From the Ashes II vs Stygian (Main Event) - RP #2

Saturday, August 25th, 2012
4:35PM
Las Vegas, Nevada


I stood up and clapped, along with everyone else in the room. Karly stood up and ran over and hugged her dad, who smiled and hugged her back. Brandon walked over to him and extended his hand. Karly's dad looked at it, laughed, and hugged Brandon, who laughed himself. Everyone continued to clap before sitting back down.

Jason Hawk stood up and walked over to the microphone. I knew that he hadn't prepared a speech. Jason was so lazy. He never wrote anything beforehand. He would always talk about how he was going to write this, or write that. But when it came time to do it, he just never did.

Jason Hawk
Now when I was told that I was going to be Brandon's best man, I wasn't told that I needed to make a speech. So needless to say, this will be short and sweet. Brandon and Karly, you're the perfect couple. Congratulations on your marriage.

Jason went and sat back down. I shoved my hand into my face. There was bad speeches, and then there was that. Come on Jason, you can do better than that, can't you?

I stood up. I wasn't going to let Jason ruin things like that. I stood up and walked over to the microphone. People were looking at me, but I didn't care. I wanted a proper speech for Brandon and Karly's wedding.

Anna Stone
Wow, thanks for that Jason. Next time you should shorten it up though, I think it was just a bit too long and heartfelt. Anyways, I thought I better get up here and save this a bit.

The people in the hall started to laugh. I grinned.

Anna Stone
I'm not sure if any of you know who I am. Well, at least half of you. I know Brandon's side of the family knows who I am. But to Karly's side, my name is Anna Stone, one of Karly's best friends, and I'm Brandon's first wife. I know, I know, that sounds bad. But really, I promise you, it's not. See, I know Brandon better than anyone in the world. Sorry Karly, but it's true.

Anna Stone
Brandon and I first started dating when we were 14 years old. We had a great high school relationship, and then we went out separate ways for almost a decade. But then we met up again, and decided to rekindle this relationship that we had ended rather unceremoniously. In hindsight, this was a bad idea. We both had changed so much, that a friendship was more appropriate for the two of us. But instead, we married each other, and suffered through nearly a year together. It was a tough year, but I don't blame Brandon. We just weren't meant to be together. You know when you get that feeling, that you're meant to be with someone? Brandon and I never got that from each other. We both started cheating on each other, which was probably not the right thing to do. But we did it, and eventually, no, finally and mercifully, we split up.

Anna Stone
After a rocky beginning, we began our new life as friends. And it couldn't have been better. I was right when I said we were meant to be friends. But I watched as Brandon desperately tried to find the right woman. That's why people seem to think that Brandon such a lady-killer. Yes he was in a lot of relationships that didn't work, but that's only because he was desperately trying to find Mrs. Macdonald. And those other girls? They weren't the right ones. But then he got to Karly. And instantly, I knew.

Anna Stone
The first date he had with her, I had never seen him so nervous in my life. And believe me, I've seen Brandon in some pretty nerve-racking situations. But he was so nervous, sweating so hard, he almost didn't even want to go on the date! And I knew the reason he was so nervous. It was because he so badly wanted the date to go well. He was so worried that he'd embarrass himself and the date would go south and then he'd never get another chance with Karly again. It was at that moment that I really understood his love for Karly. He had finally found the girl that he had been looking for all of those times. He may have ruined his public image doing it, but he didn't care. All he cared about was Karly.

Anna Stone
Ladies and gentlemen, as a friend, you're always happy when that good friend of yours goes through something as happy as marriage. Well Brandon is that one good friend. And I've never been happier for him. This is one marriage that I guarantee will last a lifetime. The people in it are so full of love for each other, there is just no way that they could ever separate. That's not my opinion, that's just a fact. If you get to know both of them, it's so obvious. And so, I ask all of you, to please, applaud this couple. Give them your congratulations, tell them how proud you are of them. I know I am, and I know each one of us agrees.

I walked away from the microphone as the room clapped for me. I looked over at Brandon and Karly, who both mouthed a thank you towards me. I smiled at them and sat back down with Gianni.

Gianni Giordano
That was pretty good.

Anna Stone
Not bad for all made up on the spot eh?

Gianni Giordano
No, it was actually good.

Anna Stone
Thanks!

I sat there waiting for the waiters to serve us food. Just thinking about everything. So far the wedding had gone amazingly. Everyone was having a good time, and Brandon and Karly were happy. That was the only thing that mattered. This wedding was going perfectly.

I looked around at everyone getting ready to eat. The waiters had just brought out food, and now everyone was starting to dig in. I watched as the waiters all walked over to the opposite side of the room and stood facing us. It looked a bit odd to me, usually they'd go back to the kitchen. By the time I realized what was about to happen, Gianni had already started to flip the table on it's side.

Gianni Giordano
Everybody get down!

Gunshots rang out from all around the hall, followed by the screams of the hundreds of people in the hall. I hit the ground as fast as I could, Gianni diving on top of me. He reached into his suit and pulled out a handgun, and quickly pulled out a clip. I reached into my dress and pulled out the submachine gun that I had, loading it up with a clip before crawling on the ground. I could hear bullets flying above me. I was so scared. Any one of these bullets could get lower and hit me, killing me before I even knew what was happening. I looked back at Gianni, who was crawling towards an opening in the table.

I finally made it to an opening, and looked across the room. The waiters were all spreading out now, firing towards the tables where we were. I looked back at Gianni, who quickly popped up and fired a few shots at one of the waiters. He dropped to the ground dead. It was like I was in a movie, only this was real. I pulled out my gun and aimed it at the waiters. I could hardly breathe, and so I just closed my eyes and pulled the trigger. I held it for as long as I could, swinging it back and forth, until my clip had emptied. I finally opened just one eye. There were a few less waiters now, but they were beginning to spread out.

I kept crawling, trying to cover my ears from the sounds of the screams, gunshots, shell casings hitting the floor, everything. It was all so real, but I still could hardly believe it. I started remembering all these things that had happened in my life. So this is what it felt like to have your life flash before your eyes.

I looked back at Gianni, who was bobbing up and down from behind the table, shooting at the general direction of the waiters. I tried to pull out another gun, but my hands were shaking too much to grip anything. I saw one waiter coming close to me. Oh god, if he found me, I was done for. I tried to grab a gun, but it slipped out of my hands. I reached for a clip, and tried to stick it into the gun, but I missed and bullets spilled everywhere.

Man
Well well well, look what we have here

I looked up and saw a man standing there, pointing a gun at me. This was it, everything was over. Dating a crime family member had finally caught up to me. I was crying now, I couldn't help it. Nothing you do will ever prepare you for having a gun to your face, just waiting to die. But that's what they wanted. They wanted us to be afraid of death. They wanted us to beg, to embarrass us before we died. I wasn't going to let that happen. I took a deep breath and waited for it all to be over.

I heard a gunshot, and I knew this was it. Except, nothing happened. I opened my eyes. The man above me was staring straight ahead. Blood poured out of his chest as he fell to the ground dead. I looked behind him, where Brandon was standing, holding a gun at chest level. He saved me.

Anna Stone
Oh my god! Oh my god!!

Brandon Macdonald
Anna, it's oka-

Suddenly, I screamed as Brandon's body jerked and shook with the force of at least 3 bullets. He fell to the ground, not moving.

Karly Zedic
NOOOOOOOO!

Somewhere, I heard Karly screaming. I ran over to Brandon, who was bleeding from a wound in the shoulder. He wasn't moving, his breath was faint. Everything was moving in slow motion now. I looked back at Gianni, who was now standing straight up, holding his shotgun, taking aim and firing at the remaining waiters. I watched as they all began to drop, until finally, mercifully, there was nobody left.

Silence hung over the hall. People were slowly getting to their feet, checking on each other, helping out those who were injured.

Karly Zedic
Brandon!!!!

I looked over as Karly sprinted towards us, concern on her face. She fell down beside Brandon and looked at him, tears pouring down her face.

Karly Zedic
Brandon wake up!!!

Karly was smacking Brandon's face now, trying to get him to wake up. I was crying now, but I had to stop Karly. I grabbed her and tried to hold her off of Brandon, but she shook me off. I grabbed her again, this time she put up no resistance, instead burying her head into my shoulder, bawling. I hugged her tightly. This was all my fault. Suddenly, I heard a weak voice, barely more than a whisper

Brandon Macdonald
You didn't think I'd give up that easy, did you?

We both stopped crying. We looked over at Brandon, who had moved a bit, mostly his head. Now he was looking at us, with a small grin on his face.

Karly Zedic
Brandon you asshole!

She smacked Brandon in the chest. He started to laugh, then cough and groan in pain. I looked over at Gianni, who was on his phone. I prayed he was calling some kind of medical help.

Anna Stone
G-G-Gianni's c-calling an a-a-ambulance, you're g-g-gonna b-be okay Brandon

Brandon smiled, then coughed

Brandon Macdonald
I've been through worse.

I laughed, through my tears. While that might have been true, this was just insane. I looked around the wedding hall. People were looking around, wondering what was happening. Some were on phones, others were treating injuries as best they could. It looked like a war scene.

Gianni ran over to me and picked me up, hugging me tightly and rubbing my back.

Gianni Giordano
Hey hey hey, take it easy. It's over. We're safe.

Anna Stone
T-t-they shot Brandon! We almost d-d-died!

Gianni Giordano
I know, I know. But we didn't. Brandon will live, it's just through the shoulder. I called EMS, they're on their way. Everything will be okay.

I took a deep breath. He was right. We had talked about this, we knew what could happen. We knew that people might get hurt. I needed to accept that. I took another deep breath.

Anna Stone
Ok. I'm calm.

Gianni Giordano
Good. We need to get out of here. We have to check on the house.

I looked over at Brandon, who was listening to us.

Brandon Macdonald
Go. You guys need to leave. I'll be fine here.

Anna Stone
Are you sure?

Brandon Macdonald
Yeah. Karly can take care of me, right baby?

Karly smiled through the tears streaming down her face.

Karly Zedic
Of course babe

I looked at Gianni, and together we walked out of the wedding hall. Past all of the injured people, past all of the dead bodies of the Hart Family allies. We walked out the door, hopped into our car, and drove. We said nothing as we drove, and continued to say nothing as we boarded our private helicopter. I fell asleep on the way back I think, because I just remember getting inside, and then opening my eyes and finding that we were landing a few blocks from our house in Los Angeles.

Gianni Giordano
Ok Anna, grab a gun, arm yourself, and lets get ready. You need to expect the worse, remember?

I took a deep breath.

Anna Stone
I'm ready.

I grabbed a gun from my belt and loaded it up, before following Gianni and running down the street with each other. After a few minutes, we approached the front gate of our house. It looked like it had been rammed open. We slowly walked inside, guns at the ready, looking for anything out of the ordinary. The house and yard were destroyed. I could see bodies everywhere, all dead. I covered my mouth as Gianni put his arm around my shoulders, squeezing me tightly.

We slowly opened the front door and walked inside. It was clear that nobody was here, but it was also clear that the Hart Family had been here. Bodies were lying everywhere. I recognized all of them as members of our family. That's when I remembered that Giancarlo had held a big meeting of the family today, to discuss a response to the Hart Family. Clearly, that didn't go as planned.

Anna Stone
They're…they're all dead

Gianni said nothing as he quickly walked up the stairs and towards his dad's office. I followed him, keeping a close eye out. As we made it to Giancarlo's office, we could see that it was busted open. I covered my mouth with my hand to keep me from gasping, as Gianni ran inside and saw his father slumped over his desk, blood everywhere.

Gianni Giordano
Dad!

Gianni ran over to him and lifted his head off the table. I could see that he was still alive, but barely. He looked up and saw Gianni, who tried to cover his father's wounds with his sleeves. I walked up beside them and he looked at the both of us. He grabbed Gianni's arm and pushed it away from his wounds

Giancarlo Giordano
It's no use Gianni. It's too late

Gianni Giordano
No it's not! You'll be okay!

Gianni continued trying to help his father, but this time I held him back, as Giancarlo smiled.

Giancarlo Giordano
It's too late for me Gianni. I've lived my life to my fullest. My times had come a long time ago. It's the end for me. But it's not for you. You must take over the family. We cannot lose. We can't be beaten by this little family

Gianni Giordano
They're all dead, there's no family left!

Giancarlo Giordano
The family can be remade. But it needs a leader. It must be the two of you. Not just you Gianni, but both of you. Together. Forever.

Gianni looked at me, and I smiled weakly at him.

Giancarlo Giordano
Ask her

Anna Stone
Ask me what?

Gianni looked at me for a moment. Suddenly, I knew. Gianni pulled out a ring and held it up to me.

Gianni Giordano
Anna Stone. Will you lead the rebuild of this family with me, and will you marry me?

I was crying again, but this time for a very different reason.

Anna Stone
Yes, yes yes!

Gianni smiled and hugged me. He put the ring on my finger. Giancarlo smiled from his seat and reached for a bible on the desk. He held it up, as Gianni and I both placed our hands on it as well. Giancarlo was an ordained minister, one of the many things he could do.

Giancarlo Giordano
By the power vested in me by the state of California, I know pronounce you husband and wife.

I kissed Gianni. It was a short kiss, only a few seconds, but it was the most important kiss of my entire life. I was now Anna Giordano. And I could not have been happier.

Giancarlo pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Gianni, who signed it. He handed it to me, and I looked at it. A marriage contract. I didn't care what it said, I just signed it. Gianni helped his dad hold a pen and sign it himself. After he did that, Giancarlo slumped back in his chair.

Giancarlo Giordano
Gianni. Take good care of her.

Gianni Giordano
I will dad

Gianni was crying. This was the first time I'd ever seen him cry. I couldn't believe it.

Giancarlo Giordano
I love you Gianni. I love you so much. I'm so proud of you.

Gianni Giordano
I love you too dad.

And with that, Giancarlo took his final breath.

We stood there for a few moments. I held Gianni tightly as he looked at his father. Eventually, he reached out and closed both of Giancarlo's eyes. He composed himself and stood up to his feet. He looked at me, and I knew what we had to do.

Giancarlo Giordano
They won't expect you to fight tomorrow. But you're not going to miss that. I'll use whatever relationships I have left to amp up security at the arena. You'll fight Stygian. And then, after you win, after you celebrate in that ring, we disappear.

I nodded my head with him. I agreed with everything he said. As much as I didn't want to leave, I knew that we needed to. They would think we died, or maybe they wouldn't. But it didn't matter. We couldn't be out in the open after tomorrow. Gianni was right. We had to disappear.

Anna Giordano
We disappear

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Video Recorded at unknown time. Released to media on Saturday August 25th

The video shows Anna Stone, sitting in an airplane seat, looking at the camera.

Anna Stone
People keep asking me why I did this. Why did I choose to fight Stygian at From the Ashes? Why did I not choose to fight Chad Mason, the IWF Champion? Why am I trying to end my career with a match against a man who seemingly ends careers as a living? The answer, well, it's a lot simpler than one might think. It's not because I'm trying to avenge the losses by past loves of mine. It's not because I want to take his fake title and call myself the rightful IWF champ. No, my decision is driven by the same reasoning that many of us use when explaining why we do anything. Because we can.

Anna Stone
Take a look at your life. Have you lived it cautiously, or have you ever risked everything in order to try something that you wouldn't normally do? I would guess that about 9 out of 10 people in this world have gone out on a limb at least once in their life. I'm no different. What would be the cautious route for me? Choosing to fight the IWF Champion, a man who has never proven himself to be talented for more than a few months at a time? A man who generally became famous by losing all of his matches? Or would it be safer to fight a man who's literally more than two times my size? A man who's ended careers of wrestler after wrestler, including the man who trained me? To me, it seems like a no brainer. Fighting Chad would be to take the safe route. That's not how I live my life.

Anna Stone
I'll be the first to admit that I've been a little distracted lately in my life. I've had a lot of complicated issues come up lately. All you have to do is flip on the news, and I'm sure you'll hear about them. But I haven't let any of that break my focus for this upcoming match. I've been making myself ready to take on Stygian. It's been hard, that's not a surprise to anyone. I mean, the man is the biggest man I've ever seen next to Death-Angel. And not only is he stronger than anyone I've ever faced before, but he's quicker, smarter, just all around better. I've never fought anyone close to the same skill level of Stygian. But that doesn't deter me. I chose this match. I was the rightful winner of Path to Valhalla, and that legally entitled me to the main event at From the Ashes. Something that I didn't even get, which makes no sense to me. However, nowhere in the contract does it say that I must challenge for a title. A championship means nothing to me. A piece of gold that I can hang around my waist? What good is that when everyone knows that you're truly not the greatest in your sport? Look at the IWF. Chad Mason wears the gold around his waist. But the world knows that Stygian is the greatest in the sport. The wrestlers know that Stygian is the greatest wrestler out there. Even Chad Mason knows it. What's that old expression again? To be the best, you have to beat the best? Well that's exactly what I intended to do from the start isn't it? Everyone's goal in this business is to become the best. So if Stygian is the best, then it only makes sense that I challenge him for that title. Yes Stygian has been beaten before. He is a human after all. But to do it the way I intend to, not just anyone could do that. Here we are, on the biggest stage of them all, the biggest PPV in all of the IWF, and I'm about to fight the best.

Anna Stone
I haven't been wrestling for very long, and I don't have the same kind of experience as nearly every other wrestler in this company. Many would argue that I won most of my matches on luck and lack of skilled opponents alone. I would agree partially with that. I was unfortunate to receive many weak opponents, most of which were easy to beat. However, I did not win my matches without effort. Path to Valhalla. There were 29 other wrestlers in that match, and I outlasted them all. I won that match with my own effort, and I earned my right to the main event at From the Ashes. My opponent, he's about as experienced as you can get. I must be clearly outmatched, right?

Anna Stone
Wrong. Look at me. I'm one hundred and twenty pounds. I'm a foot and a half shorter than Stygian. I'm a girl. How can he possibly go into this match without a hint of underestimation of me? This is a match that has all of the pressure on him. What's the pressure on me? If I lose, I get applauded for taking on a man, who by nature of life is many times stronger than myself, and is the best wrestler in this company. If I beat him, I get cheered for being the upset of the year, the most unexpected win in IWF history. But look at Stygian, how can he win this match? He wins the match, well, everyone expects it, and nobody is surprised. Nobody cares, because he just beat a small helpless woman who's half of his size. He loses, and he becomes the subject of embarrassment. How could a man of Stygian's stature and with his accolades lose to a little tiny girl? It's just not right, it should never happen. Pressure is a factor in every match. Stygian has all the pressure to not screw up. I won't ruin my image if I lose to Stygian because it's expected. But if he loses to me, his image will go down. And we all know that if there's one thing that Stygian cares about besides his wife and girlfriend, it's his image. Stygian lives to sell his merchandise, to market himself. I'm sure he'd tell you otherwise, but he knows it's true, and so do I. How could his image survive if it took a hit that is losing to me? Could it ever bounce back? No longer is he the greatest wrestler to ever live. He's now the man who lost to a cute innocent little girl on the biggest stage of them all. And he knows this. Deep down in his head, he's worried about losing. He knows the consequences of losing. He has to worry about not making mistakes in his match much more than I do. By challenging him to this match, I've taken all of the pressure off of myself, and put it onto him. Lance Armstrong's PR moves have nothing on mine.

Anna Stone
Tell me Stygian, what's one thing that Dan Alexander, Corey Casey and Brandon Macdonald all have in common? And no, it's not that they all lost to you. It's the mindset of those fighters before they went into fights with you. You're a smart man, I'm sure you can guess it. No? Maybe? Well I'll tell you then. In those fights against you, they all went in, knowing that they had something to lose. Careers on the line, needing to win to provide, fearing injury because they didn't want to have to deal with it afterwards. Me? Well, I'm already dead anyways. Hell I might not even make it to the match. So do you think I have something to lose? I'm going into this fight with the mentality of the last fight I'll ever have. This is my last chance to impress the world. My last chance to show everyone that I made the right decision. And to show everyone that I'm the best.

Anna Stone
Brandon, Corey, Dan, they didn't fear you. They didn't even try to think about losing to you, because they couldn't. How could they win, if they feared who you were as a fighter? This was their biggest downfall. Because when you came at them, and began beating them to their breaking point, they were caught off guard. They had not prepared for this, because they never let themselves be afraid of you. Therefore, they had never prepared themselves for a moment where you had the upper hand. Where you were the stronger man, or the smarter wrestler. Me? Well, I'm afraid of you Stygian. Because I know that I have to be. How can I fight to the best of my abilities if I don't have fear backing me? I know what you can do. I know what you're capable of in that ring. And I'm afraid of it. But, when you're afraid of something, you do everything that you possibly can to avoid being afraid. And even then, it often isn't enough. But when you fear something, and it happens, you expect it. Because you knew this coming in. I know, coming into this fight with you, that you're capable of many things in that ring, all of which can cause serious pain. I respect that of you. I respect it, and I fear it. And I know that I can't let you do those things to me.

Anna Stone
I did have a ringside seat for Brandon's loss to you Stygian. And everything that I already explained happened. Brandon didn't have any fear of you driving him to succeed. What he had was a fear of failure. And that was his one and only downfall. You and I both know that match was closer than you might say it was. While you won cleanly, you didn't convince me that you were unbeatable. There were times where everyone knew Brandon could have beaten you if he had just done one thing better. But again, without the fear driving him, he stood no chance. With all the pressure he put on himself, he just couldn't do it.

Anna Stone
And so he went, quietly into retirement. Same with Corey Casey, same with Dan Alexander. But I think you have your views a bit wrong. See, I don't view Brandon as my hero. Not even close. I guess you missed me smash him in the head with a hockey stick, twice. But that's beside the point. No, see let me give you a real lesson on how my relationship with Brandon works. See, we started dating in high school. Dated for four years. Typical captain of the football team/head cheerleader relationship. But then, our friend died in an accident, and Brandon vanished. Left Ottawa without a trace. So as you can imagine, I hated him for a long time. What woman wouldn't? But then I saw that he was in the UFC, and I found where he was. I was conflicted. At one end, I hated him for leaving me when we needed each other the most. But on the other end, he was still the only man I ever loved. So I made a choice right then and there, to go meet him. And I did, and low and behold, he asked me to start dating again. And because I had nobody else in my life, I said yes. And it was a good decision at the time, but in hindsight, a bad one. We got married, but it was a bad marriage. Neither of us were meant to be together. We cheated on each other. Eventually, we split up. Again, he was not my hero then, nor was he my hero when he cheated on me. He trained me to fight, that much is true. But he was my husband, so of course I learned from him. Anyways, after we divorced, we saw other people. Eventually after our anger settled down, we made up and became friends. That's it. Just friends. Maybe you can't get that through your thick skull, but people actually are allowed to be friends with members of the opposite sex. They don't just have to make one their wife and the other their girlfriend. Say he was my hero all you want, but that's just not true. While there is a special place in my heart for Brandon, I do not look up at him. I do not see him on a pedestal. He's a good friend, a great friend. But nothing more. I see him as my equal, which is how I see all of my friends. The only heroes in my life are my mother and my father.

Anna Stone
I'm not sure why you think I have this strange obsession with Brandon Macdonald. Did you know that I have slept with Jason Hawk, James Shark, and Chuck Matthews, all since the last time I slept with Brandon? It's been over 11 months since I had sex with Brandon, and I don't really miss it. In case you were unaware, I have a boyfriend for that. Excuse me, a husband for that. A husband whom I love more than anyone in this world. A husband who will always be there for me, even if always only lasts one more day. The reason I got to where I am today is not because of my relationship with Brandon. You really think I would go back and sleep with a man who cheated on me and ruined my marriage with him? All while dating a man that I love more than anything in the world? Not everyone is like you Stygian. Unlike you, I can actually be faithful to one person. But that's beside the point. What I'm trying to say is that I haven't done any sleeping to the top. No, no, what I've done is earn my way up there. Sure Brandon might give me easy matches. But that's not because I ask him. You'd have to ask him why I get booked in those matches. Besides, maybe you missed it, but remember when I destroyed Robbie Hart those weeks ago? He'll be the first to admit that I ripped him a new asshole in our match. And yet…I seem to remember him beating you after that. Fairly cleanly too. It was like, you weren't even close to his level. Now I know that's not the case, but still. So far I'm one up on you Stygian.

Anna Stone
Maybe you have short term memory, but this whole, showing up to work when I want to thing? Yeah I think you must be forgetting my run from February to June, where I was in matches week after week, winning all of them. And then, as soon as I picked my match against you at From the Ashes, management stopped booking me. Coincidence? Or maybe it's the management wanting me to stay off my feet, so that I don't get any ring practise, so that the man who sells the most merchandise, the man who is the real face of this company, doesn't lose to a little girl on the biggest stage of them all.

Anna Stone
I'm not doing this to prove a point to Brandon. Karly is my best friend, and he already married Karly, but I guess you don't watch much news now do you? I'm not trying to make him think he made the wrong choice. No, I'm doing this to prove a point to the world. To prove that you're not unbeatable. To prove to myself that I can beat the best. That I can BE the best. You're a big man Stygian. You've got all the strengths you need to be an unbeatable wrestler. Yet, somehow, you've lost. Tell me how that's possible. Maybe your opponent was better than you? No that can't be it. Robbie Hart got his ass kicked by me, so there's no way he's better than you right? Unless I'm actually just better than you. Johnny Style is a legend yes, but he's also older than my grandfather. Tell me, how does a seven foot tall, three hundred pound man in his physical prime lose to an old man who used to be great? He wasn't physically outmatched, no, he was distracted. He wasn't his own self in that ring. So is that what happened Stygian? You weren't yourself, and you got distracted by something? Were you in awe of the legend that is Johnny Styles? Were you so focused on not embarrassing yourself to Robbie Hart, that you did just that? Please enlighten me, because I would love to know.

Anna Stone
And in our match, remember what I said earlier? About how you're the one with all the pressure? You're the one who has everything to lose here, and absolutely nothing to gain. Like I said, I'm already dead. The only way I'm leaving that ring is if I die. I mean, why bother leaving, if I'm just going to die as soon as I'm gone? I may as well die on my own terms, doing something I love right? I've been pushed into the furthest corner I can be pushed to. Nothing you do can make things any worse for me. But I can sure make a whole lot worse for you. Which is exactly what I intend to do.

Anna Stone
Talk all you want about breaking people's backs or ending peoples careers. Talk all you want about the past. But that's not going to mean a single thing when we step in that ring against each other. Because while you're right, I'm not Chuck Matthews. I'm not Corey Casey. I'm not Brandon Macdonald. But I am Anna Stone. And until you beat Anna Stone, you have nothing to say. I don't care about what you did in Japan, or UECW, or even in IWF for that matter. All I care about is this Sunday.

Anna Stone
So talk all you want about how you're not just an image, but a fighter. But strip any of the top superstars in IWF down, and are they any different? Chad Mason, while an asshole, still a fighter. Robbie Hart is a piece of shit, but deep down, he's a fighter. Steel Angel, fighter. Me? I'm a fighter Stygian. I fought my way to get Brandon back in my life. I fought to save our failing marriage. I fought to make things work with Chuck or Jason or James. I fought to get to where I am today, happily married, and ready to leave with no regrets.

Anna Stone
This Sunday will be my last match in IWF, win or lose. But mark my words Stygian. I will win. I will beat you. I hope you start to fear me soon, otherwise, you'll be in for a rough night. As soon as you let the fear inside, let it take over, for maybe five seconds, then you clear your head, and you work to get that fear out of your system. But I know YOUR type. You fear nobody. Nothing anyone does will ever scare you enough to fear them. And so you will continue to win matches, because nobody you fight has nothing to lose like I do. Nobody is afraid like I am afraid. Nobody is as good as me. Nobody has the gameplan I have. Nobody knows your weaknesses more than I do, your strengths more than I do, your tactics more than I do. I've stripped you down Stygian, and I like what I see. Because what I see, is a path. A path to victory. And on that path, I will travel, until I walk out of From the Ashes with my hand held high, as the winner of our match.

Anna Stone looks out the window of the airplane. She smiles.

Anna Stone
Chicago. See you soon Stygian

Anna nods her head and the camera cuts to static