Football Fan And Musician Join A CU:LT

Jacksboro Pike, Knoxville, Tennessee
Show Day (April 30th, 2023)

The view fades in and sees new CU:LT signee Logan Bailey, simply standing in front an old apartment complex. The apartment complex has an "under new management" sign on the top left room's window, obviously the front office. Used to, it was its own apartment, but most likely, it's been converted since Logan last lived here. Bailey rubs his face and sharply inhales, as though he just got out of bed. Probably because he did, he's weird like that. Anyway, there he is, getting his phone out and calling his pregnant wife via Discord. Did you know his wife is former Zion Wrestling Undisputed Champion Faye Brown? Orange hair, Brooklyn accent, called herself "Bad Boy?" Well, now you do, but... Bad Boy currently only has the accent. Faye's nearly eight months pregnant with dizygotic twins, which shows for a moment as all Logan sees is Brown's seemingly overbloated midriff, before her view flips to her face, which... to put it kindly, has seen better days. Not being able to wear makeup doesn't help, either. But all in all, at least Logan still thinks she's hot as hell. Brown puts on a faint smile to greet her husband with.

"Heeeey..."

"Guess where I am."

Logan's view choppily flips from his face to this old apartment complex: first black door on the bottom, labeled number one. Hidden by a dingy canopy consisting of the upper deck's walkway, and surrounded by dead plants that Logan himself put there when he lived in this particular apartment... it's droll. It really is. But for as disgusting as it seems, Faye's face lights up upon seeing an old home of theirs rebuilt.

"Oh hey, they finally got that piece of shit rebuilt!"

"Yeah they did! It looks better than it did when we were here, too!"

Brown kinda inhales as her smile fades, squinting as she eyes the building up and down

"Ehhh... it's about the same. You're just nostalgic for our old place."

"I lived here for eleven years, of course I am. But you were there for the last..."

Bailey makes almost a cymbal-like noise as he tries to remember.

"Iiiieeee wanna say eight months?"

"October 2020 to July 2021, so..."

Brown gestures her hand in a "so-so" fashion.

"Nine-ish? You missed out on a couple of those months."

"Yeah, Aztec sacrifices are annoying like that..."

As Bailey mentions his botched time being kidnapped (yes, really, neither he nor she like to talk about it), a person dressed like they're ready to attend a business luncheon walks out with defensive and angry eyes on Logan.

"Hey! Get off my property, ya moocher!"

Brown just snorts a bit before ending the call.

"Wait no, Fay--god... god damn it."

Bailey puts his phone away as he looks to the presumed landlord of the complex, gritting his teeth before relaxing his face.

"Uhh... hi, I'm Logan, I used to live here... I just wanted to look arou--"

"Ah-own give a fuck! Shoo, outta here!"

The Animated Maniac (fitting nickname right now, clearly) backs up, attempting to leave the road that masquerades as a parking lot, even raising his hands in defense. To be fair, he is trespassing on private property.

"Aight, fine, before you get your mallet, Eustace."

Bailey gets into his grey Dodge Challenger, starts it up, and quickly leaves his old home with the landlord yelling all sorts of slurs at the car as it departs.

Halls Walmart - Parking Lot
Still Show Day (April 30th, 2023), surprise surprise

"I'm sorry, that was like one of those stupid TikTok videos that my friends show me."

Bailey remains in the driver's seat, still buckled up as he rolls his eyes at his phone. Another Discord call between husband and wife obviously started a few minutes ago.

"Yeah, I'm glad you find me getting accosted by a landlord hi-goddamn-larious."

"It is! You were caught trespassing, it's funny!"

Brown can't help but laugh at her husband.

"I'm... just, look, honestly I'm more glad you weren't shot on sight. I'd rather laugh at you for something dumb than see you in the hospital..."

Brown pauses for just a moment.

"Which, speaking of, why are you wrestling in a match where you'll most likely catch yourself on fire?"

"Faye, did you seriously think I'd miss a show in Knoxville? Nah nah, I lived here for most of my life, no chance in hell after you missed Zion coming here once then NEVER AGAIN."

Bailey also pauses for a brief second. Faye just kinda looks down a bit before Logan continues.

"And honestly? Think of the narrative: the match I return home at is extremely dangerous and life-threatening, which... just my luck, right? But that tends to be the name of the game here at CU:LT: extreme danger and lives being threatened. Just my kinda party."

"I... guess that answers my question? But why CU:LT? Limitless already brought you in, and since they bought BWF's assets including that briefcase..."

Logan holds up his BWF Money In The Bank Briefcase, good for a BWF World Title shot before October 28th. We guess he was gonna cut a promo inside Thompson-Boling with it, but he can also do that anytime in any arena until he cashes it in.

"...you're practically on a fast track to success there. Why be non-exclusive?"

The Animated Maniac side-eyes The Scrap-Iron Scarecrow.

"...what is this, an interview?"

"No, I'm just confused about you going to CU:LT and then being so far up that place's ass that you're saying we should do tag team stuff before you even step foot into one of their rings."

"...ready for a story, then?"

Brown tosses her hand up in resignation.

"Sure, I guess."

To which Bailey simply nods.

"I actually have a fairly peripheral history with an old place called Visionaries of Wrestling. Used to be a fan when they were around. Your ex-wife wrestled there once upon a time, if I remember right. You know, before she was confirmed to be a piece of shit who'd fit in living in this state?"

"I try not to think about her... but VoW means pre-me-being-married-to-her, so she probably wasn't all that bad at that point."

"No, she was. Just both a little less and lot more cringe... at the same time? Said a few things that made no sense... too many Ashens references to count..."

Faye actually makes eye contact... well, as much contact as you can through a phone screen, giving Logan a nice little squint.

"Ashens?"

"Yeah, you know him, the hands on a brown sofa guy we sleep to sometimes."

"Oooooooh, yeah yeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeah, that guy that guy."

"But Casanova English worked there for a while, too. Officially the longest reigning World Visionary Champion in history, last I saw... then again, that was in 2016, and the state of that company in 2016..."

Logan just sighs, shaking his head a bit.

"It was rough. There was just this sense of... dread that everyone had. Dread, burnout, malaise, call it what you want. It was rough for the talent by the end, it was rough for me watching, and today? From my ass, a promo like those guys cut I must pull."

"...well, you don't HAVE to, I'm sure a few words prior to your... inferno battle roya--I still can't believe you're in that kind of match."

"Heaven Sent Battle Royal."

"Look, it's a battle royal where everyone but the winner gets set on fire when they get eliminated, sorry I forgot it had a name."

"It's fine, it's just the match the pay-per-view's name--"

"PAY-PER-VIEW?!"

"Pay-per-view! Yes! No big goddamn deal, ya she-witch!"

The married couple are clearly just bullshitting back and forth at this point, just in case you're worried.

"The match the pay-per-view's named after where the losers get set on fire, and the longest reigning World Visionary Champion in history's in it. As is everyone's dad who ran and is going to run Valor... that place where Larry Tact blew your back out."

"Don't remind me..."

"But then again, Latoya Hixx is in this match too, so like... y--y'know, at least I know I'm not gonna be first on fire unless this doesn't go to the right people for some reason? Then you've go--"

"I--I know who's in the match, Logan, spare me the opponent rundown that you normally do..."

"All right, your loss. Just, there's also a guy named Paul Freedom and he looks like Homelander's Gen-alpha cousin."

Bad Boy gives Logan the side-eye he gave her several lines back.

"Gen... Gen Alpha? As in what... these... are gonna be?"

Brown points to her eight-month-pregnant stomach, to which Logan simply nods a bit to his right, bouncing the caterpillars he calls eyebrows as he does.

"Know what? Yeah, sure."

The couple both sigh at whatever the hell was supposed to pass for comedy before Faye pipes up again.

"So, what's on the line? Surely there's a logical and rational reason that you agreed to be in this kind of match?"

"Winner gets a world title shot."

"Ugh..."

"What? What's wrong? Is that not... good?"

"No, it is, just..."

Brown stammers a bit over her next few words.

"...part of me wants to say I earned my two the right way, you know?"

"And I'm not?"

"...yes and no? Like, you earned the briefcase. If you win this... Heaven Sent Battle Royal, is that right?"

"Yeh."

"If you win that, then somehow beat that cool Bacchus guy or the Texas chick..."

"Johnny Bacchus or Lissie Hope, they've got proper names, Faye."

"Shush, lemme finish."

Brown says, knowing Logan's just messing around. Clearly, he's more confident here than she is.

"If you beat one of those two for that title... then cash in that briefcase in Limitless... you'll have two world titles. And to me, you only really will have earned one of those two."

Bailey points an index finger to his screen.

"You're also biased because you've had trouble with briefcases in the past. Need I remind you of Zion and their Chance Briefcase that they cost you? Then it cost you your first world title?"

Faye kind of shrugs to her right, shaking her head before speaking again.

"Maybe I am, but... you also yelled at whatever your ex is going by this week for doing the same thing."

"That I did... but I'm not her or her façade. I am me: hopefully the next dual champion of the bunch."

Brown nods.

"Hopefully."

Bailey also nods. Lots of nodding, you'd think they were bobbleheads.

"Key word."

"I guess I'll get off here with that, then..."

"Do you trust me?"

"No."

"Fair enough. Love you."

"Love you. Don't get too well done for me, yeah?"

"Yeah..."

Brown ends the Discord call, while Bailey turns his display off and turns his car's engine over, ready to go to the show... but then a look of realization crosses his face.

"SHIT! I SHOULD HAVE RECORDED THAT! THAT WAS THE PROMO! FUCK! Now I'm gonna fuckin' lose, god... damn it!"

Dejected, Bailey starts making his way to Thompson-Boling Arena en route to his now-disastrous debut for Combat Unlimited Lethal Trials.