The Next day, Deonna Purrazzo and Luke Rhodes sat down at the bar inside Jamison Grill. He noticed the camera crew already set up. "Ain't it a little early to be filmin'?" The grill owner chuckled. Deonna was insistant on him not sleeping in this one time and actually getting the rest of this recorded. Luke, being her current Boyfriend, really had no choice but to oblige. 

The Scene was late 2019. Luke was defending his AEW Championship that He'd won from Chris Jericho a few months earlier. Successful defenses against the likes of Eddie Kingston, Kenny Omega, and old TNA Rival Frankie Kazarian ensued. Rhodes was heading into this special edition of Dynamite, known as "AEW Dynamite: Limit Break". He was originally scheduled to defend his title against "Hangman" Adam Page, but things took an interesting turn when former TNA Rival Rowan Gedling made his AEW Debut, attacking Page and demanding to be added to the Match. This led to Rowan beating the hell out of some AEW lower carders who were trying to help escort Rowan out until another debut occured: The Archangel, Daniel Dalton. Another Indy Darling signing, Dalton was looking to right a few wrongs in his young career, saying that despite his youth, his skill and pedigree were already better than that of men who were over twice his age, and that if anything, he'd love an opportunity at the AEW World Championship. This led to Tony Khan Adding both Gedling and Dalton to the match, which was turned into a Fatal Four Way Ladder match!

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DING DING DING!

https://youtu.be/A4ZMQCX_lgQ

"The Following Contest... is A LAAAAADDER MAAAATCH and is for... THE A.E.W. WOOOOORLD CHAMPIONSHIIIIIP!!! Introducing first... from Aaron's Creek, Virginia... HANGMAN... ADAM... PAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!!!" Chants of "COWBOY SHIT!" rang throughout the arena. 

Up next was another challenger:

https://youtu.be/Fwr1Z7uyXz4

"Introducing next... From Adelaide, South Australia... THEEE AUSSIE DEVIL... ROWAAAAN GEEEEEDLIIIING!!"

The confident Australian strolled down to the ring without a single expression. He was here to make his name, to finally break through in the industry.

https://youtu.be/kQhdwd8ObrA

"And the Third Challenger... From Fort Worth, Texas, THE AAAAAAAAARCHAAAAAANGEL... DAAAAAANIEL DAAAAAAAAAALTOOOOOOON!!!"

A confident Up & Comer, was this kid. While Rowan was waiting for a moment like this for Years, this would be one of Dalton's first big tests: A title match on National Television.

https://youtu.be/F9PPOMyWLo8

"This Means War" began. The crowd rose out of their seats. It was time for the champ to arrive. And Arrive he did. A Black Mustang pulled up next to the ramp, and out came the AEW World Champion. He came to fight, and he was ready to fight for victory. His belt hung high above the ring, as he began his slow walk down the ramp to the ring.

"And Introducing the champion... From Milwaukee, Wisconsin... HE IS- THE A.E.W. WOOOORLD CHAMPION... THE SILVER SCORPION, LUUUUUUUUKE RHOOOOOOOODES!!"

The champ cracked his neck, then yelled "LET'S GO!" and box-jumped up to the apron. He ducked between the ropes, then casually discarded his sunglasses and ring jacket. The Bell rang, and so the Four way Chaos could begin.

The match took a few minutes to get to the major Spots, but when the pace sped up, Boy did it keep it up! It began with a few Ladder shots delivered by Gedling, only for Rhodes to slam the Aussie big man into the Barricade. Dalton performed a diving Meteora off a Ladder to the champ, Page smacked Dalton with a chair, and so on. No body was unscathed in the early going.

About Twelve minutes in, and there came to a point where every man was down in the ring. They all slowly crept to a corner of the ring. As Each man stood in a corner, the crowd began "FIGHT FOREVER!" Chants. Luke walked with an ever so slight Limp. Nothing too serious, as he'd slammed his knee against the Barricade on accident. He was used to bumps and bruises, however. Rowan charged at Rhodes while Page and Dalton squared off again. After a short Sequence of clever reversals and smart maneuvers, Dalton had set up a ladder in the center of the ring with all the other men scattered around the outside!

However, Rowan saw this and jumped up to the Apron. Instead of take his time, Rowan jumped up to the top rope and sprung off the rope, Pump kicking Dalton right in the face! What's worse, Dalton's momentum caused him to Do a full backflip and a half, landing right on his back! Of course, Rowan landed slightly awkwardly, but he seemed fine. "HOLY SHIT!" chants began.

Luke slithered his way back into the ring, but was quickly smacked by a forearm from Hangman Page. Luke foresaw his move, and when Page flipped over the rope for the Buckshot Lariat, the moment he landed, he was met with a Boot to the jawbone from Luke! Kira Kick connects! Page flips out of the ring and limply falls to the floor. That seemingly knocked his lights out for the remainder of the bout. Dalton began scaling the ladder, only his fingertips managed to grab the title before Rowan had grabbed him by the Tights and Powerbombed him to the mat! Dalton, surprisingly, rolled out of the ring and took a knee only, partially because it was a lucky roll-out landing.

Rowan began climbing the ladder. He was at the top, Almost grabbing the AEW World title, until Luke scrambled up the ladder and the two exchanged furious right hands atop the ladder! Rowan clasped a hand on Luke's throat, Looking for a chokeslam maybe, but Luke fought out of it! Rhodes slaps Gedling hard across the chest, causing the big man to recoil. Luke slipped slightly, barely catching himself. He quickly set up a second, not-quiet-as-tall ladder next to the other one. Rowan tried pushing that one over, but Luke used his foot to rebound off the ropes, allowing the ladder to get back to a standing base! Luke also wildly swung his leg up in a last ditch attempt to knock the Aussie down! With a hint of luck, Rhodes' wild Enziguri connected and Gedling tumbled off the Ladder like a sack of potatoes. Suddenly, Daniel Dalton came back out of nowhere, Springing off the top turnbuckle and Dropkicking the ladder out from under Luke. The Ladder folded almost immediately, causing Dalton to barely escape an injury...

Rhodes wasn't so lucky. He nearly landed on his feet, but his left leg landed first. He'd fallen at such an awkward angle that, upon landing, you could hear a sickening "POP!". Luke let out a few agonized groans, clutching at his left knee. The referee immediately threw up an "X" sign, but Luke grabbed the ref's arm and told him "NO! Almost there!"

Luke struggled to stand, meanwhile Hangman Page hit an unsuspecting Dalton with the Buckshot Lariat. Luke had mustered the strength to stand, and he managed to suck up enough pain to walk up behind Page, kick him in the back of the leg in order to drop him to a knee, then he Ran off the ropes and nailed his "Shot Of Jamison" running Knee strike finisher. Rhodes kipped up, only landing on his right foot. He powered his way up the ladder, taking a seat atop said, then unhooked the title and pulled it down.

"HERE IS YOUR WINNER...  AAAAAND STIIIIIIIIIILL... AEW WORLD CHAMPION... THE SILVER SCORPION, LUUUUKE RHOOOODES!!!"

Luke carefully descended the Ladder. A Paramedic had ran out, but Luke warded him off. Hangman Page stopped selling the impact of Luke's finisher, immediately helping Luke walk backstage. Surprisingly, The camera feed didn't cut.

Luke managed to barely make it backstage, where there was a stretcher waiting for him. Hangman had helped him to the back, as Rowan and Daniel had also been waiting for him. The AEW Champion was exactly 100 days Into his reign after his victory on this night... but this one was different. He couldn't feel anything below his left knee. Anything other than pain. As if stabbed by a hundred Steak knives all in one joint. Rhodes winced as a paramedic tried to maneuver his leg into a more comfortable position so he could begin to tend to it.

AEW Owner Tony Khan rushed into the room. "Are you OK? Is He OK?" He frantically asked. "What happened? When did it happen? Why didn't you call an audible?!" Luke took a few breaths. "The show must go on. I did what we planned... all be it, With some issues." Tony turned around and paced the room. "That match was DECENT. You could've let any of the uninjured win and we'd write it off as a legit move backstage, but no. You had to keep your title because you're unwilling to-" Luke laughed. "If im not mistaken, You're the one who said 'We need the title on Luke if we want to beat Takeover'. Thrilling Ladder match main event? Check. A thousand daggers of pain in my knee... Just collateral, I guess."

"Well WHY did you have to climb to such an anticlimactic finish? And WHY did You knee Hangman in the face instead of Pushing him off like we agreed upon?!"

"...Because My damn LEG is torn to shreds. I Can't stand on a ladder with only one leg and push a guy off! I did that to make it a more believable finish, as the fans like to see. Tony, it's just-"

But the Booker was furious by now. "NO! It's NOT gonna beat Ciampa versus Cole versus Gargano in ratings! THEY'RE gonna beat US! And what's worse, I have YOU going out of your way to not fulfill Professional Agreements made prior to the show! And both of those are just not acceptable! Just-" Khan took a breath. "How long until you can wrestle aga- Medic, How long until he can wrestle again?"

As Luke stared daggers at Khan, The Paramedic glanced up whilse wrapping Rhodes' knee. "Not good. Most of the ligaments in there are completely shot, just from the swelling and amount of pain he feels. He'll need an MRI to confirm it, but my rough estimate? 10 to 14 months."

Khan laughed nervously. Rowan, one of the men in the Ladder match, had come in to check on him. "You good, Mate?" The aussie asked. Luke managed a smirk. "Always the Gentleman. Better now that you're here, because Tony won't stop acting like a coked up manchild right now." Tony was frantically pacing the room. He seemed to have an idea. He firmly stands next to Luke's stretcher and asks, "Any chance you can Super-Cena your way back in like... maybe 4? 6 Months tops? But Prefferably-"

Luke swung his body to the side, grabbing a crutch he'd been given by the Paramedic. "FOUR TO SIX MONTHS?!" He limped over to Tony, looking down at the smaller man. "There's a Chance I NEVER Wrestle again because of this injury. I could lose EVERYTHING, and all you care about is RATINGS and rushing my return!"

At this time, Rowan decided to voice his opinion as well. "He's right, Tony." Rowan joined his friend's side. "I don't know if you know this, but ratings aren't everything. The health and wellbeing of your employees should always come first. So if the medico says Luke here needs a 10 to 14-month recovery time... then you should pull your goddamn head out of your arse and listen, for God's sakes!" Tony only glared at the Aussie. "I'm sorry, but I didn't bring you into this company to treat me like I'm Vince Russo! I Have the final say in the decisions! And what I NEED is a credible champion who the fans can get behind! So-"

Luke interjected. "So? Put the damn thing on Mox for all I care! Ratings don't mean shit when your employees are all realizing that, Over here, the grass LOOKS greener, but that rich, green grass is just hiding minefield of Dog Shit!" Tony looked shocked. "I don't have to take this from you! You're suspended until you release a formal apology to Me and All my executive Vice Pres-" Luke laughed. "Cody? Matt, Nick, and Kenny? They'll all say I've done nothing wrong here because they get what it's like to be derailed by an Injury. So if you think I'm gonna kneel down on my one good knee and kiss your ass?..." Luke balled his fist, then Turned around. "Then Take your Goddamn belt..." Luke violently threw the AEW World Championship at the wall, hard enough to break through the drywall. "...And your goddamn company... and hell, even that EMBARRASSMENT of a Football team, and SHOVE THEM ALL STRAIGHT UP YOUR ASS!!" Luke yelled before sitting back down at the Paramedic's Persuasion. "...Because I fucking quit."

"As do I," Rowan snarled. "Send my love to your idiot EVP's." He rose, striding over to TK and looming above the smaller man. There was a murderous look in his eyes. "As for you, Antony, I'll see you...in hell."

Tony looked like he'd nearly pissed himself. "That's not in the... we didn't plan to... CUT THE DAMN CAMERAS!!" It was at this moment that the camera finally cut. 

"So that wasn't some elaborate build, publicity stunt... anything like that?" Deonna asked. Luke shook his head. "No. The following weeks, I got with my Lawyer, Braxton, and arranged a buyout of Mine, Daniel's, and Rowan's Contracts. Few months later, Rowan shows up in NXT, defeats Roddy Strong for the North American Title, and has a Triple H Brand rocket up his ass, and now he's a top player in the WWE." Deonna managed a grin. "And Dalton?" She asked. "Current NXT Champion, like 325 and counting as of this date of recording." Luke winked at the camera. "And that pretty much leads me to the next announcement made: You're gonna be on Commentary for Summerslam?!" Deonna said with equal amounts of shock as she did joy. "Yup. So I'll get to see my Queen properly crowned." Deonna blushed at this comment, as Luke was referring to her Queen of the Ring finals match at Summerslam. "And because Mauro needed personal time off, so Graves needed a fill-in partner, we wish all the best to Mauro in his time off, but Until then, It'll be the Silver Scorpion alongside Drake & Graves calling the action on Pay-Per-Views!"

And with that, Deonna tossed her script to the side. "And that's all we had planned for. We've covered the Three sections of Luke's career, but we have yet to cover one last part..." Luke looked sort of puzzled. "And that would be..." Deonna nudged him. "The Future. What's it hold? You're not some past his prime veteran, Luke. You're only 31! You still have the rest of your Career ahead of you!" She paused momentarily, before resuming by saying, "Look, I'm just saying... I thought you'd be main eventing Summerslam instead of doing the commentary for it." Purrazzo planted a quick kiss on Rhodes' lips before exiting the set. Rhodes sat there, pondering her words for a moment. He poured himself a glass of Rum & Coke. He swirled it around for a moment before glancing back up at the cameras. "You can turn that Sh-t off now." He said. This Midwestern Cowboy had some serious thinking to do.