Hello all. Just got back from a mini-vacation. Excuse me. (He squeezes past the crew to unlock the front door.) Let’s go inside, it’s too damn hot out here. (Everyone follows behind into the cooled domicile. Subdued throws his bags on the floor in front of him and collapses onto the couch.)

Ahh, home at last. Ya know, it’s nice to get away for a bit, but there’s nothing like coming back home again. That feeling you get… that feeling of familiarity. It’s very comforting. You really don’t know exactly what your hotel room is going to be like. You hope all the attractions you want to visit will be open. You hope you can actually find the places, too. But when you go home, everything is right. Everything’s the way you left it.

So why am I talking of such things? Well, I guess you could say that I’m pretty familiar with winning. It feels just as right after I walk to the backstage area having won my match as it does returning home after a little excursion such as the one I was just on. But I also have noticed that you are just as at home with winning as I. So who would have the advantage there? Well, we’re closer to my home than we are to Sydney so until we make an Australian swing sometime, most of us in Mercury will have some sort of advantage. But maybe you’re at home with your Oblivion headquarters and such, so I can’t realistically claim any advantage in that manner.

What about our past victories and losses? Well, as you said, you beat the longest reining NA champ in Dirge. You defeated Harbinger handily, as you put it. You also demolished Inferno more times than you can remember. As for me and my young career here in LCW Mercury, I have already taken on the likes of Geoffrey Slate, Harbinger, and Pariah. Yes, I did lose my first title match, albeit for the World Title and not the North American. Yes, I did lose my first ever match to Harbinger, but it WAS my first match and it was against the best Mercury has to offer. I then took Pariah to a time limit draw. So really I’m zero, two, and one against the best of the best. But like I’ve said before, a couple more seconds and I would’ve beaten Pariah. I did make Harby pull out a new move to beat me, and I frustrated Slate to the point where he was lucky to escape with the victory. So I’ve pretty much done everything but get the actual victory over these top competitors. You say you’re part of this group of upper echelon stars. I’ll accept that. So now the plan is to change these close calls against YOU great wrestlers. I want the chips to start falling in my favor, and I plan on doing something about it at Fusion. You’re a pretty lucky guy, Young. You get to be the guy that changes my zero to a one.

Now if you boys don’t mind, I need to catch up on some rest.

(Subdued grabs a remote from the coffee table beside the couch, and aims it somewhere off camera. All of a sudden the opening base line to the Allman Brothers’ Whipping Post can be heard.)

Well, if you wanted to stick around for a bit and listen to a tune especially for Bob that would be just fine.

(Subdued puts his hands behind his head and closes his eyes, letting the music play while he gets situated to take a nap.)

I’ve been run down, I’ve been lied to,
I don't know why I let that mean woman make me a fool.
She took all my money, wrecked my new car.
Now she's with one of my goodtime buddies,
They're drinkin' in some cross-town bar.

Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel,
Like I’ve been tied to the whipping post,
Tied to the whipping post,
Tied to the whipping post,
Good lord, I feel like I'm dyin'…

(Scene fades to black.)