Meyhu’s success during the summer of 2017 should not be understated. He brought legitimacy back to the OCW Title. He became a target free agents took aim toward, joining the promotion in the hopes they might be able to share the ring with The Marvel.
His faction, The Aptitude, was the most dominant faction in OCW history. Meyhu was money. Lime green money.
It taught Welsh to seek outsiders. Throw money at free agents, wrestlers from other organizations, go out and bring in a bunch of ‘all stars’ to bolster the roster rather than sign, train, and grow his own talent.
Marcus Welsh was constantly in contact with pro wrestlers about joining OCW. Many names that have never been revealed, to this day, that would surprise you.
One name, however, intrigued him. A mainstay in Boardwalk Wrestling. A wrestler who came highly recommended by the few peers of his who competed inside OCW. That man was Mike Zybala.
Welsh silently recruited Zybala and, without the news leaking out, signed Mike to a deal.
Mike made his debut after the main event of Stainless Steel Ride. He showcased his SUPERKICK by laying out Matt Meyhu after Meyhu’s OCW Title victory. A moment Welsh thought might propel the organization into a series of Meyhu/Zybala matches.
While it sounded logical and nice...the one thing Welsh hadn’t realized was, while outsiders are exciting and bring a ‘freshness’ to the product, they also bring uncertainty. You don’t exactly know what you’re getting into.
Marcus would soon realize he got more than he bargained for with his most recent free agent acquisition.
Late Summer of 2018
“Are you okay, Marky?” The benevolent voice of Greg, Welsh’s close friend, asks.
“No, Greg. No, I’m not okay…” The tension in Welsh’s cadence builds.
“Well, why not? It’s a beautiful day. You’ve got your McDonald’s coffee. We have a wonderful evening planned and…”
Welsh spins his laptop around, “Because of this shit!”
“Marcus!” Greg yells.
“I’m sorry I cursed, Greg.”
“Oh it’s not that...but your inbox is filthy. You really need to clean that out,” Greg remarks upon seeing the 110 unread emails.
“Don’t you think I’ve been trying? I delete,” he hits a key. “I delete,” he hits another key. “I fuckin delete,” he hits another key with aggression. “But they just keep coming. One after the other after the other after the other.”
“Have you been surfing those ‘sites’ again, Marcus?”
“No, Greg! I promised I’d stop and I did.” Welsh takes a beat, wrangling his composure, “These are from Mike Zybala.”
“Oh, I like him!”
“Well good for you, Greg,” Welsh’s voice oozes sarcasm. He spins his laptop back around and proceeds to read an email, “Hey! It’s Mike again, haha! Just seeing if you got my previous email about me riding a mechanical dragon to the ring! I think it’d be great!”
Welsh looks at Greg, expecting a horrified response. Instead, Greg seems to think the request is endearing.
So, Welsh reads another email, “Marcus! It’s Mike! Hope you loved that dragon idea! Listen, I had an idea about a match where we dress up as power rangers. I could be the green one. I think the fans would love it!”
The wide eyes of Welsh stare up from his laptop at Greg. Greg leans back, arms folded, trying to hide his smile. Welsh grunts and reads another email.
“Marcus! Hey! It’s Mike!! Was wondering if you had anybody lined up to face Meyhu! I’d love a title shot!”
“Just give it to him, Marcus. The fans love him and he’s clearly engaged with the promotion.”
The disgust on Welsh’s face rivals that of Bifford being invited to an all vegan 4th of July cookout.
“Never,” Welsh whispers. The anger in voice growing, “He will never, ever get a shot at the title. Not as long as I’m in charge. That idea as well as all his other childlike suggestions are VETOED!!”
Greg thinks Marcus is being too harsh but he’s not willing to get into a war of words with his close friend that might spoil such a wonderful day.
Welsh deletes all the emails, save one. He replies to the OCW Title request with the now infamous ‘DENIED’ gif.
Realizing his shot at the OCW Title would never come from the decision making of Marcus Welsh, Mike Zybala took matters into his own hands. He entered Season 2 of OCW Survivor. An event that offered an OCW Title shot to the winner.
And, much to Welsh’s chagrin, Zybala won OCW Survivor, earning himself an OCW Title shot.
Welsh was devastated. He was now forced to grant Mike Zybala an OCW Title shot making the possibility of Zybala holding the most prestigious title in the company a potential reality.
He booked the match for Massacre. He wasn’t willing to risk a PPV buy rate on a Mike Zybala main event.
Zybala would face Meyhu inside a steel cage.
October 1st, 2018
“ZYBALA! ZYBALA! ZYBALA!”
“You hear that, Mr. Welsh?” Smith comments, backstage near the Gorilla position.
Welsh refuses to acknowledge. But it’s impossible to ignore. The fans are firmly behind Zybala. They paid their hard earned money to see a title change.
“The locker room loves him,” Smith continues. "Aptitude has dominated for so long. Meyhu has dominated for so long. I think it’d be refreshing for Zybala to win the title. Show everyone that it can be done.”
“I guess we’ll see,” Welsh remarks.
Zybala’s music hits and the OCW Arena rises to decibel levels rarely seen.
An epic war between two friends, rivals, OCW stars takes place inside a Steel Cage. The crowd leans on the edge of their seats, hoping and praying for a Zybala victory.
Welsh, Smith, and Greg watch from backstage.
Chad Vargas runs out. The fans start to boo.
“What’s he doing out there?” Smith exclaims.
Vargas accidentally slams the steel door into Zybala’s face! The fans boo loudly.
“Oh my...sir! Did you see that?” Smith runs his fingers through his hair, shocked. Again, no reply from Welsh. Greg gives Marcus the side eye.
Meyhu drops Zybala with two Ego Trips. He goes for the cover. Vargas heads into the ring to break it up but he’s conveniently too late. Meyhu retains. The fans boo.
“No! Zybala had this and Vargas turned the tide with that cage door shot! Sir, what are we going to do? We need to do something!” Smith implores.
“Looked like an accident to me, Smith. I can’t help what goes on.”
“But you’re the boss.”
“All I know is Zybala got his shot and he came up short. We avoided disaster tonight, trust me.”
The boos get louder and louder in the arena.
“Should I check on the locker room?”
“What for?” a confused Welsh asks.
“Sir, I’ve been through this before with SiLVeRFReaK. Zybala is very popular and something of a leader back there. This loss...especially the way it went down, might sow distrust with some of the talent.”
“Ugh, fine. But if they can’t see the silver lining in all this...that being we avoided Zybala as OCW Champion then I don’t know if I want them working here. But, go do what you feel is best.”
Smith exits, grumbling, “At least he got my name right, finally.”
Greg turns to Welsh.
“Marky...what did you do?”
Welsh eyes Greg. But, he breaks, “I can’t get anything past you. Let’s just say I had a conversation with Chad Vargas’ manager, Treat Cassidy. They held up their end so I will hold up mine. OCW is safe.”
Greg shakes his head and walks away.
---
We cut back to the Haunted House. Puffer is holding a steel cage door, staring at the blood staining several of the chained links.
“I was backstage that night. The disappointment from the locker room was immeasurable. Meyhu had dominated for so long. Zybala didn’t just represent the fans...he represented us.”
Puffer points out the blood stain on the fence, “When Vargas slammed this door into Mike’s head, we all knew it was no accident. Vargas isn’t that careless. And then when he received an OCW Title shot against Meyhu at that month’s PPV it became very clear what took place.”
Puffer backs up toward the house, “It became quite clear to all of us that unless you were chosen by Marcus Welsh then you had no business being anywhere near the OCW Title. A bit of the new OCW era died that night.”
The Good Detective ascends the steps and pulls the front door open. He takes the steel cage door and tosses it inside the house, “This door, along with every other cursed relic from OCW’s past can be found hidden within this house. The evidence those in charge hoped would never see light.”
A loud, almost mechanical squeal makes its way from inside the house, out the front doorway, “As for Zybala? He’d keep fighting, as he always does. He’d remain positive heading into the new year. The Aptitude had reached its end. Meyhu’s run was nearly over. Zybala and the rest of the OCW diehards were eager to get their shot.”
Puffer shuts the front door. Blood runs from the top, creating a red ‘M’.
“Little did they know Welsh had other plans. Little did they know Welsh would shift his focus on to an eMpire.”
We cut away.
OCW Arena
Key West, FL
Massacre
Key West, FL
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