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It had been a long time. A long time since the fire burned within him.

But now the flame was raging!

John J. Battles hadn't felt the kind of desire he now felt in years. The desire to win. To triumph over his opponents. To prove once again he was a force in the wrestling ring. A man to be reckoned with. A desire to once again stand up for the values he had once lived his life by.

The past Championships and titles were just that. The past. The future was all that mattered now. How he could equate himself with the modern talent in professional wrestling was what now mattered. He was pushing 40 years old. Physically he was in his peak, but he wasn't a young man any longer. He had experience and determination on his side, but his adversaries would have youth and energy he'd have to match with skill.

He'd have to be as good as he once was. Back when every wrestling federation he'd joined seemed to beg him to take their top title. Back when the fire within him wasn't just burning embers, but a flame that could melt metal!

Battles had to prove himself once again, but this time the only one he had anything to prove to was himself. The warrior spirit in him had been rekindled along with the fire that burned in his soul. That's why he had been accepting every challenge and Invitational match that NWC had to offer, no matter which federation. This time it was EAE.

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Battles looked into another camera with another cameraman behind it he didn't know. Truth be told, he knew nobody in EAE, staff or roster. That was alright with him though. He had joined the Invitational to fight, not make friends.

"You know it's strange that I'm entering a match with members of EAE. Members that don't impress me much. Ego-maniacs. They don't know me. They don't know Viper, or Trey Walker as he wants to be called now. They don't have a clue who Kraven or Spiral are. Yet they want to talk the opposition down as if they are all that. As if they have payed their dues. Stephen McBeaven and Liam Perrons want to brag and boast about how good they are as if that makes a difference in the ring.

I don't brag, but I guess since they are actual members of EAE they have a right to speak up, however stupid they make themselves sound. Don't boast about how easily you'll beat men you don't even know. Don't claim victories you haven't achieved. I see that everywhere I go. Wrestlers so full of themselves they think the sun shines only for them. What the Hell do they think lights the planet for the rest of us?

I know some of the men that have accepted your Invitational. I know what they are made of and what they are capable of. Trey Walker was right in pointing out your ignorances and your misconceptions. If name calling and bragging is what it takes to make you feel better about yourselves go for it. I've seen these men fight and bleed for what they want.I've seen them throw everything they have into that squared circle and come out beaten but victorious.

I haven't seen anything from EAE but stupidity and ignorance.

You have to respect your opponent in any battle even if you are after their blood. You can't afford to under-estimate the enemy because you think so much of yourself. Especially an enemy you know nothing about. In war you die quickly if you don't respect the abilities of your adversary. You make stupid mistakes under-estimating anyone.

Trust me. People like myself, Viper, Kraven, and Spiral, will make you pay for those types of errors.

Yeah, EAE is your house. I understand that as well as the next man. But you invited me into it. Me and others. Didn't you ever watch the old movies about vampires? Dracula could only enter a house he was invited into, but after being invited he killed everyone in the place.

I don't expect everyone in EAE to be killed, but I expect those of you in the Invitational to be hurt and bleed for your stupidity. I expect others of us to bleed as well because unlike you I know the competitors we are. I actually know what you have invited and what you'll be facing. I actually know how to respect whoever I have to face.

Let's just hope that you are smart enough to learn from your experience. You've brought what's to come on yourselves."

The scene fades to black.