was dead serious, Mox made the sign of the cross, and the methodical, slow pace they set. It was all physical strength as they jostled, tied-up with each other, all too aware of the limitations of the ring. After a year as his tag-partner, Adam was familiar with Kenny’s style. His explosive speed, how he worked the ropes, and his overwhelming energy. This was a different Kenny, almost uncomfortable in the confines of his cage. Close calls, pushing, prodding, biting each other, trying to force the other into barbed wire they treated with the respect it deserved it. Mox beat Kenny with every instrument available and Adam knew the way Kenny writhed was genuine. When Kenny sent Mox into the far ropes and a flash of fire sent billows of smoke into the arena, Matt gripped Adam’s hand like it was an instinctive reflex. He squeezed, hard, pressing his fingers around Adam’s palm. Pain shot-up Adam’s arm like a bolt of lightning. Adam hissed and reached over to pry Matt off his injured hand.

“Jesus, Matt,” Adam hissed.

Matt murmured apologies and yet his grip just switched to Adam’s wrist instead, which wasn’t much better because Adam’s whole arm was sore. Since apparently Matt needed to cling to something, Adam hooked his whole right arm around Matt’s shoulders. Then reached his left hand over to grip Matt’s hand. It was awkward and the armrest dug into Adam’s ribs but Matt rested his head in the crook of Adam’s shoulder, so it worked. Their fingers interlaced and Adam could only imagine how fucking goofy they looked. If the cameras happened to pick them up in the crowd they would never live it down. At least, Kenny had his footing in the match, he was in control, working over Mox, looking for that pin— Adam wasn’t sure if he was rooting for Kenny or not. Or, if he just kinda wanted this to be over because it was evidently mentally ripping Matt to shreds.

Wanted this to be over, the belt out of Kenny’s hands, and somewhere else, where it couldn’t be between them anymore.

Blood and smoke, broken hardware, torn skin. Kenny in the ropes, blinded by the dust, begging for water for his burned eyes. Matt’s breath, high in his throat, turning his face into Adam’s shoulder. And Adam just watched. He watched and forgot about the beer warming to room temperature by his side. A pressure built in his jaw, and yet, he couldn’t look away. No clear thoughts surfaced, nothing solid, or real. Just ideas, images, tangled together with the scene before him like the barbed wire wrapped around Mox’s arm. He didn’t allow himself to settle. Didn’t allow himself to latch onto anything, just let it all drift, staying in the moment of the violence, pain, and brutality of two men literally trying to kill each other. The sight of Kenny’s blood, red, crimson, staining his white shirt, and marring his pale skin burned Adam’s vision.

He thought back to Full Gear. The way he could tell Kenny was in his head. Always a half-step ahead. And that whole match Adam was working his ass off just to keep-up. Trying to wiggle his way into opening, taking advantage of every opportunity like a life line. He’d watched that match back a hundred times and he could every single one of his mistakes. He found a new error to fixate on each time he hit the replay button. The truth was that physically, Kenny had no significant advantage over Adam. In fact, Adam knew he had all the benefits of superior strength, better cardio, and youth. In skill, there was nothing dividing them— After that tag-team run, Adam knew he could hang with Omega. What kept Adam back, what left him behind, in the shadow of Kenny was himself. His own tangled thoughts and anxieties, burning a hole in his heart. He had stared-up the lights, like a crashed angel, and kinda accepted that final pin.

Like, he just gave-up, after bearing the burden of a year from hell. Let it all roll off his shoulders. Atlas shrugged, and the world shattered. And in the midst of broken glass, he had rebuilt. With no end goal in mind. Just, kinda up, kinda forward, one step at a time, gazed fixated on his toes so he didn’t slip in his own blood, and not ahead, and now he was looking at the ring. Accepting the smoke and blood and tears and sweat, the desperate men swinging punch-drunk as the ten minute warning sounded. It was an observation, he could note it, and let the moment past. Adam was in the rankings, number three last Tuesday, maybe higher next Tuesday. It didn’t mean anything, it didn’t have to mean anything.

Didn’t have to do anything but just sit here and hold Matt.

When the Good Brothers rushed out to the ring Matt sighed and laughed, but it was high-pitched, shaking his head. Adam watched Mox go through the chair in a One Winged Angel but all Matt was muttering was that he ‘couldn’t take this anymore.’ He didn’t want to see the ending, but he did hear the three count, and Adam admitted that his masochist desire had puttered out. So, he pushed Matt to his feet and they slid through the rows to escape the arena. Outside, fresh air, cool and tinged with the taste of the metallic city, brushed against Adam’s heated face. Matt walked to the curb outside Daily’s place and collapsed. He sat there, breathing hard and fast, head between his knees, some, strangled, broken noise erupting from his throat. Adam shoved his hands in his jean pockets and sat down next to him. A lot of noises erupted from the arena behind them but the sounds muddled with the traffic, sirens, people, nothing distinct.

“Hey,” Adam whispered, reaching for Matt’s shoulder. He placed his hand in the crook of Matt’s neck and gathered him closer to his side. Matt was still hyperventilating and so Adam ordered firmly, but not unkindly, “dude, slow down. Take a deep breath. It’s okay, it’s over.”

Matt’s entire body trembled and Adam had half a mind to break six months of radio silence by calling Nick to tell him to come get his brother. Instead, Matt collapsed against Adam, burying his face in his chest as for the first time in probably an hour, he breathed. Every tensed muscle unraveled beneath Adam’s hand as all the fight left Matt. Tears tracked trails of dust down Matt’s cheeks and Adam hummed, low in his throat. It was something content, a pleased purr. He always liked feeling useful, needed, relied upon, and to have Matt physically leaning on him like this— felt good. It felt right. He’d been dropping the Bucks and Kenny, fumbling like an idiot, for a while now. Maybe now, when he felt a little stronger, a little more firm, he could hold them right.

Maybe—

Maybe, and the thought trailed off without conclusion.

“I hate this, why can’t it just be over,” Matt gasped into Adam’s shirt. “Why can’t we— why can’t we just, just be friends again?! We should never have left Japan. This shit wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t made this damn company. AEW was supposed to be fun, and all it did was just—just tear us apart.”

Against Adam’s thigh, Matt fisted his hand, nails biting into his palm. Adam placed his chin on top of Matt’s head. He didn’t respond to his question because he didn’t have an answer. No response that was adequate. Just a recap of all their broken dreams and failures. Matt knew the story. He didn’t need Adam to try to fix this. Adam couldn’t fix this but he could be here. He could do that.

“I want things back to how they were,” Matt admitted, and his voice was softer, but hitched with a sob.

“I don’t,” Adam said.

Matt stiffened under Adam’s arm. And Adam had a feeling the thoughts that came to his mind weren’t the most gentle thing to say to Matt as he spiraled off a panic attack— but they were maybe the things Matt needed to hear.

“I hated being in the EVP room,” Adam continued, and his voice shook. “I hated living in your shadows. I hated watching you guys go out with Kenny and be in his corner, while I always had my matches alone. I hated— I hated being the weak link. I hated never feeling like I belonged. Like, I never deserved to be your friend.”

“Hangman—” Matt pulled back to look at Adam, his eyes wet with tears.

“No, no, Matt listen,” Adam insisted. He hooked his hand around the back of Matt’s neck. “This shit, would’ve happened in Japan, or NXT, or Ring of Honor, no matter where we went. Because wherever you go, there you are, and we carried our baggage here.”

“I just had no idea we made you so miserable,” Matt confessed. “That we made you—”

“Dude, I made myself miserable,” Adam laughed, interrupting him. “All up in my head and shit, and I’m done with that. I’m done with the bullshit and the drama. Maybe, I’m not the best, but I just wanna—I wanna focus on, I don’t know, having fun? Doing what I can. Forget about the stupid title.”

“So, you’re not going to challenge Kenny?” Matt asked. He reached for Adam’s face, pressed his palm to Adam’s cheek. Adam shivered under his touch, tongue darting out to wet his lips.

“I don’t know,” Adam admitted. He ducked his head but Matt smoothed his thumb over Adam’s cheekbone and forced him to look up again. Forced him to meet Matt’s dark eyes, and Adam had no choice but to think, Holy shit, I love him. So, he whispered and confided, “I don’t know if I can.”

“I think you can,” Matt said. He inched closer so they were thigh-to-thigh, he tilted Adam’s face down to knock their foreheads together. Adam could hear the smile on his lips. “Someone has to knock some sense into Kenny. I don’t want to see my best friends fight but—”

“Matt,” Adam sighed. His hand reached across to Matt’s opposite hip.

“What?” Matt asked. Adam nuzzled his nose into his cheek. “Adam?”

“Nothing,” Adam smiled.

And he couldn’t help but to wonder why Matt believed in him when no one else did. What he saw that he recognized as potential. Matt’s patience as Adam strayed and wandered— that the frustration, read more as worry now than anger. And it was Adam that Matt sought out tonight. And Matt wasn’t shoving him away as he leaned in, the ghost of his breath on Matt’s bottom lip. Then, Matt’s phone rang and he was cussing, digging into his pockets. He checked the collar ID, noted it was Nick and murmured bashful excuses to Adam before answering. Adam leaned back on his hands, scratching his boot heels against the pavement.

“Hey, man,” Matt intoned, a hand running through his hair. HIs voice was still raw and he swallowed hard, putting on a mask of cool, stoicism for his little brother. “What’s up?”

Adam heard the low rumble of Nick’s voice on the other side. Chewing out Matt for vanishing during production. TK needed them ASAP, and Matt was nodding, promising he’d show-up soon. He just needed some time to get some fresh air.

“Is everyone okay?” Matt asked, and Adam leaned forward to hear the response.

“Yeah, everyone’s okay, Kenny, Mox, and fucking, Eddie? He ran out there right before the bomb went off, the idiot,” Nick grumbled. “But it was a fucking dud. It didn’t go off at all— the fans actually boo’ed, I can’t tell if TK is furious or relieved. I mean, Kenny made it so I don’t know what we expected—”

Adam choked on a laugh, leaning his elbows on his knees. His entire shoulders shook as cackles broke out of his chest and he covered his mouth to hide the noise. Adam barely registered Nick asking Matt who he was with before Matt hung-up the phone. Matt shook his head and then he was laughing too, breaking the tide of all the bundled, nervous fear that had held them. Adam knew in his head there was way more shit to work out between them. That they weren’t out of the woods yet and his heart was too tender, too fragile, to take another break but— it felt better.

In some ways, it almost felt good, and ‘almost good’ is a state Adam hadn’t been in for a long time.

“You should uh, go do your job,” Adam suggested.

Matt pushed to his feet and Adam stood too. He felt that awkwardness, the unacknowledged weirdness of almost making out with your not-best-friend, or the fact that they’re supposed to hate each other right now. All the crap that was still between them, all the land mines of conversations not yet triggered. Maybe, they were untangling the barbed wire. Closing the distance inch-by-inch, and it was magnetic, almost inevitable— but Adam wasn’t sure if he was ready to stand beside Matt. Maybe because he was afraid of being hurt again. Maybe because he was dead terrified of the air in the EVP room when he was swallowing all his words. Maybe, because he had always walked behind, and never beside.

He asked Matt, last year, for a little more time, and apparently, he still needed a little more yet.

“Yeah, uh, talk to you later, I guess,” Matt managed. When he breathed there was a shutter, the residuals of his panic attack. Adam figured if he was with his brother, he’d be fine. Nick would take care of him. Adam worried about a lot things but he never worried about the Bucks because they always had each other.

“Yeah,” Adam nodded. “See ya.”

Matt turned back to the arena first. Adam stood there, watching him walking away and refusing to let his thoughts roll over it.

It is what it is.

#darkenedhearts #‘The Hangman’ || Adam: IC #‘Deals with God’ || Adam: Verse

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corbo-florbo · 4 years

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The Rise of Darby Allin and the Desolation of Kenny Omega

August 5, 2020. The return bout of Jon Moxley and Darby Allin. For the veteran Moxley, it’s like looking into a reflection into the past. For Darby, this is yet another opportunity and as we saw, Mox got the win. We saw him pour his heart out, his wish to not end Darby’s career early, his plea for Darby to stay down that he knew would fall on deaf ears. He got the win, despite an interference by Maxwell Jacob Friedman.

August 12, 2020. MJF launches another promo on Moxley, as arrogant and pompous as ever. Jon has enough and as we saw, attacks MJF, who left himself open by sending his cronies out into the stands, Mox’s usual entryway, though he took the traditional way everyone else does, through the stage and into the ring with a Paradigm Shift before cutting another fantastic promo.

Here is where the story takes leave from our current reality. Here is where things are going to play out differently than what they will at the time of this writing. Here is the rise of Darby Allin.

The next few episodes of Dynamite go on without Darby, yet on Saturday, August 22nd, Mox has to contend with Ricky Starks, who claims that it wasn’t Moxley that pinned him him on July 29th, and that Mox hasn’t faced him one-on-one, therefore hasn’t defeated him. Moxley accepts, but Starks has to go it alone, as his current associates, Taz and Brian Cage, are not allowed at ringside, nor on commentary, leaving just Jim Ross and Tony Schiavonne for the duration of this match. Taz and Cage are only allowed to spectate from backstage. The adrenaline from MJF’s shenanigans from the earlier week charges Moxley up through the first part of the match, so much so that he loses focus and Starks finally gets the upper hand and is afflicting some nasty hits on Moxley. But not for long. It’s Jon Fucking Moxley we’re talking about here (though the jury’s still out on Fucking being his middle name.). He feeds on the agony, like it fuels his engines. Moxley is sending a love letter to pain as usual, stamped and sealed with the Paradigm Shift and secures another win. He stamps this message to MJF with a promo about how he’s tired of the politics, of all the bullshit. Once they’re in the ring, the fun is over and it’s going to be a bloodbath.

In the leadup to All Out, MJF taunts Moxley in his politician-like promos. Learning from August 12th, MJF ensures that the entrances are blocked out. The two finally are forced to meet up on the go-home episode before the pay-per-view, much to the chagrin of the Burberry scarf-wearer. MJF lashes his tongue in a verbal assault, the types he’s known for, probably calling him the Lunatic Cringe, calling back to his days as Dean Ambrose in WWE. All Mox does in this meetup is remain silent. His expressions tell the story, as a smile spreads across his face. Whatever he is smiling about, it can’t be good for his challenger.

Still, there is no Darby. Until the Saturday of All Out, that is, albeit in vignette form. Similar to his other black-and-white vignettes, Darby announces he will be back, but different. He’s tired of leaving all the time and coming back, putting himself on the shelf because he knows he needs to work a better strategy, but he refuses to compromise his style. So he’s taking a vow. A vow of silence, a vow to polish his abilities. Only when he obtains a title will he break this vow. He knows he can talk with the best of them, but he’s doubting if he can walk with them. Darby announces he will reveal a manager the next Wednesday’s Dynamite, and as the vignette fades to black, you can hear the sound of cars screeching.

Later on in the main event, Moxley and MJF have their No DQ main event bout. Always the cowardly heel, MJF cries and screams at the tortures Moxley conjures up. Yet for some reason he doesn’t surrender, most likely having forgotten how to submit and give up. Wardlow helps slow Moxley down, but not stop him outright. Mox even gives a Paradigm Shift on Wardlow to take him out of the equation. While he’s distracted, MJF takes the opportunity to bring out his ring, the same one that gave him so many unclean wins before. As Moxley reenters, he is met with that same ring, and his head, according to Jim Ross, is “busted wide open”, and as the crimson flows down his face, the champion smears it across his face like it’s war paint and licks his lips. MJF kneels on both knees and begs for mercy. Mox reaches in his pocket and brings out not mercy, but a steel chain. As he wraps it around his fist, Mox finds himself victim of a low blow, and MJF brings him up, gives him a DDT as a middle finger and after the pinfall, MJF is now champion and his smug grin is wore as proudly as is his new belt. The King of Violence has been dethroned by the one who wears the Burberry scarf. A new era is ushered in for AEW.

The Dynamite following All Out continues with everyone’s storylines in the fallout of the pay per view. MJF is celebrating his win and living it up with a shit-eating grin and continues his boasts of how he’s going to bring All Elite Wrestling into a new era and establish the promotion as the top one, the new big thing. He carries himself with that same air that leaves many wishing they could wipe off the smug expression on his face. This goes on in the middle of the show.

Main event time of this episode happens, and Darby Allin walks to the ring alone. He carries a microphone in hand though he says nothing. No dramatic, grand gesture, nothing but a glance from him towards the entrance and that same screeching tires from the All Out vignette sounds off in the arena, and a funky, yet vaguely familiar guitar riff (at least vague enough to avoid copyright issues) introduces Allin’s manager and mouthpiece. Out comes a man with a red and black, unbuttoned and torn flannel shirt with a black shirt underneath comes out, finger-guns a-blazin’. With a “BANG BANG!”, Mick Foley enters the ring and is handed the microphone by Darby.

Foley expresses his gratitude that Darby invited him to this pardukey, a word he uses as a synonym to “party”. Foley then describes himself as not Foley, but as Cactus Jack. Cactus Jack then informs Darby that he’s on Jon Moxley’s side as far as going too extremes goes. That isn’t to say Darby can’t be extreme, but that he needs to be “controlled chaos”. With that, Darby could be a force to be reckoned with. With that, Darby can be championship material. Though Darby is a phenomenal, sensational act that captures the hearts of many, Cactus and Darby believes this training can elevate Darby to another level entirely. What is now a beautiful car wreck may soon become a massive pileup on the highway that is Darby’s career. Cactus ends the promo by saying he knows Darby is serious and has that fire in his soul, the same fire that fueled him in the bingo halls and ballrooms from the ECW days. This vow of silence, while unnecessary, keeps Cactus Jack ready to groom Darby into AEW’s next champion.

In the following weeks, Darby reels back his intensity, being more technical in his approach. So much so that people begin wondering if they’re getting the watered down version of the Darby Allin we all know and love. Jobber after jobber, Darby goes on a winning streak. Despite this new success, Darby’s body language indicates he is unfulfilled. In Cactus’s promos, he brings this up, that he doesn’t want Darby’s body to get nasty and banged up like his is and like how Moxley’s is going to be. Even entering shoot territory, Cactus mentions how Kenny Omega’s body seems to be slowing down due to the strain of the New Japan Pro Wrestling matches taking a toll on him, catching the ire of The Best Bout Machine, which will come into play later.

As Full Gear approaches, Darby and Jungle Boy start their rivalry. With mutual respect, there is little drama between the two. In a Road To Full Gear YouTube video, Cactus Jack mentions how Darby is leaps and bounds improved as a wrestler. That this may prolong the young man’s career. Then reveals that Darby is being groomed in the ECW way, to go normal in regular episodes and to let out all of the pent up carnage at pay per views. Cactus Jack confesses he is scared for Jungle Boy, stating there is still time for him to drop out of the match. Meanwhile, Jungle Boy describes how he wants to bring more prominence to the Jurassic Express name. On a winning streak himself, Jungle Boy strives to prove he is the better of the two.

Come Full Gear, Darby and Jungle Boy give it their all, with Cactus Jack and Luchasaurus with Marko Stunt in their corners respectively. Darby puts his body on the line, and even lands the nasty moves like the Coffin Drop. He’s focusing his bloodthirst so well, which meshes well with the aerial style of Jungle Boy. That proves to not be enough to escape Darby, however. While Marko and Luchasaurus try to prevent Darby from using weapons, he lands some tin can and 4x4 plank offence on Jungle Boy. The young Jack Perry is having the worst time, and Cactus is reveling in it. Darby then stops this, satisfied with the blood and is pleased to see Jungle Boy hasn’t given up, struggling but finally getting on his feet. All for naught, however, as he’s back on the floor, and Darby is trying to break his fingers. With tears streaming and blood flowing, Jungle Boy taps out. Darby secures this pay per view win.

Meanwhile, MJF still has the AEW title. But Cactus assures Darby that MJF is further down the line and needs to focus on a new target, one who has week in and week out has been defending his title, the TNT Championship. Cody Rhodes. Cody challenges Darby on an episode of Dynamite, but Darby declines, opting instead to take him on at Revolution. Instead, Brian Pillman Jr. makes his Dynamite debut against Cody, and gives it his all, but Cody gets the win, with the help of a Coffin Drop, as to send a message to Darby.

Cody gives in and asks yet again for Darby to challenge for the TNT title at Revolution and Darby accepts but only if it’s an unsanctioned, No DQ match. This match starts off with both men, full steam ahead. Darby shows how he’s continued to grow even more. Reversing all of Cody’s moves, despite Arn Anderson’s coaching and tips, Darby proves to be a slippery one. Then Cody brings out a sledgehammer, and gets a lick in on Darby, but that’s not going to be easy. Darby rolls out to Cactus Jack, who hands him a bag, which turns out to be thumbtacks as Darby empties it into the ring, which both men find puncturing their skin. On the face of Cactus Jack is a look of worry. This match is a mirror to the past for him, in another life, in another place, with another wielder of a sledgehammer. After an intense near-count, Darby kicks out and attempts to reverse the pin with a roll-up but Cody breaks out at two. As both men rise to their feet, Cody clutches at his wrist, as though it’s cramping and then Cody breaks out into a smile, as he’s holding up four fingers. Unbeknownst to Darby, two figures are behind him and a camera reveal shows it to be FTR, who gives Darby a Goodnight Express, giving Cody a win. Unseen by Darby is Tully Blanchard and Arn cornering Cactus Jack, who tries to put up a fight but his old and broken body can’t fight back as well against two men older than him (don’t worry, he doesn’t take any bumps on-camera – it cuts back and he’s on the ground, kayefabe attacked.). This was just an excuse to reveal plans that have been in the works for quite some time, and who better to inflict it upon than the young man they see as a sponge for pain? The group of men standing tall have yet to reveal who their “fourth man” is, but with Tully being present, it’s a good guess as to who it might be given who his client is.

Disheartened, Darby and Cactus Jack at least take solace at the win record Darby has been on. A win so unfairly taken from him doesn’t detract him for long, as it was clearly a dirty win. Darby could have gotten it if he wanted.

It is time to temporarily shift focus to someone else, who has their own story going on, separate from Darby Allin and Cactus Jack. That person is Kenny Omega, pre-Revolution. Cactus’s comments on how Kenny’s work in Japan is taking its toll on him, the jokes on Being The Elite and Dynamite about how he was better as The Cleaner have all rattled Omega. He has enough on his plate already, with a widening rift betwixt he and Hangman Page, still tag team champions. Not only that, but FTR and his own friends in The Young Bucks are STILL not taking Omega and Hagman seriously; the champs are but a mere afterthought for the two teams touting themselves the best tag teams in pro wrestling today. Omega continues to act more unhinged, as the stress is getting to him. It is this stress that reawakens the desire and thirst to prove himself once more. More and more, Omega gets closer to crossing the line. As Hangman joins sides with FTR, he is inevitably betrayed by them as the Four Horsemen trample on him and ride (setting up a feud with him and Cody one day, as the Cowboy saddles to gun down these Horsemen). The Young Bucks, annoyed with Kenny’s siding with Hangman pre-betrayal, alongside wanting to never stop until they prove themselves better than FTR, leave Kenny alone. He doesn’t take this well, as he is used to finding power in his friends and reciprocating it to them. Riho is gone, Ibushi is still in a different promotion, and a moment of rage separates him from Michael Nakazawa on an episode of Being The Elite. But, he does have one more friend. Once again, he and Matthew Hardy team up against Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara. Lately, Jericho’s post-feud with Orange Cassidy has left him more detached from his Inner Circle friends. Sammy has been worried about him, which proves to be a distraction from Hardy. Many of the skits and even on Sammy’s YouTube vlog he tries to appeal to Jericho, to “break down his walls” and have it be like old times. Hardy holds back on his anger in the match, to the point he even raises a chair to Sammy once his back is turned, only to pause and drop it, as Jericho lays on the ground after a kick from Omega. Hardy offers to again help Sammy in the hopes that it may help him and Jericho. However, all that goodwill would not come to fruition as Omega maniacally and comically laughing grabs the chair Hardy dropped and goes ballistic on Sammy, thus disqualifying the two. Hardy, confused and pissed off, confronts Omega, who shoves the veteran down on the mat. After Omega’s departure from the ring, Hardy is looking a little different, a little broken.

Matthew Hardy is gone for a bit, as Broken Matt Hardy challenges Kenny Omega to a match at the Hardy Compound. All of Broken Matt’s shenanigans save him from a reckless Kenny and all of his V-Triggers. Just enough so that he could give Omega a Twist of Fate and roll him into the Lake of Reincarnation. Kenny is not seen for two weeks before his reemergence, not as himself, not as The Cleaner, but as The Destroyer Kenny Omega. A different Omega, he has no pomp and circumstance. He doesn’t build anticipation for his moves, he doesn’t pose, because he doesn’t need fans for fuel; his rage is ample enough to drive him. His mission: to destroy that which All Elite Wrestling has built in singles competition. The Destroyer Kenny Omega goes on a winning streak of his own, decimating foes, former friends, and everyone in between.

Meanwhile, MJF has grown delusional with his power and his wins. He hasn’t eaten a single loss while holding the AEW belt. The rest of the male roster relating to the rest of the story goes as follows: all tag teams are vying to dethrone FTR as tag champs, Kenny is still on his warpath, Hangman is still feuding with Cody, Matthew Hardy has joined Inner Circle, turning them babyface but leading to Santana and Ortiz leaving. Dark Order is claiming more clients, and lost one in Colt Cabana, now going by a detective gimmick, Clue Cabana (complete with Law & Order’s *dun-dun* sound effect). Young Bucks are still struggling against FTR and the rest of the Horsemen, who seem to be targeting the duo.

Believing himself invincible at this point, he issues a battle royale challenge for a Blood and Guts two week series on Dynamite. Night one has ten competitors: Jon Moxley, Darby Allin, Kenny Omega, Shawn Spears, Billy Gunn, Jungle Boy, Brian Pillman Jr., Griff Garrison, Brodie Lee, and Luchasaurus.

Shawn Spears, long since having been revealed as a member of Cody’s Four Horsemen stable earlier, post-Revolution initially has the upper hand as they interfere and eliminate Gunn, Pillman, and Garrison. As Spears cockily celebrates the thinning herd, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus eliminate him. Before the duo celebrates, Jungle Boy manages to send his dinosaur friend over the top rope. Heartbroken, Luchasaurus gives Jungle Boy a look of solemn understanding and exits. At this point, Kenny Omega eliminates Jungle Boy from behind, with a sinister look on his face. Brodie Lee and Jon Moxley go at it, and Dark Order tries to eliminate Darby. In this chaos, Kenny is incapacitated and sent rolling under the bottom rope. Darby breaks out and incapacitates the thugs, but Brodie Lee manages to eliminate Jon Moxley. Disappointed he couldn’t go toe-to-toe with Moxley again, Darby refocuses. Brodie tries to send Darby over the top rope but he hangs on and grabs Brodie, sending him over too, and Brodie loses his grip. Before he can celebrate, Darby is face-to-face with The Destroyer Kenny Omega. Kenny’s finger is on the trigger, but he can’t pull it. He doesn’t hit Darby at all, turning his back while Darby is in defensive position. He simply leaves the arena as Moxley and Brodie lay unconscious and Cactus enters the ring to congratulate Darby. Darby advances to night two to face MJF.

And the second night of Blood and Guts goes on. Main event: Darby vs MJF. Due to frequent interferences by Cactus Jack and Wardlow, they become barred from the fight. For the first time in a while, On this March evening, Darby and MJF deliver a match for the ages. MJF fueled by his cockiness, delusions of grandeur, and false invincibility, puts up a great fight, without resorting to underhanded tactics. He proves that he’s pound for pound a force to be reckoned with and sends Darby on his back on multiple occasions, yet he gets back up each time. Darby has ascended, near godlike in the ring. Desperate, MJF finally tries to sneak a hit with his ring, but it doesn’t faze Darby all too much. He drinks in the pain like a fine wine and to show his appreciation for how he got to where he is, Darby takes out MJF with not a Coffin Drop, but the Mandible Claw. One, two, three and Darby is now the AEW World Champion. Confetti drops and Mick Foley, dropping the Cactus Jack name, celebrates with his pupil in a win a long time in the making.

Mick Foley schedules with Tony Khan, a Darby Allin Appreciation Night, who hesitant in his modesty, barely accepts. Mick waxes poetically about how much this journey meant to him, and that now he has done his job, he’s ready to head back home. Asking Darby if that is fine with him, if Darby is ready to continue his path alone, as he proved at Blood and Guts, Darby finally breaks his vow of silence, answering with “Thank you, Mick.” The two embrace in a tear-filled goodbye and as Mick leaves, the show closes out with Jon Moxley entering the ring to challenge Darby at Double or Nothing, only to be interrupted by The Destroyer Kenny Omega on the Titantron, to also throw his proverbial hat into the ring, to make the Double or Nothing match a triple threat for the AEW World Title. But he wants it in a match Darby and Moxley are all too familiar with, a deathmatch. A triple-threat deathmatch.

Double or Nothing’s main event is the host for said deathmatch. All three men finish their entrances and stand in the ring, ready to go. Darby Allin, stoic and ready; this is the moment he’s truly been waiting for. Jon Moxley, eyes not on former rival Kenny, but on Darby, he is ready to see what this young star is capable of when pitted with him. Kenny, gritting his teeth, glares holes right through both opponents, and he’s the first to strike once the opening bells ring. V-Trigger to Moxley, and a dive to Darby’s legs, and Kenny stands tall. Both veteran and rising star must team up against this wild card. They split up, bringing out their own weapon of choice: Darby’s skateboard and Moxley reveals a barb-wire baseball bat. Kenny no-sells both, yet they do indeed leave their mark. As far as he’s concerned, he doesn’t need a weapon for his body is a weapon. Constantly knocking them to their feet, neither man can stop Omega. Both men are seen but not heard discussing something very quickly outside of the ring, while Omega is in hot pursuit. Darby low-blows Omega as he closes in and Moxley grabs out and unwraps some barb-wire and ties Kenny’s wrists to the ring post. Then it’s time for Mox and Darby to finally go at it the way they were meant to, mano-a-mano. It is at this point the two are almost at the same level. Moxley and Darby mix the technical, the acrobatic, and the painful (Moxley almost has a bent finger because of Darby, for example). The right amount of brutal, Darby is getting the most offense in. Perhaps it is because of his youth that he is faster, which forces Moxley to change his strategy, and sneaks in a Paradigm Shift. Fearing that may not be enough, Moxley removes a turnbuckle pad opposite the side Kenny is still tied to (but almost wriggled out of, to gross effect), and drags Darby to the aforementioned exposed turnbuckle. As he readies to introduce Darby’s head to it, the youth shakes free and instead slams Mox’s head into it, who then writhes in agony on the mat. Kenny is now free from his constraints, but a Coffin Drop and a pin later, and Darby has retained against both men. Kenny, having been just inches from victory, strikes Darby with a kick to the midsection followed by a One-Winged Angel, only for Omega to then be met with a Paradigm Shift by Moxley, back on his feet again. Kenny is out, selling it to the blood loss (which isn’t actually that much because I’m not a monster.), is put away by this. Mox then pulls Darby to his feet, as he tries to recuperate. Coming to, Darby finds his hand raised by Mox and the referee, as he is handed his belt back. Almost a year in the making, and Darby finds himself embraced by who some may consider as his father figure in AEW. Lowering his belt, he soaks this moment in. After this, the two men leave, but three others enter.

The Young Bucks and Hangman Page, who earlier in the week on an episode of Being the Elite reunite. They have been reducing their distance from one another, and still they cannot contend with the Four Horsemen. They give in and admit they all need each other. Page, as much as it pains him after what he did to Kenny, suggests making up with him. Back to the present, as Kenny slowly rises to his feet, the trio try and appeal to him, but he shakes his head and leaves.

Each subsequent episode of Being the Elite and Dynamite both feature the active members of The Elite coping with each subsequent issue with the Four Horsemen. Kenny is still on his rise, with his loss in the triple threat the only blemish on his win record. Fyter Fest approaches, and he’s still distant, but after his match with Jungle Boy ends in a no-contest due to the 4HM appearing, they’ve got his attention. It isn’t until they stop his match against Brian Cage at Fight For the Fallen before it even begins by taking out Cage that Kenny has had enough. As if to answer an unknown call, the Bucks and Hangman appear for backup and the four members of The Elite stand tall over their former friend Cody and his new friends. Kenny, however, leaves the trio behind.

Next week’s BTE sees Clue Cabana approach Kenny, who for once, doesn’t lash out (as it is with the long-running gag in their skits), but invites Cabana in for a talk. Cabana details how he felt going down a dark path in Dark Order, and how he felt it separated him from his former self and his former friends. He says how only recently he reached out to the members of SCU, who are all still doing their own thing at the moment and renewed his friendship with them. Cabana mentions that sometimes you can’t ever leave family for too long, and that Kenny belongs to the friends he’s made along the way and vice versa. Kenny’s demeanor thus changes in the passing weeks.

All Out approaches, and in the leadup on BTE and Dynamite, Kenny builds to finally, firmly reuniting with The Elite. They declare the four of them will challenge the 4HM on the pay per view, but Kenny rejects it. He says he failed them, that they lost it all and he lost them. He should have been there for them but wasn’t. Kenny states he must do this alone, that he will take on the four of them in a handicap match. There’s no talking him out of it, so instead they give their blessing. Not just them, but Nakazawa and Hardy (alongside his friends in the Inner Circle) as well. The managers of the Four Horsemen, Arn & Tully, have finally won against their foe, Dusty by corrupting his son Cody, to the chagrin of Dustin Rhodes, who also had been pleading with Kenny. Despite all Cody as done to everyone, he is still family. Kenny takes it upon him to knock some sense into him, as well as destroying the stable (might as well, he’s still “The Destroyer” Kenny Omega.).

Match time at All Out, with the Horsemen awaiting the Best Bout Machine. Once again forgoing the pomp and circumstances, Kenny does not pose on his way to the ring, but he does seem to be breathing in the atmosphere in a way reminiscent of how he used to be. Now in the ring, he looks to his foes, hesitates, and finally lets out that pose, that iconic pointing with a cocky grin. The opening bell rings and the Horsemen attack. Soon, they all have him on the mat, but seconds later, he bursts out, cleaning house with the four of them. They set themselves up and he knocks them back down. Soon come the chairs, and they knock him down once again, and again, and again. The last chair shot, delivered by Shawn Spears, sends Omega flat. But he rises once more because he has to. Everyone is depending on him. He must destroy that which is destroying his former friend. A superkick to both Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler of FTR, a Buckshot Lariat to Shawn Spears, and to finish off Cody, he attempts to do a V-Trigger and a One-Winged Angel, but all fail. As a last resort, he takes the battered Cody, and gives him a Bionic Elbow, the same move Cody’s father Dusty used. Covering for the pin, Kenny Omega is the victor. He didn’t win a title, but he won something more: the fifth member of The Elite, Cody. As his now former stablemates lay on the ground, Cody shakes the hand of Kenny, and brushes Arn & Tully away, as Brandi and Dustin meet him at the entrance ramp.

Kenny embraces The Elite as they greet him. What he’ll do next, he’s unsure of. Whether it’s returning to tagging with Page, challenging Darby for his title, or something different, Kenny has regained himself. Whatever he does next, he will make sure it’s elite.

Deleting this soon, but I’m tagging @adriennegabriella and @mith-gifs-wrestling for this, hope you guys like it before I sent it you-know-where! *wink wink*.

#fantasy booking #aew #darby allin #kenny omega #jon moxley

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futureboymcflyy-archive-blog · 7 years

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a friend tag!

1. know any so-bad-it’s-good 80s songs? (I for one know this one) so many. the first one that comes to mind though is whip it by devo.. iconic

2. ever had crushes on people from the 40s/50s/60s? yes!! movies from that era are my parents favorite to watch so that’s a lot of what i saw when I was a kid :) and my crushes would probably be… audrey hepburn because who doesn’t love her, cary grant, grace kelly, jimmy stewart… the list goes on.

3. do you really badly want to give scott larson a hug? yEs of course i do!! who wouldn’t??

4. do you have any interest in seeing leo and me? yes!! id love it see it. *movie trailer voice* mjf’s accent is back… and more canadian than ever!!

5. what is your favorite mjf role other than alex and marty? hm… milo thatch, mike flaherty, and brantley foster in no particular order

6. what would you do if you had to live in the 80’s for a week like marty did in 1955? i’d probably visit mill valley and sneak into the 2 am club to see if huey is hanging around. that or go to LA and try and find mjf haha

7. do you ever feel like you would be good friends with marty in 1985, with him being such a sweet boy and all? actually, yeah i think we would be friends! we’re very alike i think. small, full of anxiety, and kids who come off as cool to people who don’t know them but are really total losers

8. do you know all the lyrics to a certain song off the top of your head? well i know the lyrics to a lot of songs off the top of my head so I’m not completely sure what you’d be referring to? but if you’re trying to hint at a specific song then yeah probs

9. do you like me?

yes!! of course emma you’re like, one of the first people i talked to who actually talked back when i made this blog :)

10. have or had any pets? yep! i have a dog named jenna, she has three legs and is very sweet but full of energy. she little thinks she’s a puppy and she’s like, 8 years old. I also have a cat named ned, he’s deaf and very scared of everything.. and then I used to have a cat named clover who was really mean and angry and hated everything and everyone. it got so bad we had to bring him to the shelter :(

11. opinions on french dub marty? (here’s a video so you can see what I’m talking about) okay before i talk about french dub marty, let me just say that french dub strickland sounds like there’s something stuck in his throat. okay aNYway… french dub marty.. i feel like he fits? but its slightly off?? its weird. but i think i like it. of course nothing can surpass my love for good ol mjf. but yeah now i really want to watch the whole thing in french!

12. any favorite mjf interviews? this is technically a documentary, but i like this one (esp because of this part). i also like mjf’s first appearance on johnny carson.

13. do you like certain characteristics of a guy? (or girl whatever floats your boat) ex. blue eyes, brown hair, etc. uh… looking like mjf? yeah not kidding i liked a kid for 6 years solely because he looked like mjf. he was an ass. great first crush, hannah.

14. if you listen to huey lewis, what’s your favorite songs?

“if” hahah you’re funny emma.. probably working for a livin, hip to be square, i want a new drug, if this is it… and many others haha

i’m not sure who’s been tagged and who hasnt, so i tag anybody who wants to do this!

thank you @cinnamongeek for making this tag, and thank you @mjf-prince-of-hollywood for tagging me!

#tag

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williamtruax · 4 years

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Coronavirus Financial Survival Guide

Things are moving fast, and we're doing our best to keep you up to date on all the latest data, tips and techniques to make your journey through the valley of the virus as pain-free as possible. There are a couple big issues facing us, in addition to whatever we're doing to keep from becoming a healthcare statistic. One is the fact that income might be drying (or have dried) up. Without knowing what to do about it and how, that could mean trouble. The other issue is hysteria, or its gentler cousin, anxiety. People – especially media and social media people – need something to talk about. And it needs to be something interesting. What could be more interesting than impending doom? For better or worse, mostly worse, this disease gives them LOTS to talk about, and they're milking it for all it's worth. That may be fine for them, but what is it doing to you? It's hard to keep your head when people are fluttering about in a tizzy. The sense of ill-being, of some approaching disaster, permeates the air around them. While there may indeed be something to be concerned about, lots of added upset and anxiety doesn't help. What does help is keeping your wits, staying safe and keeping your finances above water. We're here to give you some useful data about the latter. First, let’s talk about what the government will be doing to assist taxpayers during this difficult time.

Government Programs

The federal government really understood that shutting down the economy would hurt a lot of people and businesses, and they've been taking some extraordinary steps to limit the damage. There've been several new laws announced recently, with the biggest of them all just signed by President Trump today. We've already covered the highlights of the earlier laws, so here's a list of what we think are the most relevant tax-related parts of today's new law (the CARES Act):

Tax credit rebates of up to $1,200 per individual and $500 per child that are phased out for taxpayers with AGI over $75,000 ($150,000 MJF and $112,500 HOH) and will be "rapidly advanced"

Deferral of 50% of an employers' payroll tax deposits for 2020 (with 50% of deferred amount due by December 31, 2021, and 50% due by December 31, 2022)

A refundable employer retention credit equal to 50% of qualified wages against quarterly employment taxes, to offset up to $10,000 of wages paid per employee in 2020

The reinstatement of NOL (net operating loss) carrybacks for the 2018–2020 taxable years, and repeal of the 80% taxable income limitation for the 2018–2020 taxable years

A technical correction that classifies qualified improvement property as 15-year recovery period, allowing the bonus depreciation deduction to be claimed for such property retroactively

Penalty-free withdrawals of tax retirement funds of up to $100,000 (income recognized over a three-year period)

A temporary waiver of RMD requirements in 2020

Increased individual and corporate charitable contribution deductions for 2020

The deferral of excess business loss limitations until 2021

The employer credits and deferral of payroll taxes will help employers keep workers on the payroll through these tough times. The changes to the NOL carry-backs and depreciation changes will let some business taxpayers amend prior returns in order to claim immediate refunds of tax already paid. The changes to pension plans and IRAs will let taxpayers access these funds penalty free if needed. The removal of charitable contribution limitations will allow larger contributions to charities who will be on the front lines of helping people. The CARES Act is not just about taxes. It also provides for Payroll Protection loans of up to $10 million to COVID-19 impacted businesses. These loans are guaranteed 100% by the Small Business Administration (no personal guarantees or collateral required) and must be taken out between February 15, 2020, and June 30, 2020. Loans may be forgiven for amounts used to cover basic operating expenses such as payroll costs, rent/mortgage and utilities for up to two months from the loan origination date (excluded from COD income). Otherwise, they will have a maximum maturity rate of 10 years and 4% interest. This is great news for those small businesses who might be struggling to make payroll or cover their rent. Not only can you get a loan, the loan can be forgiven, and the forgiven portion won't be included in taxable income. Wins all around!

Your Finances

All right – so the government is going to pitch in with a refund check, deferred taxes, employer credits, loans and such. However, what if these things don't cover the shortfall? What if you're still going to be struggling to make ends meet? Probably the most important thing to remember is to try to honor your commitments whenever possible. Why is that important? Because a lot of what's going to keep you alive and well is somebody else's commitment to you. Your employer's commitment to pay you even though you're not working, for example. Or, your bank's commitment to give you money if you ask for it. Or, the commitment of your customer to pay your invoice instead of blowing it off. If we all stand by and honor our commitments as best we can, we'll come out of this just fine. However, if we all take the position that we can walk away from as many of these commitments as possible, not only will you screw the person behind you in line, but you’ll get screwed by the person ahead of you as well! The result is that we all get screwed and the whole system comes crashing down. So, be a hero! Hold up your end of the bargain as best as you can. Now, having said all that, what if there just isn't enough to go around? Well, many financial actors are stepping up to help. Your employer may be able to pay you for some sick time or maintain some of your pay while you're out. Or, you may find help in other places including:

If you have a mortgage, contact your lender and see what programs they are offering in regard to extensions on your loan payment. Many lenders have or are putting together such programs. In most cases this will lengthen the loan by the number of months they are giving the grace period for and will slightly increase the interest on the back end of your loan. This is normally one's biggest amount due, so if you’re able to defer that payment for a couple of months, it can really help.

If you have any credit cards or personal loans, contact your creditors to see if they have any similar programs to the mortgage company. If not, be sure to pay your credit cards on time, even if it's just the minimum payment. You want to keep your credit score as good as you can and don't need this situation being a problem for you in the years to come. If you must, use credit cards to buy essentials only like groceries, gas, etc. Just be sure to keep up the minimum payment on your card.

If you pay rent, contact your landlord to see if they can get an extension on their mortgage payment. There are no evictions allowed right now, but you don't want to find yourself with three months to pay all at once when that order is lifted. If they are able to get an extension on their loan, this might work out. HOWEVER, if they rely on that income to eat, you should make this your top priority. The idea is how to make it through this difficult time with everyone still being able to survive with as little future repercussions as possible.

If you pay utilities, you can likely put off paying these bills with little to no consequences due to the no-shutoff order currently in effect. Pay attention to your notices and if you get a disconnect notice be sure to contact them to arrange a payment plan right away.

With cool heads and cool hands, we can make it through these times without poisoning the future. Good luck!

#COVID-19 #Coronavirus #Tax Return #Tax Payments #Tax Extension

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