Playing With Aron: A Lesson In Futility

07.01.22
MGM Grand – Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada

Backstage, we find ourselves in the midst of pure chaos as we see Randall Schwartz running like his life depends on it, rushing past production crew and Grand employees alike before turning a corner, finding a broom closet to hide in. He keeps his mouth shut in the pitch black darkness of the closet as he hears loud footsteps closing in…and then dissipating, indicating the source had come and gone without thinking to investigate Randall’s new favorite hiding spot. Randall lets out a deep sigh of relief, settling in as he waits for his friend Kenny Freeman to give him the all-clear…and proceeds to doze off, quickly falling asleep with a quiet snore.

Hours later, Randall is startled awake with a nudge from an older-looking gentleman, who the Entertainer instantly recognizes as a member of the MGM Grand’s custodial team, staring back at the Master of the Multiverse with a look of confusion, his thick brows furrowed by the sight of someone resting in his territory.

“Sir, why are you in my closet?”

Randall just looks around, still in shock from how long he’s been asleep…and also desperately looking around for his tag partner, who he left at ringside to get away from Mushigihara. He faintly calls out, sweating bullets out of fear of being left alone.

“K-Kenny…where are ya, man…”

This gets a raised eyebrow from the janitor.

“Kenny Freeman?”

Randall nods, still nervous as all get out.

“He and the other wrestlers left hours ago. You might need to call your friend to come pick you up, everything’s shut down for the night.”

Randall looks even more confused by a particular phrase uttered by the older man standing before him.

“Call?”

The janitor is almost taken aback by the question.

“Yeah, with your…phone?”

Randall’s face droops slightly, realizing that Kenny still has his phone stored in a locker at the hotel room. He shakes his head in disappointment as he makes his exit from the closet, starting down the hallway before he turns his attention back to the janitor.

“Thank you for your help, Mister…?”

“Karrs, but you can call me Al.”

The two give a knowing nod, and you can just about hear a familiar melody playing in the hall as Randall walks down, pushing through the exit to leave the Grand for the evening.

What a night, folks.

I’m very, very proud of what Kenny and I pulled at Great American Bash, making Dangerous Mix out to be fools.

What’s that? We didn’t win?

We didn’t lose, either.

That’s very important.

We’re no further down the tag team rankings than we were going into the supershow.

And now?

Now we have a chance to go up against the guys that almost won the Tag Team Championship that night.

Two men always looking to prove themselves, and for a great cause!

Fighting For Nora.

I can respect someone doing charity work.

I donated a fiver to the Santa Claus standing outside the Walmart the other day.

Look, I can only assume it’s a Christmas In July thing.

Anyway, I’m getting off-topic.

Let’s stick to the matter at hand, shall we?

Fighting For Nora, the tag team that Kenny had to remind me is NOT the cult, is one impressive duo. Getting all the way to the finals of Survivor is a tall task and you gents did it.

So now what?

Where do you go from here?

You had your chance to ascend the mountain, and you stumbled.

Now it’s time to stumble all the way back to the valley.

Make a beeline to the back of the line, fellas.

Where ol’ Randall and Kenny have a few tricks to keep ya here, while we make that journey that once belonged to you.

That’s right, we will be fighting for NORA.

No One Respects Assholes.

Wait, no, ignore that last statement.

Hold up, I still have…

~ Randall Schwartz

07.18.22
MGM Grand Hotel
Las Vegas, Nevada

“Damn it, Kenny!”

Randall Schwartz shoves his laptop to the side, and we notice a curious error screen referring to some voice-to-text program not running properly as Randall jumps from his chair, staring down his tag partner who’s simply swiping away on his cell phone with a smirk before looking up casually at the Entertainer.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t give yourself enough time to write your little blog?”

Randall just furrows his brow at the remark.

“You know I like to use the voice-to-text thing, man. Makes it easier for me to convey my thoughts, especially on such an important match as this.”

Kenny gives a light shrug, muttering “you’re not wrong” when suddenly, the pair start shimmering a strange blue light…and vanish. Moments later, we find ourselves inside someone’s house as the pair reappear with a flickering light, crashing on the floor. Randall and Kenny look around in utter confusion until they notice a picture on the fireplace…one with a slightly familiar face.

“Um…Kenny?”

Randall points to the picture, motioning for Freeman to have a look…and the man looking back at him is almost a mirror image, though notably thinner. Also notable is a championship slung over this Kenny’s shoulder, though curiously not from any promotion he’s familiar with.

“I’m a champion?”

Randall chuckles at Kenny’s response.

“I guess the law of probability applies across the entire multiverse, buddy.”

The pair don’t get much time to investigate further before another shimmering light signals their hasty departure, before quickly being flung back where they were. Kenny lands back carefully on his bed, but Randall crashes on the floor. Mere seconds later, the room door opens to reveal Aeon Khronos walking in, staring in confusion at the pair looking like they’d been through some things.

“The hell’s going on here?”

Kenny’s eyes light up with a sense of wonder.

“Dude, we just traveled across the multiverse?”

“You what, mate?”

Randall just nods in agreement with Kenny’s point, much to Aeon’s surprise.

“Oh, wow. That’s…that’s not necessarily good, fellas.”

Kenny’s joy seems to be sapped by this comment.

“What do you mean? We don’t have to use those portals anymore!”

Aeon nods in acknowledgement of Kenny’s point with a shrug.

“Perhaps, but if you two can travel without inflection points or portals…others can, and that would account for that Shark randomly popping up. Fellas, this could be trouble. Big trouble.”

“In Little China?”

Aeon and Kenny just glare at Randall, who looks confused by the reaction he’s gotten.

“What? I love that movie.”

Aeon’s right, though…big trouble is up ahead.

But that’s also a sign of what’s ahead for Paxton Ray and Jonathan Rhine at ReVival 12.

We are masters of our craft, masters of multi-level marketing, and Masters of the Multiverse for a reason, folks.

Paxton, I have nothing but respect for the cause you fight for. I get it, man. I won’t disrespect you by saying any stupid stuff, because I’ve been there…but because I’ve been there, I gotta keep fighting.

And that means fighting a man I respect.

And beating him in the middle of that ring.

You will have your chance to go after the tag titles again, to prove once again that you are Dad of the Year…but it ain’t coming at our expense.

As for Rhine, I can understand coming back after a prolonged hiatus.

You’ve been looking for that missing piece of the puzzle since you came back to the business…and by the looks of it, that piece was not a Tag Team Championship.

And if you’re not careful, you could be spinning your wheels in the mud as you figure out your next steps.

That’s where Randall and I come in.

I respect you two, but this is our time now.

We are ready to take on the mantle of responsibility, to carry this tag team division on our backs.

And our first step to greatness comes at your expense.

Never Overestimate Randall’s Associates.

Nope, never mind, that one doesn’t work either.

The point is, we will take what belongs to us at ReVival, and prove just how much fight we have in us.

And both of you will find out that messing with the B-Team is a lesson in futility.

See ya boys at the Grand.

~ Kenny Freeman