Shut it down. That was the message Marcus Welsh received from ownership once the damage from the purge had been fully felt. A fact that confused Welsh as he looked at a roster he felt was more than strong enough for a full rebuild.
Was it Zybala’s Outsiders scaring ownership away? Could it be the apoplectic reaction to Lord Allton’s Equality show? Why the sudden pivot?
He’d turn to Smith for answers. And, finally, an explanation. The old OCW office in Little Rock had been condemned. Word reached ownership in regards to the piece of real estate. Ownership flew out to observe it and, well…
Shut it down.
That’s all they said before pulling all funding from Welsh.
A curious Welsh decided to finally step foot in Arkansas to view the suddenly interesting ancient piece of OCW history.
Late November 2021
“This is it?” Welsh asks in an elevated, surprised tone.
“Yea,” Smith’s voice hesitates, “So, seen enough?”
He tries to pull Welsh away.
“Hold on, Smith. How is this the reason behind OCW’s imminent closure? What’s inside?”
“Oh nothing for you to worry about, sir.”
Welsh looks down at Smith. It’s the type of answer that would make any leader worry. Pulling away, he marches into the old office building.
The heavy air of inactivity. The stench of death. Welsh covers his nose and stumbles around. A door suddenly flies open, startling the man. A voice calls out to him. He heads downstairs...into the basement.
His stomach churns. His lungs rebuke the air that consumes them. A strong urge to flee courses through his body. But, he remains. Something calls out to him.
A stained, dirty, disgusting piece of filth in the corner. Welsh is drawn to it. He stands over it. He drops to a knee and places his hands on it. The grease and grime stain his previously pristine flesh covered phalanges. His eyes suddenly roll into the back of his head as a vision illuminates his brain.
He comes to and looks up, staring at The Toothfairy. The man drops a handful of teeth at Welsh’s feet. Welsh rises and sprints away.
Smith watches as Welsh stumbles out of the office and staggers toward his employee who he suddenly has a newfound respect for. “Smith!” he gasps.
“What is it, sir?”
“What is it?? I’m sure you’ve seen it.”
“I think I’m just immune to it at this stage.”
“Oh...look, I saw a vision.”
“Yea?”
“Yes. We can’t close this place.”
“But the money, sir. Should we sell this office building to raise some money to keep going?”
“NO! We cannot ever, ever, lose possession of this building. It’s too important.”
“Well...what, then?”
“The Straders. Veronica’s been calling me nonstop since the Purge. Her family has money, right?”
“I think so.”
“Okay, get them on the phone. This is top priority.”
“Yessir!”
Smith did as instructed and soon the Straders signed on as financiers for OCW. Their funding kept OCW alive. It kept Welsh’s goal in motion.
Veronica Strader became a premier talent on the roster. Death March and Access Denied both aired much to the chagrin of the pro wrestling world. The belligerent promotion that could kept chugging along.
And then, history was made.
February 2021
Welsh is tracing triangle after triangle on a sheet of paper. There’s a knock at his office door, “Come in!”
Smith steps forward. “You wanted to see me, boss?”
“Yes,” Welsh’s eyes never leave the paper, “The Straders have agreed to construct the apparatus for our next event.”
“Oh, wow. That’s gonna be expensive.”
“Mhm,” Welsh nods.
Smith steps forward, leaning in and tilting his head, “Sir.” He tries to get Welsh’s attention. But Welsh is locked in on the triangles he’s tracing.
“I’ve instructed accounting to open funding to you so you can complete a very important task.”
“Task?”
“The office in Little Rock. They want to tear it down.”
“Maybe we should let…”
“No. We can’t,” Welsh’s eyes remain on the paper in front of him, “I need you to move the office, including the basement, down here. Find some cheap, remote land and put it there.”
“I don’t even know how to go about…”
“Well, figure it out, Smith. It can’t be any more difficult than throwing…” Welsh’s eyes finally look up, “things into that basement.”
Smith sighs. “Yessir.”
“In the meantime, I’m going to continue work on my new vision,” Welsh stops tracing and holds up the sheet of paper to show Smith. “I’m calling it The Great Illuminatus.”
---
We cut back to the haunted house. Puffer’s back is to us, observing the haunting apparatus. “As we draw closer the activity picks up.”
Inside the house we see LCP walking past a window, right at home. Not a care in the world. A few moments later Zombie Marcus walks past the same window, arms out, hunting the scent of LCP.
Puffer turns around, “At the time, nobody knew what Welsh saw when he grabbed the ancient relic that rests in the basement of the old OCW office. But it inspired The Great Illuminatus. An event that put OCW back on the map. An event that let the pro wrestling world know OCW was never just going to 'go away'.”
“The event’s success was enjoyed by everyone. Everyone except Marcus Welsh. He appeared to be a different man. A changed man. A man with a vision that, while far away, seemed very much within reach. A vision that would lead him to put the entire roster in jeopardy.”
An arm reaches around Puffer’s shoulders. Mike Zybala appears.
“Hey Jack! Ya know, I told him not to visit Australia. But he just wouldn’t listen. Marcus never listened.”
Zybala hangs his head and quietly mourns the loss of his former rival, colleague, and friend.
“Hey, I’m working here.”
Zybala snaps out of it, “Oh, my bad Jack. I’m just here because I heard there may be a zombie in there.”
“Believe it or not...there is.”
“Sweet!” Zybala shows off shoes custom made with thick, sharp blades on the sides. “It’s SUPERKICK time!” He turns and heads into the Haunted House.
Puffer turns back to the screen, “Welsh used the Strader’s financial estate to chase his new vision. When they weren’t willing to throw any more money into the promotion he contacted a new source. A source that would inevitably save Welsh from his own greed and, in doing so, begin the end of Welsh’s run as OCW’s figurehead.”
“It all started to end the moment Welsh used The Golden Phone.”
We cut away.
Old OCW Offices
Little Rock, Arkansas
OCW Office
Key West, Florida
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