Paul Paras is a name that hasn’t come up much, if at all, during these flashbacks. The man is a Hall of Famer. He’s a two time OCW Champion. Arguably the greatest wrestler in OCW history.
So, why is his name scarce whereas Bifford’s name remains high atop the historical marquee?
Simple. Paul Paras refused to play Dean’s games.
He recognized the bullshit and called Dean out on it. An act that would’ve got most fired. But, not Paul. Whether it be Cyanide or Maurako sticking up for their friend or Dean refusing to fire someone of Paul’s caliber inside the ring, Dean put up with The Perfect One’s pedantic nature.
It was Paul, not Dean, who decided to permanently break ties with OCW. He’d seen enough. After watching Syren receive the OCW Title only to piss all over it in front of the fans was the breaking point for Paul. He left the company for good after Sinful Nature IV.
Flash forward 11 years and Marcus Welsh reached out to Paul Paras about Survivor. Paras gave Welsh a shot and entered the competition. In doing so, he got sold on adding some in-ring dates. Before he knew it, he was facing The Aptitude at Stainless Steel Ride for the Tag Titles alongside his long time friend, Mario Maurako.
Perfectly Marvelous, reunited, toppled The Aptitude and returned to the apex of the Tag Team division.
It was a show of good faith. A promise that things were different. Paul, Mario, and Cyanide, all back together again, signed up to compete at Death March with an OCW Title shot on the line. A chance to dethrone Meyhu.
Or, so they thought. While Welsh was enjoying having Paras back in the fold, he didn’t see Paul as anything other than a nostalgia hit for the old fans. He had his sights set on another face to dethrone his previous chosen one.
Paul Paras didn’t know it, but Marcus Welsh had picked Aidan Collins as the successor to Matt Meyhu.
Death March
“This is one of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen,” Leo remarks, sitting in Welsh’s office.
Welsh nods, “Yep. King Infinity is everything I thought he’d be. All he has to do is finish off Mack O’Connor and Vincent Langston and we’ll be all set for Aidan Collins to defeat Meyhu to start 2019.”
The crowd goes wild. Leo leans forward, pointing at the screen, “It’s Paras!”
“What?!” Welsh is as shocked as everyone else.
The door to Welsh’s office opens and The Knife Man enters, waving his dangerous knife everywhere, “Whew, okay. Hello gentlemen, finally able to take a breath and finish the show.”
“Knife Man...what the fuck?”
Knife Man takes a seat and crosses his legs, he tilts his head at Welsh, “What seems to be the issue, sir?”
“Paras! He’s back in the match!”
“Oh yes, about that…”
The Knife Man would go on to explain that he cleared Paras to compete in the main event despite Welsh giving specific instruction that Paras was to remain in the back.
Apparently, Zybala stepped in and convinced The Knife Man to overrule the decision.
And so Paras would go on to defeat King Infinity, ruining the coronation. Ruining the ascension. Ruining Welsh’s grand plan.
To make matters worse, Paul Paras would dethrone Meyhu, capturing the OCW Title. Aidan Collins would leave the federation after the January PPV Throwback.
Welsh’s chosen successor to the Meyhu era was gone. And, for that, he blamed Paras.
The fans, however, were fully behind Paul Paras. It was finally his time. A near 20 year journey being paid off as for the first time in his OCW career he was unequivocally the ‘face’ of the company. No Syren. No Bifford. No Lurrr. Just Paul Paras standing atop the OCW mountain. A mountain he was ready to defend.
Social Justice
“Are they here? ARE THEY HERE?” Welsh screams into his phone. His blood pressure lowers, “Good. Give them the plans.” He hangs up and falls into his chair.
Leo enters, “Boss...whoa, hey. You look exhausted, you okay?”
“Leo, man, if I look exhausted it’s because I just finished reeling in the biggest fish in the sea.”
“Oh no, not Bifford, sir.”
“I said big, not fat…” Before Welsh can continue, the OCW Champion’s music hits to a huge ovation.
Leo takes a seat next to Welsh’s desk, “Oh I gotta watch this one. Listen to that crowd, boss. Paul is over like rover!”
“Shut up,” Welsh fires back, “Enjoy it while you can.”
“Why? Is he leaving?”
“No, he’s under contract. He just won’t be champion for very long.”
“How do you know that?”
“Plans have been arranged.”
Leo has that ‘oh shit’ look on his face.
A brutal dog collar match takes place as Paul Paras defeats Vincent Langston to retain his OCW Title. The fans rejoice. The power of the people is firmly behind Paras.
And then, it happens.
Mario Maurako turns. He brings Max Kael and Mike Best into the ring. Together, the three men decimate Paul Paras and Vincent Langston. The fans boo.
“Sir...what have you done?” Leo asks, his mouth agape.
“They wouldn’t let me have Aidan Collins? Fine. I’ll give them Mike Best.”
LATER THAT NIGHT
Welsh is shaking hands with Maurako, Kael, and Mike Best. “Thrilled to have you guys. Appreciate you setting this up, Mario. You’ll all be rewarded, I promise.” Welsh makes sure to look at Mike Best when he makes the promise of great reward.
All three members of the eMpire look beyond Welsh. They see Smith directing some shady looking figures who are carrying a box the length of a person.
Welsh turns, witnessing the very same. He assures the eMpire it’s all okay before running over.
“Smith!”
“Oh, hey MR. Welsh!”
“Why do you say it like that? Welsh is just fine.”
“Old habits, sir.”
“What is this?” Marcus points toward the human sized box Smith is ordering be loaded into the back of the Slam Buss.
“Uhh...I wouldn’t worry about it, sir,” Smith stammers.
“I’m the head of this company. I feel like I should worry about it.”
“Right, um, good point,” Smith thinks, “It’s the leftover merch from tonight’s event. We’re taking it back to OCWHQ.”
“Oh...okay,” Welsh’s brow furrows. “Kinda weird way to transport it.”
“Haha, yessir!” Smith laughs, without offering any other intel.
“Hold on one sec,” Welsh keeps Smith and his macabre task static, if you will. “Crash Rodriguez!”
OCW rookie, Crash Rodriguez, struts toward Welsh. They shake hands.
“Look at this guy, everybody! Look at him! It’s Crash Rodriguez! Future star!”
Crash raises half his lip with disgust, “This place sucks.” Crash looks at the box Smith is having carried out, "What is that some kinda dead body or something?"
“Haha,” Welsh laughs, patting him on the back, “Good ole Crash!” Welsh nervously eyes the eMpire across the hall.
Crash continues walking. Welsh turns to a befuddled Smith.
“What was that, sir?”
“Oh, I just promised Crash he’d appear in one of these.” Welsh turns, deadpanning the camera, “And I never lie to Crash.”
Smith hops into the back of the Slam Buss alongside the mysterious human sized box and they drive away.
Marcus pivots to return to kissing the eMpire’s ass. As he does, his foot slips. He looks down and sees blood on the ground.
---
We are transported once again to the Haunted House. Jack Puffer’s back is to us. He looks toward the house. The front door opens and a sad, ghostly figure stumbles ahead, dragging the same human sized box Smith was transporting out of Twitter HQ over five years prior.
“If you haven’t already guessed, that wasn’t merchandise Smith was smuggling out right in front of Welsh. Nope, it was the body of young Petia Horamos. An activist who showed up at Social Justice to speak out against the violence. Speak out against the vile characters. A young man of conviction.”
Finished dragging what turns out to be his coffin. Petia heads back inside, the back of his head smashed wide open, brain matter hanging out. Puffer turns, wincing.
“Ugh, yea. It was nasty. He made it to the roof of Twitter HQ where the event was being held only for OCW newcomer Odius Rex to throw him off the roof to his death. Smith gathered his remains and smuggled him off to the basement where he’s remained, ever since.”
Petia vanishes inside the house. His essence lingers in the doorway like a cloud of dust. LCP walks right through it.
“Not only did Welsh allow casual murder to take place. He, like Dean, used his power to manipulate the promotion’s progression. Natural selection and the fans had chosen Paul Paras to succeed Matt Meyhu. But Welsh had picked King Infinity. He had crowned Aidan Collins.”
LCP looks down inside the box. He starts to climb in, finding it just the right fit.
“And when divine intervention struck once again, removing Aidan from the equation and raising Paras to the top of the promotion, Welsh did the unthinkable. He went out and hired the most toxic group pro wrestling has ever known. He went out and snatched the mouthpiece of HOW. He put all his power and influence behind Mike Best to punish the fans, to punish Paras, and, whether he realized it or not, to punish this promotion.”
With a look on his face that says, “this isn’t so bad” LCP lays back in the box, finding it pretty comfortable.
“The eMpire would dominate the rest of the year. Their dominance, as well as the ego that came along with it, would run off half the roster. And, by the end of 2019 OCW returned to what it sought to escape...a vicious, toxic hellscape where only the most jaded were allowed to survive. The product lost viewers and the promotion went on hiatus as Welsh was forced to hit the restart button. OCW would return in 2021 and, well, arguably the most controversial moment would take place shortly thereafter. But, that’s a tale for another time.”
Puffer walks off screen. LCP remains in the box. The lid starts to close. It comes closer and closer to shutting. Something sounds out and LCP sits up, knocking the lid back open. His eyes wide, he stares around wondering what he heard.
We cut away.
December 17th, 2018
Assiniboine Park
March 11th, 2019
Twitter HQ
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