The roster is gathered together in the Commissioner's Office. Because of its small size, friends and enemies alike are forced to stand shoulder-to-shoulder. Because they know their boss, however, tensions are somewhat easier than usual; no man or woman here wishes to set her off tonight.

After a few minutes of quiet speculation and the shuffling of feet, the door opens and TCW Commissioner Valerie Stern enters, accompanied by a well-dressed Asian man of ambiguous age.

"Hello, everyone. I know this is a tight squeeze, so I won't keep you too long.

First, congratulations to everyone, winners and losers alike. You all put on a hell of a show tonight, and I have never been more proud to call myself your boss.

Now, to business. As you're all well aware, the US is experiencing an economic crisis, with the rest of the world not far behind. Because of that, some changes have been made. One country that is doing quite well still is China, and it's at this point that I'll introduce you all to Mr. Lee Deng. Mr. Deng is an old friend of mine and has, as of last night, become the sole shareholder of TCW.

This is a great opportunity for us, as it frees us from being tied to shareholder opinion, and the decisions of the board of directors.

What this means for you all is this: Over the next few weeks, as the company undergoes the privatization transition, we will be returning to the US. For many of you, this means a much needed and deserved trip home!"

The excitement is verbalized by the many TCW wrestlers who call the US home.

"Friction will be held in Chicago, at the United Center. Before the show, you'll all have an extended break, allowing you to travel home and visit with family and friends. TCW will be covering a significant portion of your travel costs. Just talk to LePage and he'll help you get sorted."

More excitement at the prospect of cheap travel.

"Alright, now, don't get too comfortable. After Friction, we're shipping out for an extended tour of the Eastern Hemisphere. It is unlikely that any of you will be home for the holidays, so be sure to enjoy your downtime to the fullest extent.

Any questions can be directed to my voicemail. I'll see you all in Chicago."

Stern steps aside, a sure signal to empty her office. As the wrestlers filter out, Stern puts a hand on the shoulder of Pat WoW.

"Pat."

"Yes?"

A rare smile crosses the face of Valerie Stern.

"You're one of the good ones. You'll be missed around here. If you ever want to make a return, you have my number."

She extends her hand. Smiling back, Pat gives her a firm shake before walking out, closing the door behind him.

A large group of fans shuffles out of the arena, hanging around the back exits, waiting to catch a random TCW star for an autograph.

A white van speeds by, nearly knocking several people to the ground. A second van follows, then another. All three race off down the road.


Coming to a quick stop at a small airstrip, Adam Wilson steps out of the van, ready to direct traffic.

"Alright, we need everyone on the plane now! No time to screw around. It's a long trip to our next show in China and we need to get on it!"

Various grumbling TCWers climb out of the vans, heading toward the private jet.


Back at the arena, a second series of vans, these black in colour, arrive at the same back exits.

Hurrying through the doors are fifty or so FBI agents, hands at their hips.

Weapons drawn, safetys off, they turn the backstage lights on. At the end of their barrels are little more than old pastries and dirty gym bags.


"It's called a blackout. Cut their cell phones, lock their bank accounts, kill all access any of them have to anything!"

The cabs outside begin to empty and the lobby of a rather run-down apartment complex begins to fill with TCW superstars.

Awaiting them in the lobby is TCW's newest member of management, Lee Deng. Behind him stand Russell "Midnight" Simmons, Adam Wilson, and Jason Fragg. Deng steps forward.

"Yes, yes. I know it's not much, but this is your new home for the time being. As you all may have noticed, TCW has gotten itself into a bit of legal trouble. And I'm sure you've also noticed that your cell phones and bank cards are not exactly functional."

Deng waits for the angry murmurs to quiet down.

"You'll all be issued company phones in due time, and we're in the process of creating bank accounts for each and every one of you. You'll be given the necessary information as soon as that's been completed.

Now if you'll all take it easy, misters Fragg and Wilson will be handling your keys and pointing you towards your new apartments.

Welcome home to China, TCW!"

Stern stepped into the office quietly. She stood at the door for a moment, watching Deng as he stared out of the skybox windows over the arena being slowly disassembled. They might call this "the TCW arena" these days, but the space was needed for other things between shows. She shut the door behind her, not loudly, but with enough force to draw attention to herself.

Deng turned around. "Ms. Stern."

"That was a disaster."

"Yes. It was."

"I want to tell you...I want to tell you that I won't work in the same company as Jason Dante. I've put up with a lot of shit...but I won't..."

"If memory serves, it was you who refused to give Matt Strikmore his job back."

Stern lifted her head up and breathed in hard through her nose. "That was different. That was business."

"And what is this?"

"It's personal. I'll admit that. I won't book him. I won't let him in the ring. He threw a man with a surgically repaired neck through a set."

"And if it had happened in a match?"

"It didn't."

Deng walked around the desk slowly, tracing a finger along the mahogany. It was strange, Stern realised, how he'd managed to insert himself. Subconsciously, she now thought of this as his office.

"Do you want to know how he is?"

"I can guess."

"Second degree burns over much of his body. His neck may be broken again. They have not had chance to check, such is the severity of his other injuries."

"Will he wrestle again?"

Deng shook his head. "Not for a while."

"And what about Dante?"

"What about him?"

Stern set her jaw. "Will he wrestle again? Here in TCW?"

"Not for a while either."

"What does that mean?"

"He is suspended. Indefinitely. I do not know what we will do with him yet."

"Fire him. I told you I won't book him."

"Jason Dante is still a powerful enemy, Ms. Stern. I am unwilling to cast him out just yet. Such a man could easily destroy TCW if he had reason to."

"He's nothing. He doesn't have a company anymore."

Deng smiled slightly. "You know better than that. He has friends in high places – connections to our enemies. What would Jason Dante do to us if he had cause to go to your President?"

"He wouldn't..."

"He might. It is a risk I am not willing to take. For now, he is just suspended."

Stern took another breath and folded her arms. "All right then. I'll accept that. For now."

Deng stepped backwards and perched on the edge of the desk. He folded his own arms. "I have other concerns. What happened between Strikmore and Dante was just the tip of the iceberg. The whole locker room has a hand in the events at the end of Extreme Measures."

"Yes, but you can't suspend them all."

"No, I cannot. But there are other ways to bring them to heel."

"Good luck, I've been trying to do that for years..."

"I know, but you baulked at going as far as was necessary. I have no such compunctions. At Friction, I am going to lay down the law."

Stern raised her eyebrows. "How?"

"You will have to wait and see. As will they. But rest assured," he said, standing up, "at the show, everything in TCW is going to change. Forever."

And now on TCW.com, a special announcement from TCW Chairman Lee Deng.

The scene opens on the skybox-cum-office used by Valerie Stern and, increasingly, Deng. Mr. Deng himself is leaning against the large mahogany desk, with the huge ceiling-high windows showing a panorama of the empty arena behind him. In his hand is a large silver trophy that will be familiar to any TCW veteran.

"Greetings, fans and employees of Twisted Championship Wrestling," he begins, "at Friction, we finally crowned the first ever TCW Heavyweight Champion after an exciting and hotly-contested tournament – albeit with a few detours along the way. While that tournament threw up some surprises, I am confident that the next one will be much more stable." He holds up the trophy in his hands. "You will recognise this, I am sure: the Majestic Cup. Named for fallen TCW veteran Mr. Majestic, this coveted prize has been contested three times over the past few years, and has been won by Matt Strikmore, Inferno and the legendary Big Bamlicious. It is now time, I believe, to hold another tournament for the Majestic Cup, and that will commence at Havoc, with matches involving the whole roster."

Deng stands up and crosses the office. The camera follows him until he stands in front of a huge set of shelves, holding a number of other trophies, plaques, cups and even a few of the old TCW title belts.

"But this is not all. I promised, when I stripped the roster of their former Championships, that I would bring order to TCW, and I meant what I said. The tournament for the Heavyweight Title was just the beginning of what the Majestic Cup will continue, and what these accolades behind me will also represent. You see, from now on, I will no longer allow the stars of TCW to simply get into fights based on their petty vendettas. I have craved structure for a long time now, so henceforth each TCW pay-per-view will feature as its main event the final of a tournament for a different one-off prize." He gestures to the shelves behind him. "These are just some of the potential rewards that will be contested in the new TCW Tournaments. At each Friction, new brackets will be announced, and the tourney will continue through to Havoc and finish at the pay-per-view. But do not think that trinkets will be the only prize for victory because, if the Heavyweight Champion also reaches the final, then the match will also be for the belt. Runners-up will also receive opportunities at pay-per-views, such as a shot at the Aftershock Championship."

Dent smiles and puts the Majestic Cup in pride of place on one of the shelves behind him, between the Bleeder Title and a trophy labelled 'Tag Team Invitational Cup'.

"It is my hope," Deng says, turning back to the camera, "that we can continue the spirit of co-operation with FWRFed and that members of their roster will perhaps take part in occasional tournaments, or that we can host returning veterans or new stars appearing on an ad-hoc basis. TCW Tournaments offers an excellent opportunity for anyone wishing to participate in TCW with no commitment beyond the next pay-per-view necessary – after all, I know that China is a long way from home. Thank you, and have a pleasant day."

Stern folded her arms and gave Deng a flat look across the desk. "I'm not going to apologise," she said.

He steepled his fingers and leant back in the chair. "I didn't think you were."

"After what you did with Daniels, I don't see why..."

"I understand. And you were well within your rights to do what you did – after all, you are the Commissioner of TCW, and the one who suspended Jason Dante in the first place."

"I'm glad you see it that way."

"However..."

Stern visibly tensed.

"The fact that you would act so contrary to you moral code in order to put an obstacle in my path is very disappointing to me. You made a deal with the devil, and it has not gone to plan, which is my only source of gratification in this situation. What is the Western expression? Do not play with fire, for you will get burnt?"

Stern grimaced. "Something like that."

"Yes indeed. And Dante is no ordinary fire – he is hellfire, and that is something I have been working hard to eradicate in this promotion."

"You're willing to make money off them though."

Deng gave Stern a cold stare. "There is no one I am not willing to make money off, Ms. Stern. You are aware that I am ethnically Tibetan?"

"Yes, I think you may have mentioned that..."

"I am not deaf to the struggles of my people. The fate of my countrymen has coloured my entire worldview, and perhaps that is why I have spent my whole life accumulating wealth. You see, in China, we are expected to labour towards the good of the state, not ourselves. Sacrifice is everything. But I am not Chinese – at least, not genetically – and so it is in my nature to be counter-cultural. I embraced the Western ideals of greed and commerce. I have become a rich and powerful man, because I was willing to push aside the beliefs of the Communist party in favour of capitalism. So, when you curl your lip at me and condemn me for profiting from the struggles of others, bear in mind the alternative."

"Your esteem for the Anglo-Saxon model is touching, but there is a middle ground, you know."

"Coming from you, I find this amusing. I was under the impression that you had a reputation for ruthlessness – it is one of the things that drew me to TCW. Now it seems you cannot stomach the true nature of the world you have entered."

"I've seen a lot of things in this place that changed the way I think about that world, Deng."

He nodded. "Of course. That is why you need me. That is why TCW needs me. Because, even though you tried to prevent my plans coming to fruition, it is the mark of a good businessman to roll with the punches and make the best of a bad situation."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I wanted a tournament final at the Majestic Cup, and that is what I will get. That is what we will get."

"How? There were no winners in two of the matches at Havoc."

"Then we will make new matches."

Stern frowned. "I don't understand."

"Two matches, in which the winners will go on to face one another for the Majestic Cup, and the Heavyweight Championship."

"And who's going to be in these two matches?"

"Freya will face Izumi."

"Right..."

"And Darkness will face..." he paused, "there is another Western saying, is there not, Ms. Stern? 'Be careful what it is you wish for'?"

Stern blanched slightly. "Something like that."