CHAPTER TWENTY
š June 3rd, 2005
The Internet Lost Its Mind.
š¢ "BREAKING: Rookie Wins BWF Championship in His First Match!"
š° WrestleWire Daily
šø "The Tribal Chief has ARRIVED." ā trending on forums.
šŗ Clip of the Chain of Command finisher hits 2 million views in 24 hours.
š¬ "Bronson hit FOUR finishers. FOUR. And this kid still kicked out."
š¦ "MK Jr. is HIM." ā Tweet liked by WEW superstars.
Malik Smith Jr. wasn't just a wrestler anymore.
He was a movement.
Live on BWF Friday Night Slam
Camera pans across a roaring arena.
Fireworks explode. The titantron lights up in bold white letters:
"ACKNOWLEDGE HIM."
The new BWF Champion walks out slowly.
The belt gleams across his shoulder.
Wrist taped. Head high. Energy unshakable.
The crowd erupts:
"TRI-BAL CHIEF! TRI-BAL CHIEF!"
Malik stops halfway down the ramp.
He raises one handā¦
Points to the sky.
The whole crowd copies him. A sea of fingers aimed upward.
Then he steps into the ring and grabs the mic.
Malik "The Tribal Chief" Smith Jr.
š¤: "Ladies and gentlemenā¦"
He pauses.
"ā¦We are LIVEā¦ in CLEVELAND, OHIO!"
The crowd POPS!
He smiles. Lifts the belt.
š¤: "And I need every single one of you here tonightā¦ to do just one thing."
"ACKNOWLEDGE ME."
The roof blows off.
Cheering. Chanting. Thunder.
š¤: "I'm not here to play. I'm not here to wait in line. I'm not here to 'earn' my shot over five years of sweat and darkness."
"I'm here to TAKE OVER. To TAKE CHARGE."
"I am the Head of the Table."
"I run this show now. BWF doesn't moveā¦ unless I say so."
š¶ "HARD HITTER" PLAYS ā BRONSON'S THEME HITS
The former champ storms out.
No dancing. No showboating. Just fury.
He grabs a mic from the ramp without even walking into the ring.
Brick Bronson
š¤: "You got lucky."
"You caught me off guard, rookie. I wasn't even training. I didn't stretch. I didn't EAT right that day."
"Run it back. One more time. At Heatwaveātwo weeks."
"You won't survive twice."
Malik smirks.
He tilts his head, then steps to the ropes.
š¤: "Bronsonā¦ you want a rematch?"
"Done."
"Heatwave. Two weeks."
"But understand somethingā¦"
He lifts the belt again.
š¤: "I didn't fluke my way into this. I didn't trip and fall onto greatness."
"I chose this path."
"And I'll remain championā¦"
"Until I decide to go somewhere bigger."
"Until I walk through the gates of WEW."
He tosses the mic. His theme hits again.
The camera zooms in as he raises the title.
Head of the Table.
Tribal Chief.
Undeniable.
[End of Chapter 20 ā "Head of the Table"]