Welcome to Gaia! ::

The fans were stirring all about the arena, finding their seats or heading to the concession stands before the tenth Monday Massacre went underway, the final show before the Spring in The Ring event! The Intrust Bank Arena was filled with a sea of people, all sitting in wait for the first event in Kansas! It was definitely a sight to behold! As the hour reached 7pm Central Time, the opening riff to Hell or Highwater's "Crash and Burn" resonated through the building, the song that had become known as Monday Massacre's theme tune. The fans let out a joyous cheer for at the realization that the show was beginning. Would the General Manager be sharing a word?

Life is a long, long road I know,
Take it one day at a time!
But days are wasted,
I cant replace 'em.
If I'm not mistaken,
I don't have time for this!
The nights are getting longer and longer,
I swear that I used to be stronger.
But I wont forget that I can't regret where I've been,
So until then I'll say...



Right before the chorus struck, a tall, muscular figure ran out on stage. The moment he pushed through the curtain, the fans screamed in approval to greet him. Wearing his black jeans, a black "Trivium" muscle shirt, and his signature aviators to hide his eyes, it was none other than the General Manager himself, Matt Shanahan. A wide grin etched his features as he gazed across the large crowd filling the arena. He had high hopes for tonight's show just like all of the fans; there had yet to be a show where Shanahan didn't have high hopes for each match! With his grin in check, Matt quickly began his trek down to the ring, slapping a few high fives along the way.

Crash and burn, my friend!
I'll see you at the bottom of the
Deep, dark blue descend!
This is the end!
Begin again!

The God of Punks' movements were quick, considering there was a bounce of energy in every step he took. He jogged up the steel steps and stepped over the top rope with ease, entering the squared circle. He stopped short of the center of the ring to glance at the table sitting in middle of it, with a chair on each side and a clipboard on the table, along with two microphones. Matt walked around to the opposite side of the table and picked up the microphone, giving the crew the signal to cut the music.

"HOW'S IT GOING, WICHITA?!" Matt roared out to the crowd, pacing around his side of the ring while they shouted back positively. "You all sound like you're already having a great time, and that's what I like to hear! I knew I wouldn't regret stopping in Kansas as we make our trip to the deep South. A certain Head of Talent Relations tried to advise me to skip the Midwest entirely, stating that states like Iowa and Kansas just weren't worth batting an eye at," Matt paused once the fans let out a resounding jeer, showing their hate for the head of the King household. A small grin parted on Matt's lips at the notion, "But judging from this crowd, I definitely made the right ********' choice."

"Every place we've seen on our journey so far has been beyond amazing, and you guys are no exception. That's why tonight, we got a helluva lot of high impact matches for you! We got debuts to show-case even more of our growing potential! We got my close friend Dion Necurat honoring his challenge to Damon Pierce in a Last Man Standing match! Jamie Bader's slated to take on Sanguine Invitational finalist Ryuu Sakamoto, both men aiming for a shot for the Crimson City title. And on that note, Cyrus Leone will be defending his belt for the first time, against... Jack Arson!" The fans let out an alarming amount of jeers, clearly not a fan of the match-up. Matt's face flashed a smirk in response, but he wasn't going to bother commenting on it.

"And then, wee have the main event of the evening... Hiro Shin-Mozas, our new BBW Champion, fighting a man that so British that he pisses tea and shits crumpets. You know 'em, you love 'em, CAAAAAAAARTWRIGHT!" A roar of approval for the lovable Brit met Matt's announcement!

"Now, now... Settle down for a moment, folks," Matt brought a hand up to motion for the crowd to quiet themselves, getting the reaction he expected as he did: silence. "I love Carty just as much as the next guy, but it's time we got down to business. As we saw back in Des Moines, the Sanguine Invitational has come to an end. It's been a long-a** tournament, but we finally have a winner... and a contract to sign. So, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the winner of the 2014 Sanguine Invitational...!"
Matt spoke while holding his arm out towards the ramp, ushering the man of the hour to the ring.

[Planned]

Matt's nonchalant expression remained true as Blackjack made his appearance and graced the ring with his presence. The General Manager wasn't planning to pander much more, he was out here to talk business tonight. "First off, congratulations, Mr. Blackjack. You proved to the world last week that you're a man who's not to be trifled with. This contract is your prize," Matt gestured to the contract sitting on the table, waiting for the strange man's signature. "You know the terms; you sign it, you have a guaranteed match for any of the three championships we currently hold. You need only hand it over to me and tell me when you wish to use that chance, when you do. Any questions? Comments? Concerns?"

The General Manager remained silent while Blackjack signed the contract and spoke his piece. An arched brow was all he would offer the man in answer to all of his words, until he finally caught a glimpse of the contract. He picked it up off the table and glanced at the writing that the strange man had jotted down. His signature, a title choice... and a date. That was a detail that Matt had forgotten to get worked in. Regardless, the tournament victor seemed to take that loophole to his advantage. Matt couldn't condemn him for that.

With a smirk spreading onto his lips, he looked back to Blackjack through his aviators and accepted the handshake, keeping it brief so that the man could leave as he wished. People were expecting Shanahan to offer rebuttals or even some wisecracking words of his own; but none of that followed, oddly enough. As he left, Matt picked up the microphone and announced, "Your Sanguine Invitational victor, ladies and gentlemen!" His tone held a quiet chuckle to it, as if there was some joke that the world wasn't going to hear. A secret that only him and Blackjack knew about.

-Fade to Commercial-