CHAPTER TWO: Eight Years Later

KIM

In their short time wrestling, Kim and Briana had accomplished a lot. They'd debuted at House of Hardcore, their father's promotion. They'd trained at the HoH school along with Chris, whose mother, Gayle, had initially refused to let him train at all. When the shy and often withdrawn son of Balls Mahoney had approached their father at the age of seventeen and humbly requested that he train him to wrestle so he could honor his father's memory, Kim's father had immediately agreed. He'd then called up Gayle himself and talked her into allowing it. The Rechners were close family friends, and her father had gently pointed out that if Gayle didn't let him train Chris now, the kid would be eighteen in a year and would find a way to train God only knew where. There were dangerous "schools" out there. Chris would be safe at HoH. Gayle reluctantly agreed.

Technically, Luke had trained at HoH, too, but the crazy son of the Sandman hadn't ever really trained properly. His father did most of his training, but from the time Luke was fourteen, he'd gone out to the ring as his father's sidekick, carrying a kendo stick and tossing beer to the fans. He wasn't allowed to drink in public because he was a minor and he'd have been taken away, but he was still a great part of the act, earning the nickname of Little Sandy. By sixteen, he was actually allowed to start wrestling in some states and he became an instant hit with all of his father's fans.

Kim and Briana were known by the tag team name their father had coined for them at birth, the Twinnovators. They initially stayed somewhat anonymous as Twinnovator K and Twinnovator B, but when they had their first solo matches, they adopted their actual ring names of Kimmy and Bri Dreamer. Since then, they'd wrestled in TNA, WWE, ROH, EVOLVE, CZW (that one had not exactly thrilled their parents, but they were hardcore, and technically, it was WSU, the female branch of CZW), New Japan, Lucha Underground, and basically everywhere else. If it was an indy, big or small, they'd take bookings. Their father always supported smaller promotions and never got too big of a head for them, and the twins followed his example.

"What's next for us?" Kim wondered aloud.

"We're going to Disneyland? I don't know," Briana replied.

"I think we can do more, Bri."

"Like what?"

"Like starting our own promotion. Just like Dad."

"House of Hardcore is pretty much ours, anyway. Dad's made it clear he wouldn't dream of leaving it in anyone else's hands when he gets sick of running it."

"Yeah, but... I don't know, Bri. I want something that's just ours."

"I'm just yours," Luke piped up from behind them. He flashed them a grin. "However you want me!"

"Dork," both girls said in unison with matching grins. Luke placed himself between them, wrapping one arm around each twin.

"Well, let's see how Lukey here feels," Briana said. "If we started our own promotion, would you join the roster?"

"Hell yeah! Sign me up," Luke replied eagerly.

"What about you, Chris?" Kim asked as she spotted him standing nearby.

"Sure... I mean, I guess. Mom wouldn't like it," Chris replied uneasily. "She barely lets me wrestle here."

"You're an adult now, Chrissy-boy," Luke pointed out. "You don't have to listen to her anymore."

"She means well..."

"I'm sure she does," Kim said.

"But she's holding you back," Briana finished.

"Well, what sort of promotion would it be?" Chris asked.

"Hardcore!" The twins said in unison.

"Like ECW!" Luke added.

"Wait... ECW," Briana said.

"What about it?" Kim asked.

"Look, ECW is our legacy. WWE bought it out and scrapped it for parts, ruining the product, but the original promotion... It was epic. What if we brought it back?"

"But WWE owns the rights to the name and everything connected to it," Chris pointed out.

"We have money. If enough of us come together, maybe we can buy back the rights," Kim said.

"I don't have money," Chris said sadly. "I couldn't even afford training if your dad hadn't insisted on training me for free. And every dime I can spare after feeding myself and paying rent goes to my mom."

"Give me a dollar," Briana said.

"What?" Chris asked in confusion.

"Give. Me. A dollar." Chris shrugged and pulled one out, then handed it to her. "There!" Briana declared triumphantly. "Now, you are officially a partial owner of the New ECW!"

Kim smiled, especially as she saw Chris tear up a little. Sometimes, her twin knew exactly what to say.

"So you guys are in?" Kim asked.

"One hundred percent," Briana replied.

"One hundred pennies, apparently," Chris said with a laugh.

"Totally," Luke chimed in.

"It's going to take a lot more of us to get this kind of money together," Briana said. "Who else can we invite to join the roster?"

"Dudleys," the twins decided in unison.

"That's three," Chris said. Markie, Craig, and Artie all trained at Mark and Devon's school, but they'd done more than a few House of Hardcore shows and the twins knew them well. Mark was their father's best friend.

"What about Abby Styles?" Luke asked.

"Abby's great!" Kim said excitedly. She'd trained as a commentator at HoH for a while. Currently, she worked for EVOLVE, the very promotion that had started her father's streak of getting fired. Abby loved controversy. She also worked for several other promotions. Her schedule was always full, but Kim knew she'd be on board if they reformed ECW.

"What other ECW stars have kids?" Briana asked.

"The Brunk twins," Luke suggested. "Sabu's kids. They're pretty good."

"Felicia's awesome... Phil can be a pain in the ass, but he's talented," Briana replied. "Maybe Abby can call them."

"What about Aiden?" Chris suggested.

"Stevie's son? Good idea!" Kim said. She was getting excited as this was starting to come together. If all of their friends agreed to join in this project, Kim knew they could pull it off.

ABBY

The last thing she'd expected when she saw Briana's name on her Caller ID was that she and her sister were planning to start a new ECW with the children of the original wrestlers, but she was so in! "Anything you need, just let me know," Abby said. "I have a ton of connections." It was true. Abby knew pretty much everyone on the indy circuit.

As soon as she hung up, she called her father. "Dad, guess what!" She said.

"What's up, Abby?" He asked.

"The Dreamer Twins, Mini Sandman, and Baby Balls are going to resurrect ECW!"

He was silent for a moment. Finally, he said, "That's a great goal, but it won't be easy. WWE owns the rights."

"They figure if enough of the legacies come together, we can buy the rights back."

"Abs, WWE won't just let ECW go."

"The twins are very persuasive, and they're on really good terms with WWE. If anyone can pull this off, they can."

"Okay. I believe in you kids. How can I help?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I'll keep you posted. Love you, Dad!"

"Love you, too."

Abby hung up and dialed another number. "Hello?" The person answered.

"Carrie, it's me," she said. "How would you and your brother like to do something crazy?"

"Kinky threesome?" Carrie teased her.

Abby laughed. "Sounds like fun. But no, this is even crazier... Tommy's girls want to take ECW back from WWE and resurrect the original promotion."

Carrie gasped. "Seriously?" She asked. "That's awesome!"

"We'd need a crazy amount of cash."

"I'm a Heyman. I have a crazy amount of cash at all times. The same obviously goes for my brother."

"Talk to Evan and let me know if he's in, too."

"He's in. He gets no say," Carrie said seriously. "ECW was the house our father built. If anyone should be involved in resurrecting it, it's us."

Abby had to agree. "Great. The girls already got Chris Rechner and the mini Sandman on board, and they're calling the Dudley kids."

"This is awesome! E C F'n W is coming back!" Carrie said excitedly.

"Damn right. Anyone else you can think of that we should involve?"

"Don't Sabu's twins with the Super Genie wrestle?"

"They do. Bri actually asked me to give them a call."

"And what's ECW without Tazz? I'll call Vinny."

"Of course you will."

"Hey, he's my friend."

"And he's hot."

"Well, there's that, too," Carrie admitted with a laugh.

"Get back to me on what he says. I'll pass everything along to Bri and Kim."

"Awesome."

Abby hung up and dialed Felicia, figuring it would be better to talk to the twin she knew would be sober first.

"Hey, Abs, what's up?" Felicia answered.

"I've got some crazy inside information I thought you'd like to know," Abby said. "Tommy's twins are bringing ECW back with the children of the originals, and I'm trying to help them build the roster... If anyone screams ECW, it's your father."

"Interesting... Are you just looking at me, or do you want my brother, too?"

"Phil would be a great addition, too." It was true. As much as Phil struggled with addiction issues, he was a great wrestler. He'd been ruling CZW for a while. Felicia stayed close to her brother, so she also worked at CZW as his valet and wrestled at WSU. They'd even done their training at the CZW Dojo. A lot of promotions were afraid to work with the children of Sabu because he was known for so many issues, but CZW had embraced them. Felicia had gotten offers from Shimmer, SHINE, and Valkyrie, but she didn't want to leave Phil. The only other reputable promotion the twins had wrestled for was House of Hardcore. Tommy was still friendly with their father and even if he wasn't, he wouldn't have held that against them.

"Hang on... Phil! Come here for a sec," Felicia called.

"Whassup, Leesh?" He asked.

"You're on speaker, Abby," Felicia said.

"Abby! Hello, Beautiful. How you doing?" Phil asked.

"I'm great, Philly. Listen, I have a proposition for you," Abby said.

"Sounds sexy!"

"Not that kind of proposition, Dumbass," Abby said affectionately. She explained things again.

"Shit yeah! Sounds great! The world needs ECW! Fuck WWE and their PG bullshit!"

"We're both in," Felicia added. "Just tell us when and where."

"Details coming soon," Abby promised.

"I'll wait with baited breath, Princess," Phil said.

Abby laughed. "Talk to you guys later." She hung up and smiled, starting to get more excited. This could really work.

VINNY

When a Heyman called, you always picked up. That was a lesson his father had taught him years ago. Vinny saw Carrie's number on the Caller ID and answered immediately. "Hey, Carrie," he said. "What's up?"

"Vinny, what would you say if I told you I have the opportunity of a lifetime for you?" Carrie replied mysteriously.

"I'd say that you have my attention."

"Good. There's about to be a hostile takeover of WWE's rights to the ECW brand."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"The Twinnovators and some of the other ECW legacies, including me, are going to buy back the rights and start the promotion up again. I don't think there can be an ECW without a Heyman involved, and I also don't think it can exist without someone representing Tazz. Would you like to join us?"

He was stunned. "It sounds great, Carrie, but it's impossible. WWE won't ever let ECW go. They make too much money off of the old footage. They show it on the Network, they sell the pay-per-views on DVD..."

"So what? They can keep the old footage, but they've ruined the name of my father, Paul Heyman's legacy." She said it just like her father would say My client, Insert-Name-Here. Carrie invoked her father's name often. "We have to save it, Vinny. We're the only ones who can."

Vinny realized this wasn't just another crazy idea Carrie was running with until she got bored. This battle was personal for her, and in a way, it was personal for all of them. WWE had turned the ECW wrestlers into jokes, making the brand look pathetic by turning it into their C show. They'd forced their parents to wrestle for them with a ton of rules that made ECW nearly unrecognizable, and when they were done, they spit them out and tossed them away. Even Tommy Dreamer, who'd tried so hard to keep the brand alive in a company that never cared about it, had been tossed out like trash when they got rid of the brand. They brought him out from time to time as their trained monkey, but they never kept him around for long, and they never assigned him to RAW or Smackdown. Then there was Vinny's own father, who they'd relegated to very badly scripted commentary. They only wanted the Dudleys when TNA relied on them for their survival. They'd fired Joey Styles for, well, being Joey Styles and saying something that disagreed with their PG ERA standards. They never appreciated anyone from ECW, no matter how hard they worked. Hell, they'd even turned Paul Heyman into their bitch.

"What do I need to do?" Vinny asked, knowing there was no way he could refuse. This battle needed to be fought.

AIDEN

Aiden had been friends with Phil and Felicia Brunk for years. They'd even gone to high school together. Although Phil had hung out with the very crowd Aiden avoided and Felicia was extremely studious and slightly difficult to approach at times, their fathers were part of the unbreakable ECW brotherhood, and that had bonded them for life.

The text on his phone left Aiden more curious than anything. Phil had simply said, I got sumthin 4 u, bro.

It could have been drugs. Phil often forgot Aiden only smoked weed. It could have been a gig. Phil had gotten Aiden booked on CZW a few times. Hell, it could have been a stray animal. Phil knew Aiden liked taking in strays. He'd once texted, I've got a pussy for you 2 pet when literally talking about a stray cat.

What is it? Aiden sent back.

E...C... F-ing... W!

Aiden was even more confused, so he called Phil. As it was explained to him, he began to get excited. "Yeah, dude, I'm totally in!" He said.

"I knew you would be!" Phil said. "This is gonna be so great, man!"

Aiden agreed it sounded great. He was excited to see where it might go. He decided to celebrate this new venture by going for a walk. Aiden loved nature. He spotted a squirrel and sat down with it for a bit.

"Don't tell anyone, Mr. Squirrel, but ECW is coming back," he said. The squirrel looked unimpressed. "Hmmm... Must not be a wrestling fan," Aiden decided. After all, any wrestling fan would know that this was the most exciting news ever.

TURNER

Things were getting better. Turner had trained at a truly awful wrestling "school" because it was the best he could afford, but the experience had left him extremely green. He'd finally begun training himself, meeting other indy guys at shithole promotions and asking the ones who didn't totally suck for tips. By some miracle, he'd actually picked up some real skills, and thanks to his natural talent, he'd learned enough to pull off a decent match.

He'd gotten booked at one of the shitholes against Phil Brunk, the son of Sabu, who was a really hardcore guy. Phil had asked if he wanted to try some crazy shit, and Turner had figured, why not? They'd had an extremely hardcore match that gained popularity on YouTube. Something about the hardcore style felt so natural to him. He decided from then on, that was how he'd wrestle. Phil helped him get booked at CZW, and from there, he started getting decent bookings. He'd held a few titles, the fans were fully behind him, and he'd had several matches that had been deemed legendary. He got arrested slightly less often than Nick Gage, so DJ Hyde loved having him around. And if Hyde liked you, a world of opportunities immediately opened up to you.

Somehow, the information that he was now a hardcore wrestler got back to his mother. That was when the unbelievable truth had come out.

"You wanna throw your life away?" She'd demanded. "Go ahead! You're just like him!"

"Like who?" Turner asked.

"Your loser junkie father!"

"Wait... My father was a wrestler?"

"Brian was into that violent crap, yes. Putting his body on the line, taking stupid risks... And it put him in the ground at forty-four years old! That's where this shit's going to lead you, Turner! I'm so lucky I left him when I did. I worked hard to keep you away from all of that, and this is how you repay me?"

His mother had refused to speak to him after that. He hadn't known his father was dead. Hell, he'd never even known his father's first name, although he knew his mother had given him his last name. Naturally, Turner googled Brian Knighton. What he found had floored him.

He'd never told anyone that Axl Rotten was his father. He had no proof. His mother had his birth certificate locked away, and his father was dead. His awesome father, a legend of ECW, had died before Turner ever got the chance to meet him. Sometimes, keeping the secret was impossibly hard. He'd met Tommy Dreamer while attending House of Hardcore as a fan and had nearly blurted it out. He vowed that one day, when he was finally good enough and when the timing was right, he'd tell the world who he really was.