For the second straight night, Oblivion's theme music plays loudly through the sound system and the fans rise in sync, all diverting their attention to the titantron. After a couple of seconds, Oblivion appears to thunderous roars of approval. Dressed in blue jeans, black vest and timberland boots, he stands still at the top of the ramp. He has a little burlap sack in his right hand and is already clutching a microphone. Moments pass and he resumes his journey down the isle as the fans each side of the isle cheer loudly, holding up their signs. He notices one in particular at the foot of the isle which reads 'Tyler Cena 4 President' Oblivion approaches the individual with the sign and laughs hysterically, holding up their arm, drawing a pop for the fan. At last, he climbs the steel steps and dusts off his feet on the apron, climbing in as his music cuts. He drops the burlap bag and climbs back out of the ring to the other side, grabbing a pre-placed steel chair and bringing it back to the ring with him. He unfolds it and places it down but sits on back to front of he can rest his arms on the back of the chair. He raises his microphone
~OBLIVION~
"I'm going to tell you about the real Devin Smith tonight"
He shakes his head with a smirk
~OBLIVION~
"Oh yeah, that fourth wall? Forget broken. It's about to get smashed down"
This garners a huge pop and he clears his throat
~OBLIVION~
"Devin Smith the wrestler and Devin Smith the person are pretty much the same person. He is a smart guy, cunning too. He's every bit as good as he claims to be and he backs it up and yes, he is that synonymous with women. I'm almost certain the guy invented serial monogamy. But for all his strong points, his downfall has always been the same factor. He acts on impulse. He opts to make decisions that he doesn't think through all the way and wouldn't you know it. He's done it again"
He rubs his eye with his free hand and looks down to the mat
~OBLIVION~
"Devin is every bit as ambitious as I am. Ambition is critical, everyone knows that. I was just a boy when I turned to my grandfather and said that I wished I could be a wrestler and you know what he told me? You can wish in one hand and shit in the other, see which one gets filled first. But that added to my drive and here I am, all these years later. When I first met Devin, I knew he was the same as me. He was a boy with a dream and he came through the adversity to get where he is now. I respect that"
Oblivion stops and pauses as the fans clap in appreciation
~OBLIVION~
"I don't have many friends behind that curtain nowadays. I have a few, the obvious ones being Neville Ryan and Jayson Tyler including a couple of others but I've always considered Devin Smith to be one of my best friends. I remember losing the NGW Hardcore Title to Matthew Maddox in a triple threat in 2012 and I was taken the hospital for tests and he text me calling me a wild bastard, but he hoped I got back on top of my game soon. That was the type of guy Devin was. I say was because Devin and I have always remained friends but there was a turning point in all of this. Back during those now infamous NGW days, Devin and I were drawn together but common enemies. Those enemies came in several forms like LeBron Carter and his potty mouth, lewd behavior towards our women"
He pauses and salutes in to the nearest camera with a wink
~OBLIVION~
"Hi LeBron, I know you ain't watching but your still a son of a bitch"
He continues after getting a laugh from the live crowd
~OBLIVION~
"But the common enemy that changed Devin was the NGW Management that was holding the two of us down. We were victims and it was a different time. I was me, placid about the situation, hurt undoubtedly but I persevered. Devin on the other hand? He was seething, furious and frustrated. Something snapped inside him that day and something dramatically altered his personality. I don't know what it was exactly but he made sure his agenda was self serving. He came out of it a very different man"
Oblivion grabs the burlap sack that he brought to the ring with him and pulls out a bloodstained leadpipe. He waves it around a bit before looking at it, staring for a couple of moments until resuming
~OBLIVION~
"Now I appreciate Show and Tell is only fun when you actually include the show part. June 23rd 2013 and Devin & I actually squared off for the first time in an "I Quit Match" in what became a blood feud. NGW didn't know what hit it. Neither did Devin actually but ask his kidneys, They'll tell you all about it. The short of it is that we battered each other. I put a beating on him that night that was so bad that it tired me out delivering it. Blood Warriors II was a night that neither of us would ever forget but it was only the first chapter in this little book we began writing. It was no doubt the bloodiest chapter. Between us, we must have lost a few pints of blood. It was horrific. The mat was crimson red following the match. You used this led pipe to get my attention at May We Fight and you got my attention that's for sure. But, remember what I said about Ambition? Devin came back for another bite. 1 week later, when he should have probably been in a hospital bed after the beating I gave him, he was back in the ring. After IWA and NGW merged, Uprising took place and we had the second match. Now by all acounts, the King of Sleeze had no business in that ring, but he got me. He beat me..1,2,3. Devin was always going to make sure that he got a measure of revenge and nothing was going to get in his way"
Oblivion smiles as he remembers the wars he's touched upon before suddenly, his expression completely changes. His calm, relaxed demeanor disappears and a serious look crosses his face. He rubs his chin and drops the lead pipe, looking at it. Now when he speaks, it's in a cold, soft tone
~OBLVION~
"The Devin Smith I know has had his ups and his downs. His strengths and his weaknesses and for better or for worse, The Devin Smith I know does business. But like I said, Your weakness is you don't think things through. You got to stop acting on impulse Devin. Last night, I sat with a cold beer watching that promo and in the back of my mind, I knew this challenge was coming, but in all honesty, if it wasn't you who made the challenge, then it would have been me. But I would make that challenge rationally, knowing that it would be on my terms. When I look at you, I see a guy that's still hungry and still got the fight. Now you might be right about me Devin, I might be losing the magic that made me the man. I might come back a little less than the last time but I also know that I can still beat you. Me? Could I retire tomorrow? Sure. I would take up golf and live out my twilight years in the sun with my feet up. But are you ready to retire? I don't think so Devin. You still got that hunger for gold. You still feel like you can take on the world. You can, but your irrational impulse will betray you because if I accept this challenge of yours and beat you, it's done Devin. There's no semi retirement, there's no more golden moments. It's curtains for your career"
Oblivion stands up and taps the chair over with his heel as he steps forward and looks into the camera
~OBLIVION~
"You don't realize what you've got to lose Devin. I've got too much respect for you, even if I could quite happily bloody your nose and punch your lights out for what you did, but you just don't think about things properly and that is why I've made the choice to reject your offer of a retirement match at the next Pay Per View. I know I can live with being retired, but I also know that you can't. Don't think I'm done Devin, I can still go and I will give you a match and I will prove that. But I'm not prepared to let you throw away what could be the best years of your career all because you think you can best me with high stakes. You might hate me right now for this decision Devin, but one day, You'll thank me for it"
Oblivion drops his microphone and stands in the middle of the ring, rubbing his chin. He picks up the lead pipe and the chair and walks up the isle, hardly interacting with the fans. Once he gets to the top, he turns back to face the crowd, raises both hands with pipe and chair aloft to a thunderous pop