Here Comes the Welcome Wagon!

Chuck Matthews: "So....what's up EXODUS?

Did you miss me?

Didn't think so.

Let's see if I can break this down correctly. About six months ago, I had this...plan. I orchestrated a whole war that nearly tore this company apart, piece by piece. What I was after? Eh, depends who you talk to. Some people say it was a ploy for money, some say it was Chuck vying for power, some think I just really like to fuck with people, and I think there are a few who think I just really don't like the Collins family. Honestly? It's not really important. What's important is whether or not the plan succeeded. What's important is knowing whether or not I got what I was after. Quite a number of people will tell you I failed in that endeavor, that I was outsmarted, and was booted out of EXODUS with nothing to show for it. And it's very easy to see why they may say that; being wrong is a lifestyle choice for some people.

Here are the facts. Here's what we know. Here is what CAN'T be disputed: Chuck caused a lot of damage in his stint last year. Chuck conned two stables, who otherwise had nothing in common, and aligned them against a common enemy. Chuck gambled his career and his stake in the future of EXODUS on one match, lost, and was kicked out of this company permanently. And just before he rode off into that good night, Chuck got his grimy little paws on a sizeable fortune. A lovely parting gift for all his efforts, courtesy of the NYSE.

But that wasn't it, was it? That's the problem. That's the really...annoying, painful truth of this whole thing. It's never...fucking...over. You can never just beat a guy and expect him to disappear and take all the damage he's done with him. Wasn't that the entire point of the lesson I spent months trying to teach? Life isn't some fucking fairy tale. Sometimes, the bad guy wins. Sometimes, the good guys just can't quite get the job done. And sometimes, the villain walks away, only to detonate that one final explosive, hidden under the building.

Enter Zack Lifer.

Now, I really can't take credit for everything. Truth is, as much as I would love to take the blame for the mayhem he's caused, and as much as I'm sure you'd love to blame me for it, this really wasn't ENTIRELY my doing. The sad fact of the matter is, the guy was ready to blow his top at any time. He was standing right at the edge, right there, ready to jump. All I did was give him that little nudge. I just told him exactly what he needed to hear to make his decision all the more simple. I took your beloved hero, and I brought him down. And even in his greatest victory, even after beating Chuck Matthews and saving EXODUS, Zack Lifer still felt the sting of defeat.

Now fast forward a few months. Congratulations, Chuck Matthews doesn't have a stranglehold on EXODUS. But look around you:

Chuck Matthews is back in EXODUS, as though that little exile in November meant nothing.
Jon Collins is nowhere to be seen.
Zack Lifer is causing chaos and carnage wherever he appears.
Some freaky little bitch and her whacked out little family running around doing what they please.
And lo and behold, you STILL have a war going on in this company, but hey! New twist! Now it's Revolution going up against Wulf and his merry men!

....but hey, you go ahead and keep telling me I was the bad guy. You go ahead and keep telling yourselves you stopped me and saved this company. But like I said a couple weeks ago...if that was REALLY the case...if things were REALLY okay?

I wouldn't be here.

And that, boys and girls, is the question we are going to try and solve THIS time around. Are you ready? Is everybody paying attention?

What is Chuck doing in EXODUS?

Oh....ohhhh, that sounds familiar, doesn't it? Maybe a little too familiar? Was that not the same question I asked, so many months ago? Back when I sauntered into this company, before I turned it on its head, before anyone realized what I threat I could pose?

Well. Let this be a test then. Let's see if anybody has actually learned something.

Because, you see, once again, we find ourselves in the same sorry position we did this time last year. Here we have Chuck Matthews, walking in, telling you all, plain and simple, that he's here for a reason. Now, last time...last time, it was another loudmouth, another punk talking a great game but giving no real reason to believe him. Now? Are you really stupid enough to make the same mistake twice? Are you really prepared to let me slither into your company, once again, plot my little plot, yet again, rattle this company to the core ONCE AGAIN?

You cannot truly be that dense.

But, hey, maybe you are. Maybe Michelle Collins is just as shortsighted as the rest of the Collins family. Maybe she's even stupid enough to think SHE could be the one to outsmart Chuck Matthews? Hell, at least SHE has the background to think she could. And for now, yeah...yeah, maybe I'll entertain that delusion. In time, I'm sure you'll realize that my behavior, while...erratic, always serves a purpose. Always leads to something bigger.

Enter Dante.

You, my good friend, are a poor victim of circumstance. You, Dante, are the first unfortunate soul to be thrown at Chuck Matthews in a hope of doing....oh, sweet Lord Jesus, do I even have to say this anymore?

You all KNOW what I'm going to say. You know where I'm going to go from here. 'Try and solve the Matthews Riddle. Try and crack the code.' Does this sound familiar? Is this bringing back old, painful memories? Know why, with all the changes EXODUS has gone through, why I stay exactly the fucking same?

Because IT STILL WORKS. Because for all your best efforts, because even with that one tiny victory that sent me packing, because although your kings and masters will stand there and tell any half a fucking moron who will listen that they 'outsmarted' Chuck Matthews, as if they know what the fuck that actually means, or what it would look like if they could defy God and actually DO it...when push comes to shove, you're forced to face an ugly truth: You never quite figured me out. You'll sing to the high heavens that you beat me, but there's a whole lot of holes in that patchwork history book you're writing, and the biggest one of them all?

Why did Chuck Matthews take that match, so many months ago?

Seems to me like nobody's been able to come up with a reasonable answer to that. The Smartest Man in Wrestling, with all the cards in his favor, gambles it all away on one match? The man who plans everything ten steps ahead, suddenly breaking his M.O, suddenly taking a gamble, suddenly leaving everything to chance?

I want you to think back to that time, back in November. I want you to think on it, reflect on it, watch it over and over again until it's burned into your minds. And I want you to question every decision I made. Think back on everything I did...everything I said. And when you do...when you've thought, and questioned, and reflected and mulled it over and over in your head that you just can't take it anymore...maybe then, you will begin to see the world as I see it. Maybe then, you will understand the mind of Chuck Matthews.

Dante, my friend, this begins with you. Find your solution. Figure it out. Take me on, one on one, and see how you fare against a true mastermind of this industry. Beat me down before I can ever secure my foothold. Because I guarantee you, Dante...people are counting on you. I've got a lot of hope for this company, Dante. And part of that hope rests on the assumption that they AREN'T helpless idiots...that they aren't about to rely on some fluke twist of fate, that they don't think that, should Chuck Matthews come back, that they can beat him again...just like last time...as if their silly little wrestling match wasn't one more step in the long con.

Can you do that, Dante? Can you solve the unsolvable? Can you outthink a genius?

Can you defeat Chuck Matthews?

I wish you the best."