The cold morning greets Chamelion, in green T-shirt and shorts,  as he opens the main window of the cabin he’s chosen to rent for the week, while staying close to the  Belle Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  He breaths in the chill, filling his lungs with a slight ache and it helps to wake him up from a somewhat restless sleep.  The rustic view appeases him just a little, before he turns, leaving the window cracked and going to the small fridge in the mini-kitchen of the cabin to fetch a bottled water.  He looks around the tiny room, maybe a good twenty steps in either direction and a full 20 left to right, one large bed, mini kitchen, closet, bathroom with shower only and a 19 inch color T.V.  Not a lot of room to stretch, but surprisingly comfortable.  Swallowing a healthy gulp of water, Chamelion caps it, sets it down on the counter and pulls out the single stool in the place.  Settling on it, he cracks his knuckles and smirks.

 

“Simplicity.  Perhaps a better way to go?  I spent a lot of time concerned about how to best deliver my arguments, presentation and interest and in the end, perhaps simplicity will achieve greater results.  Why take three left turns when one right turn will suffice, hmm?  Admittedly my last couple shots at this took a bit more out of me then I’d have liked, so I’ll dispense the creative choose your own adventure aspect, and just get on with it.”

 

Turning, Chamelion points out a bulletin board we’d not seen before and pins a six by two inch laminated sheet to the top of the board which reads Eliminator.  It’s another visual, as Kirlia would point out, but its no more then a simple introduction to each of his competitors. 

 

“Well, Eliminator, where do I begin?  You’re angry with me, right? Angry because I questioned the legitimacy of the events unfolding in your world?  Can you really blame me for wondering if what you had going on was a ploy, or not?  Face it, any man who can even think of a wrestling match when his wife has been supposedly killed by unknown forces, isn’t a man or moral fiber.  I know I’d be devastated, but you? Not long after her death you’re cutting a promo, talking about your opponents in turn, and going off on a tangent because I wondered if this was a real situation or just a way to garner the sympathy vote of the BWF fans.  It didn’t help your case any, kiddo, when you chose to handle things on your own and not get the police involved. Police, I might add, obligated by law to progress with a rescue mission themselves.  No, you went in, gung ho and people died, and when it was over, you’re safe at home with your wife, discussing your soon to be match in the Elimination Chamber?  Pretty pathetic indeed.”

 

He shakes his head, wondering why some people would go so far as to present their personal life for all to see when it’s so tragic. What do they hope to gain out of sharing the devastation of their hearts, and why, above all else; do they put aside so important a thing to try to win a match?

 

“You may be upset with me, Eliminator, but you are just one of five, all who have some beef with me in one form or another, or just want to be the one to put me down for the 1-2-3, but if you allow your focus to be so narrow that you forget that, you might find yourself done for, before you get a real chance at me.  Even if you do, you’re going to be in for a surprise or three.  Everyone here is commenting on my career, one way or another, and comparing it to a glorified mid card success, which could be more insulting to the people I’ve faced then to me.  Legend, Sirus, Clark, Executioner, as I have named off before, would likely not enjoy the mid card comparisons.  XTC, goes into recovery after having accepted my challenge and in case anyone’s missed it, actually did pin me in that ring for a 1-2-3, and would have walked out the champion had the second ref not noticed my foot under the bottom rope.  Presence of mind is a key factor of my game, and it was the only trick I had left after being slammed with the Overdose.  So, it leaves me to seriously wonder if I should feel offended, or if those I have faced, should feel it worse then I.”

 

It’s true, Chamelion has faced far better competition then these guys want to give him credit for, and just because he has yet to maintain an upper tier presence has no bearing on the fact that he is as good, if not better, then the majority of the so called ‘main eventers’.  It’s just another reason in the ever growing list of why Chamelion needs to win this match.  Once this hurdle is cleared, no one would dare doubt him again.

 

“Everyone of you has attempted to discredit me, because you know deep down that individually, any one of you I could defeat with a ‘Snap’, and if not for the complexity of this six person encounter, I’d do so.  Perhaps then, you’d honor me with the credit of being at the top of the mountain, or you could turn around and lower yourselves just to save face, I truly don’t know.  Actually, perhaps I do, since you commented that I took the title from Toxic at his worst, yet I wasn’t the one who floundered in the end, it was him. And turn on XTC, I don’t know where you got that idea, I can’t turn on a guy I’m not friends with to begin with.  Honestly, where you come up with some of this shit surprises me to no end.”

 

Taking a moment to drown the rest of the water, Chamelion turns and pins a second name onto the bulletin board, this one below Eliminator that reads Ice Hensley.  He grins as he looks at the name, remembering how Ice greeted his last work, and questions how anyone in this federation gets by on utilizing the dirty word dictionary.  Perhaps Ice and Legend could team up and call themselves NC-17!

 

“Icehouse Hensley.  Did you enjoy your hearty laugh, is it out of your system now?  Good, cause you’ll need to wipe your eyes clean and open your ears to listen to me very carefully.  I can only respond to the words you say, and how you say them and when you said Chamelion and Kirlia are in matches and they decided to book us three, you leave little room for interpretation.  In fact, you talk so fast you tend to leave a lot of the good stuff out to begin with.  Likely explains why you go back and add later, when no one’s looking, just to feel you out witted someone with your half assed speech.  Hell, I tried to cover your ass for you, a little bit, but if you really don’t believe in DVD additions, then what else was it?  A cheap way to fatten yourself up?  I think the beer will do that for you.”

 

He sighs then, just a hair’s breath, reflecting on the fact that there’s so many wrestlers in the BWF who think drinking a lot of beer on screen is some sort of amazing gimmick.  I think Stone Cold has that angle covered quite nicely and the likes of Ice, Toxic, Clark and Cross would do well to focus on something else, something that could be beneficial to their in career record, not their bar record.

 

“I wonder if name calling is your greatest power, because you wield that and random insults like a precious weapon.  Too bad I wound deeper with a paper cut, otherwise I might have felt a twinge of irritation.  Never been too much into taking offense with people’s descriptions of my wife or I, since we’re above the petty squabbling that results from it.  Anyhow, onward; do I really need to waste my time going over the differences of our careers?  If I don’t, people will think I concurred with you, and if I do, it could get repetitious, and heaven forbid I get blamed for THAT!”

 

Repetition - the occurrence of an event which has occurred before.  Examples – Five challengers to Chamelion all saying ‘I’m going to beat you” or “I’m going to end your winning streak.”  Or, even better, “Chamelion, stop being repetitious.”  Yeah, takes one to know one, dumbasses.  Snickering at his thought, Chamelion shrugs as he continues.

 

“Oh well, I guess it can’t be helped.  You’re behind me now, kiddo, never said you always were.  Yeah, you’ve held titles here I have yet to challenge for, but the cliché’ often used is something along the lines of losing as many titles as one wins and I think it’s a bit OBVIOUS that I had help to win the tag team titles, since they are in fact, a group effort.  Hall of Fame, I suppose if you want the quick way in, sure, but when I get there, it’ll be from hard work and perseverance, and as for undisputed?  No, here I have not had the opportunity to be declared the Undisputed champion of the BWF.  Now, Undisputed Champion of the PWA, RJW, PHWF and SWF? That I did and when Sunday’s over, I can add the BWF’s Undisputed Reign to my list.  Still, if you want to narrow your focus on the past, and not consider the present and future, that’s your call.  I have a few more to worry about then that.”

 

Expectantly, he picks up and pins the name Rob Torborg onto the board, below that of Ice Hensley.  Yeah, if people are catching on, Chamelion is posting these names on a level concurrent with his opinions on their chances in this match.  Torborg is the weakest link in this match, Good Bye.

 

“Guess I’d better turn my attention back to Rob Torborg for a moment, since he insists he’s a threat in this match.  Compared to the challenge of Cody Clark and Captain Marticus, I’m surprised you’re putting in this much effort.  For a while now, things have not been progressing well for you, huh?  A loss to me, twice, losing out at Wrestle Bowl and then Captain Marticus making you tap?   Must be a bit nerve racking for ya, kiddo, and I saw your break down when you ranted to Marticus following Monday.  I suspect we’ll see another one come next Monday, and it should be a doozy!  By the way, you’re a bit lucky I didn’t come into Wrestle Bowl and cost you the chance myself, and yeah, the thought had occurred to me.”

 

Heck, he’d actually contacted the GLWA about coming in just to do that and they said they’d get back to him.  They never did, and in the end, Chamelion felt he could best humiliate Torborg in the very ring he thinks he’s best in.  Yet Torborg really believes he’s the one to do it all, win the Chamber match, become undisputed champion and end Chamelion’s streak.

 

“It’s getting interesting, listening to each and every one of you claim to be the one to end my streak.  I’m actually getting sick of my streak because it’s getting so much attention that it seems to be taking some of the glory from me!  I can see it now, Mr. Winning Streak running around with Chamelion in his shadow, sheesh.  Still, this poses an interesting concept; what if everyone is so determined to be the one to beat me, they end up fighting in the end and allow me a few easy pins.  If self glory is going to be that important to any and all of you, I may just have this match won.  Fact is, not one of you is any more important to me then another, and while some of you I’d prefer more then others, in the end I’ll try and beat each of you equally.”

 

Whatever strategies each of them are developing, Chamelion has a simple one. Win.  Sure, it’s cliché and very simple, but that’s the basis of this; simplicity.  Simply tell each of them where they screwed up and point them in the right direction.  It’s not that hard, even if they can’t grasp the concept.

 

“Torby, it makes sense to retreat when the chips are down if you feel it’s your only course, but I seem to remember a Reloaded not too long ago when you did the same thing to one of our wrestling divas.  You back peddled out of the ring as fast as you could, looking pleased with your amazing prowess, and I was left to wonder how you ever accomplish anything, or have any fan support, when all we ever see is your ass as you run off?  Many men have an ego going into these things, but I think you actually killed an ego and you’re wearing it as a second skin.  Piece of advice, kiddo, wash it; it smells.”

 

This time, when he selects the next name, that of Captain Marticus, he pins it above Eliminator.  While Eliminator may have the emotional launch going into the Chamber, he still pales in comparison to the intricate and unusual presentation of Captain Marticus.  Chamelion knows that of all of the men in this match, Marticus is the most entertaining, if not a bit off the mark.

 

“I think Marticus is a little confused, but that’s okay.  I know how ‘dreams’ and ‘fantasies’ work in promos, I’ve done them myself a few times, I just simply stated it was running it’s course with you, in my opinion, cause I felt perhaps it was the only method you knew, and you played off of it well by mocking my recent work, but it didn’t have the kick some of your earlier one’s had, sorry.  Then you wonder why after my lead in I went fully into discussing you and the others and refrained from doing anything else?  Really, I wonder what the big deal is with people having to mime what they’re saying or eat a snack, drink, or be somewhere with a large number of people when what they really want to do is trash their opponents work?  I was nice enough to have that lead in, a little background and share a bit of my personal life, but in the end; all that mattered was discussing my challengers, and that doesn’t require a bow and ribbon.”

 

Yet, here Chamelion goes with offering a smile, a nod, even taking a drink of water to satisfy the masses need to watch Chamelion do something physical.  Voyeurism in the BWF? Who’d have thought?  But thirsty he is, and the water tastes good. Capping it, he resumes.

 

“Saying I want to do a similar situation is not the same as DOING a similar situation, Marty, and I certainly didn’t come out swinging a mug and carrying on, so you wasted a little breath there, I believe.  Since you mentioned the Gauntlet Run, sure it wasn’t a win, but it’s not like I was pinned, submitted, in a one on one or for that matter, even cared about it, and suffice it to say, I asked the BWF committee what it’s considered and they commented that it doesn’t affect my career, nor that of anyone else who loses them, so, for the moment I’m safe on that!”

 

It was important that Chamelion understood the BWF’s position on how to score his record, and seeing as how he offered to fill an empty position in the match just to surprise some people, the general consensus at the time was that it wouldn’t count against his streak.  Now, today, with the way things have been going, he wishes it did, and then no one.. no one at all, could lay claim to taking away his winning streak, and that would apparently eat away at some of them.

 

“To avoid too much repetitiveness, please refer to my earlier comments about XTC, thank you, and even so with my tag team reigns, as there have been some pretty good challenges.  Absolute Zero was a throw away, but I didn’t hear these complaints when he went against Blazenwing in a video game match, which leads me to say that hypocrisy knows no bounds.  At least I gave the rookie a chance, where no one else would, and that’s what makes a champion great; opportunity.  I also don’t care about your worthless defense of why you lost to Toxic, because he whooped your ass in and out of the ring and I’d hate to hear any excuse about you being stuck somewhere the week before, since in retrospect, you had THREE weeks in which to prepare for Toxic, as he was named number one contender the first Havok after you won your title.  I’d chalk it up to being overwhelmed and while I may indeed fail Sunday, you are the man who held the title one month and lost it because you wouldn’t get on the ball in time.  Oh, and don’t try to deny the importance of our verbal warfare.  If it wasn’t important, then why are you even doing so now, and for that matter, much earlier then you’re known for?  Fact is, while our skills win or lose us the match, it’s our voice that either earns or loses the respect of our peers, and the more we do here, to rile each other up, results in a much better encounter.  Still, you’re correct, it’s all in the quality of our arguments, that  garners said respect, but by admitting that, are you not making a point in my favor, compared to the very thing you tried to deny; the importance of these promos?  See, sometimes you talk so much, you gab yourself into a corner, way to go, kiddo!”

 

The last name goes up, and I do mean UP, as Cody Clark is placed on the top of the five names, representing the common belief that his chances are more solid then most, and even Chamelion is willing to abide by those feelings.

 

“Finally, Cody Clark, the new BWF Champion.  Maybe I’ll just toss my hands up now and say ‘good show, you win’ and call it a day.  I mean, since everyone else has declared I have five targets on my chest, why not just expect the same of you and also concede that you made excellent points and tore me in half.  Or, we could go with Marty’s belief that no matter what we say, it’s how we perform in the ring that counts.  If we went that direction, then this match is most certainly mine, since well, I’ve always preformed at my best and come out sparkling.  Still in the end, I’ll go with my believe, and say that the reason we all sprout off at the mouth so often is because it motivates us, and the best one to speak his part, likely will feel the most confidence going into the match, and likely gain an advantage… and perhaps the win.”

 

Besides, it’s not easy to flash through a promo when there are five talented opponents to defend against, and anyone who gets bored or tired watching one of Chamelion’s works either isn’t aware of true artistry, or just forgot they can pause and come back later.  Then again, maybe Clark never learned to use a VCR?

 

“You are indeed, the underdog in this match but that could very well be your biggest asset.  However, you made one error in suggesting I’m over looking anyone in this match, since I happen to have been the only one willing to come out and talk about people who’d not even made it in, with the honest idea any of them could.  Hell, I wonder if I didn’t subconsciously give Torborg his chance when that one bowling pin didn’t fall.  I certainly wouldn’t have pegged him a member of this match in the beginning, but I’ve seen miracles before, this one is no less amazing.  As for talking of my streak, yeah it gets mentioned a lot, but lately it’s all come out of the mouths of everyone else, when they say they want to be the one who ends it.  I’m actually at peace losing this match because the weight of maintaining such a record will be gone, and yeah, like it or not, I will have the reasoning that it took five of the best in this company to gain up on me to get the job done.  Any one of you would do the same, and it’s best not to deny it, because in truth, it’s a rather damned good excuse to lose a match, when multiple opponents aim to take you out at once.  Very few people I know in my entire life could stand against five and survive, but when those five include those in the Chamber, the chances dwindle even more.”

 

Name someone who doesn’t back themselves up, puff their chest up and take pride in their accomplishments?  It’s a shame people will showcase their own talents while subsequently ignoring every little thing someone else has done.  Chamelion is aware he has not always faced the greatest BWF wrestlers, but unlike most, he didn’t come here expecting too.  There’s a ladder, you see, and Chamelion knows where the bottom rung is.

 

“As for the people nagging me about repeating myself, you present your latest piece of work in two parts; the self analysis part where you review who you’re facing and mention that we’ve faced twice before and I’ve never pinned you, or that it’s a self sense of accomplishment for me… then when you actually speak TO me, it comes to us again that you comment on how our matches ended, and that maybe I’ve been pointing them out a bit much.  Now, I’m not saying what you’ve done is BAD, cause that would just come back on me, but really, you presented the argument in the same breath you demonstrated it.  Hell, come on, Kiddo, who here has NOT pointed out their victories, their accomplishments?  Who here has not made absolutely sure that everyone in the BWF is aware of what they’ve succeeded at?  So far, all day as I’ve watched everyone’s comments against me, I really have only heard the exact same argument presented to me from five different mouths and if anyone here wants to be sick of the repetitiveness, it’s me.”

 

That may have been what slowed Chamelion down, because every time he saw a new promo, he realized it was entirely the same as the last one, no matter who recorded it.  At least, in terms of talking about Chamelion, since he kind of didn’t care much about the rest of them.  He had his own views to give, and didn’t want his thoughts contaminated with the rantings of the other members.  Taking a long drink, Chamelion reflects on that and then continues.

 

“Hell, some of them have commented on me making excuses for where I am.  I faced jobbers, I didn’t have a challenge, blah this, blah that.  Whatever, now you’re making an excuse about Wrestle Fest III, that you were not at your best?  It wasn’t just Wrestlefest, Cody, but there’d been times before that I’d commented on an interest to face you, but each time I was ignored.  The two times we met, yeah, you lost, and no you were not pinned but you also couldn’t accomplish the simple feat of protecting your partners from the same fate.  It comes around on me, as well, because neither you nor I need to pin each other to win or lose this match…you could come in last, after I’d been defeated by one of the others and then what? Do you claim to have won over Chamelion?  Vice versa, I win but someone else pins you?  Do I claim 3-0 against you?  It’s a matter of perspective, but from you I would expect a level of decorum and deny any involvement should it fall that way, otherwise you destroy your one and only defense against me concerning your losses.”

 

For kicks, Chamelion slides another laminated sheet out from hiding and pins Chamelion above all five competitors, and he beams his Cheshire Grin. Like it or not, there is no other course then to believe he’ll win. He can admit he has challenges, he can admit some are REAL GOOD!  Hell, he can admit he may even lose this Sunday, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to think any less then coming out on top.

 

“In closing, if no one’s fallen asleep yet, heh, I’ll leave you all with a word of advice; dispense with the target on me, or the claim of being the one to end my streak, and just accept that if it does happen, only one of you is going to be able to make that claim.  Do you all want it bad enough to risk losing the match?  Do you all really think it’s that important?  I’m in there to win the United Championships and nothing else matters, especially any of you..  Oh, and one last thing, Clark, IT is the E-Bay campaign, and GOT IT, well, that’s my catch phrase, kind of like a verbal exclamation point…and umm, heh, since I already said it once, I’ll be kind and not repeat myself!”

 

So there you have it.  As Chamelion slips off the stool and grabs his gym bag to take a shower, he gives us a final smile before shutting the door behind him.  He’s done what he could, for the sake of himself and the fans of the BWF.

 

Simplicity.  Yes, that’s the way to go.

 

END

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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