Scorpion was part of the inaugural OCW Hall of Fame class. One of the first five names inducted. He was an integral part in OCW’s birth and build. He captured various titles, including the original OCW Championship and headlined several important events.
But the relationship between Scorpion and OCW would get strained after the debacle with SiLVeRFReaK and the OCW Championship. A relationship that Dean was unable to fully piece back together.
A costly mistake, too. As Scorpion was affiliated with several other pro wrestling headliners. Punisher, Enigma, Suicidal Juvenile, Jake Navaja, and, of course, everyone’s favorite, Incognito.
A legacy that carried on as Punisher’s son, Marcus Ka’Derrion would join GCWA and display the skills he inherited from his father, capturing the GCWA Title and becoming every bit the legend his father was. His success opened the eyes of another second generation wrestler, Xavier Lux.
Xavier Lux is the son of Scorpion. And, yea, he could’ve joined OCW before GCWA. He could’ve began his meteoric rise in the promotion that saw his father achieve Hall of Fame status. But, he didn’t. Why? Because of the curse. Because of how his father was treated.
However, with Dean out and Marcus Welsh in, the lines of communication reopened. And, with OCW’s return announced for 2021, Welsh was able to convince Xavier Lux to return to the promotion that recognized his father as a Hall of Famer.
Marcus Welsh had allowed things to spiral out of control in 2019. The fed suffered from bloat. Just because you can sign every free agent doesn’t mean you should. Something Welsh learned the hard way.
When OCW returned in 2021 he was determined to correct his errors. He was determined to keep things small and centered around wrestlers the fans wanted to see, rather than interjecting his own wants and wishes.
And, well, it worked to perfection. The fed became almost a cult hit, an underground sensation. Fans from all over were eager to watch and be part of OCW. Wrestlers on the outside were desperate to get in.
Not Accepting Applications became a staple in the wrestling community. A gimmick rival federations, to this day, copy and use WITHOUT PAYING ANY RESPECT OR ROYALTIES.
Anyway.
This rebirth. This resurgence was centered around one man. The engine propelling the train. It was centered around Xavier Lux.
Quarantined
The crowd goes wild inside the famed OCW Arena. Xavier Lux struggles to his feet, his arm raised high with the OCW Title being presented to him by special ref Matt Meyhu.
We pull back. The noise goes from surround sound to front focused, emanating from a TV speaker. As we pull back farther, Leo stands in front of the TV clapping. “Hot damn, Marcus! Look at that guy! Listen to that crowd...this is a huge moment.”
“Yea, sure sounds like it,” Welsh responds with far less enthusiasm. His eyes are focused on Meyhu instead of Lux.
“Your idea of letting the fans decide who should be in OCW...genius. It’s organic. It’s natural. This is how it should’ve always been. The vibe around this place has never been better!”
Welsh tilts his head, sizing Meyhu up next to Lux, “Yea, it’s alright. Not as good as the Meyhu days but not bad.”
Leo turns around, “Look, Mr. Welsh, I know you have your favorites, we all do. But if you try and put that title on Meyhu right now the fans are going to revolt. This roster will freak.” Leo leans forward, really trying to get through to Marcus, “I’m serious when I say the vibe within this place is unreal. Everybody wants to get in OCW because it’s the place to be...and the reason for that is you’re allowing the fans and the wrestlers to dictate the pace.”
Marcus nods, sliding open the twitter app on his phone. There’s an ongoing DM exchange with Thad Duke. “Yea, you’re right.” Leo sighs. “There are a lot of big names who want to join.” Leo’s relief gives way to a hint of panic.
As we’ve seen, the curse could not stand OCW’s genuine prosperity. It’s claws were dug into Marcus Welsh and the temptation became too great. Welsh forced Curt Canon out and hired Thaddeus Duke to come in. A man Welsh said “Was a face the company could build around."
It was clear, at that point, Welsh had picked the next face of the company. No matter how hard Xavier Lux, Outcast, BRIM, or Ed Houston worked...the Thad Duke era was decided. It was only a matter of time.
If only it had stopped there, though. The announcement of Thad’s arrival increased the desire for other big names to jump into the OCW hot tub. Names Welsh would’ve had to beg, before, were now blowing up his phone and DMs. He no longer saw one ‘face’ of OCW..he saw several. Matt Knox, James Raven, Chris Page, Betsy Granger...the list goes on and on and on.
Imagine you’re at an all you can eat ice cream buffet. And, well, imagine you fuckin love ice cream. You eat and eat and eat and eat. What happens? You get bloated. You start to feel sluggish. You’ve consumed too much. There’s only one thing left to do...purge.
Massacre
Massacre is over. It’s been over a few hours, now. Welsh stands in the parking lot, staring at the devastated RV from the Matt Knox/JC Main Event. His phone buzzes. He activates the screen and we see 45 notifications.
Marcus lowers his head and sighs, “This is too much. I can’t keep track.”
Something stirs behind him. Welsh looks over his shoulder at Smith who is dragging a heavy, black bag. It’s about the size of a person.
“Smith? What are you doing out here so late?”
Smith shoots up to attention, “Mr. Welsh! I didn’t see you standing there!”
“What are you dragging?”
“It’s, umm...part of that RV that JC and Knox destroyed. Just doing some late night cleanup is all, nothing for you to worry about.”
Welsh nods, staring at the bag, “Right.”
“You okay, sir?”
“I’ve been better…” Welsh’s voice trails. His feet kick at the ground.
“Is there something you want to get off your chest?”
“Well, since you offered…” Welsh walks toward Smith and takes a seat on top of the black bag. The surface is kinda squishy and uneven, but he manages to find a decent spot. Smith stares down at him with wide eyes.
“2019 got out of hand, right? I brought in the eMpire. Eric Dane. Scott Stevens. All these big names and it ran off the talent that was invested, ya know? So we closed. I said I wouldn’t do it again. This summer? It was amazing. We’d found the secret sauce, right? And, so, of course everyone wanted in because every other promotion blows. So, what do I do?”
Smith looks around, murmuring, “There’s got to be a chair around somewhere.”
“I bring Thad in. Then I bring everyone in. And, yea, on paper, this is maybe the strongest pro wrestling roster of all time. But it’s never felt emptier. Show ends...I head out to speak with some of the talent...but are they there? No. They can’t leave fast enough. They’re out of Key West before the final credit rolls. They aren’t invested in this place, Smith. They’re just here because it’s the place to be and it’s just so...uninspiring. I’m disillusioned, man. Totally disillusioned with it all.”
Smith continues looking for something to offer as a seat. A voice catches his attention, “Here.” Smith looks and sees CRASH RODRIGUEZ offering a bucket.
“Thanks, Crash!”
“Whatever, like I even care.” Crash and his impressive bulge march off. A tiny adult is walking alongside him. Welsh and Smith look on with curiosity.
“Is that Easton?”
Smith shrugs. He turns the bucket upside down.
“Here, sir,” Smith offers the bucket as a seat.
Welsh kicks it, “Maybe it’s time OCW kicks the bucket, right?” Smith wasn’t really going for that metaphor, but okay. “I gotta do something. This place is bloated. Too much excess. Too many empty calories. Feels like it’s about to explode.”
“You said yourself, sir. The summer was the ideal formula. You were having fun then, right?”
“So much fun.”
“I don’t know, maybe…”
Welsh looks up. Epiphany is written across his face (not literally!), “Purge all the excess? Fire them all?”
“Uhm, well, I didn’t…”
“That’s a great idea, Smith!”
“Now, hold on, sir. I…”
Marcus pops up and gives Smith a big hug, “This makes sense! I can see it clearly now. A hard reset back to the way things were. Damnit, Smith. When people ask who was behind this genius idea I’m gonna give you some credit.”
Smith leans back, breaking free from Welsh’s hug, “That’s quite alright, sir. You’re more than welcome to take all the credit for whatever it is you’re about to do.”
“Smart and humble. Glad you’re on our payroll, Smith,” Welsh says, ruffling Smith’s hair. “Alright, I’ve got work to do!” He hurries back toward the OCW arena, tripping over the bag. He pops up and points at the heavy black bag, “And apparently so do you! Enjoy the cleanup!”
Welsh jogs back to the arena. Smith grabs the end of the bag and continues dragging it across the parking lot, “I would enjoy the cleanup if there was ever an end to this mess.”
---
And we’re back at the Haunted House. A man approaches us. He’s wearing a ‘purge’ mask. He gets closer and closer. It’s kinda creepy, not gonna lie.
He rips the mask off revealing JACK PUFFER. “And that’s when the infamous purge took place. Marcus Welsh terminated ¾ of the roster reducing OCW back to what it resembled during the summer. An act he thought would reward him.”
Puffer stares at the mask before tossing it away.
“It didn’t. It immediately flipped OCW’s popularity upside down. It went from the most popular promotion in wrestling to the most reviled. Those who got purged were furious. Those who weren’t purged were, somehow, even angrier. OCW became the leper of pro wrestling. An institution no respectable wrestler would ever join.”
A lowrider backs up near the house behind Puffer. It’s red lights shining bright and waving up and down as the hydraulics combined with the terrain make for a very, very bumpy ride.
“Welsh got his wish, though. A roster of only OCW diehards. Even if he wanted to go out and head hunt talent, it was impossible. Nobody would touch OCW. Including Xavier Lux, who departed the promotion, every fear he’d heard about the place from Dean’s tenure manifesting itself into realization.”
The front doors of the lowrider open as Hector and Victor Malvado emerge! The Malvado Brothers! They stand by the trunk and slowly begin to unlock it.
“Welsh had dealt OCW a blow that would have killed every other federation. But, not OCW. OCW remained animated. I remained alive. In almost a zombie like state. Because, if there’s one thing stronger than Marcus Welsh’s hubris infused ignorance it’s his belligerence. You tell the man he can’t do something and he’ll break his back proving you wrong. And, when 2022 rolled around everyone in the industry was proclaiming OCW’s death to be fact. But they underestimated Welsh. They underestimated the curse.”
The Malvado Brothers get the trunk open and they rush back into the lowrider, slamming their doors shut. A hand reaches out from under the opened trunk. Then another. A head rises, raising the level of the trunk before revealing the horrific face of Zombie Marcus. He pulls himself out of the trunk, slowly before tumbling to the ground. The Malvado’s peel out. Puffer turns and watches Zombie Marcus stagger, awkwardly to his feet.
“Hold up...is that...is that a fuckin Zombie??”
Zombie Marcus makes his way toward the Haunted House. He barrels right into the door, knocking it off its hinges, entering the spooky abode.
“SOMEBODY WARN LCP!!!”
We fade out.
June 20th, 2021
OCW Arena in Key West
October 18th, 2021
OCW Arena in Key West
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